Butterfly, in late spring, Gillian was wearing light yellow clothes for the first time, leaning against the window to learn painting.
It's like seeing them among flowers, flying in pairs, wiping their rouge with tears for no reason, causing their wings to hang down.
——"Butterfly" Zhang Mi (Tang Dynasty)
…
After the five of them broke up, Bai Fu returned to the Bashu Guild Hall and slept until noon.
Just after washing up, brothers Li Yan and Li Qiu came to visit.
Li Yan smiled and said: "Brother Fu, pack up quickly and come with us to the Spring Party in Yingyuan."
Every spring, the aristocratic children of Chang'an routinely go to Xiyuan to enjoy cherry blossoms, make poems and paintings, meet friends, and get to know the opposite sex. This is one of the most popular activities among young people.
Usually, in such activities, the elders are not present, and the participants are more relaxed and comfortable, dancing and writing, and choosing people who are close to their hearts.
Those who are eligible to enter are the children of famous families. If they can find a good match, they will be a good match, so instead of interfering, the famous families encourage young members of the family to actively participate.
Bai Fu was heartbroken and naturally had no intention of participating in such activities, so he quickly waved his hand and refused.
Li Qiu ignored Bai Fu and left. Li Yan laughed loudly, pushed Bai Fu on the back, and said: "Let's go, if you don't want to go, my brothers can't bear the favor of the New Year's Eve ball game." I don’t know how to pay it back!”
The two of them dragged Bai Fu into the carriage and headed towards Xiyuan.
…
When we arrived at Xiyuan, it was the time when the sun was at its best, with cherry blossoms all over the sky, butterflies dancing among the flowers, and the golden clouds breaking through.
Countless beautiful girls dressed up carefully, smiling, lingering under the cherry blossom trees, laughing and chasing each other. What a beautiful picture of early spring.
Li Qiu pointed to a young lady wearing a pleated satin skirt with dark flowers playing chess in the pavilion and said: "This is the second daughter of the Zheng family in Xingyang. She is a good embroiderer.
The beautiful girl playing chess with her is her cousin, the eldest grandson and eldest daughter of the Wang family in Taiyuan. It is said that her piano skills are unparalleled. Wang Bo, Wang Zhihuan, Wang Changling, Wang Wei and other poets all came from her family."
Li Yan looked at the girls playing pot-throwing games under the cherry blossom trees diagonally opposite and said: "Brother Fu, the one who is throwing the first arrow is the granddaughter of the Cui family of Qinghe. The person who is throwing after her is the Fan Yang Lu family. Granddaughter, her family has Confucianism and is a descendant of Mr. Lu Zhi, a great scholar of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
The Lu family of Fanyang and the Cui family of Qinghe were originally from the same clan, both descended from the surname Jiang, and were descendants of Jiang Shang and Jiang Ziya.
The Fanyang Lu family has a very strong family background in marriage. They only intermarry with the Cui family of Qinghe, the Zheng family of Xingyang, the Li family of Zhaojun, the Wang family of Taiyuan, the Cui family of Boling, etc., and do not intermarry with our Li and Tang royal families. Therefore, we There is no need to join in the fun with them.
I don't know the third girl behind her. Third brother, do you know her?"
Li Qiu squinted his eyes and said, "It seems to be the granddaughter of the Duke of Chu. It is said that she returned to Beijing from Xiakou a few years ago."
The two of them were chatting lively when two beautiful girls walked towards them. They were wearing peacock pattern brocade clothes with blue cloud pattern and beads, and Shu brocade dress with peony pattern and golden buttons. They had the same Shangguan Wan'er-like red plum makeup between their eyebrows. .As soon as they saw Li Yan, the two brothers Li Qiu rushed over.
Li Yan introduced Bai Fu with a smile: "These two are our cousins, the granddaughters of Prince Ning, the lord of Ji'an County and the lord of Yichun County. They have been admiring each other for a long time, and they are eager for me to introduce you to them."
Bai Fu quickly raised his hands and saluted.
The two girls looked Bai Fu up and down, pursed their lips and smiled: "Young Master Bai is so gentle, he is completely different from the leader who is always on the court."
