Linque

On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, according to folklore, this day is the Shunxing Festival. "The fleeting year shines on the stars", which means that on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, the sky is full of stars, and all the stars and gods gather, which can predict people's luck for the whole year in the future. ①

I'd rather believe what I have than believe what I don't have. I'm idle anyway. It just so happened that they were going to the Qiongyu Pavilion to pick jades. When they entered the city, they turned around and went to the Baiyun Star Temple to worship Dou Muyuan. Jun, burn incense Shun Xing.

Both Chu Heng and Ling Ye have been to this place, beside the Xinghan Bridge by the Yongding River, the Yuelao Temple is also located here, just walk past the big banyan tree covered with red rope wooden plaques.

After leaving for a few days, I revisited the old place, and the boys and girls who put the river lanterns on the bridge were gone, replaced by lovers who worshiped God and prayed for notes.

Today was a good day, and there were a lot of lottery applicants. Standing by the bridge, Chu Heng couldn't help smiling as he watched the smiling and sad people coming and going at the lottery booth under the big banyan tree.

When he came back to Yuelao Temple for the first time, he felt very distressed. He was afraid that the spiritual lottery would tell him that he could not ask for anything, and he didn't even have the courage to go to Yuelao Temple to take a look.Now that he came again, Chu Heng looked up at the big banyan tree that covered the sky and the sun, and there were countless wooden signs hanging on it with red strings, which also had his and the names of the people around him.

At this moment, in this place of love, Ling Ye held his hand, and he already got what he wanted.

Perhaps they stood at the bridge for too long, and the old Taoist priest who set up a stall outside the Yuelao Temple walked over with kind eyes and said with a smile: "The two young people look so handsome, they have arrived in front of the temple, why don't you go in and ask for a lottery?" ?”

Where the sleeves of the robe were folded, Chu Heng scratched Ling Ye's palm with his fingers, shook his head and said, "I have already achieved consummation, I have nothing to ask for."

"Hey, consummation? People's hearts are too greedy and not satisfied. These two words are difficult, but can the younger generation take it seriously?" The old Taoist was very happy when he heard the words, "Today, the stars are going down to the world, so why don't you go in and ask for a lottery? "

This Yuelao Temple was not built by the governor of Jingzhao, and the small statues of the temple are not new. Compared with the Baiyun Temple next to it, which occupies two streets, it looks a bit shabby, that is, young girls and boys love to come here. After playing for a while, it has been able to continue to this day thanks to the little incense money donated by the great pilgrims of Baiyun Temple who gave alms when they passed by.

This old Taoist priest is white and fat, and the three sentences are inseparable from asking for a lottery. Could it be that during the Chinese New Year, he ate so well that the temple was poor, and he was anxious to earn money for sesame oil?Chu Heng was also idle, thinking like this, he bent his eyes and said with a smile: "How much does it cost the old man to solve the lottery? I can't afford it if it's too expensive."

The two of them dressed up in plain robes today, even if they didn't have brocade and jade, they still couldn't hide their demeanor.The old Taoist priest has been in the imperial capital for decades, and he has seen a lot of dignitaries and dignitaries who go to Baiyun Temple to offer incense, so he still has this insight.

For example, the one next to him who has not spoken a word, although his face is smiling, has an unreasonable sense of alienation around him, making people dare not even look at him - that is the nobleness soaked in condescension over the years. .How could such a person not be able to pay that little money for the release.

Knowing that Chu Heng was joking with him, the old Taoist waved his hands and said in a serious manner: "It's not expensive, it's just three pennies to get a lottery."

"That's fine," Chu Heng nodded and said, "I saved the money for eating Yangchun noodles at noon, and ask for a lottery." He took Ling Ye's wrist and entered the ancestral hall.

The fate of the emperor cannot be calculated, Ling Ye never asked for a lottery, but because of the marriage, he also came to interest, followed Chu Heng to pay homage to Yue Lao, and helped him cast the lottery together.

