Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Lanterns

Chapter 12

The weather was cold and it was snowing lightly, but it still couldn't stop the bustle of Lin'an City. Especially this year, many wealthy families donated a lot of lanterns. At night, these lanterns would be lit up, making the streets unusually bright.

People who used to sleep at night came out to see the lanterns. Some people came out to play, and naturally some people came out to make a living. There were wonton stalls and hawkers selling braised food. The hawking sounds were endless. Some people came to see the lanterns, some came to eat snacks, or just to relax. It wasn't crowded, but it was as lively as during the day.

Madam Qian put down the teapot with blue and white twig pattern in her hand, then glanced at Princess Zhou with a somewhat impatient look, and said carefully, "My queen, I heard that East Street has been unusually lively these days. Do you want to go out for a walk?"

Princess Zhou was annoyed by those visitors these days, so she simply closed the door and refused to see them. She hadn't gone out for several days, so she was naturally unhappy. She took a sip of tea and was very surprised to hear this. She asked, "There are still people in such a cold day?"

Madam Qian told her about the donation of lanterns, "We have a prince in Lin'an, and even the common people are happy."

This made Princess Zhou feel very comfortable. Lin Bozhi was named the prince, which was also her honor. Princess Zhou would also rise with the tide and be extremely noble in the future.

Princess Zhou was obviously also a little moved and wanted to see the lanterns.

"What is the Second Master doing?"

Nanny Qian knew that she wanted to call Lin Ji over, and said, "He was just writing. Didn't you punish him to write 200 more characters every day last time? The Second Master is serious. Others at his age would have been unable to sit still, but he is diligent and never slacked off. Even when I asked him to take a break before writing, he said no."

A few days ago, Lin Ji argued with Princess Zhou about Jiang Yu, which made her very angry, so she punished Lin Ji to write big characters. In fact, she had almost forgotten about it in the past few days, and when she heard Nanny Qian say this, she said distressedly, "What time is it now? Haven't you finished writing yet?"

Nanny Qian immediately understood Princess Zhou's intention. She thought, "I'll call the Second Master to come over for some tea."

While waiting for Nanny Qian to lead Lin Ji over, Lin Ji was still a little unhappy and said, "I haven't finished writing yet."

Princess Zhou was troubled by Lin Ji's stubbornness. She didn't know who this child took after. Once he made up his mind about something, he would never turn back. But seeing the ink stains on his sleeves, she remembered Nanny Qian's words, and her anger subsided. She decided not to argue with him about Jiang Yu. He was still young and didn't understand these things. When he grew up and knew the difference in family background, he would understand her painstaking efforts. She said, "Do you want to go see the lanterns?"

Lin Ji was naturally happy and said, "Mom, can I go?"

“Of course you can.”

Seeing her son’s smiling face, Princess Zhou immediately became interested and said, “Tell them to prepare the carriage. The Second Master and I want to go see the lanterns.”

When they arrived outside East Street, the carriage could no longer go in as there were too many people. Nanny Qian was about to call the guards to drive them away but was stopped by Princess Zhou. Princess Zhou said, “You’ve driven everyone away. What are the Second Master and I going to see?”

Nanny Qian smiled and said, “It’s still Princess Ren Ci.”

Then she smiled and helped Princess Zhou get off the carriage. Lin Ji was wearing a royal blue brocade quilted robe, black deerskin boots, and a sable cloak. He looked very rich and cute. He didn’t ask anyone to help him and jumped off the horse next to the door frame.

Princess Zhou frowned and said, "What if he falls?"

Princess Zhou led Lin Ji, followed by four or five guards, as well as maids. A total of more than ten people continued to walk forward. Sure enough, there were all kinds of lanterns on the roadside, including lotus lanterns, carp lanterns, and half-person-high vase lanterns. They were of different shapes and colors, but very beautiful.

Lin Ji couldn't see enough. He walked to a stall with many lanterns hanging, but suddenly stopped. Princess Zhou was a little surprised and looked in the direction of his sight. Then her mood suddenly became a little bad.

It turned out that this was a place for guessing lantern riddles. If you guessed correctly, you could take the lantern away. If you guessed incorrectly, you had to pay money. The person who wrote the lantern riddles was an old scholar. He had been writing for several years and had always been smooth sailing. As a result, today he obviously encountered someone who came to ruin his performance.

A young man was wearing a stone-blue robe with a round flower pattern, and a black cloud leopard cloak on the outside. He had a handsome face, elegant manners, and a pleasant voice. People couldn't help but look at him a few more times and couldn't help but admire him, saying, "What a handsome man."

At this moment, many people were gathered around him, watching him guess lantern riddles. In a short while, he had won more than a dozen lanterns, and one of them was a priceless glass lantern.

The boss smiled bitterly and said, "May I ask if this young man wants to take all of them away?" His tone was very reluctant, after all, they were all very delicate lanterns.

The young man turned around and glanced at the young woman following behind him, and said, "Cousin Yu, which one do you like?"

It turned out that the two people were Jiang Yu and Du Haoyu, who took advantage of the night to see the lanterns together. In fact, Jiang Yu didn't want to go out. The first reason was that it was too cold, and the second reason was that he didn't know why he was always feeling unwell recently and was a little sick.

But today everyone was in high spirits. My uncle and aunt were both here. My father Jiang Feng also wanted to come and see the lanterns. He couldn't resist the family and followed them out. I don't know what happened. At first, he followed his mother, but in a blink of an eye, his father took his mother to see the lantern boats on the river. His aunt said she wanted to eat the braised food at the door, so his uncle accompanied her. In the end, only she and Du Haoyu were left.

Although Jiang Yu returned home, she was still combing her hair. The boss said enviously, "So you are guessing lanterns for the lady. No wonder you are so hardworking."

Many people laughed at the same time, of course, they were all kind smiles. Someone said, "This young man is so lucky. The lady is so beautiful."

Jiang Yu wore a goose yellow brocade narrow-sleeved jacket, a royal blue blue horse-faced skirt, and a white fox fur cloak on the outside, which made Jiang Yu look as beautiful as a flower.

"That's right. When I saw her just now, I thought she was a fairy descending to earth. When did we have such a beauty in Lin'an City?"

Jiang Yu used to live in seclusion, so naturally no one had ever seen her.

Princess Zhou saw Jiang Yu at once. In her mind, since she had left the palace, she must have had a bad life. After all, it was easy to imagine how awkward it would be for a divorced woman to return home.

Although Li Fugui's family said that Jiang Yu was engaged, she didn't take it to heart, thinking that she could marry into a good family. But looking at Jiang Yu at this moment, she seemed to have changed, and the whole person became as bright as a flower.

And Du Haoyu, who was standing next to her, both had outstanding looks, as radiant as a pair of perfect couples.

Princess Zhou was very surprised. Is this Jiang Yu's fiancé?

Jiang Yu only picked a lotus lantern as big as a bowl, and Du Haoyu let her do it. The two smiled and walked back, but the snow was getting heavier and heavier, and a layer of white was briefly spread on the ground.

There was a mutton stall nearby. As the boss opened the lid of the pot, a fragrant aroma came to her face. Many people passing by couldn't help but sniff and said, "What a nice smell." Even Du Haoyu couldn't help but say, "Ayu, are you cold? Let's go have a bowl of mutton soup."

Jiang Yu didn't know why she felt very uncomfortable when she smelled the smell, but seeing that Du Haoyu was so excited, she didn't want to spoil his fun, so she followed him.

But when the boss brought the mutton soup, she felt nauseous and almost vomited.