On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Lin Piao's breakfast in the morning was minced pork porridge, small steamed buns filled with meat, a piece of steamed meat cake with cake and soup, and then moon cakes, several flavors of moon cakes, cut into pieces, he tasted a piece of one flavor, and the rest was given to Qiu Yu and Xia He to eat, which was considered to be shared, rewarded, and some fixed items.

Lin Piao didn't want to go to the palace too early, because the so-called capable people worked too hard, and if they went too early, they had to pretend to be very busy if they had nothing to do, not to mention that he didn't go to the banquet, and he went behind the scenes, let alone too early, lest he happen to be there when they were fighting, wouldn't it be even more embarrassing.

Lin Piao dragged it until after lunch, and Xiaoyue and Juan'er were already too anxious to sit still, so they were ready to go out and board the carriage to the palace.

The banquet was held in the largest palace in the imperial palace, and the people behind the scenes were either outside or looking for a place in the side hall to be summoned, waiting to be summoned, of course, it was generally not summoned, after all, everything depended on whether the emperor was in this mood, if he was curious to ask who remembered this dress dance or something, then Lin Piao would be able to show up, if he just looked at it and was not in the mood to ask, then there would be no chance to show up.

This kind of large-scale evening party is no different from the league building, but it is much stricter than the league building, and the civil and military attaches participating in the banquet must first assemble according to their ranks, wear their court uniforms, and then wait outside a specific palace gate.

Then there are seats divided according to status, and relatively large officials can also enjoy a special treatment, that is, the emperor gives tea.

The emperor gave tea, and they kowtowed to thanksgiving, and for other officials who were not qualified to kowtow, their brains flashed with a dazzling light.

Other officials are not qualified to kowtow to the emperor alone, and can only express their admiration for His Majesty in a group salute, and every time they enter the kowtow link, they must also play a fixed music.

Lin Piao was in the side hall, sitting in a corner listening to the movement outside, knowing that the show was about to start.

In the beginning, there were acrobatic performances, and then there were some regional dances, such as the southern dances and the northern dances, which were not the same as those in the north.

No one in the back stage controlled Lin Piao, the queen, concubines, and grandmothers were all in the banquet, and there were basically no people who could control Lin Piao, and Lin Piao did not trespass, but only found an angle from the side hall and secretly looked out, and saw the singing and dancing in the hall.

The solo dance is inevitably deserted, the venue is basically a group dance, the number of performers is not less than 20 people, all like flowers, the water sleeves are stretched, the skirt is gorgeous, soft like water, and the movements are neatly and uniformly stretching the beautiful limbs.

The silk bamboo orchestra and the chime bell are ringing softly, surrounded by the soft light of the sea of lights, it is the banquet that begins in the afternoon, the sky is gradually darkening, the hall has long been lit with candles, the lampstand is like a tree, the branches are scattered, each lampstand is covered with a milky white gauze, the light is shrouded in a soft, the whole hall is brightly lit, as if it is daytime.

Lin Piao's eyes searched in the crowd, and he didn't see where Shen Hong was for a long time, probably blocked by others, especially the back of his head with a few curly hairs in his sight, and he was wearing a hat with colorful brocade, and he looked like a foreign friend.

The envoys from several small countries came to visit them, and they wore the clothes of their countries, gold and silver drapes, brocade clothes and precious stones, all of which were very splendid, and some of them were relatively coarse, or even simple, that is, simple grassland clothes, and their belts were sewn with pure black animal skins.

Although they have received many rewards from His Majesty, those who dance the Hu Xuan Dance get admiration, and those who dance the Great God only get sneer.

The one who danced the great god was very unhappy, and was about to make a fuss on the spot, but was appeased by several ministers, who boasted about him, and he still did not give up on the steps, and the degree of defense was five stars, and finally the emperor was too lazy to care, saying that he was good at jumping with the heroic warriors of the grassland.

Lin Piao was stunned and said in a low voice: "I still have to quarrel in such a place, I thought that everyone would not dare to talk casually when they came to this kind of banquet." ”

Xiao Yue and Juan'er were also stunned: "Why is that person so unreasonable, he dances ugly and doesn't allow others to laugh, he actually wants so many big officials to coax him, and no one blames him for being rude." ”

Lin Piao thought for a while: "They look at foreigners as if they were looking at monkeys, and this kind of important occasion is not worth accounting, after all, we pay attention to the scene, but the barbarians don't pay attention to it. ”

"Yes."

