Chapter 81 Chapter 81 Going to the Lantern Festival; Raiding the Jia Family
When Wu Tianyue and Daiyu left the inner city, the lights had already come on, and the streets and alleys in the city were already decorated with lights and colorful lanterns.
Various lanterns illuminate the night sky like daylight. On the moat, lotus lanterns drift with the waves, like stars falling into the world.
Daiyu often walked around the palace. Although the Jia Mansion was in decline, lanterns were indispensable. Therefore, these things were secondary. The crowded flow of people, street vendors, children running everywhere, and the lively festive atmosphere everywhere were something she had never felt before.
So even if it was just some rough and simple paper and pen, she would stop and look at it for a long time.
Wu Tianyue saw her stop at another rouge stall and couldn't help but smile, "If you keep going like this, you might not be able to finish the Lantern Festival even after it's over."
Daiyu continued to look through the oddly shaped boxes of rouge on the stall. "I think the young master is too weak to carry it."
The stall owner noticed that the two women's clothing, though modest, was made of expensive material. He guessed they were probably wealthy young men and women secretly out for fun. So, he didn't praise his rouge, but simply smiled and said, "Compared to the rouge you two wear, it's certainly not up to par. But this box was designed by my daughter, and it's the only one of its kind in the capital. It's a nice idea to buy it back and admire it."
Wu Tianyue saw Daiyu comparing the boxes without even glancing at the rouge inside. He smiled and took the money, saying, "One of each."
Daiyu originally only wanted to buy one, but when she heard that it was designed by the stall owner's daughter, she acquiesced to Wu Tianyue's approach.
After buying rouge, the two of them bought various snacks along the street. Wu Tianyue was afraid that Daiyu would feel uncomfortable after eating, so he didn't dare let her eat too much. He only let her taste a bite of each, and she suffered several cold stares.
Fortunately, they didn't have far to walk before they reached the lantern riddle guessing area. Daiyu was so absorbed in the lanterns that she didn't even bother eating as she continued solving riddles along the street.
Soon, Wu Tianyue's hands were full of lanterns. Seeing that he could not hold any more, Daiyu teased him, "Sir, how come you can't hold any more after taking so few?"
Wu Tianyue was just about to wind the rope around the lantern pole a few times, holding only the top one so that his hands would be free for the next one. Hearing Daiyu's words, he didn't want to spoil her fun and said with a smile, "I've been too careless. Please have some mercy, young lady."
Daiyu raised her chin slightly after hearing this and said, "Then I'll let you go."
After saying this, he saw some children on the street corner looking at the lanterns in the hands of the two men from afar, but they didn't dare to approach them, so he said, "Give the lanterns to them."
"Thank you, young lady." Wu Tianyue said. The guards hidden in the crowd came forward to take the lantern. Just as they were about to leave, Daiyu said, "The food on the street is quite good. Buy some for them."
"Yes, girl."
After the guard agreed and left, Daiyu said, "I'm tired today, let's go back first."
She hadn't seen the surprise Wu Tianyue had arranged for her yet, so she naturally didn't want to. She smiled and said, "Would you like to take another look? There are lanterns in the back."
Daiyu glanced at it doubtfully and was about to speak when she caught sight of a very special lantern in the right corner. It was shaped like a graceful orchid, with long, slender leaves and stems as thin as jade hairpins. The veins seemed to be drawn with ink, and several crimson beads hung from the tip.
"What kind of lamp is this?" Daiyu was stunned and walked forward.
The stall owner said with a smile, "You have a good eye, young lady. However, I don't know what this lantern is. I just placed it here on someone's behalf, waiting for the right person."
Then he pointed to the sign next to the lantern and said, "Girl, take a look at this lantern riddle. If you can solve it, the lantern will be yours."
Daiyu looked intently and saw four lines of poetry written on the plaque: "Only when I gaze at the jade-like face so near, I know it is Xi Shi, yet she has no frown. When I seek the image of the past in my heart, I realize there is no need to recall the painting."
"So close... before my eyes, my heart searches for the old image..." Daiyu murmured, and suddenly said, "I know, it is..."
Wu Tianyue took over her words, and they both said, "The person in front of me is the one I love."
Daiyu looked up at him and suddenly understood something, and her ears started to burn.
The stall owner smiled and interjected, "Congratulations, both of you. This lantern is now yours."
Daiyu withdrew her gaze and took the lantern from the stall owner. Suddenly, she found a line of small words engraved on the lamp base: Suddenly, snowflakes fell side by side, from black hair to white hair.
"I knew that my room was full of your spies." Daiyu guessed that this was the man's trick, and her face turned red and she said with gritted teeth.
