Chapter 397 Chapter 2 Across the Square

Kou Zhong closed his eyes, and at the same time secretly gathered his skills, now he wished to eat Mei Xun's flesh and drink his blood, to vent his resentment at being ruined by him. Surprisingly, no voice spoke. Kou Zhong opened his eyes and saw that Mei Xun was sending the knife to Chang He's eyes, and said: "I'm sure this is a fine steel knife made by Jiangnan Laodao himself. If you don't believe me, you can ask Mr. Mo." Kou Zhong was about to scratch his head, the knife in Mei Xun's hand was shining brightly, it was definitely not Jing Zhongyue, could it be that Wan Wan cared so much about him that he would give it away first.

As if waking up from a nightmare, he immediately felt comfortable, slid into the bucket and sat down, wryly smiling: "Can the two big brothers go outside with a knife and study carefully, the villain is going to come out with bare buttocks and get dressed!" Xu Ziling followed Li Shimin and the civil servants and military generals of Tiance Mansion into the Hengchuan Square that separates the palace city and the king city, and was immediately dumbfounded. After all, he entered the Yeting Palace through the back gate, so he couldn't see the scene here. The New Year's Eve banquet has not yet started, but everything is ready.First of all, what caught his eyes was a 15-foot-tall lamp wheel across the center of the square, wrapped in colorful silk brocades, and hung with countless lanterns, shining on the huge space of the square, like a multicolored multicolored glow. The light trees make the colorful lights lined up on both sides also lose their brilliance.

On both sides of the Chengtian Gate that enters the palace city, a firecracker tower as high as 20 feet is erected on the left and right. On both sides of the light wheel, more than ten platforms are set up for various types of entertainment performances, extending to the east and west ends of the square.Artists of various kabuki, juggling, circus, illusion, and Hu dance are all ready by the stage, waiting for the auspicious time to come, and then start performing arts. The most eye-catching performers are a group of more than a hundred children, about ten years old, wearing red headscarves, soap and green clothes, holding a big drum, surrounded by a headband decorated with four giant golden eyes. The main dancers with masks, spears and shields, and twelve other people wearing beast masks gathered and waited in front of Chengtian Gate.

Seeing him staring intently at these performers, Bu Jie leaned close to his ear and said excitedly: "What they are going to perform is to drive out the ghosts and demons of the previous year to welcome the New Year's "Great Nuo Opera". "Zi", the main dancer is "Fang Xiangmin", the god of exorcism and evil, I saw it once when I was in Luoyang, it was very exciting and lively!" Xu Ziling thought to himself that although Bu Jie has been stationed in Chang'an for many years, this is the first time he has the opportunity to come to the palace to celebrate New Year's Eve.

At this time, thousands of guests gathered in Hengchuan Square, mainly officials and family members of the Tang Dynasty, and there were also local big merchants, envoys and Hu merchants from other places. Whether it is court ladies, officials, or kabuki, they are all dressed up beautifully, with colorful clothes, brocade embroidery, emerald pearls, fragrant powder, and colorful clothes, adding infinite gentleness to the New Year's Eve banquet. The two bands at the interface between Tianjie and the square played Zaoluoli, repeating famous and festive tunes such as Taipingle and New Year's Eve music. Welcoming atmosphere.

Li Shimin was the first king-level nobleman to arrive, immediately aroused people who were chatting and laughing in groups to congratulate him one after another. Just looking at the situation, one knew that Li Shimin was very much supported, and he did not deliberately alienate him because of Jian Jiancheng and Yuan Ji's exclusion. . As a result, the formation of Tiance Mansion was dispersed, everyone practiced on their own, and chatted with familiar people. Not long after, Xu Ziling noticed that Bu Ting and Bu Jie had turned to nowhere, but their ears were clear. Li Jing came to him at this moment, tugged at his sleeve, and sighed: "Go aside and say a few words!"

Chang'an City has become a city that never sleeps. Every household is decorated with lanterns and festoons. Girls and children who usually hide in the house flock to the streets to welcome the coming of the festive season. Firecrackers are ringing non-stop.The big families even opened the gates, held banquets, and let passers-by come in to eat and drink. Kou Zhong was in the car with Chang He, Mei Xun and Sha Family Young Master Cheng Cheng, the latter asked: "Why is it so fragrant?" Chang He wondered: "Isn't that what Luoyang is like? In Chang'an, every New Year's Eve, a bonfire will be set up in the palace with agarwood and sandalwood, and it will be burned until dawn, and the whole city can smell the fragrance!"

Kou Zhong was speechless: "Does it mean that we need to burn a lot of fragrant wood?" Mei Xun said with a smile: "It should be less than a hundred carts of spices." Just looking at Mei Xun's engraved expression, one can tell that he has no doubts about himself. Just now when he came out of the bathtub and went back to the inner room to change clothes, he had disappeared without a trace, and he didn't have a chance to ask her if she had dropped the bag for his Jing Zhongyue.For Kou Zhong, losing Jing Zhongyue, who is a good hand, is just a trivial matter compared to revealing his identity to others.

