The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival.
This is the third year of Emperor Xinye's succession to the throne. Kyoto is stable and the local area is relatively calm. Last year, he even recovered the Dongjiang River. Such achievements are enough to be written into the history books, and Emperor Xinye cannot help but be high-spirited.
Therefore, he issued an imperial edict to cancel the curfew in the capital from New Year's Eve to the Yuan Dynasty to hold a lantern festival.
For half a month, BMWs, carved cars, fish and dragons danced, and the sky was full of fireworks. It seemed that Zhou Dynasty had returned to the prosperous age.
Coming out of Imperial Street and turning a corner, the bustling crowd faded away a little, and there were four or five customers sitting scatteredly on the wonton stall at the entrance of the alley.
On the table closest to the wind outlet, a middle-aged scribe wearing a washed blue shirt sighed: "The Lantern Festival is so lively. I remember the last time I saw so many lights was when I was a child."
This man is in his early forties, and his childhood was thirty or forty years ago. It was indeed the time of the Zhongxing of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Opposite him was a young man dressed in black, with a hat on his head and a long sword on his waist. He looked like a man from the world.
He snorted and said in a low voice: "It's just gold and jade on the outside, but ruins on the inside."
As he spoke, he raised his head. The flower buildings on the Imperial Street stood brightly lit, but in the alley just one street away, there was an air of dilapidation everywhere. On the street, there were rickety charcoal sellers huddled in the corners. A group of beggars... where is the scene that should be seen in a prosperous age?
The scribe sighed: "The expedition south to Dongjiang the year before last cost too much. I'm afraid the treasury is still empty! Today, I love ostentation. This Lantern Festival lasts for half a month, and I don't know how much it will cost."
The young man nodded: "The Battle of Dongjiang, on the surface, made him successful in martial arts, but in fact, it emptied the foundation of the Zhou Dynasty. It was Jiang Yi who really benefited...the hidden dangers are too great."
The scribe said impartially: "But this move is still very rewarding for him. If it weren't for this move, how would he be able to secure his position?"
The young man stopped talking and looked disapproving.
It doesn't matter if the throne is secure. The ship of Da Zhou is about to capsize. Will he be spared?
After the two of them finished eating the wontons, they stood up and passed by the beggar and the charcoal seller. Their cuffs trembled and a few coins fell down. The beggar subconsciously grabbed them, his dim eyes shone with light, and he stood up and kowtowed repeatedly. The charcoal seller noticed that the charcoal seller was on the stall. When the silver was broken, the two figures had already turned the corner and disappeared.
Pedestrians on Royal Street are so bright and beautiful, as if they have entered another world.
The two of them were walking casually, and suddenly there was a noise in front of them, and someone cheered: "Your Majesty has come out, Your Majesty has come to see the lights!"
So the crowd crowded towards the flower building.
The gongs and drums were beaten, and the group slowly went up to the flower tower.
The chamberlain opened the way, followed by Emperor Xinye, who was wearing a dragon robe. He took two steps, turned back and extended his hand to the palace concubine in full makeup behind him.
This imperial concubine's beautiful face was unparalleled in beauty, and everyone who saw her was enchanted.
Under the shouts of Jin Wuwei, people on the imperial street fell to their knees and shouted long live the mountain.
The young man, with quick eyes and quick hands, dragged the scribe into the dark place. When the crowd started to gather one after another and no one noticed them, he came out from the dark place.
"That must be Concubine Xu, right?" The scribe sighed, "She really deserves her reputation."
They were not too close, and their facial features could not be seen clearly, but their beauty's appearance was different from ordinary people even when they were seen from such a distance.
But the young man's eyes were attracted by the people behind him.
She was a girl in red. The narrow-sleeved Hufu was simple and neat. It was obviously a warm red color, but she looked like a lone crane in the crowd. Half of her face was covered with a mask, and the other half exposed was not painted with makeup. But it can be called beautiful.
There was a lot of discussion in my ears.
"That's Concubine Xu! She's so beautiful! No wonder Your Majesty obeys her every word."
"Beauty is a curse. If you weren't so beautiful, how could you be so obsessed with Your Majesty that you don't know right from wrong?"
"Did you see the woman next to Concubine Xu? That's her sister. I heard that her face was scratched because of jealousy in Dongjiang Palace."
"Fortunately, the face is bad, otherwise it would be another pair of Zhao sisters..."
Amidst the criticism, he thought of the continuous drizzle in the floating clouds.
No, she is obviously such a soft-hearted girl.
The scribe noticed his gaze and said: "I heard that in the early years in Nanyuan, Princess Mingzhu and her sister were called the twin sisters of the Xu family. Unfortunately... the colorful clouds are easy to scatter and the glass is brittle..."
Emperor Xinye looked at the lamp for a while, then went down with Concubine Xu.
As the night gets darker, the crowds on Royal Street gradually disperse.
After sending the scribe back, the young man left the inn alone. He rose and fell in the night wind. After a while, he arrived at a mansion and sent a letter to the princess' mansion.
He bypassed the gate, walked to a remote corner, avoided the night guards, and climbed in through the wall.
This princess's mansion is simpler than expected, with awe-inspiring houses and jagged rocks. There are no flowers and no color. Instead, it exudes a sense of solemnity.
The security was very tight, and it took the young man some time to get to the back garden.
There is a lake here, but it is living water brought from outside.
The girl in red sat under the tree by the lake and pushed a lamp into the water.
The river lanterns drifted with the water, flowed out of the mansion along the ditch, and merged into Yangshui.
She watched quietly, the candle flame was glazed with a layer of gentle light, and even the half-iron mask became softer.
This scene is inexplicably sad, as if I will shed tears the next moment.
He heard someone talking to her: "... Your Excellency is wise and will definitely keep the two young ladies safe."
But she said calmly: "I just hope that my father will be reincarnated as soon as possible, and I don't know anything."
The eyes of the young man in the dark moved, and there was a stab in his heart. Yes, if the mother had a spirit, how could she be heartbroken? It would be better not to know anything.
The subordinates talked about other things: "...I spent all the money to buy corn, donated some from various places, and winter clothes...it's just a drop in the bucket, not worth it."
"It's better to live alone than to do nothing."
"In the palace..."
The guard behind her was lazily chewing grass roots, but suddenly his eyes sharpened, he jumped away and said, "Who?"
The light of the sword passed by, the dead vines rustled down, and there was no one behind the tree.
The girl in red stood up and came over: "Qingxuan, what's wrong?"
The boy holding the knife scratched his head: "Maybe I saw it wrong? I always felt that someone was there just now."
The girl in red glanced around and found no trace, so she said, "If not, just go back."
"yes."
The group of people turned around and left. When they were leaving the garden, the girl suddenly turned back and took a deep look before striding away.
After a long time, a figure fell from the tree, raising his hand and slowly pressing his chest.
…
As the night got darker, the young man opened the window and turned back to the house.
Hearing the voice, the scribe stood up and asked: "The master is back. Can you find someone? If he can't be found, it doesn't matter. We will stay in the capital for a while."
He held the window, looked at the lights in the sky, and whispered: "I found it."
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This should be the last chapter in this book. It is a New Year gift to everyone. I wish you all the best, peace and health.