Several fireworks bloom in the overhead dazzling light, a stage is built on the lakeside, the banquet is displayed, and an arch bridge leads directly to the opposite lakeside, where is the throne of Emperor Rong. On the left and right sides sat the crown prince Wei Zixu, Yao Wang Wei Yao, Wei Yuan and Xuan Wang Wei Xuan.

Mr. Sitang sat in a row, located on the left side of the stage, and Zuoqing West Building was also among them.

From the distance of Bishui Lake, a few canopy boats slowly floated in, on the bow of the boat, the pianist and drummer looked at each other, a drum sounded, the fireworks were extinguished, the candlelight was extinguished, and only the starry sky was left, reflecting an amazing brilliance on the surface of the lake. This is followed by a melodious sound of the piano, which matches the rhythm of the drummer, playing a melodious and graceful tune on the clear water lake.

At this time, a layer of mist rose from the surface of the lake, spreading towards the side of the seats, just when the guests were puzzled, they saw a group of dancing girls in white gauze dresses appearing from the fog, wearing half-cut fox fairy masks, graceful and swaying, lotus steps lightly moved, hair accessories collided with a crisp sound, and there was an exotic and bewitching style.

Su Yan had never seen such a dance music, and there was such an ingenious way of appearance, and he suddenly felt that Yunlai Pavilion was nothing more than that!

Jin Yuncheng carefully tasted the wine, nodded and praised: "The wine is sweet and mellow, it should be a treasure of Wu Guo's tribute, and it has been stored for more than ten years," he said and picked up the wine pot on his desk and poured a glass for Su Yan, and then took some dried fruits from the fruit bowl on 的️ the food table and put them into the wine, and said to her: "You can always see it after the dance music, but the wine may not be." ”

Su Yan came back to his senses, only then did he realize his gaffe, and hurriedly took the wine glass, but found that the dried fruit in the wine was a little familiar, and after a closer look, it was a lychee! This is a rare thing, even in the academy, it can only be enjoyed by Zuo Qing's level.

Su Yan drank it clean in one sip, and said with satisfaction: "The wine is rich in aroma but not spicy in the mouth, sweet in the throat, endless aftertaste, comfortable!" I think I, Su Yan, can enjoy such treatment in my lifetime, if my master knows, he should be angry to death! Huh? Today, there is no reception of foreign guests, how can you use this wine? Aren't most of the people of Rongguo like spirits? ”

"Rong Guo is inclusive of all rivers, and there are people from all over the country, both who can drink spirits and those who can't, so the aging of Wu Guo's tribute has been prepared, and this kind of wine will not be too rushed."

Su Yan suddenly realized: "I see, Your Majesty is really sympathetic to us!" ”

Jin Yuncheng said: "Although the wine is a tribute from the Wu State, the master of the wine is a native of the Chu State, who is famous in the Chu State and has been rewarded by the King of Chu. You have lived in Kuaifeng Town since you were a child, you haven't heard of it, right? ”

Buddha Zhen's face froze, squinting at Jinyun City, and a trace of uneasiness gradually rose in his heart.

Su Yan replied with a smile: "I live in a poor and remote country, how can I know about Chucheng." But I know that there is a ballad in Chu City, which has been spread all over Kuaifeng Town, singing: Falling leaves Xiao Xiao, cooking smoke curling, black canopy shaking, girl slender; There are gentlemen who come from afar, regardless of the source, and give them to the king, regardless of the reason. ”

Jin Yuncheng's cheeks flushed: "The words are tactful, very moving, I don't know who wrote this ballad?" ”

"Who knows, anyway, the popularity of singing was once high, and even overshadowed the 'Master's Bath Song' that I made up myself, I cried for several days, and then I thought about my Master's bathing song is still too vulgar, in the end, those scholars in Chucheng are educated!"

