Swing
"I heard that His Majesty's birthday is going to be a grand celebration this year. There's a flower viewing banquet being held at Jinming Pavilion, and everyone can go and enjoy the flowers."
"Really? Then I'll have to dress up nicely."
The maid sneered, "Why are you dressing up? Madam Zhao is the most favored in the palace right now. I heard she's jealous by nature. If Your Majesty says a word or even looks at someone more than once, she'll chase them out of Jianzhang Palace and spank them."
Another person said disdainfully, "She's not that good-looking, not even as pretty as you. I heard she doesn't come from a high-class family, and she dresses extravagantly all day, like a village woman. I don't know how such a person suddenly appeared by chance."
"You don't know?" the man lowered his voice. "I heard that she was found by Jiang Nei Shi from the folk. There seems to be some magical thing about her. She has always clenched her fists since birth, and she never opens them even when eating or sleeping. Your Majesty became interested and summoned her to ask about it. When he touched her hand, her fist opened. Those flattering sorcerers said it was an auspicious sign, and Your Majesty was delighted. So she has become your wife, hasn't she?"
The maiden was somewhat indignant. "These wizards in the palace are becoming more and more arrogant. They are just empty talkers and can say anything. I think instead of working on Your Majesty, I should bribe them with some money and let myself have another magical power."
Jiang Lingyue, the Empress's senior maid, came out holding a token. Seeing everyone gathered together, she scolded, "What are you all gossiping about? Have you nothing to do?"
Everyone fell silent and dispersed. Ling Yue watched coldly for a while, then his gaze fell on Qing Fang, who was working alone in the corner with his sleeves rolled up, and nodded secretly.
"This Yaohuang peony is extremely valuable. I wonder if you've managed to take such good care of it. Have you ever planted flowers and trees before?"
Qingping bowed to the visitor and smiled faintly, "I just thought that flowers are like human faces. If they are carefully cared for, they will naturally be beautiful."
Ling Yue nodded with satisfaction. The woman rescued by the Queen from outside the palace had become familiar with her affairs within just a few days of coming to the palace. She was also very careful and honest. She never talked much but just focused on her work and took very good care of the flowers and trees in the palace.
Sister Qiutong, who was by the Queen's side, got married, so there was no one available to present a gift to His Majesty on his birthday this year. Qingping was a good candidate.
But when her eyes fell on Qingping's hands, she gave up the idea. They were too rough, like fields that had been worked for several months, yellow and wrinkled. It was not appropriate to show them to the emperor like this.
Qingping noticed that Lingyue looked at her for a long time and seemed to be in a good mood, but then frowned, sighed and walked away. She stretched out her hand to look at it, then squatted down to continue fiddling with the mud in the flower bed.
She knew Ling Yue might want to select a capable person to serve the Empress to fill the position vacated by the previous Grand Maid, but she didn't want to go. She was indeed grateful to the Empress for saving her, but she was born with a curse on her palm: a copper coin seal. Her father was a wandering Taoist priest. When she was ten, she fell seriously ill, her personality changed drastically, and her family members fell ill and died one after another. Her father said it was all because of the curse: her five elements were strong in metal, and she was unlucky for her father and mother. So he left her to return to his Taoist priesthood.
Neighbors were reluctant to approach her, and she would wait until they left before she returned home with the laundry she had been accumulating. She was used to being alone and didn't want to upset that balance or draw any strange looks. She was content to be here, quietly tending flowers and grass.
The Queen and her entourage left the palace to attend a banquet, and the palace maids also went out to have fun with their sisters. They were allowed to go to Jianzhang Palace to receive tips and watch fireworks.
When it got dark, the palace was almost empty. She took a bamboo basket, gathered a handful of grass leaves while no one was paying attention, covered herself with a piece of cloth, and walked out of Changxin Palace.
The Imperial Garden was not far from here. Sometimes when she was moving flower seedlings from the greenhouse, she would take a rest here when she felt tired. Over time, she became very familiar with this place.
She walked with ease to a shady rockery, where a large bamboo wall surrounded the area, forming a natural hut. She parted the grass and sniffed a few times.
A little rabbit tiptoed out, and she caught it at the right moment and crushed it hard.
"Don't run, don't run. I'll give you something to eat. It's not too late to run after you finish eating."
