Golden branches and jade leaves

Chapter 73 Fireworks Order
Chapter No.16: Fireworks sequence

The car of the personal conquest drove to the front line in a mighty way. Although Qi Taki was the only one who left, the inside of Daqi's harem suddenly became lonely.

Daily life has become extremely simple and regular. Except for the routine greeting every morning, almost all concubines have become silent and restrained, staying at home.

Su Mi was on the way back from Fengyi Palace.Since the Empress Dowager died of illness, the empress has invited herself to serve the spirit in the ancestral hall of the Compassionate Ning Palace, and almost lived in seclusion. It was not until Qi Taki handed over the little prince to her to raise him a few days ago that she moved back to Fengyi Palace.It's just that after nearly half a year of ignoring affairs, the concubines in the harem gradually became tired, and many of them complained of illness.Anyway, the empress also issued a decree, ordering the concubines in the harem to do as they please without formalities.Today's hello, but only a dozen or so people have arrived.The queen didn't show up either, she still went to the Compassionate Ning Palace every morning to keep watch and serve. The concubines just sat down for a while and then dispersed.

Su Mi walked out from the gate of Fengyi Palace, suddenly a little something cool got into her neckline.

She looked up at the sky, and on the sixth day after Qi Long left, the first snow in Longhui's four years finally came belatedly.

Seeing the crystal clear snowflakes falling from the sky, Su Mi closed her neckline, and the fluffy mink fur made her cheeks itch slightly.

Suddenly the mood became empty and lonely, Su Mi asked Mi Qing to go back first, and did not take a chariot, just walking on the road in the palace alone.

The snowflakes changed from small and fine crystals to soft goose feathers, and they scattered one after another.It was still in the morning, but the sky became as gloomy and dreary as night, and the sky was dark.

Su Mi casually walked towards the east all the way, the pedestrians on the road became less and less, and the palace people all went to avoid the sudden heavy snow.

Unknowingly, she turned into a long and narrow path, and when she looked up, she saw a maid walking towards her, holding a heavy bucket in her hand, moving forward step by step.

Su Mi was in a trance for a while, she still vaguely remembered that she once dressed up like this, carried a clumsy bucket like this, and walked on the same road.

The little maid seemed to be tired from carrying the floor, ignoring the heavy snow, she put the bucket aside and breathed into her palm.From a long distance, Su Mi could also guess that her white and tender palms must have become red and swollen due to hard labor and cold.

The little maid stomped her feet, looked at the sky and picked up the bucket again, and was about to walk forward when she suddenly saw Su Mi standing in front of her.

"Ah?! Who! Such a pretense!" The little girl shouted.

Su Mi didn't answer.

The maid looked carefully for a while, and when she saw the radiant mink fur cloak on Su Mi, her complexion suddenly changed. When she saw Su Mi's appearance again, she quickly threw away the bucket in her hand, and knelt down in fear, "Your maidservant has eyes but no pearls. Mistress, please don't take offense, master..."

Su Mi waved her hand and interrupted her confession: "It's so cold, why are you still carrying water outside? Isn't there a well in the yard?"

"Going back to your mother, the slaves are served by Shen Cairen of Xuanhe Palace. A few days ago, because of the cold weather, the well in the yard was frozen. The slaves will only come out to fetch water." The little maid said as she spoke. , while secretly looking up at Su Mi, thinking to herself, it’s not uncommon for me, a little palace maid, to be outside at this time, but you... She looked at Su Mi wonderingly, this master, it’s obvious that she is a lady’s by the clothes. , but why is there not even a girl around?
"Xuanhe Palace is very far from here, why don't you go to the nearby palace to fetch water?"

"Returning to the master, our talented people have no friendship with the masters of the nearby palaces... and this is what our talented people will use later, and the servants dare not slack off."

Su Mi couldn't understand what she said, the people living in the Xuanhe Palace must be the concubines who have just been drafted into the palace this year, and there are many Qi Long who have never been lucky enough to be there, I'm afraid that talented Shen is still unfavored. Such concubines are naturally not valued in this highly hierarchical and snobbish court.

Su Mi laughed and said, "When it snows, remember to cover the well. It's best to spread something like straw on top to keep out the cold. It will be fine when you uncover it in the morning."

The little maid was puzzled for a while, and secretly raised her head to take a look at Su Mi. How could this empress know these tricks in the countryside?

Su Mi seemed to see her doubts, and explained with a faint smile: "This is the method I learned at this time last year, but unfortunately there will be no chance to use it in the future."

Seeing that little maid was still standing there staring blankly at herself, Su Mi said gently: "In such a cold weather, you don't have to work hard, Xuanhe Palace is not far from Caiwei Palace, you go to my palace and say something , ask someone to bring you a bucket. Put this water here first, and wait until the weather clears up.”

