Chapter 23: Chinese New Year's Eve Horrors
On the horizon, there was no moon, only a sky full of stars, blinking their eyes. Things in the world are always so helpless, and the more beautiful the festival, the more sad it is. At least for Li Kuan, although he also had a bright smile on his face at this time, he still had such a longing in his heart, wanting to cross the thousands of years, and want to cross the vast river of time, all the way downstream. I want to go back to the world he's been thinking about in the depths of his heart. There was a haven of rest in the depths of his soul, maybe gray hair had already crawled on her head, maybe she would have been nagging all the time. But the most sincere care in those words, the love that reached the deepest part of her heart, was the best memory of Li Kuan's dream.
Looking at the three little girls who were eating in a big mouthful, Li Kuan restrained the loneliness on his face. This loneliness can only be buried deep in my heart, and I dare not mention it to anyone. Maybe one day, you can find someone who can confide in you, and then you can let go of this burden!
Putting away those helpless feelings, Li Kuan joined the ranks of grabbing food, waving the chopsticks in his hand and slashing over the dishes like butterflies among flowers. Every time, we never fall short, and every time we take the best part. Li Kuan's mouth is a lot more difficult than that of people in this era. Because in later generations, although he ate food with additives such as gutter oil, Sudan dyes, and clenbuterol, the variety of ingredients and a variety of cooking methods made Li Kuan express his disdain for the food that only the nobles of the Tang Dynasty could eat, even if he had eaten it for so many years. So after he woke up, he just didn't have to get some food. Enjoy quietly. The three little girls followed him and ate a lot, and it can even be said that every time Li Kuan eats something delicious, they will always be there.
And in this day and age. Pork is not yet a dish on the table of the scholar class, they always think that pigs are dirty, and most of the domestic pigs are locked in thatched houses, only a stone's throw away from human excrement, which makes them even more disdainful of the aristocracy, who think they are superior people. So basically no one in the aristocracy ate pork. Only the people at the bottom of the society will raise some of them or sell them for themselves. Or keep it for yourself.
The noble class, on the other hand, now mainly eats beef and mutton, and of course the wild beasts they hunt are also part of the meat they eat. This also includes wild boars, so Li Kuan always says wild boar when he eats pork. In this way, Li Er, even if they knew, they wouldn't care. But all these years. Li Kuan also went hunting many times with a group of children from the military general's family, and there was only one wild boar that really hit. The 'wild boar' meat that has been eaten for so many years is all provided by that pig, so Li Lizhi once asked Li Kuan, she thinks that the wild boar is at least a few thousand catties, otherwise how could they not have eaten it for several years.
"Second brother!" Li Kuan had just stuffed a piece of fatty venison into his mouth when he heard Yu Zhang's coquettish voice on the side, and turned his head to look. I saw that this little girl was staring at herself tightly with her round eyes. The little red lips, which look a little thick, are also pouting enough to hang a soy sauce bottle.
"What's wrong?" Li Kuan chewed the meat in his mouth. Puzzled asked.
"Look......" The little girl's chopsticks pointed to the table, where there was an empty plate, and the smoked venison in it was swept away by several people. And the last piece is in Li Kuan's mouth. The little girl didn't rob Li Kuan, so she was accusing him of atrocities and grabbing food with children.
"Mistakes, mistakes!" Li Kuan couldn't help but be a little bright. grabbed it for a while, didn't notice this, in the past, he would deliberately hand over the last remaining point to the two sisters to fight for, but this time he forgot about it all at once. The main thing is that I was physically and mentally exhausted a few days ago, and this relaxation is a little too exciting.
Rushing to eat at the dinner table is fragrant, which must be deeply experienced by all Chinese, eating alone, always can't eat as much as a group of people at dinner. Therefore, in order for the family to eat more, grow strong and healthy, eating together as a family is the best way to eat, so that not only can you eat deliciously, but also enhance your feelings. It's just that in the Tang Dynasty, dining together has not yet emerged, or it has not been accepted by the aristocracy. The banquet guests are all a table with one table. This can show the respect of the host's family, after all, it is really indecent for a group of people to sit at a table and rush to eat.
