Denghuaxiao

Chapter 218 Flying Birds

Hongzhou competed for the bid and hit the golden pole. Pei Yunying did not choose the beautiful flowers on the golden plate. Instead, he picked up a wild flower from the grass of the water shed. This move was surprising.

However, although it is unexpected, it is not unreasonable.

After all, Hongzhou is competing for the bid today, and he is not among the racing sergeants.

After getting this wild flower, Pei Yunying retreated to the small building. The minor disturbance in this game soon passed, the golden boat was hung up again, and the other red boats competed for bids again.

 Just with Zhu Yu in front of me just now, looking at the competition now, I feel that it is a little less interesting and not as exciting as before.

The music officers on the flower boat were playing in the water, singing and dancing. During the lively singing, Lu Zhuo sat with his eyebrows lowered, slightly lost in thought for a while.

Pei Yunying chose a hibiscus.

That night, she thought she and Pei Yunying had made it clear.

Lu Yan raised his hand and brushed his fingertips through his hair. The hibiscus flower hairpin inserted diagonally in the bun was cold.

She retracted her hand and her expression became calm again.

Everyone in the banquet was buzzing with excitement. After all the performances in the Water Palace were completed, all the dozens of tiger-headed boats and flying fish boats on the Chang'an Pond were rowed away, leaving only a few of the most gorgeous and exquisite dragon boats for the officials to enjoy.

 Then the armies presented hundreds of plays.

Dozens of people were playing drums, and to the music of "Sudden Mountain Stream", lion and leopard dancers entered the stage, fluttering flags, doing somersaults, and forming a moon formation. Suddenly, there was a thunderbolt, and the soldiers separated.

 There was a burst of "good" during the dinner!

Lin Danqing couldn’t help clapping: “It’s so beautiful!”

Everyone at the Changle Pond was excited. Lu Zhuo, sitting in the banquet, also watched seriously. Faintly, he suddenly felt a line of sight falling on him, so he raised his head and met the eyes of the young man looking over from the Shenbao Tower.

When their eyes met, he paused slightly, quickly turned his head and looked away.

After the duel, the disciples of the princes from all the classes presented themselves with horses. They rode in the open road, shot with raised hands, shot with closed hands, and bound the horses with flying immortals... It was dazzling.

 Then there are girls in Miao Court performing arts and men in colorful costumes performing punishments and beatings...

Everyone watched and cheered until the show was over, and it was already afternoon.

 The auspicious time has arrived and the ceremony is about to begin.

Above the tall building, the emperor, who was already looking slightly tired, saw the drummer sergeant playing drums, and accompanied by the ceremonial guards, he came to Tianzhang Terrace.

Lu Zhuo followed all the officials and stood at the foot of the altar.

"Book of Rites and Music" says: "Great music is in harmony with heaven and earth, and great rituals are in harmony with heaven and earth."

 When the late emperor was alive, it was very grand to hold personal sacrifices every three years. After Emperor Liang Ming succeeded to the throne, the personal sacrifices were changed to once every five years.

 Originally, this year was not the Dali Festival, but due to the war in Qishui and the locust plague in southern Jiangsu, the people were miserable. The imperial censors came to report one after another, and Emperor Liang Ming opened an altar to pray for the world.

The legal instruments and ceremonial guards are all ready, and the Taishi Bureau inspects and engraves them. All the officials were wearing formal ceremonial uniforms and holding sceptres, and the guards in full uniform were surrounding them.

The emperor wore imperial robes and a crown on his head and ascended the three-story high altar.

The officials of the ceremony played music, and the dancers beat the bronze cymbals and ring rings. The emperor ascended the altar, bowed to all sides, knelt down, and offered wine.

ˆThe descendants of gods, the rise and fall of emperors, the offering of jade coins, offerings, drinking gifts, drinking blessings, sub-offerings, final offerings, sending off to gods…

 The offerings, coins and silk products on the altar were sprinkled from the You steps.

 All the sacrificial objects are put into the furnace and burned in the furnace. After enjoying it, give a salute and then the ceremony is over.

