Chapter 851 Li Guo'er: Empress Weiyang (Side Story 3)
Cai Shou was unaware that her young mistress's mind was drawn to that ordinary wooden hairpin.
She glanced curiously at the statue covered by the red cloth and reached out to lift it.
"Don't move."
Li Guo'er suddenly said.
"oh."
Cai Shou stopped what she was doing.
Li Guo'er turned the wooden hairpin that had been sent from afar in her hand, staring silently at the red cloth Buddha statue.
The master and servant remained silent the entire way.
The carriage passed through Qinghua Ward and returned to Ziwei City via the same route.
At Yinglong Gate, the cold and vigilant Imperial Guards carefully examined the seal, then slowly opened the heavy side door, allowing the carriage of the popular young princess to pass.
Speaking of which, those who can freely enter and leave the imperial city at such a late hour are few and far between, including princes, relatives, and civil and military officials; they require special permission from the reigning emperor.
Even Prince Li Xian of Xunyang and his heir Li Dalang did not receive such treatment.
The latest recipient of this favor is this little princess with plum blossom makeup.
On the city wall, a tall commander of the Yinglong Guard, clad in black armor, lowered his eyelids and watched the carriage slowly enter the palace.
The carriage passed through the unassuming Weiyang Palace hidden in the darkness once again, and this time Li Guo'er did not open the window.
The palace where she lived in the imperial city was called Hanliang Palace.
It is located northwest of Taiye Pond, near the East Palace.
Father Wang Lixian and elder brother Li Dalang are temporarily residing in the East Palace.
The Eastern Palace was originally the residence of the Crown Prince. The fact that the Emperor placed Li Xian and his son there is one of the reasons why many people have made certain speculations recently.
This is not unfounded speculation.
Just like the origins of the Weiyang Palace, every palace in Ziwei City carries a hidden meaning for those who reside there.
Hanliang Hall was very close to Daming Palace and Mingtang, making it convenient to participate in court banquets or to meet the emperor.
Generally, only favored princesses could reside here.
In addition, this palace is an elegant residence with a tranquil environment, suitable for a young princess who has not yet been granted a title to reside temporarily.
As the carriage entered Hanliang Palace, the palace servants who had been waiting with their heads bowed in front of the palace greeted them and pushed open the palace doors.
Cai Shou was ordered to go and arrange a certain matter.
Princess Meihua returned from the night banquet, seemingly slightly tipsy and enjoying the quiet, and dismissed the palace servants who had followed her.
She took a long, dark purple half-sleeved robe from the respectful lady-in-waiting, wrapped it around her slender shoulders, crossed her arms, and walked alone into the palace, heading towards the warm pavilion in the northwest corner.
The pond in the central courtyard, like a bright mirror, reflects a round, white moon.
The night was cool and still, and the Mid-Autumn Festival moon was full.
Li Guo'er crossed the main hall, passed the water curtain, and tightened her purple half-sleeve wrapped around her shoulders with her arms crossed.
Speaking of which, Hanliang Palace is located next to Taiye Pond and is a popular summer resort in Ziwei City.
The outer hall is equipped with a "water curtain" to cool down the temperature, making it as cool as autumn even in the hottest months.
However, now that autumn has arrived, the nights feel increasingly chilly.
Li Guo'er is slightly sensitive to the cold and habitually stays in the warm pavilion, which is the core living area. It is luxuriously decorated and has a heated floor.
Xie Lingjiang, on the other hand, had a fiery constitution and loved the Hanliang Palace, which was as cool as autumn all year round.
When Li Guo'er arrived at the warm pavilion, she somewhat unladylike kicked off her embroidered shoes at the door, and her fair little feet stepped onto the warm floor tiles.
He picked up a book at random, walked to the west window, and lazily lay down on the chaise lounge.
This is also why she likes this warm pavilion in the northwest corner. In addition to the warm pavilion with floor heating, the entire floor of Hanliang Hall is paved with imperial kiln gold bricks. The raw material of these bricks comes from the cold mud deposited at the bottom of Yangcheng Lake in the southeast for thousands of years, which is very cool and refreshing.
When Li Guo'er first moved into this hall, she impulsively stepped on it, and it really made her arch her feet tense and her toes clench... After that, she never dared to walk barefoot in the outer hall again.
But once she returned to her little nest, she kicked off her embroidered shoes and relaxed on the floor. This was a habit she brought over from the boudoir and vermilion tower of the Su family mansion in Longcheng, and it was hard for her to change, nor was she willing to.
