The dragon and lion dance team passed by Tianshui Bridge. Mrs. Zhang and Pei Luo, as well as Yang Chao and Chen Biao, all stood on the street in new clothes and watched the fun.
The Duke Ye's Mansion, not far from the Pei family's mansion, was also hung with red lanterns. The corners along the river were brightly lit, but the interior was a little deserted. There were only a few maids responsible for cleaning up, gathering together and talking.
gossip:
"Why hasn't Master Ye come back yet..."
"Build such a big house for us to live in all year round, ugh..."
…
In the plum blossom courtyard of the West House, lanterns illuminated the crosswalk. Sanniang and Ye Jingtang were not there, the doors and windows were closed, and there was no movement.
Dongfang Liren quietly crossed the wall and landed among the cold plum trees in the courtyard. There was a hint of drunken blush on his cheeks, and the fat-headed dragon on his chest shone brightly in the candlelight.
Baifa Di listened to Meng Jiao following closely behind him. When he saw Prince Jing taking a walk after the banquet, they all came here. He understood the meaning in his heart and bowed slightly and said:
"I'm waiting outside. Your Highness can summon you whenever necessary."
After saying this, he quietly retreated outside the hospital.
Today is New Year's Eve, Dongfang Liren replaced his sister and hosted the Dongfang clan's banquet. Although there were many princes and princesses from the Dongfang clan, the banquet was quite lively, but the people closest to Dongfang Liren were not around, so it was inevitable.
Still feeling a little lonely and lost.
Dongfang Liren stood alone in the courtyard admiring the plum blossoms for a moment, then opened the door of the main room and entered the study on the right.
There are many objects in the study, including the Queen Mother, Master, her paintings, small ornaments given by other girls, etc. There is also a pen hanging next to the mountain of pens. Judging from the poem on it, it was given by Hua Qingzhi.
This pervert is actually hanging on the table, and I have some thoughts in my heart...
Dongfang Liren thought silently for a moment, then wandered to the bedroom on the left.
The bedroom is very tidy and there are not many items in it. The eight-step bed where four girls can sleep is very eye-catching.
After Dongfang Liren looked at it for a few times, he came to the bed and sat down. Looking at the light of the lantern on the window paper, the sound of fireworks and firecrackers outside was faintly heard, which gave her a strange feeling, hmm...
Wedding night with candles?
Dongfang Liren didn't know why he thought of this word, but sitting on the bed in the Night Terror Hall, listening to the festive atmosphere of fireworks and firecrackers outside, he did feel a bit like waiting for the groom to enter the house.
It's a pity that the groom is having fun somewhere, and no matter how nervous he is, he won't come...
Dongfang Liren sat upright for a while, feeling a little bored, and lay down on the pillow again. He crossed his arms and looked at the window paper. He didn't know if he was imagining the situation of being alone in the boudoir after marriage. When he was thinking about it, he suddenly found the bed.
There is a small drawer at the head.
Dongfang Liren blinked and opened the drawer smoothly. It can be seen that there are quite a lot of things inside, including a few leisure books to pass the time, pamphlets she drew by herself, hairpins, red handkerchiefs, etc. It seems that they are all gifts from the girl.
.
Dongfang Liren originally wanted to take out the pamphlet and read it, but after thinking about it, he felt something was wrong, so he took out the red handkerchief inside and looked at it.
The fabric is Jiangzhou tribute material, the whole is pure red, without any embroidery, it seems to be the style my sister usually uses...
?
Dongfang Liren was a little confused, wondering how her sister's handkerchief could be in the room of the Night Terror Hall. She thought for a while, then sat up and looked at the light to carefully check whether there was any redness or the like.
But the handkerchief was clean and nothing special.
Dongfang Liren studied for a while but couldn't figure out the reason, so he kept the matter in mind and picked up the pamphlet.
It is a beautifully framed booklet. Although the paper is as smooth as new, you can still find the creases in the details that have been observed from time to time.
Dongfang Liren leaned on the pillow, glanced left and right, and thought to himself - This pervert wouldn't use the painting given by the king to entertain him when he was having sex with the girl...
I guess so, otherwise why would I be hiding here...
I have to ask him...
I don’t know when he will come back and what he is doing now...
With such random thoughts, sleepiness gradually came over him, and Dongfang Liren slowly closed his eyes...
——
At the same time, Yazhou Jingjie City.
Jingjie City is the capital of Yazhou. Outside the city is a canyon that stretches for more than ten miles. The terrain is like a sword from heaven and man cutting across the mountains. Both sides are steep peaks and cliffs. Only the Qingjiang River originating from Tianlang Lake passes through the canyon.
