The Moon Over Tang Dynasty

 Chapter 69: Undercurrents and emotions

Going forward from the Danxiao Hall is the Dabao Hall, the main hall of the Wannian Palace, which is only used during the Great Dynasty. Like other palaces in the Wannian Palace, this palace is not very large in size. It is only five rooms wide and three rooms deep. However, it has glazed green tiles, pink walls and jade steps. It stands at the highest point of Tiantai Mountain, between sunrise and sunset. Looking at it from time to time, it is really "the pearls and walls reflect each other, the gold and green shine on each other, the clouds shine brightly, and the sun and the moon are obscured." The two long corridors in front of the Dabao Hall are long and winding, leading to several east-west halls, where the offices and residences of Zhongshu and the officials from the two provinces who accompanied him were located.

Liuli walked on the elegant long corridor with herringbone vaults, her heart a little fluttering. Since this month, she has never been to the Danxiao Palace, but she has heard Wu Zetian say that after the flood, everything was complicated, and there were not many officials who were good at general affairs. Sikong Li Ji caught the cold again. Gaozong asked Cui Yixuan, the imperial censor who had served as the governor, to take charge and Pei Xingjian to assist in taking stock of various repair and reorganization matters. The two arranged them in an orderly manner. Gaozong once said with a smile that both of them had civil and military talents and practical talents. of.

 Thinking about it, he must have had a really hard time in the past month. However, Wu Zetian's arrangement will not be that simple... Will there be any big events happening recently?

Liuli was lost in thought when she heard Wei And, the **** walking beside her, say, "Painter Kudi, go this way." When she looked up, she saw that she had arrived in front of a small courtyard.

Wei An smiled and said, "Pei Sheren lives there, do you think I should go and let him know first?"

Liu Li hurriedly said she didn't dare. This Wei An was also the **** in charge of Xianchi Palace. His rank was the same as Liu Kang's and slightly older. How could she dare to take such a big position? All he could do was laugh and say, "We are all here to send Kazao under orders, why should we pass it on and not pass it on?"

Wei An smiled and nodded, carrying the food box and walked in with ease. The yard was not big, but the two acacia trees planted in front of the house were quite old. There were a few strange stones lying in the green moss in the corner of the yard. In the front is a pavilion with a width of three rooms, and there are verandahs under the corridors on both sides. It is quiet at the moment, and the only thing that can be heard is the cry of cicadas in the trees. Wei An went up the steps, turned from the corridor to the south, stopped in front of a wooden door, raised his hand and clicked twice. Liuli felt her heart beat twice.

The door creaked open, revealing the face of a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy. Seeing Wei An and Liuli, he blinked in confusion, and then seemed to remember something. Wei An had already smiled and said, "Today On the Zhongfu Festival, we are here to deliver cold food to the people of Peishe."

The young man immediately laughed and saluted, "Please wait a moment, officials and prisoner, my family members will come to greet you."

Wei An said hurriedly, "Don't dare bother Shiren." As he spoke, there was only the sound of kicking, and Pei Xingjian's smiling voice rang out, "But Wei, please come in quickly."

Wei An was startled, then a big smile broke out on his face, and he walked in quickly, with Liuli following behind silently. I saw that there was a room with two entrances inside and outside. Pei Xingjian was standing in the outer room. He probably just got up from his nap. His appearance was quite different from usual. He was wearing a white short coat, a blue lower skirt, and a moon-white half-sleeve. , her hair was only held up with a wooden hairpin, and she wore a pair of wooden clogs at her feet. She had no clothes or shoes, and her face was fresh, making her look more free and casual than before.

Pei Xingjian saw Liuli behind Wei An, his smile froze, and then slowly deepened, he turned to Wei An and said, "It's such a hot day, I'm bothering Wei Wei."

Wei Anzheng lowered his head to open the food box. He took out a silver bowl with a folding pattern cover and a tooth tray with a few golden cakes in both hands. He placed them on the table in the outer room. Hearing Pei Xingjian's words, he straightened up and smiled. He said, "I dare not take it seriously. Without Pei Sheren's hard work day and night, how could I have survived this Fu Festival? It was the Holy Sage and Zhaoyi who were thinking about Pei Sheren's recent hard work, so they specially sent me here."

Pei Xingjian bowed slightly and said, "I would like to thank your Majesty and Zhaoyi for the reward."

Wei An smiled at Liuli again and said, "Painter Kudi, look here is another one for Dr. Cui. Dr. Cui lives in the outer court, but the painter can't go out. Why don't you wait here for a while? I’ll come back and see you again?”

