"Senior Brother... Although a bag of money was stolen today, it was because Senior Brother mistakenly believed in others and treated it as a lesson. But now... why are you buying a lot of lessons now! This porcelain jar doesn't matter. Yes, the little man setting off firecrackers is quite cute, but this porcelain man...the shop owner probably hasn’t sold these green clothes and blush in ten years, so why did you ask me, senior brother, to pick them up?"
Ning Xiaoling pointed at the things piled on the table, with a look of sadness and anger on her face, on the verge of tears. She looked at her senior brother with a bit of anger, a bit of doubt, and a bit of... sympathy.
Just now, Ning Jiujiu suddenly said that he wanted to go out and buy some rare antiques, and applied for a large sum of money from her. Ning Xiaoling thought that her senior brother had always had a vicious eye, and it should be a business that was sure to make money without losing money, so she didn't think too much about it. Promised.
who knows…
Ning Xiaoling took inventory of the pile of objects on the table one by one. When he came to the statue of the dancing girl in green shirt and red cheeks, she finally couldn't help it and said: "This is also an antique? Why is there such an ugly antique with a hole missing? … This thing is so big, wouldn’t it be an eyesore if you put it at home?”
Ning Xiaoling couldn't bear it anymore and ran to Ning Changjiu angrily, lifted up his hair, touched his forehead, and said worriedly: "Brother, why are you so confused recently?"
Ning Jiujiu patted her head and said confidently: "These are old objects, keep them well, they will be valuable in the future."
Ning Xiaoling sighed and said, "Yes, they will all be old things in a thousand years, but I don't know if I will still be alive to wait for them."
"Senior brother..." Ning Xiaoling looked at him and said pitifully: "You don't want to use this to encourage me to practice hard and strive to live a thousand years old, do you?"
Ning Jiujiu said: "Originally, I wanted to prepare some gifts for Sister Marry to take back, but I couldn't pick out the right ones, so I bought some at random."
Ning Xiaoling smiled bitterly and said, "Senior brother, you are so casual."
Ning Jiujiu said: "What do you think is appropriate to give?"
Ning Xiaoling stared at the ugly dancing girl and maid, and murmured unconfidently: "Senior brother, no matter what you do, you have deep meaning... right?"
Before Ning could answer for a long time, there was a knock on the door.
Ning Chang went to open the door and saw the old woman in the daytime again. In the dusk, her wrinkled face was even more dejected and old, and her dry white hair was like weeds that break in winter. .
"What else can I do, old lady?" Ning Changjiu asked.
Outside the door, the old man was leaning on a cane. It was already dark now. She was holding a lantern, and the reddish light dimly reflected on her wrinkled orange peel-like hands. The light flickered, and the old man's mouth was pinned downward. The night wind is cold.
The old woman looked at him for a while, seeming a little forgetful. After a while, she remembered him: "You are the old gentleman's apprentice..."
Ning Jiujiu said: "It's me."
The old woman bent her other hand, looking at a red couplet between her arms, and her elderly voice slowly sounded: "Send couplets to the old man, to Zhang Menshen... Everyone in the family is in this business, so I specially reserved them this year. A few of them, I forgot to send them during the day.”
Ning Jiujiu refused: "Master and we may not live here anymore, so it doesn't matter whether we stick together or not."
The old lady paused her crutch and said, "No, no, no, there is no door god to protect you. It is easy for spirits to appear in the house. With the door god, you can come back with confidence no matter how long you leave."
Ning Jiujiu felt that this statement was reasonable and accepted the couplets and door gods sent by the old woman.
The red lantern in the old woman's hand swayed in the night wind. She leaned forward and gave it to Ning Jiujiu with a crook of her elbow.
Ning Jiujiu thanked him and said, "Thank you very much, mother-in-law. I will explain this matter when I see Master in the future."
The old lady nodded and said, "I feel at ease now that I've got what I want..."
As she spoke, she slowly turned back.
Ning Jiujiu suddenly asked: "I wonder how old my mother-in-law's grandson is?"
The old woman replied: "My grandson is almost ten years old and is now learning crafts at home. I hope I can see the old gentleman again in the future and let him thank me personally."
Ning Jiujiu nodded: "Yes."
After the old woman left, Ning Xiaoling walked up behind him and said angrily: "That old guy is dead a long time ago. You just accept her mother-in-law's things and give her such an impossible promise. It's too much." ah."
Ning Jiujiu handed her the couplet and the portrait of the door god, and said, "There are some things that you can hide if you can. If you hide them for a lifetime, they will be over."
Ning Xiaoling took the couplets and portraits and snorted coldly: "That's ridiculous!"
