"Yue... Yue'er?"
Zhu Ganglie looked at the scroll unfolding in the night sky, subconsciously touched his collar, cast his gaze towards the scholar in the middle, and howled, "Lu Liangsheng!!"
He stood up in a flash. Yan Chixia, who was next to him, was holding a glass of wine and discussing the way of wielding the sword with Li Sui'an. Before he could react, he was hit and fell to the ground. His fat body flashed by, and he took steps with a rumbling sound, waving his hands and roaring "Ahhh", like a chariot moving forward.
Under the seat, a short figure lying on the ground finally pulled out the whole chicken stuck in his mouth with a "pop" sound.
"Huh... I almost suffocated to death... Now that I've gotten it out, I finally feel better."
The Toad Taoist shook his head and returned to his original size. In the afterglow, the shadow cast by the candlelight loomed over him. When he looked up, he saw a huge footstep...
Bang!
Crash—
Two sounds were heard in succession. Zhu Ganglie stopped, as if he had kicked something. He looked down at the sole of his shoe, then looked at the pool over there. He turned his head and looked at the scholar on the opposite side who was also looking at him. He had a fierce look on his face, with cold light flashing in his eyes.
He spoke each word with emphasis: "The moon belongs to me, Old Pig!!"
"I know." Lu Liangsheng looked towards the pond and threw a chopstick in his hand. With a 'dong' sound, the chopstick turned into a red carp, wagging its tail and diving into the water. After a while, the water surface broke open, and a wet toad was pushed to the edge of the pond.
Here, Yang Guang and Yang Jian saw that the strong man was fierce and ferocious, and asked in a low voice: "Master, what does this strong man want to do?"
"Nothing to do, Your Majesty, Prince Jin, just watch the dance."
The father and son looked at each other, but turned back to look at the woman dancing on the bright moon in the night sky. Even the palace guards who were on alert all around secretly glanced at her. This was something they had never seen before. If they told others about it, they would have to brag about it for the rest of their lives.
"Lu Liangsheng, Yue'er belongs to me, Old Zhu?!" Zhu Ganglie repeated in a low voice.
Lu Liangsheng was also a little tipsy. He took the only remaining chopstick and knocked on the empty wine glass. The long-spouted wine pot beside him slowly rose up and poured a white line of water into the glass.
"I know. It's just singing and dancing to liven up the atmosphere."
"That won't work. How can Yue'er watch it with others..."
"Next time I'll give you something without clothes!"
"No..." Zhu Ganglie's angry voice suddenly stopped, and he quickly said: "It's not impossible. I think it's okay to take a look, right?"
He grabbed a fruit from the low table in front of the scholar, took a bite, then ran back and sat down happily with a smile on his face.
Yan Chixia's whiskers were standing out in anger, and he stretched out his hand to settle the score with him. The old pig, who was looking at the woman dancing under the bright moon in the night sky, put his hand on his face and pushed him back.
"Go away and don't disturb me from watching the dance!"
Under the bright moonlight, a woman with long sleeves danced, her skirt swirling. The bright moon suddenly shone down, illuminating the peaceful square. Yang Jian and Yang Guang, father and son, were suddenly dazzled, and saw on the bright ground, fairy air lingering, and the outline of a woman lying on her side.
'The woman on the moon actually came down?'
Not only Yang Jian and Yang Guang, but all the guards around them were so shocked that they couldn't help but lean forward slightly, wanting to see more clearly.
The smoke filled the air and gradually dissipated around. What caught everyone's eyes was a pair of light blue embroidered shoes with flowers. The hem of the shoe extended outward, and the skin on the slightly arched instep was white, which made people's hearts ripple. Along the arch of the foot was a long blue gauze skirt that supported the graceful figure. Before the father and son could see her face clearly, the long sleeves were waved, stirring the diffused smoke.
Everyone was slightly distracted. The pretty figure in the smoke had already floated up, her lotus steps lightly taking steps under her skirt. Her long sleeves fluttered across her elegant and beautiful face. Her beautiful eyes looked around and saw a black man who was gnawing on half a chicken at the table. He suddenly stopped and looked up. The graceful figure rolled up her sleeves and flew away into the night sky.
Under the soft moonlight, her dress opened wide and spun around, and her hair danced wildly like a blooming green lotus, gradually disappearing in the bright moonlight.
"Great...Great..."
Watching the moonlight hanging high in the night sky again, the banquet was silent for a while. Yang Jian and Yang Guang finally came back to their senses from the shock of the scene. They closed their eyes occasionally, and the figure of the dancing girl seemed to be imprinted in their minds for a long time.
After a while, Yang Jian clapped his hands contentedly.
"The Imperial Master's magic is so real that it is hard to tell the difference between the real and the fake."
Yang Guang, who was standing by, also came up and said, "Sir, I wonder if the woman who appeared through the magic is really here?"
Lu Liangsheng chuckled and shook his head, then raised his hand and pointed at the bright moon in the sky. The latter immediately understood, shut up immediately, and stopped talking, quickly changing the subject.
There was a smile on his face, but now there was some sadness.
"Guang, thank you for your hospitality today, Mr. I will leave Chang'an and head to Yanmen County in a moment."
