Half in the river wind, half in the clouds

Although the house was a mess and full of worries and busyness, Jiang Feng had the most pleasant time there.

Guan Shanyun is a person who can't sit still, and Jiang Feng is not a quiet person. Now that they are both cuckolded, they feel sympathy for each other and then cherish each other. There are many ways for the two to heal their emotional pain, such as watching a variety of operas, visiting the east and west markets, hanging out in restaurants and teahouses, listening to music...

Jiang Feng is now a wealthy woman. She was rewarded with two large carriages by Princess Taiping, and Shen's mother adopted her as her adopted daughter and gave her many gifts. Guan Shanyun also has many ways to make money. The key is that he is generous to his friends. If Jiang Feng takes a second look at something, he will definitely have it in front of him the next day.

Jiang Feng even needed to set up a separate room to store her "empire", which was filled with all kinds of useful and useless items. Mrs. Jiang was furious and kept scolding her as a "prodigal son", but Jiang's mother, contrary to her usual behavior, just let it go.

Later, Jiang Feng became fascinated by the story of Lady Xian, which was told by a female teacher in Yunxi Tower. The story was about a female hero named Xian Ying, who was born in poverty but was resourceful. She was first a tribal leader, and later married Feng Bao, the governor of Gaoliang. In the end, the couple worked together to quell the rebellion and submit to the court. This was a complete guide to the heroine, and Jiang Feng was excited after listening to it.

When Jiang Feng went out, he always dressed like a man, with his hair tied up, plain clothes, long boots, and sometimes a "moustache", making it difficult to tell whether he was a man or a woman. Jiang Feng's masculine attire was very pleasing to the eye, but it was ultimately no match for Guan Shanyun's heroic and tough image. When a certain lady sent a matchmaker to chat with him, Jiang Feng could no longer bear it, so he put his arm around Guan Shangyun's neck and said to the matchmaker, "This boy is a man!"

When the maid saw the two handsome men being intimate, her face turned red, then she showed a look of contempt and stomped her feet and left.

Guan Shanyun immediately came to his senses, and whenever anyone coveted his looks, he would use this method to pull Jiang Feng over to deflect them. For a time, the news that Liangzhou Guan Jingren's eldest son had a good relationship with Longyang spread everywhere.

Such fooling around and playing can temporarily relieve the pain of emotions, and I have a period of carefree days, and before I know it, the end of the year has come.

The servants had made new winter clothes and shoes for Jiang Fei when she got married, but Jiang's mother felt that it was not enough, so she made another set for each person before the New Year. Considering the hard work of the year, Jiang Feng's suggestion was followed and three months' wages were paid extra at the end of the year. Jiang's father was unemployed at home and could only drink wine, drink tea and play chess. Wine and tea can be drunk alone, but Go must be played against each other. Jiang Zuo was busy with official duties, and Jiang You's IQ was only suitable for playing Gobang. Jiang's mother wanted to prepare New Year gifts, so Jiang's father turned his attention to Jiang Feng and Guan Shanyun.

Jiang Feng's chess skills were not very good, and he was defeated by Shen Guxing in just a few moves, but it was easy for him to beat Jiang's father. Jiang's father's chess skills were not very good either, and his chess character was not very good. He would scowl when he lost. But Jiang Feng adhered to the principle of respecting his opponent and never let him win, so Jiang's father always lost miserably.

Jiang Feng used to be careful and respectful to Jiang's father in everything, but now that she has fallen into her current situation, she no longer compromises and just lets her nature run wild. Jiang's father, on the contrary, becomes annoyed and pityful.

Guan Shanyun couldn't stand it any longer, so he took over from Jiang Feng and became Jiang's father's chess partner, losing eight out of ten games. Jiang Feng scoffed at his letting the opponent win, but Jiang's father enjoyed it very much.

One day, Guan Shanyun lost again by half a move, and Jiang Feng turned away in frustration. Guan Shanyun apologized to Jiang's father and left, then turned to chase him.

Father Jiang felt that "my virtuous nephew is very much in my heart", and as he watched the two of them chasing each other, he couldn't help but have other thoughts.

