A few moments
Qin Ming raised his wine bowl and said:
"Come on, let's all drink this bowl of wine together. Let's do it."
After saying that, Qin Ming took the lead in drinking the wine in the bowl, and everyone also picked up wine bowls or tea bowls and drank.
"Okay, let's eat first, and when you're full, let's watch the Spring Festival Gala together."
Li Yuan was Qin Ming's elder, so there was only one table in front of him in the whole yard. He put down the wine bowl with a smile, then picked up the dumplings in the bowl with chopsticks and took a bite. He felt that the food was thin and thick. It was very delicious and suited his appetite.
Other people in the yard were sitting on chairs. When they saw the master starting to eat, they also picked up their bowls and started eating.
After a while, after everyone had finished eating and put away the dishes, Xiao Changxi walked to the campfire and said according to the words Qin Ming had explained before:
"I announce the official start of the Spring Festival Gala for the Sixth Year of Zhenguan. Next, I would like to invite the captain of the escort team, Qin Da, and some members of the escort team to come up and sing "Serve the Country with Loyalty."
As soon as Xiao Changxi finished speaking, Qin Da led a group of guards to the bonfire.
The members of these escorts were all bought by the Qin Mansion, or some of the older orphans in the academy. There were at least a hundred people. (The rest of the escort team are all hired and have returned to their homes to celebrate the New Year.)
Most of the audience in Qinjiazhuang present were watching a performance for the first time, and many of them were even hearing others sing for the first time, so most of them stretched their necks and looked at Qin Da and his group.
Li Yuan poked Qin Ming beside him and asked:
"'Loyalty to the Country'? Is there such a song? Why hasn't my grandfather heard it?"
"This song is..."
Qingwan, who was sitting next to Qin Ming, rushed to answer when she heard this:
"Old man, this song was composed by Young Master. It's very nice."
As soon as Li Yuan heard this, he was interested. He looked at Qin Ming with deep meaning and said:
"In that moment, I want to listen carefully."
While several people were talking, Qin Da had already led the team members to stand in order. Qin Da walked to the front of the team and said:
"When the smoke rises, look to the north and sing."
"When the smoke rises, the country looks north..."
Many people present heard this kind of song for the first time. At first, they thought the tone was a bit weird, but soon everyone was attracted by the song.
Li Yuan just listened to a few words and suddenly stood up. As he listened, his eyes gradually became mist-filled.
Li Yuan in history was proficient in bowing and horsemanship since he was a child. In his early years, with his passion, he led more than a dozen riders to fight thousands of bandits. With his superb archery skills, he killed more than 70 people and defeated the bandits directly.
Later, relying on the land of Taiyuan, he recruited 30,000 troops and decisively rebelled against the Sui Dynasty. It took four months to capture Chang'an and the Tang Dynasty was established in just half a year.
Li Yuan only felt that his blood was boiling. In fact, it was not just Li Yuan. At this time, whether it was the craftsmen led by Li Chun, the children in the academy, or the maids in the Qin Mansion, they were also affected by the rich singing and heroic lyrics. Very excited.
When the guards sang for the second time, people in the courtyard had already begun to sing along in low voices. By the time they sang for the third time, all the men, women and children in the yard stood up and sang along with the guards at the top of their lungs.
The sound was neat and loud, as if it was going to shake a hole out of the sky.
When the song ended, the people in the yard felt their blood boiling, and the weather was no longer so cold. Everyone was smiling. Qin Ming walked to the bonfire, pressed his hands and said with a smile:
"These days, the escort team is not only responsible for the security work in Zhuangzi, but also the transportation of goods from various workshops in the mansion. They are the guardians of our Zhuangzi.
Come and watch my actions, let us give these guardians some applause and express our gratitude to all of us for their daily protection of Zhuangzi and for their wonderful performances. "
After saying this, Qin Ming took the lead in applauding. Seeing this, other people in the courtyard also followed suit and applauded accordingly.
