Xiaoyao Xiaojunhou

Chapter 544
Then, in the blink of an eye, King Jinling was surrounded by people and disappeared into the crowd of people on the street.

On the other side, Wang Duocai, the shopkeeper of the "Game Shop", was beating his chest and sighing repeatedly.

Needless to say, at this opening, as the banker, he suffered a heavy loss.

Because Zhu Xiuyuan's odds were as high as [-] to [-] win, and he had set them himself.

Ten for one!
If we had arranged for one to accompany five, it wouldn't have been so miserable.

But if you pay ten for one... Zhu Xiuyuan and the others alone have collected more than one million taels, and he will pay 100 million taels!
This amount alone, and the principal deposited by Ling Wang to win, are not enough!

He also had to pay from his own pocket to fill it.

Not to mention, there are also many other "retail investors" betting on Zhu Xiuyuan to win.

Although these "retail investors" didn't stake much, they couldn't withstand ten times the compensation!

If someone else stakes one tael, he has to accompany him with ten taels.

If someone else bets 100 taels, he has to go with 1000 taels.

If someone else bets 1000 taels, he has to accompany him with 1 taels!

After such a calculation, Wang Duocai is in trouble this time. I am afraid he will have to pay about 1000 million taels!
So Wang Duocai beat his chest and sighed repeatedly, and his whole body shrank.

The confident and calm smile on his face completely disappeared.

But even so, Wang Duocai did not run away.

Because he can't run away.

Yan Dashan had already arranged for people to keep a close eye on Wang Duocai, and his "Game House" had also been besieged by Zhu Xiuyuan's people.

He can't run away from the monk now, nor can he run away from the temple!
Nothing went wrong in the pursuit of compensation.

The king had accumulated a lot of money, so he could actually afford the compensation...

Zhu Xiuyuan, Han Qingshan, Liu Wencai, and Li Jiye made a lot of money, and the others also made a few taels...

Those who bet on Xiuyuan to win also got what they deserved, and everyone was happy.

……

After finishing the matter of claiming compensation, it was almost noon and it was time for lunch.

So Zhu Xiuyuan decided to go to Dong Yulou for dinner first.

In addition, Lin Bochang and other generals of the Divine Thunder Army were also invited. They have worked hard and are today's heroes. Today's meal is an invitation to them.

During the meal, Zhu Xiuyuan was unambiguous and directly gave each of Lin Bochang and others a sign. With this sign, they could live and eat in Dong Yulou for free for one month. The number of days could be accumulated or given to others.

Then, the rewards promised by Dong Shuyu also followed.

Each person had ten kilograms of fried tea, plus 500 taels of silver notes. Dong Shuyu kept his word and distributed it to each of them.

At this time, Lin Bochang and other generals were completely excited, and they could not stop shouting thanksgiving. This was really a huge windfall, and the smiles on their faces could hardly be filled...

After dinner.

Lin Bochang led the generals back to the Shenlei Army camp.

Zhu Xiuyuan and the others had eaten and drank enough. They were drinking tea to relieve their tiredness while discussing the arrangements for the afternoon.

"Where are we going to play in the afternoon? Please feel free to speak." Zhu Xiuyuan asked with a smile.

"There don't seem to be any special activities in the afternoon. There are still hundreds of operas, songs and dances on the street. Those are actually not worth seeing..."

"How about... let's get together and play the card game 'Fight Corrupt Officials'?"

"No, it's the Lantern Festival. You should go out for fun."

"That's right, then where should we go to play?"

Everyone was silent for a while, unable to find anything interesting.

You can go out into the city to play, but there's not enough time.

You said you should go and enjoy the lanterns, but it’s not evening yet. Only at night, when the sky is dark, do the lanterns look best at that time.

"How about this? There are a few famous scenic spots outside the city, but they are too far away. Let's take a walk around the capital. When it gets dark, go back to the mansion for dinner, get ready, and then go out for a night tour to enjoy the lanterns. What do you guys think? how?"

Zhu Xiuyuan finally proposed a plan.

"agree!"

"Yeah!"

"Well, around the capital, there are Mochou Lake, Xuanwu Lake, Nanhu Lake, Shenlie Mountain and other scenic spots. We can visit them one by one..."

"I'm a guest here. Brother Zhu, let's make arrangements. Guests can do as they please."

Everyone had no objection, so they set off, made some preparations, and rushed to Shenlie Mountain first.

Shenlie Mountain is located east of the capital. There are royal tombs on the mountain. Some areas are royal hunting grounds and cannot be entered.But there are also large areas for tourists to enjoy the scenery.

When Zhu Xiuyuan and the others went there, the mountain was also crowded with tourists.

Today is Shangyuan. There are many people going out to play in the city, and there are even more people going out to play in various places in the city.

Because this Healthy City is the capital of the Chen Kingdom, its permanent population is a terrifying number.

In addition, tourists from surrounding areas or all over the country come to the capital specifically to celebrate the festival, and the number becomes even larger.

After visiting Shenlie Mountain, they stopped by Xuanwu Lake.

