Lunar New Year's eve.
The capital was deserted all of a sudden, everyone closed their doors and cooked big dishes to celebrate the New Year, and the streets were empty, not a single person was seen. Even the patrolling five city soldiers and Ma Squad have reduced their shifts. When I looked up, I saw a row of snow-white and empty streets. Occasionally, I saw a few people wrapped in jackets, bowing their heads and running away. They were also heading home. .
Lian Xiang was afraid that Xia Houlin would be alone during the New Year, so she asked Xia Houlin to come to the Shen residence to celebrate the New Year. Xia Houlin was embarrassed to go empty-handed, and came to the door with chickens and ducks. When he arrived, he found a pile of New Year's gifts from courtiers piled up behind the shadow wall. Xia Houlin stood with the chickens and ducks that were constantly struggling and fluttering, and suddenly felt like a country bumpkin.
Lianxiang complained that he was seeing strangers, came to eat the New Year's Eve dinner and gave gifts, and sent him to stay in Shen Jue's house, and went to Zhang Luo's New Year's Eve dinner by herself. In fact, this New Year's Eve dinner was for the servants of the Shen family, not including Shen Jue. The palace was too busy, and Shen Jue never returned to the palace during Chinese New Year, and it was common to stay up all night.
The Shen residence was not at peace. There was an endless stream of people who came to give gifts. The servants came in and out, busy transporting large and small treasures into the warehouse. There are also local officials who came to Beijing from other places to make a big plan. I don’t know which muscle was wrong in their brains. They sent a team of beautiful actresses, both men and women. When they passed by Xia Houlin, a woman turned her head to face He cast a wink. Xia Houlin suddenly got goosebumps all over and returned to the yard.
Shen Jue has always kept himself clean, and doesn't like to engage in those smoky things. In the past, it was also given away, and Shen Jue sold it all without a single one. Xia Houlin didn't worry that he would be fascinated by these strange shapes, but only worried that he would be busy in the palace alone, and would not care about the New Year's Eve dinner.
Ugh. Xia Houlin held his head to think of him, and scratched again in his heart. Why is it so annoying to be a superintendent, it is better to be a fan like him, at least when the wife and children are on the stove during the Chinese New Year.
Xiahou Lin was bored and wandered around the kitchen. The cooks are all from Beijing, and they cook all Beijing dishes. Northerners love to eat beef and sheep, and the ingredients are rough. Wild boar Kanto goose is a common dish on the table of nobles. The dishes are also big, one plate is enough for four or five people to eat. It is estimated that the palace is similar. Xia Houlin watched it for a long time and wanted to cook a Jinling duck in a pot. He also squeezed a few glutinous rice, sugar lotus and steamed cakes, and put them all in the food box. Son, he said he wasn't going to have New Year's Eve dinner here, so he hit the back door and slipped out.
He went to ask Situ Jin to borrow a palace tooth card, went straight into the palace, and walked all the way into the duty room of the Sili Supervisor. No one paid any attention to him, he searched for a long time and didn't see Shen Jue, and only after pulling someone to ask did he know that Shen Jue was still holding a banquet in the palace backyard. He didn't dare to go to that realm, because he just sneaked in. It's okay to walk around in the Slijian, and he can't run around in other places. He carried the food box to the duty room, put the food box on the kang table, sat on the throne himself, propped his chin up and waited for Shen Jue to come back.
The sun shines through the pine green soft smoke and the window lattice of the lantern brocade, and casts bright and dark spots in the room. Xia Houlin stared at the room full of snails and blond hair in a daze, and slowly drowsiness struck.
In my ears, I seemed to hear the rustling of the branches of thousands of trees outside the window. Someone in the next room was dragging a chair, his wooden legs were scratching on the brick floor, and he was scratching his ears. There was also the little eunuch talking, with a hoarse voice like a broken gong, Xiahou Lian wondered how such a voice could be served in front of the imperial court? However, all the voices seemed to be far away from him, like a dream in a previous life.
