Chapter 18: The Ideal Person (2), Section 64

  Today is the day of ancestor worship, according to etiquette, Liu Xie must go to the Tai Temple to perform the grand ceremony of sacrifice, to comfort his ancestors. This is a very solemn and sacred thing, so early in the morning, both inside and outside the palace were busy.

  When Liu Xie and Empress Fu arrived at the Tai Temple, the grand ceremony officially began. The Grand Marshal Yang Bing personally presided over it, with all officials gathered together. When Yang Bing saw that the time had come, he unfolded the memorial text and read it aloud in a loud voice.

  The grand ceremony was dull and tedious, and the time was long. The elderly officials were almost unable to hold on, some even knelt down and dozed off. The long time passed by in a daze, and the following days were spent visiting relatives or friends. Of course, officials also had to visit each other to pay their respects, bringing gifts and going to their superiors' mansions to say a few words of flattery, which would certainly be beneficial for their future careers. This year, Cao Cao's mansion was undoubtedly the object of visits from all officials. It is said that on the 14th day of the first month, the steward of the General's Mansion replaced the threshold of the gate.

  In the blink of an eye, it was already the 15th day of the first month, which is also the Lantern Festival. In ancient times, unlike modern times, people considered the Lantern Festival to be far more important than New Year's Day. Every year at this time, streets everywhere were decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and all sorts of beautiful flower-shaped lanterns filled one's eyes. Therefore, the Lantern Festival is also called the Flower Lantern Festival. On this day, many young women from wealthy families who rarely left their homes would go out to play, which naturally led to some young men who considered themselves to be elegant and refined chasing after them. It is said that every year, several romantic stories would emerge, so one can imagine just how lively the Lantern Festival was.

  That night, Liu Xie took Li Chen and Song Jiu with him, while Xiao Da and Xiao Er quietly left the palace gate. Empress Fu was already slightly drunk from drinking too much at dinner, so Liu Xie left her in the palace. To be honest, Li Chen and Xiao Da, Xiao Er were most eager to follow Liu Xie out of the palace. Liu Xie was unpretentious and generous, and every time he went out to play, they would always benefit from it, with good wine and food at their disposal. As soon as Xiao Er heard that Liu Xie was going out, his cunning eyes would suddenly sparkle, and tonight was no exception.

  Song Jiu was accompanying Liu Xie out of the palace for the first time, and he had also heard Li Chen talk about Liu Xie's good qualities before, so from the moment they left the palace gate, he was very excited.

  Turning a corner, the five of them arrived in the bustling downtown area. Liu Xie looked at the street full of flower lanterns and suddenly thought of the rabbit lantern his grandfather had made for him when he was young. Compared to these lanterns, it seemed much simpler. Thinking of this, he suddenly got excited and bought a flower lantern for each person to hold in their hands. As they were hurrying to the wine tower, they suddenly lost sight of Xiao Er's figure. Liu Xie turned his head back and saw Xiao Er standing still in the middle of the bustling street, staring blankly ahead with his eyes wide open. The others had already turned around and come back when they saw that Xiao Er's gaze was fixed on a young woman, about 28 years old, wearing a light green skirt, looking quite delicate. At this moment, she was holding onto a companion while selecting lanterns.