Luzhou-Mond

Kapitel 107

After eating dumplings, the group had a needle-threading competition. Knowing my limitations, I didn't participate. Shanshan threaded the needle very quickly, and soon several needles were caught on the thread. It wasn't until Shanshan threaded the tenth needle that Youlan had threaded six.

Putting down the thread, Youlan said, "That doesn't count. You have to put all seven needles together and thread them all at once. The one who can thread all seven needles in one go wins."

The two then started comparing needles again. They carefully placed the seven needles together, aligned the eye of each needle, and Shanshan inserted the thread. A moment later, the thread emerged from the other end, and she laughed happily. Youlan tried several times but failed, and put down her needle and thread in frustration.

I quickly presented the prize I had prepared earlier—a rouge box with a silver rim—to Shanshan with both hands, and said with a grin, "Congratulations, Miss Shanshan, on becoming a skilled craftswoman." Shanshan happily accepted it.

Seeing that Youlan was somewhat dejected, he quickly said, "Everyone has their strengths. Miss Youlan is also skilled, but not in needlework, but in playing the zither. Listening to Miss Youlan's zither music is like hearing heavenly music."

Youlan then smiled.

This is more like a teenage girl; don't always act so aloof and ethereal.

The carriage that came to pick up Youlan from Zuiyan Pavilion arrived earlier than usual today. They said the girls in the pavilion wanted to get together and have some fun before opening for business. Youlan changed her clothes and waited for the carriage with Shanshan. I took a bath, changed into an apricot-yellow dress that Youlan had specially prepared for me, and called Zinuo and Ganlin to go out together.

The sun hadn't set yet, but the streets were already bustling with activity. Various stalls lined the roadside, selling exquisite little trinkets, and groups of two or three young women strolled along the stone-paved street, chatting and laughing. At this time, no one was wearing a veil; firstly, the sun had already set, and secondly, today was a special day, so the young women no longer needed to hide themselves.

Zi Nuo and Gan Lin found a relatively quiet teahouse and sat down, eating tea and snacks while watching various lanterns slowly rise and gradually illuminate the dimly lit street.

Previously, they always dressed as men, and could only watch Yin Yan and the others busy themselves every Qixi Festival. Today, they finally wore beautiful women's clothes themselves and were quite excited. After sitting for a while, they saw that there were more people on the street, so they couldn't help but pull Zi Nuo and Gan Lin out of the teahouse.

I heard that every year around this time, the Yue Lao Temple in the east of the city holds an event where they sell fireworks. At midnight, people light the fireworks in front of the temple, and if they happen to meet someone whose fireworks match their own, they will find their partner within a year. I don't believe in these legends, but I still wanted to see the excitement, so I asked for directions and headed towards the Yue Lao Temple.

The area in front of the Yue Lao Temple was even more bustling than the main street, with crowds of people. People seemed to have completely forgotten that there was still a war going on in Shizhou City not far away, or that a war had just ended. Everyone looked forward to this festival even more.

In the small square in front of the temple, there were many stalls selling incense, candles, and red ropes. I glanced at them, but wasn't interested, so Zinuo, Ganlin, and I went straight to the temple entrance. There, we saw a long queue, men and women, one line for men and one line for women. Seeing my confusion, Ganlin asked a man nearby, "Excuse me, what's going on here?"

The man glanced at Gan Lin and said, "You're from out of town, aren't you? You're waiting for the appointed time to buy fireworks, because they'll be gone later."

Seeing how enthusiastic everyone was, I smiled at Ganlin and Zinuo and said, "Then let's give it a try too. But Zinuo is too young to get involved. Just watch from the side." As I spoke, I walked up behind a woman in red and stood in line. Ganlin shook his head but still joined the queue, and Zinuo stood next to Ganlin.