Lin Piao thought about it, in a place like Shangjing, anyway, Lin Piao had never seen a person who turned his face in person, no matter what things turned out, Zhao Ruofeng was never rude in front of him, let alone other people.

The survival rule and standard of the people of Shangjing is that before the other party completely falls, they will punish you behind their backs, and do not delay our words of greeting each other in a good voice.

You need to study hard.

Lin Piao was in the dark banquet seat, and finally saw Shen Hong's figure in the waves, his official position is not big, but it is really not small, and when he is close to the emperor, he will be summoned from time to time, because he is quite valued by the emperor, and the seat set for him is much closer to the emperor than his original rank, but it is also mixed into a central position.

In particular, Shen Hong's previous proposal to reuse the scholars from the imperial examination so that their knowledge that they had studied hard for many years could be put to use, and as the champion of the new department, it was very appropriate for Shen Hong to say this as a young man, although he did not have much contact with the family in private, earned his reputation, and stabilized the scene, and was not shouted and killed by the family, nor did he really start the reform in a big way, but the emperor obviously really had this meaning, and he wanted to reuse Shen Hong by this reason.

Lin Piao felt that Shen Hong was the real fox, anyway, as long as the emperor didn't really give him the position and benefits, he would be full of enthusiasm, and he should get along with the family well, and he didn't shout a slogan and was in a hurry to carry a gun into battle.

When the scene of a hundred flowers dancing on the stage, it is really a flowing water like a fish running in, the beauty is as delicate as a flower, the flower is like a beauty, and the scene of a hundred flowers offering spring comes out, all present are in an uproar, and they make a sound of surprise and sigh that is difficult to contain.

A light yarn fell, the sound of the silk and bamboo orchestra suddenly flourished, when Chang'e fell in the flowers, along a moonlight-like ribbon floated down, the long sleeves of the robe fluttered like flying in the wind, her feet were slightly dotted, as if stepping into the air, waving the sleeves lightly, countless petals fell with the wind in the fairy clothes, flowers and rain, step by step lotus.

Lin Piao secretly looked out in the side hall, nodded approvingly, and sure enough, it was right to sew a small bag in the sleeve, so that between gestures, as long as the sleeves were slightly raised, there would be petals falling.

The flowers waited below, Chang'e flew three times in the air, performed a variety of beautiful shapes, and the petals in the sleeves were almost scattered, so she grabbed the silk and gently stepped on the overlapping palms of the two flowers below, all the way like stepping on the flowers, until the steps were low, fell to the ground and let go of the silk, picked up the moon cakes placed in front of her, stepped on the stairs, made a shy and feminine costume, and offered the moon cakes.

The emperor had known that there would be such a program, and if he had not been informed, someone would suddenly jump down from the girder and would have been taken away if he could not run in front of him.

But even though he knew that there was such a performance of Chang'e to the moon, he still couldn't help but be amazed by the scene in front of him.

The beauty is dressed in dusty white clothes, not stained with a trace of human dust, the silver and white embroidery thread on the clothes is like moonlight, and it is more brilliant in the indoor light.

He was a little fascinated for a while, but the queen on the side called him: "Your Majesty." ”

He smiled and said, "It turned out that Fairy Chang'e was here, well, there is a reward." ”

The father-in-law on the side stepped forward to take the big moon cake and put it on the table, and then, according to the emperor's instructions, divided the moon cake and gave it to several ministers and envoys to eat together.

As usual, the officials have nothing to eat.

Not to mention that the emperor was stunned, everyone present was dumbfounded, regardless of gender, but the women came back to their senses relatively quickly, and the men were still in the aftertaste, especially the envoys of the Fanbang, who were even more stunned and convinced, and expressed their admiration and admiration for the strength and artistic level of the Daning Shangguo.

His Majesty wants this effect, and he is very satisfied and happy with it, and then it is the closing program, and then the emperor makes a speech, rewards the important ministers, and then announces the reward for the foreign time to come to the audience, the BGM of kowtow sounded again, and everyone kowtowed three times, and the emperor and queen left first, and then the concubines and princes, and after they left, the hundred officials left in order.

