I didn't sleep peacefully that night. The fragmentary dreams that pass through my mind are disorganized, and the specious scenes are obscure, like the sketches of the sketches written by the painting students I compiled at the art academy when I was a child. The only thing that was clear was the burning and frenzied feeling in my heart, as if there was a fire burning my internal organs. I ran through this chaotic dream until a cool wetness touched the hot skin of my face.

The cool touch lasted for a long time, little by little, like a spring water encountered in the mountains in the middle of summer.

I opened my eyes in this pleasant coolness, and a red sleeve brushed in front of me, and then I was greeted by the beautiful face of the princess.

"Are you awake?" She smiled and wiped my forehead with a cotton towel in her hand.

After a moment of stunned, I quickly sat up, turned my head to look, and saw that I was on the couch in my own room in the princess's mansion, the sky was still only dark, and the courtyard was silent, and in addition to the princess in the room, only the little yellow door Bai Mao who served me stood by the door.

I struggled with a severe headache, and gradually remembered the events of yesterday, and I could not help but be startled again, and before I could salute, I first asked, "Princess, why are you here?" ”

"Oh, I wanted to see you, so I came. Xiaobai opened the door for me. She said, throwing the towel into a basin of cold water beside her, twisting it, and unfolding it to wipe my face, as if this was a daily thing, "Why did you drink so much wine?" My face is burning red, and it must be very uncomfortable. ”

I pressed her handkerchief and whispered, "Princess, you shouldn't go out of the bed on your big day. Go back quickly. ”

"Go back? Do you want me to go back and guard that stupid rabbit? She said gloomily, seeing that I was speechless, she suddenly raised her eyebrows again and smiled: "Do you know how I spent my wedding night?" ”

This question was difficult for me to answer, and I lowered my head and did not answer. She smiled lightly, lowered her voice and said, "I instructed Yun Niang and Jia Qingzi in advance, and they will sleep outside my bedroom, if Li Wei is rude to me, I will call and they will come in immediately." However, the stupid rabbit was really stupid, seeing that there were only two of us in the room, he was more nervous than me, he couldn't stand, he couldn't sit, and he didn't know where to put his hands and feet. I told him that I was not in the habit of sharing a pillow with others, so let him take a set of bedding and sleep in another place outside the tent. He didn't have an opinion, so he took the futon and laid it on the ground by the window, and slept there. ”

"The pony slept on the ground this night?" I blurted out in surprise.

The princess bowed: "Not bad. ”

I was silent for a long time before I said, "Why is it so difficult, princess?" ”

"On the side of the couch, how can others be allowed to snore?" She replied.

This was originally a famous saying of Emperor Taizu, when he sent troops to besiege the Southern Tang Dynasty, and Li Yu, the queen of the Southern Tang Dynasty, begged to protect his family and country, and he responded like this. Now that the princess quoted it like this, it inevitably seemed a bit nondescript, and I couldn't help but laugh when I heard it.

"The colt is the princess's husband, not 'someone else'." I said to her.

"As far as I'm concerned, I've been a stranger from start to finish." The princess said, staring at me, and then pointed at me again: "I thought you would be happy to tell you this." ”

Feeling embarrassed, I looked out the window: "What does this have to do with me?" ”

"Is it okay?" She asked rhetorically, and also turned sideways, making sure to look me in the eye, and then smiled: "I didn't pay attention, and I found that someone had drunk alcohol last night." ”

The fortifications in my heart were vulnerable to this blow, and I was losing ground one after another.

Reason was reminding me that what the princess was doing was wrong, and that I should discourage and stop her, from her attitude towards the colt, to her current words and deeds in my room. But it would be hypocritical to say that I didn't feel a little pleasure and warmth from it.

Knowing that it would be dangerous to continue the current topic, but still unable to ask her out, I looked back at her gaze and smiled bitterly at her in this contradictory feeling.

"You came out for me, do you know?" I asked her.

"I don't know. When I came out, he slept like a pig. She replied. As I watched, her relaxed smile faded away, and she continued: "He's really 'snoring'." Last night, I lay down with my clothes, and it took a long time before I barely fell asleep, but I was woken up by Li Wei's snoring in the middle of the night. I opened my eyes wide and looked at the strange environment by the candlelight of the dragon and phoenix, and gradually remembered that I had married the man who slept on the ground, and I would never be able to return to my parents.

His snoring rang out again and again. I walked up to him gently and looked at him closely. Seeing that he looked like he was full of brains, he was sleeping soundly without thinking, his mouth had not yet closed, and the saliva that flowed out of his mouth was shining brightly under the moonlight reflected outside the window......

