The Great Han Dynasty Volume 1 The great wind rises, and the clouds fly high. Three Talents [Fourth Update]

  The Pepper House is the middle palace of Chang Le, second only to the Emperor's Palace. It is located on the north side of the front hall of Chang Le, and it takes about half a small hour to walk along the central path. The Pepper House has nine bays in width and four bays in depth. Liu Ying carried Zhang Yan into the west wing of the palace and placed her on the bed surrounded by nanmu wood with vermilion lacquer painting, then turned around and ordered one of the maidservants, "Bring hot water." He also asked, "Is your knee still sore?"

  Zhang Yan nodded pitifully.

  Liu Ying let out a sigh, "Roll up your skirt." Seeing Zhang Yan's dazed expression, she took the initiative to roll up her purple skirt to her knees, and saw that her kneecaps were bruised and swollen, and she gasped in surprise.

  "How can it be so serious?" he asked in puzzlement. "It was just a matter of kneeling for more than an hour, how could it have ended up like this?"

  Zhang Yan's toes curled up in embarrassment, during the Qin and Han dynasties people often knelt and sat, naturally knowing how to kneel without putting too much force on it, but she didn't know this, plus Zhang Yan was also a national mother, delicate and tender, so she ended up like this.

  Liu Ying stood up, clapped her hands and ordered Chang Jing to go to the Imperial Medical Office to fetch medicine. She then asked a group of maidservants, "Which one of you is in charge of attending to the Empress Dowager?"

  An eight- or nine-year-old girl with two buns in her hair and wearing a yellow dress walked out, knelt down, and said timidly, "It's me, Caiyun."

  "How did you serve the old lady, letting her run out alone?" Liu Yin scolded with a frown, full of annoyance. The maid kneeling below trembled slightly, clearly very afraid in her heart. Zhang Yan couldn't bear it, reached out to pull Liu Yin's sleeve and smiled, "It was my own fault for being playful, don't blame her."

  Liu Ying let out a sigh and said, "Forget it."

  Zhang Yan was delighted in her heart and smiled sweetly.

  The laughter dispelled Liu Ying's anger. He glared at Tuo Mo with a bad temper and said lightly, "Still not helping the master to wash and comb."

  Ling hurriedly nodded and went forward to take a hot towel, wet it with hot water, and wiped Zhang Yan's face. The warm and humid towel was applied for a moment, and Zhang Yan felt comfortable and wanted to sigh. And Ling obviously did this often, her hands and feet were light and quick, and in no time, she cleaned up Zhang Yan's tearful and sweaty face.

  At this moment, Zhang Jin brought in a round-bottomed lacquer box and opened it, saying, "This is the best Lingqu Hui ointment from the Imperial Medical Office for treating injuries."

  Liu Ying nodded and took over the lacquer box, using her fingers to pick up a bit of it and carefully applying it to her knees.

  The ointment emitted a faint scent of grass, and the cool sensation touched her skin for an instant, causing Zhang Yan to shudder slightly.

  "Does it hurt?" Liu Ying asked her.

  "No." Zhang Yan smiled and shook her head.

  "That's good." Liu Ying looked carefully and confirmed that there were no missed spots, then put down her skirt and instructed, "You're tired today, get some rest early."

  When the eunuchs withdrew from the palace, and only Zhang Yan and Tao Yao were left in the large bedroom, Tao Yao turned around and complained in a soft voice, "Master, this afternoon I turned my head and you disappeared. You really scared me to death." Her tone was gentle and her eyes flowed.

  Zhang Yan was stunned for half a moment before closing her mouth, "You and your expression from just now are like two different people."

  "Old Master, you're making fun of me, but I couldn't help it. That was the Crown Prince just now! The King is the King of Zhao, and in the land of Zhao, everyone pays their respects to him. It's said that the Crown Prince will inherit the throne in the future, how could I not be afraid?"

  "But the Crown Prince is really good to you, Master." She helped Zhang Yan take off her outer clothes and hung them on the clothes rack by the bed, smiling and saying, "I heard that His Majesty has found a Taifu for the Crown Prince, who is a high-ranking official in the court named Sun Shu Tong. Today, the Crown Prince was learning the etiquette of visiting his master when he heard the news that you were punished to kneel down, so he immediately took leave from Sun Taifu and went to His Majesty to plead for you."

  "Oh?" Zhang Yan blinked her eyes in surprise and asked, "Really?"

  "What's wrong isn't true?" asked Tong Hua with her head down. "Has Master Weng finished washing and resting?"

  Zhang Yan nodded.

  She then changed into a basin of hot water, wrung out the towel to wipe Zhang Yan's hands and feet. "What was said by Zhang Gonggong in the Pepper Chamber is true." She helped her change into a white silk nightdress for sleeping, put down the crimson satin quilt with red tassels, and finally added a handful of grass to the bronze incense burner on the phoenix head. In an instant, the fragrance in the hall was filled with a sweet and refreshing scent that was very pleasant.

  "Master, I've blown out the lamp," said Tao.

  "Hmm." Zhang Yan replied softly, as if she was there but also wasn't.

  Tong Yan smiled gently, "Master Weng, don't be afraid. I'll sleep on the outer bed as before. If you're uncomfortable with anything, just call out and I'll hear it."

  The moonlight was like water, and Zhang Yan opened her eyes to look at the familiar brocade flowery canopy above her head. The outline of the four-poster bed was blurry and distant. Her small body lay on the huge ebony-painted nanmu wood bed, like a small boat in the ocean, unable to touch any side. The quilt was exquisite and smooth to the touch, soft against her skin, a rare high-quality item. If I were really Zhang Yan, everything would be fine, but I'm not, I'm Yanran.

