As the accompanying capital, Luoyang is an important place for food reserves of various states, and it is also the center of canals extending in all directions. Although it is not as prosperous as Chang'an, it is also a beautiful and prosperous place.
When the carriage approached the south gate, Tao Ti raised the curtain and glanced out, she was a little surprised and said, "There are so many people."
Pei Yan sat calmly and calmly, and said in a gentle voice, "Before the departure, the palace has already communicated with Luoyang, so that they can make arrangements earlier... If you don't want to get out of the car later, you can rest in the car Go down alone and deal with them for a few words, then we will go back to the palace to rest."
Tao Ti thought for a moment, blinked and said, "It's already here, I'd better get out of the car with you, I just need to talk less."
Pei Yan said, "Alright."
A burst of grand and lively ritual and music sounded from far and near, the carriage stopped steadily, and Fu Xirui waited respectfully at the side.
Pei Yan took Tao Ti and got out of the carriage together. People in various official uniforms at the gate of the city bowed down and shouted in unison:
"The ministers are waiting to pay their respects to His Royal Highness, the prince will be a thousand years old."
"The ministers are waiting to pay their respects to the Crown Princess, the Crown Princess is safe and blessed, and her youth will last forever."
Pei Yan's voice was flat, showing a bit of majesty, "Everyone, get up."
Tao Ti intentionally imitated his tone, and said lightly, "Excuse me."
Hearing this, the group of officials stood up one after another. Although the two leading officials both wore purple robes, there were obvious differences in their robes.
Along the way, Tao Ti made up the situation of Luoyang officials and their families, and got a general idea in her mind.
Luoyang set up a mansion, and the chief was called a shepherd. Generally, the prince held this position and did not hold real power;
At this moment, Tao Ti looked at the two in front of her calmly, thinking secretly in her heart:
This square-faced man with a big beard should be Luoyang Manor Mu, the seventh younger brother of Emperor Zhaokang, and Prince Mu of the Dayuan Dynasty.
Another chunky man who looked friendly and smiled was probably Sun Zhengguo, governor of Luoyang Prefecture.
Sure enough, as soon as she made a judgment on her side, Pei Yan cupped her hands at the bearded man and said politely, "Uncle Seventh Emperor, don't come here without any problems."
Prince Mu laughed twice, raised his hand and patted Pei Yan's shoulder, and said warmly, "I haven't seen you in half a year, the prince's complexion has improved a lot."
Speaking of this, he glanced at Tao Ti meaningfully, and said with a smile, "Sure enough, it's different after marrying a daughter-in-law, okay, very good!"
Tao Ti also gave a slight blessing to Prince Mu, and softly called "Uncle Seven Emperors".
Pei Yan exchanged pleasantries with Prince Mu, and then sent a concise official greeting to Mr. Sun and other officials.
After being polite, Prince Mu said, "The prince and the princess must be tired after a long journey. Why don't you go back to the palace to have a rest, and we can chat at the dinner today."
"Okay." Pei Yan nodded lightly, took Tao Ti's hand and re-boarded the carriage.
All the officials retreated to the sides obediently. Prince Mu stroked his beard and narrowed his eyes, "I didn't expect my elder nephew to have a good relationship with the Crown Princess."
Hearing this, Sun Fuyin asked suspiciously, "Didn't you say before that this Crown Princess is very unwilling to marry into the Eastern Palace, and even..."
Prince Mu turned his eyes sideways, Sun Fuyin immediately fell silent, and smiled sarcastically.
"I didn't like it before, but it doesn't mean that I won't change in the future. This woman, marry a chicken as a chicken and marry a dog as a dog. After a long time, she will accept her fate." Prince Mu snorted and said, "What's more, my eldest nephew is used to It's not a piece of cake to buy people's hearts and cure a woman."
Sun Fuyin repeatedly echoed, "Your Highness is absolutely right."
After a while, Sun Fu Yin thought of something, frowned and asked, "My lord, since the prince and princess have a good relationship, do you want to offer the Yu sisters we prepared...?"
Lord Mu said, "It's all ready, so it's a gift."
Sun Fuyin, "But..."
"Men, do you still think there are few women?" Prince Mu patted him on the shoulder and smiled narrowly. "In the past, the prince was not close to women, so he had never tasted women. Now that he has married a bride, he has tasted it." Quer, of course, the more the better."
