It was July, and I could imagine the hustle and bustle of the northern regions from a few kilometers away. The air from the north was filled with the smell of copper coins and gold. It was obvious that Feng Tianjiao had ordered people to carry them out of the Imperial Palace to an open space. That must be the venue of the competition.
The day I stepped foot into the welcoming competition, it completely confirmed my guess. That day, the heat wave had just arrived from the southern sea. The weather was hotter than usual, to the extent that people would sweat when they walked inadvertently. I put on the silver-gray armor that Nian Gu had hired someone to make for me in the past half a month. The hardness of this thing was average, but what was unusual was that it made a very solid heart protection mirror at the heart and was embedded in the armor. According to Nian Gu, at least I wouldn't be stabbed to death.
Tong E brought me milk. I said that I didn't want to grow taller. Although I wasn't very tall, the things in Changle Palace were very short. There were a few times when I woke up, I would touch the bed board above my head. She said that I'd better drink it because she was afraid that I'd lose my energy when I went on stage later.
I gulped down the milk in one gulp. Song'e hadn't drunk it yet. She stared at me with her eyes wide open. A few strands of hair on my forehead almost fell into the bowl and stained the fragrant, white liquid.
Song'e was originally very strange. After all, half a month ago, she always knew that I didn't want to see that sword. She even covered it with a piece of cloth that was the same color as the ground a few days after I secretly changed my mind. Sometimes, when I woke up early in the morning to practice my sword, I couldn't find it even after walking around the courtyard for a long time. It was a waste of time.
"People change." Tong E patted her head and told her to bring the bowl of milk back to the imperial kitchen. She carried the bowl and left. Today, Feng Tianjiao only allowed me to bring one person, so I must bring Nian Gu.
I came to the stable and patted the horse's head. Bai Yuan looked at me with a sad expression, as if he was complaining about why I only brought his brother to play whenever there was a big occasion and let him idle in the palace.
"Be good, you haven't grown up yet." I caressed its soft mane and it seemed to forgive me very quickly. It gently rubbed against my rough palms that had become rough from practicing swordsmanship for the past half a month.
I rode on the horse's thick back and hung a string of silver bells around its neck. Because today I was also wearing silver-gray armor, I thought that good friends should always be in pairs.
Nian Gu has been feeding her horse for the past few days and it has become very strong. She rode behind me. I noticed that she had painted her eyebrows up and put on a dark red lipstick. The lipstick made her face look younger and fairer. Nian Gu originally had a very delicate appearance.
"Your hair is like this?" Nian Gu reached out and pinched my not-so-thick braids. Today, my hairstyle was the simplest and most ordinary bun of my age. My black hair was all combed to one side and tied in a downward knot. In order to highlight my personal characteristics, I also added four slender braids hanging on the same side, and the other side was decorated with gold-inlaid copper shells.
When I left South City, I found that Da Yuan was particularly enthusiastic today. It must have been a long time since such a "yellow riot" event could feast the eyes of the common people.
At the entrance, Nian Gu showed the guide the token of the Southern Dynasty. On it was an extremely exquisite "Ji" character. The guide cleared the crowd to both sides and welcomed us through the entrance in front. I heard the people around me pointing at me. Some of them even recognized me.
"She really dared to come?"
I stuck my tongue in my lower teeth to express my speechlessness. After a moment, I returned to my normal expression and walked towards the entrance of the passage that was gradually opening towards us.
The moment I entered and saw the scene, I knew that today was not a simple day. This open space was now built into a large enclosure that was divided into eight levels. The area of each level would gradually shrink due to the increase in height, and finally reach the fighting arena on the top level. There were only two roads in the entire enclosure, and the entrances came from the north and south, representing the South and the North respectively.
Spectators, bands, palace maids, handymen, and vendors were distributed in the east and west respectively. In order to fit tens of thousands of people in the newly-built grandstand today to watch me make a fool of myself, Feng Tianjiao had specially asked someone to design a "Spring Seat" in the corner. That was, those who wanted to see it outside the enclosure could also sit on the lotus seat and enjoy the "floating" view through the Northern Dynasty spring water connected to the border river of Dayuan City.
