Chapter 126: Riddles: Lord Ji is quite knowledgeable.
Meng Qi and Zhang Hongan found a place to put down their burdens, and said frankly that it would be enough with just the two of them, and asked Song Jin and the others to go and have fun, as this only happens once a year.
Song Jin didn't say anything polite and took the three women away.
Tonight, the Milky Way has lost its luster over the city of Suzhou.
Song Jin pulled a few people and walked around the streets.
On the left are three children jumping rope. Two of them are swinging the rope vigorously, and the rope is whirring in the air. The rope seems to be colored, and it looks like a white halo when it is swung. No wonder it is called jumping rope. In the middle is a child jumping, which is very similar to modern rope skipping.
There is a lantern market on the right, with racks hung with colorful lanterns, and several people were immediately attracted there.
Song Jin saw that the lanterns on the shelf were made of leather, silk, and gauze, with different materials and patterns. There were old men, beauties, flowers, birds, and even a big toad mixed in.
"Let's buy a lantern." Song Jin suggested, holding a gauze carousel.
"Okay, buy one you like." Perhaps influenced by the festive atmosphere, Mrs. Chen was much more relaxed today. "When you were little, you liked lanterns and often stood under the corridor to watch them hang lanterns. It was a pity that you never held them in your hands to play with them. It would be good to make up for it now."
There was some regret in her voice, and Song Jin shuddered in her heart. She knew that Mrs. Chen was not talking about her, but she quickly calmed down and said happily, "Okay, mother, help me pick one."
Mrs. Chen chose a lantern with a lampshade covered with white gauze. The vase-shaped frame was trimmed with blue-green fabric, which looked fresh and elegant. In the vase were several blooming pink gauze peonies, which really matched Song Jin's outfit today.
"Okay, let's buy this."
Song Jin held the lamp in his hand and was about to pay when he saw Chunyun hooking a rolling lamp with his fingers. He wanted to take it off the lamp stand but didn't dare to, so he just stood there in a stalemate.
"Want this?"
When Chunyun heard Song Jin's question, she nodded hurriedly.
"Let's buy it together."
Chunyun burst into laughter.
Song Jin paid the money, grabbed the lantern, and continued to walk forward with small steps. Chunyun threw the lantern on the ground and tried to kick it, but she couldn't move it away in the crowd, so she had to pick it up again and hold it in her arms.
"There's a bridge over there. Let's go over it."
Du Juan suggested, and Song Jin followed Du Juan to the bridge. There were fruit shops along the river, and the air was filled with the aroma of candied fruit. The sound of gongs and drums came from somewhere on the other side of the river, which was so lively that Song Jin stretched his neck to look.
Climbing up the steps, Song Jin could see boats crisscrossing in the river, each with several lanterns hanging on it. A revolving lantern was turned by the boatman and various animals were running continuously. Song Jin was stunned for a moment and suddenly bumped into someone's arms. When he looked up, he saw Ji Shubai standing in front of him with a smile.
He did it on purpose.
He saw Song Jin staring at the lanterns in the river in a daze, but still walking forward, so he deliberately moved closer, without dodging or avoiding, waiting for Song Jin to fall into his arms.
"Why are you here?"
Song Jin instinctively covered his nose and asked him.
"Are you hurt again?"
Song Jin shook his head.
"Don't even look at the road when you walk."
Ji Shubai complained, but Song Jin refused: "Look at the road, why did you bump into me?"
Song Jin was the first to complain, Ji Shubai didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he turned around and looked at the others, and proposed to take Song Jin for a walk, and naturally everyone agreed. Song Jin let go of Chunyun's hand, grabbed the lantern and followed Ji Shubai.
"You're just going to take me away like this?"
Song Jin thought, this is not very low-key and not like his style.
"Why, after doing so many outrageous things, you're getting scared now?"
Song Jin smiled and said, "I'm not afraid, I'm just afraid that Master Ji will be scared."
"What am I afraid of?"
"You're afraid that I'll ruin your reputation."
