The night breeze was cool, and Yao Niang stared intently at the small gold ingots on the water's surface, trying to make out the patterns on them and see what kind of characters they represented.
The light was dim, and visibility was poor.
Just as Yao Niang was intently watching the ingot lantern and was about to follow it downstream, a voice suddenly came from behind her—
"Is Madam Gu here to release river lanterns too?"
Gu Yaoniang was startled by the sudden sound and almost slipped and fell. Bizhu, who was standing nearby, quickly reached out and steadied her.
While using Bizhu's hand to steady herself, Yaoniang also carefully protected the Yuanbao River Lantern in her hand.
No one noticed that the newcomer's hand was extended when Yao Niang staggered, and only withdrew it casually after she regained her balance.
Gu Yaoniang stopped, turned around, and was somewhat surprised to see the person's face clearly: "Boss Lu?"
Lu Zhaoan nodded and said, "Madam Gu is not here to discuss business. There is no Boss Lu here. If you don't mind, you can call me Jinchuan."
Seeing Gu Yaoniang's puzzled look, Lu Zhaoan added, "Jinchuan, meaning 'holding jade in one's bosom, with mountains standing still and rivers flowing.' Jinchuan is my courtesy name."
Gu Yaoniang was a little unaccustomed to Lu Zhaoan's familiarity with her at this moment, but she still readily agreed and said, "Okay."
She looked behind Lu Zhaoan and only saw Afu, whom she had seen before. She was somewhat surprised: "You... are you alone?"
On Mid-Autumn Festival night, people go out to release lanterns either with their lovers or with their relatives. It's very rare to see a man coming alone to release lanterns.
Lu Zhaoan chuckled: "Yes, didn't you come by yourself too?"
The two looked at each other and chuckled softly.
"Yao Niang?"
"Um?"
"Would I call you that?"
"nature."
Yao Niang couldn't help but feel that Lu Zhao'an was acting strangely tonight. He wasn't as aloof and cold as usual; instead, he seemed to be feigning intimacy.
She seemed to be troubled by something, revealing a vulnerability I'd never seen before.
"Yao Niang?"
"Um?"
Would you like to take a walk together?
Gu Yaoniang looked at the river lantern she hadn't yet put down, feeling somewhat troubled.
Lu Zhaoan chuckled softly, "I know a place where the river lanterns are guaranteed to float smoothly, bringing Madam Gu all her wishes and a flood of wealth."
He clearly knew that the river lantern in Yao Niang's hand contained nothing more than those few words expressing the hope for wealth to roll in, and his tone was sarcastic.
Gu Yaoniang blushed slightly, then, after a moment's thought, her voice rose slightly: "Was that gold ingot yours just now?"
Lu Zhaoan nodded with a smile.
Gu Yaoniang clicked her tongue twice: "I didn't realize, Boss Lu! I never thought you were so greedy for money."
Lu Zhaoan coughed twice, covering his mouth with his fist, and said, "Merchants, what one doesn't love money?"
Gu Yaoniang chuckled softly and hummed in response, then lifted her foot and walked upstream: "Let's go, Second Young Master."
Lu Zhaoan stood still: "Yaoniang, you're going the wrong way. It's not that way."
Seeing Yao Niang's confusion, he pointed behind him.
Gu Yaoniang asked in confusion, "Didn't your lamp come from this side?"
“I just placed it anywhere. The place I mentioned is over here.”
"You're not trying to lure me to a secluded spot so we can take a walk together, are you?"
Gu Yaoniang looked suspicious.
Lu Zhaoan choked, feeling both amused and exasperated. Seeing that Yao Niang still looked suspicious but not wary, he finally felt relieved.
He frankly said, "It's true that I wanted to invite you for a walk, and it's also true that there's another place to release lanterns. If you're worried, you can release the lanterns here; it's the same."
His tone was very frank.
Gu Yaoniang nodded. Just when Lu Zhaoan thought she would go with him, Yaoniang waved to Bizhu, who was hiding to the side.
He then slightly curtsied to Lu Zhaoan: "Please wait a moment, Second Young Master."
She led Bizhu toward the riverbank, asking softly as they walked, "Neither of us has any river lanterns left. Are you confident you can handle them with your skills?"
Bizhu was somewhat taken aback: "They should be fine. My lady, is there something wrong with them?"
As he spoke, he reached for a hidden weapon.
Yao Niang quickly stopped her, "No, not at all. It's just to be on the safe side. If you're sure, it wouldn't hurt to go out for a walk with him."
Bizhu understood: "Don't worry, my lady. It might be difficult to kill them secretly, but protecting you should be no problem."
Yao Niang nodded.
After a moment of silence, he said, "We're respectable people. Let's not keep talking about fighting and killing all the time."
Bizhu nodded quickly and made a mental note of it. It's better to keep these things in mind from now on.
Yao Niang bent down and squatted down, gently placing the ingot-shaped lantern in her hand on the river surface and pushing it forward slightly.
Then you can see the little golden lamps drifting gently downstream along the water.
Bizhu also put down the river lantern she was holding. She stood up and asked softly, "Wife, should I stay close to you the whole time?"
Gu Yaoniang had been carefully holding the river lantern, and her fingers were a little stiff. She was rubbing her fingers now.
Hearing this, he paused slightly before saying nonchalantly, "Just follow me at a distance. If anything seems amiss, then come over."
She pondered to herself that perhaps Lu Zhaoan had something he wanted to say to her, perhaps it was about business, or perhaps something else entirely.
It wouldn't be good if Bizhu followed suit.
Bizhu nodded obediently.
Seeing the two men approaching, Lu Zhaoan quickly stepped aside and led the way with his arm.
Gu Yaoniang smiled, lifted her skirt, and walked up.
Bizhu wanted to follow, but Afu politely stopped her: "Sister, why don't you come with me?"
Bizhu remembered Yaoniang's instructions and did not insist. She simply followed behind Afu at a distance.
"you……"
"you……"
The two spoke at the same time, exchanged a smile, and Lu Zhaoan said first, "You go first."
"Actually, it's nothing. I just wanted to ask why you didn't spend the holiday with your family today, but instead came out by yourself."
Gu Yaoniang felt a little embarrassed; it was certainly not the behavior of a gentleman to pry into other people's privacy.
In the past, when Lu Zhao'an went out, unless it was for business, he usually went with Princess Ruining or Lu Jing'an.
This was the first time she had seen Lu Zhao'an traveling alone, and it happened during the Mid-Autumn Festival, a time for family reunions. Moreover, Lu Zhao'an's actions tonight were all strange, which made her curious.
Seeing that Lu Zhaoan seemed hesitant to speak, Yao Niang quickly said, "If it's inconvenient, then don't say it! I didn't mean anything by it! I was just a little curious... Oh no, I just asked casually..."
She spoke more and more urgently, but her voice grew softer and softer.
Seeing her like this, Lu Zhaoan laughed with pleasure: "It's alright. It's not that I didn't want to tell you, it's just that I didn't expect you to not know."
Gu Yaoniang was taken aback. What did she know?
She vaguely recalled that when she went out with Princess Ruining in the past, Princess Ruining always referred to Lu Zhao'an as her cousin, but when she called Lu Jing'an, she always called him by his name.
Princess Ruining seems to have mentioned that Lu Zhaoan's life wasn't exactly good in the past.
But why it's bad, they don't know.
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