Between the vast sea of ​​clouds

In the middle of the night, two lanterns hanging on the Yamen of Anping Prefecture swayed in the cold wind.Chang Sui tightened the padded robe on her body, she was on duty today, and she hurried to open the door after hearing faint knocks on the door.

The painted gates of Fu Yatong were frozen together, and the golden door nails were covered with a thin layer of snow.The long follower hurriedly said: "Here it is." Then he muttered: "It's late at night, who is it?"

She held up the lamp, and the dim light illuminated an inch in front of the door, reflecting a vague figure.Qingping's body was covered in snow, his lips turned white from the cold, Chang Sui was startled, stepped forward to pat the snow off her body, and said, "My lord, what's wrong with you?"

When Qingping came back from the snow, his hands and feet were all icy cold.Trembling and unable to speak, the chief attendant hurriedly led her to the night duty room, and brought her hot tea from the charcoal stove.Qingping asked in a low voice: "Has Master Sun come back?"

Chang Sui said: "I went back to the mansion early to rest. My lord, why did you come back so late?"

Qing Ping sighed softly, spread his hands against the fire and warmed them for a while, said: "It's nothing, it's just that some things are delayed."

Chang Sui wondered what could be delayed until midnight, Qingping hesitated for a while, put his hand on his chin and stared at the dancing flames, and said: "Chang Sui...do you have someone you like?"

Chang Sui was startled, then twitched and said, "What did your lord say..."

Qing Ping rubbed his brows and said, "The last time I heard someone from Shu Sheng Division said that it wasn't for you—" She paused, and swallowed the word girl, "Young master of a good family?"

"It's a matchmaker's appointment with my mother and father, not to mention that people may not like me."

Qingping felt that he was confused, and he would talk to her about such things in the middle of the night.But she was really restless in her heart, and the fresh and hidden scar on her collarbone was aching, as if it was reminding her repeatedly.

She had nothing to say: "Do you like him?"

Suspicious blush appeared on Chang Sui's face, and he bit his thumb unconsciously and said: "Actually, when we were young, we used to be stubborn together, and children didn't have so many rules. At that time, the neighbors would joke when they saw it, saying that they would marry later." Come into my house and be a family..."

Qingping put the back of her hand close to the flame, Chang Sui refused to say any more after saying this, just smirked ignorantly, her mind was blank, but the words were repeated again: "Do you like him?"

Chang Sui gave her a strange look, took out the iron tongs and poked the charcoal, and said: "Of course I like him, otherwise why did you ask my mother to ask the matchmaker? After so many years of stubbornness, I already decided it was him. After waiting After the end of the year, I will go to the next job, and if it goes well next year..." She turned her face away, her voice was as low as a gnat: "Then please come and have a glass of wedding wine with me."

Qingping's eyes were slack, and he didn't hear what she said at all, and his brain kept repeating a sentence: "I've already decided it's her."

Who is identified?She spread her hands, and the edges of her fingertips showed a translucent texture in the warm orange firelight, as if they were shining.Her thoughts spread and grew like weeds with unstoppable desire, and those doubts, fears and guesses were temporarily suppressed by the swaying mind.I still remember that at dusk that day, when the sunset was gorgeous, she drove a horse past her and took the branch of plum from the ceremony table.And she stood on one side with her sleeves facing the wind, but she didn't feel cold.

It seemed that she had sensed something somewhere, and she knew that this person would definitely come.As for why she was so sure, she didn't know, maybe it was a thought she had in her heart long ago, accumulated over time, and unknowingly engraved in her heart.

Qingping felt terrible in his heart, but his beautiful thoughts were like wild flowers in spring, blooming bustlingly all over the grass.

She was annoyed but couldn't help thinking about that person's appearance, she thought desperately amidst the long-talking chatter, Li Qingping, you are really crazy.

At noon the next day, Sun Congshan got up and came to the government office. When he saw Qingping, he asked, "How did you talk about things last night?"

Qingping recounted the conversation with Chu Jun last night, and said: "My lord, in my opinion, the most important thing is how to deal with the people sent by the court. After all, King Xin is within your jurisdiction. No big move can escape your attention. The dispute between the two parties in Beijing may bring disaster to this place, if you are not careful, you will fall short, that is really..."

Holding hot tea, Sun Congshan said: "That's it first, you arrange people to go to the army, and send the batch of grain, grass and salary first."

Qingping got up as he said and was about to leave, Sun Congshan said again: "Wait a minute, go and see Mr. He, she seems to have something to tell you."

Qingping walked along the gravel path to the end of the garden, and the fine snowflakes came one after another, falling softly on the tip of her eyebrows.The plants and trees in the garden are covered with ice and snow, which are as crystal clear as Qiongzhi Yushu, and they are wrapped in silver, which is very elegant.

Qing came to the door of a room, knocked lightly on the knocker, and someone said: "Come in."

