spring flowers

Chapter 6
The Jingbei Palace in Zhaojing is located at the foot of Fushan Mountain in the north of the city. It is unexpectedly large, covering an area of ​​hundreds of acres, with carved beams and painted buildings, Luo Wei embroidered racks, green tiles and vermilion tiles, and is extravagant.It is said that Emperor Yan spent two years building it specially for the third prince to become king.The servants of the Jingbei Palace are always proud that their prince is so honored and favored by the emperor, but only a few people know that it is actually a flower cage.

Meilin lives in Shuanglin Courtyard, and there are two other women in the same courtyard, one named Jiangtu and the other named Lianxiu, who are also Murong Jinghe's women.On the contrary, Ah Dai, who came with her, did not live together.

On the day she moved in, Jiang Tu was sitting in front of her own window as a female celebrity. When she looked up and saw her, she was startled at first, and then lowered her head expressionlessly and continued to do her own work.After everything settled down, she dragged Lianxiu over.Their attitudes were surprisingly friendly, Lianxiu even took out her newly cut autumn clothes when she learned that Meilin had nothing to change.

"The people in these nearby courtyards are not as good as the middle-class maids around the prince, so what's there to argue about?" Jiang Tu said.

Murong Jinghe has many women, and every once in a while the palace will reward a few beauties, and other officials will also send him some stunning beauties from time to time, plus his own gains from hunting for beauties in the Qin Lou Chu Pavilion.Counting it, the number of Chinese and Americans in the huge Jingbei palace is probably not inferior to that of the emperor's harem.No wonder he always looks too drunk.

So Meilin knew that she was very far away from Murong Jinghe now, so far away that she might not be able to see him even if she stayed in this place for the rest of her life.This possibility made her feel a little bit annoyed while she breathed a sigh of relief.If she couldn't get close to him, the information she could gather would be very limited.Fortunately, she didn't pay too much attention to this matter, and quickly put it aside.

Jiang Tu and the others left after not staying for long, and Mei Lin walked around the room, and was extremely satisfied with the spacious and bright room that was divided into two entrances, inside and outside.It was the first time she had a room of her own, and it was well-lit.

A few old branches with sparse and half-dead leaves stretched out of the window of the bedroom. She couldn't recognize what kind of tree it was, but maybe in the next spring, delicate and beautiful flower buds would grow on it.

Thinking of this possibility, Mei Lin couldn't help the joy in his heart, walked over carefully and closed the door, turned around and threw himself on the bed, rolled twice on the soft mattress, then lay on his side with his arms pillowed on it, smiling Admiring the brown branches of Zhu Chuang, imagining the scene of the branches full of flowers, I feel that everything is extremely beautiful.

There is a dry smell of sunshine on the quilt, which seems to envelop the person in it, and the drowsiness gradually rises.

In a trance, I returned to the damp and cold prison. The darkness invaded like a nightmare, and the surroundings were filled with stench and depressing sighs, as well as other curses and laughter...

"Amei, you're having a nightmare." She was shaken roughly and said words of concern.

Meilin opened her eyes, and saw a young and handsome woman standing in front of the bed with frowning eyebrows and pursed mouth. She was a little dazed, and couldn't remember where she was or who was in front of her.

"Get up, wash your face and eat." The woman ignored her, turned around and walked towards the window, closing the window and saying to herself, "It's hard to get used to a new place. Don't sleep with the window open, this is a peach tree , easy to attract nightmares..."

Hearing her babble, Meilin's beating heart slowly calmed down, and only then did she remember that it was Jiangtu.

"So it's a peach tree..." She sat up on her back, muttering in a low voice, her back was wet with cold.

That place, she thought, since she came out, she would never go back.

The life in the Jingbei Palace is very leisurely, and there is no shortage of food and clothing. It is said that the palace allocates a large amount of silver every year for the Jingbei King to squander.Thinking of Emperor Yan's expression when he saw Murong Jinghe that day, and comparing the treatment he received, Mei Lin was really puzzled.

