Chapter 17 Lantern Festival: Do You Absolutely Have to Marry My Third Brother?
The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival.
The curfew in Shangyong City was lifted, and the trees along the road were covered with lanterns and banners with riddles written on them.
On this day, ordinary families in the city can also bring the elderly and children out of their homes and onto the streets to enjoy the lanterns and have fun.
Chen Liangyu changed into plain clothes and still carried a knife while patrolling the streets.
Tomorrow is Chen Linjun's wedding day, and the family is very busy. Originally, the eldest brother and sister-in-law wanted to cancel the wedding, since they are of the same lineage as the Chen family of Cangnan, and it wouldn't be appropriate to have a funeral on one side and a wedding on the other.
Chen Yuanqing remained silent for a long time before finally making his decision, "Do it! Do whatever needs to be done."
The Lantern Festival was a big day, and a large number of refugees had gathered outside the city. Fearing that someone might cause trouble, the Sixteen Guards were short-handed and additional personnel were temporarily dispatched. Chen Liangyu had no choice but to put public affairs aside and went out to patrol the streets after receiving the order.
The people Gao Guan had led out to assist Xie Yuan in pacifying the refugees were also recalled. Xing Rui, a janitor, was also put in a position, and she even looked quite respectable with a knife.
Ying Rui found everything new and exciting, and when she saw dragon and lion dances, she wished she could jump into the lion and tiger skins and twist and turn a couple of times.
"Boss, His Highness Prince Shen has been reprimanded by the Emperor." He walked along and chatted with Chen Liangyu about the rumors he had overheard.
Why?
"That night, a sudden downpour occurred. Prince Shen led the refugees to the Emperor's temporary palace to take shelter from the rain. He ordered a half-built palace to be demolished, and the dry wood was collected to burn as firewood to dry the refugees' clothes and keep them warm. Before dawn the next day, he was taken away by the palace eunuchs. When he returned, I noticed that he didn't look well. I kept inquiring for you, and I learned that the Emperor was furious and gave Prince Shen a severe scolding."
As Xing Rui spoke, she grew angrier and more confused. "This is a good thing! His Highness did a good deed, so why was he scolded? Even Deputy Commander Gao was fined half a month's salary. What kind of nonsense is this!"
Chen Liangyu had heard about this.
The emperor's authority is inviolable. To demolish the emperor's palace to provide firewood for commoners is, to put it more bluntly, to show no respect for hierarchy and to be disrespectful to the emperor and his father.
A scolding is the lightest punishment one can give.
Although everything sounded reasonable, she sensed many inconsistencies. As Xing Rui said, it was inappropriate and unwise to be reprimanded for caring for the people and performing good deeds!
Moreover, he was injured.
"Your Highness, you must be feeling quite wronged."
Passing by a steaming Yuanxiao (sweet rice ball) stall, I bumped into Gao Guan and his group.
Gao Guan huffed and plopped down on a bench. "Shopkeeper, bring five...six or seven bowls of glutinous rice balls, with plenty of broth." He waved for Chen Liangyu to sit down. "Commander, don't even mention Your Highness, I'm wronged too, and none of the brothers are not! Damn it, we've been working hard for days, and just when we thought the refugees were under control, for this stupid festival, they called all the brothers back to watch the broken lanterns and even sent the Imperial Guards over. The brothers have been working day and night without sleep, and all the credit has been stolen by those guys from the Northern Army!"
The glutinous rice balls were quickly served, their round and soft texture settling neatly at the bottom of the soup.
Chen Liangyu scooped a spoonful of food into her mouth, blew on it, and took a bite. The silky, rich flavor filled her entire mouth.
"The credit should be given to whoever deserves it, and rewards and punishments should not be based on appearances."
Gao Guan wolfed down the meager bowl of glutinous rice balls in a few bites. “Our Sixteenth Guard used to be a glorious imperial guard, but our family has fallen on hard times, and we’ve been reduced to patrolling soldiers on the streets.”
Chen Liangyu smiled and said, "I'll make sure you return in glory."
