Quick Wear Dream Qiqi

On the fifth day of the fifth month in the 30th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign, the black-sailed boats sailed into Erhai Lake.

The moonlight sprinkled on the water like broken silver. Xiao Jian sat at the bow of the boat, with the jade flute engraved with "Sword Qi and Flute Heart" on his knees.

Qing'er took off her palace dress and put on an embroidered short jacket of a Bai girl. She replaced the bamboo leaf hairpin in her hair with a headdress made of eagle feathers by Xiao Jian.

"Playing the flute should be as natural as breathing," Xiao Jian handed the flute to her lips, his fingertips touching her moist lower lip, "hold the flute head in your mouth, and lightly press the tip of your tongue against it, as if holding a dewdrop."

Qing'er did as she was told, but the sound was broken.

She looked up with a blush, and saw the smile in Xiao Jian's eyes. She suddenly remembered that when she was learning to play the sheng in the palace, the musician always said with a stern face, "A lady should not play the sheng."

"Relax a little," Xiao Jian held her hand and adjusted it. "Your fingers are too stiff, like you're holding a brush." ​​He gently pried open her fingertips, letting the flute lean against her palm. "This way it's easier and more relaxed."

The night wind brought the scent of snow from Cangshan Mountain, and Xiao Jian suddenly sang in Miao language: "Butterflies land on the bamboo branches, and my sister's thoughts drift with the waves."

Although Qing'er didn't understand the lyrics, she could read tenderness in his eyes.

She tried to imitate his lip movements, and the sound of the flute finally became less harsh and blended with the sound of the waves and the oars.

When the boat docked, a rosy glow appeared in the sky.

Xiao Jian brought Qing'er to the Butterfly Spring. Thousands of butterflies were flying around the albizzia trees beside the spring, and the fluorescent light on their wings matched the morning dew.

"This is the 'Xiayi butterfly,'" Xiao Jian pointed at an orange-red butterfly. "They only dance in the early morning when the dew has not yet dried."

Qing'er stretched out her hand, and a butterfly landed in her palm. The patterns on its wings looked very much like the lotus patterns in the palace.

She thought of Qianlong's butterfly paperweight and whispered, "It turns out that the patterns in the palace all come from nature."

Xiao Jian took out a piece of bamboo leaf from his arms, rolled it into a short flute and played "Song of Water Melody".

Qing'er heard the melody mixed with the gracefulness of Jiangnan folk songs and the bright sound of Miaojiang reed pipes, and couldn't help humming along.

When they sang "May We Live Together Forever", thousands of butterflies suddenly flew up and formed an arch above the two people's heads, like a natural wedding canopy.

"This is the 'Dancing Butterflies' spectacle at Butterfly Spring," Xiao Jian said, his voice filled with awe. "The older generation said that only those who truly love each other can see this."

Qing'er looked at the butterflies in the sky and thought of the butterfly screen she had seen in the Forbidden City. Although the butterflies on it were beautiful, they were all dead.

The butterfly before my eyes brings the coolness of dew, the fragrance of flowers, and the warmth of freedom.

She gently held Xiao Jian's hand, and heard the sound of her own heartbeat amid the buzzing of butterflies.

On the day of Grain Fullness, the old house of the Duan family in Dali was decorated with lights and colorful lanterns.

Xiaoyanzi, wearing the Bai ethnic group bride's shawl and a silver butterfly crown on her head, was arranging Qing'er's wedding dress.

The wedding dress was sent by Meng Qiqi. It was made of Erhai blue brocade, and the cuffs were embroidered with hundreds of butterflies of various shapes. The word "Ji" was written in women's script on each wing.

"Qing'er, is this the Bai people's custom of 'walking marriage'?" Xiaoyanzi touched the silver bells on her wedding dress curiously.

Qing'er chuckled, "Silly girl, the Bai ethnic group's wedding custom is 'circling three spirits'. We'll follow the Han custom, but with some local details added."

She pointed to the three cups of tea on the table: "One bitter, two sweet, and three aftertastes, just like our life."

Xiao Jian was wearing a navy blue double-breasted shirt of the Bai ethnic group, with a Jianghu token bestowed by Emperor Qianlong hanging around his waist. He was greeting guests in the yard.

Benjamin set up his easel, ready to record this wedding that blends Chinese and Western elements.

"The auspicious time has arrived—" the matchmaker's voice sounded, and Xiao Jian took Qing'er's hand and walked across the red carpet covered with pine branches. The guests on both sides threw rice flowers and butterfly petals at them.

When they reached the Butterfly Spring, they threw their jade pendants into the spring, causing ripples on the water surface, reflecting the "rosy butterflies" flying all over the sky.

At the same time, in the Qianqing Palace in the capital, Emperor Qianlong unfolded the "Imperial Decree on the Conferment of the Title on Princess Mingzhu" and circled the word "Ziwei" with a cinnabar pen.

These two words were written by Xiaoyanzi on the screen in the imperial study before she left, and a crooked butterfly was drawn next to it.

"Deliver the imperial edict," he handed it to Eunuch Li, "and appoint Ziwei as Princess Mingzhu and grant her marriage to Fu Erkang. This is my decree."

Ziwei knelt in front of the Yangxin Palace, listening to the announcement of the imperial decree, holding tightly in her hand the butterfly quiver given by Erkang.

