Chapter 210 Longevity Festival
After dinner, except for Brother Li who was still on duty and had not yet returned home, the rest of the Li family sat in the main hall, eating snacks that Li San Niang had bought on her way home from work and chatting.
Tomorrow is the Emperor's birthday, and everyone is eager to visit Suzaku Square.
“Now our family has its own donkey cart. Mother and the children can sit in the cart, and we can walk alongside it to Zhuque Street.”
After finishing his snack, Li Erxiong told his father his thoughts.
Father Li shook his head: "You can go by yourselves, I won't go. I really don't want to go to such a noisy place. I'll stay at home and guard the clinic. If anyone comes to seek treatment, someone will be there to help them."
Mother Li chimed in, "Your father and I won't go. I don't like noisy places like that. But if you do go, you'd better keep a close eye on Xiao Si and Lu Zhu'er."
At this point, Li's mother looked at Li's second sister-in-law and said, "Lan Niang, leave Xiao Wu with me. I'll take care of him at home. You should go and see for yourself; it'll be quite a lively occasion."
Li Ersao naturally wanted to go, but Xiao Wulang was still young, not even five months old, and still needed to be breastfed.
Although Li's mother said she could help take care of Kogoro, if she wasn't home, Kogoro would only be able to eat rice porridge.
After some internal struggle, Li Ersao looked up and replied, "Mother, I won't go either. Wulang still needs to be breastfed. Besides, even if I went, I wouldn't be able to leave him alone."
Looking at it this way, it seemed that it wouldn't be quite appropriate for Sister-in-law Li to go with Li San Niang.
Seeing the expression on Li Dasao's face, Li Sanniang quickly said, "Sister-in-law, please don't not go either. If you don't, I'll go alone. I can't look after two children at once."
Li San Niang gestured with her eyes to Xiao Si Lang and Lu Zhu Er, who were still playing with the little yellow dog, indicating to Li Da Sao that she couldn't manage two children by herself.
Li's mother was still very understanding: "Alright, let Dalang's wife go with him. Sanniang is already struggling with just one Luzhu. Just keep an eye on Xiao Si. I don't trust Erlang."
When Li Erxiong heard his mother say that she was worried about him taking care of the child, he didn't say anything, but just smiled and whispered to Li Ersao beside him, "When I see anything good to eat, I'll bring it back for you."
And so it was decided. Tomorrow, Brother Li Er will lead the way, along with Sister-in-law Li Da Niang, Sister-in-law Li San Niang, the four little ones, Lu Zhu'er, Nineteen who will drive the carriage, and Qiu Xiang who will definitely be coming along.
The group of ten agreed to rest early so they could get up early the next morning and catch the bus to Zhuque Street to secure a good spot.
I slept without any dreams.
Emperor Wu woke up just after dawn as usual. Following his usual routine, he first warmed up by running two laps around the square in front of the main hall, then practiced his boxing, and only after sweating profusely did he sit down to eat breakfast.
While helping to set the table, Wang Da Dang asked, "Everyone, Commander Xue just sent in a secret report."
Emperor Wu swallowed the pickled vegetables in his mouth before accepting the scroll of paper handed to him by Wang Da Dang.
After reading it, Wang Da Dang took the lit candlestick and watched as the paper scroll burned out. Emperor Wu remained silent. Seeing this, Wang Da Dang gave a signal to the door, and several palace maids entered.
After Emperor Wu changed into a black robe with red trim and dragon patterns embroidered in gold thread, Wang Da Dang picked up a crown adorned with pearl tassels from the side and carefully put it on Emperor Wu's head.
Finally, Emperor Wu took a Tang sword from a shelf to the side, unsheathed it, swung it around a couple of times by the hilt, and then felt it wasn't quite right.
Wang Da Dang watched from the side, then stepped forward and took the last sword from the rack, bowing and presenting it to Emperor Wu with both hands: "Everyone, why don't you try this one? It was recently forged by the Weaponry Department."
Emperor Wu sheathed the sword with the dragon ring back into its scabbard and took the sword, which had a completely black scabbard without any decoration.
With a swift pull, the clanging sound of the sharp blade exploded in Emperor Wu's ears.
The blade is black, with only the sharpened part being white.
"A fine knife!"
Wang Da Dang used a red ribbon to help Emperor Wu hang the sword on the belt of his imperial robe.
After taking a couple of steps and finding the location suitable, Emperor Wu walked directly towards the palace entrance.
At that moment, Wang Da Dang called out from behind Emperor Wu, "Everyone!" Emperor Wu turned around, "This crossbow?"
Emperor Wu thought for a moment, then turned back and, with the help of Wang Da Dang, attached the crossbow with five poisoned arrows to his upper left arm, hiding it under his ceremonial robes.
"This imperial robe is too heavy and rather inconvenient."
Upon exiting the main hall, a brigade of light cavalry, the Golden Guards, stood in the square in front of the hall. The Golden Guards' armor was a bright gold, and although the sunlight was not particularly dazzling at this time, Emperor Wu felt that he was almost blinded by the golden armor as soon as he stepped out of the hall.
Fortunately, looking behind the Imperial Guards, one could see Xue Yao's Imperial Guards, dressed in black round-necked military robes.
Without any help, Emperor Wu used his waist to mount his black horse, named Chasing Wind.
"Let's set off."
The brigade commander struck his left chest with his right hand, bowed his head, and replied, "Yes, sir."
When Emperor Wu's tall, black horse took its first step, the guards in front of her and the hundreds of riders following behind her began to move along with it.
The scene was truly solemn and dignified, yet also exuded an air of military might.
The Ministry of Rites had another trick up its sleeve. As soon as Emperor Wu's horse moved, the nearest drum, which was as tall as two people and placed on the edge of the square, was struck by soldiers who had been prepared beforehand.
Like a game of musical chairs, the drum closest to Emperor Wu was struck, and the sound traveled out. Then another drum, three hundred feet away, was struck, and so on.
As Emperor Wu began to trot on horseback, the drumbeats became increasingly frequent.
...
Just like on her usual shifts, Li San Niang woke up at the appointed time and saw Lu Zhu'er's adorable, rosy-cheeked face as she slept.
After giving her beloved baby's forehead a sweet kiss, Li San Niang gently called for Dewdrop to get up.
Today I'm going to Zhuque Avenue to watch Emperor Wu inspect the troops outside the city, and I'm also thinking of going to the West Market.
So last night, Brother Li told me that I had to get up early, leave early and arrive early so that I could find a good spot.
If you go too late, you probably won't see anything at all.
Therefore, Li San Niang could only suppress her heartache and wake up Lu Zhu'er, her darling.
After everything was settled, without even having time for breakfast, Li San Niang and the others took the carriage driven by Shijiu to Zhuque Street.
Of course, a strong donkey couldn't pull so many people, so everyone from Li Dalang to Li Sanlang got off the cart and followed along.
As a result, when they arrived at the road near the gate, wow, looking at this long queue, it seemed that these people had left home before dawn to line up at the gate.
As luck would have it, the Zhou family, who lived next door, were right in front of the Li family in line.
"Oh, Grandpa Zhou, you're here so early."
After getting off the carriage and greeting Li Erxiong, Zhou Dalang replied, "How can it be considered early? Look, those ahead are the really early ones."
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