Chang'an ancient meaning

In recent days, it has always been raining heavily at night, but the sky is full of sunshine during the day, so bright that people can't open their eyes.The soil loosened by the rain was then dried by the sun, and the wind raised a burst of yellow dust with a bitter smell.

Wu Linglan was sitting in the car, feeling sick in her chest due to the stuffy heat. She gently raised the window curtains to breathe, and wanted to see where she was going, but the sky was full of needle-like sunlight falling on the barren yellow land.The messy ruts ahead guided the journey, letting her know that the two of them were not the only ones who left home.The green ox was panting heavily, walking on the plain without trees.Even the imperial guards who escorted them looked troubled and depressed, thinking that it was very hard for them to travel in such weather.

She looked back and saw that Shi Chun and the other five servants didn't even have horses, so they could only walk with the chariots and horses on foot, and didn't know if they could drink water. Some water, before she could open her mouth, was stared at by a forbidden soldier, Wu Linglan had to slowly lean back into the car, and when she lowered her head, she saw that Xue Chongjian's temples and forehead in her arms were covered with sweat, and the road was dirty, she was a little inattentive, and there was dust On his face, traces were left by that sweat.She hurriedly took the porcelain bottle of drinking water, poured out a little on the veil, and wiped his cheeks carefully.

Two days ago, she took Xue Chongjian's place to accept the imperial decree to be relocated to Puzhou Biejia. Before she could discern the changes in the current situation behind the imperial decree, she was rushed on the road by the eunuchs from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and even she and Xue Chongjian exchanged a few household items. Clothes, I begged them to fetch them for me.Xue Chongjian, who was sent to the car by the servants, has been in a coma for a long time. Wu Linglan inspected him carefully, and found that he was not injured. She didn't know what kind of torture he had suffered, and she was unconscious for so long.The imperial escort refused to ask a doctor for her, so she had no choice but to hug him like this.

The wilderness and dust in front of her finally made her understand that the bustling mansion that carried their joy and pain had collapsed to ashes, and the family affairs and state affairs were all empty.She hated Taiping, and thought that the blazing house was hell, but she never expected that the suffering would be repeated on Xue Chongjian intensified. The fire of Santu finally spread to the world, and even the Liangyuan where they lived were burned. into ashes.Those jade chariots and golden whips, the past events of the pearl curtains and night moons, and those homes where people are like jade guests like clouds, are all gone.When they left in a hurry, only Venerable Hui Fan from Zhixiang Temple had a hasty meeting on the side of the road to see them off, not even the sorrowful willows and the spring breeze that left people.The world withdrew its gentle sadness and returned to the real and harsh desolation.

At the beginning, she was still anxious about Xue Chongjian's coma, but now she actually hoped that if he could really fall into such a deep sleep, she would be like the most ordinary wife, holding him so securely on the bumpy road.She gently stroked the eyebrows, the bridge of the nose, and the corners of the lips of the man in her arms with her fingers. It was strange that this face was still as beautiful as when they first met.She lowered her head and gently nestled her cheeks against Xue Chongjian's face. The smooth and silky skin rubbed against each other, soaked by tears like the touch of gentle jade.They both had such a beautiful age, but they all experienced their own country's ruin and family death. She felt at a loss when she thought about it, and even she couldn't believe it.

I don't know if the car was jolted or something, but the person in her arms struggled, she quickly looked up, and saw Xue Chongjian's eyebrows were tightly knit, his body was trembling, his throat seemed to be choked by something, and he was full of suffocation. flushed.Wu Linglan panicked, rubbed her chest for him, and kept calling him: "Huanu, Huanu..." The voice was like Yu Zhi Lun's voice, and Xue Chongjian gradually calmed down. He groaned and called out in a low voice: "Mother." Wu Linglan shuddered and fell silent. She didn't even dare to give him the comfort in her dreams. If he woke up and knew that she was lying to him, he would probably hate her to the bone.

But Xue Chongjian called again: "Mum." Slowly opened his eyes, looking at Wu Linglan's distressed and distressed face quietly, Wu Linglan's heart was broken, she didn't know how to speak to him, and she didn't even dare to put her hands on him. On her body, it was as if she was holding a flower in her arms, which would shatter when touched lightly.Xue Chongjian's eyes slowly passed over Wu Linglan, looked at the window curtain behind her that was lifted by the wind from time to time, and asked softly: "Where is this?" With messy hair, he forced a smile and said, "On the way to Puzhou, we have already left Tongguan."

