Place of Prayer
After venting his anger on Liu Yiwan, Tang Feng was seething with resentment. The year had barely begun, and Liu Yiwan was already bringing him up. Tang Feng felt he might not escape Zhou Ziliang's clutches for the rest of the year. He rubbed his forehead, gathering his strength. "Fine, fine," Tang Feng said, "Go get the spare kite from the carriage. I promised Liu Liu, I can't break my promise! You'd better learn from her! At least be reliable!" Tang Feng poked Liu Yiwan's head hard, looking utterly disappointed.
Liu Yiwan pouted, feeling incredibly wronged. After all, she was only thinking of the young master's happiness, but even after half a year, he was still so resistant. Now that he was angry, she could only quietly agree and go to the carriage to get a spare kite as instructed.
The last group of people flew spare kites and had a blast all day. As evening approached, Tang Feng was about to get on the bus to go home when Zhang Mobai pulled him aside and whispered, "Little brother, there's a blessing festival that happens once every five years on the Wei River today. Do you want to go?"
Tang Feng initially wanted to refuse, as he needed to start preparing for his trip to Lishan Academy in the next couple of days, and he hadn't packed much of his luggage yet. He was about to decline when Zhang Mobai interrupted him before he could even speak.
"Don't even think about refusing me yet! Let me finish. There's a Thousand Prayer Tree over the Wei River. It's said that it was planted by the Holy Ancestor Emperor during the founding of the previous dynasty. It blooms once every five years and bears fruit once every ten years. It's our sacred tree. Legend has it that as long as you hang your prayer plaque on the sacred tree and make a sincere wish, your wish will come true. Don't think I'm lying to you; it's very effective."
"Extremely effective?" Tang Feng raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
"The daughter of the Wang family governor of Dongcheng Street was twenty-six years old and still unmarried. She was practically an old maid. So the governor went to hang a fortune stick under the Thousand Prayer Tree to pray for a good match. Guess what? The following year, the Wang family's daughter married the son of the Vice Minister of Revenue."
"Hmm... Is it really that effective?" Tang Feng didn't usually believe in such things, after all, many phenomena could be explained by science. But... perhaps because Liu Yiwan had suddenly brought up Zhou Ziliang again that morning, Tang Feng was now inexplicably feeling some pressure in his life. Hearing Zhang Mobai mention the Thousand Prayer Tree, Tang Feng thought that if it really worked, it wouldn't hurt to draw a fortune stick himself. What if it worked? Wouldn't their marriage be canceled?
"I'm not lying to you, don't worry," Zhang Mobai said, taking Tang Feng's hand. "Let Liu Liu and the others go back first, you get in my carriage."
After listening to Zhang Mobai's explanation, Tang Feng looked at Qin Jiujiu waiting for him outside the carriage in the distance. "Then I'll tell Sister Jiujiu and the others first, and then I'll come over." With that, Tang Feng walked towards the carriage. "Sister Jiujiu, you should go back first! I have some things to discuss with Mobai." Tang Feng didn't want to tell Qin Jiujiu and the others about his trip to pray for blessings; if Qin Liuliu knew, she would definitely come along. Normally, it wouldn't be a problem if she came, but since the attack, Tang Feng had become much more cautious. Having Liu Yiwan with him was fine, but with Qin Jiujiu and Qin Liuliu, it was a different story. So he made up a lie to cover it up.
Qin Jiujiu laughed and scolded, "Alright, alright, I know you're busy, go ahead! Don't delay things."
Tang Feng smiled, lifted the carriage curtain, and saw Qin Liuliu looking at him with displeasure. He quickly patted his head and promised to bring him some candied hawthorns when he returned that evening. After appeasing Qin Liuliu, he stood up and told Qin Jiujiu, "Then I'm leaving. Jiu-jie, take care on your journey."
