Although Zhang Chengzhao refused to admit it, I am still sure that it was his idea to let the princess slip out in the clothes of the little yellow door.

He quickly gained the trust of the princess, relying on his ability to read words and feelings, and the words that encouraged the princess to do what she wanted. I once reproached him privately, and my tone unconsciously became heavier and heavier, and finally I heard him sigh: "When I was a child, I was scolded by those inner servants who were one level higher than me, and I realized what it means to crush people to death in the first rank of the official university. I thought we were brothers, and you weren't like them......"

I was stunned, and gradually remembered that when I was a child, he defended me, and fell silent.

He also said of the princess: "The princess goes out to play in the clothes of the little yellow door, but it is only a small thing once in a while. And he acted cautiously, and no one noticed. Even if she was discovered, she didn't run out of the palace, at most she was said a few words by the official family, how much annoyance could she cause? The official family loves the princess so much, Mo said that she was just walking around the palace, even if she set fire to the palace on a whim, the official family would never really punish her...... This is called a close relative! Zhang Guifei is favored, right? But if the action is slightly worse, the Chi official family will give her a look on her face and ask her to kneel down and apologize. And princess, when did you see that the official family was really angry with her? A princess hurting her little finger will make the official family feel distressed for a long time......"

I didn't want to listen to his fallacy and interrupted him: "This matter is not as you said, it is just that the princess is walking around the palace. You let her go to see outsiders in disguise, if someone, especially Taiwan, knows, how much trouble will it bring to her and the official family? What's more, she is a woman who is already engaged......"

"Alas, how many times have I said it, I didn't ask her to disguise." Zhang Chengzhao continued to avoid the charge of instigating the princess quite carefully, "It's not that you don't know, if the princess wants to do something, ten cows can't pull it around." Besides, she just wants to see a few more people before she gets married, so why do you always stop her? Think about our concubine, that's really cold, the princess will definitely not be able to laugh after marrying, why not let her live happily now? ”

The last sentence made me speechless for a long time, and it took a long time before I said: "The princess is too straightforward, if she has too much contact with Cao Gongzi, I am afraid it will be difficult to clean up in the future." ”

Zhang Chengzhao waved his hand: "Hey, what kind of mess can two children make when they meet?" Do you still say that they have the ability to elope? Seeing that I didn't answer, he suddenly smiled meaningfully, deliberately lowered his voice, bowed his head to the side and stared at me, and said tentatively: "I know, you have served the princess for many years, and suddenly seeing her close to others, there will always be something unpleasant in your heart......"

I snorted, pursed my lips, and looked at him coldly. He was so frightened that he lowered his head and didn't dare to look at me again.

Disgusted with Zhang Chengzhao's ambiguous speculation, and resentful that I had such a strong reaction to these words, I brushed my sleeves away, unable to suppress the thousand emotions surging in my chest, and walked aimlessly in the palace, almost wanting to run wildly.

Later, I came back to my senses because I heard the princess's voice: "Huaiji, Huaiji, why are you here?" ”

This question brought my thoughts out of the cloud. I found myself in front of the Funing Palace, and the princess walked towards me, with a clear smile on her face, and without waiting for me to answer, she raised her hand to show me a delicate little box she was holding: "Guess what this is?" ”

I took a deep breath to try not to stiffen my face, and then whispered, "Looks like the box should contain a piece of ancient ink." ”

"That's right! It was Li Chaomo that my father gave me just now. The princess smiled and approached me, and said, "Stretch out your hand." ”

I didn't understand what she meant, but I still reached out to her.

She put the piece of Nantang Ancient Ink in the palm of my hand and said, "I've rewarded you." ”

I couldn't help but be amazed. There is not much stock in such a precious ancient ink palace, and it must have been difficult for the princess to ask for Imajo's consent to give it to her, and she gave it to me so casually.

After thinking about it for a while, I guessed the middle joint: "Does the princess want her ministers to do something?" ”

"Absolutely not, I'm not asking you to do anything for me!" The princess immediately denied it, but then as soon as she spoke again, I knew that I was not expecting it.

"But, brother," she said to me in a consultative tone, smiling cautiously, "I want to go to Xiannongtan to see the whip spring on the day of the beginning ......of spring."

"Whip Spring" was originally an ancient ritual, and the cattle were unearthed to send cold air, in order to show that they sent cold and warm, and persuaded ploughing to mean a good year. This ceremony is particularly solemn in the national court. The day before the beginning of spring, Kaifeng Mansion will enter the yellow clay sculpture of spring cattle and ploughmen, ploughs and other things into the ban, the palace to drum music to welcome. On the day of the beginning of spring, the chief executive led hundreds of officials, princes, and noble relatives to congratulate, gathered in front of the first agricultural altar set up in front of the Guanjia Palace, and each had a colored cane in order, and struck the spring ox three times in order to persuade the ploughing, so it was called "whip spring".

On that day, the nobles with official titles would also attend the ceremony, and the princess would definitely want to take the opportunity to see Cao Ping again. It was a ceremony where men gathered, and the palace members were not allowed to attend, and the princess said this, most likely to beg me to allow her to disguise herself again.

She begged me for several days, and swore that she would never be discovered, "because that day I could wear a colorful dress, a ghost face, and a mask to cover my face, like other little yellow doors, and who would know that I was a princess?" ”

Later, I asked her, "Why does the princess need permission from her courtiers?" If you break the ministers away like last time, and then run out quietly, the ministers can't interfere. ”

"Hmm...... I'm not going to do that again. She bowed her head a little shyly and said, "I'm afraid you'll be upset......

