The Lantern Festival in Qinhuai, also known as the Jinling Lantern Festival, is the most luxurious large-scale event in Yingtian Mansion and even in the whole country.
The history of the lantern festival can be traced back to Soochow in the Three Kingdoms. In ancient capitals, lanterns were often decorated during annual festivals, and monarchs and ministers had fun together; in the Southern Dynasties, the Lantern Festival began to exist. The ancient city of Jinling was called Jiankang at that time, and it was the capital of the four dynasties of the Southern Dynasties, Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen. Although China was divided between the north and the south at that time, the south of the Yangtze River had always been prosperous, and the prosperity of the capital was far from comparable to other places. The most festive festival from New Year to Shangyuan Festival gave everyone from the emperor to the common people a reason to be luxurious since childhood, and the Lantern Festival took this freedom to the extreme.
Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, claimed to be the Taiping Emperor. In such a peaceful and prosperous era, the Qinhuai Lantern Festival became the most taken-for-granted New Year event. The model worker emperor first extended the Lantern Festival to ten days, starting on the fifth day of the new year; then he personally participated in various preparatory work such as making lanterns, setting off lanterns, and weaving lantern riddles; he even gave all officials a holiday for the Lantern Festival! They simply regard the lantern festival as the only legitimate entertainment besides government affairs. With the initiative and support of Taizu, various lanterns were displayed in the palaces, temples, Taoist temples, large houses and small courtyards. However, the lantern festival, a gathering where the whole city caroused by watching lanterns and making lanterns, had to go to the Qinhuai River.
"I am pity for the thousands of spring flowers on the fiery trees, and suddenly I see the clear light reflecting the moon." "The east wind blows down thousands of flowers on the trees at night, and even more, they blow down, and the stars are like rain." These are all about the beautiful scenery of the Lantern Festival when the lanterns are like daylight. "When the moon rises above the willow branches, people make appointments after dusk." During the lantern festival, King Wu couldn't help but turn it into a romantic time for boys and girls to meet each other. And "To celebrate the festival, on the third and fifth day of the year, there are lanterns and thousands of houses. All over the nine streets, the fragrance of Luoqi blows lightly. There are crimson trees ten miles away, Aoshan Mountain towers, and the sky is noisy. The sky is like water, and the full moon is at noon. The fragrant path Here, there are countless fruits thrown from the tassels. In the shade of candles and flowers at night, young people often have adventures. In peacetime, the government and the public are happy and the people are prosperous." It is a beautiful picture.
Lianhua and Li Fangyuan walked side by side in the Confucius Temple, looking at the glittering and grand event, both of them were a little stunned.
People also light lanterns during the Korean New Year, but they just put up a lantern at home. At most, children carry the lanterns from door to door; the lights come and go, which are round lanterns and rabbit lanterns. The New Year in Seoul has not changed much.
At this time, the Qinhuai River is completely a sea of lights and a world of lights.
All buildings such as the archway, Confucius Temple, Gongyuan, major restaurants, etc. are surrounded by lanterns, standing proudly in the deep night sky, and the light outshines the bright moon and stars. There are all kinds of lanterns everywhere on the road, the trees and branches are covered with lanterns, and the doors and windows are decorated with various lanterns.
The most eye-catching thing is the Qinhuai River. There are various water lanterns floating in the water. Lotus, lotus, hibiscus, carp, goldfish, crab and dragon girl are scattered all over the river. The lights are bright and golden ripples in the water waves. On the golden light, the boats decorated with various lights are dazzling and colorful, slowly meandering back and forth on the river.
There are so many people. It seemed that all men, women, and children in the city were here, as well as many outsiders. Lianhua even heard a few words in Korean. "Mountains with moonlight lights are all over the imperial capital, and fragrant carriages and treasures cover the narrow thoroughfares."
The two of them followed the flow of people and were surprised by everything they saw. During the Lantern Festival, it is not only about admiring the lanterns, but also all kinds of skilled folk craftsmen come out to set up stalls along the roadside to show off their craftsmanship at the feet of the emperor.
Clay figurines, fighting men, diabolos, knots, shadow puppets... neither of them had seen them before, and they lingered around each one for a long time. Lotus stared at them with admiration and screams, while Li Fangyuan stood aside with a smile, always blocking the crowd with his arms.
