Chapter 452 Destiny

While waiting for Li's mother and the others to arrive, Li San Niang told Li San Lang about how she had bought things at the general store, received the money, and used it to place bets.

"Auntie, how much money did you spend on these things?"

Qiu Xiang took out the two small bags of white sugar and brown sugar and showed them to Li Sanlang. Li Sanlang weighed them in his hand, thought for a moment, and then said, "Auntie, the shopkeeper here is quite clever to come up with such a way to attract customers."

However, it is indeed in accordance with the law.

"Do the teachers at the academy teach this?"

Li Sanlang nodded, "He teaches us. Our Mr. Liu from Class Ding is the most skilled in miscellaneous studies. He will regularly talk to us about legal matters."

"Did the boss go to watch the dragon boat races this morning? Was it interesting?"

Li Sanlang smiled and said, "Little aunt, I went to see her."

It's about three streets from here, that's where it all started.

Luckily, our family arrived early in the morning and managed to squeeze to the front, so we were able to see the beginning of the ceremony.

"It's quite interesting. There's even a lion dance, and I saw people wearing scarlet official robes on it."

Li San Niang asked Li San Lang a few more questions in detail. Li San Lang probably rarely had the opportunity to talk to Li San Niang alone in the past. Seeing that Li San Niang was listening very attentively, he happily told her everything he had seen.

"Sanlang, do you think the Chang'an Flying Dragon Team is pretty formidable?"

I bet on their championship!

Li San Niang took out the bills from the general store and showed them to Li San Niang.

Li Sanlang scratched his head and said with some uncertainty, "Auntie, I only watched the first half. The Flying Dragons team got fifth place. They must be pretty strong."

After waiting a little while, the waiter in Juyilou took a tinderbox and lit the lanterns by the window in the hall.

Then, Li San Niang looked out the window and saw that not only Juyi Tower, but also the surrounding shops had lit up their lanterns, and there were people patrolling the streets to light lanterns.

As darkness fell further, the night view outside the window became even more beautiful.

The dim lights, the bustling crowd, the cries of vendors, and the aromas of various foods—it was truly the most beautiful scene of everyday life.

Just as Li San Niang was engrossed in watching, she heard the sound of a pipa coming from the center of the hall. It was clear, melodious, and had a unique charm.

Turning back to the center of the hall, one sees a woman wearing a light red ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) with a silver hairpin in her hair, holding a pipa and playing it.

At this moment, Li Sanniang thought to herself, "Such a prosperous and magnificent scene must belong to the Tang Dynasty."

Ding Mingxuan actually wanted to ruin this wonderful situation; he must be seriously ill.

Before Li San Niang could get a good look at the woman playing the pipa, she saw a large family coming in through the door; Li's mother and the others had arrived.

"So, which team is the champion?"

Faced with Li San Niang's somewhat anxious inquiry, Li Er Xiong couldn't help but find it amusing, and said in a humorous tone, "What's wrong? I clearly told you to go and see, but you were too lazy. You haven't even gone to see, yet you're anxious about the results?"

Li San Niang took the dewdrops that had been playing outside all day from Li Da Sao's arms. "Second brother, this is a big deal concerning whether I can get three naan breads. How can I not be anxious?"

Li Erxiong was stunned, not understanding Li Sanniang's words. However, Li's mother reacted quickly and laughed out loud, "What, you placed a bet? How much money did you spend?"

After feeding Dewdrop a cup of water, Li San Niang replied to her mother, "Mother, do you know about this?"

"It's been around for a long time. Ever since the first dragon boat race, every shop in Chang Le Fang has opened its own business."

However, the law is strict, so no one dares to act recklessly.

Most of the time, you get a certain number of tickets based on the amount of goods you buy, which you can then bet on. The prizes are mostly food, but it's all about having fun.

After the two of them said that, Sister-in-law Li and Sister-in-law Li, who were standing nearby, finally understood.

"The Flying Dragon Team won the championship, Third Sister, did you bet on the Flying Dragon Team?"

Upon hearing what Li Dasao said, Li Sanniang was overjoyed and showed her her banknotes.

"Haha, great! You won, that's perfect. What's the prize?"

“Three naan breads! Sister-in-law, the waiter showed them to me, they’re quite big, there are three of them.”

After chatting and laughing for a while, by the time Li San Niang and her group finished ordering, Juyilou was already full of people, and even two long tables had been added outside the building.

The manager of Juyilou was quite ingenious; he set up three or four small tables outside the building and placed more than ten chairs and stools there.

Li San Niang noticed that it was for waiting in line.

There were also teacups, a teapot, and small plates of snacks on the small table, which was very thoughtful and polite.

Li San Niang looked down at Lu Zhu'er, who was happily sharing with her what she, her mother, and the others had gone out, played, eaten, and bought all day. Her little mouth was chattering away, and she could talk about it very fluently.

Li San Niang was thinking, "My child is so cute! Look how fluently he talks! My child is so great! My child is the best! My child is awesome!"

Li San Niang couldn't resist and hugged Lu Zhu'er, kissing her on the forehead. After the kiss, she said, "My dear mother, how are you so wonderful?"

Mother loves Dewdrop so much!

What will Mother do if there are no dewdrops?

My dearest baby!

Dewdrop glanced around shyly at first, and seeing that Li's mother and the others were not paying attention to them, she took Li San Niang's hand and said slowly, "Mother, Dewdrop will stay with you from now on, and you can always be with me."

Of course, Li San Niang wouldn't really keep Lu Zhu'er tied up and prevent her from leaving forever. After all, if Lu Zhu'er were to find a lover and leave Chang'an with him, she would have to let go.

However, Li San Niang was naturally happy, hugging her precious baby and laughing.

The Li family members were happily chatting and eating by the window in the lobby on the first floor of Juyilou, discussing all the big and small things that had happened in Changlefang that day. Meanwhile, in a private room on the second floor of Juyilou, Xu Jingzhen and Fang Chengxian were also all smiles.

"I'd like to offer a toast to Jingzhen. Thank you so much for helping my little sister out of that predicament today."

After saying that, Song Shengming picked up the wine cup and drank it all in one gulp. The story of Xu Jingzhen helping his younger sister out of a predicament, which Song Shengming mentioned, was actually quite simple.

The Song family was related to Xu Jingzhen's mother's family by marriage. Some members of the family held official positions in the imperial court, but they were all minor officials of the sixth or seventh rank, not worth mentioning.

And this rescue was indeed a stroke of luck.

Xu Jingzhen, who had finally gotten a day off, had already arranged with Fang Chengxian to come out and watch the dragon boat races together and then have a meal together.

After all, Xu Jingzhen has been incredibly busy ever since he joined the Ministry of War's Assistant Department, and it wasn't until today that he was finally able to find some free time.

Thus, the two traveled together by carriage to Chang Le Fang. Coincidentally, while waiting for their carriage to stop outside the carriage shop, they encountered Song Er Niang, whose carriage wheel had broken.

Xu Jingzhen got out of the carriage and asked her name. She learned that she was Song Erniang. Xu Jingzhen knew that she was a relative by marriage, so she discussed with Fang Chengxian and gave up the carriage. The two of them got out and walked.

Unexpectedly, just as Song Erniang was about to get into Xu Jingzhen's carriage, Song Shengming and his friend Xu Zhen arrived, and only then did they understand what was going on.

Song Shengming was quick-witted and immediately invited Xu Jingzhen and Fang Chengxian to a banquet to thank Xu Jingzhen for her help.

Therefore, Li San Niang saw this group of four men and one woman enter the Juyi Tower.