box of hearts

Chapter 111 Drunken Taiping (1)
1.
Huaiyatang has never been so beautiful.

On September [-]th, since early in the morning, Second Sister Duan had nothing else to do. She just sat high in the main hall of the main courtyard, holding a small brass file to file her nails, repeating to all the visitors over and over again: "Really! Why not? Just now, the Prince Regent has sent someone to take my daughter into the mansion. Oh, it's not the mansion, it's the prince's property in Paozi River, which is the most famous No. [-] garden in the world—— 'Like a garden'!"

The Paozi River is the Tonghui River in the Yuan Dynasty. Its upstream is connected to the Jinshui River in the south of the Forbidden City. The section of the river flowing through the east corner of Chongwenmen has the best scenery, so many princes and dignitaries built gardens here.Each garden may be quiet and elegant, or complex and bright, all of which are proud of themselves, but Ru Garden is the best among them.The original name of Ruyuan is "Hanbi Garden". It is the residence of the Shen family, the richest man in Beijing nearly a hundred years ago. It covers an area of ​​[-] mu. Scenic scenery, steep and majestic stone walls, Quyuan cloisters, Xiaokuang pavilions, pastoral and wild charm are all in one, and it has been expanded by the Shen family for generations. It is the first famous private garden in central Beijing.Later, because of the crime of the Shen family, he was confiscated into the official position. After changing hands several times, he was bestowed on Qi She when the court made the regent five years ago.But Qi She was jealous that this garden was given by the Wang family, and he didn't want to attract the name of being greedy for pleasure. In addition, he was really busy, so he never visited it once in the past five years.

This time it was opened to welcome a hostess.

Qingtian handed out his right hand from the sedan chair, and Mu Yun helped him off the sedan chair.She holds the cat in her left hand, and she is dressed in peony green leaves and silver silk long gown, fluttering in the deep mid-autumn wind.There were layers of servants waiting in the gate of the garden, and Wu Lala bowed her head, shouting in her mouth: "Wild blessings, my mother, welcome my thousand years old!"

Qingtian's face swelled slightly, "Get up, don't call me that, I can't afford it."

There was a sound of boots, shoes and clothes, and everyone got up, and a rich man in the middle smiled and walked forward a few steps, "It was the king's confession, and everyone in the garden respects you as your mother. The little Sun Xiuda , was originally the housekeeper of the palace, and the prince favored him, so he specially arranged for the younger ones to come to Ruyuan to serve the empress. If the empress has any needs for daily expenses, just order the younger ones. These few—” Sun Xiuda waved his hands behind his back, “ It turned out to be the personal maid of the prince in the mansion. The prince said that the empress only brought one person with her, and it would be difficult to buy a safe girl from outside for a while, so he temporarily asked these elder sisters to take care of the house. , the girls have seen the empress."

However, I saw several well-dressed maidservants coming forward from the first row of pavilions, kneeling one by one and saying in comfort: "My servant, Youyan", "Cuiyi", "My servant, Xiaojing", "My servant, Yuepo", "My servant, Hongzhi" ", "Slave Lagerstroemia" - "Kowtow to see the empress, wishing the empress a happy life and well-being."

Qingtian felt even more embarrassed, and hurriedly handed the cat in his hand to Mu Yun, and lowered himself to help him, "I don't dare to do it, sisters, get up quickly."

"Oh my lady," Sun Xiuda slapped her hands on her thighs, "You're going to beat them to death. The prince has something to say. Because these six girls are the first-class maids in the prince's room, they are different from others, and they are also considered in the prince's mansion." If you have a head and a face, you can't guarantee that you will behave like a vice lady, if there is something inappropriate about the empress, you must not tolerate it, just admonish and teach."

Qingtian looked closely at the six people, and saw all of them young and beautiful, especially the one named "Cuiyi": a bulging apple face with delicate skin, two jujube-like oval eyes, with black and silver luster inside A pair of pupils are very beautiful; her dress is also unique, a tassel bun is loosely stitched with a few engraved silver needles, and a golden bowl hairpin is slanted; her expression is even more different from others, and she actually puts her gaze directly on her face Looked up and down back and forth.A trace of unhappiness flitted across Qingtian's heart, but he didn't show it at all, he nodded and smiled at Cuiyi.Cuiyi also smiled back, but the smile only closed at the corner of her mouth, very stiff.Qing Tian didn't look at her anymore, just clasped his hands in front of his body, straightened his waist, "Since they were called from the prince's room, they are more polite and affectionate than ordinary girls, how can I teach them? On the contrary, it is my blessing that I can be served by these outstanding talents."

"It's their good luck that they are lucky enough to follow their mother." Sun Xiuda laughed, and nodded her neck again, "My mother, the theory says that you shouldn't be tired, but this garden can be regarded as a century-old garden. In the past six months, it has been refurbished according to the order of the prince. Since the empress will live in this garden in the future, you might as well take a look around today. They change."

Qingtian smiled decently, "My lord has bothered, and the housekeeper has also worked hard, so I will trouble you to lead the way."

Sun Xiuda responded, and first yelled at a group of servants and women: "You go first, each of you should be on your job." Then he bent down and stretched out his hand, "Your Majesty, please."

