At night, Ning Xiaoling lay on the table, counting the coins one by one. She rested her arms on her arms, looked at Ning Changjiu, and asked, "Senior brother, are you really not going to see Sister Xiang'er?"
Ning Changjiu said: "What's so good about Zhao Xiang'er? After becoming the empress, she is probably arrogant and has no regard for our poor relatives."
Ning Xiaoling chuckled, not believing it at all.
Ning was silent for a long time and stepped aside: "Tomorrow is New Year's Eve. If it is peaceful tonight, we will go."
Ning Xiaoling asked: "What's wrong?"
Ning Jiujiu joked: "Senior brother is concerned about the country and the people, what do you, a little girl, know about movies?"
Ning Xiaoling smiled perfunctorily: "Yes, yes, senior brother is the most powerful."
Ning Jiujiu ignored the little girl's perfunctory words and asked, "It's New Year's Eve today, can you go out for a walk?"
Ning Xiaoling still resented not being able to go to the imperial city immediately, and said weakly: "Okay, it's better than being bored at home."
Ning Changjiu said: "I heard that there will be a river lantern festival tonight to honor the river god. When the river lanterns fill the entire sandy water, it should be very beautiful."
Ning Xiaoling nodded and said, "Yes, it's a pity that Master didn't come with us, otherwise it would have been more interesting."
Ning Jiujiu smiled and said, "Have you already despised your senior brother so much?"
Ning Xiaoling shook her head and said: "No way, I just thought about such a good life, but it is a pity to marry the master but live in the mountain gate."
Ning Jiujiu said: "Your sister needs to be quiet to think about some things when you get married. The prosperity and beauty of the world may not be good for her."
Ning Xiaoling said bitterly: "That old fox deserves to die."
Ning Jiujiu patted her head and said, "So junior sister, you have to work harder. In the future, the four swordsmen will be able to give your master more face?"
Ning Xiaoling raised her head and asked, "Senior brother, aren't you going?"
Ning Changjiu lowered his sleeves slightly and said, "Senior brother has not yet entered the Xuan Dynasty, wouldn't it be embarrassing to go?"
Ning Xiaoling curled her lips, a little frustrated.
At night, the red lanterns hanging at the door of every house are lit up. If you look down from the whole city, the lanterns hanging under the eaves in front of the door seem to form a huge symbol, but the light is also of different shades, and it is dim. There are only dim lights, but the bustling places are as bright as day.
Ning Changjiu and Ning Xiaoling walked through the long street, crossed the bustling crowd, caressed the railings and looked at the rolling river water in the winter.
By the sand and water, there was a buzz of people.
In winter, everything withers away, and the green tiles and snow-covered lakes turn into ice. Only this gurgling sandy water still flows, seemingly unmoved by the cold of winter. Although it is rumored that there are countless ghosts buried in this sandy water, but so many Years have passed, and we have never really seen water ghosts eating people. Even the mountain ghosts that have troubled many cities are rare in Linhe City.
People here believe that this is the blessing of the river god, so many people have to drink a bowl of raw water from the river during their coming-of-age ceremony.
Ning leaned on the railing for a long time, his eyes falling on the water, and his nails scratched lightly on the railing out of boredom.
Ning Xiaoling looked at his movements and joked: "Senior Brother, is it possible that he wants to engrave a visit here?"
Ning Jiujiu retracted his hand and smiled helplessly.
Ning Xiaoling asked: "Senior brother, are you worried?"
Ning Jiujiu said: "Why do you ask that?"
Ning Xiaoling pursed her lips and spoke hesitantly: "I feel like you feel depressed."
Ning Jiujiu said: "I'm not unhappy."
Ning Xiaoling said in a long tone, "I feel like there's nothing good here. I still want to go back to the peak to listen to Master's lectures."
Ning Jiujiu smiled and said: "Don't delay your marriage to my sister and her cultivation."
Ning Xiaoling snorted and said, "I am Master's proud disciple from the inner sect. Master becomes extremely happy when he sees me. How can you, a bad outer sect disciple of Master Tianqiang, understand this?"
Ning Jiujiu smiled and said, "Don't worry, I won't compete with Xiaoling for favor."
Ning Xiaoling stood proudly by the bridge, leaning forward against the railing, reaching out and grabbing a wicker stick with withered leaves but still pliable, and twirled it around her fingers.
She looked at the big river that passed through the city. The sandy water of this river was much clearer than the sandy river outside. At this moment, the river lights floated slowly from a distance, and the river water was filled with bright colors. The high attic buildings along the bank It is also reflected in the water, stained with the beauty of the lights.
