Chapter 50 Golden Bell
"Sister County Master, what are you looking at?" Li Zi ran out of the hall to play, and saw her lost in thought at the railing, so he asked curiously.
Qiandeng shook her head, collected her thoughts, and was about to leave when Li Zi hooked her hand and said, "I actually wanted to ask you something just now, but I didn't have time."
She bent down. "What's wrong?"
Li Zi held up the pearl-tasseled hydrangea hanging from her waist and asked her, "Why did the bell on the hydrangea that the county lady gave me last time change color?"
Qiandeng was slightly surprised and looked at the fist-sized beaded hydrangea in his hand. She remembered that this was the thank-you gift she took from the warehouse for him when he helped her record the imperial list last time.
The hydrangeas were glittering with pearls, their tassels were vibrant, and they were adorned with several delicate golden bells, which tinkled as they turned. Two of the bells were truly different from the others, gleaming brightly in the sunlight.
Qian Deng fiddled with the two silver bells and asked casually, "Aren't these silver bells?"
"That's not right." Li Zi first held down the other bells, shook the silver bell, and then asked her to listen to the sounds of the other bells. "Listen, the colors are different, but the sounds are the same."
Qiandeng didn't understand what this meant for a moment. While he was still pondering, the palace messenger had already led the ladies out through the palace gate.
The nurse was afraid that Li Zi would get tired, so she carried him in her arms as they walked out. He lay on her shoulder and said to Qian Deng earnestly, "I can tell these two bells aren't made of silver; they're making golden sounds!"
As he spoke, he pulled the silk rope and turned out the inner part of the bell to show Qiandeng: "Look, the outer part of the bell is white, but the inner part is golden. It looks like the gold bell has faded!"
The nurse couldn't help but smile and stroked his little head. "Young Master, gold is so pure, how could it fade? Besides, wouldn't the gold bell look even better with the silver bell, the yellow and the white?"
Yellow and white, it looks better...
Qiandeng suddenly stopped and was stunned.
I could vaguely hear the strange words that Lu Wulin said when he was talking to Lady Dingxiang that day:
"Plum blossoms are still more beautiful when they are white."
At that time, Lady Dingxiang was wearing a bracelet given to her by Qiandeng's mother. The bracelet was shaped like a plum branch and made entirely of solid gold, with no pearls or gemstones inlaid.
How come the plum blossoms above turned white?
Why did Lu Wulin say this inexplicably, and why did Lady Dingxiang look so confused because of this?
And then, she immediately sent Lu Wulin back to Guozhou. Is it related to this matter?
Qiandeng raised her hand and took the tassel hydrangea from Li Zi's hand, staring at the gold inside the silver bell, as if she had thought of something but couldn't grasp it.
Ahead is the Zichen Gate, a majestic palace gate with dragon towers and phoenix palaces on top.
After passing this towering palace gate, you will see where the emperor holds court. The Xuanzheng Hall and the Hanyuan Hall are spread out above the city walls, looking majestic and spectacular.
After walking out of the door, Qiandeng couldn't help but raise his head and look forward.
During the palace coup three years ago, her grandfather was killed by thousands of arrows in the alley in front.
Her father was further away on the Nine Dragon Cloud Steps, being trampled into a pulp by the rebel army.
The Prince of Changhua and his son, once the most illustrious of their time, both perished in this supreme abode. And Bai Qiandeng, the last remaining heir of the Changhua Palace, also had his brow severed by a fiery plaque during the palace coup, forever changing his fate.
In the falling snow, Qiandeng raised his hand and unconsciously touched the broken mark on his eyebrow.
Raising her eyes, she saw Cui Fufeng holding an umbrella and waiting quietly in front of the tall buildings amidst the desolate falling snow.
His scarlet clothes reflected the red palace, and they were clearly the same color. However, the red palace was so cold, while he was like a flame in the snow, warming and burning the world, making her want to get closer.
She walked towards him involuntarily, and he also came forward naturally, using his umbrella to block the snow for Li Zi while also shielding her from the fine snowflakes, without avoiding the gazes of the people around them.