Sun Fuyin rolled his eyes and said with a smile, "Yes, yes, what the prince said is absolutely true."
—
The gates of the city were wide open, and the carriages entered the city slowly, accompanied by ceremonies and music all the way. The officers and soldiers cleared the way, unimpeded, and went straight to the Luoyang Palace.
The Xinggong is located in the southeast of Luoyang City, covering an area of 2,000 mu, with halls facing each other, towers and towers, gorgeous carvings, and extraordinary magnificence.
After learning the news that the crown prince was coming to Luoyang half a month ago, Sun Fuyin sent someone to clean and arrange it carefully. The crown prince lives in the Tongming Hall, while Tao Ti lives in the Jixian Hall not far from the Tongming Hall.
The Hall of Immortals is beautiful and spacious. There is a piece of graceful and luxurious peonies planted in front of the court. The inside of the hall is spotless and clean, and there is a light and elegant fragrance.
The palace people took the luggage from the carriage and arranged it in a hurry.
Linglong helped Tao Ti into the back room, and said softly, "Crown Princess, it's still early, you haven't slept well all the way, why don't you take a nap? When it's almost time, the servant will take care of you to bathe, change clothes, and dress up. , to go to the banquet at night."
"Well, just as you said!" Tao Ti patted the soft and spacious big bed, feeling so touched in her heart, she could finally stretch her arms and legs and occupy the whole big bed by herself!
God knows these days on the road, every night before going to bed, she tries to shrink herself as much as possible, for fear of sticking to Pei Yan—
Although two days in the morning when she woke up, she was lying in Pei Yan's arms for some reason. But fortunately, she was witty, and before Pei Yan woke up, she quickly distanced herself from him, thus avoiding embarrassment.
Linglong waited for her to fall asleep, put down the smoky pink gauze curtain, and stepped back lightly.
Tao Ti lay on the fragrant and soft big bed, hugged the slippery silk brocade quilt, and soon fell asleep.
On the way, Pei Yan sent someone to ask, and learned that his little princess was sleeping soundly, so he didn't bother her, and let her continue to sleep.
About an hour later, Linglong walked to the bed and called softly, "Crown Princess, you have applied for Zhengzheng, you should get up."
Tao Ti was sleeping on her side, with a soft pillow in her arms, her black hair spread out like a waterfall, she slept very calmly, her white cheeks were healthy and rosy, like a porcelain doll.
Hearing the call from the bedside, she rubbed the pillow a little lazily, and whispered softly, "Can I sleep a little longer..."
Linglong watched from the side, thinking, the Crown Princess is really a pain in the ass, even a woman like herself feels like a puddle in her heart, let alone Your Highness.
She patiently called her a few more times before Tao Ti slowly opened her eyes, stretched her waist, and obediently put on her shoes and got out of bed.
Take a bath, apply balm, change clothes, make up...
After the full set of operations, the bright light outside the window gradually faded, from bright to dim yellow, and from dim yellow to dim.
Lanterns were lit up everywhere in the palace, and a crescent moon quietly climbed up to the horizon.
When "His Royal Highness is coming" came from outside the house, Tao Ti was smug in front of the bronze mirror—
She is used to being simple and elegant on weekdays, but today she put on a set of freshly made bright clothes, which is so novel no matter how you look at it.
Pei Yan stepped in slowly, and when he saw the slim and graceful figure in the room, he couldn't help but pause.
I saw that she was wearing a royal red brocade gown with folded branches and flowers. She was wearing a flying fairy bun and a red gold emerald emerald on her hairpin. There was a pair of gold-studded emerald drop pendants next to her ears. The ear pendants were green and matched her skin. It is more white and shiny, and the pink light is greasy.
Her facial features were already bright and beautiful, and this way of dressing up added a bit of charm. Her plump figure and snow-skinned appearance made people forget the vulgarity.
Fu Xirui coughed lightly, and Pei Yan came back to his senses, suppressed the amazement in his black eyes, strode forward, and called, "Ah Ti."
Tao Ti raised her small head, her eyes were smiling, sparkling, "Your Highness, you are here! Your eyesight is really good."
Pei Yan, "...huh?"
Tao Ti showed it around in front of him, and said with a smile, "You picked the material of this dress last time when you visited the West Market. At that time, I thought the color was too bright, so I didn't want to buy it at first. Later, you said it looks good, so that's the reason." I bought it. I didn't expect it to look good when I put it on like this... What do you think?"