"I'm only thirty years old now. How can I be wise all my life? At most, I have a reputation for one or two years. Add one or two years of confusion, and it's the same as no reputation. Besides, after meeting you, I have been confused all the time."
"Master Ji is irresponsible. It's obviously his own fault that he was not firm, but he blamed me, a weak little girl."
Ji Shubai burst into laughter, and Song Jin didn't know how many chickens he had killed.
"Lord Lu, Lord Wan, and Lord Du are waiting for me at the lantern riddle guessing area. You have seen them all before. You must come along."
"You've already kidnapped me, do you still want to abandon me now?"
"Why are you so sharp-tongued? What did you eat for breakfast?"
"Eating knife."
"Hahaha, I think you shouldn't bring this flower basket lantern. You should bring a toad lantern, which is poisonous."
The two of them walked to the lantern riddle guessing area while arguing. There were several rows of red lanterns hanging there, and a riddle was hung under each one.
Ji Shubai walked in front and used his hands to push aside the crowd to allow Song Jin to enter.
Lu Junnian and his companions had been standing under the lantern stand guessing for a while. When they saw Ji Shubai coming in, they hurriedly greeted him.
"Brother Shu Bai, you came just in time. It's hard to divide the three of us. You... Hey, isn't this Shopkeeper Lu?"
This was the first time Song Jin appeared in front of several people wearing women's clothes. Lu Junnian didn't recognize her at first, but when she called out to him, she had no choice but to come out and salute.
"My surname is Lu, my given name is Jin, and I am honored to meet you all."
"Oh, Miss Lu."
"Alas, this is not the day..."
Before Lord Wan could finish his sentence, Lu Junnian poked him with his elbow: "What do you mean by this day or that day? This is obviously the first time I've seen you."
The two of them understood it immediately, and instead of exposing it, they just laughed to themselves.
No wonder Ji Shubai hosted the banquet that day, and no wonder Ji Shubai disappeared for a while just now. It turns out that the two of them have known each other for a long time and are in love with each other.
"Master Ji, we originally wanted to split into two teams to compete in lantern riddle guessing. Since you already have a beautiful woman by your side, we can't separate them. We have to reluctantly do it. We will form a pair of three and you will form a pair of two to compete. The loser will be responsible for the banquet at Tianxiang Tower tonight. How do you think?"
"That's right, you, a Jinshi, aren't you afraid?"
Ji Shubai smiled and said, "It's up to you gentlemen."
"It's obviously what you want, hahahaha——"
Several people laughed with ill intentions, but Song Jin was not ashamed and stood there openly letting them laugh.
When Ji Shubai turned around, he saw Song Jin standing there steadily with a smile on his face. He was stunned for a moment.
When was the last time they saw each other from a distance on the street?
On a snowy day more than a year ago, Song Jin, wearing old clothes and with his face swollen like a bright red bun from being beaten, walked limping down the street, supporting Chunyun.
She was in a miserable state at that time, but she was very strong.
When it sounded again after a year, his heart tightened. Song Jin changed Qiongying's ending, and eventually changed her own ending, but only she knew the pain in it.
Song Jin was looking at Lu Junnian and the others when she suddenly found a hand hooking her fingers. She turned her head to look at Ji Shubai, who smiled at her as if asking something. Song Jin smiled back, and the hand slid towards her palm and gently held it.
"Ahem," Lu Junnian said with a sharp look, "It's almost time. We are going to compete. We are playing with real money, so no cheating. The limit is ten riddles. How about that?"
"Okay." Ji Shubai agreed and pulled Song Jin towards the lantern.
"Can you guess riddles?"
Song Jin thought about it and wondered when was the last time he guessed a riddle?
Fifteen years ago?
I can't remember, this isn't a game she plays often.
"I'm not very familiar with it. I'm afraid Master Ji will lose today."
Ji Shubai smiled softly, loosened his grip on Song Jin's hand, reached out to grab the riddle, and said as he looked at it, "Don't worry about winning or losing, just have fun. The first question is: A moonlit night in Chang'an, guess the name of a person from The Water Margin." [1]
"I know, Qin Ming."