Xue Chongjian felt that this word was a bit familiar, it seemed that he was the same bullock cart that day, and he was the one who bumped in the cart, calling me to go to Puzhou, the strange thing is that even this hopeless state of mind is similar.He closed his eyes hard, but there was a buzzing sound in his head. He finally understood the difference. At that time, he could still go to Puzhou to find his mother. Now Puzhou is the same as Chang'an, the same as this world, his world. The mountains, rivers, and vegetation are all broken, so what is he going to Puzhou for?

All kinds of things before coma were forcefully poured into his mind again, before Xue Chongjian could feel the pain, a wave of overwhelming disgust surged up within five years, he gritted his teeth and crawled out of the car, smashed the door with his fist, and was about to throw himself move down.Wu Linglan hurriedly hugged him, and asked: "What do you want, tell me..." Xue Chongjian struggled a few times, but did not break free, and said weakly: "I want to go back..." Before he finished speaking, the sour air was already gone. Blushing out, he clung to the side of the car and said "wow" so that he vomited.

The imperial guards escorting him heard the movement, stepped on their horses and shouted angrily: "What are you doing!" Shi Chun staggered a few steps forward, knelt down under the car and cried bitterly: "Mr. You, you must take care!" Xue Chongjian said in his heart, why do you "leave" me, why don't you let me be with you?The gut-wrenching vomiting blocked his voice. He has been in a coma for several days. His face was flushed with trembling, and streams of sweat and tears flowed down his cheeks.

Wu Linglan hugged him and cried: "You want to live, your mother said, you want to live!" Xue Chongjian trembled for a long time, he vomited out all the bitter water in his stomach, the one that couldn't go up and down and tortured him would be worse than death The heart is still stubbornly staying in this body.He panted and said, "I want to go back to Chang'an... My parents are in Chang'an..." Wu Linglan cried, "They miss you wherever you go, you have to listen to your mother." Xue Chongjian remembered what he had said to Li Longji said, can you prevent people from living, and can you prevent people from dying?It turned out that he really didn't even have a choice of where to die.He shook his head lightly, his body went limp again, Shi Chun cried loudly and called for the gentleman, the officer of the Imperial Army had been basking in the sun for a long time, so he couldn't get angry with Wu Linglan, so he scolded Shi Chun: "Why are you crying! Why don't you hurry up Let's go! Don't even look at the weather, can we stop on the road?"

Wu Linglan raised her head and looked at the road behind her. She belonged to the girl's spring dream. The boy on the wall, the king and grandson by the campfire, was slowly crushed by the ruts of the road, which made her more clear about her identity.They couldn't stop, Ruan Ji cried bitterly when he faced a fork in the road, and could go back the same way, but she could only walk forward with him.She has experienced his pain now, so she can empathize with him and develop the courage to love him.She embraced Xue Chongjian's body in her arms, nodded slightly to Shi Chun and said, "Don't worry, I'm here."

Shi Chun raised his head and saw that although Wu Linglan's face was covered with tears, her expression was peaceful.She hugged Xue Chongjian and gently wiped away the tears and sweat on his face. The action was tender and meticulous to the extreme, just like Princess Taiping's loving expression in front of her son.He looked up at the woman with fearful respect, not knowing where she found the strength to support her husband with her broken body and soul after experiencing family ruin and displacement.

After Xue Chongjian woke up this time, he developed a fever and went all the way to Depuzhou in a daze.The house assigned to their master and servant by the governor of Puzhou was the mansion built by Taiping that day. Due to the overuse of regulations, more than half of it was demolished, leaving only a guest courtyard for them to live in. Although it is spacious and bright, it is in the In a pile of broken rubble that has not yet been cleaned up.Wu Linglan felt that the sight of such a ruined well and dilapidated building was very suitable for her state of mind, so she hastily settled the servants and Xue Chongjian, and then wanted to check the belongings and extend the medical supplies.

That night she stayed by Xue Chongjian's sick bed and listened to his babbling in his sleep. She still called him "Aunt", but she endured the pain and dared not answer.After a while, Xue Chongjian opened his eyes slightly, and said: "My painting, where is my painting?" Wu Linglan hurriedly asked: "What painting?" She was startled, she didn't remember when Princess Taiping painted, not to mention that when she was in a hurry, she didn't control all her belongings, she only brought some ordinary books, not any calligraphy or painting.It's just that Xue Chongjian rarely spoke to her. She didn't want to let him down, so she forced a smile and said, "It should be kept in the box. Don't worry, I'll look for it tomorrow." Xue Chongjian didn't know if he heard it, but murmured: "Grandma's painting." Wu Linglan changed a veil on his forehead, brought him a medicine bowl when he woke up and said, "You take the medicine, I'll get it for you tomorrow morning." Xue Chongjian this time Surprisingly, he was very obedient, swallowed the medicine as soon as it was put in his mouth, and soon fell back into a deep sleep.