In this way, it was New Year's Eve. Jiang Fengshen thought that the past year was not good, so she made every effort to make up for it in the new year. She got up early and changed into a brand new red long skirt with pleated sleeves and the sleeves and arms sprinkled with gold. She combed her hair into a lively and vivid Chaoyun Jinxiang bun, inserted a red agate chalcedony hairpin, and put on light makeup. She came to the hall in a neatly dressed manner, and everyone's eyes lit up. The aunt smiled and pulled the girl over, and stroked her hair affectionately, praising her beauty.

Liu Nezhi has been transferred to Chang'an to take up a post. Their children are too young, so Jiang Lan has to wait until the weather warms up before coming over. So Liu Nezhi temporarily lives in the Jiang family.

Guan Shanyun also stayed in Chang'an under the pretext of attending Jiang Zuo's wedding. He originally had another place to live, but was later enthusiastically kept in Jiang's mansion by Jiang's mother and father with a lot of reasons.

After all, Chu Yan married as the daughter of the Jiang family, and the two of them still felt a little guilty towards Guan Shanyun.

But no matter what, this year was a lively one. After breakfast, the younger generations began to prepare to paste the peach charms. Jiang Zuo wrote, Jiang Feng ground the ink, Guan Shanyun applied the paste, and Jiang You pasted them.

Cousin Xingjian bought a large cart of fireworks and firecrackers early in the morning and placed them under the eaves of the west side.

As soon as the busy work here stopped, the Linzi Prince's Palace and the Zhongshan County Prince's Palace came to reward New Year gifts, including five sheep, two stone of rice, five stone of flour, two dou of rice wine, and some silk, as well as gold and silver utensils.

Seeing the New Year gifts from Prince Zhongshan's Mansion, the Jiang family members looked embarrassed, but Guan Shanyun looked indifferent. Jiang Feng praised him for his composure even when faced with a collapse of the mountain.

On New Year's Eve, the Jiang family followed the custom of Liangzhou and spread a layer of millet and wheat straw on the ground. It made a creaking sound when people walked on it. It is said that evil spirits are most afraid of such sounds and will not dare to offend them in the following year.

This year's Nuo opera was more grand than previous years. In previous years, Jiang Zuo and Jiang You just danced around in bear skins.

Nuo opera is a bit like the shaman exorcism in the Qing Dynasty palace drama, with twenty-four young men in black clothes and red hats, their faces painted with ferocious patterns in various colors of ink, and lined up in rows of six. There is also a Fangxiangshi host and a singing leader, two people beating drums, and the Taibu Ling is responsible for exorcising ghosts.

The whole family was standing in the yard watching. They didn't understand a word that Xiang Fang and Chang Shuai said, but that didn't stop them from believing it, as if they were really talking to ghosts and gods. Just as they were watching intently, suddenly Taibu Ling rushed in front of Jiang Feng with a stick. The blue and yellow mask scared Jiang Feng so much that he screamed and turned to hide, not caring who was next to him and threw himself into the other person's arms.

The Grand Master waved his stick wildly, muttering something. The meaning was obvious, the evil spirit on Jiang Feng. After a while, Jiang Feng came to his senses and realized that there was also a drum sound coming from this strong body, "bang bang bang", louder than the sound of Nuo opera.

She raised her head and saw Guan Shanyun looking at her with a ruffian smile, but a mysterious blush appeared on his face.

Jiang Feng was startled and let go as if he had been electrocuted, then felt it was too abrupt, so he symbolically stroked the other person's clothes and grinned with an ingratiating smile.

Guan Shanyun slapped her hard and shouted, "Watch the show!"

Seeing this, everyone did not think there was anything wrong and continued to watch the show. However, Guan Shanyun's mind drifted away through the mysterious and awe-inspiring Nuo opera.

Over the past year, I have found this process to be quite complicated, but of course I have gained a lot.

As the youngest and only unmarried girl in the family, Jiang Feng was well taken care of because of her love injury. She received more than ten red envelopes of New Year's money. In addition to the elders, Jiang Zuo, Liu Nezhi, Bai Xingjian and Guan Shanyun also gave red envelopes. She received the New Year's money and happily set off firecrackers. Although it was not comparable to the technological fireworks show of the 21st century, it was still a different kind of splendor.

