flstandardbreds Chapter 200 Flowers
Chapter 200 Flowers
Two days before the Qianqiu Banquet, the flowers from the mountains outside Beijing were finally delivered to the palace.
Among these flowers, some prefer warmth while others prefer cold, so they have to be placed separately and surrounded with oilcloth to separate them, and then put out on the day of the Qianqiu Banquet.
It is the beginning of October and the weather is already late autumn. There is no heat at all and it is even a little chilly.
On the day before the Qianqiu Banquet, a young eunuch suddenly came to report to Qin Liuse that the chrysanthemum seemed to be starting to droop.
Qin Liuse quickly put down the work in her hands and followed the eunuch to the place where the flowers were stored in the Four Seasons Garden.
This chrysanthemum blooms between late autumn and early winter, and it is a cold-loving flower. Qin Liuse looked up at the sky.
It must be because the weather is clear today and the sun is stronger, so the flowers are a little lacking in water.
Qin Liuse quickly ordered the people in the Shanggong Bureau to take ice cubes from the ice cellar and beat them into crushed ice.
I didn't dare put it too close, for fear that the cold would freeze the immortelle to death.
He spread the crushed ice in a circle, keeping some distance between them, and asked the eunuch to take a round fan and fan the middle to send some cold air to cool down the temperature.
How can an autumn flower-viewing banquet be complete without chrysanthemums, especially the precious immortelle, so Qin Liuse values these immortelle very much.
He waited from noon to evening, but he was still worried, so he asked people to go to the mountains outside Beijing to see if there were any more, and send a few more pots to cover the situation.
Fortunately, at night, these flowers seemed to be welcoming autumn like children who have suffered from the bitter summer. They no longer looked a little wilted as they did at noon.
Qin Liuse then returned to Shu Yuexuan and had a good sleep.
The next day, on the day of the Qianqiu Banquet, Qin Liuse got up earlier than the chickens.
I got up early in the morning and worked hard, thinking that after I get through the day, I can relax for a while.
After having a simple breakfast at Shu Yuexuan, she dressed up. Since it was a good day, she couldn't dress too simply.
Aunt Mingyue combed Qin Liuse's hair into a flying bun and made her wear a yellow and green silk skirt with a belt around her waist.
Since I had to move around a lot to do work, I didn't wear too many jewelry, otherwise I would feel heavy when walking.
However, traveling so lightly, walking is much easier. Walking in the garden is like walking through a beautiful sunset.
This magnificent sunset glow is the flower garden prepared by Qin Liuse and Concubine Xiao Defei.
In addition to those precious varieties, there are many flowers that were originally available in the Four Seasons Garden. However, in order to arrange the flowers into shapes, many of them were transported in from outside the palace.
The aisles on both sides are covered with colorful flowers, and flowers of different colors are arranged to form "happiness, wealth, longevity and happiness".
On the ground in the middle, pink, white and green flowers are arranged into the shape of a longevity peach.
These were all arranged yesterday. Qin Liuse came over early today to watch the gardener arrange those precious flowers.
She had confirmed the gardening drawings with Concubine Xiao De earlier, so she just followed the drawings this morning.
The birthday banquet was at noon, and Concubine Xiao De was keeping an eye on the banquet.
Qin Liuse is responsible for the appearance of the flowers and kites.
The stage had been set up two days in advance, and the most famous opera troupe in the Jiangnan area was invited to perform.
When she was singing in the garden yesterday, she attracted several little princesses who came over with their wet nurses to watch the fun.
The little princess was far from being old enough to leave the palace, and she seldom saw these gangs, so she was extremely happy and didn't want to leave after watching them for a while.
After Qin Liuse finished her work here, she walked to the other side to look at the kite.
The kite was going to be released into the sky during the second half of the birthday banquet, which was still more than an hour away, but to make sure it was safe, Qin Liuse asked them to take it out and have a look in advance.
The eunuch and the maid came out holding a wooden box, put it on the ground, and then opened the box.
As a result, as soon as the kite was taken out of the box, the maids and eunuchs present turned pale.
"Zhaoyi, this!" Qingqing almost jumped up for a moment. How come the kites were breaking into pieces one by one?
At this moment, Qin Liuse's heart was almost broken.
The father-in-law who was taking care of the kites went weak at the knees when he saw this. He could not imagine how the kites could suddenly break down while he had been following them all the time!
"Zhaoyi, Zhaoyi, spare me, how could this happen? It was clearly all right."
The father-in-law was so scared that he almost peed himself on the spot.
This is the Empress Dowager Cixi’s birthday. It’s such a big event and even the Emperor is in attendance.
But these kites were broken, what an unlucky thing.
It is no exaggeration to say that it is a matter of losing one's head, and it is extremely normal to be afraid.
Qin Liuse looked at the damaged surfaces of the kites. There were either holes or cuts on them, and it looked like they were torn with scissors.
Isn't this obvious man-made sabotage like making it impossible for her to accomplish her tasks, being blamed by the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, and making her unable to hold her head up?
The idea of flying a kite was suggested by her and Concubine Xiao De, and they did not hide it.
Therefore, if she fails to do so, it would be like a joke, and the women in the harem would laugh at her for a long time.
Qin Liuse didn't want to be the laughing stock of everyone.
Of course, this group of people in front of us must be punished, but not now.
Qin Liuse shouted in a low voice, "Enough, why are you crying! Hurry up and put away all your things!"
It was actually the first time that Aunt Mingyue saw Qin Liuse look so angry.
But in fact, for some people, shouting in a low voice like this is just a daily tone, but for someone as friendly as Qin Liuse, it is a sign of anger.
Seeing this, Aunt Mingyue also hurriedly instructed, "Put the things away quickly. It looks terrible if they are scattered all over the floor."
If someone sees it, you will be laughed at.
The servants put away the kites with trembling hands, feeling extremely distressed.
It's such a pity and a pity that such a beautiful and exquisite kite was destroyed.
After everything was put away, Qin Liuse said, "Put these kites back to their original places. For now, just pretend nothing happened."
Everyone looked at each other, some of them not knowing what Qin Liuse was up to, but they all did as he said.