Dragon Boat Festival Lantern Festival
After a happy lunch, Duanmu Huaixin went to the study to handle some business. Wen Weili took out the colorful silk threads that had been smoked with mugwort and weaved a silk ring in her hands. This has always been a custom in the family. Weaving smoked silk rings for the younger generations is not only to bless them with good health, but also to wish them a bright future.
The sun was warm at this time. Wen Weili strung the silk thread in her hands and soon made a silk ring. She put the silk ring aside and put the dried mugwort leaves into the stone mortar. She pounded, crushed and sifted out the fragments and impurities of different sizes, leaving only the clean mugwort leaves.
She added some chopped chrysanthemum petals, mint, and other herbs to the chopped mugwort leaves, grinding them finely until they were as light as fine flour. Then she added essential oils and a little honey, stirring constantly until they felt extremely sticky. She then kneaded the mixture into long sticks and placed them in a dry place to dry. Once they were thoroughly dry, she placed them in a wooden box and lit them in her room when needed.
After preparing the mugwort that she had promised to give to Duanmu Huaixin, Wen Weili clapped her hands lightly and continued to reconcile the accounts in the account book. Before the wedding, Duanmu Huaixin handed over his shops and farms to Wen Weili for management. Wen Weili herself had several shops given by her mother and father, so she decided to manage them together, although it was a bit troublesome.
However, Duanmu Huaixin in the study was not dealing with any affairs. He was drawing on paper. There were already many pieces of waste paper under his feet, but he was still not satisfied. He continued to draw one picture after another until he was satisfied with one. Then he smiled like a child who had been given candy.
While Wen Weili was not paying attention to him, Duanmu Huaixin changed his clothes and face and ran out of the palace. He knocked on the door of an elderly man's house, looked around, and sneaked in.
An afternoon passed quietly. The days were long in summer, and the sun, which usually set early, was now hanging high in the sky.
After finishing her account books, Wen Weili took a short nap. By the time she woke up, it was already time for dinner. But Wen Weili had slept so comfortably that she felt lazy in her bones. She rolled lazily in bed, thinking that a simple dinner would be better.
In the kitchen, Wen Weili took out the sweet and salty rice dumplings and heated them up. Glancing at Zhiyun who was hesitating beside her, she thought that Duanmu Huaixin was probably being naughty again.
Sure enough, Zhiyun told Wen Weili that Prince Huai had run out of the mansion in the afternoon and had not returned yet.
"You guys should share these rice dumplings." Wen Weili said. She originally thought that Duanmu Huaixin was in the mansion, so she heated up the rice dumplings for dinner. Now that this boy has not come back yet, she was afraid that he would not have dinner at home. She has never liked eating rice dumplings, so she just wanted to have some snacks.
"Yes." Zhiyun responded, but couldn't help looking at the young lady's departing back with some worry.
In the room, Wen Weili casually took down a half-read travelogue from the bookshelf, removed the bookmark, and was just about to see what other wonderful sights the traveler would encounter when a figure jumped into her room.
"Sister Wen, Sister Wen, the lantern festival is about to begin tonight." Duanmu Huaixin was like a little sparrow, jumping around Wen Weili and chirping, "I heard there will be a dragon dance performance tonight."
Wen Weili had already heard Duanmu Huaixin's footsteps. Hearing his urging, a smile appeared on her lips, "Come right away, don't be impatient."
Wen Weili tied up her long hair with a red jade hairpin, changed into a light red gauze dress, took off the jade rings and gold ornaments she had worn in the past, picked up a gauze hat, extinguished the lamp in the room, and walked out of the room slowly, "Let's go."
Duanmu Huaixin accompanied Wen Weili as they walked on the street. Today was the Dragon Boat Festival and the emperor had granted a special curfew extension. The streets of the city were all hung with lanterns of all colors and common people were willing to come out to join in the fun. Small vendors seized the opportunity to sell Dragon Boat Festival-related paper lanterns, food, clay dolls, sachets, etc. The streets were bustling with people, and the sounds of hawking and laughter were endless.