So only Sun Xiuda and the six servant girls walked slowly into the garden, surrounded by Qing Tian and Mu Yun.The circle diameter of the main entrance is wider than Chidao, and there are many strange stones on both sides. There are hundreds of huge stones in the middle, which are covered by a pavilion. The green cypresses and old pines, whose roofs look like dragons and snakes, are mixed with dense layers of cloves and pepper orchids, which can be seen in thousands of layers, and disappear with the rise of the peaks to the east.Sun Xiuda raised his finger and pointed like a few treasures, "From this Fengqiu Pavilion, all the way through Jinshiyan, Chenglan Hall, and Suiyun Hall, you can reach Chaozhen. Step up the road and buckle the stone, twist and turn, and then follow the wooden Stacks, leaning against the rocks to empty, go straight up to the hundred-foot-tall Range Rover Peak, and the peak overlooks the beautiful scenery of the whole garden."

He then drew a semicircle with his arm and pointed out from a distance, "West road bypasses the waterfalls, there are Lanxuetang, Furong Pavilion, Chengguan Pavilion, Fucui Tower, etc., and there is an 'endless corridor' in between. It twists and turns and loops in four directions. On both sides of the promenade, there are flowers and clear streams, bamboo docks and banana pavilions, red Polygonum reed ponds, plum shadows and snow fragrance. It takes a lot of effort to appreciate it to the fullest. Not to mention the slenderness of the empress, even a young person who is used to running, it is impossible to walk in a day and a half. Fortunately, the empress has plenty of time to see them one by one. Today, you might as well just take this middle road with you. For example, the most famous "Fanju" and "Yaohuazhou" in the garden, as well as the theater building "Yuanxin Pavilion" specially rebuilt by the prince for the empress, and the sleeping hall "Jinxiang" The halls are all on this road, and it is also the place where the empress will often visit in the future, so you should be familiar with the path." Sun Xiuda turned his face to Qingtian, his eyes looked down humbly, "I don't know what the empress thinks?"

Qingtian put his hand on the gold pendant inlaid with jeweled butterflies around his neck, smiled slightly, "Everything is under the arrangement of the big steward."

As the dark wind blew gently, a group of people slowly went deep into the inner garden.Along the road, there are dense forests and lingering pavilions, and the curved water runs through it. The water surface separates large and small blue canals. The hibiscus is blooming red, and there are countless okra and crabapple in between.The fragrance of the residual lotus in the water was tender, and there was a burst of "popping" on the beach, and a group of mandarin ducks and egrets fluttered their wings in shock.Looking up, you can see a yellow stone rockery. There is a "quiet interest" dyed with red cinnabar on the mirror white stone on the mountain, and there is a stone cave under it.After passing the stone cave, a group of exquisite pavilions are surrounded by water. On the courtyard wall, radish hangs upside down, and there are many exotic grasses, which are shaped like golden ropes or magnolias. They also have a fragrant smell, which is not comparable to the fragrance of flowers. .

Sun Xiuda walked all the way and talked all the way. At this time, he pointed his fingers and stopped for a while, "Oh, there are several places like 'Xuanchun', 'Qinqiu', and 'Taojian'. If you have time, you might as well go and have a look. .Further from this road, it is the 'Fanju'."

A few people zigzag north on a stone road, and pass a small pavilion. At the west end of the pavilion, there is a Cuiwei Pavilion with jade stone steps and green eaves. - "Fan Residence".Stepping into the main hall, there is a hall with a width of three rooms, which is elegant and beautiful, flowing green and flying.Sun Xiuda raised his arms straight above his head, "Please look, ma'am, the beams and pillars used on the roof of this hall are all made of high-quality golden nanmu. When the Shen family was convicted of crimes, these pillars were the most serious crime."

Hearing this, Mu Yun raised her head first, while stroking the cat in her arm and watching.Qingtian also raised his eyes, but he didn't see anything strange, "I've always heard that this 'Fanju' is very famous, but I just didn't have the chance to see it. Now that I see it, I feel that there is nothing special about it other than Huami. Think the agency is still inside?"

Sun Xiuda clapped his hands and laughed loudly, "Your Majesty is really smart, please come along with me."

After bypassing a mahogany ginkgo gauze screen behind the hall, it is a shock to the eyes.The space is suddenly open. The east and west gables are like a "eight" character, which stretches out to both sides narrowly and then wide. There are 36 leaky windows on each wall, all of which are fan-shaped. The patterns in the windows are actually carved with green glaze. , There are Wanzi, Linghua, Taofang, Bingcrack, Shouzi, Yunlong, Bailu, Bergamot... none of them are repeated.Outside the east window are stone mountain flowers and trees, and outside the west window is Hongqiao bamboo dock.There are five other doors on the north wall, which are also fan-shaped.Going out through the middle gate, there is a white stone fence outside the gate, behind the fence is a pool of clear water, and the reeds are green.

Sun Xiuda came to the side of the stone railing and explained in a loud voice: "This fan means 'goodness' and also takes the shape of 'fan'. If you stand on the east side of the Lan Rover Peak and look here, the whole hall is like a living room. Spread the fans on the water, these 72 windows and five doors, if the lights are lit at night, they will become 77 large and small light fans. During the daytime tour, you can enjoy one step at a time, and at night, you can enjoy the feast. Brilliant, brilliant, unparalleled in the world."

(End of this chapter)