It's snowing.

I looked at the fluttering snowflakes, and at this moment, the sky and the earth were silent, and all the sounds were silent.

The high palace wall could not lock a bright moon, and only three or two small yellow doors passed through quietly under the wall, which seemed to be afraid of disturbing such a tranquility.

The snowflakes are pure white, falling on my sideburns that are as pure as white. Stuck to the corner of my eye, it turned into a tear that disappeared.

I am Sun Qixing, and I used to have too many identities.

And now I am nameless and without a name. It lives in most people's memories, most people's word of mouth.

I can't tell you about the happiness or misfortune of this life, the rush of forty years. Every time I think about it, there is always a bit of a stunned trance.

In the eighth year of Kang Yuan, Guotai Min'an.

"Miss! It's dangerous, you can't climb it! The maid was so anxious that she stamped her foot under the tree, and I was still trying to reach for the bird's nest in the branch. The chicks open their mouths wide, as if waiting for their parents to fly back sooner rather than later, so that they can feed their bellies. "Shhhh Childish, be quiet, it's not good for Daddy to hear it! Childish Red looked anxiously left and right, and I steadily put back the chick that had accidentally fallen out of the nest in my hand. Turning his head and glancing at the immature red, he was about to climb down quickly. I saw the big lady with a gloomy face at the corner of the corridor.

Oh no, my heart was full of bitterness, muttering about how the eldest lady was always so ghostly, but it also came down quickly with both hands and feet. Zhihong still wants to praise me, why did he come down so quickly. I had to pull her behind me, and Shi Shiran saluted the eldest lady who had already walked over.

"The eldest lady is well." I lowered my head, only to see the tassels of gold thread on the exquisitely embroidered shoes of the eldest lady Zhang, walking towards me step by step.

The eldest lady is not my biological mother, but three years after my mother's death, when I was two years old, my father married a woman from the big clan.

One day, I ran to the ancestral hall to beg my father for shortbread to eat. I only saw my father kneeling in the ancestral hall, holding my mother's rank and crying. It was the first time I saw my father cry when I was young, and I was afraid that my father would be half-kneeling, and he would not be able to hide his burly posture.

And at this moment, my father was just wiping my mother's ranking with tears in his eyes, and the emotions rolling in his eyes were something I didn't understand at that time.

Three months after that day, Zhang became my father's eldest wife. In charge of the affairs of the inner courtyard, after the house has a mistress everything has become in order, although so many years lukewarm, she has never forced me and my brother to call her mother, but she also taught me and my brother to learn and etiquette, and with my father as a guest, I still respect this eldest lady very much from the bottom of my heart.

"Xiao Qi is polite." Zhang's voice pulled me back to reality, and I stood up, ten years of time had not left too many traces on the woman's face. The eldest lady is well-maintained and looks like a typical graceful and luxurious lady.

I wrung my hands uneasily, and I knew that my undignified tree-climbing behavior had been seen by the eldest lady. And what the eldest lady values most is the etiquette teaching to me. Just as I was about to accept the teachings of the eldest lady, the eldest lady waved her hand, "That's it, you little skin monkey, the general is back, you go and see him." ”

The red eyes suddenly lit up, and I couldn't hide the excitement in my heart. After saluting the eldest lady and saying goodbye, he and Zhihong returned to the room to change clothes. The next person came to report that Daddy had just come back and needed to take a bath and change clothes, and then we would eat together at dinner. My heart slowly returned to myself from the clouds, I haven't seen Daddy for six months. Since Daddy was named the general of the town of the country, he has been busy with military affairs every day. In the past, we could see each other every day, but now it has become a luxury.

Six months ago, he sent Daddy out on the expedition to suppress the rebellion on the Yundu border. Daddy touched my head and only told me to listen to the eldest lady and learn more from female workers. I held my breath and didn't have a seizure, watching Daddy drift away, with my crookedly embroidered peace purse pinned to his waist. When I returned to the room, I couldn't stop crying, and I was so distressed that I wiped my tears and brought me water.

"Zhihong, I remember that Sister Yunzhi gave me a turquoise dress of Shu brocade before, you can bring it to me and change it on." The young red replied crisply, and went to help me find a dress. I sat in front of the vanity mirror and stroked a snow-white hosta, which my mother had left me, and slowly inserted it into my bun.

At the family banquet, the whole family was overjoyed by Daddy's triumph, and the whole house was brightly lit. Although the eldest lady behaves coldly on weekdays, I know that she still cares about Daddy very much in her heart, and all the dishes tonight are arranged and purchased by the eldest lady, and they rotate in the kitchen.

I hurried to the antechamber with a red scarlet, the summer breeze blowing up the beaded curtains in the hallway. Hearing Daddy's hearty laughter outside the mahogany screen, I poked my head out and saw Daddy and my brother talking happily. Daddy suddenly saw me smirking at him, and the kindness on his face became more than three points. "My little seven, when I see Daddy, I can't come over, don't you miss Daddy for more than half a year?"