Li Qiu laughed loudly and said: "He is not familiar with you two, and he is still shy. We will get to know each other after we have a drink together."
A few people were joking and joking, and on the cherry blossom avenue, a man and two women walked towards each other. The man was handsome and handsome, with a jade tree in the wind.
The two young women are gorgeously dressed, elegant and noble. One is wearing a pleated skirt of bright moon soft satin and peony spring show, and the other is wearing a cloud-like satin and colorful brocade woven with flowers and flying butterflies. They are extremely expensive.
The three people walked from a distance, their grace and grace attracted attention.
When the three of them came to the scene, Li Yan, Li Qiu brothers and others hurriedly bowed and saluted, saying: "It is truly a blessing for the Spring Festival to see Her Royal Highness Princess here."
The two princesses smiled slightly at the clan members and nodded. They glanced at Bai Fu from the corners of their eyes and looked at them as if they were nothing.
The man accompanying him glanced at Bai Fu with hostility, and raised the corners of his mouth with contempt and disdain. It was Li Chu, the prince of Guangping County.
Li Qiu was about to retort, but Li Yan stopped him.
When the Lord of Ji'an County and the Lord of Yichun County saw Li Chu, Prince of Guangping County, their smiles were as bright as flowers. They said goodbye to Li Chu's brothers and followed the three of them together.
After the five people left, Li Yan said: "The two princesses just now are His Majesty's daughters, Princess Wanchun and Princess Taihua, who are very favored by Your Majesty. These two princesses are similar in age to us, but they are older.
The prince of Guangping County is actually kind, filial and respectful. He is playing for his father in the Yuanxi game, and the responsibility he bears is too great, so he has not calmed down for a while. Please don't take offense, brother Fu."
Bai Fu smiled slightly and said it didn't matter.
At this moment, the servants of Prince Qing's Mansion hurried to Li Qiu's side and said: "Little Prince, Miss Cui is here. She is just over there in the corridor."
When Li Qiu heard this, he smiled happily.
Bai Fu was puzzled, and Li Yan smiled and said: "This Miss Cui is from the eldest family of the Boling Cui family. She is the great-granddaughter of Cui Xuanwei, the king of Boling County. Her father is Cui Huan, the minister's foreign minister.
This girl Cui is one of the top ten Luoshen in the Chang'an Luoshen list. Not only is she unparalleled in beauty, she is also proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. She is wildly pursued by the children of the aristocratic family. My third brother is also one of the many admirers.
After the New Year's Eve finals, Miss Cui was moved by the martial arts of her third brother, her true feelings were revealed, and she finally agreed.
Some time ago, my father personally went to the Cui family to propose marriage, and Lord Cui Huan nodded in agreement."
When Bai Fu heard it, he felt happy and expressed his sincere blessings.
Li Qiu smiled from ear to ear, wishing to see his sweetheart right away, so he pulled Li Yan and Bai Fu away.
Halfway there, Li Yan also saw the person he admired. The woman was surrounded by the princes chatting. Li Yan was in a hurry and couldn't take care of the two of them. He hurriedly arranged his clothes and went to the shortlist to chat.
Bai Fu thought: "As soon as Li Yan leaves, it doesn't matter if I follow him. It's better not to disturb Li Qiu and the others."
Bai Fu found a reason to leave, and Li Qiu secretly thanked Bai Fu for recognizing his interest and borrowing the donkey from the slope. The two parted ways to say goodbye.
…
Bai Fu walked aimlessly in the garden.
The young aristocratic disciples gathered together in small groups, chatting enthusiastically, and from time to time there was laughter like silver bells. Bai Fu didn't know anyone, and he didn't want to gather together to join in the fun.
Without Li Yan and Li Qiu brothers around, no one would take the initiative to strike up a conversation with him.
Bai Fu knew it well and thought to himself: "That's right. They and I are not the same people. Don't get carried away. It's boring to stay here. It's better to leave early and go back to the house to study my cuneiform writing."
Bai Fu originally wanted to go back the way he came, but he didn't expect that Xiyuan was so big that he actually got lost after walking a stick of incense.