Novelas PaiPai

Capítulo 82

Jiaqingzi invited me in, and after closing the door, he whispered, "The princess has been wanting to go out to see the lanterns in the street. Today, after dark, she changed into my clothes, put on a veil, and had Zhang Chengzhao secretly take her out."

I frowned, but wasn't too surprised. Every year from New Year's Day to the Lantern Festival, the city is ablaze with lanterns until dawn, and the capital is teeming with tourists—a scene of peace and prosperity. For many years, the princess had wanted to personally experience the grandeur of the lantern market on the Imperial Street. Although she now resides outside the palace, she is under the supervision of Supervisor Liang and cannot act as she pleases, leaving her residence without permission. She had pleaded with Supervisor Liang many times, but he always refused, citing palace regulations. She had also asked me to take her there privately, but I refused again. Therefore, she must have seen that I was not at home today, so she took the opportunity to disguise herself and have Zhang Chengzhao take her out.

"Where did she go to see the lanterns?" I asked Jiaqingzi.

She didn't hide anything and replied, "Zhang Chengzhao told her that there is a wine and cake shop called Baifanlou in Jingmingfang outside Donghuamen. The food and fruit there are the best. The building has several floors, and it's convenient to watch the lanterns from upstairs. The princess hasn't had dinner tonight, so she'll probably go there now."

I thanked her, immediately went out, spurred my horse, and hurried towards Jingmingfang.

Bai Fan Lou was the most famous restaurant in Tokyo, with its embroidered curtains and gleaming lanterns. Regardless of wind, rain, heat, or cold, day or night, it was always a popular gathering place for nobles. Upon arrival, I reined in my horse and went upstairs, searching all three floors without finding the princess. In desperation, I went to the rooftop terrace and gazed into the distance.

Today is the last day of the Lantern Festival. The lights on both sides of the main road are even more magnificent. There are ordinary silk gauze lanterns, five-colored glass lanterns painted with landscapes, figures, flowers, bamboo, and birds, white jade lanterns as clear as ice and jade pots, and even mountain-shaped lanterns several meters high with movable mechanisms. Merchants have come up with new ideas and are vying to display them on their doors. The streets are filled with brightly lit houses and carriages. There are also many noble ladies who have come to see the lanterns. The carriages are decorated with red wheels and painted bridles, with carved saddles and jade bridles. The curtains of the carriages are draped with sachets, and the maids in front of the horses carry incense balls. As the carriages pass by, the smoke of incense is like clouds that can be heard for miles.

Beyond the five nights of fragrant dust, I gazed southwest towards the grand performance area under the colorful lanterns in front of the Xuande Tower. There, thorns formed a wall, and in the middle, performers put on a variety of shows, while onlookers gathered outside, including many ladies emerging from fine carriages and luxury cars.

The two wrestlers performing in the arena were robust women. Like the male sumo wrestlers, they wore short-sleeved, collarless shirts, exposing large portions of their chests. Amidst the cheers of the spectators, they kicked, threw, grappled, and wrestled, engaging in a fierce battle. After a short while, the winner was decided. The victor circled the arena to thank the audience, who showered her with gifts. Soon, the victorious sumo wrestler's hands were full of prize money and valuables. Just as she was about to return to the arena, another woman stepped forward and called her back.

The woman who spoke then took a few steps forward, first placing a string of coins in the sumo wrestler's arms, and then taking a red bayberry, which she tucked into her hair with a charming smile.

The woman was wearing a veiled hat with long white veils hanging from the brim, making her quite conspicuous even from the high building. Upon closer inspection, I recognized that she was wearing the dress of Jiaqingzi. So I immediately turned around, went downstairs, and rode my horse back to where she was.

After the sumo wrestling, fireworks began to light up the grand arena, bursting into bloom across the night sky, with thousands of sparks and petals falling like rain. The princess lifted the veil from her hat behind her head, tilting her head back to feel the shimmering light around her. As I rushed to her side, she seemed to sense my presence, turning her head gently, neither surprised nor annoyed, smiling at me amidst the dazzling light and shadow: "Huaiji, you've come."

I stepped forward and bowed, but out of consideration for the pedestrians around me, I didn't dare to call out to her. I simply led her away from the crowd and glared at Zhang Chengzhao, who was following closely behind.

