Chapter 698 Late Spring Flower Forest, Dreams, Memories
In the flower forest in late spring, a quiet woman sat on a small chair in the forest.
On the incense table at the woman's hand, fresh incense was burned. The aroma was accompanied by the subtle fragrance of flowers, refreshing and beautiful.
The well-behaved palace maid came over with tea. When she saw the pretty woman sitting on the small chair, she said, "Your Majesty, this is a new cake specially sent by someone from the imperial kitchen. It's called Xue Rong Gao. It's said to be fresh from the West. practice."
"Put it down." The woman said lightly, her eyes staring at the old book in her hand. This book was indeed a bit old. From the yellowed corners, it was not difficult to tell its age.
The palace maid put it down and stood quietly by the side, waiting.
"How are you doing in the imperial study today?" After a long time, the woman on the chair suddenly asked.
The palace maid replied honestly: "Back to your Majesty, today the emperor went to the imperial study room to ask several princes about their homework. The third prince answered a question, and the emperor praised the third prince a few words."
Hearing this, the woman put down the book in her hand, looked at the palace maid, and frowned: "Why did the emperor go to the imperial study today? Isn't Prince Quan arriving in Beijing tomorrow?"
The palace maid said: "I don't know, but I just heard from some of the father-in-laws in front of the emperor that there is a big banquet tomorrow, and the emperor wants to choose a prince to go out with the prince. It has been confirmed that he should be the seventh prince."
The woman smiled, opened the book again, and said: "The seventh prince will seize the opportunity. He will never be able to be together with the prince."
The palace maid lowered her eyes and said no more.
The woman gave another instruction: "After class, let Aleng come over. Next month will be the death anniversary of Aleng's mother and concubine. We have to think of a way to send him out of the palace."
"Yes." The palace maid responded obediently and continued to stand by.
It wasn't until the hour was almost up that the woman left quietly and headed towards the royal study.
After the woman left, another uninvited guest walked into the flower forest shrouded in strange fragrance.
The sound of light and steady footsteps came from behind. The woman on the chair seemed to feel something. She put down the unfinished miscellaneous book again, sighed without looking back, and said, "Why are you here again?" ?”
Behind the chair, a young eunuch with a powdery face, clear and handsome face, lowered his head, slowly approached, he stood next to the woman, with a respectful posture, but his words were full of casualness: "I come to see the empress. "
The woman turned back, looked at him and said, "I heard that the concubine will leave the palace again in two days. You should be busy at this time. How come you still have time to come to my Changyang Palace?"
The little eunuch took two steps forward, and when he was in front of the woman, he stared at her with his eyes full of meaning, and said in a soft and gentle voice, "I miss you."
The woman paused, glared at him, and scolded: "Discourteous!"
The little eunuch lowered his head and remained silent.
Seeing his appearance, the woman added: "Although you were originally from my palace, you have been under the concubine's family for many years. You no longer need to respect me as your master. From now on, you should not come again. If anyone sees you, , it’s hard to explain.”
"I came here to report to the Dowager Empress." the young eunuch said.
The woman frowned: "Xiang Yi, I don't want you to come, do you understand?"
The little eunuch fell silent.
In the huge flower forest, except for the slight breeze, there was no sound at all.
Silence filled the air between the two of them. After a while, the woman stood up from her chair, turned around, and walked into the hall.
As soon as she took a step, the little eunuch behind her quickly came over and blocked her with one step.
The woman frowned.
The young eunuch said: "I'm going to Guanyuan Temple now. I'm afraid I won't be able to return to the palace before the Chinese New Year. Today, I beg you to let me serve you for one day. Nothing else is needed. I just want my servant to serve you like before." Just serve the queen to eat, grind ink for the queen, and just stay with the queen..."
The woman looked at him deeply, her expression not very good: "Aleng is coming today."
The little eunuch immediately said: "Slave, you can hide here..."
"You are the wife of the concubine. You are neither fish nor fowl here. If Aleng finds out, it will only make the explanation even more unclear. Aleng is still wary of me. I don't want him to misunderstand that I am someone with an agenda. You are with me." Having been around for many years, you should understand!”
The little eunuch was silent again.
The woman finally said: "Let's go!"
Finally, I would like to add: "Never come again!"
After saying that, the woman left without looking back.
The little eunuch stood there, staring at the woman's back. He did not take his eyes back until the woman's figure disappeared.
Two days later, the young eunuch left the palace with the concubine. Before leaving, a maid from Changyang Palace came over and secretly gave him something.
The little eunuch paid the money, and the palace maid took the benefit and said with a smile: "This is what the empress painted yesterday. I took a great risk by stealing it out. Please remember, father-in-law Xiang, if there is a chance, the father-in-law promised to the slave. In front of the concubine, I moved for my slave."
"If you work well for me, you will benefit from it." The little eunuch said.
The palace maid responded with a smile on her face.
After the palace maid left, the young eunuch opened the scroll. It was a picture of spring appreciation. In a garden full of fragrant flowers, a quiet and beautiful woman was holding a book in her hand, leaning on a comfortable little chair. The woman's There is an incense table at hand, with only a few smoke shadows on it, nothingness. There is also a plate of cakes beside the incense table. There is no trace of the pastry being touched, and it is placed there like a decoration.
His fingers touched the woman in the painting, and the little eunuch's eyes were full of nostalgia. After a while, he returned to the study, quickly studied the ink, and used the same painting method as the hand in the scroll to add a figure next to the woman. Wearing eunuch uniform, with a happy smile on his face, he looked resolute and handsome in his own way.
After painting for a long time, when the finished product was finally finished, he dried the drawing paper and saw that it was almost like a handwriting of one person. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly and his eyes were full of tenderness.
"Huh!" A small gasp sounded in the quiet room.
That night, Xiang Yi sat up from the bed in shock. He reached out and touched his forehead subconsciously, feeling the cold sweat all over his head. He exhaled, pressed his fingers on his heart, and clenched his fingers into a fist.
The little eunuch who was keeping watch outside the door heard the movement and called softly: "Father, are you awake?"
Xiang Yi glanced at the silhouette outside the door and responded, "Yeah."
Asked from outside: "Do you want a servant to come in and serve you?"
"No need."
The outsider responded honestly and would not disturb him any more.
Xiang Yi lay back on the big bed, looking at the top of the bed curtain with empty eyes, thinking of the beautiful image of the woman in his memory in his dream just now.
Controlling the surge in his heart, Xiang Yi closed his eyes tightly.
How long has it been since you had a dream?
Even he himself can't remember clearly...
At the beginning, he always longed to fall asleep, longing to return to the time before that person died in his dream, to accompany her like they did a long, long time ago. Just watching her smile would be enough for him to be satisfied for the whole day.
But later, as the years passed, he found that he could no longer dream about her?
No matter how she sleeps, no matter how she misses him, that person never appears again. She doesn't want to see him, even in a dream, she refuses to see him.