The little maid suddenly remembered, she looked at Su Mi in surprise, this is the most favored concubine Lian in the palace now!
She answered cleverly, threw away her hands and ran away, and disappeared into the turning in a short while.

Su Mi looked at the long road, with narrow palace walls on both sides. Due to the gloomy sky, the vermilion palace walls turned into a strange dark red. blurred.

Suddenly a thought came to her, she approached the bucket that had just been dropped, stretched out her white and slender palms that had been maintained, and held the handle made of thick iron,

So heavy!Su Mi used all her strength to lift the bucket from the ground. After walking forward for only two steps, she almost staggered and fell.

It seems that it is only a short period of more than a year, and such a life of gold and jade has completely freed him from hard labor.I can no longer live with this kind of strength.

Su Mi had a strange idea in his heart for no reason, what would happen to him if Da Qi was destroyed by other countries now?
As a concubine, she is waiting for the selection and enjoyment of the new winner.

Su Mi shook her head and smiled, because of this movement, her staggering body lost her balance and fell to the ground.

Before she touched the ground, a hand stretched out from behind suddenly wrapped around her waist.At the same time, he stretched out his other hand and took the bucket firmly.

Su Mi turned her head in surprise, and saw a familiar face.

It turned out to be Ni Tingxuan!
Why is he here? !
"You..." Su Mi wanted to say something, but found that she had nothing to say.

After hesitating for a moment, the familiar warmth came from the place where the two were close.Su Mi suddenly realized that she was still held in his arms, and immediately shook slightly, wanting to struggle to get out, but unexpectedly, Ni Ting's embrace was so tight that she didn't break free.

Su Mi became annoyed and didn't want to give him face at all, so she immediately scolded fiercely: "What are you doing? Let go!"
Only then did Ni Tingxuan come to his senses, and quickly let go of his hand. Su Mi was caught off guard and almost fell down.

Seeing that Ni Tingxuan was about to step forward to help her again, she quickly took two steps back.Seeing Ni Tingxuan's bewildered look, she was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "I forgot to congratulate Commander Ni, who received the marriage from the Holy Majesty. If he wasn't entangled in the secular world, he should already be flying together. There is no need to be impatient, anyway, you will be able to marry Mei Jiaoniang after all."

Ni Tingxuan's eyes seemed to be stabbed, and there was a trace of pain.

Su Mi was startled, she immediately realized her cruelty, his mother just passed away...

"I'm sorry." Said this sentence naturally, Su Mi lowered her head.She knows better than anyone how it feels to lose family members.

"It's nothing." Ni Tingxuan's eyes were a little dark, he hesitated and said, "I actually don't want to marry..."

"What is Commander Ni's reason for entering the palace today?" Su Mi suddenly interrupted him and asked, "Thanks to Commander for helping me just now, otherwise I would have made a fool of myself." The voice was polite and indifferent.

Ni Tingxuan was startled, then lowered his head for a while, and said: "The humble official came in today to bid farewell to the imperial concubine."

Only then did Su Mi recall that the last memorial on Ni Yuan mentioned that Ni Tingxuan would bring his mother's ashes back to Yongzhou to bury his ancestors at the end of this year.Naturally, Qi Taki couldn't find a reason to refuse such a reasonable request, and he had already decided to conquest himself, so there was no need to keep Ni Tingxuan in the palace.Remember that the memorial says that we will leave in these two days.

"When are you leaving?" Su Mi asked unnaturally.

"We're leaving the day after tomorrow." Ni Tingxuan said.Because she lowered her head, Su Mi couldn't see his expression.

"Well, there is so much snow on the road, how can we make it in time, why don't we stay here for a few more days..." Su Mi blurted out casual words, she suddenly stopped, really wanted to slap herself a few times, what was she talking about? !She breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I hope the commander will have a safe journey. I wish you the best of luck here."

"Well," Ni Tingxuan smiled slightly, looked up at her, and said, "It's just a matter of returning to the hometown to worship the ancestors. I guess I can come back in February when spring begins."

What are you talking about, I don't want to know when you will come back, Su Mi thought bitterly, turning her head away.

"I also hope that everything goes well for the empress in the palace, see you again..." Ni Tingxuan said softly.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" An exclamation interrupted the conversation between the two, and it was Mi Qing who ran over panting holding a piece of clothing. "My maidservant was worried just now. It snowed so heavily all of a sudden. I didn't know where to find someone. Fortunately, a little girl from Xuanhe Palace came over and said...ah!" Su Mi turned around, and Ni Tingxuan beside him appeared, Mi Qing couldn't help being surprised.

"This is Commander Ni, and he is about to go back to visit Concubine Ni today." Su Mi said calmly.

Mi Qing made a salute.He quickly covered Su Mi with the big cloak he was holding in his hand, and Su Mi's shoulders were covered with snowflakes.

Su Mi stretched out her hand to wrap her skirt, turned and left.