Fortunately, the emperor was very happy that he did not summon the people behind the scenes, and he was only concerned with the strength of the family with others, and did not want others to know how much effort was behind this strength, perhaps to create an atmosphere of winning easily.

After all, there was nothing to do tonight, and no one was watching, and the palace maids in the back stage saw that there was nothing to do, so they said that they could go out of the palace and go home, and if there was anything to do, they would summon them again, so that they would not stay in the palace and go back by themselves along the way they came.

It's not the first time Lin Piao has come and gone, the road is familiar, and the palace maid doesn't plan to escort him out, one is that it is not necessary, and the other is that Lin Piao does not have such a big face, so he needs to be escorted in and out.

Lin Piao slipped out of the side hall with Xiaoyue and Juan'er, blended into the edge of the crowd, and followed far behind.

The order of leaving the palace was not as good as it was when entering the palace, and after leaving the palace, everyone basically gathered together according to their own circle of friends and walked out, and walked out under the loose escort of the father-in-law and the guards.

It was dark, and the lights outside were much darker, Lin Piao didn't see where Shen Hong was, thinking that he might also be with his colleagues, so he didn't rush to find him.

"Let's go out first, and when we get to the carriage outside, we will naturally see him."

Xiao Yue and Juan'er nodded, and followed him closely like two little chicks.

Lin Piao knew that they were a little scared on such an occasion, so many men and so many high-ranking officials were in front, and they didn't dare to go fast, for fear of walking too close and walking in front of them.

Lin Piao immediately reached out and grabbed their hands left and right, so that they could feel at ease.

As they followed, they could hear all kinds of discussions, such as the older officials, all of whom were talking about family and state affairs, and occasionally talking about the moon cakes and tea at the banquet, how precious and how good they were, mainly to show that they had been rewarded by the emperor with moon cakes and tea.

Middle-aged This part is to express his spirit, sigh about his family and country, feel that Daning is getting better and better, and he is getting more and more energetic, and he must work hard to contribute to Daning.

In the next year, they are basically discussing the dance of flowers and Chang'e, chanting poems and admiring them, what was Luoshen in the past, and Chang'e is now there, from the hair to the toes, discussing the problem of rhetoric.

Of these, the most out of place is the occasional shout or two.

"Chang'e! I want Chang'e! ”

No one paid attention to it, and the officials just didn't hear it, or looked at each other and shook their heads, secretly laughing at the vulgarity and rudeness of this barbarian.

Obviously, foreign friends have not yet recovered from the impact of art, as if their souls have been hooked away, either calling Chang'e, or admiring with envy the vast land and things of Daning, the wealth of the country and the strength of the people.

They looked at the round moon in the sky and couldn't help but sigh.

"In the past, I thought that the moon in my hometown was the best moon, but now I realize that the moon in Daning seems to be rounder than the desert."

"The air here smells sweet with women and flowers, like a century-old wine."

Their hearts are full of sighs, looking at this prosperous Daning, this perfect moon, this holy place in the world, and the new heart's desire outside their hometown.

Although they were born in a frontier land, their hearts longed for such a dreamlike country.

The eyes of all the envoys and ministers met, and they all had the same admiration and yearning.

Lin Piao listened to their Ning Yueyuan's remarks intermittently all the way, until he walked outside the palace, found their carriage, and took Xiaoyue and Juan'er to board it quickly.

Shen Hong hadn't gotten into the carriage yet, he was standing a little far away, surrounded by a circle of young to middle-aged officials, his expression was gentle and smiling, as if he was talking to them, everyone was very convinced of his appearance, his appearance and temperament were already here after all, plus the tall man who stood out from the crowd, the whole person's leadership demeanor was very strong, even if Lin Piao couldn't hear what he was talking about, he also had the first feeling that what this kind of person said must be reliable.

Shen Hong had a conversation with the crowd, then said goodbye to them, put them in the carriage first, and gave them off while chatting, neither humble nor arrogant, but also polite and kind to the extreme, and gave everyone respect in place, did not treat anyone coldly, nor flattered anyone, and not a single member of the group looked displeased, and they all talked with him very happily.