Looking at his haggard and handsome face under the shadow of the dying lamp, Wu Linglan finally had a glimmer of hope in her heart, but she was even more frightened, what would she say to lie to him tomorrow.

Since Li Chengqi vomited blood that day, he has been bedridden and never went to court. The Song Palace also thanked all the guests. Even when Li Chengyi and others came to visit, the princess only answered a few words through the screen.Concubine Yuan is also a five-month-old woman. After a few days of changes, her mental and physical strength is hard to support, but she dare not take medicine during pregnancy, she just drinks some ginseng soup to recuperate.On that day, Ah Luo brought a cup of ginseng soup, and the maid wrapped a handkerchief around Concubine Yuan's chest, and the governor of the mansion rushed in to report: "My lady, there are people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs who want to take Ah Luo to the court. "

Ah Luo's face turned pale, and the soup bowl in her hand fell immediately, splashing all over Concubine Yuan, and Concubine Yuan was also shocked: "Can you tell me why?" Chang Shi sighed: "It's not because, Ah Luo is..." His voice Before she fell, Ah Luo plopped down on her knees and cried, "My lady, my lady, save me!" Suddenly there was a sound of footsteps in the yard, and several maidservants shouted: "My concubine is in the hall, you can't go in!" Then a shrill voice said "We came here by order, so the majestic palace will call a slave to receive the order!" Concubine Yuan's face turned pale, not to mention that she has been a princess for several years, even when she was a daughter at home, no one dared to come to the door bully.Seeing that the servants were about to come in, she was covered in soup and had to stand up with difficulty. When she walked behind the screen, Ah Luo cried and supported her.Concubine Yuan comforted in a low voice: "It's okay, Your Highness and I will protect you."

A few servants stepped into the hall and said loudly: "Which one is Zhao Aluo?" Concubine Yuan suppressed her anger and said softly, "Both my concubine and Your Highness are ill. Please forgive me for slowing down the imperial envoy." The servant bowed and said: "Don't dare to disturb your Highness and lady, we are ordered to bring up the criminal Zhao Aluo." Concubine Yuan said: "What crime did she commit?" The servant said: "Taiping was given to Zhaijia and the four His Highness has placed informants around him, and the court lady Yuan Yuan tried to poison Zhai's family. Zhai's family is very concerned about the safety of several His Highnesses, and decreed that all the people placed by Taiping that day should be exiled to Lingnan to avoid hidden dangers."

Ah Luo knelt down and cried bitterly, "My lady! This servant has been with His Highness and His Majesty for several years, and she has never had a second heart. My Lady knows it! Ah Luo is not the princess' eyeliner, and she has never betrayed His Highness and His Majesty. I hope my lady will see clearly!" Concubine Yuan was startled, and there was another dull pain in her abdomen, she swayed, supported Ah Luo's shoulder, and reluctantly said: "Thank you for your concern. It's just a matter in the mansion, and His Highness must decide. After getting up, how about reporting to His Majesty in person?" The servant said with a smile: "We are just doing business according to the order, and His Highness wants to report. If the house permits, people can chase them back when they arrive in Lingnan. Let the slaves say, the lady and What kind of person is Your Highness, why bother talking about such a bitch! If the lady says you can't be the master, then please come out and accept the order!"

They spoke one imperial decree, and Concubine Yuan lost her mind in the panic, she swallowed her tears and whispered to Ah Luo: "Your Highness, you know what he looks like, so you can't be disturbed now. Just let them go, in a day or two, We will definitely rescue you." Ah Luo just kowtowed and cried, "Miss, madam, don't let me go to Lingnan..."

Just as there was a burst of noise outside, King Qi Li Longfan broke in and said, "Big Brother! I want to see Big Brother!" Concubine Yuan was given a splitting headache by their troubles, and said, "Fourth Uncle Don't let anyone report it." Li Longfan said: "The eunuchs in the Ministry of Internal Affairs rebelled and arrested my child. The third brother didn't see me, and my father was sick. I can only come to beg the elder brother. Let the elder brother enter the palace to beg. It's just a matter of fact, Ye Ting is not a place for people to stay, and I don't know what will happen in a moment."

