Chapter 5

In the afternoon, more and more people arrived, and the sound of pens scratching paper filled the air, making people feel irritated.

Ning Qingxi, pen in mouth, began to struggle.

The truly brilliant aspects of her design drawings cannot be seen from the overhead view alone. However, if they are not brilliant enough, she will not be able to enter the third round, and all her ingenuity will be in vain.

Ning Qingxi's biggest challenge right now is how to break through in the second round.

After pondering for a long time, she couldn't bring herself to do it. She could only refine the pavilions and towers, making their outlines vaguely visible. As for the more detailed things, she couldn't express them.

It was the Lantern Festival, and people around were putting away their drawings and going out for a stroll in twos and threes. Ning Qingxi simply threw down her pen and went out with her younger siblings.

Fine snowflakes drifted down from the sky, shimmering under the lights, especially when they landed on the main street, resembling tiny lamps.

Ning Qingxi walked very slowly because Ning Qingshan was still in poor health, hanging on by a thread as if he could die at any moment. His face was frighteningly pale. However, at this moment, he suddenly seemed to be full of life. When he looked at the huge rabbit lantern in Zuixianlou, his eyes were full of light.

Ning Qingxi placed the hot water bottle in his hand, and before leaving, she asked Zhang Fuhu for two cloaks, so that she could at least bring people out to see the excitement.

Ning Qingyuan was wearing a bright red cloak trimmed with rabbit fur. He was drooling as he looked at the candied hawthorns. Ning Qingxi asked, "Do you want some?"

The two children looked at her with expectant expressions.

Ning Qingxi took out a few copper coins and bought three from the vendor.

During the Lantern Festival, even candied hawthorns have seen their prices rise, more than doubling compared to normal days!

Ning Qingxi felt a little sorry for them, but she couldn't show weakness in front of the children, otherwise, knowing the two children as she did, they would start fighting amongst themselves again.

She bit off a candied hawthorn from the stick, her eyes closing from the sourness. Even so, she still had to teach her younger siblings: "We may be poor, but we just can't afford nice things, not that we don't deserve them. Even the best things in the world are just things. From now on, if you want something, you have to tell me. Otherwise, I won't be able to guess. Do you understand?"

The two children were engrossed in eating candied hawthorns, seemingly oblivious to what was happening around them.

Ning Qingxi: "..."

It's hard to imagine that anyone would like to eat something so sour and full of seeds.

She took a handkerchief, plucked one off, and then stuffed the rest into Ning Qingyuan's hands. Then, with a loving expression, she said, "You eat it, I don't like it."

The lights on both sides flowed and turned, and pedestrians walked slowly along the road in the middle, looking at the lanterns on both sides as they went.

This year is the Year of the Rabbit, and rabbit lanterns are already popular, but this year they are even more so. In addition to rabbit lanterns, there are also lotus lanterns. Despite this, it is not monotonous.

Skilled craftsmen use bamboo strips to make the frame, cover it with rice paper, and shape it into a rabbit. They add eyes and a nose, and place a candle inside. When lit, the warm light shines out, making the rabbit look exceptionally lively.

Ning Qingxi had no money, so she bought a square lantern with a rabbit painted on it.

Even so, it was enough to deal with Ning Qingyuan, who was visiting the city for the first time. Ning Qingxi patted her head, feeling very gratified, and then promised her a bright future: "This year's Lantern Festival was simple, but next year when I have more money, I'll buy you a rabbit-shaped one, three of them!"

Someone nearby burst out laughing.

Ning Qingxi: "..."

I hate people who ruin the atmosphere the most.

Just as I was about to leave, I heard someone next to me suddenly say, "Miss Ning, you have such refined tastes, you even have time to come out and see the lanterns?"

The man had been wearing a hood, but when he pulled it down, Ning Qingxi recognized him as the flamboyant one.

The show-off wasn't dressed as flamboyantly today, wearing a plain black outfit with a matching cape.

He's low-key, but the way he stands there screams "rich!"

Ning Qingxi retorted, "Didn't you come out too?"

The show-off chuckled lightly, then didn't reply. He simply bent down, looked at Ning Qingyuan, held up the rabbit lantern in his hand, and asked, "Want one?"

Ning Qingyuan looked up at his older sister and shook his head against his will.

"You really don't want it? Children who say one thing and mean another don't get candy." The show-off was very patient. "If you want something, you should say it. Maybe you'll get it."

Ning Qingxi also spoke up at the right time: "Take it if you want it, and quickly say thank you to Uncle."

The lantern in the showy boy's hand was taken away, and he received a "thank you, uncle," which pleased him greatly. However, there was one thing he couldn't understand.

"I'm not that old, am I? She calls me uncle, so how are we addressed?"

“You can say whatever you want,” Ning Qingxi said. “You can call me by my name, but you still haven’t told me your name.”

Sao Bao said: "Huo Yan Ci, Yan Ci Gui, Ke Shang Yan Liu [1]'s Yan Ci."

Ning Qingxi was not interested in the origin of his name and said, "Okay, I'll remember it, Huo Yanci."

Huo Yanci clicked her tongue, seemingly quite dissatisfied, and retorted like a primary school student: "Ning Qingxi."

"Hmm, do you need me to tell you which three words they are?"

"No need, I can read," Huo Yanci said. "It's fate that we met. Would you like to see the lanterns together?"

Ning Qingxi said, "If you pay, then it's fine."

Huo Yanci clicked her tongue again: "Look at you, all you ever talk about is money?"

"Because I'm poor. I definitely don't have any money to treat you, so you'll have to treat me." Ning Qingxi said matter-of-factly, turning to leave with her younger siblings. "If you don't want to, then forget it. I don't want them to lead me astray and ask me for things."

