"Be careful!" I took a step and ran over in a hurry, hugged the boy, and threw my body to the ground by inertia, and the two of them rolled together in the mud.

"You...... Are you okay? The little boy got up, his clothes stained with yellow mud and dead leaves, and his childish face showed a sad color.

"!" Yunxi and Li Fei didn't stop me just now, but now they came over to help me in a panic and anxiety, and patted off the dust and rotten leaves on my body for me.

"Eighth Prince, how did you climb the tree in a good manner, how dangerous it is." Li Fei's face was respectful, and he said to the little boy in a soft and soft tone.

The eighth prince looked up at his tender white face, stretched out his little fingers, and looked at a ball of begonia fruit on the tree, and said to Ai Ai: "I, I...... I want to eat it. ”

Then the child's little face wrinkled into a small fold, and he said bitterly: "But, it's so high, I can't climb up." ”

I asked him, "Why don't there be any palace people around the Eighth Prince, you can ask them to help you." ”

"I snuck out." The little boy scratched his head, as if embarrassed, and then muttered, "I don't like them to follow, it's annoying." ”

I looked at the eighth prince's round and tender little pink face, the big black and smart eyes were as clear as the blue sky, innocent, I couldn't say what I liked in my heart, I couldn't help but stretch out my finger and tap his pink face, and said with a smile: "Sister go up to help you pick fruits, okay?" ”

The child was not very comfortable with such intimacy with strangers, and shy dodged, but when he heard that I was going to help him pick fruits, his eyes suddenly lit up, as if shining into the sun, "Can you help me?" ”

"Absolutely." I replied firmly.

Regardless of Lifei's dissuasive eyes, I took off the pear Qinggong shoes embroidered with hibiscus with one hand, rolled up the cuffs, climbed to the concave and convex part of the trunk, stepped on the bottom of the lower trunk, climbed up with the trend, stepped on a few steps lightly, and jumped on the trunk branch, slowly squirming and reaching out to pick the begonia fruit.

"My sister is so amazing." The Eighth Prince's eyes lit up and he jumped up with joy.

I curled my lips, chuckled, and quickly plucked a few fruits and tucked them into the wide cuffs.

"Xiao Qingqiang!" A shout that jumped out of the ground made my body tremble and almost fall off the branch, but fortunately I grabbed the branch in time, stabilized my body, and settled down so that I would not fall.

"Not yet!" It was Chen Qian's annoyed cry.

I moved to the branch, grabbed the branch, and lowered my lower body to the ground with dexterity and dexterity along the trunk.

There were a few people standing under the tree, and King An Cheng looked at me with a smile, looking like he was watching a good show. Chen Qian stared at me with a straight face, greatly annoyed, followed by Jiang Yu and a few palace people.

Chen Qian reprimanded: "Climbing trees in broad daylight, there is no lady at all!" ”

I raised my eyebrows and smiled, and retorted: "I am not a lady in the first place, Your Majesty has forgotten that I am a woman in the countryside and do not understand the etiquette of these ladies." ”

Strange, Chen Qian didn't immediately turn me back, but looked at me, his eyes were strangely focused in one place, I wondered, followed his gaze, and found that he was actually ...... Looking at my feet.

The delicate and delicate jade feet are exposed from the bottom of the skirt, snow jade porcelain white, and the hazy sky is filled with a moonlight-like bright and clear streamer, indescribable charm.

I actually saw a blurry smoke in his eyes! I shrank my feet sharply, picked up the pear-blue palace shoes on the ground, and put them on my two feet, covering up the original graceful and beautiful color.

Chen Qian seemed to feel embarrassed, tilted his head, shifted his gaze to the Eighth Prince on the side, and his tone unconsciously became stern, "Boren, what are you doing here?" ”

The Eighth Emperor shrank his head timidly, and slowly let out a soft and trembling voice, "Father, it's the sons who want to eat the fruit of the tree." This sister is helping her son pick fruits, don't blame her. ”

Chen Qian glanced at me, his expression was slightly gloomy, and when he could see the mud and fallen leaves stuck behind the back of the Eighth Prince, his face became ugly again, "What's going on?" ”

The head of the eighth prince shrank even more, and he said timidly: "When the minister went up to the tree to pick fruits, he accidentally fell. ”

"Did you fall and get hurt?" Half stern and half caring.

The eighth prince hurriedly shook his head, "No, fortunately, this sister came quickly and saved her son, but she was covered with some mud and dirty clothes." ”

Chen Qian glanced at me quite unexpectedly, looked at the dirty Eighth Prince, and unconsciously had a trace of fire in his eyes, and he was about to attack. But seeing the eighth prince drooping his head and looking timid, his face softened, and he suppressed a ball of anger, "If you want to eat begonia fruit, tell me, I will send someone to send it to you, why go up to the tree, how dangerous it is, what if you fall and get hurt." ”

The eighth prince's head hung lower, and he said timidly: "Erchen knows that he is wrong, and Erchen will never dare to do it in the future." ”

Chen Qian turned his head and instructed the two palace people behind him, "You two, send the Eighth Prince back, don't let him have another accident." ”

"No." The two palace people obediently came behind the Eighth Prince.

