Don't rush the jade leaky silver pot, the iron gate and the golden lock are clearly open.
Who can sit around and see the moon? Where can I hear the lamp but not look at it?
——"Six Poems on the Night of Shangyuan·1" Cui Ye (Tang Dynasty)
The third day after arriving in Chang'an coincided with the annual Lantern Festival. The city of Chang'an was bustling with activity.
Xianyu Zhongtong, the envoy of Jiannan Festival, was also in Chang'an at this time. He was busy paying homage to the emperor and paying homage to important ministers these days.
He held a banquet in his own home. On the night of the New Year's Eve, he opened his mansion and hosted a banquet for the Shu court officials and famous scholars in Beijing. Zhang Fen, Taoist Priest Qingchi and other elders were also invited.
Before going to the banquet, Zhang Fen called together all the Bashu youths and gave them some instructions:
"Today is the Shangyuan Festival. Everyone has come all the way to Beijing, so how can we not go shopping for lanterns? But I want to emphasize a few points. Chang'an seems peaceful and peaceful, but in fact there are undercurrents and dangers. Especially during the Shangyuan Festival, dragons and snakes are mixed.
, many children are lost every year. It is not uncommon for women to be raped and men to bully women. Everyone must be on high alert and stop joining in the fun and meddling in other people's business."
Yichan whispered: "Chang'an is the capital city, under the emperor's feet. Is there anyone who dares to bully men and dominate women, without the king's laws?"
Zhang Fen heard Yichan's words and smiled contemptuously: "The king's laws are all binding on us ordinary people. What is power? It is the power that is above the king's laws! It is at the feet of the emperor that the royal nobles, high-ranking officials, and powerful people
The more it spreads, the more powerful it becomes.
If you want to go out to watch the lanterns, you must go together in groups of five or more. If something goes wrong, you can take care of each other."
Taoist Priest Qingchi and other elders repeatedly warned his disciples before driving to the banquet.
…
After the elders left, the young people were in high spirits, finished their dinner early, and went out in groups to go shopping for lanterns.
Bai Fu, Yi Chan, fellow disciples Li Xinkai, Yue Men Yue Tianhua, and Sichuan Gang Wang Huyi were divided into a group tonight to go shopping for lanterns.
Bai Fu went back to the house and put on the new clothes that Yichan had made for himself, a blue satin cotton-padded jacket, and a strong hat with six ruffles on his head. He found a hero scarf and tied it around his forehead. He looked in the bronze mirror and saw that the clothes were well tailored.
The whole person is upright and heroic, with majestic weapons.
After waiting for about a cup of tea downstairs, Bai Fu heard some noise. He looked up and saw Yi Chan walking down the stairs. She was wearing a pink hibiscus ruffle shirt, a begonia water-dyed dance skirt, and an apricot waist.
Wearing a silk belt and long suede leather boots, Yichan was already tall, but now the glowing clouds appeared on her face, making her skin look like snow. Yichan smiled brightly, blooming like a hibiscus, which made Bai Fu fascinated.
…
When the five people went out, it was already dark. Every house was hung with lanterns and colorful flowers and trees, and the whole city of Chang'an was like daylight. There was a huge crowd of people in the three streets and six cities, and the people walking in the lanterns supported the old and young, and rubbed shoulders one after another. It was very lively.
There are all kinds of lanterns all over the street, including square ones, octagonal ones, fairy ones, beauty ones, and the twelve zodiac lanterns and the eight immortals crossing the sea lanterns, which are even more vivid and lifelike, and everyone is dizzy to see them.
A local old man beside him enthusiastically introduced: "Is this your first time back to Chang'an to look at the lanterns? These lanterns are not unusual. For those who like to go shopping for lanterns, there are only three places to visit in the entire Chang'an city. One is in front of Chunming Gate.
, the Aoshan lantern in the Caishan Palace, the second is a lantern of hundreds of beasts facing Lin in front of the Yue Prince’s Palace, and the third is a lantern of hundreds of birds facing the phoenix in front of the Prime Minister’s Palace.”
Yue Tianhua said: "I've heard for a long time that Birds Worship the Phoenix Lantern, why don't we go to the Prime Minister's Mansion for a walk?"
