Chapter 37 Jianjian's Sense of Ritual in Life
Only after she finished speaking did she realize what she had said. The next second, the boy stopped smiling and returned to his previous indifferent demeanor.
A sense of regret washed over Mu Jianjian.
She thought, if the boy kept smiling...
——
Ever since Xiao Yingzi asked Mu Jianjian to fetch meals last time, and discovered that she not only got along well with the palace maids in the dining hall, but also improved the little prince's meals, she completely entrusted this task to her.
Mu Jianjian spent her days learning to read and write and preparing meals beside the little prince.
One day, when she went to the dining hall, she found many palace maids decorating with lanterns and colorful silks. Mu Jianjian asked curiously why.
"Tomorrow is the Wancai Festival. The Emperor and Empress are hosting a grand banquet and have invited many immortals. We need to make good preparations," the palace maid said, recognizing Yaoling. She happily stepped forward to explain when she saw Yaoling asking her questions. "We've got some things to do."
"The Colorful Festival?"
“Yes, it represents a day of reunion and happiness.” Seeing the longing in Yao Ling’s eyes, the palace maid recalled the scene when Yao Ling taught her how to make cakes and shared, “You can go to the miscellaneous storeroom tonight and see if there are any extra paper, cloth and ribbons. Usually, there are quite a few left over.”
"Thank you!" Mu Jianjian said gratefully.
She thought, maybe I can decorate it properly.
——
Wancai Festival.
As the sun sets, the reflections cast on the lake only add to the shadows. Not far from the lake, the pavilions and palaces are already adorned with colorful lanterns and silks, and laughter and cheerful voices can be heard. Celestial beings descend from the sky, accompanied by their disciples or celestial children, riding various mounts resembling mythical beasts like Kunpeng, leaving trails of afterimages amidst colorful clouds and shattered jade.
In contrast, the Fairy Lake, far from the bustling palaces and pavilions, is quiet and dark, with only a candle in the pavilion in the middle of the lake indicating that someone is still there.
"I wonder where Yaoling went..." Little Shadow complained angrily when she saw the young prince still reading, "Tell me, if you're not going to come back, you're not going to come back at all, you didn't even say goodbye..."
Although the young prince didn't say anything, he could sense that the prince was unhappy today.
"What does her business have to do with us?" The boy's voice was calm and collected, but a slight crease on the corner of the book in his hand betrayed his inner thoughts.
If it were truly unrelated, you would have simply said "unrelated" instead of "what does it have to do with me"!
Little Shadow sighed inwardly. He looked at the distant, dim lights and felt even more sorry for the young prince.
Then, a series of intermittent footsteps suddenly echoed in the silent night sky.
The boy's eyelashes trembled slightly, but he didn't look up; he began to count silently in his mind.
one two three……
The footsteps grew louder. Little Shadow noticed the movement on the stone path by the lake and looked in the direction of the sound. She exclaimed in surprise, "Your Highness, it's Yaoling!"
The boy still didn't look up, his silent counting continuing unabated.
...9,999, 10,000.
As the last number fell, the woman's clear voice rang out, tinged with complaint, "Little Shadow, are you just going to stare at me like that? Aren't you going to help me carry these things? They're really heavy!"
Little Shadow took the food box and cloth bag from Mu Jianjian, scratched his head and chuckled, "I thought I was seeing things... I didn't expect you to come, I forgot, hehe..."
"Where else would I go if I didn't come here!" Mu Jianjian complained to the little shadow, then turned to the boy who was reading with his head down and smiled, "Your Highness, Happy Wancai Festival!"
The boy seemed to only then notice her, and looked up to say, "Happy Halloween."
Satisfied with the response, Mu Jianjian placed the food box on the stone table and opened it, releasing a fragrant aroma. "I made these glutinous rice balls in the kitchen; I guarantee none of you have ever tasted them before!"
She took out three porcelain bowls and placed them on the table. While serving the glutinous rice balls, she said, "I filled them with sesame filling. They are absolutely super delicious and incredibly spiral-explosive."
The boy and Xiao Yingzi were already used to Yaoling often saying things they couldn't understand. After they picked up the porcelain bowl and tasted the first "white glutinous rice ball", they were amazed.
"Delicious, delicious! Yaoling!" Little Shadow expressed her liking very directly.
The boy looked at Mu Jianjian, who was still standing, and asked, "Aren't you going to sit down and eat with us?"
“I’ll wait a bit. Fairy Lake is too empty here. We need to decorate it,” Mu Jianjian said, opening the cloth bag she had been carrying. Inside were paper flowers of different colors. “I picked them out from the junkyard today.”
She picked one up and unfolded it, revealing it to be the shape of a lotus flower. Then, she lit the wax inside with a candle and gently placed it into the lake.
As this process repeated, the cloth bag gradually deflated, and paper lanterns of different colors began to spread around the pavilion in the middle of the lake. The dim yellow light was reflected on the lake surface, finally illuminating the dark Fairy Lake.
"Since it's an important festival, we should still have some sense of ritual in our lives." After releasing all the lanterns, Mu Jianjian was very satisfied with the results of her hard work all afternoon, and finally took out a Kongming lantern.
"Want to put them together?" she asked with a smile, looking at the two people who were still stunned.
——
Amidst the continuous singing and dancing at the grand banquet in the palace, Bai Ji ignored the burning gazes directed at him by those around him. In his boredom, he noticed the plate of pastries on the jade table.
Recalling the taste he had eaten a few days ago, he suddenly became interested, and the maid beside him also keenly brought the pastry to his mouth.
"It's awful," Bai Ji said, frowning after taking a bite. "Who made this pastry before? Have her make a new one and send it up."
The maid stammered, looking hesitant.
"Speak," Bai Ji said impatiently.
"I recently heard from the palace maids in the kitchen that Yaoling used to go there every day, but today she seemed to be very busy and didn't go..."
Bai Ji raised an eyebrow in surprise. Were all the pastries he ate a few days ago made by Yao Ling?
Why didn't she cook for him when she was with him before?
“Call her here and make another one,” Bai Ji said, always acting on his whims. Seeing the maid about to leave, he suddenly added, “Never mind, I’ll go myself.”
He suddenly became curious about what the woman was doing. Recalling the strange dance she had performed and the odd songs she had sung a few days ago, Bai Ji felt a surge of interest.
While you're at it, go and see... his poor, lonely younger brother.
——
Bai Ji stood by the lake watching countless paper lanterns float upwards, and the once pitch-black Fairy Lake became as bright as day under the illumination of the colorful lanterns.
He fixed his gaze on the three people holding Kongming lanterns on the stone bridge.
The woman in pink was still a familiar face, but her expression held a clarity and sincerity I had never seen before.
And that person actually laughed.
For the first time, his unchanging expression showed a change.
A sense of displeasure welled up in Bai Ji's heart. What right did he have to laugh?
A cursed lone star like him should be locked up in a dark dungeon at the bottom of the lake forever. Giving him a place to go is something to be grateful for. Why should he be laughing more happily than him?
Bai Ji curled his lips and said with a cold glint in his eyes, "Bring Yao Ling here to me."
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