Chapter 78 Lost
"This little girl's answer is absolutely correct! It is the umbrella! You are all from the same mansion, right? I wonder which master's daughter you are, and they are all very talented!"
The shopkeeper just praised casually, but Changbai was very alert and did not answer the shopkeeper. He just took the white elephant lantern from the shopkeeper and squeezed out with his younger brothers and sisters. Qi Heng also followed them out.
"We have guessed the lantern riddle, what else do you want to play?" Changbai asked his younger brothers and sisters.
"But we don't know what else is interesting?" Minglan replied to Changbai in distress.
"Haha~ In front of us, students from various academies are competing in pairs. One academy asks questions, and students from other academies take over. The one that answers the best gets the points, and in the end, it all depends on which academy wins. Of course, every Mid-Autumn Festival, there are always a few students who use this to become famous. Brother Changbai and Changfeng can go and watch; if the sisters want to see something more interesting, there are also lantern shows and performances in front, including dragon dances, lion dances, and acrobatics. Yes; in the past two years, releasing water lanterns has become popular in Bianjing. This is a custom that came from Jiangnan. It is said that every household in Jiangnan will release small water lanterns on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival to seek the blessing of the gods of rivers. Because every household will release water lanterns, the water lanterns will float on the water, shining like stars, and the scene is very spectacular. "Qi Heng only said that they had just arrived in Bianjing and did not know much about the fun of the Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival, so Qi Heng told them one by one.
The Sheng brothers and sisters were envious when they heard Qi Heng's detailed account.
"Then let's go and see how strong the students of each academy are, so that we can know what we are now." Chang Feng said excitedly to Chang Bai and Qi Heng.
Qi Heng smiled but said nothing. Changbai was quite tempted. They did not go to the academy to study. They studied with Mr. Zhuang all day long and had no comparison. Now they had the opportunity to see the strength of students from other academies, and Changbai did not want to miss it.
Changbai's hesitation and Changfeng's eagerness were seen by Molan. She saw that her brothers all wanted to go. "Couples? It sounds very interesting. Brothers, why don't you take us to have a look? What do you think, fifth sister and sixth sister?" Minglan had no objection, and Rulan was not opposed to it either.
A group of high-spirited young students, dressed in various academy uniforms, stood or sat, gathered together. On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the moonlight was like a silk thread, and the silver light and lights filled every corner of Wenlan Pavilion, making this gathering of young students particularly dazzling and eye-catching. When several people approached, they heard the high-sounding and grand discussions. They either quoted classics to expound their own unique insights; or wrote passionate words to express their lofty aspirations, showing the passion and ambition of young talents. Every wonderful couplet can stir up layers of ripples, attract rounds of applause and cheers, and also trigger more profound thinking and fierce debates.
Suddenly, a loud voice was heard, "The land of crouching tigers and hidden dragons is full of heroic spirit, and the horses are sharpened and the sharpness is fully revealed." Then a student answered, "When working day and night, the fragrance of books fills your ears, and you will succeed in your studies by chewing the words of English." The students cheered one after another, and your Excellency Changbai Changfeng and Qi Heng also had a raging ambition in their chests. The three of them followed the ups and downs of the students' emotions, wishing they could join in the fun, but Rulan felt bored after the initial excitement. At this moment, there were cheers from afar. Rulan stood at the railing and looked out. She could see flames and a crowd of people, which immediately aroused her curiosity.
"Xiao Liu, what do you see over there? It seems very lively there. Let's go and take a look." Rulan pulled Minglan over and pointed to the distance for her to see.
Minglan looked and said, "Is this the place for entertainment that Brother Yuanruo mentioned?"
"I'll go ask Brother Yuanruo!" Ruolan squeezed next to Qi Heng and got the answer she wanted, then ran to Changbai and said, "Second brother, I don't think it's fun here. I want to go there with Minglan and Molan." As she said that, she was afraid that Changbai would disagree, so she added, "Don't worry, brother, we won't go far, let the servant follow us." Changbai saw a man making sugar figures and some selling little girls' toys in the direction of Ruolan's finger, and thought that the three sisters were just going to the pavilion for a stroll. They were not far away and were still within his sight. With a servant following them, Changbai had nothing to worry about and agreed.