Jin Yuncheng said: "If you have the opportunity to listen to you sing this song another day, it must be extremely pleasant." ”

Su Yan waved his hand and said modestly: "How can my singing enter your ears, my master sings well, I'm afraid that my voice will give you nightmares!" ”

Jin Yuncheng couldn't help but laugh a little: "Then you have to listen to it, see how far you can sing, so that people like me who have difficult nightmares can have nightmares." ”

The two looked at each other and both laughed out loud for a moment.

But it was difficult for the Buddha to laugh as much as they did, or even to respond. She has always been uneasy in her heart, this Jinyun City has been extremely mysterious from the beginning, there seems to be no one to go to Ruoshui, but sometimes, she will suddenly disappear in the academy.

Who is she? Where did it come from, and what forces are behind it? Who did she see when she disappeared?

There is no way to know.

Emperor Rong was dressed in a brown brocade robe, draped in a satin dyed flower feather, and his sturdy body held up the brocade robe like a picture. He toasted the officials from afar, and after the wine, he asked Zuo Qing about Ge Yiyan.

Zuo Qing left the table, folded his hands on his chest, pushed them out, knelt down at the same time, and replied: "Weichen peeled off the cocoon, investigated layer by layer, and found that there were other suspicious points in this case. ”

"What's your catch?"

"Although Ge Yiyan and Weichen have a holiday, but after all, they are the same family, he will definitely not make trouble in the hunting ground carefully prepared by his father-in-law for His Majesty, you must know that if this assassination is smashed, he will not be the only one who died, Ge Yiyan is also a person who was trained by his father-in-law, this should be clear. Therefore, there should be something else hidden from last night's incident. ”

The depressed Murphy suddenly brightened his eyes and looked at Zuo Qing, his heart was really the righteous son he fancied, and he was planning for himself at the critical moment.

When Emperor Rong heard this, he was shocked, "You mean, there is another mastermind in this case?" ”

"Definitely. It's just that Weichen thinks that Ge Yiyan is just provoked by traitors, and it is unknown that his rude subordinates have added fuel to the fire and done such a disrespectful thing. ”

Emperor Rong pondered for a long time. Although Zuo Qing's words are reasonable, but in the past few days, he has been assassinated twice in succession, and the purpose is Zuo Qing, which is difficult not to suspect that Ge Yiyan has murderous intentions for Zuo Qing and has been premeditated for a long time. Ge Yi is arrogant, using the power of the Mo family singers to make trouble, in the past, he turned a blind eye, but today he committed things under his nose, whether it was provoked by others or his own opinions, he couldn't stay.

It's just that... Mo Qing's face still has to be given.

Emperor Rong looked at Mo Fei at the banquet, and already had an answer in his heart, "Ge Yiyan made a heinous mistake and should have been given death, but Nian has been guarding the palace for so many years, and he has not hurt his life, so he will spare his life for the time being, but the death penalty can be avoided and the living crime cannot be escaped, and the specific punishment will be dealt with by the Criminal Department and Dali Temple after returning to Beijing." ”

Several courtiers beside Zuo Qing were happy to hear this, and they couldn't help but smile. Murphy caught a glimpse of this scene out of the corner of his eye, but he was not angry in his heart, but nodded towards Zuo Qing with a smile.

Ge Zheng hurriedly stepped forward and knelt down to thank His Majesty Long Enyunyun.

Others couldn't hear the meaning of Emperor Rong's words, but Mo Fei and Zuo Qing could hear it clearly. In the case of Ge Yiyan's attempted murder, Emperor Rong finally looked at Mo Fei's face and forgave him, as long as Ge Yiyan had the intention of repenting, Emperor Rong had countless ways to let him return to his position.

