Quick Wear Dream Qiqi

The Buddhist hall behind the Cining Palace was so quiet that you could hear the sound of incense ash falling into the copper furnace.

Meng Qiqi knelt on the mat, watching the old Buddha write the six tiny characters "Namo Amitabha" on the rice paper with a wolf hair brush. The ink was not dry yet, but it was already stained with a faint golden halo due to the smoke of sandalwood.

She suddenly remembered the "Longzang" sutra she had seen in a museum in the 21st century, and her fingertips unconsciously traced the flying white brushstrokes of the inscription on her knees.

"Has Xinrong ever copied the Heart Sutra?" The old Buddha put down his pen and wiped his fingertips with a shark silk handkerchief.

The palace maid immediately brought the new Xuelang paper. Meng Qiqi noticed that there were tiny Buddha's hand patterns printed on the edge of the rice paper, which was obviously a tribute from Jiangnan.

"I copied it with my mother a few times, but I just couldn't get the hang of it." She took the purple brush and deliberately paused at the line "Color is emptiness." "Later, when I read the Platform Sutra, I suddenly understood that 'if the mind does not dwell on the Dharma, the Tao will flow freely.' Copying scriptures is about cultivating the mind, not about neat handwriting."

The old lady raised an eyebrow and looked at her. The silver hair reflected in the mirror shone softly under the candlelight. "Oh? Tell me about it."

Meng Qiqi deliberately let a little extra pine soot ink settle on the tip of her brush as she dipped it in ink. She used the feibai technique on the four characters "空是是色" (emptiness is color), revealing the texture of the rice paper between the strokes. "Just like these ink characters, if you obsess over thickness, thinness, and thickness, you lose the Zen spirit. The same goes for women's studies. They don't need to be trapped in 'female precepts' and 'female training'. Understanding the principles of governing a country and managing a family is more in line with 'Kun De' (Kun De)."

The slanting sunlight filtered in through the lattice windows on the west side of the Buddhist hall, making her shadow on the wall as thin as a bamboo.

The old lady stared at the line of flying white characters for a long time, and suddenly chuckled: "You, little girl, are even more daring than Qing'er."

Before he finished speaking, a strange fragrance suddenly wafted out of the gilded incense burner on the desk - the top note was the heavy agarwood, and the middle note was mixed with a faint hint of Blue Mountain coffee.

Meng Qiqi's fingertips trembled slightly, remembering that the jade pendant on her waist had flashed red light this morning.

The system interface quietly unfolded on the retina, and the taskbar displayed: "Detected that the host is outputting modern thoughts, triggering the hidden task 'Thought Seed'. Old Buddha's Thought Looseness +5%."

After copying the sutras, the Empress Dowager ordered someone to bring the key to the storeroom: "I remember there is a painting of Autumn Wind and Silk Fan by Tang Yin. You can take it and hang it in your boudoir."

When Meng Qiqi bowed to express her gratitude, she caught a glimpse of traces of Western watercolors on the edge of the scroll - they were clearly roses added by later generations.

An idea suddenly struck her: "Thank you, Madam Buddha, for your generosity. If I used fresh flowers to complement this painting, it would be even more interesting. For example... a few black chrysanthemums in a suet jade vase, with some pine branches as a backdrop?"

The Empress Dowager's eyes were blazing. "Tomorrow I'll have the Ministry of Internal Affairs allocate you a greenhouse, and you can do whatever you want."

Three months later, the white marble square in front of the Qianqing Palace was covered with vermilion curtains, turning it into a flowing cloud.

Meng Qiqi stood in front of the dressing mirror and let the matchmaker put on her a nine-winged and four-phoenix crown. Twelve strings of pearl tassels fell on her shoulders, making her face look like a lotus.

But the most eye-catching thing was the modified wedding dress she was wearing - the traditional red Luozhai robe was disassembled just right: the wide sleeves were changed to three-quarter horseshoe sleeves, revealing the jade bracelet on the wrist; the shawl was embroidered with flowers of the twenty-four solar terms using Suzhou embroidery techniques, but a Western gilt brooch was pinned at the neckline, with half a freshwater pearl on the end of the pin.

"Princess, why are there still loose threads on the hem of this wedding dress?" Xier held the golden thread close to the candlelight.

