New·New Consort

The first ray of light in the morning shot into the resplendent bedroom, announcing the end of the long winter night.The beam of warm light shone on the face of the sleeping old man on the bed, reflecting his gray beard and appearance like a dead tree.

The whole dormitory is filled with the bitter smell of medicine and the stuffy air that is often found in winter indoors, making this quiet and solemn dormitory even more difficult to approach.

Suddenly, the old man's eyelids moved, his abdomen shrank, he let out a mouthful of stale air, hissed in his throat, took another deep breath, and suddenly opened his eyes.

Waking up from this dream, he looked at the ocher-yellow tent in front of him in bewilderment, feeling his throat was unusually dry.He coughed lightly and made a hoarse voice, wanting to call for someone to come and serve him, but he only saw a beautiful woman leaning against the bedside and sleeping in front of the bed.

He quickly recognized the appearance of the man, and suddenly felt a little unbelievable.

Concubine Ju was sleeping beside his bed, waiting for him to wake up.

Concubine Ju was startled by the sound, she turned her body and woke up. She hurriedly looked towards the bed and saw the old man staring at her, she immediately beamed with joy: "Your Majesty, you finally woke up!"

The emperor was slightly taken aback. This was Concubine Ju's joy and obedience from the heart. He had never seen such a sincere expression on her face in all these years.

Concubine Ju said earnestly: "Your Majesty is thirsty. My concubine has made chrysanthemum tea for you and kept it warm over the water. Drink some to moisten your throat!" Here comes the tea.

The emperor took the tea, but endured his thirst and did not drink it.He gathered himself together, and finally remembered what happened before he passed out, and when he thought of reporting in front of the palace that Princess Tianxiang was assassinated, seriously injured and unconscious, his heart tightened: "Xiang'er, my Xiang'er!"

Concubine Ju hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, don't worry, the princess woke up the next morning. Although it was a sharp weapon to smash her chest, the imperial doctors all reported that as long as she is healthy and healthy, there will be no serious problems."

"Wake up... wake up..." the emperor let out a long breath, "That's good, that's good—" He turned his head and looked at Concubine Ju, "From what you said, I slept for a long time? I slept How many days? Why are you the only one here? Where is Manager Wang?"

Concubine Ju sighed, and knelt on the ground with a long body: "Your Majesty, please punish the crime of ignorance. Your Majesty fell into a coma after being stimulated that day. The Crown Prince was so anxious that he called all the imperial doctors for consultation. Although the golden elixir presented by the immortal is not poisonous, he has been relying on the tiger wolf medicine to hang himself. His Majesty ate too much before going to the immortal platform, and exhausted a lot of energy, so he couldn't sleep, and spent the past three or four days The ministers and concubines were foolish in the past, thinking that he really had the art of immortality, so they introduced Yuxian, a thief, and almost harmed the dragon body, I hope His Majesty will punish him!"

She had a mournful look on her face, and the words she said were sobbing, even the emperor couldn't help but move slightly.

The emperor took a sip of tea thoughtfully, and said softly: "You are doing it for my own good, so get up and answer. You haven't told me yet, why are you the only one here, and the others?"

Concubine Ju hesitated for a moment, got up from the ground, and said softly: "Your Majesty, the crown prince has always accompanied the concubines to guard His Majesty's side. But today is the regular court, because of the incident at Yanshan Mountain on the winter solstice, and because of His Majesty's Body, the cabinet advised the crown prince to take the place of His Majesty to attend the court, so as to stabilize the hearts of the ministers. The king was worried about the crown prince, so he went with him."

With a "click", it was the lid of the bowl that was snapped onto the teacup—"Oh?"

After a long while, he drank the chrysanthemum tea in the tea bowl and said with a slight smile, "That's right, there is no king in the country, so we must rely on the deputy to manage the government. Prince, you did nothing wrong."

