Chapter 4: When the book was handed to Mu Xue, outside the palace...
When the book was handed to Muxue, dusk was falling outside the palace.
The person who wrote it down obviously had a clear mind and gave some general information in a leisurely manner.
In order to help with understanding, Mu Xue tore off a piece of rice paper and outlined the map with a brush.
In junior high and high school, she was the class representative for geography. In addition to her nearly perfect scores in geography, an important reason was that she could use chalk to draw maps of provinces and cities on the blackboard with her bare hands, and the shapes were almost the same, which made her classmates exclaim "Wow".
Thinking back to the admiration she received at that time, Mu Xue's mouth corners unconsciously curled up.
The next moment she came to her senses, it was so long ago that it seemed like a lifetime ago. Now she was in a small, dim, old-fashioned house. If others saw this painting, it would not bring admiration but only trouble.
She held her wrist in silence for a moment. Not satisfied with what she had drawn, she threw the paper into the charcoal brazier beside her feet and started drawing again.
After wasting so many years, she felt a little uneasy when she picked up the pen again. She burned several pieces of paper before she managed to draw a satisfactory one. With the help of understanding the text information, Mu Xue gradually had a general idea of this area in her mind.
In short, Mongolia at that time was divided into three parts: south of the desert, north of the desert and west of the desert.
The areas south of the desert, including Khorchin, have always been on good terms with the Qing court. For example, the former Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang and the current Empress Dowager both came from this area.
Moxi often went to war with the Qing court. Since Kangxi ascended the throne, he had fought with the Dzungar three times, and this year he finally won a great victory. Their leader Galdan committed suicide after his defeat.
Mobei, where Muxue was going to marry, had long maintained an ambiguous attitude. It was not until a few years ago that they were attacked by Moxi and suffered repeated defeats, and then they lowered their status to surrender to Kangxi and ask for reinforcements. Among the Khalkha tribes, the Tushetu Khanate was the most respected and was known to dominate Mobei.
Muxue's proposed son-in-law, Dundubdorji, is the heir of Tushetu Khan. He is nineteen years old this year. He is currently the Duolo Prince and will become the Heshuo Prince in the future.
Not knowing what kind of person he was, Mu Xue frowned slightly, hoping that it wouldn't be too troublesome.
The day for Kangxi to return to the palace was scheduled for July, which was the height of summer. The sunlight was so bright that it made the stone bricks on the ground look white.
Wearing a court robe in such hot weather is simply too much. Although it is a court robe specially designed for summer, and I specially chose the lightest and most breathable ge gauze, it still feels stuffy.
Standing in the crowd, Muxue quietly moved towards where Bingjian was, trying to get some cool air.
The sound of long whips rang out, a sign that the emperor was coming. Everyone knelt down in response, and Mu Xue followed suit, blending into the crowd as usual. She used to be a background board like this.
But this time, it was different. A eunuch came running over and whispered, "Princess Four, please come to the front. The master is asking you a question."
Mu Xue had no choice but to get up and go over there.
Although she had already prepared herself to please Kangxi, when they really met, she still subconsciously wanted to hide.
Unfortunately, there is no way to avoid it.
After all, in the eyes of the people of the time, this was one of the few shining moments of a princess who was to be pacified. Just like when Zhaojun went to the frontier, it always aroused infinite emotion among poets and lyricists. As Khan Ama, he also had to express his closeness and reluctance to part.
Emperor Kangxi had obviously already greeted the Empress Dowager. When he saw her coming over, he smiled and said, "Time flies. The fourth girl has grown up so fast."
How should I respond? Say thank you for thinking of me? That's a bit weird.
Act like a spoiled brat? I can't do that.
In the end, Mu Xue just curled the corners of her mouth and responded with the most infallible smile.
Kangxi didn't care much, as if it was just a routine matter, and said, "I'll ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs to pick a good date and send you off in a grand ceremony."