 From the beginning to the end of the ceremony, it lasted for three hours. When it ended, it was completely dark.

It was Lu Chen's first time to participate in a palace ceremony. He hadn't noticed anything yet, but the older medical officer beside him couldn't help but look embarrassed. Chang Jin even secretly rubbed his knees when no one was paying attention.

Looking at the officials, except for the princes and princes standing at the front, the ministers hiding behind all looked a little reluctant.

 The same was true for Emperor Liang Ming.

The emperor was in poor health, so it was not easy for him to hold on for three hours to complete the ceremony. After the ceremony, he went to the Changle Pond to board the dragon boat to rest for a while. The Nuo Ceremony would begin at about Haishi, and fireworks would be set off in the imperial city.

 In the period between the end of the ceremony and the beginning of the Nuo ceremony, officials can also take a short break at the long banquet.

 Everyone went back to the Changle Pond to have a banquet.

Pei Yunying followed Emperor Liang Ming to board the dragon boat. The queen and the queen mother were resting in the boat. When they saw him boarding the boat, they explained the next Nuo ceremony before Pei Yunying left.

He first went to the imperial guards and walked around, and then returned to the Changle Pond. The atmosphere was lively. Lin Danqing was talking to Chang Jin with his head tilted, and there was no shadow of Lu Zhu next to him.

He glanced around and didn't see Lu Zong.

It was Lin Danqing who saw him coming and greeted him: "Why is Commander Pei here?"

Pei Yunying glanced at the table and asked, "Isn't Lu Zhu there?"

Lin Danqing was startled for a moment, "Hey, were you still here just now?"

"Maybe she was called away by someone else." Lin Danqing turned around, "I told her that the Nuo ceremony will start in an hour, and I guess she will be back soon."

Pei Yunying frowned.

“Pei Dianshuai wants to see her for something?”

 He shook his head and was about to speak when the other princes called him, but he said nothing and turned away again.

 …

The bustle and bustle of the crowd gradually faded away, and further away in the Changle Pond, several palace servants came out of the courtyard, and the warehouse became quiet.

The warehouse is filled with large and small piles of masks and hair, wolf fangs, fireworks, and skeleton puppets. In the middle is a huge puppet with golden eyes and white face, wearing a brocade apron, which is as tall as a person. It is extremely heavy and is packed together. It looks very impressive on the wooden board with wheels.

This is the tool that will be used later in Nuo Yi.

Because the tools are complicated and large and small are piled up in one place, it looks a bit messy. At a glance, it is not easy to find people.

 There has been no large-scale Nuo ceremony in the palace for several years, and the tools were temporarily prepared by the Ministry of Rites. The craftsmen responsible for the Nuo ceremony were not musicians in the palace, and the guard here was even looser.

 But in the gloomy silence, human voices suddenly sounded.

 “Where are the things?” In the warehouse, Qi Yutai stretched out a hand towards Lu Yan.

He has been looking forward to today since last night. Unfortunately, today is first the military performance and then the Tianzhang Altar Ceremony. In full view of everyone, he cannot find a chance to come to Lu Yun at all. Although his father was far away from him, he secretly asked Qi Huaying to keep an eye on him in case something unexpected happened to him. Even when he came out to see Lu Yan at this moment, it was just under the pretense of going to the toilet.

Lu Zhen was silent and took out a paper bag from his sleeve.

Qi Yutai couldn't wait to take it and was about to open it when he suddenly remembered something and quickly looked around. There was no sound in the warehouse. The palace maid just went out to move things.

 At this moment, he felt relieved and looked at Lu Shen with praise: "You are good at choosing a place."

There were people everywhere around the Changle Pond, and palace people were passing by everywhere. He was still thinking about how to avoid people's attention. After all, the people in the palace were all human beings. If something was wrong, they might cause trouble, especially the third prince's people.

