box of hearts

Chapter 112 Drunken Taiping (2)
"Sure enough, the ingenuity is unique and unique." Qingtian looked into the distance, and saw the mellow autumn scenery amidst the splendor of the hall, it was fine wine in a golden cup, and one smell was intoxicating.

Sun Xiuda raised his hand again and gestured at the side, "My lady, look east from here again, do you see it? In the middle of the lake is another famous scenic spot 'Yaohuazhou', which is actually an isolated island accessible only by boat. , the island is famous for its superb forests. It is named because there are hundreds of Yao gardens, which are as brilliant as Yaohua in flower time. There are not only camellias, magnolias, pomegranates, rhododendrons, peonies, chrysanthemums, green plums, etc., but also The flower species tributed by the Ryukyu Kingdom can also bloom gorgeous flowers in the ice and snow. The best blooming at this time is the hibiscus, which is available in white, pink, red, and yellow. One color in the afternoon and one color in the evening. There are pavilions and pavilions for viewing flowers all over the island, and spending half a day there is considered the happiest in life.”

Looking across the water, you can see a Xiangzhou, and the shadows of flowers are like sunsets.Looking at the Qingtian railing, the eyes are full of fascination, "Just looking at it here is so beautiful, it is really like Penglai fairyland, a fairyland in the world."

Sun Xiuda smiled slightly, "Your Majesty can go to the island in person in a while, and the dock is right in front. Let's turn out from here, first take a look at the theater building and the dormitory, and get on the boat right next to the pond, okay?"

"It's so good." Qing Tian turned his face, smiling brightly like a sea of ​​flowers.

Sun Xiuda didn't dare to look too much, so he quickly lowered his head, "Your Majesty, come here, be careful under your feet."

Going east along the flower fence for a little half a mile, crossing an arch bridge over a valley, and crossing several Fenyuan repair houses, a white marble arch stands impressively in front of you.Sun Xiuda embraced the doorknob, "The word 'Fu' on this door is written by Emperor Gaozu's imperial pen. It was bestowed by the current emperor on the prince, and it was specially moved here from the imperial garden in Da Nei. After passing this door, it is Middle Road Garden, the theater building is in the garden.”

The ancient trees in the garden are towering, the mountains are piled high, and it is a different scene from the winding path and terrace in front.After turning around in the corridor, you can see a three-story high-rise building with dragon patterns and tiger veins from a long distance. When you get closer, you can see the big golden plaque on the tower platform - "Yuanxin Pavilion".

Qingtian lightly raised his hand to cover the bright sunlight in the near noon, and a corundum ring in his hand glowed softly, "Surely this is the theater building?"

"Exactly." Sun Xiuda's mouth began to flutter again, "There was only one floor in this theater building. It was the prince who said that the empress is an expert in Kunqu opera. This place is the most sloppy. Specially called a skilled craftsman to design the appearance on the original site. It was rebuilt. Needless to say, the stage and play room, the most ingenious thing is that there are three large copper vats and five large wells buried under the stage. These vats are used to gather sound, making the sound far and bright. The underground well The function is even better, it is to hide the end of the masonry [1], it is the most beautiful when performing those auspicious plays or fairy plays, such as "Di Yong Jin Lian", the golden lotus is hidden in the well, and then winched to the stage with a winch, and the petals one by one The Buddha is sitting inside the flower. Alas, I have a stupid mouth, so I can’t say it. When Ming’er and Hou’er are energetic, just call a few teams from Wanwan Hutong and let them pretend a few times. Then you will know what’s going on. Wonderful."

"Hearing what the butler said so well, I'm really going to be addicted to drama."

"Haha, the best is yet to come. Go out from the side door on the south side of the garden, and you will find the prince and empress' sleeping hall 'near the fragrance hall'. The little one will take the empress there, and the empress will rest and eat there by the way. Tea."

From the Yuanxin Pavilion of the Theater Building to the Jinxiang Hall of the Sleeping Hall, it took about one mile.Fortunately, along the way, Fengxuan Songliao and Huitang Qulan are enough to make people forget the fatigue under their feet.Passing over a Chongge with a golden animal face and a colorful chi head, Sun Xiuda hurriedly said, "This is the main hall. The prince thought it was too old-fashioned, so he chose a side hall to live in another place, just go out from this verandah."

Out of the veranda, I saw a flower barrier, and a circle to the left is Jinxiangtang.Yutang’s rich and luxurious hanging column flower gate, there are several rocks in the courtyard, crabapple, plantain, and a few acacia and hibiscus. road.Qingtian was overjoyed when he saw it, and entered the hall, facing five halls with excellent light, only separated by red sandalwood multi-treasure lattices, with some calligraphy and paintings hanging on the walls.She looked at them one by one, and all of them were Huai Su and Mi Fu whom she liked, and a slight smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.Just as he was about to explore the tip, Mu Yun, who was walking behind him, let out an "ah!" It turned out that the cat in his arms suddenly jumped off the ground and ran to the first floor.Qing Tian called out "Zai Yu", and followed closely, followed by Mu Yun and the six maidservants.After chasing for about ten steps, I saw Bai Ying drilled twice, and then disappeared, so Qingtian stopped and smiled, "Come on, don't look for it, I can't lose it anyway, I will come out by myself after a while." It's gone." Mu Yun also smiled while brushing the cat fur sticking to his sleeves, "This damn thing seems to know it wants to live here."

