Chapter 476: Lantern Festival, First Meeting Under the Moon

But that was a lifetime ago...

That year, it was the Lantern Festival.

Twenty-four-year-old Zong Zhao has woken up from a seven-year coma and returned to Beijing for a year. However, since experiencing the pain of losing his brother, he has become more taciturn than before.

The old lady saw it and felt pain in her heart: "Zhao'er, go out and have some fun. I heard that there are a lot of lanterns during the Lantern Festival this year, all to celebrate you and the Crown Prince for solving the dance house case. You should go and see the people who are happy because of you, so that you will have the motivation to keep going."

Zong Zhao didn't want to go.

The arrogant and domineering Luo Jingfeng is eyeing them covetously, and the prince is in poor health. All his energy is put into helping His Highness defeat the Luo family, and he has no time to go out and have fun.

But mother...she was so worried that she almost cried.

Zong Zhao thought of Zong Yan again.

In the past, when his younger brother was around, he would always tease his mother and play with her, and would never let her be sad. Now that Zong Yan is gone, he has to take on this responsibility.

Zong Zhao stood up and said, "I'm going to go shopping."

The old lady burst into laughter upon hearing this. She said repeatedly, "Okay, I'll ask Butler Liu to follow you. He knows the most about the affairs of the capital, and can also tell you about the fun of the Lantern Festival."

"Um."

Zong Zhao went out and listened to the knowledgeable butler Liu, who talked about everything from customs to human affairs. However, he had no intention of listening the whole time. He just stood in the surging crowd and felt the boundless loneliness.

Not far away, the boss suddenly burst out with praise: "Girl, you are so smart. You guessed the lantern riddle correctly again! The tenth lantern is yours!"

The girl's laughter came: "Sorry for the rudeness. I only want the red lantern. I'll give you the others. I wish your business will be prosperous."

"Oh, you are so kindhearted, girl. You understand how hard it is for us. I'll give you this rabbit lamp. The red one is too plain."

"No, I just like red. It makes me happy."

"Okay, okay, girl, come to my stall again next year. I'll prepare a red rabbit lamp for you. You will definitely guess it right."

"Thank you in advance."

Zong Zhao listened to the conversation between the two and thought that the soft female voice might be that of a rich girl, but he turned around and looked.

The girl had no makeup on and wore simple clothes, with almost no jewelry on. However, her clean profile was as bright as moonlight, with a faint air of bookishness and a hint of worldly affairs.

The girl held a simple red lantern, her eyes crooked with a smile. She stood at the end of the bridge, using the lantern to illuminate the moonlight, and chanted as if no one was around: "The fire tree and silver flowers are together, the iron lock of the star bridge is opened. The dark dust follows the horse, and the bright moon follows the person... It really fits the scene."

The maid's rude voice came from a distance: "Miss, why are you wandering around again? If you get lost, the lady will punish us again. You don't care if you get scolded, right?"

The girl said "oh" and quickly ran down the bridge, still apologizing: "I'm coming, I'm not far away, sorry, sorry, I made you worry."

The maid was still scolding her: "If you run around like this again, I will tell Madam not to take you out. What is that in your hand? It's so ugly, throw it away..."

The red lantern was thrown on the ground and kicked away by passers-by. In just a few moments, it became dirty.

Zong Zhao walked over, squatted down and picked up the lantern.

Very simple.

There is not even a pattern.

Steward Liu asked at the right moment, "Young Lord, do you want a lantern? This one is a little dirty. I'll buy you a new one. I have one that's exactly the same."

"No."

Zong Zhao patted the red lantern gently, as if trying to shake off the dust on it. Butler Liu quickly handed him a handkerchief and motioned for him to use it to wipe it clean.

The dirty lantern was wiped clean, simple and simple.

He was brought back home by Zong Zhaoti.

The old lady quickly noticed something unusual and asked Butler Liu what had happened. Soon her eyes lit up and she asked him to quickly check the identity of the girl. Butler Liu then realized that it seemed that the lantern was not what the young marquis was interested in!

The news they found was not good. Steward Liu said with regret, "Madam, that girl is the eldest daughter of Minister Xu. Her name is Xu Wan. She is eighteen years old this year. She has just been engaged to Chen Yunyu, the eldest son of the Duke of Jin. She will be married on the eighth day of next month."

"Ah?" The old lady felt like the sky was falling.

My eldest son has never been married. He finally met a girl he likes, but she has already promised to marry him. This... this...

The old marquis warned housekeeper Liu: "Don't mention this to Zhao'er. Maybe he doesn't think anything about it and just likes the red lantern."

The old lady thought so too, but the moment she raised her head, she saw Zong Zhao at the door. He looked normal and his emotions were unclear.

She said in a panic, "Zhao'er, why are you here? Do you have something to talk to us about?"

Zong Zhao replied, "His Highness asked me to go to the City Patrol Office to do some work. I won't be back for a while, so I came to let you know."

The old lady said quickly: "Oh, OK, go ahead, we are watching over you at home."

Zong Zhao nodded at them, turned around and left.

The old lady swallowed her saliva and asked the old marquis, "Zhao'er, he probably didn't hear it, right?"

Old Marquis: "...I think he heard it."

The old lady was worried and asked, "What should we do? The Xu family's daughter hasn't married yet, so why don't we go and force her to marry?"

The old marquis twitched his lips and said, "We are a marquisate after all, not a gang of bandits. Why would we snatch a marriage? Besides, Zhao'er didn't even react. You must have guessed wrong before. How could he fall in love with a girl at first sight?"

"I...I just have this feeling..." The old lady was also unsure.

On the eighth day of February, Zong Zhao was still in the City Patrol Office.

The wedding of the eldest son of the Duke of Jin was celebrated with great fanfare; even many people from the City Patrol Office attended the wedding.

After the commander of the patrol department finished talking to Zong Zhao about business, he changed the topic and talked about the most prominent groom in the capital today: "That Chen Yunyu, he has a good family background, good character and good academic performance. He has become a fourth-rank official at a young age. Many girls in the capital want to marry him. I heard that he is too picky and has never found a girl he likes. It was not until the plum blossom viewing banquet held in his mansion a few years ago that the picky young master Chen fell in love with the bride at first sight. But I heard that the girl from the Xu family is not a beauty that can captivate the whole city. I don’t know if the rumor of love at first sight is false."

They don't understand.

But only Zong Zhao knew that it was not fake.

The girl holding a lantern under the moon, even though she doesn't have a beauty that could sweep a city off her feet, has a gentleness that can soothe people's hearts and make people unable to help themselves.

It’s just a pity...she married someone else.

The man she is going to marry is also very good.

Zong Zhao thought.

That's fine, as long as she can be happy.

The wine jug on the table gradually became empty, and the bright and gentle crescent moon was slowly covered by dark clouds.