The sound of firecrackers sounded continuously, and a group of children passed by playfully. Ning Xiaoling looked sideways and happened to see a sedan with dark brown curtains passing slowly among the crowd. When the sedan stopped, the crowd cheered enthusiastically. Crowded around.
An old man in his sixties got off the sedan. The old man walked down with the support of the guards, took a green crutch from the side, and walked towards the river with it. The crowd naturally separated a path for him.
Ning Jiujiu took a long look and said, "It should be a certain great scholar or a parent official."
Ning Xiaoling looked at the wrinkled face and said, "Everyone seems to respect him very much."
Ning Changjiu said: "Today on the River Lantern Festival, celebrities from all over the world will come to see the lanterns and make wishes. Later, junior sisters can also place a lantern and make a wish."
Ning Xiaoling curled her lips: "This doesn't work..."
Ning Xiaoling pulled off the willow branch with a snap, and turned it around in her hand. Suddenly, there was a noisy sound from the right. Ning Xiaoling turned her head and happened to see the last person in the singing building. In the top pavilion, the lights are on one after another. Looking from a distance, you can see the light and shadow floating in the exquisite attic. There are beautiful figures of women playing the piano gracefully, and there are also phantoms of women dancing gracefully.
"What is this going to do?" Ning Xiaoling asked confused.
Ning Xiaoling's voice was drowned in the noise of the crowd. When the lights came on, the pedestrians around her rushed towards the singing tower enthusiastically.
Ning Jiujiu also cast his gaze in that direction. In the attic, the lights reflected a pair of dancing shadows, and around him, discussions were loud and noisy.
"It is said that today is the day when Miss Quan gets her hair done. Feihualou has been building momentum for so long, and we can finally see the true face of Miss Quan. It is said that she is extremely beautiful."
"Why did you choose today?"
"These days are already lively. Everyone has a lot of money at the end of the year. Those rich kids are all planning to spend a lot of money. Feihua Building is a famous gold-selling den. If you don't take advantage of the lively days to make enough money, in the past six months Isn’t Miss Quan’s momentum in vain?”
"Then Miss Quan is just a singer, how can she be so beautiful?"
…
By the Shashui River, the old man seemed indifferent to everything happening around him. He just stared at the colorful river in silence, with river lanterns floating in front of his eyes.
A guard next to him whispered: "My lord, why don't I take you to a secluded place for a stroll first? The feasting and feasting here will easily taint your eyes."
The old man shook his head, looking at the river water and said, "No need."
The crowd that had been crowding around dispersed a lot when the lights of the singing building were turned on. In the distance, the sound of harps and harps could be heard faintly, accompanied by the sound of singing flowing into the sad and beautiful river.
Next to the old man, a middle-aged man in casual clothes sighed: "Oh, after these people have lived a comfortable life for a few months, they have forgotten all the hardships in the past. The adults have done so many things in these years, and how much hard work, blood and tears have been involved." ? They... have no idea at all!"
The old man raised his hand and shook it gently. The cold wind flowed into his wide sleeves, but the old man seemed not to notice it and just stood motionless.
"It is a blessing to have a peaceful country and a peaceful people. Whether they know it or not, it doesn't mean much. This can be regarded as a little achievement of Zhao Xiang'er." The old man said calmly.
The middle-aged man sneered and lowered his voice: "Then Zhao Xiang'er... She is just a sixteen-year-old woman. Why should she be in charge of the Zhao Kingdom? Are all the old people in the palace crazy? After a lot of effort, she sent away a god of plague. Now that she has welcomed her daughter, she is really a scared person with a bent back!"
The old man pressed his hands and said, "Don't talk too much about these things on weekdays."
The middle-aged man said: "In the past, the old gentleman endured humiliation, shouldered all the people in the city, and finally agreed on many terms with Na Qin, which brought Linhe City a few years of peace and well-being. Now it's better, everything has been burned to the ground, and it's still... I want to remove my husband from his job... These people are really blind!"
On a normal day, the old man would definitely say a few words about disasters coming from the mouth and not talking about government affairs, but today there was a lot of noise and no one could hear clearly what they were saying, and the old man didn't seem to be worried about being heard. Go and look calm from beginning to end.