"Then you've wronged them. I found this in your book." Wu Tianyue said in amazement, "I didn't expect the girl to be so deeply in love with me."
"You still say that!" Daiyu turned around and left with a red face.
The lantern swayed gently with her movements, the candlelight flickering inside, and the grass seemed to come alive, breathtakingly beautiful. Daiyu asked Wu Tianyue, who had caught up with her, "Where did you find this lantern?"
"The secret of heaven cannot be revealed."
Daiyu's eyes flickered as she glared at him: "Still wanting to be poor?"
Wu Tianyue hurriedly smiled and said, "I made this myself."
Seeing the distrust on Daiyu's face, Wu Tianyue continued, "You used to complain that the lanterns I gave you were won in martial arts competitions. I've wanted to make one for you for a long time, but I just couldn't decide what to make. A few days ago, I saw a painting of Nandina domestica, and it suddenly struck me. I drew this plant. I don't know why I drew it that way, but I just felt that the plant in the painting was very familiar and it suited you very well, so I asked someone to teach me how to make it myself."
"There's only one lamp like this in the world, and you still don't believe it?"
Daiyu believed it, but seeing his smug look, she suppressed her emotion and said deliberately, "I'll ask someone to check it out tomorrow before we tell you."
When Wu Tianyue mentioned tomorrow, his expression looked strange. Daiyu noticed this and said with a smile, "Why do you look like that? Have you done something wrong?"
Wu Tianyue laughed: "In Yu'er's heart, am I so unbearable?"
"That's hard to say." Daiyu raised her eyebrows, a smile on her face. "But for the sake of this lamp, I won't make a fuss about it."
"The girl is generous."
Wu Tianyue bowed as he spoke, and the two smiled at each other and walked towards the carriage side by side.
He originally wanted to take Daiyu back to Prince Zhongshun's Mansion, but she was worried about Lady Jia, so Wu Tianyue had to order his men to turn around and go to Rongguo Mansion.
When they reached the door, Daiyu suddenly smiled and said, "I think the riddle isn't very difficult. Aren't you afraid that someone will guess it?"
"Of course they'll have to wait until we arrive before they can put it out."
"Didn't the boss say that no one has guessed it yet?" Daiyu paused and said with a smile, "Yes, money makes the world go round."
"Miss, you make me sound like a nouveau riche, covered in the smell of money." Wu Tianyue pretended to be hurt. "I also want this lamp to be in your hands."
"Don't act like you're being wronged in front of me," Daiyu said with a smile. "But... this lamp looks great. I'll keep it as a treasure."
"It's an honor for it to catch the girl's eye."
Wu Tianyue smiled and replied to Daiyu. After thinking for a moment, he gave another warning: "The court has not been peaceful these days. Yu'er, try to stay in the courtyard. If anything happens, don't panic. Don't go out. I'll take care of everything outside."
He had never given her such instructions before, so Daiyu asked worriedly, "What's so serious?"
After saying this, he was afraid that it was a secret, so he hurriedly said, "You have to be careful."
Wu Tianyue felt even more guilty, but this matter should not be revealed. He smiled and nodded, watching her enter the door.
The next day, the festive atmosphere had not yet passed, and some fragments of colorful silk were still hanging on the stone lions in front of the Jia Mansion.
A few servants came out yawning, sprinkled water in front of the door, and began to clean up the mess of yesterday.
Suddenly, the sound of uniform footsteps came from afar, getting closer and closer, shaking the bluestone road slightly.
Who dares to act rashly here? The doorman and the cleaning boy looked up displeasedly and saw a group of officers and soldiers in black military uniforms appear at the street corner, surrounding an elegant sedan chair, with two people walking side by side in front of the sedan chair.
One of them was wearing a blue round-collar official robe, and the other was wearing a crimson official robe. The doorman was also an old man in Rongguo Mansion, so he recognized at a glance that the former was the Censor of the Censorate, who was on good terms with Wang Ziteng. This Censor often visited the Jia Mansion. Although the other person was not often seen, the doorman knew that this was the official uniform of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice.
"This, this is..." The doorman recognized the official uniform and quickly knelt on the ground. For a moment, a group of people were kneeling in front of the gate of the Jia Mansion.
Soon, the two men brought the officers and soldiers to the gates of the two mansions, and bowed to invite the person in the sedan chair out - the Prince of Nan'an.
The Prince of Nan'an looked at the trembling servant on the ground and said, "Surround them! Don't let anyone escape!"
The officers and soldiers dispersed in a well-trained manner and surrounded the Ning and Rong mansions in an instant.
