The third volume of Linglong Dice, An Hongdou, one five zero, married clothes

  The May sky is dry and cloudless, the jasmine flowers are faintly fragrant, and the scent is not as strong as in previous years.

  The Dragon Boat Festival is approaching soon.

  In the Pepper Chamber, Shao Yong asked, "Your Ladyship, shall we prepare to celebrate the festival?"

  "It's not necessary." Zhang Yan thought for a moment and shook her head.

  "It's been a long time since it rained in Guanzhong, and Your Majesty has recently been worried about national affairs. This Dragon Boat Festival, let's just celebrate frugally. There's no need to put up lanterns or decorations in the palace. Hmm, in our palace, I'll order Cen Niang to prepare some food, we can gather together and simply spend the festival."

  She nodded and asked in a low voice, "What about Qingliang Hall?"

  "In the Qingliang Hall," Zhang Yan pouted and said, "Everything is up to her."

  Years later, I would wonder if everything were to start over again, would I make the same choice? But it's not possible, there are some things in this world that can be had and some that cannot. From the very beginning, I knew what I wanted, so if someone stood in my way, and asked me what to do?

  If it were Ah Po, she would say straightforwardly, "Kill it."

  If it were the mother, she would put on a generous smile on her face, pretending not to see the blood dripping from her heart. When the blood drips down, it will naturally hurt, but if you don't look at it all the time, you'll forget about it. The father has always been by the mother's side, so the mother thinks she has lived a good life this lifetime.

  I can neither be a grandmother nor a mother. So I found that I can only be myself, walking hesitantly on the road between them. But I always think this way: it's better to have clear pain than blurry happiness.

  On the Dragon Boat Festival, all officials still had a share of good fortune to rest and relax, but the Emperor was instead unable to take a break. Liu Ying was busy in the Xuan Shi Hall until high noon, only to feel parched and reach for his tea cup, but found it empty. He stared blankly for a moment before looking up and asking, "Where is the person serving tea?"

  Han Changyu bent down and smiled, "Your Majesty, today is the Dragon Boat Festival. No matter how busy you are, you can't be busier than this moment. Why don't you take a half-day rest and have a good holiday?"

  Liu Ying was dazed for a moment. Sighed and said, "Oh, it's already Dragon Boat Festival."

  "Yes." Han Changyu smiled and said, "The Empress has come to ask once, asking Your Majesty if you want to spend the festival in the Pepper Chamber?"

  He then thought of this busy day in national affairs, and the harem was relatively slack, not knowing that there was a slight sense of guilt in his heart. The Xuan Shi Hall was dry and hot, so he put down the pen in his hand and said, "Well... I'll steal a leisurely life for half a day, and have a good Dragon Boat Festival."

  May's Chang'an. It's already very sultry. Even with the luxurious canopy on the imperial carriage shading me, I still feel sweat evaporating from my forehead. As soon as I entered the Pepper Chamber Hall, I saw Zhang Yan wearing a cool summer dress, sitting in the hall with her legs crossed. She had freshly harvested millet wrapped in lotus leaves and tied up with red silk threads, its shape exquisite and lovely.

  "Uncle." Seeing him come in, her eyes lit up, and she hastily threw down the corner of her handkerchief, came forward to greet him, tiptoed to wipe his sweat, and asked with a smile, "Your Majesty, it's very hot outside. Are you hot?" She also apologized, "At this time, the Pepper Chamber should have taken ice blocks from the Ling Room in advance. But I saw that there was a severe drought in Guanzhong recently, so I didn't bear to use ice."

  "It's all right." Liu Ying waved her hand and said gloomily, "The common people are still worried about the drought in their fields. How can I bear to use ice blocks to cool myself in the palace? Besides, there are many trees planted in the courtyard of the imperial harem. It looks like it's cooler than the Xuan Hall."

  "Your Majesty need not worry too much. You have done very well already. The existence of Ao Cang has alleviated the pressure on Guan Zhong, and with a little more endurance, heaven will surely bring rain. Everything will get better."

  Everything will get better, whether it's the country or home.

  Suddenly, from outside the palace kitchen came a cheerful shout from Jiao Yu: "The horns are ready."

  She held the still steaming horn in front of Liu Ying and Zhang Yan, smiling, "Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager, please have some hot buns and a sip of Huangjiu wine. Wishing you happiness and smooth sailing in the days to come, without any twists or turns."

  Zhang Yan picked one up, but the corner that had just come out of the oven was very hot. She tossed it from her left hand to her right hand and finally threw it to Liu Yan, laughing and asking, "This can also be considered as a horn wrapped by Ah Yan herself, do you want to try one?"

  Liu Ying looked at her smiling face and suddenly felt a little moved.

  He had always been nostalgic for the ordinary, lively and warm life of the common people. Since his father, Emperor Han, made him the Crown Prince in the second year of the Han dynasty, he thought that this kind of life was far away from him. After becoming emperor, it seemed even more unattainable. But now, he saw it again in this bustling and lively Pepper Chamber Hall.

