The Moon Over Tang Dynasty

Chapter 61 Prepare for a rainy day and be frightened by the rain

In the fifth year of Yonghui, at Wuwu in March, the main gate of Chengtian Gate of Taiji Palace was once again opened for the emperor's patrol. The cavalry of 1,800 people was divided into 214 columns and went out solemnly. On the left and right sides of the chariot, the emperor's chariots were guarding him as they marched solemnly. After Luan Jia, nearly a thousand carriages followed, meandering for several miles and stretching endlessly.

  Half of the people in Chang'an were alarmed by this large group of people who had not appeared for many years. After asking each other, they found out that Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi, who had hardly traveled since he ascended the throne, would move to Wannian Palace to escape the summer heat this year.

 Escape from the summer heat? Looking at the March Yang spring with willows and catkins fluttering, even the Chang'an rangers who love to travel couldn't help but look at each other in bewilderment.

Naturally, they had no way of knowing that Wuwu Day was the third day after the Qiqi fast of the little princess in the Taiji Palace; it was also the earliest time that Wu Zhaoyi, who was crying every day in the Xianchi Palace, could leave this sad place. . The Wannian Palace, which is more than three hundred miles away from Chang'an and has quiet scenery, is obviously the best choice for her to relax and recuperate.

The journey of more than 300 miles is naturally not close. Fortunately, the official road is flat, and the previous dynasty built twelve palaces along the road, which is very convenient for taking a rest or watching the night watch. The mighty Luan Jia arrived at the Wannian Palace at noon on the third day. In the afternoon of the same day, a letter from the emperor was sent to Chang'an by fast horse, honoring the founding heroes of the Tang Dynasty during the Wude period. The most conspicuous one among them was Wu Zhaoyi's father, Ying Guogong warrior Yu.

 In May, the emperor personally wrote the "Wannian Palace Inscription". On the first day of the month, all the officials of the third rank and above who came to the Wannian Palace signed their names behind the inscription, and Taiwei Zhang Sun Wuji ranked first. Soon, next to the "Liquan Ming" stele written by Wei Zheng for Taizong, a "Wannian Palace Inscription" stele rose from the ground. The two steles stood side by side, as if to witness the blood connection and interdependence of the rule of Yonghui and the rule of Zhenguan. Watch each other.

 And Liuli knew clearly that this was just a long echo before the end.

In a blink of an eye, it’s the first day of the leap month, and the sun will fall in a few days. Even in this Wannian Palace, surrounded by mountains and flowing with clear water, you can feel that the midsummer sunshine is getting warmer day by day. That afternoon, when Liuli went to Mrs. Wu's room, she heard her murmuring to Cuimo, "Everything in this Wannian Palace is good, except that there is no ice, and there are not even two wells. Drinking buttermilk is really not cool enough. "

Liuli's heart moved, and she took two steps forward, "Liuli heard that there used to be a huge ice cellar here, but the Lord hadn't traveled in several years, so he didn't prepare so much. It turns out that the house where Madam lives is a bit low-lying. "It's summer, so there's a bit of humidity. Liuli is doing painting in the dressing room today, so it's much cooler there."

Mrs. Wu hurriedly asked, "Is this true?"

Liuli nodded and smiled, "Madam, you will know after you go with Liuli once."

This time, it was still the group of people from Xianchi Palace who came with Gaozong, and there were really too many houses in Wannian Palace, so Wu Zhaoyi, Mrs. Wu and Deng Cairen all arranged separate courtyards. Wu Zhaoyi lived in Zi Spring Hall, the only sweet spring in Wannian Palace, passes around the palace. Mrs. Wu lived in Pingyu Hall to the west of Ziquan Hall, and Deng Cairen lived in Huijian Pavilion, which is slightly lower. The three courtyards are all located between the foot and the mountainside of Tiantai Mountain. They are surrounded by mountains and rivers and are shaded by pines and cypresses. They are the most beautiful and convenient places in Wannian Palace. The only drawback is that the terrain is slightly lower.

As for the dressing room, it was Liuli who came to the Wannian Palace and soon told Wu Zetian that she wanted to paint a "Picture of the Wannian Palace", and Wu Zetian naturally agreed. Liuli chose the north pavilion of the dressing building with the best view near the mountainside as her studio. Sometimes when the roads were slippery on rainy days, she would simply live in the side pavilion of the dressing building, which was quite relaxing.

Seeing Mrs. Wu's longing expression, Liuli added, "The dressing room is on a raised platform on the mountainside. The mountain breeze is the coolest. If it's a clear breeze and a bright moon night, it's even more cool to the bone. From Danxiao Palace to Ziquan Palace. The bluestone channel also flows through it, which is great for freezing buttermilk.”

