Blue Sword

"Dad," Anna said, "I want to go see the lantern festival."

"Have you finished all your homework?" Asked.

"It's finished." Anna said.

"Then let's go." Asik carried his daughter on his back.

"Where's mom?" Anna looked back.

"Your mother is still working overtime and doesn't have time for the moment. Can Dad accompany you to watch the lantern festival?"

"Um."

Although she is only eight years old, little Princess Anna is already extremely sensible, making it easier for her father to take care of her.

Carrying Anna out of the Chalk Gate of the palace, the officers and guards around them all saluted: "Your Majesty!"

"It's okay." Ask said casually, "I'll take my daughter out for a walk."

"Do you need to send someone to accompany you?" a certain officer's guard asked.

"No need." Asik waved his hand.

Although he said that he did not want to accompany him, the officers and guards were not stupid enough to let him take His Highness out alone. They still sent two guards to quietly follow him from behind, so that if anything happened, they could take care of him immediately.

However, everyone knows that although the husband of His Majesty Theodora, the nominal co-emperor of the empire, does not care about political affairs and has no sense of existence at ordinary times, he is indeed a high-level transcendent, so for his If you go out without permission, you don't dare to stop them.

The Lantern Festival is a new festival brought by this emperor. It is said to be a custom from the Dragon Kingdom in the Far East. It became an official festival of the Eastern Solomon Empire through the decree of His Majesty Theodora. The citizens of Constantinople call it "Σεληνη", which is the "Selene Festival" or "Moon Festival", taking the first full moon in February as the festival.

On Lunar Day, every household in Constantinople needed to eat something called "Loukoumades", which were flour dumplings stuffed with sesame and cinnamon, coated with honey and fried.

Although it is very popular in the local area, Aske definitely does not admit that the Byzantine fried dumplings are "glutinous rice balls". The taste is so sweet that it is almost pungent.

Anna had a great appetite. After eating a few bowls at the sweet shop on the street, she consciously put down the spoon, touched her belly with some regret and said:

"Can't eat any more."

"Are you full?" Asked.

"Mom said that ladies need to stay in shape." Anna said seriously, "Today's calorie intake has been full."

Aske burst into laughter when he said this. As expected, my Anna is precocious and sensible, exactly like her mother back then.

In addition to eating "glutinous rice balls", another traditional Lantern Festival repertoire, the "Lantern Festival", was also transformed by the citizens of Constantinople into the nondescript "Sphinx Riddle Party": the sphinx with its hands tied Like paper lanterns placed in the streets, with riddles written on their backs and answers under their bellies.

"This is..." Asker looked at a small paper lantern with a sphinx at the door of the store, which was written in quill ink:

You said my name without saying it; and you must say it.

But if you could speak my name with words; that would be a miracle.

What's going around... Asik was a little speechless, only to hear Anna giggle and say: "It's 'silence'!"

"Oh, I understand." He suddenly realized and touched Anna's head, "My daughter is smart."

"What about this one?" After walking around with Anna on his back for a while, Asker found another sphinx lamp, which was placed on the railing on the street with a riddle written on its back:

When I was born, they all shed tears for me; however, I soon disappeared into thin air.

Anna's little mind thought for a moment: "It's 'smoke', right?"

"Yes." Ask turned the Sphinx over and wrote the answer under its belly. Sure enough, it was "smoke".

"Would you like another one?"

"OK."

Continuing to walk some distance, Asker and his daughter found the third huge Sphinx paper lantern sculpture in front of the Monument of Constantine, which read:

It is high and moody, destroying towns and killing all living things... However, I just want to say, may it live long!

"What is this?" Ask was a little stunned. Anna couldn't think of it after thinking for a long time. She only heard a voice behind her say:

"It's a 'storm'."

The father and daughter turned around and saw Queen Theodora standing behind them. Her aura of superiority was still inviolable, but she had a rare gentle smile on her face.

"That's it." Ask understood. The words "high" and "moody" in the front refer to the storm itself, while the words "may it live long" in the back are praising "Queen of Storms" Theodora.

"Really, who wrote this riddle!" Her Royal Highness Anna was also angry. Destroying towns and slaughtering all living beings clearly alludes to the brutal war that her mother started after she regained Constantinople and then impatiently counterattacked Anatolia.

"The person who made this lamp must be arrested and hanged!" the little princess said angrily.

"Don't be excited, Anna." Theodora smiled and touched her daughter's head, "The riddle is correct."

"But..." Anna still found it hard to accept, "What if the citizens are gossiping behind their backs..."

"That doesn't matter," Theodora said magnanimously. Now that she has entered the rank of demigod, her rule over the empire has long been unstoppable. Of course, she will not care about the sarcastic remarks of some citizens who think they are bitter.

"Is the work done?" Asked.

"Not yet, how about you make something for me?" Theodora looked at him with a half-smile.

"Forget it, I'm not good at this...so you ran away secretly?"

"That's not true. I'll leave the follow-up work to Varomina."

"Your Majesty is still so willful, will Ms. Yu Moguan cry? You are still unmarried at such an old age, and you still have to help a certain lazy empress handle official affairs."

"You are not qualified to say that, my majesty." Theodora naturally held his arm, "Since you were promoted to be my 'co-emperor', have you ever done what an emperor should do for even one day? Something?"

"Does it count for you to give birth to little Anna?" Ask asked with a smile.

"Shut up!" Theodora scolded him angrily, "The child is here, what nonsense are you talking about!"

"Actually, Anna is already very sensible." Ask said, "Have you seen the history homework she wrote last week? 'Casting the Dice of Destiny.' The tutor praised Anna in front of me, saying that she is A 'little Aristotle'!"

"When you talk about this, I get angry. Why did you tell Anna what happened in the first place!" Theodora showed a fierce and angry expression, which scared Anna to lie on his back and tremble.

However, Asik just quietly hugged her waist and dispelled her anger invisible, and her beautiful side face was stained with an imperceptible crimson.

"I just think what happened back then was more interesting." Ask whispered in her ear, and Theodora's neck trembled slightly.

"Yes, the maids also said it was very romantic." Seeing her father comforting her frantic mother, little Anna mustered up the courage to say, "Everyone thinks that the meeting between the two majesties was arranged by God and was destined by fate. !”

"You are destined to be a ghost!" Theodora rolled her eyes at him again, but her tone was not as angry as before, "If Anna is ruined by you and runs away with the barbarians outside in the future, I will use the storm to kill you Roll it up and throw it into the Aegean Sea!”

"That's definitely not the case. After all, she is our daughter." Asik patted Anna's arm.

So Theodora, still a little resentful, continued to hold Aske's arm intimately, and walked forward along the street with little Anna.

In front is a "sea of ​​light" composed of more paper lanterns, with the sound of phoenix flutes and the light of jade pots turning, just like a fairyland on earth.