He put the teacup aside wearily, as if he had let out all the energy in his body, he was actually a little more depressed than when he just fell asleep.Seeing this, Concubine Ju hurriedly called the palace servants outside and came in with some porridge.

The emperor was a little sleepy, but he also knew that he was too weak after sleeping for the past few days, so he braced himself up and took a few mouthfuls.While eating, she asked Concubine Ju about the past few days when she fell into a coma, Concubine Ju started to chat with him like an ordinary husband and wife.

Concubine Ju, a concubine in the harem, didn't know much about the chaos in the former dynasty; the little prince stayed in the palace these days to study; The manager was sent out to take care of Princess Tianxiang before, and when Princess Tianxiang woke up, he rushed back to report.

When the emperor heard the concubine Ju's voice describing the scene of the son-in-law waking up Tian Xiang hoarsely, he felt the depression in his throat, stopped eating and asked, "Where has Zhang Shaomin been these few days?"

Concubine Ju said: "Coincidentally, the concubine really knows about this. At first, Zhang Shaomin stayed in the palace with the crown prince, but later he said that he was worried that the remnants of the Yuxian gang would cause trouble, so he took the crown prince's letter to go The state governments issued an order to suppress the bandits."

"He's going to suppress the bandits?" The emperor faintly felt that it was against the law, but he didn't go into it.

Concubine Ju didn't persuade her much, she quietly cleaned up the cups and bowls, and stepped aside.

Suddenly, there was an uproar from the previous court, and even here in the bedroom, the ecstatic announcement could be heard in the distance——

"Report-"

"Report, hurry up five hundred miles—"

"Report, five hundred miles urgently, Xuanda urgently report—"

The emperor shuddered all over, straightened up, and immediately sent the palace servants out to inquire about the situation.

Not long after, the little eunuch who went out to inquire hurriedly returned and said loudly:

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, Congratulations to Your Majesty! The Young Lord Dongfang led his army deep into the enemy's line on the night of the winter solstice, beheaded the head of Chahar Khan's son Hongtaiji, captured Chahar Khan and his relatives alive, and will soon go to Beijing to offer prisoners!"

The emperor's eyes flashed brightly, and he asked him to say it again, convinced that what he heard was correct, he laughed loudly.

It will take some time for the important events of the state to spread throughout the capital. At this moment, Feng Shaomin, the official servant who was exempted from the court because of the princess's injury, still does not know the news.

Right now, she has more urgent matters to deal with—serving Princess Tianxiang, who is seriously injured and bedridden.

Although Tianxiang woke up at the end of the winter solstice night, she was ordered by the old man to rest more, and beside her were the strictest Nanny Zhuang and Feng Suzhen, so she didn't leave the bed very much these days , I ate and slept during the day - most of the food I ate was soup and medicine, which caused my whole body to become puffy and swollen.

"Boil it carefully." Feng Suzhen said softly, blew on the spoon, and brought it to Tianxiang's lips.

No matter how reluctant Tianxiang was, three times a day, Feng Suzhen would appear in front of her bed with a medicine bowl in her hand, watching her take the medicine gently but firmly.And those good medicines that she drank like water were often so bitter that she wished she could continue to pass out, so that Feng Suzhen could feed her with her mouth.

It was too late to pretend to be dizzy now, Tianxiang wailed in her heart, obediently approached the spoon, pursed her lips and swallowed the bitter medicine, but her eyes were still fixed on Feng Suzhen.

Feng Suzhen fed Tianxiang seriously and took a few spoonfuls of medicine before she noticed Tianxiang's eyes. She was a little nervous: "What's wrong? What's wrong? Why do you keep looking at me?"

Tianxiang pursed her mouth: "The medicine is bitter, looking at your face is distracting."

Feng Suzhen laughed and said: "...I don't have any sugar on my face..." She paused, looking at Tianxiang's slumped face, the ice-snow and clever Zhuangyuan Lang finally realized something, "...you just wait. "She put down the medicine bowl, got up and went out.