Walking to the corner, when Su Mi turned her head, she vaguely saw that figure still standing there, and she couldn't see clearly through the heavy snow...

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The passage of time will not change because of the joy or stagnation of people's mood. In such a lonely day, the new year of the last year of Longhui is also the new year of the first year of Tiantong.

The harem that has lost its master is still supported by various complicated rules.Qi Long left the palace to go to war, the empress served the empress dowager's mourning hall day and night, and also had to take care of the little prince, it was like hiding from the world, in the harem, Concubine Ni Gui still presided over the affairs of the six palaces temporarily.

Concubine Ni Gui originally had a flamboyant and extravagant temperament, but now there is no one in the harem to compete with her, this New Year really took a lot of effort.

On the night of the New Year's Eve, as in previous years, various banquets and dances were prepared.The banquet for the courtiers in the front hall was presided over by Prince Yu, and the concubines in the harem would naturally not get involved, while the family banquet in the harem was carefully arranged by Concubine Ni.

It's just that there is one man missing. Although the extravagance and magnificence are the same as before, the whole banquet still seems a lot quieter.From the clothes of the concubines, it can be seen that most of the concubines wear simple hairpin and ring clothing, and no one deliberately reduces their clothes in order to maintain a slim and elegant figure like in previous winters.

The delicacies were served like flowing water, and the concubines talked and laughed while watching the singing and dancing in the field.Concubine Ni's face was radiant, while the queen's face was somewhat haggard, but her expression was still elegant.Without the most important person, the concubines miraculously became a bit more harmonious, and their behavior became more casual.

Su Mi didn't have much appetite, so after drinking for three rounds, she found an excuse to leave, walked across the flying bridge in front of Xuanhe Palace, and suddenly heard a "boom" sound from behind, it was earth-shattering, and the snow on the trees was shaken. "Clusters" fell straight down.

Su Mi turned around and saw big golden peonies blooming in the sky from a distance.Brilliant and dazzling.Immediately afterwards, the sound of "bang" continued to sound, and several rays of light penetrated the darkness, blooming in an ever-changing and beautiful posture.

These are exquisite fireworks that Concubine Ni ordered specially made by the Ministry of Industry for this year's New Year's Eve banquet. Looking at it now, it really took a lot of thought.

Peony fireworks bloom sequentially, graceful and luxurious.Countless radiant flowers bloomed on the pure black night, making this originally lonely winter night extraordinarily splendid.

Su Mi stopped in her tracks and looked at the sky, the colorful colors were one after another, before the brilliance in front dissipated, the gorgeousness in the back followed closely behind.The beauty erupts in such an instant, competing for splendor and splendor.

The extinguished fireworks fell with a faint light, like a shooting star across the night sky.

Perhaps, in the lonely days, people are especially used to recalling the past, remembering that they once snuggled up with others on such a cold winter night, watching the fireworks rise and dissipate,

In just over a year, earth-shaking changes have taken place in the harem, with some happy and some sad.

With a bit of emotion, Su Mi went back to Caiwei Palace, took off the hairpin, tossed and turned but couldn't fall asleep.I don't know why these days, there is always a vague fear lingering in my heart, I think about it carefully, but I can't find a clue.It was in the middle of the night indistinctly, when suddenly there was a commotion in the distance, screams, shouts, alternately noisy, Su Mi suddenly woke up from the bed,

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, it's not good..." Xiao Luzi rushed in without even knocking on the door.His face was pale, and his expression was unprecedentedly panicked.

"What's wrong?!" Su Mi panicked inexplicably.

"Yes...it's the Liao people who came in!" Xiao Luzi shouted out of breath.

There was a "boom", like a bolt from the blue exploding in Su Mi's ears, and her mind didn't even realize the meaning of the news for a moment.

Liao people? !
"What Liao people, aren't the Liao people locked out of the pass? How could they break in." Su Mi's brain froze for a moment.

"No...not..." Xiao Luzi said impatiently: "Madam, I don't know about that, but there are indeed Liao people calling, just outside the city, a lot of people."

"Impossible!" Su Mi yelled, "How can the Liao people pass through the formidable Juyu Pass, and how can they rush to the city without any news?!"

"It's true, ma'am," Xiao Luzi shouted, "the Liao people have already attacked our city. They are trapped outside the city gate!"

Su Mi stood up in panic, how weak is the defense of the capital now? !If the Liao people called in, then... She couldn't imagine what would happen next.

"Master, master, put on your clothes first." Mi Qing hurriedly caught up with Su Mi who was about to run out of the room with her cloak and coat.Su Mi hurriedly put on her clothes and asked, "What time is it now?"

"It's just time for Chou," said Xiao Luzi.

Su Mi's movements froze. At this moment, it was the last moment of the Longhui Year and the first moment of the First Year of Tiantong!
(To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please visit www.CMFU.COM, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)
(End of this chapter)