Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 64

Pingkangfang, Right Prime Minister's Mansion.

Xue Bai turned his head to look, and saw that lanterns had been hung up in the Prime Minister's Mansion, dispelling the darkness that had just shrouded.

There is no evening drum, which makes people slightly uncomfortable.

"Let's go, go find the little lady! Hahaha."

In the side hall, Li Wei, the 21st man 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 upright in his seat, this was an inconspicuous corner, just for him to close his eyes and rest his mind in preparation for many things tonight.

"Fell asleep?"

Xue Bai opened his eyes, but saw Li Xiu standing in front of him, so he replied, "No, get some energy, there are many things to deal with at night."

"It's not a big deal, you just need to serve the banquet with Grandpa and stand outside the building, I can arrange it myself." Li Xiu wrote lightly, "There are more than three hours before the imperial banquet, why don't you let Jiaonu take you there Look at the lanterns in Xiangfu."

Xue Bai couldn't help but think that Lu Fengniang also said the same, Fan Yang Lu's flowery and jade-like lanterns.

"Then it's better to be respectful than to obey."

"Go."

Li Xiu returned to her seat with her wine glass in her hand, glanced towards the backyard, smiled helplessly, and said to herself, "You are a quiet girl, wait for me in the corner of the city."

Xue Bai got up and walked out of the courtyard, only to see Jiaonu waiting outside the courtyard.

"We're full, why don't we go see the Xiangfu Lantern?"

"Okay then." Jiao Nu acted a little bit, as if reluctantly.

The two walked to the Lantern City in the east of the square, and it would be a little further from the west courtyard...

~~
Right Prime Minister's Mansion, the backyard.

"Seventeen Niang, should I wear a cloak again? What if it's cold at night?"

As Mian'er said, she picked up a red cloak and said happily, "This one looks good, it complements Seventeen Niang's whiteness and beauty. Just this one?"

"No."

Li Tengkong looked at it, raised his finger, and picked out another plain one.

"Shangyuan Festival, wear something brighter."

After coquettishly persuading her for a while, Mian'er chose an apricot-yellow brocade cloak with pure white fox fur sewn on the collar.

This fox fur is spotless, undamaged, and priceless. They don't know how much it is worth, but it is beautiful and eye-catching.

After dressing up, the master and servant went out to enjoy the lanterns.

Seventeen Niangs seldom went out, and the Right Prime Minister's Mansion specially arranged for the Jinwu guards who usually protect Li Linfu's Jing Street, four people in front, four people in the back, and four people around them.

Li Tengkong was originally happy, but when he saw this situation, he was in a bad mood.

"What is this for? On the night of the Lantern Festival in the Yuan Dynasty, even princesses and grandchildren have never seen such rampant travel."

"Little lady, forgive me, the little people are just following orders."

"not going."

When Mian'er heard her little lady's sad tone, she was so anxious that she almost burst into tears, she hurriedly held her back, and persuaded, "Mother Seventeen, it's not far away... and you, please be gentle."

"Here."

Out of the alley, the long street is bustling, and you can see the splendid scene on the upper floor of Pingkangfang and Dongfang from a distance.

Hanging from the highest point of the Fanglou is a huge lotus-shaped lantern, surrounded by many small lotus lanterns... It no longer looks like a Fanglou, but like a lotus pond in a fairy palace.

The lights on the East Street became embellishments.

Li Tengkong couldn't help being stunned as he hadn't seen such a beautiful night scene in a whole year.

Mian'er also had bright eyes, and said: "As Shi Lang ordered, there is a [-]-year-old girl in the Right Prime Minister's residence who will get married this year, and the Lantern Festival will use Shi Qiniang's favorite lotus."

This is where Li Xiu is thoughtful. In the past two years, the eldest daughter born to his aunt remarried one after another. For two consecutive years, he ordered people to make the lantern into the shape of the peach that his eldest sister loves most.

To him, it was just a word of mouth.

