After walking for a long time, the stone steps of the garden were thickly covered with snow like water foam, and the trees in front of the pavilion were covered with heavy snow, and ice formed under the snow. There are occasionally a few camellia plants on the side of the road, which are blooming with pink flowers, and the posture is a little bent down, half-hidden in the snowflakes, red and white, and the colors are brilliant, making people feel a kind of flashy but vulgar, clear and not cold wind bones.

Suddenly, my eyes were drawn to a bright red in the distance, it was kapok. In modern times, I have never seen kapok with my own eyes, but it turned out to be so beautiful that it fell into my eyes, and I was stunned.

On the tall and straight kapok trees, one by one, one by one, like the soft and light feathers on the tail wings of a crane, the kapok is competing with each other to open, standing high on the branches, the flowers are like a raging fire. The most rare thing is that although it is very red, it is not as red as the peony, and the kapok is red and solemn, dyeing the inky black sky red, as if blood is burning.

I couldn't help but get closer, as far as the eye could see, the tall branches of the kapok tree were like the indomitable notes in the hands of a gentleman, the branches were like the skirts of the Nine Heavens Fairy, the flowers were red like fire, the stamen was red like flames, the petals were lightly covered by ice and snow, the red was white, the white was red, and when I got closer, the tip of my nose could faintly smell a faint fragrance in the air, which was rich but not heavy, and it was intoxicating.

All around me was silent, and I could only hear the whirring sound of the winter wind blowing off the snow on the branches, and I wrapped my body tightly in a feathered satin robe. The starlight flickered and dimmed, the snow was covered with snow, and the shadows of the many flowers and trees overhead were confusedly intertwined, as if the branches of countless Zhilan honeysuckle flowers were reflected in the dissolving moonlight, half-bright and half-ambiguous, and the sky was hazy.

I was afraid of alarming people, so I blew out the lights, tried to hold my breath, and tiptoed slowly to move inside, for fear that my footsteps would make a sound from the fallen leaves and snow, and I saw a touch of silver-gray clothes through the shadow of the flowers, and the willow leaf lines embroidered with silver threads on it were faintly visible in the snowlight, and he paced back and forth, looking so impatient, and said to the two people next to him as if he was joking: "Since Zixi hasn't played with us, It's really boring and boring these days, and I still have a game of chess with her! As he spoke, he patted the shoulder of the person sitting on the left side of the stone table again, "Zhijun, you hurry up and think of a way to let Zixi come out and make trouble with us!" ”

Zhijun said with a smile: "When Zixi is here, you always bully others, Zixi is gone, just count the most you talk about, Zixi is not long away from the day of entering the palace, her temperament, you still let her learn the etiquette rules in Xianting Pavilion!" lest you suffer a big loss in the future! He immediately shook his head, picked up the warm wine jug on the small stove, poured it full, handed it to the person sitting on his right, and asked, "Brother Tan, what you say is reasonable?" ”

Tan Sitong took the wine cup, took a sip and said, "Although Zhijun's words are reasonable, they are not human," smiled lightly, "Not only Zhirui, but even I want to see the five girls of your family," after thinking about it, he said, "Besides, whether you suffer or not has little to do with whether you learn etiquette rules or not." ”

Zhijun looked at him and asked curiously, "Do you know Zixi too?" ”

Tan Sitong said with a smile: "I have a relationship, not the same as ordinary girls in the capital, and I have a lot of personality." ”

Zhirui sighed, "It's a pity, when my son enters the palace, we will never see her again, let alone play with her." ”

Tan Sitong hurriedly waved his hand, "This fifth girl of your family is not a thing in the pool, and she will definitely want the phoenix to reign for nine days in the future," his gaze fell lightly on Zhirui's face, "You can rest assured, you will definitely have the opportunity to meet again." ”

Zhirui stared at Tan Sitong and asked, "Are you so sure?" ”

Tan Sitong smiled faintly, "I'm absolutely sure." ”

Zhijun drank a glass of wine, "Don't think so far, there is a chance to see Zixi now." ”

Zhirui hurriedly asked, "What chance?" ”

Zhijun said: "The palace has spoken, and on the night of Chinese New Year's Eve, Zixi and Ziyu can rejoice with their families and have a good fortune before entering the palace." ”

Zhirui was puzzled, "This is a great joy, and it is also a grace that has not been seen before." ”

Zhijun said with a smile: "I asked someone to inquire that this is the grace of the emperor's special edict this morning," squinted his eyes again, and asked slowly, "What do you two think about this matter?" ”

Tan Sitong knew everything about nature, and smiled calmly: "What did I say just now!" ”

Zhirui hugged his arms and gently pursed his lips with his fingertips, "I just don't know if this is a grace to our Tatara family, or if the queen also inherited this rare grace?" ”

Zhijun thought for a while, "It's not important at all, as we all know, the emperor only chose one queen and two concubines, and the grace of both concubines is impossible, no matter how thin the queen's share, even if the emperor doesn't like the queen very much, but for the sake of Lafayette's face, there are some things that have to be done." ”

Tan Sitong chuckled and said, "Whether you believe it or not, the emperor must have done this because he likes the five girls of your family." ”

Zhirui hurriedly waved his hand and said with a smile: "Impossible, impossible, it is said that at that time in the draft, the emperor originally wanted to give the jade Ruyi in his hand to the youngest daughter of the Dexin family, but then Lafayette spoke out to stop the emperor before giving up, how long has it been, how can the emperor like Zixi in turn?" After a pause, he said: "What's more, with my understanding of the emperor, he is not a person who is easy to indulge in women. ”