The old man just said: "Perhaps Zhao Xianger is really capable. In the past two years, I have been running around and being ridiculed. In the end, I can exchange a few years of peace for a city. I am satisfied and have a clear conscience. I only regret that I am not the one on the mountain." Immortal, you can’t live a hundred more years to seek peace for the people of Linhe City for another hundred years…”
The middle-aged man looked even more irritated when he listened to the leisurely silk bamboo, and said: "A Goulan girl is so grand, does she really think she is a young lady and princess? How can these people be worthy of your hard work and hard work? If the country really perishes one day, what will happen to this person?" The daughters of the nobles and nobles of Zhao Kingdom are really going to become those hilarious singing divas!"
The old man looked at the river from beginning to end, and suddenly asked: "Do you think everyone's life would be better if Na Jinguo was allowed to take charge of Linhe City?"
The middle-aged man was shocked when he heard this. Although they usually scolded the monarch in public for being fatuous, the monarch was incompetent and the emperor was far away, so everyone mostly agreed. But now the ruthless empress has come to power. Although she is a little girl who is not yet under age, she is born with a snake-hearted heart, and she is definitely not the same as the fatuous and weak previous king.
The middle-aged man didn't know why the old man asked this question. Originally, he had finalized many details with the special envoy of Guo Guo and laid down many regulations. He wanted to hand over Linhe City and completely end the threat of war. But everything was broken by the chaos in the imperial city.
In the past few years, in Linhe City, even New Year's Eve was just a non-busy River Lantern Festival. It was not as noisy as it is now. These short-term bubble-like peace can be attributed to the empress, but Only a far-sighted person like him understands the meaning behind this, which means that Zhao State and Jin State will soon start an endless war.
The peace and happiness of the people today are just a bubble constructed by stupidity, and the numerous bones buried under the sand and water are the truth caused by national hatred.
And Zhao State has been poor and weak for so many years, how can it be possible that it can resist that strong and powerful Jin like a tiger and a wolf
The old man didn't wait for his answer. He just looked at the long river flowing slowly and said, "I think... it won't be good. No matter who is in charge of Linhe City, it won't be good. People's hearts always He is greedy. Although the country of Jin is powerful, the person who occupies the highest position is also a famous tyrant. The tyrant's power can be stable for a while, but how can he rule for thousands of generations?"
The middle-aged man thought deeply of it, and then remembered that when he was an official in his youth, the old man was called the Iron-Blooded Yama. However, as he got older, although he was still serious, he became more upright and peaceful. Thinking about these words, he had a lot to do with his thoughts over the years. Change is also relevant.
He asked: "What does the old gentleman think?"
The old man's eyes scattered in the river finally gathered together. In the depths of his eyes, he seemed to be able to illuminate the bones piled up under the river. He walked to the river with his cane. On the river, the lanterns gradually became thinner, and his old age was faintly reflected. shadow.
He suddenly said in a deep voice: "I am the city lord of Linhe City and the father-in-law of this city. I have a clear conscience when I resisted the Gu Kingdom twenty years ago. I have a clear conscience after spending more than ten years with the old, weak, women and children in the city. I have a clear conscience when I fought with the old and weak women and children in the city three years ago. There is no shame in the country of Jin seeking peace and peace for the people... In the next hundred years, only if I personally take care of this city can I feel at ease... "
The middle-aged man looked at him with more and more admiration in his heart, but he also knew that the old man's ambition was just a mirage. If he was not an immortal, he could not seek immortality, so how could he plan to achieve eternal peace in Linhe City.
The middle-aged man asked: "Sir, what are your plans for the future?"
The old man's mood calmed down a bit. He started walking by the river with a cane and said to himself: "Let's wait until the New Year is over tomorrow."
Celebrating the New Year safely is now the top priority. After all, this is the first relatively stable year in these years. However, after the spring of next year, there will inevitably be war and chaos again.
The middle-aged man accompanied him for a walk by the river and asked: "What chance does the old gentleman think our Zhao country has to win?"
The old man sighed and said: "What are the chances of winning? Does it matter? If there really is a war, there is only a strip of sand and water between us and the country. No matter what the final outcome is, we estimate that we will be in a bleak situation with ten rooms and nine empty rooms. , now I have a moment of peace and joy, and it will be returned soon."
The middle-aged man looked at the stupid people and asked, "Does Mr. hate them?"
The old man shook his head and said, "If everyone is smart, what else do we need to do?"
The middle-aged man nodded and said: "Well, everything we are doing now is to seek peace for them and find a way out, but they... alas."
The old man suddenly stopped and said, "How can we make the city peaceful for all eternity?"