Ning Xiaoling unfolded the portrait, looked at it with a frown, shuddered, and said, "Is this to ward off evil spirits or attract ghosts? Why is the painting so scary..."
Ning Jiujiu said: "Fighting poison with poison, is it possible to draw a kind-faced grandfather? If junior sister is a heavenly official, do you still have to assign the God of Wealth to drive away ghosts?"
Ning Xiaoling thought it made sense. Looking at the portrait with thick eyebrows and big eyes, an exaggerated expression, wearing bone-like armor, stepping on a broken skull, holding a peach wood sword, and eyes the size of copper bells staring at the sky, she seemed to find it pleasing to the eye. After a while, he said earnestly: "Then I'll send you on an expedition."
She picked up the couplet again and looked at it. They read respectively "The bright moon in the sky and the green mountains will never grow old" and "The city and the immortal gate will live forever" respectively.
"Let's put that one first..." Ning Xiaoling silently calculated the order, but she did not ask for help from her senior brother.
In the past, hanging new couplets and affixing door gods were only things done by people from better-off families. When Ning Xiaoling was a child, the family would change them every year until that sudden change...
Thinking about her sad things, she carried them to the door, posted them up, and sighed: "Oh, senior brother, look, the things the old lady gave me casually are more practical than what you spent a lot of money to buy!"
Ning Changjiu was playing with the "antiques" he bought on the desk, and smiled and agreed: "Junior sister has taught you a lesson."
Ning Xiaoling listened to his perfunctory words, put her hands on her hips, and said angrily: "Senior brother is really becoming more and more useless!"
After Ning Xiaoling finished her work, Ning went out for a long time and inspected her results. Ning Xiaoling was extremely satisfied with the door couplets she had meticulously posted by herself. The faster it was, the more festive it was, and it felt like a new year.
Ning Jiujiu just smiled slightly, and then cast his gaze into the night, not knowing where he was looking.
…
…
In the Imperial City of Zhao State, in the study, Zhao Xiang'er sat alone in her clothes, her ink hair spread on her shoulders, her lacquered eyes looking at the letters and pictures placed on the long desk, as if she was meditating.
The floor-to-ceiling palace lantern has been lit on fire, and the firelight shines through the gauze curtains and falls on her body, which is already a bit desolate and graceful.
The two palace maids stood on both sides of her with their heads hanging down, quietly waiting for the young emperor in a black dragon robe to speak.
Zhao Xiang'er had read the piled books one by one. She was deducing and thinking in her mind. The dragon robe was as black as thick, and the real dragon embroidered with fine gold threads lay quietly on it. The girl's waist His back was always straight, and his robe hung down like a cliff from the back of his neck.
Seeing that their master was so serious, the two maids naturally stood upright, their expressions solemn, and their breathing became much lighter.
After a long time, Zhao Xiang'er closed the scroll in his hand, closed his eyes to rest, and said, "Put it all back into the treasury."
The two palace maids quickly took orders and packed up her desk.
Zhao Xiang'er looked at the information and recalled what happened in the palace two months ago, wondering if there were any details that he had missed.
"If the Imperial City was really haunted at that time, what was the source? How did it disappear in the end?"
"Most of the Taoist priests invited are well-known ghost exorcists in the imperial city. The rest are also from Kangcheng, Yangzhou City and other places close to the imperial city. Why is there an extra one from Linhe City... This Linhe City is further away , it is all the Shahe River, which almost touches the border area with the country of Jin. In such a far place, is it necessary to compile a book and hire an old Taoist priest who is not very good at Taoism? "
"And that person happens to be Ning Qinshui..."
"Also, why did Ning Qinshui come all the way here again? What did he promise? The witch master's lineage should have been responsible for inviting Taoist priests back then. Now that the witch master's lineage has declined, no one should know this. Already…”
"Ning Qianshui... Ning Chang Ning Xiaoling, a remote town... Is there really such a coincidence in this world?"
Zhao Xiang'er suddenly opened his eyes and said, "Wait a minute."
The two palace maids who had packed up the letters and prepared to store them in the library stopped and faced her respectfully.
Zhao Xiang'er said: "Find some information about Linhe City and send it to me."
"Linhe City?" One of the palace maids was slightly shocked and said, "Your Highness, this slave was born in Linhe City."
Zhao Xiang'er frowned again, wondering if there was really such a coincidence in the world
"Tell me about the situation in Linhe City." Zhao Xiang'er said.
The palace maid lightly touched her chin with her orchid finger, her eyes briefly lost focus and she pondered for a while, then said: "I don't know what your highness wants to know. Linhe City is just an ordinary small town, there is nothing special about it."