It wasn't until everyone was put in the carriage that Shen Hong walked towards this side, he stepped on the pedal, lifted the curtain and bowed slightly into the carriage.

The curtain fell behind him, and he looked at Lin Piao: "I've been waiting for a long time." ”

"It didn't take long." Compared with waiting for a long time, Lin Piao had a more important question to ask him.

"Have you eaten enough at the table?"

Shen Hong was slightly stunned: "You haven't eaten yet?" ”

"Ate some." However, the back stage provided snacks in the evening, and the meals delivered before the performance were relatively simple, and they did not eat much because they were concerned about the performance, and now their stomachs are empty.

Lin Piao thought for a while: "Now that the street is lively, go to the street first, eat something, and then go home." ”

Lin Piao's arrangement for himself is clear, Tongxilou wants to make money for the Mid-Autumn Festival, and it will be open until night these days, and by the way, you can go to Yuemingfang to see how their clothes are on display.

The carriage left the palace and headed for the main road, where they found a section of the road that was not very crowded, and walked down the street with the flow of people.

The whole street was full of people, the lights were brilliant, and the whole street was bright and gorgeous, and they first bought some snacks on the side of the road, and ate while walking and laughing along the flow of people, and Shen Hong followed behind them, just in case, they were scattered by the crowd or touched by others in the crowd.

Lin Piao turned his head to look at him from time to time, and handed him the food in his hand: "Try this, this tastes very good, I don't know what I put in, there is a special aroma." ”

Shen Hong took the small bamboo fork and lowered his head to taste it, nodded slightly, his eyes were very approving, and then several people continued to move forward.

Walking to the Tongxi Building, because of the huge flow of people, the Tongxi Building has been filled, especially the position by the window on the second floor, the windows are all open, and the guests lean against the window to look at the lights outside, and look at the scenery of people coming and going on the street.

Even on the first floor, there are quite a few people who come in to rest, order some drinks, tea and snacks, sit and chat.

Lin Piao saw that there was no place to sit, and he did not intend to stay, so after looking around for a while, he went to Mingyue Fang, but before he arrived at Mingyue Fang, he only saw a black head from a distance, which reminded Lin Piao of a scene where they returned to the county government when Shen Hongzhong was raised.

Unexpectedly, the arrogant people of Shangjing would also have such a time when they could not bear to see the excitement.

Lin Piao was not happy for a while, and then he heard a shout from the front.

"Don't squeeze! Don't squeeze! The door is collapsing! ”

"Back off, back away!"

Lin Piao's spirit suddenly changed: "What?! ”

"That's my new door full of pear blossom wood carvings!"

When he received the door to prepare for the Mid-Autumn Festival, he went to order the door, just to decorate and gild, and the master rushed him to work for more than half a month, and finally installed it before the Mid-Autumn Festival.

This crushes him?!

The embroidery girls inside all came out to admonish, and the guards pushed the people back, quickly helped the fallen people up, and carried the door on the collapsed ground to the side and put it against the wall.

This is really a big opening, a complete opening.

The embroidered girl organized everyone to enter the Yuemingfang, so that everyone could see the legendary Chang'e fairy clothes, although they did not see the song and dance performances, but they joined in the fun to take a look at the Chang'e fairy clothes, and they could be regarded as enjoying half of the emperor's treatment.

"My Door ......"

"My Brand New Door ......"

When Shen Hong saw him like this, he said: "There are so many people here that you can't get in for a while, and when you do, it's all things you've already seen, so it's better to go elsewhere first." ”

Lin Piao looked at the dense crowd, no matter how lively he was, he didn't want to go inside, so he nodded, and several people turned around and walked towards other places.

In such a lively occasion, it is always easier to get tired than usual, a few people want to find a teahouse to rest after walking for a while, there is a high-end teahouse not far in front, although it is more expensive, but it is precisely because it is expensive, there should be more empty seats upstairs.

Lin Piao wanted to go in and squander it with this idea, but it turned out that he really lacked awareness of the consumption level in Shangjing, and even if it was such an expensive teahouse, it could still be full on the festival in Shangjing.

Lin Piao looked around, trying to see if he could find an acquaintance to sit down, and just as he was thinking, he heard a familiar voice from upstairs.