The bamboo stick jumped out, Chu Heng picked it up and looked at Ci Wen, he was slightly stunned for a moment, his gaze touched Ling Ye in front of him again, and he immediately smiled.Holding a bamboo stick, he walked up to the old Taoist priest and said: "If you say you don't want anything, you don't want anything. Is the old man believable this time?"

The old Taoist took it over and squinted it, took a breath and exclaimed, then stroked his gray beard and laughed loudly: "It's really 'what more can I ask for', this lottery can't be canceled, and there is no need to save the Yangchun noodles of the younger generation!"②

"Okay," Chu Heng smiled, "I won't give you three pennies." After finishing speaking, he put another ingot of gold on the table and said, "The incense money added will be returned to the gods. If there is a destiny next time, I hope you will come again." The old man is still there."

The old Taoist laughed so hard that he couldn't see his teeth.

Her Majesty the Empress once waved lotteries twice in this small Yuelao Temple.

In the 18th year of Xuanxi, on the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, the ten-year promise was made.When we said goodbye, the old Taoist priest was about to lose all his teeth, but he still did not forget to hold his incense stick: "Young students go in and ask for a lottery? It's good."

Chu Heng still said: "You have got what you want, what else can you ask for?"

The lottery that was won this time said: "Flowers are good, the moon is full, and life is long."——The lottery will be repeated, and you will know good luck when you see the words.The combination of the two beauties, a hundred-year-old reunion. ③

The old Taoist laughed loudly: "I can't earn His Royal Highness's three coins."

……

Come out of Yuelao Temple and go forward, you will find Baiyun Temple.

There are a lot of people worshiping Xingjun today, and many of them are wives, sons and daughters of major families.Although there are very few of these people who can see the sky so much that they can recognize the emperor's clothes at a glance, but if they do encounter it, they will inevitably have some troubles. They are too lazy to do anything, so they simply did not go to the main hall. The common people entered the side hall together.

Unexpectedly, they are not the only ones who hold this idea.

Chu Heng had just stepped on the stone steps of the side hall with one foot, and his brows frowned, but it was obviously too late, and the visitors had noticed him.The shadow guards of the Son of Heaven who were hidden in the dark quickly gathered and approached.Against the flow of people in the hall, a beautiful figure slowly walked out.

It was Jing Xueli who was wearing the skirt of Dayin women's dress.

Nanxi Guoshi expressed his sincerity to Emperor Dayin. He neither wanted to participate in the internal struggle between the emperor and King Jing, nor had much contact with the major families in the imperial capital. It makes sense.

On the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, Jing Xueli entered the palace to present the diplomatic anniversary gift on behalf of the Nanxi king. Chu Heng was also there when she met the saint. She did not expose his Dong Jun's identity in front of Ling Ye, but made things right for him. lie.

Chu Heng knew that Jing Xueli was buying and selling the Liang Zi formed in Yuluan Mountain four years ago. Although he didn't want to forget about it, he had no choice but to accept Jing Xueli's favor, so he could only let go of his former enmity for the time being.

The word "thank you" is impossible, Chu Heng didn't want to talk to her, turned his head away slightly, pretending he didn't see it.

Jing Xueli's eyes wandered between him and Ling Ye twice, raised his eyebrows slightly and smiled, looked at Ling Ye, nodded and said: "I heard that today is the Shunxing Festival among the people of Dayin. The habit of praying, I came here to meet the gods of Dayin, I didn't expect to meet you, but my little brother is also there."

Ling Ye nodded slightly, without explaining why Chu Heng accompanied him, he just said: "Taking advantage of the New Year's Eve when I have some spare time, let's go out for a stroll and worship God. Dasha, please."

Worship?

There is a majestic and majestic Changming Palace in the Jiuzhong Temple, and the emperor does not need to condescend to come to this side hall of the Baiyun Star Watching Temple.

