Cypress Boat Floating

After the twelfth lunar month, the New Year soon arrived amid everyone’s great anticipation.

New Year is a special day for everyone. Everyone is very busy on this day because they have to perform the Nuo ritual. After the ritual, they have to put up door gods and prepare a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner.

Because it is New Year's Eve, the curfew will be lifted on this day every year and the night market will be opened. After people finish their New Year's Eve dinner, they can go out to the streets to play for a while, and then enjoy a wave of specially prepared fireworks. When the time comes, they will go home to stay up until the end of the year.

These activities are not only activities for the people outside the palace, but there are also corresponding activities in the palace.

According to custom, the Nuo-chasing ceremony arranged by the palace was even more grand.

At this time of year, close countries would send envoys to congratulate each other.

This day is also the busiest time for the emperor and all the officials, because they need to get up very early. Basically, all the officials have to wait outside the palace before the hour of Chou, and then start the formal worship after the emperor arrives. At this time, the families of all the officials will go to the harem to congratulate the empress.

After the previous dynasty's congratulations are over, everyone will go to the front hall to watch the Nuo-chasing ceremony.

The Nuo ritual officially begins.

The ceremony of expelling Nuo was supposed to be held at night, but the late emperor was injured by an assassin performing Nuo dance during the ceremony one year. From then on, the ceremony of expelling Nuo was held after the court worship, and a fixed place and fixed route for the Nuo dance were stipulated to ensure that they could not disturb or harm the emperor.

After the Nuo-chasing ceremony was over, the emperor gave a banquet in the front hall, and all officials and their wives attended the banquet.

After the banquet, there was a family banquet in the palace, which the officials could not attend, so after the banquet they all went home to prepare for the New Year.

The emperors had to stay and accompany the emperor and empress to the harem to attend the family banquet.

This day is also the busiest day for the imperial kitchen. They not only have to prepare banquets, but also family banquets. So usually on this day, if the palaces and courtyards want to eat something else, they need to make it in the small kitchen in their palace or courtyard, and the imperial kitchen will not pay attention to them.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs was also well aware of this rule, so on this day they would usually assist the Imperial Kitchen in sending people to deliver some fresh vegetables and meat to each palace and courtyard so that they could cook something to eat.

After all, not everyone in the palace can attend the family banquet. In the final analysis, only the princes and the favored concubines can go. For those who are not so favored, there is no chance to attend and they have to eat separately in the palace.

Lu Ci Qiu was worried that Ye Jianqing would feel too restrained if she went with him. Besides, since it was in the palace, he felt there was no danger, so he did not take Ye Jianqing with him, but just let her play by herself in the courtyard.

Everyone was busy, but Ye Jianqing had some free time because Lu Ci Qiu was not there. The courtyard had been decorated long ago, and now the whole courtyard was full of joy, with red lanterns hung all over and door gods pasted on the wall, which looked very festive.

Yuqin had just walked back from the small kitchen, and when she saw Ye Jianqing, she asked her with a smile: "Miss, Chef Zhang just asked me to come over to ask you what you want to eat tonight so that he can go down and arrange it now."

Ye Jianqing was not picky about food, but it was New Year after all, and if she ate alone, she would seem too lonely. Otherwise, she could organize a dinner where everyone could gather around the table and still have enough to eat, but what kind of dinner could everyone eat together?

Ye Jianqing slapped his forehead, "Oh, why did I forget this."

"Girl, what's wrong with you?" Yuqin was afraid that her strong hand would hurt herself, so she quickly stepped forward, brought her hand in front of her, and touched it with heartache.

"Yuqin, let's go to the small kitchen to find Chef Zhang." Ye Jianqing grabbed Yuqin and ran to the small kitchen with her.

Fortunately, the small kitchen was not far away, and at least she arrived there before Yuqin, who had never run like this before, almost died.

Ye Jianqing let Yuqin rest aside, and walked up to Zhang Yuchu, with a sly smile on his face, and said to him: "Zhang Yuchu, Zhang Yuchu, let's have hot pot tonight."

"Hot pot? What is it?" Chef Zhang Yu looked at Ye Jianqing with confusion. He had never heard of such a thing.

"You don't know, so let me cook the meal tonight." As he said that, Ye Jianqing rolled up his sleeves and planned to snatch the spoon from Chef Zhang's hand.

"Girl, girl, you can't do this." Ye Jianqing's attitude frightened Zhang Yuchu, who quickly hid the spoon behind him.

If the Eighth Prince knew that he asked Miss Ye to cook the New Year's Eve dinner, he would be skinned alive. Besides, the kitchen was his territory, and he didn't want anyone to interfere.

"Then, I'll let you do it?" Zhang Yuchu refused to give the kitchen to her, so she had to settle for the next best thing.

As long as Ye Jianqing doesn't plan to use the kitchen, everything is fine. Chef Zhang nodded like pounding garlic.