Amid the sound of firecrackers and the sky full of fireworks, Jiang Feng raised his head and pressed the delete key in his mind.

On the first day of the new year, Jiang Zuo went to the court to pay his respects, and the ministers wished the emperor a happy new year. Old Lady Jiang, Jiang's mother, and Jiang's aunt split up and went to the two palaces to wish the two concubines a happy new year. Guan Shanyun also went out after receiving a letter from Pei Min, the general of the Left Jinwu Army. In short, Jiang Feng was the only one left at home.

On the second day of the Chinese New Year, Madam Shen brought her youngest son Shen Guwei and niece Ruojin to pay New Year's greetings. Jiang Feng could now face Madam Shen calmly, calling her "stepmother" naturally and fluently. Jiang Feng and Ruojin met again, and they were not distant. Ruojin spoke several times, but was hesitant to speak. Jiang Feng naturally knew what she was going to say, so he deliberately changed the subject, and Ruojin also understood and stopped talking about it.

After a few days of excitement, it was the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

In the Tang Dynasty, there was a curfew at night. If you were still wandering the streets after 9 o'clock, you would be invited back for tea by Wu Hou. But on the Lantern Festival, the curfew was lifted, and as the saying goes, "The imperial guards do not ban it, and the jade clock does not urge it." No matter nobles or commoners, men or women, they would take to the streets to parade and enjoy the lanterns.

On the night of the Lantern Festival this year, the moonlight in Chang'an was as bright as water, the lanterns were as numerous as mountains, and the tourists were crowded. There were two places on Chang Street where the lanterns were the most dazzling. One was the lantern tree of Princess Anle. Hundreds of branches were hung with huge lanterns. It was 80 feet high, about seven or eight stories high. The red lantern tree could be seen from miles away, and it was so bright that it rivaled the moonlight. The other was the calyx lanterns of the five sons of the Prince of Xiang. There were five large branches, and on the branches were densely hung seven-inch pear lanterns. There were hundreds or thousands of them in total. The green calyx supported the flowers, and the flowers and calyx reflected each other, illuminating the world as bright as day.

Compared with Princess Anle’s luxurious lantern tree, the calyx-shining lanterns have a better meaning and well symbolize the brotherhood between brothers.

Under the calyx lamp, everyone looked up and couldn't help but admire it. On the glass platform, the nobles stood high up and looked down at the thousands of lights.

On the glass platform, Shouchun Prince Li Chengqi, Hengyang Prince Li Chengyi, Linzi Prince Li Longji, Baling Prince Li Longfan and Zhongshan Prince Li Longye were dressed in gorgeous clothes, chatting and laughing side by side, looking very elegant. Behind them were the wives and children of the five men, and there were also a lot of familiar faces. Jiang Feng recognized three of the five main wives in the front, and among the large group of concubines in the back, Jiang Fei and Chu Yan were old acquaintances. In the back, you can vaguely see the Princess of Ji'an whispering in Shen Guxing's ear.

Jiang Feng was not interested in appreciating their affectionate relationship, and was afraid that Guan Shanyun would feel sad when seeing Chu Yan, so he wanted to leave. As expected, Guan Shanyun frowned and pulled Jiang Feng to squeeze out.

It happened that the five "Fuwa" brothers upstairs were throwing prizes, and the crowd rushed up to grab them. The two walked against the crowd, and it was difficult. In one mistake, Jiang Feng lost one of his shoes. The cloud-shaped brocade shoes disappeared into the crowd and were nowhere to be found.

Guan Shanyun had no choice but to carry her horizontally.

Jiang Feng ran into a child of about seventeen or eight years old riding on his father's shoulders. He couldn't help but look envious.

Suddenly, the world spun around, and Jiang Feng cried out in surprise, realizing that he was also being carried on Guan Shanyun's shoulders. After walking for a while like this, it was really too conspicuous, so Jiang Feng said he would get off no matter what.

