"Hurry up, Xue Ru, there are so many people, we don't want to get separated!"
Seeing that more and more people were gathering and that it was becoming increasingly difficult for them to move, Wei Jingnian wanted to leave as soon as possible.
Wang Xueru's interest was piqued, and she stood on tiptoe to peer ahead, only to see a sea of heads. "Tsk tsk tsk, what kind of beauty is she, Brother Jingnian? Don't you want to see?"
Wei Jingnian replied coldly, "I don't want to."
His grandfather's youngest concubine was only in her early twenties. She was bought from a brothel in Pingnan City and had caused a lot of trouble at home over the years. He felt no liking for the women in these brothels.
"No, Brother Jingnian, it's rare for you to come out with me. Miss Sun, do you want to see it?"
Wang Xueru tugged at the corner of Wei Jingnian's sleeve and pleaded softly.
Sun Miao'er nodded, "I'm fine with anything."
She certainly is. What kind of beauty could be worth a fortune? You know, she toiled in the village from dawn till dusk, working herself to the bone for a year and didn't even earn ten taels of silver.
Seeing this, Wang Xueru pushed the two children to Wei Jingnian's side, saying, "Miss Sun and I will go take a look ahead and come back in a bit. You take Ziqian and Xiaoning to a less crowded place and we'll meet outside the Wang family's house at 9 PM!"
Before Wei Jingnian could speak, Wang Xueru had already pulled Sun Miao'er into the crowd and disappeared.
Sun Miao'er was pulled along by Wang Xueru, and they squeezed into the crowd with all their might. Since they were both women, they were smaller and thinner than men, so it was easier for them to squeeze through the gaps.
In no time, they had squeezed to the front of the crowd, with a cacophony of voices behind them, all vying for the best seats.
The stage was hastily set up but not carelessly; even the carvings on the pillars were meticulously crafted, showing that the people behind the scenes had put a lot of effort into getting this top performer to appear.
Sun Miao'er found a good spot and stood firm, almost being pushed to the ground by the people behind her. "Miss Xue Ru, hold my hand tightly, there might be even more people later."
She looked around and saw nothing but people. The location seemed to have been carefully chosen—the central area of Pingnan City, connecting the four main streets in the east, west, south, and north. At this moment, crowds were pouring in from all directions and converging on this point.
Behind the stage was a dark ochre curtain, from which one could vaguely hear women chatting and laughing. Sun Miao'er guessed that the top courtesan must be inside the curtain.
There were guards outside the curtain, so those who wanted to join in the fun couldn't squeeze up and could only stand in front of the stage and wait.
At 7:45 PM, ten thousand lanterns were lit up outside the moat, and hundreds of sky lanterns flew together, their dim light twinkling. The lantern-lighting ceremony was held in a packed house.
The clear and ethereal music came from behind the curtain, sometimes low and subdued, sometimes generous and stirring, sometimes like the pattering rain and the whispering, melodious and moving music like celestial music.
White mist rose on the stage, and the surroundings quickly became chaotic. Sun Miao'er was so close to Wang Xueru that she could barely make out Wang's face; the faces of everyone else were already blurred.
"Miss Sun, the fog is so thick."
Wang Xueru covered her mouth and nose, her eyes stinging from the fragrance mixed in with the mist.
Sun Miao'er suddenly became wary. Why was there such a large white mist during the lantern-lighting ceremony? Something was wrong!
"Miss Xue Ru, hold tight to my sleeve!"
As chaos reached its limit, the white mist slowly dissipated, and the surroundings returned to their previous clarity.
The room was brightly lit and filled with distinguished guests.
Am I overthinking things?
After this grand procession, the Lantern Fairy quietly arrived, surrounded by a group of beauties.
Amidst the music and clamor, the women surrounding the main figure were all dressed in pink, except for the fairy holding the lantern in the main seat, who wore a green dress, carried a seven-colored lotus lantern, and walked gracefully.
Graceful as a startled swan, lithe as a swimming dragon.
With each step the fairy took, a corresponding lotus imprint would appear on the ground. The fragrance from all directions did not disappear as the white mist dissipated; instead, it became even stronger.
Wang Xueru's gaze never left the stage, nor did the gazes of those behind her.
Everyone was captivated by the ethereal and beautiful gait of the fairy holding the lantern.
Sun Miao'er couldn't take her eyes off her, not for any other reason than that the woman in green was simply too beautiful—although half of her face was covered by a veil, the outline drawn by the moonlight and those exquisitely beautiful, cold eyes were enough to make one imagine what a rare beauty she was, breathtakingly gorgeous.
“Miss Sun, you said…” Wang Xueru gazed at the beauty before her, hesitated for a moment, “Does such a beautiful person really exist in this world?”
Sun Miao'er suddenly came to her senses: "No matter how beautiful she is, she is still human. But it was definitely worth the trip we made today."
Wang Xueru was stunned and speechless. On the stage, the fairy suddenly began to dance to the music. Her eyes shimmered like stars, and her skin was as white as porcelain, delicate and flawless.
Her slender wrist rose, seemingly captivating the hearts of the onlookers as well.
As everyone was lost in their reverie, a loud bang suddenly came from behind them—
"boom--!"
Sun Miao'er straightened up abruptly, instinctively grabbing Wang Xueru's wrist, ready to run at any moment.
Panic gripped the crowd behind him; shouts and screams mingled together.
A white mist suddenly rose, engulfing the surroundings, and the world suddenly spun around.
A woman on stage cried out in alarm, "Help—!"
"Quickly, protect Xiaoxiao!"
Accompanied by the sound of a sword being drawn, shouts rang out from all around the curtain.
Sun Miao'er couldn't care less about anything else; she and Wang Xueru absolutely couldn't be separated at this moment. "Miss Xueru, hold on to me tightly."
The onlookers surged forward, as if someone was surrounding them from behind.
In the white mist, Sun Miao'er firmly gripped Wang Xueru's wrist, trying to keep the two of them as close to the center of the crowd as possible.
The sounds of fighting gradually rose from the outer perimeter, and the shouts grew more intense. The spectators on the outermost layer who were accidentally injured let out painful cries.
"Miss Sun, what's wrong?"
Wang Xueru panicked; she had never encountered such a dangerous situation before, and could only lean on Sun Miao'er.
Sun Miao'er calmed herself down, reason telling her that she must not lose her composure. "Perhaps someone is trying to kidnap the girls from Dongli. This lantern-lighting ceremony might be a trap."
"Quickly cover your mouth and nose, this incense mist is poisonous!"
Sun Miao'er suddenly felt a headache coming on and almost collapsed. Fortunately, she grabbed Wang Xueru and held her breath, which made her a little more awake.
The crowd was in a panic, and people scattered in all directions, but because they had no sight, they became like headless flies. Some fell to the ground and were trampled by the fleeing people. After crying out in pain, they fell silent. Others were stabbed by blind swords, and the smell of blood spread and filled the surroundings.
Sun Miao'er tried her best to control her pace and listened carefully to the sounds behind her.
However, it was too chaotic—hundreds of different sounds were mixed together, making it virtually impossible to discern which direction the enemy was attacking from!
She took small steps toward the center of the crowd. As long as she could escape to the center, she would probably not be hurt. But what did the person who set this up want to do? Did they want to wipe out everyone present?
impossible!
After the chaos subsided, the white mist gradually dissipated, as if a grand drama was finally about to begin.
The women in pink collapsed onto the stage and onto the ground, their faces pale and their cries echoing everywhere.
Today's main character, the Lamp Fairy—has long since vanished.
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