Although Liuli knew that Wu Zetian had this intention for this trip, she couldn't help but her face still felt a little hot and she nodded, "Thank you."

Seeing Wei An walk out with a smile on his face, the young man also slipped out of the door and disappeared for some reason. The room suddenly became surprisingly quiet, and the cicadas outside the window seemed to be getting louder. After a while, only two sounds of clogs were heard, and Pei Xingjian walked up to Liuli. Liuli saw that the hem of Qingshang's clothes had stopped less than a step in front of him, and felt that he could not raise his head. Then he heard his low voice. He called out, "Liu Li."

Liuli suddenly despised herself in her heart and bit her lower lip. She raised her head and tried to smile. Pei Xingjian slowly started to laugh too. The light in his eyes flashed brightly and happily. He suddenly said, "Liuli, are you hungry?" , would you like to use it with me for a while?”

Liuli shook her head quickly, "I've eaten."

Pei Xingjian said, "Can you just use a little?"

Liuli was slightly surprised. She saw him staring at her, with a hint of expectation in his eyes. She couldn't say the word "not good" anymore and nodded. Pei Xingjian's smile became brighter, he walked to the desk and sat down, giving up half of his seat, and looked up at Liuli.

Liuli knelt down side by side with him on the mattress. She felt something strange and her cheeks were burning uncontrollably. She glanced at Pei Xingjian quietly. He lowered his head and took off the lid of the silver bowl. Being so close, you can see that he has indeed lost some weight, and there are faint blue marks under his eyes. You can clearly see that his side profile is extremely beautiful, with a full forehead, a straight nose bridge, and smooth sculptures. His eyelashes are long and dense. So the eyes look particularly deep. She was almost speechless for a moment.

Pei Xingjian put the bowl down, looked sideways at Liuli, raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and pushed the plate of golden cakes in front of her eyes. Liuli didn't dare to look at him anymore. She silently took out a clean handkerchief from her sleeve, wrapped it in a piece of shortbread that was no more than half a finger long, and started to eat it. The filling in the golden shortbread was probably cheese. After it cooled down, it tasted delicious. It's really a bit greasy. When the glass is eaten in the mouth, it feels heavy on the tip of the tongue.

Pei Xingjian also picked up the chopsticks. He ate not too slowly, but rather casually. It didn't take long for him to eat half of the bowl of cold food, but it was so quiet that he could only hear the sound of the silver chopsticks touching the edge of the bowl. There seemed to be a kind of movement in his movements. The leisurely rhythm and the elegance emanating from the bones immediately made Liuli, who had wanted to eat with her for a while, a little ashamed. After swallowing the second piece of shortbread, she wiped her hands and mouth with a handkerchief, feeling embarrassed to eat the third piece. .

Pei Xingjian glanced at Liuli, picked up a golden cake, took a bite, and seemed to be stunned for a moment. He took a few more bites of Lengtao, then put down his chopsticks, naturally took the handkerchief from Liuli's hand, and wiped it. From the corner of his mouth, he casually received it into his arms.

Liuli was stunned and wanted to say return the veil to me, but she felt that it would be too stupid to say it. After thinking for a long time, she didn't know what to say, so she could only reach out and put the lid on the silver bowl, and put the bowls and plates away on the table. side. But Pei Xingjian said, "Liuli, thank you very much."

Liuli was a little surprised and turned to look at Pei Xingjian. There was an unusually bright light on his face. Seeing Liuli's surprised eyes, he lowered his eyes and smiled and said, "The shortbread is so cold and greasy, but you actually ate two pieces in vain. "

Liuli couldn't help but feel a little confused. She really didn't understand why he cared about such a trivial matter. Pei Xingjian didn't say much, just stood up with his hands, "I was planning to make tea just now. If you like it, I'll make it for you."

Liuli subconsciously wanted to shake her head. She had naturally drank the tea at this time, and the taste could only be described as weird. The Kudi family made tea with salt, **** and dates, while the An family liked to add butter and pepper, so she This person who has been drinking green tea for more than ten years is almost crying. But looking at Pei Xingjian, his words changed to, "I'm afraid Wei Wei will be back soon."

Pei Xingjian smiled and shook his head, "Don't worry, he won't come back within half an hour."

Liuli remembered that he called Wei An by his name before she saw him, and couldn't help but feel a little strange, "Why are you so familiar with him?"

Pei Xingjian was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Where? It's just that he came to pick up documents for Wu Zhaoyi once, so I recognize his voice."

