box of hearts

Chapter 146 Congratulations to the Groom (16)
Accompanied by bursts of firecrackers ringing, first there was a handful of twilight lights in the dark large square, and then one after another, a street of lights in the shape of a dragon was lit up.As soon as the dragon's tail appeared, another long dragon, flying orchid and liucui, was seen, shining silver whiskers and yellow claws.For a moment, like thousands of trees and star flames, ten thousand folds of whirlwinds, a whole nine-tailed colorful dragon jumped out from the night river interspersed with each other.The body of the dragon is made up of exquisite lamps: drum lanterns, palace lanterns, wishful lanterns, material silk lanterns, colored lacquer lanterns, leather silk lanterns, heap ink lanterns, straw lanterns... Qi Hong leaning in front of the gate tower is like ascending to the sky, stepping on the Milky Way , happily talking non-stop.Xihe smiled and nodded at Aiko's comment, and turned her face to Qi She who was behind her and said, "This year's Lantern Festival is deserted and there are few lanterns, but I always think it is very exciting. What do you think, third master?"

Qi She's smiling face was so indifferent, "The Queen Mother thinks it's wonderful, but it's because although there are few lanterns, there are many 'patterns'. It's a pity that it will be eighteen in a blink of an eye. A void."

Xi He lightly slid her pupils, looking at the dreamlike light and shadow of the Forbidden Garden, "Because time is limited, so we should take advantage of the bright lights to see the way out early, so as not to be trapped in darkness and have no way out. "

"Queen Mother, Uncle Emperor," Qi Hong stretched his head from the side, "It's no fun just watching from this high place, let's go to Lantern Street with me to guess lantern riddles."

So the eunuchs and maids surrounded the queen mother, the emperor, and the regent, and they went downstairs into the lamp market.One of the riddles that was pasted on the lanterns with yellow silk or yellow paper was guessed by the talented and intelligent Qi Hong.But he ignores the most difficult to guess, and the one that should be guessed the most: the faces of the couple walking among the lights exchanging smiles are riddles, and all the words they say are riddles.

Amidst the flickering lights, the brilliance of passing through the Forbidden City, one after another, shows the face of the Queen Mother Wang of the Eastern Palace: all the carvings are gone, and the lotus comes out.In Ye Lai's sleeping hall, the rest of the palace people waited far away under Dan Chi, but Wu Ran, the steward in charge, was next to him, pulling a thin cotton thread to twist noodles for Wang's family.

"Forgive me for being stupid, I still don't quite understand."

"This is the idea of ​​the third brother. He said that on the first day of the new year, he saw that Xi Bian's attitude towards the crippled man was very different from before, so he knew that the two must have developed a quarrel. Xi Bian is ruthless and resolute. You can ignore her as soon as you hook up a woman, so how can you know that in the future, he will not do something worse to her for better things? For example, take the power that was taken from our royal family, Then take it away from her son? Therefore, the west will definitely go against the grain and accept our help—or a helping hand. I will accept the regent's scrawny concubine as a righteous sister, so the regent will not only have an already The queen mother of the old Wang family will also have a living wife of the Wang family. Although the relatives of the mother's family and the wife's family want to eradicate the roots, there are many obstacles due to emotion and reason. And my father and third brother will also be regents. The concubine's father and brother, Kane, was promoted to preserve his precarious position in the cabinet, and the money-raising for the wedding, and the repayment of the provinces will also restore our royal family's connections and vitality. The west will take us from the cliff Pulling it back, she herself will bet an extra chip for self-protection with Cripple San. The so-called 'Centured insects, die but not stiff', we Wangmen clan, there is hope for revival."

"Just in case the regent refuses to obey, what should I do?"

"The marriages of princes and children are all decided and assigned by the queen mother or the emperor without exception. It is upright. Why should he refuse to obey? Besides, the financial reform implemented by the lame three is for the benefit of the people, and it touches all relatives. The promotion of the interests of the big family depends entirely on the support of the royal family. If he has the courage to disobey the three sacred decrees and openly break with the two empress dowagers and the emperor, most of his painstaking new policies will be difficult to implement. Cripple three is a shrewd A man who knows how to be cautious, of course he is not willing to propose a marriage, but he will definitely compromise."

After listening, Wu Ran chuckled, "The third master really has a good plan. That is to say, the west and the master have turned enemies into friends from now on?"

Wang in the mirror gently closed her butterfly-like eyelashes, and then opened them gently, thus setting off a hurricane that would affect years away.

