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Chapter 32 Straw Butterflies
Those who served the prince knew that every few days during the Lantern Festival, the prince would not be in a good mood, or even stay up all night.
Only when he came back from outside the palace last night, His Royal Highness actually slept in the palace for a few hours, so that the people who were waiting next to him were relieved.
Every year on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, His Royal Highness will come to this Taoist temple in the suburbs of Beijing to light a light for the immortal Queen Gonghui. In the past, people who went through evil ways had a good intention to come and meet His Royal Highness. In the end, they did not get any benefits but instead provoke them. After the crime was committed, rumors gradually spread, so that no one dared to go here every year at the 15th o'clock on the first lunar month.
Hearing the rumors of the Taoist temple, the servants of Eastern Palace secretly wondered, who is so bold?
But after seeing the incoming people, the attendants retreated one after another.
"General Wei, the lord of the county." The crown prince looked around Hua Liuli's body, and invited the two to come up: "The two of you also come to enjoy the incense?"
and also?
Hua Liuli was a little surprised. He didn't expect that the prince who dared to eat when offering sacrifices to the sky would be superstitious.
"At the end, I will bring my little girl to fulfil my wish." Wei Mingyue still remembers the expression when the prince carefully touched her stomach when he left Beijing that year, worried that the baby would be scared in his stomach.
When the prince was young, she was quite trusting with their husband and wife, so even after many years, she still had some closeness to the prince: "At the end of the year, I will lead the army during pregnancy. I made a wish in this Taoist temple. If the child can If you survive safely, you must come personally to fulfil your wish."
The prince noticed that the people of the Hua family carried a lot of things to repay the vow, and he knew what General Wei said: "General, Taoist Guanzhong has undergone many changes. You are not familiar with them, so Gu will lead you. "The prince turned and walked into the Taoist temple, "After more than ten years, the general has worked hard these years."
"In fact, it's okay. Although the border has suffered a little bit, it also has a different style from the capital." General Wei turned to look at Hua Liuli, "I only suffered from this child, and lived with us in the bitter cold place since birth."
"Mother, Qinghanzhou is pretty good." Hua Liuli smiled crookedly, "I didn't suffer much."
The prince turned his gaze away from Hua Liuli, he stepped into the Taoist temple gate, saw a female guest coming, two Kun Dao came out from the temple to greet him.
Hua Liuli took the incense, worshipped in front of the Sanqing statue, and inserted the incense into the incense altar.
She didn't understand Taoist Buddha and the like. Seeing that her mother seemed to discuss the Tao with the Taoists, she simply retreated from the side door of the temple.
Outside the Taoist Temple, there is a courtyard paved with bluestone slabs, and the ancient trees on both sides of the courtyard add a bit of immortality to this Taoist temple hidden in the mountains.
The early spring afternoon sun shines on the leaves, leaving dots of dappled light on the ground.
"Princess." The prince walked out, "There are tables and chairs next to it. We can sit here and wait for a while."
"Thank you, Your Highness." Around the flowers, Hua Liuli saw the stone table and stool hidden behind the tree. As soon as the two of them sat down, a leader brought tea and fruits.
The air was filled with a faint smell of incense, and occasionally there would be a long walk by, and the atmosphere was extremely peaceful.
"Qinghan Prefecture has a bad climate and is not suitable for crops. The princess has been there for years and should have suffered a lot."
I don't know which Taoist master is chanting the scriptures, which rises and falls, like white clouds rolling over the horizon.
"Although it is incomparable with the capital, but the ministers have never suffered much since they were young." Hua Liuli shook his head. "Your Majesty sends people to deliver military rations on time every year, and there are many rewards. I am the youngest of my family, at home. People are used to me, and the people in the city treat me very close because of the daughters of my two generals."
Amused by Hua Liuli's sincere laughter, the prince shook his head and said with emotion: "The princess, the lonely prince, you should complain to Gu at this time, how bitter Qinghanzhou is, how sad your life since childhood, so that the lone can admire Hua more Family dedication."
"Is it so particular?" Hua Liuli put his cheek in one hand, "Is it too late to say it again now?"
"I have a good memory from childhood. It is not easy to forget the words you just said." The prince picked up the tea to drink, but was stopped by Hua Liuli's hand: "Your Highness, wait.
