Chapter 5 Chapter 3 Brocade Clothes and Splendid Clothes, and Liujia

River God Festival. This day is not a sunny day, neither cloudy nor sunny, although there is thin sunlight and the clouds are not thick, but the whole sky is dark and not clear enough. "You stay at home, you can't go anywhere." Yan Wei said lightly. Li Qichen apologized and said with a smile: "I'm only going there at noon, and I'll come back when you arrive at the shore. Wear simple clothes and a hat, so no one will recognize you." Yan Wei said: "Of the princes and nobles watching the ceremony, nine out of ten people know you, no way! It's too dangerous."

Li Qichen said: "There are so many people, I mixed in the crowd and watched from a distance, how can a prince or nobleman pay attention to me as a humble person..." After speaking, his eyes drooped, his right hand brushed his left wrist unconsciously, it was an old scar , pale white, slightly protruding, although not very obvious, but set off by his fair skin, it looks like a flaw on jade, which is regrettable. Yan Wei said angrily: "That won't work! You are a patient and I am a doctor. If you listen to the doctor, you can't go out today!" Li Qichen shook his head and smiled wryly: "Okay, okay. Listen to the doctor."

Yan Wei smiled and said, "That's about the same." After saying that, she turned and went out. Li Qichen sighed, and the door curtain was thrown open again with a snap, Yan Wei leaned out half of her body and said, "A man keeps his word, you can't keep talking, and sneak out halfway!" Li Qichen spread his hands and said with a smile: "If you are worried, then don't go, just watch me here." Yan Wei chuckled, turned around and walked away without saying anything. Yan Wei sat in front of the mirror, letting Wu Hou and several other women play with her.

In front of the mirror is a newly-purchased gouache, a faint lilac purple, exuding a slightly sour sweet and greasy fragrance.Yan Wei has always disliked these things the most, because his father said that a person must absorb the energy of the heaven and the earth before he will get sick. Applying powder or other things on the face will block the channel for the face to breathe in the energy of the heaven and the earth. The face is easy to age. Seeing in the mirror, my face is gradually turning white, as white as Lu Jin's face, and the cheeks are painted with red, like a shy blush, the eyebrows are painted with Shi Dai to form long and curved eyebrows, and the lips are painted with red. Fat... Yan Wei could barely recognize herself in the mirror. She looked several years older, mature and glamorous.

Then, Yan Wei's long hair was loosened, combed, each strand was coated with Lanze glue, and then coiled up on top of her head and combed into a high bun. "This is called Wangxian bun! The Goddess of the River must wear this bun, and I am the only one who can do it in the entire Huaidu City..." Wu Hou was chattering away, and Yan Wei didn't bother to talk to her. A woman brought a lacquer box, and when she opened it, the room was full of light, including exquisitely carved jade holders, bone holders inlaid with precious stones, and horn holders with natural textures.A pair of bright moon pendants are white and bright, and there are more than a hundred clam beads, corals and carved shells made of beads, and a set of topaz pendants is even more precious.

Yan Wei was born in a family of officials. Although her family was in decline, she had extraordinary knowledge after all, but she couldn't help being surprised at this moment.When Lu Jin played the role of the Goddess of the River before, she only saw them from a distance, and didn't feel how precious these jewels were. Now that she watched them indoors, she realized their soul-stirring charm. Seeing that Yan Wei stared straight at her, Wu Hou covered her mouth with a smile and said, "I thought Miss Wei was special, but I didn't expect to love these jewels and jades too."

Yan Wei gave her a white look, and said: "My country of Yang has admired jade since ancient times, and everyone admires jade. What's so rare about liking jewelry and jade?" With Yan Wei's sharp-tongued personality, if she is usually sharp, her words must be more sharp. Maybe it's because clothes can really change The character of a person, Yan Wei at this time, seems a little more graceful, luxurious, quiet and elegant. Wu Heng inserted a hairpin on Yan Wei's head, and said: "Don't worry about putting on the rest, put on the clothes first. These things are very precious, so don't break them, otherwise you won't be able to afford it. Especially the string of beads hanging around the neck, the thread is silk thread, not strong, if it breaks, the beads will scatter into the water, and they will never be found again.”

The woman holding the jewelry smiled and said, "It's not as serious as you said. The thread between the beads is tied. Even if it breaks, only one bead will be lost." Wu Hou spat: "Of course I know! I just said it deliberately to make this girl pay more attention. You don't know, she is no more gentle and docile than Lu Jin, she is just a tomboy." Yan Wei was unhappy, but it was inconvenient to attack, so she just pouted. Wu Hou put all the headgear on, and said to Yan Wei: "Get up! It's time to get dressed." As she spoke, she held up Yan Wei's left arm, and Yan Wei stood up with her right arm, kneeling down After a long time, my legs are a little sore and numb.

The clothes of the Goddess of the River are indeed more cumbersome than the wedding dress, with seven or eight layers.Yan Wei was originally worried that the silk clothes would be cold, so she wore them layer by layer, sweating all over her body. The weaving and embroidery of Jiang Guo is indeed the best in the world. Silk threads of more than a dozen colors are carefully matched to create thousands of effects. The dazzling flowers, birds and flowers are all lifelike.In the middle of the lower garment, there is embroidered a fiery red phoenix soaring into the sky, surrounded by auspicious clouds.

Wu Hou watched Yan Wei carefully look at the embroidery on the clothes, and quickly explained: "Although they are all phoenixes, they are different every year! Last year it was a strutting phoenix walking sideways, this year it is a flying phoenix in the sky, what a good omen." .” Yan Wei smiled and didn’t care. Tie the last caramel-colored Qiluo belt, and the clothes are finally put on.Wu Hou carefully put the bead string and the jade pendant on Yan Wei, and tugged on them worriedly, before letting out a sigh of relief. At this time, outside, the drums of the festival have already sounded.

