Chapter 249 The Competition
Upstairs, Sheng An and the others witnessed this scene and all looked at the woman who was speaking.
The girl appeared to be about fifteen or sixteen years old, with a fair and delicate round face, and her large eyes shone brightly under the glow of countless lanterns.
She was quite tall and had a straight posture, making her stand out from the crowd.
Surrounding him were several guards dressed in uniform, each of them looking strong and powerful, exuding a murderous aura, as if they had fought on a battlefield.
Clearly, this woman comes from an extraordinary background.
Xu Jinnian and the others guessed that she might be the daughter of a military general.
Tan Zhenlin was caught off guard when a stranger appeared out of nowhere. Looking at the round-faced girl who had parted the crowd and walked in, he sized her up and boldly questioned her:
"You don't seem very good at solving riddles. What if you lose and start crying?"
Cheng Lingzhu glared at him: "Who do you think you are!"
As he spoke, he pulled out the person hiding behind him and looked at Tan Zhenlin triumphantly:
"I haven't had much formal education, so I found a helper beforehand. The one who will actually compete with you in guessing riddles is him."
The boy pulled in front of everyone by Cheng Lingzhu was thin and short, with an unusually delicate appearance, a typical boy with feminine features.
He seemed very introverted, keeping his head down the whole time and not daring to look people in the eye.
When Cheng Lingzhu introduced him to Tan Zhenlin, he only glanced at Tan Zhenlin quickly before lowering his head again without saying a word.
Tan Zhenlin did not underestimate his opponent. He looked at him carefully and agreed to the bet proposed by Cheng Lingzhu: "Okay, as long as your people win, this lantern will be yours, and there is no need for a thank-you gift."
After saying that, he whispered to Tan Qingrou beside him, "There is an even prettier lantern over there. You saw it several times when you passed by. After I finish the competition, I will win that one and give it to you."
Hearing her brother say that, Tan Qingrou had no objection: "Yes, yes, I believe my brother will definitely win!"
Tan Zhenlin chuckled, ruffled her hair, and raised an eyebrow at Cheng Lingzhu opposite him, saying, "Let's begin."
Seeing how readily he agreed, Cheng Lingzhu had a very good impression of him. She turned around and patted her helper on the shoulder: "Compete well. As long as you win this lantern, I will reward you with five hundred taels of silver!"
Cheng Qinghuan suddenly raised her head, as if she couldn't believe it.
Cheng Lingzhu assured, "I keep my word. Even if you lose, I'll still give you a hundred taels of silver. That's enough for you to take home and build a few tiled houses for your parents and help your brother get married."
Cheng Qinghuan's eyes were red, and she uttered her first words of the night: "Thank you, Miss."
He looked like a woman, and his voice was soft and delicate, making it difficult to tell whether he was male or female, which surprised those around him.
Tan Zhenlin glanced at Cheng Qinghuan again, then looked suspiciously at his neck. Seeing the barely noticeable Adam's apple, he was certain that this was not a woman dressed as a man.
The match began quickly.
Upstairs, Sheng An saw that Cheng Qinghuan was quick-witted and guessed two riddles in one go, and couldn't help but sigh, "You really can't judge a book by its cover. Zhenlin has met his match this time."
Xu Jinnian nodded: "Given Zhenlin's personality, he won't go easy on him."
Sheng An laughed and said, "I thought he would have given up the lantern just now because she was a girl."
Fang Qingzhou shook his head: "This kid is just respecting his opponent; it has nothing to do with gender."
He would agree to compete even if the person proposing the competition was a three-year-old child.
Sheng An admired Tan Zhenlin for this; he was always the most interesting of the four of them.
Downstairs, Tan Zhenlin saw through Cheng Qinghuan's abilities and dared not be careless, so he did his best to win back two games.
Cheng Qinghuan could also see his strength, and a hint of nervousness appeared on her delicate face.
Cheng Lingzhu saw this and slapped him on the back of the head:
"What are you panicking for? Think about your parents living in a dilapidated house back home, think about your bachelor brother, think about the five hundred taels of silver I promised you, what are you panicking for!"
Cheng Qinghuan's expression hardened, and she clenched her fist, saying to Cheng Lingzhu, "I will definitely win!"
Cheng Lingzhu was very satisfied with his attitude and patted his head like she was petting a puppy: "Whether I can get that lantern or not depends entirely on you."
Hearing their conversation, Tan Zhenlin on the other side couldn't help but glance at Cheng Lingzhu a few more times.
This young lady may seem spoiled and willful, but she's actually kind-hearted and impossible to dislike.
Soon, the competition reached a fever pitch, with the two exchanging blows and neither giving an inch, until they reached the final puzzle, which was also the deciding question.
In the end, Cheng Linghuan wrote down the correct answer first and won the competition.
"Hahaha, I won! I won!"
Cheng Lingzhu clapped and laughed excitedly, then bent down, picked up Cheng Qinghuan, and ran around Tan Zhenlin three times, proudly showing off her victory.
Tan Zhenlin: "..."
With such incredible energy, what did this girl eat to grow up like that?
Tan Zhenlin's lips twitched, he rolled his eyes at Cheng Lingzhu, took the lantern from the guard and handed it over: "A bet's a bet, here you go."
Cheng Lingzhu quickly put down Cheng Linghuan, who was almost thrown up from being jostled around, and stepped forward to take the lantern, admiring it with appreciative sounds: "So beautiful!"
After admiring the box, she took it from the guard and handed it directly to Tan Qingrou: "I keep my word. This is a small token of my gratitude."
The lantern was won by someone else; they were already giving her face by agreeing to the competition, so she couldn't be impolite.
Tan Qingrou didn't want it and subconsciously wanted to return it, but Tan Zhenlin spoke up, "Please accept this from Miss Tan."
Tan Qingrou always listened to her brother, so she put the gift away as soon as she heard this.
Cheng Lingzhu was very satisfied with this and found Tan Zhenlin pleasing to the eye.
This person, like myself, is a straightforward person, without the pedantry and hypocrisy of other scholars.
Unfortunately, he was an old man who had already reached adulthood, and her father wouldn't let her play with old men.
Tan Zhenlin: ? ? ?
He's only twenty-one, in the prime of his life, he's not old at all!
After Cheng Lingzhu and her group left, Tan Zhenlin went to another lantern stall and won the most beautiful lantern for Tan Qingrou.
Next, the group left the teahouse and boarded a painted boat to enjoy the moon and cruise the lake.
Just then, a magnificent pleasure boat sailed by. Sheng An glanced at it casually and was surprised to see a familiar face through the open window.
Just as she was about to remind Xu Jinnian, she saw the person sitting opposite Xu Huaining. Her expression suddenly changed, and she quickly reached out to pull down the window, her heart pounding.
How could it be her?
Seeing this, Xu Jinnian immediately noticed that Sheng An was in a bad mood and leaned over to ask with concern, "What's wrong?"
Sheng An took a deep breath, opened the window a crack again, and pointed to the luxurious pleasure boat, where only the stern was visible:
"Xu Huaining was upstairs, chatting happily with Princess Shanmin."
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