Xue Bai turned around and saw that lanterns had been hung up in the Prime Minister's Mansion, dispelling the darkness that had just been covered.
There is no dusk drum, which makes people feel a little uncomfortable.
"Let's go, go find the little lady! Hahaha."
In the side hall, Li Wei, the twenty-first son of the Li family, stood up, said goodbye to everyone with a big smile, and walked away.
All the disciples had their own affairs, and after a while, most of them dispersed.
Xue Bai was still sitting in his seat. This was an inconspicuous corner, just right for him to close his eyes and rest his mind in preparation for the many matters tonight.
"Asleep?"
Xue Bai opened his eyes and saw Li Xiu standing in front of him, so he responded: "No, keep your spirits up, you have to deal with many things at night."
"It's not a big deal. You just need to wait for the banquet with me and stand outside the building. I have my own arrangements." Li Xiu wrote lightly, "There are still more than three hours before the royal banquet, so why not let Jiao Nu take you there?
Look at the lanterns in the Prime Minister’s Mansion.”
Xue Bai couldn't help but think that Lu Fengniang also said the same thing about Fan Yang Lu's flower-like lantern.
"Then it's better to be respectful than to obey."
"Go ahead."
Li Xiu returned to her seat with the wine glass in hand, glanced towards the backyard, smiled helplessly, and said to herself: "Jing Nu Qishu, wait for me in the corner of the city."
Xue Bai stood up and walked out of the courtyard, only to see Jiao Nu waiting outside the courtyard.
"After you've eaten, why don't you go see the Xiangfu lanterns?"
"Okay then." Jiao Nu also acted for a while, looking reluctant.
The two then walked towards the lantern market in the east of the square. It was a little further from the west courtyard...
~~
Right Prime Minister's Mansion, backyard.
"Seventeenth Mother, why don't you put on a cloak again? What if it gets cold at night?"
As Mian'er spoke, she picked up a red cloak and said happily: "This one is beautiful. It makes Seventeenth Mother look white and beautiful. Is this the one?"
"don't want."
Li Tengkong looked at it, raised his hand and picked another plain one.
"On the Lantern Festival, wear something brighter."
Mian'er tried to persuade her coquettishly for a while, but she chose a cape made of apricot yellow brocade with a pure white fox fur stitched on the collar.
This fox fur was pure white and undamaged, and it was priceless. They didn't know how much it was worth, but it was beautiful and eye-catching.
The master and servant finished dressing up and went out to enjoy the lanterns.
It was rare for the Seventeenth Mother to go out, so the Youxiang Mansion specially arranged for the Jinwu Guards who usually guard Li Linfujing Street to protect her. There were four people in front, four people in the back, and four people around her. As soon as they came out of the alley, they started pushing and yelling at passers-by.
Li Tengkong was originally happy, but when he saw this situation, he was in a bad mood.
"What are you doing? On Lantern Night in the Yuan Dynasty, even the princess, emperor and grandson have never seen such rampage when traveling."
"My dear, forgive me. You guys are just following orders."
"I'm not going."
When Mian'er heard her little lady's sad tone, she was so anxious that she almost cried. She quickly stopped her and advised her, "Seventeenth lady, we're not far away... and you guys, please be gentle."
"Here."
After exiting the alley, the long street was bustling with activity. From a distance, we could see the brilliant scene upstairs in the east wing of Pingkangfang.
Hanging from the highest point of the square tower is a huge lotus-shaped lantern, and there are many small lotus lanterns surrounding it... It no longer looks like a square tower, but like a lotus pond in a fairy palace.
The lights on East Street became a decoration.
He had never seen such a beautiful night scene in a whole year, and Li Tengkong couldn't help but be stunned.
Mian'er's eyes were also filled with brilliance and she said, "As Shiro ordered, there is a daughter named Nianba Hua in the Right Prime Minister's Mansion. She is getting married this year. For the Lantern Festival, the seventeenth mother's favorite lotus will be used."
This is the thoughtfulness of Li Xiu. In the past two years, his eldest daughter born to his aunt remarried one after another. For two years in a row, he ordered people to make the lanterns into the shape of the peach that was his eldest sister's favorite.