Liuli could only roll her eyes in her heart. Because she had learned painting since she was a child, she could never forget faces with slightly distinctive features. But compared to this guy who could just remember the voice of a passerby, Apparently nothing worth mentioning. He could only stand up and said, "Don't be in a hurry to make tea. I, I have something to tell you." When I thought of what I wanted to say, I couldn't say it for a while.

Pei Xingjian looked down at Liuli and said softly, "But Wu Zhaoyi promised to let you out of the palace as soon as you return to Chang'an?"

Liuli looked at him in shock. Although she felt that she should probably get used to his predictions, she couldn't help but ask, "How did you know?"

Pei Xingjian smiled faintly and said, "She asked you to come today, naturally it wasn't because of this bowl of cold food."

Liuli looked at his expression and felt her heart sink. Fortunately, she had also written a manuscript this month, and said hurriedly, "You may think Wu Zhaoyi is very scheming, but in the harem, if there is no scheming, even if there is no scheming, She can't even protect herself. Zhaoyi has always been kind to her servants. I have been in Xianchi Palace for several months and I have never seen her punish a palace maid. This time, it was all thanks to her dealing with it. I guess she had some plans, so what’s the big deal? Zhaoyi has never treated me poorly. Even if I can’t repay him in the future, I can’t live up to it. Enyi. Besides, I offended Mrs. Wei again..."

Pei Xingjian stared down at her, his eyes soft and a little helpless, and sighed, "I understand, don't worry. There are some things that a minister cannot interfere with, and I won't make it difficult for you. However, this time I return to Chang'an, the palace It’s bound to be a troubled time outside, so you have to be careful about everything.”

Liuli also sighed in her heart. Was he reluctantly agreeing? It was just a "troubled time". Could it be said that the dispute in the harem has reached the court so quickly? "Why do you say that?"

Pei Xingjian pondered for a moment and said simply, "Mrs. Wei's brother Liu Shi has already submitted a petition to resign from the imperial court. If His Majesty agrees, the court will inevitably be in turmoil. If not, His Majesty's return to Chang'an will inevitably lead to more chaos." It’s an undercurrent.”

 Liu Shi? Liuli only had a vague impression, but as Queen Wang's uncle, the outcome had not yet been decided, so he was... "Is it possible that Liu Xiang wanted to see what the Holy One meant? Will the Holy One be accurate?" "

Pei Xingjian glanced at Liuli appreciatively, and smiled with relief, "The Holy Emperor will give it more thought, so you don't have to worry too much. If you live in seclusion, Mrs. Wei may not remember to trouble you."

Liuli nodded, saying that Mrs. Wei was free in the past, but now that her queen daughter is about to be deposed, she would never have time to worry about a little painter like herself. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel a little more excited.

Pei Xingjian smiled and said, "Are you in the mood for tea now?" He extended his hand and said, "Madam, please come this way."

 Liuli couldn't help but laugh.

Turning around the six-leaf calligraphy screen in the middle of the outhouse, I saw a couch and table set up by the window inside. On the table were several celadon teacups, a melon-edge wash pot of the same color, and a white porcelain tea grinder, A sterling silver tea box and other items were placed next to it, a copper stove with a high door and a round foot, with a charcoal fire inside, and a long-handled tea cauldron next to it. Pei Xingjian asked Liuli to sit down on the couch opposite the table. He opened the pot doors of the furnace, put the tea pot on it, and said with a smile, "Although the spring water in Wannian Palace is not as good as that in Huqiu Temple in Huishan Temple, Spring water, for a vulgar creature like me, is enough for making tea.”

Liuli was silent and thought, you are a common thing, who am I?

After a while, thin bubbles emerged from the water in the tea cauldron. Pei Xingjian turned around and took out some white powder with a silver spoon from the gilt three-legged box on the table and sprinkled it in. Liuli estimated that it should be salt. When the water boiled again, I saw him scoop out a spoonful of water with a bamboo spoon and put it into the white porcelain bowl next to it. Then, while stirring with bamboo tongs, he put the crushed tea powder into the tea cauldron. , the foam in the tea cauldron suddenly splashed, and at this time, the water from the white porcelain bowl was poured in again. When the water boiled for the third time and fine foam formed, the tea cauldron was removed and slowly divided into two In the tea cup.

The tea soup was poured into celadon, the foam was fine and the color was very refreshing, but Liuli couldn't take his eyes away from Pei Xingjian. The man in front of him had white and slender fingers, a leisurely and focused expression, and his every move was so elegant that it was difficult to describe. Liuli felt like she was looking at a landscape painting by a famous artist. At first glance, it was just cool, but when she looked closely, there was charm in every stroke.

Pei Xingjian looked at the tea cup for a moment and sighed, "After all, the heat of the tea is still not good enough." He raised his eyes and smiled and said, "Try it."