Passing by a paper-cutting stall, the stall owner was an old man with white hair and beard. He glanced at the two of them, twirled the scissors in his hand a few times, and handed Lianhua a lifelike silhouette of their heads. Lian Hua held up the paper-cut and smiled at Li Fangyuan's angular but often proudly raised chin. Li Fangyuan saw the two people's temples connected on the paper cut out, and the long eyelashes of lotus flowers were facing him, and they also smiled slightly.
After crossing the Wending Bridge, there was a circle of people surrounding the square in front of the Confucius Temple, playing the game of pot throwing. I had read about lotus flowers in the Book of Rites, but this was the first time I saw the real thing. I couldn’t help but take a second look.
The audience automatically formed a large circle. There were two bronze throwing pots in front of the huge square. The stall owner was a middle-aged man with a loud voice, shouting: "Hey! Two copper coins throw eight arrows! If you throw five arrows, you will get it." Prize!" There were two big buckets of arrows beside him, one made of wood and one made of bamboo. There is also a shooter standing behind the boundary line to direct the pot throwers. Lotus saw the noise of people, and there was no music as mentioned in the book. I think it came from the scholar-bureaucrat class and spread to the people, so it became a lot less complicated.
People kept coming forward to throw the pot, but the distance between the boundary line and the throwing pot was about four or five feet, making it difficult to hit. Lotus followed the crowd and cheered or expressed regret, watching with great concentration. There was a boy who hit six arrows and got a beautiful palace lantern, which he handed to the girl next to him. The girl happily held the palace lantern and the two left happily. Lotus looked at it with a bit of envy in her eyes.
Li Fangyuan smiled slightly, took out two copper coins, took the eight arrows, and stood behind the boundary line. Seeing his end, Lianhua opened her eyes wide, and was so nervous that she held her hands under her chin, her clear eyes unblinking.
Li Fangyuan winked at the lotus and threw it casually with a smile. Waving his long arms, Cang Langlang dropped the copper pot, and the crowd suddenly burst into cheers. The last two, Li Fangyuan deliberately made the lotus happy, turned quickly with his back to the copper pot, distributed them left and right, and swished two bamboo arrows into the pot at the same time amidst everyone's exclamations. The stall owner was stunned for a moment, applauding hard together with the audience, and holding up an extremely delicate palace lantern. Li Fangyuan took it with a smile and pulled Lianhua out of the crowd.
Looking down at the lotus, there were tears in his eyes. Li Fangyuan was worried: "Why are you unhappy? I was just playing."
Lianhua lowered his head and choked up: "Don't, don't be too nice to me." He has the dignity of a prince and has always been aloof, but he is throwing pots and playing in front of the public. This deep affection is touching and a little bit touching. Horrible. As for Li Fangyuan's ability with bow and horse, he can easily throw pots, which is second best.
Li Fangyuan sighed and was about to speak when there was a loud roar of gongs and drums and a huge crowd, and a parade team came over. The crowd was surging, and Li Fangyuan grabbed Lianhua's hand. There were so many people crowded together, and if they didn't hold on tightly, they might be scattered and knocked down at any time.
Lianhua was a little panicked when she looked at the crowd, and subconsciously held Li Fangyuan's hand tightly. The palms of the hands are hard, the joints are protruding, and the fingers are calloused. Lianhua suddenly understood that the hand she held in her sleep was actually Li Fangyuan's. Did he stay in front of the collapse during the three days he was asleep
Lianhua looked up at Li Fangyuan, and her eyes met his staring gaze. The noisy teams passing by were shaking the sky. Those on stilts, those dancing dragon lanterns, and those juggling flying saucers were all vying to show off, and cheers arose amid the sound of gongs and drums. But in this bustle, he only had eyes for her.
Suddenly several fireworks shot up and scattered in the deep night sky. Colorful rays of light illuminated the night sky behind him, but his jewel-like eyes were even brighter than the fireworks. Under the glare of the gem, Lotus felt weak.
The crowd moved away and the two of them walked forward slowly. I can't tell what's different, Li Fangyuan doesn't let go, and Lianhua no longer wants to break away. Just being carried by him, walking around casually, in a trance.
At some point, I came to a lantern riddle guessing stall, which was still crowded with people. There are lanterns hanging above the head, and lantern riddle notes hanging under the lanterns. If you guess correctly, you can take away the lanterns or get any small gifts you like. If you guess wrong, you can put the note back. There is a bamboo tube on the stall with the words "A hundred taels is never too much, and a penny is never too little. It's okay to play for free, but don't pay for it." The stall owner was an elegant young man in a long gown, probably a failed scholar. He looked at the crowd with a smile. He nodded or shook his head when he took the note, his smile never diminishing.
