Chapter 423 The Queen’s Special Gift to Us
The last ray of daylight fades away and night falls.
A bright moon slowly rises into the sky.
On the large platform of the Imperial City Observation Tower, the empress, wearing a bright yellow dragon robe and a jade crown, led all officials to burn incense and offer sacrifices to the moon.
After the ceremony, the empress slowly walked to the wooden railing of the platform, lowered her brows and looked down at her people with a sacred and majestic aura. "Ancient admiration for the sages, eternal prosperity, peace and prosperity for the country, and the auspicious stars shining brightly. Today is the eve of Mid-Autumn Festival. I lead all officials to offer sacrifices to the moon and pray for blessings. May the divine power of Xiling be magnificent and unchanging throughout the ages!"
Beneath the city walls, the people once again knelt and kowtowed, shouting, "May the divine might of Xiling remain majestic and unchanging throughout the ages!"
The Queen laughed heartily and tilted her head to order, "Come, serve some wine! I want to celebrate with the people!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace! Long live the Emperor!"
The cheers from all over the city gathered together and echoed through the night sky.
Palace music was played on the platform.
The streets and alleys of the imperial city were all lit up with red lanterns and colorful lanterns, the lights were bright and there were laughter and joy.
"This queen is very popular among the people. Although I am not from Xiling, what she just said is really inspiring. I want to grab some wine!" Du Buqin rubbed his hands together.
The nine people are now at the bottom of the city wall. Looking up, they can see the bright yellow figure in the distance.
This feeling of looking up makes the people above seem unattainable.
The palace maids had already walked down from the platform, carrying cups of osmanthus wine and walking towards the people gathered under the city wall, causing even more commotion.
From the bottom of the city wall to the street entrance, it was packed with people. It was a sea of people. The people stretched out their arms and waited for the palace servants to give them wine so that they could start grabbing it immediately.
Suddenly, a shadow passed over his head and disappeared in a flash.
When the people noticed something was wrong, they looked closely and found that the tray in the hand of one of the palace servants had disappeared, and the whole tray of osmanthus wine had been snatched away!
"Who is so ignorant of the rules? Wait until the wine glass is handed over before grabbing it! You will be beaten with a stick if you do this!"
"Look over there, it's an old man! He flew away!"
"Don't look anymore, you won't be able to grab the rest if you look any more!"
The old man flew back and forth in just a moment and grabbed a tray with exactly nine cups of osmanthus wine.
The old man proudly shared a cup with everyone and said, "So what? I'm still the best. It's just a robbery, no big deal! Don't even mention that they can't step on my shoes. I don't even touch the ground. Who can be as good as me, hahaha!"
Bai Xiaofeng raised his lip and said in a cold tone, "Of course he is amazing. Even Miaoshoukongkong would be inferior to him in terms of his skill in stealing things."
The old man thought he was jealous and tasted the wine with a smile. The osmanthus wine was not strong and did not irritate the throat. It tasted more like flower wine, with a fresh and mellow taste.
"There's nothing lively here. There are pleasure boats on Lingyan Lake in the south of the city. Let's go over there to light lanterns and listen to music." Bai Yu finished his wine and threw the glass away casually.
Su Wu scratched his head and glanced at the platform. "Just leaving like that?"
They sneaked into the imperial city this time not just to join in the fun of the Moon Festival, but to find clues from the empress.
Tian Bao said calmly, "The Queen knows our identities. Since she let us into the city, she will come looking for us even if we don't look for her."
"How do you know?"
"The palace servants who came down to deliver the wine just now only had eight cups of wine on each tray. Only the tray that Grandpa Du grabbed had nine cups. That was specially given to us by the Queen."
Su Wu stared in astonishment. "It's dark down there, and the scene is so chaotic. How did you manage to see the whole scene so clearly?"
Bai Yu laughed heartily, boasting, "Tianbao and I learned this skill from Grandpa Du when we were little. It's all about stealing things when they're available...it all comes down to quick eyes and hands!"
