Chapter 103 The Young Master Who Eavesdropped on the Phone Ringing
He pointed to a raised platform not far away, where more exquisitely crafted lanterns were hung, and even more people were gathered to watch the spectacle.
Jiang Ling didn't want to attract attention and refused on the spot:
"Thank you for your kindness, sir, but it was just a coincidence. I am a woman of limited knowledge and skills and would not dare to make a fool of myself on stage."
However, no sooner had she finished speaking than the girl standing beside her let out a disgruntled snort, her tone laced with sarcasm:
"The shopkeeper has probably misjudged her! She just got lucky, like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse, and stumbled upon a few simple ones. What real skills could she possibly have? Is she really worth your invitation?"
"What are you saying? My sister Jiang is incredibly talented; no scholar or literary figure can compare to her," Xiao Ran retorted first.
In his heart, he would not allow anyone to slander Jiang Ling.
Unexpectedly, his words immediately attracted the attention of those around him.
Jiang Ling raised her hand to stop him.
I instinctively turned around to look. The girl was beautiful, dressed in a silk shirt, with pearl flowers in her hair, and looked like a rich young lady. She was also followed by a maid.
It turns out that the clay doll that Jiang Ling had just swapped was the gift inside the lantern that the girl had been pondering for a long time, trying to figure out the answer to the riddle.
These clay dolls were originally a pair, but one of them has already been taken by the young master of the Sheng family.
She had always admired the young master of the Sheng family, which was why she was so desperate to get this clay doll.
Seeing her beloved possession so easily taken away, she felt resentful and thus spoke out with sarcasm.
Jiang Ling didn't want to get involved in this pointless argument, but the contempt in the other person's words was too obvious.
This sparked her competitive spirit.
She stopped and looked at the girl calmly. Suddenly, she said to the old shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper, since this young lady has doubts, how about this? I'll leave you with a little riddle. If you, or any of the talented men and women here, including this young lady, can answer it immediately, I'll go up and try. If no one can answer it, I'll leave. How does that sound?"
The old shopkeeper was in a dilemma, but upon hearing this, he immediately became interested: "Oh? Please tell me, young lady!"
Jiang Ling said, "Half green, half red; half loves rain, half loves wind; half fears insects, half fears water. Guess the Chinese character."
As soon as he said this, the surroundings fell silent.
The onlookers, who had initially been watching the spectacle, began to frown and ponder, discussing the matter in hushed tones.
"Half green, half red? What is that?"
"Does it like rain and wind? Does it fear insects and water? What character does it represent?"
The girl who had made the sarcastic remark immediately shut up.
She wanted to refute it but couldn't find the words, because she had never heard of the riddle before.
The old shopkeeper stroked his goatee, racking his brains, going over the common characters in his mind again and again, but he still couldn't find one that perfectly matched.
What exactly is the character?
"Young lady, your riddle is truly ingenious. I am but a humble scholar and cannot decipher it for the time being," the old shopkeeper finally admitted with a wry smile.
Jiang Ling smiled slightly: "Then as agreed before, I will not go on stage. Thank you for your kind invitation, shopkeeper."
Without waiting for him to speak, Jiang Ling pulled Xiao Ran away.
The shopkeeper quickly fetched paper and pen, carefully copied down the riddle, and loudly proclaimed, "Gentlemen! Gentlemen, please take a look! This riddle is quite interesting. If anyone can solve it, I will gladly present them with a piece of fine Huizhou ink!"
He hung the red paper with the riddles written on it under the lantern in the middle, where the most people were.
At this moment, in a private room on the third floor of the Mulou Restaurant, Fang Shijie was watching the bustling scene below.
A waiter hurried upstairs, whispered a few words in the old manager's ear, and handed him a note.
The old steward frowned upon seeing it and then presented the note to Fang Shijie:
"Young master, a young lady came to the riddle-guessing stall downstairs and left this riddle that has stumped everyone. Would you like to take a look?"
Fang Shijie casually picked up the slip of paper and read the riddle on it: "Half green, half red; half loves rain, half loves wind; half fears insects, half fears water... Interesting. Who left this riddle?"
He asked with great interest.
He basically organized the lantern festival single-handedly, and the lantern riddle stall was also his, so naturally it received more attention.
The waiter quickly described her: "She was a young woman with a child of about ten years old. Her clothes weren't particularly expensive, but she had an extraordinary air about her and was very pretty..."
As they were talking, Fang Shijie's gaze inadvertently fell on the bustling crowd downstairs. Suddenly, the two figures who had just left the lantern riddle stall caught his attention.
A girl carrying a lotus lantern and a boy who was about half a year old.
The waiter followed his gaze and immediately pointed downstairs, saying, "Master, it's that young lady! She's the one who came up with this riddle!"
Fang Shijie looked closely and his heart skipped a beat!
It was her!
The girl singing by the river today is like celestial music!
After Jiang Ling left the riddle stall with Xiao Ran, they ran into Zhao Yin and his wife and Xiao Qi.
"Dad! Mom! Brother! Sister Jiang! We're here!" Xiao Qi waved excitedly and ran over.
As soon as he ran up, his eyes were immediately drawn to the large, bright lotus lantern in Xiao Ran's hand, and his face was full of envy: "Brother, your lantern is so big! So bright! So beautiful!"
Just now, when passing by a lantern stall, Xiao Qi took a fancy to a small gourd lantern, but it was too expensive, and Zhao Yin's wife couldn't bear to buy it for him.
Xiao Ran smiled a little shyly and told the truth: "Sister Jiang bought it for me."
That lotus lantern was indeed one of the largest and brightest at that stall.
Jiang Ling wasn't used to the lack of streetlights in ancient times, so she bought the brightest and largest lantern from that stall.
It's quite big and shiny, but it's very tiring to carry!
Jiang Ling's arms were sore after walking this far.
Seeing Xiao Qi's longing look, Jiang Ling smiled and said, "Does Xiao Qi like it? Then this is for you."
As he spoke, he handed the lotus lantern in his hand to Xiao Qi.
Xiao Qi's eyes widened in surprise, and she carefully lifted it, her little face flushed with excitement: "Thank you, Sister Jiang!"
Mr. and Mrs. Zhao expressed their gratitude repeatedly.
After chatting for a few more minutes, I learned that they had just arrived, so I decided not to keep them from having fun.
Jiang Ling and Xiao Ran walked forward with the flow of people for a while.
Without that super bright lotus lamp, the surrounding light seemed to dim instantly. The sounds of people, the aroma of food, and various lights and shadows intertwined, creating a noisy yet hazy atmosphere.
Jiang Ling was pondering where to go next when suddenly, a figure blocked her way, and a gentle, smiling voice rang out:
"Young lady, it's true what they say, we meet again."
Jiang Ling looked up at the sound and saw a young man in a brocade robe standing in front of her with a smile and an elegant demeanor.
She paused for a moment, then carefully examined the man's face by the light of the lanterns at the nearby stalls, finally recognizing him as the young man who had heard her phone ringing by the river earlier that afternoon.
He had changed into a more formal robe, which made him appear even more dignified.
"So it's you, young master." Jiang Ling nodded slightly as a greeting, her tone distant yet polite.
Xiao Ran thought it was some malicious madman and immediately stood in front of Jiang Ling.
Jiang Ling patted his shoulder, "Xiao Ran, it's alright, this is... someone I know."
It's our second meeting, so we're not exactly strangers anymore...
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