The long line ended, followed by children jumping up and down.
The spacious and clear Guangfang River reflects the lights along the bank, which is gorgeous and bright, like a thread of gold.
Xia Zhaoyi watched them go away, and then looked at the long queue coming from the other side.
It was clearly a "bad thing", but why did it feel like the people in the city were celebrating the Lantern Festival.
This is...a real funeral.
She was watching intently and caught something out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head and Shen Lie handed over a candied haws.
The white fingers with distinct phalanges hold a bunch of large fruit gourds with full sugar coating. The red and white tones form a sharp contrast, which is quite beautiful.
"...Give it to me?" Xia Zhaoyi raised his head and looked into his gentle and deep black eyes.
"Yeah." Shen Lie smiled lightly.
Xia Zhaoyi also smiled and raised his hand to take it.
Her fresh lips wrapped around the big fruit. She bit off one in one bite and chewed it in big mouthfuls. Her cheeks were stretched out. She lost her usual charm and a rare sense of innocence.
Shen Lie handed over the handkerchief: "Sugar tablets."
"Thank you very much," Xia Zhaoyi took it and wiped it, smiling, "my brother used to like to buy me candied haws."
"Second brother?"
"Both the eldest brother and the second brother have them," Xia Zhaoyi looked at the long queue in the distance, "but I rarely ask for them. Master said that eating too much candy is not good."
"But you like to eat Baihua cake from Changweixianli." Shen Lie said.
"...How did you know?" Xia Zhaoyi recalled whether she had ever told him.
Shen Lie chuckled, looking at her with tender eyes.
Lao Tong told Du Xuan about this Baihua Cake, and Du Xuan didn't miss any details that could be told to him, so the letter was already full.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Xia Zhaoyi said, "Did Song Qingtang tell you?"
The deep smile condensed slightly: "...him?"
"Last time in Panzhou, he asked me what my favorite food was."
Shen Lie was silent for a moment and said, "It seems he is not married yet."
Xia Zhaoyi took another bite of the candied haws, and then realized why Shen Lie's mind suddenly jumped like this.
The team coming this time was not from the other side of the river, but from their area.
As passersby retreated one after another, Xia Zhaoyi and Shen Lie also retreated.
Thousands of lanterns were scattered across the sky, illuminating the blue cloudy night sky. The bright fireworks pots were carried in front of them. The children were happy when there was excitement, clapping their hands and running after them.
The vendor at the back finished grilling the meat skewers and ran over to hand them over.
Shen Lie took it and looked at the girl with bright eyes. Since she still had candied haws in her hand, she didn't rush to hand it over.
Xia Zhaoyi sniffed and looked sideways. There were still oily bubbles on the barbecue.
Shen Lie took advantage of the situation and said, "I don't like sweets, so just two candied haws on a stick. Let's eat the meat skewers first."
"...Well, thank you."
"Let's go eat glutinous rice balls later," Shen Lie said gently, "As promised before, I want to treat you."
"Okay." Xia Zhaoyi nodded.
The grilled meat is very tender and full of aroma in your mouth. The sauce is prepared by the vendor himself and is extremely delicious.
Xia Zhaoyi suddenly thought of the scene where she and Shen Lie were cooking together at Mr. Liu He's house last year. The two people, who rarely cooked, were studying bottles and jars of seasonings.
She had never had the slightest idea about fireworks in the human world, and suddenly she felt that this might be what many people called fireworks.
Fang Li was seriously injured and couldn't walk a few steps, so he couldn't eat glutinous rice balls with him.
Dai Yu and Ye Zheng were very sensible and knew that they must not go up to "obstruct the eyes" at this moment, so they either said they had stomachaches, said they had lost their swords and wanted to find them, or said they still had missions, so they declined.
Xia Zhaoyi followed Shen Lie and left. Before leaving, Dai Yu suddenly ran up to him: "Ah Li!"
Xia Zhaoyi turned around and a small lantern was thrust into her hand.
It is an ancient and very common lotus lantern pattern. The workmanship is rough, the lantern paper is badly worn, the green leaf paper used for decoration is wrinkled, and the pink "petals" are seriously faded.
Shen Lie frowned and hesitated to speak. Xia Zhaoyi had already raised the lantern and looked at it: "They really treated it like a festival."
"Let's go eat glutinous rice balls," Dai Yu said. "It's late and there won't be any roadside stalls, but there must be some inns that are open."
Xia Zhaoyi raised his eyes and looked at the Yanbo Tower behind him, feeling that if he went to other inns to eat, he might as well stay here.
"Yanbo Tower has no glutinous rice balls for sale, I asked." Dai Yu quickly added.
Shen Lie turned his head to the other side, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes speechlessly.
A gust of wind blew and the small lantern swayed with bright light. Xia Zhaoyi smiled and said, "Then, Shen Lie and I will go somewhere else to have a look."
"Yeah, okay, okay, go."
After watching Xia Zhaoyi and Shen Lie leave, Ye Zheng and Wei Dongyou quietly came back and moved closer to Dai Yu.
"Where did you get the lantern?"
"I asked the little girl to buy it for three cents, and I brought it over easily."
"It's too shabby."
"that is."
"But don't tell me, Miss Ah Li and our young master look like a perfect match together!"
"right!"
…
There are many people by the river, and the firelight seems to be able to dispel the cold night, so the occasional gust of wind makes it comfortable and cool.
"The two men ten steps back and to the right have been at Yanbo Tower since Xu time, and they have been following us now." Shen Lie said in a low voice as he walked.
Xia Zhaoyi was looking down at the small lantern, and smiled lightly when he heard this: "There are two on the other side of the bridge."
"It doesn't look like they're in a group."
Xia Zhaoyi paused for a moment, thinking of Zhang Yunyun mentioned by Mu Tingyu. She raised her head and met Shen Lie's dark eyes: "Shen Lie, what do you think of the frequent strange and strange things happening in the Minister of Rites?"
"The person in charge of the Ministry of Rites, the person in charge of the ceremony, and the person who attacked the Minister of Rites may be related to this way. This place is Xizhou and Hejing, not the Yong'an imperial capital back then, but Zhang Puxiang's granddaughter is still involved, which may mean that the forces are also following. Here we are.”
His voice was low and low, and he spoke smoothly. Without thinking, he thought of Zhang Junjun together with her.
"Mentioning these people always reminds me of one thing." Shen Lie added.
"What's the matter?"
"Back then, Shen Shu, in my name, took Lao Tong and Zhi Changle with Li Ju to leave the capital for Shuangjiang Palace. I chased him all the way, and Rou Gu was waiting for me halfway. At that time, she made five conditions, saying that as long as I complete , then let Lao Tong and Zhi Changle be safe."
Xia Zhaoyi said nothing and listened quietly.
The deep voice is very pleasant to the ear, low in alcohol but not hoarse, the clearer it is, the calmer it is, and it has an indescribable sense of peace and solidity.
"First, I am not allowed to return to Zuilu for three years. Second, I am asked to return to Yunliang to fulfill my filial piety. Third, I am asked to draw the celestial star diagram in the Xunji Hall in the palace city. Fourth, I am asked to return to Zhaoyun Mountain and draw the mountain shape. Give him the map. Fifth," Shen Lie paused, "it's some private matter."
Since it was a private matter, Xia Zhaoyi didn't ask any more questions and said, "It sounds like, first and second, you won't do it."
"The fourth one won't do it either, because Shen Xu already knows the mountain map over there and doesn't need me to make another trip."
