Every year after the third day of the Lunar New Year, Kyoto's southern district hosts a large-scale lantern festival. Merchants take advantage of this time to create many colorful lanterns for visitors to admire and purchase. In addition, various small vendors selling goods from all over the country also begin to display their stockpiled goods, thus forming the temple fair on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year.
Hongli and Hongzhou went out together; they were there to see the temple fair, not necessarily to buy anything, but just to enjoy the lively atmosphere. Neither of them had ever been out before, and seeing so many people, they couldn't sit still.
The streets were packed with people, a cacophony of noise, and a constant flow of people, with vendors calling out their wares. There were more men and women on the streets than usual throughout the year. Normally, young ladies and princesses would stay secluded in their chambers, rarely venturing out, but many others freely showed themselves in public.
With so many people in front and behind, the carriages were more suited to walking than walking. So the young ladies and gentlemen of each family simply abandoned their carriages and walked, which allowed them to better experience the lively atmosphere of the temple fair.
“Hongzhou, look! Those lanterns are quite well made, and they’re even more innovative than the ones in our manor,” Hongli said, lifting the carriage curtain and pointing to the lanterns along the road outside.
“The clothes in our manor are all custom-made by the Imperial Household Department. We just aim for them to be decent and avoid mistakes. We wouldn’t bother with all these elaborate designs,” Hongzhou said. Although he had come out with Hongli, he couldn’t stop thinking about the woman he had seen in his garden earlier that day. He learned from Madam Geng that she was the Fujin’s niece and the youngest daughter of the Duke of Xinying.
"Come on, let's get out of the carriage too," Hongli said enthusiastically. The carriage was driven by Tursuo, with two guards jogging behind. Seeing that Hongli and Hongzhou were about to get out, they immediately stopped the carriage. Tursuo ordered the two guards to stay by the carriage, while he followed Hongzhou and Hongli.
Hongli and Hongzhou, like fish just released into water, mingled seamlessly among the crowd. However, even in such a lively atmosphere, many beggars roamed the crowd. They were usually filthy, their clothes tattered and worn, their disheveled heads sticking out, slipping through the crowd like eels.
Both Hongli and Hongzhou lived in a life of luxury and had no idea that beggars existed in the world. Although they had studied with a teacher since childhood, they read the elegant texts of sages and virtuous men, which made no mention of the many beggars in the world who could not even get enough to eat.
“Hongli, I think they are all quite pitiful. Why don’t we give each of them one tael of silver?” Hongzhou was always kind-hearted and believed that everyone in the world had enough to eat.
“There’s so much here. Even if we give away all the silver we have, it won’t be enough.” Although it was the first time Hongli had seen beggars, he felt that simply giving them silver would encourage laziness and a reluctance to work, so he objected.
As the two were talking, walking into the crowd and discussing the beggars they had just met, they didn't see anyone running right into them.
"Hey!"
A man suddenly rammed into Hongzhou's chest and ran away. Hongzhou was nearly knocked off his feet by the impact, but was caught by Turso who was standing nearby.
"How do these people walk?" Hongzhou felt a tightness in his chest from the impact and frowned as he supported his guard. But the person showed no remorse whatsoever, simply rushing into the crowd and disappearing from sight.
"Hongzhou, are you alright?" Hongli quickly stepped forward and asked.
"It's alright, it's alright," Hongzhou quickly said when he saw Hongli's worry.
"Feel your body, is there anything you've lost?" Suddenly, a woman's voice came from the side.
Hongli and Hongzhou looked around and saw two women standing in front of a lantern stall, looking in their direction. The woman speaking was about twelve or thirteen years old, with a dignified and elegant appearance, and beautiful features. Although not the most strikingly beautiful, she was pleasing to the eye. Judging from her clothing, she was probably a young lady from a prominent family, and the woman standing beside her was likely her maid.
Hongzhou touched his chest and exclaimed in dismay, "Oh no, the purse in my chest is gone!"
Hongli glanced at Hongzhou in surprise, then looked at the woman and asked, "How did you know my brother's purse was missing?"
The woman smiled slightly, revealing a pair of cute little tiger teeth, and said, "Don't you know that the person who just bumped into your brother was a thief?"
Although the woman smiled kindly, she looked at Hongli and Hongzhou with an expression of disbelief, as if they were two big idiots.
"Master, this servant will go after them!" Turso said immediately when he saw his master being laughed at by a woman.
"He's already far away. You're going to chase him now? Where are you going to find him? Besides, these thieves all have accomplices. Your master's money bag has probably changed hands countless times already." The young woman still had a touch of naivety, but her tone was quite shrewd.
Hongli and Hongzhou were always arrogant, but now they were looked down upon in the street by a woman of similar age, which made them feel extremely ashamed.
"We brothers were unaware that such thieves existed in this marketplace; we were truly careless. Thank you for reminding us, young lady!" Hongli clasped his hands in a fist salute to the woman. Although only twelve years old, a mature air emanated from his childish voice in every gesture.
"Thank you. Just be careful next time," the woman said, her smile fading. Actually, she hadn't meant to mock the two men. Their attire and the guards behind them revealed them to be noblemen from prominent families, probably completely unaware that thieves existed in this world. It was just that her natural air of authority made them seem to be showing off or being sarcastic.
Seeing the woman's gentle and dignified demeanor, which suggested she came from a prominent family, Hongli couldn't help but want to ask her which family she belonged to. However, he feared that it would be too abrupt to ask her such a question so soon, so he held back.
Hongli and Hongzhou continued walking forward, followed by several guards. After pondering for a while, Hongli said to Tursuo behind him, "The woman who spoke to me just now doesn't look like a woman from an ordinary wealthy family. I noticed that the character 'jade' was embroidered on her handkerchief."
"Hongli, you've already noticed the words on that handkerchief in such a short time?" Hongzhou teased, returning the favor to Hongli who had mocked him in that pavilion earlier that day.
However, Hongli did not seem to understand the sarcasm in Hongzhou's words and continued to stare blankly in the direction where the two women had left.
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