Chapter 18 Chapter 18 Fireworks Temple Fair, Lanterns Come On (Part 1...

The fireworks and temple fair are extremely lively.

Blue-eyed foreign merchants and overseas tourists, wealthy, were chatting and talking in the shops. Cheap gauze and silk were piled on the ground, all surrounding the banks of the Bian River, and colorful banners swayed in the wind.

The rippling water reflected the warm golden light, which was dazzling.

"The East and West Temples have a wide variety of goods, and they can sell millions of coins a day. How many nobles come here at leisure, their clothes still fragrant with the smell of imperial stoves." [1] Shen Guyan could not help but be dazzled by the prosperity of the city. He was born in the countryside and studied hard when he came to the capital. After resigning from his official position, he was busy with his own little business, and had never really experienced the prosperity of the capital as an idle person.

The colorful lanterns that had just been lit reflected in Lu Suizhu's eyes, which seemed to be filled with shimmering water and were wet like a delicate jade rabbit.

She walked side by side with Shen Guyan with a smile on her face, and was attracted by the little gadgets on the street from time to time.

Temple fairs are held to prepare utensils for the people of the world to enjoy prosperity. Coral trees, spherical beads, emeralds, and cat's eyes are hung on the shelves and stored in the boxes. Purple gold, fat jade, rhinoceros horn, Gan Nan, Shang dance, Zhou tripods, Qin mirrors, Han Dynasty treasures, and Jin Dynasty books are all worthless.

There are also rare treasures from foreign countries, secret collections of the imperial court, fans, ink paper, incense, banners, basins, mirrors, swords, gorgeous carpets made of Chai, Ru, Guan, Ge, Meng, and Na, foreign satins and Sichuan brocades, and official embroidery, which are rarely seen in the world and hard to come by. [2]

There are all kinds of department stores and many tourists.

From a distance, I saw a small stall selling masks. There were masks in the shapes of various small animals, including monkeys, rabbits, flying birds, swimming fish, as well as Shentu, Yulei, Zhong Kui, and some contrasting ghost faces that I couldn’t name. They looked fresh and cute.

"Sir, buy a pair. This is the most fashionable style right now. Look at the girl next to you who likes it so much."

The stall owner was soliciting customers with a smile, and kept introducing that his stall sold the most affordable and beautiful things on the whole street. Lu Suizhu wanted to take out the silver from his pocket, but was beaten to it by Shen Guyan, who picked out a fox mask and put it on his face.

The lower half of the face of the mask was red, and the eyes were made of white and black. After putting it on, there was a unique charm and elegance. Lu Suizhu smiled and said it looked good, then she picked and chose, and finally picked a mask of a pink-cheeked little rabbit with ears standing up and held it in her hand.

The crowd was bustling and pushing and shoving were inevitable. Following the flow of people, the two people didn't know where they were squeezed to.

This lane of stalls sells women’s hair accessories, which is why the Huohua Temple is also known as the Flower Market. A market is held on the fourth day of every month… The four alleys to the north sell women’s hair accessories. [3]

"There are so many women's accessories, why don't you go and pick some?" Because the street market was too noisy, Shen Guyan could only speak loudly.

Seeing the dazzling array of pearls, jade and hairpins, Lu Suizhu was tempted at first, but when she thought that she might not be able to take these little things with her when she left Shangjing in the future, she gave up and shook her head.

The vendors shouted loudly,

The road is bustling with people, and there are colorful lights and decorations everywhere, creating a lively festive atmosphere.

The sound of drums came from not far away, and the pendulum wrapped in a big red cloth made a thud, attracting everyone to the platform. Lu Suizhu and Shen Guyan also followed.

The high stage set up during the temple fair is also a folk opera performance, commonly known as singing god opera. Listening to other people shouting and chatting, it seems that the one being performed today is Mulian opera.

There are also various folk art performances and countless acrobatics, shadow puppetry, puppetry, storytelling, and crosstalk.

The divine show was about to begin just after the hour of You, and everyone gathered under the stage waiting to watch the performance. During this time, the other stalls became deserted.

A man and a woman in costumes came on stage, and there was immediately thunderous applause from the audience.

Although Lu Suizhu and Shen Guyan didn't know what the play was about, they applauded and smiled at each other.

It didn't matter that he glanced at her. In the blink of an eye, Lu Suizhu saw a familiar figure standing in the middle of the crowd. He was standing in a long gown like a god, with an indifferent expression that didn't show his joy or anger, as if the hustle and bustle of the world had nothing to do with him.

There seems to be a woman standing next to it?

After looking at Lu Suizhu for a few times, he looked away, not wanting to get into unnecessary trouble.

It was such an unfortunate coincidence that the two of them looked at each other amidst the countless people gathered together and the colorful lights in the sky.