Lu Liangsheng frowned slightly and put down his glass: "Why is this?"
The young man moved his mouth and signaled with his eyes to his father who was drinking and chatting with Yuwen Tuo. He leaned forward slightly and said in a voice that only Lu Liangsheng could hear:
"My brother is the crown prince, how can I stay in Chang'an for long? Moreover, Duke Yue has been hinting from time to time that I should fight for the crown prince position, but I am reluctant in my heart... So, it is better to leave early."
It was common for brothers to fight for the throne in the royal family. Although Lu Liangsheng had never seen it, he had read about such examples in ancient books, which were indeed not good.
"Well, since Your Highness feels uneasy, then Your Highness should do as you wish."
As the night deepened, the banquet soon ended. The emperor was old and could no longer bear the sleepiness, so he was helped by the eunuchs into the carriage and left while drunk.
Prince of Jin Yang Guang also took the horse over, climbed on it, rode a few steps and then stopped, turned to the figure standing at the foot of the mountain gate, bowed silently, then waved the whip and rushed to Quchifang with several riders around him.
"Brothers are truly connected..."
Lu Liangsheng went back to the temple with his sleeves tucked down. Looking at the mess of chicken bones and wine stains on the ground, he raised one hand and flicked his wide sleeves. A strong wind blew over, lifting the mess on the ground and rolling it up into a pile to be cleaned up tomorrow.
As for the others, they were drunk and as soon as the emperor left, they returned to their rooms and fell into a deep sleep.
Here, the scholar walked to the pool and picked up his master who was lying by the pool and spitting out clear water. He spread the master on his palm and walked straight back to the attic. Under the light, under the gaze of Qiyou who was propped up with his chin, he wiped the master dry, put him on the bed, covered him with a small quilt, and saw the woman blinking blankly. He smiled and scratched the tip of her nose.
"Go to sleep soon."
As he spoke, he yawned and waved his sleeves towards the lamp. The lamp flickered and the room went dark.
"Old demon, I'm so bored..."
Hearing Qi You's voice, Lu Liangsheng took off his green and white robe, hung them on the rack at the end of the bed, lay down on the couch, and fell into a deep sleep in his drunken state.
In the darkness, Qi You curled her lips, raised the corners of her mouth, got up from the stool, carefully climbed onto the bed, threw away her outer gauze dress, lay sideways beside the scholar, rested her face on his warm chest, and felt comfortable.
Soon, he yawned listlessly and fell asleep in a daze.
The moonlight outside the window is hazy, and night insects are chirping in the corner.
The old donkey lying in the grass in the woods suddenly twitched its long ears and raised its head as if it had heard something. A faint singing voice could be heard in the wind blowing through the woods.
“… the endless starry sky, the wispy night clouds…”
The treetops swayed, and a woman in a light green dress seemed to walk out of the moonlight and landed lightly on the roof of another attic.
In the cold moonlight, long sleeves dance and the singing is gentle and beautiful.
“… The beauty dances with red sleeves, the moon is on the treetops… The beauty smiles lightly, her black hair touches her brows, she is worried… After a hundred years of separation in reincarnation, I still miss you in my heart…”
Across the street, the door of the attic creaked open and a fat figure with steel bristles and fangs slowly came out. He looked at the graceful figure dancing with sleeves waving on the roof in the distance and gripped the fence tightly.
"Yue'er...it's really you..."
The moonlight was hazy, and her long sleeves fluttered across the beauty's cheeks. Her voice was sad and beautiful between her pale red lips.
"The wind blows the clouds away... My brother is on the other side of the sky, the moon is high up in the sky and the wind is cold and desolate, it is hard to see the beautiful lady standing under the moon anymore..."
The singing gradually faded away. In the moonlight, the beautiful figure stopped, looked at the pig demon standing in the distance, bowed and saluted.
"Take care, Tianpeng."
“Yue’er!!”
The pig opened its fangs and roared. Zhu Ganglie jumped up, stirred up a black wind and rushed to the attic opposite. The tiles clattered and his ferocious eyes looked around.
There was no trace of the woman on the rooftop.
'The moon...'
He raised his head and looked at the bright moon that gradually obscured the wandering clouds, "… Take care of yourself too!"
…
At the distant foothills, on the winding mountain road, the galloping war horses stopped. Yang Guang stood on the cliff, looked at the huge city in the distance, and bowed.
"I hope you will be a good emperor in the future, and I hope you can keep the world peaceful."
He stood up, took the reins and was about to climb onto the horse when there was a sudden sound of his feet hitting something, and a dark shadow staggered and rolled into the grass.
Um
Yang Guang hesitated for a moment, walked into the grass, and when he pushed aside the leaves, he saw a red, crystal-clear stone lying quietly inside.
He reached out to take it, and the moment his fingertips touched it, the thing turned into specks of starlight that spread along his fingers, up his entire arm, and then sank into his chest.
"Your Highness?!"
Seeing Prince Jin squatting on the ground motionless, the guard shouted tentatively and quickly dismounted. Over there, Yang Guang suddenly stood up and walked into the light of the swaying torches, illuminating a smile on half of his face.
"It's okay, we... won't go to Yanmen County, let's go back to Chang'an!"