sword sentient beings

Chapter 754 Lantern Festival

The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival.

Yuanxi Festival is a very important festival, and it is also a very lively festival. Compared with the grand Spring Festival, the Lantern Festival is more lively, light and enjoyable. If the elderly and children at home are looking forward to the Spring Festival the most, then the Lantern Festival is the favorite among young people.

When the Lantern Festival comes, the streets and alleys are decorated with lanterns. At night, the lanterns are shining brightly, and there are beautiful scenes everywhere, not to mention performances, singing, juggling, and lantern riddles. Both men and women can take to the streets to play and have fun.

The most gorgeous and spectacular among them is the Royal Jinshan Fireworks Festival, which is located in the large square in front of the Jinding Tower under the Purple Mountain in the east of the city. First, fireworks are set off, then salutes are fired, silk strings are played, and there are grand operas and ten kinds of acrobatics. It is so grand and lively that people who go to see the excitement can't finish it for three days and three nights. It is not enough to swim all night.

In addition to entertainment, every night, the royal family will lead its ministers to Jinding Tower to watch the fireworks show and have fun with the people. Artists and even onlookers will be generously rewarded, so that everyone can enjoy the blessings of the royal family.

Since Jin Shang ascended the throne more than ten years ago, the royal family members who ascend the tower every year are the queen mother, the emperor, the princes of close relatives and dozens of important ministers. Since last year, the queen has been added. I think this year will be no exception.

However, in the past few days, dark clouds have been gathering in the capital, and nine gates have been put under martial law. People are not allowed to take to the streets, and it looks like a storm is about to come. The common people were unavoidably panicked. They first worried about their own lives and not being affected by the carnivore's struggle. Then they worried about how to obtain the daily expenses of firewood, rice, oil, and salt. As for the fireworks display, it was something that only teenagers would occasionally think about, and they did not dare to. Thinking too much - it's useless to think about it, it can only be said to be wishful thinking. The simplest thing is that the Jinshan fireworks are outside the city gate. Now that the city gate is blocked, how can the people watch it?

Until two days ago, the dark clouds overhead suddenly dispersed, revealing the blue sky. It seems like things have taken a turn for the better. Then on the second day, people were allowed to enter and exit the streets, but the curfew was still not lifted. On the morning of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the city gates opened and people were finally allowed to leave the city.

Immediately afterwards, someone else said that the Jinshan Fireworks Festival would still be held, and people would still be allowed to watch it, and that this year's fireworks festival would be even grander than in previous years.

However, not everyone can go to watch this year's fireworks show. Only people from all over the street who are clean and well-known, as well as men, women, old and young, must be selected as representatives of the Five Elements and Eight Elements to watch under the guidance of the government.

The people in the capital were naturally a little sorry to stop, but they were also very excited. The regret is that the number of places is limited, so I probably won’t be able to go by myself, but the excitement is - since we have accurately identified people, there will definitely be a big reward after watching. The royal family is very generous. If you are lucky enough to be selected, wouldn’t you be rewarded?

"What? Did you choose me?"

When Wei Sanniang heard the news, she was very shocked and put down her needle and thread.

"Isn't that right? Congratulations, Sanniang. We only selected two people, Old Mrs. Li and you. Needless to say, Old Mrs. Li is the richest, most powerful and famous person in our two streets, so he deserves to be chosen. , but you were chosen by lot. It can be seen that you are the most blessed, and no one else can envy you." Li Zheng said, not hiding his envy.

Wei Sanniang hesitated for a moment and said: "But... I am a big girl who goes out alone, so I still go to places with many people..."

Li Zhengdao: "What's this? In the past, it was inconvenient to go out, but today is the Lantern Festival, and there are no taboos. Could it be that you didn't go out to look at the lanterns during the Lantern Festival in previous years? Besides, others don't know, but I know you have some skills. You guys Didn’t the old man’s crane hand pass on to you brothers and sisters? No one would have thought that you, a cute little girl, could have such great skills. You don’t have to worry about others bullying you when you go out. How about it, Sanniang? Tell me something. By the way, the second son of the Wei family?"

Wei Er, who was brushing the animals in the yard, raised his head and said, "Okay. Go ahead and ride our donkey. Dress up and wear new clothes. Don't be looked down upon by others."

After hearing this, Wei Sanniang finally showed an uncontrollable smile.

Wei Sanniang failed to ride the donkey in the end.

Although people were allowed to participate in the fireworks display, animals were not. There are so many people, you ride a horse and I ride a donkey, how can that not lead to chaos? So Wei Sanniang could only get the certificate number plate and walk there within the specified time. And he didn’t go alone, but queued up with seven or eight people from nearby neighbors.

The group arrived at the city gate and found that the gate was blocked.

It's not that there are too many people, but that a motorcade is passing through the city gate.

There were quite a lot of people in this motorcade, with horses, cars and people. It was so majestic and the flags were flying. At first glance, it looked like they were no ordinary people. Common people like Wei Sanniang were the most afraid of officials and would never dare to compete with a convoy that looked like a big shot, so they all stayed aside and waited for the convoy to pass.

But while waiting for the motorcade, Wei Sanniang also heard a lot of chatter, coming from all directions, no matter who said it.

"This pomp, tsk tsk, why is he a prince?"