I poured out a few fruits from my sleeve, walked up to the Eighth Prince, put them in his palm, squatted down, and smiled at him, "Take it back." ”

The eighth prince gathered the fruit in his hand, his mood improved, and he smiled brightly at me: "Thank you, sister." ”

I looked at him with a smile, and my voice was as soft as a cloud in the sky, "What your father said is right, don't go up to the tree alone to pick fruit in the future, and then fall down, but no one will come to help you." If you hurt your bones, your mother won't die of sadness. ”

"Hmm." The Eighth Prince nodded heavily, smiled sweetly and jumped up and down with the palace people.

I watched the Eighth Emperor leave with a dazzling smile, and I couldn't tell whether it was envy or sorrow. Four or five-year-old children, the most innocent age, any troubles are quickly thrown out of the nine days, carefree, always happy, smiling, really enviable.

"All the wounds are healed? You can jump up the tree. Chen Qian asked me casually.

"It's all right." I responded nonchalantly.

The casual tone seemed to irritate him, and Chen Qian joked with a half-smile: "The skill of climbing the tree is really good, better than the white ape in the imperial garden." ”

Scolding me for being a monkey? Think I'll mind, I've been subjected to a lot more cynicism since I was a kid.

My face did not change, and I couldn't say in a wave: "Thank you Your Majesty for your false praise, Qingqiang grew up in a poor family, and there is no meal, so I can only go to pick wild fruits on the side of the road to satisfy my hunger. ”

Chen Qian's sarcastic smile was stuck on his face in an instant, the ridicule between his eyebrows was also put away, and there was a hint of indescribable meaning in his eyes, like pity, like sympathy.

Chen Ji's playful expression was also put away, and his dark eyes looked at me quietly.

Who needs his sympathy? I secretly sneered and saluted Chen Qian, "Your Majesty, if it's okay, Qingqiang will retire first." ”

With a wave of my sleeves, I stepped on the bluestone bricks and walked away quickly with Yunxi and Lifei.

I never called myself a "concubine" in front of him, I am neither his minister nor his concubine, so I should not grovel and belittle myself. As soon as I saw this person, I felt uncomfortable, I really wanted to stay away from him, how could I want to stay with him more.

After dinner in Yilan Palace, Wang Chonghua, the biological mother of the Eighth Prince, came to visit with gifts, saying that she had come to thank me for saving the Eighth Prince in Tangyuan, and I received her with a smile. Wang Chonghua is modest and moderate, his tone is sincere, is there a little contempt, sincerely thank me, it is not to be close, there is no pretentiousness at all, I can't help but have a good impression of this gentle woman.

Wang Chonghua's appearance is not very good-looking, only beautiful, so he is not favored, even if he has a princely position, he is still under the nine concubines, if it weren't for her sake of having eight princes, Chen Qian probably wouldn't be too lazy to go there. Wang Chonghua is naturally self-aware, acting very low-key, and almost never sees her talk when he goes to ask for peace on weekdays, only stands decently, cowardly and silent, if she hadn't come to visit and thank her today, I don't remember this person. After all, Chen Qian has so many concubines, how can I remember them all.

After chatting for a while, they dispersed, I was puzzled, I still can't see any hostility towards me from Wang Chonghua, not to mention that she is not favored in the first place, so naturally she will not fall out of favor because of my arrival, and she will be jealous of me or something, there is no reason. In the future, I can come and go often, and it is not a bad thing to have someone to talk to me and relieve my boredom.

——

This day is the birthday of the queen, the banquet is opened in the Yaoguang Hall of Xianyang Palace, the four are close to the jade pavilion carved floor, the bilill flying corridor, the hook eaves are pecked, the building is high, between the corridors and pavilions, the coral and green trees are born, the mountains and rocks are quite steep, the flowing water is murmuring, the grass is green, and the beautiful dome is a beautiful scenery.

I chose a seventy-percent new Tianshui Qingluo shirt, sparsely embroidered with half-open and half-bloomed frosted green calyx plums scattered on the Xiujin branches, jade white soft satin pleated long skirts, decorated with light purple embroidery beads of fine scattered flowers, gently swirling in the cool breeze, like a delicate snowflake, fluttering and whirling.

I looked at myself in the mirror, my eyes were bright, my face was good, and I had a cold temperament between my eyebrows.

As usual, he took Yunxi and Lifei to Xianyang Palace, and while walking, the snow beads hanging from the snow-blue moire water hosta on the bun fluttered with the steps, like a flower blowing through a leaf.

Before the banquet was held, all the concubines gathered outside the Yaoguang Palace, or chatting and laughing, or watching flowers and enjoying the scenery. Yan Shuyuan was as gentle and amiable as ever, talking and laughing with a group of sisters gently and demurely, which was in stark contrast to Concubine Kong's domineering and unscrupulous eyes. Many of them came to talk to me, mocking and sarcastic between the lines, poking soft knives at me from time to time, which was nothing more than a flash in the pan, good flowers do not bloom often, good moons do not grow round, hinting that I have fallen out of favor and so on. But Wang Chonghua took my hand cordially and smiled at me gently, I didn't take those words to heart at all, and chatted with Wang Chonghua casually.

Exegesis:

(1) The title comes from Liang Liu Zun's "Qixi Needle" "If the moon is intentional, you can't help it." ”