Chapter 33 Mid-Autumn Festival "Ah Yao, is it ready?"...
“There are more here!” Jiang Zhiyao said, shaking the small basket in her hand.
"Alright! Miss, I'm coming right now." It was Nan Zhi's voice.
Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Jiang Zhiyao plans to make osmanthus cake and mooncakes. She is picking osmanthus flowers in the garden with Nanzhi.
Several osmanthus trees, two to three meters tall, were planted in a corner of the garden. The small, pale yellow osmanthus flowers were in full bloom, emitting a rich fragrance.
Anyone who happens to walk by will be covered in its fragrance.
Jiang Zhiyao bent down to avoid the low branches and discovered several clusters of osmanthus flowers that had not yet been picked.
After a while.
"This should be enough, right?" Jiang Zhiyao looked at the baskets in her and Nanzhi's hands, which were full of osmanthus flowers.
Nan Zhi laughed and said, "That's definitely enough. The osmanthus tree will be stripped bare."
After picking the osmanthus flowers, Jiang Zhiyao and Nan Zhi went to the kitchen.
Before long, a gentle voice came from the doorway: "A-Yao?"
"I'm here." Jiang Zhiyao looked towards the door, then walked over and led Yan Zhenxi inside. "Why are you here?"
“They said you were in the kitchen, so I came to find you,” Yan Zhenxi said. He looked at the few osmanthus blossoms that had fallen into Jiang Zhiyao’s hair and couldn’t help but feel an itch to pick them off for her.
Yan Zhenxi smiled and leaned down slightly, saying, "Ayao smells of osmanthus all over."
“I just went to pick osmanthus flowers with Nanzhi,” Jiang Zhiyao said, picking up a basket of osmanthus flowers. “We picked a lot.”
"We plan to make osmanthus cake and mooncakes."
"Is there anything I can help with?" Yan Zhenxi asked.
"Do you know how to make dough?" Jiang Zhiyao asked after thinking for a moment.
"No," Yan Zhenxi shook her head, "but I can learn. Ayao, teach me."
Jiang Zhiyao pulled Yan Zhenxi to the dough-making equipment, helped him add the starch, syrup, and other ingredients in the correct proportions, and said, "The rest is up to you. Just keep kneading like this."
“Okay.” Yan Zhenxi nodded.
By noon, the osmanthus cake and mooncakes were ready.
Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Jiang Zhiyao, Ji Wanqing, and Nanzhi would always make mooncakes, so they were already very skilled at it. But this was the first time they had made osmanthus cake.
I hadn't originally planned to make osmanthus cake, but a few days ago I passed by the garden and saw those osmanthus trees with their abundant blossoms, and I thought it would be a shame not to make osmanthus cake.
"Is it good?" Jiang Zhiyao tasted an osmanthus cake and thought it was quite delicious. It was sweet but not greasy, and had a faint fragrance of osmanthus. However, she was still a little worried, so she took one and fed it to Nanzhi and asked.
"Delicious!" Nanzhi nodded repeatedly.
Before Jiang Zhiyao could say anything, Yan Zhenxi asked from the side, "Ayao, is it ready?"
"Oh, oh." Jiang Zhiyao then remembered that he was also in the kitchen. After kneading the dough, Jiang Zhiyao thought that he couldn't do anything, but Yan Zhenxi didn't want to leave, so she asked someone to bring him a stool to sit on.
Then she and Nanzhi were busy in the kitchen, and for a moment they forgot that he was there too.
Jiang Zhiyao picked up a piece of osmanthus cake with her chopsticks and walked over to Yan Zhenxi, offering it to his lips: "Try it, it's osmanthus cake."
After tasting it, Yan Zhenxi smiled and said, "It's delicious."
"That's good." Seeing that both of them said it was delicious, Jiang Zhiyao felt relieved.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, Jiang Zhiyao gave all the servants in the mansion a day off so that they could reunite with their families, so the mansion now appears somewhat deserted.
However, the entire mansion had been decorated, and there was still a festive atmosphere.
In the afternoon, Jiang Zhiyao and Yan Zhenxi played chess in the study.
Picking up a peeled pomelo from the side, Jiang Zhiyao took a bite and then frowned.
It's so sour.
