The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival.
Early in the morning, the sky became gloomy, which made people both happy and distressed.
Folks say that clouds cover the moon on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, and snow lights up the lanterns on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. This is a symbol of a good year.
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, snowflakes are flying. The heavier the snow, the more favorable the weather will be this year, and the country will be peaceful and the people will be safe.
This actually has some scientific basis. Spring is approaching on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and the snow is thicker, which can indeed moisturize the soil and be beneficial to spring plowing.
It's just that people in Chang'an have to go to watch the lanterns at night. If it snows, it will make travel more difficult, so people are more confused.
People are like this. They hope to have the best of both worlds, but in fact there are always trade-offs. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.
The ancient sages have made the truth clear to you, but it's just that people's hearts are not enough.
…………
In Sophora Flower Alley, the north wind swirled past, making a whining sound.
The door of the Chu Mansion slowly opened, and the north wind immediately found a way to vent its anger. The person who opened the door was so messy that he couldn't even open his eyes.
The servants worked hard to pull the horse out. Chu Suiliang covered his official hat, bowed his waist and walked out of the door, and got on the horse.
At the same time, I cursed in my heart, this damn weather would freeze someone to death.
He urged his horse forward and took a few steps forward, hoping to get out of the alley quickly. This place was like a wind outlet, and it was indeed a bit cold.
Unexpectedly, the door of Gongsun An's house was also opened, and a carriage was pushed out, blocking the road.
Chu Suiliang complained secretly, but had to stop and wait patiently.
This must mean that Aunt Liu is going to her tavern again. I don’t know why she is so interested in marrying a Yulin general, but she still can’t afford a tavern. It’s very hard to watch her all day long.
How much money do you make? It’s also strange.
The steward of Gongsun An's house came out and apologized to Chu Suiliang. After a while, his face turned green with cold.
Chu Suiliang waved his hands repeatedly, "Okay, okay, hurry up. I have to go on duty here, so you should stop talking. We have to travel in this cold weather. Your aunt is really diligent."
After the carriage was hitched, Mrs. Liu showed her face. She first saluted Chu Suiliang and called him uncle. After the two of them greeted Chu Suiliang with a few polite words, Mrs. Liu quickly got into the carriage.
Chu Suiliang thought it was funny and thought to himself that Gongsun An didn't know when he would come back, so he had to take care of your mother-in-law, right? How much dignity would General Yulin have left if this continued?
But when he thought of Gongsun An's love for his mother-in-law, Chu Suiliang secretly shook his head. When he got home, he didn't know who was in charge of whom.
…………
After leaving the alley, Chu Suiliang urged his horse to move quickly.
He was not supposed to be on duty today, but it was his turn. Chu Suiliang naturally knew what this meant. He was ostracized to a certain extent in the province.
The reason is also very simple. Feng Deyi died, and the eldest grandson Shunde was temporarily in charge of all the affairs of the family. Many people in the province were in trouble. He, Chu Suiliang, was an "outsider" and he had not long since joined the job, so the hard work naturally fell on him.
In fact, if you really want to say it, it is not considered exclusion, it is just a normal phenomenon in officialdom.
Chu Suiliang was not angry at all. He had seen this kind of thing a lot. He just felt that something was not right in the province, and some people were acting too carelessly.
How many days had Feng Deyi died? He heard someone in the province talking about when Changsun Shilang would be promoted to the position of Shizhong and what would happen next. He heard such gossip more than once.
Especially those from Henan became more and more arrogant. Even if their official positions were inferior to his, they still wanted to point fingers in front of him, let alone those colleagues from Henan.
Among the six ministers, four were from Henan, three were regular servants, and two were under the eldest son of the eldest son. It was becoming increasingly obvious that the people from Henan were becoming powerful in the province.
Moreover, the people of Henan had a very restless aura, which made Chu Suiliang very wary.
When Li Yuan was here, the East Palace and Tiance Mansion were fighting for power. The two families were going back and forth with swords and swords flashing, and no one dared to relax.
Benefits must be fought for, and if things cannot be gained, they will be thrown to the other side in every possible way, seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages, and using all possible means.
The people at that time were quite similar to some people in the province now.
And Changsun Shunde was a figure who came from that time...
This kind of atmosphere is not obvious now. After all, Changsun Shunde is only temporarily in charge of all the affairs of his family and has not yet entered the post of Feng Shizhong. However, his party members do not know how to restrain themselves at this time, and they all look like one person can ascend to heaven...
…
Thinking of this, Chu Sui sneered in his conscience. He didn't know what they were so proud of. Did they think this was a power struggle with Li Jiancheng's party?
When he returned to Beijing to report on his work, Su Xu and others reminded him to stay away from people from Henan. At this time, he really understood.
At that time, there were many factions in Henan, and there was extreme chaos inside and outside the government. Now in the new dynasty, the people from Henan seem to have not changed. He really needs to stay away from these hot-headed guys.
So it is understandable that he is not having an easy life in Menxia Province now. If he does not want to stand with others, he will naturally be squeezed and suppressed.
…………
Unknowingly, Chu Suiliang had arrived at Zhuque Street.
The street has been cleaned now, and lanterns are being set up on both sides of the street, which looks very lively.
This year the lantern festival is no longer limited to the Imperial City. Maybe because someone died last year, or maybe there are too many people watching the lanterns, the Imperial City is a little small and it is getting more and more crowded.
No matter what, this year's lantern festival will extend from the Imperial City to Zhuque Street and several other avenues that lead directly to the Imperial City, which means the scale has expanded a lot.
As a result, the Yulin army, the garrison army, the prison guards, and the Chang'an magistrate's office will be busy. They need to be stationed along the street to prevent theft, fire, etc.
Moreover, this year the emperor will also go to the city gate tower to watch the lanterns and set off fireworks for fun. Therefore, this year’s lantern festival will have a lot to see and it will definitely be a grand event.
During the Lantern Festival in the fourth year of Yuan Zhen's reign, the emperor and the empress visited the imperial city at night. The emperor held the empress's hand and made the famous sapphire eucalyptus.
The east wind blows thousands of trees and flowers into bloom at night, and even blows down stars like rain... The crowd searched for him thousands of times, but suddenly looking back, he was there in the dim light...
That year and that night, the emperor and the empress once again fulfilled their century-old alliance.
Is the story exciting? Not only the common people love to hear it, but the nobles are also fascinated by it. As for what the scene was at that time, no one will delve into it.
What kind of excitement will this year bring? Chu Suiliang doesn't know, and he can't care. As a middle-level bureaucrat in Menxia Province, the most important thing for him is to do his job well.
Once something goes wrong, no one can save him...
This is also the reason why everyone regards attending the Lantern Festival as a hard job.