Chongzhen Sunset Song

?one

"Xu Xizhao...Xizhao...the name is quite nice."

In the afternoon, the sun is warm.Bi Tao sat on the rocking chair, fiddling with a handkerchief embroidered with small peach blossoms.The rocking chair is old and creaks with the rhythm of the rocking, as if it is beating the time for the crisp birdsong outside the window.The wound on Xi Zhao's buttocks had scabbed over, and she could already sit on the bed, but her knees were still stiff and she couldn't move.Fortunately, Bi Tao was chatting with him, otherwise he would be bored in the room during this sunny season, and he might get sick even if he was not sick.

"I have something I don't understand, and I want to ask Sister Bi Tao." Xi Zhao, dressed in a thin white silk dress with a few strands of hair on her shoulders, leaned against the bed, and said to the bored Bi Tao.

"Ask." Bitao put down her handkerchief and listened carefully.

"In the past few years, I have only met Sister Bi Tao a few times, and have not had a deep friendship. Why is Sister Bi Tao willing to keep such a big matter a secret?" Xi Zhao asked with a restrained smile.

"Hey, what did I think?" Bitao shook her handkerchief, leaned back on the chair, and shook it slightly again, "I will tell you, what good is it for me? The reward from the emperor can't be much money, and I will be punished." People are jealous. You keep a secret for you, and you can be used when you are in trouble, so why not do it."

Although this reason is not very pleasant to hear, it is true.After hearing this, Xi Zhao felt a little relieved.Fortunately, she was lucky, the emperor sent this girl to take care of her, otherwise, let alone staying in the palace, she might not even be able to save her life.Xizhao was thinking about it, when she suddenly saw Bitao get up, and Tingting gracefully walked to the table of the Eight Immortals and sat down, her jade fingers were half raised, she took a celadon teacup from the lotus leaf tray, poured a cup of warm tea, her cherry lips parted slightly, and took half a sip.In the past, she always came and went in a hurry in the hall, and never took a good look at this unremarkable maid, but now that she was in the same room every day, Xizhao realized that this Bi Tao was really a lovely person.Yingying's waist is slender and weak, like willows blowing in the wind in February, her white face is clear and beautiful, like a magnolia in March; her eyebrows are bent, like a begonia with rain in April, and her lips are pursed into a smile, like jasmine in May.Not to mention that there are tens of thousands of women of all kinds in the world, just talking about this palace full of beauties, Bi Tao's beauty is probably not inferior to others.Xizhao was thinking about it when she saw Bitao drank all the tea, dabbed her lips with a handkerchief, and put the teacup upside down on the lotus leaf tray.

"You said at the time that you can listen to me at any time, but you can't break your promise." Bi Tao said, standing up with her hands on the edge of the table.

"A man promises a thousand gold, and he will never break his promise." Xi Zhao looked at Bitao and promised earnestly.

"Well, that's good." Bitao nodded in satisfaction, then went back to the rocking chair and sat down, slowly rocking it lightly.

"However, if you hold my secret, you won't be afraid that I will have malicious intentions and kill people to silence you?" Xi Zhao teased her with a twitch of his mouth.

"If you want to keep your mouth shut, then you won't ask this question." Bi Tao shook her chair, and answered slowly. After a while, her almond eyes slanted slightly, and she looked at Xi Zhao, "Why, are you going to kill me?"

"Don't dare dare..." I wanted to tease her, but she blocked it casually and bounced the words back.Xizhao exhaled softly and smiled warmly.

two

"I've heard it all."

Zhou Xi sat beside Xizhao's bed, took a sip of the tea served by Bitao, and conveniently placed the tea cup on the small sandalwood table beside the bed. "This prince, after all, he still made a move."

"Brother Zhou Xi also thinks it's an announcement from the prince?" Xi Zhao moved his body and asked.

"Can there be a second person?" Zhou Xi asked back. "But looking at your current appearance, you really suffered a lot. Fortunately, the emperor changed his mind, otherwise, these legs would have been useless."

"I didn't expect to kneel for a while, it would be so serious." Xi Zhao said with a smile.

