amaotonovel Chapter 979 Snow falls
Chapter 979 Snow falls
Red Wall Snow
When Shen Weiwan stepped into Changchun Palace, the icicles on the eaves were dripping. The cold air of December penetrated through the cracks in the stone, freezing her fingertips numb, but she didn't dare to warm her hands like other concubines. There was a thin layer of snow on the bluestone slabs, and the messy footprints left by the people in front of her. She lowered her head, and the hem of her crimson palace dress was still stained with mud. "The concubine's daughter of Lord Shen?" The old eunuch who led the way glanced at her sideways, and his voice was as sharp as an ice cone, "Your Majesty is watching the snow in the warm room today. You have to wait for half an hour." The incense in the warm room floated out through the window cracks. It was the best ambergris. Shen Weiwan gathered her cuffs, where half a piece of ginger was hidden - her mother stuffed it into her, saying that it could warm her hands. Her elder sister Shen Qingyao was named a talented person yesterday, and she might be accompanying His Majesty to enjoy the snow at this moment, but she, a concubine's daughter, couldn't even enter the door of the warm room. Half an hour later, the concubines were ranked according to their positions, and Shen Weiwan was ranked last. When she walked into the warm room with her eyes downcast, she first smelled the sweet fragrance of pear blossoms - it was emitted by the pearl flowers on Shen Qingyao's temples. Emperor Xiao Che leaned on the soft couch, his black uniform embroidered with dark gold dragon patterns, his fingertips casually turning the jade ring, his eyes swept over the crowd, and finally fell on the tip of Shen Weiwan's shoes that were stained with snow. "Look up." She looked up as he was told, and saw the indifference in the emperor's eyes. Shen Qingyao sat beside him, picking up a piece of almond cake with a silver stick and handing it over, her fingertips intentionally or unintentionally brushing the back of his hand. "Shen Weiwan?" Xiao Che flipped through the list in his hand, and his voice could not hear any emotion, "Daughter of Suzhou Weaving Master Shen Zhiyuan?" "Yes." Her voice trembled a little, not because of fear, but because of the cold. "I heard that you are proficient in medicine?" Shen Weiwan was stunned, and then remembered that her mother was a disciple of the judge of the Imperial Hospital. "They only know a little bit, and only know some herbs." Xiao Che did not ask any more questions, and waved his hand to let them leave. When walking out of the warm room, Shen Qingyao's maid deliberately bumped into her, and half a cup of cold tea spilled on the corner of her skirt. "Our talented people said that a concubine's daughter should act like a concubine's daughter, and don't dream of climbing up the dragon and phoenix." She clenched the ginger at her sleeves, looked at the maid's proud back, and said nothing. On the third day after being named the dresser, Shen Weiwan met the concubine in the imperial garden. At that time, the concubine was admiring the plum blossoms. The pink and white petals fell on her peacock blue palace dress, which was as beautiful as a fine brush painting. The personal maid held a gold-painted lacquer box, which contained the newly tributed Dongzhu. "This bead is very round." Concubine Shu picked up one and suddenly turned to Shen Weiwan, "How do you think it matches the new phoenix hairpin I made?" Shen Weiwan was about to reply when she saw Shen Qingyao coming out from behind the rockery, holding a red plum in her hand: "Anything will look good on Concubine Shu, but this Dongzhu is too precious, I'm afraid..." Before she finished her words, she suddenly stumbled towards the lacquer box, and the box of Dongzhu fell to the ground, and two of them fell into the fish pond next to her. "Oh!" Shen Qingyao knelt down hurriedly, "Your Majesty, please forgive me, it was Sister Weiwan who tripped me!" Concubine Shu's face darkened instantly. Shen Weiwan looked at the corner of her skirt that was stepped on - Shen Qingyao's maid was rolling it with her toes, and she suddenly knelt down and saluted: "Your Majesty, Dongzhu is cold in nature, and it can float out fine marks when soaked in warm water. The water in the fish pond is too cold, why don't you let me try to salvage it?" She didn't argue, but took off her shoes and socks and walked into the fish pond. The water in December was freezing cold. She leaned forward to grope in the cracks of the rocks, her fingertips reddened by the cold. Concubine Shu looked at