Gu Yunqiu woke up, but not completely.
He opened his eyes and looked around in confusion, and unexpectedly saw a room full of painted buildings, carved beams, and splendor.
The furnishings and arrangements in the house were both familiar and unfamiliar to him:
He was lying on an Arhat bed with a rosette pattern. The bed was decorated with a gold curtain. On the left side of the tent was a bronze lamp with the head of a sparrow. Behind the lamp was an ebony cabinet. On the right side was a washstand, wooden cabinets, and a bright bronze mirror.
Behind the painted screen in the distance is the main hall, with a plaque reading "Ningxintang" hung in the hall. Below the plaque, under the east and west pillars, are two rows of pine treasure shelves. There are no strange stones on the shelves, but instead they are filled with various exquisite clay figurines.
The spring breeze rolls open the gauze curtains at the windows, revealing the peach willows and green grass outside.
The silver-armored guard guarding him was gone, the knee-deep snow was gone, and even the cold-faced lunatic who killed everyone on sight was gone.
There was no cold sword stained with blood, no handyman died tragically in front of his eyes, only the clear and sweet Qinan agarwood filling the room.
Smelling the familiar fragrance, Gu Yunqiu rubbed his eyes and slowly raised his hand to touch his neck:
There was not a single scar on the smooth skin, not even a wrinkle. The large gash that was leaking blood disappeared, but the dull pain of torn flesh and blood remained on the back of the neck.
Gu Yunqiu stood up in confusion, but was surprised to see five small dimples on the back of his hand.
He turned his hands with wide eyes, lifted the quilt, and saw another pair of short legs.
Gu Yunqiu was stunned and jumped down. Ignoring the dull pain in his butt|buttocks, he spread his legs and climbed to the high stool in front of the washstand——
The clean and bright copper mirror reflected the pink and white face of an eight-year-old child:
She has a high nose bridge and straight tip, lips like red lotuses, and eyes like willow leaves. Her slender neck is wrapped in a goose-yellow brocade pajamas. Two mighty little tigers are embroidered on the staggered collar, and there are also hidden patterns of unicorns and auspicious beasts all around.
Gu Yunqiu stared at the mirror in disbelief and did not recover for a long time.
This, this is...
At this time, there was noise outside the house, and the hurried footsteps were mixed with a woman's voice: "Doctor, please take a look at this child again. Now the high fever has gone away, and the medicine is taking according to your prescription, but these three things It’s heaven, but I still don’t wake up.”
...Mother and concubine?
Gu Yunqiu turned his head and happened to see several people coming in from outside the house.
The first woman was in her early thirties, wearing a plain long skirt, and her long hair was casually pulled up into a bun on the back of her head. Although she did not have any gold, silver or jade items on her body, she had a royal tribute flower on her temple. peony.
Seeing him lying in front of the mirror, the woman was stunned and then smiled, "This kid!"
Without waiting for Gu Yunqiu's reaction, she walked behind him and squatted down. A beautiful face appeared above his head: "What's so beautiful about it?"
Gu Yunqiu looked at the bronze mirror. The woman in the mirror had a pointed and pretty melon-seed face, long and narrow eyes, eyebrows like distant mountains, full and arched lips, and a smile that made people feel close to her.
This is his mother-in-law, the current Princess Ning.
However, upon closer inspection, they looked nothing alike, not even in the corners of their eyes or eyebrows, nor in the heavens or the earth.
Gu Yunqiu calmed down and lowered his head to hide the emotions in his eyes.
Seeing that he was silent, Princess Ning smiled and rubbed his head, then reached out to pick him up and put him back on the bed, and thoughtfully put a soft cushion under him.
After Gu Yunqiu sat down, Princess Ning waved to the doctor who was standing far away to come over.
The doctor stepped forward and respectfully called out "Little Prince" before taking the pulse pillow and asking Gu Yunqiu to place his wrist on it.
Looking at the old doctor's urn and taking his pulse, Gu Yunqiu finally remembered where he was and what year and day it was——
On April 11, the eighth year of Chenghe, he learned to make a Kongming lantern.
As a result, the lamp went out of control after it took off, and was blown by the wind and fell straight into his father's study. The flying sparks lit up the rice paper on the desk, and instantly burned the entire desk into a fiery red.
He was frightened and led a few boys to put out the fire, but they looked everywhere for water but could not find it. Gu Yunqiu rummaged through the cabinet and unexpectedly found several heavy jars at the bottom of the cabinet.