Song Palace Chief Shi said to Li Longfan with a bitter face: "Your Highness, our place is also normal..." Li Longfan was stunned for a moment, then saw the servants, he was furious, stepped forward and kicked the man down, Kicking and beating while cursing: "Your Ministry of Internal Affairs is going to turn against you! Dare to come to the house of the emperor's brother to act wild! I will kill you first today, and see if the third brother will exile me too!" The princess was scolded by him heartily I was afraid that if these words spread, the emperor would hate Li Chengqi even more, and he didn't care to show his face, so he hurriedly came out and said: "Fourth uncle, calm down, they are imperial envoys..." The Chang Shi hurriedly knelt in front of Li Longfan and said: "Your Highness, be careful! ! My wife can't stand bumps!"

Li Longfan stopped, his eyes turned red, and he rushed straight to the inner hall. No one in the house dared to stop him. He rushed to Li Chengqi's bed and cried, "Brother, get up, get up and have a look. What kind of world is it! Jinse is a child sealed by his father, and they dare to arrest him! He can't tolerate his aunt, flower slave, or even a maidservant next to you! How long will you wait before you dare to say a word? Do you want to wait until Hua Nu dies in Puzhou?!"

Li Chengqi slowly opened his eyes, looking at his younger brother who was crying bitterly on the side of the couch, and suddenly remembered the appearance of the flower slave holding a peony with two stalks that day, and his chest felt sharp pain again.He gritted his teeth and sat up, whispering: "Change, I want to enter the palace."

The emperor saw that although Li Chengqi looked haggard and pale, he had changed into a court dress and put on a jade belt with a fur head meticulously. He was no longer the lifeless appearance a few days ago.He laughed and said: "Since I can work on this matter, my elder brother made a special trip, I will take it easy and move them to Jiucheng Palace, which can be regarded as a retirement home. Those women are too deeply involved with Taiping, and I really don't feel relieved to send them away." between the elbow and armpit."

Li Chengqi raised his eyes slowly and said: "I have a deep relationship with Taiping, how will Your Majesty deal with me?"

The emperor smiled lightly, stood up and walked in front of Li Chengqi and said, "Brother has always been transparent, don't tell me such stupid things. Don't say that your sister-in-law and the baby in your belly can't leave you, even if he is in that place, you can't do anything." I can't do without you. Only when you are secure in the prince's seat can these people be safe. Look, didn't I spare a lot of people for you today?" He turned around and picked up a letter from the case and said with a smile: "Huanu His wife wrote to you, asking you to find a painting. There is nothing in his old house that is in violation, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs has no registration. I have informed Gao Lishi, and my elder brother can just go and find it." He looked at Li Chengqi Said: "I have fulfilled my eldest brother, please also my elder brother to fulfill me."

Li Chengqi closed his eyes silently, hiding the hot and sour liquid. Even when he reached the end of the mountain, he still didn't give up, and still didn't have the guts to throw everything at himself. He once again chose the most humiliating path for Hua Nu, Hua Nu must hate him, right?He knelt down and kowtowed: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness." The emperor gave a satisfied smile, gave a little support and said: "My brother, elder brother, you don't need to be polite."

The servant tore off the seal, removed the chain, and made a clanging sound. For some reason, Li Chengqi trembled slightly when he heard the sound.The waiter felt strange, and said: "What's wrong, Your Highness?" Li Chengqi shook his head and followed him all the way in. The garden has been sealed not long ago, and it hasn't been dirty yet, just like when he came here last year.Xue Chongjian has always been afraid of the heat, the garden is shady with willows and greenery, and ten thousand silks look from afar, like a piece of green smoke covering the lake.He walked in with the waiter all the way, the garden was too quiet, only the sound of their footsteps stepping on the weeds on the ground was heard, and they groaned slightly.Seeing that Li Chengqi didn't need him to lead the way, the waiter walked straight in and said casually, "Your Highness is familiar with the way." Li Chengqi glanced at him, but didn't say anything, the waiter only felt that his eyes were a little strange, just like the one after the rain The lake is generally shrouded in mist, which makes people feel bored.