Seeing the little girl's bright eyes waiting for his answer, Pei Yanqing's handsome eyebrows slowly relaxed, and her thin lips curled up, "It looks good, it looks good."
He was wearing a moon-white robe with dark patterns and tufted flowers in silver silk. This faint smile was like the spring breeze melting snow, clear as the moon.
Tao Ti's long eyelashes trembled slightly, and she sighed in her heart: In terms of good looks, who can compare to you.
…
The wind-receiving banquet is arranged at Lichun Terrace, which is close to Biying Lake, and the lake is introduced into the front of the hall to form a small pond with stones as peaks and flowers of four seasons. At this time, it is early summer, and a hundred flowers are in full bloom. When the evening wind blows, the fragrance of flowers is elegant and refreshing.
Pei Yan and Tao Ti sat in the upper seat, and at the bottom were Prince Mu, a group of high-ranking officials from the Luoyang Mansion, and their family members.
After everyone stood up and saluted, they took their seats one after another.
Tao Ti has always been not very interested in this kind of banquet, and sat with a lack of interest.
Pei Yan seemed to see her thoughts, and said softly to her, "Today's banquet is a famous banquet in Luoyang, water banquet."
Hearing this, Tao Ti's eyes lit up instantly, "Luoyang water mat?"
Seeing her reaction, Pei Yan raised her eyebrows slightly, "Have you heard of it before?"
"Well, I've heard of it." Tao Ti smiled obediently, and thought to herself, it's more than just heard of it!
When she traveled to Luoyang in her previous life, she had eaten water mats from several old restaurants. However, the modern Luoyang water mats have been improved. Although the taste is good, there is always something missing.
Speaking of this, I have to mention Thirteenth Uncle again. Thirteenth Uncle was born during the reign of Qin Shihuang, so he has tasted the original flavors of famous delicacies in Chinese history; this Luoyang water banquet began in Tang Dynasty, he naturally Also eaten.
Tao Ti was born too late, so she missed a lot of delicacies, so she can only learn about it from historical materials and Uncle Thirteen.
She originally thought that the Dayuan Dynasty was a superficial dynasty, but she didn't expect that Luoyang here would have water mats. For a moment, she felt like the pie was falling from the sky—
"Your Highness, when can we start the banquet?" Her dark pupils were brightly lit, and she looked straight at Pei Yan.
Seeing her like a greedy cat, the corners of Pei Yan's lips curled up slightly, "Hungry?"
Tao Ti nodded honestly, "Yeah, I'm hungry, and I'm hungry."
Pei Yan smiled gently, turned his face, and said to Fu Xirui, "Let's have the dinner."
Fu Xirui lowered his head and hurriedly gave instructions.
At the same time, silk and bamboo orchestras, singing, dancing and acrobatics were also played on the stage, which added a lot of lively atmosphere to the banquet.
After a while, I saw palace maids in light blue palace attire, carrying trays of dishes, filing in like flowing clouds and flowing water.
The reason why Luoyang Water Banquet is called this is because all the hot dishes on the banquet have soup and water, and secondly, after each dish is eaten, another dish is served after it is withdrawn, which is constantly renewed like flowing water. [1]
Although Tao Ti is looking forward to the delicious food, she also remembers that she is a princess and cannot shame the East Palace, let alone shame Pei Yan.
She sat upright, with a gentle and generous smile on her face, full of royal demeanor.
There are a total of 24 dishes in Luoyang water banquet, the first eight cold dishes, four town tables, eight big dishes, and four tails; among them, the first dish of the water banquet is also the most famous one, peony and swallow dishes, which originated from a generation of empress Wu Zetian. It is also named after a great prime minister in China. [2]
When the peony jelly dish was served, Tao Ti's eyes lit up. On top of the rich-smelling broth, there is a dazzling goose-yellow peony flower, with thin egg skins as petals, water-red cherries as stamens, and various side dishes with distinct roots, such as shredded shiitake mushrooms. , shredded ham, shredded bamboo shoots, shredded chicken, shredded sea cucumber, shredded squid, sliced magnolia, etc., under the side dishes, there is a fake jelly dish made of shredded white radish—
The hair-thin shredded white radish looks like crystal clear bird's nest shreds at first glance. It is fully soaked in the mellow and rich broth, bright in color and extremely delicious.