The people in the escort couldn't help but feel inexplicably moved when they heard the applause of the crowd. Finally, under the leadership of Qin Da, they bowed to everyone and returned to their seats.
At this time, Xiao Changxi came up again and said:
"The next show is a sword dance presented by Maotu, the captain of the inner courtyard guard team. Please invite me."
As soon as Xiao Changxi finished speaking, Maotu, dressed in red military uniform, walked up with a sword in hand.
...
Xu Shi, Chang'an City, Taiji Hall of the Imperial Palace
As in previous years, all members of the royal family were invited to the palace for a banquet on New Year's Eve. The only difference from previous years was that the nominal head of the Li family did not attend the banquet this year for unknown reasons.
A few days ago, some members of the clan went to Da'an Palace to pay their respects to the Supreme Emperor, but were turned away.
This also caused the clan members who attended the dinner to inevitably murmur in their hearts.
Li Shimin was also helpless about his father's absence. After all, he sent so many people out to look for him but couldn't find anyone.
In the end, he could only excuse himself by saying that the Emperor was unwell and had not seen anyone recently.
Of course, Li Shimin also knew that the news of his father's disappearance could not be concealed. After all, there were too many people going to pay homage to his father these days. If his father did not show up again, people in the clan might wonder whether they had taken their father away. how's it going.
Queen Changsun sat next to Li Shimin and seemed to notice his worries, so she comforted him:
"Erlang, are you worried about your father?"
Li Shimin heard this and held Empress Changsun's hand and said:
"Well, there have been too many people going to Da'an Palace to pay respects to my father recently. If no one can be found again, I'm afraid the news of my father's disappearance will no longer be concealed."
Empress Changsun stroked Li Shimin's back and said comfortingly:
"Erlang, don't worry. Tomorrow is the day of family reunion. Maybe my father will return to the palace tomorrow."
Li Shimin nodded when he heard this and said:
"I hope so."
After saying that, he picked up the wine before the case and drank it.
At this moment, Xiao Sizi ran to Li Shimin with excitement and said:
"Father, father, Sizi is full, can we set off fireworks?"
Hearing this, Li Shimin put down his wine glass, rubbed Princess Jinyang's head lovingly and said:
"Okay, okay, father will take you to watch the fireworks."
...
After a while, everyone in the hall followed Li Shimin to the entrance of Tai Chi Hall. Except for a few princesses from the Li Zheng Palace, who knew they were out to watch the fireworks, the other clan members didn't know why His Majesty asked them to come to the entrance of the palace.
Princess Danyang Li Xianzhi was also wearing a red palace dress today. She stood out among the princesses and princesses with her tall figure and stood out very conspicuously. She walked up to Princess Changle, took Changle's arm, and asked with a smile:
"Li Zhi, why did Your Majesty ask us to come out?"
Princess Changle smiled at Danyang and then said:
"I came out to watch the fireworks. Brother Qin Ming came to Chang'an a few days ago and sent some fireworks as a new year's gift. My father will set them off in front of the main hall soon."
Princess Danyang felt confused and even more confused when she heard this.
"Qin Ming? Fireworks?"
While the two were talking, a eunuch had already lit the fireworks in front of the Tai Chi Palace. With a muffled sound, rays of light flew up into the night sky, and finally exploded into brilliant circles of light.
The governor of Danyang opened her mouth and looked at this scene in the night sky with some disbelief. She had never seen such a beautiful scene before, and she was mesmerized by the colors in the sky for a moment.
Not only Princess Danyang, but also Li Shimin's many children and royal family members in the palace were also stunned by this scene in the night sky.
Among them, Li Tai and Li Chengqian were the most surprised. After all, they had seen the fireworks during the day, so when they learned from Si Zi that they only came out to watch the fireworks, they didn't show much interest.
Just when the fireworks bloomed in the night sky, the two of them were stunned. They didn't expect the fireworks at night to be so colorful.