Watching Zinuo and Ganlin talking to each other, I felt a little disappointed. But then again, these days I've been with Lao He and Youlan, so it's not very convenient for them. Besides, under Ganlin's guidance, Zinuo's martial arts skills have improved a lot these days. Only I am only concerned with enjoying myself and have no time to think about potential dangers. I'm living a carefree life.

After waiting in line for ages, I was getting impatient. Finally, the people in front of me started to get excited. I stood on tiptoe to look, and it turned out that people from the temple were coming out to sell firework tubes. The crowd moved slowly. People who bought firework tubes were going to the temple to burn incense and pray to the Old Man Under the Moon. I was puzzled. Wasn't today supposed to be for praying to the Seventh Sister? Oh well, there's no Seventh Sister Temple anyway. The Old Man Under the Moon is fine. Everyone's praying for marriage, and I'm just joining in the fun.

Finally, it was my turn. I spent a coin to buy a firework tube and entered the Temple of the Old Man Under the Moon. Gan Lin was already waiting there. Since there were fewer men than women who believed in this kind of thing, they naturally finished faster. I went to the statue of the Old Man Under the Moon and, imitating others, burned incense and prayed. Seeing Gan Lin's awkwardness, I couldn't help but laugh and say, "Don't force yourself. It's just for fun anyway." But Gan Lin insisted on finishing his prayers. I wondered what other people's expressions would be if they saw the former Blood Demon praying to the Old Man Under the Moon here today. Just thinking about it made me look forward to it.

Stepping outside, I walked back with Zinuo, but we were immediately pushed to the side of the street by the surging crowd. Looking around, I couldn't find Ganlin and Zinuo anywhere. After the crowd dispersed, I quickly searched the vicinity, but everywhere was bustling with people; where could I find them in a short time?

Walking back to the street corner where we had been separated, hoping that Zinuo and the others would return and meet me there, I waited for a long time but didn't see the two of them. Somewhat impatient, I squatted down by the roadside, picked up a small stick, and idly drew circles and crosses on the ground.

I was engrossed in my work when a pair of exquisite black boots appeared in my limited field of vision, along with a section of bright red clothing—it looked very familiar. Looking up, I saw Shen Zexuan's smiling face reflected in the starlight. I asked in confusion, "Your Highness, what are you doing here?" Shouldn't they be guarding Shizhou City at this time?

Shen Zexuan did not answer my question, but only softly recited a line: "A single meeting of golden wind and jade dew surpasses countless encounters in the mortal world."

This is a poem I wrote for him last year when we were exchanging letters. When he read it aloud now, I couldn't help but blush and my heart raced.

"On such a fine day, how about you come with me to see the beautiful scenery?" Shen Zexuan tilted his head slightly, the distant lights reflecting on his face, casting dappled shadows, making him even more enchanting.

"Okay." I seemed unable to think straight, completely captivated by the beauty before me.

Shen Zexuan smiled slightly, extended his hand to me, hesitated for a moment, and finally extended his own hand as well. On such an intoxicating night, let me cast aside my worries and indulge myself a little.

The two walked hand in hand toward the city gate, a feeling they hadn't experienced in over a year. Shen Zexuan took out his token, which the guards examined carefully before slowly opening the heavy city gate a crack. Shen Zexuan and I then slipped through the crack.

Outside the city was the official road leading to Yunzhou, with vast grasslands on both sides, and the distant mountains could be vaguely seen at the end. The starlight and the lights of the city towers made the world outside the city no longer pitch black. Shen Zexuan used his lightness skill to carry me forward quickly, and some hazy shadows flashed behind us in an instant.

They stopped on a grassy slope. Shen Zexuan pointed ahead, where tiny fluorescent lights danced and swirled above the grass, these summer night sprites comparable to the starlight. The beautiful scenery before him made his eyes slightly misty.

"Is it beautiful?" Shen Zexuan's voice drifted gently through the quiet night. A breeze caressed my cheek, and I took a deep breath of the air, which carried the scent of grass and leaves. Listening to the chirping of summer insects, I closed my eyes slightly and said, "It's so beautiful."