After hearing this sentence, Qingtian remembered to take a closer look at this room.It is quite different from the elegance of the front hall. The walls on all sides are covered with very fine light gold powder, as if the sunlight falls here and stays here, shining gently.In the delicate fragrance and tranquility, there are several pearl curtains hanging deeply, and outside the curtains are carved nanmu flower trunks, for storing books, for setting tripods, for offering flowers, for ampoules, with patterns or assorted, or ancient, exquisitely chiseled, pasted. Gold embedded treasure.She walked around a gauze cabinet at will, and saw that there was a door to the left, and a path to the right. After a while, she suddenly saw Sun Xiuda running from the front, but when she got closer, a voice sounded behind her. It turned out to be the reflection of a huge Jinkuang Palace-style glass mirror.Qing Tian turned around, and laughed first, "Don't joke, Chief Steward, I actually lost my way in the house."

Sun Xiuda was a little out of breath, wiped his forehead and laughed, "The partition here is ingenious, and anyone who comes here for the first time will not be able to distinguish things." Then he pushed the big mirror, and the mirror turned again. It is an abstruse room with a slightly astringent ink fragrance. The two walls are leaning against six-storey green bamboo bookshelves. There is a large case near the window. There are no less than ten boxes of wax paper, cold gold, lacquered gold, rib, lacquered gold and silver painting, calendered paper, etc.Qingtian couldn't help going forward to play with it, but Sun Xiuda still followed, eloquently said: "The room I'm in now is a calligraphy room. The prince said that my mother's calligraphy is superb, and she also loves to practice calligraphy on weekdays, so this room is specially set up. This bookshelf The above are all masters' calligraphy posts from past dynasties. Although there are some manuscripts, there are quite a lot of exquisite chiseled copies. Even Emperor Wu of Liang's "Different Interests Post" and Song Taizong's "Chicai Xing" are here, all of which were bestowed by the emperor. The prince specially asked someone to take it from the palace and put it here for the empress to appreciate." Then he stretched out his hand again, with a mysterious look on his face, "Empress, please open this window again and have a look—"

The windows are wide and high, carved with four-phase precious flowers, and as soon as they are opened, a fragrant wind blows on the face.This Jinxiang Hall is actually a water pavilion, half on the shore and half in the water. Outside the window is a painting pavilion facing Guangchi. In one window, the blue sky, clear water, lotus and waterfowl are just like natural hanging paintings.

Mu Yun came to the window to have a look, and was so happy that she even raised her voice a lot: "If the girl's eyes are sore from writing, if you open the window and look at it like this, then you won't be tired at all."

"This big sister said it well." Sun Xiuda approached, and then made fun of, "Don't underestimate this window, it can not only relieve the eyes, but also relieve the ears."

Mu Yun was amazed, "Hey, that's weird, how do you relieve your ears?"

Qingtian's curiosity was also aroused, "Don't be secretive, Chief Steward, just tell us quickly."

Sun Xiuda arched in front of the window again, and poked his hand straight out, "Mistress, look there, do you see the small copper pavilion among the lotus leaves in the water? There is a stone bridge behind the pavilion, which leads directly to the west end of Yaohuazhou. Another island in the center of the lake. There is a troupe of small operas in the garden, all of whom are twelve or thirteen-year-old girls. They eat, live, and practice all on the island. No matter what time of the day, as long as the empress summons, the island will be filled immediately. There will be Xiao Ling going to the pavilion to sing for the empress across the water, and there are always qin masters ready-made. The empress just writes the post here, while listening to the melody sent from afar on the water. So that pavilion is called 'Yingyin Pavilion'."

Qingtian heard it, and put his hands together on his chest, "My God, who thought of this!"

Sun Xiuda took two steps back, and gently opened a colorful silk beside the bookshelf, which turned out to be a secret door leading directly to the outside.He pushed open the small door and gestured with a smile, "This is man-made, and even more natural. Empress, come here."

Go around the water corridor twice, turn around a sandalwood screen with a passionflower reaching the sky, and then re-enter the inner room.Behind the beaded and silver gauze tent, there is a small character "Tianquanshe" hanging.Qingtian was even more surprised, "Tianquan? Could it be that there is spring water in this room?"

"My lady guessed it right." Sun Xiuda went straight in. The room looked like a leisure pavilion, with incense tripods, big tables, and dragon chairs at one end, and a guqin on the qin table in the corner.There was a square brick with a copper ring on the ground next to the piano table. Sun Xiuda squatted down and pulled it, and saw that the bottom of the square brick was a whole piece of copper cover, covering a small well.

"This well is an ancient relic of the Song Dynasty. It does not dry up all year round. The water quality is sweet. In midsummer, when the new fruits are soaked in this water for a while, they are refreshingly cool and sweet when eaten. On weekdays, they are only drawn out with wooden barrels, and the pine The charcoal is boiling, and the tea brewed is full of fragrance. All the tea in this room is boiled with this well water. Young smoke girl, you can go and get two cups for the empress to taste. Empress, let’s come this way , my lord and your bedroom are here."

(End of this chapter)