"It's so lively." Wen Weili was wearing a gauze, and the warm yellow candlelight reflected on the gauze, and the corners of her mouth could be vaguely seen raised.
Although Duanmu Huaixin couldn't see Wen Weili's expression clearly, he could hear her happiness from her tone, and he also curled up the corners of his lips.
Suddenly, a crowd surged toward the river. Duanmu Huaixin asked, "Sister Wen, there seems to be a performance on the river over there?"
"It seems so." Wen Weili saw the surging crowd and followed the flow of people. "Xinxin, hold on tight, don't get lost."
"Yeah." Duanmu Huaixin held Wen Weili's hand tightly and stayed very close to her, fearing that the crowd would separate them.
The closer they got to the river, the more people gathered. Wen Weili didn't want to squeeze in any further, so she pulled Duanmu Huaixin to stand under a tree and said, "Xinxin, let's just watch from here."
"Great," Duanmu Huaixin's eyes were fixed on the direction where the flower boat was coming from. "Sister Wen, look, the dragon is coming!"
On the vast river, a large ship loaded with flowers floated slowly. Thousands of lights were shining brightly in the ship, and the ship was decorated with carved beams and painted rafters, making it look as magnificent as the heavenly palace. A small white dragon connected by a cloth frame was standing by at the stern, and a hydrangea decorated with tassels was dancing up and down in front of the white dragon, sometimes jumping away at the tip of the dragon's nose, and sometimes passing by the dragon's body.
The little white dragon was not moved by the hydrangea and dozed off with his eyes closed. The hydrangea became bolder and actually circled around the dragon's whiskers. The little white dragon seemed not to notice it until the hydrangea was closer to his mouth. Then he suddenly opened his mouth wide and pounced on the hydrangea.
The hydrangea seemed to be a spiritual gem, fleeing in the air in a hurry. The little white dragon chased it relentlessly, staring at the gem with a pair of sharp dragon eyes, vowing to catch the gem. The dragon and the gem chased each other from the stern to the bow. It was very empty here, and the gem flew up and down, as if it would fly away in the next second.
The little white dragon was extremely anxious. Sometimes he would appear in front of Baozhu to block her, and sometimes he would stand from the side of Baozhu and try to bite her. However, Baozhu was very agile and could always escape from the dragon's mouth.
It was as if the musicians in the human world saw the scene of the white dragon chasing the pearl. With the loud sound of suona, they could not help but beat the drums. The drums beat passionately, and the gongs sounded at the right time, the sound penetrating the sky. Amid the noise of drums and gongs, the little white dragon was as powerful as a rainbow, soaring into the clouds, and it seemed that it was about to bite the pearl in the next moment, but with a clear sound of flute, the pearl slipped away from the dragon's beard.
Everyone was fascinated by the performance and kept cheering and applauding. Wen Weili was also staring at the dragon dance intently and did not notice that Duanmu Huaixin, who was originally holding her hand, had quietly disappeared.
The little white dragon seemed tired of chasing, and it gradually slowed down, letting Baozhu fly. Baozhu was wary at first, playfully brushing against the white dragon's whiskers and eyes, even resting on its horns, but the white dragon remained unmoved. Reassured, Baozhu began to playfully play around the white dragon, petting the fuzz on its tail and bumping against the white scales on its body.
Just as Baozhu was enjoying herself, the white dragon suddenly rose, its mouth brushing against Baozhu's. In an instant, the chase between dragon and pearl intensified, with the white dragon's skill becoming increasingly adept, as if he could capture Baozhu in the next second. Baozhu, however, became increasingly panicked, and when the white dragon's next bite came, she crashed into a corner of the Heavenly Palace and fell into the clouds.
As the hydrangea broke away from the bamboo pole and fell into the river, the music suddenly stopped. The crowd couldn't help but let out a huge exclamation, and they wanted to jump into the river to catch the hydrangea.
