Leisure days in the cold palace

Chapter 7

After that night, my days seemed to calm down again.

Chunxi's illness gradually improved, but she was alive and kicking the next day.

Also improved is the spring scenery of this year, there is no longer the one-night wind and rain that destroys flowers, and the occasional precipitation is also in line with the old saying "spring rain is as expensive as oil".

Today, spring is three minutes away from the tip.

I spread the picked and blanched bracken on the sunny ground and waited for them to dry into dried bracken for storage.

This is the way Chunxi told me to eat it. According to him, in their hometown, people in the village would pick bracken all over the mountains and plains at this time, dry it and store it in case of a possible famine.

I had eaten wild vegetables like this on the dining table in my previous life. I didn't think it was very delicious at the time, but I just heard that it was very nutritious, so I ate a couple of bites according to the occasion.

It's just that at that time, all the wild vegetables were carefully cooked into a magnificent appearance, and the original shape and color could not be seen, and even half of the real taste of the wild vegetables could not be tasted.

And at this time, picking and cooking from the shade of the bushes and trees by hand, and then eating it, it will inevitably have a different fresh taste.

We divided the pickled bracken into two parts, one for drying and the other for frying.

Chunxi just came back from fetching a bucket of well water at this time. Seeing that he was struggling, I hurried forward to help.

"Madam, please don't do such heavy work, how can you do this kind of thing?" Chunxi hid aside in a little panic.

"How many times have I told you, now there are only two of us in Biquan Palace, how can we divide the master and servant? Those who can do more work, can't I do what you can do with such a small child?" I looked at him and chuckled, "Besides, if you fall ill again, I have to take care of you instead. Does this make you feel at ease?"

Chun Xi was left speechless by what I said, she tilted her head and thought for a while, then carefully let go of the wooden barrel in her hand and put it on the ground.

"That's good!" I smiled and rubbed his head, picked up the wooden barrel, which was a bit heavy for me, and walked towards the ear room sideways.

Li Shuangwu's body is not bad, but he has not exercised in recent years, and he hanged himself once a few days ago, so it is still a bit difficult to hold this kind of wooden bucket full of water.

I was walking crookedly in front, and Chunxi watched in fear behind me, lest I accidentally spill all the well water he had worked so hard to get.

Looking at his cautious appearance, I couldn't help laughing.

In fact, this Biquan Palace is a courtyard with two entrances, but there are only two of us, and the second entrance is completely useless to us, so it was abandoned there.

Speaking of which, there is more than one courtyard that is truly deserted.I heard from Chunxi that when we first came here, the weeds in the front yard were as tall as half a person, but now he is taking care of me and cleaning them out bit by bit.

Now the weeds in the backyard are still dense, but it is also because of this environment that Chunxi and I dug a lot of wild vegetables out of it.

It's funny to say that it's the inner courtyard of the imperial palace that is so glorious, but there are countless decaying grasses and wild vegetables growing there, but I don't know whether it should be called the wildness or the darkness behind the glory.

The well used to draw water is in the northeast corner of the second entrance yard. The well water is refreshingly sweet and delicious to drink.

It's a pity that this well is the most primitive kind of reel, and it is very difficult to get water.Anyway, whether it is me or Chunxi, it is very difficult to turn the wheel.

At this time, I remembered that when I was playing in the countryside in my previous life, I seemed to have seen that kind of water diversion system that moved up and down.At that time, because of curiosity, I used to press it by myself, and it didn't take much effort. If it can be made now, it will save the effort of the two of us.

It's just a pity that although I know some physics, I'm not very good at hands-on practice. After a few days of sketching on the desk, I got nothing, so I threw this matter aside.

Finally, I brought the water to the ear room. I picked up two sticks of firewood and stuffed them into the stove. After lighting the fire, I set up a cauldron and let it slowly boil the water.

Looking back, I saw Chunxi was washing bracken, and ran over to help happily.

"Spring is here, and we won't be afraid of going hungry." I washed off the floating dirt on the bracken very calmly, and said with a smile, "Thanks to you, Chunxi, for knowing so many things, otherwise If we don’t, both of us will be sallow and emaciated from hunger.”

Chunxi was not very happy when she heard the words, she pursed her lips and said, "It's all Luo Xiang's gang who reduced Madam's monthly schedule at will. Madam, you were, back then..."