"This is the car of a foreign prince. Look at the flag, it's not the old princes from the capital."

"Do you know about flags? Which prince do you think this is?"

"...I understand a little bit, but I don't understand everything. Isn't this the time when the princes from all over the country come to the capital? For such a big ceremony, all the princes must go to see it. These princes are all like the emperors outside, but they are not old enough when they arrive in the capital. Are you honest? When you meet the Queen Mother, the Emperor asks you to kneel down and kowtow? It shows that the world is not in chaos at all, and you still have to listen to the Emperor."

Wei Sanniang quietly looked up and saw that a new convoy was following behind. The convoy was connected to the convoy. How long would it take to get there? It seems that they may not be able to get to the fireworks display when it starts.

I heard someone say: "Did you see that, I recognize the convoy at the back, it is Prince Chun's Mansion! Back then, their family was a standard prince, but now that they have come to Beijing, they are also one of the most respected figures in the capital."

"So powerful? How about the pure king compared to the longevity king?" "What about this... If I had told you ten years earlier, there is no comparison. In this world, except the emperor and the queen mother, who is the longevity king, how can anyone else compare? But now …”

"It can't be compared now!"

Another person joined the discussion, "I came early, and King Shou's carriage passed by long ago. That posture, that momentum, tsk tsk... is more than a hundred times better than that of King Chun on the Wall!"

"Yes, he is the emperor's uncle after all. He is also the eldest king now, right? Eh? King Shou died so early? Shouldn't such a noble person be the finale? He died earlier than the younger generation?"

"He is humble. With his status, he does not rely on morning and night to set off. He is willing to go early and serve the emperor and queen early, and he has a respectful heart."

There were endless discussions, but Wei Sanniang felt that they were all talking nonsense and making it up, so it would be great to have one point. We are all neighbors on the street, who doesn’t know who is who? It would be good for them to know the county, but how can they know the things in heaven?

But the pure king...

Wei Sanniang once met the eldest son of this pure king by chance. Her impression was that he was a gentle, polite and dignified young man, with no trace of arrogance at all.

She had a very good impression of this young prince, and she would definitely not talk about it if she wanted to meet him again, but it would be nice if she could see him again.

Just as she was thinking about it, her wish came true immediately.

King Chun was sitting in a chariot, surrounded by a group of guards, and could not even see his shadow. However, Crown Prince Chun was riding a horse alone, walking in front of the team, and his appearance was still the same as when he first saw him.

However, the amiable smile on his face was not there, and he looked too serious. He even looked like his brows were furrowed, as if something was bothering him. As the saying goes on the street, it's "a lawsuit for a head."

What, is he in a bad mood?

Wei Sanniang was a little confused: Today is a good day. Isn’t it a good thing to celebrate the Lantern Festival, watch the lights and watch a big show? He could only watch from a distance, but he was so happy that he couldn't sleep. As the young prince, he could occupy such a good position, why wasn't he happy?

After all the motorcades passed by, it was finally the turn of the people. Wei Sanniang followed the team out of the city, and someone from behind urged her: "Go quickly, go quickly, wait for a while and wait for the palace team to come out, and give way until midnight, then why are you looking at the lights?"

The team rushed all the way to the foot of Purple Mountain and saw the magnificent Jinding Tower from a distance.

Wei Sanniang had been to Jinding Tower before, so of course she thought the building was extremely tall, but this time she felt that the building was even taller.

This is not an illusion. The Jinding Tower has definitely been renovated. Not only are there several guard buildings built around it, but the main body of the Jinding Tower has also been built with two floors.

The current Jinding Tower is seven stories high and sits there like a small hill!

Wei Sanniang looked at the building and suddenly thought: The emperor and the queen mother are not tired either? It takes some effort to climb up this floor.

As an ordinary commoner, there is definitely no place for her in this Jinding Tower. The common people are all downstairs, and the dignitaries are all upstairs, sitting on different floors according to their status.

What makes Wei Sanniang happy is that although the dignitaries can go upstairs, their appearance, that is, the guards, maids, etc. are not allowed to go up, and they are all sent away far away, and their positions are further back than the common people, in front of the building. In addition to the big shots, there are the common people who are watching. Even though they were standing, they still had a better view.

However, after entering the common people's area, the location is not very fixed. It is basically crowded in front or back. Although there are people watching, there won't be a fight for position, but it is inevitable to squeeze here and there. Wei Sanniang was separated from her team, but she managed to squeeze to the front with her skill and slim figure.

She was surrounded by strangers, and next to her was a gentle middle-aged man. Wei Sanniang thought that such a person should be an official, but somehow he fell to the ground and stood with them.

"Excuse me, thank you. Hey, the show hasn't started yet. Alas... this position is not very good."

The middle-aged man next to him gave up a seat and suddenly smiled: "Isn't this seat good? This is the best seat downstairs."

Wei Sanniang smiled sheepishly and said: "This location is very good. It is very close to the emperor, but it is a bit far from the stage. I still come to watch the show."

The middle-aged man smiled and said: "What's so good about the show on this stage? The really good show is upstairs."

Wei Sanniang was a little confused. Just as she was about to ask, she heard someone shouting: "The Holy Spirit has arrived——"

(End of this chapter)