To him, it was just a matter of words.
And tonight the most beautiful lantern festival in Chang'an City is not here, but in the east and west cities, and in front of Xingqing Palace.
Li Tengkong and Jiao Nu agreed to meet at the northeast corner of Dongshi.
They walked slowly along with the flow of people and walked out of the square gate. There were vendors on both sides of the street, selling a variety of items that were dizzying.
"Seventeenth Mother." Mian'er suddenly pulled Li Tengkong, "Where is Mr. Xue, have you seen it? Inside the square gate."
Li Tengkong looked back and quickly turned around and hid in front of a stall.
"Eh."
Suddenly her eyes lit up and she had an idea.
"I want to buy this."
Mian'er looked away from the distance, saw a mask stall, and asked, "Which one does Seventeenth Mother like?"
"Nine Heaven Fairy." Li Tengkong said without hesitation.
The master and the servant looked around for many times, and Mian'er said: "But there is no Nine Heavens Fairy."
"Little lady, buy this. This is the crane under the Queen Mother of the West..."
This vendor knew how to sell things. The mask was quite beautiful with feathers on top. Li Tengkong liked it at first sight and bought it immediately.
Wearing a mask and walking forward will make you feel more at ease.
Suddenly, a woman screamed at the entrance of the alley to the west.
"Help!"
Li Tengkong lifted up his mask, turned around and saw a few men dragging a woman into the building, tearing her clothes to pieces.
A Jin Wuwei stood up from the alley and shouted: "Nothing's wrong! The young couple are bickering and don't worry about pedestrians!"
"No...woo!"
Li Tengkong heard the woman shouting in despair, and hurriedly caught up a few steps. When he took a closer look, he realized that it was his brother who was robbing the captive girl. He was anxious and angry.
"Brother, how can you do this?! You guys go and stop him!"
"Young men just protect the little lady..."
"Save her."
Li Tengkong held up the hem of his skirt and rushed over there, shouting hurriedly: "Li Wei, let her go!"
On the long street filled with people, her clear voice was not overbearing and did not spread far.
This is just a small thing that happens occasionally in the shadows under the lights of Tianbao's prosperous age.
No one noticed that six Jinwu guards squeezed through the crowd and walked to the kidnapping man.
Jin Wuwei, who was protecting Li Wei, thought it was his companion who was coming. He grinned and looked at the young lady on the street.
Without any warning, one of the six Jinwu guards who had just arrived drew his sword.
Cut it off suddenly.
"puff."
The man who was helping Li Wei snatch the woman still had a sinister smile on his face, but his head fell to the ground with a muffled sound. The blood spurted extremely high and splashed on the lanterns in the square building.
~~
It was Jiang Hai who came to kill people disguised as Jin Wuwei. He held the knife in his hand and felt happy when he saw the blood spilling in front of his eyes.
The order he received was to commit several murders. He was looking for targets along the way. When he was at the east gate of Pingkangfang, he saw a dandy kid robbing a girl, so he immediately came to kill him.
Everyone who saw this scene was stunned.
"Eating dog intestines! How dare you steal my wife!"
It was Jiang Hai who roared like this on purpose that made someone scream.
"ah!"
The crowd was in chaos, pushing and shoving to escape.
Jiang Hai had just killed one person, but it was far from satisfying. He glared at the frightened Li Wei and pounced directly on him.
"puff."
A servant of the Prime Minister's Mansion who was in the way was chopped down. Jiang Hai immediately slashed a second time, directly hitting Li Wei's back, knocking him to the ground.
He wanted to strike again, but finally the real Kingo Guard blocked it with his sword.
Jiang Hai suddenly became murderous. Suddenly, someone grabbed his arm and dragged him back.
"Gone." Jiang Mao said.
The order they received was to commit a crime and attract the 16th Guards to search. If the trouble got too big, it would not end well.
The two brothers glanced at the trembling Jinwu guards who were fighting with swords, grinned in mockery, and retreated nonchalantly.
Tuoba Mao didn't forget to pick up the woman they rescued and take her with her.
"I saved your mother-in-law, let's go!"
