Thus, my first "private visit" with Yueze ended with a sweep of the door. But Yueze seemed to be very happy, holding my hand as we ran through the streets late at night. Summer nights were full of flowers and the air was fragrant, and he was laughing triumphantly in the wind, his hearty laughter echoing through the streets. In the palace, I had never seen him laugh so loudly and happily. I couldn't help but ask, "Yueze, why do you rarely laugh in the palace?"
Yue Ze paused before replying faintly, "Because in the palace, I am the emperor."
I know that as an emperor, he is the epitome of the common people of this world. Every single move he makes, every single frown and smile he makes, countless pairs of eyes would stare at him. As his female officer, I already knew all this. I suddenly felt a sense of melancholy, because I really liked to see him laugh. Hearing his laughter, my mood was like a bird flying into the clouds.
I stopped by a willow tree on the side of the street. I leaned against the tree trunk, tilted my head and looked at him. "Yueze, I really hope you can be this happy!"
Yueze smiled again, walked over, and gently stroked my long hair. "I will, I will. Once I unite the world, you can give birth to a child for me. Once we raise the child into the crown prince, we can then hand the world over to him … When that happens, we'll live in seclusion, okay? "Ling'er, I will accompany you every day and listen to Yuchuan with you. I will make you so happy every day, okay?"
His words were as sweet as honey, and as soft as spring water. I nodded my head heavily, and then threw myself into his arms with a great deal of joy.
When we kissed under the willow tree, Yue Ze's eyes were gentle and intoxicated, like the entanglement of ten thousand strands of willow silk. In the fragrance of Mulan, my mind gradually became a little absent-minded, as if I had seen such eyes many years ago and also drunk in such a gentle and generous embrace … It must have been my previous life.
I must have seen him before in my past life.
Yueze and I cuddled gently in the night wind and sat down together on the grass under the willow tree. He wrapped me in his arms and let me lean against his chest, enjoying this rare moment of peace. The summer bugs were chirping all around me, and there was the sound of frogs by the lake. It was such a beautiful summer night, so I felt more relaxed and tired … I felt like I was going to fall asleep again, but the gentle evening breeze brought with it the singing of the alleyway, and in my ears I heard Du Liniang moaning and moaning, lamenting herself: "Just for this beauty, all for the ruin of the well..."
Slowly I closed my eyes and everything went quiet.
Then, suddenly, someone nudged me on the shoulder and said softly, "My lady, my lady!"
The man was gentle but persistent, and I woke up in a dream. He suddenly raised his head, only to discover that he was still in the Agarwood Palace!
When everything came back to reality, the performance at the Joyous Union Hall was still ongoing. However, that movie had already ended and another explosive and passionate Siamese dance had been performed.
It turned out that I was drunk just now and fell asleep on the table. I just saw Yueze in a dream.
My loss of composure had surprised the ladies around me, but it was only a moment of surprise, and they quickly covered it up and continued their drinking and chatting. The ladies of the nobility who sat beside me, who had never seen me before, and who saw that I was dressed in a dull and plain manner, regarded me only as an unfavoured concubine of the palace. How could I have fallen asleep at a party? Was he drunk? My alcohol tolerance wasn't small before, but why am I so drunk today?
Recalling the song I just heard in my dreams, I couldn't help but feel a little sad … Everyone is drunk, but I did not expect to have this day.
At this moment, the young woman who had been pushing me gave me a bow. "Excuse me, Your Highness. Please forgive me."
Only then did I notice her. Previously, I thought that she was just an ordinary young miss who came to attend the banquet, but due to her kindness, she pushed me away from the table. But at this moment, she has been standing by my side, unwilling to leave. Could it be that she has something to talk to me about?
I looked at her in astonishment, and found that she was the young woman who had been performing in the stage before! Now that the show was over, and I'd been asleep and hadn't noticed her leaving with her father, she came to my table. What was she up to?
I looked at her doubtfully. She smiled at me politely and humbly and said, "Please forgive this servant for daring to come forward. Please forgive me, Your Highness. This servant had heard Lady Chan's introduction just now and had said that Lady Lan was a noble person from the Southern Yu Country, so he had taken the liberty to come and disturb her. "I heard that Empress Dowager was alone in the Cang Wu Imperial Palace and somewhat missed home, so esteemed imperial concubine Chan specifically ordered us servants to perform alone for her. I hope esteemed Empress can honor us with some face."
So the Chan Consort had already discovered my arrival, and even arranged a performance for me alone? I was a little touched in my heart, and when I looked over to the main seat of the Acacia Hall, Chan Fei was indeed looking in this direction. When she saw me looking at her, she even raised her glass in a gesture of greeting. Of course, there would naturally be other noblewomen by my side who would respond respectfully. Yan Hua was still sitting beside her, but his attention was not on her.
I think that Chan Concubine helped me arrange this performance alone, and it shouldn't be as simple as just listening to a little tune, right? She had taken the initiative to be nice to me during the day, and this time she had put so much thought into it.
I decided to meet her.
The Acacia Hall was to the side of the lake, and there was a water pavilion that was set up obliquely. Although the pavilion was connected to the main hall, there was a veil and a screen that hung over it. This was a place where one could enjoy the scenery of the lake. It was a place with an entirely different world.
I was invited by the young actress to the pavilion to listen to the play, but several noble ladies who were sitting near me followed. They felt that the drama of Nan Yu was very interesting, so they wanted to continue listening. I had no choice. They didn't know that Chan had arranged this for me alone, and I didn't want to attract Yan Hua's attention. So, they could only smile and invite them together. The young actress did not show any emotion and asked us to settle down in the pavilion. Then she stood in the middle of the stage and began to play the song with a serious expression on her face. Due to the imperial harem's rule that only the emperor was allowed to be with the imperial concubines, her father didn't accompany her this time.
The female actress was playing and singing in the middle of the pavilion. Her voice was light and distant, and Hu Qin's voice was drifting with the wind. On the surface of the lake, it seemed especially bitter. The aristocratic ladies burst into tears as they listened, for this time, the actress was singing a song about how to make a comeback. After the song ended, everyone's minds were filled with thoughts and thoughts. Only I didn't shed a tear.
I'm not the one who got out and kissed, and although I know what she means, my mood is completely different from that. I urgently want to know the identity of this actress right now. What exactly does she and Fei Chan want to do?
The actress stopped and said with a smile, "This servant didn't add any elegance to the nobles' mood, but caused the nobles to become unhappy. Now that I've punished myself, I'll perform another interesting act for the nobles."
She stood up, singing and performing. What they saw was her beautiful face suddenly changing, turning into a white-haired old woman. At the same time, her voice also changed to a hoarse old voice! Everyone was praising her because the speed at which she changed her face was just too fast. In just a blink of an eye, she had become a completely different person!