Gao Guan gulped down the hot soup in two mouthfuls, not daring to linger too long. He picked up his sword and was about to go inspect other areas. "Whether it's glorious or not is another matter, Commander. I was just fined, so please treat me to this meal."
"Sigh," the group left, having eaten their fill, leaving Chen Liangyu and Xing Rui bewildered in front of the Lantern Festival stall.
"Who hasn't had their salary deducted?"
Xing Rui quickly buried her head in the bowl, "Big brother, don't look at me. I only have two copper coins. I have elderly parents to support and young children to raise. Please don't worry about me."
Chen Liangyu sighed, "We can't count on any of them!"
After paying and about to leave, a beggar blocked my way.
His eyes were cloudy, and his hair was a tangled mess, like a clump of weeds covering his head. What was even more striking was that this person had no forearms. They were cleanly severed a few inches below the elbow joint.
It wasn't a congenital defect; it was cut off by a sharp blade.
Chen Liangyu made a decision in an instant.
The beggar gave Chen Liangyu a long, unfriendly look, scrutinizing her from head to toe.
Although she had grown up in the military, she was still a woman. Chen Liangyu felt uncomfortable being stared at so rudely and was about to lash out when the man spoke first, asking, "Is this woman from Chen Chongming's family?"
When Chen Liangyu saw him address Chen Yuanqing by his courtesy name, he subconsciously gripped the hilt of his sword defensively. His gaze then fell on the empty sleeve, and he relaxed his grip on the sword slightly.
“Indeed,” she replied, “Who are you, and what brings you here?”
The beggar said, "I am an old friend of yours, now fallen on hard times. I know my days are numbered, so I ask for a few taels of silver to settle my affairs after I die."
"Since you are an old friend of my father's, why don't you come to my home for a cup of tea?"
"No need, I'll just ask for a few taels of silver and leave."
"May I ask your name?"
The beggar, annoyed that she was asking too many questions, said, "Since you are unwilling to give, this old man will take his leave."
"Wait a minute," Chen Liangyu patted the beggar's shoulder, and with a little force, his hand was shaken off.
This person possesses internal strength.
Chen Liangyu pulled off the jade hair clip from her head. "The few copper coins I have on me today are only enough to buy a bowl of Yuanxiao (sweet rice balls). You can take this to the pawnshop and get some silver. Regardless of whether you are really an old friend of my father or a swindler on the street, since you can call my father by his courtesy name, I will consider the money for your funeral as coming from my Chen family."
The beggar chuckled, took the hair clip, and trudged alone toward the brightly lit area.
A bright, full moon shone in the sky, its light reflecting off the city that never sleeps beneath it.
Chen Liangyu looked up at the moon and exclaimed that the moonlight was as beautiful as youth.
Looking down again, I saw Xie Wenjun in the crowd.
Behind him followed the strange-looking eunuch, Wei Xiaogong.
On the eve of the New Year's Eve palace banquet, the Crown Prince sent someone to bring her back to the East Palace. Chen Liangyu thought that Princess Jiangning's martial arts career had come to an end, and that they would be separated by the palace walls from then on, never to meet again.
But then we bumped into each other again.
Xie Wenjun walked towards her. "On patrol?"
What else? Want to go shopping?
Chen Liangyu bowed and asked, "Princess Jiangning, why have you left the palace?"
"Of course I sneaked out without my brother's knowledge. Today is the Lantern Festival, so the palace gates will be locked an hour later. I just need to get back before they close."
"This humble woman has not yet had the chance to thank Princess Jiangning and His Highness the Crown Prince."
Xie Wenjun adjusted her cloak. "Why thank me?"
"Did His Highness the Crown Prince send the Princess to the Marquis's residence just to practice martial arts? I'm afraid he had already set up a scheme, just waiting for the right moment to have the Princess remind me to abandon my clan and protect my father and brothers." Chen Liangyu said, "If His Highness the Crown Prince wants to reduce the military defenses in the northern border and disperse the military power of my father and brothers, he should just say so. Why go through all this trouble?"
