Chapter 48 Chapter 48 The Pei and Jiang families are relatives...
Green bamboos line the paths, moss-covered paths filled with eunuchs and palace maids. A few withered lotus leaves in the pond, listening to the rain, add to the elegant atmosphere.
In the center of the spacious imperial garden of Qingxia, exotic flowers and fairy vines are shaded, and there are many colorful flowers hanging down.
In the court, singing and dancing rose to the sky, silk pipes lingered, and the ministers raised their glasses to toast the Empress Dowager and the Emperor at the top, wishing our dynasty a long and prosperous future.
In order to show the prosperity of the country and the spirit of the great dynasty, Lu Suizhu specially arranged an ancient war song and worked day and night to complete the incomplete score.
The strings of two rows of zithers were plucked simultaneously, and the sound of flying in the air was uniform and in unison. It was as if the iron horses were riding on the frozen river and the moon was grasped in the sky, right under their feet.
The formation was arranged in a herringbone shape, with Lu Suizhu at the front. His hands were like marbles, quick and powerful, and he could easily move heavy objects.
The Empress Dowager loved the qin, and many officials catered to her taste by delving into the art of qin and gaining considerable experience. "It's truly wonderful! I haven't heard such exhilarating music in ages."
"This song is sonorous yet tender, like a general on the battlefield bidding farewell to his beloved wife and unable to help but shed tears. How sad." Xu Ruogu was inspired and took a sip of wine happily.
The general beside him spat at him: "Bullshit! Who brings a woman to the battlefield?"
Faced with such rude words, Xu Ruogu was so angry that he kept saying "you you you" for a long time.
"...You are disrespectful."
He was extremely angry. This peasant had just won a victory and was in the emperor's favor. He couldn't afford to offend him.
Pei Zhongke sat in the first seat among the civil officials, and Pei Zhiji sat next to him. He glanced at them with cold eyes. Then they both remembered the occasion and shut up belatedly.
Su Pingshun helped the emperor take the pills, and he felt much better. He was in a good mood and joked with the empress dowager.
"If there's another banquet in the palace, I'll have to borrow your mother's zither player, hahahaha."
"If the emperor likes, please come to Shoukang Palace to see me more often." The empress dowager has been in charge of government affairs over the years, and her hair has turned a lot whiter. In the eyes of outsiders, she, as a mother, is seizing power. There is no father and son in the royal family, but if power is involved between mother and son, it will be different from that of ordinary people.
The sound of the piano was like the bright moon in the sky, like heavy rain. When it reached the climax of the "Breaking the Formation Song", sweat broke out on Lu Suizhu's forehead.
Suddenly, a row of bright clouds appeared in the east, and cranes flew over under the clear blue sky. They circled above the sound of the piano with graceful postures, and occasionally made chirping sounds.
"The sound of the zither actually attracted cranes. The Empress Dowager is truly blessed."
All the civil and military officials in the court were shocked.
The Empress Dowager and the Emperor were also attracted and stood up with the help of the eunuchs, trying to see it more clearly.
Faced with this sudden change, Lu Suizhu saw it with his eyes and heard it with his ears, but he did not dare to stop the movement of his fingertips.
The shadow of the crane flapping its wings was cast on the ground.
She caught a glimpse of Pei Zhiji out of the corner of her eye. He also stood up with the other court officials, his eyes fixed on Lu Suizhu, as if he was staring a hole in her eyes.
He raised his eyebrows slightly: Did you do this?
Lu Suizhu: No, I don’t know!
Pei Zhiji: Okay, let’s wait and see.
The cranes danced tirelessly until the music faded away. Everyone saw the cranes quickly lining up to form a capital letter "Lu."
It only stopped for a moment long enough for people to see its emotion, then flew lightly back to the sky.
A court official stood up excitedly and said, "Your Majesty, Queen Mother, this song of breaking the formation actually attracted the cranes to send blessings!"
The emperor was still watching and nodded to Lu Suizhu in the audience: "Master Lu, tell me what's going on?"