Liuli quickly lowered her eyes and saw that Pei Xingjian had picked up the tea cup and started to drink gently. Then she reached out to pick up the tea cup, but felt her fingertips were hot. She hurriedly put it down. The tea cup fell on the table with a bang, and the tea splashed. Pei Xingjian raised his head in surprise, and Liuli's face suddenly burned all the way to her ears. But Pei Xingjian's voice asked in a hurry, "But it's burned? It's all my fault. I forgot that you don't drink tea often, so you can't handle the tea cup."

Liuli was also upset in her heart. She was looking stupid, but she forgot that the tea cup didn't have a saucer. It was strange that she didn't get burned when she took it up like this. Hearing his inquiry, he hurriedly said, "Nothing." He felt his fingertips tingling and couldn't help but bring it to his lips and blow a few breaths.

Pei Xingjian said softly, "Show me."

Liuli lowered his head and glanced down. Several of his fingertips were burnt a little red. She didn't have the nerve to show it to him. She shook her head resolutely, but she saw Pei Xingjian suddenly stretched out his hand. His movements were not very fast, but Liuli hurriedly went to The retracted hand was held by him. It was as if an electric current rushed from her hands directly into her brain, and her brain suddenly froze for a moment.

Pei Xingjian pulled Liuli's hand in front of him. With his other hand, he gently spread her fingers one by one and stared at them blankly. Liuli came to her senses and wanted to take back her hand, but Pei Xingjian held it tighter instead. His fingers were steady and strong, and his palms were warm and dry. There was a tingling feeling in waves from the place he held. Liuli His fingers couldn't help but started to tremble a little, and then his whole body almost started to tremble.

Liuli didn't dare to look anymore, turned her head to the side, took a deep breath, and calmed down a little. Wasn't it just a handshake? It’s not like you’ve never held hands with a boy, so what’s the matter? But she couldn't move away from her hand with all her concentration. Suddenly she felt her fingertips move and touch something soft. When she looked up, there was a sudden bang in her head: Pei Xingjian lowered his head and kissed her finger. That warm and soft thing , is his lips.

As if all the blood in his body rushed to the top of his head, Liuli burst out with strength from nowhere. He struggled hard, and his palm escaped his grasp. He clenched his fist tightly and carried it behind his back. Pei Xingjian was startled for a moment, and looked up at Liuli with slow eyes. Slowly becomes clear.

Liuli felt as if the fingertips he had kissed were burned by fire. She could almost hear her heart beating wildly in her ears. She wanted to say something, but her throat was so tight that she couldn't make any sound at all.

After a long time, Pei Xingjian whispered, "Liu Li, the tea is not hot anymore."

Liuli was startled. She never expected that this was what he actually said. She couldn't help but look up at him. Pei Xingjian was staring at her with a smile. His smile was clear and his eyes were soft. He met Liuli's gaze and picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea. Liuli looked at his An Ran expression and was stunned for a moment. She couldn't help but follow his example and take a sip.

The tea is still hot, the taste is a little bitter, a little salty, and the aroma is quite rich - maybe too rich, and you can't tell what it tastes when you eat it in your mouth, but this weird taste suppresses the throbbing in your heart, and your fingertips The strangeness on my face finally subsided a bit after being pressed with a hot cup of tea. She drank several sips in a row. Just when she realized that she had drank too quickly, she saw that Pei Xingjian had already finished one cup and took another cup out of the tea cauldron. Seeing Liuli looking at him, he asked, "Do you want another one?"

Liu Li looked at the lotus leaf teacup in her hand, which seemed to be one size larger than the eight-treasure teacup of later generations, and felt a little confused. Is it necessary to add one to show face? She had to drink the remaining half of the cup in one gulp and pushed the tea cup over. As expected, Pei Xingjian gave her another cup, raised his head and smiled, "Are you used to drinking this kind of tea?"

 Compared to the boiled tea of ​​the Kudi family and the An family, this kind of salted tea tastes more normal. Liuli nodded, "It's better than what I drank before."

Pei Xingjian smiled and took another sip, "When we get married, I will cook it for you every day."

He spoke very logically, and Liuli was a little glad that she didn't have a sip of tea in her throat. She really had nothing to say, and only after a while did she think of something to say, "I remember the first time I met you at the Daci'en Temple, you guys just went to drink. Tea?"

Pei Xingjian nodded, "Qiuji from Daci'en Temple is the best at making tea, and I also learned from him."

