Chapter 195: Great Craftsman, Female Lu Ban
Then he heard, "The 25th one, the Quanzhou lantern maker, Yu Huatang."
Yu Huatang took a deep breath and walked to the center of the terrace. Followed by several people who were working on the project, they arranged the finished lights.
Yu Huatang knelt and bowed, then said, "The lantern I made is called 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival, Quanzhou Edition. Your Majesty, please take a look."
After saying this, she signaled the person in charge to light the candle.
When the plain white silk cloth was fully spread out, the night suddenly seemed to fall into a brilliant starry sky.
Thousands of sails are competing in the lanterns. The peculiar thing is that the sails of each ship are outlined with gold threads, and the ripples can be seen under the candlelight.
Looking down, the merchants coming and going by the boat, their bargaining expressions are lifelike, and even the cloud patterns on the silk can be seen.
What is even more amazing is the twin towers of Kaiyuan Temple painted on the top of the lantern. The towers have hidden mechanisms. As the lantern rotates, the bells on the towers shake along with it, and you can even hear a clear sound.
Everyone gasped. These things are easy to do anywhere, but making lanterns is extremely difficult. Even people who don't know the craft can't help but sigh in admiration at how clever and skillful they are!
His Majesty in the attic also stood up and asked, "How can these erythrina flowers swell with the wind from the lamp?" He was referring to the erythrina trees blooming along the shore in the scroll.
Yu Huatang replied respectfully, "Yes, Your Majesty. I painted it with a special pigment that curls slightly when exposed to heat."
At this time, a soft voice said, "Look, Your Majesty." The Queen stepped forward and pointed her finger at a certain spot on the lamp. "The Persian merchants working at the dock seem to be talking."
The people nearby also looked over, some of them saying with laughter, "It's amazing! How did they do that?"
Yu Huatang knelt down and continued, "I used the ancient methods of hollowing, dyeing, and temperature control to fuse the twenty-four scenes of Quanzhou into one painting. When the candle is lit, it generates heat, and the figures appear to move, so Your Majesty thinks they are talking."
His Majesty sighed softly, "It's been a long time since I've seen such a delicate mind. It's very rare."
As soon as these words were spoken, tonight's champion was basically decided.
Sure enough, the lanterns that came after that pale in comparison to the Quanzhou lanterns.
Wait until all the lanterns have been selected.
His Majesty in the attic had already written the list, and the eunuchs summoned them one by one and gave them rewards.
When the last one came to be crowned, the eunuch said, "The lantern maker from Quanzhou is Yu Huatang."
Yu Huatang was called again. Even though she knew the result, she was still excited. She stepped forward and knelt again.
His Majesty said, "I have heard of the ancient Lu Ban, who was skilled in making mechanical devices, his workmanship surpassing that of nature. Looking at your Quanzhou lanterns, which combine painting, mechanical devices, and considerations for people's livelihood, I am reminded of this ancient sage."
Yu Huatang exclaimed in surprise, "Your Majesty, your praise is too great. I dare not compare myself to the ancients."
The emperor chuckled. "In the past, Lu Ban invented the square and the inkwell to facilitate people's lives. Now you use the lamp as a guide to show the people's well-being. Your ambition and talent are not inferior to Lu Ban's. You are the female Lu Ban."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone knelt down and the International Lantern Festival finally came to an end.
Afterwards, His Majesty and the Queen stood up and left, and everyone knelt down to pay their respects. Then the eunuch announced the event.
Yu Huatang was still a little bit unconvinced until the eunuch leader handed over a prepared letter and said, "Congratulations, Miss Yu."
Yu Huatang took it with both hands. When she opened it, she saw a bright yellow gold-powder annotation on it: The female Lu Ban.
She finally realized that she had done it.
From today on, Quanzhou lanterns will spread across the country. In the past, women learning the craft were criticized and directed, but now, women all over the world have another choice.
The lantern festival was over, and Qingxing waited by the side for Yu Huatang to sign his name with the relevant personnel.
After everything was done, Qing Xing finally couldn't help but say, "Master, you're amazing. You have no idea how excited I was just now. You're a female Lu Ban. Let's see who will say that it's shameful for women to learn martial arts and that it's an insult to our ancestors."
Yu Huatang also sighed, "I didn't expect to receive this. I thought it was just money." She handed over the silver as a reward.
Qing Xing couldn't help herself any longer and said, "Master has become rich all of a sudden. We should go out for a good meal to celebrate. I've heard that the mutton at Yipinju is the best in the world. Why don't we go there to eat that?"
Yu Huatang laughed, "Now that we're rich, we can't go for something nice. Eating just mutton won't be enough. We'll order everything later."
"Really, Master? Then I'm going to be very generous tonight and order everything you want."
"Okay, whatever you want," Yu Huatang said. Then, as if remembering something, he added, "The lease on the courtyard will expire in a few days. Let's pack up tomorrow and prepare to return to Quanzhou."
"Well, I'll listen to Master. I have no objection. I'll go talk to the shopkeeper tomorrow." Qingxing said as they walked, holding Yu Huatang's hand.
Zhao Yan came out from the darkness, stared at them for a long time, saw them smiling, and finally smiled himself.
As a craftsman, she did what she could.
Then the smile slowly disappeared. They were already planning to go back and would never come back. This departure would be a farewell forever.
He walked outside for a long time until he returned to the Zhao Mansion filled with regret and sorrow.
If they sent a car themselves when they returned, she would definitely not accept it.
So, he thought of Boss Zhou, who sent her back the first time. Boss Zhou was Lady Wang's husband. She could accept it before, and she would definitely accept it this time.
Boss Zhou lived in the eastern suburbs and had never seen Zhao Yan. He had heard his wife talk about this young man and Yu Huatang before. When he saw him this time, he was a little nervous and didn't dare to look up.
Zhao Yan asked directly, "You were the one who sent my wife back last time."
Boss Zhou was stunned for a long time, then knelt down tremblingly and said, "Yes..."
Zhao Yan had tried cases both large and small, and seeing him like this, he wondered if something else had happened on the way. He immediately asked solemnly, "Did you fulfill your duty when you escorted my wife back? Did you do anything else?"
"Sir... I..." Boss Zhou was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat and was so nervous that he didn't know how to start.
"Speak, tell me the truth!" Zhao Yan didn't expect that something really happened, so he spoke even colder.
Boss Zhou said hurriedly, "I don't know... what it was for. I just felt it was a pity. When I saw Miss Yu throw it away, I went into the water to retrieve it. But I really didn't mean to do it."
Zhao Yan followed his words and said, "So you used it?..."
"No, no..." Zhao Yan looked at him coldly, and Boss Zhou immediately said, "Yes, I thought about it before. I thought it would be worth a lot of money if I pawned it, but I didn't dare to do so. I was afraid that people would find out, so I kept it. When my son got married, he was really short of money, so I secretly took the jade pendant from the third young master's wife to measure it.
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