But these were not her turn to worry about.On the first night when she came here, she used the method instructed in the kit to sift through and summarize all kinds of information she had obtained, and passed it on. The antidote she got in exchange did not begin to work until a full day after the onset of toxicity in her body.

The best antidote is effective when the toxicity occurs, making people feel no pain at all, followed by two hours, and the worst is four hours, eight hours, and one day.From this it was proved that all her brainwork was worthless.That day, she was afraid of frightening others, so she had to find an excuse to lock herself in the house until the toxicity subsided.After eating a full stomach the next day, she became lively again, and she showed no remorse for her perfunctory behavior.

It's not that she has a good impression of Murong Jinghe or that she is too afraid to hit him, but that she feels that the pain can still be overcome, and there is no need to take too much risk.It is probably because she is more capable of enduring pain, that's why she has become an outlier among the dead who are not allowed to have their own thoughts.

Mei Lin thought that she would just dawdle like this until the end of the mission, or the organization couldn't tolerate it.But the reality is often unsatisfactory. No matter how well she behaves and keeps her voice quiet, she will still be remembered by people after all.

It was not others who missed her, but Makino Luomei who had met once.

It turned out that the two hadn't seen each other since that day, and Makino Luomei had forgotten her.Unexpectedly, she would meet Murong Xuanlie at a banquet after returning to Beijing. Murong Xuanlie inadvertently mentioned what happened that day. Only then did she know that the woman who had no strength to restrain a chicken walked out of the mountain forest unscathed. It piqued her interest.So she found an opportunity to borrow someone while Murong Jinghe was courting her.An insignificant person, Murong Jinghe, of course had no reason not to agree, and immediately sent Qing Yan to look for him.

To be honest, Murong Jinghe couldn't remember who Muye Luomei wanted, but Qing Yan remembered it clearly, otherwise it would take a lot of work.

The Qingyan is Murong Jing and the celebrities around him, and there are not many people in the palace who don't know him.When he walked into Shuanglin Courtyard, several nearby courtyards were visibly commotioned, and everyone was guessing the purpose of his visit.

Mei Lin was hiding in her room, carefully flipping through an old medical book she got from somewhere.She can't leave the palace, and she doesn't have any extra money to find someone to detoxify her body, not to mention the poison of the organization is not something ordinary people can detox, so she can only rely on herself.Of course she knew that this was basically impossible for people who knew nothing about medical skills, but since the result would not be worse, she might as well try.

Qing Yan stood by the door and coughed twice before she heard it, and raised her eyes to see the fair and handsome young man, her brows were slightly frowned, and then she smiled and stood up to salute.

"I've met my father-in-law." She actually has a good impression of this mean-speaking and always arrogant servant, but having a good impression does not mean that she likes to see him appear.After all, he was with Murong Jing and the people around him, so he would not come to see a woman of no status in the backyard for no reason.

It has to be said that Meilin has been trained as a slayer for so many years, and her sensitivity to the surrounding things is indeed different from that of ordinary people.

Qing Yan glanced at the book in her hand, then looked at the simple and clean room, and said slowly: "Clean up, just follow me."

Mei Lin was startled, and wanted to ask, but stopped when she saw his expression with lowered eyes and no intention to say more.Turning back to the room, she packed up the two changes of clothes and put the books in. After looking reluctantly at the peach branches outside the window, she resolutely turned her eyes away and walked out.

"Eunuch Yan, where are you taking Amei?" Jiangtu and Lianxiu were waiting outside, seeing Meilin carrying a bundle, they couldn't help asking.

Qing Yan raised his chin, didn't even look at the two of them from the corners of his eyes, and said calmly: "No one taught you when you entered the mansion, so it's better not to ask questions that shouldn't be asked?" While speaking, the person had already walked to the gate of the courtyard.

The two girls choked for a moment, they could only look at Meilin helplessly.

Mei Lin shook her head lightly, expressing that she didn't know, the banquet over there had already been urged, and she had to take two steps to keep up.

All the way without words.Just when he was about to reach the place, Qing Yan finally spoke.

"No matter what happens, don't forget to be a slave."

The duty of a slave...