Two horse-drawn carriages joined the flow of vehicles heading for Suzaku's main palace gate. Since the guards guarding the gate had to examine the identities of the guests going to the banquet one by one, there was no haste. Kou Zhong asked Mei Xun, "What are the arrangements and programs for tonight's banquet?" Mei Xun said smoothly: "Master Chang is more aware of this than younger brother." Chang He said: "According to the practice of previous years, there should be a banquet first and then a dance. Banquets are the court banquets held in the Taiji Palace and the banquets held in the square. After all, the seats in the Taiji Palace are limited, and only qualified people can participate. Greet the rest of the guests. Frankly speaking, a tour banquet is much more interesting than a court banquet, not only relaxed and lively, but also accompanied by dancing and music."

Sha Chengcheng asked, "Does the dance refer to the Nuo dance for exorcising ghosts?" Chang He said: "It's the Nuo dance. This dance begins at the time of Xu, and continues until the time of Zi. The dance of Nuo chases the epidemic out of the palace, and repeats it three times. Under the Yuema Bridge in Yong'an Canal, so that the plague ghosts will never turn over. At the same time, when they step into Zishi, two firecracker towers are lit, and the sound of firecrackers will spread throughout the city, and the flames and smoke will soar into the sky. The emperor drove out of the palace and circled the city to welcome the coming of New Year's Day."

