Denghuaxiao

Chapter 208 Love Binding

Downstairs, the woman collected the money and handed out a rope flower made of silk thread to the men and women standing aside one by one, using it as a ticket to enter the building.

Seeing Lu Zhuo standing still, the woman put the money in the box behind her and emphasized: "The money will not be refunded."

 Lu Zhen was speechless.

Pei Yunying glanced at her and said, "If you don't want to go, you don't have to go."

"Go." Lu Zhuo took the rope flowers from the woman's hand and walked directly in: "She said she won't refund the money."

Pei Yunying smiled and followed behind.

They walked to the entrance of the pavilion and asked for help downstairs. In front of the door, they weaved countless colorful embroideries of magpies, which was called "crossing the magpie bridge".

Pairs of lovers stood at the entrance and walked in one after another. There were so many people that it was inevitable to bump into each other while walking.

Pei Yunying asked Lu Zhuo to walk inside, blocking the flow of people, and went upstairs with Lu Zhuo.

Arrived on the second floor, it turned out to be a spacious hall. Only twenty couples of men and women entered at a time for "Lanye Dou Qiao". The lanterns inside were also made in the shape of magpies, making it very lively and entertaining.

 The hall is also embroidered with clouds, arched bridges, lotus leaves, lotus and other patterns. At a glance, it looks like a fairyland in the Nine Heavens.

A woman in a colorful embroidered dress stood at the end of a small wooden arch bridge, raised her hand and said: "Everyone, be quiet, please listen to me."

 There was silence in the hall.

 “Look at your feet.”

 Lu Zong looked down.

The lights were dim and there were so many people that she didn't pay attention. At this moment, after listening to the woman's reminder, she could see clearly that among the patterns in the hall, there were actually colorful silk threads stretched on all sides, like intricate colorful spider webs. If you are not careful, you could trip. fall.

“These colorful silk threads are called ‘love threads’. There are seven golden magpies placed in the dark corners of the hall.”

The woman said with a smile: "Everyone wants to find seven golden magpies in the knot of love. Whoever finds the most will be the lucky prince tonight!"

As soon as these words came out, there was a buzz of discussion around him.

There is no light and no fire, and all the silk threads are tangled under the feet. Those who are traveling together must walk hand in hand and cling to each other in order to walk smoothly.

Lu Zhen frowned slightly.

This place is dark, so if you want to kill someone silently, this is the perfect place.

It is a pity that Qi Yutai is cautious and will not come to such a place for ordinary people to enjoy.

 She raised her head and called Pei Yunying: "Commander of the Palace."

Pei Yunying was leaning against the wall and looking around, as if he was not used to such a lively atmosphere. When he heard Lu Zhuo calling him, he lowered his head and asked, "What?"

“Hurry up and see clearly where the seven golden magpies are.”

 He was startled: "What?"

"Aren't you the commander in chief in front of the palace?" Lu Yan said: "You should be very good at seeing things in the dark. I can't see clearly. Come and see, you've got it right. Just start touching it later. "

He was puzzled: "Is this what the commander-in-chief in front of the palace does for you?"

He is not an idle man running errands for others by Luoyue Bridge.

　　Lu Zhen was displeased: "How can we win if you don't do this?"

He choked for a moment and said, "Why didn't I see that Dr. Lu has such a strong desire to win before?"

Lu Zhen smiled: "That's twenty copper coins."

 He glanced at Lu Huan and sighed, "Okay, I'll give you orders today."

Lu Zhuo then gave up.

She has never played "Lanye Douqiu" before, and she was not very interested in this matter at first, but for some reason, she came here by accident, but she had some expectations.

 The woman in the flower skirt just now saw that everyone had almost finished the discussion, she pursed her lips and smiled. Then, the gong in the building rang, and then all the magpie lanterns in the room were extinguished.

 Some young people who were close to him screamed in surprise.