I stood silently beside him for a long time, thinking that this is the person with whom I will spend this life, and who will be facing him every day for decades to come, so what is there to hope for in this life? …… I turned my head to look out the window at the night, and I felt that it would never light up again. ”

Her tone was calm, and there were no tears in her eyes, but the words she uttered at this time were more sentimental to me than the sorrow of parting with my mother during the day.

"At that moment, I really wanted to go back to ten years ago, to be a little girl without troubles, and on such a moonlit night, chanting 'taro circle under the eaves' with you." She smiled reluctantly, "So, I want to come to you to see if you still have a little taro in the moonlight." ”

I smiled at her helplessly: "I'm so sorry, I don't have taro here now." ”

She shook her head, "It's okay. When I see you, I feel like I'm still at home. ”

I wanted to embrace her, comfort her, respond to her, tell her about my subtle feelings at the moment. However, feeling the morning light gradually clearing up in the room, I finally did nothing, and finally only looked for another topic, and suggested to him: "The flowers and trees in the garden of the princess's house are flourishing, and the air is fresh in the morning. ”

The princess agreed, and I asked her to go to the garden first. When she left, I immediately put on my clothes and crowned, and after a little washing, I went out with a flute in my hand, only to find that Bai Maoxian had avoided it for some time, and was standing in the court at this time, and when he saw me, he quickly came to greet me and asked me what I could say.

Xiaobai is twelve years old, smart and smart, loves to read, and acts steadily. I told him to find someone to move him to the garden, and then walked towards the garden himself, thinking as he went, he was really a smart boy.

Obviously, the second night of the princess and the colt was spent like this. The next day, the princess's maid whispered, and even laughed that it was too cold on the ground, so it was better to move a soft couch for the pony and rest it in the corner of the princess's room.

The details of the princess's boudoir spread at an incredible speed, and became the main topic of conversation among the housekeepers. Of course, it is not them who are most concerned about the relationship of the couple.

"Uncle and Mrs. Guo are counting the horses in the backyard." In the afternoon, Zhang Chengzhao gloated and reported to me what he saw, "He said that he was so weak that he didn't even dare to touch his wife, and he was really not a man." He was angry, and he reached out to twist the horse's ears, and his voice became louder and louder, so that the little girls around him secretly hid their laughter. ”

I hesitated and asked him a question: "How did the colt react?" ”

"Hey, our Captain Li is a stuffy gourd, what else can we do?" Zhang Chengzhao said with a smile: "It's nothing more than covering my ears and blindly bowing my head to listen to the old lady's teachings, and I didn't say anything for a long time." ”

Although Yang and Li Wei are mother and son, their appearance and personality are very different. Li Wei is simple and honest, but Yang has a sharp face and thin lips, and his eyes are a little shrewd. Li Wei accepted all the arrangements of the princess, and his mother should not stand idly by in this regard.

This suspicion was quickly confirmed. After dinner that day, Liang Quanyi and I were discussing the etiquette itinerary of the princess and the concubine when the three dynasties faced each other, and Han came in at this time, took out a piece of white silk, and whispered to us: "This is what Uncle Guo's wife just handed me to spread on the princess's bed." ”

Liang Dujian and I looked at each other and were speechless for a while.

Although I am a chamberlain, I have heard of the custom of placing a white cloth on the marriage bed to verify the virginity of the bride, but this detail does not apply to the wedding of a princess.

"Have you ever explained to your uncle and wife that the princess descended, and there was no such ceremony." Liang Du interrogated Han.

Han sighed: "Of course she said it, but she said with a smile that she would never dare to question the princess's temperament, but the folk customs are like this, and it is also the family rule of the Li family, and she used to marry her sister-in-law for the brother of the concubine, and she also did this, since the princess married into the Li family, it is not an exaggeration to act according to the family rules of the Li family, even if the official family knows, she should also agree." After saying that, he shoved it into my hand, said that she would come to pick it up tomorrow, and left. I really didn't know what to do, so I came to you and asked for an idea. ”

I also believe that her move is not to question the princess's integrity, but only to force the palace and put pressure on the princess, hoping to create a fait accompli. But with the temperament of a princess, how can she be willing to be at her mercy?

So, I opened my mouth and said to Han, "I can't let the princess know about this. She will definitely think that this is an insult to her, and if she hurts her anger with her uncle and wife, the consequences will be unimaginable. ”

"But," Liang Dujian groaned, "Uncle Guo's wife has clearly ordered Bai Aya to be placed on the marriage bed, if she doesn't do this, she will definitely ask for it repeatedly, and even propose it to the princess herself, if she doesn't explain it to the princess first, I'm afraid the situation will be even more difficult to clean up." ”

Naturally, he has a point. I could only sigh: "But it is not easy to explain this to the princess." ”

"Don't be embarrassed, I already know that." The princess's voice rang out of the window, and then her skirt swung up, and she appeared by the door.