Mrs. Wu thought for a while and clapped her hands, "I haven't seen what your painting looks like yet, so why not go now!"

The dressing building is not far from the Yurong and Pingyu halls. It is only a few hundred or three hundred steps up the slope. Once on the platform, Mrs. Wu felt that she had a wide field of vision, a cool breeze blowing on her face, and Liuli's studio was in front of her. It is located in the mid-level pavilion in front of the building, close to the outside of the intersection, with the best view. There are brocade curtains hanging on all sides of the pavilion. In the middle is a huge table with three square stools on the side of the table. There are also two large three-color cabinets. There is also a stove, a bag of charcoal, and a The wooden barrel was tightly covered. Mrs. Wu couldn't help laughing and said, "Is it possible that you are planning to sleep here at night?"

Liuli smiled and said, "Madam, I don't know. Painting this world is different from other paintings. It is the most complicated and troublesome."

Ah Ling, who was walking behind her, couldn't help but rolled her eyes silently. She has been following Liuli for more than half a year. Liuli's daily painting was originally the most convenient and hassle-free. Unexpectedly, as soon as she started painting this "Ten Thousand Years Palace Picture", she immediately turned into a troublemaker and asked for charcoal to cook it. What about gelatin? Mix alum and water into the gelatin, and then use a brush to apply it layer by layer on the silk. It is said that this is what must be done in gongbi boundary paintings. That's all, I actually asked someone for a big bucket of oil, saying that I need to apply a layer of oil before baking the dishes, but that big bucket of oil is enough to bake the dishes for several years! The weirdest thing is that summer will start early tomorrow, but the palace maids are not allowed to change the brocade curtains of the Banshan Pavilion into gauze curtains, saying that they are afraid that they will not be properly covered at night...

Mrs. Wu stepped forward to look at the painting. The Wannian Palace was originally built among mountains, mainly Tiantai Mountain. The top of the mountain is the main palace, and the south **** is the outer court. Most accompanying officials live in the outer court. Behind the north **** is the inner palace, which is where they live. Where you are now. At this time, the painting is only more than half completed. It can be seen that there are a number of pavilions and pavilions scattered among the green mountains and clear waters. There is a majestic palace on the top of the mountain with two opposing towers in front. There is a blue stream in the valley with a flying bridge flying over it. , it is the scenery near this north slope.

Mrs. Wu sighed and said with a smile, "The view here is really good, you can see everything clearly."

Liuli couldn't help but laugh, "Although it's more open here, you can't see everything clearly. In recent days, Liuli has been all over the northern **** of Wannian Palace!"

Mrs. Wu nodded silently, left the painting and walked around twice more upstairs and downstairs. She felt that everything was exquisite and elegant, and it was rare that it was really cool and pleasant. When she came downstairs, she stood in the hall and announced, "I'll go tell Zhaoyi." , let’s move later!”

In the evening of that day, Mrs. Wu and Yueniang's luggage was moved from Pingyu Hall to the dressing room. Although the rooms were smaller, there were not many people around Mrs. Wu, so they could still accommodate them, and Liuli would sometimes stay there. In the outermost room of the side pavilion, it was even more legitimate to move in at this time.

Ah Ling smiled and said, "When you chose this room to live in, I thought it was too cold, but now it seems that it is the coolest room. Madam is really far-sighted."

Liuli was standing by the window using a support to open the window. Looking from the window, the north gate of Wannian Palace on the opposite hillside seemed to be right in front of her. She stared at the place where torches were swaying and figures were swaying, and she said after a while, "Of course!"

It was still a sunny day the next day, but the weather seemed to be a bit hotter again. When Mrs. Wu saw Liuli in the morning, she smiled and said, "Fortunately, we moved to another place yesterday, otherwise it would have been even worse!"

When the group walked to Ziquan Hall, they met Deng Yiyi head-on. She was seen wearing a crimson flowing moire blouse and a floral pomegranate skirt, which made her face a little more rosy, but her brows were slightly furrowed, and her expression was still gloomy.

Mrs. Wu stopped to wait for her. After greeting each other, she smiled and said, "You look really much better."

Yiyi nodded and smiled, "Since the day before yesterday, Imperial Doctor Jiang has changed his prescription. I have slept better these past two days."

Mrs. Wu laughed and said, "Chief Doctor Jiang is really capable. Even Zhaoyi is getting better gradually, how old are you? It will naturally get better and better."