 In fact, not all of them were extinguished. There were about three or four dark lamps hidden in the corners. I could only vaguely see the silhouettes of people, but if I got deeper, I couldn't see them anymore, not to mention the threads tangled under my feet.

 In the darkness, Pei Yunying's voice came from my ears.

“Beside the wooden bridge, there is a golden magpie under the lotus leaves, closest to you.”

Lu Zhen was refreshed: "Just go get that one."

Having said that, it’s time to walk towards the wooden bridge.

However, the lights in the hall were dim, and the shadow of the wooden bridge could be vaguely seen, but the silk threads under her feet were as if they were blind. She had obviously crossed them, but they were still entangled, tripping her and almost falling.

"careful."

Pei Yunying supported her.

There was an "ouch" sound coming from the side. It seemed that a young man had fallen. The girl who was traveling with him was startled and asked with concern where he fell.

Pei Yunying paused and stretched out a hand: "It's too dangerous to walk like this, hold on to me."

Lu Zhen thought about it for a while, then he was not polite to him and went to arrest him as he was told.

It was too dark everywhere, and she couldn't touch anything at once. The first thing she touched was Pei Yunying's hand. The skin between her fingertips touched like a warm current, and the subtle touch made her suddenly feel uneasy. Lu Zong calmed down, moved up to touch his arm, and then squeezed it tightly.

In the dark, she couldn't see Pei Yunying's expression, but she could only feel the strength of the arm she was holding.

His chuckle came to my ears: "Hold on."

 Lu Zhen said "hmm".

 The two of them walked towards the wooden bridge.

I don’t know how Pei Yunying walks. Maybe the selection of talents by the front secretary does not all depend on appearance. In short, he has some skills. Although his steps are not fast, he walks very steadily. Sometimes someone who couldn't see the road bumped into him, and he would quickly pull Lu Zhuo away to prevent her from falling.

 He took good care of her.

Lu Zong held his arm tightly and let him lead him with confidence. Maybe in the darkness, a person's sense of touch will be infinitely magnified, and his even breathing and the cold and light fragrance on his body will also become obvious, just like the colorful silk threads under his feet, densely entwined and lingering around him.

While I was lost in thought, I suddenly heard Pei Yunying reminding me: "We're here."

 Lu Zhuo raised his eyes.

In the meager light, the wooden bridge is already in front of you. Under the bridge are many lotus leaves and lotus flowers woven with gold paper and colorful threads. The lotus in the middle is blooming particularly brilliantly, and a little bit of it is shimmering with gold.

 The golden magpie was found.

Lu Huan said: "I'll get it." He turned around and walked under the bridge.

 “Hey, slow down.”

Pei Yunying saw her hurry and hurriedly followed her.

There was a young couple next to them. They seemed to have seen the golden magpie in the lotus and walked towards the other side.

Lu Zhuo quickened his pace and rushed to catch the young couple. The husband of the young couple saw her thoughts and also quickened his pace. They both stretched out their hands towards the lotus on the bridge. Lu Zhuo grabbed the lotus stem and who Unexpectedly, the flower stem was actually embroidered under the bridge. When it was pulled, even the person could not stand still, and Lu Zhuo staggered back.

"careful."

Pei Yunying was behind her, and when he saw this, he stretched out his hand to support her. Lu Zhuo's back bumped into his chest, but he stepped on a hard bump under his feet, and the bump sank for a moment.

This is an agency?

Lu Zhuo suddenly felt something bad in his heart. Before he could say anything, he suddenly heard a crisp sound, and something fell from the sky on all sides. Pei Yunying suddenly stepped out of the way, and Lu Zhuo was completely enveloped in his arms, and everything was covered by him. Refreshing aroma.

 “What?” She was nervous for a moment.

She was protected in Pei Yunying's arms, her cheek pressed against the cool hem of his clothes. Something seemed to have fallen on her feet and head, something light and fluffy, and it was slightly itchy when it brushed against her skin.