The moment I heard these words became the reason why I agreed to her.

That day, she really wore a colorful flower dress, wore a grinning ghost face, and dressed up as a small yellow door to welcome the spring cow to watch the whipping ceremony. I could watch with the crowd, but follow her as much as I could.

However, she did not meet Cao Ping as she wished. After she looked around for a long time, I went over and told her the news I had just heard: "The Khitan envoy left Beijing today and returned to China, and Gongzi Cao went out of the city with his uncle to see him off, and he will not participate in the whipping ceremony." ”

Even through the mask, I could still feel her deep disappointment.

She stood for a moment and whispered, "I didn't say I wanted to see him." Then he continued to raise his eyes and watch the crowd striking the spring oxen.

The spring ox made of mud is four feet high and eight feet long, symbolizing the four seasons and eight festivals; The tail is one foot two inches long, symbolizing twelve months. The ox is also painted with a pattern of the date and hour of the four hours and eight festivals, and next to it is a plough and other objects. The color rod used to whip the spring is also called the spring stick, wrapped with five-colored silk, each official holds two, according to the order of the official product after the spring ox is beaten, and then gather around to worship and burn incense, and the final ceremony is to smash the spring ox, everyone scrambles for the spring cow soil, and to grab the head of the cow and carry it to return to the good luck, this is called "robbing the spring".

Nowadays, most of the people who watch the ceremony are old people, so the later Spring Festival is all participated by young officials, clansmen, and noble relatives, and the elderly are only spectators.

When it came to the spring ceremony, the spring cow altar was full of eager young people, all of whom watched the spring cow rub their hands, just waiting for the master of ceremonies to give an order. At this moment, a seventeen or eighteen-year-old man in a red plum-colored shirt suddenly exerted his strength and desperately squeezed from the back of the crowd to the first row under the altar. This swift movement aroused the displeasure of those who were pushed away, and they all pushed and shoved him, and he tried to parry it with open arms, without backing down, blushing, panting, and staring at the bull's head in a daze.

When I saw his face clearly, I secretly felt that something was wrong - it was Li Wei, a colt. I haven't seen him for a long time, and his appearance hasn't changed much, just a little taller, a little fatter, and more strong, under the background of a group of noble relatives of the clan around him, he can't help but reveal a little rudeness.

was about to persuade the princess to go back, but she had already noticed Li Wei. The color of Li Wei's robe made her angry: "Such an ugly person with such dark skin dares to wear red and plum clothes, it is really Dong Shi Xiaofeng!" ”

I laughed dumbly. The ceremony of the beginning of spring is different from the ordinary ceremony, the atmosphere is relaxed, and all officials are not required to wear court clothes, and the young nobles of the clan can choose bright clothes to wear at will. Li Wei may just happened to choose the red plum color, and he was not there on the day of Yan Shot, not necessarily to emulate Cao Ping.

But then again, the effect of him wearing this color robe is really too far from that of Cao Gongzi, and it is not difficult to understand the princess's anger because of this.

After looking at Li Wei for a long time, the princess suddenly said to herself: "This person is quite familiar, where have I seen it......

Worried that she would recognize this "stupid rabbit" who did not make a good impression on her, I immediately said to her: "Princess, the hour is not early, let's go back, otherwise Miao Niangzi will be looking for you again." ”

And the clear eyes under her mask were staring at Li Wei at the moment, thinking with some inquiry, and she rejected my suggestion: "Wait, I want to watch a little more." ”

I can only hope that Li Wei will not reveal his identity in the subsequent activities.

However, his performance is too eye-catching. After the spring cow was smashed, after the master of ceremonies gave an order, he rushed straight towards the spring cow's head, blocked left and right, squeezed down several people, and finally came close to the cow's head. After that, no matter how hard they dragged him, they would never let go, and in order to preserve the results of the battle, no matter how others trampled on his sleeves and robes, they would not stand up at this moment.

The bull's head had been touched by a nimble man before, and he had already held it with both hands, but when he pounced on him in front of him, the man was knocked away by life, fell backwards, and stood up straight with an angry face, as if he wanted to scold.

I recognized it after a closer look, this person was Zhang Guifei's younger brother, Zhang Yaozuo's son Zhang Xifu.

Li Wei raised his head at this time, Zhang Xifu found that it was him, and suddenly said: "It turned out to be Li Yuma." No wonder, since we have used all the strength to chisel paper money, how dare we fight with you? ”

This sentence was quite clear, and everyone on the altar laughed when they heard it, and they no longer competed with Li Wei for the head of the bull, and each picked up a few pieces of spring cow soil and dispersed one after another.

Li Wei saw that there was no one around, so he slowly stood up, still holding the bull's head, looking around in panic, as if he was afraid that someone would come to compete with him.

To make matters worse, his current appearance was horrible: his red and plum-colored robe was crumpled and full of footprints; The hood on his head fell to the ground, and was already trampled on by everyone; His hair was disheveled, his face was muddy in many places, and there were broken blood marks on his forehead......

I turned to the princess, not knowing what to say to her. And she has been standing silently and watching all this time, like an ice sculpture in the middle of winter, without even turning her eyes.

After a while, she slowly spoke: "I remember, he is the silly rabbit." ”

I touched her shoulder and wanted to take her away: "Princess......"

She gently broke free and asked me, "Is he Li Wei?" ”

I couldn't hide it from her anymore and finally nodded.

As soon as she lowered her head, two tears welled up from her eyes, slid over the mask's colorful smiling face, and fell silently to the ground.