It turned out that Deng Yiyi's body was damaged due to catching a cold and taking cold medicine. After being nursed back to health by Jiang Xiaozhang, she was better. Unexpectedly, during the Kuishui period, she used the lipstick that can break blood and promote qi, and she actually suffered from metrorrhagia. It took half a month to accidentally find out the cause, but this time it was really damaged. I went to the Wannian Palace for more than two months, but there was only a slight improvement.

After listening to Mrs. Wu's words, Yiyi forced a smile, turned her head and glanced eastward in the direction of Chang'an, and the gloom between her eyebrows deepened.

When he arrived at Wu Zetian's dormitory, Gaozong had not yet left. Now when he was not handling government affairs in the Dabao and Danxiao halls on the top of the mountain, he would recite poems and sing harmony with Wu Zetian in the Ziquan Hall, and write ink. There was no court meeting on the second day of the new year, so he stayed in Ziquan Hall, talking and laughing with Wu Zhaoyi who was dressing in the mirror. When he turned around, he saw Mrs. Wu and Deng Yiyi coming hand in hand. One was delicate and beautiful, the other charming, and his mood was even brighter. He was happy and said with a smile, "You guys are here just in time. Zhaoyi and I are discussing that we are feeling a little bored today and we should take a boat trip to visit Du Shui."

Mrs. Wu was the first to clapped her hands and applauded, and Yiyi naturally joined in the fun. The four of them immediately started talking lively. Here, the palace maids and eunuchs began to pack some of their belongings. Liuli took advantage of others not paying attention and whispered to Cuimo that she wanted to go paint. The painting slipped away.

Returning to the north pavilion of the dressing building, Liuli adjusted the colors and painted for more than an hour. Then he took paper and pen and walked around the mountain, drawing here and there, chatting with the cleaning maids he met, and sitting on the corridor to talk to each other. I spent half a day staring at the hillside opposite. She has been like this for more than a month. Aling has long been used to seeing it, and she was still a little puzzled in her heart: when she was in Tai Chi Palace, this aunt would not say another word or walk more than one step. How did she change when she got here? Got a temperament? Now I am not surprised at all, I just think that she is separated from the Queen, Xiao Shufei and others, and her true nature is revealed. The day passed in a hurry, and Emperor Gaozong and others did not return until dinner. Mrs. Wu's face was full of excitement, and she sighed that Liuli was unlucky. The boat was two stories high, so she could have a drink in the wind and look out the window. Facing the green mountains, it is truly a happy life that never changes.

At night, Liuli walked around the pavilion as usual, put down the brocade curtains around it, returned to the house and put up the window lattice, and then fell asleep.

Before midnight, a gust of wind howled, and she suddenly woke up. She could only hear the wind beating on the window lattice outside the window and the sound of rain pounding her ears. She couldn't help but get up in excitement, took out the flint from under the pillow, lit it a few times and kept it. Oil lamp beside the bed. Ignoring the rain pouring in from the window, I rushed over and looked outside. I saw pouring rain outside the window. It was completely pitch black with no light at all. I listened carefully and heard the thunderstorm rumbling. I couldn't hear anything. A heavy rain that I have never encountered since the Nian Palace.

In the blink of an eye, the rain that blew in from the window wet her middle coat. Liuli sat back on the bed in a daze, not daring to close the window or go to sleep. After thinking about it, she got up and hung the door behind the door. After checking a raincoat, two rain hats and a copper lantern on the table, he took off his wet clothes and put on a neat Gebuhu suit and hemp bottom shoes.

The pouring rain outside the window seemed to be endless. It lasted for more than an hour, and the sound of rain became slightly quieter. Suddenly, the sound of rain seemed to be mixed with some strange sounds. Liuli hurried to the window and pricked up her ears. Someone seemed to be shouting loudly in the distance, but the sound of the rain was so loud that she could only hear it faintly. Several words were vaguely "big water" and "holy", mixed with the sound of banging.

On a heavy rain night in Wannian Palace, flash floods surged, and the guards at Xuanwu Gate fled in all directions. Only General Xue Rengui came to the gate and shouted a warning to the palace... Yes, it's today!

Liuli didn't hesitate anymore and shouted loudly, "Aling, get up! The water is rising outside. Go and call someone!" She put on her raincoat and rain hat, lit the lantern, picked up another rain hat, opened the door and ran Got out. All I heard was Aling exclaiming, "Madam, what did you say?"

Liuli just said, "Get up quickly and wake up everyone in the building and downstairs. It's hot!" He turned around and opened the door, covered the oil lamp with a raincoat and ran to the pavilion where he was painting. The rain outside was still very fast, but the wind was a little lighter. The raindrops hit Liuli's chin. When she ran into the pavilion, she was relieved when she illuminated it with a lantern, because the double brocade curtains that blocked the wind in winter were beaten by the rain. It became heavier after being wet, but it covered the pavilion tightly, and the ground inside was not wet at all.

