Chapter 63, first published on Jinjiang Literature City, Chapter 63 (1st update) Lanterns...
A painted boat sat quietly in the middle of the lake, not moving an inch despite being called a lake tour.
The pleasure boat also had a small kitchen where you could cook rice over a fire, and soon the aroma of fish soup wafted out of the boat.
It wasn't made by Aji, nor by Xuanniang Qingguo. On the deck, only Chaolu was guarding a small pot, which was bubbling away.
Ruan Yu woke up and heard the noise. She wrinkled her nose and quietly opened a window to look out.
Chaolu sat on a small stool, completely absorbed in cooking fish. His forearm was wrapped up, revealing his lean muscles.
He seemed oblivious, completely absorbed in his work, a large man sitting on a small stool, making the pot in front of him look even smaller.
The scene was somewhat incongruous, yet it made Ruan Yu's lips curl into a smile.
Chao Lu sensed something and glanced at her, and Ruan Yu immediately shrank back.
Chao Lu paused for a moment, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes.
He got up and went around to the inside from the outside.
"You're up?"
Ruan Yu hid under the covers without saying a word, so Chao Lu stepped forward and hugged her and the covers together.
"you!"
Ruan Yu popped out suddenly, her hair all messy, and laughed out loud at Lu: "Little turtle."
Ruan Yu: "..."
She didn't want to talk about what happened two hours ago. Now, she deliberately put on a stern face and got up: "Is the fish soup ready? I'm hungry."
Chao Lu tidied the stray hairs from her forehead: "Alright, my dear. Eat less first, we still need to go into the city later."
"Of course I know that." She knew that Chaolu's cooking skills weren't very good, so she would just eat a little and buy more at the market later!
But to Ruan Yu's surprise, she was slightly taken aback when she took her first sip of the fish soup.
Chao Lu looked at the man and asked, "How is it?"
Ruan Yu looked down in surprise, "Did you really make this? Not Afu or Xuan Niang?"
"Why don't you just ask them?"
Ruan Yuqi was puzzled: "Why would you...?"
She can cook fish, and her fishing skills are also excellent.
Chaolu seemed to know what she was going to ask, and smiled: "You've been to a lot of places during those years. The grasslands aren't just deserts. It's perfectly normal to catch a few fish in the river when you're hungry. As for fishing, it's mainly because you're not strong enough."
"What does this have to do with strength?"
Chao Lu: "You're not strong enough, so you might not even realize it yourself. Your arm's endurance is insufficient, and the fishing rod will sway slightly. But fish aren't stupid. Of course, the one that doesn't move looks safer than a slightly swaying bait."
"So I took your bait...?" This was the first time Ruan Yu had heard this theory, but upon reflection, it didn't seem entirely unreasonable...
The fish soup in Chaolu had a sour taste, I don't know what it was made of, but it tasted much better than the regular kind. I was only going to try it, but I ended up drinking a whole bowl by accident.
By the time you realize it, it's too late.
Chao Lu looked at the person and smiled faintly.
"It's okay, you can bring back whatever you want to eat later."
That's true.
Ruan Yu got up, and the two prepared to set off.
...
As they entered the city, the lanterns were gradually lit up, and the streets were filled with people. The carriage stopped at the outskirts of the city, and Chao Lu led Ruan Yu out of the carriage and onto the road.
I'm going to take my time browsing.
There were already many vendors hawking their wares right from the city gate, selling all sorts of things: lanterns, snacks, fireworks, and more...
Chaolu suddenly saw a lock shop and paused in surprise.
"Love locks for sale! The Magpie Bridge outside Lingzhou City is incredibly effective! Come and take a look, sir!"
Why are there bridges outside Lingzhou too?
Chao Lu was somewhat puzzled.
"What are you looking at?" Ruan Yu asked curiously, following her gaze.
When she heard about love locks, she laughed: "You don't actually want to buy this, do you? It's all a scam!"
Chao Lu was stunned for a moment: "A lie?"
