August 15th is the Moon Worship Festival.
Chen Guo has always had a custom. On this night, a Lantern Festival will be held on Long Street. Various lanterns will be placed on both sides of the street for people to enjoy and enjoy.
Some vendors in Beijing will also set up stalls to sell related purses, lanterns, etc. Wealthy literati would set up entertainment programs, such as lantern riddles, at the entrances of restaurants along the street. Sometimes the government would invite some opera troupes to perform on the stage in the center of the long street. There are also several famous fireworks houses that, in order to attract business, let businesswomen and singers sit by the windows on the second floor, playing and singing about the prosperity of the prosperous times through veils.
This night the lights were brightly lit and the lights were bright.
The Song family's old house is not far from Long Street, and the motorcades transporting lanterns will pass by the back door of the old house.
Several little maids in their mid-teens, early in the morning, opened the back door a crack and gathered around to look outside.
Song Ran stood in the pavilion not far away, pointed in the direction where they were chattering and noisy, and asked in confusion: "What are they looking at?"
Hong Hao smiled and said, "Today is the Moon Worship Festival, so of course they are watching the lanterns."
It turns out that it has been three months since I left Nanjun.
When Song Ran was a child, her favorite thing was the Moon Worship Festival. You don’t have to go to bed early on this day, and you can go play on the street with your brother.
Later, she lived in the palace and often kidnapped Zhaohua and sneaked out together. Thinking about it now, if something happened to Zhaohua at that time, she would have to take the head of the entire Song family to the ground.
I remember one time, she took Zhaohua to the palace wall to dig out the dog hole that she had sneaked out of before. I don’t know who it was, but it had been blocked tightly for a long time. Seeing that Zhaohua's wish to go out was in vain, he burst into tears there. Song Ran couldn't coax her no matter how hard she tried. In the end, the prince's brother was alarmed.
At that time, the former prince was proficient in everything from literature to martial arts. It is also said that he looks like the late emperor when he was young, rich and handsome. He was deeply loved by the late emperor. With his words, no one among the servants dared to refute him. In the end, Song Ran and Zhaohua walked out of the palace gate without any hindrance.
This night, the prince's brother accompanied them to the lantern festival all night. He took them to buy sweets and eat corn millet, each holding a small rabbit-shaped lantern in his hand. They jumped up and down happily, not to mention how happy they were.
A man who looked like a scholar set up a competition arena at the door of the Tingshu Building. The winner was an exquisitely crafted lantern in the shape of a lotus fairy. Song Ran and Zhaohua looked directly at it and forced the prince brother to compete.
The prince is only a boy of fourteen or fifteen years old, but he is very talented in writing, and every sentence is neat and rhyming. Let the scholar lament over and over again. Before leaving, I heard him calling from behind: "Young men of letters come from my generation, and there will be successors to the Chen Kingdom."
The young man's eyebrows were raised, the corners of his mouth were slightly raised, and he was high-spirited. For such a dazzling young man, who would have thought of what would happen next.
Later, Song Ran found out that the scholar would be the next year's most beautiful woman. When something happened to the prince, he was the only one among the civil and military officials in the court who stood up to defend the prince.
At that time, the late emperor was so angry that he would not listen to any advice about the prince. Those who speak for the prince will not end well. Fortunately, the late emperor cherished his talent and did not let Tanhua Lang be exiled to the wasteland with the prince's companions. He was only sent to the Hanlin Academy to be a sixth-grade editor.
The scene from when I was young was right in front of me, but when I calmed down, I realized that things had changed.
Song Ran retracted her thoughts and asked casually: "I remember, aren't lanterns supposed to be on the long street at night? What are they looking at now?"
Bai Ting grinned and grinned: "What the princess doesn't know is that the vehicles transporting lanterns will pass behind our mansion. These maids have to wait in the mansion at night, so naturally they have no chance to go out, so they can only hide here. It’s a feast for the eyes.”
Song Ran glared at her again, and Bai Ting covered her mouth with a playful smile. Song Ran made another gesture to keep them quiet. Then he walked tiptoe behind the group of little maids and followed their example to look out from the crack in the door.
Seeing that the girls were in high spirits, they suddenly said, "What's outside?"
"The lantern, of course - the county, the princess -" A little maid noticed Song Ran behind her, and she trembled in fright and knelt down on the ground. The others also turned around and knelt down.
"Princess, please forgive me, the slaves are wrong." A group of maids were crying pitifully, completely different from the smiling faces just now.
"Look at how timid you all are." Song Ran covered her mouth and laughed, "Haha - get up quickly."
"Thank you, Princess!" Everyone was frightened and carefully looked at each other to see if the sisters on their left and right stood up together, for fear that they would be the only ones to believe it.
"It's so sneaky to look at a lantern. Besides, if there's anything good to see during the day, it has to be at night."
"Is the princess going to take us out to watch the lantern festival at night?" Bai Ting suddenly became excited and gave Hong Hao an excited look. The other little maids were also overjoyed, staring at Song Ran with their eyes.
Song Ran was a little embarrassed to be stared at by them.
"Shh - be gentle. I'll beg my mother and concubine later to let you go out tonight." Song Ran lowered her voice with a smile.
A little maid thought of something and walked forward nervously. She couldn't bear to say: "Princess, it seems that you can't go by yourself."