Just as he was thinking about it, there was a sudden sound of someone outside. Qi Yutai was startled. In front of him was the "evil **** of plague" with golden eyes and white face. Lu Zhu, with quick eyes and quick hands, grabbed him and buried him. The figure of the tall puppet covered the two of them. The two young eunuchs were talking about something outside the door. After a while, their voices gradually became fainter.

 Qi Yutai breathed a sigh of relief.

 Immediately afterwards, my heart became anxious again.

　　People pass by from time to time, which is really unsettling, but once you reach the orchestra pit, it is difficult to find another place that is more suitable for submission. If you go further, you will encounter the royal guards.

Just as he was thinking about it, Lu Zhuo groped for the belly of the puppet in front of him, pulled it hard, and then, a small door popped open.

 The puppet is actually hollow in the middle.

Lu Xu said: "You go in."

Qi Yutai frowned: "What do you mean?"

“Someone may come in at any time outside the door, and it’s not safe to hide here. It’s better to hide in the belly of a puppet.”

She said: "The Nuo Ceremony begins in Haishi, and about an hour later, a ritual officer will come here. If Mr. Qi takes all the medicine in a tea room, and the effect of the medicine disappears, even if he is discovered by others, he can pretend that he went astray. When you reach this point, no one will notice you.”

This is just a place to store Nuo ritual tools. Your Majesty hates Nuo rituals now. If it weren't for the locust plague in southern Jiangsu, he would not have specially arranged a gift. Naturally, he would not take it seriously if he ignored it. Therefore, it is not heavily guarded. Even if someone notices it, he can leave. Being sidetracked is not a big mistake.

 As long as no one notices you while taking the medicine, it’s fine.

Qi Yutai knew how dangerous this move was, but for some reason, he felt a little nervous and excited.

He stared at Lu Yun. The fragrant and fragrant fragrance of the woman's body made him feel distracted for a moment. Before it dissipated, he felt faintly warm.

Qi Yutai stretched out his hand and pinched Lu Huo's chin: "You are indeed very brave. I wonder if you are equally brave in other places?"

The frivolous and suggestive words fell on the woman's ears. Lu Zhuo's expression did not change and he only reminded: "Young Master Qi had better hurry up."

There were faint voices outside the door. Qi Yutai reluctantly retracted his hand, opened the puppet door, and got into his belly.

As soon as I got in, I felt that the belly of the doll was quite spacious, just enough for a general to sit in it. Qi Yutai took out a silver pot in his arms, which he had just taken from the banquet. He drank it with wine and became a hundred times happier.

He sat curled up inside, cramped on all sides. There was a slight crack just below his line of sight, which could let in a little light from the outside. He didn't know what the purpose of the crack was. After looking at it for a while, he still felt uneasy, so he turned to ask Lu Zhuo : "Is it really safe here?"

Lu Zhu nodded: "As long as Mr. Qi stays here before the medicine wears off, it should be safe for an hour."

Qi Yutai thought for a while, but finally couldn't resist the temptation of the medicine powder. He had refused to take the medicine powder for several days. At this moment, even though he knew there was a pit of fire ahead, he still wanted to enjoy it first.

 “I’m sorry you don’t dare either.” He snorted softly.

　　　"May the young master be happy."

 After Lu Zhu finished speaking, he stood up.

The door was closed, and the surroundings were quiet. Only the light coming from the crack shone into the puppet's belly. Without further ado, Qi Yutai couldn't wait to open the paper package, took a deep sniff, and his expression was suddenly intoxicated.

 He was so immersed in the long-lost happiness that he did not notice the sight behind him.

 “Click—”

 There was a very slight sound, resounding in the warehouse.

 Qi Yutai didn't notice.

 …

When Lu Zhen returned to the Changlechi banquet, Lin Danqing was looking for her everywhere.

"Where have you been?" she asked, "I looked around and couldn't find you."

 “I got lost after going to the cleansing room, so I asked the palace maid before walking back.”

Lin Danqing suddenly realized: "You don't often enter the palace, so it's normal for you not to know the way." He added, "Shuai Pei just came to see you."

　　Lu Tong was startled: "What do you want from me?"