At that time, he did not know that this was the wine treasured by his father. When he opened the mud seal and saw that it was clear and transparent, he thought it was water. Without thinking much, he ordered the boys to pour it over——
With a whoosh, the flames jumped even higher and the entire study was set on fire. Finally, an embroidered picture of a hundred children that Prince Ning prepared to present to the Queen Mother was burned to charcoal.
In anger, King Ning imprisoned Gu Yunqiu in the ancestral hall and beat him five times using family methods.
In fact, the five strokes were not many. Except for the first stroke, which was heavier, Ning Wang lessened his strength in the following strokes.
But - Gu Yunqiu had never been beaten before. He fell ill after coming out of the ancestral hall. He was unconscious and had a high fever all night. He stayed in the hospital bed for three to five days and almost died.
"Princess, don't be anxious. According to the pulse, the little prince is fine. It's just that the wind evil has entered the body and needs more rest. I'll make a new prescription, take some medicine and rest for two days, and then I'll be fine."
After hearing what the old doctor said, Gu Yunqiu became even more sure:
He was born again.
I was reborn in spring and April of the year I was eight years old.
"Then..." Princess Ning was still worried, "Why was she in a coma for so many days?"
The old doctor stroked his beard and said, "The young prince is very rich, so it is common for him to be afraid of being bitten."
Princess Ning thoughtfully nodded, thanked the doctor, and then asked the nun beside her to take the reward and send the doctor out.
After everyone left, she turned around and scratched the tip of Gu Yunqiu's nose, "Silly boy, are you still afraid of your father? You've been in a coma for the past few days, and he's been as anxious as anything. He's been on leave to accompany you for a few days, and today I personally lined up in the morning to buy cakes for you."
"……cake?"
"Tao Ji's, your favorite."
Tao Ji is the most famous sweet cake shop in Beijing. Regardless of the variety of their pastries, every one of their pastries is made and sold on the same day. The variety is rich and the taste is special. Every day before dawn and the shop is not open, there will be people outside the shop. It was packed with people.
Originally, King Ning could have arranged for his subordinates to make a trip for him, but he kept watching and couldn't see his son waking up. He felt anxious, so he simply took a trip. Maybe the child would wake up when he came back. It would be a good time to buy some sweet cakes. Can eat.
Perhaps because he was born during the Mid-Autumn Festival, Gu Yunqiu has loved to eat sweet-scented osmanthus cakes since he was a child. He especially loves Taoji cakes, which are made with fresh ice powder and filled with soft sand fillings. When you bite into it, it is so sweet that the fragrance of osmanthus seems to be on your lips and teeth. .
Seeing that Gu Yunqiu was still stunned, Princess Ning simply took away the cushion behind him and helped him lie down, "If you are tired, just sleep more. Don't worry, your father will not be angry with you anymore. If he comes back, he will scold you again." You, mother will scold you back!"
Gu Yunqiu blinked.
Princess Ning made a face and said, "Qiuqiu is not afraid."
Suddenly being called by his nickname, Gu Yunqiu felt mixed emotions in his heart. In the end, he could only relax and lay down on his back, slowly closing his eyes——
In his previous life, Gu Yunqiu was a playboy.
He does not like reading, is not good at writing, and is useless in the six arts of a gentleman.
The young masters of other families should go to school at the age of five and get up to study in the early morning. However, Gu Yunqiu was too sleepy and couldn't get out of bed in the morning. Prince Ning had no choice but to invite a teacher to his home and teach him to study in the afternoon.
Even so, Gu Yunqiu was still absent from five to three o'clock, either going to the streets to watch a show or climbing a rockery, flying kites, and fighting crickets.
At the age of eight, he still could not recite the entire thousand-character text. He asked for help when riding a horse, and hit the drummer with an arrow.
Once he entered the palace, he either broke the emperor's precious inkstone or drowned the transplanted lychees in the palace, broke off the large coral in the palace of the imperial concubine, and let go of the parakeet that the Queen Mother had carefully raised for three years...
When he grew up, Gu Yunqiu became the most handsome man in Beijing:
He failed in the imperial examinations many times and gained nothing in the autumn hunting. Apart from being good-looking and having a face as white as snow and a peach-like face, there was nothing to be desired about him——
He only knows how to throw pots, play cards, and drink. Even if he doesn't lose a game, he can tell at a glance whether the ice crack piano is fake or not by shaking the folding fan...
However, everyone in the capital still said: There is no better way to have a child than Gu Yunqiu.
