Chapter 97 Extra Chapter-Baizhou (2)
Shen Shu looked up and saw a giant cruise ship in front of her.
The ship was larger than Shen Shu had imagined, taking up almost half of the dock.
The cruise ship is decorated with carved beams and painted rafters, and is extremely luxurious. Various lanterns are hung all around the ship, and the lights are dazzling, reflecting on the river surface and making it as bright as day.
There were also various merchants on the ship, with their signs hanging at different heights between the cabins.
The shouts and calls of vendors filled the air, mingling with the rippling sound of the river, as if the bustling market of the daytime had been brought to the Mo River.
Most importantly, everyone here wears dragon fish masks; some are crying, some are laughing, and some only cover half of their faces. Many people coming and going on the boat are also wearing masks.
Le Zheng sent two smiling dragon-fish masks as a gift.
"My lord, my lady, these are the rules for boarding the Le family's pleasure boat."
As Yue Zheng spoke, he personally handed the masks to Lin Wei and Shen Shu.
Lin Wei took the mask, a slight smile playing on his lips as he glanced at Yue Zheng: "Is there any explanation?"
Le Zheng explained, "Your Excellency has come from afar. You may not know this, but my Le family's merchant ships have always sold rare and unusual items."
"Whether it is real or fake depends entirely on your eyesight. Once you buy it out, you are not responsible for anything else. In order to avoid disputes, we have concealed the true nature of everything."
"I thought that since it would be the first time the Marquis and his wife had come here, they would probably want to do some sightseeing, so I specially prepared masks in advance."
Upon hearing this, Lin Wei gently toyed with the mask in his hand: "The Yue family head has indeed considered everything thoroughly. These rules are quite interesting."
After saying that, he slowly put on the mask, and the smiling dragon-fish appearance showed a strange harmony on his cold face.
Seeing this, Shen Shu put it on as well.
Seeing that the two had put on their masks, Yue Zheng smiled slightly and gestured for them to follow: "My lord, my lady, please come with me. The lantern banquet is about to begin."
Shen Shu and Lin Wei naturally took the special passage. Coming up from here, they found themselves in an empty corridor with dragon and fish statues of various shapes and sizes on both sides. The statues were so lifelike that they seemed as if they might come to life at any moment.
At the end of the corridor was a magnificent hall. In the center of the hall, there was a large hole carved out from the bottom of the ship, leading directly to the seabed.
By this time, a large number of people had gathered in the hall. They were all wearing various dragonfish masks, chatting or admiring the surrounding decorations, creating a lively atmosphere.
Le Zheng led Shen Shu and Lin Wei to a private room on the second floor.
A little girl bumped into them.
In the rush, she only felt the little girl slip something into Shen Shu's hand.
Shen Shu subconsciously gripped the object in her hand. It was small and slightly warm, and seemed to be a mirror.
After seeing the little girl's face clearly, Yue Zheng asked, "Chi'er, what are you doing here?"
The little girl, called Chi'er, looked up, the dragon-fish mask on her face swaying gently with her movement, revealing a pair of bright eyes beneath the mask. She answered in a clear voice, "Daddy, Mommy brought me here."
Le Zheng frowned slightly: "Your mother is here?"
How did that madman get out?
Chi'er nodded vigorously, pointing to a corner of the hall: "Mother is over there. She said she has a surprise for Father."
Le Zheng's expression changed slightly, and a complex emotion flashed in his eyes, but he quickly returned to normal. He gently patted Chi'er's head and said tenderly, "Chi'er, be good. Go and stay with your mother first. Father has important matters to discuss with these two distinguished guests."
Chi'er nodded obediently and skipped and hopped towards a corner of the hall.
Le Zheng turned around and forced a smile at Shen Shu and Lin Wei: "Please excuse the rudeness of the Marquis and his wife."
Lin Wei's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile, seemingly quite interested in this unexpected interlude: "Master Yue, please don't mind. Your daughter is lively and adorable; it's nothing to worry about."
Le Zheng breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Lin Wei was not angry.
Le Zheng raised his hand to signal, leading Shen Shu and Lin Wei to sit in the private room. Soon, servants brought out exquisite tea and snacks.
The private room has an excellent location, offering a panoramic view of the entire hall through the carved window lattice.
At this moment, a faint light flickered at the bottom opening of the ship in the center of the hall, as if some strange thing was about to appear.