"I don't know." Lin Danqing shook his head, "He left when he saw you weren't here."

 Lu Yan was silent.

As he was talking, the sound of music gradually came from further away in the long orchestra pit.

"Hurry up, hurry up!" Lin Danqing turned his head and looked over, "The Nuo ceremony is about to begin. Speaking of which, I was really worried that you would delay the time and miss the start of the Nuo ceremony. The doctor would turn around and punish you again."

Lu Zhen smiled and said, "No."

“Didn’t you tell me that this year the Nuo ceremony will be held an hour earlier and will begin at Xu Shi?”

 She smiled slightly: "I calculated the time well."

In the imperial city of Shengjing, there has been no Nuo sacrifice ceremony for many years.

This year, due to the locust plague, the country was once again in a state of disgrace, and both the royal officials and the abbots of the temple felt in a hurry. Lin Danqing has a wide network of contacts, and when he was on duty at the Medical Officer's Hospital, he heard from people in the Jiaofang that this year's Nuo ceremony would start an hour earlier.

The most important thing about the Tianzhangtai Festival is the festival. You cannot make a wrong step. All the kings enjoyed the show together, but as for the Nuo ceremony, the officials paid little attention to it.

 It’s the last part of the day after all, so I won’t remember this moment specially.

Lin Danqing got the advance news, turned around and told Lu Zhen about the matter, and also discussed with Lu Zhen: "Since it has to be brought forward, is there a new way to perform Nuo sacrifices?"

Lu Zhen shook his head and said he didn't know.

She sighed: "There's no point in coming up with new tricks. If you have the heart to do this, it would be more practical to dispatch medical officers to southern Jiangsu for disaster relief early."

The sound of a gun salute outside disrupted Lu Yan's thoughts. On the other side, not far from the long table, Qi Huaying looked at the empty seat next to him, a trace of anxiety flashing across his brows.

 “You haven’t found your brother yet?” She lowered her voice and asked the person next to her.

 The servant shook his head.

"Oops."

 Qi Huaying was secretly worried.

 Before burning the incense, Qi Yutai said that he needed to go to the toilet, got up and left the banquet. He disappeared after that and has not come back until now.

There are guards everywhere around Changle Pond, so there is no danger. But Qi Huaying always felt uneasy.

Before departure, his father repeatedly warned Qi Yutai that his epilepsy might occur again at any time and that he should not be separated from others.

 If epilepsy occurs suddenly somewhere...

“Have you told your father about this?” Qi Huaying asked.

The servant is in trouble: "The Nuo sacrifice is about to begin, and the Grand Master has already gone to the wedding official's place..."

 The crowd was noisy in the distance, and Qi Huaying's heart sank.

 It seems that the only hope is that Qi Yutai only left the meeting temporarily and did not return.

If you do get sick, hopefully no one will notice you.

 …

 In the warehouse, the oil lamp was dimly visible.

 The ground is covered with masks, incense and candles, and puppets stand quietly.

Qi Yutai hid among the puppets, like a rat hiding in the dark, gnawing at the remains of food in the darkness.     No, it's not a rat.

 It should be a bird.

 A bird facing the blue clouds, fluttering about to fly.

I wonder if he had never been served for a few days, or the drinking drinks on the banquet were too sweet. When the medicine scattered and drinking, he felt a long -lost pain. Different from the medicine powder that Lu Zhen brought to him when he came to visit, this one is just like the real cold food powder, hot, tingling, and ecstatic. But there is no desperate and suffocating stagflation.

 Only joy.

 The darkness and narrowness around him did not make him feel cramped. The place seemed to have become a safe birdcage, a birdcage made of gold and silver, filled with food and water.

Although this birdcage makes the bird lose its freedom, the gorgeous cage also provides comfort that wild birds in the forest will never experience in their lifetime.

 He feels safe.

It is indeed safe here.

  It started at the time of the Nuo ceremony. He had not been interested in the Nuo ceremony before, and his father only mentioned that there should be no mistakes in the ceremony. Only today did he realize that the Nuo ceremony turned out to be such a good thing.

