Quick Wear Dream Qiqi

Benjamin Benjamin's oil painting "Breaking Out of the Cocoon" is on display on the terrace of the Butterfly Tea House.

The fluorescent butterflies on the canvas flow in the sunlight, as if trying to break free from the constraints of oil paint.

Yongqi held the wolf-hair brush, and the ink rippled in the inkstone, reflecting the complex expression between his brows.

"Fifth Prince, have you decided on a topic?" Benjamin asked in his broken Chinese, the palette knife in his hand still stained with wet ultramarine.

Yongqi looked at the leaping figure of the little swallow in the painting and remembered what she said in the dilapidated temple: "I want to be a wisp of wind."

The pen tip fell and wrote in the lower left corner of the canvas:

"The golden throne is like a flying butterfly, and I live in the world of Jianghu.

Wind and clouds are just passing travelers, the bright moon shines on those who are returning home.

Ziwei recited the poem softly and discovered that the word "flying butterfly" contained a double entendre - it was both the butterfly in the painting and the incarnation of the little swallow.

The last two sentences seem to describe wandering in the rivers and lakes, but in fact they contain the words "wind" and "moon", which together are a perfect portrayal of Xiaoyanzi's straightforward nature.

Yongqi put down his brush and said to Benjamin in English, "In Chinese poetry, sometimes what's not said is more important." Benjamin nodded thoughtfully and wrote in Latin on the edge of the frame: "Per Aspera Ad Astra" (Follow this arduous journey to reach the stars).

The two languages ​​complement each other in the sunlight, like a dialogue between the palace and the world.

----

The late spring night breeze carried the scent of jasmine. Xiao Jian and Qing'er stood on the roof of the teahouse, gazing at the starry sky.

The jade flute in his hand was engraved with a newly written lyric: "The bamboo shadows shatter by the window, the flute sounds through the cold moon", and the words "Sword Qi and Flute Heart" were embroidered on Qing'er's handkerchief, and the stitches were as fine as her thoughts.

"Do you know why I always wear this jade hairpin?" Qing'er took off the mutton-fat jade hairpin on her head, revealing the faint crescent-shaped birthmark behind her ear. "Before entering the palace, the nanny said this was the 'noble lady's mark' and that I had to hide it well."

Xiao Jian looked at the light red and remembered the physiognomy saying "A moon hidden behind the ear indicates a difficult life".

He took out half a jade pendant from his bosom and placed it next to Qing'er's hairpin: "The missing corner of my jade pendant looks like the curvature of your hairpin."

Qing Er chuckled and inserted the hairpin into his bun: "In the palace, even the smile had to be measured; but with you, it can be like this -"

She suddenly stood up and spun around on the roof, her skirt flying up, "dancing like a butterfly."

Xiao Jian reached out to hold her waist and touched the secret letter bag on her waist - that was the account book of Jiangnan Embroidery Workshop that Meng Qiqi asked her to pass on.

This seemingly weak woman has a heart that is wider than the world.

----

In the imperial tent during the Grain Rain season, Qing'er knelt in front of Emperor Qianlong, with the bamboo leaf hairpin given by Xiao Jian in her hair.

Outside the tent came the sounds of Xiaoyanzi and Benjamin arguing about Western paintings. The sunlight filtered through the tent, casting a butterfly-shaped spot of light behind her.

"Your Majesty, do you still remember?" she said, stroking the butterfly pattern on her sleeve. "During the selection, you said my eyes were like the water of Yuquan Lake?"

Qianlong put down the memorial and looked at the girl he had raised since childhood.

Her eyes were no longer as respectful as before, but now had the brightness of a woman from the underworld.

He noticed that the jade pendant on her waist was replaced by half of Xiao Jian's, and he felt mixed emotions.

"Xiao Jian is right," Qing'er said firmly, "A true noble shouldn't be trapped in the Golden Palace."

Qianlong was silent for a long time, then took out a secret yellow silk decree with a jade seal that read "As if I were here in person": "I allow you to leave the palace, but—"

He looked at Xiaoyanzi outside the tent and said, "Every Mid-Autumn Festival, you must return to the Forbidden City and let the Empress Dowager see you."

When Qing'er kowtowed, her tears fell on the secret decree, forming small flowers.

This decree was not only a fulfillment, but also a kind of compromise by Qianlong towards the underworld - just like he tacitly allowed Xiaoyanzi to open a teahouse among the people and tacitly allowed Meng Qiqi's women's economic reform.

----

On the day of the Beginning of Summer, at the Suzhou wharf, Xiao Jian's black-sailed boat was docked by Fengqiao.

Xiaoyanzi was holding Benjamin's painting frame, which was wrapped in the brocade painting cover given by Meng Qiqi; Qing'er's bag contained the Jianghu token bestowed by Emperor Qianlong, which was tied to Xiao Jian's jade pendant with a red rope; Benjamin was carrying a painting box, which contained the unfinished sketch of "Dali Butterfly Spring".

"Remember to write to me," Ziwei held Xiaoyanzi's hand, tears in her eyes, "You can also use the darts your brother taught you to send the letter."

Erkang patted Xiao Jian on the shoulder and said in a slangy way: "Brother, the wind in Dali is strong. Drink a few more bowls of barley wine for me."