Meng Qiqi chuckled softly, her fingertips stroking the three-dimensional floral decoration on the hem of her skirt. It was a poppy made of silk flowers wrapped with thin iron wire. The petals were clearly layered and trembled slightly as she walked. "This is called 'three-dimensional embroidery.' When I walk, just take bigger steps and the flowers will come alive."

Amidst the ringing of bells and drums, she was supported and walked towards the red carpet. As she passed the Imperial Garden, a whisper of discussion suddenly came from behind the rockery: "Why isn't this wedding dress embroidered with mandarin ducks? Instead, it's embroidered with some unidentified flowers..."

"Look at that shawl. There are plum blossoms and lotus flowers in the same frame. It's out of season!"

Meng Qiqi raised the corners of her lips slightly.

She deliberately broke the boundaries of the four seasons on her shawl, connecting the twenty-four solar terms with spring orchids, summer lotuses, autumn chrysanthemums, and winter plums, implicitly embodying the idea of ​​"following the will of heaven and responding to the needs of people."

What’s even more interesting is that there are tiny gear and book patterns embroidered on the inside of the cuffs, which are only vaguely visible when you raise your arms.

Yongqi stood on the steps wearing the brand new court robes of a prince, the jade pendant on his waist swaying gently with his breathing.

When he saw Meng Qiqi coming, his pupils suddenly contracted - the traditional red wedding dress exuded a unique charm on her, especially the three-dimensional floral decorations faintly visible at the hem of her skirt, making every step she took seem like she was walking through a sea of ​​flowers.

"Worship the heavens and the earth-"

As the ceremonial officer saluted, Meng Qiqi noticed that Yongqi's back was straight when he saluted, as if he was resisting something.

When it was time to "pay respects to the parents for the second time," the Empress Dowager pointed at her shawl and said with a smile, "Xinrong, this girl, said she wanted to wear the beautiful colors of the four seasons. This is in line with the auspicious omen of 'constant peace every year'."

Yongqi suddenly looked up and his eyes fell on the gilded brooch on her chest.

The brooch is shaped like two wild geese embracing each other, but the feather patterns are replaced by gears.

Meng Qiqi took the opportunity to whisper, "A wild goose carries a message, and it should be boundless. The turning of gears can measure the passage of time."

Yongqi's pupils trembled slightly. This was the first time he heard such unfamiliar and novel words from "Princess Xinrong".

The concubines in the harem were talking like a tide: "This wedding dress may have violated the ancestral rules."

"To me, she looks more like a princess from a Western painting." Only Empress Ling applauded and exclaimed, "It's rare for Princess Xinrong to have such ingenuity. The Emperor deserves a reward!"

Qianlong sat upright on the dragon throne, his eyes wandering between the three-dimensional floral decorations and the gear brooch on his wedding dress. Suddenly, he smiled and said, "I remember there was a Western style called 'Rococo,' which is somewhat similar to this wedding dress. Xinrong, do you know Rococo?"

As Meng Qiqi leaned forward, the pearl tassels cast tiny specks of light before her eyes. "Your Majesty, the beauty of Rococo lies in its breaking of conventions, just as our dynasty's clothing draws on the best of many traditions. Take this three-dimensional floral ornament. It may seem unconventional, but it actually utilizes the Jiangnan filigree technique, and is not inconsistent with tradition."

Yongqi's fingers unconsciously clenched the hem of his court robes.

He suddenly remembered what Xiaoyanzi said, "The most important thing about clothes is that they are comfortable to wear." But the man in front of him could combine "comfort" and "rules" so harmoniously.

What made him even more nervous was that when Meng Qiqi talked about "breaking the rules", the light in her eyes was completely different from Xiaoyanzi's innocence. It was a kind of clarity and confidence that saw through the world.

After the ceremony, the Empress Dowager specially asked Meng Qiqi to walk three circles in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

The three-dimensional floral decorations trembled gently in the sunlight, and the "petals" of the poppies actually revealed the unique pearly luster of silk - that was the effect of her having the greenhouse grind butterfly wings into powder and mix it with alum water for dyeing.