He thought happily in the carnival and eclipse, if only there would be more locust plagues, floods, droughts or other disasters like this in Daliang.

In this way, Your Majesty can get rid of Nuo every year, and he can be ecstatic again and again.

 Qi Yu showed a satisfied smile on the table, and felt that her whole body became light and airy. The bird flapped its wings and flew unsteadily into the sky among the clouds. He closed his eyes comfortably, and the silver pot in his hand slipped and hit the puppet. It made a very slight sound, which was quickly drowned out by the voices outside.

 “This thing is quite heavy.” said the official who was dragging the puppet.

The puppet with a white face and golden eyes has horns on its head and fangs sticking out of its mouth, giving it a terrifying appearance. The wheels under the wooden board were rolling, but even so, it was not easy to pull.

 “Would you like to get in and have a look?” asked another person.

 “I don’t want to be unlucky.”

The speaking officer looked away in disgust, fearing that the puppet would get half of his robes stained, so he said: "Bad luck!"

Worksmen in twos and threes filed in and carried away a bunch of mask oil paper from the warehouse.

The leader of the ceremony urged the people dragging the puppets: "The Nuo ceremony is about to begin. Send the things up quickly."

 …

 Beside the long orchestra pit, flames suddenly burst into flames.

 In the clouds of green smoke, a group of people wearing masks gradually appeared.

This group of people were wearing embroidered colorful clothes, holding golden spears and dragon flags, and drums were playing. Hundreds of young children wrapped their heads in red scarves, holding waving drums and singing:

 “A is a bad food. A tiger eats the stomach.

　　　Xiong Bo eats the charm. Teng Jianshi is unlucky.

　　Taken all food faults. Birch eats dreams.

 Qiang Liang and Zu Ming both died and became parasitic by eating the beast.

 We follow the food concept. Wrong fasting.

 Qiongqi and Tenggen eat Gu together.

　　Anything that causes the twelve gods to chase evildoers.

 Hands your body, pulls your trunk, cuts off your flesh, pulls out your lungs and intestines.

 You don't have to go in a hurry, the latter is food. "

This is a Nuo song.

 Twelve ghost-faced priests danced the Nuo dance, surrounded by a puppet as tall as one person in the center.

 The puppet is extremely ugly, with a white face, golden eyes, and sharp fangs.

Lin Danqing stared: "This is..."

 “The God of Plague.” Lu Yan said.

Lin Danqing was surprised: "I have never seen this thing in Nuo ceremony before, and this is the first time I have seen it." She asked Lu Shu curiously: "But sister Lu, isn't this your first time attending a ceremony? How do you recognize this thing?"

 “It appears from the book.”

Lin Danqing did not doubt that he was there, nodded and continued to watch the Nuo dance in the distance.

Lu Yan lowered his eyes indifferently.

 She has seen the **** of plague.

In the year of the great epidemic in Changwu County, neighbors fell ill one after another, and the whole Changwu County was filled with lifelessness. The county magistrate was ill and went to the doctor urgently. He asked his aunt from the mountain to cure him of the plague. At that time, her parents, brothers and sisters were all too sick to get out of bed. She walked a long way and saw her great-aunt's ritual to get rid of the plague.

The aunt of the poor county does not understand any "big gift", and there are no band wizards. A stage was hastily set up, and one person wore a mask with a white face and golden eyes. One person holding a stick can dispel the plague.

When she was young, she looked at the long and weird singing in her aunt's mouth and asked the aunt next door: "What's that with the mask?"

The aunt told her: "That is the **** of plague. If my aunt drives it away, the disease will be gone."

 The **** of plague.

Lu Zong nodded his head as if he understood something, and said silently in his heart:



 Must be driven away.

 After driving them away, my parents, brothers and sisters will get better.

The crowd suddenly let out another exclamation. Lu Zhuo raised his eyes and surrounded the Nuo dance in the middle. The dancer blew out fireworks from his mouth.

