Late Tang

Yu Youniang knelt on the futon in front of the bronze statue of Sakyamuni Buddha in the Shamen Temple in the new town of Shamen Town, holding ten in both palms, and praying with her eyes closed very devoutly.The hall is very quiet, this is just a side hall, and the Buddha body in the shrine is only a bronze statue as tall as a person.Standing outside the hall were two maids and two disabled veterans who had retired from the army. The hall was quiet and no one disturbed them.

While reciting prayers, Yu Youniang slowly rotated a string of sandalwood beads in her hand.

This string of sandalwood beads is a gift Li Jing gave her after returning from Liaohai last time. She is the same as the princess and Xiao Yuniang. A string of sandalwood beads.This string of Buddha beads is very precious. On the [-] sandalwood beads, there are actually [-] different Buddhas painted and carved, which are lifelike and solemn.

Although this string of Buddhist beads is definitely not comparable to the princess's Yu Ruyi and Xiao Yuniang's huge east pearl, in her heart, this string of Buddhist beads is very special to her, and she feels reluctant to leave her hands when she sees it .Since then, I have carried it with me every day, and every morning and evening I must hold the prayer beads and pray.

"Pray for the Buddha to bless the senior brother to lead the troops to defeat the invading thieves, and keep the soldiers and civilians on the island safe." After a short pause, she said softly again: "I also ask the Buddha to bless the senior brother to return from victory and be safe."

Turning the beads in his hand, he suddenly felt something different between his fingers.

She looked down, but was in a daze.

It was a ring, and Datang called it a ring.The gold ring is inlaid with a huge and dazzling diamond.This ring was also a gift that Li Jing brought back from Liaohai last time, and it was given to his wife Gui Niang as one of the many gifts.Li Jing was amazed at the huge diamond on this ring at the first glance. If such a complete and huge natural diamond is placed in later generations, it will definitely be a priceless treasure.But in the Tang Dynasty, diamonds seemed to be just a very common gemstone, not even as good as emerald stones.

Li Jing happily gave this diamond ring to his wife, Gui Niang, who knew that Gui Niang was not very happy.On the contrary, she liked those very ordinary accessories such as hairpins and step rocks, but she didn't like this diamond ring at all.In the end, without even asking Li Jing, he gave the diamond ring to Yu Youniang directly.

Afterwards, Wang Guiniang replied to Li Jing, only saying that rings and earrings are accessories that Hu people are used to, and Han people don't like to use these accessories.After asking for a long time, Li Jing realized that earrings and rings were rarely worn by Han people in Tang Dynasty.Because of the Confucian saying, the parents of the Han people dare not harm their bodies and skins, which is the beginning of filial piety.Therefore, things like ear piercing are not praised.For a long time, the Han people before the Tang Dynasty rarely wore earrings, and ear piercing was used as a punishment.Those who wear earrings are either barbarians in the south or barbarians in the north. In the eyes of the Han people, these barbarians destroy their bodies regardless of gender, and wear earrings.

The same is true for rings. Han people seldom wear earrings and rings.During the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, Hu Feng was very popular, and it was popular to wear Hu Yi. The upper-class ladies and kabuki dancers in brothels also began to wear earrings and rings.However, in the mid-to-late Tang Dynasty, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty began to advocate the uniforms of the Han Dynasty again, and issued several decrees to ask the common people in the world to change Hu Xi.After that, Hu Feng decreased greatly, and Han Feng flourished again.These earrings and rings are purely jewelry, and are generally used for funeral purposes.Occasionally someone wears it, either a noble concubine or a kabuki dancer. Like the Tang Dynasty's topless dress, it has become exclusive to the court, the upper-class wealthy ladies, and the women in the brothel and music workshop.Ordinary people, if they are not of Hu ethnicity, basically do not use these jewelry.Especially rings, even if they are worn, they are usually worn on top of necklaces.

Now that Wang Guiniang has become the general's wife, she has started to learn etiquette everywhere, so naturally she doesn't want to be rude.So she gave this ring as a gift to Yu Youniang. Although she didn't like Li Huier and Yu Youniang's beautiful unmarried women staying in Shamen Town, they often came to visit her.But relatively speaking, among the three women, she still likes Yu Youniang, the husband's junior sister.

Yu Youniang was very happy to receive this ring. She once heard Li Jing say by chance that the ring symbolized love.Especially for married couples, each of them wears a pair of rings, which is even more beautiful.

The ring on her hand is not just a single one, there is another ring on Li Jing's hand, which is a pair.

She didn't know if Wang Guiniang knew the story about this ring, but she was very happy to get this pair of rings.She put this ring on the Buddhist bead, and could stroke it several times every day.Every time it was her turn to get on the ring, she would involuntarily lose her mind a little bit.Every time, she would think of the story of the ring that Li Jing mentioned, that diamonds are forever, and a diamond will last forever.Love is stronger than gold, love is like diamonds.

In the beginning, Li Huier forced her to come to Qingning Township and Shamen Township.But now, she suddenly couldn't bear to leave.If you don't see that figure every day, you will always feel that you have lost something.

"Bless senior brother and come back safely!" Yu Youniang finished her last prayer and just got up when she heard a hurried voice coming in: "Young lady, your wish has been granted. That guy Li Jing was really defeated The enemy army has now captured Daxie Village and wiped out the fleet in Duli Town."

