Chapter 145 Chapter 145 Nan Qiongshuang can do without anyone.
She ultimately didn't respond to the note.
Gu Huaijin never came to see her again.
At first, she didn't show it on her face, but she still had a bit of shameful expectation in her heart, thinking that he had never really been willing to let go for so long, and even if he said he wanted to let go, he would eventually come to find her.
However, for many days, he really didn't come again.
He even rarely entered the palace.
Even if he was summoned to the palace and stayed by Emperor Jiaqing's side, he would not meet her if he could avoid it.
She had never thought he would be like this, even before that day, she had never thought he would ignore her because of something other than Tianshan and Li Xuanbai.
But now, even if he saw her, it was the same as if he hadn't seen her at all.
Even colder than when we first met at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains.
She knew that she had brought this upon herself.
She also knew that her suffering was not right and that what she was doing was right.
So, she forced herself to find something to do, just like she had dealt with all the pain in her life before, picking it up gently, letting it go gently, letting the pain flow through her naturally.
The same pain can make a person unable to extricate himself or he can just go through it lightly and let it go.
She filled herself with the lute.
It so happened that Gongsun Hong was not satisfied with her piano skills, so she took it for granted and practiced diligently day and night. After just a few days, the skin on her fingertips broke and became as mottled as a peeling wall due to moisture. They would heal and break again, break and heal again, and before she knew it, she had calluses.
When she is busy, she has things to do and has no time to do stupid things.
Gongsun Hong would come to the palace every day, carrying her pipa, and watch her practice. She would spend ten days or even half a month agonizing over the piece "Zhaojun Goes to the Frontier," practicing from morning till night, until her ten fingertips were raw and bleeding, and even when she washed her face at night it burned with pain, yet she still refused to give up.
She seemed to be accustomed to pain, and when she wasn't in pain, she felt uneasy.
She already had a good foundation, and she practiced hard, especially on that one piece. Soon, her pipa skills improved. Even Gongsun Hong, who was always arrogant and picky about pipa, had to pout and sigh, "There are really no cowards in our Ji Le Tang."
"Does this mean you've learned it?" She looked up at her in between looking at the strings.
“Not really.”
Nan Qiongshuang pressed the strings in a distracted manner.
"How far do you want to go in terms of practice?"
"You need to surpass me."
"I told you, don't think about it."
Gongsun Hong spat the melon seed shells onto the porcelain plate in front of her. "You go ahead and practice first. After all, there's still a lot of time to go. Whatever level you reach is up to you."
She said patiently, "Since I can't play well, you should play worse too. It's because of the contrast between the two that I can win over you."
"You want me to play worse?!" Gongsun Hong raised her eyebrows, looking insulted. "I have to be able to play worse!"
Nan Qiongshuang rolled her eyes viciously, not bothering to pay attention, and focused on plucking the strings.
"By the way, I have something to give you." She took out a round brown ball from her sleeve and held it in her palm.
"Horse manure?" She glanced at it.
"Bah!" Gongsun Hong threw the melon seed shells onto the plate and gritted her teeth. "You stinky mouth! I brought this to you with good intentions!"
"What on earth is it?"
"The antidote for Fengming Pills." Gongsun Hong continued to eat melon seeds. "I was saying that when I first met you, your voice just made me uncomfortable. When I got home and asked around, I found out that Chang Da had forced you to take Fengming Pills."
She remained silent and continued plucking the strings.
She had gotten used to her voice over time, and as time went by, the effect of the medicine gradually wore off, and she had screamed fiercely on the Four Symbols Pagoda—
She plucked the wrong string.
"What are you playing? What are you playing? How are you playing?" Gongsun Hong slammed the ruler on the table. "Start over!"
She started over from the beginning in a state of impatience.
"Speaking of Chang Da." She lowered her eyes to look at Xian while looking at her, "What does Chang Da have to say about Concubine Chang's matter?"
"I'm trying to think of a solution, looking for someone."
"Who are you looking for?"
"I don't know." Gongsun Hong lowered her eyes and picked up a piece of sweet-scented osmanthus cake and put it in her mouth. "This is such a confidential matter. That pig-headed man is very cautious and won't tell anyone."
The psychological assassin wants the information that the person is unwilling to tell others. If he can't find out this information, what else can he do?
Nan Qiongshuang raised her eyebrows at her with a hint of sarcasm and sneered.