"Yuqin, go gather everyone together. We'll make hotpot tonight and eat together." Ye Jianqing turned around and said excitedly to Yuqin who was still gasping for breath, regardless of what Zhang Yuchu was thinking.

"Okay~" Yuqin let out a breath, dragged her almost exhausted body to every corner of the courtyard, and called everyone who was free to come to the small kitchen.

Seeing that everyone was present, Ye Jianqing distributed the few dishes that he had just selected for hot pot, and asked everyone to pick and wash the vegetables together, while those who were good at knife skills cut the meat on the chopping board according to Ye Jianqing's requirements.

For a moment, the whole small kitchen was filled with joy.

Ye Jianqing was completely unassuming in the courtyard and could talk to everyone in it. Everyone sat together picking vegetables and chatting about all kinds of gossip in the palace.

With everyone's help, the hot pot that Ye Jianqing had missed for a long time was officially served. The aroma filled the entire courtyard in an instant, and everyone in the courtyard gathered in the small kitchen.

Ye Jianqing organized everyone to get two small stoves and put some charcoal fire underneath to ensure the temperature of the pot. Because she didn't know whether everyone could eat spicy food, she asked Chef Zhang Yu to prepare two hot pot bases, one for clear soup and the other for spicy.

Some of the more eye-catching people brought in a large table, which was filled with washed vegetables and cut meat.

"Whatever sauce you want, just take it yourself!" Ye Jianqing pointed at the various sauces she had prepared and said to everyone. Seeing that everyone was very excited, she knew that everyone's appetite had been aroused by her, so she waved her hand and said, "Now, let's eat!"

After saying that, she was the first to rush to the boiling hot pot and put a piece of mutton in it.

At this moment, Lu Ci Qiu, who was at the banquet, had no intention of dealing with those others. His heart had already drifted to the courtyard. He was hoping that it would be over soon so that he could return to the courtyard. He was only thinking about how to give out the gift he had prepared.

A few days ago, he had gone to Lu Zhixing to pick out a beautiful and easy-to-use sword named "Han Guang". The sword body of Han Guang was made of thin black iron with a faint cold light. The hilt was a lotus flower carving and the blade was extremely sharp. It was said that this sword was specially made by the previous leader of the martial arts world for his wife. Unfortunately, the leader and his family were later killed by their enemies, so the sword was lost.

When he saw the sword for the first time, he felt that the sword suited Ye Jianqing very well. Although Ye Jianqing said that she didn't know how to use the sword, it was not a difficult task. If she didn't know how, she could teach herself.

If she had a long sword on her, she wouldn't have to use close combat all the time if she encountered any danger in the future. Although her martial arts were good, every time I saw her killing so many people with that small knife, I still felt worried for her.

As if noticing that he was distracted, the Sixth Prince, who was sitting next to him, picked up a glass of wine, turned around and greeted him: "Eighth brother, I heard that you performed very well in this disaster relief effort."

"Sixth brother, thank you for the compliment." The Sixth Prince's voice brought him back to his wandering thoughts. Turning around, he saw that the Sixth Prince had already raised his wine glass. As his younger brother, he also quickly raised his glass to return the favor.

One cup down.

This was his first time drinking alcohol. For people who are not good at drinking, alcohol is like a sharp blade. When the spicy liquid with the aroma of alcohol passes through the throat, passes through the esophagus and slowly enters the stomach, it begins to burn every drop of blood and every cell.

Lu Ci Qiu frowned. He still couldn't fall in love with this kind of entertainment. Instead of drinking, he would rather drink the so-called sparkling water that Ye Jianqing made for him.

“Hahahahahaha…” Seeing Lu Ci Qiu’s disgust and embarrassment, the Sixth Prince Lu Ci Lin pointed at him and laughed.

Lu Ci Qiu looked at him with a bit of grievance and dissatisfaction. It’s just that he can’t drink, is it necessary to laugh so exaggeratedly?

"Eighth brother, you will start attending court after the New Year, how come you still don't know how to drink? Come on, come on, I will teach you today." As he said that, Lu Ci Lin sat next to him with a jug of wine.

Everyone else was socializing with each other, no one noticed them, and naturally no one came to help Lu Ci Qiu get rid of him.

It can be said that Lu Ci Lin has no power in his heart. He received the title of "King of Freedom" and has been living a free life ever since then. He has not married and does not manage affairs. Every day when he has nothing to do, he writes poetry and paints. Otherwise, he suddenly leaves for ten days or half a month, saying that he is going out to make a living in the world.

The emperor couldn't do anything about him. He already had so many sons and didn't rely on this one, so he let him go free.

But Lu Ci Qiu quite liked this brother, because he didn't care about other people's eyes at all, and always lived the life he wanted. As for seizing the throne or the throne, it was not important to him at all, and it didn't matter to him who sat on that position.

After thinking about it carefully, Lu Ci Qiu suddenly realized that except for himself, his sixth and seventh brothers did not care about power at all. The three of them were quite similar in some aspects.