At this time, a middle-aged courtier got up and left the table, this person was dressed in a gray robe, although he was nearly middle-aged, he looked handsome, and his eyebrows were full of anger. He knelt where Zuo Qing was kneeling, and only heard him say: "Your Majesty, isn't it severely punished for singing and stabbing one after another?" ”

Emperor Rong heard the prestige, but he couldn't see this person clearly, so he asked the old eunuch Cheng'en behind him. Cheng En replied: "This is the Ministry of Rites, Shangshu Lang Fang Chao Province, who has been in office for five years, and has been diligent and loyal to his duties in the past five years, and is a Qing official. Lord Fang also has a nephew, who served as the right Shaoqing in Dali Temple, and had a meritorious service in saving the car in the old years. ”

Emperor Rong sighed, he couldn't understand how amorous people often existed in the world, how could they all be by his side! Emperor Rong's face instantly turned cold, "This case has been decided, no need to say more, step back!" ”

Fang Chao Province was frightened and kowtowed again and again.

At this time, someone said in a strange manner: "Your Majesty attaches great importance to the meritorious ministers of the country, and does not want to hurt the hearts of meritorious ministers, but you have questioned it, what kind of intentions do you have?" ”

"That's it." Emperor Rong's face was grim, "Eldest Sun Qing understands my intentions, and I am pleased, but tonight is a banquet, and drinking and having fun is the most important thing." ”

Eldest Sun Xun bowed down and saluted, "The minister is offended, you shouldn't disturb Your Majesty Yaxing." ”

Emperor Rong waved his hand and asked him to go back. At the same time, Fang Chao Province also returned to its original position.

"All the secretaries don't have to be restrained, they all drink boldly and eat meat happily!" Emperor Rong gave an order, and the tension in the hearts of the ministers eased.

Zuo Qing broke a fruit, stuffed it into his mouth, swallowed it, and then poured a glass of wine. Even the courtiers on the side had a great appetite, and they also moved the dishes and chopsticks.

Xilou glanced at him, and after retracting his gaze, he breathed a sigh of relief.

During the banquet, the dance and music were suspended, the pianist changed to a gonghou, and the little apprentice also got out of the ship's room, picked up the pipa, and played the famous "Mobei Sha" outside the Yumen Pass. This song has a wide vocal range, majestic and heroic, and seems to be able to think of the ten miles of desert outside the Yumen Pass, where the yellow sand swept the waves and clouds swept over the ruins of the ancient city......

Su Yan had only heard the tunes of those little families in Kuaifeng Town before, and she couldn't feel any artistic conception from those tunes, to say that what moved her the most was the "Qingbaitou" played by the top brand in the Qinglou in Chucheng, at least she could think of some of the rain alleys in the south of the Yangtze River, and the grass on the walls in the rain alleys... But compared to this Mobeisha, everything seems pale and weak.

Today, when I heard such a song unexpectedly, I couldn't help but burst into tears, as if I was in the desert at this time, galloping with my master, and being free under the sky...

But where is Master?

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but feel sad, picked up the wine jar sent by the palace people, and drank the wine in a big gulp.

Jin Yuncheng snatched her wine jar and said in surprise: "Even if you can drink again, you shouldn't drink too much, they all say that drinking is pleasant, and getting drunk will hurt your body!" ”

Su Yan took advantage of the wine to grab her, as if teasing a woman from a good family: "You don't know this, we Chu people wear wine jugs with us, everything can be a celebration, once it is about celebration, then you have to drink, hehe, what this girl says is also brewed out of the wine jar, and it is not a problem to drink a few jars of wine." ”

Jin Yuncheng couldn't laugh or cry. She has always been unable to identify with the folk customs of the Chu State, and she is even more unacceptable to Su Yan who drinks like a man without caring about her image.

Emperor Rong was immersed in the dance music, and the crown prince Wei Zixu suddenly got up, raised his glass and said: "Father, today's prey is because of the emperor's dragon power, this feast is also a gift from the emperor, and the sons and ministers toast to the emperor on behalf of hundreds of officials!" After speaking, he drank all the wine, which was extremely bold. Everyone applauded their face, and they all showed great sincerity, and Emperor Rong was also very useful.

This toast led to a series of toasts. First Wei Yao and other princes, then Mo Fei, Nangong Yun and other officials, and finally the family members also raised their glasses.

