Chapter 386 Trouble during the Lantern Festival
At this moment, Li San Niang, dressed in new clothes, with her hair tied in a new braid, holding a string of candies in her hand, and her mouth puffing out with dewdrops, was watching a performance in the amusement park.
The streets are packed with people today; it's no exaggeration to say they're shoulder to shoulder.
It was already quite late when the Li family left home. The journey from Changshoufang to the West Market usually takes at most half an hour, but today it took them more than an hour to reach the entrance of the West Market.
Before they even went inside, the Li family members dispersed according to their assigned groups.
This time, Brother Li didn't go with his father to listen to storytelling. Instead, Old Doctor Liang took the young boy from Shaoyang and went with Li's father.
Brother Li was worried that since most of his mother and the others were women with children, Brother Li Er couldn't take care of them all by himself, so he wanted them to be together.
Li Da Xiong and Li Er Xiong strolled around the West Market with their mother and the other women, while the four little ones ran off and played on their own.
At the agreed time, everyone gathered outside the mutton soup restaurant, had lunch together, and then went to find Chen Qiuniang, got the tickets that had been reserved for her in advance, and went in to watch a show full of exotic customs.
This time, what Li San Niang found most beautiful was the flying dance of the Western Region women!
It was still quite cold outside, but inside she was wearing only light, summer-like clothing, revealing her slender waist. She had bell bracelets on her wrists and ankles, and the lower half of her face was covered by a light veil. She stood barefoot on a narrow wooden swing, swinging back and forth from different heights to the beat of the drums.
Every time the two women exchanged passes, the people sitting in the stands would hold their breath, fearing that if they didn't catch her properly, the beautiful Hu woman would fall from the sky, causing a human tragedy.
Some of the more timid ones covered their eyes and dared not look.
Its main selling point is excitement and eye-catching appeal.
Li San Niang felt that since they could make a living this way, they must not make mistakes, otherwise, if they did, they could really lose their lives.
Dewdrop wasn't afraid at all. She stared wide-eyed at the Hu woman whose dress was fluttering above, watching with great interest.
By the time the performance was over, it was almost dusk, and some shops had already hung up lanterns on the street.
Although it wasn't completely dark yet, it was already getting gloomy. Each shop had at least six lanterns hanging on it, and some larger shops had more than ten lanterns hanging all over the corridor.
Not to mention, there is a tall lamp stand every thirty zhang (about 100m), and the patrolling constables have already lit eighteen lanterns with pictures painted on the outside on the lamp stands.
With layers upon layers of light, the street was illuminated, though not quite as bright as day, but not far off.
Anyway, Lu Zhu'er was watching with great interest. Li San Niang even picked her up and let her see the patterns painted on the lantern covers of the various lanterns. There were flowers, birds, fish and insects, as well as landscapes and figures, all kinds of things.
Dewdrop pointed to a lantern shaped like a koi fish: "Mother, this fish is beautiful!"
Looking at the lantern, which was predominantly gold with red accents and featured a small lotus flower attached to the tail of a koi fish, Li San Niang replied to Lu Zhu'er, "Zhu'er, this lantern is indeed beautiful. Look, there's even a lotus flower attached to the tail of the fish."
At this time, after finishing their meal at Junyoulai Restaurant, they arrived at Yunshao Courtyard, a place specializing in musical and dance performances. Princess Taiping and her entourage, who had come specifically to see the Rainbow Dance, were already waiting in the private room that Wang Shiban Niang had reserved in advance.
"Princess, try this snack. I heard it came from the Western Regions and is very sweet and delicious."
Princess Taiping looked at the small dish and said with a smile, "Isn't this butter-stuffed snail?"
"This is no ordinary cream puff. Try it, the taste is quite different from the ones in the palace."
Upon hearing this, Princess Taiping took a spoonful with a small silver spoon and put it in her mouth. As the soft cream melted in her mouth, she tasted the plum jam.
"Ah, they added plum sauce!"
Wang Shibalang nodded in agreement, and said with a proud look, "Isn't it different from what you get in the palace? It's delicious, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is indeed different; it has a unique flavor."
After chatting for a while, they heard the sound of gongs coming from the platform downstairs. The maids serving in the room opened the window, and Princess Taiping and Wang Shibalang came to the window and looked down at the platform.
While the people on the stage were still talking loudly, a male voice from the next private room exclaimed in surprise, "Hey, Little Eighteen, you're here to watch the Rainbow Dance too?"
When Wang Shibalang heard someone calling her, she looked in the direction of the sound and found that it was the young boy from the next room calling her.
"Zhang Silang, who did you come with?"
I was with Princess Taiping, after all.
As she said this, Wang Shibalang turned to the side, revealing Princess Taiping behind her.
Princess Taiping smiled slightly as she looked at the handsome young man opposite her, Zhang Zhen, the fourth son of the Zhang family. Upon seeing that it was indeed Princess Taiping, Zhang Zhen quickly bowed and greeted her, saying, "Greetings, Princess."
“Master Zhang, we are outside the palace, there’s no need for such formalities.”
Upon hearing that Princess Taiping had arrived, the five or six young men behind Zhang Silang, respecting the hierarchy between ruler and subject, quickly went to the window to pay their respects.
While the group was talking, the people on the platform downstairs finished speaking, and the musicians began to play.
The crowd then fell silent and focused on watching the music and dance performance below the stage.
A dozen or so dancers, with their hair styled in spiral buns and dressed in yellow-green dresses with long, flowing sleeves, gracefully ascended the stage.
As the music quickened, the dancers changed from lotus steps to small, quick steps, and as the music changed, the dancers' flowing sleeves were also flung out.
After the performance of the Rainbow Dance ended, everyone was still eager for more.
"I must say, this dance is truly beautiful, with graceful rhythm and light movements. It is definitely worth watching."
As soon as Princess Taiping mentioned that she would reward someone, Princess Taiping's maid, who had been standing in the corner of the room, got up and went out to take out silver from the maid standing outside the door.
Seeing this, the other women also took out their purses, wanting to reward the man.
While the props were being changed downstairs, a maid carrying a tea tray entered the private room. No one paid any attention, assuming she was just there to refill the tea.
As it happened, just as Princess Taiping was thinking about whether she should eat another one of the crispy snails with plum sauce, this person grabbed her arm from behind.
Princess Taiping was about to scream when her mouth was covered. Before anyone could react, the man chopped her neck with a chop to the neck, and she fainted.
At the same time, several people dressed as maids filed in from outside the door, and within a few breaths, the other young women in the room were all subdued.
Similarly, the boys in the next room also did not escape the clutches of the thugs.
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