A glance at the spring breeze

On the second day, Ruan Lan was awakened by a nightmare.

The sunrise in the east has already illuminated a large area of ​​the sky, which is as clear and transparent as the colored yarn that has been washed.From the dense branches outside the window came the cry of "cuckoo cuckoo", the cry was heart-piercing and desolate.

A morning wind blew the branches and leaves on the tree, and after a while of rustling, the bird's cry became even more sad.

In fact, the time is not too early, after all, summer mornings come faster than before.

It was the end of summer, and although the weather outside the house was not as hot as summer, it was still much warmer than in spring and autumn. But when Ruan Lan woke up, she found that her hands and feet were cold, and her chest was sending chills to her whole body.

It was only when I got up that I realized that the clothes on my back were wet, and I was already soaked in a lot of cold sweat.

Ruan Lan washed and changed clothes as usual.After learning from his servants that Qi Mo was still sleeping in the guest room in the dark, he ate some mussels and clear porridge at random, then took the bag of cloud cakes he bought yesterday, and set off for the palace.

Before Yin Jian came to court, he waited in front of the imperial study.Not long after, he saw a well-dressed Yin Jian walking towards this side surrounded by several ministers from a distance.Ruan Lan and the surrounding palace people all knelt down and bowed down.

I don't know if Yin Jian saw him or not, but he entered the imperial study room with those ministers in a blink of an eye.Ruan Lan didn't stand up until Director Zhang closed the door outside.

Director Zhang first asked all the maids and eunuchs outside to retreat, and then he walked up to Ruan Lan and asked, "My lord, if there is something important, this slave will go in and report."

Ruan Lan quickly waved her hand: "Let His Majesty settle the affairs of the country and the country first, I'm just here to deliver some pastries."

"Cakes?" It was the first time Manager Zhang heard that a courtier came to deliver pastries to His Majesty early in the morning.

There are no cakes in this palace, and the imperial chefs are all good cooks from all corners of the country, and the cakes they make are first-class and delicious.

Ruan Lan had already prepared the draft, so she lied fluently: "When I was young, I liked to eat a Yunpian cake in front of my house. I happened to see it when I passed by yesterday, so I bought it and tasted it. It was quite refreshing and soft. , thinking that His Majesty might like it, so he brought in a bag from outside the palace. But..." He turned his head to look at the nearest palace gate, his brown eyes were as calm as ever: "The guards outside won't let me I brought it in, saying that I was afraid that someone would poison it, so it was detained."

Manager Zhang followed Ruan Lan's gaze, and instantly understood what Ruan Lan meant, and immediately bowed and said: "The slave will get it in a while, and after he has tested the poison, he will present it to His Majesty. My lord specially brought the pastry to His Majesty. Your Majesty will be very pleased if he finds out."

Ruan Lan also bowed back: "I have to thank you, father-in-law."

After finishing this matter, Ruan Lan left the imperial study and came to the palace where the little prince was usually taught to read and write.The room was empty, not even a palace attendant, so Ruan Lan guessed that the little prince probably got up late.

After waiting for more than half a stick of incense, Yin Xuan finally ran over in a panic. Seeing him panting, Ruan Lan brought him a cup of tea on the table.The little prince ended up gulping down the teacup, and then said: "Mother Concubine...Mother Concubine suddenly checked my memorization today, and won't let me go if I don't finish memorizing. Although Ben, Your Highness is smart and studious, how can you memorize so much at once? It took a lot of effort to get out...Master...how did you do with that matter?"

Ruan Lan replied: "The manager of Yunpian Cake Zhang should have already presented it to His Majesty, Your Highness will go over now, and recite in front of His Majesty the book that your mother and concubine had memorized in the morning, His Majesty is happy, and will definitely reward you with all of it. "

"Great!" The little prince who had just entered the room squeaked and rushed out, shouting while running, "Master, wait for me, I will be back in a while."

Ruan Lan continued to sip tea in the room. With the sunshine pouring down from the window lattice, he spotted a roll of Mozi on the bookshelf, picked it up and flipped through it.

When he was reading the chapter "Shang Tong" with relish, the reckless little prince ran back in a hurry. He stopped in front of Ruan Lan and shouted: "Master! You are lying!"

Ruan Lan closed the book and stared for a moment: "How can I lie to you?"

