Three years from the Southern Jin Dynasty to the Dao, the Lantern Festival. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

A rare rain fell in Bianliang, washing away the dust on the bluestone street yesterday and ushering in the hustle and bustle of the Shangyuan Festival.

The lights along the Bianhe River are bright, the streets in the city are crowded at this time, the sky is just after the dawn, the residents of Bianliang came out of their homes, the streets and alleys are overcrowded, the most prosperous streets centered on Donghuamen and Zhouqiao come over, the lanterns are weaving along the way, like the mighty and inextinguishable fish and dragon fire shuttling and patrolling.

The shouting of hawkers, the noisy sound of crowds, the exclamation of dragon dances paraded along the street, and the hustle and bustle of gongs and drums constitute a grand scene of Wei and Jin Dynasty charm and Tang and Song dynasties.

Most people enjoy lanterns, charades, and the annual bustling atmosphere. Only on the south bank of Wenxuan Bridge, the courtyard of the deep house is in stark contrast to the bustling crowd. Except for the blood-red lantern hanging at the door, which slightly highlights the taste of the festival, the rest of the time is immersed in the spring cold.

The flame of the green light on the quaint rosewood table flickered on the breathing sound on the Taishi's chair, and a moth lingered around the blazing light, constantly testing the bottom line of the wick.

The middle-aged man in a green shirt had slightly closed his eyes, and the folds between his eyebrows seemed to be deeper. The slightly younger man next to him didn't look as anxious as the other party, but he was also pacing back and forth restlessly.

Chen Anzhi, the secretary of the military department.

His brother Chen Yiwen.

In addition, there are 65 people in the house, and their heads may be hanging on the execution ground tomorrow.

After being silent for a while, Chen Anzhi finally spoke.

"Originally, the saint wanted to use the power of Prime Minister Li Dangxian, Shangshu's left servant to shoot Han Wenyan, and his subordinate servant Lu Gongming to plot against the eunuchs of the Privy Council, but the result was revealed. Now the palace should be bloody, I want to escape this catastrophe by taking advantage of illness, but I still haven't escaped! ”

The corners of his mouth twitched, and the robe curled up in wide cuffs gripped the armrest of the Taishi chair tightly, the first major miscalculation he had.

"The eldest brother has never participated in this matter, and the second brother, as the head of the household, is stepping on the eunuch's boat, even if he is guilty, the Chen family has many relationships, left and right, and at most he is degraded, not to suffer a catastrophe......"

Chen Anzhi smiled bitterly, waved his hand to disperse the flying moths, looked at his own brother, and said, "Do you remember Wang Chang'an, the deputy secretary of the Beijing house?" Lu Gongming had asked someone to find me to conspire before, and at that time, our Chen family was unwilling to wade into this troubled water, so we adopted a conservative and observational attitude, but we also maintained an unclear relationship with the parties who plotted to punish the eunuchs. I didn't expect that Wang Changan, this bastard, would actually threaten me with this! Now that the coup has failed, Wang Changan should be ready to take the secret to ask for credit. ”

Chen Yiwen, who originally looked relaxed, also frowned, "Second brother, I should ...... over there."

"This is related to the lives of the whole Chen family, we can't pin all our expectations on the second brother's play, a slight mistake is to the point of being killed!"

With a clang, the Taishi chair fell sideways to the masonry floor, making a lot of noise in the quiet room.

Chen Anzhi got up suddenly, standing in front of Chen Yi'an, his fist-clenched hand wrapped around green tendons.

Chen Yiwen comforted, "Wang Chang'an is insatiable and likes Longwangshu. Our Chen family is not the only one who has been caught, and his trip to the palace tonight is indispensable for blood. I'm afraid those who want to put him to death are already on their way. ”

Under the reflection of the green light, Chen Anzhi's face was gloomy and uncertain, his eyes flashed, and he said in a deep voice, "We can't pin things on others, I'm ready to dredge up the relationship now and think of a way, if it really doesn't work, you let the third uncle and Zhongqing leave tonight, there is no curfew on the Shangyuan Festival today, and the palace coup has not completely leaked the news, how far can we go now, it's good to be incognito, don't come back." This is...... Worst-case scenario. The third uncle stretched out his hand and was loyal to my Chen family, and before my father died, he said that the third uncle was the last person who could be trusted. I'm relieved to have him here. ”

Chen Yiwen didn't speak, his face turned pale, and when he thought of the coldness of the blade on the execution ground, he shrunk his neck, feeling a cold air lingering around him.

The moth pounced on the flames without a lampshade, and in the blink of an eye, they were swallowed by the flames and fell on the dark tabletop, and finally solidified into a posture like a red lamp.