These are the fruits of the pomelo tree in the mansion. After seeing the fruit, Jiang Zhiyao was eager to pick one and taste it.
The first few pomelos were alright, with a sweet and sour taste, but this one was definitely too sour.
Looking at Yan Zhenxi, who was still pondering his next move, Jiang Zhiyao asked casually, "Zhenxi, would you like to try some pomelo?"
"Okay." After hearing Yan Zhenxi agree, Jiang Zhiyao revealed a triumphant smile.
Jiang Zhiyao picked up a small petal and handed it to Yan Zhenxi, and as she wished, she saw his face wrinkled up from the sourness.
She couldn't help but laugh: "How was it?"
"It's very sour," Yan Zhenxi said seriously, then removed the plate of pomelos. "Ayao, don't eat it."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhiyao suddenly felt a little guilty. She picked up a piece of candied fruit from the side and handed it to Yan Zhenxi: "Have a piece of candied fruit."
“Okay.” Yan Zhenxi agreed, but Jiang Zhiyao didn’t see him take it for a long time. Thinking that he didn’t know where it was, Jiang Zhiyao leaned forward slightly and brought it to Yan Zhenxi’s lips.
Yan Zhenxi then accepted it and thanked Jiang Zhiyao with a smile, saying, "Ayao is so kind."
"Ahem." Jiang Zhiyao turned her head away from him. "Let's continue playing chess."
As the sun gradually sank in the west and the distant afterglow completely disappeared, a full moon replaced the sun, emitting its own glimmer of light.
After dinner, Jiang Zhiyao stayed in the courtyard, looked at the moon for a while, and then embroidered a sachet in her hand out of boredom.
Besides using some to make osmanthus cakes, Jiang Zhiyao had a lot of osmanthus flowers left over from the ones she picked earlier, and she planned to use them to make a few sachets.
But she was somewhat absent-minded at the moment. In the past, she would go out to stroll through the lantern festival every Mid-Autumn Festival night in the capital.
Although the Mid-Autumn Festival lantern festival is not as large as the Lantern Festival, it is still a rare opportunity for fun.
"Never mind," Jiang Zhiyao thought, lowering her eyes as she thought about Yan Zhenxi's eyes. "It's really not a big deal if I don't go."
Nanzhi has already gone to the lantern festival; we'll hear about it when she gets back.
Yan Zhenxi could see that Jiang Zhiyao was distracted. Her embroidery was much slower than usual, and she kept glancing outside. He didn't know why, so he tentatively asked, "Ayao, it's Mid-Autumn Festival today. Is there anything else you want to do?"
"No." Jiang Zhiyao didn't want to put Yan Zhenxi in a difficult position, so she didn't say it aloud.
Yan Zhenxi thought for a while before realizing that there was a lantern festival tonight. He had never gone before, but had only heard people mention it.
"Ah Yao, want to go to the lantern festival?"
"Is that alright?" Jiang Zhiyao replied immediately, then realized that she might have revealed something, and changed her mind and said, "No, I'm not sure yet, the sachet isn't finished embroidering."
"Is Ayao worried about me?" Yan Zhenxi said softly. "Actually, I want to go, but I'm afraid of my eyes. Would it be a bit of a hassle for Ayao..."
"No, it won't be a problem," Jiang Zhiyao quickly said. "Do you want to go? I'll just hold your hand the whole time, it won't be any trouble."
"I want to go," Yan Zhenxi said. "As long as Ayao doesn't find it troublesome."
After a while, the two of them left the mansion.
Jiang Zhiyao held Yan Zhenxi's hand tightly, and said with some concern, "Don't let go, there are a lot of people, or you'll get separated."
"Okay." Yan Zhenxi held Jiang Zhiyao's hand even tighter.
The lantern festival was crowded with people, and there were many exquisite lanterns of various styles, which Jiang Zhiyao found overwhelming.
“There’s a really nice revolving lantern over there!” Jiang Zhiyao said excitedly to Yan Zhenxi. “The picture on it is from Journey to the West.”
"Do you want to buy it?" Yan Zhenxi asked, having brought a lot of silver with him when he left.
"No need," Jiang Zhiyao said. "I can't carry it all. I want to pick the prettiest lantern to take back to the mansion."
"Do you have any favorite lanterns?" Jiang Zhiyao asked. "I'll help you choose one."