Mei Lin was slightly startled, and then immediately realized that he was reminding himself, so he was busy and respectful, and couldn't help but increase his gratitude to him by two points.

In fact, those who are close to ink are black, and Qingyan can become Murong Jing and the closest person around him, of course he is not a good person. It is considered an exception to say such a sentence to a woman of low status, and that is because of him. Sensitivity developed from the deep inferiority complex caused by flaws, from the beginning to the end, Mei Lin failed to detect the contempt that ordinary people hide under awe.If it were someone else, I'm afraid he wouldn't even bother to say a word.

Qingyan led people to the north third floor of Tanyue Pavilion, and after reporting back, he went to do other things, and Meilin walked in alone.

From the outside, Tanyue Pavilion looks like a simple and heavy three-story wooden building. When you enter the inside, you realize that it is composed of four interconnected wooden buildings, with a small courtyard in the middle.There are only three floors in the north building, and two floors in the east, south and west.On the second floor of the South Building, the entire ground is paved with red trusses and golden tassels, which is actually a stage.In this way, you don't have to guess and know the purpose of the other three sides.

At this time, a play of unknown origin was being staged in the South Tower. A man in Tsing Yi was waving his water sleeves and babbled and sang. In the autumn sun in the afternoon, it made people drowsy.

The third floor of the north building is also an entire floor, covered with thick, soft and gorgeous brocade carpets, without any furniture, only layers of lake green tulle embroidered to create a hazy sense of space.Some soft cushions are randomly thrown on the ground, and the autumn chrysanthemums in vases are looming behind the yarn weft, and the incense is wafting, steaming and suffocating the autumn coolness.

Murong Jinghe leaned against the soft cushion, leaning on the carved wooden railing with one hand, and holding a glass of wine in the other, looking over the roof of the south building and falling on the blue lake not far away.The lake was rippling, the mountains were green, and the blue sky was vast. He squinted his eyes slightly intoxicated.The sun shone on his body without any hindrance, and the warm temperature made his face look better.Beside him, Ah Dai sat there with her legs bent, holding a fiery red mink in her arms.At a distance from them, Makino Luomei held a folding fan, was dressed in a Confucian uniform, wore a square scarf on her head, and stood leaning on a railing with her hands behind her back in men's attire.

Mei Lin hesitated for a moment, then took off her shoes and stepped onto the brocade carpet, her skirt drooping down, covering her plain socks.

"Your maidservant kowtows to the lord." She saluted from a long distance away, but did not go inside.

This sound immediately attracted the attention of the three of them.The folding fan in Makino Luomei's hands unconsciously tapped on the railing in front of her, her beautiful eyes were full of interest.Although the movement was slight, it was still captured by Murong Jinghe.The corners of his lips curled up slightly, forming an unknown smile, and then turned to Meilin.

"Come this way," he ordered.

Mei Lin was very reluctant, maybe Ah Dai would not be in any danger, but the other two were enough to make her feel dangerous.She didn't forget what happened last time. If it was another person, she might have been reincarnated into another reincarnation now.However, this level of enlightenment could not make her refuse King Jingbei's order.

Suppressing the helpless emotions in her heart, she walked in slowly with her head down, and when she raised her face, there was already a gentle smile on it.

Murong Jinghe looked at her carefully, and felt familiar, but couldn't remember any more.He looked at Makino Luomei and said, "Here comes the person, just tell her what you want her to do."

Meilin was slightly startled, she looked blankly at Makino Luomei who was wearing men's clothes but looked more and more charming, and thought to herself: What did she ask me for?Even if you are jealous, why shouldn't you eat yourself?

Seeing that the corners of Muye Luomei's lips curled slightly, she suddenly used her fan as a knife to slash at Meilin's neck.She is extremely fast, and she strikes suddenly, without giving anyone any chance to think. If it were Mei Lin before, she would rely on the instinct of a martial artist to dodge or directly attack, but now until she retracts her fan, Mei Lin Lin still stood in the same place in a daze, unaware that he had walked before the gate of hell.

