C4

One year later.

I have not been out of the palace since I entered the palace, and although I have been familiar with court life for a year, the return of spring to the land and the fragrance of birds and flowers will inevitably remind me of my life in the country, poor but free and at ease.

Add to that the fact that the dog often whispers in my ear about my hometown, my heart is even more anxious to leave the palace.

But Queen Dugu's court was very strict. No one could resist her. If there was no reason to convince her, we would not be able to leave.

I gloomily played with the brush in my hand. Sometimes, the only thing I could do to make myself happy was to draw circles on the dog's face with the brush. But no matter how boring the game was, I would get bored and throw the brush on the ground, pouting and sulking.

"Yo, who's the one that pissed big sister Ling'Er off like that?" A melodious voice sounded from behind her. She didn't even need to turn around to guess that it was Li Jun.

"Jun'er, don't cause trouble. I'm tired of this!" I pushed Li-Jun's hand away from my eyes.

Lijun wore a pink blouse, a new green skirt down to her ankles, really a peach and willow green.

"What is sister annoying about? Do you want to be my sister-in-law as soon as possible? "Hee hee." Li Jun scratched her cheek and teased me.

I shyly turned my face away and snorted, ignoring her.

"Good elder sister, don't bother. The peach blossoms of the Peach Blossom Garden are blooming. How about we go and fold a few?" Lijun had always been lively, so she had always been compatible with a country girl like me. Hearing her say this, I couldn't keep my face straight any longer and hurriedly turned my head to say:

"Really?" The park is located at the far end of the palace, and since it is far from our palace, we rarely go there.

"Why would I lie to you!"

The flowers of the Peach Garden have all bloomed. Last month, when I came, there were only a few flower buds. At that time, I was still complaining that if it were in our Jiangnan, it would have bloomed long ago.

The peach blossoms were gorgeous and the scent of flowers was overwhelming, and I followed Li-jun through the bushes, worrying the cat and the dog until we were out of breath.

Cat was not called Cat, she was Lijun's personal maid. Since Lijun knew that my little follower was called Dog, she forced her maid to change her name, saying that it was for the sake of the scenery.

After playing for half a day, the cat and dog were hugging a bunch of peach blossoms while the four of us sat on the ground covered with petals to rest.

"In the end, it's not as fragrant as the peach blossoms on our mountain." The dog sniffed the peach blossom and muttered.

"Of course not." I sighed. I felt guilty about the dog, and because of my stubbornness he became a eunuch overnight. I wondered if he had ever resented me.

In any case, he was my closest companion in the country, and my thoughts were drawn back to the country. The wild peaches the dogs had picked for me were green and yellow, but they were so sweet in their sweetness that even the various fruits of the palace were no less than the wild peaches.

"Big sister Ling'Er, big sister?" Lijun's hand waved back and forth in front of my eyes, and I realized that I was lost in thought again.

"Elder sister seems to have a heavy load on her mind. Can you tell me about it with Lijun?" she asked me, blinking her clear eyes.

I mumbled that I was homesick.

Even if the empress and others were to ask, I would skillfully change the topic. In their minds, what I would miss would definitely be my Southern Beams Palace, but only dog would know my true thoughts. The two of us would miss the same place.

"Your Highness, our Princess was bored to death in the palace." The dog interrupted.

"Oh? Does my sister want to go out to play? " Li Jun raised her eyebrows and asked.

"So what if I want to? In the end, I can't leave. Even if I go out, I'll still be surrounded by servants. The rules are strict, so what's the difference between them and the palace?" I said.

Li Jun gave a sly smile and whispered into my ear, "I have a way to sneak out."

"Really?!" Doggie and I asked at the same time, pleasantly surprised.

Shh!" A finger on her lips stopped us both.

The next day, two young masters were standing at the entrance of the Peach Blossom Garden, one bookkeeper, and one servant girl. Four young men were standing at the entrance of the Peach Blossom Garden, struggling to push open a clump of grass on the palace walls.

"Why is there a small hole here?"

Li Jun giggled and said:

"This is our secret, I discovered while following the fifth brother."

Although the Peach Blossom Garden was remote, how could there be a hole that was not discovered by the steward and the servant in charge of the garden? Noticing my confusion, Li Jun explained:

"Don't worry, this place is at the edge of the imperial palace. The royal father and mother only come here once or twice a year, and the steward here has already been bribed by me and the fifth imperial brother."

I still felt that it was a little strange. "Are you not afraid that someone outside will find out and bring criminals into the palace?"

Li Jun mysteriously smiled and ignored me. She used her hand to dig a few times into the interior of the small hole before the stone door suddenly opened by itself. So there was actually a mechanism inside.

The four of us ducked out of the little hole, and beyond the palace wall was nothing but desolation, not a soul to be seen. I watched her turn the switch, and the hole closed, like the walls of a palace anywhere, without the slightest sign of movement.

Could this be the legendary secret passage? It is said that every large house like the palace will have its own secret passage for emergency use. However, since Big Sui Zi has settled the four seas, this small cave is naturally useless. Who would have thought that we would be able to sneak out of the palace and use it.

This was the first time I had seen such a bustling scene. The wide street, the surrounding street shops, the various stalls, and the juggling near the road. When I was young in the countryside, my father often brought me to the market place, but the small town of South Ridge was like heaven and earth compared to the bustling city of Sui City.

The dog and I were almost dazzled. Everything was so new. Cat is a native of Daxing, was chosen to be a palace maid, she is very familiar with this place, take us to walk around, the roadside fragrant food hook up with our gluttonous insects, that kind of taste is different from the various kinds of pastries in the palace, although the workmanship is a lot rougher than the exquisite food in the palace, but that one mouthful, full of fragrance taste, is really praiseworthy.

At this moment, I truly understood what it meant to live in peace and enjoy life in peace. In comparison, the palace was like a tomb made of gold bricks, and the market was the real paradise in this world.

When we had eaten enough and were tired of playing, we chose a teahouse above the attic, which was near the window, and surveyed the street. More importantly, in the open area below the tea house, there was a sideshow performing all sorts of tricks. The customers of the tea house couldn't help but cheer and throw some broken copper coins onto the stage.

We were watching with relish when we heard the clatter of horses' hooves and looked into the distance. In the midst of the rolling yellow dust, three unshaven men in alien clothing were sprinting in our direction. The vaudeville troupe under the tea house made way for us, and the crowd quickly retreated to the side of the road.

"Who is this person?" Why are you so arrogant? " I asked.

Li Jun curled her lips and replied:

"Judging from their clothes, they look like Turkic people. Their horses are used to rampaging on the prairie, but even I do not know how to control them."

When we saw that the vaudeville was in high spirits and was disturbed by the arrival of these Turkic people, we felt very unhappy. We had sneaked out while the empress was busy with her affairs and the affairs of the harem, and since it was getting late, we got up to pay the bill and prepared to slip back to the palace.