A Precious Pearl in the Imperial City

Jiuzhu waited and waited at the window every day until the peach blossoms were in full bloom.

Early in the morning, she put on the new clothes sent by the Shangyi Bureau, lay on the bed and poke Wang Chen with her hands: "Your Highness, Your Highness, it's dawn."

Wang Chen opened his eyes with difficulty, looked at the window where only a faint morning light had crawled in, and lay his face on the quilt.

"His Royal Highness, get up." Jiuzhu looked at him eagerly, and the peach blossoms were blooming in spring, it was time to paint.

Wang Chen pointed to his cheek: "I can't get up. I need a certain piglet to kiss him before I get up."

Jiuzhu leaped on him and tweeted on his face: "I can get up now."

Wang Chen rolled over and got up from the bed.

No matter how angry he got up, what he was lying in bed, after marrying Jiuzhu, he all changed cleanly.

The eunuchs and palace ladies who were serving in the house saw this scene, all smiled and turned away, waiting for the prince and the princess to clean up.

There is a peach forest in the palace, but other people in the palace dare not go here at will, because there is a rumor circulating in the palace that the peach forest was planted specially for the queen of Su by his majesty.

Wang Chen remembered that when he was very young, there was this peach forest in the palace, and he didn't know where this rumor came from.

The court lady **** arranged the desk, chair, pen, ink, paper and inkstone in Taolin. Wang Chen glanced at Jiuzhu and told the court lady **** to retreat: "This king and the princess are painting here. If you don't like others to disturb, you all stay away."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Why do scholars think that peach blossoms are flirty and gorgeous?" Jiuzhu reached out to catch a few falling peach petals: "Obviously they are beautiful and not vulgar, and the fruits are sweet and delicious."

"Some people think that the lotus is weak, and some people dislike the scent of sweet-scented osmanthus. Naturally, some people dislike the beauty of peach blossoms." Chen Wang adjusted the ink color: "People are similar to flowers, and those who don't like them can pick out thousands of mistakes. If you like them. , Even if it is a shortcoming, it can be praised as an advantage.

"The flowers just bloom there. How can they care about people's evaluation of them." Wang Chen did not paint peach blossoms, but drew a girl with a few strokes. Although the girl still has no facial features, he loves this girl. Already on paper.

"The world is always aloof, and even fictional flowers, birds, insects and fish are transformed into adults, and they are obsessed with each other." Chen Wang smiled and looked up at Jiuzhu, and drew a peach blossom on the girl's hand: "It's good for people or flowers, if you don't understand. The only thing you can get from the true heart is..."

He drew a picture of himself next to the girl, and the two stood together hand in hand.

"There is nothing but nothingness." Jiuzhu added the last sentence. She put down the pen in her hand and squeezed to him: "His Royal Highness, are you drawing us?"

"Yes, you and me." Wang Chen traced the peach blossoms and handed her the pen: "Come on, you come to color."

Jiuzhu took the pen, studied the painting carefully, and said seriously: "His Royal Highness's painting today is exceptionally good."

"Huh?" Chen Wang asked with a smile: "How to say?"

"More... vivid." Jiuzhu carefully painted and colored: "I don't know how to describe it, but it feels very good."

Wang Chen smiled, and then he was stunned. He looked at himself and Jiuzhu in the painting, and he understood immediately.

Jiuzhu's judgment on the quality of paintings may be different from that of many people.

Through the painting, she saw the emotion of the painter.

When he painted Jiuzhu, he didn't think about anything. He just felt that such a beautiful scenery could only be regarded as beautiful with her. She was already painting, how could she not be with her, so he added himself.

Enter the picture with affection.

Was it the same for the few paintings she gave herself in the past? I painted the most beautiful scene in her heart, the best blessing, and gave it to him.

At this moment, King Chen found that he was no different from any layman in the world. Flowers and plants don't care what the world thinks of them, but he feels aloof that the thousands of beautiful flowers in the world are not as good as Ming Xiaozhu's smile at him.

"I don't know if the prince and the princess are painting here, the old man is bothering you."

Jiuzhu put the pen aside, turned his head to look at the visitor: "Emperor Taifei."