 Lu Zhen looked calm.

 At the place where Lin Danqing was on duty, there were people from the Imperial City Jiaofang.

 A few days ago, she went back to the medical hospital to pack things and delivered medicine to Lin Danqing once. She happened to see the music officials delivering the "God of Plague" at the entrance of the classroom.

“Be careful, don’t break it! This is the protagonist of this year’s exorcism!”

The leading music officer finished scolding his servants and turned around to take the medicine list from Lu Zhuo's hand.

 Lu Zhen smiled.

 Must be the blessing of your family from heaven.

Only then will everything go incredibly smoothly.

Gradually, while singing, another person slowly walked from back to front.

　　Xuan Yi Zhu Shang, wearing a bear skin, holding a spear and a shield. The thick bearskin pressed against this man's body, making his thin and withered body look even more lonely, eerie and eerie in the long scented mist.

 The sound of Nuo dance music suddenly became sharp.

 The "protagonist" of exorcizing ghosts, Fang Xiangzi, was originally played by the master of the Jiaofang, but now he is played by Qi Qing, the grand master.

 Taishi is already old, and his reputation as Deren is widely known. This year, when the locust plague occurred in southern Jiangsu, he took the initiative to donate family funds to help the victims, which attracted widespread praise from the people.

Over the years, he has built bridges and roads. The poor people who benefited from him are grateful for this. He is the "Fang Xiangzi" who can cure the plague. His Majesty thinks highly of him.

When Lu Xu came to treat Qi Yutai, Qi Yutai often talked about it. He only said that his father would pretend to be Fang Xiang in exorcism this year, and he was very proud of his words.

By the Changle Pond, the fireworks were burning and the lamps were as bright as day. In the curling green smoke, the Grand Master smiled gently. He was not like a general exorcising ghosts, but more like an immortal above Qingming, with kind eyebrows and kind eyes, aloof.

 He raised his sword.

Lin Danqing exclaimed: "What are you going to do?"

Lu Zhen smiled slightly.

 “Kill the plague god.”

The **** of plague, which everyone avoids and can bring disasters and plagues, will of course hit him with one blow, and the murderous sword will drive away the plague ghost. The tall, solid puppet was hollow in the middle not to hide anything, but for the moment of blood when Fang Xiangzi's "sword" penetrated it.

The cheers of the crowd mixed with the ghostly chants, and the bumps finally awakened the person hiding in the belly of the puppet.

  Qi Yutai had a sweet dream.

 He dreamed that when he was still a child, it was his father's birthday.

My father has always loved birds. He caught a beautiful bird, cut off its wings, put it in a birdcage, and gave it to his father.

The father was very happy, picked him up lovingly, and praised him seriously.

Qi Yutai was so excited that he wanted to catch another bird and give it to his father, but he was shaken from behind.

 Qi Yutai opened his eyes suddenly.

The surroundings were dark, with only a ray of light leaking into his eyes through the cracks in front of him. There was the sound of noisy drum music in his ears, and with the strange music in his eyes, he was at a loss for a moment.

This is where?

But soon, he recalled that he secretly took the medicine powder in the warehouse where the masks were stored during the Nuo ceremony in Jiaofang tonight.

He had a splitting headache and couldn't remember how long he had slept. He could only subconsciously put his eyes against the narrow slit of the puppet and look towards the bright light outside.

 He saw his father.

His father was wrapped in a bearskin, wearing black clothes and red clothes. In the blue smoke, he looked as tall as in his dream when he was a child, with an expression that was both strange and familiar.

 This is... Nuo ceremony?

 But the Nuo ceremony didn't start at Chen's time. He took the powder until the medicine had lost all its effect, which was no more than a stick of incense. Why had the Nuo ceremony already started?

People wearing Nuo masks gathered around his father and prayed. Qi Yutai looked at it. His eyes passed over the shining silver sword in his father's hand, and his eyes suddenly widened!

 He remembered what his father was going to do.

 The last part of the Nuo ritual is to kill the God of Plague.

