0110 Shining Night (Part 3)

The lantern wall is adorned with a dazzling array of jewels, decreasing in number from bottom to top. At the very top is the unique "White Egret Spinning Flower" lantern, the most exquisitely crafted. Below the lantern tassel are seven sandalwood riddles tied with silk ribbons. The side that guesses the most riddles within the same time frame wins, and naturally, the "White Egret Spinning Flower" lantern belongs to them.

The waiter walked to the wall of lanterns, lifted the tassel, and loudly recited the first riddle: "This first one is extremely common, just an appetizer. Please listen carefully—'Layer upon layer upon layer ascends to the jade terrace, several times I called the servant to sweep it away, but it couldn't be cleared. Just as the sun had taken it away, the bright moon sent it back.'"①

Upon hearing this, Shu Fu pondered for a moment, then picked up a brush and began to write on the paper.

Liang Zhiyan had the answer the moment he heard the riddle, but he did not intend to answer immediately.

He accepted the lantern festival competition precisely to show off. He was certain that the woman opposite him wouldn't be able to guess the riddle as quickly as he could, and even if she did manage to guess it, writing it down would take time, thus giving him some free time.

He took this opportunity to show off, cleared his throat and said, "Speaking of this item, it is actually not rare. Not to mention anything else, all of you here today have it with you."

Everyone was very curious and urged him to tell them quickly.

Seeing everyone's eager and expectant gaze fixed on him, Liang Zhiyan finally felt his gloomy heart, which had been heavy for days, open up considerably. He was about to reveal the answer: "In truth, it is—"

Before he could finish speaking, a voice cut him off abruptly.

“It’s a shadow,” Zhan Yaoguang said. “My wife says it’s a shadow.”

Upon hearing this, a young girl standing under the rabbit lantern suddenly let out a soft "Ah," held her turban skirt, twirled slightly in the light, and exclaimed excitedly, "Isn't that just a shadow? No matter how I move, it's always with me, just like the saying, 'I've called the boy several times, but he can't sweep it away.'"

She looked up at the waiter and asked, "Is this lady right?"

The waiter chuckled, took off the sandalwood plaque, and had another waiter hold it. He walked around in front of everyone at the very front, revealing the two large characters "Shadow" clearly on the back.

"This lady guessed perfectly; it was exactly a 'shadow'," the shopkeeper grinned, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "The scholar who posed the riddle used the phrase 'layer upon layer' to describe a shadow perfectly, capturing its graceful form to the fullest. Coincidentally, I just acquired a few feet of soft gauze from Suzhou the other day, including a piece in a sky-blue color after the rain. If I were to cut it into a skirt and wear it, I would also have a graceful and ethereal figure, moving like a fairy."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the audience burst into laughter. The girl who had spoken earlier stepped forward, her eyebrows curving, and said to the waiter in a crisp voice.

"Young man, we all know that Zhao Family Silk Shop is the best in Chang'an's West Market for its silk fabrics! My parents and I will definitely go and take a look tomorrow at the latest. Please put aside your business for now and focus on appraising these two pieces!"

The waiter chuckled and finally steered the conversation back on track: "In that case, the first round should be won by this lady!"

Just then, another errand boy came forward and handed over a palm-sized Mahouluo, indicating that Shufu should take a point first.

Liang Zhiyan looked at the small ceramic figurine on the opposite table, his expression somewhat unpleasant.

“To cut off what others are saying is not the act of a gentleman,” he said.

Zhan Yaoguang leaned against the desk, looked over upon hearing this, squinted slightly, and said nonchalantly, "It is you who are arrogant because of your superior talent and look down on my wife. You took advantage of her writing to show off to everyone here, handing over a great opportunity to us. How can you turn around and blame us? We are not your parents. There is no reason for us to obey you in everything."

The onlookers burst into laughter, but Liang Zhiyan's face was so dark it was almost dripping with water. After a long while, he finally spoke: "Since that's the case, then I will definitely not give way in the next few rounds."

This wall of lanterns was meant for all the people of Chang'an to see. The questions on it weren't particularly obscure or uncommon. Shu Fu and Liang Zhiyan each answered the next few questions, and when they got to the last one, it was a tie of three to three.

Seeing this, the waiter was also somewhat surprised: "I really didn't expect that the two of you would be so talented, and that you could remain even for several rounds. In that case, we will have to ask you to reveal the final riddle of the White Egret Lantern."

The waiter cleared his throat and said, "Our master is incredibly wealthy, exceptionally talented, well-mannered, and compassionate..." He launched into a long string of praises, which made the people present burst into laughter. Then the waiter changed the subject, "But—even so, he's not even thirty yet, and hasn't even had time to get a wife!"

Last spring, the landlord went south to Jiangnan East Road to collect cloth. Unexpectedly, he met a mulberry picking girl in the countryside of Yuhang. The mulberry picking girl was beautiful and charming. The landlord fell in love with her at first sight and tried every means to win her heart.