Not long after, Feng Suzhen came back with a small bowl, brought the bowl to Tianxiang's lips, and coaxed her to drink it.

Tianxiang took a sip, and a burst of cold sweetness fell into her heart: "Sugar water?"

Feng Suzhen added: "It's sucrose water, I just thought of a way to squeeze it for you." She reached out and touched the wall of the bowl, her eyebrows frowned, "I just covered it for a while, there is still some ice, you drink it slowly, or I'll warm it up with hot water for you."

Tianxiang pursed her mouth: "What's the point of sugar cane that can't be chewed?"

Feng Suzhen smiled: "You are just recovering from a serious injury. I think you don't have much strength. It takes a lot of effort to chew that thing. You'd better drink some sugar water."

Tianxiang was really weak, she drank half a bowl of sugar water in small sips, and stopped.She leaned on Yanghe tiredly, watching Feng Suzhen looking for a towel to wipe her mouth, and picking up medicine bowls and soup bowls, flustered.

I was used to Feng Suzhen's indifference and detachment, this situation made Tianxiang's eyes warm: "Actually, you don't need to do it yourself, my princess mansion is not short of people."

Feng Suzhen's movements froze, she helped Tianxiang back off, and said in a low voice: "I should do this, after all - I am also you... from the princess's mansion..." She stopped and said, "You Sleep a little longer, and I'll come back to talk with you later." After saying that, the man hurried out, walking so fast that he almost stumbled over the threshold.

It's been like this for the past few days, Feng Suzhen was just nervous about her taking medicine and changing her medicine, and didn't have much communication with her.Tianxiang herself was weak and didn't have the heart to talk to Feng Suzhen, so she closed her eyes and took a nap obediently.

She licked her lips, the residual sucrose juice was a little greasy, and she couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth.

Before I knew it, it was another sweet dream.

When I woke up, the daylight was thin, the room was a little dark, and there seemed to be a dim figure sitting in front of the bed.

Tianxiang is used to seeing Feng Suzhen first every time she opens her eyes, so she coquettishly said without thinking, "I sleep like a pig every day, what's so interesting?"

The figure replied seriously: "Even if it looks like a pig, it's also a sister. If it's not good-looking, you have to watch it."

Tianxiang raised her eyes sharply, and saw the strange expression on the prince's face, as if she was faintly disgusted.

She was immediately annoyed, and raised her hand to hit her, but she almost touched the wound, so she grinned her teeth and fell back: "Brother, are you trying to annoy me?"

"Don't dare, how dare," the prince hurriedly explained, and said with fear, "Oh, sister, you really scared me to death."

Tianxiang lay on the bed and replied: "Bah, bah, bah, what nonsense, I'm not dead, I'm still alive, brother, you have to work hard to live to be hundreds of years old."

The prince retorted sternly: "Nonsense, no one can live to be hundreds of years old. I will be thankful if I can live to be sixty or seventy." Entering the palace to report your situation, but seeing you with my own eyes and still talking back to me, my heart has finally returned to my stomach."

Tianxiang said casually: "Our royal father is still thinking about long live and long live, brother, you can figure it out!" She paused, then changed the topic, "By the way, you are not accompanying father in the palace, Why did you come out of the palace?"

Only then did the prince remember the reason for his coming here, and hurriedly said: "Sister, father woke up this morning, he asked me to come out of the palace to see you—" He hesitated, "A few days ago, because of father The emperor's fainting, I can't leave the palace for half a step, Tianxiang, you don't blame me, do you?"

Tianxiang shook her head calmly, and showed her face to comfort her: "You know how important you are, and I'm too late to be happy, so how can I blame you?" She thought slightly, and asked: "Brother, how is your father?" ?” In the past few days, because of the severe injuries he suffered, no one talked to him about the affairs in the palace in detail.