The surrounding crowd began to stir, craning their necks to see what was going on.
Following everyone's gaze, Yue Zheng looked towards the cave entrance and whispered to Shen Shu and Lin Wei, "The highlight of this lantern festival will begin right here at this cave entrance."
As soon as the words were spoken, a huge dragonfish lantern slowly rose from the cave entrance. The lantern was adorned with countless dazzling pearls, which emitted a soft and mysterious light under the illumination of the lamp.
The dragonfish lantern was so lifelike, with shimmering scales, that it seemed ready to take flight at any moment.
As the dragon-fish lantern slowly rose, the surrounding crowd erupted in gasps and cheers, instantly bringing the atmosphere to a climax.
Le Zheng smiled at Shen Shu and Lin Wei, his eyes full of pride: "This dragon fish lantern is the treasure of my Le family's lantern banquet. It only appears at this time of year, symbolizing good fortune and abundance year after year."
Le Zheng's smugness deepened. He clapped his hands lightly, and several more lanterns of various shapes slowly rose from the cave entrance, including lotus lanterns, phoenix lanterns, and qilin lanterns.
Each of these lamps is unique and exquisitely crafted, drawing gasps and cheers from the surrounding crowd.
Le Zheng smiled and said, "These lamps were all carefully crafted by the artisans of my Le family. Each one is a testament to their hard work. It is truly an honor for my Le family to have the honor of being graced with the presence of the Marquis and his wife today."
Looking at these exquisite lanterns, Shen Shu and Lin Wei couldn't help but secretly admire the Le family's skill and wealth.
Upon hearing this, the once bustling hall instantly fell silent, and all eyes turned to Le Zheng.
Le Zheng cleared his throat and continued, "Legend has it that the God Guangjue resides beneath this Mojiang River. During the Lantern Festival, we use exquisite lanterns as a guide to invite the deity to descend."
"Praying for a prosperous year ahead, everyone here who joins my Le family's Chamber of Commerce will surely be blessed by the God of Guangjue with thriving businesses and abundant wealth."
Le Zheng's voice was loud and solemn, echoing throughout the hall.
"good!"
Some people in the crowd cheered.
Immediately afterwards, a group of people cheered one after another: "Guangjue is blessed by the gods, and the Le family's lantern feast lives up to its name!"
Cheers rose and fell, as if they were about to lift the roof off the entire hall.
Le Zheng nodded slightly, a confident smile on his face. He raised his hands, signaling everyone to be quiet.
Once the hall had returned to calm, he slowly took out an exquisite jade pendant from his sleeve. Under the lamplight, the jade pendant emitted a warm luster.
Le Zheng held the jade pendant, muttered incantations, and then suddenly threw it into the air.
The jade pendant drew a graceful arc in the air and flew straight toward the giant dragon-fish lantern. Just before it touched the lantern, the jade pendant suddenly burst into flames, instantly igniting the entire lantern.
In an instant, the dragonfish lantern seemed to come alive, flames spreading along its body, illuminating the entire dragonfish so lifelike that it seemed ready to soar into the sky at any moment.
Le Zheng was almost burned on the eyebrows by the flames above his head, and thought to himself: This... shouldn't be happening!
Within seconds, the lamp was burned to pieces!
He quickly took a few steps back, a look of surprise flashing across his face, but he quickly regained his composure.
He forced a calm smile and said to the crowd around him, "Don't panic, everyone. This... this may be a special way for the Guangjue God to manifest, signifying that the business of my Le family and yours will flourish like this flame!"
Some people in the crowd laughed in agreement, but most looked puzzled and whispered among themselves.
In previous years, I had only heard that the dragon fish lantern would eventually float into the air and burn out like it did this year, but this is the first time.
Shen Shu and Lin Wei exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of amusement in each other's eyes.
Lin Wei raised an eyebrow slightly and whispered to Shen Shu, "This Patriarch Le is quite adaptable."
Le Zheng wiped the sweat from his forehead, raised his hand again to signal everyone to be quiet, and then said loudly, "Next is the crucial part of inviting the god. Please join me in praying so that the god Guangjue can feel our sincerity!"
"The dragonfish lantern has burned out; how can it still be used to invite gods?"
"This Guangjue God is quite good-tempered; he's not angry even in this situation and is still willing to accept prayers?"
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