When the red plum blossoms in the courtyard bloomed, it coincided with the first heavy snowfall in Kyoto.
The snowdrops were very small at first. When they fell to the ground, only the ground was wet. Only a little bit of snow-white crystals could be seen on the petals of the treetops.
Later, the snow gradually became heavier, and the ground would creak when you step on it. It was so thick that it covered up the red plums. The faint red spots no longer stood out.
Striking white, dazzling white.
The Queen Mother sent a congratulatory gift wrapped in red silk early in the morning. The old lady in the palace came over in person, pointed to the red lantern at her feet and said: "Although our Highness has not come back yet, you still have to celebrate your birthday. In the palace Make it more festive.”
The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month is Lu Jieming’s birthday.
Congratulatory gifts from each palace were sent one by one, but the person celebrating the birthday could not come back.
The lanterns and colorful decorations of Qiandong Wusuokong were filled with joy and could not wait for its owner to come.
I heard that the resettlement of the victims in the northwest was proceeding in an orderly manner, and the riots of the refugees who were maliciously guided were suppressed by the Seventh Prince. He acted prudently, without being sloppy, was young, and was decisive in killing. The noisy voices in the court gradually became unified.
Despite the turmoil from the previous dynasty, he had made great achievements again, and his future was gradually promising. Compared with this, the longevity aspect of his fifteenth birthday was not that important.
The congratulatory gifts were delivered one after another. They could not be placed in the courtyard for more than a moment before they were covered with a thin layer of snow. Xu Lianlang directed everyone to move them to the warehouse.
It suddenly occurred to her that she had not given him any decent birthday gift.
She couldn't afford them when she was in Shuyun Pavilion. After coming to the palace, compared with these jewels, the gifts she gave him probably wouldn't be able to impress him.
Xu Lianlang sat in the corridor and stretched out his hand. The jade bracelet on his wrist was dangling. Lu Jieming said that it had returned to its original owner, but the feeling of the bracelet on his hand was very strange.
Si'er was very good at talking and said that it might be better if she treated it as a gift from His Highness.
She couldn't tell what she was feeling awkward about. She seemed to be relieved, but she didn't relax to the end. She was lifted up again and sent back this jade bracelet. What did it mean?
Are you trying to settle things with her, or are you trying to return the things she gave you back one by one, and then settle everything?
She thought this was fine, this jade bracelet wasn't cheap either.
The snowflake petals fell into the palm of her hand, and before she could see the shape of the snowflakes clearly, they turned into water.
A red clay stove is set up high, and hot tea is boiled on the four sides. The tea has a light aroma, but is extremely fragrant in the mouth. It is really good tea.
Xu Lianlang held the tea cup to warm his hands and looked at the red plums.
Falling into the lake in the early years had indeed hurt her health. Her hands were cold all year round, and it was even more difficult in winter, as she would inevitably get frostbite.
Fortunately, the heat of the tea spread through the cup wall, her palms were warm, and her frozen fingers slowly became flexible.
After she warmed up, she slowly stretched out her body on the recliner. Si'er held another cup of hot tea and handed it to her, "Thank you Si'er. Drinking some hot tea will really help."
Si'er didn't know where to get some good tea, so he took her here to drink tea in the afternoon for several days.
The maids looked over at them frequently. Xu Lianlang was rarely shy, so he moved lazily, thought for a moment, and turned his back.
Si'er pointed at the maids and shouted, "What are you looking at? Go and do your own thing. Is Miss Xu the same as you?"
Si'er seemed to be very prestigious among this group of people. After he shouted, no one looked at him again.
Drinking tea is very particular, and Si'er also adheres to this particularity. He forced her to drink tea all afternoon, and she couldn't do any work. It's no wonder that the maids were dissatisfied.
In fact, she couldn't tell what kind of work it was, whether it was dirty work, heavy work, light work, or small work, as long as she stretched out her hand, the four children would rush to do it.
Her little face finally couldn't hold on any longer, and she slowly got up from the recliner. She looked around and saw the path through the snow.
Si'er looked at the red plums that were blooming just right and found a pair of scissors. "Girl, you are cold. Drink some hot tea to drive away the cold."
Xu Lianlang was startled, "How do you know?"
Si'er hissed, consciously spilling the beans. He patted his mouth vigorously where Xu Lianlang couldn't see him, and then made an excuse, "Look at the girl who kept rubbing her hands, so I guessed it."
Xu Lianlang coughed and said, "You are very observant."
Si'er heyed a few times and tightened his mouth. As expected, his stupid mouth almost exposed His Highness's instructions before leaving.
He made amends for himself, "I heard from His Highness that the conditions in Shuyun Pavilion are difficult and the food is very poor. There were no conditions before, but now there are conditions. The girl must enjoy herself." Si'er smiled and said, "How short is this life? Ah, everything is delicious, fun, and useful. You have to greet me hard. What good things do I have? I just come and play with the girl. It’s really boring to do it by myself.”
Si'er slapped his head seriously, looking very embarrassed, "Girl, just stay with me."
The big scissors in Si'er's hand made a mark on the bluestone. He ran away without waiting for Xu Lianlang's reply, "I'm going to cut the plum blossom branches for the girl."
He couldn't hear any words of rejection, so he took it as Miss Xu's consent.
He ran very fast, and his back when standing under the red plum tree looked a bit like Lu Jieming.
After seeing too much snow, her eyes would always feel sore. She rubbed her eyes, but the similar back made her feel a little sad.
