Chapter Thirty-Seven: Bloodshed

Upon hearing this, Jingwu nodded in agreement.

After finishing her meal, she patted her round little belly and followed Yue Huai out.

The two first went to the pastry shop that Yue Huai had mentioned and bought the signature lotus flower cake and green leaf cake.

Then he entered the Brocade Pavilion. Looking at the dazzling array of clothes, Jingwu chose a light green satin dress according to his own figure.

Then, according to her aunt's size, she chose a lake-blue Hunan-style dress.

My uncle and aunt have taken such good care of me during this time, so I should give them a gift in return.

After Jingwu had the shopkeeper pack up the two sets, he stood in front of the men's clothing and began to worry again.

Then, she pulled the boy standing next to her over and said, "Help me pick out four sets of men's clothing, one for someone in their thirties or forties, one for someone in their seventeens or eighteens, and two for someone in their seventies or eighties."

Upon hearing this, Yue Huai immediately understood that she was planning to choose clothes for the Shao family.

He nodded and stood in front of the clothes, carefully selecting them.

He glanced at the fabrics Jingwu had just chosen, which were mainly cotton, and then picked out four sets of men's clothing made of the same fabric.

Jingwu thought the style was quite nice, so he took it to the shopkeeper and paid for it all at once.

"The total is eight hundred and fifty coins."

Jingwu nodded, took out a small purse, and handed him a tael of silver.

Then, she picked up the packaged clothes, took the change from the shopkeeper, and walked outside.

Yue Huai followed her out and, seeing the lanterns for sale not far away, said, "It's already the fifteenth of the month. There's a Lantern Festival in Pingjiang Prefecture tonight. Shall we join in the fun before going back?"

Upon hearing this, Jingwu, realizing he had never seen a lantern festival in Pingjiang Prefecture before, agreed, "Sure, let's take a look."

As soon as she finished speaking, she looked down at her hands, which were full of things, and wondered where to put them.

Yue Huai saw it too, took the item from her hand, and walked towards the jewelry shop on the other side.

He walked into the shop, placed the bags on the table, and said to the shopkeeper, "Please leave these things here for now."

The shopkeeper, seeing the richly dressed man before him, knew he couldn't afford to offend him, so he smiled sheepishly and said, "Sir, with so many people coming and going, we really can't keep an eye on all these things. Why don't you take them yourself?"

Yue Huai took out a token and waved it in front of him.

Upon seeing this, the shopkeeper immediately stood up, a fawning smile on his face: "Young master, it's you. Don't worry, I'll take good care of your things. You can come and pick them up whenever you want."

Jingwu almost burst out laughing when he saw the shopkeeper's change of expression.

Seeing the boy come out, she followed beside him and asked with a smile, "What did you show him?"

"The young master's token of the Yue family is mine alone. This shop was part of my mother's dowry, and she gave it to me not long ago."

Upon hearing this, Jingwu suddenly realized, "They really are a wealthy family!"

The two did not continue the topic, and were soon drawn to the exquisitely crafted lanterns.

Jingwu walked up to a vendor's stall and curiously fiddled with the lanterns on the stall.

She had never seen such beautiful lanterns before, and upon seeing them, she wanted to take them all into her arms.

Jingwu carefully selected a rabbit lantern and chose one with exquisite craftsmanship.

Turning around, I saw the tiger lantern in the boy's hand.

Jingwu tilted his head and strolled along the street with him.

She looked at the well-dressed girls walking down the street, a hint of curiosity flashing in her eyes.

She became so engrossed in what she was watching that she accidentally bumped into a girl.

Jingwu looked up and saw a girl wearing a red cloak, who was holding onto her maid's hand to steady herself.

She was about to speak when she heard the person in front of her speak.

"Sorry, did I hurt you?"

Jingwu shook his head upon hearing the gentle voice.

"That's good." The girl in the red cloak said, then smiled and left.

Jingwu watched her leave and sensed something was wrong. He then spoke to the person beside him.

Did you figure something out?

Yue Huai nodded: "This is an unexpected disaster. Tonight, my life is in danger."

Jingwu narrowed his eyes and walked towards the woman in the red cloak, saying, "Miss, you are destined for bloodshed tonight. You should return to your residence as soon as possible."

The woman in the red cloak was taken aback at first, but then she realized what she meant and curled the corners of her lips into a smile: "Thank you for reminding me, I will be careful."

As soon as she finished speaking, she quickly walked towards her friend.

Jingwu didn't know if she had taken it to heart, but he had reminded her, and there was nothing he could do if she didn't listen.

She walked back to the boy's side, and they continued to stroll through the Lantern Festival together.

There were all sorts of performances at the lantern festival, but none of them attracted Jingwu.

After a while, the novelty wore off, and she also found it boring, so she looked up at Yue Huai.

"Are we going back?"

"It's just releasing lanterns, isn't it?"

Jingwu watched as the many young men and women on the street, each carrying a lantern, walked towards a lake.

After thinking about it, I decided it was a good idea to go, so I nodded and said, "Let's go then."

Yue Huai led her, and together with the others, they walked towards the lake.

Upon reaching the lake, Jingwu placed the rabbit lantern in his hand and the tiger lantern from Yuehuai onto the water, watching the two lanterns drift further and further away.

After watching the two lamps drift away, she stood up and looked at the girl next to her, who was clasping her hands together and making a wish with her eyes closed.

She slapped her thigh, only then realizing that she and Yue Huai hadn't made a wish.

The two exchanged a glance, pretended not to remember, and turned to leave.

It was already late, and Yue Huai didn't want to go through any more trouble, so he took Jing Wu to an inn, booked two superior rooms, and settled in.

When Jingwu saw that he was offering to pay, he gladly accepted. After returning to his room, he used hot water to wash up and then lay down to rest.

On the other side, the woman in the red cloak, for some reason, kept thinking about what the girl had just said.

"Rising, what are you thinking about? Did you hear what I just told you?"

Shi Ruixing suddenly snapped out of her daze and looked at her friend Qiao Ya beside her: "What? I was just spacing out. What did you say?"

"I said, it's still early, why don't we go to the countryside to release lanterns?"

Upon hearing this, Shi Ruixing frowned slightly: "Can't we release them within the city? Why go to the outskirts?"

"There are so many people in the city, they'll all get my new clothes dirty." Qiao Ya muttered under her breath, complaining, "Ugh, just tell me, are you going or not?"

Just as Shi Ruixing was about to agree, he remembered what the girl had said earlier.

She paused for a moment, then shook her head and said, "My grandmother has been ill these past few days, and I need to go back to the manor to be with her as soon as possible."

When Qiao Ya heard her say that, she muttered with some dissatisfaction, "What a spoilsport."

Shi Ruixing smiled slightly, said nothing more, and after releasing the lanterns, said goodbye to his friend and went home.

Early the next morning, she went to pay her respects to her grandmother. As soon as she entered the door, she heard her grandmother and mother talking.

The old lady took a sip of tea and asked, "How is the Zhang River in the suburbs?"

"The fire burned all night and was only just put out."