She recalled how Emperor Qianlong had said to the dilapidated temple in Suzhou: "I owe the Fang family justice, and it starts with you."

The canonization at this moment is both compensation and recognition of the woman's talent.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace," she kowtowed, the butterfly hairpin in her hair gleaming faintly. "I wish to use what I have learned to enlighten women."

Qianlong looked at her determined eyes and suddenly remembered Meng Qiqi's women's arts and crafts department.

He nodded and ordered someone to bring a revised edition of "Biographies of Ancient and Modern Women", which contained Ziwei's annotations in women's script: "This book should be supplemented with 'Brocade Palindrome' Su Hui and 'Sword Qi and Flute Heart' Liu Rushi."

During the early morning court session during the Grain in Ear season, Meng Qiqi wore a newly made official uniform with butterfly patterns embroidered on the hem of her skirt, symbolizing a good harvest.

Yongqi stood beside her, holding the revised manuscript of "Female Economic Theory" in his hand. The cover had the words "Women can also build a country" written in fluorescent ink.

"Your Majesty," Meng Qiqi stepped forward and replied, "The Jiangnan Women's Crafts Department has trained 300 female shopkeepers. We now request the establishment of a 'Women's Commercial Taxation Department' to be managed by women from the public."

The moment these words came out, the court was in an uproar. The Minister of Revenue slammed the table and said, "How can a woman interfere in government affairs?"

Yongqi took a half step forward. "During his southern tour last month, my father personally witnessed the considerable profits of the women's embroidery workshop. This is a move that benefits the country and the people, not an interference in government."

He showed the account book in his hand, "The monthly tax revenue of Suzhou Butterfly Teahouse exceeds that of three official kilns."

Qianlong looked at the butterfly kite outside the palace, which was given to him by Xiaoyanzi before she left.

He thought of the secret decree in Dali and the sound of the flute played by Xiao Jian at the bow of the boat.

"Approved," he said solemnly, "Xinrong will take charge of the Women's Commercial Tax Department, and the Fifth Prince will assist in handling the matter."

When Meng Qiqi kowtowed, the butterfly whistle in her sleeve rang softly - it was left by Xiaoyanzi, who said, "Blow it when you miss me."

The court at this moment is like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. Although its wings are still in pain, it is ready to embrace the wider sky.

At the wedding banquet in Dali, Xiao Jian and Qing'er drank "three cups of tea" according to Bai ethnic custom.

The first bitter tea was roasted tea, which tasted burnt and bitter, but Qing'er remembered the ginseng tea she drank in the palace, which seemed nourishing but was actually bitter; the second sweet tea was added with milk fan and honey, which reminded her of the wreath Xiao Jian had made for her, which was sweet and fragrant; the third aftertaste tea contained pepper and ginger, just like their meeting, from tension to harmony.

"This tea is very much like life," she said to Xiao Jian, "bitter at first, then sweet, with an endless aftertaste."

Xiao Jian looked at the light in her eyes and suddenly remembered the poem she wrote with fluorescent ink on the boat on Taihu Lake.

He took out a piece of gold foil from his sleeve, on which was written in women's calligraphy "The zither and the harp are in the palace, and everything is peaceful and good", and carefully placed it in her tea bowl.

"This is the gold foil tea I learned to make in Yangzhou," he said. "People who wander around the world always have some sparkling dreams."

Qing'er looked at the gold foil floating in the tea bowl and suddenly realized that the so-called Jianghu and the palace were just different tea bowls, and what really mattered was the heart contained in the bowl.

At the wedding of Princess Mingzhu in the capital, Ziwei's wedding dress was no longer the traditional bright red, but indigo blue, which symbolizes wisdom, and the hem of her skirt was embroidered with a palindrome poem from the "Xuan Ji Tu".

When she appeared in the Hall of Supreme Harmony wearing a phoenix crown with Nüshu patterns, all the civil and military officials in the court were shocked.

"This is the 'brocade palindrome' wedding crown," Emperor Qianlong personally pinned the phoenix crown on her head. "Su Hui can express her feelings through poetry, and my Princess Mingzhu can also convince others with her talent and learning."

Erkang wore a modified wedding dress with arrow sleeves, and hung a butterfly sachet given by Ziwei around his waist, which contained love poems written by her in a female script.

He recalled Ziwei's words in the dilapidated temple in Suzhou: "Love should not be a cage, but a sky for lovebirds."

At this moment, they really became birds in each other's sky.

----

After leaving the court, Yong Qi looked at the Commercial Taxation Bureau files sorted by Meng Qi Qi and suddenly chuckled: "I'm afraid your butterfly pattern account book will keep the Minister of Revenue awake at night."

"It's more than just account books," Meng Qiqi showed off the newly made butterfly seal. "From now on, all receipts for women's commercial taxes will use this seal. The angles of the butterfly's wings will represent different types of taxes."

Yongqi looked at the light in her eyes and recalled the unfinished poem he had said at the Suzhou dock.

He suddenly took out a piece of scented ink engraved with the word "Qi". It was made from the benzoin she had modified. "After we finish this, how about we go to Jiangnan to see the women's trading port?"

Meng Qiqi took the fragrant ink and touched the butterfly pattern on it.

She remembered what Little Swallow said, "Wherever the butterfly flies, there are new stories."