Deep Palace Pet Peach Blossom Flawless

Her biggest mistake was not being able to bear a child to carry on her husband's family's legacy. She was driven back by her husband's family and rejected by her natal family, which led her to her own death.

Yun Heng frowned and said, "You are still young, and your mother is telling you this?"

Ruo Ruo said with a hint of worry: "My mother said that since I'm a girl, I'll have to understand these things sooner or later. She also said that this is a woman's fate."

Yun Heng said, "Things like this are rare, so don't take it to heart."

She nodded weakly. Men naturally think differently than women. She simply felt sad for the women of that era, especially during the Dasheng Dynasty. Women were not allowed to marry a second husband, and divorce was not permitted. Divorce was the only option. If they violated the principles of harmony and obedience, they would be abandoned by their husband's family, leaving them unacceptable in the world. She murmured, "If only the laws of marriage could be changed, allowing for divorce and remarriage."

A sharp glint flashed across Yun Heng's eyes. He couldn't understand the heaviness and sadness in her eyes. They didn't seem like those of an eight or nine-year-old girl at all. Was she grieving for them? He said slowly, "That's impossible."

Weakly turning to look at him, he continued, "This is an ironclad imperial rule established six hundred years ago. Back then, a woman who had been married twice entered the harem. She was fickle and ultimately ambitious. She controlled the young emperor, formed a clique for personal gain, and interfered with the court, attempting to use her power to cover up her own. After her family was exterminated, the imperial rule was passed: women may not engage in business, practice medicine, or become officials, or remarry. If they are unvirtuous, unkind, unsubmissive, or disrespectful in their husband's family, they can be divorced."

After the divorce, the woman's words and deeds would be determined according to the law, with different punishments available. However, among ordinary people, it was rare for the husband's family to file a complaint with the authorities and enforce the law. This was because it was a private family matter, and most people believed that family disgrace should not be made public, so they handled it privately. Local officials also acquiesced.

"Oh, that woman is quite formidable..." She truly caused untold suffering for all the women of the following centuries. She sighed again, realizing her good fortune had been expended on reincarnation, blessed by a relatively powerful family. If she had been an ordinary woman... she couldn't even imagine it.

Yun Heng looked at her and said, "It's just sacrificing a small number of people to prevent trouble before it happens and to maintain the orthodoxy of the dynasty."

Ruo Ruo nodded slightly. She felt that the dynasty must have wanted to take preventive measures at the beginning, but after hundreds of years, it had been overcorrected and some people took advantage of the loopholes to seek personal gain.

She remembered seeing women who had committed serious offenses in their husband's family, who divorced them, and who were abandoned by their parents. Finally, they were sent to the women's prison. The women's prison was actually a larger wooden cage where women were locked up and not allowed to move freely, like livestock. In some places, women in prison would be paraded through the streets as a warning. At that time, she was still thinking that it would be better to let them do some odd jobs instead of just locking them up and letting them eat and drink for free.

She was still too naive. Later, when she saw the women in the official prison parading through the streets, she realized the true purpose of the prison: it was nothing more than using the law as a backing to objectify women, treating them as playthings for men to vent their lust. The women's prison was truly being exploited by men!

However, men all over the world do not take this seriously. This is their basic right in a patriarchal society. They will not allow anyone to challenge their rights and status. Even if they know that there is something wrong, the oppressed are women at the bottom of society. Who would care?

After that, they met from time to time. Yun Heng was pursuing absolute power in the military camp, while Ruo Ruo and her little Peach Garden became his paradise where he could relax and feel free.

Over the years, they wandered the streets and alleys, conversing with local customs and people, savoring the beauty of the four seasons, and sampling the delicacies of the seasons. In the small peach orchard, they listened to the blossoms in spring, the rain in summer, the wind in autumn, and the snow in winter. She took him to enjoy the scenery, and he taught her calligraphy. She would sing, dance, and draw for him, and he would dance his sword to the sound of her zither and flute.

