The Ascension of Ghosts

Lu Sheng only stepped out of the door with his front foot, and his back foot was still in the door. He couldn't help regretting it, and his momentum was completely vented.

It's just that when things came to an end, he could only bite the bullet and walk out of the house, standing dejectedly on the porch.

If you go south, you can go out of the mansion to meet with your colleagues; if you go east, you can practice sword riding and archery; if you go west, you can see how ripe the grapes are in the vineyard; I can't take a step, I just feel that I have nowhere to go.

After a few breaths, he heard footsteps approaching behind him, someone quietly stood by his side without saying a word, with his hands behind his back, looking up at the moon, he said casually: "The moon rises brightly, and people are so bright. Who does Lu Lang miss when he sees the moon?"

Lu Sheng said with a stern face: "The moon is curved like a hook, and it has a mean look. Naturally, it is mean people who think."

Xie Rong smiled and sighed: "Mean people do mean things, so naturally they treat you harshly. Why bother to think about him, it's better to forget about him."

Lu Sheng turned his head and glanced at him, stepped out of the corridor, walked out of the mansion through the clumps of blooming fragrant flowers and green grass.The night in the Western Regions was as cold as water, and Ruo Song chased up with two cloaks in his arms and gave them to the two sons. Xie Rong's cloak was indigo brocade embroidered with black pythons, and Lu Sheng's cloak was deep red brocade embroidered with rocs.The night breeze caresses gently, sending bursts of flower fragrance. There are three or two red lotus blooming in the lotus pond in the front yard, which look like flames in the night, and they are quite contented.

Lu Sheng stopped by the lotus pond, and couldn't help but recall the lotus song again, and said in a low voice, "Tiantian lotus pond leaves are stacked and shaded by flowers. If there are a few more plants, it will be lively."

Xie Rong then turned her head and said: "Ruo Song, tomorrow I will order people to bring a few more red lotus plants from the south of the Yangtze River and transplant them into this pond."

Ruo Song followed the two a few steps away, and respectfully agreed.

Lu Sheng warned: "It doesn't matter whether you are red lotus or white lotus, pick some lotus seeds that have more fruit and strong joints."

Ruo Song slightly raised his head, hesitantly said: "Young Master Baoyang means..."

Lu Sheng said, "The best you can eat."

Ruo Song still hesitated and said: "If you only care about growing lotus root, the flower will grow like..."

Xie Rong said: "It doesn't matter how the flowers grow, just choose the ones with delicious lotus root joints and green and tender lotus seeds."

Ruo Song was young after all, he stared at Xie Rong in amazement for a long time, seeing Xie Rong frowning, he hurriedly cupped his hands and said: "I understand, I will live up to your entrustment."

Lu Sheng turned his head to look at the emerald green lotus leaves on the undulating water, and sighed, "It's time to make glutinous rice chicken with lotus leaves."

Xie Rong said again: "Ruosong, tell the chef to prepare two chickens with glutinous rice in lotus leaves tomorrow."

Ruosong was naturally in a hurry to respond, so he resigned and walked away.

Lu Sheng couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed, "Why do you have to eat whatever I say?"

Xie Rong said: "Since this is the case, there is no need to prepare. Ruosong."

Lu Sheng hurriedly said, "Wait! Since you said it, why go back on your word, Ruosong, let's go."

Ruosong didn't go away, and he didn't stay, he looked at Lu Sheng blankly with an innocent face, then at Xie Rong, Xie Rong just smiled and said, "Why don't you go soon?"

After the boy had gone far away, Lu Sheng rubbed his nose in embarrassment, followed the winding path beside the lotus pond, and continued to walk towards the door, stepped out of the gate, and walked out of the back alley. The Protectorate's Mansion of the Western Regions is also an important place for traffic. The streets are bustling with pedestrians, shoulder to shoulder, very lively.

It's just that today it seems to be extraordinarily lively. Men and women are dressed in strange and bright clothes, or there are flowers pinned between their temples, on their wrists, or on the skirts of their clothes.The colors of the flowers vary. Some people wear fragrant and pure white gardenias, others wear light golden gentian flowers, or honeysuckle flowers intertwined with gold and silver, purple bougainvillea, etc., which are colorful and gorgeous. , dazzling the eyes under the light of the lantern torches.

In the market at the crossroads, there are entertainers performing arts, and there are many shops and vendors selling rouge powder, candied fruit, mutton skewers, chicken cakes and other sundries and snacks.Among the passers-by are fan monks wearing apricot and yellow clothes and cockscomb hats, black and green clothes begging bowls and barefoot wandering Tantric monks, Taoist priests with feather fans and scarves, and Persian businessmen in splendid robes with long beards and chests. The din of the sound of music, leather drums, zithers and zithers is one after another, interweaving into a joyful and peaceful scene of prosperity.