As she walked, her sleeves drew an arc, and with her movements, a little bit of snow was shaken off.She bowed to a person in the room and said, "Mr. He, long time no see."

A woman dressed as a scribe was sitting at the table. She had a soft face, and when she smiled, there were small lines in the corners of her eyes, making her look very friendly.The silver thread in her hair reveals her age, her eyes are shining with wisdom, and she is full of vigor without showing her old age.

Seeing Qingping coming, she got up and asked her to sit down, only then did Qingping see an unfinished chess game at her table, and said with a smile: "Master Sun asked you to play chess again?"

Mr. He said with a smile: "Isn't that right, the more she loses, the more courageous she becomes. If it wasn't for her busy schedule today, she might still spend time with me here."

The two chatted some gossip before Mr. He got to the point and said, "I've already heard what happened at the state meeting, Huaizhi, what are your plans?"

After three years in Yunzhou, Mr. He was an aide in Sun Congshan's mansion, and it was because of her favor that Qingping was able to turn all the plans into reality.Mr. He hides in the mansion, and often guides her in dealing with people in the officialdom.To be more specific, there is still some master-student friendship in it, and Qingping's character was taken by her.

Qingping treated her like a teacher, and said respectfully: "The exchange market will open in early spring, and the documents have already been submitted to the state government and the state shepherd for approval. But I am a little worried that officials from the middle and lower levels will come here, I don't know What will happen again?"

Mr. He stopped holding the chess pieces for a moment, and said: "If both parties come to Anping County, they can counteract the force with force, and the two will cancel out."

Qingping was silent for a long time, and said: "Do you know about King Xin's visit?"

Bits of snow drifted in from the casement and fell on the black and white chess pieces.Mr. He dropped a child in it, and said leisurely: "I already know, why, do you think she will have any impact on the situation?"

Chu Jun was unfathomable, but she couldn't directly say the reason for her suspicion. She never did useless work, so how could she waste her energy for nothing.Qing Ping thought for a while and said: "The situation in Beijing is unclear, King Xin belongs to the second imperial daughter, how could he know that there is no her instruction."

Mr. He said: "Sometimes the most dangerous place is the safest. King Xin was born in the common people, and his status is not comparable. It is said that in the early years in the harem, his father Wei Guijun and Yue King's biological father Fu Guijun were in the same situation. In recent years, it has been rumored that His Majesty The king of Yue is naturally very annoyed that Fu Guijun was intended to be canonized as the rightful monarch, but the edict has not been issued because of the letter of the king. I am afraid that she came here to avoid the limelight."

Hearing the words, Qingping lowered his eyelids, but felt a little relieved in his heart, as if suddenly enlightened, as if he used Mr. He's words to excuse something in his heart for Chu Jun.Seeing her relieved expression, Mr. He said, "What's wrong with you today? You're so absent-minded."

Qingping remained silent, and suspected that she was thinking too much. She didn't know the situation in Beijing, but she could roughly guess that Chu Jun's life was not very easy.Thinking of how she was plotted against on the way to Yunzhou, how could she be injured if the arrangements were made properly?Thinking of this, she remembered that the two of them drank some wine last night, and she thought it was her new trick. Now that she thinks about it, she might just use wine to relieve her sorrow, and she doesn't even care about the wound.

This person is really desperate, Qingping pursed his lips, with an expression of disbelief, all he was thinking about was Chu Jun.Mr. He was surprised: "Huaizhi?"

She just came back to her senses, realized what she was doing, and immediately felt a little embarrassed, and said: "...Sir, I didn't hear clearly what you said just now."

Seeing her like this for the first time, Mr. He was a little funny: "It's nothing, it's fine if I didn't hear it. It's just Huaizhi, what are you thinking about today?" She stroked the wood grain on the edge of the chessboard and said jokingly: "Could it be Whose son do you want? You are getting older, and it is time to start a family, how can you start a career if you don’t have a family?"

Why did it get brought up again, Qingping had a headache and said: "What Mr. said is true, I understand."

Mr. He saw that she obviously didn't listen, but his eyes were flickering, so he said with some understanding: "What's going on? Didn't all the matchmakers in Anping County level the gates of your house, and you declined them all. At first I have never met anyone who suits my heart, which one do I have my eyes on now?"

Qingping hesitated and said, "Not from Anping."

Mr. He hummed, quite surprised, and said, "Which county is that from?"

Qingping's mind was in a mess, and he said vaguely when he heard the words: "I'm not from Yunzhou either."

Mr. He became interested and asked, "How is this person?"

Qing Ping thought for a while, then broke his fingers and said: "Good background, good family background, much stronger than me, and especially—" She wanted to say cunning, but changed her words in front of Mr. He, "—— He's very smart and has a big temper."

Mr. He was very worried about her silly gesture of snapping her fingers. He felt that this student seemed to have the potential to fear guilt, so he thought for a moment and said, "Huaizhi, so you think you are not good enough for him?"