The crown prince briefly explained the imperial doctor's diagnosis to the emperor, and sighed again: "I have long known that my father's seeking immortality and Buddha is very false. I have played with so many gold, stone and wood, no matter how tough the texture is, Can't stand fire, water, immersion, knives and axes. Can this person's fragile flesh withstand tossing more than them? No matter how much sincerity is, it's just a trick for the villain to take advantage of—"

Tianxiang nodded, and was about to praise him for his thorough thinking, but heard him change the subject——

"—Otherwise, I am so sincere, my wooden bird would have been so moved by me that it would soar into the sky and fly high!"

Tianxiang choked, rolled her eyes and said, "Brother, if you are obsessed with longevity and wooden birds like our father, I'm afraid you will be manipulated sooner or later."

The prince thought for a while and said seriously: "That's different, longevity is fake, and my wooden bird will definitely be able to fly!"

Tianxiang didn't want to get entangled with him on this matter: "Okay, okay, I can fly, I can fly, I can definitely fly!"

The prince smiled, and remembered that Tianxiang's most important thing was to heal his wounds at this time, so he got up and said: "The person who assassinated you that day did not survive. But don't worry, I have dispatched enough people from the Beijing camp, even if Yuxian is alive No matter how many sins there are, no one can hurt you again."

Tianxiang pondered for a moment, then suddenly said: "Brother, did Zhang Shaomin tell you about my plan on the winter solstice?"

The crown prince nodded slowly, and was at a loss for words: "...you...you are too bold..."

Tianxiang didn't speak for a while again, this time it took a little longer, until the crown prince even planned to see if his sister had fallen asleep with her eyes open, Tianxiang finally made a movement again——

"Brother, I want to ask you one thing."

The prince's visit took longer than expected.

Feng Suzhen stood on the porch with a worried expression, looking at the snowflakes falling silently between the dim sky and the earth.The medicine bowl in her hand was already a little cold, she sighed, turned around and ordered someone to remove the soup and medicine to heat it.

Looking away from the corner of the eye, he saw Feng Shaoqing and Mei Zhu walking towards him.Fearing for their safety, Feng Suzhen placed them in the Princess Mansion after the winter solstice night.

"My son-in-law—has the crown prince come?" Mei Zhu's eyes flashed with a strange brilliance.

Feng Suzhen nodded her head silently remembering the past friendship between Mei Zhu and the prince.Mei Zhu had saved the prince's life several times, and had accompanied him through the hasty period when he was expelled from the palace. It was normal for the two of them to have some feelings for each other.

Feng Shaoqing's face was full of worry: "—Consort, have you told the princess?"

Feng Suzhen hesitated for a moment, but still said: "Tianxiang is still recovering from her injuries. Apart from drinking medicinal food, she will wake up for a while every day, and she needs to rest the rest of the time. I don't want to bother her with my affairs."

Feng Shaoqing sighed again and again: "Oh, you, you idiot! Now the crown prince is here too, if you can't speak, let me go!" After saying that, he was about to pass Feng Suzhen to the front of the room to ask for an audience.

Feng Suzhen hurriedly stopped him: "—Don't worry!"

"Huh? What are you all huddling here for?" The door opened suddenly, and the prince was a little surprised to see Feng Shaoqing, his plum and bamboo in front of him. He recalled: "Aren't you that Feng Shaoqing? Why are you here?" There was some doubt in his tone.

The three of them were stunned for a moment, and immediately knelt down to salute.

When the prince was expelled from the palace for the first time, he was trapped in Miaozhou and had seen Feng Shaoqing's cunning and timidity, so he didn't have a good impression of this man.After a short pause, his eyes moved to the top of Feng Suzhen's hair.He opened his mouth, and remembered what his younger sister was asking for, and immediately became confused.So his eyes moved again, and settled on Mei Zhu's face.

She was not as reserved as Feng Suzhen and Feng Shaoqing, but she raised her head and met the prince's eyes.The girl's eyes were hot and sincere, and her expression was as bright and moving as the first snowfall.

plum bamboo...

