Since the death of Xia Mu, Prince Jia's palace has been shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere. Even with such a great joyous event as the crown prince's ascension to the throne, there are still not many smiles and cheerful expressions.
Too much blood has been shed here, and the long-lasting pain has deprived the people in the house of joy.
"Compared with the difference between life and death, nothing else seems so important."
On the first anniversary of Xia Chengxuan's ascension to the throne, the house only hung up white lanterns, picked up glass lamps, and pasted gilt couplets according to the usual royal rules. Not to mention the sound of silk and bamboo performances, the banquet was only attended by Xia Chengxuan and Rui Xiaoling and the newlyweds sat and ate facing each other. Before the meal, they looked around at the empty seats. Thinking of their deceased relatives, the two hugged each other and burst into tears.
It is difficult to describe the desolation of the scene.
Today is the eleventh day of the first lunar month, and it stands to reason that there are still several days before the Lantern Festival. With the number of servants in the eldest princess's house, it only takes one day to prepare everything. But Rui Xiaoling is really happy, and she has to arrange for everyone to go down and tidy up at night.
"Hibiscus, you and the people in the Kush Room have polished all the lamps inside and outside for me." Alai, Xia Chengxuan's little follower, pointed to a maid in yellow clothes in the courtyard and said, "It's cold now, and the hot water in the kitchen can't be supplied." It keeps burning, but don’t let the girls’ hands get frostbite.”
Seeing that the maid in yellow said "yes", she then addressed the maid in pink beside her: "Mu Qing, take the people from the dressing room to scrub the corridors, tables, eaves and pillars in the inner garden again..." ..”
Du Chong wanted to stay in the palace as a deacon, and it was rare for Alai to hold the power. At this moment, he was giving orders to everyone in the palace, and he was still in a decent manner. He felt that everything was arranged properly, and then spoke to several consuls: "They all figured out how many men they were short of. I will go to General Fenwei's mansion to borrow some girls soon."
Although Rui Mansion has a current queen, Rui Tuxian, as the head of the country, still serves as the third-grade Fenwei General. However, the military camp under his control has become a 30,000 city defense force outside the capital.
Although he was only a third-grade general, he was far from the helpless idle general he had been before.
After temporarily agreeing with Xia Chengxuan to hold a big banquet tomorrow, Rui Xiaoling was worried that there were not enough maids and mothers-in-law in the eldest princess's house, so she decided to go to her mother's house. There were many maids and eunuchs in the palace, but she never took a fancy to them and asked Alai to go to her old father to ask for someone.
"That was a family banquet. All the talents inside and outside are good." This is what the Queen thought.
Fortunately, the two mansions were only a few miles apart, so it only took half an hour to drive there and back.
Yun Xiaoyang was awakened by the sound of splashing water outside the house. When she opened her eyes, she realized that it was already night. Performing acupuncture on Xia Chengyi during the day was very physically demanding. Even with her internal strength, she still felt extremely tired. As soon as she returned to her room, she lay down in the Nuan Pavilion and fell asleep.
It's this time as soon as I fall asleep.
"Hey, my family has lit a lamp for me." Seeing the candlestick outside was on, he thought it was the girl from the family who had come, so he put on his fur coat and pushed the door open.
Mei Yuanchen was leaning on the embroidery chair and was in a daze. He suddenly woke up when he heard the door being knocked and stood up suddenly.
"ah!"
"ah!"
Staring at each other, they counted their breaths without saying a word.
"When did you come?" Yun Xiaoyang wrinkled her nose and scolded in a sweet voice, "Waiting outside my house, what do you mean?"
This was the eldest princess's mansion, and she knew clearly that Mei Yuanchen and Xia Chengyi were related by marriage, so she wanted to avoid suspicion. Although I was overjoyed to see my beloved again after farewell, I didn't dare to express it for fear of being overheard by someone else.