I guessed that many people had rushed over from the Great Four Circles to see today's excitement. When I crossed the bridge, I even saw tens of thousands of other people waiting at the entrance of the large enclosure to take a look. Even if he didn't want to watch the sword fighting, he had to watch the new enclosure built by the Northern Dynasty this year.
Hmph, I sneered in my heart. She had to repair something every year anyway.
He looked up and saw thousands of silk drapes falling on the walls of the enclosure, each of them separated by a precise distance of ten meters. The walls of the entire venue were covered with oil colored ceramic murals. There were seals, swirls, and even Su styles that were bought from the Southern Dynasty. They were colorful and exciting.
The fighting arena on the top floor was an empty, round area in the shape of a big round cake. Circles of curly grass, precious flowers, sea pomegranate, canopies, pearls, and ribbons were artificially carved on the bottom with patterns of leather and mystic jade. The top was covered with a huge, cold, and heart-piercing glass stone. The edges were polished to be crystal clear and inlaid with exotic lotus flowers.
It was almost ten o'clock in the morning, and thousands of spectators had gathered in the large enclosure. Those who came early were basically sitting on the stands with golden dragons and the totems of the Northern Dynasty, while those who came late could sit and chat happily on small stools from their homes and hotels. There were many hawkers selling fruits and snacks around. The row closest to the east looked like the managers of the most famous casinos in the entire Great Zhou. They were pulling their beards and crossing their legs. The servants they brought had abacuses stacked together behind them.
Around them, there were piles of gold, silver, and copper coins that were as big as granaries. As long as the master gave the order, someone would measure them and scatter them in the middle of the enclosure as the wager for each round. Dozens of large sledges in the corner were used to divide the money. Next to the golden mountain were ten huge "Guo" characters formed by hundreds of candles, which were used as lights for the judges. In the middle of the field, there was a large nine-sided scoreboard that looked like a Rubik's cube, allowing everyone present to see the current situation and score. The entire scene was shining with gold and silver. The aura was vast and majestic, making people's hearts and lungs boil.
To the west was Huan Chang, originally used for polo, but now it had become a place to provide tea, tart towels, and other food for everyone on the field. Dozens of high-ranking imperial maids dressed in the Northern Dynasty were carrying out the last round of sweeping and serving various things. What was surprising was that there was a half-moon-shaped bamboo tube that was 100 meters long in front of the stands. It was filled with grape wine, which was made into a permanent spring through the device at the back. If you wanted to drink, you could drink it with a cup.
Each of the ten great sword sects sent a relatively reputable but not yet a master level figure. Jiao Lian and Fu Zheng directly sent their vice sect leaders over. This made me wonder if they had received bribes from those bastards from the Feng family again.
Just the disciples and followers brought by these people had already plundered more than half of the food stalls gathered here. I even saw Aunt Chu's roasted sweet potatoes that I hadn't eaten for a long time. Now, there aren't many left. The fragrance is almost gone.
My eyes kept searching for Noble Consort Zhang. The only thing Feng Tianjiao did here was probably to set up a separate stage for all the officials and descendants of the Southern and Northern Dynasties. They could sit anywhere they wanted. In order to distinguish them, they had deliberately placed a big board in the middle. However, they could turn their heads to look not far away and observe who they were. They could also make eye contact.
Noble Consort Zhang came out earlier than us. I had just woken up this morning, and before I was even equipped, I heard a carriage coming to pick up Noble Consort Zhang. It's just that I didn't see clearly what he was wearing today, but now I do.
Today, he was wearing a milky white cloak with a long autumn green coat that reached all the way to his feet. There was also a pair of jade pendant boots that the Shangyi Bureau had newly made for him. Under the robe, the tip of the boots was exposed. It was refreshing and beautiful, just like summer.
He wasn't too close to where I was riding my horse. I wanted to see if there was any similar expectation or mockery in his eyes as usual. However, my eyesight wasn't good. At this moment, I regretted lighting a few candles when I was young.
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