"At first, the landlord followed the methods of the young men of Chang'an, sending only gold, silver, and jewels, but the young lady refused to accept them. Until one day, the landlord had a sudden inspiration and made a flower crown by hand and sent it to her. Although it was very simple and crude, the young lady was very happy and finally accepted it. The landlord was overjoyed, and the next time he bought some red acacia seeds and braided them into a bracelet to give to her."

"Who knew that the young lady's face fell the moment she saw the bracelet. She said that the master had no regard for her and that giving her this gift was no different from cursing her to die. She immediately turned her face away. The master was puzzled and worried about this matter day and night. He still feels uneasy about it now, so he set up this riddle and hopes that the two of you can help him understand."

After the man finished telling the story, everyone present fell silent and began to ponder the matter.

He gave the mulberry-picking girl a love seed, clearly intending to express his longing for her, but the girl said that his action was tantamount to taking her life. How could there be such a strange thing in the world?

Shu Fu sat on the stool, her beautiful eyebrows slightly furrowed beneath the flower goddess's crown, her fingertips constantly stroking the pen as she pondered intently.

On the other side, Liang Zhiyan was also hesitant, pacing back and forth on the stage, repeatedly striking his palm with the bamboo fold fan in his hand, causing a red bean ornament tied to the silk ribbon at the end of the fan to sway back and forth.

Disturbed by the sound, Shu Fu looked up in the direction of the voice. In a flash, a thought crossed her mind, and almost instinctively, she wanted to blurt out, "Red..."

Upon hearing the sound, Zhan Yaoguang turned around, suddenly grabbed her wrist, looked directly at her, and shook his head slightly.

Shu Fu snapped back to reality and quickly stopped herself from saying the words she was about to utter, writing the two characters "red bean" on the paper.

She wrote very quickly and finished it hastily.

Liang Zhiyan also knew about this, and she had to give him the answer before he did.

Sure enough, at the same time Zhan Yaoguang finished reading, Liang Zhiyan spoke, also saying the words "red bean".

The shopkeeper clapped his hands and said in surprise, "You two have the same answer? But as I hear it, it seems that this lady is a step ahead. So, let the lady go first."

Shu Fu breathed a slight sigh of relief and lowered her head to slowly write on the rice paper—

She had heard from Aunt Lu, who guarded the study in the mansion, that in Guangnan, red beans and acacia seeds were two different things. The former was mild and the latter was highly poisonous. So even though acacia seeds were associated with longing, the locals never used them to express their longing, but instead used red beans.

The mulberry-picking girl was from the south, so she naturally knew the difference between the two, while Zhao Caishen, who ran the silk shop, was from Jingzhao and probably didn't know the difference, which is why there was this misunderstanding.

As she wrote this, Shu Fu suddenly paused, recalling Liang Zhiyan's response to Xi Yunzhu in the Kuai Zai Pavilion that day: "I wish to form a wish-fulfilling vine, each bead conveying my longing."

When Liang Zhiyan wrote this half-line of poetry, he clearly wanted to express the feeling of longing. He also knew that red beans and love seeds were actually two different things, so the "each bean" in this line must refer to red beans.

But red beans are grass, while acacia seeds are vines. Isn't that a contradiction?

—Unless, this poem was not written by Liang Zhiyan.

But this poem was written to win Miss Xi's favor. If it wasn't written by Liang Zhiyan, then who was it written by?

Since he was able to write the poems that Xi Yunzhu admired, why didn't he go and meet her in person?

Regardless of the circumstances, it is an undeniable fact that Liang Zhiyan plagiarized others' work to embellish his own image.

Shu Fu's contempt for him deepened, and she immediately looked away, no longer glancing at him, and handed the Xuan paper filled with ink writing to Zhan Yaoguang.

Zhan Yaoguang took the Xuan paper and read aloud each word written on it.

Upon hearing this, the waiter's face lit up with joy: "Just as I thought, just as I thought!"

He beckoned to another waiter who was waiting nearby: "Come here and take that white egret flower-shaped cup down and give it to this lady. Congratulations to Miss He for winning first place today!"

Looking up, Liang Zhiyan's eyes showed displeasure. The waiter then suppressed his smile and tentatively said to Liang Zhiyan, "Young master, don't be disappointed. You are a man of great talent and learning. You were just a little slower than this young lady this time. Although you lost this 'White Egret Turning Flowers' cup, we still have a 'Yellow Dragon Spitting Water' cup here, which is just as exquisite and charming. Why don't you try this one?"

"No need! Those two were just being quick-witted. In terms of actual knowledge, it's hard to say who is better. My defeat today was only due to bad luck. I, Liang Zhiyan, don't even bother with 'White Egret Turning into Flowers'!" Liang Zhiyan turned around, grabbed the head servant, and left.

———

There are two things I want to say:

1. Previously it was said that Xi Yunzhu was from Yongzhou, but I'm going to change it to Xiangzhou. This won't affect the reading experience.

2. I'll be taking a break to get things done before the holiday. I'll resume updating on January 12th (bows), but I'm still greedily hoping everyone will interact with me more (òó).

———

①The poem is from Su Shi's "Flower Shadows".