Unexpectedly, they couldn't see the danger and embarrassment surrounded by powerful enemies. Even the beggars held the rare sesame seed buns, showing some satisfaction.

When Lu Sheng saw the scene of the border town for the first time, he didn't care to talk to Xie Rong for a while, but looked around curiously, and suddenly heard a young and clear girl's voice raised: "My lord, what flower do you want to buy?"

Lu Sheng lowered his head, and saw a little girl in front of him, who was only about ten years old, wearing a brown gown with narrow sleeves made of cotton wool, carrying a flower basket as big as half his body, with two balls of hair on the left and right of his head. Looking up at him, Wu Nong spoke softly, especially sweetly, and asked again: "My lord, what flower do you want to buy?"

Lu Sheng only needed to pay a little attention, and found that passers-by, no matter men, women, old or young, were wearing flowers. He squatted down, looked at the girl, and asked with a smile, "What's so special about this flower? "

The girl said bluntly: "Naturally, there are special things. Today is the birthday of the flower-planting goddess. If it is accompanied by flowers, it will be blessed by the goddess. The flower-planting girl is the princess of the Jialan Kingdom who is serving flowers and plants for the Buddha. All flowers in the world are beautiful." Protected by the goddess."

She placed the slightly heavy flower basket on the ground, and explained to Lu Sheng one by one: "Gardenia flowers will remove the darkness and keep you from getting sick; gentian flowers will prolong your life and keep you alive; golden honeysuckle will bring wealth." The bougainvillea... naturally attracts marriage, and keeps the husband and wife harmonious and long-lasting. A flower only costs ten pennies." She probably felt that the harvest was too expensive, and hurriedly added: " It is to be offered to the goddess, so it is more expensive than in the past..."

Lu Sheng heard that she spoke clearly and logically at a young age, so he smiled and said: "In that case, then..." He was pondering which one to choose, but he heard Xie Rong say unhurriedly: "I want all of them." .”

The little girl was pleasantly surprised, her eyes widened and she said: "Master, you really want them all?"

Lu Sheng turned to stare at him, but Xie Rong only turned her head slightly to wink. Ruoxia, who was following a few feet away, understood it, and brought Ruozhu Ruoshuang forward, counting the number of flowers with the little girl, and then simply I also bought the basket together.

The little girl was holding a piece of broken silver in her hand, and thanked Xie Rong again and again. Lu Sheng saw that she was alone, but there were some strange eyes around her, and said, "I'm afraid it's not safe for a child to cherish gold, Ah Rong." , why don't we send her back." After speaking, he turned to ask: "Little lady, what's your last name, and where do you live?"

The little girl sold out all the flowers, she was jumping for joy, and responded with a smile: "I am not a little lady, my surname is Hua, and my nickname is Bell. I live with my mother in Erzi Lane."

Most of the people living in Erzixiang are laborers and poor people who migrated with the army from the Central Plains, or their families were destroyed, or their lives were hard to sustain, but they were too weak to join the army, so they volunteered to migrate with the army, and attached themselves to the army to do some chores , Coolies make a living.What's more, there are also women among them, selling themselves to make a living.

Lu Sheng felt more pity for the little girl, and turned his head and said, "Ah Rong, why don't you give her away."

Xie Rong frowned, and wanted to say "it's enough to send Ruozhu to send her off", but in the end he hesitated a little and agreed.Ruoxia sent a bamboo basket full of flowers, he held it in his hand, stretched it out in front of Lu Sheng, and said coldly, "Pick it up."

There was a group of guards behind him, he didn't give in, insisting on Lu Sheng to carry the bamboo basket was clearly trying to embarrass him on purpose.

Lu Sheng stared at the basket full of purples and reds, although he felt dissatisfied, but recalled that he had lost his temper with Xie Rong before, so he could only lament that this young man is really narrow-minded, and he cares about even a small matter like this.

Lu Sheng turned to read again, he is now promoted to marching commander, and he has [-] recruits under him, he must have the style of a general, and he cannot be as knowledgeable as Xie Rong.

Resigned to his fate, he took the bamboo basket, held it in his hand, and smiled at the little girl calling the bell: "We will send you back."

Ling Dang was holding a huge amount of gold in his hand, and was anxious, fearing that someone would snatch it away on the way back. Seeing that the two men were dressed in expensive clothes, he couldn't be wary at all. He nodded hastily, and responded with a smile: "Then... thank you two gentlemen!"

Lu Sheng smiled and said, "Bing Dang, lead the way."

