Goodness.
Xu Milu exclaimed, "Wow!"
Hearing this, why do the terrifying beings in ghost stories seem so miserable?
Seeing that she was listening attentively, Wei Zheng smiled slightly and added, "Does the young master know the origin of eating pumpkin rice during the Ghost Festival?"
Xu Milu shook her head: "I hope Prime Minister Wei can enlighten me."
Seeing her sincerity, Wei Zheng, unusually, felt compelled to offer guidance:
"It is said that after the Jing River Dragon King died, he resented the emperor of our Great Tang Dynasty and haunted him day and night. He even caused the current emperor to go to the underworld. The underworld is dark and never sees sunlight all year round, so there are only watermelons and winter melons, but no pumpkins. Before Your Majesty returned to the world of the living, the Ten Kings of Hell asked Your Majesty for pumpkins."
Therefore, after His Majesty returned to the world of the living, he specially summoned Liu Quan from Junzhou to enter the underworld with a pumpkin on his head and yellow coins in his hand. This is why the custom of eating pumpkin rice and offering pumpkin rice during the Ghost Festival came about—it is also the reason why people pray to the Ten Kings of Hell for mercy, so that their elders can be reincarnated and enjoy happiness as soon as possible.
How can they be connected like this?
Xu Milu went through Journey to the West in her mind, feeling as if the complete world was slowly unfolding before her. The details in the book and the characters in the TV series seemed to travel through time and slowly appear before her eyes.
...
"Lord Wei, we've arrived."
The carriage slowly drove into the tall and majestic city gate, seemingly unnoticed by anyone; everyone unconsciously avoided the black carriage.
Xu Milu lifted the car curtain, and the view outside the window came into view.
Night had fallen, but the city was still brightly lit.
As the drums sounded in the palace, more and more people gathered in the market, their movements intertwined, shoulder to shoulder. Amidst the myriad lights of the city, red walls and green tiles, the passersby were enveloped in a hazy glow by the candlelight.
The roadside stalls were densely packed with countless goods on display. There were women dressed in Hu clothing hurrying by with their entourages, as well as dark-skinned Kunlun slaves hunched over in a corner. There were wealthy merchants dressed in silk shouting loudly, showing off the exquisite silks in their hands, and there were also itinerant merchants who performed snake tricks, playing the zither with snakes, which drew cheers and applause.
The sounds of hawking, weeping, cheering, and haggling mingled together. In a place unseen by mortals, a three-zhang-tall Night Wanderer, clad in exquisite armor and wielding a divine whip, strolled through the crowd.
On top of the statue of the Earth God sat an old man with a white beard, identical to the statue itself. He tapped his cane repeatedly, and golden light fell down.
Where the lights are bright, golden light shines from the top of the pagoda, and thousands of incense sticks rise with the wind, reaching the sky and connecting the human world with the heavens.
This is the real Chang'an.
This is also the real Tang Dynasty.
This is a truly authentic Journey to the West world.
Xu Milu let out a deep breath and sighed sincerely:
"Holy crap!"
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