The concubines in the harem then discovered that each flower’s pistil was embedded with a tiny oriental pearl, which touched each other lightly when they walked, making a tiny, clear sound, as if the flowers were whispering.

"This is not a wedding dress at all, it's clearly a walking imperial garden." Qing'er praised in a low voice, and there was a bit more sympathy in the look she gave him.

Meng Qiqi noticed that Yongqi was whispering with Erkang, and occasionally looked up at her, with less resistance and more inquiry in his eyes.

The system prompt sounded at the right time: "Yongqi's ideological instability +10, triggering the 'Cognitive Subversion' event. Do you want to open the 'Dialogue Window' to facilitate in-depth communication?"

She gently stroked the gear brooch on her chest and looked at the paper flowers falling all over the sky - she had the Imperial Household Department cut them out of scraps of rice paper dyed red, which were more poetic than traditional silk flowers.

----

At three quarters past midnight, when the red veil was lifted by the golden scale, Yongqi smelled a faint scent of cedar.

Unlike the scent of ordinary bride's rouge, the fragrance was as clear and crisp as the sound of pine trees on snow-capped mountains, which reminded him of the cedars he had seen in the Chengde Mountain Resort last year.

"What is Fifth Prince smelling?" Meng Qiqi removed her phoenix crown, letting her long black hair cascade down like a waterfall. Wisps of fine gold foil woven into her hair were faintly visible. "This is a perfume I made myself. Top note: cedar, middle note: iris, base note: guess what?"

Yongqi stared at the gold foil in her hair, which was clearly a decorative technique found only on Western clocks and watches. "Why are you braiding your hair with gold foil? It's not in accordance with etiquette."

She raised her hand to play with the ends of her hair, the gold foil gleaming in the candlelight. "Gold foil is fragile, just like a woman's reputation. But if you braid it into a hairband, it can actually bear a thousand pounds."

Seeing Yongqi's confused expression, she chuckled and pulled out a leather notebook from her dressing table. "This is my 'boudoir diary'. It records my thoughts on state governance, agriculture and commerce, and women's education. Would you like to take a look?"

Yongqi's pupils suddenly shrank.

The inside pages of the notebook contained sketches of steam engines, designs of new textile machines, and "A New Interpretation of Women's Conduct" written in both Manchu and Chinese.

When he turned to the page titled "On the Permission of Eight Banner Women to Participate in the Imperial Examination," his fingers suddenly trembled. "If anyone were to know these thoughts, it would be a grave crime!"

Meng Qiqi leaned closer to him, her eyes blazing with light. "Fifth Prince, do you know that there was a Queen in England named Elizabeth? And that women can also govern and maintain peace? Our ancestor, the Holy Emperor, once studied the Western calendar. Why can't women learn something practical these days? Just like today's wedding dresses, while they may have changed in form, they've actually preserved the essence of beauty."

Suddenly, a night wind blew outside the window, causing the red candle to shake violently.

Yongqi looked at the woman in front of him who flickered in the light and shadow, and for the first time felt that the name "Princess Xinrong" was so pale.

There were myriad expressions hidden in her eyebrows and eyes. The look in her eyes when she spoke of "women's education" reminded him of Xiaoyanzi's gallantry when she rode a horse in the paddock - but with an even more thoughtful and profound air.

"Why...are you telling me this?" He heard his voice was hoarse like never before.

Meng Qiqi closed the account book and stroked the jade pendant on his waist with her fingertips: "Because what I want is not 'Fifth Prince's Consort', but a confidant who can look upon the mountains and rivers with me."

She suddenly pulled out a handkerchief with a cross-stitched map of the capital, with every street and alley marked with detailed information about the distribution of businesses. "How about coming with me tomorrow to explore the countryside? See how the embroiderers make their livings, and listen to the voices of the common people in the teahouses?"

Yongqi was completely stunned.

He tossed and turned that night, with the image of Xiaoyanzi chasing butterflies in the imperial garden and the "Woman on Horseback Riding for the Scientific Expedition" depicted by Meng Qiqi appearing alternately in his mind.

When the night deepened and the dew became heavier, he fished out the jade pendant hidden under his pillow, only to discover that a line of small characters had appeared on the back of the jade pendant: "Those whose hearts are filled with mountains and seas will not be trapped by streams."