Speaking of which, a season has passed since she entered the palace with her father and brothers. They arrived in Luoyang in the summer and were assigned to Hanliang Palace. Now it is already late autumn.
The palace itself wasn't changed, because there were rumors circulating in the palace that the Emperor was preparing to bestow upon her the official title of Princess of the Great Zhou Dynasty. At that time, she would have to move out of this Hanliang Palace, just like her aunt, Princess Chang Le, who left Ziwei City to establish her own residence elsewhere. So there was no need to make any more trouble; she could just make do with living in this Hanliang Palace.
As Li Guo'er silently turned the pages of her book, a palace servant knocked on the door.
It is not a colorful ribbon.
"Enter."
Two palace maids bowed and entered, bringing over a red cloth statue. At Li Guo'er's signal, they placed it beside the chaise longue and slowly retreated away.
Only Li Guo'er remained in the room, along with the Buddha statue in front of the bed.
The atmosphere was empty and quiet.
Li Guo'er lay on the bed, propped her face up with the back of her hand, and flipped through a book for a while.
An evening breeze blew in through a specially left crack in the window, causing the red cloth on the Buddha statue to fall off.
A stone Vairocana Buddha was revealed.
The stone Buddha smiled and held up a flower, its palm outstretched, revealing a ginkgo leaf that hadn't fallen off despite the bumpy journey.
I heard that among the four collapsed Buddha statues, besides the Donglin Buddha, there was also a Vairocana Buddha.
Li Guo'er did not go to see the priceless Northern Wei Dynasty Buddha statue that her aunt had sent as a gift.
She lowered her eyes and turned the pages of the book, seemingly facing the stone Buddha holding a flower and the empty room, and said somewhat lazily:
"Why does Auntie like to test me so much? Hmm, you're not a bad person, but you're definitely not a good person either."
"When I was impeached by Ouyang Lianghan, I didn't go to see him. It wasn't because I was afraid of being recorded in history. Rather, I was shocked and angry. I couldn't figure out where this hothead or hypocrite came from. I thought someone was targeting me from behind. The impeachment was just a prelude."
"Now you've figured it out and are speaking nicely to him, but that's only because you've discovered he's not someone to mess with and you know about his close relationship with my father and brothers."
Li Guo'er suddenly closed the book, pressed it to her chest, and tilted her head towards the smiling stone Buddha holding a flower, saying:
"She's just like me, no wonder she's my aunt..."
"Pfft."
Seemingly amused by her own words, Li Guo'er's shoulders trembled slightly before she regained her composure.
"To paraphrase Ouyang Lianghan, they're all ancient foxes, what's the point of singing about Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio... Speaking of which, what exactly is Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio..."
Unable to figure it out, she shook her head, reopened the book, lowered her eyes to browse, and murmured softly:
“Aunt, oh Aunt, we are actually quite similar. We are both passionate about pursuing that kind of thing. But compared to you, who fears him as if he were your nemesis... I'm sorry, he belongs to my father and brother, so he is also... mine.”
"Besides, I'm not kidding, I'm genuinely a little afraid of him scolding me..."
The warm pavilion was quiet.
After a while, there was a knock on the door.
"Miss, the young lady has arrived."
"Enter."
Cai Shou led a hooded figure into the warm pavilion.
Although the palace servants all called Li Guo'er "Your Highness," Cai Shou still kept her previous title. Li Guo'er didn't ask the silly girl to change it, thinking it was fine.
To paraphrase what Ouyang Lianghan used to say, one must not forget one's roots...
The colorful ribbons were removed.
She left behind a hooded silhouette.
Li Guo'er put down her book, sat up from her bed, and walked barefoot away.
"Your Highness."
The hooded figure immediately bowed, causing the hood to slip down and revealing thick, waist-length, glossy white hair underneath.
It is Ye Weilai.
Li Guo'er suddenly said, "Don't move."
Ye Weilai paused, her small face slightly tense.
But then she saw the little princess with plum blossom makeup walk up to her, stroke her silver hair, and then come behind her to help her tie her hair up.
Ye Weilai was stunned for a moment, then saw that the prince silently pulled an expensive coral jade hairpin from his smooth, black hair and quietly inserted it into her tied-up silver hair to fix the hairstyle.
"Your Highness..."
"Shhh."
Li Guo'er placed her index finger to her lips, interrupting Ye Weilai's words.
She took a step back, looked at the exquisite, porcelain-doll-like silver-haired oriental girl in front of her with some satisfaction, and smiled:
"From now on, you don't need to call me Your Highness. You can call me... Sister Guo'er, just like you would call me Sister Xie."