The little prince's eyes were red, and he didn't know whether he was crying or angry: "I went to my father's place to memorize a three-page book, but when I asked where is the cloud cake, my father said that I had already eaten it!"

Fortunately, she had already swallowed the last sip of tea, and Ruan Lan almost choked: "No way? I brought a whole big bag this morning, and it didn't take long."

"It seems that the pastries that the mother and concubine have been thinking about are really delicious. The emperor didn't like this kind of sweet and greasy things before, but who would have eaten them all!"

After listening to the little prince's words, Ruan Lan looked down at the ceramic teacup on the table, and was silent for a moment, wondering what she was thinking.

"Master...?"

It wasn't until Ruan Lan heard the little prince calling him that he said: "Today I'm reading "University", Your Highness should sit down as soon as possible."

"Ah!..." The corners of the little prince's mouth drooped at a speed visible to the naked eye.

……

"The so-called extension of knowledge lies in the study of things, speaking to my knowledge..."

"The so-called self-cultivation is about rectifying the body, if the body is angry and picks, it will not be rectified..."

Soon the little prince's feeble sound of reading could be heard in the room.

……

After eating at noon, the little prince went out to learn riding and archery. Ruan Lan went to find Yin Jian in her free time, and planned to tell him about the weird things that happened to Qi Mo.

Ruan Lan walked to the imperial study room, but found that both Yin Jian and Mr. Zhang had disappeared. A court lady told him that he could go to the palace next to Qingxin Pavilion to find Mr. Zhang, but she didn't know where his Majesty went.

Ruan Lan quickly found the Qingxin Pavilion according to the route given by the court lady. As soon as she stepped into Manager Zhang's room, a faint fragrance came over her face.The fragrance is neither floral nor incense, Ruan Lan is very familiar with it, it is the smell of pages piled up and need to be taken care of frequently.

The display in the house is simple, a clean and simple wooden square table, a light and compact chair, and several columns of bookshelves.The windows are propped up from the inside of the house, and there is still a faint scent of flowers floating from outside the house.

Such a simple place must not be the residence of the royal family, and it is very close to Yin Jian's bedroom, so it should be the bedroom of Director Zhang.

Manager Zhang is really upbeat.

At this time, Manager Zhang was reading the yellowed pages of paper that he was holding next to Fang. He approached, but Manager Zhang didn't notice it, so Ruan Lan wanted to take a sneak peek.

Eunuch Zhang, the chief eunuch next to the emperor, unexpectedly is also a scholar. So, what does Chief Zhang usually like to read?

Ruan Lan has already fully recovered her eyesight from many years ago. When she was three or five steps away from Director Zhang, he sharply saw a few words on the paper——

"Mingxuan 19th Year".

Ruan Lan thought, "Mingxuan", isn't it the reign name of the late emperor?

Do the math, it was about fourteen or five years ago,

Ruan Lan wanted to keep aiming, but Director Zhang turned around.Ruan Lan could see it more clearly - at the beginning, Manager Zhang had a smile on his face, that smile was as gentle and sweet as the breeze in warm spring.

Ruan Lan had never seen Manager Zhang smile so happily.

When Director Zhang saw Ruan Lan, he was stunned for a moment, and then he randomly returned to his usual respectful appearance, leaned down and said, "I don't know if Master Ruan came, it's because the servant has neglected you."

Ruan Lan blushed a little after hearing this. After all, she was caught while peeking, and it would not be a moral act to speak out.He said: "I don't intend to disturb my father-in-law, but, I just want to know what books my father-in-law likes to read on a daily basis, so..."

Manager Zhang folded the papers up neatly, put them into a gray cloth bag, and said, "Actually, it's nothing. These are just letters written by my old friend when I was young."

Hearing Mr. Zhang take the initiative to mention the things before he entered the palace, Ruan Lan couldn't help but think of the smile on Mr. Zhang's face just now, thinking that Mr. Zhang must have had a happy and stable life before he died, and he didn't know what happened at home. Then he entered the palace and became a eunuch.

Ruan Lan asked, "I don't know where your Majesty went?"

Manager Zhang replied: "Your Majesty has personally gone to pick up Daoist Xuanmo, and let the slave stay in the palace to wait."

Ruan Lan was startled, he thought Taoist Xuan Mo was still trapped in that weird secret passage, but he didn't expect to come back this time.