Chapter 204 Camping
Xu Junying was overjoyed, his heart was beating fast - he had dreamed of this gentleness and thoughtfulness, but he had never been able to get it, and suddenly it came out of nowhere, and he was stunned.
Changle Hou came up from behind and saw him staring at the handkerchief in a daze. He jokingly asked, "Why? Which lady gave it to you?"
Xu Junying turned around, and the two of them laughed knowingly. This joke was just started by An Yuanhou. When he took off his coat and put it back in his wife's car, his wife handed him an embroidered handkerchief to wipe his sweat. After wiping the sweat, he put it on the jade belt around his waist. His colleagues made fun of him:
"Where did you find the handkerchief? Tell us and pick one up too."
An Yuanhou laughed: "I didn't pick it up, it was given to me by Madam An Yuanhou and the Second Miss of the Mei family."
Everyone came from the army, so they could tell jokes as long as they were not too excessive. If someone received a handkerchief from a family member in the car, no one would say it was given by the lady, but directly say it was a reward from a young lady.
Xu Junying only smiled at their amusement, but he did not expect to receive such an honor. Meimei's carriage was in front, following the carriage of the wife of Duke Dingguo, close to the phoenix chariot. She was still indifferent to him at the moment, so it might be difficult to get her handkerchief. The uphill section was a bit difficult to travel on the newly widened road, and the carriage was swaying. Worried that Meimei had never walked such a long distance, he asked from time to time and walked beside her. He planned to go over the mountain and ask the emperor to see if he could speed up the journey. Xu Junying was so happy to get this handkerchief unexpectedly, but he did not show it on his face. He just wiped the sweat off his face, carefully tied the handkerchief embroidered with plum blossoms to the jade belt around his waist, and rode forward with Changle Hou.
Finally they arrived at the resting place. Meimei got off the car and saw Xu Junying rushing over. He said to her, "The imperial edicts will rest in three courtyards. You will rest with the wife of Duke Dingguo and the wife of Marquis Changle... Don't worry, the people from the Ministry of Rites have already made preparations. This town is very quiet, and all the courtyards are very clean and tidy. Have a good rest after lunch, and continue your journey after the sun goes down. It seems that you cannot reach the temple before dark. If you have to walk at night, you should arrive in the first half of the night. After a short rest, you can burn incense. It will take a whole day to finish everything..."
As he was speaking, someone shouted from a distance, "Lord Xu?"
Meimei saw a man who looked like a civil servant looking around and searching for someone, so she said, "Someone is looking for you, go ahead and do your work, I will take care of myself."
Xu Junying looked at her, wanting to say something but stopping himself, and finally nodded and walked away.
Just as Xu Junying said, after dinner they hurried on their way in the twilight. Countless torches lit up the night sky. Not knowing how others were walking outside, Meimei just sat safely in the car, looking out through the gauze curtains, admiring the unique night view of the wilderness.
The mountain breeze was cool and refreshing. After all, it was in the wild, and the temperature difference between day and night was quite large. A bright moon hung in the sky. The team walked halfway up the hill. At the foot of the hill was a river flowing quietly. The moon and torches were reflected in the river at the same time. The moonlight and the firelight blended together. Meimei had the illusion of returning to ancient times. Suddenly she remembered that she was already in ancient times. She couldn't help but laugh. How could she tell her modern relatives and friends about such a beautiful scene and night?
Xu Junying came again unexpectedly and brought a few branches of bright red bayberry fruits picked from the mountain: "You won't get upset if you eat these fruits. Eat two to stay awake. It's cold at night, don't fall asleep. We'll be here soon."
Cui Xi took Yang Mei, and Cui Lian hurriedly took out Xu Junying's outer robe, but looked at Mei Mei and said softly: "It's windy outside, give the clothes to Lord Hou?"
Meimei nodded, and Cuilian moved to the door and handed out the robe: "Young Madam said it's cold outside, please put on your clothes, sir."
Xu Junying said: "Thank you, Madam, for your concern."
Meimei rolled her eyes and reached out to pinch Cuilian.
After driving for about another hour, they finally arrived at their destination. When the carriage stopped, Meimei breathed a sigh of relief: After all, it was not as comfortable as a car, and it was not an asphalt road. Even with several layers of cushions, it still made people feel a little dizzy.
Walking up the stone steps to the temple, she saw Lin Runan, walking beside the empress, about ten steps away. The empress seemed to be in good spirits. She looked back, met her eyes, smiled and nodded, then followed the emperor.
The wife of Duke Dingguo laughed and said, "It's really hard for the Queen to walk such a long way. Fortunately, the Emperor was considerate and asked to put a soft couch on the Phoenix Sedan. Otherwise, she would be exhausted."
So that's how it is. If you lie down on the car, no matter how it shakes, it won't be uncomfortable.
The wives of Marquis Changle and Marquis Anyuan came rushing over, and they greeted each other and climbed up the stone steps together with smiles on their faces.
The mountain temple is solemn and cold, a pure place of Buddhism that does not allow noise. The Royal Guards and Dragon Riders are stationed outside the temple, and most of the royal guards are only gathered outside the mountain gate. Excluding the guards who are secretly protecting the emperor, there are only ten personal guards who escort the emperor and empress into the temple. The civil and military officials are left at the second gate, and the monks have arranged their destinations. The abbot welcomed the holy carriage and respectfully led the emperor and empress to bypass the main hall and go to the Jingya Zen Temple to rest. It is already the second watch, and they can still rest for a few hours. They get up at the fifth watch, take a bath, burn incense, go to the main hall, and open the altar to worship Buddha.