Just before a cup of tea, Jing Xueli just accidentally learned a little secret from someone else, but what a coincidence, the two protagonists of the secret are in front of her now.I heard that there is a Yuelao Temple next to the Baiyun Temple, and that the peach blossom talisman she gave Dongjun Ji Wuyue at the winter festival in order to embarrass Dongjun Ji Wuyue was skewed, it is really accurate.

All right, Jing Xueli hooked the corners of her lips, just look at the one for the sake of the peach blossom charm——

"My lord," Jing Xueli called out to stop the Weifu emperor who passed by her, "I heard there is a folk saying in Dayin that the luck of the Shunxing Festival can be predicted for the whole year ahead. The blessing and misfortune of this. I don’t know if it’s true, but—”

Jing Xueli's eyes darkened, and there was a flash of indifference and coldness. She turned around, walked to Ling Ye's side, and said in a brisk tone: "On behalf of my lord, I wish you success."

Her words seemed to be expressing the friendship between the two countries, but Ling Ye suddenly felt a slight sense of ominous feeling in his heart, which was fleeting.

Jing Xueli has gone far away and continues to look for the Taoist preaching.

Before leaving Baiyun Temple, Ling Ye glanced back at her back, waved to call someone, and ordered: "During the period before she left Beijing, she was monitored by the shadow guards, and everything was fine."

……

On the other side, Jing Xueli's apprentice Yin Song watched the emperor's figure go away, and ran over in front of a row of god statues as if nothing had happened. , the emperor's shadow guards haven't gone far yet, let her wait."

——Ling Ye's hunch was right.

Nanxi Guoshi came here today to worship the gods and meet people at the invitation.

After the twentieth of the first lunar month, the princes and princes leave the capital, and King Jing will also return to Jincheng, the city of Shiyi.Before that, Concubine Jing Zhong Yiyun found the last chance to meet Jing Xueli, who is known as her mentor and apprentice.

A hundred steps away, behind a row of tall god statues, Zhong Yiyun, who had changed his face, stared at the figure of the emperor and the imperial servant Mo walking side by side, and asked the maid beside him: "I think Mrs. Wen Xinhou will take her with her today?" Is your daughter Shen Dai coming to Baiyun Temple?"

The maid should be, following Zhong Yiyun's gaze: "Now the "quasi-empress" Gu Rou is already negotiating a marriage, and Shen Dai, the "quasi-noble concubine", has no opponent. Shen Dai married into the Jiuchong Temple. According to the slaves, the Lin family will definitely bring Shen Dai to offer incense on the Shunxing Festival. It's just that the princess, the emperor has already left with the imperial servant Mo, and when Shen Dai arrives, she will not be able to meet her. I'm afraid it will be too late gone."

"It's not too late," Zhong Yiyun said in a soft voice, "Send someone back to the mansion to tell the prince. It's better to hit the sun than to choose the day, and the 'prospective imperial concubine' should know something, otherwise I always think that I am sitting on the Diaoyutai."

"Then what kind of opponent is Gu Rou? The emperor said one thing about the Gu family but not the other. If the Yanhe Shen family didn't clean up the imperial servant Mo who was backed by Lishan Mountain, Shen Dai would have nowhere to go. This show will be good." Yes." Zhong Yiyun covered her lips and giggled coquettishly.

What she said was true, at that time the carriage of Marquis Wenxin's mansion had already passed the Xinghan Bridge.Today there are quite a few officials and officials who came to pay homage to Lord Xing, and there were also many pedestrians, there was inevitably some traffic jams coming and going, Lin and Shen Dai had been stuck here for half an hour.

After crossing the bridge is the Yuelao Temple, where the Baiyun Temple stands, with a small gate and a small temple, so naturally it cannot enter the eyes of the imperial daughter of the sixteenth family.

However, the old Taoist priest who set up the stall was bold and cautious. The dignitaries went to offer incense for the sake of good luck, and they were rare to talk. A little incense leaked from their fingers was enough for them to chew for the whole temple.

It just so happened that the horse-drawn carriage of Wenxinhou's Mansion was right opposite the gate of Yuelao Temple. This was also a fate, and the old Taoist priest came forward to sell spirit lotuses and bring incense sticks for this reason.