Lianhua looked up, thought for a while, and pointed at the two pieces of paper. Li Fangyuan raised his hand and took it off, and saw that it was "more than half (type a word)" and "a small place (type a word)".
The two walked hand in hand to the stall, and Lianhua smiled and said: "Are these the characters for 'xi' and 'dust'?" The stall owner clapped his hands and laughed: "Congratulations, girl, you got the right answer!" He extended his arms to invite: "Pick a gift as you wish. Right?" The stalls are full of Jiangnan gadgets: clay figurines, palace fans, rain flower stones, etc. Lianhua smiled and shook her head. Li Fangyuan took out a piece of silver and threw it into the bamboo tube. The two of them walked under the lights and continued to guess the riddle.
Lantern riddles are inherently about cleverness and have their own set of ideas. Lianhua had never guessed it before and she didn't have such a twisted mind, so she found it difficult and couldn't figure it out. Li Fangyuan was even more clueless, but he was not in a hurry as he held the beauty's little hand and looked at her unique style that she was concentrating on. He watched with a smile and raised his arms from time to time to ward off the crowd.
Lotus didn't realize it, standing under the two lanterns, looking up at the note. One is "Short (guess a word)" and the other is "Nongzhangzhixi (guess a word)".
Lotus tapped her forehead, seeming to have some idea, but she really couldn't figure it out. Finally he sighed, frowned and whispered to Li Fangyuan: "I can't guess, let's go."
Suddenly a gentle man's voice came from behind: "How about I guess this lantern riddle for the girl?"
Lotus was shocked and turned around to look.
Among the bustling crowd, in the dimly lit place, a moon-white scribe stands in long brocade robes, with a gentle face and clear eyes. Who is it but Zhu Yunwen
Zhu Yunwen discovered that Lotus had been robbed on the first day of the Yuan Dynasty. He searched the whole city and closed all the city gates. After several days, he found nothing. Hai Shou and the guards who were on guard that night questioned him one by one, and they all said that he was smoked in his sleep and didn't know what happened. Zhu Yunwen was anxious, fearing that Wang Xi had kidnapped Lianhua and it would be detrimental to her, but Wang Zhi kept comforting him: He kidnapped the princess just to negotiate terms with His Majesty, and the princess would be fine. Zhu Yunwen was slightly relieved after hearing this, but no one came to talk about it. When the courtiers saw that the gates of the city were closed, memorials came out like a snowflake during the New Year. Even the Queen Mother knew about it and asked Zhu Yunwen to come over and teach him a lesson. Zhu Yunwen was silent, but he didn't let the city gate open. However, as each day passed, I became really worried: Is the city gate just always closed like this? Thinking that Liansheng's death was uncertain, he became even more restless, so he simply left the palace and wandered to the lantern festival.
I was walking around aimlessly, but across the parade, I saw a light blue figure on the opposite side. To her great surprise, she saw an azure man next to her. In the bustling sea of people, the two stood out from the crowd, just like gods and immortals, walking hand in hand, whispering and smiling. Zhu Yunwen carried a basin of ice water in his pocket and followed subconsciously, watching the two of them guessing lantern riddles and thinking about the lotus. He was so anxious in his heart that he finally couldn't help but say hello.
Zhu Yunwen walked slowly over, pulled down two pieces of paper, and said to Lianhua with a smile: "One is the word 'shoot', and the other is the word 'nephew'." Lianhua felt a little dizzy and stupidly took the note with her left hand.
Zhu Yunwen looked at Lianhua's right hand, which was still in Li Fangyuan's hand. He stared at Lianhua, raised his arm and tore off a few pieces of paper. He glanced at it and said: "This is 'tenant', this is 'guan', this is ' Zhao', this is the word 'ask'." He handed over the note and pointed it stubbornly at Lianhua's right hand.
Lianhua blushed, shook her right hand, broke away from Li Fangyuan, took the note, and lowered her head in silence.
Li Fangyuan noticed something unusual, squinted his eyes, and looked at the scribe in front of him.
The two are similar in stature, but Li Fangyuan has broad shoulders and strong arms, tall and majestic, exuding a proud and heroic spirit; Zhu Yunwen is gentle and elegant, noble and reserved, and has a restrained kingly aura. The powerful auras of the two collided, and Lotus seemed to hear the sound of crackling sparks flying.