At the moment when the hydrangea was about to fall into the water, a man wearing a ghost mask with a green face and fangs flew over the river like a bird and threw the hydrangea high into the air.
The drums started beating immediately, the suona music became passionate, and the little white dragon quickly pounced on the hydrangea following the drum beats. Just when people thought that the little white dragon could bite the pearl, the masked man took advantage of the side of the boat, snatched the hydrangea from the little white dragon's mouth, and flew away.
The sound of drums gradually died down, and the faint sound of flutes began to rise. The little white dragon listlessly waved its tail in the air, and coiled up in the clouds to sleep again. However, this time, it felt a little lost.
The crowd sighed deeply. Wen Weili looked at Duanmu Huaixin, who had disappeared from her side, with a sense of disbelief in her heart.
The little white dragon was no longer sleeping soundly. Sometimes it woke up, sometimes bit its tail, and sometimes turned around in circles in vain.
Suddenly, a corner of the pearl quietly appeared from the stern of the ship. It immediately became excited, and swam to the pearl with its head and tail wagging. This time, the little white dragon no longer wanted to take the pearl for itself. It flew up and down with the pearl. The dragon and the pearl played in the heavenly palace, and they gradually went away.
The musicians on earth seemed to know that they would never see them again. With a fierce and reluctant sound of drums, gongs and suonas, the "Dragon Playing with Pearls" performance ended.
The flower boat sailed away, and the crowd on the shore cheered. They applauded the wonderful performance of the dragon dancers, the moving music of the musicians, and the bold ideas of the adapters. They sent the flower boat away with applause.
"Sister Wen, does it look good?" Duanmu Huaixin slipped back to Wen Weili's side at some point and asked casually.
"You think I can't see it?" Wen Weili said and laughed. She couldn't help but applaud Duanmu Huaixin. "A wonderful performance, a brilliant adaptation. It was your idea, wasn't it?"
"Sister Wen is so smart. That's me. Isn't it interesting?" Duanmu Huaixin asked proudly.
"Very impressive, Xinxin is great."
Wen Weili touched Duanmu Huaixin's head and praised him again and again. Duanmu Huaixin smiled contentedly, like a child who had begged for a long time and finally got his favorite thing.
Duanmu Huaixin's eyes sparkled in the bright light, brighter than the stars in the sky. As his smile spread, Wen Weili couldn't help but cover her chest. She didn't know why, but her heart was beating so fast.
"Sister Wen, come with me." Duanmu Huaixin pulled Wen Weili to a stall in the center of the gathering that was full of various lanterns. This was the evaluation area for the Dragon Boat Festival. All lanterns could be brought here to be judged by three veteran craftsmen, who would select the three best ones.
After a round of heated discussion, the elders finally selected the lantern that won first place.
This lantern is woven from gold thread, and upon it is painted a masterpiece of butterflies perched on pear blossoms. The painting is so vivid that it seems as if butterflies are actually alighting on the pear blossoms. The weaving technique is extremely exquisite, and the seemingly heavy gold thread is as light as a bamboo lantern. One can only imagine the mastery of the lantern's owner.
Inside the lantern, the already thin golden threads are intertwined without any confusion, which is actually a long-lost weaving method. When reflected on the side without pear blossoms painted on it, they are interwoven into the shape of pear blossoms, which is truly amazing.
Therefore, no matter how strange and bizarre the lanterns are at this Dragon Boat Festival, this golden wire lantern is undoubtedly the best and the king of lanterns.
The golden wire lantern was the king of lanterns this time, hanging alongside the other two lanterns. Everyone passing by the festival would see them, and no one would fail to marvel at the pear blossom lantern. Their discussion was heard from afar by Duanmu Huaixin and Wen Weili who were walking towards the stall.
Wen Weili looked up at the pear blossom lantern, and her usually calm heart seemed to have ripples as if a few small stones had fallen into it. Duanmu Huaixin raised his head and took down the golden lantern. In the envy of everyone, he held it to Wen Weili, "Li'er, happy Dragon Boat Festival."
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