The prince raised an eyebrow to look at him.
"Although this is the suburb of Beijing, it is not the palace." Hua Liuli pointed to the tea cup in his hand, "There is nothing wrong with paying more attention to the entrance."
"Thank you, the princess for reminding." The prince smiled, and he put down the tea cup, "It's lonely."
"This is what I suddenly thought of, so I just said something." Hua Liuli looked up at this Taoist temple, "but there are indeed some differences in this Taoist temple. Why did your Highness come here?"
"Walk away, light a lamp for the deceased, and wish her success in the next life." The smile on the prince's face gradually disappeared. He lowered his eyelids and his thick eyelashes trembled slightly: "I can do it for her. There are only these."
Seeing the prince's expression so low, Hua Liuli secretly thought, could it be that the prince's favorite, unfortunately, passed away? She didn't ask much wisely, being a quiet listener.
It is no wonder that the King of England and King Ning have already begun to marry, and the future princess has not moved.
Three years ago, a soldier died on the battlefield. His fiancee came from thousands of miles away, just to take his bones home.
The woman was dry and thin, with numb eyes, she was holding the bone box fiercely, as if holding the last hope. She followed the woman and drove her out of the city until her back was no longer visible.
From beginning to end, the woman did not shed a single tear, but Hua Liuli felt that she had cried thousands of times in her heart.
Love cut off by life and death is too bitter.
Hua Liuli looked at the prince's eyes, unconsciously showing pity. But she is such a caring person, she would never let the prince see anything wrong.
"Please be sorry, the old man has gone, you are still alive." Hua Liuli persuaded, "presumably she also wants you to live well."
"Thank you." The prince said, "I know."
In the face of life and death, any language was pale and feeble. Hua Liuli got up and picked a few dry grasses, flipped her fingers quickly, and quickly made a butterfly out.
"Your Highness, stretch out your hand."
When the prince opened his hand to the stone table, Hua Liuli put the straw woven butterfly in his palm: "His Royal Highness, the courtier heard a story from an old man in Qinghan Prefecture. It is said that there are butterflies in the Hades that can bring lost souls. Going back to the underworld can also help the living take away the thoughts of important people."
"You put the butterfly under your pillow tonight, maybe you will be heard by her." Hua Liuli smiled and blinked at the prince, "So you have to rest early tonight, not stay up late."
This butterfly is really not beautifully woven, the wings on both sides are asymmetrical, and the belly looks a little fat. He was a little skeptical that such a butterfly could not fly at all because the belly was too fat.
He closed his palms and put away the butterfly: "Thank you."
"Liu Li." Wei Mingyue stood outside the flowers. I don’t know how long she stood there, but the expression on her face looked normal. She didn’t seem to see the scene just now. "The abbot wants to see you. I come."
"His Royal Highness, you sit here for a while, and the court ladies will come." Hua Liuli got up and walked towards Wei Mingyue.
When Hua Liuli walked to her side, Wei Mingyue arched her hand towards the prince before turning and leaving.
"His Royal Highness." The prince's trusted servant whispered, "Why didn't you tell the princess that you kept this Taoist temple, so there will be no problem with tea."
"Good intentions are rare." The prince took a sip from the teacup and slowly put it down. Suddenly, I felt that the position of the teacup was different from when Hua Liuli left, so I stretched out my hand to adjust the position to restore it to its original shape.
Hua Liuli thought that the abbot of Taoist temple would be an old Taoist leader with white hair and beard, but she didn't expect to find out after meeting that the other party was actually a handsome young man.
"Believe, please sit down." The abbot asked the mother and daughter to sit down and pour tea for them.
The place where they sit is a pavilion. The pavilion is built on a rock, and you can see the scenery below the mountain when you lift your eyes. If the mountain is foggy at this time, it is really a fairyland on earth.
"Thank you real person."
"Pan Dao Qing Hui, two good faithful directly call the name of the poor Dao." Qing Hui put the tea in front of Hua Liuli, "This kind of tea is made from four seasons flowers, which has the effect of nourishing the face and calming the spirit The infirm can also import it."
Hua Liuli noticed his hands, which were very clean and well-proportioned.
