On New Year's Eve this year, the flower market is lit up like day.

The fire tree and silver flowers are closed, and the iron lock of the star bridge is opened.

The willow tops on the moon, people about after dusk.

Every first lunar month of the 15th Lantern Festival, the folk custom is no longer a simple worship of the heavenly officials, the common people will use bamboo to tie into the dragon lantern, every household put up lanterns, carry the dragon lantern through the streets and alleys, in order to express gratitude and nostalgia for the green dragon. After a lively performance, the two lion dancers roll and leap while a red couplet hangs from their mouths. The golden dragon leaps into the air, and at the top of the two lion dances, it seems to be real and illusory, adding to the festive night. The sound of buying and selling, shouting, and bargaining on the street...... Together; In the inn, Xiao Er shuttled quickly with wine and food, and from time to time there was the sound of guessing fists, talking and laughing, and the sound of cups colliding........ After eating, drinking, eating, and eating, people gather together to put up sky lanterns, on which their wishes are written, and there are pictures or words on the lamps. There are more than three friends, guessing lantern riddles, the winners laugh, and the losers invite wine.

As the weather warmed, the disaster situation in various places was alleviated, and the number of victims outside the imperial city was also decreasing. In order to commend the ministers who stuck to the front line during the New Year, the Queen Mother and the emperor held a banquet in the palace and invited the ministers to bring their families to the banquet.

For some reason, after Ye An and Xu Anjiao learned the news, they frowned and wanted Ye Zhiqiu to pretend to be sick and not attend the Lantern Festival banquet.

Ye Mansion, Luoyu Xuan.

"Mother, why do you want me to pretend to be sick?"

"You are obedient, just stay away from the palace and the place of right and wrong." Xu Anjiao had a sad face and wanted to stop.

"But why do you want to bully the king? What if after my father's confession, the queen mother or the emperor sent the imperial doctor to check my pulse in order to show their love for the courtiers? ”

"In short, you must not go to this palace. In case it is .......... by the Queen Mother and the Emperor"

Ye Zhiqiu sneered, his big eyes bent into a crescent moon. "Mother, you are really like Wang Po!"

"Huh?"

"My father and mother are worried that the emperor will take a fancy to me~ Just like the princess selling melons, my children always feel that they are the most beautiful and the best. If you want me to say, the Queen Mother is the first beauty in the imperial city, and there is no shortage of beauties with good faces in the palace. There are a lot of family ladies who go today, the falling flowers are gradually charming eyes, the daughters of each family are competing for beauty, I am dressed as usual and simple, and I may not be able to enter the eyes of the emperor and the queen mother. But if I call myself sick tonight, but it impresses the queen mother and the emperor, wouldn't it be the opposite? ”

"Your Majesty, the Queen Mother has a golden body, and I haven't seen you, so I won't care."

"Not necessarily. Who put his father in a high position, and his grandfather is a general who protects the country. In addition to the county lord and the daughter of the Hou Mansion, isn't it me who attracts the most attention? My mother is usually thoughtful, how can she forget this? ”

"It makes sense, it's all because we are so anxious that we forgot about it........"

"I know that my father and mother don't want me to enter the palace, and when I enter the palace, it is as deep as the sea. I'll just bow my head and have a feast tonight, just keep a low profile. Pretending to be sick and absent is abrupt, which is particularly attention-grabbing. ”

"Alas........." Xu Anjiao seemed to be persuaded by her daughter.

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After Shen Shi, the carriage of Yefu slowly drove to the palace, and Ye Zhiqiu was at home without saying that he was sick, so he went to the banquet together. It seems that Xu Anjiao finally felt that what her daughter said was reasonable, and explained her husband.

Ye Zhiqiu wanted to dress plainly, but after thinking about it: everyone at the banquet was dressed up ceremoniously and luxuriously, and she was too plain to be conspicuous. Therefore, he wore a water-red pleated Ruyi moon skirt, covered with a colorful dark flower cloud brocade skirt, covered with a Su embroidered moon brocade shirt, and the black hair was simply combed with a hanging cloud bun tassel bun, and the only decoration was a white hosta pinned to the head, and the white jade earrings swayed in the ears. However, it is difficult to give up the natural beauty, such a simple outfit is already eye-catching, the body is delicate, the eyes are bright, and the dust is elegant.

