Chapter 26
After the gorgeous fireworks ended, Luo Sanrong was still in a daze for a long time, so she didn't react. After the fireworks ended, Li Yin naturally took Luo Sanrong's hand.
"Do you want to go and light lanterns?" Li Yin asked Luo Sanrong for his opinion.
"Let's put up lanterns?"
"Yes, follow me."
As dusk deepened, candlelight floated on the river. The old boatman, Grandpa Li, squatted at the bow, helping his little granddaughter, A Yue, tie the red silk on the lantern.
Ah Yue, her pigtails wagging, looked up curiously and asked, "Grandpa, why do people release lanterns into the river?"
Li Agong's wrinkled hands gently stroked the jade rabbit painted on the lantern and smiled, "This lantern is a message to the heavens. Look, Aunt Wang next door's grandson is sick, and the lantern she wrote will float away to ask the gods to bless the child with safety."
As he spoke, he pulled out a yellowed piece of paper from his pocket. "Last year, your mother fell down while walking at night, and I wrote 'May you be healthy every year' all over the lantern. After that, she really did get better."
Ah Yue nodded, seeming to understand, and suddenly pointed at a lotus lantern in the distance that was floating towards the center of the river. "That lantern has a picture of two people hugging each other. Is that a mistake?"
Grandpa Li followed her finger, his eyes welling up slightly. "That was set off by a teacher on the other side of the river. His son is a soldier at the border and hasn't been home for three years. The reunion pattern on the lantern is his hope that he can follow the light back home."
At this time, Uncle Zhang, who was rowing by, shouted loudly: "Grandpa, the harvest is good this year. My family made ten lanterns in one go!"
His bamboo raft was piled high with lanterns depicting rice ears, melons, and fruits. "God has blessed us with food, so we have to thank the Earth God!" he said as he gently lowered the lanterns into the river. "We also hope for good weather and abundant harvests next year, and for our granaries to be full!"
Ah Yue listened intently and suddenly hugged her rabbit lantern tighter: "Grandpa, I want to draw stars on the lantern! This way, people who are lost can see the light and find their way home!"
Grandpa Li smiled and lifted her onto his lap, slowly pushing the lantern toward the river. "Our Ah Yue is right. These lanterns transform the hopes deep in people's hearts into light that illuminates heaven and earth."
In the sparkling waves, countless lanterns carrying wishes gradually blend into the starry sky.
At this time, there happened to be a little girl selling several different kinds of lanterns, and she kept shouting: "Selling lanterns, selling lanterns, all kinds of lanterns——"
Li Yin saw Luo Sanrong staring at the lanterns in a daze, so he quietly walked up to the girl, squatted down, and asked, "Are you selling lanterns?"
"Yes, this lantern costs five cents, no...three cents each. Would you like to take a look at it, sir?" The girl said hopefully, holding the lantern.
Li Yin directly took out the money from his pocket and handed it to the girl. The girl wanted to hand the lantern to Li Yin for him to choose.
Li Yin shook his head and said in rejection, "No need."
Seeing this, the girl returned the money to him, her eyes showing a kind of determination, "Sir, I am selling lanterns that can make wishes come true, not begging."
Li Yin: "Sorry, that's not what I meant. Is this a lantern you can make a wish on?"
"Yes." The girl answered obediently.
Li Yin: "Then what is your wish?"
Girl: "My wish is to meet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Li Yin: "Why?"
Girl: "I would like to ask Your Highness to make Xia'an a better country."
Li Yin: "Then what is a good country?"
The girl tilted her head and thought for a moment, "Well, Your Highness, who is worried about the people, must know this."
Li Yin couldn't help laughing.
At this time, a woman came over. She was wearing a light pink dress embroidered with delicate peony patterns, which made her figure look more graceful. She had a simple bun with a jade hairpin inserted in it, which made her look dignified and beautiful.
She looked at the lantern curiously and said, "I want this peony lantern."
Girl: “Three cents.”
The girl took out the peony lantern and handed it to the woman. The woman wanted to give the girl money, but found that she didn't seem to have a purse with her. She looked apologetic but didn't know what to say.
The girl may have also realized her predicament and did not urge her.
Li Yin: "Give me the lantern. Here's all the money."
The woman looked sideways and thought, "This man is quite elegant..."