"Pan Dao followed Master's practice since he was a child, and after Master drove Hexi to the west, he became the abbot of this Taoist temple." Qing Hui's eyes were very good, and he was not stained with the slightest red dust: "When the general came to contempt, Pang Dao was still young. Young, there is no opportunity to talk with the general. After so many years, the general is still so heroic."
"The Daoist Qinghui is absurdly praised." Wei Mingyue sighed, "I haven't returned for many years, and I never thought I didn't even see the real person for the last time."
"Master once said to Pang Dao that a general is a battle star, and he was born to defend his family and defend the country."
Wei Mingyue smiled when she heard it, and couldn't tell whether she believed or didn't believe it.
"I learned that the princess had returned to Beijing, and the poor Dao had the intention to visit your house, but the poor Dao guarded this Taoist temple on weekdays and rarely had the opportunity to go out." Qing Hui looked at Hua Liuli, "Fortunately, the Sanqing God blesses you , Pan Dao finally got the real face of the princess."
"Why does Dao Master insist on seeing me?" Hua Liuli asked curiously.
"Because before the general left, the teacher forgot to give a signature to the general." Qing Hui took out a signature from the sleeve cage. This signature looks very old, I don't know how long it has been left.
Wei Mingyue suddenly remembered that when she was making a wish in the Taoist temple, she shook a lottery. But this lottery accidentally fell under the crevice of the offering table, she didn't take it to heart, and left that day.
Unexpectedly, after so many years, this Taoist temple still retains the lottery that fell into the gap.
Wei Mingyue took a look at the sign, and it was blank: "What does this mean?"
"This is a white sign." Qing Hui looked at Hua Liuli, "it means there is no sign to solve it."
Wei Mingyue looked a little ugly. This sign was for the fetus in her womb. What does it mean to be blank? After all, it will not be a good meaning.
With a hard hand, the sign suddenly disconnected. She said with a cold face: "It's man-made, I won't believe it."
"There are always surprises in everything." Qing Hui looked at this signature and smiled slightly: "Cultivating Taoism is going against the sky, and Feng Tao doesn't think it is too much to believe in this, but..."
Qing Hui's smile became more tolerant and gentle: "The princess Poor Taoist temple is predestined with my Tao, the princess would like to know about it?"
Hua Liuli: "Huh?"
"If the princess is unwilling, poor Daoist will ask again next time." Qing Hui smiled more gently, "maybe the princess will be interested in cultivating the Tao next time."
Hua Liuli shook her head in her heart, no more, no more, excuse me.
"The capital is like a deep sea, seemingly calm, but in fact there are waves hidden behind. General Wei and General Hua are the loyal and good generals of the Jin Dynasty, and the two poor Dao can't bear to fall into the quagmire." Qing Hui didn't seem to insist on Hua Liuli's practice, so he turned his head and looked towards it. Mountain scenery, "Please take care of the two generals."
"Thank you for your reminder." Wei Mingyue said, "Your Majesty is the Mingjun, and the waves are rough. As long as your Majesty is there, the ship will not be submerged by the waves."
Qing Hui performed a Taoist gift: "The good faith protects the country and protects the family, and the merits are so great. At any time, there will be immortals to bless you and turn good luck in every evil."
"Chang Dao Chang Ji Yan." Wei Mingyue replied.
"Princess, please take care." Qing Hui seemed to have come only to send a blank lottery. He took a deep look at Hua Liuli, then turned and disappeared behind the stone bridge.
Wei Mingyue stared at the broken lottery on the table, her expression still a bit ugly.
"Mother, a blank sign is a good sign." Hua Liuli picked up the broken lot. "It's like your majesty gave me a blank imperial decree stamped with the big seal of the jade seal, so I can fill in whatever I want. ."
She threw the broken lot under the cliff and arched her hands to the sky without looking: "Thank you God."
Amused by her actions, Wei Mingyue stood up and said: "I made a wish back then, but now I come to pay it back. Even if my debt with the gods is settled."
"My debt is cleared, don't owe debts outside." Wei Mingyue has pointed out.
"What kind of debt?" Hua Liuli took a sip of the scented tea, and lightly looked at the stone table with her slender fingers.
"Love debt." Wei Mingyue raised her eyebrows, "Did you just weave small animals for the prince?"
Hua Liuli nodded.