After boarding Zhang Mobai's carriage, they saw Yang Fei sitting inside. "Oh! You're here! Come on, sit down. Although it's still spring, it's really hot. I was waiting for you in the carriage, and I almost evaporated!"
"Why are you here? You said you weren't coming yesterday!"
“I sent him. The night market by the Wei River is bustling today, we can take a stroll there. Bringing him along will make sure someone pays the bill,” Zhang Mobai said, taking two bowls of porridge from the snack box. “It’s really hot today, so I had someone cook some bean porridge at home. I put ice here this morning, you should drink it to cool down.”
Tang Feng took the bowl from Zhang Mobai, took a sip, and found it fragrant and smooth, the red bean paste creamy and not harsh on the throat. The bean skins had been carefully removed, maintaining the sweetness, and there were even some ice crystals inside. One sip and he felt instantly refreshed. "Where are we going?" Tang Feng looked out the window, bowl in hand. Previously, when they went to the Wei River, they had always gone through the city, and he thought they would have to go through the city first this time as well. However, unexpectedly, the carriage didn't enter the city gate, but instead turned and drove along the city wall.
“This time we’ll enter from the mouth of the Wei River. Usually, we just pick any alley and go in, but since this is for praying for blessings, we need to be sincere,” Zhang Mobai said, taking a sip of his bean porridge. “But don’t worry about the distance. The scenery along the way is picturesque, and the night markets on both sides are bustling with activity. The Thousand Prayer Tree is at the very back of the Wei River; we can explore the area in front of it.”
As the three chatted, they arrived at the mouth of the Wei River. There, they saw a gate carved into the city wall, several meters high, along the riverbank. Guards stood watch on both sides of the river. After Yang Fei helped Zhang Mobai down from the carriage, he turned and pulled Tang Feng, who was about to get out, saying, "The royal family also attaches great importance to this once-every-five-years prayer festival, so they specially opened this water gate."
Tang Feng looked up and saw that beneath the iron gate known as the Water Gate were sharp, conical blades, rusted from being submerged in water for so long. Perhaps because of this prayer festival, they were now hanging high.
Zhang Mobai exchanged a few words with the driver and then came over. "Don't look! Just follow this road." He then took Tang Feng's arm, walked a few steps, then stopped as if remembering something, turned to Yang Fei, and said, "What are you daydreaming about! Hurry up and go!" Zhang Mobai turned his head, subtly raised his other arm and shook it. Yang Fei, who had been feeling a little aggrieved because Zhang Mobai hadn't paid attention to her the whole way, instantly felt her discomfort vanish. She quickly followed, moving closer to Zhang Mobai. The hand that should have been on Zhang Mobai's arm was instead expertly placed on his waist. Zhang Mobai felt a little uncomfortable and wanted to pull away, but thinking that he hadn't really paid attention to Yang Fei for a while, he gave in.
Leading the group along the river into the city, Tang Feng was immediately captivated by the bustling and vibrant scene before him. This night market was far more lively than any he had ever been to before, even surpassing the market on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Just as Tang Feng was about to head inside, Zhang Mobai called out to him from behind, "Little brother! Don't rush in, we need to buy a mask first."
"Masks?" Tang Feng turned around and saw Zhang Mobai and Yang Fei picking out masks at a stall just inside the entrance. "Why are you buying these? We're not children anymore."
"You think this is just for fun?!" Zhang Mobai couldn't help but laugh out loud, casually picking up a rabbit mask and holding it up to Tang Feng's face. "There are rules for praying for blessings! Regardless of your status, beauty, or ugliness, the divine tree grants wishes, and all beings are equal. So, whoever goes to pray for blessings must wear a mask."
After hearing this, Tang Feng took the mask from Zhang Mobai's hand, examined the rabbit mask carefully, and said, "I'm not very good at choosing, but since I can't recognize anyone when I wear it, I'll take this one!" With that, Tang Feng put the mask on his head.