Kou Zhong was overjoyed when he heard that, as usual, why did he say that the banquet should end before the Nuo Dance in Xu Dynasty, when the palace was full of turmoil, without him, this fake genius doctor would not attract anyone's attention, as long as Chang why not look for him become. He said in a low voice: "The villain loves to take advantage of the excitement, can you skip the court banquet in the palace? The villain is serious." If it were Mei Xun who was inspecting Kou Zhong's saber, he would be more suspicious because of this, at this moment he just felt that he was sincere, and said with a smile: "If Mr. Mo doesn't attend the court banquet, the emperor and the empress will be disappointed." Chang He nodded and said: "I can't afford this matter, brother Mo will do me a favor, as long as I show up for a while, I will try to excuse my husband." Kou Zhong had achieved his goal, and he was immediately elated. He and Hou Xibai agreed to try to postpone the New Year's Eve dinner in Tongxing Society until after Xushi, so as long as he can get away from the banquet earlier, he will have plenty of time to deal with Yang Xuyan. As for Xu Ziling's fight with Dazhi, he didn't worry at all. No matter how powerful Dazhi is, he can't compare with the "evil king" Shi Zhixuan. Xu Ziling should be able to deal with him with ease. Everyone around was in high spirits, filled with festive atmosphere of seeing off the old and welcoming the new, but Li Jing and Xu Ziling seemed to exist in another world. Xu Ziling smiled bitterly and said, "Brother Li is talking to me like this, isn't he afraid of being suspicious?" Li Jing said in a deep voice: "They will only think that you and I are researching ways to deal with Dazhi, alas! Does Ziling make me difficult?" Xu Ziling said: "Brother, do you know my other identity named Yong Qin?" Li Jing said in astonishment: "What Yong Qin?" Xu Ziling was astonished, knowing that Li Shimin had concealed the fact that he had seen him from even his closest subordinates, which may represent his caution, and more likely, he did not dare to trust anyone. After explaining the whole matter, Xu Ziling said, "Don't worry, big brother, we have a secret agreement with the King of Qin. We haven't taken away Duke Yang's treasure for a day, and we are still in a friendly and cooperative relationship." Li Jing's face was slightly relaxed, and he frowned and said, "Is Xiao Zhong willing to help the King of Qin like this?" Xu Ziling said: "The Eastern Turks and the Demon Sect are our common enemies. Besides, who wants to see the terrifying scene of foreign invasion and evil ways rampant? Hey! Did Tuli go home safely?" Li Jing snorted coldly: "Of course we went back safely, otherwise we wouldn't be able to get back. We sent him straight to the northern border, let him join his tribe, Prince Fuqian, Cheng Yaojin and Qin Shubao sent him one more way, and we Because of the situation in Chang'an, I turned back first. The two of you slipped away one by one, which made your sister-in-law lose my temper for a few days." Xu Ziling said apologetically, "It's a last resort, Brother Li, please understand our difficulties." Li Jing sighed: "How can I not understand. In fact, you are willing to do your best to save Tuli's life, and the King of Qin is very grateful. The King of Qin has always been a person who does not care about small things, and he will not be procrastinating when doing things. But when it comes to the two of you, always Feel hesitant, very embarrassed. Oh! Tell me how to say it?" Xu Ziling said frankly: "Brother Li, don't worry, Duke Yang's treasures are just like flowers in the mirror, and the chances of us getting out are getting slimmer and slimmer. If Kou Zhong fails to hunt for the treasure, I will force him to give up his plan to fight for the world, and Brother will not be in a dilemma." .” Li Jing pondered for a while, then said, "Is there anything I can do to help?" Xu Ziling's heart moved, and he said: "Chi Shengchun is most likely Xianggui's eldest son. Xiangyushan has disappeared and is still secretly engaged in human trafficking. We are planning to hook him out and completely destroy their criminal family. Brother Li or I can help." Li Jing was stunned and said: "Chi Shengchun is actually a person with the surname Xiang? It's really unexpected, but Chi Shengchun has a close relationship with Li Yuanji. According to Tiance House's information, half of the income of Liufu Casino is in Yuanji's bag. It's not easy moving him." Xu Ziling was about to speak when he saw a gorgeous beauty waving to him in the distance, he took a closer look and found that it was Ji Qian, a famous prostitute in Shanglinyuan who was fond of gambling, and he couldn't help crying in his heart. Li Jing glanced at her and wondered, "Who is that?" Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, "That kid Hou Xibai caused trouble, can Big Brother Li do me a favor?" Li Jing sighed: "Speak!" Xu Ziling said in a low voice: "If I want to fight against Dazhi later on, no matter whether I win or lose, I will pretend to be internally injured afterwards. Eldest brother will try to send me out of the palace personally, so that I can spare time to deal with Yang Xuyan." Li Jing agreed, turned around and left. It was too late and then soon, Ji Qian floated over like a butterfly, grabbed his sleeve, pulled him aside, and said angrily with a pink face: "What is the relationship between you and that girl Hu Xiaoxian? Why? I'm going to ride around in Dongshi in her car." Xu Ziling felt terrible, how can I tell him to answer? Hou Xibai is indeed a good friend. Kou Zhong and the others waited to get off the car at the square behind Suzaku Gate, and walked towards the Hengguan Square while taking the car. Kou Zhong took the opportunity to ask Chang He, "What etiquette should be observed at the court banquet later? Will I sit beside you?" Chang He smiled and said: "Don't worry! Even if your elder brother violates the etiquette, no one will dare to blame you. Eunuch Zheng was specially ordered to come to me in the morning and asked me to make you feel at home. This shows how much Mrs. Zhang is Take care of you. As long as I tell Eunuch Zheng later that your brother likes to go to the square to take advantage of the excitement, he will make arrangements for himself, there is no problem at all." Kou Zhong thought to himself that if Chang He was by his side, it would still be difficult for him to get away, he tentatively said: "I just go to join in the fun by myself, brother Chang doesn't need to accompany me." Chang He said: "How can this be done? Tonight we two brothers will have a carnival, and we will spend the festive season together without getting drunk or returning home." Kou Zhong secretly said something was wrong, but he couldn't resist Chang He's excessive enthusiasm. At this time, Mei Xun left Sha Chenggong and Sha Chenggong behind, came to the other side of Kou Zhong and said: "Mr. Mo is a master, so don't miss the wonderful martial arts at the court banquet tonight." Kou Zhong pretended to be stunned and said, "Isn't the banquet tonight held to celebrate the Chinese New Year? And it's in the Forbidden Palace, how could anyone compete with each other?" Chang He said: "This is the tradition of the Li Clan of the emperor's own family. Every festival is a good day for competition. Everyone just clicks and stops. There will be no serious injuries and bloodshed. Because of the blazing martial arts in my Tang Dynasty, Only the Tang army can be invincible in the world." Kou Zhong pretended to be suddenly enlightened, and said: "Brother Mei, will you play two hands in person?" At this moment, Mei Xun regards him as a member of the Prince's Jiancheng side, and said without any concealment: "His Royal Highness will send people to fight tonight to challenge the people from the Tiance Mansion. Sigh! If I were the King of Qin, I would also have a very headache , except for Li Jing and Hong Fu Nu, the others are all defeated by others." Chang He said: "I have personally witnessed Li Jing's ten styles of bloody battles. They are indeed first-class and powerful sword techniques, but compared to Dazhi's Kuangsha knife technique, I am afraid it is slightly inferior." Kou Zhong pretended to be a layman and said: "If the difference is only a little, and it's not really about dividing life and death, then can't the fight be a tie?" Mei Xun said with a smile: "If you miss a move in chess, you have to tie your hands and feet. What's more, there are many masters in the martial arts competition. The emperor is a great expert in martial arts. Just by looking at a few moves, you can immediately tell who is superior. Low. Huh! So don’t talk about people during the day and don’t talk about ghosts at night, isn’t that your brother?” The two of them followed his gaze, and saw that Da Dazhi was wandering among the crowd with a charming beauty, with an air of contentment. Kou Zhong took a closer look and found that besides Dazhi was not Xi'er, but who else. Da Zhi also looked at them at this moment, and led Xi'er towards them. Kou Zhong turned his head and peeked at Sha Chenggong, only to see that his face was bruised with anger, and his eyes were full of jealousy.