The Moon Over Tang Dynasty

Chapter 134 The storm is about to come, everyone has their own plans

As soon as July entered, the weather in Chang'an suddenly became dull. Thick clouds accumulated in the sky for several days, but the rain never fell. Although there is no scorching sun in the sky, the heavy and greasy heat in the air makes people sweat like paste all over their bodies even if they go out to the local wine shop to drink a glass of wine. The common people gathered together and naturally complained endlessly about the **** weather. Even the nobles and nobles who had ice basins to cool off the heat and maids holding fans met and seemed to have nothing else to say except the weather.

This is not because the court is calm and there is nothing to talk about. On the contrary, there are too many things to discuss, but no one dares to speak easily. For example, at the end of June, Mrs. Wei was suddenly deprived of her title and kicked out of the palace, which seemed to send an obvious signal; but within a few days, the emperor's decree to appoint Wu Zhaoyi as the concubine was made public by the two prime ministers who had just taken office. He refuted it; and then came a piece of imperial edict, saying that Lord Liu, the Minister of Civil Affairs, was mercilessly demoted to Suizhou in the middle of Shu... The clouds covering the court seemed to be thicker than the dark clouds at the top of Chang'an City, and Jue Most people could only watch cautiously, waiting for the arrival of lightning and thunder that could tear the heaven and earth apart.

In contrast, a steady stream of carriages pulling money and silk appeared at the Pei Ming Mansion in Yongningfang around Chinese Valentine's Day. The eldest princess of Linhai, who had been ill for a long time, suddenly wanted to hold a banquet to entertain all the female family members of Pei Ming Mansion. Apologize, these strange things that usually arouse almost endless discussions do not stir up too much splash. Even when Liuli talked about it, she was a little careless, "Those carriages and horses were just a small amount of this year's harvest sent from Luoyang. The post from Princess Linhai was also sent at that time. It is not a big deal. What’s worth worrying about?”

"Isn't it a big deal?" Mrs. Wu held a cup of buttermilk that had been soaked in ice for half a day. She lazily leaned sideways on the table, "Don't forgive me for not asking you about the hibiscus banquet last time. I had no idea that before leaving the palace this time, Zhaoyi specifically told me that if you don't want to go, you should just go to the palace directly. Banquet, in my opinion, you should stay away from this family banquet."

Liuli couldn't help but be a little surprised. In such an explosive situation, Wu Zetian actually remembered her own affairs? He smiled hurriedly and said, "Thank you Zhaoyi for your understanding. With Zhaoyi's words, Liuli has a talisman! It's just that the eldest princess is Liuli's elder after all, and she said it again to apologize. Don't worry, what happened last time If something happens again this time, wouldn’t she be slapped in the face by herself as the master? "

Mrs. Wu nodded and said, "That's right!" She thought for a moment but shook her head, "It's just that I heard my mother say that the reason why the eldest princess Linhai wanted to plot against you was because she took over your family's property and said that she was in the clan. Here, the eldest princess Linhai is famous for being sweet-faced and cruel, and unwilling to suffer at all... You must know that last time you made her lose face and got sick like that, how could she really apologize to you for not going to that family dinner? It’s better not to go!”

Liuli sighed, "To be honest with you, madam, when it comes to what happened last time, Liuli still has lingering fears. If it was just Princess Linhai's family banquet, she really didn't want to go, but now she has invited several of her family members. The female relatives... Madam doesn't know that this banquet is scheduled for the twelfth day, the thirteenth day of the seventh month, which is the time for Liuli to meet in the temple. "According to the etiquette at this time, in the third month of the marriage, the bride goes to the ancestral temple to worship. Completed the last step of the wedding. Only the bride who has been seen in the temple is a member of her husband's family. Therefore, this etiquette is determined and cannot go wrong. The arrangement made by the eldest princess was so obviously a drunkard's intention. If she didn't go, I don't know what tricks this princess, who had just recovered from a serious illness, could come up with.

