Chapter 70 Lantern Viewing (1) With you, even the stars are sweet…

"Are you sure you saw Hou Ren?" Li Shimin and Changsun Qingjing fled hand in hand to the Tongji Canal, leaving their retainers and A Cai far behind.

“You have to believe me.” Changsun Qingjing ran to the bluestone dock, the night wind lifting the veil of the veil. “Those people, they neither watch plays nor drink, they have nothing to do but spy on others, aren’t they just like spies? When I was five or six years old, my father taught me and Wuji how to distinguish these spies from ordinary people.”

“You’re right. I was too fixated on waiting for Prince Fulin Yang to die suddenly…” Li Shimin said, scratching his head.

“Where is Cao Yuhan?” Changsun Qingjing turned around and asked, “We ran too fast and didn’t notice him. Since you get along well with him, you should have invited him to watch the lanterns together.”

"I was wondering the same thing, he ran even faster than us..." The light veil of the veil fluttered against Li Shimin's face in the night breeze, making him absent-minded. "Perhaps he was also watching the lanterns with some lady, releasing river lanterns, waiting for the lantern wheels to shoot flames..."

“Perhaps he was smarter than you. He realized he was cheering too loudly, felt it was inappropriate, and was afraid of being questioned, so he took advantage of the chaos to leave first…” Changsun Qingjing covered her mouth and laughed, “Who told him that his high nose and deep-set eyes would easily attract the attention of the Hou people?”

Changsun Qingjing simply removed her veil. The night wind stung her still swollen eyes, but she was in a very pleasant mood.

She finally freed herself from the wariness of Yang Guang's visit and probing, and from the seemingly gratifying yet actually tragic ending of Jing Nong.

"Do you like this scenic alley?" She tiptoed and playfully hopped along the edge of the dock, trying to see the gauze lanterns adorning the painted boats with their red railings.

"It's alright, better than 'Ta Yao Niang,' more intricate and interesting than 'Bo Tou,' but perhaps not as good as 'Da Mian.' 'Da Mian' is still the most enjoyable!" Li Shimin reached out and took Changsun Qingjing's arm. "Be careful."

The thought of his mother made the young man, who had just been pontificating in the private room, feel melancholy.

Arriving at the canal from the bustling Persian temple, a gust of cold wind dissipated most of my enthusiasm and excitement.

The two walked silently along the riverbank, faintly overhearing A-Cai discussing with two young retainers their plan to release river lanterns for their deceased relatives.

The woman who released the river lanterns may never have seen the emperor in her entire life.

River lanterns are the only messengers that connect them to the human world.

"Let's share in the joy of the ladies in the palace!" the older child exclaimed.

The children rushed forward, jostling and pushing each other, almost pushing Changsun Qingjing into the water.

Li Shimin lifted Changsun Qingjing by the waist with one hand and placed her a little away from the canal. Infected by the children's laughter, he asked, "Do you want me to go to the river and get you a cup?"

"No need." Changsun Qingjing smiled and pointed to the shops and mobile vendors in the distance. "I won't snatch children's favorite things. Go pick one out yourself in a bit."

"Look, the lamp is about to shoot flames!" A boy carrying a glass lamp led dozens of children of all ages as they ran from the riverbank toward the market.

"Wait for me!" A four- or five-year-old girl with her hair in two buns ran behind the group of children, carrying a wet, gilded box. Afraid of missing the lantern's display, she chased after it desperately, ignoring the uneven stone slabs under her feet. She stumbled and fell, the gilded box flying several feet, and her hand bleeding. The girl burst into tears, feeling extremely wronged.

"They don't want me anymore, I can't squeeze in." The little girl looked at the scraped skin on her palms and watched her friends walk away, crying even more sadly.

Changsun Qingjing picked her up, cleaned the bloodstains, brushed off the dust, and wiped away her tears.

"Come on, I'll show you the lantern wheel!" She picked up the gilded box for the girl, and then she and Li Shimin each took one arm of the child. The child swayed and jumped like on a swing, and soon they arrived at the lantern wheel closest to the riverbank.

Changsun Qingjing picked her up, just like many years ago when his father and brothers were still alive, and he held her high to look at the lanterns.

"Wow! I've never seen such a beautiful flowering tree before. It looks like a tower!" The little girl happily hugged Changsun Qingjing's neck.

"Don't blink, the flowering tree is about to burst into five-colored fireworks."

The craftsmen in charge of setting up the lanterns used ladders to ignite the bamboo tubes hidden on the tree-shaped lanterns one by one, and then climbed down the tree and removed the ladders.

A unified count came from the crowd: "One, two, three."

The saltpeter, cinnabar, iron powder, copper powder, and pine resin hidden in the bamboo tube were instantly ignited, shooting out colorful flames and smoke from the lamp wheel. The debris scattered above everyone's heads, eliciting gasps of surprise.

The trunk of the giant tree is composed of hundreds of golden lotus lanterns, and its branches and leaves are strings of lights wrapped with silver threads. The whole tree seems to suddenly burst into flames, yet it miraculously retains its shape, becoming a tower of light that reaches the heavens and the earth.

Li Shimin took the girl from Changsun Qingjing's arms and lifted her high above his head. Facing the tree full of flying meteors and scattered flower mist, the girl giggled and even reached out to grab the starlight.

Changsun Qingjing lightly stepped on Li Shimin's foot: "Don't go any further. My son has delicate skin, what if he gets burned?"

"Watch me catch the stars!" Li Shimin took a step back, pretending to toss the little girl into the air. He caught the flowing light with one hand, then held the child steadily and placed her on the ground. The girl pried open his large hand and discovered the Persian date in his palm.

She grabbed the Persian dates, demanded the gilded box back, and skipped back to her family and friends who were anxiously searching for her.

"The stars are sweet. I want to come see the lanterns again next year." Li Shimin and Changsun Qingjing both heard the little girl's childish yet boastful voice and couldn't help but exchange a smile.

"May the new year bring you good fortune and happiness." Changsun Qingjing silently wished this ordinary family well.

Author's note: A night by the canal, a crisis hidden beneath the surface of revelry.

The speculation about the primitive gunpowder on the lamp wheel suggests that it was simply the combustion of a mixture of metals, sulfur, and cinnabar that produced flames of different colors, lacking the visually appealing effects of later fireworks.

Haha, here's a little treat at midnight, let's see if any night owls catch it! Happy weekend everyone!

The second update will be at the usual time. [starry-eyed]