"Drawing under the peach blossom rain, this peach blossom forest is not as beautiful as two people side by side." Zhao Taifei touched the cat in her arms and looked at the peach forest with nostalgia: "I haven't been to this peach blossom forest for a long time. "

"Tao Concubine Zhao knows the origin of this peach forest?" Wang Chen took the stool and placed it next to Concubine Zhao, Jiuzhu helped her to sit down slowly.

"Of course I know." Zhao Taifei smiled: "Before the old man entered the palace, the ancestor was a brewer, and the best brew was Peach Blossom Drunk. Because of her appearance, she was taken into the palace by the first emperor. I am happy, and the first emperor planted a peach blossom here."

Jiuzhu widened his eyes: "This peach forest was actually planted for you by Emperor Xian?"

"Yes." When referring to the first emperor, Princess Zhao's tone was a little cold: "But there is no shortage of women in the harem. The first emperor can plant a peach forest for me, as well as pear forest, apricot forest, and chrysanthemum garden for other women."

In her eyes, Jiuzhu didn't see half happiness, maybe even entering the palace was not what she wanted.

"Come on." Princess Zhao handed the cat to Wang Chen and gently held Jiuzhu's hand: "I will show you a good thing."

"One, two...eight." Zhao Taifei took Jiuzhu and walked slowly in the peach forest, until she reached the eighth peach tree, and tremblingly bent down, preparing to dig the things underneath.

"Toffee, what are you going to dig, let me come." Jiuzhu quickly helped her: "I have great strength."

"Okay." Princess Zhao smiled.

The king of Chen asked the palace man to bring a shovel and stuffed the cat to Jiuzhu: "Don't let the soil stain your shoes and socks, I'll come."

Princess Zhao looked at this scene with a smile, with infinite love in her eyes.

Soon, Wang Chen dug out two jars from inside.

"Wine?" Wang Chen took the jar out of the pit and turned to look at Princess Zhao: "This wine is made by the Princess?"

The toffee squatted down on her knees and brushed the dirt on the jar with her hand: "I entered the palace when I was a teenager. These two jars of wine were brewed when I was 18. This year... I'm over 60, so I won't dig them out. , I am afraid that these two jars of wine will no longer be unearthed.

There were faint tears in her cloudy and old eyes: "Many, many years ago, I promised someone to make two jars of wine for him."

"Unfortunately, when I was eighteen, he was gone."

He and her childhood sweetheart, and that year, she promised to make him two pots of peach blossom drunk, and drink them together when they got married.

But she was forced into the palace by the Emperor Xian, and he was overwhelmed and died in just three years.

He died, her child died, and in the end even her family was gone. She was left alone, in this world, only a cat was with her.

If it weren't for Wang Chen and Princess Chen to send the cat back to her, maybe she had lost even the cat.

"Meow." The fat cat rubbed Jiuzhu's body and jumped into Princess Zhao's arms.

Seeing Princess Zhao holding the cat and trying to stand up, Jiuzhu hurried to help her.

"You have Princess Lao." Princess Zhao smiled at Jiuzhu: "If your Royal Highness and the princess don't dislike them, please take these two jars of wine back to drink."

"May the two white heads stay the same." Princess Zhao looked at Wang Chen: "Don't give up."

"Toffee." Jiuzhu said: "Ching Ming in a few days, I..."

"Princess." Zhao Taifei interrupted Jiuzhu with a smile: "In this palace, there have been many sad stories of women, and the old body is just the trivial one. I am old, and it doesn't matter if I worship or not."

She almost couldn't remember the young man's appearance, only remembered that he smiled beautifully, and when he called her name, his voice was always soft.

"In the past year, my memory is getting worse and worse. I'm afraid I will forget him if I don't tell anyone about him." Princess Zhao touched Mao'er's head: "Princess, please remember the old saying. "

"Don't easily sympathize with the women in the palace." Princess Zhao looked back at Wang Chen, who was bending over and filling the pit with dirt: "Especially young and beautiful women."

Jiuzhu smiled and shook his head: "Toffee, I don't care."

Princess Zhao looked at her.

"Young and beautiful women are not terrible. What's terrible is that men can't be focused." Jiuzhu picked a peach blossom and put it on Taifei Zhao's silver hair: "Today's Taifei empress is still eighteen years old."

Mrs. Zhao smiled, with a special smile: "I have lived for more than sixty years, but I am not as good as you."