Gu Yunqiu was able to live such a free and carefree life in his previous life, for no other reason than that his father was His Majesty's biological brother and his mother and concubine were the youngest daughter of Duke Dingguo.
King Jinning has a special position. It is said that before the founding of the Jin Dynasty, there were troubled times. Emperor Tai|zu fought in the six countries and narrowly escaped death. Fortunately, a young master named Gu fought for his life and helped him, and he was able to successfully win the kingdom.
The two were close friends and brothers in life and death. After Taizu ascended the throne, he wanted to worship Mr. Gu as his prime minister. Unfortunately, he suffered from an old illness and resigned because of his illness.
Taizu was helpless, so he specially established the throne of Idle Ning to preserve the future wealth and glory of the Gu family.
However, just a few years after the founding of the country, Mr. Gu died of a serious illness. He left behind no sons and a half daughters. The Taizu was grieved and gave birth to an heir with his own youngest son. King's ancestral teachings.
Therefore, there were many royal descendants among the kings of Ning in the past dynasties.
However, Duke Ding was brave and fought against the Western Rong outside the Jiayuguan Pass, thus ensuring peace in the Central Plains for several years. After his death in battle, his son led the troops to continue guarding the northwest, and was awarded the title of Second-grade General of the State.
The daughter of the Xu family was married by the late emperor in her early years, and now she is the concubine who takes charge of the affairs of the Sixth Palace.
In short, Gu Yunqiu has an uncle who is an emperor, an aunt who is a noble concubine, and an uncle who is a general with hundreds of thousands of troops...
He has a prominent family background and is a relative of the emperor, so he is naturally confident.
Moreover, the princess had been weak since she was a child and had a poor relationship with heirs. It was difficult for her to become pregnant with Gu Yunqiu. On the day of giving birth, she had frequent problems:
First, the weather was very different, it was cloudy and raining heavily during the August 15th Reunion Festival, and then the moat suddenly backed up for unknown reasons, causing the capital gate to be closed early.
Prince Ning and his wife were trapped outside the city. They had no choice but to take refuge in Baoguo Temple temporarily.
Baoguo Temple is a national temple. The abbot, Master Yuankong, opened the Convenient Method and asked the monks to leave the monk's residence. He also went to nearby villages and persuaded a midwife who was willing to go out on the night of the Mid-Autumn Rainstorm.
Due to limited conditions and insufficient manpower in the temple, Princess Ning narrowly escaped death and gave birth to Yunqiu. With such an experience, Prince Ning and his wife naturally doted on the child even more——
If you don’t like writing, you don’t have to write. If you don’t want to ride, you don’t have to ride.
No matter what kind of trouble you cause outside, as long as it doesn't violate the principles, it can be dealt with as a household matter.
No matter how dissatisfied others were, they could only lament that Gu Yunqiu was born into a good child and was born rich and noble.
And Gu Yunqiu lived like this absurdly and casually for twenty years, until——
The Mid-Autumn Festival of the 20th year of Chenghe.
On August 15th of that year, Prince Ning's Mansion was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations to not only celebrate the full moon of the Mid-Autumn Festival but also to congratulate Prince Ning's son and his crown. The guests were all ministers from well-known families and relatives of the emperor.
But not long after the banquet started, Prince Ning and his wife welcomed an old woman in coarse linen clothes as their honored guest.
The old woman was originally from the capital and came all the way from Shu.
His son had served in the army in Sichuan and Shaanxi a few years ago, and after taking her to take care of him, he was recently transferred back for his contribution in quelling the chaos. After she returned to the capital with him, she heard that Prince Ning's crown prince had come to congratulate him with several pieces of Shu brocade.
After Mammy sat down, Princess Ning pulled Gu Yunqiu to introduce him in a low voice, telling him that she was the mama who had delivered the baby back then.
Gu Yunqiu immediately stepped forward, bowed down and called her "grandma" obediently, which made the old lady very happy. But when she mentioned that rainy night, she surprisingly said that she still remembered the three lucky moles on the sole of the young prince's right foot.
As soon as these words came out, the lively banquet gradually fell into silence.
Prince Ning's hand holding the wine glass trembled slightly, and Princess Ning also stood up from her seat in disbelief.
Gu Yunqiu's smile froze even more on his face, and the color faded.
Everyone knows that Gu Yunqiu, the eldest son of Prince Ning, has a skin as white as snow and as bright as gel. Not to mention moles, he doesn't even have a spot on his body.
There was an orphan who was born in Baoguo Temple on the same day as him. He had the mole on the sole of his foot that his mother was talking about.