Zhao Xiang'er asked: "Are there any legends about strange people and strange things, or weird buildings?"
The palace maid thought for a while and said: "The most famous thing about Linhe City is the big river that passes through the city. It is said that the upper reaches of that big river is Shahe. When Zhao and Jin fought, there were mountains of corpses outside Shahe. Many people were killed. They rushed into the city together and buried them under the river. The bloody smell did not dissipate. It was said that many water ghosts were born, and it took a lot of effort to be able to sail again. But that was what the elders said, and it was an old thing more than ten years ago. "
"Shahe..." Zhao Xianger nodded slightly, her thoughts moving slightly, and asked: "What is the name of the river in your city?"
"Back to Your Highness, the river in my hometown does not seem to have a fixed name. Some are called Shashui, and some are called Spring Bay because the river does not freeze in winter. However, the wooden bridge across the river is very famous. It's called Dinghun Bridge. It's said that this name was given more than ten years ago to suppress the lingering ghosts in the river." The palace maid recalled slowly.
Zhao Xiang'er listened calmly, feeling a little uneasy in her heart, and continued to ask: "Are there any strange people or strange things?"
The palace maid asked: "Your Highness, I left Linhe City when I was seven years old. How can I still remember so much? Well... But if I really want to be famous, it is our Lord City Lord."
"The Lord of Linhe City?" Zhao Xianger said, "It is said that he is a noble and considerate... old man?"
The palace maid nodded and said: "The Lord of the City has a very high prestige. It is said that he came to rule our city when he was young. When he first took office, he attacked many corrupt officials and people who were unkind for their wealth. Although he was called the Iron-Blooded Yama in private, he was very Win the hearts of the people.”
Zhao Xianger nodded.
After a while, another palace maid sent documents about Linhe City to Zhao Xiang'er's case.
Zhao Xiang'er took the document, took out the map booklet inside, and started to read.
"Have there been any big ghosts in Linhe City? Or was it a large-scale attack by mountain ghosts on the city?" Zhao Xianger asked while reading.
The palace maid looked apologetic and said: "Your Highness, I really can't remember clearly, but my impression is that Lincheng River is quite peaceful, and I rarely hear about mountain ghosts."
"That's it..." Zhao Xiang'er nodded slightly and whispered: "There are so many high mountains around Linhe City, how can there be no mountain ghosts?"
The palace maid didn't hear clearly and whispered: "What did Your Highness ask..."
Zhao Xiang'er closed the map and said, "Let Tang Yu come and take a look."
…
"Your Highness is still up so late? Are you still thinking about what happened two months ago? In my opinion, it's just an ordinary haunting. When the old fox comes out, these little ghosts will not dare to see the big ghost and make trouble. There is no need for us to drive them away, just disperse..."
When Tang Yu saw Zhao Xiang'er, he looked at her porcelain-white complexion and the tiredness on her exquisite little face, and whispered a few words of relief.
Zhao Xiang'er shook his head and said, "I don't think things are that simple."
Tang Yu frowned and asked, "Has your Highness made any new discoveries?"
Zhao Xiang'er said: "I'm not sure... but I have to go to Linhe City. Now I'm calling you here because I want you to make arrangements for New Year's Eve and prevent trouble from happening in the imperial city."
Tang Yu was shocked and said quickly: "The state banquet is coming soon, and many things are waiting to be announced on New Year's Eve. How can your highness not be here?"
Zhao Xiang'er sighed: "I'm just afraid of causing more trouble."
Tang Yu said in confusion: "No matter how big the matter is, it can be bigger than the New Year's Eve state banquet. When the Lantern Festival comes, everyone is still waiting for His Highness to cut the ceremony in person. As for Linhe City, His Highness Tiangao is far away, even if something happens It doesn’t hurt the general body, and it’s not too late to make amends afterwards.”
Zhao Xiang'er still shook his head.
Tang Yu also refused to give up and advised: "If there is really a danger, what should you do, Your Highness? Your Highness is the future of Zhao country, and you must not be in danger. Then just send someone to Linhe City. The newly promoted general That’s good, just right for him to practice and practice.”
Zhao Xiang'er said: "Only if I go."
When Tang Yu heard this, his heart skipped a beat, and his words trembled slightly: "This... what big thing can happen in Linhe City? Besides, troops have been redeployed in major cities, and there are many soldiers in the army. A monk with considerable strength."
Zhao Xiang'er said angrily: "What if someone wants to destroy the city?"
…
…
(Thanks to book friend Cloud Sword Master for the reward~Thank you for your recognition and support of the young author!)