Unexpectedly, Li Yin handed one of the lanterns he had bought to the girl, and bent down to straighten her hair. "This is for you." He then took out another lantern and said jokingly, "This lantern is for those who want a lantern but don't have money."
When the woman saw the lantern handed to her, she realized that Li Yin was talking about her.
The woman wanted to refuse, but she found that the lantern handed to her was exactly the peony lantern that she particularly liked. She looked up at Li Yin, who raised his eyebrows. The woman took it without hesitation.
Looking at the delicate pink peony lantern in her hand, the woman smiled unconsciously and wanted to say thank you, but she found that Li Yin had left with the last lantern.
Looking at Li Yin's back, the woman smiled unconsciously.
"Miss, Miss, why are you here?"
Chun Tao grabbed the woman's wrist and wiped the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief. "If Madam knew you ran so far alone..."
Before she could finish her words, she saw the woman holding up a lantern, the warm light reflecting off her cheeks making them blush. "Look at this peony lantern, it's so lifelike! Stop nagging me and put the lantern on the bridge!"
Luo Sanrong stared at the lanterns by the river in a daze. On each lantern was written her expectation for the future, but she had no expectations for the future at all.
She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice Li Yin standing behind her. "What are you thinking about?"
Luo Sanrong said stubbornly, "I didn't think anything of it."
Before Luo Sanrong could continue to be stubborn, Li Yin handed the lantern hidden behind him to Luo Sanrong, and Luo Sanrong stopped talking suddenly.
Luo Sanrong:?
Li Yun said in a proud tone: "This lantern can make wishes come true. If you write your wish on it, your wish will come true."
Luo Sanrong took the lantern and was stunned for a moment, then felt a sense of relief. "Your Highness, please write your wishes on the lantern with me!"
Li Yin: "I don't need it."
Luo Sanrong said in a teasing tone, "Write it. If only one of your wishes can be fulfilled, it would be better to fulfill yours."
After listening to this, Li Yin seemed to be thinking about something, but finally he picked up his pen and started writing.
After Ji Zeming arrived at the place where he had agreed to meet Luo Sanrong, he found that no one was there. He felt a little disappointed, but he believed that Luo Sanrong was not the kind of person who would leave without waiting for him.
So he continued to search in the market, and finally he saw a familiar figure. Just as he was about to call her, he found that there was a very familiar person next to him.
The smile on his lips froze suddenly, like a lake frozen by the winter wind. Even the fine lines at the corners of his eyes that had not yet been retracted were turned into fragile ice ridges, and finally slid down his cheekbones, leaving only half a cold shadow.
"Your Highness, do you want to put it in the river?" Luo Sanrong approached the lantern with a smile in his eyes. The shadow of the lantern just covered the lower half of Luo Sanrong's face.
Li Yin fell into memories again. He remembered the dancer who helped him out of trouble at the envoy's banquet.
Really, they look very similar.
Golden and red sparks burst out like broken diamonds, weaving a momentary galaxy on the dome.
Then, a green "dragon" leaped with its tail flame, a silvery-white "star rain" fell, and purple-pink "peonies" bloomed layer by layer in the night sky. When sparks fell into the river, they happened to contrast with the thousands of lanterns floating downstream.
The surface of the river was shimmering with golden light. Lotus lanterns, rabbit lanterns, and carp lanterns, carrying candlelight, swayed gently with the waves. The outlines of paper, silk, and bamboo frames were faintly visible in the shimmering light.
As the lanterns were released, Luo Sanrong clasped his hands and made a wish, "Please make our Crown Prince's wish come true."
Suddenly, his eyes fixed on a lantern with the words written on it: "Please make sure Luo Sanrong finds his mother."
Luo Sanrong was stunned and asked unconsciously, "Is that your Highness's wish?"
Li Yin: "Yes, making your wish come true is my wish."
Luo Sanrong's smile suddenly froze at that moment, his eyes widened slightly, as if he was cast under a spell, and his feet seemed to be rooted and unable to move.
The surrounding noise faded away in an instant, and the only thing left in her world was "My wish is to make your wish come true."
Her heart was beating uncontrollably in her chest, like a frightened elk, hitting her heart wall again and again.
She opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but her throat seemed to be choked by something and no sound came out.
Time seemed to stand still at this moment, she just stared blankly, her mind blank.
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