The fire lit up behind Ning Que, leaving a clear shadow on the city wall in front of him.
A small table was placed on the city wall, and silver charcoal was burning in the stove on the table, but there was no smoke coming out. The soup in the copper pot was boiling, and beside it were some vegetables and meat slices. The warmth gradually rose. A Tang soldier put the dipping sauce in front of the bowl and chopsticks, looked at him and asked, "Sir, do you want to open the wine tonight?"
"Yes."
Ning Que had been living on the city wall these days, and his daily life was like this. He had long been used to eating in the chilly autumn wind, and only hot pot and wine could add some warmth to his body.
The extremely fat beef and mutton were soaked in the white but not greasy bone soup, and were cooked at a speed visible to the naked eye. Just as the fragrance was about to overflow, it was suppressed by the leaves of the vegetables in the pot.
Ning Que sat at the table and began to eat. There were no guests, so there was no need for greetings, no company, and no need for drinking games. Although the food was delicious, it was very quiet and lonely.
Although the banquet was lonely, the wine was the strongest double distilled wine, and the dishes were the delicacies sent from the palace. The saliva-inducing fragrance floated up with the steam from the copper pot, swept over the city wall, and was frozen by the chill of the autumn night. The fragrance floated down to the human world under the city wall, passed by the mottled traces of wind and rain, and the old and new moss-covered city wall, and passed by an eagle's nest, causing the eagle in the nest to open its eyes and look around blankly. Then it floated down to the Vermilion Bird Avenue and into the noses of the few pedestrians on the night street.
That year when the Abbey Dean entered Chang 'an, the southern part of the Vermilion Bird Avenue was basically destroyed in that tragic battle. After several years of continuous reconstruction, it finally returned to its former glory. However, it was, after all, a newly built building. After all, it lacked the smoke and fire accumulated over the years, and seemed a little cold.
Dinner time had passed, and the markets on both sides of the Vermilion Bird Avenue were also very quiet. However, compared to the desolation on the main street, those houses were not deserted at all. The sound of chess pieces falling on wooden plates, porcelain bowls falling on the edge of the stove, and women scolding children could be heard everywhere. It was very lively.
In Chang 'an on an autumn night, the real lively place was not these houses. Several round tables were placed on the balcony of the Building of Pines and Cranes. Some young master secretly took money from the accountant's office and invited his friends there. After all, he was young and inexperienced, so he naturally did not know how to drink. He was not the Headmaster of Academy, so he could not tell how much water was mixed in the wine. He got so drunk that he forgot how to explain to his family tomorrow.
The liveliness in the House of Red Sleeves was different from that in the Building of Pines and Cranes. Those officials and businessmen who did not know that their children had sneaked out of their mansions to play were sitting at the tables by the railings. The atmosphere was warm, but no one made a fuss. Among the beautiful music and spinning skirts, the liveliness was only the first half of the word.
Compared to the common people, the atmosphere in the imperial court was naturally much more serious, especially the brightly lit small buildings in the meadow. It seemed that the lights would probably stay on until dawn. Dozens of Tang soldiers ran quickly between the small buildings, passing back information from all over the border and counties, urging for approval.
The West-Hill Divine Palace had already started the war. Although the flames of war had not been officially ignited and had not yet reached the border of the Tang Empire, the Tang Military Ministry had already entered a state of war. The atmosphere was tense and solemn. The hot tea on the table had been changed many times, but no one had eaten the pastries beside it.
The most important decisions could not be made by the Military Ministry alone. They had to go through the imperial palace. The generals could not sleep, and naturally, many people in the imperial palace could not sleep either. From the Yulin Royal Guards to the bodyguards, from the eunuchs in charge of the Imperial Academy to the palace maids in charge of tea, everyone had to stay awake.
Compared to the past, there were two more banners on the wall of the imperial study. The two banners were written by different people, and the level of their writing was very different. But they were equally important to the imperial palace now. They were the "Fish Leaping and Flowers Blooming".
His Majesty was no longer young, but he was still a teenager. The Academy did not allow him to stay up for a long time, so he had already fallen asleep. It was Li Yu who was reading the memorials in the imperial study.
Her face was still as beautiful as ever, but because she had lived in the palace for a long time and rarely saw the light of day, she appeared a little too pale and very thin.
She read the memorials and the political documents of each county attentively. After a long time, she felt a little thirsty. She reached out for a cup of tea, but knocked over the bowl. Then she realized that it was not tea in the bowl, but the tremella soup that the palace maids had brought in earlier.
The tremella soup was a little thick, so it fell on the memorials and was easy to clean.
On the city wall, the soup in the copper pot also overflowed. As soon as it came into contact with the hot pot, it made a sizzling sound and quickly evaporated, leaving behind greyish-white stains. Some of it flowed down the legs of the table and landed on an iron arrow.
Ning Que did not care about it. He continued to eat the delicious mutton, the fat beef, and the mellow liquor.
He ate very slowly. Since he was going to sit on the city wall, it was always good to find something to do. It was just a meal. No matter how slowly he ate, it would be finished sooner or later. When he put down the chopsticks, several Tang soldiers came to clean the table, leaving the pot of liquor and a dish to go with it.
He took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, and then the table. Finally, he picked up the iron arrow and wiped the soup off it. Then he put it on the bowstring to ensure that he could shoot at any time.
He looked to the south again, in the direction of Linkang. The Drunkard did not become bright before. So he would not have the chance to see him tonight. But he had to keep watching.
Until now, he did not know what had happened in Linkang. But he knew that Liu Yiqing should be dead. Because the Eldest Brother could not do it, because Liu Yiqing wanted to die.
Ning Que poured the liquor on the ground as a memorial.
Liu Yiqing was dead, but the Drunkard was not. What a pity.
But it did not matter. Even if he could not kill him tonight, he could kill him someday.
The liquor wet the ground, and the green bricks of the city wall turned black. The moonlight was even whiter, like frost. Then he noticed that the moon was not very round, but very bright.
The bright moon shone on the human world.
To shine was to watch, and to take care of.
Ning Que filled his cup with liquor and looked at the bright moon in the night sky. He said, "Master, please keep watching us. We will continue to watch the human world for you."
…
…
In the far south, the City of Linkang was in chaos. Fires were everywhere. Only in front of a gate of the imperial city which had been turned into ruins, there was no sound. It was so quiet that it was frightening.
The Drunkard said, "The problem is, how long can Ning Que watch?"
The Eldest Brother was silent. No one could watch forever.
The Drunkard looked at him and asked emotionlessly, "And who else can let him see me except you?"
Hearing this, the Eldest Brother's expression changed slightly. He begged, "Please don't."
His green robe was not wet, and the pot of liquor was not opened.
The Drunkard disappeared in the wind.
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