box of hearts

Chapter 193: Ji Xianbin (1)
1.
The team of chariots and horses escorting Qingtian to Beijing set off from Yangzhou in the middle of January, and drove hurriedly and urgently to the end of Qi She's longing.

And in the early spring of February, this train turned into a sentence, and slowly drove out from the mouth of the Eastern Queen Mother Wang.

"Have you heard about my sister? There are still rumors in the palace, and they have been circulating for only two days, and the third master is going to bring that 'Miss Duan' back to Beijing."

After Wang finished speaking, she gave a low laugh, and the eunuch Wu Ran, who was standing beside her holding a chimney, drooped her head, and her eyelids jumped.

Sitting on the other side of the couch is the Empress Dowager Xihe, with clean and simple decorations, and her hair is full of fragrant green hair, with only gold pins and jade locks in her hair.She turned her head and looked towards the window, "Really? The pear blossoms outside are really blooming."

"The pear blossoms in my younger sister's courtyard are the best in the entire imperial city. They are like moon and snow, and you can smell the fragrance through the window." Wang smiled and accepted her cheeks, half-closed her eyes and took a breath, "It's only rare for my younger sister's palace. The 'Ningyuan Fragrance' burned in it does not conflict with the fragrance of the flowers at all, but complements each other."

Xihe's color faded slightly, "The spices specially prepared by the Imperial Hospital should be more refined."

"It's true!" Wang's long and dense eyelashes flickered twice, like the sensitive antennae of some kind of insect, "I sometimes come to sit in my sister's palace, and the clothes are stained with this fragrance, and the fragrance lasts for a long time." fade."

Xihe smiled with pride, "The spices include high-quality white sandalwood, Qinghuo, borneol, fried incense...these are nothing, only white ambergris that has been blind for a hundred years is a rare thing, so the produced The smell of spices is deep and lingering."

"I've also heard that two years ago, Persia sent a box of rare and hard-to-find white ambergris as a tribute. There were only eight taels in total. The emperor was filial, and dedicated all of it to his sister to make this 'Ning Yuan Xiang'. Thinking that ambergris is precious, I remember reading it in a miscellaneous book on incense and Taoism: "Ambbergis has no loss or loss in incense, but it can gather smoke ears. Use real ambergris for incense. Burn a baht, and the emerald smoke will float into the air. , knots but not scattered, and the guests can use a shovel to divide the smoke.'[1] Ambergris itself has no fragrance, but it can accumulate fragrance, and even use scissors to cut the smoke into strands. It is said that the general ambergris is used To make Hexiang, the aroma can be accumulated for ten years, and the ambergris in my sister's 'Ningyuanxiang' is the best, it can be imagined that the fragrance lasts for a long time."

"After all, my sister Bowen has a strong memory. These gossip and interesting stories sound refreshing."

"What's the use of my 'bowen qiang memorize'? Sister, don't joke, although ambergris is rare, I have often used it since I was a child, but the century-old white ambergris is so old, I have never even seen it. I only used my sister's light to smell it in your palace from time to time. I just don't know how the scented bait mixed with this white dragon saliva is different from the common scented bait?"

It must be known that Wang's attitude is superior to others everywhere. Even though Wang Zhenghao restrained himself a lot after the treason case, he never had such a frank confession that he was inferior to others.Looking at the flattering smile on Wang's always proud face, Xihe's mood is just like that of a man who has been poor for a long time and suddenly rich, how can he not resist showing off?But he deliberately pretended not to take it seriously, and said in a leisurely manner: "Hey, it's just the same. My sister wants to see it, so I'll ask someone to fetch it. Yuming, go and get the incense box for the empress dowager to have a look at. "

In a blink of an eye, Yu Tea brought a small white-glazed engraved box, opened the lid and put it on the couch table.Inside the box were dozens of pill-sized purple-red scented baits. Wang's head moved towards this side, but his eyes flicked to Wu Ran over there.

Almost at the same time, Wu Ran's hands shook for no reason, and the golden water pipe in his hand fell straight down with a "clang".

"What's the matter with you?" Wang's face changed, and he hit the table fiercely, the sleeve woven with Phoenix Lingyun happened to brush the incense box, knocking over the whole box of incense baits.This time she was even more angry, a string of Western beads inlaid with emerald green leaves fluttered up and down on her temples, "Oh, look, it's all your fault, you useless thing!"

Wu Ran pleaded guilty and knelt down on the couch to pick up the bait that was rolling around on the ground. Wang was so angry that she couldn't stop cursing "stupid".

Xihe was also very unhappy in her heart, but since she saw Wang like this, she couldn't say anything, so she just grabbed the red gold boy's flower bracelet on her wrist, and persuaded: "It's not a big deal, this incense The bait is not made of crystal glass, it won't break even if you drop it, just pick it up, sister doesn't have to be so strict."

"Sister, I don't know. Recently, this slave is always flustered. It's fine with me, but it's still like this when I come to my sister. It's not ridiculous. Sigh, if you can be as worry-free as Zhao Sheng who is next to your sister, then I will enjoy it." It's a great blessing."

Xihe glanced at Zhao Sheng who was standing by the couch, "This slave is a dedicated stabber. He has been in the palace for many years, and he still can't forget his job as a martial artist. No, even his little apprentice, Quan Fu, pesters him every day. Teaching kung fu, the two of them punched and kicked people behind their backs, and the former almost accidentally bumped into the emperor, committing a serious crime of 'disrespect in front of the emperor', but luckily the emperor did not blame him."