"For a while? You've been kneeling for three full hours." Zhou Xi's eyes widened in disbelief.

Xi Zhao smiled again: "The details are so clear, brother Zhou Xi is really well informed."

"In the environment of the Supervisor of Rituals, it's hard to know." Zhou Xi said with a complicated expression.Xizhao suddenly noticed that when the word Si Li Jian was mentioned, Zhou Xi's expression seemed to be a little less than before.

"And I didn't expect that you were on the same side as Mr. Zhou." Zhou Xi continued, "When I came to ask if you had something in the hands of the prince, why didn't you tell me?"

"It's not considered a journey." Xi Zhao waved his hand, "It's just that I was confused at the time, and I only collected money a few times. Who would have thought that Wang Gonggong would seize this matter and cause such an incident."

"I've collected money several times, isn't it considered a journey?" Zhou Xi raised his eyebrows, obviously not agreeing, "Besides, Mr. Wen and Mr. Zhou are rivals, and the prince and Mr. Wen have a close relationship. Brother Dexiu After all, you know it? It’s already at that point, how can you hide it from the truth.”

"Dexiu didn't intend to hide it, but I didn't expect it to develop like this." Although Xizhao had heard about the relationship between them, in the final analysis, Xizhao never thought about it when he received money for work. Therefore, he will become Lord Zhou's accomplice.

When Zhou Xi heard the words, he sighed and remained silent.Zhou Xi, who was always eloquent in the past, fell silent, which made the atmosphere a little awkward.The sky was getting dark, and the unlit room quietly felt a bit of coolness, Bi Tao, who was sitting on the side resting, seemed to feel strange, her chin twitched slightly, and she also cast her eyes on the two people beside the bed.

"For so many years, you really didn't tell brother anything."

After a while, Zhou Xi just opened his mouth, but the words in his mouth caused Xi Zhao's internal organs to sink suddenly.Unexpectedly, Zhou Xi cared so much, Xi Zhao hurriedly explained: "You misunderstood, brother Zhou Xi. Dexiu is really stupid, he didn't think so much."

"Yeah." Zhou Xi raised his face and forced a smile, "I'm going first, you take care of your wounds." After finishing speaking, he stood up and left Xizhao's room without looking back.

Since then, Zhou Xi has never seen the sunset again.There was no particular reason, just that, never came again.

three

Time flies like an arrow, and in a blink of an eye, it is already the midwinter of snowflakes.The guards of the Qianqing Palace were wrapped in thick cotton clothes, and all of them had flushed cheeks from the cold.As the north wind whizzed past, a guard accidentally sneezed, but quickly wiped off his snot, stood up straight, and looked solemn as if nothing had happened.

In a wing room next to the Qianqing Palace, the charcoal stove was crackling, and the room was as warm as a sunny spring afternoon.

"As soon as you kneel so selfishly, you've been kneeling for several months." Bi Tao supported Xizhao, and walked slowly around the room, "You are so cruel, you can make your body into a mess for no reason. so."

"How can it be done for nothing." Xi Zhao smiled, "What's more, these days, I feed myself with delicious food and drink every day, and I have such a beautiful girl as you to accompany me, how can I be at ease."

"Pretty girl, I don't want to spend all day with you as a patient. Get well soon, and let me be free for a few days." Bi Tao pretended to be dissatisfied, pushed her hands, and stopped supporting him, but there was a smile on her face , apparently relishing the compliment.

At this time, the emperor suddenly heard the sound of approaching outside the door, and the warm curtain was lifted, Chongzhen lowered his head slightly, and entered the room.

"Greetings to the emperor." Bi Tao hurriedly knelt down, and Xi Zhao also leaned on the bed rail to kneel, but Chong Zhen stretched out his hand to stop her.

"Excuse me, just sit down." Chongzhen said as he sat down at the Eight Immortals Table.

In the past six months, Chongzhen would come here to visit Xizhao every now and then, and each time he didn't stay long, just said a few words, then got up and left.But this is already enough for Xizhao who was almost sent to hell.

