Chapter 112 Lantern Festival, the Courtesan

"The east wind blows thousands of flowers at night, and blows down stars like rain. The road is filled with fragrance from the precious horses and carved carriages. The sound

of the phoenix flute moves, the light of the jade pot turns, and the fish and dragons dance all night..." Jiang Ning silently recited this poem that has been passed down through the ages in her heart, and walked into the Lantern Festival under the feet of the emperor hand in hand with Liu Mingan.

Jinse Street can be said to be the most prosperous place in the capital. At the end of the long street is Jinse Lake. The Tianxiang Tower, which is famous in Kyoto, is built by the lake. It is a place where countless dignitaries linger.

But Liu Mingan and Jiang Ning didn't know this information. It was only after they walked to this place that they found that the lantern festival was actually circling along the lake, and there were several exquisite pleasure boats parked on the lake.

"Holding a lantern festival by the lake, aren't you afraid that someone will fall down?" Liu Ming'an looked at the crowd and couldn't help but worry.

"Hahaha... Of course someone will fall down! Falling down is fun!"

A hearty laugh came from behind. Liu Ming'an and Jiang Ning turned around and saw a man holding a seven or eight-year-old girl in his arms. He obviously heard Liu Ming'an's doubts and answered the question in a familiar manner.

"What's so good about this lantern show? I'm tired of seeing those broken lanterns. I come here every year just to watch people fall in and then be picked up like dumplings, hahaha..." The man pinched his daughter's face and said, "Nini, is daddy right?"

"Fall in! Fall in!" The delicate little girl clapped her hands and shouted, with a smile on her face.

"Well, okay, let's go over there and wait to see how many people fall in this year!"

The man ignored the strange looks from others and went to the lake with the child in his arms.

"Oh, this adult is teaching his child this way, I'm afraid he will teach a devil..." The woman on the side heard this, with a look of disdain on her face, and pulled her son to the other side, while admonishing: "You must stay away from such people in the future. People who like to make fun of others' misfortunes should not be made close friends..."

The little boy looked more than ten years old, and nodded seriously after hearing his mother's teachings.

Liu Ming'an and Jiang Ning looked at each other, and they saw smiles in each other's eyes.

"There are so many faces in a thousand people!" Liu Ming'an sighed.

"Everyone has his own ambitions, and we don't have to agree with them." Jiang Ning echoed.

But the fact is just as the man said. After they walked a few steps, they saw a man slip and fall into the lake. The people on the lakeside stretched out a long bamboo pole to him, and after he grabbed it, they dragged him to the shore.

The people on the side were not surprised. They just turned their heads and looked twice, and then did their own things.

Jiang Ning and Liu Mingan walked slowly along the lake and witnessed four drowning incidents.

The lantern festival was really dazzling when they first walked in. The lights of various shapes and colors were magnificent and dazzling, but after looking around, Jiang Ning felt that she was tired of aesthetics.

Of course, there were also activities such as guessing lantern riddles and writing couplets. There were rewards for winning, but the two did not want to attract attention, so they just looked at it.

Just when the two were not interested in eating glutinous rice balls, drums sounded from several pleasure boats on the lake, piano music rang out, and a woman's graceful singing voice came with the wind amid the sound of stringed instruments.

"She's coming! Miss Kongfang is out!"

The crowd seemed to be ignited in an instant, and they squeezed towards the lake. Liu Ming'an held Jiang Ning tightly, but he couldn't resist the combined efforts of the crowd, and the two were forced to squeeze to the lake.

Only a few "plop" and "plop" sounds were heard, and several more people fell into the lake, just like dumplings.

Liu Ming'an quickly grabbed a willow tree as thick as a bowl by the lake, stood up, and took Jiang Ning into his arms, and then he breathed a sigh of relief.

"The last time I saw this kind of scene was at a drinking party in Gujiu Town, but those people were crowding to get money. I don't know what they were crowding for?" Liu Ming'an whispered in Jiang Ning's ear.

"I can't leave now anyway, so let's take a look." Jiang Ning replied.

Jiang Ning actually didn't like such an occasion. There were people in front, back, left and right, and it was as crowded as enoki mushrooms. Fortunately, Liu Ming'an held her in his arms and separated her from the others, so she didn't feel so uncomfortable.

The two of them looked towards the lake together. On a boat at the front, there was a woman wearing a thin shirt and a gauze. She was holding a pipa in her arms, playing it gently and slowly, and the melodious and melodious singing voice continued to reach everyone's ears.

In this weather, the temperature is only a few degrees. She is dressed like this and has such a posture. Jiang Ning seems to know the identity of this woman. She

is quite professional, Jiang Ning thought.

When the song ended, there was applause from the people around. The woman slowly stood up and bowed to the people by the lake.

A jeweled woman emerged from a boat nearby and shouted to the people on the shore at the top of her voice: "Gentlemen! Today is the Lantern Festival. Miss Kongfang wants to find a handsome man to go on a boat trip with her to chat. I wonder which gentleman is willing?"

As soon as the voice fell, there were impatient shouts from all sides.

"Miss Kongfang, I have a pair of mutton-fat jade bracelets for you!"

"Miss Kongfang, I have a string of Nanqiong pearl necklaces, I hope you will accept them!"

"Miss Kongfang, my gift is a top-grade sandalwood bracelet..."

Jiang Ning and Liu Ming'an were both seeing such a grand scene for the first time, and they looked at each other in surprise.

"How can this girl be so devoted to her?" Jiang Ning focused all her attention on this.

Liu Ming'an was thinking about something else: "They are so brazen about visiting prostitutes, don't their families care?"

The pleasure boat gradually approached the shore, and the crowd squeezed towards the bow again. Liu Ming'an held on to the tree trunk tightly, which prevented him from being squeezed to the front.

Thanks to the woman's boat being parked far away from the willow tree, everyone ran over and the space around them suddenly became empty. Liu Ming'an let out a long sigh of relief, took Jiang Ning's hand and walked away from the crowd: "A Ning, there's nothing to see. Let's go eat rice dumplings."

Just as the two of them took a few steps, a fat man in front of them ran towards them in a hurry, followed by two gray-clothed servants. One of them was holding a brocade box carefully, not daring to walk fast, and the other was holding a large bouquet of flowers in his hand, shouting: "Young Master, slow down! We can catch up, we can catch up..."

"Don't, don't talk nonsense!" The fat man was panting, the flesh on his face trembling, and he threatened ferociously: "If... Kongfang's boat is boarded by others first, I will definitely, definitely kill you two!"

The two servants were frightened and quickly quickened their pace.

However, the servant holding the box only cared about his master, but didn't pay attention to his feet. He stepped on a broken wooden stick of a lantern, slipped, and fell forward uncontrollably. The box in his hand was also thrown out, hitting Liu Ming'an's head.

Jiang Ning quickly pulled Liu Ming'an behind him, raised his leg and swept the box horizontally. In the blink of an eye, the box was kicked back to the fallen servant, and the lid was knocked open, and a pile of broken jade pieces fell out.