"What are you laughing at? The Changda family is in chaos! You don't know, two of them are sex maniacs. The thing in their pants... crotch can't be separated from women for a moment. In their minds, they are as wary of women as they are of their fathers!"
"I heard that things weren't going well for you at Prince Ding's Mansion." She glanced at her and said, "You should be careful."
"It's okay, but we're just a bunch of men." Gongsun Hong sipped on the osmanthus cake, the crumbs of which were messy on her lip balm. She licked the crumbs into her mouth. "You know, people like us don't treat men as human beings. They're all playthings."
Nan Qiong Shuang looked at the diamond-shaped stone bricks on the ground, smiled absentmindedly for a moment with her lips curved, and said nothing.
"Even if there are some new women in the mansion, it's no big deal. When it comes to means, who can compare with us in the Paradise Hall?"
"If you treat others as playthings, be careful not to get yourself into trouble." She didn't expect that her words were a bit sincere.
Gongsun Hong laughed coolly.
"You've also met Chang Da and Chang Zhong. Will you fall in love with these two idiots?"
She was speechless and plucked a few more notes with her fingers.
"It's actually a blessing to meet Pighead Three."
Gongsun Hong didn't understand what she was trying to say to her.
Nan Qiong Shuang had no intention of explaining.
"Where did you hear that I was having a hard time at home?" Gongsun Hong held a piece of cake in her mouth, her lips bright red and the cake apricot yellow, and glanced at her sideways. "Ah, I know. Lunzhu."
Lunzhu is Gongsun Hong's mentor.
Gongsun Hong laughed coldly, "Spreading rumors everywhere, these eunuchs."
Nan Qiong Shuang chuckled: "Eunuch?"
"Did you know they call us whores among the assassins?" She lazily took a bite of the cake in her mouth and pinched it between her fingers. "A bunch of guys who can't get hard even with beautiful women around. They're not even as good as the eunuchs in your palace. At least they can't do it because they've lost their stuff."
Nan Qiong Shuang laughed non-stop. Gongsun Hong pressed her hand against her ear and said, "Look, look, this eunuch is yelling in my ear. Was I wrong in any way?"
"I'm the whore's father! The whore depends on patrons to survive, but we don't!" Gongsun Hong slammed the table and argued with Lun Zhu. "The whore can't live without a man, the man can't live without me, and I can live without anyone! You better understand this for me! If he falls into my hands, I'll let him go if he doesn't die, and I'll give him face if he dies!"
"Okay, okay, keep your voice down." Nan Qiong Shuang smiled happily, and accidentally made a random sound. "There are people listening outside, don't make any noise."
"You're looking for death, you rootless bastards."
She laughed so hard that she couldn't speak.
"Alright, let's stop here for today. It's getting dark, and it's time to get off the train soon." Gongsun Hong put the cushion on her knees aside, stood up and said goodbye, "I'm leaving now. You practice well!"
She sat on the Luohan bed and waved at Gongsun Hong, still laughing so hard that she couldn't sit up. She said forcefully, "Qinglian, Yuanxiang, show the guests out."
Gongsun Hong left.
As soon as the palace door closed, she realized that it was already dusk outside. The evening sky was a dull blue, and the color seemed especially darker through the window gauze. The palace lanterns were lit, and they flickered in the red silk lantern nets.
She leaned quietly on the green cushion behind her, put the pipa in her arms aside, sighed deeply, and slowly hugged herself.
The palace was so quiet that even the flickering of candlelight could be heard.
In the bright light, her closed eyelashes trembled like insect wings for a long time.
Slowly, a few crystal tears appeared.
She was afraid that she was trapped in love.
Gu Huaijin is indeed a person worth loving.
That doesn't mean she should worry about gains and losses or belittle herself for him.
She has more important things to do, farther places to go, and more things she has never seen or experienced.
If Gu Huaijin happens to be on this road, then that's it.
If not, then no.
Anyway...
As long as she is still herself, Nan Qiong Shuang can do without anyone.
Nan Qiongshuang can do without anyone.
*
In the days that followed, Gongsun Hong came every day. The two of them practiced the piano every day, chatted every day, and kept each other company, so they didn't feel lonely.
Although the two of them were colleagues in the Paradise Hall, they had never been friends in the Gate of Rebirth. No matter how familiar they were, they could not be considered friends.
But in the past two days, we have gradually become more familiar with each other.
Every day when Gongsun Hong arrived, the gates of Handan Palace would be locked during the day and would not be opened no matter who came to ask for an audience. Only the intermittent sounds of the pipa could be heard nearby.
