Every New Year's Eve in the palace, fireworks are set off in the imperial city. It is placed on the opposite bank of Taiye Pond, standing on the second floor of Yongle Hall, so you can see the whole picture.
However, on the second floor of Yongle Hall, the first place should be reserved for the concubines and concubines of the emperor, and the ministers of noble families would need to squeeze in behind.
Jun Huailang has come to the palace every year to watch fireworks since he was a child. He was naughty and short in his youth, and did not want to be crowded with people. So he sneaked out on his own and looked elsewhere.
I found a corner building on the west side of Taiye Pond.
The turret was usually the place where the guards stood guard. In the 30th year, half of the guards in the palace were transferred to the Yongle Hall, and the turret was empty. Its direction is the same as that of Yongle Hall, and there is a vast lake in front of it, so there is no palace tower to block it, and you can just see the fireworks set off by the palace people.
When Jun Huailang was young, he came to see it by himself, and then brought Jun Xiaowu with him. A few years later, Jun Xiaowu went to Yumen Pass, and Jun Linghuan grew up again, so he took his sister to see it.
But today both of them are absent.
Most of the New Year's Eve banquet was in progress, and it was almost midnight. Jun Huailang left the table ahead of time, and took Xue Yan out, leading him all the way to the corner building he found.
"That's it." The corner tower had four floors, and when he reached the top, Jun Huailang was out of breath. Standing on the terrace of the corner building, he turned his head and said to Xue Yan with a smile. "At 4 a.m., there will be fireworks on the other side of Taiye Lake. It looks just right from here."
The palace was very lively today, and the lights were lit everywhere, and there was a splendor all around, which brightened the night. The Taiye Pond is surrounded by living water. It does not freeze in winter. The sparkling waves reflect the lights of the imperial city.
Jun Huailang was standing there, and the light outside was just dappledly shining on his face.
Xue Yan stood behind him, bowed his head slightly, and could see his profile.
He hummed lightly.
Jun Huailang drank some wine at the moment, so he talked more. He leaned against the railing, turned around, resting his elbows on the railing.
"Will your Yan County set off fireworks during Chinese New Year?" he asked.
Xue Yan shook his head.
There are no fireworks, but there are wolf smoke, beacon fires, and a short-lived sharp and bright signal that suddenly lifts into the sky.
Jun Huailang narrowed his eyes and smiled lazily.
"That's fine," he said with a smile. "Today is the first time I watched the fireworks with me, so it's not worth telling you about this place - even the Sixth Highness doesn't know about it."
It's not that he didn't tell Xue Yunhuan. Every year on New Year's Eve, Xue Yunhuan accompanies the Queen, and naturally he will not have the opportunity to run out of the Yongle Palace like him.
Jun Huailang laughed to himself, naturally he didn't know, when he smiled, all the lights around him were reflected in his eyes.
At this moment, a fire suddenly rose to the sky.
Xue Yan was used to seeing the flares sent out on the battlefield, and suddenly saw the flames breaking through the air.
But following closely, Jun Huailang grabbed him by the sleeve.
"Look!" He heard Jun Huailang's clear voice, and he was a little surprised.
Xue Yan followed him and looked up, and saw the fire exploded in the air, and suddenly a cluster of sparks exploded, and the sparks scattered, becoming a firework.
Immediately after, fireworks burst into the sky one after another, and the sparkling sparks illuminated the large night sky in front of them.
Xue Yan paused, lowered his head involuntarily, and looked at Jun Huailang who was standing beside him.
The fireworks rose and fell one after another, and a large number of bright fireworks burst into the air, reflecting in Jun Huailang's cold, thick black eyes.
Xue Yan looked up again and looked at the fireworks in the sky.
For a while, there was only the sound of fireworks exploding, and the subtle crackling sound of the fireworks as they fell. The fireworks displayed in the palace were very impressive, and the fireworks continued for a quarter of an hour without stopping.
Jun Huailang watched for a while, turned his head inadvertently, and saw Xue Yan's profile.
The bright fireworks reflected on his face, illuminating a bright and dim light. Those light-colored eyes seemed to be warmed by fireworks, and they didn't look as cold and ruthless as in the previous life.
Xue Yan seemed to sense his gaze and turned his head to look at him. Those bright eyes stained with fireworks suddenly looked into Jun Huailang's eyes, hot and deep, making his heart beat twice faster.
Jun Huailang seemed to have suddenly discovered that Xue Yan had an outstanding appearance, and his heart was suddenly hit by his overly good-looking eyes.
However, this slight throbbing was instantly drowned out by the sound of fireworks blasting one after another, like ripples on the surface of the water, and disappeared in an instant.
Suddenly, he saw Xue Yan move his lips and say something.
The sound of the fireworks was too loud, obscuring his voice. Jun Huailang raised his voice and asked, "What did you say?"
Then, he saw Xue Yan's face enlarged in front of him.
The fireworks cast a soft light on him, and Jun Huailang felt that Xue Yan staggered his face and stopped by his ear, his warm breath carried his steady voice and landed on him. own ears.
"Happy New Year," he said. "peaceful always."
—
Jun Huailang's ears went numb, as if a tiny electric current had been passed through it.
He turned his head blankly and looked at Xue Yan.
At this moment, Xue Yan's eyes sank and he stood up straight.
"Someone," he said.