"Yes, it's almost everywhere. That's considered mild. It's even more rampant near the Temple of the Matchmaker and the City God Temple. They also have things like red ropes, and the excuses are all the same."
Chao Lu's gaze turned strange.
"So, it didn't work?"
"More or less, you don't actually believe that, do you?"
Chao Lu pursed his lips. "No."
"That's good. Don't buy them. They're all brass locks; they'll rust. Let's go!"
Chaolu remembered the pair of copper locks he had carefully kept and remained silent.
Ruan Yu was good at picking things out. Along the way, she found many attractive, delicious, and inexpensive stalls. She was also good at bargaining and could get a significant discount from any price quoted by the vendors, leaving Afu and Chaolu dumbfounded.
Afu suddenly looked at the Fourth Prince with sympathy.
After this, when it comes to managing the money... we still need to find Si Ke Dun...
Chao Lu pondered for a while and came to a conclusion—
This way of doing business is too convoluted.
-
Tonight there are many people, and ordinary people can go out to eat, drink, and have fun, but the government offices will have to work harder.
Patrolling and maintaining order within the city is the primary task assigned by Lord Pei.
In such situations, there are many petty thieves, many troublemakers, and a greater likelihood of fires caused by fireworks and firecrackers.
Therefore, plainclothes officials could be seen wandering among the crowd at short intervals.
Pei Du himself also went to the Moon Gazing Tower.
"My lord, the guards have been arranged for tonight, so there should be no major problems," Liu Yun reported.
Pei Du stood on the top floor, looking at the bustling scene of Lingzhou City, and hummed in agreement.
Liu Yun hesitated for a moment: "My lord, would you like to go to the market for a stroll?"
Pei Du paused for a moment, then said, "I'm not going."
None of these thousands of lights belong to him; he can't fit into the hustle and bustle.
suddenly.
Pei Du spotted a figure.
His eyes flickered slightly.
The figure moved nimbly through the crowd like a little rabbit. She walked quickly and lightly, but another figure followed closely behind her.
Not too far, not too close, yet blocking the view and figures of others, ensuring she could stroll around freely. On one occasion, when she almost tripped, the large hand behind her steadily supported her back.
Chao Lu glanced at the man, and Ruan Yu whispered, "It's nothing, I wasn't paying attention..."
Chao Lu grunted unhappily, "Shall we continue exploring here? Or shall we go see the lanterns? I've reserved the best seats up in the lantern viewing pavilion."
Ruan Yu thought for a moment, "Let's go see the lanterns."
She's already bought quite a lot of things; that's about it for her shopping trip.
Chaolu grasped her hand: "Okay."
The tall figure once again drew people in, and the two headed towards the lantern tower together.
Pei Du also withdrew his gaze.
He knew she was in Lingzhou.
He knew she was nearby when he went to the Wei residence for drinks last time.
This includes the hangover soup prepared by Xuan Niang.
But he could only access these traces.
That's all.
-
The area around the Lantern Viewing Tower was bustling. After Ruan Yu and Chao Lu sat down, they looked around and asked, "Will Third Brother and Sixth Brother be here too?"
Chao Lu shook his head: "I don't know."
He couldn't care less about his brother's affairs right now. The lantern viewing platform was crowded with people, and he was forced to stand very close to Yu Yu, holding her waist from behind.
Turing was actually here too, but not in the crowd. He was in a corner of the lantern tower, seemingly oblivious to the dazzling lights outside. He stood in the shadows, idly fiddling with something in his hand.
"If this thing is thrown down, the crowd will explode. Sixth Brother, you'd better be careful."
Bao Yin walked over with a smile and snatched the fire from his hand.
Turing casually remarked, "It would be better if it were blown up."
Bao Yin laughed: "Sixth Brother is joking. This is the Central Plains. If you want to bomb prey, you should go deep into the mountains and forests."
"How did you know I was going to bomb my prey?" Turing asked with a half-smile.
Bao Yin: "Sixth Brother is a good person, how could he possibly harm innocent people?"
Turing curled his lips into a smile: "You seem to be mocking me. Everyone knows I used to use people as live targets."