Gradually, everyone in the palace knew that Concubine Zhen, the most favored concubine in the Forbidden City, had been staying indoors and was obsessed with playing the pipa day and night. Even when the Regent sent a message to ask for a meeting, she turned him away with an excuse.
Outside the Handan Palace, it is said that Gu Huaijin went to the Jingren Palace every day for medical consultation.
Mao Linyan's illness gradually improved, and she became more charming again. She would go to Zichen Palace to accompany him from time to time.
Emperor Jiaqing was grateful for her selfless plea for him in Xiaole Garden that day, so he treated her especially well. The tribute of satin, jewels and jewelry was selected first in Jingren Palace. After Jingren Palace had selected everything, it was handed over to the Imperial Household Department to be distributed to the various palaces.
It seemed that he had returned to the peak of honor and favor.
As one rises, the other falls. As Jingren Palace gains power, Handan Palace loses it. She has long been a thorn in Mao Linyan's side. If this continues, sooner or later, Jingren Palace will turn its attention to her.
Nan Qiong Shuang understood this principle, but she was too busy to handle both of them. She would have to go out of the palace on business soon, so she just wanted to leave Handan Palace alone.
Gu Huaijin never came to see her again, without even a note.
She felt a little lonely at first, but after being busy for a long time, she forgot about it.
The day of the Pipa Festival was approaching. She had already mastered the piece "Zhaojun Departing to the Frontier." Although Gongsun Hong's ears still heard it as "dumb and gruff," the difference wasn't too great. If Gongsun Hong was willing to condescend, she wouldn't be far behind in earning the title of "Luojing's No. 1 Pipa Player."
After they had practiced the piece more, the two began to discuss the details of the day in the palace every day.
After much discussion, they found that other matters were easy to deal with, but escaping was extremely difficult.
Chang Da's mansion maintained an unstoppable force of elite soldiers, known as the Fuyu Three Guards. Each of them was said to be worth ten men, pure-blooded Jurchen elite soldiers, hired by Chang Da from the northern border at a significant expense.
On that day, she helped Gongsun Hong take the blame and escaped. When she was escaping, the ones chasing her must have been this group of ferocious Jurchens.
She was born in Ji Le Tang and was not good at martial arts. If she wanted to escape from these people, she had to plan her route carefully.
To find the best route, the best way is to conduct on-site surveys.
The two of them then set a date to meet at Prince Ding's mansion.
Before going to Prince Ding's Mansion, Nan Qiongshuang thought about it again and again. She was afraid that Emperor Jiaqing would make a surprise attack on her Handan Palace and catch her off guard, so she decided to say hello to the Daming Palace.
Li Xuanbai sat across from her at the desk, busy reviewing memorials. He looked up at her intently, saying, "I don't care. If you want to go, go ahead. Anyway, if that lunatic has a seizure, I'll cover for you. But there's just one thing," he pointed at her, raising a brush dipped in cinnabar, "don't go out and cause trouble for me."
Nan Qiong Shuang shrugged.
Is it considered causing trouble if you help someone take the blame and then get away with it?
"You are not allowed to flaunt the token I gave you, and you are not allowed to wander around with your title of imperial consort. Keep a low profile and don't cause me any trouble." Li Xuanbai unfolded the letter. "Also, be careful in everything you do. That's all."
She was particularly good at being nice when asking for help, so she tilted her head and said, "Thank you, cousin."
"Another thing I must remind you of," he added, "Come back early. That madman will summon you at any time."
She plucked the grapes in front of Li Xuanbai and asked, "Hasn't the emperor been doting on Mao Linyan recently?"
Li Xuanbai glanced at her and asked, "Can Mao Linyan suppress his madness?"
In fact, the entire Forbidden City was helpless against Emperor Jiaqing's headaches and insanity. He had indeed been relieved for a while by the Qilin grass from Wuliang Mountain, but who could say when it would flare up again?
She did not "suppress" Emperor Jiaqing's madness.
She was just braver than others and dared to drug him.
She chewed a grape and said, "Gu Huaijin is here, so why do you need me?"
Li Xuanbai suddenly raised his eyes, looking surprised. "You don't know?"
She was stunned.
"What do I not know?"
"Oh, him." Li Xuanbai dipped his brush into the cinnabar in the inkstone and said nonchalantly, "A few days ago, his skills backfired severely. He vomited blood every day and couldn't enter the palace."
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