Yan Wei knew that the appearance of the Goddess of the River God was the end of the whole River God Sacrifice, before which there would be a lengthy sacrificial ritual, drum music, singing and dancing.In the past, they watched every year, but this year they could only wait in the room. The clothes were already dressed, so they could only stand and wait. Every moment felt like a long time. I saw Wu Hou going in and out, looking out for the situation outside. "This year, son Yu is offering sacrifices on behalf of the king!" Wu Hou ran in and said excitedly. "Young Master Sui?" Yan Wei answered casually. "That's right! It's the eldest son of the king! He hasn't shown up for more than ten years. I heard that he is sick and needs to rest. I wonder if he is cured now?" "Sick?" Yan Wei thought to herself, her father, Yan Changchu, was the best doctor in the Yang Kingdom. Although he had no official position, he often went in and out of the Forbidden Palace to treat princes and concubines, but he had never heard of treating this prince. The woman next to him interjected again: "Wu Hou, you really forget things all the time, don't you remember? This young master Su was injured in the River God Festival more than ten years ago. He went into the water to save people and fell ill. .” Wu Hou slapped his forehead and said, "Oh! I remembered! At that time, Young Master Yu was only your age, but now he is really old." Wu Hou said, pointing at Yan Wei.After finishing speaking, he seemed to feel that it would be a bad idea to mention that accident, so he covered his mouth and kept silent. Finally, at noon, those lengthy ceremonies were finally finished, and it was time for the Goddess of the River to appear.The front was guided by six witches in costumes, Yan Wei walked in the middle, and Wu Hou and other male and female witches followed. Yan Wei finally understood how the so-called solemnity, elegance, and demeanor came to be: the jewels, tassels, and necklaces all over the head, even if you turn your head, you have to be careful, and naturally you have to turn around and look back slowly. Quick, how can you not be elegant?Pressed by heavy beads and pendants, her natural steps are slow and her demeanor is calm, even if she wants to behave like the wind like usual, it is impossible. After walking out the door, Yan Wei couldn't help shivering when the cold wind blew, her heart trembled, and she felt a little stage fright.There are huge crowds of people around, and I am the focus of everyone's attention. This scene has never been experienced in my life. Yan Wei lowered her head slightly, and followed the pace of the witch in front, memorizing the rituals taught by the witch, step by step, walked to the altar, turned and stood still. Light candles, burn incense.One bow, another bow, three bows, get up and stick the incense on the censer, and offer sacrificial wine.One sacrifice to the sky, two sacrifices to the earth, three self-drinking... Yan Wei did it dignifiedly, generously and meticulously.I don't know if it was because of that glass of wine, but Yan Wei consciously entered the scene gradually, as if she was the goddess of this crimson water, every movement of her hand, every throw of her foot, gradually became smoother, without the jerkyness at the beginning. At the end of the ceremony, Yan Wei turned around and stood still, slightly bowing her head.Then, on behalf of the king, the young master Sui handed the river god’s sacrificial scroll to her, then turned around, boarded the raft, and four people pushed the raft to the middle of the river. Next, it's all over. In front of my eyes, a pair of silk shoes came slowly. The brocade uppers were diamond-shaped pairs of dragons and phoenixes. The toe of the shoes was inlaid with light golden clams. , luxurious but not ostentatious. One pair of hands with slightly dark skin, long and slender fingers, pink nails, clean and dry, holding a roll of silk, with silk as the lining, ebony as the shaft, and a golden ribbon in the middle, tied into a bow. Yan Wei reached out to pick it up, and when she looked up, she saw a handsome face, with a straight nose and thin lips, and facial features that were carved, clear and sharp.The man didn't let go, he still tightly held both ends of the scroll with both hands, and stared greedily at Yan Wei's face, as if the beauty in front of him would disappear in the blink of an eye, and it would last forever without blinking. Yan Wei was a little flustered, and grabbed the hand scroll with a little force, but did not shake it at all.The surroundings were very quiet, as if everyone was watching them with bated breath. At that moment, it was as long as a lifetime... Yan Wei was impatient and shouted in a low voice, "Let go!" Like an electric shock, the man's hand trembled and he let go of the scroll.Yan Wei held the scroll in her hands, turned around, and walked boldly to the raft on the shore.Turning around in a hurry, the jade pendant on his body made a sound. This sound was like a spell, piercing the silence around him, and the noisy people's voices became loud again. Yan Wei calmed down, boarded the raft, left the shore, approached the center of the river...everything went smoothly.Yan Wei kept in mind the method taught by Lu Jin, her feet were separated under her skirt, and she stood still at random. According to the shaking of the water waves, she exerted force on the toes and heels respectively to maintain the balance of the raft.Under the cover of the long skirt, everything was done calmly, and in the eyes of everyone on the shore, she just stood still. Untied the golden ribbon on the hand scroll, and unfolded the hand scroll... A gust of wind blew by, causing Yan Wei's clothes to flutter, and the jade pendant to fall. "Ling Xun!" A man exclaimed in a low voice. When Yan Wei turned her head, she saw a large number of ice cubes mixed with water splashing from the upstream, rumbling and sounding, like a thousand horses and horses, approaching in an instant.A man pressed his hand on the raft to hide from the ice floes. Yan Wei couldn't stand still. She raised her hand, and the scroll shot out like a dragon, spread out in mid-air, slowly fell into the water, and was swallowed immediately. The raft capsized immediately... Yan Wei drank two sips of water, stabilized her mind, paddled with both hands, and poked her head out of the water. Before she could see the situation around her clearly, she felt a pain in the back of her head and lost consciousness.