The area south of the Yangtze River is even more lively than the north. Under the stone bridge, many women, accompanied by men, are releasing river lanterns. At this time, it shouldn't be a New Year or other festival, right?
Qingyan looked down at the women under the bridge, who were praying devoutly, as if the river lanterns could bring them good fortune.
"Sisi, what are those people praying for?" Qingyan was puzzled. Aren't women in Jiangnan supposed to be unable to make their own decisions and have to live their whole lives in their boudoirs?
He looked coldly at the people below. It was approaching the Qixi Festival, and these girls all hoped to win on the festival, as winning would bring them a good husband.
"The Qixi Festival in Jiangnan is even more lively. Young ladies from Jiangnan will gather here on this day to participate in competitions on their respective carriages. Many families looking for wives will pay attention to it. As the Qixi Festival approaches, there will be even more river lanterns for prayers." Su Lan explained from behind. Qing Yan was stunned. Is this really possible?
A Qixi Festival competition?!
"Sisi, may I participate?" Qingyan was eager to try, having never seen the Qixi Festival before.
"No, you're already married. This is just for unmarried women. You can just watch from the sidelines and let Suzhu participate." Apart from Suzhu, the other maids around Qingyan were from the Sticky Rod Office or the Phoenix Guard, and they could not marry freely in their lives.
"Suzhu..." Qingyan was speechless. If it were a competition of flying needles, Suzhu would definitely be number one. But if it were a competition of needlework or something similar, she could only sigh in despair.
Su Peisheng and Su Lan both wanted to cover their faces; sending Su Zhu out would definitely be embarrassing.
"Master, please spare me." Su Zhu pleaded softly. This needlework seemed to hold a grudge against her; absolutely not!
"Sulan, teach Suzhu more. There are still a few days left, she'll definitely be able to do it." Qingyan calculated the days; there were still a few days until Qixi Festival. If Suzhu could learn diligently, she would definitely learn well.
"Master, please spare me! Let Sister Sulan go in my place!" Suzhu looked at Qingyan with a face full of grievance and pleading.
Yin smiled slightly. The maids around Qingyan all had their own skills. Sulan was proficient in various needlework and medicine. She often followed Qingyan around and sometimes helped her complete some tasks assigned by Cining Palace.
Su Mo'er knew that Xiao Guai was bad at needlework, so every time she was punished, it wasn't the women's copying of Chinese scriptures, but embroidery. Even if there was only one set, Qing Yan would have a terrible headache.
"That won't do. They'll have to help me embroider the scriptures so that the palace concubines' spies can see that they're the same as the ones enshrined in Cining Palace. Otherwise, I'll be crushed!" The Empress Dowager knew that someone must have been helping her with her scriptures, making them enshrined so that the palace concubines could see them clearly.
Yin stood beside her, not participating in the bickering between the two.
If he had seen such a master and servant in his previous life, he would definitely have thought they were unruly. But after thirteen years of loneliness, he realized that such a caring master and servant relationship was what prevented betrayal.
"Master, please plead for me! Let me learn medicinal cuisine from the imperial physicians, I'll do it willingly." Yin shook his head. Like master, like servant. Seeing how unruly Xiao Guai is, I guess I'll be just like that too.
"You still have to listen to your master!" Yin smiled.
Su Zhu looked like she was about to face a terrible disaster, which made Qing Yan laugh.
"Master, please!" Su Zhu quickly knelt down. It was impossible for her to learn needlework in this lifetime.
"Fine, let's just come out and watch the fun then." Qingyan gave up.
"If you want her to participate, you must first make her a bondservant of the Han Army Banner." Yin smiled, and instantly, Suzhu stood up to express her gratitude.
Su Zhu was very happy, thankfully she wasn't from the Han Banner Army.
"Huh?!" Qingyan was dumbfounded. There were restrictions on this?
"Women of the Han people rarely go out, so with such a large gathering, families who want to find wives for their children will all be watching," Su Peisheng explained from the side.
Yin informed Su Peisheng in advance that he must investigate whether there were any special banquets in Jiangnan, and the Qixi Festival was one of them.
"This is so much fun?" Qingyan's eyes lit up. This was the best way to do it, much better than the cold and impersonal family gatherings and competitions in the north.
"Sulan, let's also prepare to hold a gathering in our courtyard during the Qixi Festival. All the maids can participate. If you win the needlework competition, I will reward you." Qingyan clapped her hands and said happily.
Su Lan quickly expressed her gratitude, but Su Zhu's expression was different; she definitely couldn't do needlework or anything like that.
Vendors have set up their stalls on both sides of the street, hoping for a good harvest today.
"Little darling, shall we go down and take a look?" Yin saw the bustling scene on the street and thought he might as well go down and take a stroll.
Qingyan shook his head, standing on the high ground looking down at the street. Lanterns hung in front of the shops and stalls, and from where they stood, it looked like a winding dragon.
"Sisi, the lanterns here are more beautiful than those in the capital. When we go there, they only use lanterns to illuminate the road. Unlike in Jiangnan, where even the lanterns are decorated with various flower patterns, and from a distance, the patterns of twelve famous flowers are set on both sides of the road."
"There must be lanterns for sale at the night market. Let's buy a few and take them home. These can just be toys, right?" Yin dotes on Qingyan. Her eyes lit up as she looked down. He would wave his hand and buy, buy, buy!
Qingyan nodded, "That's a good idea."
These twelve flower-shaped lanterns are rarely seen in the capital. In addition, the entire lantern is made of specially made silk, so that the flame will not ignite immediately when it touches the silk.
"Remember, once you've bought the peony lanterns, you must give them to Mother!" Yin whispered to Qingyan.
"Fourth Brother, let's buy a few more sets. We'll give Mother the lanterns with the twelve flowers, keep one set for myself, and keep the rest as rewards, except for the peony lanterns." Qingyan discussed with Yin. It was impossible to reward everyone at every level with silver; only the first, second, and third prizes would receive silver as a reward.
"Cheng, Sulan, go and choose, see if there's anything you like." Yin instructed, and then took Qingyan to the highest teahouse on the viewing platform, where a Pingtan performance would begin later.
She breathed a sigh of relief after entering the private room. From the moment she entered, many people's eyes were on her. Most of the other female guests in the private room were wearing hats, but she, the artist, was not wearing anything.
"Do you like it here?" The window was pushed open to the outside, revealing the canal. This was arguably the most scenic Pingtan teahouse.
"Hmm, I haven't heard of this place being famous." Qingyan inquired at several teahouses that served Pingtan (a type of storytelling and ballad singing in Suzhou dialect), but none of them had this place.
"The expenses here are very high; ordinary people, even slightly wealthy families, cannot afford it. Many of those who come to listen to Pingtan are young ladies wearing aprons. With Qixi Festival approaching, a great many women are out enjoying themselves. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)"
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