Chapter 16 (Revised)
On Lantern Festival night, the city's curfew is lifted, and lanterns of all shapes and sizes hang across the streets, illuminating the city like daylight. The streets and alleys are bustling with people, pausing to admire their favorite novel lanterns. The sounds of people guessing and answering lantern riddles mingle in the bustling atmosphere.
The main street running through the north and south of the capital was called "Tianjie." Every year during the Lantern Festival, the Jingzhao government would build a high platform and a tall lantern tower here to celebrate with the people.
The various lanterns hung on the lantern tower were made by the most skilled craftsmen in Beijing. Affixed to the lanterns were red, gold-sprinkled paper with riddles written on them. Anyone who guessed the riddle correctly could take the lantern home for free.
In this way, the lighthouse here has become an iconic landscape, attracting a large number of people to visit.
The Chu family finally squeezed in front of the lighthouse with the crowd, but the first person they saw was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince surrounded by a group of girls.
"I was wondering why it was so crowded." Chu Miaomiao complained, "It turns out that more than half of the people here are here for the prince."
Not really wanting to greet the prince, who had become an iconic figure in some sense, Chu Miaomiao planned to pretend to be a stranger and just guess the riddles here.
But Wei Zhen obviously didn't think so.
Wei Zhen himself disliked excessive bustle, the bustling crowds, and the noisy sounds; everything made him irritated. In the past, during the New Year holidays, he would stay in the palace and wait quietly for the fireworks to start late at night.
But this year was different. There was someone who loved to join in the fun and would not miss such an opportunity. So he left the palace early and stood under the lantern tower, waiting for that person to appear.
However, the number of girls who came up to talk to him was beyond his expectations, and the guards responsible for protecting him had a hard time just trying to maintain a safe distance.
Wei Zhen tried hard to suppress the unhappiness and irritability in his heart. Just when he was thinking about whether to leave first, he suddenly caught a glimpse of Chu Miaomiao who was squeezing through the crowd out of the corner of his eye.
At that moment, all the irritability in Wei Zhen's heart disappeared, a look of joy appeared between his brows, and there was a hint of warmth in his dark eyes.
Just at this moment, Chu Miaomiao's gaze also swept over, but what made him feel disappointed was that in the moment their eyes met, Chu Miaomiao turned her face away without hesitation, as if she had just seen a stranger.
stranger.
Wei Zhen's expression turned slightly cold. He signaled the guards to separate the chattering girls, and then had another guard push his way through the crowd and walk to Chu Miaomiao's side.
Chu Miaomiao, who was guessing the lantern riddle, hadn't realized what was happening yet. She was looking up at the lantern riddle and muttering, "The sun sets over the river."
Wei Zhen only had to glance at the riddle before he said, "It's the word 'Bo'."
"ah?"
Wei Zhen's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, reaching Chu Miaomiao's ears. She was just wondering who was talking so quickly when she turned around and saw Wei Zhen.
Chu Miaomiao blinked: "Hey, wasn't it there just now?"
"Yeah, I saw someone pretending not to know me so I just came here myself."
Chu Miaomiao laughed dryly twice.
"The riddle has been guessed. Go get the lantern."
"Oh, okay."
When Chu Miaomiao came back with the lantern, she saw Wei Zhen talking with his brother and sister-in-law.
She was not afraid that Wei Zhen would say bad things about her in front of his brother, but she felt that Wei Zhen seemed very kind at this moment, and the cold and distant attitude that kept people at a distance seemed to be gone.
The first person to notice Chu Miaomiao coming back with a lantern was Wei Zhen. He looked at Chu Miaomiao with a smile and said, "You're back."
"Oh, bring all the lanterns we guessed." Chu Miaomiao quickly came back to her senses, walked quickly to the few people, handed over the two lanterns that her brother had won for her sister-in-law, gave the remaining lantern to Chu He, and handed one to Wei Zhen.
Wei Zhen was surprised: "Me too?"
"Didn't you guess that just now? How can I take the credit from you?"
Wei Zhen accepted the lantern without hesitation. When the attendant behind him stepped forward to take it for him, he waved his hand to refuse. Although the rabbit lantern was too cute and didn't seem to suit him, it was a gift from Chu Miaomiao herself, so how could he let the attendant take it?
Wei Zhen was in a very good mood and suggested, "There will be fireworks at Cangming Lake later. Let's go there together."
The group left the lantern tower and headed towards Cangming Lake. The four of them unconsciously split into two groups, with Chu Canglang and his wife leading the way arm in arm, while Wei Zhen and Chu Miaomiao intentionally slowed down their pace, keeping a comfortable distance behind them.
"I'm sorry for the trouble I put in preparing the New Year gifts for you."
Wei Zhen waved to the attendant following behind him, and the attendant stepped forward and handed him an exquisitely crafted gauze lantern.
On the four sides of the veil, four scenes that Chu Miaomiao was quite familiar with were sketched with a brush:
One side depicts the landscape of Pingzhou, the other side depicts the spring scenery of Pingzhou's suburbs in color, the other side depicts the bustling street scene in Pingzhou City, and the last side shows a pretty girl standing with her arms folded, but the girl's expression is full of provocation.
"This, this, this, this, this..." Chu Miaomiao pointed at herself in the painting and looked at Wei Zhen in surprise and a little embarrassment. For a moment, she didn't know how to organize her words.
Why did you draw her expression so funny?
As if he understood what Chu Miaomiao meant, Wei Zhen explained, "Weren't you like this when we first met on the street that day?"
When this matter was mentioned, Chu Miaomiao, who knew she was in the wrong, lost half of her arrogance. She just said stubbornly: "I don't really deserve a beating, do I? That expression is like saying 'Hit me if you dare'. I wouldn't do that!"