After eating, Li Kuan sent away his two younger sisters with Tianxiang, and he returned to his room. Although Li Lizhen has restored his previous relationship with him again, Li Kuan still has a hurdle in his heart, he always feels that he has not done enough, there are still things that can be done, and there is room for redemption. Or rather, there is a chance for a turning point. It's just that the price to pay for this opportunity is somewhat large, and success is not guaranteed.
Li Kuan needs to think about it, what is the chance of success, and what should he do after that, after all, this time Li Er's words have already been spoken, and he is undoubtedly slapping Li Er's face by doing this now, in the Tang Dynasty, this is called disrespecting the will, this is the crime of killing the head, although his body is Li Er's son, but he cannot avoid being deposed from the official and degraded to the punishment of the concubine. At that time, is the revenge of the eldest grandson Wuji something that he can resist?
Li Kuan is thinking about the way back for himself, he can escape, and he is confident that he can escape, but what about the people around him? His little maid still has to live in the palace, because he can't take her with him when he does these things. If the eldest grandson Wuji embarrasses a little girl like him, what should he do? Li Kuan thinks too much, he has to think too much, and he can't find a perfect solution. Because if he really does this, then there will be no one in the world who can protect him, and even his father will maintain a neutral position because of the relationship between the eldest grandson and Wuji. And the queen mother's eldest grandson will definitely stand on the side of the eldest grandson Wuji, so in this way, there is no chance of winning.
Li Kuan has his own weakness, that is, the people he cares about, because he cares, that's why he is so entangled. It is precisely because he cares that he can truly obtain the sincere feelings of Li Lizhi and Yu Zhang, so that Xiao Tianxiang, a little girl, can follow him with all her heart. So he's in a dilemma now. This kind of situation that he wants to do but doesn't dare to do it, Li Kuan really encountered it for the first time. Even two months ago on the battlefield of the Turks, the moment of life and death had never been so entangled.
Time passed quietly. Chang'an City can't help curfew tonight, and countless people are still lingering among the major markets in Chang'an City, they are all looking for something that suits them and their families. Perhaps these things are cheap and inconspicuous in the eyes of others. But as ordinary people, these things are enough to make them smile. They are such an easy group of people to satisfy. Because of contentment, they have a happy smile on their faces, because of contentment. So there are not so many intrigues in their lives, because of contentment, they can let those clan lords be exploited on top of their heads for generations.
These people were also grateful to Dade for the emperor's reduction of taxes, but who knew that the emperor was also grateful because of their gratitude. And feel satisfied. Li Er was standing at the head of Chang'an City at this time. Looking at the endless flow of people in the city, with a solemn look on his face, he didn't know why, he liked to see the joys, sorrows, and sorrows of these people. At the time of the year, when the world was at its coldest time, he wore a coarse linen robe, tied his hair in a bundle with a kudzu cloth towel on his head, and wore a pair of mille-feuille shoes on his feet. And so he walked down the city, behind him. It was a group of ministers dressed in all sorts of linen clothes.
At the time when the fifth year of Zhenguan was about to come, Li Er actually ran to the market and came to see the people of Chang'an City. Maybe the people didn't feel that they had rubbed shoulders with the top leader of the entire empire before, but this was also Li Er's original intention. He did not tell anyone about this, but suddenly summoned his ministers at sunset in the afternoon, and then asked them to change into the coarse cloth clothes prepared for them. In this way, the group quietly entered the flow of people in Chang'an City, watching the lives of the people.
"Driving...... Get out of the way, get out of the way! "There was a sudden commotion ahead, and it seemed that someone was galloping on horseback. A wave of chickens and dogs jumped from the front and quickly spread to this side. There were constant cries of pain from the crowd, as if someone had been hit and someone had been pumped. This happened so suddenly, like a calm lake, suddenly fell into a boulder, stirring up a thousand waves.
"What's going on?" Li Er asked suspiciously. At this time, there are countless people on the streets, who will gallop at this time? It's just a matter of carelessness.
