Mikago

There is no constant sun in the sky, and the moon is impermanent.In a blink of an eye, it was dusk.

In the east, the stars are looming, and in the west, the setting sun is like blood.

Putting on the loose clothes and tightening the belt, Lu You looked around the deserted courtyard where he had lived in for more than a year for the last time, and then opened the door and left.

He left the quiet and simple Jackdaw Falls, walked out of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which was surrounded by misty nights, passed through the pitch-black Zilan Pavilion, and came to the Tongming Gate.

I saw a bright light outside the door, as if there was a light projected from the east.

He took a deep breath and walked forward.

Hundreds of thousands of sacrificial lamps hung up hastily during the day, as if floating in the mid-air of Zichen Palace.The flickering candlelight interweaves a road that flickers on and off.

Lu You went straight along this road, and at the end of the light was the Huiqing Palace in darkness.

The auspicious time has not yet arrived, and there are only a few guards in the hall.Lu You quietly bypassed them and entered through the wall of Hanlu Hall.

I saw only the broken walls and ruins of the former Yaotai Qiongshi, and the silk brocade, all turned into scorched earth and dust.

At this moment, when I think back to the love and hatred that happened here, it is like a dream, and I can't find a sense of reality.

Lu You didn't have much emotion.He quietly sneaked among the ruins, found the secret room where Zhao Yang hid in the past when he was recuperating, and hid in it.

There was a mess in the secret room after the fire.Lu You looked around, and soon found a bronze mirror.

He brushed off the ashes on the surface, dragged out Zhao Yang's baked copper basin from a pile of broken bricks, emptied out the sundries inside, put some paper money in it, and lit it with a torch.

Lu You glanced at the bronze mirror, and the fire in the mirror gradually lit up, revealing his masked, ordinary face.Little by little, he seemed to see King Xuan in the coffin again, wearing that golden mask.

Zhao Yang, Zhao Yang, have you ever thought about such a day?

My mask is going to be replaced by you.

He stared at it for a while, and then began to take off the mask on his face, and threw it into the fire to burn.

A puff of black smoke rose, leaving no trace afterwards.

Lu You wiped his face carefully, and waited for a while, finally there were noises from the front yard.

An altar was set up in the open space in front of the pond, and offerings were laid out.In the funeral tents on both sides of the altar, the female crowns of Tianyi Temple sat on the futons.There was an ebony throne behind the altar, and on the seat was a paper dummy, dressed in the same clothes as Zhao Yang's, sitting silently instead of the Lord.

As for the bright banner in front of the coffin in the funeral palace, it is now inserted beside the ominous stone dragon, waiting for the return of Zhao Yang's soul.

At the second quarter of Xuzheng, Empress Xiao's Luanjia came to the front of Huiqing Hall and stopped slowly.

Empress Xiao, who was completely naked, was helped out of the sedan chair, and only took two steps when she looked up and saw the white paper lanterns hanging high on the gate of Huiqing Palace, she staggered immediately and almost collapsed.

The crowd frantically supported them, hugged each other and moved into the yard little by little.

After finally reaching the altar, the maid brought a chair and waited for the empress to sit down.The eunuch Mu Yuan on the side observed his words for a while, and then asked cautiously: "Your Majesty, the auspicious time has come, do you see—"

Empress Xiao seemed to have no energy to speak, she just raised her hand and waved it.

Kun Dao in the mourning tent at both ends immediately began to chant sutras.The female viewer of Tianyi Temple wears a robe and a hibiscus crown, steps on Yu steps, and comes to Jintai with a sword in her hand.

I saw her muttering words, shaking the Dharma bell in her left hand from time to time.The ringtone was crisp and cold, and it was even more eerie in the dark night.

At the same time, a little Taoist priest held a tray and offered it to Empress Xiao.There is a stack of yellow paper and a pair of golden scissors on the plate.Empress Xiao picked up the scissors, and slowly cut the stack of yellow paper into a paper figurine.The little Taoist respectfully took over the paper figurine and presented it to the altar for offering.

The temple master recited non-stop, moving and jumping for about a stick of incense.Suddenly a gust of wind blew up on the flat ground, blowing the white mourning candles on the altar and shaking them from side to side.

The temple master didn't know what he saw in the candlelight, so he turned around and reported to Empress Xiao, saying that the time had come.

Empress Xiao stood up from the chair supported by others, took out a paper figurine from the stack of paper figurines on the altar, and walked towards the dummy wearing Zhao Yang's clothes step by step.

The restless candlelight illuminated her haggard face, and also revealed the complex expressions of anticipation and sadness on her face.

She stretched out her hand tremblingly, trying to stick the paper man onto the dummy.

The paper figurine was put up gently, stayed for a while, and then slid down gently.

Empress Xiao was at a loss for what to do, she turned her head to look at the temple master.The female Taoist priest shook her head, signaling her to be calm.

"Please return to your seat temporarily."

After Empress Xiao sat down again, the temple master continued to walk and mutter.After a while, the candle flame flickered again, and he told Empress Xiao to go to the poster again.

It's a pity that this second time, it still failed.

In the funeral tent, the sound of scriptures continued, and beads of sweat gradually oozed from the temple master's forehead.This was repeated several times, and when the seventh sheet was pasted, the little figure cut out of yellow paper was finally firmly attached to the front of Zhao Yang's robe!

The attendants on the left and right hurriedly made silence gestures, and the chanting stopped abruptly.Empress Xiao stood in front of the dummy in a daze, at a loss, and didn't come back to her senses until the temple master urged her softly.

"Yang'er, Yang'er...!"

Her voice trembled and was a little hoarse.But the first time he yelled, he never stopped.

"Yang'er, mother knows you are here, mother misses you, let mother see you again—"

There was silence all around, only the Mingjing at the side fluttered silently, as if pointing the direction of Zhao Yang's return.

The little Taoist priest standing by took the golden spoon and scooped out the ashes from the altar brazier and sprinkled them on the ground.As the wind blew, the ashes drifted, as if there were footprints one by one.

"Yang'er, come back, Yang'er, mother misses you..."

Around the altar, there was no sound.Only Empress Xiao's mournful call echoed on the desolate and cold ruins of the fire scene.

Dead silence, a breathless silence.Everyone pricked up their ears, but almost no one really believed that this call would get a real response.

Summoning the soul, calling the soul, has always been just a means for the living to vent their grief.

However, just when everyone was so secretly convinced, there was another unusual voice, indistinctly floating over from the depths of the ruins of Huiqing Palace.

The cry... is the cry of a person!

The female crowns looked at each other, and all the eunuchs and court ladies looked ashen.Only Empress Xiao exclaimed, covered her mouth suddenly, raised her legs and stumbled, looking for the sound and running over.

She soon discovered that there was a fire in the ruins, and followed the fire to find the former secret room.

In the secret room, there was a young man covered in white who was weeping mournfully while throwing paper money into the brazier.

That face... Who else could it be besides her sweetheart? !