The Three Kingdoms Of The North Are Proud And Heroic

The sky is getting dark, and the lights in the hall of the north courtyard of the Taishou Mansion are bright, and many officials and virtuous people have already entered the seats.

Zu Zhao and the others arrived a little slower, and then sat down one by one in the lower part of the hall. At the table in front of everyone, a variety of dishes were quickly served, or a few delicacies from the mountains and seas, and delicacies. There are also small stoves boiling water and wine next to the table seats, and the thick aroma of wine floats over the entire north courtyard. Outside the hall, the singers of the Taishou Mansion sang drums and chores, and several graceful dancers danced to the music.

Servants dressed in white cloth traveled from table to table, refilling the glasses of the guests.

It is really a group of laughter, singing and dancing, and the Buddha world is in its prime, and what is the great drought and the people's lack of livelihood are all blocked from the pink wall and Zhumen.

Liu Taishou invited everyone to a glass of wine first, and then announced the start of the dinner, as for when to announce the results of this year's inspection and evaluation, I am afraid that it will not be concluded until the wine is in full swing.

Zu Zhao and Li Xin, Tian Kai and others pushed the cup and set the lamp, but among the founder people who participated in the inspection this year, Zu Zhao was the youngest, and no matter whether the others had heard of Zu Zhao's reputation or not, they all believed that the amount of alcohol of such teenagers was limited, so they did not ask Zu Zhao for too much wine. However, after Zu Zhao saluted the others one by one, he just poured himself a drink, but Li Xin didn't think much about it, and came to Zu Zhao from time to time to drink a glass of wine.

Halfway through the banquet, Liu Taishou, whose face was slightly red, suddenly opened his mouth and said aloud to the whole hall: "Gentlemen, today is not only the day of this year's inspection and evaluation, but also the year of the little girl and the lady. Therefore, the little girl was deliberately asked to play a song on the piano in the pavilion and chat to help the fun.

After he said this, the subordinates, virtuous and others in the hall all smiled knowingly, and then some people echoed and praised.

However, Zu Zhao, Tian Kai and others at the bottom of the hall were a little puzzled, the inspection was originally a solemn thing, the dinner was just a way to gather, and it was not a real holiday dinner, where are there still performances interspersed within? Before the official results were announced, they were more or less concerned about it, although they couldn't talk about the tastelessness of food and the ruthlessness of drinking, but they really didn't have any extra thoughts to pay attention to other things.

However, after all, it was arranged by Liu Taishou personally, and it was Liu Taishou's daughter, even if there were many doubts and dissatisfactions, they had to put a decent and sincere smile on their faces.

In a short time, three or five beautiful shadows came on the porch of the north courtyard, led by a fourteen or fifteen-year-old slim girl, dressed in elaborate clothes, showing the delicate, weak and pure beauty of the childish girl. Behind the girl, followed by several other young maids, one of whom was holding a guqin.

They followed the portico to a small stone pavilion directly opposite the hall, which had been arranged, with a veil hanging from the eaves of the stone pavilion, and a small table with an incense burner on one side and a brazier at each corner for heating and lighting. The girl bowed in the direction of the hall in the pavilion, and immediately sat down. The maid on the side placed the guqin properly.

When Zu Zhao saw this, he couldn't help but laugh in his heart: Could it be that this Liu Taishou is looking for a son-in-law?

Several other people on the side also exchanged heads and discussed. Although the stone pavilion and the hall are not far apart, because the stone pavilion is covered by a veil, everyone can't see the girl's appearance clearly, and they only speculate from each other's every move, and they have different conjectures in their minds.

"What are you going to do?"

"That girl must be very good."

"Oh, you can tell it's superb?"

"Dignified and generous, gentle and virtuous, it is really everyone's daughter's style."

"Even so, don't think about it, know that you're a family man."

"Hehe, just talk, just talk."

After a while, the sound of the piano sounded, gradually rising and falling, like the wind and forest.

The banquet immediately fell silent, and the guests, regardless of whether they understood the sound of the orchestra or not, all took a serious posture of listening, and some even fell into a fascination.

After a song of the piano, Mrs. Liu suddenly spoke again: "The sound of the piano is fun, and there can be a strong man in the hall to accompany the piano and dance the sword, which adds more interest?"

Hearing these words, the eleven people including Zu Zhao in the hall were all stunned. If it is said that Liu Taishou inexplicably let his daughter play the piano before, there are still many doubts, but now Qu Fangguo took the initiative to invite everyone to dance the sword, which more or less let everyone see the clouds. This is clearly to hope that the square people in the hall will show their talents and see if they can be moved by it and fit the appearance of a talented woman. Obviously, this is Liu Taishou's ulterior motive arrangement, and he wants to select a fast son-in-law from this year's inspection and evaluation.