When Li Chengqi came to the pavilion where Xue Chongjian used to live, he suddenly raised his head, his eyes followed a pair of swallows that landed on the roof beam one by one, it turned out that there was a small nest hidden in the corner of the beam.The pair of swallows also seemed to sense his gaze, cooing in a low voice and looking down at him.After a while, it was probably boring to watch, and they got up together again, soaring lightly above the blue sky, passing the carved beams and painted buildings, I don't know where they are going, maybe the autumn wind is coming, they will go far to the south of the Yangtze River, in another family's house Nests are built under the eaves, and the rise and fall of the world have nothing to do with them.Li Chengqi remembered that the wind and rain were miserable that day. He knelt here and worried about the pair of swallows, but now he really hated them.Doesn't this ruthless bird know that its master has left, what is it doing here?Is their walking hand in hand hand in hand to let him experience the mud of swallows falling on empty beams?Or to let him understand how incompetent he is, he will never be able to go to Jiangnan and the desert that he promised to Hua Nu.

Seeing that he kept his head up, the waiter smiled and said, "What are you looking at, Your Highness?" Li Chengqi was reminded by him, only then did he realize that the pair of swallows had gone far away, he sighed softly, took two steps forward, and could not help but Stopping in front of a flower garden, the flower garden was originally surrounded by a green hedge, but it was pulled down halfway for some reason, and the flowers and trees inside were also trampled on.He walked forward slowly and saw the book of peonies brought from the Hibiscus Garden collapsed to the side, thinking that the branches and leaves had rotted after several nights of wind and rain.Dongjun really abandoned his favor, and even refused to save this flower for them.Seeing Li Chengqi stop, the waiter smiled and said, "I think it was the day when the arrester was trampled and trampled. This is a peony. It's a pity. I heard that there are only twenty or thirty copies in the palace and the Furong Garden." Hearing his shrill voice, Li Chengqi couldn't stop talking, he just wanted to make him shut up, but he didn't have any strength left.Unable to stand still, he squatted down, reached out and picked up a red silk rope tied with three golden bells from the clump of dead branches and leaves.He shook it, and the golden bell made a pleasant sound, like a young boy's light laughter.

When they entered the house, the servant brought out dozens of scrolls of paintings, and said with a smile: "These are all inspected by the servant, and your highness can take them." Shaking his head, he said, "That's not it." The waiter gritted his teeth and thought for a while, "That's all..." He suddenly patted his head, and said, "There is another one that is not framed, and I don't know who painted it." He went back and forth in a hurry, carrying a drawing. When Li Chengqi saw the figure in the painting, his heart ached and he didn't dare to look at it any more.He nodded and said: "This is it." The servant was relieved and said with a smile: "Your Highness can just look for it, do you have anything else to take away?"

Li Chengqi rolled up the painting carefully, looked around the room, and saw that the quilt on the couch was spread out, as if the person had not been up for a long time, he whispered: "You go out first, I will stay here for a while." The servant He was startled and said: "This garden will be sealed again for a while, and the servants have to send His Highness out." Li Chengqi still said calmly: "Get out!" The servant saw Song Wang standing beside Xiao Xiaoshu's window with his hands behind his back, and the bamboo shadows outside the window were reflected His pale face was flickering bright and dark, he couldn't help but feel fear in his heart, he didn't dare to say any more, and quietly backed out.

The room was finally so quiet that not even the wind could be heard, Li Chengqi was tired of the servant's noise just now, but now facing the extremely indifferent silence alone, he couldn't even find a clue to the pain.He vomited out a mouthful of blood that day, all he knew was that his heart had been crushed, and he hadn't had time to fully appreciate the feeling of the word parting.Now he finally knew that from then on, his life was so silent.Those willow shades, peonies, lake water, swallows, things that carried their many affections, and with the departure of that person, they no longer have any relationship with him, and will not bring him the slightest comfort .

He walked slowly to the bed, subconsciously stretched out his hand to touch the mountain pillow, and actually found an incense ball.He unscrewed the engraved cover, and tried to identify the small characters engraved on the gold. The shining light and shadow turned around, just like a sneer from the corner of someone's mouth.There was still half a box of incense in the aroma diffuser, so he took a flint from his belt and lit it, then screwed the lid on, hung the incense ball on the edge of the bed, then pulled down the curtain, and lay down slowly with his clothes on.

The clear and fragrant smell of musk musk spread out in the tent, Li Chengqi watched the flickering light for a long time, tears blurred his vision, choked his breath, and he still watched stubbornly.That gleam of light was like a river lantern floating in the darkness in the night of Zhongyuan, guiding his soul to find his loved ones.