Be careful what you say!
"Your subject knows her crime." Chen Liangyu bowed and apologized. "Your subject has been reminded by the princess and the crown prince, and I would also like to say one more thing: Your Majesty is Your Majesty, the crown prince, and also a subject of Your Majesty."
Even the most profound strategies and plans, once held in an absolute high position, will be shattered into dust by a single imperial edict.
The Crown Prince has stripped some of his military power from Emperor Xuanyuan today. Will his ambitions swell and seek the throne tomorrow?
How can a king allow others to snore beside his bed?
Chen Liangyu bowed again, sincerely apologizing, and said, "This humble woman has overstepped her bounds."
"I will certainly convey these words to my royal brother." Xie Wenjun was engrossed in the lantern festival. "Since you are on duty tonight, you will be in charge of protecting my safety."
Chen Liangyu said, "Your subject obeys."
The crowd was bustling and noisy. Chen Liangyu was afraid that she would be kidnapped by criminals like last autumn, so he dared not take his eyes off her for a moment.
An old Taoist priest spread out a Bagua diagram by the roadside and held up a fortune-telling banner. When someone passed by, he would raise his voice and shout earnestly, "I can tell your marriage, palmistry, career, and wealth. No money if I'm wrong."
Xie Wenjun paused in front of the stall and glanced at it indifferently.
The old Taoist priest warmly welcomed him, saying, "What does this young sir wish to consult? I am known as Huang the Half-Immortal, and I will not charge you if my predictions are not accurate."
Xie Wenjun asked, "What are women anyway?"
"Women, of course, tend to have more questions about marriage."
"Then let's calculate our marriage destiny together."
The old Taoist priest took out a pen, dipped it in ink, and handed it to him: "Honorable sir, please write your birth date and time on this piece of paper."
Xie Wenjun wrote it down truthfully.
The old Taoist priest took it and looked at it intently. He looked up at Xie Wenjun several times, his gray eyebrows furrowed into a distorted shape, and the wrinkles on his face tangled together.
Xing Rui pouted and said, "Could it be that the fate of a noble person is too complicated for even a fortune teller like you to predict?"
The old Taoist priest blinked his bright little eyes, his expression enigmatic:
"A smile from the crowd"
Human colors are like dust.[1]
Three years have passed since I left, longing for your return.
A chance encounter and a drunken revelry sparked a deep connection.
The young nobleman's marriage is preordained; he and his destined love are of one mind—a truly beautiful story.
The words 'a good story' were spoken hesitantly, as if they were leaking from between his teeth.
Chen Liangyu shook his head. These people who just want to make a living are always good at saying nice and auspicious words to make people happy.
She thought Xie Wenjun was about to leave, so she took a step first.
But Xie Wenjun did not set off.
"Then tell me again, where is my destined one now?"
The old Taoist priest kept his mouth shut, refusing to say more: "It cannot be said; the secrets of heaven cannot be revealed."
Xing Rui took two steps toward the fortune-telling stall. "You can't possibly not know the answer, can you? You call yourself a fortune teller? You're more like a weasel."
The old Taoist priest said angrily, "Young man, you can insult me, but you cannot question the will of Heaven."
"Then tell me."
"That won't work."
Xie Wenjun winked at someone behind her, and Wei Xiaogonggong understood immediately. He took out a gold ingot and slapped it onto a stack of scribbles on the table.
The old Taoist priest's eyes widened and darted around, his gaze fixed on the gold ingot. Perhaps feeling that the secret was worth ten taels of gold, he gritted his teeth, stamped his foot, and said, "As far as the moon in the sky, yet so close is the person before my eyes."
He slapped the ruler and pointed it out.
Chen Liangyu frowned, immediately concluding that this was a charlatan. She then noticed Xing Rui standing beside her blushing shyly, embarrassingly scratching the back of her head, stammering, "Me, me? I'm no good. I'm just a floor sweeper. How could I, how could I be worthy of..."