In fact, Mei Lin didn't know that her martial arts were gone, but her eyesight was still there, but her movements were too slow, before she could make a move, the opponent had already stopped, so she simply pretended to be stupid.However, I felt very uneasy in my heart, worried that my identity would be suspected?

Just when she was feeling uneasy, Makino Luomei opened the fan with a "swipe", and walked out while shaking it.

"I'll take her away." This was said to Murong Jinghe, but the speaker didn't even look at him.

Mei Lin hesitated, not knowing whether to follow or not.She even said that she didn't understand what was going on until now.

"Why are you in a daze? Keep up!" Makino Luomei turned around and shouted unhappily when she realized that the person hadn't followed.

Mei Lin felt the cold sweat start to drip down her back, she couldn't help but look at Murong Jinghe, hoping that he could give herself a clear instruction.

Fortunately, this time Murong Jinghe didn't fall into deep thought as usual, he couldn't help but smile slightly when he received Meilin's questioning eyes, and suddenly reached out and grabbed her ankle hidden under the skirt, and put it in his arms pull away.Mei Lin couldn't stand stably, she was about to fall after shaking for a while, but he caught her.

"I can't let you take her away." He finally spoke, the hand still holding the wine glass wrapped around the back of Mei Lin's neck, and poured the remaining half glass of wine into her mouth.

When he finished all this and raised his head, he was facing Makino Luomei's beautiful eyes burning with dangerous anger.

"You'd better give me a reasonable explanation!" Obviously, she felt that she was being played.

Murong Jinghe knew her very well, and was not intimidated by such anger. Instead, he lowered his head and kissed the corner of Meilin's eyebrow in his arms, and then suddenly discovered that there was a small scarlet mole on the corner of the eyebrow. Leaning back in the crook of his arms, the hair on the sideburns slid down and was fully exposed, looking extremely cute under the sunlight.He was momentarily distracted by this discovery, and couldn't help sticking out his tongue and lovingly licking it.

"Murong Jinghe!" Makino Luomei's gritted teeth sounded in the empty third floor, against the background of the soft and charming Tsing Yi singing from the opposite side, it seemed extremely stiff and angry.

Murong Jinghe came back to his senses, looked at the woman in his arms for a while, then raised his eyes, and said with a smile: "Jing would not dare to give away what my father gave to others, unless..." He didn't say anything later, but the meaning was different. I understand, but naturally unless they are his family members, then they cannot be counted as others.

Hearing the meaning of the words, Makino Luomei was furious, but knowing what he said was the truth, she couldn't help but stare at the man who made no secret of her intentions, and said bitterly: "You are dreaming."

Murong Jing and Xiaoxiao were not annoyed, they unconsciously stroked the little red mole on the corner of Meilin's eyebrows with their thumbs, and said slowly: "This dream has been going on for long enough, how long do you want me to dream about?"

Mei Lin's body was uncontrollably stiff, she really wanted to push his hand away, she didn't know what was on the corner of her eyebrows, but it was really strange to be kissed and touched like this, a bit... too intimate.Hearing what he said right next to his ear at this time, even though she knew it was not meant for her, still made her heart tremble and subconsciously turned her head away.

Feeling her finger slipping away from the small mole, Murong Jing frowned slightly, but was soon distracted by Muye Luomei.

I don't know if it was touched by that sentence, or because some memories were brought back, Makino Luomei's eyes softened for a moment, but then they were filled with coldness again.Avoiding this question, she turned and walked out, leaving her words at the same time.

"It doesn't matter if you don't borrow it, I will go hunting in Zhongshan, west of the city, and take her with me." While speaking, the back view was separated by layers of veils.

Murong Jinghe looked at the wind blowing the green yarn to and fro, leaving only the unique fragrance of that person in the air, a touch of melancholy appeared in his expression, and he murmured: "Then continue to dream." Then he suddenly turned over, Pressing down the woman who was still in his arms, he reached out to brush her slightly messy temple hair.

"Let me see, how did you arouse her interest..." He teased unscrupulously, all emotions were absorbed, and he was that drunk and dreamy prince again.

Mei Lin accidentally met those half-squinted eyes, but what she didn't want to see were two beams of cold and dim light, emotionless and emotionless.