Shen Dai's identities are different, Wenxinhou's Mansion has always taught her the etiquette of the mother of the country, so naturally they cannot tolerate conflicts from others, and they also look down on the spiritual lottery of the old Taoist priest.Before he could finish speaking, the maids standing around the carriage gave him a few taels of silver and sent him off.

But maybe it was the fate of the signing, the carriage was stuck in traffic for almost a stick of incense, and he couldn't take a few steps.What Lin and Shen Dai are looking for today is marriage, they sat in the car and waited for a long time, listening to the old Taoist yelling outside, they gradually became really moved, and they recruited him again.

Through the fragrant curtain of the Xuan window, Lin said: "Old Taoist priest, let me ask you, is your lottery really effective?"

The old Taoist said with a smile: "Madam, sincerity will lead to success."

Shen Dai then got out of the car and entered the temple, and won the third lottery.

The signature said: "The ancestral temple enjoys it, and the descendants protect it."④

"Sir, good luck!" said the old Taoist priest, "The girl was born in Wangdi, Demen, and was blessed by her ancestor Fu Ze, so she can live in harmony and have many children and grandchildren."

Hearing this, Lin and Shen Dai looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief.Lin nodded and smiled, a faint red cloud appeared on Shen Dai's cheeks, her eyebrows and eyes were lowered and she remained reserved.

The servant girl standing next to him shouted happily: "This lottery is really good! 'Enjoy it in the ancestral temple, protect it in the children and grandchildren', isn't our family the Demen Jiqing, the ancestors love it!"

Shen Dai raised her eyes and glanced at the servant girl, who immediately closed her mouth.

"It's okay, it's okay, the girl is right." The old Taoist stroked his beard, "Of all the lottery I read this morning, the girl's request is the second best!"

"Second best?" Shen Dai repeated.

The servant girl continued: "But didn't our girl get the lottery?"

"Yes, yes!" The old Taoist smiled heartily, "There is a son in front of him, and he won the lottery with his lover-a spouse? The fairy is also beautiful, what can a husband ask for?"

"Really." Shen Dai just smiled, she had already got what she wanted, and didn't take other people's affairs too seriously.

Seeing that the road outside became clearer, the guards driving the car came to invite, Shen Dai donated incense to fulfill her vow, and walked out with Lin's arm.

When he was about to leave the Yuelao Temple, he suddenly heard the old Taoist priest behind him say: "Young lady, stay on your feet, sign what you ask for, and if your ancestors have accumulated virtue, you will be able to get a good marriage. But this old man has one more word to offer to the young lady——"

"The ancestral temple enjoys it, and the descendants protect it. The blessings of the previous generation are extended to the descendants, and the disaster is also the same."

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① There is really such a saying about worshiping the star gods on the Eighth Day of the Lunar New Year's Day, and I made up nonsense to predict the fortune. ② Yue Laoling draws the 0th lot, the first lottery, the king of the lottery, and the resignation of the lottery: "The spouse? The fairy is also beautiful, what can the husband ask for?" The king who won the lottery couldn't solve the lottery. ③The 100th lottery of the Yuelaoling lottery, the last lottery, will be a lottery that repeats itself, good luck and good luck.The combination of the two beauties, a hundred-year-old reunion.Not much to explain. ④The third lottery of the Yuelaoling lottery, the upper lottery (some say upper lottery), it is based on the virtues accumulated by the ancestors, the harmony and happiness, the marriage is perfect, and there are many children and grandchildren.The blessings of the previous generation are extended to the descendants.Misfortune is the same.The blessing is extended to my generation, and I should try to extend it to the next generation.When everything is like this, everyone can enjoy it inexhaustibly.It is normal for the big Shen family to get this lottery, but it does not mean that the marriage is 3, but the authorities are confused. ⑤The sentences in this chapter and the signature are not original, they are quoted from Yue Lao Ling's signature.