Yan Zhenxi thought for a moment and smiled, "I don't have any particular favorites. Ayao can pick out two lanterns she likes to take back to the manor."
"Then I want to pick out two more very, very beautiful lanterns."
"Okay, I'll get one for Ayao."
"Oh, right!" After thinking of something, Jiang Zhiyao turned to Yan Zhenxi with a smile and said, "Let's go to the river and release the lanterns first."
“Okay.” Yan Zhenxi naturally wouldn’t refuse.
After picking out two river lanterns they liked from a stall, they walked towards the river.
There were many people by the river. Jiang Zhiyao's hand, which was holding Yan Zhenxi's, was slightly sweaty, but neither of them paid any attention to it.
Jiang Zhiyao walked along the river for a while and, seeing that there were still many people, said to Yan Zhenxi, "I know a place where there are fewer people."
Then she led Yan Zhenxi through a small alley to a slightly secluded spot, where the river was still clearly visible.
Many lanterns are now floating on the river, their lights looking especially beautiful at night.
"We've arrived. We can release the lanterns now."
Jiang Zhiyao and Yan Zhenxi had the same lotus lantern. After lighting her own lantern, Jiang Zhiyao grabbed Yan Zhenxi's hand and lit another lantern.
After placing the lantern in the river, Jiang Zhiyao clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and made a wish.
May everyone be safe and well, and may all their wishes come true.
After making her wish, Jiang Zhiyao opened her eyes and saw that Yan Zhenxi was facing her without making any movement. She asked curiously, "Aren't you going to make a wish?"
Yan Zhenxi paused for a moment and then replied, "I'll make a wish now."
He imitated Jiang Zhiyao, putting his hands together and closing his eyes.
As the scene faded from view, the image of Jiang Zhiyao making her wish flashed through my mind.
Jiang Zhiyao looked serious, her eyes closed. The lanterns floating on the river beside her flickered like stars fallen from the sky, serving as a backdrop to the person before her. No amount of beautiful scenery could compare to what she saw.
Yan Zhenxi had never made a wish before, and even when he bowed before the Buddha, he had never prayed for anything.
But at this moment he was extremely serious, silently reciting his wish in his heart—that Jiang Zhiyao may live a peaceful and joyful life year after year.
After releasing the river lanterns, Jiang Zhiyao and Yan Zhenxi continued to stroll through the lantern festival. There were many games at the festival, such as guessing lantern riddles, pitch-pot, ring toss, and drawing pictures. Jiang Zhiyao played almost every one of them.
Back at her residence, Jiang Zhiyao was so tired that she forced herself to change her clothes and wash up, but as soon as she hit the pillow, she fell into a deep sleep.
Seeing Jiang Zhiyao's dazed state, Yan Zhenxi squatted down by the bed and gently pinched her cheek.
"Hmm." Jiang Zhiyao took her hand out from under the covers and scratched her face, muttering, "Don't touch me..."
Yan Zhenxi smiled slightly as he saw her looking disturbed and called out to her, "Ayao."
"Hmm?" Jiang Zhiyao responded indistinctly, as if the sound came from her nose.
"A-Yao," Yan Zhenxi called again.
"Um?"
“A-Yao”.
"Hmm?" Jiang Zhiyao's tone was slightly impatient this time.
Yan Zhenxi laughed again and asked in a coaxing tone, "Who does Ayao like?"
"I can't say." Jiang Zhiyao frowned slightly.
"Tell me, okay? I won't tell anyone else, no one else will know." Yan Zhenxi lowered her voice and asked again, "Who does Ayao like the most?"
Perhaps the voice was too familiar, because after a few seconds, Yan Zhenxi heard Jiang Zhiyao's response: "...Yan Zhenxi, Ayao likes Yan Zhenxi the most."
Yan Zhenxi chuckled softly, his chest trembling with laughter.
"Say it again, Yao." Her tone was full of uncontrollable joy.
"I like Yan Zhenxi the most..." Her voice trailed off as Jiang Zhiyao fell completely asleep.
Yan Zhenxi stopped bothering Jiang Zhiyao and simply squatted by the bedside, tracing Jiang Zhiyao's eyebrows and eyes with his gaze over and over again.
A smile lingered on her lips, and the affection in her eyes seemed about to overflow.
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