"Daddy!" I happily threw myself into Daddy's arms, and suddenly my eyes felt sour. Raising his head and looking at Daddy like a rabbit, "Xiao Qi obeys the arrangement of the eldest lady at home, and has obediently studied schoolwork and female workers for half a year. It's that Daddy doesn't miss Xiao Qi much, and he is reluctant to write a few more letters to his family. ”

"Hey, Xiao Qi, don't be rude." My brother Sun Qiyu spoke at this time, "Father is busy with military affairs, how can he have so much time to write a letter to you." I pursed my mouth, "That's my brother jealous of me." Then he stood up. Daddy couldn't help but laugh a few times as he watched our brother and sister bickering. He scraped it on my nose and took out an ivory ball from his bosom and handed it to me. I held the ball in the palm of my hand and couldn't help but exclaim. The ball is exquisite, with 30 layers carved into the ivory. Each floor can be rotated, which is truly ingenious.

"What a beautiful ivory ball, where did my father get it?" My brother was also attracted by the ball in my hand and was amazed again and again. "This is the peace tribute that the Yundu royal family presented when I recovered the Yundu border, most of which have been collected by Your Majesty, and some of which have been given to me by Your Majesty." Daddy touched my head lovingly, and I was still immersed in the structure of the ball. "I see that there is an ivory ball in it, and I think Xiao Qi will like this girl, so I will bring it to her to enjoy!" I held the ball and said thank you Daddy happily. At this time, the eldest lady also came and informed us that the dishes had been served and the family feast began. I took Daddy's arm and went to the dining room.

Daddy pulled me to sit on his right side, and I kept serving him. After a while, the dish was as high as a hill. Brother burst out laughing, "Sister, I haven't finished the dishes in front of my father yet, and you're all finished, how can I eat them?" I snorted arrogantly and ignored my brother. Daddy, you eat this, pearl rice stewed pork belly soup. I heard Zhao's mother say that it had been stewed for three hours, and the eldest lady had been watching from the kitchen. The eldest lady's cheeks were slightly red, and she waved her hand again and again and said that there was no such thing. Daddy looked at the eldest lady with a smile and patted her hand, "In the past six months, you have worked hard at home and abroad. The eldest lady's cheeks turned even redder, and she hurriedly handed over another eight-treasure duck to subtly ease the atmosphere.

At the banquet, everyone was happy, and the cups were staggered. After six months of worrying about Daddy's fear, everything was finally safe, I watched Daddy pour wine for the eldest lady, and my brother sandwiched chicken thighs with scallion oil for me. The candlelight made everyone's faces warm, such a good day, it is really not too many in a hundred years!

As the feast drew to a close, Daddy cleared his throat. Everyone quieted down and listened to what Daddy was going to announce next.

"The recovery of the Yundu rebellion this time has been very smooth, and the Holy Dragon is happy. And it is not easy to sympathize with the border soldiers, so a banquet is set up in the palace, and Kai En can bring his relatives with him. Daddy paused and looked at me. Xiao Qi is now over the age of Lu, and I have been on the battlefield for so many years, and everything in Xiao Qi is managed by Mrs. Now that the saint is gracious, I want to take Xiao Qi to the palace and see the world. ”

I looked at each other silently, the palace? That unreachable temple, the palace walls are towering. On weekdays, when I go out in a sedan chair, I can only lift the corner of the curtain and take a cautious look. However, with heavy troops and deep palace walls, I was always curious and afraid of that place.

The eldest lady bowed her head slightly in contemplation. "Well, that's fine. The daughter's family has seen the world more, so that she will not be frightened by a little wind and waves. Daddy patted me on the shoulder, "Xiao Qi, don't panic, Daddy and the eldest lady will accompany you." ”

I looked at my brother, "Daddy, isn't my brother going?" Brother Ah smiled, "Xiao Qi, you forgot, Brother Ah wants to prepare for the imperial examination, and he is going to enter the Tribute Academy." I smiled embarrassedly, "Then brother, you don't have the luck to go to the palace to have a look, I'll come back and talk to you when the time comes." ”

Daddy got up after drinking the teacup, and everyone stood up one after another. "Then it is decided, on the eleventh day of this month, Madame has to teach the etiquette in the Little Seventh Palace in advance, and prepare clothes and other items. The palace is not more casual than at home, and Xiao Qi also has to learn from the eldest lady seriously. ”

"Yes." The eldest lady answered with me. Everyone saluted Daddy back to the room.

In the middle of the night, I couldn't fall asleep tossing and turning on the couch. Gently lift the veil and call out the name of the immature red. Scarlet sat on the edge of the bed with an oil lamp, the flame of which danced in our faces. "Childish, what do you think the palace is like?" Zhihong scratched her head, "Miss's question can't be answered, and the slave has never been to the palace." ”

I rolled over, my face full of anticipation. "I heard that the rarest treasures in the world are in the palace, and so are the most beautiful women."

"Did Miss mean Concubine Chen?"

"Yes, that's her. There are too many versions of her legend in the world. "Childish Red covered me with a quilt and looked at me with a serious face.

"The slave doesn't know, in the slave's heart, the young lady is the most beautiful."

I pinched my blushing face, this little girl who grew up with me. "Zhihong, when the time comes, we will enter the palace together, and we will see how beautiful the legendary Concubine Chen is!"

The immature blush brushed my hair, "Okay, Miss Duyi." Miss, go to sleep, it's already three watches. ”

The immature red took the oil lamp and left, turning into a small point of light under the heavy veil. I pulled the brocade quilt and looked forward to the palace banquet on the eleventh day.