When she walked to the painting table, Princess Zhao looked at the painting on the table and said with emotion: "This painting is so beautiful, I remember, Du Qingke, the current owner of the Du family, once painted a peach blossom on the spot at a palace banquet hosted by the Emperor Xian."

"You may not be familiar with mentioning this person." Zhao Taifei picked up the pen and wrote the three words Du Qingke on the paper: "He is the uncle of Princess Jing. Because he was a good painter when he was young, he was quite pleasing to the first emperor."

"I never read a book when I was young, and the words are a little ugly." Princess Zhao put down her pen and said to the king Chen who came over: "Let the prince and the princess laugh."

"The character of the concubine has been written very well." Wang Chen looked at the three characters Du Qingke on the paper, and said to her: "Thank you, the concubine wife for the wine."

"When people are old, they don't like to move. I gave out the wine today, and my old body has a worry." Zhao Taifei rubbed this three-word Du Qingke into a ball: "I spent fifty in this palace. For many years, I have seen too much life and death, and have long developed a disinterested temperament. The prince drank the peach blossom drunk, if he feels that it tastes good, he will come to the old man and get the peach blossom drunk recipe."

"Thank you, Toffee."

"Don't say thank you." Zhao Taifei smiled: "Although the old body is confused, but you have taken care of your mother and son for more than ten years, and you can't forget your roots. As you get older, you get tired easily, and the old body should go back."

"Toffee, I'll send you to you." Jiuzhu carefully supported Princess Zhao.

"How can I disturb the princess and prince painting?"

"Peach blossoms will not be thanked in one day. If you don't paint today, there will be tomorrow." Jiuzhu smiled: "I can rest assured when I accompany you back to the palace."

"Then there will be Princess Lao." Mrs. Zhao patted the hand of Jiuzhu holding her arm, and the warmth in her eyes became stronger.

"Meow." The fat cat seemed to be afraid of pressing the old lady, jumped into Jiuzhu's arms, picked a comfortable position, and lay down lazily.

The old lady touched its head: "It knows who can hold it firmly."

"It deserves to be the cat raised by the Toffee, so smart."

Lingzhou.

The messenger ran away several horses, climbed several mountains, and walked along the small path for a long time, and finally found the small Taoist temple hidden by a large tree in the deep mountain and old forest.

It seems that no one has visited the Taoist temple for a long time. The surroundings are covered with weeds, the walls are mottled and peeled off, some weeds are firmly rooted on the rubble, dancing in the mountain breeze.

The messenger couldn't help but wonder, can such a Taoist view really live in?

What did the Ming family think about sending their biological daughter to such a place?

Even if you don't starve to death, are you afraid that the wolves and tigers will take the kids away?

"On the order of the princess, to send a letter to the master, may I ask the master to be there?"

"who?"

The dilapidated wooden door of Taoist Temple opened, and a woman in a green robe walked out from inside. The woman was neither fat nor thin, and she was amiable, but for some reason, people couldn't guess her age.

"I am here by the order of the princess." The messenger stepped on the weeds, walked to the woman, and handed the thick envelope to the woman.

The woman looked at the letter in his hand, glanced over the word "Ming Jiu Zhu", reached out and accepted the letter: "What else did Miss Ming say?"

"The princess said that you will understand when you read the letter." The messenger said: "Wait for two days at the foot of the mountain, and then come to visit after two days."

The woman looked at him: "It seems that the person sent by the Ming family to deliver the letter was not you."

"I am not a person in Ming Palace, because the princess is kind enough to send this letter on behalf of the princess."

The messenger knows that monks are the simplest to deceive, especially monks who do not come into contact with outsiders in such deep mountains and old forests.

"So that's it." The woman nodded: "I understand."

When the messenger left, another woman in a gray robe flew down from the tree. Without opening the letter, she sneered and said, "Although the words are a bit like a pearl, when will she send us the letter, not a big bag? The little bag stuffed a bunch of things back?"

The woman in Qingpao opened the letter, and a picture fell out of the letter.

The woman in the painting is in the deep palace, tearful but unable to escape, the whole painting is expressing the meaning of asking for help.

"That's the broken painting...The liar is ashamed to say that we Jiuzhu painted it?" The Qingpao woman was shocked.