And the most beautiful lantern festival in Chang'an City tonight is not here, but in the east and west cities, and in front of Xingqing Palace.

Li Tengkong and Jiaonu agreed to meet at the northeast corner of Dongshi.

They walked slowly along the flow of people, and when they left the square gate, there were vendors on both sides of the street, and the items they sold were overwhelming.

"Seventeenth Mother." Mian'er suddenly pulled Li Tengkong, "Mr. Xue Lang is there, did you see it? Inside the gate."

Li Tengkong looked back, then quickly turned around and hid in front of a small stall.

"what."

Suddenly her eyes lit up and she had an idea.

"I want to buy this."

Mian'er looked away from a distance, saw a mask booth, and asked, "Which one does Seventeen Niang like?"

"Nine Heavens Fairy." Li Tengkong said without hesitation.

The master and 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 peddler knows how to sell things. The mask has feathers on it, which is quite beautiful. Li Tengkong liked it when he saw it, so he bought it immediately.

Put on the mask and move forward, and feel more at ease.

Suddenly, a woman screamed at the west alley.

"Help!"

Li Tengkong lifted his mask and turned his head to look, only to see a few men dragging a woman into the building, tearing her clothes to pieces.

A Jin Wuwei stood up from the alley and shouted: "It's all right! Young couples are bickering, pedestrians don't care!"

"No... woo!"

Li Tengkong heard the woman shouting in despair, so he hurried up a few steps, took a closer look, and found that it was his brother who was robbing the women. He was anxious and angry.

"Brother, how can you do this?! Go and stop him!"

"Little people just protect the little lady..."

"Save her."

Li Tengkong rushed over there with his skirt in his hand, and said urgently, "Li Wei, let her go!"

On the long street full of pedestrians, her crisp voice was not overbearing, nor did it spread far.

It was just an occasional incident in the shadows under the bright lights of Tempo.

No one noticed that six Jinwu guards pushed through the crowd and walked to the side of the kidnapped man.

The Jinwu Guard who was protecting Li Wei thought it was his companions, so he grinned and looked at the little lady on the street.

Without warning, one of the six Jinwu guards who had just arrived pulled out a knife.

Suddenly cut off.

"puff."

The man who was helping Li Wei rob the woman still had a grin on his face, his head fell to the ground with a muffled sound.The blood was sprayed extremely high and splashed on the lanterns in the Fanglou.

~~
It was Jiang Hai who pretended to be the Jinwu guard and came to kill. He held a knife in his hand, and he felt happy watching the blood spilled in front of him.

The order he received was to commit several murders, and he was looking for targets all the way. When he stayed at the east gate of Pingkangfang, he saw dudes robbing civilian women by force, so he immediately killed them.

Everyone who saw this scene was stunned.

"Eat dog guts! Dare to rob me of my wife!"

It was Jiang Hai who yelled so deliberately that someone screamed.

"what!"

The crowd was chaotic, pushing and fleeing.

Jiang Hai had only beheaded one person, and it was far from enough. He stared at Li Wei, who was already stunned, and rushed directly.

"puff."

A servant of the Xiangfu who was in the way was cut down, and Jiang Hai immediately cut down a second time, directly on Li Wei's back, and knocked him to the ground.

He wanted to make another stab, but finally a real Jinwu Guard swung his knife to block it.

Jiang Hai suddenly became murderous, and suddenly, someone grabbed his arm and dragged him back.

"Let's go." Jiang Mao said.

The order they got was to commit a crime and attract the sixteen guards to search it. If the trouble became too big, it would not end well.

The two brothers glanced at the trembling Jinwu guards who were fighting with their knives, grinned mockingly, and retreated nonchalantly.

Tuoba Mao still didn't forget to pick up the woman who was rescued by them and bring 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 to the crowd admiring the lantern: "Still watching? Kill you all!"

"what!"

With the screams of the little ladies, the scene became even more chaotic.