Qingping's heart was shocked when she heard the words, her wide eyes reflected the snow outside the window, she suddenly woke up, all kinds of thoughts disappeared, she seemed to escape from a blurred dream, leaving only the emptiness and melancholy after the joy.She sighed for a long time and said in frustration, "Yes, that's right. I'm the one who climbed up."

Her attitude has changed too much. Mr. He guessed for a long time out of thin air and didn't understand what was going on. He vaguely understood that she fell in love with a man from a wealthy family, so he comforted him: "Daughter's family, don't worry about small matters of love. After delaying your future, when you make your way to the top in the future, you will naturally have plenty of options."

Seeing that Qingping was just silent, he also said with a sense of loss: "Life is full of imperfections after all, how can everything go well? You are still young, but you need to understand one thing. How much things in this world change, nothing stays the same forever. Whether it’s a good thing or a good thing, it’s all like this. It’s just what it means to be too forgetful, and don’t you know that ‘Emotions are sparse, but they are close, and a wise man is not foolish’?” (1)

Quiet and silent, and then said with difficulty: "...'Love is hard to recover, the dead will never return, and the enlightened will have no regrets'." (2) She got up and bowed deeply, only feeling physically and mentally exhausted, Said: "But sir, if a person can really retract it so freely, I'm afraid that he would have become a saint long ago. I'm just an ordinary person, I can pick it up, but it's too difficult to put it down."

Mr. He's heart skipped a beat, he looked at her face, and saw her resolute expression, as if she had made a decision, and said, "Don't be emotional, everything should be based on the overall situation and make long-term plans." The two looked at each other, It seems that they have forgotten what they are going to say.Mr. He said helplessly: "Think carefully before encountering an accident. If you still have something to do, go and do it."

Qingping agreed, came out of the room, and walked all the way facing the fine snow.Hurriedly arranging manpower to prepare for the delivery of salaries, food and grass, it is naturally very busy, and I have no intention of thinking about those other thoughts.After spinning the wheel for several days, I was so tired every day that I didn't even want to talk.She used too much force, so she naturally had other thoughts, but she just wanted to forget the thoughts she shouldn't have through the complicated business affairs.The company commander could tell that she had something on her mind, but she was just preoccupied with official duties, pretending to be very busy to cover up something.

But no matter how many things are done, there is finally time to finish, one day early in the morning, I went to the government office as usual, saw the door was closed, suddenly remembered that today is Xiumu, and suddenly felt empty in my heart.She got up early, and there was no one on the street. She vaguely saw a red light breaking out from the layers of gray clouds in the sky, coating the edge of the clouds with a layer of golden red, and she knew that today was a rare sunny day.Nothing happened anyway, she drove slowly to a beacon tower by the side of the ancient city. Dilapidated scene.

She climbed up the steps, and the wind on the high platform was majestic, coming from all directions like a sea tide, and the blowing made people unable to open their eyes.She discovered this place in Anping in the first year, and often came to meditate by herself when she was free.The beacon tower is extremely high and has a wide field of vision. You can see the distant green line and the snow-capped mountains that appear and disappear from time to time. It is graceful and dignified.

I don't know why she stands on a high place, but she often thinks of those days in the study of the palace.I remember that at that time, I just had simple thoughts and saw this magnificent river and mountain with my own eyes.Now that I am in an important position, the original state of mind no longer exists, only this thought remains.

She climbed to the top with great difficulty, but the wind blew more violently, almost knocking her all over.At this time, the dark clouds gradually dissipated, and thousands of golden lights poured down, penetrating through the thick clouds like a miracle, illuminating the land.

Qingping looked up and saw that the roofs of the residents in the ancient city were covered with snow and ice, which was particularly dazzling in the sun. The large swaths of white light made people's eyes sore. She supported the wall and patted the dirt and ice slag on her robe, but she heard a person say: "Qingping ?”

This call awakened her thoughts that had been dusty for many days. She couldn't believe it, and looked at the dazzling light. The man stood in the light, and his robe was flapping in the wind.Like a blow to the head, she was dizzy and felt her heart beating fast.When Chu Jun walked up to her, she asked, "Why are you here?"

Chu Jun coughed, his long hair fluttered in the wind, he stared at her and said, "Wait for you."

Her eyes reflected the boundless grassland and snow-capped mountains, the blue sky, and the brilliant morning glow.It reflected her own figure even more clearly, Qingping stared at her blankly, feeling that all this was like a dream.

The author has something to say: (1) (2) "Zhi Xue": Love is sparse, and it is only close, and a wise man is not infatuated.Love is hard to recover, the dead will not return, and the enlightened will have no regrets.

Interpretation: When there is emotional estrangement, the closest person is just yourself, and a wise person will not be obsessed with others.Emotions are hard to find, what is gone is gone forever, and a wise person will not regret it.