An Feng Bamboo Horse

?The cross-court where Xia Anfeng and Bu Zhangbai had been, set up a theater that night as the backstage of the temporary stage in the main courtyard.All kinds of outfits are placed in the cross-court room by category, and the corner players rest, put on makeup, and change clothes in the room, just waiting for the head of the class to arrange the things ahead, and then summon them to perform on stage.

The east and west rooms on both sides of the main courtyard were tidied up the day before the birthday banquet of Marquis Dingguo, and they were reserved for the female relatives brought by the birthday guests to watch the play; while the male guests arranged tables, chairs and square stools in the middle of the courtyard, and put fruits on the tables. Snacks and tea.The position of Lord Hou is in the front row of the stage, and the seats of the eldest son, the second master, and the third master are placed in order at the rear of the stage.

Xia Anfeng has been very honest in the past two days, obeying Lord Hou's order and never taking a single step out of Lord Hou's mansion.Because of what San Yiniang said, he couldn't find Bu Zhangbai either, so he was bored in the backyard and practiced sword with the martial master in the house.Hearing the liveliness and festivities in the yard in front of him, people coming and going, his heart sank for an unprecedented time, and he never sneaked away once.

Lord Xia has been here twice, he was either following the command of the martial artist to raise his sword, or he was quietly reading military books in the study. Lord Hou felt that this kid was thrown by a horse once, and he seemed to have finally lost his maturity and reason. .

"This is how you look like Captain Yunqi. It is worthy of the title given to you by the emperor."

Xia Anfeng had other plans in his mind, such a prodigal son turning his head back was not entirely a show for his father.

If Xiaobai passes the academy exam, next spring he will go to Beijing to take the Provincial Examination for Ministers, and if he passes the exam, he will also have the Palace Examination.If the palace examination is favored by the emperor, who knows if he will return to the state?He has no relatives and no reason here, only the third aunt, the aunt who brought him up since he was a child, stays in the capital with nothing to worry about, and the second university has a bright future.

Xiaobai is an official in the capital, how can he still eat and die in the mansion?Since he could remember, Bu Zhangbai had been by his side, much closer than the two brothers Xia Feng and Xia Pingchang, Xia Anfeng couldn't imagine a day without Bu Zhangbai.

Besides, he is so weak, in an unfamiliar place like the capital, there is always a brother who knows the warmth and heat to take care of him.Under such a balance between the two, although the matter of the exam has not yet been written off, Xia Anfeng has decided to accompany Bu Zhangbai to the Beijing exam in the name of going to the Ministry of War to fill in the vacancies.It's best for the father to agree with him to go, and if he doesn't agree, create conditions to force him to agree.

Ever since, there were two days of hard work and hard work that made Master Xia Hou feel gratified after watching it.

The day of the birthday party has arrived.

The Marquis of Dingguo was decorated with lanterns and festoons, and it was very lively.

Officials and nobles who came to the Marquis of Dingguo to celebrate his birthday kept coming and going. There were dignitaries and dignitaries from the state who had long been friends with Marquis Dingguo, and there were military officers and generals who fought side by side with Marquis Dingguo in the past. I took this opportunity to pay my respects to the newly recruited officials I met, as well as some colleagues from the capital who had good relations with the DPRK and China.Even today's Holy Majesty has sent a special person to send birthday gifts to show the greatness of the emperor's grace and the strong meaning of the holy family.

Marquis Dingguo hadn't stopped since he got up at dawn, he was busy greeting visitors and arranging for the dignitaries to be seated.After the host and guest have met the ceremony one by one, have lunch, and sit down in the theater garden, the hall party that has been carefully prepared for several days will start with the sound of the gong and the official performance.

The first play is "Pairing of Immortals" ordered by Mrs. Hou Ye.

Xia Anfeng was sitting on the seat, unsteady, always thinking about the empty seat next to him, wondering when Bu Zhangbai would come over.The sound of playing, playing, playing and singing was so noisy, even if Bu Zhangbai hid in a corner to read, he didn't know how much he could read, so why not just drag him out to join in the fun.But he was thinking wildly, and his body still sat in an orderly manner without moving. After all, Lord Hou was sitting at the very front, and the courtyard was full of guests watching the theater, and every move would attract attention.

On his left side, Xia Feng's eyes kept watching Huadan's frowns and smiles on the stage, applauding, smiling, and nodding at the right time, just like accompanying his father to greet guests before, he behaved decently, advancing and retreating appropriately, just like a well-born son of a family.On the other side, Xia Pingchang was also watching the play, babbling and laughing, and wanted to get up and run to the stage several times, but was hurriedly held down by his confidant who was guarding him, to calm him down.

As soon as the celestial song was finished singing, Bu Zhangbai hurried over from the rightmost aisle of the opera garden, and sat down on the seat Xia Anfeng had left for him.

When Lord Hou heard the movement, he turned his head slightly, nodded to Bu Zhangbai who was saluting to him, and motioned him to sit down and listen to the play without going forward.

"You didn't come over for lunch just now, where did you go?" Xia Anfeng whispered, "The next show will be "Golden Beach", and I'm worried that you won't be able to catch up."

Bu Zhangbai said that he had seen this scene before, even if he didn't catch up, it didn't matter.Besides, today is mainly to celebrate Lord Hou's birthday and let the guests and hosts have a good time. It doesn't matter whether he can join in the fun.

Seeing his preoccupied face, Xia Anfeng was still haunted by what Third Aunt said the day before yesterday, so she comforted him: "Xiaobai, you have such a good mind, you must be fine, don't push yourself too hard, take a proper rest .”

The two of them whispered a little louder, and Xia Pingchang groaned angrily, expressing his dissatisfaction with being interrupted while watching the play.Bu Zhang pinched Xia Anfeng's palm, and the two turned their attention to the stage, focusing on enjoying the play.