It is very pleasant to go boating on the lake, enjoy the beautiful scenery, buy a pot of fine wine or fragrant tea, chat with a few people, or play the card game "Fighting Corrupt Officials".

After playing for a while, they seemed to be catching up, and then went to Mochou Lake to enjoy the different scenery in the lake...

Unknowingly, the time came to the first moment of Youshi, about five o'clock in the afternoon.

It was winter, and it got dark relatively early. Although it was only around five o'clock, the entire sky had already begun to darken.

So everyone ended their fun and returned to Jiangcheng Uncle's Mansion in the city.

The two brothers, Li Jiye and Li Qingnu, did not go back to the inn where they were staying. They had dinner at the uncle's house, took a rest and prepared for the next activities.

During the Shangyuan Festival, the most exciting moment is at night.

However, before going out for a night tour to enjoy the lanterns, there is a special activity that needs to be done first.

This custom is called: Welcome Zigu!

Zhu Xiuyuan, Dong Shuzhen, Dong Shuyu, Dong Cheng who had returned from the Runzhou government office, and Li Jiye and Li Qingnu who were just guests, all participated.

They first went back to their rooms, changed into slightly shabby clothes, and then gathered in the flower hall of the main house. With Zhu Xiuyuan taking the lead, they all walked to somewhere in the mansion.

"Senior brother, who is this 'Zigu' girl? Why do we wear old clothes to worship her?"

While everyone was walking on the road, Li Qingnu came to ask Zhu Xiuyuan because she didn't know the historical origin of the custom of "welcoming Zigu".

In fact, Li Jiye didn't know, so he came over to hear the words, ready to listen.

Zhu Xiuyuan had learned a lot about the customs of the Shangyuan Festival, so he knew them very well. He cleared his throat and started to explain the historical origin of "Ying Zigu".

It turns out that there is an anecdote that Zigu was originally a concubine of a family and was jealous of the eldest wife.

On the [-]th day of the first lunar month, he died in anger, so people in the world made their appearance to welcome him.The curse said: "Zi Qing is not here, Mrs. Cao has left, and my sister-in-law can come out."

Go to the toilet or pig pen to greet it. If you catch it, it will feel heavy. This is a sign of the coming of a god.It is said that the Meng family in Pingchang tried to welcome him on this day, and Zigu walked through the house and left.

Since you have lost your clothes, this is the benefit.

According to this, "Zi Gu" was originally a hard-working woman who was abused and died young. She was of a lowly status, wore shabby clothes, and was active in toilets or pig pens. People regarded her as the "toilet god".

"Welcome" on the day of death is not only to comfort the souls of the unfortunate ones, but also to take this opportunity to ask the gods about major events such as coming of age and marriage, in order to pray for peace and a good harvest.

Zhu Xiuyuan explained as he walked, and Li Qingnu and Li Jiye naturally listened with interest.

Dong Cheng, Dong Shuyu, Dong Shuzhen, etc. also listened carefully.

Although they had known this anecdote for a long time, it was interesting to hear this anecdote again on this special festival day while walking on the road to "welcome Zigu".

It was precisely because of this anecdote that they changed into old clothes, and the direction they went was also the pigsty in the mansion.This is all to increase the sense of ceremony.

Customs, to put it bluntly, aren't they just a sense of ritual passed down from generation to generation?

In fact, you can also go to the toilet, but Zhu Xiuyuan found it smelly, so he changed it to a pigsty.

His Jiangcheng uncle's residence was too big to live in, so Zhu Xiuyuan started agriculture and breeding in it.

Raising pigs is one of them.

Zhu Xiuyuan did this not to make money, but to ensure that he could eat with peace of mind and to satisfy his weird "desire for planning."

It would be too wasteful for such a large mansion to remain abandoned. Most of the land must be utilized...

Naturally, the pigsty they went to this time had been cleaned long ago, and the "Marshal Canopy" who lived in it had clean and fresh hair, without a trace of odor.

"arrive!"

Everyone walked for a while before arriving at the pig pen of the uncle's house.

Although the journey was long, everyone had a sense of anticipation because they were going to participate in a meaningful customary event. Although they walked for a long time, no one felt tired.

It's like watching a movie you've been dreaming about for a long time, or traveling to a scenic spot you've been talking about for a long time. The mood is very exciting.

Especially Dong Shuzhen, she didn't stop for a moment. She ran forward for a certain distance and then ran back again. She didn't feel tired even after running back and forth...

After arriving at the pig pen, everyone found that this was a good place, with rockeries and water, and the scenery was excellent, but... there were hundreds of "Marshal Ceilings" raised here...

Li Jiye was speechless, and his view of Zhu Xiuyuan had changed again.

However, Dong Shuzhen and Li Qingnu were very interested in the "Marshal Canopy" in the pig pen.

It's so fat that I really want to poke it.

The two women held hands, swayed their skirts and came closer, their eyes widened, pointing at "Peppa" in the pig pen, and even making teasing sounds.

The two big fat pigs in the pig pen are well raised and fat and strong.