Of course, Murong Jinghe couldn't see how Meilin attracted Muye Luomei, but they kept her in his courtyard and let her accompany her for two consecutive nights.When he fell asleep, his fingers were still pressing on the brows of her, as if he was suddenly obsessed with her.

During the day, Meilin took a chance to look in the mirror, only to realize that there was a cinnabar mole the size of a grain of rice between her brow and temple.She had never noticed it before.Of course, that's not the point.The point is, he would be so obsessed with a small mole, it's... too childish.

Then, she noticed that he didn't sleep well, and every night he had to struggle until he was exhausted before falling asleep.At first, I thought he was interested in the affairs of men and women. It wasn't until I accidentally saw those calm black eyes in a certain process and paid attention to it that I realized that he hadn't been involved in it from beginning to end.It seemed that he only did those things to sleep.After falling asleep, even a slight change in breathing rate can easily wake him up.

Meilin suddenly felt that this man was very pitiful.

She used to do this often, just because maybe she was careless once, and she might never wake up again.When she lost her martial arts, she suddenly lost such worries, and finally she was able to sleep peacefully until dawn.Murong Jinghe looked glamorous and indulgent on the surface, but he didn't expect that he was always on guard in private, even worse than a commoner.

Of course, this kind of sympathy is only for a moment, and Meilin will never forget that her life is still in the hands of others.It could be seen that Makino Luomei already had doubts about her, this was the risk she had to take when she chose to return to Murong Jing and her side in the forest.But she had to come back, even if the antidote she got was slow to work, it was at least the antidote.Without an antidote, she would die an ugly death. Countless seniors had proved this to her.

Staring fixedly at a corner of the brightly lit room, Mei Lin thought of the temptation he might face the next day, and suddenly felt that his luck was really not very good.He was obviously brought back by him at the same time, so why didn't Ah Dai have as much trouble as her?
Can't you be too obedient?She was puzzled, but her body lying on her side did not dare to move.

The man's chest was pressed against her vest, and his breathing was steady and long, he should have fallen asleep.Some rough fingertips persistently pressed the corners of her eyebrows, because of this posture, nearly half of her face was covered by his warm palms.Not very comfortable, but not particularly unbearable.It's just that the candlelight that was on all night made her very uncomfortable and couldn't sleep soundly.

You can't turn off the lights, you can't sleep face to face with him, you can't lie on his back, you can't turn over... Men have so many eccentricities that sleeping with him is undoubtedly a torture.At the same time, it also proves that men are very wary.

After realizing this point, Meilin had to admit how naive he was in thinking of mixing antidote here.

The next morning, when Murong Jing and Mei Lin arrived at the agreed place with Mu Ye Luo Mei, they saw the frightening scene of flying banners and armor.

Murong Jing and Tiao Mei tightened their arms around Mei Lin's waist in their arms, put their chins on her shoulders, and muttered to themselves in a strange voice: "What kind of trick is this going to do?"

Different from the interest in his doubts, Meilin felt a strong ominous feeling in his heart, and really wanted to run away like this, instead of just slowly walking on the horse's hooves, watching helplessly as he got closer and closer to the soldiers who were practicing.

Makino Luomei rode over in jet-black soft armor and a light blue battle robe, followed by a follower holding a silver battle armor.Farther away, an unexpected figure appeared here—Murong Xuanlie let his attendants fasten the lace of his battle robe, and waved his hand to this side with a smile as a greeting.

"Today, let Muye see if the King of War, who once shocked the people, is still as handsome as ever." Coming closer, Muye Luomei said calmly, signaling the servants to present the battle armor to Murong Jinghe's horse.Although her posture was cold and indifferent, the expectation in her eyes was hard to hide.

Unexpectedly, Murong Jing and He didn't even look at the battle armor, pulled the reins, bypassed the two of them and continued to move forward.