After all, he is a child, and Chunxi's eyes began to turn red as he spoke, so I quickly smiled and coaxed him: "Those bossy people back then are really meaningless when I think about it now. Now this kind of self-sufficiency life is very happy. Of course, it would be great if we can go out of the palace one day. Well, then we can build a small house by ourselves..." I held a bracken in my right hand and gestured in front of me. Measuring a boxy size, "Just like, just like this Biquan Palace, it's not bad as soon as you enter the yard. Then you can do some small business or other things. If you stay in one place enough, you will move to another place." Live again... Speaking of it, many people think it is a kind of wandering, but I think it is a kind of travel, to see the mountains and rivers, to see the spring scenery... Chunxi, if there is such a day, would you still be willing to be with me Is it?"

Chunxi followed my yearning in a daze for a while, and then said in a daze, "If it's really that kind of day, it must be leisurely and carefree! But, ma'am, it's either disasters or wars outside, I'm afraid , I’m afraid we’ll be ransacked by others before we step out of the palace!”

"what?"

This was the first time I heard Chunxi talk about the outside world, and I couldn't help being a little dazed for a moment.

In my previous life, although there were undercurrents in the world around me, there were very few real disasters, and even if there were, with everyone's concerted efforts, we could quickly help the victims rebuild their homes.As for the war, it is something that only exists in writing and news.At that time, when you looked at it through a paper or a camera, you would only feel miserable and desolate, but that feeling was only a superficial feeling, and you couldn't dig deeper.

It's hard to imagine what kind of mood I would be in if I were to face disasters and wars.

"Actually, Chunxi is not very clear about the affairs outside the palace, but only knows the general situation. If Madam wants to hear, Chunxi will tell me."

Seeing me nodding, Chunxi took a bracken as a map, put it on the ground and said: "This is our Nanliang, and further south is the land of the barbarian Baiyue, where the wild and uncivilized Baiyue people live. Chunxi has never met Baiyue people before, but Baiyue people's envoys once came to see them in the palace, and they heard that those Baiyue people were very short and dark, and they talked babble, and ah, They seem to be eating human flesh!"

Well, let Chunxi tell me about the outside world, and it became a "big lecture on the mysterious life of Baiyue people" without saying a few words.I saw his frightened and curious little face, I couldn't help but flicked his head, and said with a smile: "Come on, it's just that they are different from our custom and civilization, don't treat them as monsters."

The "Baiyue" that people called in ancient times actually meant many different ethnic groups. Because they had little contact with them, some strange and strange jokes would be circulated among the people, most of which were naturally suspected of being exaggerated.

However, such things as cannibalism do exist in some cultures, and they cannot be generalized.

Chunxi rubbed her little head resentfully when I interrupted those small thoughts about exploring the secrets, said "Oh" and then said with bracken: "There are several countries in the east that are about the same size as our Nanliang, but Because of the perennial wars, they are divided and combined. Now there are four countries: Dasheng, Beiqi, Zhuhai, and Dazhang. If you talk about it, Dazhang is actually the orthodox of the whole world, but the emperor a few generations ago The tyranny has led to uprisings everywhere, and the world is in chaos. The original Dazhang Kingdom is rich in the world, but now there is only a small amount of land near the imperial capital. I heard from others that the collapse of the Dazhang Kingdom will happen sooner or later. ..."

When I heard Nanliang from the side, I thought I had returned to the war-torn Northern and Southern Dynasties, but when I heard the name of the country behind it, I knew it was not the case.

Here, after all, is not the world I know...

But it doesn't seem to matter, for my wandering soul with no sustenance, it doesn't make much difference where I wander.

Then I remembered all kinds of things in my previous life, and I couldn't help but smile knowingly, thinking that my sudden death in my previous life would only add a lot of farce to the already chaotic situation.

It is impossible to think of people who miss me.

The person who really cared about me has passed away long ago, but the so-called family members have torn their faces for inheritance in front of the deceased's coffin.

Occasionally when I dream back at midnight, I still recall the scene at that time. I really don't want to experience the feeling of being so cold and numb.

That kind of past, don't worry about it.

Now I feel even more, except for those days are beautiful.Even now, food and clothing must be self-sufficient, and food and clothing must be self-sufficient.

If it can continue like this, I don't have too many complaints.But after all, I was a person who studied history in my previous life, and now I came to such a strange world, I always thought that if there is a chance, it is always good to look around.

It's just that from the present moment, people are trapped by this Biquan Palace, this kind of thinking is more like extravagant hope...

For lunch, I ate stir-fried bracken, served with corn and rice, and a soup made from a few poor green vegetable leaves.Although it was so simple and shabby, I still ate deliciously and happily because I had a big appetite after working.

It's not like before, even if it's delicacies from mountains and seas, you can't taste any good taste in your mouth.

It was time to clean up the dishes, but someone knocked on the palace gate outside. After looking at each other, Chunxi and I were surprised. At this moment, who would come to this cold palace?

(End of this chapter)