After a moment of silence, someone in the hall immediately got up, but it was Han Xi, a virtuous and upright person in Pinggang County. He straightened his chest and back, swore an oath, and volunteered: "If you don't have the courage, you are willing to try the girl's piano sound, accompanied by a sword dance, to wish Yaxing." "

Han Xi is a native of Pinggang County, but he didn't appear in Taishou Mansion on the tenth day of the new year. He was born in the family of the local gentry, relying on his father's frequent contacts with the county's elites, and at the same time responding to the call of the county government, allocating food and donating money to serve the public, so he was recommended by the county this year to be virtuous and square.

As soon as he said this, the other people on the left and right showed varying degrees of surprise, dancing the sword and playing the sword was originally the business of the Xi martial arts, and the sword dance should also be the five or six brave and upright people present.

Not only were the guests a little confused, but even Liu Taishou was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and only after a while did he say vaguely: "Han Mengli, you also know how to fencing?"

Han Xi was not impressed by the reaction present, and said with a smile: "The men in the north are still martial arts, and they are no exception. Fencing, archery, and riding skills are not quite famous, but they are also slightly famous in the county.

Liu Taishou was still a little stunned: "Really? Why haven't you heard your father mention this in your life?

Han Xi's face changed slightly, and he still said: "My father rarely has leisure on weekdays, so he doesn't know about it. I also hope that Lord Fujun will agree. Everyone

could see that Liu Taishou was reluctant in his heart, but this Han Xi didn't know the door at all, which made people's hearts anxious.

At this time, Lord Shi Sun, the county magistrate on the side, hurriedly sent the steps and said: "Han Mengli, you are a virtuous and righteous person, and you can't make mistakes. The meaning of the Ming Mansion is to dance against two brave and virtuous talents, the sword has no eyes, if there is any mistake, it can not be a joke.

Han Xi disagreed, and insisted: "Thank you for your concern, but it is just a wish to enter the department, just like this Zuzhao brother, who is obviously a young hero who fights for thieves, but he is promoted to a Ming arithmetic subject, not because he is not incompetent, but he just has a wish."

His attitude when he spoke was very casual, and his words did not show any respect for the Taishou Mansion.

Especially when Zu Zhao talks about things, it seems a bit of a fox and a fake tiger. Zu Zhao was young, but he was a righteous man who had killed the thief, and everyone present felt admiration in their hearts when they heard his reputation. And Han Xi is just a gentleman who took advantage of the power of the gentry's family to participate in the inspection, not only does he not know how to be restrained and humble, but he is also arrogant all day long, how can he convince people?

Seeing this, Liu Taishou and Sun Changshi didn't say much, which saved the pleasant atmosphere today.

At this moment, Lu Wei, a brave and upright man in Changcheng County, suddenly stood up and said in a cold voice: "Lord Changshi said that it was the two of them who were fighting against the sword, and I would like to dance with Brother Han to wish Yaxing!" I also hope that Lord Fujun will agree.

Seeing that Lu Wei was quite heroic, Liu Taishou naturally nodded happily and agreed: "Good, good, very good." Come on, prepare a sword. "

A servant had already prepared his sword outside the hall, and now he heard the order, and went down the corridor to the bottom of the hall.

Han Xi and Lu Wei stepped out of the table and came to a spacious terrace at the junction of the upper and lower halls.

The servant presented the tray of prepared swords to Han Xi and Lu Wei, and each of them took a sword, removed the scabbard, and stood with the blade in his hand.

Liu Taishou announced: "Take the sound of the piano as the signal, stop at the point, the two strong men dance the sword to cheer up, don't be vindictive."

Han Xi and Lu Wei bowed and saluted, and promised.

It didn't take long for the girl in the stone pavilion to move her slender hand lightly and pluck the strings.

On the terrace, Han Xi raised his sword to meet him, and Lu Wei also raised his sword. The two of them know that they are dancing swords, and they pay attention to the matching of swordsmanship and dancing, so each other's movements are not fast, but on the contrary, they follow the same trend, and the rhythm of the piano complements each other.

Zu Zhao didn't know much about the sword dance and the sound of the qin, and he was not interested in it at all, as for Liu Taishou's ingenuity to come up with the scene of the qin song and sword dance, he only paid symbolic attention for a while at most, and then poured himself a drink. To be honest, he is not even interested in the final result of this year's inspection, and with the arithmetic ability he has shown before, he is nine out of ten.

Thinking that he came to the county government this time, the most important thing was to persuade Liu Taishou to be vigilant about the people's movements, and he didn't know if there would be a follow-up to this matter. No matter what Liu Taishou's final plan is, after returning to Xu Wu, he will still insist on arranging for this year's winter to prepare for thieves according to his own plan.