The six of them turned their heads and saw that those trash of the Jinwu Guards really didn't dare to chase after them, they rushed into the chaotic crowd and left.

Only Li Wei, who was seriously injured, lay on the ground and howled, screaming in pain...

~~
"Ah! Ah!"

Xue Bai and Jiaonu came out of Pingkangfang, and suddenly heard screams, so they went to look at the building.

Suddenly, his eyes fixed.

In the bright light of thousands of lanterns, he saw a familiar figure wielding a knife to kill people.

Jiang Hai.

There are also Jiang Mao, Tuoba Mao, Lao Liang, Liu Quan, and Xiao Bosi.

Hearing about Yang Shenjin's ancestral tomb today, Xue Bai already had a premonition of uneasiness, but there were still some things he couldn't see through.

When something happened at this moment, he immediately realized that he had neglected someone since the New Year's Eve——Pei Mian.

This matter must have been arranged by Pei Mian, but I still don't know why.

Xue Bai immediately pushed aside the crowd, staring at the Longyou veteran to catch up.

Jiao Nu was also chasing after her, but she shouted, "The Seventeenth Mother is over there!"

Xue Bai turned his gaze to look at the fleeing crowd. In the chaos, no one could see Li Shiqiniang.

The terrified crowd stood in front of them, and they pushed forward with difficulty until they reached the Cross Street and lost their way.

Jiaonu stopped and looked around in a panic.

"Where is Seventeen Niang?"

"Which is her?"

"I can't find it, look for it quickly... white fox fur, apricot brocade silk, flying feather mask... quickly find..."

Xue Bai's tone was calm, and he ordered: "You go and ask Shi Lang to transfer someone."

"I……"

"go with!"

After Xue Bai yelled indiscriminately, Jiaonu turned around and ran away.

Xue Bai calmed down, looked around the Long Cross Street, observed movements in all directions, and headed straight to the west.

Because there were shouts from the west, it was Marquis Wu who was chasing the six Longyou veterans, it would be fine if Li Shiqiniang was elsewhere, but there would be trouble in the west.

After running for more than ten steps, he saw a flying feather mask on the ground.

There was a Jinwu guard standing by the mask and looking around in a panic. He must have been squeezed and lost Li Shiqiniang in the chaos.

He didn't have time to pick it up, so he walked faster and chased all the way until he stopped near the south gate of Pingkang Fang, and the movement ahead gradually became smaller.

Even the patrols have lost track of the murderer.

Xue Bai raised his head to look at the watchtower for the first time, and sure enough, someone upstairs was raising a fire as a sign.

Not far away, a dumb Jinwu guard was looking at the Watchfire Tower, Xue Bai went over and asked, "The daughter of the Xiangfu is lost! What's the meaning of the Watchfire Tower?"

The Jinwu guard turned his head, but it was Li Shiqiniang who was guarding him, even recognized Xue Bai, and replied, "Mr. Xue Lang? I... lost..."

Xue Bai didn't expect him to recognize him, so he lowered his bluffing tone and asked, "How did you lose it?"

"The little lady said that the woman is still crying. I don't know if she is the murderer's mother-in-law...Let me save her...I, I dare not go up..."

"What's the meaning of Watchtower?"

"The general issued an order, the patrols perform their duties, secretly seek out criminals, don't disturb the Lantern Festival... I, I, I..."

This order sounds absurd to insiders, but it is easy to understand from the perspective of the head of the Sixteen Guards of Nanya.

The son of the right minister robbed the girl in the street, and was hacked by the husband of the girl holding Jinwu. This matter can be big or small, but tonight, no one can stab the saint in the ears of this matter, and affect the saint's mood.

Xue Bai thought about this for a moment, and immediately asked: "Which Watchtower sent the order first?"

"that."

The Jin Wuwei raised his hand and pointed at the north gate of Xuanyang Fang.Looking at it again, there are more than half of the Marquis Wu over there. It is possible that the Marquis Wu have found clues to the 'secret murderer', so they told the patrols elsewhere not to move around.