Shen Zexuan sat down on the grassy slope, gently tugged at one of my fingers, and smiled slightly. I sat down as well, wrapped my arms around my knees, and quietly watched the fireflies flutter up and down in the grass, letting the wind ruffle my hair.

Under the soft starlight, Shen Zexuan closed his eyes, leaned back and lay down on the grass, his expression exceptionally gentle: "More than a month ago, I discovered this place when I went out to patrol the city at night, and I thought I must bring you here. Today I finally did it."

My eyes welled up slightly. This man, who always seemed so romantic, always managed to touch my heart so easily. It was dangerous.

After standing on the grassy slope for a long time in the wind, I finally stood up: "Your Highness, it's getting late, let's go back to the city." Gan Lin and Zinuo must be worried sick if they can't find me. Shen Zexuan got up somewhat reluctantly: "It's very comfortable here." But he still stood up, and on the way back, he didn't walk as fast as he had on the way there.

Using Shen Zexuan's privileges, we entered the city and arrived at the street corner where we had gotten separated earlier. Still not seeing Gan Lin and Zinuo, Shen Zexuan dragged me into the streets. Reaching a jewelry stall, he picked up a nine-beaded hairpin, held it up in my hair, and then gently inserted it into my bun. "Women's clothes look better," he said. Without even asking the price, he tossed a silver ingot to the stall owner and pulled me away. The stall owner happily caught it. I sighed inwardly; even with money, there was no need to waste it like that.

We arrived at a clothing store, and Shen Zexuan wanted to go in to buy clothes, saying he had come in a hurry and hadn't brought any change of clothes. I had no choice but to accompany him inside. Shen Zexuan picked out some clothes and went to try them on. I stood at the store entrance waiting for him, but after a while, I didn't see him come out. Two familiar figures walked by on the street, and I quickly chased after them. I chased them for quite a distance, but was eventually stopped by the crowd and disappeared from sight in a short while.

Dejected, he returned to the clothing store, but still couldn't find Shen Zexuan. He couldn't help but ask the shop assistant, "Where's that young man in red?"

"I didn't see the young lady when I came out, so I guess he went looking for her." The shop assistant said as he tidied up some clothes that Shen Zexuan had rummaged through.

Shaking his head, he walked out onto the street again. Crowds are a problem; he'd already lost his way twice.

As I paced back and forth, carefully searching the crowd around me, I hoped that I could turn around and find the person I was looking for. Looking around, I finally spotted a familiar red figure standing with his back to me, hands behind his back, under the lantern tower diagonally behind me, seemingly reading the inscription on the lantern base.

It's truly a case of "searching for him a thousand times in the crowd, only to find him suddenly, in the dim light."

I walked quickly through the crowd towards the red figure. At the Spring Flower Festival that year, he said that only this color could make me stand out in the crowd.

Seeing the red figure about to leave, I quickly called out, "Your Highness!" afraid that I would lose Zinuo and Ganlin again, just like I had done before.

The red figure slowly turned around, and I stopped abruptly in my tracks, exclaiming in astonishment, "Young Prince?"

Shen Haoyu's face was as cold as ice: "What, are you disappointed to see it's me?"

It wasn't disappointment, it was shock. Who knew he would come too, and even imitate Shen Zexuan by wearing red, trying to fool people's eyes.

I stood there awkwardly, unsure what to say. Just then, the real Shen Zexuan slowly approached: "Yu, you're here too?"

I pressed my forehead. Why is it like this again? But then I heard Shen Haoyu say, "Your Highness, it's the same for everyone."

While keeping an eye on their conversation, I wondered if I should slip away. Seeing them exchanging polite pleasantries, I quietly moved my feet, intending to leave this troublesome place. Just as I took a step, I heard Shen Haoyu say, "Go back, I've already found you a house by the water."