Then he turned his head and looked at the Crown Prince who stayed in the Forbidden City as regent, and smiled: "Baocheng, I brought back the fat rabbit I told you about in my last letter. Let me show you."
Crown Prince Yinreng was surprised: "Khan Ama really brought it back."
"Of course, I will make up for your regret."
The father and son were chatting animatedly, and Mu Xue quietly stepped aside. She had no idea what they were talking about, perhaps something mentioned in the letter?
It is said that Kangxi would often write to the prince, telling him what strange things he had seen during the march. Because he had been away from his children for too long, he even asked the prince to send him the clothes he had worn, so that when Kangxi missed the prince, he could wear the prince's clothes as a consolation.
Mu Xue had never received such a letter, but this was only natural. After all, feelings were always mutual.
She raised her eyes, looked at the father and son who had a deep affection for each other, and raised her eyebrows when she thought of the ending of the prince in history.
The feelings between people are really strange.
There was a banquet that night. Nanny Wu had the palace maids open all the jewelry boxes and let Muxue choose: "This set of gold hairpins was given by Yizhuer on your last birthday. Wear this, it looks good."
The palace maid holding the dressing box also had a smile on her face.
Mu Xue knew why they were so eager. In addition to the royal family, Mongolian princes would also attend such a grand banquet.
She picked up the golden hairpin, turned it slowly around, and said, "No, I'll keep wearing the pearl hairpin."
"Princess——" Nanny Wu tried to persuade.
Mu Xue glanced at her and said, "Don't bring anything, just braid your hair into a bun."
…
In the end, she braided her hair into a bun and wore a pearl hairpin as usual.
At this age, the big buns, high buns, and wigs that are common in later Qing Dynasty palace dramas are no longer seen. Even the Empress Dowager usually wears a braid on her head, as the name suggests, and wears some simple jewelry or flowers.
At the night banquet, some concubines combed their hair into a "small two-bun" style to make it easier for them to wear gold and silver hairpins. Concubine Yi was dressed like this.
So when she saw Mu Xue still dressed casually, she felt helpless: "You."
Mu Xue just smiled and said nothing.
Before the banquet started, all kinds of snacks were placed on the table. Mu Xue glanced at the cakes placed nearby, picked up a piece of Fuling cake, and was about to eat it.
Suddenly, a small noise was heard.
Before she could react, the Fifth Prince pulled her arm up: "Sister, come here, come here."
Inexplicably, a group of people gathered behind Mu Xue, all with smiles on their faces as if they were watching a good show. She didn't even have time to put down the Fuling cake in her hand before she was pushed forward.
There were many voices in my ears, and the tone was brisk: "The young prince is here."
Mu Xue was surrounded by people, secretly feeling a little angry, and turned her face away.
The person next to him was a little anxious. While pushing, he shouted to the other side: "The fourth princess looks so beautiful today."
You are telling lies with your eyes open! Mu Xue was so angry that her brows were furrowed.
She should be very close to that Dorji - thanks to those people who are making a fuss.
The person opposite seemed to say something in Mongolian, speaking quickly and Mu Xue couldn't understand it at all.
The Fifth Prince and others behind him laughed out loud.
Mu Xue still twisted her body and asked unhappily, "What are you laughing at?"
The Fifth Prince smiled and said, "He said - the Fourth Princess is very beautiful when she frowns."
How abominable, making up stories about people at will!
Mu Xue finally turned around and glared at the culprit with her almond-shaped eyes.
In the blazing light of the Wanshou Palace lanterns, there stood a tall and straight young man. He wore a dark red Mongolian robe, had a dark complexion, a long face, sword-like eyebrows, thin lips and a straight nose, and a pair of bright red phoenix eyes. He had a wild and straightforward temperament. He was like a sated snow leopard in the snowy mountains, who looked at people curiously with his head tilted when he saw them for the first time.
She glared at him for a while, then turned around, pushed through the crowd, and squeezed out. Her anger had subsided by half.
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