Lu Suizhu stood up from her zither and knelt in the center of the court. She replied with some trepidation, "This has never happened before when I practiced with the other zither players. I must be able to be here in the Imperial Garden today thanks to the great blessings of Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager."
Before anyone could summon him, the Imperial Observatory arrived quickly and knelt down beside Lu Suizhu.
"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager, I observed the stars this evening and saw a purple aura swirling in the eastern sky. This is a sign of good fortune from heaven, blessing our dynasty. The melodious music of the zither in the Imperial Garden attracted cranes to descend to earth. The 'Lu' he presented just now represents the Sixth Prince's profound blessings, a star of good fortune shining brightly upon our dynasty."
The more Xiao Mao spoke, the darker his face became. The quilt in his hands was almost crushed to pieces. He stared at the Imperial Observatory.
"They are just a few ordinary wild cranes, and yet they are considered gods? Is it true that all you have to do at the Imperial Observatory is talk?"
Lu Suizhu could feel the warden kneeling beside him wiping his sweat.
He is so timid and yet he likes to do such beheading things.
"I think what the Imperial Observatory said makes sense."
"The Imperial Observatory is clearly deliberately trying to be mysterious and talking nonsense."
“…”
The ministers each held an opinion on whether the crane brought blessings or the Sixth Prince was a lucky star, and the dispute continued.
"Alright, all the noise is giving me a headache. Regardless of whether it's as the Imperial Observatory said, it was the sound of the piano that attracted the cranes. You all go down and claim your rewards." The empress dowager waved her hand and dismissed some of the people.
After expressing his gratitude, Lu Suizhu led the group of musicians out of the imperial garden.
On the way back, as expected, she was strangled by a pair of big hands. Xiao Mao did not kill her and left her some room to speak.
"Your Highness, it's not me. How could a mere zither player like me have such thoughts?" She explained with difficulty, hoping that Xiao Mao would not break her neck in anger.
"Your Highness, the Crown Princess is not feeling well. Please go and see her." The eunuch from the Eastern Palace came hurriedly to report.
Xiao Mao leaned aside, loosened his grip, and pointed at Lu Suizhu fiercely, "You'd better pray that I find out that you have nothing to do with this matter, otherwise I will make your death a thousand times more miserable than that of Li Taifu."
Lu Suizhu coughed twice, then slowly stood up by supporting herself against the wall, her hand touching the red mark on her neck which was a little painful.
A small bottle of water was handed to her: "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
I looked up and saw that it was Pei Zhiji. After drinking a sip of water, my throat felt less painful.
"The banquet isn't over yet, why are you all out?"
"I thought he would cause trouble for you, so I just asked the Crown Princess for help."
"The Crown Princess is such a good person." Lu Suizhu sighed again after surviving a disaster.
Pei Zhiji took the water from her hand and covered it with it, saying in a bad tone: "Crown Princess Guang is a good person."
"The Crown Princess is a good person, Lord Pei is a very good person--" The ending tone was dragged out, sounding a bit like a coquettish act, and when Lu Suizhu raised her red lips, her lower row of teeth were exposed.
At the palace gate, Shen Guyan was carrying a wicker basket on his back and walking with his head lowered. He was not surprised to see Lu Suizhu.
"Suizhu, you don't have to read other books, but you must remember these six words: 'If you become rich and powerful, don't forget me.'"
Before she could ask him why he appeared here, he had already confused Lu Suizhu.
"Could it be that the news of her piano playing attracting cranes has spread outside the palace?" Pei Zhiji asked.
"Yes, there's a rumor going around that a female musician beside the Queen Mother can play celestial music, and that cranes were attracted to her and formed the character 'six', implying that the Sixth Prince of our dynasty is of imperial blood and the foundation of our country."
Shen Guyan also thought it was nonsense, but that was what was being spread outside, so he had no choice but to tell the truth.