Tao Ti stretched out her chopsticks and picked up shredded radish. Under the bright candlelight, the shredded radish was so thin that it was almost transparent.
She had heard from Uncle Thirteen that peony jelly dishes are a special test of knife skills. Don't underestimate such a shredded radish. The chef must at least practice a pinhole that can penetrate ten shredded radishes before it is considered successful. The silk has to be steamed and dried nine times before it can be eaten.
She opened her mouth and took a sip, narrowing her eyes in enjoyment.
Pei Yan looked at her sideways and asked softly, "How does it taste?"
Tao Ti finished her mouthful and praised, "The jelly-vegetables made of shredded radish taste soft and slightly tough. It is paired with this fragrant and delicious broth. It's sour and spicy, very appetizing and delicious!"
Seeing that she liked it, Pei Yan said, "Then eat more."
The corners of Tao Ti's eyes curled up, and she said softly, "Your Highness, please eat more."
The warm scene of the two looking at each other and smiling fell on the eyes of everyone in the audience, with different thoughts.
The female relatives chatted in low voices—
"The prince and the princess are really in love, like glue, look at the look in the eyes of His Royal Highness when talking with the princess, tsk, it really melts people's hearts."
"Yeah, I also heard that the prince and the princess slept in the same room and ate at the same table. After all, they are newlyweds and they are sticking together."
"I have long heard that the Crown Prince Zhilan Yushu is a handsome talent. Now that I see it with my own eyes, I feel that these two words are underestimated when applied to him. And look at this Crown Princess, she is also bright and beautiful. When these two sit together, it is just as beautiful. It’s like a painting, it’s really pleasing to the eye.”
"Who says it's not..."
It’s not easy for the officials to chat about you and me between husbands and wives, but Mrs. Sun got entangled, and through the booth where he toasted Prince Mu, he confirmed again and again, “My lord, it’s really hot in the stands. Want Yulouer and Yujiaoer to come out?"
Prince Mu drank a large glass of wine, and gave him a sideways glance, "What do you think?"
Sun Fuyin heard the impatience, and quickly apologized with a smile, "Yes, yes, I will ask them to come up."
When the singers on the stage retreated, Sun Fuyin made a toast to Pei Yan with a smile, "His Royal Highness, in order to wash you off, I asked someone to rehearse a Hu Xuan dance, and hereby present it."
Pei Yanqingjuan's brows and eyes moved slightly, he took a sip of the fine wine in the glass, and then spoke slowly, with a gentle voice that was a little indifferent, "Master Sun has a heart."
Sun Fuyin replied respectfully twice, then turned his face and nodded towards the director of Jiaofang Division.
The music in the hall suddenly changed its style, from elegant and gentle at the beginning to cheerful and lively.
Tao Ti was burying her head in her mouth, and she couldn't help but be attracted by this exotic tune. She slowly raised her head and looked towards the center of the hall.
A crisp bell rang, and four sturdy eunuchs walked in carrying a huge water-red silk peony.
After the giant peony flower was firmly placed in the center of the stage, the eunuchs hurriedly retreated, and the rhythm of the music became more and more intense.
In the eyes of everyone, the gorgeous peony blooms slowly, and in the middle are two little beauties lying on their knees.
The two little beauties are wearing complicated and gorgeous red dance dresses, with fluffy long hair hanging down, icy muscles and bones, three-dimensional and deep facial features, amber eyes revealing charm, every frown and smile are full of style.
What's strange is that they can't help but dress the same, and they look exactly the same, they are twins.
Accompanied by the sound of music, they twisted their exposed snow-white slender waists, enchanting and nimble like snakes, and their skirts fluttered and fluttered, which was very tempting.
Tao Ti's eyes were a little straight.
Unexpectedly, I didn't see Orchid dancing in Xishi before, but I saw it in Luoyang Palace today.
Moreover, these two little beauties are super good-looking, as delicate as dolls. This figure and this appearance should be placed in modern times, and they will make their debut in C position in minutes.
May I ask who doesn't like such a charming, beautiful and versatile exotic beauty
Tao Ti watched with relish, and even understood why so many kings in ancient times were obsessed with singing and dancing women, and did not go to court early.
