Chapter 11 Fireworks and Shadows
After we divided the whole roasted lamb into equal parts and cleaned up, it was already completely dark.
The Qujiang Lake was quiet, with a few lights lit in the waterside pavilion, creating a tranquil atmosphere.
The moon was bright in the sky and the shadows of the trees were swaying. Jin Tang stood up proudly, invited the county lady and everyone to the water's edge, and then clapped his hands twice.
Suddenly, a slight crackling sound was heard in the quiet river bay, and then everyone's eyes lit up. Brilliant fireworks ignited in the water on the shore, illuminating the water surface.
The shadows of the trees and pavilions by the river were illuminated by the light of the fireworks and reflected on the water. The water and the water were like two transparent fairyland merged together, the brilliance was awe-inspiring.
Amid the crowd's admiration, Qiandeng looked up and followed the fleeting splendor, unable to come back to his senses for a long time.
"County Lady, do you like this gift?" Jin Tang leaned close to her and asked softly.
Qiandeng turned around amidst the fireworks and nodded in thanks, "Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Jin. I've never seen fireworks as beautiful as these."
Jin Tang was very proud and wanted to show off how he had asked people to go out of town to invite fireworks craftsmen who had been passed down for seven generations from his ancestors, and how he worked with them to prepare the most gorgeous and spectacular fireworks. However, in the light of the fireworks, he looked at the outline of her face and was speechless for a moment.
Thousands of sparks bloomed in the sky one after another, bright and dim, shining brilliantly. Thousands of lights looked up at these flowers that were blooming and withering, while the men beside her were secretly looking at her who was so close to them.
The flowing light slid across her long eyelashes, spread on her beautifully curved cheeks, dripped on her lips that were slightly parted in surprise, and finally fell on the hearts of those who were staring at her, throbbing and echoing like ripples, the waves spreading, and it took a long time to stop.
At this moment when light and shadow intertwined, the brilliant light of half the night sky seemed to pour down on them, enveloping them and her in a hazy dream, unable to extricate themselves.
After the breathtaking blooming, the brilliant line of fire gradually burned towards the water surface.
It turned out that a wire rack had been set up on the water. Sparks spread and burned across the water, blooming and falling in the air. Just as all the light faded, there were two sudden explosions. Flowers on the wire rack spun and opened, highlighting the eight characters "Congratulations to the Princess of Lingling on her birthday."
Qian Deng involuntarily raised his hands and covered his slightly open lips.
Amid the exclamations of the crowd, the brilliant words gradually faded, and then colorful fireworks on the shelf burst into bloom, one after another, in a lively and prosperous manner, which was breathtaking.
At this moment, Shangluo suddenly pointed at the water surface, exclaimed, and asked, "What is that?"
Everyone looked down at the water surface he was pointing at. The fireworks were about to finish, the smoke was blown away by the night wind, and the water surface was illuminated by the firelight, transparent like crystal and gem.
And on this bright water surface, a human figure has been floating quietly, floating up and down on the water.
"Is it...someone?" Jin Tang said uncertainly, and took a step towards the shore to look again.
It turned out to be a person half-sunk and half-floating in the water, with disheveled hair, messy clothes, and a stiff body. It was obvious that he had been dead for a long time.
Shangluo screamed subconsciously. Because he was too frightened, he leaned over and fell down, about to fall into the river.
Fortunately, Ji Linyou was right next to him, and he quickly reached out his arms and grabbed his legs.
Shangluo was caught and hung upside down on the river surface, screaming and protecting his face to avoid hitting the stone foundation below the water pavilion.
Everyone gathered around and tried to pull him up.
Shangluo looked back in panic. In the last embers of the fireworks, in the dim light, the rippling water lifted up the hair on the corpse's face and swept it away. Close to the water surface, he suddenly saw the corpse's pale face.
"That's..." He widened his eyes and screamed, "It's the Princess of Gao!"
The harmonious and wonderful birthday party ended in tragedy.
Ji Linyou called a few imperial guards over, fished the body ashore, washed off the smoke and embers on the surface, and saw that it was indeed the eldest princess of Gao State.
Remembering that people from the princess's mansion were nearby in the afternoon and Xiao Fuyu had caused trouble there, Qiandeng asked Daimao to go nearby to find the female official from the princess's mansion and inform them in advance.
Although curfew had already arrived, such a major event could not be delayed, so the news was immediately passed to the relevant government offices, asking them to send runners and coroners to the scene immediately.
When the maids in Princess Gao's mansion saw Princess Gao's body, they were so frightened that they turned back tremblingly, trying to persuade Xiao Fuyu not to get close.
However, Xiao Fuyu pushed the female officials away fiercely, staggered to his mother's body, and fell to his knees with a thud. With a pale face, he raised his trembling hand to touch Princess Gao's cheek.
When her fingers touched the cold skin, she woke up from her dream, tears burst out, she opened her mouth to cry but choked, her eyes rolled back, and her body fell down.
An elderly female official behind her hurriedly supported her and repeatedly called for pills to prevent the princess from fainting.
A group of people in the princess's mansion knelt beside the princess's body and cried their hearts out. Qian Deng saw Xiao Fuyu's appearance and thought that she had lost her mother forever just like herself. Although he had always been at odds with her, he still felt sympathy for her.
She asked the ladies-in-waiting to help Xiao Fuyu to the waterside pavilion first, and then she whispered to the older lady-in-waiting in charge, "What is your name, aunt?"
The female official bowed to her and said, "I am Su Wan, the official in charge of the Princess's residence."
Qiandeng thought of Luqi, the nanny in charge of the Eastern Palace, who was assigned by the Empress Dowager to take care of the prince. Judging from Su Wan's age and demeanor, she should be of the same generation in the palace and naturally experienced.
She then asked quietly, "How did the princess fall into the water? Why is there no one to look after her?"
Su Wan wiped her tears and said, "The princess was enjoying herself at Qujiang Pond today. Feeling sleepy in the afternoon, she rested in the nearby Qichun Pavilion. Because of the nightmare she had the day before, the princess hasn't been sleeping well. She won't allow anyone near her bed, so only four or five people are stationed outside the path leading to the pavilion. The others are on the outer roads, driving away visitors to prevent anyone from disturbing the princess."
Qian Deng looked at Xiao Fuyu, who was crying beside him, and asked, "Then, the princess won't allow your princess to get close to her?"
"The princess is young and in good health, and she wasn't tired, so we accompanied her on her tour. When we arrived here and found the county lady was also here, we got carried away and... delayed for a while."
Qian Deng knew that she was talking about the scene where Xiao Fuyu came here to make trouble for her horse. She nodded and waited for her to continue.
"After leaving here, the princess was still furious, so we persuaded her to go to the pond to row a boat to relax. Unexpectedly, she hit the bridge pier halfway and the oars fell into the water. In the evening, the wind started and the waves were too big to reach the shore. None of the servants could swim, and the people nearby were cleared away by us. There was no one to call for help, and we were extremely panicked at the time..." Su Wan found it difficult to speak when she thought of the situation at that time, and she couldn't continue with the rest of the words.
Cui Fufeng said, "Now that the princess is in trouble, all the details must be investigated thoroughly. Aunt, please tell us everything truthfully."
Su Wan was helpless. She stole a glance at Xiao Fuyu over there before lowering her voice and saying, "This matter is not dignified to talk about. I hope that Cui Shaoqing and the county lord will keep it a secret. In the end, as it was getting dark, the county lord was anxious and afraid, so she ordered the ropes to be tied to the maids on the boat and pushed them into the water, and only then was the boat towed to the shore."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com