We didn't have time to show too many expressions of surprise, so we quickly got up and saluted her.

Her face was still indifferent, and there was no look of shame and anger, she just walked straight to Han Shi and stretched out her hand to her: "Give me Bai Aya." ”

Han Shi handed her a white silk as she said, she took it, looked down at it, and a mocking smile appeared on her lips.

The next day, the princess returned to the palace to worship the door, and did not show any emotion in front of her parents, and did not treat the concubine coldly, especially in the face of her father's inquiry, she even said that everything was good, which made Imajo smile pleasantly, as if relieved.

However, as soon as he returned to the princess's house, the hidden worries of this marriage were soon revealed.

After returning from the palace, the princess sat down with a curtain in the painting hall in the house according to the etiquette of the country, and met her aunt.

Uncle Guo has passed away, and now the only person to see is Yang. Mrs. Yang had already put on her dress, dressed in makeup, came in happily, blessed the princess outside the curtain, said two auspicious words, and hurriedly asked for warmth: "How have the princess been at my house these days?" Can the subordinate who serves in the house still be called the princess's heart? If there is anything wrong with them, the princess will tell her mother, and her mother will be beaten and scolded, and she will definitely call the princess again. ”

The princess ignored her for the time being, looked sideways at Zhang Chengzhao beside her, and asked, "Who is talking in the hall?" ”

Zhang Chengzhao bowed down and replied: "Back to the princess, it is the mother of the concubine Duwei, Yang." ”

"Oh, it turned out to be Sister-in-law Yang." The princess had an epiphany, and then said to the court: "Give my sister-in-law a seat." ”

"Sister-in-law?" Madame Yang muttered and repeated the title.

Zhang Chengzhao walked outside the curtain and said to Mrs. Yang with a smile: "Mrs. Guo, the family of the lord, I think I am respectful when I demote Zhaomu." Now that you are the princess's sister-in-law, don't call yourself 'mother' to the princess anymore and mess up your generation. ”

Mrs. Yang was slightly stunned, and Liang Dujian explained to her kindly when she saw this: "The etiquette system of the national dynasty is like this, and Mrs. must have heard it before?" The etiquette is like this, it is inconvenient to change it without permission, which is not close to human feelings, and I hope that Mrs. Haihan. ”

Mrs. Yang smiled reluctantly and said, "I know." Calling herself 'mother' to the princess is nothing more than wanting her to feel more cordial, like being by her mother's side. Since the princess is not happy, I will change it. ”

"Uncle Guo's wife is really reasonable." Zhang Chengzhao held his not-so-serious smile and reminded her of another point, "There is another thing, I hope that Mrs. will pay attention to it a little: the land and all the expenses for building this princess's mansion are all given by the official family, and this mansion is one of the dowries given to the princess by the official family, and the princess is the main owner here, not living in the house of the uncle's wife." If you feel any discomfort, you can always ask the princess to raise it, and the princess will do her best to arrange it for the lady. ”

Mrs. Yang's face sank more and more, but she couldn't refute it, so she had to respond hatefully: "In this way, the old body thanked the princess first, and the princess bothered." ”

The princess was stunned when she heard this: "Sister-in-law doesn't have to be polite. Immediately, he ordered left and right: "Give Uncle and Mrs. Guo a meeting gift." ”

Then the two columns of ministers each brought gifts, and came in from outside the door in an endless stream, and placed the gifts in the painting hall one by one.

The princess gave her aunt a gift of 300 taels of silverware, 500 pieces of clothing, several boxes of makeup, a dress dress, a pair of famous papers, and a bag of algae beans...... These are all gifts specified in the ritual. But in the end, what the minister brought in was a tray covered with red brocade, and it was impossible to see what was contained in it for the time being.

Every time a gift was sent, the ministers sang their names loudly, and when the last one was delivered, the ministers were silent and did not roll again.

At this time, the princess came out of the curtain, walked slowly to Mrs. Yang, and then lifted the red brocade on the tray, so that Mrs. Yang could see the gifts.

Madame Yang turned her head to look at it, and immediately changed color—it was a piece of white silk, as clean as when she sent it to Han.

"This gift I prepared for my sister-in-law, is my sister-in-law still satisfied?" The princess asked Mrs. Yang with a low look.

Before she could answer, the princess took the corner of the white silk, and with a wave of her big sleeves, the white silk was like a rainbow, stretching out in the air, spinning out a graceful arc like ripples, and then curling down—every inch of it was white, without any traces of being polluted by other colors.

Seeing the end of the white silk sweep over Yang's stunned face, the princess's gaze slowly moved up, staring at her, and chuckled at her in a challenging manner.