old friends return

Today is the Hungry Ghost Festival.

In Dazhou, it is a festival of worshiping ancestors with equal emphasis on New Year's Eve, Qingming Festival and Chongyang Festival.Naturally, this day was exempt from imperial court. During the day, Emperor Hengde took his concubines and princes to worship in the ancestral temple on the outskirts of Shengjing.The Hungry Ghost Festival was originally Xiaoqiu. During this season, many crops are already ripe, so it is necessary to offer new rice and various newly harvested melons and fruits to the ancestors.

Naturally, common people in the folk also want to carry out such activities, but the royal family pays more attention to it. After all, this sacrifice also represents respect for the blessings of God and a wish for good weather in the coming year.

The palace banquet of the Hungry Ghost Festival is different from other festivals. It starts on time at noon, and naturally there are other things to do in the evening.And the princes were also told not to walk around in their mansion at night, lest they bump into something bad and get bad luck.

After Cheng Muzhi's banquet in the palace was over, he couldn't go back to the mansion directly as the prince, so he stayed in the palace and accompanied Emperor Hengde to inspect various places in the palace, making sure that the sacrificial candles were prepared everywhere. Enough, and arranged a lot of watchmen to pay attention to the weather, so as not to go out of the water after the weather is dry.

After everything was sorted out, I went back to my mansion, and it was almost evening.Liu Qingyan knew that he would be busy at this time of year, so he kept asking the kitchen to keep dinner warm until he came back.The two finished their dinner together, and according to the usual practice, Liu Qingyan went to Cheng Mu's room to study with him and review his homework.

There are always surprises.

Liu Qingyan is in the advanced room. Originally Cheng Muzhi wanted to be with him, but he suddenly said that he had to be busy with other things and asked him to come and wait alone. Liu Qingyan didn't think much about it. He was never used to always being around him. Someone followed, so he came by himself first.

But a gloomy cool wind suddenly blew in the bedroom, which was originally brightly lit with candles, and suddenly closed the two open doors, blowing out even the candles that were originally lit.He was the only one in the huge room at this time, and it was dark and blind. Of course, Liu Qingyan never believed in ghosts, ghosts, and snake gods, but tonight was the Ghost Festival, and the book said it was a day of "Hundred Ghosts Walking in the Night"...

Thinking of this, I can't help but feel a layer of goosebumps on my body, but in the end I suppressed it forcibly. Liu Qingyan only said in his heart that he never did anything wrong on weekdays, and he had nothing to be afraid of, so he boldly groped and went Open the door.

But suddenly there was a thought in my heart, could it be that His Highness is playing tricks on me again?I thought about it again, just now when Cheng Muzhi was talking to him, he forcibly maintained a serious face, and the uncontrollable smile on Gao Zhan's face behind him, is it really what he guessed?

This time, there was no fear at all, and the door was pushed open suddenly.

Sure enough, Cheng Muzhi was waiting outside the door with a terrifying bull-head mask on his face.Gao Zhan, who was behind him, was about to remind Cheng Muzhi, but Liu Qingyan stared at him, and immediately swallowed what he wanted to say, thinking in his heart that your Highness, please ask for blessings...

Liu Qingyan stepped on his feet and pulled off the mask on his head, "Your Highness, have you played enough?" His tone was as gentle as ever, without any sullen emotion.

Cheng Muzhi's bull-head mask was sealed, and he couldn't see the person standing in front of him at all, and he didn't hear what Gao Zhan said. Liu Qingyan, who was still standing there waiting in the room, was so scared that he wanted to hear the sound and move Go in and scare the children again, but who knows that they will reveal their secrets before they even listen to their scared voices.

Seeing Liu Qingyan standing in front of him at this time, his voice was tepid and even a little smiley, and he felt something was wrong in his heart.

Liu Qingyan raised his eyes and glanced at Cheng Muzhi, seeing him standing still and not speaking, he said with a cold face: "It's getting late, your Highness should rest, and the minister will go back first. Also, please don't tease me like this again, Your Highness." I'm a minister." After finishing speaking, he was about to leave, but Cheng Muzhi grabbed his arm. Seeing Liu Qingyan's cold face, Cheng Muzhi hurriedly pulled him away to coax him, and kicked Gao Zhan behind him at the same time. , Nu Zui signaled him to light up the lights in the room.

All of a sudden it lights up again.

Cheng Muzhi took Liu Qingyan's hand and said, "Ah Yanmo is angry, I was just teasing you, how can I say I was teasing you? Besides, didn't you find me?"

Liu Qingyan said nothing with a cold face.

Cheng Muzhi let out a groan in his heart, ruined, ruined, the joke was on the verge...

I had no choice but to continue to be soft and hard: "Ah Yan, it's my fault. I shouldn't scare you like this today, and I shouldn't make you angry. From now on, if you don't make this mistake again, don't be angry, Ayan... ..." Liu Qingyan kept turning her back to him, glanced at him, pulled her sleeves out of his hands, and continued to walk forward: "Where is your highness, how can I be angry with your highness? I am so angry with you." How dare you be angry with His Highness? Your Highness is really good at joking."

It's over and I can't turn back... Cheng Muzhi was helpless, seeing Liu Qingyan was still walking forward, he trotted to catch up, and tried his best to pretend to be pitiful: "Ah Yan, it's not too late, you go with me How about setting up river lanterns by the Weichou River?"

After hearing this, Liu Qingyan stopped in his tracks. Not every family has to do the custom of setting off river lanterns on the Hungry Ghost Festival. Only those who have just added new graves this year need to release river lanterns to comfort the dead who have just passed away. Grieving, but also hope that He Deng can bring news of family members, so that I can feel relieved in the underworld.

At this time, when Cheng Muzhi said that he was going to release the river lanterns, he naturally thought of this meaning. Could it be that some of his friends or relatives just passed away this year?But I have never heard him mention it, not to mention the way he was thinking about teasing me just now, it really doesn't look like there is anything sad...

But Liu Qingyan wouldn't ask these words, just in case someone passed away, mentioning it would make Cheng Muzhi sad, but he still had a cold face, turned around, but his tone softened: " The minister knows."

The two changed their clothes and walked to the Weishou River.Tonight, the streets of Shengjing are no longer bustling and bustling than usual. Although there are still many pedestrians in the market, most of them come out to set off river lanterns and burn some paper money and ingots. The light of the flames and the river lanterns slowly floating on the Weishou River in the distance, the faint light fades away little by little.

Liu Qingyan saw that Cheng Muzhi went to the shop selling river lanterns, but when he came out, he carried dozens of them in his arms. He was a little surprised in his heart. He stepped forward to catch the few that fell out of his arms, and said: " What is Your Highness doing with these river lanterns?"

Cheng Muzhi didn't speak, but with so many things in his arms, he still managed to free up a hand, and pulled Liu Qingyan all the way to the bank of Weishou River.Going down the steps to the river embankment, there was already an elderly mother-in-law squatting there, she lit a river lantern and put it into the river, muttering something, then wiped her tears, her eyes looked at her with some absentmindedness. Seeing the river lantern drifting away, tears flowed down again.

Liu Qingyan watched as Cheng Muzhi put down the river lanterns, then lit them one by one, and put them into the river, as if he had understood something. He was speechless at the moment, and went forward to light the river lanterns himself, and put them into the river with his fingertips. It took some effort to push the river lantern farther away.