The door suddenly opened, and the sunlight poured in. His dark vision was hazy and bright, dazzled by the dazzling red, blue, and orange. Who came in, turned around the heavy four curved screens, and slowly approached him, he seemed to hear the rustling of clothes. He was still sleepy, couldn't wake up, and everything felt like a hallucination. The voice was approaching, and the eyes suddenly became dark, as if someone blocked the light. Something was lightly printed on the upward facing cheek, with a little warmth and a little wetness, like a flying flower passing over the side of the face, and resting like a light butterfly, so light, so fast , but comfortable and somewhat intoxicating.
He suddenly felt nostalgia in his heart, and hoped that the flower and the butterfly would stay a little longer.
When he woke up, it was already dark, and he was wearing an ermine skin cloak, which belonged to Shen Jue. He turned his head, Shen Jue was sitting on the armchair, and the golden color of the candlelight reflected on his face, making his profile flawless.
"You're getting more courageous, and you dare to sneak into the palace because I'm covering you." Shen Jue glanced at him, snorted coldly, and continued to criticize the memorial.
Xia Houlin was still a little confused, he was thinking about the dream he had just had, that dream was like a kiss.
"What are you looking at me for?" Shen Jue noticed his gaze and asked with a frown.
In a dream, how could Shen Jue secretly kiss him. Xia Houlin shook his head vigorously, feeling a lot more awake, and said, "It's nothing, I just had a dream."
"What dream?" Shen Jue asked indifferently.
"Spring Dream," Xia Houlin said, not daring to tell the truth, "I dreamed that a fairy kissed me."
Shen Jue's writing action was stagnant, and he sneered and said, "I think you have been single for too long, and you are thinking about spring. There is an actor in front of you who is secretly sending you a secret message, and now you are starting to have a dream of spring."
Xia Houlin was stunned for a moment and asked, "How do you know that she winked at me?"
Shen Jue coughed and said, "Of course I know what's going on in my mansion. Some people saw that the actor was restless, and thought you were messing around in my mansion, and came here to report. What's the matter? I am coming?"
Xiahou was in a hurry and said, "How can I be messing around, don't listen to other people's tongues." After that, he said with hatred, "Whoever is full has nothing to do, and the big New Year's Eve is behind me. Look at Grandpa if you don't grab me. his tongue!"
Shen Jue was afraid that he would continue to ask questions, and said: "It's alright, I know, I never doubted you, just say a few words for fun, but you are serious. I haven't asked you yet, don't stay at home, come to the palace to do it. what?"
Xia Houlin picked up the food box and placed it in front of him, and lifted the lids layer by layer, revealing the golden duck, white and tender glutinous rice candy lotus root and steamed cake, "Isn't this a New Year's Eve dinner with you? Hey, it's cold, do you have a small kitchen here, I'll heat it up and add a few more dishes."
"Why do you have to eat with me, didn't Lianxiang call you?"
"The reunion of family members is called New Year's Eve dinner." Xia Houlin asked someone to bring the dishes to warm them up. "This is the dish I made by myself. You have to show some respect."
Shen Jue's pen paused. He knew what Xia Houlin had done. Today, an actor cast a wink at this idiot, and he immediately ordered the restless thing to be sold. He also knew that Xia Houlin personally cooked Jinling dishes and brought Baba to the palace. At that time, he was dealing with the little emperor in the back garden of the palace. That unrealistic whim would put the palace banquet in the leopard room and let everyone and the tiger have a New Year's Eve dinner together. . God knows how much he wanted to kick the dead child and go to see Xia Houlin at the Slijian.
Although he and Xia Houlin were separated inside and outside the palace, he was in control of Xia Houlin's every move, but the fool didn't know.
After he was busy every day, the only thing to be happy about was to look at the note posted by the people below, which said Xia Houlin's whereabouts for the day.
Shen Jue pressed the corner of his mouth and said lightly, "Okay, it's up to you."
"The reunion of family members is called New Year's Eve dinner," Xia Houlin said, suddenly a little startled. He hadn't found it yet, and he didn't know whether he was dead or alive, and if he was alive, he didn't know who he would be having a New Year's Eve dinner with.
Shen Jue saw his confusion and asked, "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing, I just think of my brother," Xia Houlin stood up and leaned against the window, the sky outside was as dark as ink, and after another hour, fireworks would be released from all over the palace, and the fireworks would make the whole sky as bright as day, "I have some I'm afraid, I'm afraid that my brother is actually gone, but I haven't made him a spirit card. Without a spirit card, he won't be able to hear my prayers, and he won't be able to find his way back. He will become a lonely ghost. Home to go back to."