This woman who saved herself in Miaozhou, then escorted herself to the Xunguan Mansion of Eight Prefectures, spent her years with her in that small world, indulged herself in the dream of a wooden bird...

This innocent and kind girl who only has him in her eyes...

"Miss Meizhu, you're back in the capital..." The prince looked away and waved his hands, "Get up, get up, it's getting late, I'm going back to the palace." After the words fell, he hurried past Everyone, walked towards the outside of the princess mansion.

Feng's father and daughter only had time to see clearly the corner of the prince's robe embroidered with cloud patterns, and then disappeared from sight.The two were in a trance for a moment, and it took a long time to react and get up, but when they turned their heads, they saw Mei Zhu frozen in place motionless, staring at the direction where the prince left.

Under the shadow of the snow, Feng Suzhen saw that the brilliance on Mei Zhu's face faded little by little, like a flower that blooms for a short time and fades instantly.

She was speechless for a while, and stepped forward to help Mei Zhu up.

"Go and rest first," she said to the two of them, "I will say what I should say, don't worry about me."

Feng Shaoqing still wanted to persuade him again, but seeing the waiter who had just gone to heat the medicine was rushing over briskly with a food box, he had no choice but to keep his voice down and left.

Feng Suzhen once again stepped into the bedroom filled with the smell of medicine, Tianxiang was not asleep, turned her head in her direction, and winked playfully.

Feng Suzhen's mind suddenly relaxed, and she laughed unconsciously: "I'm tired after talking to the prince for so long? Are you sleepy?"

Tianxiang stared at the medicine bowl in her hand and said sadly: "You haven't delivered your medicine for the night, how dare I be sleepy?"

She braced herself to sit up, Feng Suzhen hurriedly stepped forward to help her: "Good medicine tastes bitter, just bear with it. You suffered a trauma, so you don't need to take it for too long, as long as the wound is long-lasting, you can stop the medicine. Take it." It’s better to suffer a bit and get better sooner than to lie in bed all the time, right?”

Tianxiang, who has lived for two lifetimes, is also ashamed to act like a child for the sweetness and bitterness of his mouth, so he took the bowl: "Okay, okay, what you said is right. I don't want you to feed it spoonful by spoonful. Come and drink yourself."

As soon as she brought the medicine bowl to her mouth, Tianxiang smelled a different smell, and couldn't help but let out a "huh": "The medicine has been changed?"

Feng Suzhen smiled and said: "I asked the old man, you have become more energetic these two days than before, it doesn't matter if the potency of the medicine is weaker. I picked some spices like licorice and tangerine peel to improve the taste of your medicine."

Tianxiang was overjoyed, and drank the medicine in the bowl in one gulp, her face wrinkled again: "Although it's not so bad, it's still bitter..."

Feng Suzhen stuffed another bowl into Tianxiang's hand, and replaced the empty medicine bowl: "Since it's all about suffering, it's better to have fun while suffering than to suffer until the end."

This is a bowl of specially warmed sugar cane juice.

Tianxiang held the bowl and took a few sips of the sweet and greasy soup, staring at the dim light and shadow on the window sill, unconsciously chanting: "One pillow is sweet and faint, who can turn the orifice to the sky."

""Handan Tale"?" Feng Suzhen was surprised, "Princess has read "Handan Tale"?"

Tianxiang was shocked: "It's useful, how did you grow your brain? Did you stuff all the library into it?" She paused for a moment, feeling wrong, and asked, "What does 'unexpectedly' mean?"

Feng Suzhen smiled: "That is, if you haven't read it, I will read it to you."

Tianxiang laughed loudly, but accidentally touched the wound, the corner of her mouth twitched suddenly, and her facial features wrinkled.

Feng Suzhen quickly helped her to lie down: "It hurts? Don't tear the wound! I see—" She remembered that the wound was on her chest, and blushed immediately, "I'll call Xing'er to show you Down."

She got up and left, but was grabbed by Tianxiang's sleeve: "It's not time to change the dressing yet. If you call them over, I can only change the dressing and rest in advance. Just help me take a look, anyway, I have You have everything, what are you afraid of?"