Mei Yuanchen came to the small courtyard where Yun Xiaoyang was temporarily staying early after bidding farewell to Xia Chengxuan. When he saw the door was closed, he knew that the beauty had gone to bed, so he sat down on the embroidered chair and waited. During this trip to the Ruozhou Alliance, he experienced the nine-hall siege outside Zhiyun Village in Leizhou, a battle with Shi Yinheng on the Xujia Arena in Ruozhou, and even fought with Duanmuyu and his entourage at the Hongshi Bay and Zhaixing Pavilion. Many masters from the Yan Gang and the Nine Halls fought to the death. When I think about it now, I have so many mixed feelings that it is difficult to describe it all.
"If Yun'er hadn't resisted the skinny old man from Jiudian outside Zhiyun Villa, I would have died under the dragon-bone ax, and there would be no bones left. If the three seniors Yi, Guan, and Xue hadn't arrived at Hongshi Bay, I would have How can you survive with three heads and six arms?" Thinking of this section, I couldn't help but think of Xue Dingyi who died after being struck by a sword to save himself, and my eyes became wet several times.
"I was surrounded by Zhang Suiguang's people at the corner of the street. If Su Ye hadn't risked his life, he would have saved me..."
In just a few months, he was on the verge of despair three times. Mei Yuanchen had to think about his actions: "I was really too impatient before, and my impulsiveness ended up harming others and myself. Next time I fall into a dangerous situation, Is it possible that someone still needs to come to save me? Senior Xue has already died for me, how can I harm others again!"
It was a rare moment of free time, but there were indeed many things worth thinking about. However, everyone in the house seemed to have agreed upon it and never disturbed him, allowing him to sit quietly from before noon until now.
After hearing the beauty's complaint, Mei Yuanchen stepped forward and softly called "Yun'er" without explaining.
That was a person who saved his life twice and whose happiness in life depended entirely on him. Not only was he scolded a few words indifferently, but he was punched hard a few times. That was just as satisfying.
Seeing her lowering her head, Mei Yuanchen took two steps forward, held her jade-like hands, and said softly: "Yun'er, I'm so lucky."
The two of them knew each other so well that even though they had thousands of words to say, they didn't say any more at this time.
Yun Xiaoyang raised her head, smiled softly, shook her head slowly, and let Mei Yuanchen take her into his arms.
"Gugu..."
"Gugu..."
While the two were chatting, Yun Xiaoyang's stomach growled for no reason, disrupting the beauty of the room.
She hadn't eaten any rice for the whole day, and she didn't feel much when she fell asleep before. Now she was so hungry that her stomach stopped drying up, and she took the lead in stirring up trouble.
"Let's go get some night food. I've been hungry all day."
Yun Xiaoyang is not the only one who has not eaten today.
... ...
Even on weekdays, hot dishes are prepared in the house day and night, not to mention that today is the day when Mei Yuanchen returns from a long absence. It was already two o'clock in the afternoon after finishing the meal in the side hall. However, there was a lot of busy work inside and outside the courtyard, and there was no sign of turning off the lights and going to bed.
"It's true Chengxuan, why are you going to such a big fight and having hundreds of people work at night holding candles?" Seeing people cleaning the pavilions, waterside pavilions, corridors, and walkways, Mei Yuanchen smiled and complained, "I'm not Others."
Yun Xiaoyang looked noncommittal and asked casually: "Do you always call him by his first name in front of the emperor?"
In addition to the previous three months, Yun Xiaoyang had lived in the mansion for more than a hundred days. Naturally, he knew that he and Xia Chengxuan had a very good relationship. However, it was still strange to hear him address the emperor by his first name. The two of them had not had a close relationship before, so they couldn't ask questions like this. At this time, the two of them could talk about life and death, and of course they could talk about anything.
"That's right, Chengxuan doesn't like me calling him emperor, and I don't like calling him that." Mei Yuanchen tilted his head and smiled, "We have a deep friendship, and his status was also very noble when he was the heir. I'm already used to calling him by his first name."