10.
On the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, Qi She returned to Ruyuan.When Qingtian saw him, he was overjoyed, and sat beside him with a small flat gold hand stove in his arms, giggling and talking nonstop: Which noble concubine came to celebrate the festival, what kind of Putting on airs; her adoptive mother, Second Sister Duan, came to the garden with a few sisters from the past, and she had mixed feelings; Mu Yun and her husband, Xiao Zhao, talked about the prosperity of their jewelry shop, and how they thanked the prince; when they were alone, I also wrote a few proud big characters and practiced a few lost ancient ballads.As a result of the talk, I immediately took the pipa decorated with jade and lacquered by Zhang, and sang in harmony with the strings and tunes to listen to Qi She.

Qi She clapped his palms in praise, and at the end, took Qingtian's hand, and saw a trace of depression indifferently, "I have something to tell you."

Unexpectedly, Qingtian had him, and said with a radiant face, "Say it!"

Qi She deleted the complicated and simplified a sentence: "The empress dowagers of the two palaces and the emperor proposed marriage, and asked me to marry the world concubine Xiangshou as the main concubine."

It was as if something suddenly fell into Qingtian's clear gaze, making the pool of autumn water dim. "Referring to marriage is normal, as a reward for kindness. It's just that there is already a concubine in the mansion as the main wife, and marrying the princess again, how will she be arranged?"

"The difference lies in the word 'Ji', which makes people have a gap to find and make a big fuss about. There is nothing I can do, I can only count her as a flat wife, and she is inferior to the concubine."

"So you agree?"

Qi She leaned forward and sat down, "The Empress Dowager Dongxi has always been incompatible with each other, but you see they suddenly let go of their previous suspicions and moved forward and retreated together because of my marriage. You should know that there is no room for me to refuse this matter."

"for what?"

"Power struggles, entanglements of interests, it's hard to describe in a word." Qi She sat there with her shoulders shrunk, holding a double-balanced eye-shaped rose pendant under Qingtian's waist, and rubbed it with her thumbs, "How should I explain to you——" His lips were frozen, and he was lightly pressed by two slender fingers.

Qingtian looked down at him and smiled flatly, "Forget it, no need to explain, everyone in this world has their own constraints? Huai Ya Tang has the difficulties of Huai Ya Tang, and the Forbidden City naturally has the problems of the Forbidden City. You never thought I was Huai Yatang. People from Yatang, how can I think you are from the Forbidden City? Has the auspicious date been set?"

After a pause, Qi She said frankly: "The end of this year, October nineteenth."

Qingtian looked at him, clasped his hand, and pressed his forehead against his, "Okay, don't be like this. The decree bestows the honor of marriage, and the flowers and candles are the joy of marriage. It's not Wuyan Momu who is going to marry , I have heard long ago that your concubine concubine is extremely independent and beautiful. The concubine and the two daughters are taking over the husband, and the new love has not yet been married, but the master has already made eyebrows at my old love, am I fine?"

It was half true and half false, which provoked a wry smile on Qi She's face, "Let's not talk about it, you just need to know that this marriage is just a transaction, and it won't have any impact on the relationship between you and me. Same, huh?"

Qingtian responded with a smile: "Yeah."

Qi She pulled out a hand and brushed Qingtian's neck and shoulders, "You told me a lot of news, but I also listened to a piece of news during this episode." He paused for a moment, then spoke clearly and calmly, "Say She is a prostitute in the capital. After leaving her home, she married a rich man, but she still has many old friends who flirt with her from time to time. Among them, a famous person in the world entrusted her with a fan, which is said to have been given to him by this prostitute in the early years. , this fan originally painted a willow plant, and the famous scholar wrote a song "Ode to the Willow" by Han Zhiguang beside it: "The wind and rain can't hold back, and the whole body is unable to hang down to others. The jade fibers are folded and given away, like When Avalokitesvara holds it.' [15] The prostitute received the painting fan, and also wrote a poem beside it, and returned it to the celebrity. Enter Danqingli, and the east wind is not allowed to shake it.'[16] The celebrities were very impressed after watching it, and they passed it on to a group of close friends to watch it, and it has become a good story in Nine Cities."

After only hearing the first two sentences, Qingtian's complexion was uncertain. After Qi She finished speaking, her face was flushed red, and she faltered: "You, you, third brother, don't be angry."

Qi She smiled, "Which eye of yours saw me angry?"

(End of this chapter)