There were many guards and palace maids patrolling the palace, and Lu Huai refused to let her down, so Qin Qi could only bury her head in his chest in embarrassment.
She was carried by Lu Huai for a long distance until they left the palace gates before he put her down.
Lu Huai frowned and remained silent.
The two walked side by side, and Qin Xi quietly reached out and took his hand.
Lu Huai gave a haughty "humph" and didn't struggle.
Qin Xi smiled, pursing her lips.
She thought they were going to return to the manor now, but she saw Lu Huai leading her in another direction.
"Where are we going?" she asked, puzzled.
Lu Huai snorted again: "I'll sell you."
Qin Qi pouted; she didn't believe it.
The two walked at a leisurely pace and soon found themselves on the main street.
Qin Xi looked at everything in front of her in amazement.
Every year on Lunar New Year's Eve and Lantern Festival, the curfew is lifted. Therefore, even though it is already late at night, the streets are still brightly lit. Every household hangs red lanterns and pastes festive couplets; there are countless stalls for guessing lantern riddles, surrounded by crowds just like the stalls selling candy figurines; vendors selling candied hawthorns wander the streets, calling out their wares, creating a lively atmosphere.
A scene of peace and tranquility.
Lu Huai took her hand and slowly walked forward, stopping in front of an old man selling sugar paintings and sugar calligraphy.
The old man looked up and saw the two men standing in front of the stall, their bodies hunched over. He asked, "Are you two esteemed guests here to buy some candy?"
“Please paint a portrait of my wife,” Lu Huai said.
Qin Xi looked up at him in surprise.
Drawing her portrait with sugar, isn't that making things difficult for her?
She was clearly overthinking it; the old man readily agreed.
Then she saw the old man use a large cooking spoon to scoop a spoonful of sugar from a sugar container and slowly draw it on the board.
I only looked up at her twice during that time.
Qin Xi was even more surprised when he finished drawing.
Because it was a sugar painting, only an outline could be drawn. Looking at the drawing on the board, it wasn't exactly a perfect resemblance, but it was about 70-80% similar. Just from the outline, one could tell it was her, and Qin Xi felt she had been judging a book by its cover.
Truly, there are many hidden masters among ordinary people.
The old man stuck the sugar painting onto a bamboo stick and handed it to Lu Huai.
Lu Huai nodded and stuffed the sugar painting into Qin Xi's hand. Then he took out a handful of loose silver and handed it to the old man: "Thank you, take the rest and buy two cups of tea."
The old man appeared very excited, bowing repeatedly and saying, "Thank you so much, sir! Thank you so much, sir!"
Lu Huai didn't say anything, but pulled her along and continued forward.
Qin Xi felt that Lu Huai seemed different from the rumored playboy, but she couldn't quite put her finger on why.
After walking about ten steps, Lu Huai suddenly reached out and snatched the sugar painting from her hand.
Qin Xi: "...?"
Lu Huai raised his eyebrows smugly: "I just asked you to hold it for me for a while, I didn't say I was going to give it to you."
"But this is a painting of me!" Qin Xi asked, puzzled.
But then someone held the sugar painting high and said in a very irritating way, "So what? You can't reach it anyway."
Qin Xi was shocked by his shamelessness and reached out to snatch it, but couldn't even touch the bamboo skewer.
She gritted her teeth and turned her head away, refusing to look at him again.
When Lu Huai saw that she was really ignoring him, he shamelessly tried to tease her again.
“Hey, don’t be angry,” he said.
Qin Xi: "Hmph!"
"Shall I take you to eat something delicious?"
"I'm not going." She pouted, and the dimples at the corners of her mouth unconsciously appeared, making her look very cute.
Lu Huai blinked his peach blossom eyes and suddenly smiled.
He reached out and poked Qin Qi's dimple: "Want to go release some lanterns?"
Qin Xi's eyes lit up.
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