Qiandeng, without saying a word, handed the hydrangea in her hand to Cui Fufeng and turned over the faded golden bell to show him.
Cui Fufeng was a little confused. His gaze stayed on Jin Ling for a moment before he looked up at her.
Qiandeng nodded at him, then tied the hydrangea back around Li Zi's waist and watched him being carried by his wet nurse onto the carriage of Prince Guang's mansion and leave.
Cui Fufeng was under the same umbrella with her and asked softly, "What is that hydrangea?"
"I gave it to the young master when we were taking inventory of the warehouse that day." Qian Deng said, raising his hand to his lips and blowing air, and whispered, "The golden bell on it has changed color."
On the day of the warehouse inventory, Cui Fufeng immediately remembered the nine golden flowers that had disappeared from the palace, and also remembered Yang Huaijiang's silver jewelry that had been soaked in drugs. He couldn't help but blurt out, "Could it be..."
Qiandeng nodded, slowly exhaled, and looked at the layers of tall buildings in the wind and snow in front of him, his face slightly cold.
More than the nine golden flowers, more than the bloody handprint, and more than Madam Dingxiang's plum branch bracelet... She thought of Shi Jingning's unfinished white rabbit, and also of the moment when Yang Huaijiang screamed "Shi Jingning" crazily and was buried in the sea of fire...
All the strange and incomprehensible things that had been swirling in her mind now rushed into her heart. Countless indescribable emotions, excitement, anger, and surprise, made her stand still in the snow for a long time, not moving.
Cui Fufeng stood quietly beside her, blocking all the chaotic snowflakes for her, waiting for her enlightenment.
At the place where her father and grandfather died for their country, occasionally one or two pieces of flying snow would hit her face and stain her broken eyebrow.
Her eyelashes covered her unfocused but surprisingly bright eyes, trembling slightly, causing his heart to tremble involuntarily.
The hastily orchestrated plan three years ago changed her life. The image of her, young and weeping over her grandfather's corpse amidst the blood and fire, was like a thorn piercing his heart, a stabbing pain he always felt in his dreams at night.
Therefore, the emperor and empress were sympathetic to her because the court owed the Changhua Palace a debt.
And what about him and Li Yingshang...
His fame soared, and his career was smooth sailing. Taking advantage of the opportunity to purge the rebellious officials, his father also cleared the way and was appointed Minister of the Interior. The Boling Cui family thus overcame the decline they had experienced after the An-Shi Rebellion and rose to prominence within the court.
Li Yingshang took this opportunity to transform himself from a traitor to a pillar of the Tang Dynasty. The imperial court had to set a precedent and recognized him as a king of a different surname who inherited the military power of his grandfather and uncle, and bet the stability of the northwest on him alone.
Only the Changhua Palace fell overnight, leaving only Lingling County Lady Bai Qiandeng, who has been isolated from the world ever since, watching fate take away everything she has.
But her thin shoulders always stood firmly in the wind and snow. All the pain, sorrow, difficulties and obstacles seemed to be just to promote her growth, allowing her to stand in this Daming Palace. Even in the raging wind and snow, there was light shining through her body and penetrating her thoughts.
Beneath this vast and majestic palace base, crowds of people celebrating the winter solstice passed through the palace gate, carriages and horses made a noise, and the thousands of lights seemed to be in another world.
She was immersed in a world filled with spots of light. Everything in front of her, known and unknown, things that she had once ignored or that had filled her with doubts, came flooding in, weaving into a dense web of light that enveloped her.
"So that's how it is..." All the clues gathered together and returned to her mind. She murmured, finally relieved and tightened her fingers, clasping them against her chest, and repeated, "So that's how it is!"
Cui Fufeng held the brocade box with nine golden flowers and helped her hold the umbrella. He looked at her with a dazed expression for a moment.
Qian Deng slowly raised his hand, brushed off the snow on his shoulders, and said to Cui Fufeng, "Find Ling Tianshui, go to the charity cemetery."
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