Liuli put the oil lamp on the ground and tied the eight brocade curtains on all sides tightly to the curtain hooks hanging by the pillars of the pavilion. Then he piled the crescent stool, three-color cabinet, charcoal and other items on the table. He picked up the bucket of oil and poured it on it. Then he flicked the oil lamp and the fire started igniting with a "pop" and then it reached a high level.

On this rainy night, the lanterns hanging around the Wannian Palace had long been destroyed by the violent storm, and everything was pitch black. However, as the fire in the mid-level pavilion ignited, the surrounding area of ​​the pavilion suddenly became brighter. Even the roads up and down the mountain were dimly visible.

Aling had just ran out of the door at this time. When he saw the fire, he was stunned and screamed, "Auntie, what are you doing?"

Liuli said loudly, "If you don't set fire, where can you see the road outside? Go and wake up everyone in the building, just try to find some copper basins to knock, and run back and forth along the road halfway up the mountain. Let's shout loudly, "It's wet!" I'll call Zhaoyi right away!" Without waiting for Aling to reply, she picked up the oil lamp and turned around and rushed down the mountain.

Liuli had walked this road again and again for more than two months. She was so familiar with it that she couldn't make a mistake even with her eyes closed. She walked quickly all the way. When she arrived at the gate of Ziquan Hall, she kicked the door and shouted loudly, "Hurry up." Open the door, it’s wet, open the door quickly!”

The door finally opened, revealing a somewhat dull face. Liuli squeezed in from her side, shouted "I'm wet, Zhaoyi, come out quickly", and ran towards the main hall. When she reached the entrance of the hall, the people in the hall were The palace maid had been alarmed for a long time. After hearing Liuli's words, she panicked and started shouting. After a while, she heard Wu Zetian's voice, "What on earth is going on?"

I saw Wu Zetian, with her hair disheveled and a cloak covering her body, walking out quickly surrounded by several palace ladies. Liuli said hurriedly, "Zhaoyi, Liuli got up in the middle of the night and heard a soldier shouting from the Xuanwu Gate. He was flooded. He quickly asked the Holy Lord to get out of the way. He thought it was a flash flood. The terrain here is low. Zhaoyi had better rush to a higher place to avoid it. good!"

Wu Zetian's expression suddenly changed. He turned around and said sternly to Yuliu, "Go and pick up Hong'er and go up the mountain!" He looked at Liuli and said, "Take me back to Jian Pavilion, the Holy Master is still there!"

Liuli was stunned. She never expected that Gaozong was not here today. She couldn't help but secretly screamed "bad luck!" and had to say, "Zhaoyi, please go up the mountain quickly. Just go and call Liuli over there!" Then he turned the oil lamp to The palace maid beside her stuffed her hand, took off her raincoat, and put it on Wu Zetian without any explanation, "I set a fire in the pavilion next to the dressing room. You can see it when you go out, Zhaoyi, go to the light of the fire!"

Wu Zetian glanced at Liuli in surprise. The palace maids around her were already scared out of their wits. They rushed up to hug her and walked out. Liuli also took the oil lamp and rain hat and turned around and ran out. Wu Zetian called out behind her, "Liu Kang, hurry up and find the Holy Master with Painter Kudi!"

The rain seemed to have subsided slightly at this time, and the sounds of beating gongs and copper basins and shouting on the mountainside became clearly audible. Eunuchs and maidens from all over the place were running wildly from Liuli towards the firelight of the mountain pavilion. Liuli was covered by After a few collisions, he almost missed the rain hat and lantern in his hand. He heard the footsteps behind him. Liu Kang had already caught up with him. He reached out and took the thing from Liuli's hand and took the lead to run forward. He was strong and had great skills. He was so agile that no one could hit him. Liuli followed behind, and his speed suddenly increased.

When the two of them ran back to the Jian Pavilion, the palace maid guarding the door seemed to have been awakened by the movement outside. As soon as she knocked on the door knocker, the door opened immediately. Liu Kang opened the door and shouted at the top of his voice, "I'm wet. Your Majesty, come out quickly." !" The sound was so loud that Liuli was caught off guard and jumped to the side without covering her ears. After a moment, the door of the attic opened loudly, and Wang Fusheng and others rushed out surrounded by Gao Zong and Deng Yiyi.