But it was not appropriate to watch the lantern festival barefoot, so Guan Shanyun put her on a platform and went to buy shoes.

Jiang Feng was bored and guessed the riddles from the restaurant next door: "The layers upon layers are piled up on the Yaotai, and the children could not sweep them away no matter how many times they were called. Just when the sun swept them away, the bright moon brought them back."

Everyone was stumped by the riddle, and the child tugged at his father's clothes to ask for the answer. Jiang Feng waved at him, and the child came over hesitantly. Jiang Feng whispered a few words, and the child shouted happily: "Daddy, I know, it's a shadow, it's a shadow..."

The child took the prize and skipped away, and Jiang Feng's heart also jumped with joy. At this time, a pleasant female voice said, "Miss Jiang, what a coincidence."

What a coincidence! What a narrow road for enemies! Wasn't she and her ideal husband flirting on the glass platform? They had finished showing off their affection in such a short time?

Jiang Feng sat on the Diaoyutai and said with a smile: "It turns out to be the county lady. I lost my shoes and socks, so I'm sorry I can't pay my respects."

Princess Ji'an looked at her innocent right foot, a sneer appeared on the corner of her mouth, and her voice was still amiable: "There is no need for these false formalities between us. If you are talking from the perspective of the concubines of my two uncles, the young lady is my elder; but if you are talking from the perspective of Yi Ye, it is also acceptable for the young lady to call me sister-in-law. The princess calling me like this is actually too distant and seems unfamiliar."

Jiang Fengcai didn't believe that she came here specifically to recognize her relatives. "Although the county lady is polite and kind to others, how dare I act rashly? The county lady is the elder and I am the inferior. I dare not address her as sister-in-law, let alone as an elder."

Who needs a sister-in-law?

Ji An looked at her with a smile. She certainly didn't lack such a sister-in-law. Although she talked about respect and inferiority, looking at her expression, she didn't care about it at all!

Princess Ji'an: "Young lady, you must still have some grudge against me... and Yiye."

Jiang Feng tilted his head, pretending to be confused even though he knew the truth: "Grudge? What do you mean by that, County Lady? Forgive me for being so stupid that I don't understand."

The face of the Princess of Ji'an was as red as a peach blossom, and her tone was melancholy: "These days, Yiye has been sad every day, and always feels that he has failed you."

Jiang Feng couldn't control himself, and snorted coldly, with the corner of his mouth curled up. The mocking look made Ji An uncomfortable. She was very well-educated and patiently continued to explain: "Yi Ye and I have long admired each other..., but at that time Princess Cheng An was in the limelight, and His Majesty and the Queen also wanted to bring them together. So when Yi Ye came to ask for marriage, my father was afraid of upsetting His Majesty and did not agree. But Yi Ye swore to heaven that he would marry me."

Ji An looked at Jiang Feng with a little pity, but his words were not merciful at all: "Father talked with him behind closed doors for half a day. A few days later, he set off for Liangzhou. Later, I thought he... abandoned me. On Qujiang Lake, he held your hand and said, 'You are the girl he likes.' Although I was sad, I was also happy for him. However, a few days ago, father said that everything Yi Ye did was... for me. Although he did not obtain the jade seal as agreed, his sincerity finally moved father and he agreed to our marriage."

Ji An was so moved that he burst into tears.

Jiang Feng was trembling all over, his fingers were clenched so tightly that they lost feeling, there was a roar in his ears, and he could only see Ji An's red lips moving.

"Miss Afeng, I hope you can understand Yiye's difficulties... We dare not ask for your forgiveness, but we also hope to make some amends."

Having said that, Jiang Feng suppressed his urge to vomit. He really wanted to hear how this ill-fated couple was going to make amends!

"You gave the jade seal to your fifth uncle, so I think you have feelings for him. It's not easy for you to get married now. Yiye and I are willing to mediate and help you marry into the Zhongshan Palace."

Jiang Feng really wanted to know if it was Shen Guxing's idea to match him with Li Longye! But he felt it was boring, and asking him seemed like he still had hope for him.

She was really amused by the couple's thoughts and couldn't help laughing out loud.