On the Chinese New Year's Eve of the third year of Emperor Huan of Han, that is, in 149 AD, every house in Luoyang City put up lanterns and firecrackers, and whether it was a dignitary or a flat-headed common people in the city, they were all dressed in festive clothes, jubilant and joyful, and the city was peaceful. The family servants in each province are also busy, or busy hanging lanterns, or helping to paste peach charms, and even more people use their hands and feet in the back kitchen, and dishes of hot and cold dishes are handed out one after another, there are Chinese New Year's Eve meals for family members, and there are sacrifices prepared for ancestors......

Everyone in the Great Changqiu Mansion was even more busy.

"Set up that incense burner, yes, the incense is ready......" "There are candlesticks and incense plates, yo, beware, don't drop the wooden row of the ancestors!" "There are also fruit offerings, why haven't you brought them yet, you go and urge ......" But Cao Fu was directing the servants in the palace to prepare for the ancestor worship in the Wei Cao Mansion. The Han Dynasty ruled the country with filial piety, and worshipping ancestors was a must for every family's annual festival.

It was almost three o'clock in the morning, but there were no more people in the originally festive streets and alleys, and everyone gathered at home to prepare for the ancestor worship ceremony. I saw that the people in Cao Fuzhong knelt in a whole column before and after the main hall, the leader was Cao Teng, and it was Cao Fu who knelt on the side of the offering table, Cao Song knelt behind Cao Teng, and after Cao Song was Zhao Yan and Zhao Zhong, and then there were slaves and maids, all of whom were cleanly dressed, with respectful and solemn expressions, and they didn't dare to say a word.

I saw that this offering table is mostly fish and meat bowl dishes, filled with high bowls, take the meaning of Zhong Ming Ding food, as well as five-color dim sum, birthday cake, etc., after the tribute is the incense burner, red candle, and then is the ranking of the ancestors of Caofu, but it is wooden, and the portrait of the ancestors of Caofu is hung on the back wall.

As soon as the time arrived, Cao Teng nodded and signaled to Cao Fu, and Cao Fu said loudly, "The sacrifice begins!" Incense according to the young and old! ”

I saw Cao Teng take out three incense sticks, hold the incense in his left hand, hold the candle in his right hand, burn the incense, his left hand is on the top, his right hand is on the bottom, only the middle finger and index finger of the two hands are between the incense sticks, the big finger is against the bottom of the incense, the incense is held in front of the head with both hands, the incense is raised to the eyebrows, and then the incense is inserted into the incense burner, and then he returns to the place where he kneels and kowtows, and then Cao Song and others go to the incense one by one and bow down.

After the incense was finished, he listened to Cao Fudao, "Read the blessings!" I saw Cao Teng holding out the prepared blessing with both hands and reading it, "Nanyue is cang, Jianghuai is long." Remembering my clan, it has a long history...... Comfort the ancestors and live up to the Yanhuang. Bow down and offer, three cups of elixir. ”

This blessing was read for half a quarter of an hour, and then there were more "offerings", "offering tea", "offering silk", "offering wine" and other matters, all of which were led by Cao Teng to complete according to the size of the generation, so it was not cumbersome, and finally burned the sacrificial text called "burning blessings", bowed to the gods, and waited until the end of the New Year.

After worshipping the ancestors, Cao Teng hurriedly said to Cao Fu beside him, "Hurry up and change my clothes and enter the palace!" Cao Fu said that he hurriedly went to prepare. It turned out that Cao Teng was busy worshipping his ancestors at home, and he had to accompany the emperor to worship his ancestors in Taimiao when he was in Zhengriyin.

In fact, this time one is to worship the ancestors, and the other is to pray for the Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager Liang has been ill for a long time, and she has long been unable to go to the ground for many days, this time I only hope to pray for a good omen for her, but everyone knows that I am afraid that the Empress Dowager Liang will have little time......

All the civil and military officials rushed to the palace one after another around the middle of the day, and went to the Taimiao with the emperor and empress. This Han Dynasty since Guangwu, Guangwu built a "high temple" to worship the five emperors of the Han Dynasty, and then the Ming Emperor built the "Shizu Temple" to worship the Guangwu Emperor, but the two temples are in the same place, which is the same hall and different rooms.

This royal ancestor worship is comparable to the people's mansions, and the ceremonies are even more complicated and long, but the officials have been kneeling respectfully, and when the sacrifice is completed, it is already noon.

On the right day, Emperor Huan issued an order to amnesty the world, and the whole country rejoiced, which was to pray for the royal blessing, and changed the yuan to "peace", which was the first year of peace.

It is after January again, it is the second day of February, according to legend, it is the day of the birth of Xuanyuan Yellow Emperor, starting from the time of Fuxi, heavy agriculture and mulberry, ploughing the fields, when the Zhou Dynasty, King Wu led hundreds of officials to plough in order to seek a bumper harvest and peace. On this day, the Empress Dowager Liang's illness became more and more serious, and the emperor led hundreds of officials to pray for the Empress Dowager, and the Empress Dowager also felt that time was running out, so she moved down the decree to return to the Emperor Huan, and no longer took the power of the emperor.

On February 22, Empress Dowager Liang collapsed, at the age of forty-five, and was called Empress Shunlie, and was buried in the Xian Mausoleum with Emperor Shun. Although the Empress Dowager Liang has a monopoly on power, she can also reuse her talents, and she has also read the scriptures and history, although she connived at the Liang family and favored the eunuchs, she was still more virtuous, but since then the court has fallen into the hands of Liang Ji......