In his opinion, Xia Chengxuan is no different than his biological brother, and he can be regarded as one of the most trusted people in the world. Among relatives, adhering to the etiquette of monarch and minister will inevitably be too rigid and stereotyped.
Hearing Mei Yuanchen's answer, Yun Xiaoyang said "oh" softly, glanced at him from the corner of her eyes, and seemed to hesitate to speak.
The courtyard was brightly lit, and the two of them had been sitting and lying down for most of the day. They were in high spirits and walked slowly along the bluestone road in unison.
However, Yun Xiaoyang didn't take the initiative to speak, and Mei Yuanchen didn't know where to start the conversation. The two of them walked a long distance in silence.
"After Princess Yiyi recovers, what are your plans?" Finally, Yun Xiaoyang asked first, "Are you staying in the capital?"
There was something she wanted to say, but she wasn't sure of it herself, and it wasn't the right time now, so maybe this was the right time to say it.
Maybe the questioner was unintentional but the listener was intentional, or maybe Mei Yuanchen had a guilty conscience and was unable to answer the question for a long time. After a while, he said: "Yun'er, my... engagement with Yiyi, I never hid it from you. Yiyi, she... No matter what, I can't let her down."
Yun Xiaoyang lowered her head and lowered her eyebrows, biting the corners of her lips and her eyes were red, and she was about to cry. Seeing this, Mei Yuanchen hurriedly walked to her side, hugged her shoulders, and said distressedly: "Yun'er, don't you understand my feelings for you? After what happened in Leizhou, I love you, love you, and love you. Your thoughts are the same as those for Yiyi, you...don't blame me. I..."
Love is a matter of nature and is often beyond human control. He wanted to be a lover, but God gave him three women who he could not live up to.
You have a beloved person in your heart, how can you bear to make things difficult for him?
"That's enough." Yun Xiaoyang leaned on his chest and murmured softly.
Marriage in Dahua was casual at that time, and no one said anything about the wealthy families who had three to five or eight wives and concubines. Even marrying several brides at the same time was not a new thing in wealthy families. With Mei Yuanchen's identity, he was naturally rich and noble. If it had been anyone else, at this age, the concubine in the eighteenth room would have passed.
However, Xia Chengyi is by no means an ordinary person. She is the only sister of the current Emperor of China. In terms of weight, she is probably two or three points heavier than Rui Xiaoling, the main empress. Mei Yuanchen was engaged to her before, so how could she still marry someone else?
Is it possible that the master of Xinglin Palace Jishi Hall and the world-famous Xinglin national player should be his concubine? Wouldn't it be a joke to fellow Jianghu people?
Most ordinary people's families still have one husband and one wife. As for the world, it is even more true. Second and third marriages are not uncommon, but they are really rare.
After all, Yun Xiaoyang is not Haitang. Regardless of her background, status, fame or temperament, there are considerable differences between the two.
"My hometown is in Juzhou, Qingxi. Yiyi asked me before. If one day I get tired of the life in the court and the rivers and lakes, I will take her to Juzhou to find a country yard to live. Yun'er, wait for me to report. Blood feud, the three of us will go back to Qingxi, okay?" Mei Yuanchen rubbed her forehead with his cheek and whispered, "Let's find a small village, build a yard, cultivate a few acres of mountain land, and you and I will plant it. Sang collects medicine and practices medicine to save people. Yiyi has a wild temper, so she raises some chickens, ducks, pigs and geese at home. The three of us will spend the rest of our lives in peace, okay?"
The encounters in life are really difficult to determine. Four years ago, the whole family braved the snow to enter the capital of Mei Mansion. Who would have thought that now he is the only one left?
Her husband's breath was as warm as mellow wine, intoxicating her heart and spleen. Yun Xiaoyang leaned against Mei Yuanchen's chest with her head and ears attached. After a long time, she said: "If this is the case, this life will be considered worthwhile."
Exactly——
All the glory and splendor in this world are passers-by, but your peace of mind is my home.