"Who in the palace doesn't know that Zhao Sheng from the Compassionate Ning Palace has a good kung fu?" Mrs. Wang turned her face and asked the little eunuch standing next to Zhao Sheng in a very interesting tone, "Quan Fu, I heard people say your master It's better than some Ouchi guards, isn't it true?"

Quan Fu immediately raised his head, "Isn't it? Have you ever heard of the 'thousand catty load'? It's a wooden pole with two stone plates on both ends. The stone plates are as big and heavy as a millstone. My master To be able to lift such a burden straight above the top, even the guards with swords beside the emperor can't compare to—"

"Shut up!" Zhao Shengqiang suppressed the joy on his face, and bowed his shoulders, more and more protruding his shoulders like two hills under his clothes, "Quanfu has no rules, this servant will go back and teach him well. The little kung fu on this servant It's not worth mentioning, how dare you compare with the guards and adults? It's just that you are free to practice to strengthen your body, so that you have the strength to run a few more errands for the master and do a few more errands."

"Yo, it's strange that someone who can talk is actually a versatile person in both civil and military affairs. Sister, looking at the people in your palace and then looking at the people in my palace, it makes people more and more angry." Wang said to Wu Ran who was underground again. Pulling his face, "Why don't you hurry up and dawdle? I can tell you, don't look at this little bait, it is worth more than your life. If it gets dirty, you just wait Let the Holy Mother, the Empress Dowager, and the Emperor question your sins. Yuming, leave it alone, and let this slave clean up on his own."

Yu Ming had already knelt down, but upon hearing this, she had no choice but to stand up.Wu Ran was lying on the ground alone, muttering "Damn the slave", while crawling around.The dexterous body and hands are like a gust of wind, and quickly gather the scattered baits back into the box, but there are always one or two baits that lose their traces in the wind.

Yu Ming took away the collected incense box and put it away, but Wang still only put on a tiger face and refused to ask Wu Ran to get up, so Wu Ran had no choice but to continue kneeling there.Xi He smoothed things over at the side: "Okay, it's not a big mistake, Wu Ran, pack a bag of cigarettes for your master, and let her calm down."

"Yes." Wu Ran glanced anxiously at Wang Shi, then picked up the pipe, attracted the paper media, and held the cigarette holder to Wang Shi's mouth.

Xihe laughed: "My sister said that my 'Ningyuanxiang' tastes good, but I think my sister's 'Jinhubao' tastes good, it is also rich and fragrant, sweet and spicy, and I am used to the smell of my sister's shredded tobacco. I feel uncomfortable when I can’t hear you when I talk.”

Mrs. Wang smiled at Xihe with some regret, held the cigarette holder and took a sip, squinting at Wu Ran who was under her knees, "For the sake of the Holy Mother, I will forgive you today."

Wu Ran even raised the chimney high, "Thank you, Empress Dowager, thank you, Empress Dowager."

The incense and the smoke in the room are lingering in a harmonious blend, there is me in you, and you in me.

2.
As soon as it gets up, the key to the sixth house is released.All the servants in the palace rested in the duty room, and those with a little face quietly gathered in a row of unused bungalows in the north of Xihua Gate to push Pai Gow.As for the chief eunuchs of the various palaces, most of them have already set up private houses in central Beijing, married Mrs. Shi, and would go home to stay for a night every now and then.As usual, this day was the day when Wu Ran and Zhao Sheng, who were in charge of the Ciqing and Cining palaces, returned to their residences. They changed into their uniforms respectively, and took the pass card of the supervisor of ceremonies to leave the palace from Shenwumen.

Not long after, Wu Ran returned to Houjing'er Hutong in Chongwenmen, where his wife, Lusi'er, had been waiting for a long time.The two guarded several red-shaded candlesticks in the hall, and burned a small smoker over two feet high.Wu Ran shook out a few purple-red scented baits from her sleeves and threw them into the incense burner. It was the 'Ningyuan Incense' used by the Compassionate Ning Palace, and Lu Si'er picked off a small corner of a men's shirt, Put the corner of the clothes on the stove again.

The mysterious fragrance penetrated silently into every warp and weft of the fabric, and Lusi'er shed tears, "Master, does Yi'er have to go?"

"I have to go." Wu Ran's hands trembled a little, and he took out the shredded tobacco 'Golden Pot Treasure' contained in the Jinyunlong box, filled it full into the pipe, and smacked fiercely.After sucking it all, I dug out the thick soot from the bucket little by little, and poured it into an oiled paper bag.

He sighed, and moved to the window step by step, and opened the window to look out.On the opposite side of the small courtyard is the study room, the candle is burning high, and two figures on the window paper can be clearly seen.

Through the window and through the curtain, the shadow becomes a person with vivid eyebrows.Sitting at the head is Qiao Yunze, holding a volume of "Book of Rites" and reciting lightly: "'Be careful what you don't see, fear what you don't hear', which means—"

"Teacher," the person at the bottom interrupted, Wu Ran's adopted son Wu Yi smiled, showing his white teeth, "Let's go here first, the students are a little sleepy."

Qiao Yun glanced at Wu Yi in surprise, wanted to say something, but held back, "Alright, since the young master is sleepy, let's go to bed early."

(End of this chapter)