No one had any objections, and they were enjoying the lanterns and chatting and laughing. They saw young lovers in fashionable clothes all the way, cuddling with each other. Yichan pulled her white sleeves and secretly said: "Brother, look, they are
They all go shopping for lanterns in pairs. It’s so boring when there are other people following them.”
Bai Fu thought about it. It was not easy for him to be with Junior Sister Yang. If he couldn't be alone with such a beautiful scenery on such a beautiful day, it would really ruin the scenery and live up to the beautiful flowers and full moon night. Moreover, after walking around for more than half an hour, apart from the crowds and the fear of pickpockets, he didn't feel anything.
Is there anything unsafe? I'm afraid Zhang Fen and the others are worrying too much.
The two blinked, looked at each other and smiled. They deliberately slowed down and fell behind the crowd. When they reached the cross street, everyone continued walking west, and the two turned north and walked less than a hundred meters to a large square.
The square is very lively. In the center of the square are various jugglers. Some are performing sword swallowing, some are stacking Arhats. Some are holding torches and breathing fire with wine in their hands. There are lion dances and green pickers competing for hegemony.
The most spectacular thing is the dragon dance. A fire dragon more than 20 feet in height is danced by dozens of people, tumbling up and down, showing its teeth and claws. The huge dragon head decorated with colorful lights twists its horns and chases the dragon ball in front of it. It is vivid and soaring in the clouds and mist.
, majestic. From time to time, the dragon head suddenly rushed into the crowd and rushed into the place where children gathered, scaring the children into screaming.
The most amazing thing is the Hu people's rope trick. I saw a Hu man with several turns of cloth on his head. With a whistle, a rope rose vertically from the basket little by little, like a living thing. The rope rose straight up to several feet.
At this time, the barbarian began to climb the rope with his bare feet. When he was in the air, he performed various flipping movements on the rope.
Bai Yang and the two watched with great interest, and Yi Chan asked curiously, "Brother, what's going on with this trick? It's so magical!"
Bai Fu shrugged and said with a smile: "I really don't know. Could it be that he also has spiritual objects like python beads?"
The Hu man was swinging on the rope when he suddenly lost his grip and fell down. As everyone screamed, the Hu man whistled and the rope suddenly dropped and shrunk into a rope net. The Hu man bounced on the net, and a
He flipped over and landed firmly on the ground. He moved his left hand behind his back, waved his right hand forward, bowed half-body, and gave everyone a graceful and deep salute. Thunderous applause erupted in the venue. The onlookers cheered and gave the copper coins without hesitation.
and scattered silver into the barbarian's money jar.
After watching the sideshows, we looked at the New Year's goods. Surrounding the square were various trading stalls, including dough makers, candy blowers, and people selling all kinds of goods from all over the world.
When passing by a fortune-telling stall, the fortune-teller stood up and shouted to the two Bai Yangs: "Two young men, please stay. I tell you, don't stay here and go home quickly. If you continue to go shopping tonight,
There will be a fatal disaster."
Yichan asked: "Sir, how did you tell?"
The fortune teller said: "There is a dark seal between your two seals, which is a sign of great evil. Listen to me and go back quickly!"
Bai Fu smiled and did not refute, pulling Yi Chan to turn away.
The fortune teller looked at their backs and shook his head secretly.
Is his fortune-telling really so effective? Otherwise, he just saw Bai Fu's extraordinary appearance and heroic spirit, and Yi Chan was also pretty and tall, so he thought to himself: Tonight the lantern market is full of monsters, and I don't know how many injustices there will be.
If you act blindly, you may even end up with your life. So I pretended to be a fortune teller and pointed out the two of them.
Yichan walked into a row of stalls selling rouge, gouache, and rhopa embroidery. The most fashionable styles of the season in Chang'an were being sold here. She couldn't help but squeeze in with joy. The people crowding these stalls were all women. Women were gathered together, so naturally
It was inconvenient to get too close, so Bai Fu wandered around and looked around.
It didn't matter. I accidentally saw two women holding a child each, walking hurriedly along the wall. One of the boys was crying. The woman holding him pretended to be angry and raised her hands as if to slap him.
The child was so frightened that she quickly fell silent and trembled. Another older girl pretended to faint and leaned her head on the woman's shoulder. When she found Bai Fu looking at her, she blinked quickly and opened and closed her mouth silently.
Bai Fu was stunned for a moment, and then realized that the girl's mouth was opening and closing, and she was actually saying: "Save me!"