Baoyin fell silent.
"It's not your fault, Emin is already dead."
Turing squinted and stared at her for a long time.
"This is boring, I'm leaving!"
He turned to go downstairs, but Baoyin called him back again.
"Sixth Brother, it's not over yet."
Turing's deep voice rang out.
“I know that.”
...
After looking at the lanterns for a while, Ruan Yu found them somewhat boring.
There were just too many people, and the jostling made her uncomfortable. Several times, Ruan Yu stepped on Chao Lu's foot.
"let's go."
Ruan Yu said in a low voice.
"Aren't you going to watch it anymore?"
Ruan Yu shook her head. She suddenly thought that watching the moon from the painted boat was not bad either.
Chao Lu nodded: "Okay."
After leading her through the crowd and back to the outskirts of the city, the noise subsided somewhat...
Chao Lu: "It's a pity I can't take you horseback riding; the weather would be perfect for it."
Ruan Yu: "We can ride horses back to the grassland anytime, but I'm a little sleepy."
Chao Lu paused for a moment: "Tired?"
Ruan Yu nodded.
How can I not be tired?
Fishing during the day is also physically demanding, and then...
We spent so much time shopping this afternoon!
"Okay, I'll take you back to the ship."
When the two returned to the pleasure boat this time, it seemed that the servants did not follow them, and there was nothing to serve them. They had already bought enough for dinner, enough to last until tomorrow. The boat had hot water and bedding.
Ruan Yu thought she would go to sleep after washing up, but Chao Lu was making rustling noises on the deck again.
Ruan Yu looked over curiously.
He had set out two reclining chairs, surrounded by some snacks. It seemed he intended to enjoy the moon with her.
Really?
When did this person become so refined?
"Come here." Chao Lu reached out his hand to her.
Ruan Yu hesitated for a moment, then sighed to Lu: "I'm not cold just lying here. You can have my cloak too."
What a tyrant! He'll have to put in the effort of serving an ancestor.
Ruan Yu reluctantly agreed and moved over.
"Shall we go moon-gazing?"
She leaned back in the recliner, her body bundled up, but one of her feet was inexplicably exposed, barefoot, swaying back and forth like a seductive enchantress.
Chao Lu pursed his lips and didn't respond, but he grabbed her foot and stuffed it back in.
"Just look."
Ruan Yu shrank back and stopped talking to him.
Actually, the moon wasn't very beautiful tonight; there were a lot of clouds.
Ruan Yu still wanted to sleep.
but……
I don't know when it started, but some lights began to appear on the hills not far away.
Faintly visible, it is still rising.
Ruan Yu thought she was seeing things and blinked.
The lights grew higher and higher, higher and higher...
Her eyes widened even more...
"It's a Kongming lantern!"
She sat up abruptly.
The sky was filled with Kongming lanterns.
Chao Lu quickly smiled and said, "How about it? Not as bad as the Lantern Festival, right?"
No matter how many lanterns there are at the Lantern Festival, they are still confined to the small city.
What he gave was the entire sky.
The interplay of lights reflected in Ruan Yu's pupils was not glaring, but rather very soft.
One of them was very large and exceptionally dazzling.
"I made that," Chaolu said nonchalantly.
"Something was written on it for you."
Ruan Yu looked at him with surprise and emotion: "Is it for blessings? Did you write some for my mother and my brother too?"
This is how people in the Central Plains do it.
Chao Lu: "...I wrote it."
Seeing the somewhat touched look in Ruan Yu's eyes, he thought for a moment, but not about that—
The Central Plains merchant selling Kongming lanterns said that you should write things like "May you be forever united in love" and "May you have a long and happy marriage" and put them in the sky. The bigger the words, the more likely the Old Man Under the Moon will see them.
But now Chao Lu has realized what's happening.
That was just that merchant from the Central Plains trying to trick him into buying a bigger lamp.
-----------------------
Author's Note: This is my first time witnessing the treacherous nature of doing business in Chaolu, the Central Plains: Shady merchants QAQ
[Laughing and crying while covering face]
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