 Peeping at the base? She had never heard of it. She only knew that there was a defense machine, but it had been cut in half before she could get through it. As if seeing Liuli's confusion, Pei Xingjian smiled and said, "Qiuji is a disciple of Master Xuanzang. He was originally the nephew of General Yuchi Jingde, and we grew up together. I didn't expect that he would suddenly appear." "In the past two years, when I had tea with him, I often thought that it wouldn't be bad if I could be like him."

Before Liuli could recover from the shock of the names Xuanzang and Yuchi Jingde, she suddenly heard such a sentence and her heart trembled. She raised her head and looked at Pei Xingjian. Pei Xingjian laughed, "You Don’t worry, it was the first two years.”

Liuli's face couldn't help but heat up, and she rolled her eyes at him, but Pei Xingjian smiled more cheerfully. Liuli sighed silently, and suddenly thought of a question that she should have asked a long time ago, but she took the opportunity to ask it, "Since you are familiar with this Qiuji, are you also familiar with the children of Taiwei Changsun's family?"

Pei Xingjian shook his head and said, "Qiuji and I were classmates in Hongwen Hall, and are descendants of Taiwei's family. I have no friendship at all."

Liuli was a little surprised and couldn't help but ask, "Don't you have any friendship with the Taiwei?"

Pei Xingjian glanced at her in surprise, "Of course not. How high and powerful the Taiwei is. If I had friendship with him, how could I..." He shook his head and smiled.

Liuli suddenly came to his senses. Indeed, if Pei Xingjian had any friendship with Changsun Wuji, how could he have wasted nearly ten years on a ninth-grade official with his qualifications? But, if that's the case, how could something like that happen a year later?

Pei Xingjian looked at her stunned expression, was slightly startled, and sighed, "Liu Li, are you still worried?"

Liuli looked at Pei Xingjian's eyes that suddenly dimmed, and couldn't say anything for a moment. Of course she was worried, but her worry was completely different from what he thought. She couldn't say it, and she didn't want this to happen between them. misunderstanding. After a moment of silence, she whispered, "If you say that, I feel relieved. Lieutenant Commander..." She picked up Pei Xingjian's cup of tea and poured it into her own cup. The water quickly filled up and flowed to the table. A few on. When the water is full, it overflows. Changsun Wuji is already too high and powerful. Even without Wu Zetian, there will be no good end.

Pei Xingjian had a look of surprise on his face and looked at Liuli blankly. Liuli also looked at him quietly. He suddenly shook his head and laughed, "Liuli, you always amaze me!"

Liuli smiled and lowered her eyes without saying a word, thinking to herself, what’s so hard about surprising you? I’m so euphemistic, but I’m actually just afraid of scaring you! Just as he was about to say something, a young man's voice sounded outside the door, "Kuro."

Pei Xingjian's smiling face suddenly froze, and he said loudly, "I know."

Liuli suddenly felt enlightened and stood up. Pei Xingjian said, "Wait a minute. There are some documents that you can give to Zhaoyi."

As he spoke, he went to the back room and took out a scroll of silk books. He explained, "There was a flood in Hengzhou a few days ago. Since the aftermath of the flood in Wannian Palace was quite complete and did not cause refugees or epidemics, the Holy Spirit asked me to take care of the situation." Chen came out and sent it to Hengzhou. I just wrote it today and originally wanted to send it tomorrow. "

Liuli suddenly realized where his recent hard work came from, and couldn't help but whisper, "Get more rest."

Wei An's voice came from far outside the door. Pei Xingjian nodded and said with a smile, "Liu Li, thank you for accompanying me for this cold meal today."

Liuli was stunned for a moment. If I wanted to thank you, I should be the one thanking you for the tea. "

Pei Xingjian smiled faintly, "What's this? I often make tea for people to eat, but no one has eaten with me for many years."

Liuli's heart was shaken, and she looked at Pei Xingjian blankly. Thousands of emotions suddenly surged in her chest, blocking her throat.

The slight loneliness on Pei Xingjian's face disappeared in an instant, and he smiled brightly, "I will look for you when I get back to Chang'an."

Liuli was still speechless. There were footsteps approaching on the corridor outside the door. She smiled and raised her head, "I'll wait for you."

  p.s. Thank you to my dear Xiaoxiao Aijie, lanwindy and Ye Qian for the pink tickets, and thank you to my classmate Le Youyang for the peace charm. Well, the palace volume is coming to an end...

In June of the fifth year of Yonghui, Liu Shi resigned from Zhongshu Ling, and Emperor Gaozong approved it, and he was changed to the powerful position of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel - which was previously held concurrently by Chu Suiliang. It was the first confrontation between the emperor Wei Li and the captain Sun Wuji.

 (End of this chapter)