"The emperor is busy with government affairs, but he always condescends to come here. Dexiu is really sorry." Xi Zhao sat by the bed and said respectfully.

"I'm busy with government affairs, so I have to come out to get some air." Chongzhen smiled slightly, and looked up and down at the sunset, "Seeing that you are in good spirits, I am relieved."

"Thanks to the emperor's blessing, Dexiu is no longer in serious trouble, and he can serve the emperor after a while." Xi Zhao's eyes were full of smiles, and every time the emperor expressed concern in his words, Xi Zhao's mood was like the springtime in March Bright.

"Hey~ I'm not in a hurry here." Chongzhen waved his hands and said, "Oh, that's right." Chongzhen turned his head and asked the accompanying eunuch waiting at the door to present the carved food box in his hand. "Today I have braised tendons for lunch. I thought it would be good for your leg injury, so I didn't say anything, and asked them to keep it for you." Chongzhen put the food box on the table and pushed it forward. There seemed to be no place in the always indifferent smile on his face, revealing a trace of incongruous youthfulness.

"Huh?" Xi Zhao opened her eyes wide, and a warm current gushed out of her heart, making her face blush.He hurriedly got up and supported the bed, half kneeled on the ground and said gratefully: "What's so good about virtue, the emperor misses it so much, I don't know if it's a blessing from several lifetimes of cultivation."

Chongzhen smiled lightly, and waved his hand to tell Xizhao to get up: "I don't know much about medicine, so I can ask the imperial physician another day. If it is really useful, I can ask the imperial dining room to make it for you often."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

four

"As soon as the emperor comes, you are as happy as a child." After Chongzhen left, Bitao joked while helping Xizhao go to bed, "You like the emperor so much?"

"You don't understand." Xi Zhao leaned against the bed, adjusted the quilt, and let out a long sigh of relief, "The current emperor is a rare good emperor."

"Okay, I don't understand." Bi Tao glanced at Xizhao, moved the stove to Xizhao's bed, moved the rocking chair a little closer, stretched out her slender fingers, and roasted on the stove back and forth. "However, you can't serve the emperor forever."

Xi Zhao didn't seem to hear, looking at the stove thoughtfully.

Bi Tao, who was on the side, continued: "Now you and the emperor are deeply in love with each other, but the fire can't be contained in the paper. If one day the secret is revealed, it will be a crime of beheading. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the emperor can't protect you." .”

"Let's talk about it at that time." Xi Zhao said lightly, pulling the quilt to her body.After entering the palace for these years, it was like being on a ship without a rudder, just drifting like this, until today.As for how all of this will end, Xi Zhao has never really considered carefully.When he wanted to leave back then, there were guards everywhere in the palace to stop him; but when the opportunity to leave came, the heart in his chest tied himself firmly within the red wall.Wanting to leave but unable to, able to leave but unwilling to leave, Xi Zhao would often feel that in the dark, his fate seemed to be bound by fate with this imperial palace.Driving all the way is by chance and coincidence, as for the way ahead...let's decide.

"What? Let's talk about it later?" That side of Bi Tao raised her eyebrows and stared at her almond eyes, her thoughts were obviously much more realistic than Xizhao's, "Oh my brother, this is a matter of losing your head, how about some snacks?"

"I don't care, I've been here all these years." Xi Zhao smiled at Bi Tao. "I just ask Sister Bi Tao to do good deeds, and don't forget to keep it a secret from now on."

"I can keep it a secret for you. Others are not as kind as I am." Bitao curled her lips and tightened her rouge jacket, "I advise you to think about the future as soon as possible. Eh...?" Bitao's two jet-black Eyeballs rolled around, with a mischievous smile on his face, he squinted at Xizhao, "Why don't you let go of your boring stuff now, and the fake show will become real, so you won't have to worry about the future." .”

"You little girl, you don't feel ashamed to say this so easily." Xi Zhao couldn't laugh or cry, so she could only feign displeasure and reprimanded her.

"Hmph, it's all for your own good." Bi Tao's pink lips curled up, she turned her palms, and continued to bake on the stove.

At this time, it was the sixth year of Chongzhen, winter.