The six people were like wolves and tigers, raising their swords and shouting at the crowd admiring the lanterns: "Are you still watching? Kill you all!"
"ah!"
As the little ladies screamed, the scene became even more chaotic.
The six of them looked back and saw that the losers from the Jinwu Guard did not dare to pursue them, so they swarmed into the chaotic crowd and left.
Only the seriously injured Li Wei was left lying on the ground, howling and screaming in pain...
~~
"Ah! Ah!"
Xue Bai and Jiao Nu came out of Pingkangfang and suddenly heard screams, so they looked towards the square tower.
Suddenly, his eyes narrowed.
Among the thousands of lanterns and bright firelight, he saw a familiar figure wielding a knife to kill someone.
Jiang Hai.
There are also Jiang Mao, Tuoba Mao, Lao Liang, Liu Quan and Xiao Bosi.
Hearing about Yang Shen's visit to his ancestral grave today, Xue Bai had an uneasy feeling, but there were still some things he couldn't see through.
When something happened, he immediately realized that he had neglected someone since the Spring Festival - Pei Mian.
This matter must have been arranged by Pei Mian, but I don't know why.
Xue Bai immediately pushed aside the crowd and stared at the Longyou veteran to catch up.
Jiaonu was also chasing, but he shouted: "The Seventeenth Mother is there!"
Xue Bai turned his eyes and looked at the fleeing crowd. In the chaos, it was impossible to see who was Li Qiniang.
The frightened crowd stood in front of them, and they pushed forward with difficulty until they reached the cross street and lost their direction.
Jiaonu stopped and looked around in panic.
"Where's the Seventeenth Mother?"
"Which one is her?"
"I can't find it, look for it quickly... white fox fur, apricot yellow brocade silk, flying feather mask... look for it quickly..."
Xue Bai's tone was calm and he ordered: "Go and ask Juro to mobilize someone."
"I……"
"go!"
Xue Bai gave an indiscriminate shout, and Jiao Nu turned around and ran away.
Xue Bai calmed down, looked around the long cross street, observed the movements in all directions, and headed straight to the west.
Because there were shouts in the west, it was Marquis Wu who was chasing the six Longyou veterans. If Li Shiqiniang was elsewhere, it would be fine, but there would be trouble in the west.
After running for more than ten steps, he saw a Feiyu mask on the ground.
There was Jin Wuwei standing next to the mask and looking around in panic. He must have been squeezed out of the chaos and lost track of Li Qiniang.
There was no time to pick it up, so he walked faster and faster, chasing all the way until he stopped near the south gate of Pingkangfang, and the movement in front of him gradually became smaller.
Even the patrols have lost track of the murderer.
Xue Bai immediately raised his head and looked at the Fire Watching Tower. Sure enough, someone upstairs was raising a fire as a signal.
Not far away, there was a dull Jinwu Guard who was looking at the Fire Watch Tower. Xue Baidang walked over and asked: "The prime minister's daughter is lost! What is the meaning of the Watch Tower?"
The Jinwu guard turned around, but it was the guard beside Li Qiniang. He even recognized Xue Bai and responded: "Langjun Xue? I... lost him..."
Xue Bai didn't expect that he recognized him, so he stopped his bluffing tone and asked: "How did you lose it?"
"The young lady said that the woman is still crying. I wonder if she is the murderer's mother-in-law... She asked me to save her... I, I don't dare to go up..."
"What does Wanghuo Tower mean?"
"The general sends orders, the patrols perform their duties, secretly hunt for the murderers, and do not disturb the Lantern Festival... I, I, I..."
This order sounds ridiculous to those who know it, but when you think about it from the perspective of the commander-in-chief of the Sixteenth Guards of Nanya, it is easy to understand.
The right prime minister robbed a civilian girl in the street and was stabbed by her husband who was holding Jinwu. This matter may be big or small, but tonight, no one can bring this matter to the saint's ears and affect the saint's elegance.
Xue Bai thought about the matter for a moment, and immediately asked: "Which Wanghuo Tower sent the order first?"
"that."
The Jinwu Guard raised his hand and pointed, but he was pointing at the north gate of Xuanyangfang. Looking again, most of the Wuhous there were missing. It is possible that the Wuhous had found clues about the "secret murderer", so they let him
Don't move around while patrolling elsewhere.
