Chapter 309 Sudden Change

"The old lady of the Liu family is turning eighty this year, and tonight she is scattering wealth and praying for blessings by the Bian River."

Anyone who has spoken auspicious words for Old Madam Liu in the past will receive fifty coins.

"Really? How come I haven't heard about this before?"

“It’s absolutely true, I came here after receiving the money.”

The person speaking waved a string of coins in his hand, laughing heartily.

"Not only did the Liu family squander their wealth, but the Du family, a royal merchant family related to the Liu family by marriage, also hired magicians to perform tonight."

If you can guess the secret behind the magic trick, you can also get a reward.

The person next to him quickly chimed in.

"That's not all. There's also the Zhou family, who sell grain and oil. Tonight, they're going to have a showdown with the Liu and Du families."

Anyone who writes a blessing for the Zhou family's business in front of their lanterns can receive ten catties of rice and a jar of oil for free.

As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd became even more agitated.

"Shangyuan Street is really lively this year. People are giving out money and grain and oil."

"It can't be a lie, can it?"

"Whether it's a scam or not, we'll find out by going and seeing for ourselves. Even if we don't get the money, two pounds of millet will be enough to feed the whole family for several days."

"That's right, I can't miss out on such a lively event."

The group chatted amongst themselves and soon left in small groups.

More and more people turned away from the Imperial Street and returned to the Bian River.

After all, compared to beautiful lanterns, money, rice, flour, and cooking oil are more practical things.

As more and more people left, the once crowded Imperial Street was instantly emptied of more than half its usual number of people.

Li Nanke and Shen Cong exchanged a glance and both breathed a sigh of relief.

Right under the Rainbow Bridge, a boat was moored on the Bian River.

The boat remained in the shadows, and the streets and boats were completely dark, almost blending into the night.

The large influx of people from the Imperial Street to the banks of the Bian River naturally attracted the attention of those on the boats.

Bai San Niang frowned.

"What's going on? Why did these people go back? What happened?"

Prince Chen stared intently in the direction of the lotus lantern, his gaze deep and thoughtful.

"Could it be that they discovered something?"

Bai San Niang hesitated.

"Probably not. The Zhu family has always been at odds with the Chen family. No matter how hard they try, they would never imagine that we have already secretly taken control of the Zhu family."

Moreover, the lotus lantern was made in an extremely concealed manner, with the gunpowder hidden under the lampstand and inside the four lanterns.

There's absolutely no way anyone could have discovered it.

Bai became more and more certain as he spoke.

"It must be that the merchants in Bianjing City, seeing that the Chen family has fallen and the Zhu family is so prominent tonight, all want to rush in and get a share of the profits."

Prince Chen did not speak, but raised his hand and ordered his men to quietly bring the boat closer to the shore.

"Your Highness, what are you going to do?"

Prince Chen changed into the clothes of an ordinary commoner, wearing a bamboo hat, and went ashore.

He said in a low voice, "Something's not right. I need to go and see for myself. You and Yao'er stick to the original plan."

Once an explosion is triggered, you must leave by water.

"What about the prince?"

"I have my own way."

Prince Chen waved his hand and, accompanied by two personal bodyguards, quickly disappeared from the shore.

The crowd on the Imperial Street had dwindled to less than half, leaving only a few onlookers who were captivated by the dancers' graceful figures and movements, watching with great interest and reluctant to leave.

At the corner, Li Nanke had already left with Nangong Qiang.

Shen Cong and Er Feng stood in the shadows, staring in the direction of the lotus lantern.

Erfeng grinned and muttered under his breath.

"What's so interesting? Look at those people, their eyes are practically glued to the dancers."

My subordinates have already sent people to remind them two or three times, but they still refuse to leave.

If you ask me, we should just ignore them.

Shen Cong asked, "Have the patrol officers and the fire brigade from Bianjing Prefecture arrived yet?"

Erfeng nodded.

"Lord Wei and his men, disguised as performers, are already heading this way."

"Your Highness, look."

As soon as he finished speaking, a group of people dancing a blessing dance turned into the Imperial Street.

Among this group, the leader was on stilts, waving his long sleeves.

The person in the middle wears a mask and dances a blessing dance.

One of the men wearing a wolf mask nudged Shen Cong with his elbow, seemingly unintentionally.

Shen Cong raised an eyebrow and recognized Wei Yan at a glance.

Wei Yan winked at him, then took off his mask.

He crossed his arms and gestured with his chin towards the crowd dancing the blessing dance.

"I've made all the arrangements, don't worry, it won't explode!"

Soon, the group of people arrived at the Zhu family's lotus lantern.

The stilt walkers swayed as Shui Xiu suddenly flicked her wrist, revealing two small buckets in her hands.

As they shook the bucket, the water inside was precisely sprinkled onto the lotus platform.

The enormous lotus lantern flickered a few times and then went out.

Water was poured over them, drenching the drummers and dancers below.

"ah!"

The dancers screamed in panic, and the drummers jumped up in anger.

They grabbed the people on stilts and those doing the blessing dance, shouting, "What are you doing? Are you blind?"

You have extinguished all our lotus lanterns.

The person on stilts was nearly pulled down and fell to the ground, so he immediately kicked off the stilts.

"This Imperial Street isn't your private property, so why do you have to occupy most of it? We accidentally spilled some water while passing by, and this is how you treat us?"

"I'll just turn the light back on if it goes out, what's all the noise about?"

"Is this something to be concerned about? It's bad luck for the lotus lantern to be extinguished. Can you afford to compensate me for the business disruptions?"

The two sides were exchanging words, and it looked like they were about to fight.

Shen Cong glanced at Wei Yan.

"It's your turn to take charge."

Wei Yan straightened his clothes and smiled slightly.

"Don't worry, the lotus lanterns and those lanterns have been extinguished. That kind of gunpowder will lose its effectiveness when it comes into contact with fire."

Having said that, he immediately waved his hand and led the Bianjing government officials who were hiding in the shadows to rush over.

"What are you doing? Fighting and brawling on the Lantern Festival? This is outrageous!"

"Guards, take them all back and interrogate them thoroughly!"

The constables immediately rushed forward to capture both groups of people.

Erfeng lowered his voice and said, "Your Highness, I have already sent men to deploy heavy troops on the Bian River."

"If Prince Chen dares to show up, he will definitely not be able to escape. Now that the explosion crisis is resolved, shall we go and take a look at the river?"

Shen Cong pondered for a moment, then nodded.

Just then, a panting voice sounded from behind.

"Ninth Brother!"

Shen Cong turned his head and saw Li Nanke running towards him.

He frowned.

Why are you back again?

"careful!"

Before the words had even finished, something unexpected happened!

Without warning, several blinding flashes of light suddenly exploded on the Imperial Street!

It wasn't the dazzling ascent of ordinary fireworks, but rather a sudden, teeth-grinding explosion that skimmed the ground!

"Pfft—hiss hiss hiss!"

The pungent smell of sulfur instantly became so strong that it choked everyone's nose and mouth.

Then came a dull and abrupt loud bang, as if several huge leather bags had been crushed under the feet of the crowd!

"Boom! Boom!"

Chaos erupted like a drop of boiling oil thrown into a pot!

"ah--!"

"Oh my god! It's blown up!"

"Run!"

A heart-wrenching scream of terror rose from the ground.