  I am Zhang Wan'er's younger sister, Zhang Yanran, who was raised by her with one hand.

  I am Lu Mi's close friend Zhang Yanran who knows her well and has a good relationship with her.

  Lost in the intertwined time of two thousand years, thinking of the past with a gentle smile.

  Yanran painfully misses Zhang Yan, but Yanran will never be Zhang Yan. She can't be Zhang Yan, Yanran can only be herself.

  Why? Zhang Yan thought she would go crazy trying to figure out why she ended up here, in such a sudden and inexplicable way. Yet the strange old woman in the cemetery, and the intermittent dreams that had haunted her for four years, gave her an absurd sense of fate's inevitability. Life had set up a delicate but bizarre chessboard, and she was just one pawn in the hands of the gods, destined to be used for assassination.

  But she didn't want to.

  She doesn't want it like this.

  Zhang Yan painfully hugged her head.

  She has her own life, her loved ones, her friends, and her whole life. Whether in heaven or on earth, who can just move her around without asking for her opinion? Who can change her mind at will?

  On the first night of becoming Zhang Yan in everyone's eyes, she thought of Xiang'er who missed her in another time and space, and turned over, feeling heart-wrenching pain.

  Smile, if I really can only stay here for a lifetime to be their Zhang Yan, then what about you? Is there anyone who can replace me as your Yan Ran, making you laugh and cry but no matter whether you're laughing or crying, you'll both be together.

  If not, sorry.

  I have a premonition that I won't be able to come back.

  I am extremely unwilling to become Zhang Yan in their eyes, but I can only go and play the role of Zhang Yan.

  In the night, Zhang Yan smiled silently.

  Fate tells us in an irresistible way that when we fall into a certain situation, there is nothing that cannot be compromised. When fate brutally cuts off the umbilical cord connecting us, I can only secretly cry out in the dark night, and can't do anything else.

  Man is the most flexible animal.

  So, in order to survive well in this strange era, I will work hard to play the role of a six-year-old child in the eyes of everyone, without letting anyone see any signs.

  Finally couldn't help but shed tears, silently sobbing.

  The jade pillow under her head emitted a faint light in the dark night, hard and cold, tormenting Zhang Yan who had long been accustomed to soft pillows. She simply turned over and buried her face in the pillow, cooling her already swollen eyes.

  "Master," Weng's wife, lying on the couch in the outer chamber separated by a screen, heard Zhang Yan turning over and over inside, rustling softly for a long time without falling asleep, couldn't help but feel some worry, and called out tentatively, "Can't you sleep?"

  After a long while, Zhang Yan's soft voice came from inside the room, "En."

  Tao Yao lost her smile, threw off the covers and got out of bed, walked to her bedside, comforted her, "The princess has just entered the palace from Zhao's land, presumably not used to the water and soil, and changed beds, rest for two days and it will be fine."

  Zhang Yan turned over and looked at Tao Miao through the red silk curtains. In the dim light, Tao Miao stood there in a single layer of clothing, her hair uncombed and hanging down to her waist, her face glowing with soft radiance, her features delicate and beautiful, her eyes shining brightly and warmly.

  The young girl slipped into the tent, sat down beside her bed, and smiled brightly, saying, "Master, let me sing a song for you."

  "Uh-huh." Zhang Yan nodded and looked at her shivering figure, then opened the quilt and said, "It's cold outside, come sleep inside instead."

  "Isn't this wrong? You are the master's wife, and I... am just a slave."

  "What's the big deal?" Zhang Yan insisted, "No one saw it, hurry up."

  She nodded and slipped under the covers like a fish, and as the air entered, both of them felt a chill.

  "Hehehe," the two girls looked at each other and burst out laughing. After a while, Tuo Luo began to sing, her low and beautiful voice echoing in the empty bedroom:

  The peach tree has blossoms, shining with a rosy glow. Before the door, they don't fall, but float and become straight. Alas, alas!

  The peach tree has blossoms, its spirit is bright and beautiful. Now it does not wither, what proof is there that no one will come? Remind me again and again!

  The singing voice was in a melancholic tone, gentle and pleasant to listen to. Zhang Yan's consciousness slowly became hazy as she listened to the song, and she gradually fell asleep.

  "Master Weng, Master Weng?" Amidst her daze, she heard Tong Wei's voice.

  She didn't answer.

  After a while, Tuo Yu got up and gently lifted the quilt, slipped out of bed.

  Zhang Yan smiled slightly.

  Two Han cultural tips: The Zhonggong Palace, known to the world as the Western Han imperial harem, is the Jiangtai Temple in Weiyang Palace. Later generations, Empress Xiaowu of Emperor Wu lived in the Jiangtai Temple of Weiyang Palace. However, what people don't know is that there is also a palace with the same name in Changle Palace.

  Later generations examined the site of the Xi'an palace and, based on the remains, drew a restored picture of the Pepper Chamber. As a reference material, I posted it on my blog.

  Although this is the Jianfu Hall of Weiyang Palace, I think that Changle and Weiyang Palaces were built almost simultaneously, so it's likely that the layout of the Jianfu Hall in Changle Palace was similar to this one.

  The fourth update.

  My idol, Mr. Shi Dingrou, said that there is no need to underestimate the reader's understanding, so don't be afraid of burying the key point, and don't be afraid of saying half-truths.

  So, quietly buried a thread.

  At this time, everyone is probably watching the Spring Festival Gala, but there are always one or two lonely or alternative ones.

  Holding tickets is better than celebrating the New Year.