Chapter 406 Lantern Festival

Two days later.

Lantern Festival.

On this day in the capital, every household hung red lanterns, and as night fell, candles were lit in the streets and alleys, illuminating the sky.

Shen Wantang invited Gu Qianning to go out for a trip together.

Enjoying snacks, solving riddles, watching fireworks, and watching acrobatics—the streets are bustling with activity.

The streets were bustling with people, filled with laughter and cheers.

This day was even more lively and joyous than the Lunar New Year.

Shen Wantang deliberately skipped dinner before coming out, but by the time she walked from East Street to West Street, she was already full.

She looked down at the crispy fried dumplings wrapped in lotus leaves in her hand and said to Gu Qianning, "A'ning, it seems we bought too many; we can't finish them all."

Gu Qianning patted her slightly rounded belly: "I bought a bit too much, but it's okay, we have my second brother. He has a big appetite, we'll give him the food!"

"Isn't this a bad idea?"

"What's wrong with that? Neither you nor I have bitten the rest, so it's fine for him to eat them!"

As Gu Qianning spoke, she grabbed the glutinous rice ball and turned around to hand it to Gu Qianhan, who was following behind the two of them.

Regardless of whether Gu Qianhan wanted it or not, she took Shen Wantang's arm and pulled her to the next food stall: "Oh my, what is this? It smells so good! I didn't see this being sold last year!"

Shen Wantang was also curious: "I've never seen this kind of food before, and I don't know what it tastes like."

The stall owner, beaming with smiles, enthusiastically offered his services: "Would you two ladies like to try my uniquely made cloud tea paste? My cloud tea paste is sweet but not cloying, with a refreshing aroma and an unforgettable aftertaste! Today is the Lantern Festival, and I specially came all the way from outside the capital to sell cloud tea paste. After today, it will be gone! Only thirty coins a serving, very cheap!"

Shen Wantang and Gu Qianning's eyes lit up.

Cloud tea paste? Never heard of it, never seen it, never tasted it! How novel!

Gu Qianning bargained with great seriousness: "Boss, can you make it cheaper? We want two portions!"

The stall owner chuckled and said, "Then I'll sell you two portions for sixty-five coins."

"Can!"

Gu Qianning pointed behind her: "He'll pay, you give us Shengyun Tea Paste!"

"Okay!"

The stall owner served two portions of cloud tea paste in bamboo tubes and gave each of them a bamboo stick: "Gentlemen, please try it, it's delicious!"

Shen Wantang and Gu Qianning took the food, one serving each, and started eating.

"Wow, that's great! It's very sweet and delicious!"

"It really has the aroma of tea, and it's not greasy at all!"

"I really hope this boss will live in Beijing permanently and sell this Yuncha paste every day!"

"This cloud tea paste is so delicious, the boss will definitely sell a lot of it tonight. If business is good, he might even move to the capital."

"If that were true, we could eat it every day!"

The two chatted and laughed as they ate and walked to the next stall.

Gu Qianhan ate a crispy fried glutinous rice ball in one bite and instructed Jixiang, "Pay the bill."

Ji Xiang responded, paid the money, and followed Gu Qianhan forward. He whispered, "Young Master, Miss's price is a bit unreasonable!"

"It's alright, as long as they're happy, we don't need the money."

That's true.

The young master just sent men to loot the entire treasury of the Divine Pill Hall, so they're rolling in money now and certainly don't need it.

Watching him devour the glutinous rice balls with relish, Jixiang couldn't help but ask, "Young master, can you still eat? I can't eat anymore!"

Gu Qianhan glanced at him indifferently: "Who told you to have dinner tonight?"

Jixiang complained incessantly, "I didn't eat anything! I was fed by my two ancestors after we came to the night market!"

Shen Wantang and Gu Qianning wanted to buy some snacks to try when they passed by a food stall. Not only did the two of them try some, but they also wanted their two maids to try some. And not only did the maids try some, but they also wanted Gu Qianhan and his servant to try some.

I ate until I was stuffed.

Jixiang is now only grateful that the two ancestors didn't force him to eat what they couldn't finish; they forced it on Gu Qianhan instead.

Not long after, Gu Qianning turned around again and handed two bamboo tubes to Gu Qianhan: "Second brother, try this, it's delicious!"

Gu Qianhan held a bamboo tube in each hand, her expression slightly frozen.

Weren't those two just praising this cloud tea paste to the skies? How come they didn't finish it again?

He glanced at the two bamboo tubes and handed one to Jixiang: "This is a gift from the young lady."

Jixiang paused, somewhat reluctant to accept.

Gu Qianhan simply shoved it into his hand: "Eat!"

Jixiang had no choice but to lower her head and start eating: "Hmm, this cloud tea paste seems really good, refreshing and not greasy!"

Gu Qianhan also thought it was pretty good. He finished the cloud tea paste in the bamboo tube in a few bites. Seeing that Gu Qianning was pulling Shen Wantang to buy other snacks, he suddenly felt a headache coming on.

This street seems to have no end!

"A-Ning, look at this cake. It's all red and green. I wonder what it's made of."

"Two servings, please!"

"Ah Tang, I had this crispy chili shrimp last year, it was delicious! I've been craving it for a whole year!"

"Really? Two servings, please!"

"What is this? It's crystal clear, is it sugar? Salt? Ice?"

"Who cares, give me two, let's try them!"

...

Half an hour later.

Shen Wantang and Gu Qianning finally couldn't eat anything anymore.

Shen Wantang: "A Ning, stop buying, stop buying. I won't eat any more. If you really can't bear to part with all this delicious food, we can come back to eat it next year."

Gu Qianning: "That makes sense! Let's start eating here next year!"

Gu Qianhan: "Thank you both for sparing my life until next year."

Jixiang was so moved she almost cried. "Finally, you won't eat anymore? Thank you, my two living ancestors!"

"Ah Tang, let's go release river lanterns too! I heard that during the Lantern Festival, you write your wishes on river lanterns and release them into the river to float away. The farther they drift, the easier it is for your wishes to come true!"

Shen Wantang smiled and nodded: "Okay, let's go buy river lanterns now!"

Gu Qianning's brows furrowed slightly with worry: "I have quite a few wishes this year. Do you think the River God will think I'm too greedy and not grant them if he sees that I wrote so many wishes on a single lamp?"

"Then buy a few more river lanterns and write your message separately. The river god will definitely be very busy tonight and won't have time to distinguish whether it's for one person or several people. He might just grant all your wishes on the spot."

Gu Qianning became happy: "Okay, let's do it this way! I'll buy five lamps first!"

The two bought lanterns, carefully wrote down their wishes, and then carried the lanterns to the bridge.

The bridge was packed with people, almost completely blocked.

This time, Gu Qianhan didn't walk behind them, but walked in front, shielding them from the crowd.

Ji Xiang is responsible for bringing up the rear.

Holding a lantern in one hand and pointing to the wide river with the other, Gu Qianning exclaimed joyfully, "A-Tang, look! So many lanterns! And there are painted boats with people dancing and playing the zither inside!"