Chapter 119 Lantern
"Sister, I want a little rabbit." Princess Jinghe, who was sitting nearby eating snacks, was attracted by the rabbit cake held by a little girl on the street.
"Xinxin, wait a minute. I'll take you shopping after we finish eating."
Princess Zhaoyang ordered the soup cake later, and now she was the only one who hadn't finished it. But the soup cake tasted so good that she was reluctant to leave any.
But Jinghe was also very well behaved. When her sister asked her to wait for a while, she sat down obediently and continued to eat her snacks.
"Sister, let's go buy some lanterns later. Let's buy a few more to take home."
Shen Xi smiled and agreed, "Okay."
After Princess Zhaoyang finished eating, they continued to walk forward, looking for a place selling lanterns. This time Shen Yuan did not go with Xie Hui, but went with Shen Xi.
Xie Hui and Zhou Zhongan followed behind, and Xie Hui looked at Zhou Zhongan's eyes.
"Are you serious? This is your first day meeting someone."
"You're still talking about me? You didn't admit at first that you liked Shen Yuan."
"Oh, but Manman is not engaged. I can like her anytime."
"Would you please stop talking and shut up?"
Xie Hui always said this before, because he was always annoyed by Zhou Zhongan. But today when he suddenly heard Zhou Zhongan say this, he suddenly felt like he had gotten revenge.
But no matter what, the two have been friends for many years, and Xie Hui still sympathizes with Zhou Zhongan.
"You should be more open-minded. I heard from Manman that the man her elder sister is engaged to is of equal status and a good person. You..."
Xie recalled that it was better to stop the loss in time to avoid more sadness in the future. Now that the engagement has been made, it is not easy to cancel it.
"I know, but what can I do?" Zhou Zhongan smiled frivolously, "Can I snatch the bride?"
In just a short while, Shen Yuan and the others had already chosen the lanterns. Xie went back to pay, but Shen Yuan stopped him.
"I will give it to you myself."
Shen Yuan insisted, and Xie Hui did not try to pay. He took the purse back and tied it around his waist again.
Shen Yuan and Shen Xi each held several lanterns in their hands, and then picked out a tiger-shaped lantern and handed it back to Xie Hui.
"If you treat me to soup cakes, I'll give you a lantern."
Xie Hui naturally accepted it with a smile, "Thank you very much."
Zhou Zhongan saw that Jinghe was holding a rabbit lantern in her hands, which made him look even more pitiful with nothing in his hands. He walked to the stall selling lanterns and bought a lotus-shaped lantern with his own money.
After buying the lights, it was already late. My family would be worried if I went back late, so we decided to go back early.
Princess Zhaoyang and Princess Jinghe were escorted back to the palace by their maids and guards, and were not with the others.
"Sister Yuanyuan, Sister Xixi, I'll come out to play with you guys next time! Xinxin, say goodbye to the sisters."
Princess Jinghe waved obediently, "Goodbye, pretty sister."
"Let us take you back."
After Princess Zhaoyang and Princess Jinghe left, Xie Hui and Zhou Zhongan sent the sisters Shen Xi and Shen Yuan home, saying they were escorting them, but in fact, to avoid suspicion, the two of them followed behind, with many maids in between.
As we walked out of Yu Street, there were fewer pedestrians on the street. When we were almost home, we were stopped in our tracks by the sudden explosion of fireworks.
"It's so beautiful." Shen Yuan took Shen Xi's hand, and the two sisters looked up at the "fire trees and silver flowers" in the night sky together.
The fireworks exploded one after another, lighting up the ground and making it disappear clearly. It took a long time before everything returned to silence.
"Third Miss." Zhou Zhongan suddenly stepped forward and called Shen Xi, holding up his lantern, "Just now I wanted to buy a rabbit lantern, but it's sold out. I wonder if I can exchange this for a rabbit one from you. My mother likes the rabbit one more."
Zhou Zhongan looked embarrassed, but Shen Xi didn't doubt him and readily agreed. She handed a rabbit lamp to Zhou Zhongan and took the lotus lamp he handed over.
After receiving the rabbit lamp, Zhou Zhongan happily shook the lamp in his hand and said, "I thank you on behalf of my mother."
Shen Xi was amused by him, "You're welcome."
After walking for about another stick of incense, they arrived at the street where the Shen family lived. This area was full of officials' residences and was very quiet. The only difference from usual was that during the New Year, there were a few festive red lanterns at the doors of each house.
"Just drop it off here. It's getting late. You guys should go back too."
Just as Xie Hui was about to speak, he heard the door of Shen's house creak open and a young man with a sullen face came out.
Shen Xu looked unhappy, "Why did you come back just now? I've been out to see it five times!"
He was talking to his younger sister, but his eyes were actually glancing at Xie Hui and Zhou Zhongan.
Shen Yuan muttered, "It's still early now, and the streets are still crowded."
The implication was that Shen Su should stop causing trouble.
Xie Hui stepped forward and gave Shen Xu a peace salute, "Xie Hui has met Brother Shen."
Zhou Zhongan also followed Xie Hui's expression and said, "Zhou Zhongan has met Brother Shen."
Although Shen Xu was very angry about the kidnapping of his sister, he still remembered the etiquette. Although he had a cold face, he returned the greetings to the two.
"Just send it here, thank you sir."
Turning back, he asked his sister, "Who bought the lantern? How much did it cost?"
Shen Yuan quickly picked up two and stuffed them into his hands, "I bought them myself! For you and your sister-in-law, let's go, let's go home."
While dragging Shen Su home, he waved his hand holding the lamp at the two of them as a farewell.
Shen Xi also bowed to the two of them, and followed Shen Yuan and Shen Su into the house.
Xie Hui reminded Zhou Zhongan unhappily, "I'm leaving. Are you planning to be a stone lion in the Shen Mansion?"
After walking back to the main street, Zhou Zhongan finally spoke with a tearful face, "Let's take a step back, can I really not snatch the bride?"
"What do you think? There are plenty of beautiful women out there. You've only just met her once, don't try to be so rude."
"What's wrong with just one look? Haven't you heard of love at first sight? She is beautiful and gentle, just like the girl in my dreams. Tell me why I am so unlucky. After all these years, I finally found a girl I like, and she is even engaged to me."
"My condolences." Xie Hui patted his friend's shoulder.
After entering the house, fearing that Shen Su would nag endlessly, Shen Yuan quickly grabbed Shen Xi and ran away, leaving Shen Su behind.
"Xixi, go back and rest first. I'm going to go find my dad."
"Okay, then I'll go back to the yard first." Shen Xi held three lanterns in her hand, one for her mother and one for her grandmother.
When Shen Yuan arrived outside the study, he saw that the candle in the study was still lit.
Except for sleeping, her father stayed in the study almost all the time.
"Are you back? Was it fun out there?"
"It was fun, and we had some soup cakes, which were really delicious. Dad, this is for you." Shen Yuan handed a bat-shaped lamp to her father.
"Oh, you still remember to bring it to dad." Shen Yun accepted it with a smile.
"Of course. I can forget anyone but you! I brought some for my mother as well. I'll take it in for her."
Shen Yuan took the lantern into the inner room. Fearing that the candle in the lantern would catch fire, Shen Yuan had to blow it out before placing the lantern on the altar.
"Mom, your daughter also bought you a lantern in the shape of a koi carp. Do you like it? And thank you. If nothing unexpected happens, he will be your future son-in-law. What do you think?
Also, today I found out that Zhou Shaoyin seems to like my sister, can you tell me what's going on... My sister is already engaged, and Zhou Shaoyin is a good man, so tell the matchmaker when you see him, don't mess around."