During the Spring Festival, there is a lantern festival in Yanjing every night, which lasts for three days.

There are all sorts of activities, including guessing lantern riddles, releasing lanterns, and watching local operas, making it a lively and bustling place.

After having dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Chi, Shen Tangning and Chi Yan got ready to go out.

On Zhuque Avenue, the snow from last night had been cleared away early in the morning. Sedan chairs and carriages were everywhere, and people were exchanging congratulations with smiles on their faces.

As darkness fell and the crowds grew denser, the carriage could barely move. Shen Tangning and Chi Yan decided to get off the carriage and walk.

Xueqing and Balang followed behind the two, also looking on with curiosity.

There were many vendors on the street hawking their wares, selling food, trinkets, and even performing acrobatics. Visiting the lantern festival was a distant memory for Shen Tangning. She was initially a little reserved, but later she relaxed and let loose.

Chi Yan was quite interested in food, and after walking for a short while, she already had quite a few snacks in her hand.

Shen Tangning couldn't help but glance at him: "No wonder you told me to eat less at dinner, was it to prepare for this?"

As she spoke, Chi Yan shoved a candied hawthorn into her mouth. She was caught in a dilemma and had no choice but to open her mouth and bite into it. Once the sweet sugar coating was broken, the sour hawthorn was revealed.

He looked over, beaming with delight: "Is it delicious?"

Shen Tangning frowned slightly, puffed out her cheeks, and spoke in a muffled tone, a little afraid of hurting his feelings. But she couldn't lie, so she could only tell the truth: "It seems a little sour."

Chi Yan could no longer hold back and laughed so hard she couldn't stand up straight.

She then realized he was teasing her. She pursed her lips and glared at him. When he wasn't looking, she secretly spat the fruit pit onto the hem of his robe, then calmly looked away.

Realizing that her actions seemed a bit childish, Shen Tangning couldn't help but blush.

Xueqing and Baliang, who witnessed the entire process: "..."

The young couple were both incredibly immature.

"This seems quite interesting?" Shen Tangning stopped in front of a small stall, watching the vendor pull the paper puppet with the wrapped string, performing a lifelike act.

"Puppet show, huh? I can do that too if you want to see it," Chi Yan said shamelessly.

She was slightly surprised: "Really?"

"What's so difficult about this?" Under her gaze, he became even more enthusiastic, determined to show her what he could do.

So Chi Yan asked the vendor, "Could I borrow it for a bit?"

The other party readily agreed.

Chi Yan took the string and tentatively moved it a couple of times. Then he felt reassured. This wasn't difficult at all!

He simply let go and let the puppet move under his control. At first, it looked quite decent, but later Chi Yan lost control of his strength, and the strings got tangled together, so he became a bit flustered.

With a forceful pull, the puppet's strings snapped with a "snap."

The air suddenly became still.

Chi Yan remained silent for a moment, then slowly raised his head, only to see Shen Tangning's eyes filled with a profound meaning.

Just as he was about to explain, the vendor's large face suddenly loomed close to his, glaring at him accusingly. His eyebrows twitched, and he uttered two resounding words:

"Pay up!"

"You're not allowed to leave until you pay up!"

Chi Yan wiped the spittle that had sprayed onto his face: "..."

Just talk, why bring in artificial rain?

Even after leaving there, Chi Yan's flushed face hadn't faded. He seriously analyzed to Shen Tangning, "That boss was clearly doing it on purpose. Look, there aren't many people in front of his stall. He probably makes money by extorting people!"

Shen Tangning curled her lips slightly, but considerately refrained from exposing him. She found Chi Yan's performance even more interesting than a puppet show.

"Let's go check out the lantern festival."

Finally accepting the task, Chi Yan breathed a sigh of relief. Staring at the tattered puppet in his hand, he felt a sense of bad luck. Considering that littering was inappropriate, he simply turned around and stuffed the eight taels into the puppet's hand, muttering to himself:

"What a piece of junk!"

Xue Qing looked at Ba Liang with sympathy in her eyes and said with a sigh, "You've had it tough too."

Ba Liang seemed to have found a kindred spirit: "Finally, someone understands me!"

...