"The past is over, and now I am in my arms, with fine wine and golden cups. It is not as happy and joyful as the days of waiting for death. General Mei wants me to relive the old dreams." This is the first time Meilin heard him use such alienation. Talking to Makino Luomei in such a tone, I was a little surprised as well. I never thought that he, who seemed to have been hollowed out by wine, would gallop on the battlefield and give orders to the three armies.

Apparently, Makino Luomei had never been shamed like this before. Standing there, her face turned red and white, and she turned her horse's head to catch up after a while, and said angrily, "Jinghe, do you want to keep being depressed like this?"

Murong Jing and her body stiffened slightly, and when she turned her head, seeing the pain on her face, she couldn't help showing a foolish smile, hooked Mei Lin's neck, and took a bite on that fair and tender face , and sighed with nostalgia in his eyes: "You haven't called this name for a long time. Since you want it, then I will wear it. If the father is punished, I have to admit that I am afraid."

If it wasn't for the pain and numbness in his face from being gnawed, and his identity being wrong, Mei Lin might have laughed out loud.

"If you want to wear it, put it on quickly, there is so much nonsense." Makino Luomei said unhappily, but she was not angry because she was taken advantage of verbally, and she was obviously in a good mood because of his compromise.

"Jinghe doesn't have to worry about Father, General Mei has already asked for instructions." Murong Xuanlie had already put on his battle robe, and walked over while adjusting the long sword on his waist.

Murong Jing had no choice but to jump off the horse with Mei Lin in his arms, let Mei Lin see Li first, and then asked himself: "Why is Brother Dahuang here?"

Murong Xuanlie smiled, stepped forward to take the battle armor from the waiter's hands, shook it off, helped him put it on, and said with a smile: "General Mei wants to play a very interesting game, how can I miss it?"

The game... Meilin, who has been quietly staying by the side, trying to minimize his sense of existence, could not help shivering when he heard these two words, and felt that his role in this game was indispensable.

Murong Jinghe looked at her, and said displeasedly: "What are you doing in a daze? Why don't you come over and change my clothes!"

Murong Xuanlie still smiled faintly, stepped back slightly, and gave way to his position.

"If His Royal Highness hadn't spoken, how could His Majesty agree to hand over the prisoners of war to my ministers." Muye Luomei said.

Following her words, Mei Lin noticed that besides the well-dressed soldiers, there was another group of people in ragged clothes with panic-stricken expressions.Their hands and feet were tied together and circled in an open space.It is densely packed, and it seems that there are always three to 400 people.

Murong Jinghe glanced over there, frowned and asked, "What kind of game is it that deserves your compliments?" The sourness in his words let people know that he was in a bad mood.Only Meilin, who replaced Murong Xuanlie and tied the belt for him, noticed that there was no emotion in those half-drowned eyes.

Seeing that he was almost dressed properly, Makino Luomei couldn't help but look carefully, trying to find the slightest trace of him in the military uniform.However, Murong Jinghe was sluggish, and his complexion was not good. Against the backdrop of the shining silver armor, it drowned out that little bit of handsomeness, making him look even more mediocre and wretched.

There was deep disappointment in her beautiful eyes, she turned her head away, and said lightly: "Rather than keeping prisoners of war to waste food, it's better to use it for military training." Speaking of this, she couldn't hold back the resentment in her heart after all, and blamed, " Wine and sex have worn away your ambition!"

After saying this, she whipped a whip on the horse's buttocks as if venting her anger, and swept towards the neatly lined up soldiers like the wind.

Murong Xuanlie shook his head, "General Mei is so fierce, Jing and you have to work harder if you want to embrace the beauty." After leaving this sentence, he also walked over there leisurely.

Murong Jinghe raised his head and squinted at the woman who was admonishing the soldiers. The morning sun shone across the green forest on her body, making her dazzling as if her whole body was shining.

He laughed at himself, suddenly hugged Mei Lin who was still standing in front of him, and kissed her hard on the lips, with a look of grievance on his face, "This king has been despised, what should I do..." He said while He buried his head in her neck and rubbed and arched it, taking advantage of it.

Mei Lin had to work hard to stand firm, knowing that he didn't need her own response, so she silently looked over his shoulder at the woods not far away in a daze.

(End of this chapter)