Ye Weilai couldn't help but glance at her.
Li Guo'er smiled gently and stroked Ye Weilai's forehead:
"This hairpin is for you."
"This servant dares not..."
“What’s there to be afraid of? You gave me that hairpin yesterday, and I didn’t have anything to give in return. If you need anything in the future, just tell me, and I’ll do my best to help you.”
After a pause, Li Guo'er took out the old wooden hairpin that someone had been wearing from her sleeve and gestured to Ye Weilai:
I really like this hairpin.
Seemingly sensing Ye Weilai's somewhat direct gaze, Li Guo'er lowered her eyes and added:
"As the sage said, 'When you see someone virtuous, think of emulating them.' Your husband is a gentleman, and we ordinary women, holding a gentleman's possessions, is like looking in a mirror; it can remind us of our own shortcomings. How can we not be happy?"
Ye Wei looked at her eloquently for a while, then suddenly smiled:
"Yes, Sister Guo'er."
Without the coral hairpin, Li Guo'er's long, black hair cascaded over her shoulders, making her look ethereal. She twirled her fingers, curling a strand of hair behind her ear, and tilted her head to ask:
"Did you sleep well last night? You must be tired from your journey, so I didn't bother you during the day."
"I feel very safe, mainly because I know that my sisters and you are here."
"Yes, come and sit down."
Li Guo'er pulled Ye Weilai to sit down on the couch, and without any formality, took her hand and asked casually:
"Did Wei Lai come straight to me after arriving in Luoyang yesterday? She didn't even visit Sister Xie or Lady Rong during the day today?"
Ye Weilai lowered her head and said:
"Yes, Eunuch Hu brought me into Luoyang. He said... Sister Guo'er is quite remarkable now, with a noble status and a renowned name throughout Luoyang... I've left my lover and come to a new place, so I'm a bit indecisive. I thought I'd come to find Sister Guo'er first and ask for some advice. Oh, and Sister Xie should be here too, right? I miss her terribly. I'll have to trouble Sister Guo'er to help arrange for me to see her later..."
Halfway through her sentence, the silver-haired girl noticed that the little princess with plum blossom makeup was looking at her with a half-smile:
"Did Eunuch Hu mention that your sister Rongzhen is also very capable, the next lamplighter of the Imperial Observatory, the sage's niece, and of the same generation as my father? Putting aside the grudges between Li Wei and me, I would have to call her 'aunt'... Why didn't you go to find her immediately?"
The silver-haired girl lowered her head slightly, looking meekly as she spoke:
"Isn't it all the same? I have to see them one by one. Seeing Sister Guo'er makes me feel most at ease, so I'll go first."
"Are they the same? There is indeed an order, but in terms of closeness, Sister Xie and Lady Rongzhen are naturally closer to your husband, yet Wei Lai came to me first. Could it be... that Ouyang Lianghan's idea?"
Facing Li Guo'er's slightly narrowed gaze, Ye Weilai shook her head and said truthfully:
"No. When Tanlang gave me the hairpin, he only said that I should come to find you sisters or the young master, so that I could ask for your help."
Li Guo'er seemed to understand, and didn't ask any further questions, muttering to herself:
“But Ouyang Lianghan probably didn’t expect you to do this.”
Ye Weilai lowered her head and remained silent, seemingly smiling faintly.
Li Guo'er's black hair fell loose over her shoulders, but she tucked the wooden hairpin into her sleeve and asked softly:
"Hmm, Wei Lai, would you like to try being a sword master and test that luminous pearl?"
Ye Wei shook her head like a rattle drum:
"No, I know I am too shallow to have that kind of fortune."
How will you know if you don't try?
Ye Weilai said with utmost seriousness:
"I knew it, Nu'er wasn't destined for that fate."
Li Guo'er looked at Ye Weilai for a while, then shook her head helplessly:
"Alright, then tell me what you want to do, and I'll go and discuss it with Sister Xie."
Ye Weilai slightly raised her eyes and glanced at Li Guo'er:
"It's all arranged by Sister Guo'er."
Seeing the silver-haired girl so obedient, Li Guo'er remained quiet for a moment, then suddenly said:
"Tomorrow, go and see Sister Xie and Lady Rong. Just say you just arrived. Don't mention the hairpin. Also, you can get closer to Lady Rong."
Ye Weilai looked somewhat puzzled.
Li Guo'er chuckled softly:
"Since you call me sister, I will not stand on ceremony and make arrangements for you. You will stay in the palace. As for how to stay... first go and follow your sister Rong. Perfect timing, she wants to teach you Qi cultivation, so start as a female official in the Imperial Observatory... This will also be of great benefit to your husband."