"Ah, is it true?" Yu Youniang looked happy, but immediately remembered something, and hesitated to speak.

"Don't be embarrassed, don't you just want to ask Li Jing how he is now?" Li Huier suddenly pointed out what Yu Youniang wanted to say but was too embarrassed to say it.Two red clouds flew up on Yu Youniang's face, and she looked at Li Huier expectantly.

"Don't worry, Li Jing is fine, he won a big battle, and he didn't even hurt a single hair. Now he is leading people to celebrate in Daxie Village. He doesn't have time to think about you at this time."

"Princess, what are you talking about? Keep talking nonsense, and I'll tear your mouth apart." Yu Youniang said angrily, a little annoyed.But when he heard in his heart that he was fine, he felt relieved for no reason, and his whole body became cheerful, and started to fight with Li Huier.

After some squabbling, the two women leaned together and laughed.

"Young lady, tell me the truth, do you like that guy Li Jing?" Li Huier had already seen some tricks, but she never pointed it out.Now it looks better, but it seems to be getting deeper and deeper.Not only did he take the string of Buddhist beads that Li Jing gave him as a pawn, but he carried it with him every day.Now there is another ring on the Buddhist bead, she recognizes this ring, it is a pair with the one in Li Jing's hand.It was originally given by Li Jing to his wife, Gui Niang, but Gui Niang passed it on to You Niang.Li Hui'er also heard Li Jing's love story about the diamond ring, which was heard on their way back to Qingning Township together.

Now that Yu Youniang is wearing this ring so preciously, the meaning of it is self-evident.

Yu Youniang's mood suddenly became a little depressed. He raised his head and chuckled softly, "Ji Yu is my father's favorite student and my senior brother. We are just brothers and sisters."

"Don't deceive yourself, do you really think so?"

"So what if it's not like this? I hate to meet when I was not married! I finally understand the meaning of this sentence until now. Senior brother has wives and concubines, and he treats them very well, which is enviable."

Li Huier sighed: "It's good that you understand, and don't forget, even if Li Jing didn't marry a wife, you still have a marriage contract with the Lu family, have you forgotten?"

When Yu Youniang heard the word Lu Jia, her complexion changed, and she instantly turned pale.These two words will always be a pain in her heart. Originally, she had forgotten about this matter since he had been in Shamen Town for so long.I didn't expect that when Li Huier mentioned it, his reaction would still be so big.

"I just received a letter from the servant my father sent to accompany Song Xi, including a letter from you. It was sent by Yu Shibo from Guanzhong, saying that he wanted to take you back to Guanzhong. The person in your family is still alive, but he is very down and out. He came to your house and said that he wanted to complete the marriage contract. Shibo, he doesn't want to be accused by the world."

She didn't continue to say the following words, but the meaning was that she already understood.The family was demoted, and the fiancé whose father and uncle committed suicide on the way to exile in fear of sin suddenly appeared.He came to the door to get married, Yu Yu was a man of integrity, when the Lu family gained power and the Yu family lost power, Yu Youniang had reached the age of marriage, but the Lu family did not mention this matter at all.Now the situation of the two families is reversed, but the Lu family has come to the door again.

"No, I won't go back." Yu Youniang said resolutely, with a pale face, biting her lips tightly. "I want to stay in Shamen Town. Even if my father no longer recognizes me as a daughter, I don't want to marry that dude from the Lu family. I didn't want to marry at the beginning, and I don't even want to marry now."

Sure enough, Li Huier knew in her heart that she didn't want to go back because the Lu family was a scumbag.If in the past, she didn't have these emotional entanglements with Li Jing, even though she felt bitter in her heart, she would still obey Shi Bo's arrangement in the end.But now his attitude is so firm, it must be because of Li Jing.

It's just that although Li Huier is also willing to support Yu Youniang's relationship, she is not optimistic about her relationship with Li Jing.She almost understood that Yu Youniang met Li Jing only on wishful thinking.And Li Jing must have been aware of this feeling, but he refused to respond, which actually explained the result.

"Silly sister, even if you don't want to marry that person from the Lu family, your love for Li Jing will never be reciprocated. If you think about it carefully, Li Jing already has a wife and concubine, not to mention that he has a good relationship with his wife and concubine. Even if he I am willing to respond to your wish, but in what capacity are you with Li Jing? Will he divorce his wife and marry you? Do you want to be his concubine? Think about the status of the Yu family. , and a prime minister. Can a daughter of such a family marry a little general like Li Jing as a concubine?"

"If the two feelings last for a long time, how can they be there day and night." Facing Li Huier's persuasion, Yu Youniang suddenly raised her head and murmured a sentence.Li Huier immediately recognized that this sentence was the last sentence of the last poem Li Jing read when he told the legendary story of the diamond ring.The utterance of this sentence has already made Li Huier understand that this girl is determined, and it is estimated that it will be useless for her to say more.

Chang Han said, Li Huier could only smile wryly and stop trying to persuade her.I secretly prayed to the Buddha statue in the temple in my heart, hoping that the Buddha would bless the wishful thinking of the young lady, and finally return to her love!

(To be continued)