 The next moment, dozens of magpie lanterns in the hall lit up, and along with the sound of gongs, the woman's voice rang out.

 “The magpie bridge is completed to urge the phoenix to drive. When the time comes, the magpie cries—”

 The men and women who were previously in the hall were falling and falling, and some were clinging to each other, holding the magpie in their hands, smiling sweetly.

Countless thin red ropes were scattered on the ground. Lu Yan lowered his head and saw that a lot of them had fallen on himself and Pei Yunying. The red ropes seemed to pop out from the ground and fell on them. From a distance, they looked like they were tied up. Tie in one place.

 Extremely lingering.

Just now, Lu Huan stepped on the mechanism under his feet, and the red threads popped out.

 “This is called love.”

The woman smiled and said: "Spread out thousands of strands of love and write a new relationship. Girls and gentlemen, if you fall in love, the two of you will get married in the future, love each other for a lifetime, and grow old together. This is a good sign."

 Lu Huan: “…”

She was about to speak, but when she raised her head, she met Pei Yunying's lowered gaze.

 Lu Zhuo was startled.

 The magpie lights in the hall were dim, and the red lines on all sides were slightly swayed by the breeze blowing from outside. There was an inexplicable softness everywhere.

Her hand was still holding Pei Yunying's arm tightly, and she leaned forward. He put one hand on Lu Zhu's back. When he just couldn't figure out the mechanism, he completely protected her in his arms. The other hand put the knife on his waist. The sheath protects her perfectly.

Those dark eyes were staring at her, their shadows were entangled on the ground, and something was gradually growing where their eyes met.

 Lu Zhuo froze in place.

The hand behind her back held her firmly, and a subtle warmth came from her spine. For a moment, her heart skipped a beat, and she subconsciously took a step back.

Pei Yunying's eyes moved, and his eyes fell on the red ropes wrapped around the hem of her dress. Those red ropes were tightly wrapped around the skirt, making it difficult for her to move, so he knelt down and brushed them away for her.

For some reason, the words Lin Danqing said before suddenly rang in Lu Zhuo's ears.

"Pei Yunying looks friendly on the outside, but he doesn't bend down when talking to others. He is very arrogant on the inside."

He was very arrogant... Thinking about it now, he seemed to always bend down in front of her.

Lean down to talk to her, bend down to lift the medical kit in her hand, and even if she steps on the trap at this moment, he will first protect her in a safer position.

 He was always accommodating to her.

 She is accommodating and patient, so she always feels confident in front of him, and is sure that he will not care about it.

 But he forgot that he was actually not a person who was used to bending over.

“Oh, the young lady must be very affectionate with so many love threads wrapped around her body.” The woman in colorful clothes walked up to the two of them. Lu Zhu lowered her head and stepped away, while Pei Yunying looked away.

 Neither of them had an explanation.

The woman glanced at the two of them and smiled: "They are a match made in heaven. Have you found the Golden Magpie?"

Lu Zong was stunned for a moment, and then he came back to his senses. Just now, she failed to pull the lotus stem securely, and accidentally stepped on the trap. She was startled. Her hand slipped and she missed the golden magpie.

 There was only one step left, and Lu Zhu felt a little regretful.

Pei Yunying glanced at her, curled his lips, and a golden little magpie popped out of his palm.

 Lu Yan stared.

 Looking carefully, you can see that the golden magpie is carved from lotus root, with its head covered with colors and gold paper. It is as big as a palm and lifelike.

 “When did you get it?” she asked.

"After all, I am the commander of the front office," Pei Yunying lowered his head to look at her and said leisurely, "I can't even win this little prize, it will bring disgrace to the front office."

 Lu Zhen was speechless.

 This man is very proud.

But the woman in colorful clothes laughed: "Young master has good eyesight, he got the golden magpie, he got the 'smart'. Come on, the seventh lady's prize will be given to you two!"