Zhang Mobai tidied Tang Feng's hair, which had been messed up by the mask. "Now that we've made our choices, let's go. It's still early, and we don't want to wait until it gets crowded and the lines take forever."
Tang Feng nodded and followed Zhang Mobai and Yang Fei into the crowd. The crabapple blossoms on both sides of the road were in full bloom. Coincidentally, it was windy today. A gentle breeze blew by, and many petals were blown into the air and drifted with the wind. Eventually, they lost their strength and fell to the ground. Boats on the Wei River were also carrying tourists to another trade route. Some painted boats carried dancers singing and playing the zither in the middle of the river.
Tang Feng brushed away the crabapple blossoms that had blown onto his shoulder, looked around, and set his sights on a candied hawthorn stall. "Boss, how much is a skewer?"
"Hey! Sir, our small skewers are two coins, and the large skewers are three coins. Buy two skewers and we'll give you a free skewer of broad beans."
The "ground beans" the shopkeeper mentioned were actually yam beans. Tang Feng considered it and decided to give one skewer to Qin Jiujiu, one to Qin Liuliu, and the free skewer to Liu Yiwan, since it wasn't worth him paying for it himself. After making his decision, Tang Feng pointed to the large skewer of candied hawthorns and said, "Give me two of these."
The shopkeeper responded and quickly took out some oil paper to wrap up the two strings of candied hawthorns and the string of yam beans. "Young master, please hold on tight so you don't drop them."
Tang Feng took the package from the shopkeeper, nodded, and turned to leave. As he searched for Zhang Mobai and Yang Fei, he saw a servant rushing towards him, carrying a red mask. Perhaps in his haste, the servant bumped into Tang Feng's shoulder. Tang Feng turned to see the servant bowing his head and hastily apologizing before calling out, "Young Master! Madam says you absolutely must go to the Thousand Prayer Tree today to draw a marriage fortune for you and the young mistress! Don't run away!"
Tang Feng shook his head, thinking that this was probably another young man being ruined by an arranged marriage. Just then, Zhang Mobai suddenly patted Tang Feng on the shoulder from behind. "Little brother! What are you thinking about? You're so lost in thought. Look!" He then pulled out a windmill from behind him. "Yang Fei picked this out for me. Isn't it fun?"
Just then, Yang Fei arrived, carrying several large and small bags of food packed in cloth sacks. As she walked, she complained, "Bai Bai, can't you even consider my feelings? Walking so fast, I'm exhausted!"
Tang Feng glanced at the somewhat disheveled Yang Fei, covered his mouth and chuckled, "Yang Fei, I guess I might have to be a little unkind too." He then placed the candied hawthorns he was holding onto the various sizes of cloth sacks, bowed slightly, and said, "Thank you for your trouble." He turned and continued walking forward with Zhang Mobai, ignoring Yang Fei's angry glares and grumbling behind them.
The group chatted and laughed along the way, stopping and starting, buying quite a few things. Zhang Mobai and Tang Feng claimed that tomorrow's journey would be boring and they needed to pass the time, which was tough on Yang Fei, who had to carry the bags by hand since there was no carriage. Fortunately, they were almost at the end of the road, and Zhang Mobai slowly stopped. Tang Feng, not paying attention, bumped into Zhang Mobai's shoulder.
"You little lunatic, why did you stop for no reason?!"
Zhang Mobai turned around, pointed ahead, and said, "The Thousand Prayer Tree is just ahead."
Tang Feng looked ahead and saw a colossal ancient tree standing before him. He would believe it if someone told him it was over a thousand years old; just looking at the trunk, it would take two or three adults to encircle it. The branches of the old tree were covered with pale pink flowers, the type of which he didn't know. The petals resembled those of a crabapple, but the scent was somewhat like that of cherry blossoms. A spring breeze blew by, and the branches swayed, causing some loosely attached petals to drift down with the wind, eventually floating gently into the water, where they were carried ashore by the waves.
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