Ding Guohou's mind was not entirely on the stage, he joked with his colleagues sitting next to him from time to time, talking about the recent big and small things that happened in the capital or the state.

An excerpt ended on the stage, and there was a moment of silence before the sound of gongs and drums sounded again.Several martial arts students came to the stage at the same time, all in military uniforms and holding soldiers, galloping around the field, hand in hand with several people who were also dressed as military generals on the opposite side, fighting loudly.

Chatting with Tong Jin about the addition of a little princess to the current emperor, Marquis Dingguo, his expression froze, his eyes turned to the stage.He hadn't read the playbooks, and today's hall plays were all handled by his wife and the housekeeper. Xia Zun thought that the female family members' preferences must be books about wit and beauty, and the full moon and the like.

Most of the performers in this hall are experienced actors. Although Jinshatan is a martial arts show that has not been included in the playbook of the hall, after a day and a night of rehearsals, the thrilling atmosphere of the battlefield is still performed on that stage, vividly It vividly reproduces the battle between the two armies of the Liao and Song Dynasties and the heroic devotion of the generals of the Yang family to serve the country in bloody battles.The guests watching the opera in the main courtyard were all attracted by the wonderful performances, and their eyes were fixed on the coming and going on the stage for a moment.

Xia Zun forgot to say hello to his colleagues, his attention was already on the stage, the jade teacup that was originally held in his right hand was slowly placed on the table next to him, and his other hand clenched tightly into a fist on the cuff.

Xia Anfeng watched this famous martial arts show for the first time, and he couldn't help but secretly praise Xiaobai for his vision in choosing plays, which was much more exciting than those limp singing voices!

He also took the time to look at the old man sitting in front of him distractedly, and found that unlike the lingering literary drama just now, the old man's back was standing straight and motionless, as if he was completely absorbed by the extremely intense and wonderful martial arts on stage.

Bu Zhangbai was also engrossed in watching the play, completely ignoring Xia Anfeng's admiring glances at him.

When the generals of the Yang family led the crowd to break through the siege, defending the line of defense, and waited for a long time for rescuers to arrive, and finally killed the opponents one by one, the jade cup tightly clenched in the hands of Ding Guohou cracked with a very fine crack. gap.The Marquis of Dingguo, who always remained unchanged when Mount Tai collapsed on the top, trembled slightly when Yang Ye slowly knelt down on the field, and lost his mind. An official named Xu next to him said a few words to him, Neither gave any response.

"...Master, Lord Hou."

Xia Zun suddenly came to his senses and came back to his senses.

The "Golden Beach" on the stage has come to an end, and the actors left the stage with smiles amid thunderous applause.

The official surnamed Xu said with emotion: "It's really a wonderful show. The bloody battle of the generals of the Yang family really reminds people of the Tianmai Valley battle 15 years ago. Cough, if it wasn't for Xia Laohou at that time The Lord tried his best to turn the tide, I am afraid that not only the Chinese army will be completely wiped out, but the enemy army may come all the way to the pass, and they will make people miserable, and the people will suffer....Ah,..." He suddenly stopped talking, realizing that he had talked too much , looked at Ding Guohou's pale face.

Xia Zun slowly accepted his words: "...Yes, our father and son fought desperately. Although we won by a narrow margin, we also... paid the tragic price of destroying a hundred thousand troops and... the death of Shuai Bu on the battlefield... "

The officer surnamed Xu took advantage of the opportunity to look back and look not far away. Bu Zhangbai, who was sitting side by side with Xia Anfeng, bravely comforted him: "Your Majesty is courageous and benevolent. He takes care of the only son of Marshal Bu. He treats him as his own son." . Bu Shuai Jiuquan knows, and he should rest in peace."

Ding Guohou didn't say anything, and gently called someone to replace the jade cup.After that, I never touched tea and snacks again.

Although their conversation was light, Xia Anfeng and Bu Zhangbai also heard sporadic words. Bu Zhangbai's face was pale, and he lowered his head when Xia Anfeng worriedly held his hand.

Xia Anfeng noticed that his palms were slippery, and during that short scene just now, this man was sweating a little.

"Xiaobai..." Although he was young, he also heard the elders in his family talk about the bloody battle 15 years ago with some martial artists. His father did not follow the battle due to injury, and then committed suicide due to depression.

Although it is rumored that Bu Qingtian's tragic death seems to be his own fault, because he led the Chinese army to advance rashly, so he fell into the trap by mistake and almost wiped out the entire army...

But this rumor only spread among the people. Dingguo Hou Xia Zun strictly prohibited anyone in the Hou Ye's mansion from talking about it.Xia Anfeng only remembered vaguely listening to Mrs. Hou Ye and his elder brother Xia Feng mocking him in private - they always hated Bu Xiushu and Bu Zhangbai.

Xia Anfeng didn't know if Bu Zhangbai knew about this rumor, and he never wanted to bring up the old incident in front of him.After all, the fortunes of the Bu Mansion's family have declined and the population has withered since those 15 years ago.At that time, Bu Zhangbai was still in his infancy, and Xia Anfeng was not yet born.

Bu Zhangbai felt a malicious gaze projected from not far away, the prince of the Hou Ye Mansion turned his head to face him, his lips moved slightly.

Xia Anfeng followed his gaze and turned to see Xia Feng, with a malicious expression and a sarcastically raised corner of his mouth, the man spoke in a voice that only the two of them could hear, amidst the din of drums and gongs on the stage. Saying: "If you cooperate with the enemy and betray the country, you deserve to die."

Bu Zhangbai's eyes blurred, Xia Anfeng stood up abruptly from the chair, turned around and grabbed his elder brother's collar fiercely. ?