her lips that were frozen purple, and suddenly said, "That's all, just a few beads." When Shen Weiwan was pulled ashore by the palace maid, her soles had been cut open with blood. Concubine Shu stared at her dripping hair: "You are very patient." She waved away everyone, "Shen Qingyao is a distant relative of the queen, you have to be smarter in this palace." That night Shen Weiwan had a high fever, and she kept hearing her mother say in her dreams: "Wanwan, the medical book says that patience is a good medicine, but it can't be eaten as a meal." When she woke up, there was a bowl of ginger soup on the bedside, which was brought by the little palace maid in the same room: "Lord Li from the Imperial Hospital came just now and said that this was a reward from His Majesty." The ginger soup was still warm, and she drank it to the end, and found a lotus seed at the bottom of the bowl. After the beginning of spring, Shen Weiwan was assigned to work in the Imperial Pharmacy. This place is quieter than Chuxiu Palace, but it also hides undercurrents. The housekeeper was the queen's servant, always finding trouble with her - either complaining that she didn't grind the medicine with the right strength, or complaining that she didn't boil the medicine at the right temperature. "Shen Gengyi must have forgotten her duty." The housekeeper threw a pile of medical books in front of her, "You have to copy all of these, and hand them in tomorrow at 11:00 a.m." Shen Weiwan touched her burning fingertips - blisters formed from the stone mortar when she was grinding the medicine yesterday. When she lit the lamp to copy the book, she found a note between the pages. It was written by Doctor Li: "The Queen is afraid of safflower, and the Concubine is allergic to almonds. The Moon in the Waves Su Wan first met Lu Chengyu in the early morning when a typhoon passed. She was squatting on the deck of the "Wangchao", wiping the rust on the anchor with a soft cloth. The salty sea breeze blew over with the broken rain, making the canvas crackle. This old wooden ship from the Republic of China period was bought by her from an auction house, and she spent all the savings left by her grandmother. The hull was mottled like an old wooden sign soaked in water, but the moonstone embedded in the bow was still shining. When the tide rose and fell, it always seemed like a layer of broken silver was floating on the stone. "Do you need help? "The man's voice was mixed in the waves. When Su Wan looked up, she saw a white yacht moored not far away. The man in the navy blue shirt leaned on the railing of the yacht with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing the light blue veins on his forearms. The crew behind him were busy reefing the sails. The moment the canvas was raised, Su Wan saw a silver anchor brooch on his collar, which was exactly the same as the pattern of the anchor of the "Wangchao". "No need." She lowered her head and continued to wipe the rust, and her fingertips were rubbed with fine red marks by the steel wire. Grandma said that the "Wangchao" held the secret that could allow sailors to return safely, and she had to repair it before the end of the typhoon season. But the man let the yacht come closer. When he stepped onto the gangplank onto the "Wangchao", the hull shook slightly. Su Wan smelled the scent on him, not a low-quality cologne, but sea salt mixed with pine wood, like the wind just returned from a voyage in the North Atlantic. "There are cracks in the keel. "He squatted beside her and tapped the hull with his fingertips,"Yesterday's typhoon loosened the keel. It will fall apart if we go out to sea again." Su Wan paused. She had checked it countless times and never found any problems with the keel. The man seemed to see through her thoughts and took out a high-intensity flashlight from his canvas bag: "The crack is below the waterline. The boat must be towed to the dock to be repaired." As he spoke, raindrops on his eyelashes fell on the back of her hand. Su Wan retracted her hand abruptly, but he grabbed her wrist - his palm was hotter than the board, and there was a thin layer of calluses on his fingertips, as if he had been holding the rudder for many years. "Come with me to the dock." He didn't give her a chance to refuse, and turned to shout to the crew, "Put down the tow rope." The dock was at the old pier at the end of the bay. As Su Wan watched the "Wangchao" being towed away slowly, she suddenly remembered her grandmother's diary. There was a yacht drawn on the yellowed paper, and "Zhuilang" was written on the side of the ship.