"..." Huo Yanci: "So you came to the lantern festival just to look at it?"

“You don’t know this,” Ning Qingxi said honestly, pulling up her sleeves. “There are ways to shop if you have money and ways if you don’t. If you don’t come, we’ll just look around and go back. If you do come, we might release a river lantern and have something to eat.”

It was obvious that they were going to rip Huo Yanci off, but perhaps because of the dazzling lights around him, he didn't feel much anger at the moment. He just suddenly felt that this year's lantern festival seemed to be different in some ways, and it suddenly became lively.

Even so, he still wouldn't let it go: "You expect me to pay up, and this is how you treat me?"

Ning Qingxi readily offered a way out: "Let's go, let's go, my young lady."

"Why is it the young lady?"

"Because of your spoiled princess temper!"

Ning Qingxi couldn't help but think to herself, "This person is really a young lady. Just now she told Ning Qingyuan to say what she wants, but she herself is always so awkward. She clearly wants to find someone to accompany her to the lantern festival, but she just won't let it go and waits for others to take the initiative to talk to her."

Fortunately, Ning Qingxi was quick-witted and didn't voice his thoughts, leaving Huo Yanci deep in thought, seemingly unaware of what a spoiled young lady's temper was.

Seeing this, Ning Qingxi sighed again. Otherwise, this ancestor would not be at peace and would probably disturb her tranquility.

Huo Yanci seemed to be walking with them reluctantly, taking Ning Qingshan's hand in one hand and following along.

The lantern festival sold trinkets like wooden hairpins, wooden combs, and other novel items from the south. Ning Qingxi was captivated by them, holding a hairpin and gesturing with it on her head.

Huo Yanci also picked one up casually: "You like this kind?"

Seeing that customers had finally arrived, the shop owner immediately promoted the hairpins even more enthusiastically: "You two are here to see hairpins? The one this young lady is holding is quite nice. It's an iris, which symbolizes longing. Giving it to a loved one shows that even if they are thousands of miles apart, you still think of them."

Ning Qingxi was not interested. She glanced at it and put it down. Her gaze swept over the hairpins on the table. Just when she thought she wouldn't find one she liked, she suddenly saw one in the far corner.

It is a lily hairpin, but in a unique way the flower blooms on the side. A string of beads hangs from where the flower stem is inserted into the hairpin body. At the top, a flower bud flies out to the side, a butterfly stands beside it, and behind it, layers of butterfly wings serve as embellishment.

The materials are exquisite, the shimmering luster and the light blue color have a refined quality.

Seeing her gaze fall here, the shopkeeper had a sudden inspiration: "Why don't you take a look at this, young lady? This is the latest design created by skilled craftsmen from the South. There's only one of its kind in the entire capital!"

Huo Yanci stood to the side and asked, "How much?"

Seeing that there was a chance, the shopkeeper immediately said, "It's not expensive, it's only four taels of silver."

"……How many?!"

Huo Yanci had already reached for her purse when she heard an incredulous question erupt from the side.

The reason is simple: four taels of silver is enough for Ning Qingxi's entire family to eat for a year!

Ning Qingxi immediately put the hairpin down.

Huo Yanci raised an eyebrow: "What? You don't want it anymore?"

"No, no, let's try another store."

Ning Qingxi thought that only someone who was "foolish and rich" would do something like spending four taels of silver to buy a hairpin.

But the hairpin's beauty was undeniable. Ning Qingxi looked around for a long time, but still felt that none of them were quite right. She sighed and lamented for a while, wondering if she could still keep that hairpin for her in a few months.

After sighing for a while, Huo Yanci couldn't stand it anymore and teased, "Didn't Miss Ning just say that she deserved all these things? Why don't you just buy them?"

“Whether I’m worthy or not, I can’t afford it.” Ning Qingxi sighed again.

The atmosphere at the lantern festival was fantastic, with all sorts of trinkets and rare items on display, from cloisonné bracelets to kingfisher feather earrings, each with a hefty price tag. Yet business was booming, suggesting there were indeed many wealthy people there.

Just as Ning Qingxi was feeling sentimental, Huo Yanci suddenly said, "I'm hungry, let's go find a place to eat."

Ning Qingxi looked at him with a "can you handle this?" expression. It had been less than an hour since they had eaten dinner, and even a gluttonous beast wouldn't be hungry now.

However, Huo Yanci was never reasonable and was very self-righteous. Ning Qingxi had no choice but to follow him to the stall.

One side of the stall had pots and pans, which served as the kitchen, while the other side had tables and chairs, including four low tables for eating.

Huo Yanci casually ordered some things, then turned and said, "I have something to do, I'll be back later."

Then he pinched Ning Qingyuan's cheek and said, "What do you want? I'll buy it for you on the way."

"What do you mean? Favoring one over the other?" Ning Qingxi stood aside and touched Ning Qingshan's hand.

"Buy it all, buy it all. Do you want me to make a list?" Huo Yanci paused for a moment, then continued, "You've spoiled me rotten."

Ning Qingxi seemed not to hear the second half of the sentence, and just squatted down, looking at the two Ning siblings: "Tell this older brother anything you want to eat or play with, he's rich!"

What do you think the kids can buy? Just snacks and toys. Ning Qingxi can easily afford it if she puts in the effort!

Ning Qingxi, a poor man, thought so.

Sure enough, Ning Qingyuan and Ning Qingshan's eyes lit up after hearing this, and then they rattled off a bunch of things like a menu.

After hearing this, Huo Yanci looked constipated and said, "Just buy whatever I remember."