At the Bali Opera Stage, songs, dances, and music were performed.
The silk fabric was decorated with images of dragons soaring and fish leaping, and the moon reflected on autumn lotus leaves, which dazzled the eyes when reflected on the lanterns.
Leaving Dafeng alone in the inn was bound to make him lonely, and he was getting lazier and lazier, almost like he was hibernating, spending all his time inside with his eyes half-closed. So, I dragged him along, and together with Lou Xiyue, the two of us and the beast strolled around the lantern festival, guessing riddles.
I looked at each riddle with great interest, pondering the riddle repeatedly, and then thinking about a solution while looking into the distance, but I couldn't guess the last one.
It's not that the riddles are too difficult, but rather that the riddles are written in too classical Chinese. After pondering them repeatedly and thinking about them from afar, I find that I don't even know what the riddles are about, so I have to give up.
Lou Xiyue watched me guess one by one, arms crossed, and casually remarked, "Didn't guess a single one right?"
I said, "Ahem, who said that? They guessed a lot of things correctly, but I just kept it to myself."
Lou Xiyue tilted her head and smiled, "Shall I give you a guess?"
I said, "Why not?"
He handed over a riddle slip with a smile.
I unfolded it and was stunned. My face flushed instantly. It read: You look beautiful today.
I stammered, "What...what kind of riddle is this?"
Lou Xiyue chuckled and spread her hands, saying, "You still can't guess the riddle even if I write it down, so I might as well write down the answer for you."
I looked up at him, and the dim light reflected in his eyes. The evening lights were just coming on, like the gradually unfolding sunset.
[50] Quicksand Darkness (Part 1)
Because the nights are long and the days are short in winter, it is not convenient to travel. We have been on the road for more than a month now.
I leaned against the window and coughed a few times, covering my mouth.
Lou Xiyue frowned, placed a hand warmer in my hand, and then pulled the blanket over me up a bit, asking with concern, "Are you alright? You've been like this ever since that fox bit you last time?"
His expression was somewhat solemn, and I didn't want to tell him that after helping my master test medicine, I not only lost my sense of taste, but my fear of cold also became more severe.
I said casually, "Any normal person would feel cold in winter, and I'm not as good at kung fu as you are."
Lou Xiyue pondered for a moment, then said, "If you feel unwell in any way, you must tell me, understand?"
I nodded and said to him again, "Of course, I'm a doctor, I know exactly what's good and what's bad."
He looked at me quietly for a while, then laughed and said, "From head to toe, you don't look like a doctor at all."
I said indignantly, "I can cure any disease instantly, and I've healed countless people. You know that."
He paused, turned to look out the window, and remained silent for a long time.
It was only later that I realized that perhaps it reminded him of his third uncle, which reopened old wounds.
When they arrived in Wenlai, it coincided with the spring sacrifice of the Xue Kingdom, and the people were all preparing to perform the sacrificial rites.
Lou Xiyue and I settled in a private residence. After inquiring with some people, we learned that Princess Lianji would be presiding over this spring festival because the Emperor was ill and had no children, and intended to pass the throne to Lianji.
The spring festival lasted for eight days. Lian Ji, together with the people of Wenlai, offered sacrifices of sheep and incense, and held a grand ceremony in the Golden Palace at the sacrificial camp.
I asked the woman in the house, "Have you seen the princess's face? Does she look somewhat like me?"
She seemed startled, then laughed and said, "Are you joking, young lady? We ordinary people can't even meet someone as noble as Her Highness the Princess."
Lou Xiyue said to me, "Last time at the sacrificial ceremony, she only covered her face with a veil, so others couldn't see her clearly."
I asked, "If that's the case, why are you so certain that Qi Xiao is this Lian Ji?"
He paused, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "At that time in the palace, you knocked my fan away. Consort Lian seemed to notice, but intentionally led the palace servants away."
I said, "So, she recognizes you." After thinking for a moment, I added, "Did she leave a purse on the ground?"
He nodded slightly.
I paused for a moment, then lowered my head and whispered, "So she recognized you all along, which is why she let you go."
The spring festival began at Chenshi (7-9 AM) the following day.
The people stood on both sides of the street, placing their right hands in front of their chests in devout prayer. Cannons were fired, drums were beaten, and music played in unison.
The palace doors opened, and four horses escorted the carriage, leading Rei-hime's carriage slowly forward.
Lianji wore a red begonia-colored gauze dress with pearls that trailed on the ground, a glass thorn ornament on her forehead, a thousand-wave gold ring around her waist, and a light gold silk veil on her face. Her carriage circled the palace three times, and the people offered a whole sheep and sacred wine as sacrifices.
I watched Lian Ji from afar. Her every move exuded the air of nobility, making it difficult for me to reconcile her with Qi Xiao.
As the ritual progressed, the carriage stopped outside the palace tent on the western grassland of Wenlai City. Lianji alighted from the carriage, offered a cup of sacred wine outside the golden silk tent, and then entered the tent.
As night approached and the ceremony concluded, I noticed that Lou Xiyue was not at home, so I crouched down and wandered around the sacrificial camp.
From afar, one could see lamps lit inside the palace tent, with a circle of palace servants guarding the outside, casting a slightly hazy glow.
Outside the palace tent, it was quite lively, with many people gathered around the bonfire singing and dancing, making it seem like this was not a ritual, but a vibrant royal hunt.
After waiting for some time, there was still no sign of the princess leaving the tent. I turned around and walked to the market not far from the camp. It was bustling with activity, and many merchants from all over Xue Kingdom had set up stalls to do business, taking advantage of the spring festival to make a fortune.
Passing by a stall selling dried milk, I stopped to buy some dry food to fill my stomach. The stall owner greeted me warmly, "Young lady, the dried milk here is made from the finest goat milk, from the fattest ewes on our Lujige Grassland. It's the sweetest dried milk in the entire Xue Kingdom."
I nodded eagerly, indicating that it was sweet, incredibly sweet.
Actually, I still have no sense of taste. Chewing this dried milk and chewing a handful of grass don't feel much different to me, but eating the fattest ewe's top-quality dried milk makes me feel a sense of superiority.