She touched it for a while, took out the grass leaves from the basket and fed it. Seeing that it no longer resisted, she sat on the swing on the side, shaking the rope, touching the rabbit with one hand, and her feet in the air, feeling her body floating in the air like a cloud. She closed her eyes and curled the corners of her mouth.
Jiang Chong saw a palace maid sitting on the swing that Liu Che often watched, and wanted to go up and scold her, but Liu Che raised his hand and just stood there watching quietly.
The swing was old. It was built by his father for Gillian when she was little. He had wrapped some flowers around it, but now it had become a withered vine. No one had come here since Gillian left. Sometimes, when he felt upset, he would come here, sit on the stone bench, and quietly look at the swing. The sound of little Gillian's laughter would ring in his ears.
"Liu Che, higher, higher!"
"It's too high, idiot! I'm going to fall!"
Sometimes when she was tired of playing, she would lie on the swing and ask him to hold the swing board gently and rock it like his wet nurse did. She raised her hand, pulled up her long sleeves, and looked at the butterflies embroidered on them sparkling in the sun.
"I'll catch butterflies for you tomorrow," he said.
"No. What's the fun of being locked up in a bottle? It's more beautiful to be able to fly freely among the flowers and in the sky."
"That's not what you said when you asked me to catch fireflies for you last time." Liu Che curled his lips. She sneaked out of the Empress Dowager's Palace and dragged him to the back mountain to catch fireflies, causing him to be bitten by more than a dozen big lumps. The next day, when his mother checked his homework, he didn't dare to scratch it, for fear that Concubine Wang would find out and scold him.
Gillian swayed, feeling like she was about to fall asleep, her head a mess. She suddenly turned over, her small hand resting on the shoulder of Liu Che, who was half-crouching and nagging in front of her. She snorted and muttered, "Don't be so arrogant..."
When she turned around, she was facing Liu Che's frowning face. Her lips brushed against his dry upper lip. She seemed to feel that her words were blocked, and she spoke unconsciously. Liu Che felt two soft lips rubbing against his, soft and wet...
His face flushed crimson, and it was as if a piece of charcoal had been thrown into his head, melting all his thoughts into a ball. He felt dizzy and hot. His fingers clung stiffly to the swing board, and he could still feel the girl's weight pressing down on him. His heart was pounding, almost jumping out of his chest.
"Liu Che, idiot..."
Her whispers drew back some of his attention. Her grass-green gauze sleeves draped over her face, revealing her delicate skin through the green gauze, which was as smooth as pearls. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, like a light butterfly. For some unknown reason, he stiffened his neck and struggled to stretch his head forward.
The sunlight shone on the boy's black hair, and the red jade hairband hung from his neck, trembling and sweeping across the girl's chest.
He had never been in such close contact before, and he was afraid and nervous, afraid that his heartbeat would wake the sleeping girl. After a pause, he quickly touched her face.
The feeling of the gauze, numb and soft, made him feel tingling from head to toe, but he dared not move.
Qingping swung on the swing, his shoulder occasionally brushing against the narrow wooden frame. A red string or ribbon, once tied by someone unknown, came loose, fluttering in the wind and catching on the bamboo leaves. Liu Che picked it up, his eyes flickering slightly, and clenched it in his palm.
As if sensing the strange human's gaze, the rabbit struggled uncontrollably, then snapped and ran away. Qingping felt the pain, suddenly opened his eyes, and cursed.
"Fool!"
She had been eating and drinking well these days, but she was not happy even if she touched it twice. She watched the rabbit slip into the grass and was about to look away, but suddenly she froze in place.
In the bamboo forest, she could vaguely see a man looking at her. His cold gaze held a fiery intensity she couldn't understand. She was at a loss as to what to do. Just as she was about to come down and salute, he walked away with a cold face.
She picked up the basket and wanted to leave this troubled place quickly, but she saw Jiang, the eunuch beside the emperor, walking towards her. He seemed to look her over and then said in a stern tone, "Did you build this swing?"
"Yes, I thought no one came here..."
"Don't come here again."
Returning to the palace at night, she could still hear her heart pounding as she slipped under the covers. She would never go to the Imperial Garden again, even if she died of exhaustion, she wouldn't stop there. As soon as the man left, Eunuch Jiang came out to warn her. Who was Eunuch Jiang? He was the emperor's most trusted eunuch. The one who appeared there today was the emperor!
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