It was already afternoon when we finished eating.
Jing Zhe wasn't in a hurry. He called Chen Jiannan and the others into the house and told them about his plans for the evening.
After Chen Jiannan finished listening, he felt a little sorry for Prince Yu and the others. Of all people to mess with, they had to provoke someone as skilled at playing dumb as Prince Yu himself…
If Jing Zhe had revealed his identity from the beginning, even the Crown Prince of Yu would not have dared to offend him easily. But Jing Zhe deliberately concealed his identity, which felt like luring a snake out of its hole.
They can only pray for their own good fortune—no, being targeted by Jing Zhe, praying is useless; they can only wait to cry.
Chen Jiannan was secretly pleased, especially wanting to see what expressions Manager Hu and the bald waiter would have when they saw their Juxianlou restaurant being taken away!
As they talked, evening arrived before they knew it.
As the group came downstairs, they saw that the main hall of Juxianlou was very different from the previous night. The most eye-catching thing was that the hall was covered with lanterns, and many servants were putting notes into the lanterns.
Clearly, these lanterns are for solving riddles.
However, the hall was also sparsely populated, because there was still more than an hour before the Lantern Festival poetry gathering. People in the city had already arrived at the moat outside Ruzhou City, waiting for the Lantern Festival to begin.
Jing Zhe and his group did not linger. They left Juxianlou and headed straight for the moat outside the city.
...
Speaking of this, we must mention the Lantern Festival, which is widely celebrated in Ruzhou—or more accurately, throughout Anguo.
Legend has it that every year at the beginning of spring, young ladies of marriageable age would write their wishes on paper, or some bolder girls would write their names on paper, and then place them in specially made lanterns, letting them float downstream.
On this night, single, talented men would gather by the moat, choose a lantern, light it, and look at the note inside. If they were destined to meet, the two of them would surely have a special encounter.
Legend has it that on this night, the Old Man of the Moon will watch over the men and women by the river, blessing them with a long and happy marriage, thanks to the lanterns that bring them together.
This legend has been passed down for thousands of years and has indeed brought together several famous couples. For a time, the Lantern Festival became a unique feature of the Lantern Festival in Anguo. Every year at this time, lanterns floated on the river and young men and women lined the riverbanks.
By the time we reached the city gate, it was already dark. A bright, clear moon rose from the east, and Ruzhou City seemed to be draped in a layer of silvery gauze.
The city was bustling with traffic, dotted with lights everywhere, and people came and went like a surging tide.
Each person carried a small lantern, which illuminated the winter night brightly, like tiny moving suns, adding a lot of charm to the darkness.
As Jing Zhe and his group were walking, they heard someone behind them shouting to make way, and then they saw someone carrying a sedan chair, trembling, coming to greet them.
Jing Zhe quickly pulled Zhang Xiaoyu to the side to avoid being hit by the sedan chair, and was thinking to himself, "Who is this idiot? In such a crowded environment, why does he have to ride in a sedan chair? Is he sick in the head?"
Just then, the bridal sedan chair passed by them, and a slightly rough voice came from inside.
"I've waited a whole year, and the Lantern Festival is finally here! I'm going to release a lot of lanterns today!"
"..."
Upon hearing the voice, Jing Zhe was stunned, while Zhang Xiaoyu covered her mouth and laughed, "This girl... is really interesting!"
Although the tradition of the Lantern Festival is to release lanterns, there is a rule that unmarried women can only release one lantern upstream of the moat, writing their wishes on it. If it is picked up by lovers downstream, it is considered that the Flower Goddess has acted as matchmaker, a match made in heaven, and they will surely grow old together in wealth and prosperity.
The woman in the sedan chair was thinking of putting in more lanterns. If several people found them at the same time... that would be too audacious!
So Jing Zhe pulled Zhang Xiaoyu along and followed, very curious about the woman's appearance and what would happen next.
The further you walk, the more people there are on the street, and the lights are everywhere, making them exceptionally eye-catching.
When Jing Zhe and Zhang Xiaoyu arrived at the moat, they heard several loud "booms," followed by bursts of fireworks that soared into the sky, transforming into dazzling patterns amidst the explosions. People craned their necks to look, and cheers filled the air.
Looking around, there are colorful lanterns everywhere, each vying for attention with its own unique beauty.
This sound signaled the official start of this year's Ruzhou Lantern Festival.
Jing Zhe arrived at the moat, intending to search for the figure of the fierce woman from earlier, but before he could find her, he was attracted by a sleazy-looking old man by the river.
Because each girl can only release one lantern, single men can only take one lantern. Therefore, some talented men would set their sights on the girls they admired, wait by their side, and take the lantern as soon as they released it.
This has led to some famous talented women being surrounded by a large group of talented men, who would rush up to them as soon as they put the woman down.
But that sleazy old man was quite formidable.
The old man moved nimbly, showing no signs of his age. In no time, he had picked up four or five lanterns, plucked the paper strips from the lanterns, glanced at them, then snorted coldly and threw the lanterns on the ground for people to trample on.
With his nimble movements, more and more lanterns were ruined. These were the wishes of many beautiful and affectionate young ladies. Others probably hoped that these lanterns would be picked up by a destined person, but they were ruined by this old man!
This is really infuriating! Not every young lady is like that fierce woman who prepared many lanterns. If one is taken, there are many more to come... Thinking of this, Jing Zhe inexplicably felt that these two were a perfect match!
"This old man... is quite interesting..."
Jing Zhe stroked his chin and laughed, looking like he was watching a good show.
"This old man looks like a bachelor."
"Of course! Only a bachelor would dare to collect lanterns like that!"
"Heh, even a single guy shouldn't pick things up like that!"
"But why would he collect so many lanterns? Would any girl even be interested in him?"
"At such an advanced age, I'm afraid even if he wants to, he's no longer able to."
"..."
The onlookers made jokes and comments, which eventually led to a burst of laughter.
Some girls were furious when they saw the old man take away the lanterns they had carefully prepared, but as women, they didn't dare to confront him.
Some young talents couldn't stand it and stepped forward to question him, but the old man was clearly a tough nut to crack. He not only ignored them but also picked up a wet bamboo pole and started hitting them.
The talented men, who were also going to attend the Lantern Festival Poetry Gathering later, were afraid that he would get their new clothes wet, so they all gave up.
————
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