After three rounds of wine, there is not much left of the banquet with a serious demeanor.

Su Yan drank two jars, although he was slightly drunk, he was still conscious. Pulling Jin Yuncheng to talk and laugh, it seems that he has never been so happy.

Zuo Qing glanced at Su Yan and instructed Yan Sheng: "Prepare the sobering soup, and then call the next person to prepare the bath soup and change clothes, don't wait for Ah Yan to go back and panic." ”

Yan Sheng nodded, Zuo Qing tugged at the corner of his clothes again, remembered what he was missing, and added: "It's cold, let the subordinates prepare the coals, and then open an east window to ventilate, don't forget." ”

Yan Sheng frowned dissatisfiedly. Adults have never paid attention to themselves at this age, but now they have thousands of instructions for Su Yan's daily life, it is really a long time to see! Hey, with such good intentions, Su Yan wouldn't know that when he woke up tomorrow, he would have to make wedding dresses for others.

Zuo Qing's gaze retracted and stopped on the West Building.

"Su Yan is drunk, I have sent someone to prepare, you watch the opportunity to wait outside the room, she will be grateful to you."

Xilou put down his wine glass and smiled: "So, it's hard work." ”

"The prince has already met with her, but he hasn't shown anything abnormal, it seems that he doesn't want to recognize her, we have to take the initiative."

"The prince has too many concerns, so find an opportunity to have a showdown with him." Xilou looked at him and frowned: "But I don't need you to come forward this time, I'll go by myself." ”

Zuo Qing's face was unpretentious, he nodded and responded.

The wine was exciting, Emperor Rong stood up leisurely according to the dragon chair, and said to everyone with a wine glass: "Since the Zhongqing family is prosperous, it is better for me to sing a song for the Zhongqing family to help the fun!" ”

The ministers were stunned for a moment, and then looked at Emperor Rong with anticipation.

Emperor Rong cleared his throat, put on a good posture, and sang: "Tonight, the night is down, and the boat is in the middle of the stream." Today, I have to be in the same boat with the prince. Shame is good, and shame is not shameful. The heart is troubled and indecisive, the prince of gain. The mountains have trees and branches, and the heart is happy. ”

The words are very ordinary, and the song is a song used among the nobles of the Yan Kingdom, which is also common.

Most of the ministers have heard this song, and the version they have heard is more soft and beautiful than Emperor Rong's. But since it was sung by their master, or it was their first performance, they had to give enough face. They all applauded. Changsun Xun even stood up and praised: "The beauty of this song lies in the transposition modified by His Majesty, which is more masculine than the original!" ”

Everyone is giving Emperor Rong's tunes a high score.

Su Yan was difficult to agree, she wanted to talk to Jinyun City, but she found that even she had joined the big team, and she had to drink alcohol by herself when she did this thing against her will.

Only Xilou's face was ugly, staring at Emperor Rong's drunken state, and anger rose in his eyes.

Zuo Qing lowered his voice and warned him: "Be careful, those who watch have a heart." ”

Xilou retracted his gaze unwillingly, his hands hidden under the case still clenched tightly, "Do you know how I feel now?" ”

"Don't act rashly."

"I'm incognito, and I'm compromised, just for today."

Zuo Qing looked at him in horror and scolded in a low voice, "You dare!" ”

Xilou had almost straightened his body, and he wanted to rush over immediately to slash Emperor Rong, but in the end he endured it, leaving only a sigh. "Why did he sing this song, he knew that this was his mother's favorite song, but he wanted to be in front of me... As a joke, or as a reward for killing? ”

Zuo Qingshen's face was pale, and he bowed his head and was silent.

He continued: "Yan has longed for peace for a hundred years since the founding of the country, but it was he who destroyed the peaceful and prosperous world. Mother's death, the country's hatred, one day I will find him to settle the score! ”

Their conversation was unnoticeable in the noisy environment, but it was discovered by one person to be unusual. The woman in blue sitting next to Su Yan had never spoken during the banquet and was almost forgotten.