.
The difficult-to-surmount natural terrain made Tianmen Gorge the common gate to the country for both the Northern and Southern Dynasties. The southern side of the canyon was the Wei Dynasty, and the northern side was Beiliang. During the Northern Expedition of the Southern Dynasty monarchs, their base camps were all in Jingjie City. Therefore, Jingjie City
It is also known as the "accompanying capital".
The envoys who came to the Wei Dynasty to meet the empress had to go upstream to turn back north, which was slower than when they came. In addition, there were too many people accompanying them, so they walked for more than half a month before they could reach the pass between the two dynasties.
The minister Li Si lost his wife and troops in Yun'an, so he obviously had no intention of celebrating the New Year in the Wei Dynasty. Even though Wang Yin, the Duke of Zhenguo, who was in charge of Jingjie City, personally persuaded him to stay, he did not settle here, and he insisted on New Year's Eve.
Before midnight, he led the fleet through the long waterway between the canyons.
There were more than ten boats accompanying us, and because they no longer carried students, it was much emptier than when we arrived.
Hua Qingzhi, who had put on new clothes, was sitting in a wheelchair and was pushed to the back of the deck by her maid Luzhu. She looked at the fading lights in the south with a bit of reluctance in her eyes.
The reluctance is not because she cares about someone, but because of her background, she is destined to be unable to be as free as a woman in the world. Looking back now may be the last time in her life to look at the land of the Southern Dynasty.
Although her stay in the Southern Dynasties was short, there were many people who left a good impact on her:
Mrs. Wang is gentle and generous, secretly talking to her about her daughter's private affairs.
The doctor is kind-hearted and does not treat Dr. Wang differently just because she is from Beiliang.
The Queen is arrogant but full of real talents.
And Mr. Ye, who is unrivaled in beauty, talent, both civil and military, and whose merits are indescribable...
Now when they go back, these people have become enemies with no grudges against each other. Even if neither side wants to, under the influence of the general situation, it may develop into a war and even a life-and-death situation.
Hua Qingzhi is from the Northern Liang Dynasty, and her grandfather is a grand master, so she definitely loves the Northern Dynasty; but if one day, the Northern Liang Dynasty breaks through and invades the south, what will Young Master Ye do? What will happen to the Queen? What about the people of Yunzhou who are very kind to her?
what to do?
And if she wanted everything to be well in the Southern Dynasty, what would she do if Master Ye, an astonishing talent, led an army to attack Yanjing City?
Being a shameful woman who doesn’t know the hatred of her country’s subjugation, she goes to curry favor with Mr. Ye to protect her whole family?
Or is he loyal to the end, a woman will not let a man die for his country?
The cold wind was hunting in the canyon, and Hua Qingzhi didn't come back to her senses for a long time.
Luzhu stood behind with the cold wind blowing. When he saw the young lady holding the dagger Qinghe in her hand, she had been in trance for a long time. She couldn't help but said:
"Miss, go back. There are times in life when we get together. You are only a teenager, and you have a long way to go. In two years, your legs will be completely healed. At the worst, you can take over the family business and go to the Southern Dynasty to do business, so that we can meet again soon.
It’s time for Young Master Ye…”
Hua Qingzhi stared at the gradually disappearing city in the distance, shook her head and smiled:
"See you Mr. Ye again. Either the Wei Dynasty attacked Yanjing, or he was captured and taken to Yanjing. Rather than this, it would be better to never see him again in this life."
After Luzhu saw Ye Jingtang, he felt that there was basically no man in the world who could compete with him. If the two dynasties were to go to war, it would most likely be Ye Jingtang.
But if I spoke out these thoughts, I would probably get slapped on the head by the lady. Luzhu sighed secretly and pushed Hua Qingzhi back:
"It's Chinese New Year, don't say such unlucky things. Mr. Ye has been to Jiangzhou for so long, and I don't know if he has returned to Yun'an City. If he goes back and finds that the lady is not there, he should also stand under the eaves to miss the lady..."
"He should be worried about Prince Jing, what do I have to worry about."
"That's impossible to say. The young lady is so beautiful and extremely smart. How can any man in the world not be tempted..."
"Ha~..."
Hua Qingzhi shook her head and smiled. After looking back to the south, she finally suppressed all her distracting thoughts and followed the ship into the majestic gate at the end of the canyon.
Gulu gulu...
——
Jiangzhou City.
As the night got darker, Jiangzhou City, which had been calm, became lively again. The men and women who had finished the New Year's Eve dinner took to the streets again and enjoyed the dragon and lion dances and lanterns.