Song Jin answered it immediately. After all, among the names related to Mingyue in the book, Qin Ming was probably the most famous one, and she had just cursed him.
"You still have some tricks up your sleeve."
"Of course, I was just hiding my strength."
Ji Shubai took the pen from the shopkeeper and wrote the answer while saying, "Okay, then whether we can win today depends on Miss Lu's ability."
"Hmph, just wait and see." Song Jin guessed the first question right away and immediately became very proud.
Ji Shubai began to read the second question: "The clothing and hats of the Jin Dynasty became ancient hills. What is the three-character name of a Han Dynasty person?"
Song Jin frowned, lowered his head slightly, and thought hard.
Jin Dynasty? Clothes turned into ancient mounds? But all the people in the Jin Dynasty were dead, so who wouldn’t turn into an ancient mound?
"Have you guessed it?"
Song Jin shook his head blankly.
"It's Sima Qian, you little fool."
Ji Shubai's shoulders were shaking with laughter. Song Jin's pride lasted only half a minute before his true colors were revealed. He looked unconvinced and asked, "Why Sima Qian?"
"What was the surname of the Jin Dynasty's royal family?"
"Si...Sima."
"So you understand now?"
Song Jin nodded dejectedly.
"Don't be upset, come and look at the next question."
He pulled Song Jin closer and took her to look at the next question.
The riddle says: It’s snowing, guess a word.
Song Jin frowned even more. Snowing? One word?
"Rain?" Song Jin asked Ji Shubai hesitantly. Ji Shubai thought for a moment and nodded.
"That's right, how did you guess it? I thought about it for a while."
Song Jin said: "When the snow falls, won't it melt? If it melts in the air, it becomes rain; if it melts on the ground, it becomes water. It's just these two words."
Ji Shubai's hand suddenly stopped writing, and he turned to look at Song Jin in astonishment: "Is that what you guessed?"
"What else?"
Ji Shubai suddenly burst into laughter and could hardly write the word properly. Song Jin became anxious.
"What are you laughing at? Don't laugh."
"I laugh at the fact that you accidentally revealed the truth, hahaha."
"What's the mistake?"
Ji Shubai then explained to her that the "了" is not "了", but should be read as "了" (sounds like "鸟"), which means to end. "下雪了" means that the lower part of the snow is ended, so there is only "雨" left. Song Jin guessed the wrong direction, but got the correct answer.
Song Jin puffed his cheeks and looked unhappy.
"I don't know how to play this, and you're still making fun of me. I won't play with you anymore."
Seeing her acting like a spoiled brat, Ji Shubai suddenly found it interesting: "I'm not making fun of you, just think of it as accompanying me, okay?"
He pulled Song Jin to look at the next question, and saw that the riddle read: There is no wind on all sides, and the north wind often blows in the middle. Guess a word.
This time Ji Shubai learned his lesson and took the initiative to guess: "I guess 'airtight on all sides' should be the character 'kou'."
Song Jin raised his chin: "I think you are right." How simple it is.
"There is always a north wind blowing in the middle..."
Song Jin remained silent. Add the character "北风" to the character "口". Let me see how you add it.
"I guess it's a garden."
"What yuan?"
Ji Shubai did not answer, but turned around and wrote the word "garden" on the riddle.
Song Jin saw it but didn't understand. However, she didn't want to show her weakness, so she didn't ask. Unexpectedly, Ji Shubai took the initiative to explain it to her.
"I heard before that this Yuan opera is sung with the tune of northern opera, so I guess that the north wind should refer to the tune of the north. Do you think I am right?"
Song Jin had no idea whether it was right or not, so he just said, "Master Ji is quite knowledgeable."
"That means I've been reading for more than 20 years."
Song Jin was suddenly amused by him. He was treating her like a child.
"Not angry anymore?"
Ji Shubai leaned forward slightly and put his face close to her. The lights on the street illuminated his face like the color of morning glow. Song Jin rested her forehead on his shoulder: "Don't be angry anymore."
"Shall we do the next question then?"
Song Jin nodded.
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