The old Taoist priest's lips twitched a few times, and he said in a clear and distinct voice, "You are not worthy! I'm talking about the one beside you." He then added to Xing Rui, "A toad trying to eat swan meat."
Xing Rui stepped forward to overturn the stall and argue, but Chen Liangyu pulled her back. The people hadn't even caused any trouble, yet the patrol guards were already fighting with them—what kind of behavior was that?
"Boss, he said I'm a toad, that thing is covered in bumps and looks ugly. I'm a frog, right?"
"It's a frog, a frog."
The old Taoist priest, his eyes gleaming, said, "They're all the same species." He then pouted and reached for the gold ingot.
Chen Liangyu let out a "ha!" and, with lightning speed, blocked the hand that was about to take the gold by slashing with the hilt of his knife.
"You didn't even realize I was a woman, what kind of charlatan are you pretending to be?"
“You’re clearly a woman,” the old Taoist priest stroked his sparse, gray-white beard and said self-justifyingly, “Marriage is preordained by heaven, what does it have to do with a man or a woman’s body?”
A load of utter nonsense!
Chen Liangyu scoffed. Xie Wenjun, however, seemed quite pleased and, with a wave of his hand, rewarded the old Taoist with a gold ingot.
Chen Liangyu kindly reminded her, "Princess, you have probably been deceived by that old Taoist priest."
Xie Wenjun didn't take it to heart, saying, "I just want to buy something auspicious and happy."
The banks of the Xu River are a sacred place for releasing lanterns.
We release river lanterns and also sky lanterns.
Releasing sky lanterns during the Lantern Festival is an ancient custom with two meanings. First, it is a wish for the living to prosper; second, it is a way to remember the deceased.
Write your wishes and longings on a lamp; the farther the lamp floats, the more likely your wishes will be fulfilled, and the more likely your departed loved ones will see them.
Rows of Kongming lanterns, carrying people's hopes and wishes, slowly ascended into the sky, as if lighting up countless stars.
The warm yellow lamp paper in Chen Liangyu's hand lit up; it was an empty lamp, without any writing on it.
Chen Liangyu clasped his hands together in front of his chest, closed his eyes, and silently prayed: "May the world be at peace, may the flames of war cease forever, may disasters be eliminated, and may the country be prosperous and the people at peace."
Xie Wenjun, holding the pen, asked, "Why are you placing blank lamps?"
Chen Liangyu shook his head.
"Then I'll write it for you."
Xie Wenjun wrote a poem, and Chen Liangyu turned her head to see what she had written. Xie Wenjun quickly covered her face with her hand to hide it.
mean.
As Xie Wenjun lit the Kongming lantern, two rows of delicate characters were reflected in the dim light of the lantern wick.
Chen Liangyu paused slightly when he saw those two lines of text.
He then chuckled to himself in frustration.
The lamp slipped from my hand, swaying and staggering towards the hazy moonlight, quickly blending into the wisps of lights in the sky, making it impossible to identify which one it was.
That day in the library, Xie Wenjun suddenly mentioned the battle at Horseshoe Valley in the Qilian Mountains, and her absent-minded expression was still noticed by others.
However, Xie Wenjun was very tactful and didn't point it out at the time.
Chen Liangyu looked up at the sky, and Xie Wenjun looked up at her.
"Do you really have to marry my third brother?"
Chen Liangyu assumed that someone had instructed her to test him, and replied ambiguously, "My marriage still requires Your Majesty's approval."
Xie Wenjun remained silent for a long time, then lit another lamp, just like the one Chen Liangyu had released earlier—a wordless lamp.
"Then I wish you," the Kongming lantern slipped from my palm, "that your wishes may come true!"
In the seventeenth year of the Xuanyuan era, on the Lantern Festival, two sky lanterns were sent to the banks of the Xu River.
The first cup is for what you think in your heart.
The second cup, may it grant you your heart's desire.
A note from the author:
[1] From Wang Guowei's "Butterfly Loves Flowers" in modern times.
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