The sound of the piano continued, and the sword dance continued.

Just as everyone was immersed in enjoying the piano music and sword dance performances, Li Xin, who was sitting next to Zu Zhao, suddenly sniffed and said with confusion: "How... Will there be a smell of burnt smoke?

He said as he turned behind him for the smell of burnt smoke in the air.

Zu Zhao drank a few more glasses, and he was a little drunk, but he also smelled some strange smells in the dark, which even overshadowed the incense burning around the hall. He frowned, turned to look in the direction Li Xin was looking, and said, "It's really a strange smell, who is burning firewood nearby?" Another

person on the side also said, "Probably Lord Taishou ordered the kitchen to prepare some game."

At this time, the sound of the piano gradually ended, and the sword dance of Han Xi and Lu Wei on the terrace also ended.

Many of the guests at the table applauded in unison, followed by another round of glass pushing, and no one noticed the smell floating in the air. Liu Taishou raised his wine glass and said very politely to the two people on the terrace.

"Good swordsmanship, good swordsmanship. Han Mengli is really a person who understands swords, hahaha, he finally showed his skills today! "

Thank you for the compliment." Han Xi put away his long sword and bowed to the hall.

However, just when everyone was still busy admiring and commenting on the sword dance and piano sound of Shicai, an exclamation suddenly came from the direction of the West Courtyard: "It's not good, it's not good, it's not good, it's not good, it's water, come on!"

This exclamation was just the beginning, and it didn't take long for the West Courtyard to become more and more turbulent, followed by more shouts.

One after another, the chaos is silent.

Li Xin stood up suddenly, pointed in the direction of the west courtyard and shouted, "Look, there is a fire."

Hearing this, the others, including Zu Zhao, got up and looked around. The originally quiet west courtyard of the Taishou Mansion suddenly caught fire without warning, and in the blink of an eye, the fire was blazing, the smoke was full, and the entire sky was reflected in a red color.

Zu Zhao's face sank, he was halfway awake from the wine, and the first thought in his mind was that this matter was by no means ordinary.

The inspection and evaluation were carried out for more than 20 days, but it was too coincidental that there was an accident on the most important day.

In the hall, Mrs. Liu stood up in a panic, forgot to put down the wine glass in her hand, and said in surprise: "This is... What's going on? Okay, how did the West Courtyard catch fire? The

county and several subordinate officials hurriedly beckoned the servants to hurry over to take a look, and if there was really a fire, they would gather more people to hurry up and put out the fire.

Sun Changshi hurriedly comforted Liu Taishou and said: "The West Courtyard is a miscellaneous courtyard, so it doesn't matter much. The Ming Mansion retreated to the public court first, and waited until the fire was subsided, and then arranged the dinner as appropriate.

Liu Taishou nodded again and again, and in a hurry, he did not forget to say a few polite words to the guests on the left and right.

Everyone in the hall was about to move down, when a terrible scream came from the terrace. When he looked up, he saw that Han Xi, who was still waiting on the terrace, was pierced in the abdomen with a sword from behind. Blood splattered, and the servants around him screamed. Han Xi's face was stunned, the sword in his hand fell to the ground, his two hands covered his abdomen, and his whole body gradually twitched because of the pain. He desperately wanted to turn his head to see the person who had attacked him, but the sword that pierced his abdomen suddenly twisted, and he heard the sound of his spine staggering, and he was killed instantly, and his body fell limp.

"Ah, this, Han Mengli!"

"Come on, come on, protect Lord Taishou!"

Liu Gan, Sun Changshi and a group of virtuous guests from the county were shocked when they witnessed this murder, no one expected that such a major accident would happen at a good dinner?

As Han Xi's body fell, the murderer who had been hiding behind suddenly appeared. It was none other than Lu Wei, who was dancing with Han Xi. At this time, Lu Wei sneered fiercely, slowly pulled his sword out of Han Xi's body, and glared at everyone in the hall with murderous intent.

"Lu Wei, you, you dare to hurt someone's life!" Liu Taishou scolded angrily.

"Hmph, if such pigs and dogs are inferior, why kill them? Today, not only will he take the life of his dog, but he will also kill all of you dog officials! Lu Wei was full of anger, almost gritting his teeth and scolding.

"Daring fanatics, bold fanatics! It's just... Outrageous! Come on, come on, take down Lu Wei for me! Mrs. Liu was so angry that he ordered left and right.

Five or six sword-wielding guards immediately rushed out from the left and right, rushed down the steps quickly, and rushed towards Lu Wei.

Lu Wei didn't show any fear on his face, but showed a mocking sneer, which made people shudder.