Xu Anjiao was a little uneasy, and kept frowning. When I entered the palace, I saw that the daughters of each family were dressed in jade clothes and gorgeous clothes. Dressed up in a dazzling and extravagant manner. I put my mind at ease.

Today's Lantern Festival banquet was held in the "Baohe Palace". The decoration of the hall is extremely grand and festive. The floor was covered with a thick carpet inlaid with gold wire, and the beams were covered with delicately painted palace lamps and red silk flowers. The main hall is supported by six pairs of tall copper pillars, next to the copper pillars are set up a person-high carved silk silver candlestick, the sky has not yet seen the dark, but the candle with the thickness of the arm has been lit early, the candle is mixed with spices, and the incense is overflowing when burned. Hanging lanterns, bright as day, Milky Way snow waves, brilliant jewelry, the fragrance of the dragon's birthday, the bottle inserted evergreen, a good royal atmosphere.

There are two rows of tables and chairs on the left and right sides of the center of the hall, from top to bottom according to the level of official positions, with civil officials on the left and military generals on the right. There is a large open space in the middle, which should be the venue for the dancing girls. The crystal bead curtain pours out, behind the curtain, someone wears a veil to caress the piano, the piano sound flows between the ups and downs of the fingertips, or virtual or real, changeable, like a quiet stream dripping spring clear and ethereal, exquisitely clear, and then the water gathers into a gurgling strong current, with tenacious vitality through the mountains and mountains, reefs and shoals, into the rolling rivers and seas, and finally tends to be calm, only the leisurely overtones remain, like the waves that the fish leaps over the water surface and splashes occasionally.

Those who can sit in the hall are officials and their families who are above the third grade; From the third grade and below outside the palace, although there is only a palace gate, but the status is very different.

Ye Zhiqiu and Ye Ruochen shared a dining table and laid it behind Ye An. As soon as Xie Wan saw her, she came over to talk to her affectionately.

"How do you dress in peacetime, this is the palace. You don't have as much jewelry as a palace maid. ”

"Let my sister laugh, Ye Mansion is poor, how can it be compared with Hou Mansion~"

"You little girl, you know how to make fun of me. I don't believe that Lord Ye can't buy you a few gorgeous clothes! ”

"My sister is 'a woman who pleases herself', and she should dress up gorgeously.....; It's to taste the craftsmanship of the Imperial Dining Room. ”

"You little glutton~ How can you do it when you're all about eating? Take a good look at these sons-in-law in the hall, your future husband will definitely be among these people......." Xie Wan whispered in Ye Zhiqiu's ear and said with a wicked smile.

"I don't know if my future husband is not there, but my sister's sweetheart ..... Haven't come yet~" Ye Zhiqiu glanced at the seat of the chief opposite.

"You..... Make fun of me! Look at me and spare you......" The two played softly, so boring.

After half a burnt incense, there are no empty seats in the hall. The crowd waited with bated breath.

"Your Majesty, the Queen Mother has arrived~"

"Long live my emperor, long live, long live~"

"Zhong Aiqing is flat, although today is a palace banquet, but you must not be too restrained, just be the right family banquet."

"Empress Dowager Xie~"

The eunuch in charge: "Open the banquet, cloth banquet~"

As soon as the words fell, waves of exquisite dishes were served by the palace maids, and the aroma of food filled the entire hall.

The first course: Longmen water play: fresh carp, add licorice to scoop the water, and then use the dark soy sauce color, add egg white wrap flavor.

The second course: snow jade red cup: snow lotus, lotus root, straw mushroom, chicken breast as pills, with red peony as the cup.

The third course: Huanglong Tucui: Select fresh green celery, hollow, add minced pork hind leg, and then supplement it with sea rice salad.

Fourth course: Bilian Red Dress: Slice the cherry tomatoes, add citrus juice, and spread with snow lotus.

The fifth course: Phoenix Nirvana: Take a whole June chicken, with dried scallops, chrysanthemum, cinnamon, camphor leaves as spices, eggplant, straw mushrooms, peanuts, carob, lotus seeds to absorb juice, plus three tails of cabbage heart color.

Sixth course: Lantern Festival reunion: take three inches of bamboo shoots in early spring, chop them with mince, and serve them with steamed eggs.

The seventh course: nine phoenixes to the sky: fresh lake shrimp to pick the tail, the side to the small slaughtered sheep paving, with red rot steaming.