  It is people who live through time, rather than time living through people.

  "Hmm." He smiled, covering his mouth, "As long as you didn't cook it yourself, I'd be happy to try some." He waved away the servant and personally peeled open the bamboo leaves. The aroma of glutinous rice wafted up, and upon taking a bite, he found it sticky but not greasy, extremely delicious. He couldn't help but ask, "How was this made?"

  "Don't underestimate this corner. The 16K net was busy for several days because of it, from top to bottom in the pepper house." Zhang Yan glared at him and said with a smile, "Take glutinous rice and soak it in cooked meat juice, then dry it in the sun, add red beans, dates, and chestnuts, wrap them up and cook them again." She looked at the golden chestnuts in Liu Ying's corner and swallowed her saliva.

  "What's so great about it?" Liu Ying smiled, he didn't have much feeling towards chestnuts, wouldn't think they were hard to eat, but also didn't particularly like them. To be honest, would even find them too sweet.

  Don't say that there are still so many corners in the dish. As a big Han, can't you afford to feed your queen a meal of sugar-fried chestnuts?

  But after all, she still used a clean bamboo chopstick to pick up the chestnut and give it to Zhang Yan.

  "I've eaten so many corners already." She said with a smile, "And now I only want to eat the chestnuts inside." Turning back, she instructed vaguely, "Bring a small basket of corners and send it to Changle Palace. Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager have been at odds for over two months, shouldn't you lower your head and say something soft?"

  He nodded and sighed, "A Yan's words make sense. How about... sending a copy to the Qingliang Hall and Gaomen Hall as well?"

  Zhang Yan was taken aback and immediately pulled a long face.

  "Hmm." Liu Ying knew she had misspoken and didn't know what else to say to comfort her. Zhang Yan smiled faintly and said, "Today is Dragon Boat Festival, each palace prepares its own zongzi to celebrate the festival. What I sent to your mother was a token of my heart, but Wang Meiren and Ding Bazhi probably won't appreciate it. Why don't we wait a while and let Cen Niang make another batch of apricot flower pastry, then pack two baskets and send them over?"

  Time flies by leisurely, and before you know it, half an afternoon has slipped away. Suddenly, the door opens and out comes a plate of apricot kernel pastry, divided into small portions on the tray.

  Apricot blossom cake was soft, Cen Niang's craftsmanship on pastries had been refined over the years, and it became more divine. Zhang Yan couldn't help but crave for it, so she took a piece, broke it in half to share with Liu Ying, and ate some herself. She patted off the crumbs from her hands.

  It's late at night and I'm going to bed.

  She put on a cool Zen robe and got into bed, burying her face in the soft silk quilt.

  She felt very clear-headed, and although she was not in the Qingliang Hall, she could see everything that was happening. Everything was like a pre-recorded movie, she knew all the details of the plot, but the actors were confused and didn't know what was going on, performing noisily.

  "Uncle," she called out, summoning the person beside her pillow. "Shall I sing a song for you to hear?" "Mmm." Liu Ying had been extremely exhausted lately and was already dozing off. He responded casually without knowing whether he had heard her clearly or not.

  "Mother, be careful and don't forget, store away my wedding dress."

  The words hummed from the Buddha's throat, Zhang Yan sang very vaguely. In the dull summer night, listening to it in my ears, it brought a bit of unusual tenderness and charm.

  "Do not let me die too early, my soul has no place to rely on."

  Has the basket of apricot kernel pastry been sent to the Clear and Cool Palace yet?

  "Deeper and deeper, dew drops on your eyelids. (Deep in the night, your hair floats down. Deep in the night, you close your eyes.)"

  Wang Jing poured the cooked red flower soup, bit by bit, into the apricot blossom pastry. Carefully and meticulously, with a mysterious and excited smile on her lips.

  "I made a promise with you, and I will always remember it in my heart. (This is a secret agreement. Belonging to me belonging to you.)"

  Liu Ying was drowsy, and he actually hadn't heard clearly the lyrics that Zhang Yan hummed, only occasionally catching one or two words, "Mother", "Wedding dress", "Promise", "Long memory".

  Is this a very gentle song?

  "Embroidered brocade is heavy and red. White powder is cold and frosty."

  Wang Kong picked up a few pieces of apricot kernel pastry or re-cooked a bowl of red flower soup, did he eat them?

  Has the red flower started blooming yet?

  "Red lips enter the grave, a white dress is poisonous."

  Wang Rong lay on the couch in the Qingliang Hall, clutching her abdomen, and cold sweat dripped from her forehead. The palace maids in the Qingliang Hall hurried back and forth, shouting "Summon the imperial physician!" She wiped away the sweat with her sleeve, pulled the sleeve of her personal maid, and shouted, "Go to the Peifang Hall and ask His Majesty to come over. Tell him that our child is no more. He must come and see me."