In the big house behind the Escort Bureau, the drinking bureau has not yet ended, but the atmosphere has changed from being a little reserved at the beginning to being indescribable now.
Under the eaves, Ye Jingtang looked slightly drunk, standing outside the restaurant door sobering up. Xiao Yunli was also drunk, holding a bird in his right hand, and holding his sleeve with his left hand, dangling by his side:
"Cousin Jing, let's go, let's... um... go set off the firecrackers..."
Ye Jingtang held Yunli's shoulders to prevent her from falling. He looked at the room and wanted to call it quits, but he didn't dare to interrupt.
In the restaurant, the eight well-educated girls were basically drunk and dizzy.
The Queen Mother, whose drinking capacity was average, had already left the table and rested on the tea couch to take a rest.
Fan Qinghe and Master Xuanji were sitting at the same table, and they were inevitably being poured violently. They were already lying on the table. From the side of the table, you could see the plump balls hanging and rising slightly.
Sanniang had a good drinking capacity, but no matter how good she was, she couldn't hold Lie Nu Chou back, and she leaned on Ning'er's shoulder in a daze.
Ning'er usually doesn't drink. She didn't drink much today, so she wasn't drunk. She kept pulling on Xue Baijin's sleeve.
As for Xue Baijin and the Empress, both in terms of martial arts skills and drinking capacity, they still can't decide the winner.
Shui'er, who didn't take it too seriously to watch the excitement, even ran to sit between the two of them and helped pour them drinks to warm up the atmosphere.
Although the empress had a good capacity for drinking, after drinking so much, a voluptuous blush appeared on her cheeks. She supported the side of her face with one hand. Seeing that Xue Baijin refused to give up, she stopped drinking.
Xue Baijin's expression remained unchanged from beginning to end. If the empress dared to hold the cup, she would accept it. She looked like she was deciding between victory and defeat, as well as life and death.
Ye Jingtang was supposed to sit next to him and drink with him, but after a few rounds, he realized something was wrong - with this way of drinking, he would probably have eight wives when he woke up tomorrow morning.
Ning'er was also afraid that Bai Jin would get into trouble with the Empress if they got drunk, so she asked him to come out and sober up first, lest there would be no one to start a fight with.
Ye Jingtang felt the cold wind blowing outside for a while, and his mind did clear up a bit. Seeing that Yuhu and Bingtuotuo refused to accept the other, he stepped forward and said:
"Okay, okay, the Queen Mother has to go back to the Duke's Mansion for dinner. If we delay for a while, it will be next year. How about I have a drink with you each and save the rest for next time?"
Master Xuanji may have been a little drunk. Ye Jingtang stood behind him, then leaned back against Ye Jingtang and handed the wine glass to Ye Jingtang:
"Give."
Fortunately, everyone in the room was so drunk that no one noticed.
The empress didn't want to give in first, so she looked at Xue Baijin:
"It depends on what Miss Xue wants."
Xue Baijin didn't want to give in, but there was still her daughter-in-law sitting next to her, so Luo Ning quickly smoothed things over and said:
"Okay, don't drink too much, just get there. Bai Jin has something to do tomorrow, so I'll take her back first. We'll excuse you."
Xue Baijin was pulled up by Luo Ning, so naturally he didn't say much, but after he got up, he remembered something and said:
"Yunli can just give it to me. You can help me clean it up. Don't let Sanniang do the work alone."
Luo Ning could tell that Bai Jin was giving her a chance to stay and sleep or something. Her eyes were a little strange, but she didn't say no. She just sent Xue Baijin to the door and let Yun Li support her.
Yunli was still young and had no ability to drink. He was so confused that he hugged Xue Baijin's waist and buried his face in his arms:
"Oooh...Master's waist is so thin..."
Night Terror Hall didn’t know what to say, so he stepped forward and said:
"How about resting here? There are many rooms here..."
How could the strength of Martial Saint Xue Baijin be overcome by a few glasses of wine? He hugged his naughty apprentice and walked out:
"It's okay, just go about your business and see you tomorrow."
Ye Jingtang was indeed a little worried, so he followed him out and asked Niao Niao to accompany the two of them to the inn, and then returned to the courtyard.
The Queen Mother had already been woken up because she had to catch up with the second show, but her mind was quite clear. Seeing that she had come back from the night terror, she stepped forward and said:
"I'm going back to the Duke's Mansion first. I heard from Yuhu that you have to go back to Yun'an tomorrow, right?"
Ye Jingtang nodded and said: "There is news from the northwest. We have to rush there as soon as possible. It won't be long and we will be back in February at most."