Xia Houlin looked at the dark night sky, Shen Jue looked at Xia Houlin, Xia Houlin always felt very lonely when he looked at the sky, like a person who has been wandering for a long time, which makes people feel distressed. Shen Jue walked behind him and said, "No way."
Xia Houlin looked back at him.
Shen Jue lowered his head and held Xia Houlin's hand. On Xia Houlin's wrist hung the star and moon bodhi that he gave him. The red bodhi seeds were like acacia beans. An inch of Acacia makes it so round and full.
"This string of Buddha beads is very spiritual. If you wear it, the Buddha will hear your wish." Shen Jue said, "Have you heard of a saying from the Japanese that gods are not created by heaven and earth, but rather It is based on the belief of mortals. If people don't believe in one day, this god will be gone."
"No, you can understand Japanese, but I can't."
"Now you've heard it," Shen Jue said, "similarly, as long as mortals always believe in their gods, their gods will always exist. So it doesn't matter, as long as you keep thinking of him, he will definitely survive."
——
On New Year's Eve, the Yunxian Tower was brightly lit, and the red silk was hanging on the beams one after another, falling straight down, enveloped by the rosy candles of the big red octagonal lanterns, the whole Yunxian Tower seemed to be covered in a faint rouge color . In this layer of rouge, the woman's skin is lustrous and flowing, like a fine white jade of suet. On the stage, she babbles and sings a play.
A young man in a worn sheepskin jacket stepped on a pair of cloth boots and entered the backyard of Yunxian Tower. The prostitutes in Yunxian Tower despised this kind of hillbilly, and some even thought they were dirty, so they all took a detour.
But the bustard thinks that this child is well-behaved, not like the gangsters wandering around in the rouge alley. She is very oily and likes to hook up with her daughters. She was so angry that she hadn't slept well for five nights in a row. But at first glance, this child didn't have such thoughts. She could see the bottom at a glance, and what she was thinking could be seen in her eyes, which made her feel reliable.
"Where are you from?" the bustard asked with a friendly smile as he led him into the yard.
"People from the mountains." The youth said.
"Oh, you're really from the country, I know just by looking like you." The bustard opened a door, put on her skirt and stepped on the threshold, "What are you doing here in Beijing? Can't grow any more at home? ?"
The young man followed the bustard into the door. Inside was a yard. There were many flowers planted in the middle, which had withered, leaving only the messy vines. There are wing rooms on both sides, all lights are on, there is an ambiguous sound inside, the halo comes out from the window screen, the halo-yellow color, each halo seems to imply a secret world.
"I'm here to find my brother." The young man lowered his eyes and said, "I lost him."
"Oh, this person is so vast, and the capital is so big, it's hard to find." The bustard took out the key and opened the door of the woodshed, "Well, you will sleep here in the future, and there was a helper who slept in front of you, and I don't know what happened. Shit luck, he got Mr. Chang's blue eyes, and went to the top. He left a few clothes here, you can see if you can use them, and you can put them away."
The young man walked in, put the burden on the wooden table, and put a few coarse clothes in the box next to the wall. He picked it up and looked at it. He nodded and said that if he could wear it, it was out of season.
"You, work well with me, and the wages will not treat you badly. If you want to find a brother, don't be afraid, and there is a door. Who doesn't know that our Rouge Hutong is the place with the best news, you can ask people to inquire slowly, there will always be I found it." The bustard said.
The young man nodded.
"Are you a new servant!" A clear voice sounded, the young man raised his head and saw a slender figure turning out by the door. There was a blush lantern behind her, and the charming halo reflected on her face. The bright eyes seemed to melt in the light.
"What's your name?" Ash asked.
Fireworks rose from the sky, the explosion sounded like thunder, and the figure of the young man in the bright flame finally became clear. He had a tranquil face, his eyes were as clear as clear glass, and a little fluorescent light on his right ear was dazzling.
"Xiahou." He said, "My surname is Xiahou, you can just call me Xiahou."