Mrs. Wu said "Ah" and sighed, "If that's the case, I really have to go. But you can't be careless. You were fine at the Furong Banquet because you were lucky, but you may not be so good every time." Luck. Everyone knows that you are from Zhaoyi, and Zhaoyi will not spare you if you lose face."

Liuli's heart moved slightly and she chuckled, "Madam, don't worry, Liuli knows well. Discipline will not embarrass Zhaoyi."

Mrs. Wu smiled and pinched Liuli's cheek, "Just remember!"

There seemed to be uproar and laughter coming from behind. Liuli glanced at Mrs. Wu and said softly, "It seems like they are being stubborn over there. Should we go there?"

Mrs. Wu's brows suddenly frowned, "What can you do? It's just a throwing pot and a drinking order. I don't know what my mother thought. On such a sultry day, she invited people to come to have fun every three days. Her spirit was unexpectedly high. They are older than me, and I really don’t like to socialize with some people.”

Liuli couldn't help but smile bitterly for Mrs. Yang. Her current banquets naturally had profound meanings. Unfortunately, Mrs. Wu became more and more disapproving of it. After today's lunch, she actually took her to the flower hall and hid beside the rockery in front of the hall. Come and enjoy the shade in the pavilion. It's just that her identity is not like that of her adoptive mother, Mrs. Yu. She can hide away if she gets impatient and push someone to avoid trouble in the family. However, as the master, she hides aside. After all, she is a bit different. She can only laugh and say, "I have been sitting here for a long time." It’s a little hot in the pavilion, so there are a lot of ice basins there.”

Mrs. Wu sighed, "Although there are many ice basins and people in the hall, which give me a headache, speaking of it, it is still cool and clean in my own room."

The two chatted and joked for a while, but suddenly a burst of laughter came from behind them, "It turned out that the madam was hiding here to talk to the aunt about herself, but she asked me to wait and find her!"

Liuli looked back and saw that Mrs. Wu's wife, Yuan Yushi's wife, Ge Shi, who disliked socializing the most, came over with two maids with smiles on their faces. Facing this Mrs. Ge who changed her face like a book and was obviously a little over-enthusiastic now, Liuli didn't dare to take it seriously. She stood up with a smile and asked her, "Mrs. Ge, please sit down."

Ge Shi sat down and said with a smile, "Everyone knows that Madam loves aunt the most, but now Ah Hua and the others are playing in front of each other. It turns out that there need to be more people to make it more lively! I just have the nerve to disturb Madam. You have to play with us." He glanced at Liuli and smiled very affectionately, "It's better to have fun alone than to have fun together, don't you think so?"

Mrs. Wu straightened up uninterested, "I was too hot to talk, and I was afraid of being disrespectful, so I came out to go for a walk. If it's a shooting, I'm the worst at it. Nine times out of ten, it's guessing. If you fail and you will be punished, you might as well have fun drinking. Besides, on this hot day, wouldn’t it be even hotter if you drink a few glasses of wine?”

Ge Shi smiled and said, "Madam, don't worry. I think the wine the old lady has prepared today is Xizhou wine, which is not intoxicating. If the wine is too strong for the madam, how about I drink it for the madam?"

Mrs. Wu and Liuli were a little helpless, so they had no choice but to go with her. As expected, the banquet had been reorganized in the hall where they had just had lunch. In front of everyone were just some fresh fruits and rhinoceros horn cups for wine, and in the middle was a sculpture with four sides. It was a double-layered square bamboo box with lotus curling pattern. The lower layer of the bamboo box contained impatiens, water lilies, cannas, periwinkles and more than ten kinds of flowers. When Mrs. Wu came in, Mrs. Hua smiled and said, "What's the matter?" Mom brought it, let's see where she can hide from the wine!" Mrs. Wu smiled and glanced at her, "Are you the one who always hits the mark?"

Mrs. Yang frowned and said, "Even though the guests are here, you ran away first because you were afraid of drinking. Come over and have a drink as an apology!"

Mrs. Wu smiled nonchalantly and stepped forward, picked up a glass of wine and drank it. Everyone smiled and said hello. Mrs. Ge smiled again, "She's not the only one hiding from alcohol!"

