Peach

"Zimo, why don't you look very good, have you not slept in the past two days?" Chang'e asked tentatively.

Heidan finished his meal, put down the bowl and chopsticks, and sat down properly: "Concubine Mother is not in good health, I have to take care of her." The child spoke every word, as if he had rehearsed.

Chang'e nodded. Looking at it in the morning, Cheng Jieyu's complexion was indeed not very good.

"Concubine Chang, can I come to eat more often in the future?" Amu held the table with his chubby hands and looked at Chang'e timidly.The servants of Chaoyang Palace didn't treat him harshly, but they didn't show any good looks, as if serving him was hard work.Facing that group of cold palace people made him feel scared and unable to eat properly.

"Okay, come every day." Chang E couldn't help pinching Amu's chubby face.When I was in Jiuru Town, I was too poor, so I wouldn't easily keep other people's children for dinner.It's different now, there is plenty of food in the palace, after being promoted to Jieyu, she can't finish every meal, not bad for a child's meal.

With Chang'e's approval, Amu was very happy. From this day on, he followed Chen Ziqi back to Qingyun Palace for dinner every day at noon.Heidan would come along occasionally, but he didn't talk much, and Cheng Jieyu never sent anyone to look for him.

After seven days of fasting and bathing, it was finally time to offer sacrifices to heaven.

It is the tradition of the Yuzhang royal family to sacrifice to the gods in the midsummer month.It is said that every emperor is chosen by the gods, so when the crown prince is still undecided, the midsummer sacrifice is particularly grand.

After bathing, in the small hall lit with sandalwood, Chen Ziqi put on the clothes for offering sacrifices to heaven.The azure wide-sleeved brocade robe was very soft, and when it was tied up with a belt, the entire garment was attached to the body.Except for the prince's jade pendant, she no longer wears any accessories, not even a jade belt, but only a blue waist rope.Her hair was loosely tied behind her back with a sky-blue headband.

Chen Ziqi looked at this outfit, no matter how he looked at it, he looked like he was going to sacrifice his life, and he was very worried.

When we arrived at Zhanghuatai, it was dusk.The orange sunlight fell on the smooth bluestone slabs, dyeing the entire Zhanghuatai light gold.

The national teacher is wearing a snow-white sacrificial robe. The long hem is one foot long, and it is neatly spread on the ground. The setting sun shines on the hem, and the cloud patterns embroidered with silver threads reflect a colorful halo, like a bird with an open screen. The white peacock is so beautiful.

"The blood is complete, now we can ask the spirit. The ancestor gods are above, bless me." The cold voice, like a bird singing solo in Shibuya, is ethereal and lonely.

Emperor Zhenglong did not go up to the Zhanghua Terrace, but stood under the stage and let the princes go up by themselves.

Chen Ziqi took a sneak peek, feeling that the emperor seemed a little guilty.This discovery made Chen Ziqi even more nervous.No one told me what to do on the altar.Hastily brought back the prince who fell among the people, could it be that he was looking for a substitute for the dead ghost?

Eleven princes, in order of age, lined up behind the national teacher, listening to him slowly reciting.Except for the first few sentences, the rest are completely incomprehensible.It seems to be a very ancient language, and the byte tones are like birdsong.

This long chanting lasted until the bright moon rose in the east.

"In the moon of midsummer, the emperor recommends the temple with peaches first. Those who contain peaches are also cherries. You are the prince, and you are not as good as the emperor. You should hold it in your mouth to show your respect." The national teacher looked not far away Zhang Huadian, slowly explaining to the prince behind him.

As soon as the words were finished, a waiter in white came to Chen Ziqi with a plate of delicate and beautiful cherries.

"Your Highness, please choose a cherry." The waiter in white was wearing a veil, so he couldn't see his face clearly.

Chen Ziqi looked around, and there was a plate in front of each prince.The eldest prince and the second prince had already sacrificed to heaven once, and they were familiar with the road, so they picked a cherry at random, put it in the palm of their left hand, dragged their left hand with their right hand, and placed it flat in front of them.

The cherries are freshly washed, with a little water droplets, very attractive.Having stood there for an hour, Chenzi Qi was so thirsty that his throat was about to smoke, looking at these cherries, he couldn't move his eyes for a moment.

The cherries on the plate were plump and there was no difference, so Chen Ziqi picked the reddest and largest one, imitating the other princes, and held it in his hand.He took two more water-stained ones and quickly stuffed them into his mouth.

The sweet drops of water moisturize the lips that are about to dry.Biting the round cherry, the sweet and sour juice immediately filled the tip of the tongue, alleviating the thirst in the mouth and bringing a burst of refreshment.

The waiter didn't react for a moment, he just stared blankly at Chen Ziqi's movements, and it was too late to stop him, so he pretended not to see it.He lowered his head to take back the plate, and retreated to Zhang Huatai together with other messengers.

"The gods are coming, princes, please." The national teacher lightly closed his eyes and signaled everyone to enter the hall.

There are twelve peacock candlesticks in Zhanghua Hall.The candlesticks are made of brass, and each has 36 light bowls, which are unfolded sequentially like a fan.The twelve candlesticks are fully lit at this moment, reflecting the entire Zhanghua Palace as if it were daytime.

Chen Ziqi knelt on the futon and looked up at the tall statue.No one has ever mentioned what the god Dazhang enshrines is. It seems that only the royal family knows it, and the common people only call it the God of Protecting the Country.From the looks of it now, Chen Ziqi suddenly felt cheated... Isn't this just the ordinary dragon and phoenix Chengxiang?