"Your father likes to use this little trick to coax me, and your elder brother and second brother also love to make up rabbits, puppies and other things to coax your sister-in-law and second-in-law. I didn't expect you to be more capable, not only making things, but also making stories." Wei Mingyue Reaching out to poke Hua Liuli's forehead, "You haven't learned the other skills of the Hua family, but there are one set of methods to coax people."
"Mother." Hua Liuli said, covering her forehead, "I just want the prince to be happy, not to plot against him. Besides, there is an irreplaceable figure in the prince's heart, how can he easily like others because of a little thing."
If you didn't like it, how could you personally come to this Taoist temple in the mountain and just light a lamp for her.
What a lingering and sad love this is.
"Fine, if you really like the royal..."
"Mother." Hua Liuli held Wei Mingyue's hand, "Daughter is not suitable for royal children, and the royal family won't let a weak and sick person be a prince concubine. This is best."
Wei Mingyue looked at her daughter: "My son, you have to remember that the Hua family will not go to glory or decline because of a marriage. You don't have to worry about us."
"Daughter knows." Hua Liuli smiled, "What's so good about just being a perfect woman, weak and weak, I still want to be the famous sick and weak beauty in the world."
"Maybe after thousands of years, there will be literati and scholars who will write poems for me, and describe the words of later generations of beauties as if they look like Liuli, Sai Liuli, Liuli reborn, etc..."
"Go, go home."
"Come back home?"
"Go back to bed early, you have everything in your dreams."
When the mother and daughter returned, the prince was still waiting for them.
"General, princess, the mountain road is rugged, let's go back together." The prince smiled at them.
"His Royal Highness, please." Wei Mingyue did not have the slightest scruples, Dang Even nodded and agreed.
When arriving at the entrance of the Zhongyong Hou's Mansion, Hua Liuli stood at the door, turned to look at the prince riding on horseback, and looked at some lonely princes, and said, "His Royal Highness, would you like to go back after dinner?"
The host said "you can leave after eating" and the guest said "no need", which is basically the standard configuration of folk politeness.
"The lonely will bother you brazenly." The prince got off the horse with a smile on his face.
Obviously, the prince who lived in the palace since he was a child did not understand the hypocritical folk etiquette.
Seeing his wife and daughter returning with the prince, Hua Yingting was a little surprised, but he was not sincere. He asked his servant to prepare a large table of dishes and greeted the prince to sit down.
"The last time I ate at the same table with Your Highness was fifteen years and four months ago." Hua Yingting raised his teacup and said, "Uchiko wouldn't let me drink. I can only toast you with tea instead of wine."
"Thank you General."
Hua Yingting blinked at the prince while Wei Mingyue was not paying attention, and whispered: "I am not afraid of her, but we are men. How can we make the lady angry, right?"
"Yes." Hua Liuli leaned over and whispered, "If my mother is angry, don't sleep tonight."
"Cough." Hua Yingting coughed dryly. "The prince is here to save some face for his father."
The prince held back a smile and said, "I just didn't hear clearly, what did the princess say?"
Hua Liuli raised her eyebrows with a smile, did not expect the prince to talk like this?
The prince smiled softly and looked back.
"How is your Royal Highness's martial arts practice now?" Hua Yingting separated her daughter and said to the prince. "At the end of the year, I will only teach my Royal Highness swordsmanship for a few months before going outside the pass, I wonder if your Highness has fallen?"
"After the general left, the father asked other people to teach Gu's swordsmanship, but those people are not as good as the general." The prince said, "The general is back now, are you willing to continue teaching students?"
"Your Majesty can count on the final general, but it is a pity that the final general was injured on the battlefield. Now he can't even touch the drink, let alone carry a knife and use a gun." Hua Yingting sighed regretfully, as if he could no longer go to the battlefield. And sad.
A maid came in with a bowl of soup and medicine, Hua Liuli took it, and drank it with her head up.
The rest of the Hua family seemed to have been accustomed to taking medicine for Hua Liuli, and even their expressions did not change. The prince frowned, but said nothing from a standpoint.
After dinner, Hua Yingting called the prince and asked him to bring a box of things into the palace.