After all, there is a crown prince and the second elder brother above them, and each of them controls half of the court. If others want to snatch food from these two people, it will take some effort, so the two elder brothers simply become hands-off bosses and do not care at all.

As for the other brothers, he didn't know them and didn't want to know them.

Lu Ci Qiu had a low alcohol tolerance. After a few drinks, he felt a little dizzy. He could no longer drink the glass of wine that Lu Ci Lin handed to him. He leaned on his shoulder and pushed away the glass with his soft hands.

Seeing him like this, Lu Ci Lin laughed out loud, and when no one was paying attention, he quietly took Lu Ci Qiu out to sober up.

"Wake up, are you going back to your yard?" Lu Ci Lin shook his shoulders. The person leaning on his shoulders was in a daze and didn't hear clearly what he was saying, so he moved his head slightly.

Lu Ci Lin smiled bitterly, after all, he was the one who got the man drunk, and he didn't dare to let him go just like that. He looked around and didn't see Lu Ci Qiu's personal eunuch Huai Xi. In desperation, he planned to support him and slowly walk towards Lu Ci Qiu's courtyard.

I hadn't taken two steps when I met Huaixi who had just returned from the toilet.

Huai Xi was frightened when he saw his master passed out drunk on Lu Ci Lin. He stepped forward quickly, saluted Lu Ci Lin, and then quickly asked about his master's condition.

"He just drank too much, you help him go back." As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Cilin saw Huai Xi's figure and quickly changed his words: "It's better for me to help Eighth Brother go back with you."

It's not that I don't trust Huaixi, but I feel that with Huaixi's physique, he would be out of breath after walking a few steps. It's better for me to accompany him and help him go back. Otherwise, if I let Huaixi go back by himself, I don't know if he can walk back safely.

The two men each supported one side of Lu Ci Qiu. Because Lu Ci Lin was taller, Lu Ci Qiu subconsciously fell on him.

Looking at the person who fell on him, Lu Ci Lin gave Huai Xi a bitter smile: "It seems that he is relying on me."

"Sixth Prince, how about this old servant carry the little prince on his back?" Huai Xi was afraid that Lu Ci Lin would be unhappy, so he quickly spoke and tried to pull Lu Ci Qiu towards him.

Lu Ci Lin stretched out his hand to stop him, then squatted down and carried him on his back, "Forget it, let me do it."

"I didn't expect that you have such a low alcohol tolerance. It seems that you need to practice more in the future. You have only drunk a few glasses." Lu Ci Lin talked to the unconscious person leaning on his shoulder as he walked.

The person on his shoulder hummed unconsciously, and rubbed his furry head against his neck hard, finally finding a place that he felt comfortable, and then he calmed down.

Lu Ci Lin could only smile bitterly and had to follow Huai Xi's lead to Lu Ci Qiu's courtyard.

The three of them returned to the courtyard. The front hall was extremely quiet. Huai Xi was curious about where everyone had gone, but he did not dare to stop Lu Ci Lin, so he took Lu Ci Lin to Lu Ci Qiu's room.

As soon as the two stepped into the backyard, they heard bursts of laughter coming from the backyard.

"It seems that my eighth brother's courtyard is quite lively." Lu Cilin said with a smile.

But when Huaixi heard these words, he felt only fear. The palace servants were not following the rules and were not serving in the front hall. Instead, they were fighting in the backyard. If things went wrong, he would be impeached.

"Yuqin, come and eat this." Suddenly, a girl's voice came over here.

Hearing this voice, Lu Ci Qiu, who was originally sleeping on Lu Ci Lin's back, suddenly struggled and said, "Qing'er, I want to go find Qing'er."

His struggle frightened Lu Cilin, who quickly squatted down so that the feet of the person behind him could touch the ground. "Hey, don't move, or you'll fall."

Huai Xi also hurried forward to help support Lu Ci Qiu.

Lu Ci Qiu narrowed his eyes, tilted his head and looked at Lu Ci Lin in front of him, frowned as if thinking, and after a long while he pointed his finger at his nose and said, "You are not Qing'er, you are not as pretty as Qing'er."

???

Lu Cilin was shocked!

This is the first time someone said he is not good-looking. Apart from anything else, with this face, girls will chase him wherever he goes.

"Who is Qing'er?" Lu Cilin asked gritting his teeth.

"Qing'er, Qing'er is Qing'er, you are so stupid." Lu Ci Qiu laughed and mocked the person who had worked so hard to carry him back. This made the person on the opposite side grit his teeth even more.

Lu Ci Qiu didn't care about him and just walked towards Ye Jianqing's room in his memory.

Halfway through the walk, he heard Ye Jianqing's voice coming from the kitchenette, so he changed his route and walked in the direction of her voice, while Lu Ci Lin followed him angrily.

On the one hand, he was afraid that he would fall, and on the other hand, he really wanted to meet Qing'er, who was said to be prettier than him.

When they were halfway there, they smelled a fragrance.

Now, Lu Ci Lin became even more interested.