Aloof empress? Then who is the silly and innocent girl in my arms?

Time passed slowly, withered yellow leaves drifting in the wind, in the vast night, the stars and the full moon complemented each other, and the bright moonlight sprinkled on the sleepy Su Qiyan's face.

Lin Bai put one hand around her shoulders, and the moonlight made the empress's already fair skin appear even more haloed, and there was a delicate smile on the corner of her mouth.

In the distance, bursts of joyful conversations came from the square from time to time, and three or two children were running under the newly built high platform.

As Lin Bai touched the hair between Su Qiyan's eyebrows, the latter squinted her eyes and gradually opened her eyes that seemed to have starlight flowing.

"Empress, it's evening."

The voice with a slight smile came into her ears. The moment Su Qiyan opened her eyes, she saw Lin Bai's gentle eyes and couldn't help but get into his arms and rubbed a few times.

"Xiaobai..."

Lin Bai smiled and shook his head, gently stroking the long hair behind Su Qiyan.

The delicate body in his arms, like a clingy kitten, clung tightly to Lin Bai's chest.

Su Qiyan felt Lin Bai's warm embrace, and for some reason, she never wanted to leave.

It seemed that this place could bring her an incomparable sense of security.

If Lin Bai hadn't reminded her that it was already night, Su Qiyan might have stayed in his arms.

"Let's go."

Standing up and tidying up her wrinkled robe, Su Qiyan hugged Lin Bai's arm, and her sweet laughter reached Lin Bai's ears.

Sensing the soft touch of his arm, Lin Bai coughed twice to suppress the throbbing in his heart.

"Empress, do you know what activities will be held during the Autumn Moon Festival?"

Su Qiyan's eyes flashed with thought, and then she shook her head.

"I don't know much, but there will be no shortage of moon worship."

Su Qiyan only knew that there was this festival and understood some of the process, but she didn't have much contact with it.

"As for the process, I'll tell you after I see it."

After hearing Su Qiyan's words, Lin Bai nodded first, and then immersed his thoughts in the Mid-Autumn Festival in his previous life.

It is rumored that the ancients also worshipped the moon and performed the ritual of worshipping the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival, but I don't know if there is any similarity between the two.

After a while, the two came to the corner of the square. Many people had gathered under the platform, including old people, scholars, women and children.

Without exception, they all looked at the figures standing on the platform devoutly.

"It seems that it has begun."

Looking up, there was a wooden chopping board in the center of the platform, with several plates of fruit on it.

And behind the chopping board, several women in long robes stood dignifiedly and respectfully with their hands under their chests.

There were also several figures standing on both sides, looking like they were preparing something.

After squeezing through the crowd and moving forward, Su Qiyan looked at the figures above and said:

"The one in the front is the chief priest, and the five people behind the chief priest are the assistant priests."

"Central priest? Assistant priests?"

Lin Bai didn't quite understand, but he could still understand the general meaning. The chief priest should be the host, and the assistant priest should be the chores.

Thinking of this, Lin Bai nodded.

Then he saw the chief priest suddenly walk to the side, and a figure also walked up from the high platform, holding a wooden basin in his hand.

"This is the guàn ritual."

Lin Bai understood this sentence. Combined with what the chief priest was doing now, the guàn ritual should mean washing hands.

"Next is the moon worship."

Su Qiyan's words of explanation kept ringing, and sure enough, the next moment, the chief priest who had just returned to the chopping board reached out to take a few lit incense sticks handed over from the side.

He put his hands together and raised the incense above his head, then bowed deeply. The several followers behind him were also doing the same thing.

Then he inserted the incense into the incense burner that had been prepared on the chopping board.

"The incense is finished, and then it's time to offer wine."

Hearing this, Lin Bai felt that this moon worship ceremony was really a bit troublesome, but he didn't feel impatient at all.

He held Su Qiyan's jade hand tightly with his palm, and found that the latter was watching the actions of the chief priest on the high platform seriously.

"Empress, do you like this ceremony very much?"

Leaning over and whispering in her ear, Su Qiyan's eyes flickered slightly, and a sincere smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

"The moon symbolizes longing, perfection and expectation. It is not unreasonable for ordinary people on the continent to call it the Moon Goddess."

"So, I want to make a wish to the Moon Goddess during this moon festival, hoping that we can stay together like we are now."

Su Qiyan did not respond directly, but talked about the meaning of the moon and what she longed for in her heart.

She turned her head to meet Lin Bai's somewhat surprised eyes, stretched out her fingers and gently pinched his cheek.

"Empress,I really want to know who you learned this from?"

He stroked his forehead. During this period, Su Qiyan would always suddenly say something that moved his heart.

Lin Bai no longer had the heart to watch the moon worship ceremony. He stood quietly in front of Su Qiyan, looking at her delicate profile.

The chief priest on the high platform also finished the wine offering, followed by reading the moon worship prayer. A series of pious voices came from the mouth of a figure under the high platform.

"When the wise are in power, the world will be peaceful."

...

"Pray to the moon and bless my Chiyan with good weather and good harvests in the coming year."

...

"Burn the prayer. "

As the last voice fell, a figure under the high platform held a piece of paper in both hands and handed it to the chief priest.

The flickering fire appeared, and the chief priest placed the burning paper under the chopping board, and finally they all worshipped the moon together.

Lin Bai was staring at Su Qiyan's profile in a daze, and suddenly saw that the people around him all bowed in the direction of the moon.

The empress beside him was no exception. After looking around, he was the only one standing there abruptly. After thinking for a moment, he followed Su Qiyan to salute in the direction of the moon.

"If there is really a moon god, then I also wish to be like the empress."

Thinking silently in his heart, time passed slowly, and Lin Bai found that the salute took quite a while. He stretched out his hand and scratched his nose and thought to himself: Why hasn't it ended yet?

"The ceremony is over! "

As a voice came from the platform, everyone stood up straight, which also meant the end of the moon worship.

The main priest and the secondary priest stepped down one by one, leaving the empty platform alone.

But the people around did not leave, and there was even a hint of excitement in the eyes of those children.

"Lady Empress, is that all?"

"That's about it. After the moon worship is completed, everyone will start to eat and enjoy the moon."

Lin Bai couldn't help but curl his lips when he heard this. He thought the Mid-Autumn Festival was so grand.

It turned out that there was only the moon worship. He didn't see much, and his attention was all attracted by Su Qiyan.

Just then, Lin Bai suddenly saw a few people pushing a cart not far away, and his eyes lit up.

...

PS: Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Worship Festival, the ancients would hold a moon worship ceremony.

The general process is that the deacon (waiter) makes preparations, followed by the main priest on the stage, and then the secondary priest, standing Behind the main priest.

The ceremony begins, the process is: washing hands, burning incense, offering wine, reading the prayer, burning the prayer, the main priest and the subordinates worship the moon together, and finally the ceremony is over, the main priest and the subordinates leave the stage in turn.

The moon represents missing, so when you miss her, look up at the moon, maybe she is thinking about you too.

But, unfortunately, today is Qingming Festival...

I never eat eggs, but I bought two tea eggs this morning, hehe~

Note: This paragraph does not count the total number of 2,000 words in this chapter.