Chapter 1: Chinaberry
This was an ordinary day in the Changhua Palace.
It was late spring, early summer, and April. The sky and earth were in harmony, and all the flowers were in full bloom.
After Qiandeng finished practicing his family's double spears, he stood under the tree for a while and felt a slight itch on his cheek.
She raised her hand and took a look at it. It turned out to be two small lavender fallen flowers, the color was hazy and distant.
Looking up, I saw large patches of light purple flowers blooming above my head like morning mist, reflected in the blue sky and difficult to see clearly.
Taking the handkerchief handed to her by Rose, she wiped the sweat from her forehead and asked casually, "What kind of flower is this?"
Rose was young, she looked up and shook her head in confusion.
"It's the chinaberry flower." Meng Lanxi's voice came from behind.
"Bitter Love?" Qiandeng nodded at him in greeting, then looked up at the purple flowers of varying shades, not understanding why there would be a flower with such a name.
"Yes, chinaberry flowers can clear away heat and dampness, relieve itching and kill insects. I was just about to pick some and dry them for later use." Meng Lanxi didn't know that she had misheard. She smiled at her and raised her hand to pick the flowers below.
Qiandeng asked Meigui to take back her double guns first, and helped him pick a few bunches of flowers and put them into the bamboo basket he brought.
Suddenly, there were rustling footsteps from behind, followed by Jin Tang's disgusted voice: "Go away!"
Qiandeng looked back and saw the white rabbit brought by Meng Lanxi jumping in the grass and jumping onto the upper of a pair of black leather boots with gold thread.
The owner of the boots was Jin Tang. Seeing the rabbit curled up on his feet, he immediately kicked it into the grass and said, "Why is this stinky rabbit still here?"
The rabbit kicked its legs in confusion, rolled in the grass, and then turned over and ran to Meng Lanxi's feet.
Meng Lanxi put down the basket of flowers, leaned over to pick it up, and gently patted the grass debris on its fur: "I told you to be greedy. You are so fat that you can't escape from bad people if you meet them."
Jin Tang snorted coldly, and seeing Qian Deng standing nearby, he immediately said, "County Lady, this rabbit is stupid and dirty. It was just rolling on the ground. Don't touch it."
That righteous disgust seemed to have forgotten that he was the culprit who caused the rabbit to roll around.
Qian Deng knew that he had always been at odds with Meng Lanxi and that he hated this rabbit, so he just smiled and raised his hand to flick the rabbit's ears.
Jin Tang asked again, "Meng Lanxi, didn't you say the rabbit's injuries had healed and you were going to release it? Why are you still keeping it?"
Meng Lanxi picked at the grass scraps on the rabbit and looked at Qiandeng with a look of grievance: "I can't help it. I released it into the wild a while ago, but a stray dog pounced on it and scared it so much that it cowered at my feet and refused to leave. So I had no choice but to bring it back."
Xue Xiyang and Ji Linyou also came over. Hearing what he said, Xue Xiyang smiled and said, "If it were me, I wouldn't want to leave either. It's so good to be in the palace. I have enough food to eat, a warm sleep, and..."
"And the county lady can pet and hug you." Ji Linyou laughed and raised his hand to flick the rabbit's head. "It's just a rabbit, I can raise it for fun. What else can it do without a few grasses to eat?"
Jin Tang scoffed: "What's so fun about a stupid rabbit? It's far inferior to my Jin Tuan Tuan!"
Meng Lanxi pretended he didn't exist and only asked Qian Deng, "Since it's reluctant to leave, why don't you ask the county lady to give it a name?"
Qiandeng stroked the rabbit's smooth and soft fur, remembering the rabbits she and Shi Jingning had raised in the past.
The rabbit was so well-behaved and docile, and had never hurt anyone in the world. Unfortunately, it had no ability to protect itself and would eventually end up being slaughtered.
Just like Shi Jingning who died in front of her that day, his eyes were still full of attachment, and he was still concerned about his younger siblings and her mother, but his broken throat was ultimately unable to tell any secrets, and he left the world forever.
She said slowly, "It's snow-white and cute, so let's call it Baibai."
Baibai was the name of the rabbit she and Shi Jingning had back then.
Seeing that the county lady gave the name so casually, Jin Tang became obviously happy, while Meng Lanxi pursed her lips and smiled, lowered her eyes and stroked the rabbit without saying a word.
Jin Tang turned away from the rabbit, looked up and whistled at Jin Tuantuan who was hanging under the tree.
Jin Tuantuan jumped twice on the parrot stand and began to chant a new poem in a strange voice: "The next day, the river is beautiful, and the spring flowers are early and fragrant~" (Note: Du Fu's "Quatrain": The late sun makes the river and mountains beautiful, and the spring breeze makes the flowers and grass fragrant.)
"Hahaha, this accent sounds like the same person." Ji Linyou was laughing when Mingjiu came over with a piece of baked naan. "Xianzhu, come and sing (taste) my naan, it's fresh out of the oven!"
Everyone laughed when they heard it: "That's the accent, for sure!"
The screech eagle was puzzled. It grabbed Jin Tuantuan by the neck, stared at him, and asked, "How did you know I have an eagle? But my eagle is mighty and majestic, much more beautiful than this one!"
"Who cares about your eagle? I'm just saying your accent is weird."
Mingjiu, a foreigner, couldn't speak Chinese well, but he was smart. He realized that he was laughing at him and shouted on the spot: "What's so strange about my eagle? When Xianzhu marries me and becomes the princess of Huihe, you will find that I am the most powerful eagle on the grassland!"
As soon as he said this, he immediately became the target of public criticism.
Xue Xiyang drawled out in a sarcastic tone, "Some people can't even tell if they're eagles or chickens. No wonder they misjudge themselves. Even a crow dreams of chasing a phoenix."
Ji Linyou crossed his arms and said, "Speaking of which, it's a bit unrealistic for a bird from the grassland to want to live in the sycamore trees in Chang'an."
Jin Tang curled his lips and said, "I've seen a lot of foreign merchants. Some of them don't even know how to use chopsticks when eating. Only after seeing this did I understand what the Master meant by 'a monkey in a human costume'!"
Only Meng Lanxi was stroking the white rabbit with a faint smile on her lips.
Qian Deng was feeling a headache when faced with these men who performed childish dramas day after day, when a report suddenly came from the front yard saying that the guards from the East Palace had arrived.
Qiandeng quickly comforted them with a few words and fled.
"County Lady, His Highness has ordered me to come here to inform you of something."
Qian Deng noticed the guard's strange expression and gestured to the maid to serve tea. He asked, "What do you want, Your Highness?"
"Your Highness went to inspect the canal today and discovered something strange. It might be related to the county lady."
After hearing the guards' narration about the bloody words found on the canal boat and the corpse fished out from the ditch, Aunt Xuanji and the maids were all stunned and shocked, and they all looked at Qiandeng.
Qian Deng frowned and asked, "Are the words written in blood on the hull of the boat 'Lingling County Master Kill Me'?"
"Yes, without a doubt. His Highness has already instructed Cui Shaoqing to handle it. I wonder if the county lady would like to go and check it out?"
Someone wrote blood words on the hull of the boat the prince was inspecting, accusing her of being a murderer. The onlookers knew about this. Once it spread, it would cause great harm to her and the palace.
Qian Deng stood up without hesitation, ordered his horse to be prepared, put on his veil hat, and immediately went to the scene with the East Palace guards.
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