Zhijun smacked his hand and said, "That's what you said, I've heard about the draft," thought for a while, smiled on his face, and continued, "Do you know that the youngest daughter of the Dexin family was overjoyed and sad too quickly in one day, and fell ill after the draft, lingering on the sickbed until today." ”

Zhirui was puzzled: "This is strange, Prince Alcohol also fell ill some time ago," he said, and his voice slowly lowered, "Who do you guess I met in front of Prince Alcohol's Mansion on the day of Qixi Festival?" ”

Zhijun asked, "Who?" ”

Zhirui said: "Your Majesty." ”

Zhijun was surprised, "Really? ”

Zhirui said: "Can this still be fake? ”

Tan Sitong asked: "On the day of Qixi Festival?" After a long silence, he asked again: "Could it be that the five girls in your family also met the emperor?" ”

Zhirui nodded, "Met it." ”

Zhi Jun straightened up, pointed at Zhirui and said, "You ......" and sighed again, "Zixi's body has not fully recovered, you actually took her out without telling us!" ”

Zhirui said in a low voice: "Haven't you always disliked these festivals? ”

Tan Sitong pondered for a while, "It's no wonder. ”

Zhirui asked, "What's the wonder?" ”

Tan Sitong had a slight smile on the corner of his mouth, "Xu is the emperor's draft, after hearing that the youngest daughter of the Dexin family had a serious illness and had not yet recovered, and met the five girls in front of the palace of Prince Alcohol, and suddenly found that the five girls were coming. ”

Zhirui thought for a moment, "It's not impossible. ”

Zhijun said: "It's just ...... Don't you think there's something strange about it? ”

Tan Sitong wrinkled his eyebrows and said: "What's so strange, who can say for sure something like love?" He raised the wine cup and shook it at Mingyue, "Speaking of which, the Aixin Jueluo family has really produced many love emperors for hundreds of years, such as Huang Taiji and Hai Lanzhu, such as Emperor Shunzhi and Concubine Dong E, such as Emperor Qianlong and Empress Xiaoxianchun, and now the emperor is also an amorous seed, and it is not surprising that the love for the five girls is deep-rooted!" ”

Zhirui's face gradually turned pale, and he said softly: "If Zixi is a pet in the future, it will also be a collection of grievances, and the queen and Lafayette will not be able to eat her alive, how can she be tolerated?" ”

Tan Sitong nodded, "That's a good thing, think about how many of those favored concubines I just said had a good end?" ”

Zhijun frowned and was speechless.

Zhirui hugged his fists and said: "No, no, no, I must not let Zixi be bullied by others." ”

Tan Sitong grabbed the corner of Zhirui's clothes, "You be quiet, if you don't let others bully others, you won't bully others?" Besides, what can you do as a foreign minister? ”

The three of them were silent for a while, and Zhijun sighed: "After Zixi enters the palace, it will be a high wall and rubble, two worlds, even if we are powerful, we can't make a place, and everything can only be planned by herself." ”

I stood still, my hands curled up, and I felt a little frozen all over. Although I know the general trend of history, but such a long road can not be filled by a few major events, the long road of the lonely deep palace is to rely on oneself step by step to the end, no one can help me, after thousands of days and nights, year after year of spring, summer, autumn and winter, but also to rely on themselves to spend, to plan.

After a while, the cold wind blew across the face and brought up a strand of hanging sideburns, as if a sharp blade scraped through the skin, only then came back to his senses, a heart seemed to be grabbed by a cat's claw, and he was pulled out of a hollow, so bottomless, so dark, so blurred in front of him that he couldn't see things, only covered his mouth with his hand and took a few steps back, and ran out in a hurry to feel the black, his mind was chaotic, his hands and feet were cold, as if someone was chasing me with a knife behind him, and the warmth around him was all scattered. Stepping on the broken ice all the way under his feet, he finally ran back to Xianting Pavilion after breaking through the long corridor and alley.

Bai Ge and the others saw me come in reluctantly, running loosely, and my sideburns were messy, and their faces couldn't help but be frightened, and they surrounded me and asked repeatedly: "Little master, what's wrong?" But was it hit by the cold wind? ”

I shook my head quickly, "When I walked to the garden, a gust of wind blew the candle flame in the glass lamp and blew it out, and it was pitch black all around, and I couldn't see anything, but it scared me!" ”

Gao Wanzhi said with annoyance: "The slave said that the little master should not be allowed to go out so late." ”

Ying'er hurriedly poured tea over, "The little master should take a sip of hot tea to warm up his body first." ”

I poured it down, and my body warmed up a little, "Although it is cold outside, the air is also fresh, and it is much more comfortable to walk around." Que'er took the eiderdown cloak and wrapped it around me, "It's been a few days since I entered the palace, but fortunately the girl hasn't been frozen, otherwise I really don't know what to do." ”

At the mention of entering the palace, I was suddenly shocked in my heart, and I couldn't help but have some trembling fear, not because I was afraid of Cixi, but because I was afraid that I would be manipulated by fate in the future and I was at a loss, and then I had a lot of helplessness and despair. Bai Gexu saw that I was restless, his eyes swept around, and he said lightly: "Don't say it, it's not early, it's almost dawn, and the little master is tired, after the big basin of hot water comes to wash the little master, let's rest quickly!" ”