Ye Jingtang was going to do some business. The Queen Mother could not follow him this time. She felt very reluctant to give up. After looking back, she acted like she was going to give instructions and led Ye Jingtang to the corner outside the courtyard.
hidden.
Ye Jingtang was about to say a few words of comfort when he saw the Queen Mother turning around, standing on her tiptoes, and kissed him on the lips, looking at him intently with her almond-shaped eyes:
"It's not easy for me to accompany you this time. You should pay more attention in the past and don't care about your body like last time. If you come back safely, I...well...then..."
Looking at the Queen Mother's expression, Ye Jingtang understood the meaning and lowered her head to her ear:
"It's just like what is written in the book. You were resting in Fushou Palace, and I suddenly barged in. You wanted to call someone, but I was afraid that you would leak the news, so I cooked the rice..."
"spit!"
The Queen Mother thought so, but she never said it out loud. Seeing that Ye Jingtang dared to mention it, she immediately became angry and raised her hand to lightly hammer her chest.
Boom~
Because there were still people in the yard, the Queen Mother did not dare to be too presumptuous. After the hammering was finished, she hugged her neck and chewed hard, then she straightened her clothes, turned around and walked out:
"I'm waiting for you to come back. If anything happens to you..."
"Don't worry, I can't wait to stay in the capital every day and come back as soon as I finish my work."
When Ye Jingtang said this, he remembered something again:
"Yuhu said that he is going to lead troops to Jingjie City. If you are in a hurry when you return to the capital, you can go there together. Jingjie City is not far from Tianlang Lake. It will be convenient for me to visit when I come to recover my life."
The Queen Mother didn’t know what Yuhu would do, so she said:
"Let's talk tomorrow. Well..."
When she thought about not being able to see each other for a month, the Queen Mother really couldn't bear it, so she came back, hugged Ye Jingtang, raised her eyes and looked at her carefully, her eyes seemed to want to carve Ye Jingtang's appearance into her bones.
When Ye Jingtang faced the reluctant hand warmer, his heart almost melted. Seeing that there was no one around, he put his hands around his waist, picked him up and spun around:
"I promised to take you to the places where Shui'er has walked, and I will definitely do it. After this is finished, I will take you to Shazhou to see Crescent Lake, the place where Prince Liang and the Queen Mother last stayed together.
,How about it?"
When the Queen Mother heard this promise, the reluctance in her heart disappeared and her eyes were filled with joy:
"Just the two of us?"
"Well……"
"Okay, I know you can't tell now, and I'm not greedy. As many people as you want can go, as long as you take me with you."
The Queen Mother hugged Ye Jingtang's neck. Although it looked a bit strange with her feet dangling in the air, Ye Jingtang held her firmly and there was no discomfort at all.
After lingering for a long time, it seemed that the time was too long and there was suspicion in the yard. The Queen Mother finally fell down reluctantly, restored her dignified and quiet expression, and turned around and said:
"Hongyu, I'm back home."
"Okay, ma'am."
When Ye Jingtang saw the Queen Mother out of the door, she saw Yuhu, who was wearing a bright red dress, already sitting in the carriage. He lifted up the curtain and waved to him:
"Okay, don't waste time. Go back and rest early. You have to return to Beijing tomorrow, so don't get up late."
Ye Jingtang must have been riding Rouge Tiger, and he and Yu Hu turned back quickly. Naturally, there was no need to say goodbye, but he just said with concern:
"You didn't drink too much, did you? Are you sure you don't want me to give it to you?"
The empress put down the curtain and said casually: "Miss Xue is safe and sound, how can there be any problem for me to leave."
Creaking, creaking...
The carriage slowly drove away and headed to the Duke's Mansion in the East City.
After all, Ye Jingtang was not at ease. Although he did not follow, he still came to a high place and watched the carriage drive through the bustling streets.
It wasn't until people from the Duke of Qin's palace came to greet him that Ye Jingtang turned his eyes away, looked in the direction of Yun'an, and sighed softly.
I don’t know what Benben is doing. He must be unhappy during the New Year alone...
But it doesn’t matter, I’ll go back in two days…
Ye Jingtang thought of Da Benben who was guarding the empty boudoir alone, and felt a sense of homecoming. Seeing that it was almost midnight, he did not delay and flew back to the yard.
——
After the banquet, the restaurant was inevitably a little messy. Ping'er and Xiuhe were cleaning up, while Ning'er helped Sanniang back to the house. Shui'er seemed to follow, but she didn't know why she left Fan Qinghe in the living room.
Ye Jingtang returned to the restaurant and saw Miss Fan, who was being poured heavily with water, leaning on the tea couch to rest, and she couldn't help but wonder:
"Why don't you send Miss Fan back to your room?"