The bell rang loudly, leading the crowd to the return journey.A few sneaky figures followed along the way, but they saw the sword on Lu Sheng's waist and Xie Rong's cold gaze one after another, so they had to stop thinking a little and retreat back into the crowd.

Lu Sheng was carrying the flower basket, which was full of fragrance, and his mood was a bit more relaxed. He distributed the flowers to Ruoxia and the others, and even the bell got a gardenia flower that can cure all diseases, and put it in the hair bun Here, she is very delicate and cute.

After he finished distributing the flowers, he saw Xie Rong glaring at him with a sullen face, so Lu Sheng took a gentian flower and said with a smile: "Ah Rong doesn't need to ask for wealth and blessings, and doesn't have to worry about illness, so I can ask for a long life." Hundred……"

Before he finished speaking, he felt that his cloak was being torn. He looked down, but it was Bell who took two bunches of brightly colored bougainvillea from the flower basket, and said loudly: "My lord, my mother said, Zhaohua's age A good man, don't miss out on a good marriage, wear bougainvilleas."

Lu Sheng paused for a moment, so he could only smile and said, "It makes sense."

He took the bunch of bougainvillea flowers, and when he looked at Xie Rong again, he found that the corner of the young master's mouth curled up for some reason, and said with a smile: "I don't want to wear it for...brother."

Lu Sheng had no choice but to hang two bunches of bougainvillea on the buttons of Xie Rong and his own cloak. Looking around, he and Xie Rong were the only ones wearing bougainvillea among the group of people. , The dark red cloak is not inferior at all, and the two are particularly tall and handsome, and they have attracted the attention of passers-by along the way, which made Lu Sheng feel uncomfortable.

Occasionally there were people begging along the way, and when Lu Sheng donated copper coins, he would also give a flower at random, but Xie Rong's expression darkened again, Lu Sheng saw this, and persuaded in a low voice: "Ah Rong, it's just a few flowers. If you take them all home, they will wither in a few days, so it’s better to give them away, and everyone will be happy.”

Xie Rong sneered and said, "Everyone is happy, but I am not happy."

Lu Sheng muttered for a while, before he said: "It's mine, isn't it, I shouldn't have disposed of your flowers casually, Ah Rong, how about... I'll pay you by paying them in silver?"

Xie Rong finally showed a shocked expression, Lu Sheng stroked his cheek embarrassingly, and said blankly, "Could it be...do you need double compensation?"

Xie Rong didn't want to say a word to him, she just turned her head and walked on, even taking a few steps away from Lu Sheng.

Ruo Shuang led the way with a bell, Lu Sheng carried a flower basket and followed behind Xie Rong at a loss, but Ruo Xia followed up and whispered, "Master Baoyang misunderstood, my son doesn't care about these things .”

Lu Sheng thought about it, there are three thousand households under Xie Rong's name. Although they are not as luxurious and voluptuous as Shi Chong and Wang Kai, they are more than enough to live comfortably. He comes from a noble family with clean eyes. He counted dozens of copper coins, so the heart of a villain is the heart of a gentleman.

Lu Sheng couldn't help but secretly sighed. Sure enough, there was a chasm between the poor families of the gentry.He had no choice but to thank Ruoxia in a low voice, then quickened his pace to catch up with Xie Rong, and said with a smile: "There is a stone river outside the Liaoxi Camp, and there are red carps in the river, which are all red and dazzling. I will catch some and send them to you someday."

Xie Rong's expression slowed down a little, before he said: "Shan, the red lotus reflects the clear waves, the koi plays with the green lotus, it's true..."

But Lu Sheng said again: "Put it in the lotus pond and fatten it up to make vinegar fish."

Xie Rong paused for a moment, only to feel that her resentment had turned into helplessness, and sighed: "...Then make it into a vinegar fish."

When the group arrived at the entrance of Erzi Alley, Ling Dang was already very close to Ruo Shuang, and even chattered about most of the family affairs.It turns out that Ling Dang's father was a tenant, but unfortunately he contracted the epidemic and died.Ling Dang followed her mother back to her grandfather's house.

However, her grandfather's family was also in hardship, her mother couldn't bear to burden her parents, so she simply followed her younger brother, who joined the army, to the Protectorate of the Western Regions with the army, and it was less than half a month since he arrived.

Lu Sheng's heart skipped a beat. The arrival of the three thousand recruits took less than half a month. Could it be...

When he was thinking about it, he saw Ling Dang suddenly holding up his skirt and running towards a tall man carrying firewood at the entrance of the alley, and shouted happily: "Uncle!"

The man first looked at the bell with a smile on his face, but when he saw Lu Sheng who was following him, his smile suddenly turned into fear and panic, and he said in a trembling voice, "Lu, Sima Lu?"