Yongqi walked up to Qing'er and handed her a copy of "Jiangnan Women's Business Genealogy": "This was compiled by Meng Qiqi. You can use it when you open an embroidery workshop in Dali."

He turned to Xiao Jian and said, "If anyone gives you any trouble, show this token—" He showed the royal jade pendant with dark patterns on his waist, "it's more useful than your Jianghu token."

Xiao Jian raised his eyebrows: "Thank you, but -" He shook the bamboo flute in his hand, "The sound of my flute can scare away villains better than a token."

As the boat left the shore, Yongqi suddenly remembered something and ran after the dock, shouting, "Little Swallow! The third line of that poem is actually—"

Unfortunately, the wind on the river was too strong and his voice was drowned out by the boatman's calls.

Xiaoyanzi looked at his increasingly smaller figure, and suddenly understood what he had not finished saying - the "wind and clouds" in the third sentence "wind and clouds are all passers-by" alluded to the words "Yong" and "Qi".

Benjamin took out his sketchbook and quickly sketched out the scene at the dock: Qianlong stood in the front, his clothes blown by the wind, like an eagle with its wings folded; Yongqi stood with his fists clenched, his eyes following the shadow of the boat; Meng Qiqi lowered her head to look through the account book, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the butterfly hairpin; Ziwei and Erkang hugged each other, and her tears fell on Erkang's quiver.

“This should be called ‘See You Off,’ ” he said in English. “Every departure is a kind of return.”

Xiaoyanzi looked at the city wall that was gradually moving away and took out the butterfly whistle that Yongqi had given her.

She blew a long tune softly, and the sound swept across the water, startling a group of egrets.

Xiao Jian took out a jade flute from the cabin and matched the whistle sound. The tune was exactly the same as the melody of Yongqi's poem.

When the moon rises above the willows, the black-sailed boats sail into Taihu Lake.

Xiao Jian and Qing'er sat at the bow of the boat. He used a leaf dart to carve the words "Xiao Qing" on the board, while she used the tip of a hairpin to draw a pair of butterflies next to it.

"This is the 'Concentric Butterfly' from Dali," Xiao Jian pointed at the markings on the butterfly's wings. "The male has sword-shaped wings, while the female has jade-shaped wings."

Qing'er took out the "Mandarin Duck Inkstone" she brought from the palace, washed it with Taihu Lake water, and the ink she ground out actually had a faint fluorescence - it was the "Jianghu Secret Ink" specially made by Meng Qiqi.

She dipped ink and wrote on the plank:

"I travel the world with a flute and a sword,

Half paper and half inkstone are used to paint a grand picture.

I wish to follow you to the Cangshan Mountain,

Smilingly watching the clouds rise and float on Erhai Lake.

Xiao Jian looked at the poem and suddenly held her hand. "When the dahlias are in full bloom, I'll take you to see the Butterfly Spring. The butterflies there will land on the shoulders of passers-by, like a rain of flowers."

Qing'er leaned on his shoulder, listening to the sound of oars and looking at the starry sky.

She finally broke free from the shackles of the identities of "princess" and "female official" and became the real "Qing'er" - a woman who could watch the clouds rise and fall side by side with the heroes of the world.

----

On the return journey, Emperor Qianlong looked at the "Southern Tour Business Record" compiled by Meng Qiqi and suddenly asked, "You said that Xiao Jian's light function can't avoid the guns of the Shenjiying?"

Meng Qiqi was stunned for a moment, then understood his concern: "The emperor's Jianghu token can win people's hearts more than a musket."

Qianlong chuckled and pulled out another secret decree from his sleeve. It read: "Appoint Xiao Jian as the 'Tea and Horse Envoy of Dali', and Qing'er as the 'Female Commercial Supervisor'."

He looked out the window at the Butterfly Teahouse and said, "Sometimes, recruiting is more effective than hunting down."

Meng Qiqi looked at the three words "Tea-Horse Envoy" on the secret decree and remembered what Benjamin said, "Per Aspera Ad Astra."

Qianlong was no longer the emperor who only knew how to suppress with imperial power, but had learned to govern the world with the rules of the world.

When the black-sailed boat disappeared at the junction of water and sky, Yongqi finally said the unfinished line of the poem - the next line of the third line "Wind and clouds are all passers-by" is actually "Your heart is like my heart."

But he knew that some words were destined to be hidden only in poetry, just as he was destined to stay in the Forbidden City and the little swallow was destined to fly to the wider sky.

Meng Qiqi walked over to him and handed him a butterfly-shaped piece of scented ink: "This is what Xiaoyanzi left for me. She said, 'After finishing this poem, it's time to write a new story.'"

Yongqi took the ink block and touched the two words "freedom" engraved on it in female script.

He suddenly chuckled and said to Meng Qiqi, "Maybe we should set up a 'Butterfly Bookstore' to publish books written by women."

Meng Qiqi raised her eyebrows: "Including your "Women's Economic Theory"?

"Of course," Yongqi looked off into the distance, "we also have to add Xiaoyanzi's 'Teahouse Anecdotes', Xiaojian's 'Qinggong and Business Principles', Qing'er's 'Comparison of Palace and Jianghu Etiquette'..."