The young lady in plum blossom makeup speaks eloquently.
The two women whispered to each other on the couch for a while.
Ye Wei looked thoughtful.
...
Three days later, late at night.
The moonlight, like water, spilled onto the palace steps.
Li Guo'er stepped down from the carriage and walked up the steps into Hanliang Palace.
After another social banquet, Li Guo'er returned home and did not go to the warm pavilion again.
She went directly to the bedroom.
The fire in the sleeping quarters was extinguished. Inside, there was a chaise longue, pitch black, and it seemed as if a figure was sleeping on it.
Li Guo'er glanced at it as she passed by, then went to bathe in the warm pool next door.
About half an hour later, she returned to the bedside, wearing a blue dress and barefoot, tilting her head to dry her wet hair.
After her bath, the plum blossom makeup on Li Guo'er's forehead faded considerably. She got into bed, smiled gently, snuggled into the covers, and hugged the tall woman on the bed from behind.
The latter didn't move, and the dark bed remained quiet for a while.
"Not asleep?"
Suddenly, Li Guo'er asked.
"Um."
Xie Lingjiang's voice was low and deep.
"Why are you unhappy?"
"No."
"Sister Xie said no, but you're still up so late. Is it about Wei Lai?"
"No."
"quibble."
Xie Lingjiang paused for a moment, then spoke:
“The palace is dangerous. She was entrusted by Tanlang to follow Rongzhen. I’m a little worried.”
"What's there to worry about?"
Li Guo'er shook her head, then suddenly grasped Xie Lingjiang's ample bosom from behind, chuckling softly:
"Did your eldest brother go through something like that too?"
Xie Lingjiang's face immediately turned red.
"Smack—!" The hand was slapped away from the young girl's hand.
She glared at him angrily: "Don't touch me, you little brat."
Li Guo'er not only didn't let go, but hugged him even tighter.
Xie Lingjiang stopped her mischievous hand, and after a while, she said absentmindedly in a low voice:
"Have you heard about your new title? It's being discussed in the palace. I heard Da Lang say during the day that it might be... the title 'Anle' (安乐)."
"Uh-huh."
"You found out?"
Despite Xie Lingjiang's objections, Li Guo'er seized the rich land from behind.
She closed her eyes, sensing Xie Jie's uncomfortably recoiled yet still ample bosom that was difficult to grasp in one hand, and casually remarked:
"Because it was my suggestion, the Empress Dowager let me choose that day."
Xie Lingjiang asked with some doubt:
"Adding the character 'le' is a fixed practice for this generation of princesses of the Great Zhou Dynasty, but why is the character 'an' chosen instead?"
Li Guo'er tilted her head and asked in return:
“Anle means peace and happiness. Am I not peaceful by nature? My father and elder brother both like this word, and my mother also says that being peaceful and stable is very good.”
Xie Lingjiang immediately shook her head: "It's just abrupt. Besides... where are you at peace?" Then she suddenly straightened her face and scolded: "Take your hand away, it itches, stop touching it, you, you're not at peace at all."
"If men can touch it, why can't I?"
Li Guo'er smiled and said, "That's a beautiful meaning. You can break down the character '安' (an, meaning peace/safety)."
"What's the meaning."
"Break the character apart."
Xie Lingjiang turned around in confusion: "What do you mean, 'take apart'?"
A suggestion casually made by a silver-haired girl echoed in her ears, and Li Guo'er, seemingly imitating someone else, said in a serious tone:
"Look at the character '安' (ān), doesn't it look like a house with a woman inside? It means that if there is a woman in the house, there will be peace."
"Yes, I heard it from someone else."
Xie Lingjiang quieted down for a moment, and as a virtuous lady of Bailudong Academy, she immediately drew inferences from one instance to another:
"Who says that a family with a daughter is secure? The word 'secure' is like a woman sitting in a palace, like a sage of the time... Sister Guo'er, do you feel secure?"
As Xie Lingjiang finished speaking, she sensed that the young woman holding her from behind seemed to quiet down for a moment, and suddenly tightened her grip on the jade-like hand.
Li Guo'er smiled, her eyes crinkling, and whispered with a laugh:
"Indeed, he can't compare to your senior brother. He has you, especially here, which is very safe."
"...??"
The noblewoman Xie blushed and clutched her collar tightly.
In the secluded boudoir, the two women began to playfully bicker, forgetting all about their previous topic.
(End of this chapter)
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