Mrs. Yang then smiled and said, "Mobile she didn't want to hide from the wine herself, she must have been dragged out by Shun Niang."

Mrs. Wu also said, "She wanted to drink. I pulled her to talk to me."

Mrs. Ge glanced at Liuli and had to give up, "Now everyone has come. This time, the old lady should be the commander."

Mrs. Yang smiled and said okay, then asked her maid to show everyone the flowers in the bamboo box carefully. She stepped forward and took the bamboo box in her hand, turned around and fiddled with it. When she turned around, the bamboo box in her hand The lid is on.

This kind of shooting game is called guessing the flower. Liuli has also played it once or twice. The rules are very simple. The commander holding the bamboo box picks a flower from the various flowers on the lower floor and puts it on the first floor. Everyone guesses the flower. Once, if someone guesses correctly, the official will drink. Anyone who guesses wrong will be fined one drink.

This kind of drinking order was originally a matter of luck. After guessing it once, only Mrs. Zhong guessed it correctly. Then came the order taking turns. Liuli was the last one to serve as the ordering officer, so she randomly picked a half-day lotus. After everyone guessed it, no one guessed it correctly, so they all had to drink a glass of wine. Mrs. Wu Then he smiled and said, "Have you ever played Shefu with Zhaoyi? She is the best at guessing."

Liuli thought for a while, nodded and said, "I have never seen Zhaoyi play in Shefu, but I remember that we sometimes played pot throwing, Shuanglu, and grass fighting. If Zhaoyi is interested in joining, he will be very good at everything. "

Mrs. Yang then turned around and said, "Mei Niang has loved to play since she was a child. Not to mention you sisters, who among the ladies you have good friends with has played with her?"

Mrs. Hua and others immediately responded, and Mrs. Yang sighed again, "I told her last time when I entered the palace. Now that she is well, Shun Niang and I don't want to stay too long. Why don't we call you here when we have free time?" It would be good for the palace to talk to her more to relieve her boredom. But she is very thoughtful. She just thinks that all the affairs in the palace are on her now, and she must do everything well and live up to the expectations of the Holy Emperor. He also said that you are all busy, so I am afraid of disturbing you. "

There was a sudden silence in the room, but it was Mrs. Hua who laughed first, "Ahua naturally wants Zhaoyi's words. I'm just afraid that Zhaoyi will think we are clumsy and tongue-tied. Not only will we not be able to share our worries, but we will annoy her."

Mrs. Zhong and Mrs. Ge also smiled and said, "Exactly."

Mrs. Yang chuckled, "What's the trouble? She's bored in the palace, what's wrong with someone willing to talk to her?" She turned around and asked the maid to get the wine again. Liuli could see clearly, but the smile on her face was somewhat After calming down, I couldn't help but sigh in my heart. Among the female relatives here, which one is not a human spirit? It is one thing to be on good terms with the Wu family, but it is another thing to truly "share the worries" of Wu Zetian and stand openly opposite Changsun Wuji, a powerful prime minister. After all, Changsun Wuji has controlled the government for a long time, and he had not dealt with him before. Yes, even if he is a prince or grandson, his head will still fall to the ground?

When the maid brought the wine again, the atmosphere in the room slowly became lively again. Everyone joked and laughed again. They went to the pavilion by the lake in the garden to catch the wind. Seeing that it was getting late, they each said goodbye and left. Go, Mrs. Yang said, "Madam, please sit down for a while."

Today I updated a little later because Alan went to bed early yesterday - the wiring in the building was broken at 11 o'clock. The management said that the electrician had gone back to the dormitory to sleep. It was estimated that it would take an hour to repair it, so I just... went to sleep in the dark. Get up in the morning and code the remaining chapters. well. Thank you dear Gu Xiaoyan, Xuewu Fengliu, freeseas_7, Book Friends 080923003911235, Dawn of the Dark Night, Little White Rabbit Ting, Sunshine Sour Plum, liliannacl, Shanshui Gentle Smiling Asura.

 (End of this chapter)