Li Fangyuan and Zhu Yunwen looked at each other and quickly turned to look at Lotus.
Lianhua lowered her head, bit her lips and said briefly: "This is my fifth brother, this is Yunlang." In full view of the public, one cannot introduce him as the emperor.
When Li Fangyuan heard this title, his chest felt like a heavy blow, his face turned pale, and he was speechless.
Zhu Yunwen suddenly felt relieved and raised his hand to Li Fangyuan: "Brother Li!" He turned to the lotus and said with a smile: "I found you. There is a boat not far ahead. How about you stop and have a cup of tea first?" The words seemed to be discussing, But just take a step.
The three people walked about four to five hundred steps in silence and arrived at the river. A large boat was waiting by the river. Unlike other painted boats on the river, this one is not decorated with any lanterns and is simple, quiet and silent.
Li Fangyuan found that the road was not as crowded as before. Looking around slightly, he could see that there were about a hundred guards in front of and behind the three of them. They were surrounded by secret guards and had already separated the crowd. Li Fangyuan came from Seoul well prepared this time and robbed Lotus easily. He couldn't help but underestimate Ming Dynasty. Seeing this circle of guards at this time, I realized that I had underestimated Tianchao, but it happened that Tianxi Temple was celebrating the New Year and Haishou was the one inside.
Zhu Yunwen took the lead to step onto the decking, stretched out his hand to hold the lotus, and the two of them slowly entered the boat hand in hand. Li Fangyuan felt sour in his heart and jumped over in two steps. Zhang Yuanheng, who was beside the boat, put away the planks. Amidst the sound of oars and the shadow of lights, the boat slowly left the shore and headed towards the Qinhuai River.
The interior of the boat was extremely exquisite, with beaded curtains and embroidered curtains. There were ebony couplets hanging on the walls, and they were written in cursive script. Li Fangyuan looked at them, but he didn't recognize most of them. There is a four-foot-tall green bronze tripod in the corner, and a row of armchairs along the wall, covered with bright yellow floral chairs. There is a large red sandalwood round table in the center and three round nanmu stools.
Zhu Yunwen helped Lianhua sit down at the west end, took the main seat in the middle, and called Li Fangyuan to the guest seat at the east end. While turning around, he gave Zhang Yuanheng some instructions. Li Fangyuan, a martial arts practitioner with good hearing, faintly heard the words "Let Zhao Fu open the city gate" and couldn't help but feel funny.
Lian Hua ignored it at all. She held the riddle paper and thought about it. After a while, she pulled Zhu Yunwen's sleeve and asked softly: "What did you mean by 'no barking for entry'?"
Zhu Yunwen looked at her with a smile, and said lovingly: "Ask", while scooping a spoonful of eight treasure soup on the table and feeding it to Lianhua's mouth.
Lianhua naturally opened his mouth and ate it. While looking at the note, he suddenly understood: "Is this okay?"
Zhu Yun smiled: "Of course." He took the handkerchief and wiped the juice from Lotus's lips.
Before Li Fangyuan came to Beijing, she imagined Lianhua's suffering and felt that she had sacrificed too much for North Korea. When she went to the tower, she saw a cold and desolate place, Lianhua was dressed like a sandbag, her face was haggard, her hands had several frostbite, and her heart felt like a knife. He made up his mind to take her back to Seoul.
However, at this time, Zhu Yunwen treated Lianhua with pity and pampering, and Lianhua was also affectionately attached to him. There was a natural tacit understanding and intimacy between the two. He and Lianhua have been together since childhood, and even if he asked himself, he couldn't do this. I also thought that the emperor would search the whole city and close the city gates for her, a commoner who was convicted and demoted. I suddenly felt vaguely in my heart that maybe this time, she was a little reckless and troublesome.
When Zhu Yunwen saw the young eunuch pouring the wine, he put down the handkerchief in his hand, raised his glass and smiled at Li Fangyuan: "Brother Li has come all the way, I want to toast you!" Lianhua looked at the two of them with a smile and said nothing.
Li Fang had a vision of his majestic Emperor. He knew clearly that he had robbed Lotus, but he never blamed him from the beginning. Instead, he only regarded himself as his wife's uncle. He was polite and even a little bit solicitous, and he couldn't help but be moved in his heart: He was willing to do this, of course, just for the sake of it. lotus.
