Meng Zhao frowned slightly, still feeling that his words were somewhat ambiguous. Just as she was about to speak, someone walked over and said, "Brother Xiao, what are you whispering to Madam Meng here? The lantern riddle competition has already started! We're counting on you to help us win the championship this year!"
"A lantern riddle contest?" Meng Zhao looked at Xiao Youzhi with a puzzled expression.
The young master explained with great interest, "Madam Meng, you don't know? The lantern festival in the capital is held on a certain street. Each shop on that street will offer a carefully crafted lantern with a riddle on it. If someone can guess the riddle, they will not only get the lantern but also a prize attached to it. The person who has guessed all the riddles and has the most lanterns will be the champion of this year's lantern festival. As for the prize, we don't know yet, but according to past practice, it's usually several hundred taels of silver."
Meng Zhao was somewhat surprised, "So tall?"
The young master laughed and said, "The money is secondary. The key is that this lantern festival gathers most of the talented men and beautiful women in the capital. If we can win first place, that will be the real glory."
Seeing that Meng Zhao's eyes lit up at the mention of "silver," Xiao Youzhi couldn't help but smile and promptly raised his hand to say, "The prize for this lantern festival is funded by Chunfeng Tower. According to the rules, as the host, I cannot participate in the competition."
"Oh dear!" The young man in brocade robes slapped his forehead in frustration. "What a terrible memory I have! If you hadn't participated, wouldn't we have had no hope of winning?"
Xiao Youzhi raised the corners of his lips slightly and turned his gaze to Meng Zhao: "That's not necessarily true. How about it, want to join in the fun?"
Meng Zhao glanced downstairs and could no longer see Shen Qinghe, so he said, "Okay, let's give it a try."
The group of people who had been chatting in twos and threes had now returned to their seats and sent people down to fetch lanterns. Xiao Youzhi also had someone fetch a lantern, and coincidentally, the first question was related to poetry.
Meng Zhao suddenly felt a headache coming on and secretly asked Xiao Youzhi, "What if I can't answer? Can I send it back?"
Xiao Youzhi chuckled upon hearing this, "Of course not. If you can't answer, you'll have to buy the lamp at the price." Meng Zhao glanced at the exquisite carvings on the lamp stand and began to calculate how much silver he would have to lose.
Seeing her troubled, Xiao Youzhi suggested, "If you can't answer it, why don't you ask someone else for help?"
"This...this works?" Meng Zhao blinked, somewhat surprised.
"Of course, as long as you can answer the question." Meng Zhao then noticed that some people inside the house were already chatting in twos and threes with the lanterns they had brought up.
Meng Zhao's eyes lit up as he looked around at the people in the room. Xiao Youzhi pointed out at the right moment, "The man in white right in front of you is the only one here who has achieved academic honors."
Meng Zhao understood immediately, picked up his lantern and went forward to ask for help. As expected, the man was an expert in his field. As soon as he saw the question, he immediately answered, "This question comes from the Book of Songs, Minor Odes. The answer should be the two characters 'deer cry'." He then patiently explained the origin of the story.
Meng Zhao nodded repeatedly, thanked and praised him profusely, then wrote the answer on a piece of paper and handed it to the servant to take away.
Before long, the servant returned with two newly acquired lanterns: one a gilded revolving lantern, the other a glass palace lantern. The revolving lantern bore a riddle: "Not a single tile above, not a foothold below, a gourd hanging from his waist, he is a hermaphrodite."
Meng Zhao pondered for a moment, then wrote down the answer to the riddle: the character '卜' (bu).
The riddle for the glass palace lantern was an arithmetic problem: 'One hundred steamed buns for one hundred monks; three senior monks share one bun without dispute; three junior monks share one bun. How many senior and junior monks are there?'
Seeing this arithmetic problem, Meng Zhao felt as relaxed as if he had returned to his hometown. After a little thought, he wrote down, "There are 25 senior monks and 75 junior monks."
"So fast?" Xiao Youzhi's eyes widened slightly. He took the slip of paper, did a quick calculation, and found that the answer was indeed correct. He couldn't help but be amazed.
Meng Zhao proudly raised his chin, his eyes brimming with confidence: "These kinds of questions are child's play for me."
"Child's play?" Xiao Youzhi leaned forward slightly, a hint of curiosity in his eyes. "What does this mean?"
Seeing him lean closer, Meng Zhao subconsciously leaned back, then laughed and said, "That means... this is something even a child could easily solve."
Xiao Youzhi couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing this, "You're quite arrogant."
Meng Zhao put his hands on his hips and said, "Of course. I don't understand poetry and songs, but I'm quite confident in solving these kinds of arithmetic problems."
Before he could finish speaking, three lanterns suddenly appeared in front of him with a "whoosh." One of them was the white-robed young man who had just helped Meng Zhao with her riddle. He held up a lotus lantern and said, "Madam Meng, you said earlier that you are very good at arithmetic. Can you help me find the answer to this riddle?"
Meng Zhao was naturally very willing, so the room gradually divided into factions. Some people were good at solving riddles, some were good at answering poems, and Meng Zhao was good at arithmetic problems. By the end of the night, there were at least thirty lanterns in the room.
Unfortunately, when it came to the final judging, a few students downstairs who specialized in riddles won first place. When Meng Zhao saw that the grand prize was a pure gold palace lantern, he was so envious that he cried.
However, she didn't regret it. While answering the questions, she subtly got to know quite a few of them, which was no less effective than answering the questions in silence.
As night deepened, the noise from the streets outside receded like the tide. Meng Zhao placed the lanterns and prizes he had won onto the carriage, then thanked Xiao Youzhi, saying, "Thank you for your introduction today. You introduced me to many people."
Although these people were talking to her today probably out of respect for Xiao Youzhi, she knew in her heart that in this capital city teeming with merchants, it was already a rare opportunity to become a familiar face. It would be better to meet them in the business world in the future than to be complete strangers.
Xiao Youzhi waved his hand, indicating that she didn't need to thank him.
Just as she was about to say goodbye, Xiao Youzhi gestured to the servant beside him to open a brocade box. He took out a palace lantern from the box, which was similar in shape to the pure gold palace lantern that had been the prize earlier. However, this lantern was not only gilded all over, but its frame was also inlaid with various gemstones, which shone brightly in the moonlight.
"When I ordered the lanterns to be made earlier, I felt that the first version was not exquisite enough. So I remade this one and discarded the other one, and used it as a lucky charm." After saying this, he handed the palace lantern in his hand to Meng Zhao.
Meng Zhao suddenly took half a step back, her eyes wide open. "Xiao Youzhi, are you joking or do you really mean something else? Don't tell me you've really fallen for me."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