Hearing his words, Lu Suizhu felt her head getting heavier and heavier: "It's all over, it's all over. The prince will definitely kill me this time."
"It's so obvious that he's the one behind this, but he's not stupid enough to suspect you."
While chatting with Shen Guyan, I learned that he was transferred by He Zhiyuan from the Ministry of Works to build the prayer palace.
"The Queen Mother is building a palace for the Sixth Prince. Time is tight and the task is heavy. The Ministry of Works is also anxious. He Zhiyuan knew I was a carpenter, so he gave me a job in the Ministry of Works and asked me to do the work."
As a few people were talking, a dignified woman in a lake blue dress saw them from afar and walked over.
"Cousin, Miss Lu, Master Chen is here too?" Jiang Xiuluo was the third princess's study companion and had to go to the palace almost every day.
After greeting everyone in turn, her eyes fell on Shen Guyan and she took out a volume of "Miscellaneous Notes of a Hundred Craftsmen" from her sleeve.
“Last time we parted hurriedly by the Bian River, Mr. Shen’s scroll was left behind, so I’m returning it to you.”
"It's not a precious thing. Thank you for making such a trip, Miss Jiang." Shen Guyan's ears turned red, and he quickly put it into his sleeve as if he was hiding a weapon.
"Cousin, I went to Pei's house for several days in a row, and you were not at home. It's rare that we meet today. Can I talk to you for a moment?" Jiang Xiu Luo said to Pei Zhiji.
Seeing how close the brother and sister were, Lu Suizhu's memory came back to her. She suddenly remembered the last time Pei Zhiji was drunk in the carriage and said that his cousin was beautiful. She hurriedly said goodbye and left the palace.
Pei Zhiji saw her hurried steps and seemed a little... angry?
I wanted to say a few more words, but after hesitating for a moment, I could only see the slender pink figure outside the palace gate.
The pond is quiet and peaceful, separated by green bamboos, and few palace ladies linger here.
"What's up cousin?"
"I went to pay my respects to my aunt today, and she talked about my marriage again. She hopes that I will marry you." Jiang Xiu Luo was frank and straightforward, without hiding anything.
The Jiang and Pei families have been related by marriage for generations, and when the Jiang family was at its peak, it was as famous as the Pei family.
However, the Jiang family has not produced any capable officials in recent years and is showing signs of decline. For the sake of her mother's family, Mrs. Pei has always wanted to marry her niece to Pei Zhiji.
"I don't want to."
The wind blew the forest trembling, and the two people's flowing sleeves swayed in the wind, but they did not overlap at all.
Jiang Xiu Luo was stunned for a moment, and looked at her cousin with complicated eyes. He was always known as "unfeeling and unloving".
"I remember my cousin never objected to these things before."
"No need to say more. Even if there is no engagement, I will take good care of the Jiang family. My biological mother will always have the surname Jiang."
He interrupted it with just a few words.
Facing Zhuye, Jiang Xiu Luo closed her open mouth. She knew her cousin's temper and there was no turning back from him.
Jiang Xiu Luo has always been Pei Zhiji's first choice for a wife. Tying himself to the Jiang family is the biggest promise he made to his mother.
When his mother was dying, she held his hand and told him not to forget his identity, to be a good young master of the Pei family, to take good care of the Jiang family, his grandfather and uncle, and not to resent his father, and even more so, his aunt.
But his mother never taught him how not to feel resentful?
She is so kind, so kind that she drives herself to death.
He always remembered his mother's words and the Jiang family that his mother cared about.
But when did he start to resist, resist using marriage as a political bargaining chip?
What happened yesterday gave him a great shock. Madam Li loved Grand Tutor Li so deeply that she was willing to follow him through thick and thin.
There really is such love in the world
He looked down at the wound on his left hand. Although the wound had healed, it was still painful. The raised scar was obvious and ugly.
But he often rubbed this place, thinking that if the injury was on his right hand, he would never be able to lift a pen again.
Forget it, what on earth is he thinking about.
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