Xiuhe responded: "Fairy Lu said that the young master should deliver it in person so that Miss Fan would not feel left out."
"..."
Ye Jingtang nodded slightly, feeling that Shui'er had thought quite well. He immediately helped Xiu He clear away the dishes and told them to rest early, then came to the tea couch and hugged Fan Qinghe.
Fan Qinghe promised to stop drinking, but he couldn't help it. He was indeed drunk today. When he realized that he was being hugged, he opened his eyes and looked dizzy, then closed his eyes again and murmured:
"You can not……"
I can not?!
Ye Jingtang was not thinking wrongly at first, but he was unhappy when he heard this. He carried Miss Fan to the room where Shui'er stayed, frowned and said:
"Miss Fan, who do you think can't do it?"
"no……"
…
Ye Jingtang actually understood the meaning and did not act recklessly while being drunk. After putting Miss Fan on the bed, he helped take off her shoes and cover her with the quilt.
Fan Qinghe was still aware of the situation subconsciously, and kept twisting and dodging slightly. He didn't calm down until the quilt was covered and there were signs of leaving the Night Terror Hall.
But soon, a trace of doubt appeared in Fan Qinghe's eyebrows, which seemed to mean - if he doesn't take advantage, what does he mean?
Ye Jingtang looked at Fan Qinghe's blank expression and felt really funny in his heart. After thinking about it, he did as he wished, lowered his head and pecked on the red lips, then closed the curtain and quietly left the room.
After a busy day, the house was completely quiet, except for the sound of fireworks and firecrackers that occasionally sounded in the city.
"call……"
Ye Jingtang stood in front of the door and breathed a sigh of relief. He looked around and saw that Yunli had also kidnapped his bird, so he didn't stop there. After washing up for a while, he came to Sanniang's yard.
The main room where Sanniang lived was larger than the other rooms. The lights were on, but there was no movement.
Ye Jingtang came to the door and listened carefully. He could hear three breathing sounds. He thought his wife had fallen asleep after being drunk, so he opened the door and looked into the inner room.
The inner room partitioned by the bead curtain was brightly lit, and when the curtain was lowered, the light could not see the shadow inside, but it was certain that the three people were lying inside.
Afraid of waking up his drunken wife, Night Terror Hall came to the outside of the curtain with very light footsteps. He originally wanted to raise his hand to open the curtain and take a look.
But what he didn't expect was that as soon as he raised his hand, a slender hand came out from between the curtains. Like a demon fox capturing a scholar, it directly grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the curtain.
Between the curtains, Sanniang was wearing a black nightgown made of smooth fabric, her exquisite and graceful silhouette was looming, and she was looking at him with her hands on the side of her face.
Shui'er is dressed in white as snow, with a flushed cheek. She looks like a drink-grubbing iceberg fairy, with a playful smile in her eyes.
Ning'er was lying in the middle, with Sanniang and Shui'er holding her hands down, apparently not letting her run away. For this reason, her cheeks were cold and she looked like "I didn't do it voluntarily."
Thump~
Ye Jingtang was pulled out of balance and fell on the three of them. Sanniang was very considerate and lifted her chest slightly to pick him up. The scent of her daughter hit her face, and she even woke up from the drunkenness.
Ye Jingtang stood up with his hands, but the bed was not big and there was no place to lie down, so he asked Shui'er to put his legs up to make room for him to sit, and asked, knowingly:
"What are you doing? Are you celebrating the New Year for me?"
Master Xuanji raised her eyebrows: "Today is your birthday, plus the New Year, so the promised gift must be honored..."
Luo Ning twisted her wrist away: "If you want to give a gift, you can give it yourself. Why are you dragging me along?"
Seeing this, Sanniang let go of her hand:
"Okay, how about you go to the side room to rest first?"
"..."
Luo Ning blinked her eyes, said nothing more, got up and left.
Ye Jingtang shook his head and chuckled, hugged Ning'er against his chest, and barely squeezed into the middle:
"Oh, let's just talk during the Chinese New Year, nothing else."
"When have you ever taken it seriously when you said something like this?"
"next time……"
"ha?"
"hehe……"
"You! Sigh...I'll take it off myself..."
"This is right..."
…
Whispers came from the room, turned into murmurs, and then into a rhythmic beat.
As midnight arrived, Jiangzhou City, which had already calmed down, suddenly erupted into fireworks all over the city.
The first day of the first lunar month of the new year has quietly arrived at this moment. Although it is still winter, there seems to be a different kind of spring whether inside or outside the house...