"Xiao An'an, Wanying, I want to go shopping again. You guys go home first." Jiang Ling said to them.
Cheng An frowned and pulled her sleeve: "It's getting late, let's go shopping tomorrow."
Jiang Ling's heart softened, and he smiled and held her arm: "What? Can't bear to leave me? Don't we have to see each other tomorrow? You can't bear to leave me all night."
Cheng An blushed and turned his head away: "Who can't bear to leave you? I... I just think it's too late now. How can you do it alone?"
"Don't worry, Xiaojia and Xiaoyi are following me." Jiang Ling pointed to the guards not far behind him, indicating that he was safe.
Cheng An pondered for a moment and said, "Okay."
Wu Wanying also gave her some instructions, and the two of them left in a carriage.
Hu Hu stood on Jiang Ling's shoulder and reminded her: "Host, they have gone far away."
"Well, let's go." Jiang Ling came back to her senses, "Let's go get the lanterns."
When they returned to Ronghua Street, it was already past midnight. There were only a few people on the street, and many vendors had begun packing up their things and preparing to go home.
Jiang Ling walked to Boss Li's stall and saw only the koi lantern hanging there, while the rest had been taken away.
Boss Li recognized the girl who had just come and said with a smile, "Miss, do you still want to try it?"
Jiang Ling shook his head and said, "I can't tell. I came here to buy it."
Boss Li was stunned, then smiled and declined: "I said, today Li's lantern can be taken away as long as you can match the poem. I won't sell it for a fortune, please forgive me, young lady."
"If you really want it, you can go to Li's Linglongzhai and buy it tomorrow."
Jiang Ling smiled, "I want it today."
Boss Li felt somewhat helpless, but then he heard Jiang Ling ask him, "I wonder how much money you can get from hanging this in the store tomorrow?"
Boss Li looked at Jiang Ling's attire and realized that she was from a wealthy family, so he said, "Twenty taels."
You know, the best folk lanterns on the market now only sell for around ten taels.
Jiang Ling raised an eyebrow, and although it felt painful, she still said, "I'll give you fifty taels, boss, will you sell it to me?"
Boss Li was stunned and felt a little regretful. He should have said fifty taels earlier.
"Miss, I won't sell it for a fortune today."
Jiang Ling sighed, "Boss, there's no one else here right now, so don't insist."
When Qi Tianyang wanted to pay for it before, he refused it sternly only because there were too many people around at that time. He was known for being a man of style, taste and principles, and of course he would not damage his reputation.
She continued to persuade him, "Look, is there anyone else on this street? I'm paying fifty taels for your lantern now, which is already a very high price. If someone else buys it tomorrow, I'll only make twenty taels."
Seeing that he had relaxed slightly, Jiang Ling's eyes still shone with shrewdness, and continued, "Foolish buyers like me are rare. If you miss this opportunity, you'll never see it again. If you dare to offer a high price of fifty taels tomorrow, you'll see if the reputation you've spent all night building up is ruined."
Boss Li listened to her clear and logical words and thought about it secretly.
Indeed, it is rare to find a victim as vulnerable as this girl.
Even if he managed to make a profit selling fifty taels tomorrow, wouldn't others see him as taking advantage of the situation? Last night he was pretending to be so noble and refused to sell it for a thousand taels, but today he's asking for an exorbitant price.
So he smiled and bowed: "Miss, you are right. Then this koi lantern belongs to you."
Jiang Ling nodded, took it, and asked Luzhu to pay.
She held the rice paper in her hand and looked at it for a while, then asked the shopkeeper, "Do you have any brushes or ink? Can I borrow some?"
-
Ye Song led the horse and said to Zhou Jingan, "Sir, get on the horse."
Zhou Jing'an waved his hand and took a breath of the night air. "I've been sitting for a long time, and my body is a little stiff. It would be nice to walk around."
The master and servant walked one after the other on Ronghua Street. As the prosperity faded, a sense of loneliness grew.
Walking along Ronghua Street, crossing Wangyue Bridge, and turning onto Yangsheng Road, Zhou Jing'an looked up and saw the person sitting by the bridge.
Across the Zhiquan Bridge is the Prime Minister's Residence. Is Jiang Ling waiting for him on purpose?
Zhou Jing'an stood under a sturdy banyan tree, hiding his figure, and looked up at the figure on the bridge.
Seeing that he had no intention of going over, Ye Song led his horse into the darkness and whispered, "Miss Jiang, are you waiting for the young master?"
Zhou Jing'an was silent, thinking secretly about how to get home without her.
At this time, Jiang Ling was sitting on the bridge railing. The stone slab was very wide, and there was enough space for her to sit on it. She was holding the lantern in one hand and looking at it, and holding the stone pillar of the bridge railing with the other hand to prevent herself from falling. Her calves were still shaking, and the fish on the edge of her skirt swayed with it.
There was the sound of horse hooves stepping on the bluestone road. Jiang Ling raised her eyebrows. Zhou Jing'an is here?
He didn't come directly over because he was thinking about how to get around her.
Oh, little guy, you wish.
She felt the night breeze and found that the wind direction was just what she wanted.
Jiang Ling put on an anxious and sad look, muttering, "Why hasn't he come yet?"
Seeing her young lady's nose red from the night wind, Zizhen felt so distressed that she tried to comfort her, "Young lady, let's go back home. He might have already gone home."
Jiang Ling lowered her head silently and shook her head: "I want to give this lantern to him."
Lu Zhu was both distressed and angry. "He just praised the lantern a few words, and you gave it to him. You didn't dare to go to your house to look for it, so you can only stand on the bridge in the cold wind."
Jiang Ling bit her lip, "He should like this lantern very much, but he just can't think of how to write a poem for it, so I can't go to his house and disturb him. Just wait here for a while. If you can wait, I'll give him the lantern. If not..." She shut up at the right time.
"Miss." Lu Zhu's eyes were red with distress. "Why do you have to do this? It was the same thing in the Golden Osmanthus Garden this afternoon. You hurriedly searched half of the garden just to find a lantern that was as beautiful as the moon palace and won the laurel to give to him, but he didn't appreciate it at all. Now you are waiting here in vain, but he may not accept it..."
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