Seeing that there were no mistakes, the Prince of Nan'an led his men inside.
Just as they reached the second gate, they saw from afar several gatekeepers screaming and running inside. Prince Nan'an remembered Wu Tianyue's instructions and ordered, "Guard the Chuihua Gate. No one is allowed to pass through, but no one is allowed to enter and disturb the women."
After saying this, he straightened his clothes and went through the second gate with the Assistant Minister of Justice and the Censor. He ordered someone to lead the way and walked all the way to Lady Jia's courtyard.
Grandmother Jia was washing and dressing with Yuanyang helping her when she heard the commotion outside. She frowned and asked, "What's going on outside?"
Before she could finish her words, an old woman came tumbling in, "Old lady! It's bad, outside... there are a lot of soldiers outside."
When Lady Jia heard that the soldiers had surrounded her mansion, she was terrified, but she calmed down. On the one hand, she ordered people to invite Jia Zheng and Jia She, and on the other hand, she sent people to Wang Ziteng's mansion for help.
But it was too late. As soon as the servant received the order and left, he heard someone outside say, "Old Madam... Prince of Nan'an..."
Listening to the maid's stammering voice, Jia's mother gathered herself together and stood up to greet her. "I didn't know the Prince of Nan'an had arrived. I'm sorry for not coming to greet you."
"No need to be so polite, old lady." Prince Nan'an said with a smile, "I have come here today by imperial decree. I cannot disobey the imperial decree, but I have no intention of disturbing the female family members. Please, old lady, call them all here."
His demeanor and tone were very kind, but his words were very rude. Grandmother Jia was a little confused: "This..."
"Don't worry, old lady. I heard that only a few young ladies live in the Grand View Garden, so no one would dare to offend there." Prince Nan'an said with a smile, "But please make a decision quickly about the rest of the matter. I have to go to the palace to report before sunset."
Seeing the Censor of the Metropolitan Censorate standing respectfully nearby, Grandmother Jia knew the situation was irreversible. She quickly ordered Jia Zheng, who had hurried over, still half-dressed in his official uniform, "Tell your wife to call all the women in the courtyard here."
Jia Zheng was stunned for a moment. Just as he was about to step forward to speak to the others, the Minister of War sneered, "Master Jia, please hurry up and don't delay the prince's entry into the palace."
Jia She had just arrived. Upon hearing this, he stepped forward and asked, "What are you doing? Do you know where this is?"
The Prince of Nan'an and the others didn't even glance at him, but only said to Jia's mother, "Old lady, I'll give you a quarter of an hour."
After saying this, he ordered his men to escort Jia She, Jia Zheng and other male members back to the Chuihua Gate.
A quarter of an hour later, the women of the Jia family hurriedly gathered in Jia's grandmother's courtyard. Before they could figure out what had happened, they heard the sound of armor colliding outside.
Then the Supervisory Censor stood at the window and said, "Please, old lady, keep an eye on the people in the courtyard. The officers and soldiers outside know who the women are. If anyone runs into them, don't blame them for being merciless."
After saying that, he turned and left, and the outside became quiet again.
Jia Zheng and other male members were taken away by the Prince of Nan'an. The place was surrounded by people and crying could be heard from time to time. The female members were so scared that they surrounded Lady Jia and cried.
Grandmother Jia was in a state of confusion and had no time to take care of them. Fortunately, although Sister Feng had been ill these days, she had been in charge of the household affairs for many years and had a hot temper. After experiencing the previous incident of Jia Lian being arrested, she had become much calmer and persuaded everyone, so nothing happened.
As the sun was setting, the sound of armor could be heard from outside. Not long after, the voice of the Supervisory Censor was heard: "Madam, please keep the women in your family under control. They are not allowed to go out for the next few days."
Grandmother Jia hurriedly asked, "Sir, could you please tell me what crime our Jia family has committed?"
But there was no sound outside. Not long after, the maid who had been sent to look for people came running in: "Old Madam, Madam, the First Master, the Second Master, the Second Master, and the others have all been arrested. The East Mansion next door has also been surrounded."
Before she finished speaking, Youshi's crying voice was heard from outside: "Old lady... Old lady, help me! Master... Master and Rong'er have been arrested by the government, and all the things in the mansion have been taken away."
Grandmother Jia had not had a drop of water today and had been trying to hold on for a long time. But after hearing these words, she finally couldn't hold on any longer and fainted on the ground.
When she woke up, it was already late at night.
Seeing Daiyu sitting beside her on the couch, Jia Mu didn't care that there were people in the room and hurriedly grabbed her hand: "Yu'er... Whether your two uncles can save their lives depends on you."
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