Although this was just speculation, Xue Bai still rushed into Xuanyangfang decisively.
When he reached the first alley, he looked around and was surprised to find a bloody handprint on the west wall.
That handprint gave him a very arrogant feeling. He could imagine Jiang Hai casually swiping it on the wall, grinning nonchalantly.
It seemed as if they were deliberately leading the patrol to chase them.
There was the sound of running ahead.
Xue Bai quickly caught up and when he was about to reach an alley, a woman wearing a white fox fur and a luxurious cloak of apricot yellow brocade walked past.
From a short distance away, we could only vaguely see her beautiful face.
"Li Qiniang?"
When he asked, the woman was startled and ran away like a frightened rabbit.
"Seventeenth Mother, don't run, wait for Mian'er..."
Immediately in the alley on the left, there was a petite figure leading several Jinwu guards to chase him.
The petite one was Mian'er. She was more flexible and pursued Li Qiniang the most closely than the Jinwu Guard.
"Xue Langjun scared people away, don't chase them..."
The Jinwu guard who was following Xue Bai was also overjoyed. He shouted, "Fortunately, I found it," and chased after him in a panic.
Xue Bai relaxed a little, slowed down, and looked around.
There were also lanterns hung in the alley, allowing him to see a few drops of blood dripping on the ground. He followed the blood stains, turned left, and saw a pile of debris ahead.
Li Qiniang was dispersed by the crowd and got lost here. She hid for a while and walked back after the crowd dispersed. When she met her, she ran away shyly?
After walking forward for a while, not far away is the west gate of Xuanyang Square. The guards at the gate all stand on the top of the square to watch the lanterns, allowing people to come and go freely.
He frowned slightly and walked over there.
Ahead is another brightly lit street.
The streets are crowded with people, and even small lights are hung on the trees, just like pear blossoms in bloom.
Across the street, several Jinwu guards entered the east gate of Chongyifang.
Xue Bai was about to follow, but was blocked by many people.
"The float is coming!"
The luxurious float is slowly driving through the streets.
This float is decorated with plum blossoms, lanterns are hung high, and a high platform is set up at the top. There is a graceful dancer dancing gracefully, waving colorful silk in her hand, as if she is about to fly into the sky and become a fairy at any time.
There was an elegant man standing on the shaft of the carriage, playing the flute, causing the children to chase after him.
Pedestrians heard the sound of the flute and sang to the rhythm.
"Fire trees and silver flowers bloom together, and the iron locks of the star bridge open."
"The dark dust follows the horse, and the bright moon follows the person."
"All the players and performers are like plum trees, and all the singers are like plum blossoms."
"Jinwu cannot help but stay at night, and jade leaks must not urge others."
Xue Bai lost the clue and stood alone in this bustling area for a while. Only when the float slowly passed by did he continue his pursuit.
When he turned his head, his eyes were fixed.
A few plum blossoms fell, and across the long street, a girl was looking at him.
This girl was very plainly dressed, far less glamorous than the other women in colorful silks around her, but somehow Xue Bai noticed it at a glance.
He then looked at her and realized that it was because her eyes were very bright and there seemed to be a slight smile in her eyes, as if she knew him.
The two looked at each other for a while, which seemed to last only a moment. The girl turned her back and went to pick up a sachet from the stall.
~~
Xuanyangfang.
"Seventeenth Mother, don't run away..."
Mian'er chased her for a long time. Although she was flexible, her physical strength was weak. She finally chased Li Tengkong to the corner of the square, but saw Jin Wuwei forcing her little lady under the wall. She couldn't help but get very angry.
She trotted forward, pushed away the guard, knelt down and took a look, only to see that the person wrapped in the luxurious cloak of her little lady was shivering. The original clothes were torn to pieces, and her face was full of tears, but
It was the poor woman Li Wei wanted to kidnap.
Mian'er was immediately frightened to death.
"You are not my seventeenth mother? Where has she gone?!"
"She...she said...it would be nice to see that I was fine. She put some clothes on me and let me go home..."