  "Mother, don't take it lightly, let me return quickly. (Mom, take care of my red wedding dress, don't let me die too early.)"

  The eunuch, Huang Men, hastily made his way through the half of Weiyang Palace to Changle Palace, but was stopped by Wei Jun's bright sword and spear.

  In March of the third spring, she had already ordered the palace staff that when Liu Ying stayed in the Pepper Chamber, no attendants from the Cool Hall were allowed to enter within 100 zhang of the Pepper Chamber.

  Shi Fang was shocked and flustered, shouting loudly, "Wang Meiren's stomach pain is unbearable, it looks very dangerous, let me go see the Emperor!"

  The Weiwei army laughed and said, "The king's beauty has had abdominal pain for two months now, after so many days, isn't everything all right?"

  The story of the wolf is coming has never been a fable from ancient Greece.

  "Mother, don't let me go wrong, make my way thorny. (Mom, take care of my red wedding dress, don't let me die too early.)"

  "The queen is showing signs of a miscarriage." The old imperial physician said seriously after taking her pulse in the Clear and Cool Palace.

  The palace staff's face turned pale and asked, "Can't be saved?" The old doctor pinched his white beard and shook his head heavily.

  "May you stroke the earth and make it bleed."

  A teardrop rolled down from the corner of his eye, and Wang Kun could feel that the small life in his abdomen was disappearing. He slid down bit by bit, shouting hoarsely, "Your Majesty." The five-month-old child had been delivered.

  "May the woman you caress be rotting."

  Zhang Yan hummed vaguely and looked up at Liu Ying beside her.

  He has fallen into a deep sleep. His eyebrows and eyes are relaxed, perhaps he is at peace in his dreams? He has no idea that not far away, the child who belongs to him has slowly disappeared from this world.

  He had no reason to be angry about that lost child. There was only one way, and that was for the child's mother to take action.

  His wife set up such a scheme, and then his children's mother jumped down. They, together, killed him with their own hands.

  "One night of wind and rain, how did we end up in this predicament? (It's not entirely my fault)"

  Or rather, she gave Wang Xiang a reason, and then Wang Xiang used the child in her belly to achieve her greatest benefit. The child was indeed Wang Xiang's own doing after drinking the red flower soup, but how innocent was the one who set up the scheme?

  You hope we can live in harmony, but in the end, we can only force each other to death.

  That child will one day want to kill me, so I'll just kill him first.

  "A half-degree of cloud chaos, I bear the blame for my own body. (One night is not entirely my fault)"

  She gently kissed the forehead of the person beside her.

  Liu Ying, gentleness is not used like this by you.

  Being gentle with everyone is actually a kind of cruelty.

  The nature of women is a kind of inadequacy. You hope to treat each one well, but in the end, you can only disappoint them all.

  Note:

  Today is Dragon Boat Festival.

  I wrote the last part in the early hours of this morning, and I feel a bit eerie on my back. I reckon it's really frustrating to rush for recommendation votes, and on the good Dragon Boat Festival, I came up with such a strange chapter.

  The lyrics of "Wedding Dress" used in this chapter were first seen in a post on Tianya, where a popular song was rewritten as an ancient poem. A senior member of the forum rewrote it into a five-character poem. I thought that during the Han Dynasty, four-character poems were more popular, so based on that, I revised it again. Because I had a strong feeling about this song's lyrics and felt they had a bit of Huo Xiaoyu's clarity and decisiveness, I searched for the song online to listen to it. It was a bit unexpected, but the singing was quite sharp. Especially the sentence "One night is not my fault" that kept repeating.

  Covering my face, I will take my love for chestnuts to the end. During Chinese New Year when we eat zongzi (glutinous rice dumplings), I would really steal chestnuts from my dad and mom's bowls.

  In history, Emperor Xiaoming of Northern Wei knew his true parentage and once said he wanted to kill Empress Dowager Hu for his birth mother's sake. So she said "Since he will eventually kill me one day, I might as well kill him first."

  In addition, yesterday the female frequency released a notice. From June 1st to June 15th, they will hold the "Golden Commentator" activity.

  Within 15 days, posting a book review of more than 150 words in the comment section of any work by one of the 20 Celebrity Authors will be considered a valid post. After the event ends, the Celebrity Authors will select two or four Golden Commentator candidates from these posts to participate in the final evaluation.

  Cough, a certain Jiang was fortunately listed among the authors in the Hall of Fame (although I didn't know about this activity until the announcement came out).

  So, after June 1st, willing readers can post comments of more than 150 words in the review section of "Da Han Yan Hua". I will select the best ones to recommend as candidates for the Golden Reviewer. The winner will receive a copy of "The Female Book" and a cute plush toy rabbit (meow, why is it that the readers have prizes, not me?).

  It was just me being momentarily emotional.

  But still continue to seek pink votes. At this time, May's third-to-last day.