They didn't notice that a pair of ears outside the door had been listening for a long time, listening to their conversation word for word, and finally twitched the corners of their mouths, ready to tiptoe out of the study. But he fell to the ground without his feet steady, and the noise created by the clang interrupted the very happy agent. The attention of the two.

"Who is it?"

Chen Anzhi's face changed, the coup plot must not be known to others, he rushed out of the door first, trying to find out that it was a voyeur. But he saw his second son Chen Zhongqing sitting on the ground with a painful face, touching his aching buttocks, and holding a string of iron trees and silver flowers in his hands, looking like he was about to go out and set off fireworks.

Chen Anzhi and Chen Yiwen looked at each other, but secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, it's not for others to hear their conversations.

At this time, Chen Anzhi was already in a depressed mood, and saw that his son didn't want to study to fight for fame, and was still playing here, he couldn't help but be angry, and scolded him in person, "Bastard, who told you to play here, you know how to play all day long, when will you be able to take charge like your brother and glorify your ancestors, what kind of sin did I Chen An create in my last life, why did I give birth to such a useless thing as you!" It's in vain that I named Zhongqing, it's better to call you a waste! ”

Chen Zhongqing honestly lowered his head and stood aside listening to his father's reprimand.

Seeing this wretched appearance, he was even more angry. Chen Anzhi has an attitude of hatred for this son, he is timid by nature and always submissive, he doesn't like to read, he only likes to hide in the room and tinker with some strange things, and he always says something inexplicable. Especially after the hysteria a few days ago, it has intensified, if it weren't for the recent busy government affairs, he would have to fight and he couldn't stand up!

Fortunately, the eldest son is sensible and can take charge of himself, so Chen Anzhi let his son no longer discipline him.

Chen Yiwen persuaded him who was about to explode, and said softly, "Forget about brother, now is not the time to blame Zhongqing's nephew, it is important to do the right thing." ”

"Get out."

Chen Anzhi was furious, his face turned purple, he waved his sleeves and pointed in a direction, telling him to get out of his sight, out of sight and out of mind. Chen Yiwen squeezed his eyebrows at him and motioned for him to leave as soon as possible.

Then the two entered the house and closed the door, but no more movement was heard.

After being angrily reprimanded by his father, Chen Zhongqing not only got angry, stuck out his tongue, smiled stupidly, and left from the door of the room with fireworks.

In the past seventeen years, the subordinates have long turned a blind eye to Chen Zhongqing's weakness, except for a blind old servant who is willing to listen to him, everyone else looks like they are ignoring when the master is away.

Chen Anzhi guessed one thing wrong just now, his son didn't go to prepare fireworks for fun, but went to the utility room to steal them after hearing their conversation. He didn't even notice the sneer on the other party's lips when he reprimanded his son.

"Hey, bad luck and bad luck, why am I so unlucky."

Chen Zhongqing pretended to be old-fashioned and sighed, and then shouted twice in the backyard with his throat in his voice.

"Lao Jia, Lao Jia?"

"Hey, young master, Lao Jia is here."

A large, thin-haired head sneaked out of the kitchen, wiping its oily mouth with the back of its hand. After seeing Chen Zhongqing, he immediately showed a smiling appearance, and the wrinkles of his entire face were squeezed together, sinking his already small eyes into the folds.

"The young master has something to do with me?"

"Hurry up."

The old servant dropped the roast chicken in his hand, wiped his mouth with his dirty sleeve, and hurriedly ran over. Chen Zhongqing's cowardice is all shown in front of his father, and he is completely different in front of the servant Lao Jia.

"Stealing chickens in the kitchen again?"

"I swear, young master, I really don't!"

The old servant raised his hands to show his innocence, but he accidentally burped and immediately revealed the stuffing. Chen Zhongqing shook his head helplessly, and ordered him, "Go, help me scrape something on the wall of the toilet, it is the layer of white powder on the adobe bricks at the root of the wall, go quickly!" ”

Lao Jia's face was embarrassed, "But young master, that's a ...... of Maokeng"

Chen Zhongqing asked with a straight face, "Then are you going or not?" ”

"Look at me so hard......"

"Nonsense, a flower carving."

"Okay, young master, I'll go now!"

After taking Lao Jia away, he sat on the cold bench in the courtyard and placed a series of fireworks on the stone table. At this time, the Lantern Festival downtown in Bianjing also reached its peak.

The fireworks burst into the dark night sky, filling the sky with brilliant colors and being breathtaking. The dragon dance paraded along the street is accompanied by churning carp lanterns, like a fire dragon spreading in the dark night, drilling towards the bustling city of Bianliang.

The east wind blooms thousands of trees at night, blows down more, the stars are like rain, and the fish and dragon dance all night.

It was they who were lively, and there was nothing in the ancient mansion in the deep courtyard except for the cold wind.

He was now bent on saving his life.