Zhang Chengzhao was very perceptive. Before I could reprimand him, he bowed deeply to me and said, "The main character has arrived. I've accomplished my mission and am now taking my leave."

I couldn't be bothered with him, and whispered to the princess, "Let's go back. If we stay any longer, it won't be good if Supervisor Liang finds out."

The princess seemed not to hear, but smiled and said, "Huaiji, I'm hungry."

I told her, "There are some delicious dishes prepared at home."

"I'd like to try the food and fruits at Baifanlou."

"Let's go back first, and I'll send someone to buy it later."

"I want to continue watching the lanterns."

"There were also many lanterns in the house."

"But I want to sit upstairs in Baifan Tower, eating the food and fruits there while watching the lights downstairs."

I'm speechless.

She sighed again: "If I go back with you now, I don't know when I'll be able to see the human touch here again."

Her heartbroken look softened my heart again, and I decided to indulge her one more time.

I pulled back the veil from the back of her head to cover her face, and then led her toward Baifan Tower.

As she approached the building and was about to enter, she slowed her pace and paused frequently. I turned to look at where her gaze was fixed and saw a little girl squatting by the street selling Lantern Festival ornaments such as moths, willow branches, jade plum blossoms, bodhi leaves, and lanterns. These ornaments were stuck on a straw pole and were draped weakly over the little girl's shoulder. The child was thinly dressed, her face and hands were covered with red, chapped skin from the cold, and she looked exhausted, hungry, and cold. Her eyes were vacant, and she shivered slightly in the night wind.

“She seems cold, why doesn’t she go home?” the princess asked me.

I replied, "It's because she hasn't sold all her stuff."

Although the girl had a wide variety of jewelry, the materials were poor and the workmanship was not exquisite enough. She had no advantage among the vendors selling similar products in the area, and it was estimated that she would not be able to sell out anytime soon.

Upon hearing this, the princess walked straight towards the girl and asked, "Sell me these things. How much do you want?"

The little girl stared wide-eyed at the princess in disbelief, and after a long while, she stammered out a price.

The princess immediately held out her hand to me: "Huaiji, give me the money."

I smiled and took out the brocade pouch containing the money, poured out the silver coins, and prepared to pay the girl in full. But before I could finish counting, the princess had already snatched the money and the pouch from my hand, stuffed them into the little girl's hand, and said with a smile, "Here you go, now go home."

The little girl was overjoyed and stood up to curtsy to the princess, thanking her profusely. The princess smiled gently at her and, seeing that the little girl's hair was styled in two buns without any ornaments, she took the dragon-patterned jade comb from the back of her own bun and placed it in the little girl's hair herself.

The girl was so grateful that she stood there for a long time before handing me the entire stick full of ornaments with tears in her eyes.

I laughed and said, "No need to give it to me, you can take it back."

She refused, insisting on pushing the pole into my arms, thanking the princess repeatedly before slowly retreating.

Now, looking at the pole in my hand, I was quite troubled. I smiled and said to the princess, "If I'm carrying this whole bunch of stuff, the waiters at the restaurant definitely won't let me in."

The princess smiled and selected several ornaments from the pole, placing them in clusters on my headdress. Then she took off her own veil and let me choose a few clusters of moth-shaped willow branches to adorn her hair, but there were still many left. The princess stared at them for a while, then picked off some more. Seeing some ladies passing by, she went over and gave them to them. Although the women were surprised, they all accepted them with smiles. Before long, all the ornaments were gone.

“Alright,” the princess picked up the bare pole, pushed it to the street corner, clapped her hands, and said, “We can go in now.”

Then I remembered something else, so I didn't move, but just asked her, "Where are you going?"

She looked at me with surprise, probably thinking I was incredibly forgetful: "Bai Fan Lou, huh?"

"Well, but there's a problem now," I reminded her, "Do you still have any money?"

"Huh?" she replied in surprise, "I just gave all my money to the sumo wrestler..."

"And you?" she asked me in return.

I raised an eyebrow at her, revealing my incorruptibility: "Didn't you rob me of all my money?"

She lowered her head abruptly, then looked up at me again, asking hopefully, "Besides money, does the restaurant accept anything else? I also have jewelry."

"Let's go back." I pulled her outside. "They don't run pawnshops there."

She had no choice but to follow me, but she kept turning back to look at Baifanlou behind her, looking reluctant to leave.