Yun Heng often heard Ruo Ruo say, "There's only one thing in this world that shouldn't be wasted: beautiful scenery. Thousands of years from now, such scenery might no longer exist, so it can't be replicated. Now that we see it, we must cherish and appreciate it."

When Ruoruo was twelve years old, Yun Heng saw a butterfly dancing in the girl's hand, and that butterfly flew into his heart. He wanted to say, Ruoruo, you are the one who cannot be copied.

It was the flower-viewing season again, and Yun Heng entered the Little Peach Garden. Sure enough, he saw Ruo Ruo sitting on the branch of a peach tree, with her skirt falling like petals. She closed her eyes slightly and listened carefully to the sound of the petals falling.

Yun Heng leaped up and sat beside her, quietly listening to the flowers with her. The wind rustled gently, and petals drifted silently down, landing soundlessly on their hair and bodies. Butterflies danced around them, seeking new fragrances. The scenery was picturesque, and the boy and girl were part of it, enchanted and dreamlike.

They both opened their eyes at the same time. Yun Heng looked at the girl's increasingly delicate face, and the increasingly unconcealable sadness between her brows. Finally, he couldn't help but speak: "Ruoruo, if you believe me, wait for me for a few years. You are still young, and your family won't push too hard. Are you willing to wait for me?" When the overall situation is settled, he will tell her everything and bring her back to the imperial city.

I turned my head to look at him weakly. Amidst the falling petals, I nodded gently, my smile blooming like a peach blossom. The peach blossom's smile entered my heart, and from then on, peach blossoms fell in my dreams.

As the peach blossoms fall, they seem to hear the soft and pure singing and dance to it.

The beautiful and pure singing sounded like a gurgling stream in Yun Heng's ears and flowed into his heart.

You said light passed through the twin flowers

Stranded on the vicissitudes of life

I listen to the wind caressing whose cheek

Sand flying out of the seabed

How I wish I could accompany you through the sad night

We join hands in the ups and downs of the world

The wrong time and space messed up my hair

No matter how hard it is, I am not afraid

You are the crescent moon in my heart

My glowing light shines brightly

If tears fall

Condensed into a heart flower

I am the incorruptibility of your mind

Don't ask the galaxy heart, no need to answer

Light it up for you

flawless heaven and earth

I am the incorruptibility of your mind

flawless heaven and earth

(From: Mao Buyi - Flawless Heaven and Earth)

Yun Heng's heart was beating wildly, and something strange was about to burst out of his chest, gushing out, so turbulent, sweet, and irreplaceable! Yun Heng knew that he would never let go of her hand again in this life. They had fallen in love when the peach blossoms were falling.

And five years later, Lan Qingwu finally returned to his side.

In Suowu Palace, Emperor Shenwu gently kissed Lan Qingwu on the cheek and said to her sleeping body, "You are my crescent moon." You are the clear stream flowing into my dull life. You are the bright moonlight in my life.

The next day, Emperor Shenwu secretly summoned Ruping to inquire about Lan Qingwu's health. Ruping recalled, "After recovering from two serious illnesses, my master took traditional Chinese medicine for most of the next six months to recuperate. As a result, his stomach was weak and he ate very little. A few months later, the state mourned the late emperor, and my master observed a strict national mourning for three years, consuming no meat or fish. Then, my master's grandmother died, and my master has been mourning for another year, until now."

Emperor Shenwu was silent for a long time before he said, "Retreat."

Ruo Ruo must have been in mourning for herself during those three years. She knew how much he admired the emperor, and she also knew that with his status, it was impossible for him to mourn for his father for three years like ordinary sons. Even the civil and military officials in the court only completed the year because of him, the emperor. For the sake of people's lives, the people only observed the national mourning for a hundred days. What was her mood when she did this when they had decided not to see each other again?

Five or six days passed like this. One day, Concubine Jiang went to Qianzheng Palace to ask for an audience with Emperor Shenwu.