Lu Zhen was a little curious.

The winning numbers for "Threading a Needle and Begging for Skills" and "Happy Spiders for Skills" are "grain boards". The winning numbers for this twenty-coin-plate "Orchid Night Fighting for Skills" should be even more impressive.

The woman in colorful clothes walked to the door of the building, took out a very small peony pattern wooden comb from a box holding flowers on one side and handed it to Lu Huo.

Lu Zhen took it and said, "combing the grate?"

"Yes, girl, this is the comb that the Weaver Girl prayed for. It is said that strands of green silk are lingering, and every inch of love is densely combed. Use this comb to comb your hair, and the more you comb your hair, the more loving you two will be!"

 Lu Yan was silent.

It's just an ordinary wooden comb, and the carving is not very fine. It actually costs twenty coppers to go into the building to search. People from Shengjing are not too good at doing business.

 Looking at the people around who are "fighting for skill", they are all satisfied and don't care.

As if seeing her disappointment, the woman in the flower skirt smiled and pointed upstairs: "Girl, sir, the view on the third floor of our Qiqiao Building is unique, and it is not worse than the Yuxian Building on Qinghe Street. Qian Lanye Dou Coincidentally, you can go up to the third floor for stargazing, which is a good deal!”

“I just happened to be tired from fighting Qiao Qiao, so let’s go up to get some fresh air and have a rest.” The woman said as she pushed the two of them up, as if she wanted to do this business to the best of its ability.

Lu Zhen looked at Pei Yunying and asked, "Do you want to see it?"

"look."

Lu Zhen walked forward: "The one who gave me the money."

 She does not take advantage of others, and others cannot take advantage of her. This lottery was already unworthy of its name, and Lu Zhuo wanted to see how good the Star Observation Tower was, which the woman said was "not worse than the Yuxian Tower on Qinghe Street."

 Fortunately, it’s not a lie this time.

 After entering Qiqiao Building and going up one floor, the lights were brighter, but they were not coming from the hall. Lu Zhuo walked to the railing and looked down. A crowd of people with torches, lanterns and singing music made the downstairs bright and brilliant.

In the distance, a mighty group of people and horses walked by, singing and dancing, but the people were hidden behind huge puppets. The puppets were exquisitely and uniquely made, and they were full of joy. Under the bright lights, the Chinese Valentine's Day night was made even more lively. .

Pei Yunying came over.

 “That’s a puppet show,” he said.

Seeing that Lu Zhen didn't understand, he explained: "People hide in it, and puppets perform various plays to celebrate and pray."

Pei Yunying glanced at the crowd passing downstairs: "The folk opera is not big enough. In a short while, after the Tianzhangtai ceremony in the palace, the Nuo ceremony will be more lively than this."

 “The ritual of Nuo ritual?”

“The emperor is praying for a celebration banquet, and all the officials will be present, and you can also see it.”

 Lu Zhen was thoughtful.

 He tilted his head: "Do you like to see this?"

Lu Zhen shook his head and looked at the huge puppet that was lifted up and then fell down.

“I was just thinking that if I kill someone here, no one will find out in a short time.”

Pei Yunying: “…”

 He sighed: "You really know how to ruin the scenery."

Lu Zhen paused, looked away, searched carefully downstairs, and asked Pei Yunying, "Why aren't Sister Yunshu and the others here?"

Pei Yunshu pushed the two of them into the Qiqiao Tower. Now that Lan Ye's fight for skill has ended, looking down from the upstairs, there was no sign of Pei Yunshu and the others.

 “No need to look, she will definitely not be waiting for us where she is.”

"But…"

"Deputy Ambassador Xiao will protect her." He said slowly: "Although Dr. Lu is quite biased against our front secretary, please believe that the selection of the front secretary is not based on looks alone."

 Lu Huan: “…”

 Damn it, how did he know what she was thinking.