Looking at Chu Miaomiao's unreasonable arguments, Wei Zhen thought for a moment and put the lantern back. Chu Miaomiao was also unhappy, and pulled Wei Zhen's sleeve and asked, "What are you doing?"
"If you don't like it, forget it. Just pretend I never gave it to you."
In fact, Wei Zhen was also a little angry.
He made this lantern himself, and all the supporting wooden strips were carved out by him bit by bit.
Thinking that Chu Miaomiao had been away from Pingzhou for a long time and it was the New Year period, and considering that she might miss home, he spent three days describing the scenery of Pingzhou in his memory one by one. I don't know how much time he spent on this process.
He wanted to paint Chu Miaomiao as a little gentler, but he almost went through all his memories of Chu Miaomiao in Pingzhou and couldn't find a similar picture, so he had to choose to paint the little girl when he first met her.
The painting process was exhausting, not to mention the effort it took to make the lantern for the first time. It took two full days to get a work that I was quite satisfied with.
He didn't expect Chu Miaomiao to be so surprised when she saw the lantern, but a word of thanks was what he deserved, right?
Heartless and rude girl!
"No!" Chu Miaomiao snatched the lantern from Wei Zhen's hand. "How can you take back a gift you promised me? Is this what a gentleman does?"
Wei Zhen was startled when his hands were suddenly empty, and then he saw Chu Miaomiao happily admiring the lantern.
The candlelight cast a soft glow on her pretty face, making her look gentle and charming.
"Although the expression is a bit exaggerated, I am still very beautiful in the painting." Chu Miaomiao looked up with a smile and met Wei Zhen's eyes. "Thank you, Your Highness. This is the best gift I have ever received."
These words came from Chu Miaomiao's heart.
Among the three children in the Prince of Chu's Mansion, she was the least valued, so she had never received any gifts carefully prepared by her parents. Even on her birthday, she received only common clothes, jewelry, or four treasures of the study on the market. To her, they were not even more precious than the bowl of longevity noodles cooked for her by Chu He.
So she never expected these things. After all, she felt tired of expecting them every time but not getting a response.
But today, the prince's gift surprised her.
Not having expectations does not mean not yearning for it.
Deep down, Chu Miaomiao still longed to be treated with care. Regardless of whether the painting on the lantern was made by the prince himself, the scenery of Pingzhou alone was enough to move her.
She knew that the prince was using this method to help her relieve her homesickness.
It seems that the four words "vindictive villain" on the prince's forehead can be erased!
"Thank you!" As if feeling that the previous thanks were not enough to express her inner gratitude, Chu Miaomiao expressed her gratitude again very sincerely.
Wei Zhen curled his lips: "You're welcome."
"I'll show it to my brother and sister-in-law!"
As soon as the words fell, Chu Miaomiao rushed forward, excitedly holding up the special lantern in her hand to show off to Chu Canglang and his wife.
Wei Zhen didn't know if it was an illusion, but he always felt that there was a hint of sadness in the girl's smug smile, and there seemed to be tears hidden behind that smile.
Wei Zhen suppressed his smile and lowered his eyes.
*
The scene of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince presenting a lantern to Princess Pingyang by the Cangming Lake was seen by many attentive people.
That was a gift personally sent by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince! In all their years in the capital, they had never heard of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince giving anything to any girl. They had never expected that a princess from a certain place could receive such an honor!
One girl was so angry that she nearly shredded her handkerchief. One of them, Jiang Qiyue, angrily complained to her sisters, "A wild girl from the countryside, with only the title of princess, thinks she's some noble lady clinging to the Crown Prince. What a shameless thing."
Jiang Qiyue was the niece of Zhongshu Ling Jiang Hongdao and the cousin of Jiang Yingyue. Although her father was only a secretary, she relied on her uncle who was also a prime minister and could be a bit arrogant.
"Fourth sister, please be careful with your words." Jiang Yingyue frowned, clearly disagreeing with her cousin's words.
Jiang Qiyue, on the other hand, became impatient. "Fifth sister, just because someone praised her for being dignified and polite, does that mean you can teach others as you please? There's an order of seniority, and it's Fifth sister who should be cautious in what she says and does."
Jiang Yingyue sighed deeply. If she hadn't been surrounded by so many people, she would have wanted to imitate Wei Yan and roll her eyes. Jealousy really does cloud one's mind.
"As for Princess Pingyang, I have heard some stories about her. She is definitely not an ordinary person."
Among the girls who spoke and attracted attention was Bai Xiaoyan, the eldest daughter of the second branch of the Anchang Marquis's Mansion, and Bai Xiaochen's younger sister.
This person was also spoiled by his family, and there was a look of arrogance between his eyebrows.
At the sisters' urging, Bai Xiaoyan slowly spoke with a smug look on her face, "She's a complete playboy. When she first arrived in Beijing, she followed my brother and his friends around like a little dog, having fun everywhere. She'd do whatever the men did."
The women were in an uproar, and many of them looked at him with contempt.
"My brother said that she also went to Yiheju!"
Bai Xiaoyan dropped another bombshell, which exploded among the noble ladies.
What kind of place is Yiheju? Even the most well-protected daughters and daughters of wealthy families have heard of this forbidden place. In their minds, any woman who has set foot in Yiheju is a person without self-respect and self-love.
Disgust and contempt were revealed unabashedly on the faces of these girls.
"A woman like this isn't even fit to carry the shoes of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Some girls already think that the shameless Princess Pingyang will only defile the holy Crown Prince in her mind.
At this time, Chu Miaomiao was still looking at her lantern happily, and had not yet realized that she had become the public enemy of many noble ladies in the capital because of someone else's words.
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