The twelve ladies from outside the court followed the queen and were led to the inner courtyard, then into another side courtyard. Then they were settled down in six meditation rooms, two people in each room, to rest.
Meimei was with the wife of Duke Dingguo, and she didn't know anything. She just followed her, opened her eyes wide, and was very attentive to secretly learn her rules and movements. She didn't know anything about burning incense and worshiping Buddha. She had been to temples several times in her previous life, but it was just for sightseeing and she had never really worshipped Buddha. Once she went to a temple in Guangdong and saw a monk wearing a watch and playing with his mobile phone. Mimi was leaning against the release pond and chatting with the girls, which opened the eyes of the female students. They took a secret photo with their mobile phones and were chased by the monk in circles in the temple.
The monks in the Pufa Temple are all serious Buddhists. Not to mention the great master wearing dazzling robes and sitting with his eyes closed on the altar with incense smoke and prayer flags fluttering, there are also the monks of all sizes sitting on cushions in an orderly row with dignified faces and their eyes lowered and their hands folded. Even the young novice monk sweeping the floor outside the temple is enough to convince Meimei that this is the real Buddhist pure land.
In the hustle and bustle, Meimei followed the wife of Duke Dingguo and the empress, led by the monks. They were busy from the fifth watch until the afternoon, when all the work was done. Then there were various rewards for the temples and monks. Meimei had no intention of listening to anything else except that Pufa Temple "was promoted to an imperial temple from now on."
After returning to the meditation room to rest for a while, she was asked to leave again. It turned out that the emperor had disappeared, and the ladies outside the court had the opportunity to accompany the queen to have vegetarian meals.
After the seats were arranged, Meimei still couldn't get close to Lin Runan. She glanced at Lin Runan through the two dukes' wives and turned away. Lin Runan lowered her eyes, but the queen had a smile on her lips, as if she wanted to see what tricks the two of them were playing.
The next day, after leaving the temple and sitting in the car, Meimei could still smell the scent of incense on her body even after changing her clothes. Fortunately, the smell was not unpleasant, so she ignored it.
The return journey was different from the trip here. On the way here, one had to burn incense on the auspicious time on the fifteenth day. The return journey was much more leisurely. The weather was fine and sunny. One could see the beautiful mountains and rivers in the distance and the enchanting plants and trees up close. The scenery was so charming that the emperor, empress, and ministers who had lived in the imperial city for a long time were amazed. Halfway through the journey, the emperor became excited and decided not to stay in the original palace. He ordered them to set up camp on the spot and have fun in the wild for half a day. At night, they would light a bonfire and prepare a big game dinner. They would then set out for the city at dawn the next day.
Bonfire dinners were Meimei's favorite. Xu Junying led her carriage to a shaded area and stopped. He helped her get off the carriage and told her the news. She was so happy that she kept saying, "What a fun game dinner! Where did the game come from? Did someone go hunting? Can I go with you?"
Xu Junying looked at her with a smile: "If I take you there, I'm afraid you won't even be able to catch a rabbit."
"No way?"
Meimei touched her head, which was adorned with jewels and hairpins, and then she looked down at her clothes, which were covered with silk and satin, and embroidered with royal belts and rings. She said hurriedly, "I brought several sets of clothes with me. If you want me to go, I will change into something lighter so that I can run faster."
How could Xu Junying have the heart to refuse her? He just said, "Go change your clothes. I'll wait for you."
Meimei quickly climbed back into the carriage, lowered the door curtain, and with the help of Cuixi and Cuilian, she dressed up again, removing all the jewelry that was in the way on her head, and decorated her hair with ribbons and pearls, and tied a tight double bun. A strand of hair hung down from each cheek, wrapped with silver wire in sections. Because they were going into the forest to hunt, they were afraid of scaring the prey, so they changed into a light blue cloud-patterned tight-fitting dress with narrow sleeves. The green ribbon was tied lightly around her waist, and the wide hem of the skirt just fell to her ankles. In order to prevent rain, Cuilian brought deerskin boots, which were just in need at this time. Meimei was dressed neatly and relaxed. She jumped off the carriage and scared Xu Junying. He looked around and whispered:
"How can you do this? What if you fall and get hurt?"
What a hypocritical guy, he is obviously afraid that others will see and laugh at his wife's improper behavior.
Meimei was in a very good mood and chuckled: "Don't worry, I jumped only after I saw it carefully. No one saw it. Let's go."
As he spoke, he ran briskly towards the crowded area: "Ask the wife of Duke Dingguo if she wants to go?"
Xu Junying hurriedly stopped her and said, "Wait...listen to me."
Meimei stopped: "Go on, I'm listening"
Xu Junying grabbed her other hand, held it tightly in his palm, looked into her eyes and said, "Meimei, you look so plain and elegant when you dress like this, but you look really good."
Meimei snorted and turned away. Xu Junying couldn't help laughing and said, "There will be a lot of people going up the mountain. Some of the women, like the wife of the Marquis of Changle, are quite skilled. In previous years, they mostly went hunting with the Marquis. They didn't expect the emperor to do this this time, so they must have been unprepared. But they won't miss this opportunity and will go too."
Meimei nodded: "That's great, I'll just follow them."
Xu Junying paused and put away his smile: "And the Prince of Qi, the Princess of Qi, Zhang Jingyun...promise me that you will only follow me and not follow anyone else, okay?"
It is made by】.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