Prince Mu and Yin Fu Yin in the audience looked at the stage calmly, but saw His Highness the Crown Prince's face was indifferent, and he couldn't tell whether he was interested or not. Without blinking.
Lord Mu, "..."
Sun Fuyin, "..."
This doesn't seem to be the same as expected, does it
When they were wondering, they saw the prince looking sideways at the princess, his indifferent expression finally changed, and his brows frowned, as if he had said something else.
Suddenly, Prince Mu and Fuyin Sun seemed to understand something—
Is the prince a fear of guilt
In the seat of honor, Pei Yan's exquisite profile was drawn into sharp lines, his thick eyebrows were furrowed, and he was staring at his little princess.
She held her small face in one hand, and with the other hand, she took up the wine glass and drank it down from time to time. This chic and coquettish posture inexplicably resembled the ignorant dude in Chang'an City.
The corners of Pei Yan's thin mouth could not help but straighten, and there was a slight displeasure in his black eyes.
Doesn't he look better than the two orchids in the audience
How come I have never seen her look at me so passionately and obsessively
Perhaps his discontented eyes were too hot, Tao Ti suddenly recovered from Hu Ji's dancing posture, and looked at Pei Yan with a pair of confused and clear eyes, "Your Highness, why don't you watch Hu Xuanwu? They The dance is really good, can I reward you with money later?"
I can't give one button three times, but give some money rewards to encourage it, it should be okay, right
The corners of Pei Yan's mouth tightened, and he stared fixedly at her, "Do you really like watching them dance?"
Tao Ti nodded, "That's right, how good it is to dance. I always think that people who can dance have a very good temperament, but I'm too flexible to learn it."
When she was just a little cub, she cried and shouted to learn ballet, but her parents couldn't hold her back and sent her to learn—
After two days of training, on the third day she lay on the bed crying with tears and snot flying: Dad, Mom, I seem to be paralyzed, I can't move my arms and legs.
And then... there is no more.
Her dream of dancing died on the third day of study.
The memories came to an abrupt end, and Tao Ti looked longingly at the slender and flexible waist of the twin orchids, and sighed, "It's so good to twist..."
Pei Yan, "..."
He suddenly wanted to pinch her chin and turn her face to him, so that she could only look at him with infatuation and enthusiasm, not others.
Whether it's a man, or... a woman.
But reason still prevailed, and he didn't do it after all.
At the end of the Huxuan dance, the two orchids were dripping with sweat, their white and tender cheeks were blushing, like two delicate and beautiful flowers.
The men in the audience looked red-faced and agitated.
The female relatives in the audience had a straight face, spurned in their hearts, who only knew how to seduce men!
Although Princess Mu and Mrs. Sun Fuyin knew the inside story, but when they saw this charming pair of twin flowers, their expressions were not very good-
They are all noble daughters from high-ranking aristocratic families, and they have all been taught by the housewife since they were young, so they naturally look down on these obscene tricks of showing their waists and arms.
The enchanting Yu sisters stepped forward and bowed towards the stage, "Nuyulouer, Yujiaoer, I pay my respects to His Highness the Crown Prince and the Concubine the Crown Prince."
This voice is so delicate that it makes one's bones crumble.
Pei Yan looked indifferent, and said calmly, "Get up."
The two sisters got up gracefully, wanted to look at the stage but dared not, so they just lowered their heads obediently.
After a moment of silence, the golden and cold jade-like voice came from above again, but it was not the "raise your head and let Gu see" as they expected, but—
"You dance well, the princess likes it very much, Fu Xirui, thank you."
The smiles on the corners of Yu's sisters froze, "..."
It was Sun Fuyin who coughed in a low voice, and they came back to their senses, and quickly bowed down to Xie En, "I thank the prince for the reward."
Pei Yan said, "If you want to thank, thank the Crown Princess."
The Yu sisters were stunned for a moment, and had no choice but to thank the princess again.
When enjoying the dance just now, Tao Ti drank a few more glasses of wine. Seeing the little beauty thanking her now, she felt a little flustered, raised her hand, and said with a smile, "You're welcome, you're welcome."
Hearing the somewhat confused tone, Pei Yan turned his face away.
When he saw Tao Ti's blushing little face, a flash of surprise flashed in his cold eyes.
The little girl was fine just now, why did she become so drunk in a blink of an eye