"..." The three brothers of the Su family pursed their lips and snorted, "Pah!"
They also lacked the opportunity to work with Grandpa Du to fight against the strong and help the weak, otherwise they would have been quick-witted and agile.
What's there to be proud of!
The nine of them headed south of the city.
On the city wall, beside the railing, a bright yellow figure turned around and sat back on the throne, raising his glass to celebrate with the court officials.
…
Wandering under the lanterns, follow the main street of the city to the south.
Lingyan Lake is already filled with lotus lanterns, reflecting the starry sky and the moon.
Willows sway by the lake, and there are young boys and girls walking together, couples praying with their children, and old people who bring their children to enjoy the scenery of the lake.
In the center of the lake, pleasure boats shuttled back and forth, with the sound of stringed instruments coming from them, and singers singing and dancing at the bows.
The whole scene was joyful and harmonious.
Except for one place.
In a corner of the stone steps by the lake, several people held a lamp and a pen in their hands.
None of them wrote their wishes on the lotus lanterns in their own hands, but instead crossed the line to add luster to their companions' lotus lanterns.
"Look, what did the old man draw wrong? This snake! Are its eyes exactly the same as yours? This is the mark, you can tell it's your lantern at a glance! What gives you the right to draw hairs on my lantern?" The thin old man jumped up and down while holding the lantern.
Bai Xiaofeng seized the opportunity to paint a few strokes on the old man's face as well, "Oh, a mark."
"Grandpa Du doesn't like to be picky? Don't worry, I'll add a complete ghost for you... Godfather's eyes aren't that small, draw them bigger..."
"Little Wheat Ear, Bing'er, come over here. Don't get together with them. We're going to fight soon. Don't let me throw you into the lake!"
"Did you draw me this arrogant dog?"
"It's not me, it's Su Wen! How can a rough man like me paint? Is this a dog? It's obviously a tiger..."
"How dare you frame me in front of my brother? Get in the lake!"
When the fight broke out here, Tianbao had just pinned Bai Yu down and drawn a turtle on his face to avenge his grandfather Du and his godfather.
Tourists around here all retreated to avoid being caught in the disaster.
At this moment, a pleasure boat came slowly and stopped near the stone steps.
An old woman in a brown dress walked out of the boat. The surrounding lights shone on her face. She had a unique aura and was definitely not an ordinary person.
"Everyone, you are so kind. My master sees that you are having a great time here and wants to join in the fun. Could you please come aboard and chat for a while?"
Bai Yu was like seeing a savior, "Sure, why not? Tianbao, look at the invitation, why don't we stop fighting first?"
Du Buqin took advantage of the night to kick him in the butt, causing the young man, who had just stood up, to stagger. He then looked up at the sky and pretended that he had done nothing.
Bai Xiaofeng reached out and wiped his face to get rid of the black air and the black spots on his body. He would go back and settle the score with the old poisonous guy!
A group of nine people boarded the boat, and none of them looked clean or tidy.
The old lady Chu Yi saw all this but remained calm.
I lifted the curtain and entered the cabin, and the scene inside immediately jumped into my eyes.
The cabin was brightly lit by candles, with a low table and cushions placed on it. A guqin and a painted vase were placed in the corner, and there was a jade screen partition at the back.
Luxurious and elegant.
A beautiful woman in a purple dress was sitting beside a low table, one hand resting lightly on the table. When she heard the noise, she looked up, her peach blossom eyes bright and lively, exuding a noble air.
She glanced at the few people, and after a moment, her red lips lifted up in a smile, "I'd like to ask you all to come aboard and chat. Now that you're here, there's no need to be restrained. Please take a seat."
Bai Xiaofeng, as one of the only two elders in the group and the only reliable one, also raised his eyebrows and smiled, "Thank you, Her Majesty, for the seat."
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