Time seemed to be dragged on, the noisy sounds gradually became blurred and faded away, leaving only a dull buzzing in the ears.

When Lu Suizhu reacted, the man over there was already walking towards them.

It was not an easy task to get through the dense crowd. Lu Suizhu touched the arm of Shen Guyan, who was engrossed in watching the show.

As expected, there was no response. Lu Suizhu added some strength and tugged hard: "There are not many people at the stall now. I want to buy those pearl and jade jewelry again. Let's go over there."

Although Shen Guyan was a little hurt by being pinched, he was confused by the woman's behavior, but he still obeyed her request.

It was crowded and difficult to move through the crowd.

"Miss Lu?"

It was such a clear sentence, so clear that Lu Suizhu could hardly ignore it. Shen Guyan also stopped and looked a little doubtful.

"Did someone call you?"

The hands holding the mask were sweating slightly. Lu Suizhu didn't know what she was feeling guilty about. She slowly turned around and saw Pei Zhiji in front of her.

He was wearing a moon-white embroidered robe that trailed on the ground. Under the dim light, it shone with a soft light gold. Lu Suizhu had never seen him wearing such light-colored clothes.

As expected, he was meeting a beautiful lady, and his appearance was different from usual. He didn't care whether the wound on his shoulder would seep through his clothes.

Lu Suizhu was immersed in her own thoughts, and during the silence, people nearby had already started chatting.

She didn't even know that Shen Guyan and Pei Zhiji also knew each other.

Shen Guyan bowed to Pei Zhiji, and Pei Zhiji nodded slightly in response.

"I haven't seen Master Pei for a long time. I didn't know you already have a fiancée?"

After all, he is still young and speaks without thinking. How can he ask casually about something like dating a beautiful woman at the temple fair? Lu Suizhu was worried about Shen Guyan and was about to try to help him out.

Then Pei Zhiji began to explain: "You two have misunderstood. This is my cousin, from the Longyuan Jiang family."

Jiang Xiu Luo has a beautiful face, and her aqua blue dress makes her skin look as white as snow. She is as pure and cool as a lotus flower emerging from the water. Her every move and gesture reveals the demeanor of a lady from a noble family. When she stands with Pei Zhiji, they look just like Su Niang and Zhuo Yulang.

"I have long heard of Mr. Shen's great name. Today I see that he is indeed extraordinary."

At this time, Shen Guyan had already taken off the mask and held it in his hand. He was quite surprised to hear her say this: "Miss Jiang actually recognized me?"

"I once had the honor of reading Mr. Shen's essays. When the results of the autumn examination were announced last year, I accompanied my brother and saw the grand occasion where Mr. Shen was almost caught as a son-in-law." Jiang Xiu Luo covered her face and chuckled, her voice like a silver bell.

Embarrassing things came to mind, and Shen Guyan didn't even want to recall them. He waved his hands repeatedly, his face flushed red, and he kept saying, "It's over, it's all over."

"I didn't know Miss Lu and Shen Fazhi were so familiar with each other that they came to the temple fair together?"

Pei Zhiji's tone was not kind.

"I'm probably not as familiar with them as Master Pei and Miss Jiang."

Lu Suizhu said it without hesitation.

Seeing the different expressions on everyone's faces, Lu Suizhu regretted what he had said. He thought that what he had said was a mess, so he rushed forward and helped a group of people to disperse the embarrassing scene.

Going further ahead, you will see shops selling rare items from the market, such as wind bamboo, glass trumpets, revolving lanterns, bamboo and wooden swords and guns, and hairy monkeys with ghost faces.

Lu Suizhu and Shen Guyan had seen it many times, and Pei Zhiji was not interested either. However, Jiang Xiuluo was quite interesting in her shopping, and Shen Guyan chatted with her from time to time.

"Lord Pei is so quiet even when he's out playing with his cousin?" Lu Suizhu said jokingly.

“I haven’t seen Shen Fazhi and Miss Lu having a good conversation.”

The magician in front somehow created layers of flashing fire circles, and suddenly the sky was covered with red light and a heat wave came.

A man stood on the high platform with his upper body naked. He suddenly drank a mouthful of strong liquor and sprayed it out with his belly inflated. In an instant, there was a towering flame. It was really amazing.

Lu Suizhu stopped in her tracks as she was about to join in the fun, and her face suddenly turned ugly. Not far away, she saw the man whom she wanted to get rid of every day standing in the middle of the crowd, watching the fire-breathing show with a smile on his face, and occasionally clapping and cheering with the people around him.

The people around him were all dressed in cloth and pretended to be ordinary people, surrounding Xiao Mao.

"I have something else to do, so I'll leave first."

Pei Zhixing grabbed her and whispered, "Don't go. It's too late."