The middle-aged man frowned. He didn't know why the old man asked this question. He always felt that the old man valued him and entrusted him with great responsibilities in the future. So after hearing this grand question, he immediately pondered seriously. stand up.
After a while, the middle-aged man asked tentatively: "To eliminate foreign aggression, use theorem and law, and improve people's livelihood?"
The man said this, but he was frightened. Is the old man trying to make Linhe City independent from the two countries? But this is absolutely impossible to do.
But the old man still shook his head and said something that made him stand in shock for a long time: "What if the whole city can live forever?"
The middle-aged man frowned so much that they almost touched each other. He thought he had heard wrongly.
Or the old man... crazy.
He didn't have much time to pursue the deeper meaning behind the old man's words, because soon, the whole city would go crazy.
…
On the Feihua Tower, the remaining snow was illuminated by the lights, like fallen flowers in the courtyard, falling colorfully in the girl's flower basket.
Above the tall buildings, the phantom flows like undulating waves.
Ning Xiaoling thought that she could see the singing girl dancing without spending any money, so she hurriedly pulled Ning Changjiu and ran over. The long bridge was not very spacious to begin with, and now it was even more crowded with all the commotion. There was a huge crowd of people, and some people even fell from the bridge into the river, splashing in the water and shouting for help.
Ning Jiujiu used his spiritual power to form an invisible hand and pushed them ashore like a boat.
Ning Xiaoling grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards the song building.
On the tall building, a window was suddenly pushed open. As the window opened, the crowd below cheered enthusiastically after a brief pause.
Ning Xiaoling raised her head and looked up, and saw that the attic window was slowly opened, and then paper flowers fell from the air, all folded into the shape of five-petal peach blossoms. Behind the paper flowers, a woman with clouds on her arms slanted Kneeling in front of a pitch-black guqin with burnt-tailed plum blossoms, her figure was graceful and upright, and her appearance was even more beautiful and noble. However, there was no smile on her pale face, instead she had a somewhat pitiful sadness.
Zheng!
The sound of the piano suddenly sounded, and the first note sounded extremely high, as if there were mountains rising from the ground, and big waves breaking rocks, which was extremely incompatible with her gentle and melancholy temperament.
The maid beside her also changed her expression and whispered something, but the woman turned a deaf ear and dropped her fingers like flying. After playing with it several times, she placed one hand on the edge of the strings, held the table with her little finger, and clustered her four fingers together. The extremely fast frequency vibrated, and the sound of the piano came over one after another, even drowning out the noise of the crowd several times.
As Ning Xiaoling listened, she felt impassioned in her heart, wondering if this was a young lady from a noble family who had fallen like this. She had ambitions in her heart and was depressed, so she used the piano to vent her anger.
Ning Jiujiu's expression changed slightly.
The woman's expression suddenly took on a touch of pain.
Those few touches of pain came without any warning or reason. It seemed that she herself was deeply moved by the generosity in the sound of the piano, so she looked sad.
Thump thump thump.
Upstairs, a fat woman in gorgeous clothes ran up quickly and shouted: "You damn girl, I have raised you for so many years, what are you doing? What are you doing when I ask you to play with the water of the Huaihe River?" ? Go out to fight and beat the war drum?!"
The fat woman held the red cloth in one hand and akimbo with the other, cursing and running up.
Before the fat woman walked up to the top of the building, the sound of cracking strings sounded loudly, and the maid's screams also sounded. The other dancing women also stopped swaying and exclaimed.
Beside the window, the beautiful woman playing the piano suddenly stood up and jumped down.
The crowd's voice rose to an unprecedented level.
Some people think that this is Feihua Tower’s unique publicity method. Whoever can catch the beauty who falls from the building can spend a good night with her. So no one cares about whether it would be direct to catch the beauty with both hands from such a height. Let the arm break.
Before the people who caught the woman could shout, the cheers turned into screams.
Blood... A man grabbed her waist, but found that his hands were full of sticky, fresh blood. Everyone dispersed in a hurry, and the woman fell to the ground. She was lying on her back, and she didn't know when a penis was inserted into her lower abdomen. She was already dead, but the bright silver dagger blade was like her eyes, continuing to look at the world coldly for her.
The old man by the Shashui River remained indifferent, because he knew that the chaos of this night had just begun.
…
…
(5K+ chapters are presented~ The next chapter should be endless, so I’ll continue to update it tomorrow!)
(Congratulations to the leader Huoshang Beihai for becoming the first silver cute! Pass the tea to the boss~)