A dragon and a phoenix are intertwined together, presenting a state of blue clouds rising straight up, reflecting the candlelight all over the room, which is particularly spectacular.However, this can't hide it, it's just a dragon and a phoenix!

Emperor Zhenglong and all civil and military officials stood under Zhang Hua's stage, looking up nervously.

In midsummer last year, the gods did not come, forcing the emperor to search for the prince among the people.I just don't know if I've found everything this time, but it's better not to make any mistakes.

Now the prestige of the royal family is already in jeopardy. If there is no miracle, the next monarch will probably be even more difficult.

The national teacher stood on the spot, watching Zhang Huadian quietly.

After a quarter of an hour, the candles in the hall were suddenly extinguished, and at the same time, the entire Zhanghuatai was brightly lit.The golden light shines out from the bluestone slab in an instant, and the dark lines on the slate turned into incomparably clear golden lines, depicting a golden phoenix about to fly, with fine feathers clearly defined, occupying the entire Zhanghuatai.A golden dragon coiled around the edge of the round table, enclosing the Phoenix firmly.

"God, come." The national teacher said softly, knelt down slowly, and kowtowed in the direction of Zhang Huadian.

The people in Beijing knew that they were going to sacrifice to heaven today, so they all waited in the courtyard, and when they saw the golden light of Zhanghuatai, they all knelt down and worshiped.

Chen Ziqi sat in the Zhanghua Hall, not knowing what happened.The moment the golden light on Zhang Huatai rushed into the hall, he saw the red chicken hidden on the beam.

"Chaotian?" The light was so bright that Chen Ziqi couldn't help closing his eyes, and when he opened them again, the light from Zhang Huatai had disappeared, and the hall was pitch black.There was only a ray of cold moonlight shining in from outside the palace gate, somewhat bright.It took a while to get used to it before I could barely see things clearly.

"Princes, please, put cherries in your mouth and sleep peacefully on the futons." The national teacher did not know when he came to the gate of the palace, and when the princes had all the cherries in their mouths, he walked slowly to the statue and took the cherries from his sleeves. Take out a very thin incense stick, light it, and put it on the incense burner.Then, unobtrusively, he raised his head slightly, and exchanged a glance with the red-feathered chicken on the beam.

Following the line of sight of the national teacher, it was pitch black, but Chen Ziqi knew the location of the chicken, so he was very sure that the national teacher was looking at the chicken!

After the national teacher finished offering incense, he exited the Zhanghua Hall and closed the door behind him.The entire hall was immersed in darkness, and the sporadic moonlight came in through the carvings on the door, but it was not enough for people to see things clearly.

"Ha..." Someone couldn't help but yawned.

The eldest prince was the most relaxed. He lay down on the ground and fell asleep with the futon on his pillow.The other princes were also drowsy, and fell down on the futon after a while.

Chen Ziqi looked at Amu who was beside him, he had already fallen unconscious.He was also very sleepy, but he dared not fall asleep.This drowsiness came too fast and too violently, there must be a ghost!

Pinching himself to force himself to wake up, Chen Ziqi got up and looked up at the chicken on the beam.

The little red bird slowly moved out of the shadow, and tilted its head to look at him.The moonlight shone on the two hairs on his head, casting a long shadow.

Eyelids became heavier and heavier, Chen Ziqi couldn't hold it anymore, he lay down on the futon and looked at the cherry in his hand.The national teacher told Han not to eat it in his mouth, but he swallowed it when he was asleep.Such a big cherry, if you swallow it, you will definitely choke to death.After thinking about it, I put the cherry between the upper and lower lips, closed my eyes and fell asleep.

It felt like he only closed his eyes for a moment, then Chen Ziqi opened it again, and saw the fluffy little red bird standing in front of him.He wanted to reach out to grab it, but he didn't have any strength, so he could only watch it helplessly, and slowly moved it to his lips, tilted his head, stretched out his bright yellow mouth, and took a bite of the cherry.

"Hmm..." Chen Ziqi's eyes widened, trying to stop Chick from destroying the cherries.He only had this one, and it was eaten by chickens, and the cherry disappeared tomorrow morning, maybe it was a serious crime.

The little red bird obviously didn't understand his anxiety, and pecked slowly.The big cherries were pecked, and the juice flowed onto Chen Ziqi's lips, dyeing those soft lips with a layer of crystal.After pecking a few mouthfuls, the little red bird picked out the cherry pit, threw it aside, opened its mouth, and swallowed the cherry flesh.

After eating the cherries, the little red bird seemed very happy, flapped its wings twice, jumped onto Chen Ziqi's head, hooked his hair with its claws, and let out a "chirp".

That crisp cry was very different from its usual cry, like broken Kunshan jade, or like a string of jasper strings, the clear and clear voice soared to the heavens, instantly restoring Chen Ziqi's clarity.

His head was awake, but his body was still unable to move. Chen Ziqi smacked his lips and watched the little red bird get into his soft and smooth skirt, stepped on him in a comfortable position, rubbed his head on his chest, curled up. It became a ball and did not move.

The clothes for offering sacrifices to the heavens had neither inner nor middle clothes, but only a sky-blue robe wrapped around his body.The warm fur stuck to his chest, itching, and he wanted to scratch it very much, but he couldn't move.Chen Ziqi bit his lower lip and endured it for a while, when the itching passed and the little red bird did not come out, he closed his eyes resignedly and fell asleep.

The author has something to say: Little Theater:

Bird Gong: If you eat your cherry, you will be mine

Qi Qi: Why does this sound so awkward?

Bird Gong: How should I say that?

Qi Qi: If you eat my cherry, you will be my bird

Bird Gong: This sounds like a curse (·v·)