Although this was just a speculation, Xue Bai rushed into Xuanyangfang decisively.

Walking to the first alley, he looked around and was surprised to find that there was a bloody handprint on the west wall.

The handprint gave him a very crazy feeling, he could imagine Jiang Hai casually rubbing it on the wall, grinning nonchalantly.

It seemed that they were intentionally leading the guards to chase them.

There was the sound of running ahead.

Xue Bai quickly rushed forward, and when he was about to reach an alley, a woman wearing a white fox fur and a luxurious cloak of apricot brocade silk walked by in front of him.

There is still a short distance away, and she can only faintly see her beautiful appearance.

"Li Shiqiniang?"

When he asked, the woman jumped in fright and ran straight away like a frightened rabbit.

"Seventeen Niang, don't run away, wait for Mian'er..."

In the alley on the left, there was a petite figure leading several Jinwu guards to chase after him.

The petite one was Mian'er, she was more agile, and actually chased Li Shiqiniang the tightest than Jin Wuwei.

"Xue Langjun scared people away, don't chase..."

The Jinwu guard who followed Xue Bai was also overjoyed, shouted "Fortunately, I found it", and hurriedly chased after him.

Xue Bai relaxed a little, slowed down, and looked around.

There are also lanterns hanging in the alley, so that he can see a few drops of blood dripping on the ground, walk along the blood, turn left, and there is a pile of debris in front of him.

Li Shiqiniang was scattered by the crowd, lost her way here, hid for a while, walked back after the crowd dispersed, met herself, and ran away in embarrassment?

Going forward for a while, not far away is the west gate of Xuanyangfang. The guards at the gate of the square are all standing on the upper floor of the square to watch the lights, allowing people to come and go freely.

He frowned slightly and walked over there.

Ahead was another brightly lit street.

There are many pedestrians on the street, and even small lights are hung on the trees, like pear blossoms.

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!"

Luxurious floats are slowly passing through the streets.

This float is decorated with plum blossoms, lanterns are hung high, and a high platform is built on the top. There is a graceful dancer dancing, waving colorful silk in her hand, as if she is about to fly into the sky and become a fairy at any time.

Standing on the shaft of the chariot was an elegant man, playing the flute, causing the children to chase after him.

Pedestrians heard the sound of the flute and began to sing along with the rhythm.

"Fire trees and silver flowers close, Star Bridge iron locks open."

"The dark dust follows the horse, and the bright moon follows the people."

"The prostitutes are all plums, and the songs are all plums."

"Jinwu can't help the night, don't let the jade leak remind you."

Xue Bai lost his clue, and stood alone in this bustling area for a while, until the float slowly passed by before he was able to continue his search.

He turned his head, but his eyes were fixed.

A few plum blossoms fell, and across the long street, a girl was looking at him.

This young girl was very plainly dressed, far less beautiful than those women in colorful silk around her, but for no reason Xue Bai noticed it at a glance.

Then he also looked at her, only to realize that it was because her eyes were 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, and it seemed only for a moment. The girl turned her back and went to pick a sachet from the stall.

~~
Xuanyang Square.

"Seventeen Niang, don't run away..."

Mian'er chased her for a long time, although she was nimble, her physical strength was weak, she finally chased Li Tengkong to the corner of Fangjiao, but she saw that the Jinwu guards forced her little lady to the base of the wall, she couldn't help being very angry.

She trotted forward, pushed away the guards, and squatted down to look, only to see that the person wrapped in the luxurious cloak of her little lady was trembling, the original clothes were torn to pieces, her face was full of tears, but It was the poor woman that Li Wei wanted to take away.

Mian'er was immediately frightened out of her wits.

"Aren't you my seventeenth mother? Where did she go?!"

"She...she said...it's good to see that I'm fine, put on my clothes and let me go home..."

(End of this chapter)