Feng Suzhen had no choice but to stop. Seeing Tianxiang's sincere expression, she hesitated again and again, and finally leaned over and opened Tianxiang's shirt, and let go after a quick glance: "Fortunately, there is no blood on the bandage," she said. With a sigh of relief, she couldn't help but slightly annoyed, "Princess, you still have injuries, so smile more politely."

Tianxiang felt wronged: "You didn't make me laugh."

Feng Suzhen raised her thin lips slightly, and said slowly: "I can't make you cry, can I?" Her heart moved, she sat down beside her, and said slowly: "Tianxiang, I have something to ask you."

She didn't wait for Tianxiang to reply, and asked directly: "I've always wanted to ask you, since when did you see through my identity?" For several days, this doubt has always lingered in her heart, but since Tianxiang woke up, Feng Suzhen's whole body and mind were affected by her injury, but she never got a chance to ask a proper question.

Tianxiang lay flat on the bed, looked up at Feng Suzhen's beautiful face, and answered the question: "A long time ago, I thought that I lost someone, and that feeling was really painful. After I lost my worries, I was in a daze, drunk and dreaming, I just look forward to seeing her again."

Feng Suzhen was stunned.

Tianxiang's expression was slack, her eyes were far away, and what she saw was Feng Suzhen who passed through the front, and saw the white jade tombstone standing quietly far away from her previous life: "I don't know why I am in such pain, my life is very painful. If you compare the time of acquaintance with her with my life, it is too short. But she has had such a great influence on me. It is like the dark side of the canopy, because a wall is built to block Light, so that side never grows again. And a certain part of my heart stops growing, forever, always staying in the time with her."

Tianxiang retracted her eyes and landed on Feng Suzhen's face: "I'm afraid there are not many people who can penetrate so deeply into the relationship between people. The person's voice and smile have already been imprinted in my heart. Even though the world is different, but Whenever she is in front of me, I can always recognize her."

Feng Suzhen was tongue-tied: "You...you..."

Tianxiang smiled and said, "Just treat me like a ghost."

Feng Suzhen was a little at a loss, Tianxiang's words seemed to reveal a great emotion, and that emotion seemed to coincide with the idea in her heart.

But she didn't dare to think about it in this direction at all: when the two of them met in Miaozhou at the beginning, it could only be regarded as a shallow relationship, how could it be so deep into the marrow?And what Tianxiang fell in love with later on was heroic men like Yijian Piaohong and Zhang Shaomin, so how could she have any thoughts about her as a woman that surpassed her confidant and friends?

She recalled what Tianxiang said when she persuaded her to stay at the beginning, and thought that Tianxiang might only admire the talent and sentiments of Feng Suzhen in the pile of old papers, and suddenly felt ashamed: how good and capable she was, how could she hide in Tianxiang's heart. For so long, she had to hide her emotions and tried every means to protect her.

And he, however, deceived her and lied to her, Xiao Xiangyu!

Feng Suzhen's mind was turbulent, and she sat on the sidelines with thoughts, wanting to say something more and ask something more.

Just as he was about to open his mouth, he noticed a silence around him.

Tianxiang fell asleep again.

Feng Suzhen sighed, tucked the quilt up for her, tidied up quietly and retreated out.

Tianxiang let out a breath, stared at the top of the bed curtain with wide eyes, and licked the sweetness left on her lips.

What she said just now was settled by her laying on the bed for the past few days and pondering over and over again. It took a lot of thinking to choose words and sentences.

Don't be in a hurry, don't be in a hurry, if you really want to confide in the emotions accumulated for 20 years in the previous life, how can it be overnight.You still have to take it easy, don't be too revealing, and frighten the nerd who grew up in the classics and history collection.

She continued to write the manuscript in her heart, thinking about what to say in the further confession, thinking about it, she said to herself: "Who can open the heart..."