Another maid added with a look of embarrassment: "Prince Xuan's Mansion sent someone an invitation, and the princess accepted it for you. They said they would hold a reception banquet for the envoy from Wei at the inn tonight, so please come too. .”
Song Ran was startled.
It was Mu Ling who arrived. There were so many things going on these days that she actually forgot about it.
But what did they men call her to do when they were drinking?
What does Chen Chaobai mean?
Did Chen Chaobai discover something?
Seeing Song Ran's expression darken, Hong Hao couldn't help but worry about her. She saw a hint of joy in Bai Ting's eyes next to her, and she became even more uneasy. Both of them are in love, but she is alone.
"Princess, the princess has accepted the post. If you refuse, I'm afraid you will be punished by her."
"Okay, let's go for a while. Then find a way to leave first."
The door of the inn was full of carriages. ,
As soon as Song Ran got off the carriage, she saw the curtain of the carriage next door lifted.
It's Liu Yunqi.
Liu Yunqi nodded to her and walked in first, minding his own business.
Song Ran glanced at the carriage parked on the side for a few times, and then followed it in unhurriedly.
"Princess Anyang has arrived."
Everyone looked beyond the door.
Song Ran walked into the hall under the eyes of everyone.
The people on the left were wearing Wei costumes and must be Wei's envoys, but she didn't see Mu Ling among them.
They were led by an older man, who must be the Prime Minister of Wei based on his attire.
Beside the prime minister, she looked at the young general who had been following Mu Ling. Rather than a young general, it should be said that she is a female general, and she is also the third princess of the Wei Kingdom - Wei Yu.
At first, Song Ran only saw that she was a girl. Later, by chance, she heard Mu Ling call her name.
Song Ran walked up to Wei Yu, bowed her hands and said, "Song Ran has met the third princess of the Wei Kingdom."
"Third Princess?" Chen Chaobai stood up and looked in the direction of Wei Yu, with a bit of surprise on his brows.
Song Ran turned around, looked at Chen Chaobai's expression, and smiled, "It seems that His Highness Prince Xuan still doesn't know something. This is the third princess of the Wei Kingdom."
"This -" Chen Chaobai's eyes became complicated.
Song Ran chuckled inwardly, it turned out that Chen Chaobai didn't know everything.
Obviously, Wei Yu and the Prime Minister of Wei State did not expect that their identity would be discovered by Song Ran on the first day they arrived in Chen State.
Wei Yu's face was frozen, she bit her lower lip and remained silent.
The Prime Minister of Wei State was sweating profusely and kept wiping the sweat with his sleeves: "Prince and Princess, this is indeed the third princess of our Wei State. Our princess has always been quite curious about the real things outside. After hearing that I When we come to the Kingdom of Chen, we specifically ask Your Majesty to allow her to come and play with us. However, it is inconvenient for her daughter to travel with the courtiers, so she can only come with us dressed as a man."
"The Prime Minister didn't tell me earlier. The princess is getting married, and we are too far away to welcome her." Liu Yunqi said calmly from the side.
Chen Chaobai picked up the wine glass in his hand and motioned for everyone to toast Wei Yu to express his apology.
"Since it's just for fun, the princess should go to the lantern festival outside today."
Song Ran knew full well that playing was just an excuse. It would definitely not be that simple for Wei Yu to come to Chen State in person. Song Ran and Liu Yunqi made eye contact, and Liu Yunqi wanted her not to delve deeper.
They looked at each other openly, but Chen Chaobai caught them. Chen Chaobai raised his eyebrows when he saw this. Song Ran glanced at Chen Chaobai and then looked away.
Wei Yu's expression has returned to its original state, and she said calmly: "Thank you Princess Anyang for the suggestion. It's still early in the day, and after they have had a good time drinking, it's not too late to go over and enjoy the lanterns."
"This princess also has this intention."
The two smiled at each other and sat back in their seats.
Chen Chaobai asked people to serve food, and several bureaucrats were there touting the friendship between the two countries. Song Ran's ears were almost calloused, and she held her head in boredom and drank several glasses of wine.
She noticed Wei Yu's gaze not far away, which was deep and had a cold feeling that made her back numb.
Song Ran squeezed out a smile, raised the wine glass to Wei Yu, and then drank it all.
After three rounds of drinking, there was still no sign of the crowd dispersing. Song Ran asked Hong Xiu to call Bai Qi who was standing behind Chen Chaobai, and whispered a few words, asking him to ask Chen Chaobai for instructions.
Chen Chaobai listened to Bai Qi's reply and nodded to Song Ran.
Then Song Ran quietly left the hall with Hong Yu and Bai Tiao.
"Princess Anyang." Wei Yu followed them out.
Ran naturally guessed that she would do this.
Song Ran invited Wei Yu to get on the carriage and drive towards the long street.
Not only the long street, but also the main roads adjacent to the long street were very busy, so the carriages moved very slowly.
Song Ran opened the curtain and leaned against the window, hoping that the evening breeze would blow away the smell of alcohol on her body.
"Princess Princess, are you curious, where has Mu Ling gone?" Wei Yu spoke first.
"You have already explained it to the prince."
"The princess doesn't want to know?"
"He is a general of Wei State. What do I, a princess of Chen State, need to know?"
"The princess is really ruthless. Did he almost take the risk to steal the princess's wife?"
Song Ran frowned. Sure enough, she didn't take it seriously that day. The figure seen outside the government office was indeed him.