When Minglan saw Changbai nodded, Rulan came over excitedly and told her that they could go. She also pulled up Molan who was listening at the side with great interest. Molan was still confused, "Where are you pulling me to?" Rulan
smiled sweetly at her, "We are going to watch the variety show. What's the point of listening to these scholars' couplets here? It's just some empty words of heroic spirit. In the end, I don't know how many people can win. The variety show is still fun! Let's go!"
Molan was pulled by Rulan and couldn't get rid of her. "Have you told the second brother? Does the second brother agree?" Molan asked again.
"Of course I asked the second brother. He agreed. If you don't believe me, ask Xiaoliu!" Rulan vowed. Molan looked at Minglan. Minglan nodded, and Molan was relieved. The three of them went to the variety show with the help of the servants.
Rulan pulled Minglan and Molan through the bustling crowd, listening to the cheers from the crowd not far away, their eyes flashed with curiosity and desire for juggling, and their little faces flushed slightly because of excitement.
"Xiao Si, Xiao Liu, hurry up! Hurry up!" Rulan was anxious and wanted to see it quickly.
When they came to the outside of the noisy juggling performance area, they saw a person's body shooting into the air like an arrow from a bow, and actually flew up. The three Lans screamed in surprise, but he did not fall down, but turned a circle in the air, and then steadily grabbed a buckle on a rope. The three Lans were extremely surprised. In order to see more clearly what was going on, the three of them used their small and flexible bodies to squeeze in. They saw three jugglers in tight clothes quickly climbing up the wooden poles from both sides of the stage. They were agile and lightly jumped onto the ropes. As a burst of rapid and powerful drum beats sounded, the three jugglers jumped into the air one after another, turned over, caught one another, and made various shapes in the air. As they turned, jumped, or rolled, they changed their shapes.
The three Lans were also shocked by the breathtaking scene. They opened their eyes wide, opened their mouths slightly, and almost forgot to breathe. Their little hands were tightly clasped together, and their eyes were still shining with excitement and admiration.
In addition to the performances of the trapeze artist, there were other dazzling performances in the circus: light-footed flying over eaves and walls, flexible and varied rope dancing, and hilarious comic performances... Every performance made the three little girls dazzled.
...
Changbai came back to his senses from this exciting competition and remembered that he should go find his sisters. He stood on the attic and looked down. After searching for a long time, he could not see the figures of his sisters. He called Changfeng and Qiheng to come over to watch, but the three of them did not see them. Changbai acted decisively and went downstairs to look for them immediately. He searched the stalls carefully several times, but could not find any trace of them. Changbai, Changfeng and Qiheng began to panic. They decided to go back to Fanlou to see if the sisters had gone back early. If not, they would notify Sheng Hong to find someone. Unexpectedly, when they arrived at Fanlou, there was no one in the private room. Sheng Hong and Aunt Wei were also missing. Changbai guessed that they must have gone to the lantern festival. Without time to think about it, Changbai had to take the remaining servants to the street to look for the sisters, and left one person waiting here. If Sheng Hong came back, he would tell him the situation. If the sisters came back, they would leave them here and not allow them to go out again.
When Changbai and others were looking for a few Lans, they were watching a fire-breathing show. A juggler in costume was performing a fire-breathing stunt. He held a long copper tube, took a deep breath, and blew hard. The flames at the other end of the copper tube instantly gushed out, like a fire dragon tumbling in the air, radiant and attracting cheers from the audience. The three Lans clapped their hands desperately, and the firelight reflected on their tender faces, adding a bit of liveliness and loveliness to the surprise. With each jump of the flame, the same light seemed to be burning in the eyes of the little girls.
At this moment, something unexpected happened. A cluster of flames suddenly jumped out of the preset track like a wild horse that had broken free of its reins, and rushed straight towards the crowd of onlookers. The clothes of several spectators were instantly ignited. The crowd surrounding them suddenly dispersed and rushed outside, fearing that their clothes would be ignited by the sparks. The exclamations and screams intertwined together, forming a chaotic and terrifying picture. Molan, Rulan and Minglan, who were originally watching this wonderful performance with excitement, were frightened by the sudden change. The three of them were a little at a loss. The servants who did not squeeze in from the outside discovered the change and wanted to rush into the crowd to find the girls, but the panicked crowd was desperately squeezing out, and they could not reach the center area against the flow of people.
In the panic, the three Lans were dispersed by the surging flow of people.