Judging by the light from inside the door, it seemed that both of them were only wearing middle coats with clothes wrapped around them. Wang Fusheng and the others were even more disheveled. Fortunately, there was nothing impolite or impolite in the dark night. Liu Kang tried his best to raise his He set up a copper lamp to lead the way, then turned around and walked up the mountain. Before taking two steps, Liuli felt something strange under her feet. A young **** exclaimed, "The water is coming up!" Sure enough, the water under his feet covered his feet before he could see it. There was a splashing sound with every step, and Liuli could only I felt like my heart was about to jump out of my chest, and I couldn't care less about anything, so I ran forward.

We are already some distance away from the Mid-Level Pavilion. We can see the fire flashing over there, guiding the direction. However, there is only a little light in Liu Kang's hand swaying in front of us. The water under our feet seems to be rising rapidly. Originally, it was only a few hundred meters high. The road of walking seems to be endless. There were sounds of gongs beating and warnings shouting above her head, but Liuli could only hear the sound of water rushing under her feet and the heavy breathing of the people around her.

With great difficulty, I finally ran to the vicinity of Ziquan Hall, and my eyesight became brighter. I heard someone shouting, "It's the Holy Spirit coming over, Zhaoyi, hurry up!"

Everyone could not help but be shocked, and faintly saw five or six people standing at the intersection in front of them through the light of the fire. One of them was wearing a raincoat, which was naturally Wu Zetian. At this time, the floodwater had almost reached the middle of her calf, but she stood there motionless. When she saw Gaozong coming, she separated from everyone and took a few steps to meet her. Gaozong went up and took her hand. More than a dozen people surrounded the two people and ran up the mountain.

In the wind and rain, Gaozong's frightened voice could be vaguely heard, "Meiniang, you came out a long time ago. What are you waiting for me to do? What if I come here later?"

Wu Zetian's voice was very calm, but there was a decisiveness that broke the ice, "If Your Majesty has not come, Mei Niang will never come up!"

The mountain road kept going up the slope, and the flood almost followed everyone's heels. It was not until they reached the halfway point that everyone stepped on the dry and hard ground. They saw that the flat was empty except for Mrs. Wu and Ah. Ling and Cuimo were waiting there anxiously. When they saw Gaozong and Wu Zetian, everyone patted their chests and let out a sigh of relief. They hurriedly came up and led them to continue walking up. Mrs. Wu said, "Hong'er We are already in the corridor, why did you come up?"

No one answered. In the firelight, Gaozong glanced sideways at Wu Zetian, his face full of tenderness.

The group of people walked all the way up the mountain, and soon climbed up the steps of the promenade around the mountain. At this time, the promenade was densely packed with people. When Gaozong and Wu Zetian came up, everyone hurriedly made way for an open space, and a group of people Walking into the corridor, they all breathed a sigh of relief, but they immediately discovered that except Wu Zetian, who was wearing a raincoat, everyone was in a state of embarrassment. Several people were still barefoot. I don't know if they didn't have time to put them on or ran away. .

Li Hong and Yueniang were carried over, and each cried loudly when they saw their mother. After narrowly escaping from death, everyone finally calmed down from the shock. Some were sad, some were thankful, not to mention some were busy looking for someone.

Liuli quietly stepped aside, took off the rain hat on her head, and silently glanced back at the Xuanwu Gate opposite, feeling at a loss: she was now certain that without her, there was an 80% chance that Gaozong and Wu Zetian would have drowned. In the Wannian Palace - on such a rainy night, except for her, who lives in the house closest to the Xuanwu Gate on the opposite side of the mountain, and who keeps her ears open to wait for any movement, who would hear the faint warning sound? As for the palace people near Xuanwu Gate, even if they heard the warning, when the water approached Xuanwu Gate, the valley between the two mountains would have been filled with torrent. Who could survive? What is the relationship between cause and effect of time?

  Could it be that in this time and space, I am actually not a passerby at all?

The floods seemed to have stopped rising, and the fire in the pavilion was still burning brightly. The cabinets and cabinets were all made of fine mahogany, which was indeed genuine and durable... She was just thinking wildly when she heard a distant sound coming from the corridor. Hearing the noisy people, there was an anxious loud voice asking, "May I ask if the Holy Spirit is here? Are you okay?"

It was Pei Xingjian’s voice.

  p.s. Thank you to dear Yu Huo and classmate bwlli for the pink tickets, and thank you to aahhmm and classmate Le Youyang for the peace charm.

I studied the information left by the Wannian Palace and found that the topography of the Wannian Palace is indeed like this. Therefore, in such a heavy rain late at night, Xue Rengui went to the Xuanwu Gate and shouted, and he was able to scare Gaozong out of his sleep in the yard on the other side of the mountain. It was indeed true. Something magical...

 (End of this chapter)