When I met Li Wei, Cui Bai was with him.

The garden is lush and green, the flowers are full of incense paths, the square stone case is placed on the side of the Jinshi Bridge, the case is displayed with ancient artifacts Yaoqin, several volumes of calligraphy and painting, the smoke of the stove curls on the side of the wooden chair, and Cui Bai of the scarf and green clothes is in the middle, it is like a scene of literati and ink scholars, presumably Li Wei took the opportunity of the festival to invite Cui Bai to come to enjoy the flowers and learn.

Yun Guo'er and Jia Qingzi stood on their sides, and Wang Wuzi and several ministers who came with imperial wine appeared in this picture.

A small yellow door had been sent to Li Wei with a wine cup with a note, and after he saluted, he held up the wine cup with a smile, and was still saying words of gratitude.

I walked over quickly, looked at the wine cup, and raised my voice, "Captain, no! ”

He was stunned for a moment, and the hand holding the wine cup lowered.

When Wang Wuzi saw me, his brows furrowed: "Huaiji! ”

I ignored it, walked up to Li Wei, and told him clearly: "You can't drink this wine." ”

Li Wei looked down in amazement, staring at the jade liquid in the lamp, and his face darkened a little.

Wang Wuzi was suddenly stunned, glared at me and reprimanded: "Huaiji, what nonsense are you talking about! This is the royal wine given by the official family and the queen to the captain, how can he not drink it? ”

Then, he smiled at Li Wei again: "Duwei, please drink this first lamp now, so that the old slave can return to the palace in time to make a difference." ”

Li Wei looked at him, then at the imperial wine, and did not answer for a while. And Yun Guo'er, who was watching from the sidelines, had already seen the clue, and anxiously interjected to stop: "Du Wei, this wine must not be drunk!" ”

Jia Qingzi and Cui Bai glanced at each other, and must have understood the difference, so they both stepped forward to call Li Wei and shook their heads at him.

Li Wei didn't react much to their calls and hints, and still looked down at the wine cup. The rich, sweet aroma of the wine shimmered slightly in the golden sunlight, and I noticed that it was Li Wei's hand trembling slightly.

Suddenly, he held up the wine cup, which meant to lead to his lips, and I didn't have time to think about it, so I immediately waved my sleeves and brushed the wine cup off.

The wine cup fell to the ground, shattered in response, and the wine splashed everywhere. Wang Wuzi was furious and instructed me to be escorted down, but Li Wei bowed to him at this time and said, "I have a few words to say to Mr. Liang, and I hope Mr. Wang will be accommodating." ”

His posture was so humble, Wang Wuzi naturally couldn't refuse, so he nodded.

Li Wei turned to look at me, and Heyan motioned for me to go with him: "Huaiji, come." ”

I didn't ignore the change in what he called me. In the past, he always called me "Mr. Liang", just like the courtiers and maids in the princess's mansion, and when his status was higher than mine, such a title sounded polite and distant. Call my name for the first time in years.

He led me to the stone case, selected a scroll and presented it to me, and said, "Troublesome Huaiji will give this painting to the princess." ”

I took it, unfolded it, and looked at it. It is an ink painting on silk, depicting a deep courtyard with a heavy gate shaded by a bamboo forest, the grass in front of the door, the path behind the courtyard winds to the depths of the clouds, and in front of the painting screen in the hall of the house sits a graceful beauty, behind whom a maid is taking care of her makeup, and next to the beauty there is another man in a wide robe with a slightly plump body, sitting in a leisurely and natural posture, facing the beauty, looking at her with a smile.

The bamboo branches are tall and strong, while the double-hooked bamboo leaves are depicted in great detail, thousands of clusters, each in its own state, which is the characteristic of Li Wei's ink bamboo, and this painting is obviously from his pen. He painted the courtyard according to the princess's residence in the garden, and the figures in the painting also matched the characteristics of the princess, Yun Guoer and himself, but such a picture never appeared in their married life, and it should be the scene he longed for in his heart.

He was a silent and uncommunicative person, and he often locked himself in his room when he painted, and he didn't let anyone in to watch, and I didn't see much of his works, perhaps because I was afraid that I would perceive his thoughts on the end of his pen. But this time, in this way, he revealed to me the unspeakable secret that he had kept alone in his heart for many years.

"Actually, the person next to her should be you." He pointed to the man in the painting and said, "One day I passed by the Princess's Pavilion and saw you sitting next to her and watching her do her makeup. ”

My eyes shifted from the scroll to his face, and I felt a thousand emotions in my heart, but I didn't know where to start. And he was opposite me at the moment, his expression was very different from the calm and calm before, with a little friendly smile, and said: "I used to hate you, I felt that you occupied the magpie's nest, took away my rightful place beside the princess and in my heart, and made me the laughing stock of the world." When you left, I saw the princess so painfully and realized that she was looking for a partner who was compatible with her temperament and life, that you had grown up with her childhood sweethearts, that you knew each other and that you had a common heart, and that to her I was just a foolish stranger, who had suddenly intruded into her life without her permission. ”

So he decided to speak for me. Thinking of returning to Beijing, I said gloomily: "The commander pleaded for Huai Ji in front of the official family, but Huai Ji never thanked him in person, which is really rude. ”

Li Wei shook his head: "Don't thank me." I wasn't here to help you, but I didn't want to see the princess kill herself. ”

I said: "At that time, there was a lot of discussion, and in any case, it was extremely difficult for Captain Du to make this decision. ”

"I know I'll lose face if you come back, but my face is nothing compared to the princess's life." Li Wei said, and then, smiled bitterly, "It's a pity that I still don't have self-knowledge, and I always have luck, thinking that the dilemma of our marriage can be resolved with time and my efforts...... I tried everything, what I thought of and what others suggested, even in the face of her cold eyes and black face again and again, I still didn't give up. Later, I didn't understand what I was insisting on, and the result was getting worse and worse every time, and now, it has hurt her again. ”

I had a hard time finding the right words, and I was afraid that I would be wrong, so I just kept silent and listened to what he had to say.

"Compared to you, I'm ashamed, whether it's for calligraphy and painting or for her." He sighed, "Appreciating and cherishing without always thinking about how to have it, this is the true meaning of loving people and loving things." ”

Helping me to roll up the scroll, he solemnly handed it into my hands and concluded the conversation with a final instruction: "Please give the painting to the princess, and tell her that if we meet by fate in the next life, I hope that I will no longer be a stranger who has suddenly intruded into her realm." ”

Then he walked up to the little yellow door where he was standing with the note, lifted the lid of the pot, raised his hand and raised his back, and drank the rest of the wine.