Pei Yunying chuckled lightly, holding the railing with both hands to watch the visitors downstairs.

Behind him, other lovers passed by the railing, whispering affectionately. Lu Zhu thought for a while and asked him: "Does Deputy Xiao like Sister Yun Shu?"

Pei Yunying paused and suddenly turned to look at her, with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"how do you know?"

 His reaction like this surprised Lu Zhen for a moment.

“Every time I go to Dian Shuai’s Mansion, he looks at me as if I owe your Dian Shuai Mansion some money. But the way he looks at Sister Yun Shu…”

Lu Zhen pondered for a moment: "It's like I owe Sister Yun Shu money."

Pei Yunying stopped laughing: "Why do you owe so much?"

Lu Huan added: "He was also guarding Sister Yun Shu along the way."

"that's it?"

Pei Yunying smiled and said casually: "Then I owe you too, and I will protect you all the way. What do you say?"

Lu Zhuo was startled, and his heartbeat suddenly accelerated.

The city is covered with large tracts of moonlight splashing down like lake water, and when it falls on the human world, it suddenly turns into countless lively stars. The lights downstairs were bright and the crowd was laughing, but he looked sideways at her, his smiling eyes seemed to be filled with hidden tenderness.

The noisy crowd disappeared for a moment, and the night was silent at this moment.

until a figure passed behind Lu Zong and bumped into her shoulder, knocking her out of her daze.

There were too many men and women “gazing at the stars”. The women danced lightly with fans in their hands, and there was a faint scent of jasmine blowing.

But it's not as refreshing as the orchid musk scent on his body.

Lu Zong calmed down and changed his subject.

“Deputy Ambassador Xiao likes Sister Yun Shu, why don’t you tell her?”

Looking at Pei Yunying's appearance, he acquiesced in Xiao Zhufeng's wishes. However, what I saw on the birthday today was that Xiao Zhufeng was evasive and silent. Even when walking, he just followed Pei Yunshu silently without taking any initiative.

Lu Zhen didn't understand that Pei Yunshu had already reconciled and was no longer Princess Wenjun. If Xiao Zhufeng liked Pei Yunshu, why didn't he tell her directly.

Pei Yunying looked her over and said, "You are really direct."

 “What’s the need for this roundabout way?”

He sighed, seeing that she was rarely interested in things other than revenge, so he simply turned around, leaned his back against the railing, thought for a moment and said, "Because he has concerns."

 “What are your concerns?”

"A lot." Pei Yunying said calmly: "Family background, temperament, and future. Maybe he is worried that his sister doesn't like him at all."

 Lu Zhen couldn't understand.

She said: "Deputy Ambassador Xiao doesn't seem to be such a forward-thinking person."

She was not familiar with Xiao Zhufeng, but she had only met Xiao Zhufeng a few times, and she could tell that this man was cold and hard, like an iceberg that had not melted for thousands of years, and would not be knotted up by unnecessary things.

The Xiao Zhufeng in Pei Yunying's mouth was as strange as another person.

 He smiled and said in a very light tone: "No matter what kind of person, after being bound by love, he will worry about gains and losses."

 These words sounded a bit sad. Lu Zhuo looked at him and blurted out: "The commander-in-chief can also be bound by love?"

 He said nothing.

　　The night in Jingjing is far away, and the flow of silver and Han is far away. The magpie lantern under the eaves of the attic was rustling in the wind. Pei Yunying leaned against the carved railing. The stream of light slanted across the young man's brows. The handsome and sharp face put away its smile. When silent, it was ruthless and moving.

It was just a casual question, but the person who answered it was silent and just looked at her in silence for a long time.

 The wind and moon are melting, and the scenery is beautiful and the night is beautiful. The city is full of cinnamon fragrance, and the carved railings are decorated with colorful mandarin ducks in pairs.

In the silence, he stared at Lu Huo for a long time and said softly:

 “Feeling fast.”