Xu Lianlang put down the hot tea and turned to the kitchen. The kitchen was fully equipped, no longer lacking everything like at Shuyun Pavilion. She was familiar with the process, laid down two eggs, put the side dishes, and made long and thin noodles.
She whispered: "Bless my Royal Highness to live a long life."
Xiaoluzi came to her smelling the smell, biting the hem of her skirt and pulling it down, jumping up on his short legs, she coaxed it, "It's too hot, wait a minute, why are you so anxious."
She picked up the noodles with chopsticks to let them cool off, and tapped the dog's head with her finger, "You are too impatient. I wonder how you look like me. I am blind and think you look like him. He only stares." This bowl of noodles has a calm look on his face, and he seems reluctant to eat it, but he always eats it cleanly.”
Xiaoluzi's rice bowl was clean. She carefully put the cold noodles in it and watched him gobble it up. "My noodle cooking skills have improved a lot in the past few years. It's an advantage for you, Xiaoluzi."
She licked her lips, it was delicious, she also filled a bowl of noodles, picked up a noodle and ate it from beginning to end, "He said before he left, there are small roads, small roads, small roads, and I can think of him when I call your name." ”
"Little roads, little roads, little roads, little roads, little roads, little roads," said it all in one breath.
She yelled, causing Xiaoluzi to raise his head repeatedly. The dog's eyes were dark and shiny, clearly reflecting Xu Lianlang's face.
The pear dimple on the edge of the mouth was exposed, showing a smile.
She picked up the dog and put her chin on the dog's head, "You ate the longevity noodles, and I ate them as if they were him. Do you think someone would cook them for him outside?"
She asked and answered herself, "He is such an awkward child, and he doesn't even know if he wants to eat."
The snow fell on the treetops outside the window. The red plums were cut off and inserted into clear jasper bottles to decorate the furnishings in the palace, but the treetops were bare.
Si'er wiped the snowflakes on the red plums, and the main hall was deserted. When Lu Jieming left, it seemed that he had taken away the remaining popularity in the hall.
He couldn't help but recall that night, when the sobering soup was finished, Lu Jieming lay on the table with his head down for a long time. When he raised his head again, he coldly arranged for him to stay in Shuyun Pavilion.
Of course he was unwilling, but he didn't dare to resist.
He didn't understand why. He and Lu Jie grew up together. He knew that His Highness the Seventh Prince always trusted him a little more than others. It was because he knew this that he couldn't imagine why he would stay in Towering Cloud Pavilion.
"You have been in the palace for a long time, and all the servants in the palace will always give you some respect, but Lian Lang...she just came to the palace."
At this point, Si'er completely understood.
His Highness Seventh Prince left him behind to protect Miss Xu.
"You guard her for me."
He couldn't hold back his emotions, so he asked Si'er to study the ink and write down Xu Lianlang's little habits word for word. They were very detailed. He wrote quickly and the ink was light. Those things he was familiar with almost had a muscular feel to them. Write it down like a memory.
Finally, he raised his bloodshot eyes and said, "She is cold. In the early years, I soaked in cold water. I asked the imperial doctor for a prescription, so I could only nurse her back to health slowly. You can make this tea for her every day." Drink it. After a few days, prepare the medicine and coax her to drink it.”
"She is afraid of hardship, so prepare candied cakes in advance. Water chestnut cake is the best."
He spoke slowly and calmly.
In fact, His Highness Seventh Prince talked a lot. He spent most of his time on this. From the dark night to the dawn, and then he turned on his horse, he kept talking and thinking about it. He was a man of few words. In Xu Lianlang's life, On things, nagging, nagging.
Si'er stood with him in the early morning mist, and the young man's thoughts were the same. The sour and astringent emotions were like newly fermented wine, which was not flavorful enough. He thought he could drink more, but it was actually poison.
The jasper bottle was touched, and the plum petals were very small, but a lot of water dropped out.
There was a stranger in the yard. The dog in the alleyway was very guarded and always barked heartbreakingly. However, this time it barked a few times and then became quiet.
He opened the curtain, and all he saw from a distance was the well-fed dog with its tail shaking off, circling around a person's feet.
He still screamed, but the tone of his screams completely changed, like he was begging for a hug.
Si'er took a few steps closer and saw that Xiao Luzi, the white-eyed wolf, was already being held in someone's arms. He was so well-behaved.
Isn't this your highness's dog? Why are you so courteous to other men?
What's even worse is that Miss Xu also came over, put her hand through the man's arm, and touched the hair on Xiao Luzi's head.
He is aware of Lord Dou Dou Xihui's alliance with His Highness.
He stepped between Xu Lianlang and Dou Xihui, with a smile on his face, "Master Dou, my Highness has not returned yet. If you have something to do, you might as well wait until His Highness comes back."
As he spoke, he pulled the white-eyed dog back and pressed the dog's head hard, "Master Dou, please come back."
Dou Xihui was so restrained that he pinched the dog's neck easily, "I'm not looking for Your Highness, I'm looking for my half dog."
As he said this, his eyes looked at Xu Lianlang aside.
Xu Lianlang stood quietly, not wanting to participate in the conversation between them. When the two of them were silent, she said: "Si'er, I cooked noodles, do you want to eat them? Longevity noodles, His Highness is not here, we will take his place. Eat it.”
Si'er burst into tears in her heart. Miss Xu was still thinking about her master. Don't dogs say they protect their master? fart!
Just as Si'er was about to lift up his feet to eat the noodles, he heard Dou Xi reply: "Can I have a taste?"
You can taste the shit!
(End of chapter)
The author said: Shit!
Whose dog is Xiaoluzi?