When they first saw two fairies running towards them, they laughed and teased them. I wonder if they were recalling the days when they teased Chang'e in heaven?
But obviously, the "Canopy Grand Marshals" did not think of that wonderful time in heaven. They got up and ran happily, howling, and thrust their long mouths into the trough...

But they ate in vain.

It turns out that the "Tianpeng Generalissimo" regarded Dong Shuzhen and Li Qingnu as pig feeders...

On the other side, Dong Cheng, who followed the crowd, could not help but look slightly dark.

Really, isn’t it just a pig? Have you never seen it?
He felt so embarrassed.

However, because Princess Anle was involved, Dong Cheng couldn't speak easily and just looked grim.

Zhu Xiuyuan was beside Dong Cheng. Looking at the cheerful backs of the two of them, he found it quite interesting.

If... if ha, in the future he and Dong Shuzhen will live in an uninhabited mountain or in a small village, he will be responsible for doing farm work, while Dong Shuzhen will raise pigs...

Thinking about it this way, it seems that this kind of life is quite interesting.

But Zhu Xiuyuan also knew that the reason why Dong Shuzhen liked these two pigs so much now was because he ordered people to wash them clean in advance.

If the stench here was so bad, Dong Shuzhen would probably collapse in his arms, pinching her nose with both hands, her whole body shaking, simulating poisoning...

"Xian son-in-law, it's up to you to do the incense burning." When Dong Cheng turned to look at Zhu Xiuyuan, a smile was already on his face.

Zhu Xiuyuan recovered from his random thoughts, nodded, and stepped forward to a prepared incense table.

At the same time, Zhu Xiuyuan shouted to Dong Shuzhen and Li Qingnu: "My lady, Your Royal Highness, it's time to burn incense, come back soon!"

"Oh well!"

The two women reluctantly returned, still glancing into the pigsty.

Zhu Xiuyuan was speechless. If this was the case, would she still want to keep a pet like this?
After Zhu Xiuyuan finished lighting the incense, everyone stood in silence for a while, and the entire ceremony was considered completed.

So everyone started to return. They went back to their rooms first, put on clean and bright clothes, and then prepared to go out and join the huge team of Shangyuan Night Tour!

Soon, everyone gathered in the flower hall of the main house again.

But I saw Dong Shuyu, Dong Shuzhen, Li Qingnu, the three big and small fairies, all of them were very radiant and beautiful.

Dong Shuyu wears a simple and elegant long dress, showing her gentle temperament. She looks refreshing and feels like a breeze blowing on her face when she walks around, which is very pleasant.Her clothes were fluffy and soft, and Zhu Xiuyuan wanted to grab them and mash them into a ball.

Li Qingnu, who is taller, wears a colorful long skirt that looks like the costumes worn by a dancer.Although the color is a little too bright, Li Qingnu's elegant temperament completely covers it, and on the contrary, there is another kind of beauty.

Dong Shuzhen, on the other hand, is dressed more like a girl, wearing a long pink dress with blooming flowers, which is very beautiful.She was bouncing as she walked, smiling all over her face, and the hair accessories on her head were swaying, giving people a feeling of vitality.

In addition, the four maids of spring, summer, autumn and winter, as well as Li Qingnu's personal maids, are also dazzling little flowers. Compared with the three fairies, there are some differences, but if you take any one out, they are all the best. like existence.

Then came Zhu Xiuyuan and Li Jiye, who also had a lot of trouble. They were handsome and charming, just like the best young men in troubled times.

Dong Cheng, and even Yan Dashan, who would be protecting Zhu Xiuyuan later, also changed into new clothes...

Everyone was ready, but when they were about to set off, Dong Cheng backed down and said that he had made an appointment with Li Linzhou and several other subordinates, and wanted to go out alone, not with these young people.

So only Zhu Xiuyuan, Li Jiye, Dong Shuzhen, Dong Shuyu, Li Qingnu, the four maids and Li Qingnu's personal maid were together.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, I forgot something!"

Before setting off, Dong Shuyu suddenly stopped everyone.

"What's wrong?" Zhu Xiuyuan asked hurriedly.

"When I'm enjoying the lanterns later, I've prepared the charcoal, charred rings, and pink fruits that I want to eat, but I almost forgot to bring... Chunxuedongmei, you two go quickly and wait for the pink fruits. Get it and take it with you." Dong Shuyu ordered.

"Eh!"

Chunxue and Dongmei agreed and walked out quickly with small steps.

"Sister Chunxue, sister Dongmei, let me help you!" Qiu Wen behind Dong Shuzhen secretly wiped her saliva and chased after her.

The so-called Jiaozhuang, Jiaozhuan, Fenguo, etc. are actually a kind of fried pastry with fillings. Ancient books record that this kind of snacks: "Its taste is very delicious and indescribable."

This is a must-have snack when admiring the lanterns on the night of the Shangyuan Festival.

For a family like Jiangcheng Bofu, most of the basic necessities of life are produced and sold by themselves.

This kind of snack can be found everywhere on the streets tonight, but it is always safe to eat if you make it yourself.

【Ask for a monthly ticket】

(End of this chapter)