Fang Xiangshi will kill the **** of plague with his sword and completely drive away the evil spirit.

 Now, he has become the "God of Plague" and his father has become "Fang Xiangshi".

 Father will kill him.

 He can't stay here, he will die!

At this moment, regardless of what impact it would have, Qi Yutai subconsciously wanted to shout. However, as soon as he opened his mouth, he found that his voice had become extremely thin, making it difficult for people to detect it through the puppet.

Qi Yutai turned around and groped again, but his narrow belly suddenly became very large. He couldn't find the crack in the door, as if someone had closed it from the outside.

 Somewhere, he became a caged bird that could not escape or fly.

With no way to escape, Qi Yutai trembled all over. In fear, he beat all sides from inside with all his strength. However, the solid belly of the puppet seemed to be shrouded in endless darkness, and he could not see the end no matter what. The rapid drum beat drowned out everything, drowning out his desperate cries.

"Help-"

"Help-"

"Help-"

 No one answered.

Qi Yutai put his eyes close to the gap. His father's face was very close. He tried his best to call his father's name and slapped him like crazy. His father looked at him with an indifferent smile, as if he were looking at a disgusting and disgusting epidemic ghost, looking at him. He came closer.

 “Puch—” a sound.

Dancers wearing Nuo masks shouted, and they followed closely and pierced the sword in their hands——

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　∣

 A cluster of fireworks shot up into the night sky, red and white, and the salute rang out in response.

Above the head, colorful smoke and flames suddenly exploded, and countless bright light spots dragged their long tails across the night sky, just like countless luminous birds, spreading their wings and falling from the sky.

The crowd burst into cheers.

 “It’s time to get rid of the plague ghost!”

 “The **** of plague is gone!”

In the imperial city, the night sky was suddenly obscured by smoke and flames, and bright birds flew across everything. This joyful music was like New Year's Eve and New Year, attracting everyone in Shengjing to look around.

An old farmer in the tea garden of Mangming Township took a break from his farm work and looked towards the imperial city from a distance. The vendors on West Street were sitting under their tents, listening to the faint sound of salutes. In Nan Pharmacy, the medical workers who were sorting herbs walked out of the medicine garden and looked up at the colorful flames falling above their heads.

The hawker pushing his stall downstairs was driven away for begging, the young girl who had just been beaten in the brothel, the impoverished scholar who had lost his reputation and was immersed in books. He Xiu, Yan Erniang, Shen Fengying, Wu Youcai...

 Everyone is watching the brilliant fireworks in the imperial city.

　　The sound of firecrackers, cheers, and drums were mixed together, and in the wildly dancing flames, there was a trace of red blood gradually flowing down the puppet's belly.

The first musician who was discovered cried out: "Ghosts! There are ghosts making trouble -"

 The crowd suddenly became noisy.

 The people behind didn’t know what was happening in front of them and were still looking up at the fireworks above their heads. The noise was mixed with screams, and chaos gradually formed beside the long orchestra pit.

The imperial guards were quick to rush to the dragon boat and escorted the emperor off the boat back to the palace. Pei Yunying drew his sword to protect Emperor Liang Ming and shouted sternly: "Protect your majesty, and those who offend will be punished!"

In the Happy Festival, blood flowed like a river. The red guards quickly covered the retreat of the royal people, and there was chaos around the Changle Pond. Pei Yunying ran among the crowd, his eyes passing over countless confused or panicked people, searching wildly.

One after another, fireworks surged up into the night sky like a tide, and he saw Lu Huo.

 Lu Zong stood in the crowd.

　　There were figures running around in a hurry, but she was standing by the pool, looking up at the fireworks above her head.

The lights flickered and changed, and the flowing light and shadow fell on her face. The bright crimson color seemed to be splashed with blood stains. The woman stood in the warm and noisy place, looking at it seriously and fascinated, with a soft smile on her lips.

 She smiled happily.

　　Laughing and laughing, I burst into tears.

 “The Ceremony of Nuo Ritual”—“Tokyo Menghua Lu”