This day is the warm spring in March, and the flowers and trees in the house in the great long autumn are full of spring.

"Sister Yan, I'll pick this flower and bring it to you." The person who spoke was Cao Song, who was playing in the courtyard after finishing his homework with Zhao Yan, but at this time he wanted to climb the rockery and pick a peach blossom for Zhao Yan.

"Song'er, don't fall!" Zhao Yan advised on the side.

"The Emperor has arrived! The people in Cao's mansion are coming to take over! A shrill voice came from outside the door of Cao's Mansion.

"Emperor!" Cao Fu was so shocked that he cried out, although he had seen countless dignitaries, but this emperor had never seen it, just because he had no chance to enter the palace, and because the emperor had never been to Cao's mansion, he muttered in his heart, "Why did this little emperor suddenly come to Cao's mansion?" What should I do if the master is not in the house at this time? Cao Fu and the others were also panicked.

Cao Fu had to bite the bullet and order everyone to kneel down in front of the door in order, open the door of the mansion, and was about to greet the emperor, but when he saw a person running outside the door, he turned around and knelt down in front of everyone, shouting, "Minister Changqiu Cao Teng led everyone in the palace to greet His Majesty the Emperor, long live my emperor!" ”

Cao Fu heard the voice and only said that the old man and the emperor came together, but everyone didn't dare to raise their heads, and they all looked at the ground, until the attendant who greeted him shouted, "Excuse yourself from courtesy!" Then the people stood up.

I saw that a person walked in from outside the door at this time, but it was a young man of less than twenty, eight feet long, with a handsome face, only wearing the clothes and ornaments of an ordinary aristocratic son, it was Emperor Huan, but Emperor Huan stared at a girl in an emerald green dress not far in front of him for a moment, and then said slowly, "Raise your heads and speak!" "It turned out that everyone couldn't look up at the emperor after he was flat, so they all lowered their heads.

As soon as everyone looked up, they heard two low exclamations, one was the appearance of an old man, and when he saw the emperor's appearance, he couldn't help but say, "Yes!" Yes ......" but it was Cao Fu, he saw that the little emperor was the young man he saw in the "Weaving and Embroidery Workshop" half a year ago, as a housekeeper, he knew people and cross-sections, and he recognized the people he saw at this time.

"Cao Fu, you must not be rude in front of His Majesty the Emperor!" Cao Teng shouted loudly on the side, surprised in his heart that this chief manager is usually old and serious, and today he saw how the emperor was so disrespectful.

"It's... His Majesty the Emperor. But seeing that the emperor did not look at him, he thought that the little emperor seemed to have forgotten the events of the day and no longer knew himself, and he breathed a sigh of relief. That day, he learned that there was a decree from the palace, saying that the little emperor had sneaked out, and Yu Linwei who met in the "Drunken Immortal Residence", it was already clear when he thought about it today, but Cao Song had already forgotten that he had met this young man.

The other person who exclaimed was Zhao Yan, at this time her chest rose and fell violently, and she muttered, "It's him!" It's ...... him", he almost fainted, isn't this emperor the young man who called himself "Liu Zhi" that day, but who is it? Wasn't it the one who made her heart go and abandon her that day, or who was it? Isn't it the one who let his heart fall into the rain like ashes and make him sick for a month, or who? How could she forget him!

The sky blue skirt he wore when he first met, went to see his mother with the young man, and he took his hand through the streets and alleys, and even the dry domain when he met the "Drunken Immortal Residence" poured into his mind, "He is actually the emperor...... He's the Emperor! Zhao Yan's mind suddenly flashed, and the words that the young man had told him gradually became clear in his mind, "My distant brother's sister-in-law and her brother", "Everything in this family is controlled by the two of them", "They married their sister to me", "It's her family of three", "I'm like that marionette", "They are afraid that their mother living with me will destroy their power, but I haven't seen my mother for half a year......

"Isn't that a queen and a general?" "How could the three brothers and sisters let this power fall aside, this emperor is just a puppet." and listened to the words of the young man in the market, "The current emperor is supported by the lord and the general, and the second sister of the general is the current empress dowager, and the third sister is the current queen." The old man was named the Great Changqiu, Fei Tinghou because of his meritorious service in welcoming the new emperor. And what Cao Fu once said.

All these words were connected into a line in Zhao Yan's mind, and in an instant she understood everything, she understood everything, tears slipped from her eyes, one, two, dripping on the dress, "You are the young lady of Cao Teng's mansion!" Are you all in this together?

There you go! There you go! You go...... I don't want to see you again! ”

"At that time, he only thought I was the young lady of Caofu, and he suspected that I lied to him with Uncle Cao, spying on him, so that he couldn't see his mother." At this time, Zhao Yan was already in tears, but it was not as desolate as death in the center of that rainy night, but like the spring breeze in March blowing into her heart, the ice and snow melted......

But everyone only paid attention to Emperor Huan Liu Zhi's every move, and no one saw that Zhao Yan had cried into a tearful person.

"Your Majesty, please go to the main hall to rest. Cao Fu, prepare the best banquet in the house! Cao Teng said respectfully to Emperor Huan, and then turned to Cao Fu and commanded.

"Yes! Your Majesty! Be! Master. Cao Fuwei didn't dare to say more.

Emperor Liu Zhi glanced at Zhao Yan again, sighed, and entered the main hall of Cao's Mansion with Cao Teng......