"These are the interesting things that the Majesty received in Qinghan Prefecture. Your Majesty was interested in them when he was young. After so many years, I don’t know if your Majesty’s hobbies have changed." Hua Yingting scratched his head, "The Majesty will not I'm so embarrassed to give it to your majesty, so I ask the prince to help the majesty take it into the palace. Your majesty has always loved you, even if you don't like it, you will accept it for the sake of your face."
"My father will like what the general sends." Hua Yingting, an attendant behind the prince, took the wooden box and said, "Although the general is not in the capital, the letters between you and the father have never been After breaking, this friendship is different from others."
When he was young, he was ignorant, and he secretly read the letter from General Hua to his father. Write everything in the letter, such as her cute and well-behaved daughter, how good General Wei is to him, or what kind of side food you have eaten, but unfortunately can’t bring your Majesty a copy of it. It’s much more interesting than the cookie-cutter please Anzhezi.
When the father found him peeking, he simply showed him the letter and said that General Hua was a good friend and good friend. Later, he learned that General Hua would write letters back to Beijing every year, with simple and humorous words, and those who made the letter couldn't help laughing.
General Hua likes to mention his daughter the most. In his letter, even if the baby girl sneezes, she looks much better than other girls.
The baby girl’s hair is better than others’ daughters, her eyes are better than others’ daughters, and her skin is whiter than others’ daughters...
So when he first met Hua Liuli, he deliberately opened the car curtain and glanced at the little girl standing by the palace wall.
The eyes are big and the lips are small. As the General Hua said in his letter, they look better than other girls.
"His Royal Highness." Hua Liuli, who was standing behind Hua Yingting, poked her head out and smiled at the prince: "Send Your Royal Highness, be careful on the road."
"Farewell." The prince smiled at Hua Liuli and turned to leave Hua's house.
Leaving the warm and cozy house, the prince looked at the night-shrouded street, and his mood was not too bad. He returned to the palace and presented the box Hua Yingting gave him to his father.
Emperor Changlong opened the wooden box, which contained some strange stones, wood carvings, pottery and other objects. There are also some copies of calligraphy, and a few are imitations.
"This is a court." Emperor Changlong recalled the news that his Majesty was about to re-establish the prince in the palace several decades ago, and he was so worried that he didn't want to eat.
After Hua Yingting and Wei Mingyue found out, they found a bunch of gadgets to make him happy. He also told him that if the first emperor wanted to abolish his prince, they would take him to flee together and would never let him be killed by the new prince.
Unexpectedly, decades later, their children are all this old.
"I heard that you went out to play with Fushou Princess last night?" Emperor Changlong played with a pottery man and looked at the prince with a smile.
"The little girl is outside the customs all the year round. I haven't seen the bustle of the capital, so my son accompanied her around the city."
"Yeah." Emperor Changlong nodded, "You can treat her as a younger sister. In your free time, you should accompany her to walk around the capital more and see more."
The prince stared at the candlestick on the wall without speaking.
Emperor Changlong stuffed the pottery man into the prince's hand: "Go back to sleep and remember to go to court tomorrow."
The prince returned to Eastern Palace holding the ugly pottery man and placed the pottery man on the table, only to find a few words engraved under the pottery man.
In the spring of the 23rd year of Changlong, a little girl was hand-made.
Rubbing these words, the prince smiled softly.
No wonder Tao Ren is so ugly, it turned out to be made by a child.
When washing and changing clothes, one thing comes out of the clothes. The serving eunuch picked it up and took a look. It was... a ball of grass?
"His Royal Highness, do you want to keep this thing?" the eunuch asked in a low voice.
The prince took the things from his hand and looked at it for a while: "You all get back."
"Yes." The palace attendants all retreated.
The prince smoothly pressed the woven straw butterfly under the pillow.
After the children grow up, the butterflies we make are still ugly.
Hua Liuli had a dream. She dreamed of making rabbits for a group of little beauties, but she didn't know why, but she couldn't make them well, and then Princess Jiamin suddenly appeared and laughed at her wantonly.
After waking up from the dream, Hua Liuli felt that this dream was very unlucky.
Hua Liuli looked at the sun outside the window with melancholy eyes: "The weather is getting warmer, I will go to County Master Jiamin to play."
The author has something to say: Jiamin:? ? What did I do wrong, are you doing this to me? !