"Weichen doesn't know!" Among the ministers who followed him, a middle-aged official with a clear face replied in a low voice, he was the governor of Chang'an City and a backbone member of the Changsun family. is named Changsun Sheng, his father is the uncle of Changsun Wuji, and when the eldest Sun Wuji's brother and sister died in their parents, they also thought about defecting to this uncle. It's just that for some reason, the two siblings went to their uncle Gao Shilian's house instead. But their uncle still visited them at Gao's house several times a year. So when the eldest grandson Wuji grew up, he got acquainted with Li Er and married his sister to his brother. Since then, he has been on the rise, and his cousin has been stained with his light, and he has been promoted all the way to Chang'an Mansion Yin. Although this position is not of high rank, because it is located in Gyeonggi, it is the last barrier to protect the national capital. It's always been a top priority. Those who can sit down in this position will have unlimited prospects in Zhongshu Province and Menxia Province in the future.
"Who's going to see?" Li Er said to the person behind him.
"We're willing to go!" An official came out of the crowd, this is a squire of the Ministry of Officials, although he was born in the Qinghe Cui clan in the five surnames and seven hopes, but he is not a descendant, but a side branch. But he does have outstanding talents, and he has been promoted all the way without relying on the support of his family, and has been promoted to this point with his own political achievements. is a pragmatic official, at this time in the fourth rank. At this time, he was dressed in a coarse cloth robe and wore a green gauze hat on his head. He bowed slightly towards Li Er and walked forward.
"Get out of the way!" A loud shout came from not far ahead, and the voice was a young man, Li Er, and they were standing in the middle of the street in front of them, but they could already hear the sound of horses' hooves. And Li Er, who is extremely tall and has keen eyesight, can even see him waving the horsewhip in his hand to drive away the pedestrians around him, and that face makes Li Er slightly stunned.
"Who is this? Why do you dare to gallop so much in Chang'an City? It's lawless! Wei Zheng stood behind Li Er, hearing the painful cries and faint discussions around him, he was a little angry, he dared to be so presumptuous in Chang'an City, he must not be an ordinary person, he must have a superior family background behind him, maybe he is the son and nephew of these people. So Wei Zheng's dark face kept turning, and a pair of sharp eyes scanned the faces of a group of people.
"Majesty!" Fang Xuanling, who was standing on Li Er's right hand half a step, had been changing his face before, and finally stood up at this time and whispered to Li Er.
"Fang Aiqing, do you know who this horse is galloping on?" Li Er's face was a little ugly, and he stared at Fang Xuanling and asked.
"If Weichen didn't guess wrong, it should be a dog!" Fang Xuanling's face was sad, how could his son do such a thing at this time, this is simply lighting a lantern in a pit - looking for death!
"It seems that Fang Aiqing also knows! The person who came was Aiqing's eldest son. Li Er's voice was cold, and it seemed that Li Er also had endless anger in his heart at this time. Fang Xuanling has worked hard for this empire all his life, but his son actually rode his horse and galloped in the most prosperous area when the people gathered, this is the behavior of the bully in the fish and meat town, such a person is really Fang Xuanling's son? Is he worthy of being Fang Xuanling's son?
"Majesty!" Fang Xuanling's face became even more sad, during this time he had just sent away his old brother for many years, Du Ruhui. The mood was already low, and what his son did at this time made him feel even more gloomy.
"Your Majesty, I'm afraid there is something else going on in this matter!" The eldest grandson Wuji stood on Li Er's left hand side, and said loudly at this time, he still knew something about Fang Xuanling's eldest son, Fang Xuanling's eldest son, Fang Xuanling, because he was upset, he lost his square inch, but he was not. Although Fang Yizhi is not a brilliant person, he is not the top among the children and nephews of these people, but he is also a very motivated young man. And he has always been humble and generous, how could he do such a thing? So there must be a different kind of hidden meaning in this, but it's still unclear, so he can only say it in a speculative tone.
"People in front, get out of the way!" Fang Yizhi was trying his best to pull the reins of the horse in his hand at this time, but because the horse was too fast, he couldn't stop, and remembering the thing in his heart, he had to use the horse whip to spur the horse under him, hoping to find those people quickly, otherwise this matter would be really big, although it was big enough now. (To be continued......)