A night wind blew lightly, with the coldness of winter, and it took Jun Huailang's brief numbness away with ease.
He came back to his senses: "Huh? Who?"
"Someone came up." Xue Yan said, looking back alertly.
Jun Huailang was a little surprised, who was looking for it? The fireworks haven't stopped yet, everyone is watching, why would anyone come here to look for themselves
He turned around in surprise. Just then, the fireworks stopped temporarily.
He saw a little palace maid climbed up panting, ran in front of him, and blessedly said, "His Royal Highness, the servant has finally found you!"
Jun Huailang asked, "What's the matter?"
The little palace maid said: "Go back to your highness, it was the lady of the country who asked the servants to come to look for you. Miss Jun just saw that you were not there, so she was looking for you in a hurry, and the Lord of the country also said that she has something to talk to you. The servants have just been in the Yongle Palace. I can't find it, and seeing that there are two people upstairs here, I think it's His Highness here."
Jun Huailang heard the words and looked back at Xue Yan.
He originally wanted to call Xue Yan with him, but his father had something to say to him, so it was not suitable to call Xue Yan with him.
At this moment, the fireworks that had stopped for a while started to go off again. The sky was dark, and the fireworks exploded all of a sudden.
It also illuminated the face of the little palace maid hidden in the dark for a moment.
Jun Huailang turned around and said to Xue Yan, "Then I'll go back first, Fifth Highness, after you finish watching the fireworks, you can go back the same way."
Xue Yan paused, glanced at the palace maid, nodded and said, "Okay."
Jun Huailang said apologetically, then turned around and followed the maid downstairs.
The place they came from was remote, and the lights below were thin. After leaving the corner tower, Jun Huailang, who watched the fireworks for a long time, felt that his eyes were dark, and some could not adapt to the dim light.
However, the palace maid who was leading the way was fast, walking far ahead of him, forcing Jun Huailang to run faster to catch up with her.
"This sister, did my father say, what is the matter with me?" Jun Huailang asked.
The palace maid paused for a while, then lowered her head and said, "I don't know about slaves and maids. Please ask again when Your Highness sees the grandfather of the country."
Jun Huailang nodded.
From them back to Yongle Hall, the distance is not too short, so Jun Huailang had to take Xue Yan out ahead of time.
But the road he walked was very familiar. He walked behind the palace maid for a while, and when he reached a fork in the road, he saw the palace maid go in another direction.
"Sister, are you going the wrong way?" Jun Huailang hurriedly stopped her. "It's farther there."
The palace maid stopped and turned around, but did not go back.
"Your Highness, the road just now can't be walked," she said. "The slaves just passed by and saw that the two eunuchs scattered the firecrackers that were carried back to the palace, and almost went off. At this time, the nitrates were being cleaned up."
Just as Jun Huailang was hesitating, he heard the palace maid urged, "Your Highness, don't let the Duke wait."
Jun Huailang glanced in that direction again and taught her a reminder, so he had no choice but to speed up and follow the palace maid.
This road is next to Taiye Pool. Although Chang'an is cold in winter, Taiye Pond is living water. Only a thin layer of floating ice is formed on the surface. Walking by the pool, one can feel the chill in the water surging upwards.
The cold air penetrated Jun Huailang's cloak and penetrated directly into his body, making him feel a little chill in his spine, and his heart was inexplicably a little helpless.
He always felt something was wrong.
He couldn't help but silently review the replay in his heart, just what the palace maid said. But after thinking about it, there is nothing wrong.
"Which palace maid are you?" Jun Huailang asked. "It's not from my aunt's place. I see you are very friendly."
The palace maid didn't seem to hear.
Jun Huailang followed two steps up and asked again.
Then the palace maid said, "His Royal Highness Hui Shizi, the servants are serving in Yongle Palace."
Jun Huailang responded.
But immediately after, he recalled that in the tone of this palace maid, there was a little bit of nervousness and confusion hidden in it.
"Served by Yongle Palace?" Jun Huailang frowned and stopped. "The servants of Yongle Palace are usually the palace servants who are in charge of sweeping. How can you pass the word on behalf of the Duke? Which palace is it from? Don't lie to me."
The palace maid turned around and glanced at him from a distance.
It was dark here, and Jun Huailang could not see the expression on her face. He was inexplicably flustered and took a step back.
He always felt that there was something wrong with the palace maid, but he couldn't say what was wrong. It's just too coincidental, how could she find herself so far away from the pavilion, and why is she the only one who came, and the road that she had taken happened to be impossible again
Moreover, Ling Huan has always been well-behaved, and he rarely starts to make a fool of himself because he can't see him for a moment on weekdays.
"You go back first." Jun Huailang took another step back and said lightly. "I'm afraid that the fifth prince will not be able to find the way, I will go back and wait for him to go together."
The palace maid did not speak, and rushed forward quietly.
"His Royal Highness, don't blame the servants." He heard the palace maid say.
Immediately following, Jun Huailang's wrist fell into her hands. The strength is so great that at first glance, it is a person with high martial arts, and it is definitely not an ordinary palace maid.
Immediately afterwards, the world was spinning for a while, and Jun Huailang only felt that his steps were empty, and after that, he was thrown into the cold water of Taiye Pond.
He didn't know how to swim, and before he had time to struggle for help, the biting cold water immediately numbed his nerves and swallowed him into the bottomless darkness.