Li Fangyuan raised his glass and drank it down: "Thank you! I just have one question." He stared at Zhu Yunwen with burning eyes.
Zhu Yunwen's smile remained unchanged: "Brother Li, please tell me."
Li Fangyuan asked word for word: "When will my sister-in-law be able to leave the tower?"
Zhu Yunwen frowned slightly: "It's better to wear Taizu's mourning clothes!" He looked sideways at Lotus and said apologetically: "I'm sorry."
Lianhua smiled slightly and looked at Li Fangyuan: "Brother Wang, don't worry about me, I'm fine." Li Fangyuan sighed softly and said nothing.
At this time, the boat stopped and Zhang Yuanheng opened the outer window. Through the screen window, he could see the shadows of distant lights in the distance, but it was quiet on the river. A crescent moon hangs diagonally in the sky, and the cool moonlight shines through the gauze into the painting boat.
Li Fangyuan's eyesight was very good, and he saw that there were two high-rise boats in the front and rear of his boat, and they were full of guards.
Zhu Yunwen said with a smile: "This place is called 'Taoye Ferry', and it is said to be the place where Wang Xianzhi welcomed his sweetheart."
Lianhua opened her eyes wide: "That calligrapher Wang Xianzhi?"
Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly: "It is said that he composed the song "Peach Leaf Song". Peach leaves become peach leaves, and you don't need a plow to cross the river, but there will be no pain in crossing. I will welcome you."
Lian Hua smiled: "Isn't this a joke made up by future generations?"
Li Fangyuan listened to the two talking and laughing, looked at the smile on the lotus face, and suddenly felt that God opened her eyes and she finally got her happiness. Shouldn't I be happy for her
Zhu Yunzhen smiled at this time and said: "There is something. The envoy from Ashikaga Yoshimitsu from Japan arrived at the Ministry of Rites the day before yesterday."
Li Fangyuan and Lianhua looked at each other, and both cheered up: "How is it?"
Zhu Yunwen said with a smile: "The person here this time is just a businessman, his name is Fei Fu, and he does not have a formal credential. The memorial is also vague. I guess he came here to test it out first." After looking at the two people's eager eyes, he continued. : "I asked the Ministry of Rites to reply that as long as General Ashikaga solves the Japanese pirates on the Korean Peninsula and the Ming Dynasty coast, our country will agree to reopen trade with Japan, and will ennoble Ashikaga Yoshimitsu as the king of Japan. Fatty was extremely happy and agreed to return to Japan. "
Lianhua cheered and looked at Li Fangyuan. The long-term wishes and goals of the two people are finally about to be realized. Only each other knows how much they have sacrificed for this day
Zhu Yunwen looked at the excited two people and said with a smile, "I only want one tribute, which is the head of Aji Taiyi."
Lianhua and Li Fangyuan looked at each other, Lianhua's eyelashes filled with tears and her hands trembled. Li Fangyuan also had tears in his eyes. After a long time, he suddenly stood up and prostrated himself in front of Zhu Yunzhen: "On behalf of the DPRK, I thank you, Your Majesty!"
When Li Fangyuan first met Zhu Yunwen, he felt unfair and even angry. How could Zhu Yunwen not see it? Li Fangyuan is not just because of Lotus, but also because of his aloof nature and dislikes flattery. Even though he knew that this was the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he was unwilling to bend the knee. At this time, seeing Zhu Yunwen treating North Korea with sincerity, he was finally convinced.
Zhu Yunwen felt comforted in his heart, held up Li Fangyuan, and said warmly: "I have already explained to the Ministry of War how to dispatch the navy. It is best for Brother Li to go to the Ministry of War to discuss it in detail tomorrow. General Ashikaga also needs Brother Li to coordinate with him."
Li Fangyuan nodded repeatedly.
Lianhua looked at the two of them and realized that she had burst into tears at some point. Wiping away her tears with her sleeves, Princess Yining smiled happily and contentedly.
In the next two years, the Ming Dynasty, together with the Muromachi shogunate of Korea and Japan, encircled and suppressed the Japanese pirates, and finally eliminated the "real Japanese" during this period, which was centered on the Matsuura family of the defeated Hirado domain in Japan during this period. The Korean Peninsula and the coast of the Ming Dynasty have been peaceful for decades.
Princess Yining, it’s been a hard journey.
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