Chapter 339: Date
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Even when the carriage was moving, it was swaying slightly. His hands were still so steady and elegant. His movements were like flowing water, and the tea didn’t spill at all.
In the next moment, a full cup of flower tea was handed to her. The fingers holding the enamel teacup were well-defined.
Gu Yanfei looked straight into Chu Yi’s warm, deep, and peaceful eyes and suddenly understood.
Yes.
In the past eight years, Chu Yi had been a hostage in the State of Yue and was no different from a bird in a cage. Eight years ago, the previous Emperor was still alive. At that time, as the Crown Prince, every step was difficult. This also meant that Chu Yi’s life wouldn’t be easy.
Gu Yanfei took the cup of flower tea from Chu Yi. She lowered her eyes and sniffed the fragrance of the tea. ‘This is also my first time going to the Lantern Festival. We have to have a good time.”
An Le nodded repeatedly, looking radiant.
After a few streets, the carriage began to slow down.
Even though they were sitting in the carriage, the three of them could clearly hear that the streets outside were getting more and more lively.
An Le couldn ‘t help but open a corner of the curtain and look outside.
Red lanterns hung on both sides of the street, emitting a sparkling light. They flowed in the air like a resplendent river of lanterns, beautiful beyond words.
There was no curfew today, and the streets were filled with people.
Many young people were holding lanterns and strolling on the streets with smiles on their faces. From the direction they were walking in, it was obvious that they were going to the Dazhao Temple to watch the Lantern Festival.
The closer they got to Dazhao Temple, the more people there were on the streets, and the slower the carriage was. In the end, it was even slower than a passerby walking.
Gu Yanfei simply suggested, “Let’s walk over from here. We can look at the lights and stroll around the temple fair.”
Without needing Chu Yi to give any instructions, the coachman cleverly stopped the carriage by the roadside.
Gu Yanfei got off the carriage first. A wheelchair had already been placed beside the carriage. Xiao Shi smiled at Gu Yanfei obediently.
Chu Yi personally carried An Le out of the carriage and gently placed her on the wheelchair.
Gu Yanfei helped the little girl adjust her cloak. Then she snapped her fingers and lit the lantern in An Le’s hand.
There were no candles in the lantern, only a talisman made of paper.
When the talisman lit up, the lantern lit up. Through the translucent lampshade, a few butterflies could be seen dancing around the two peony flowers in the lantern. It was like an exciting shadow show.
An Le covered her mouth and exclaimed in surprise. A colorful butterfly flapped its wings and flew out of the lantern, transforming into light spots and wisps of fragrance in midair.
Some passersby looked at them curiously. Their gaze inevitably landed on An
Le, who was in the wheelchair. They were attracted by the lantern in her hand.
The surrounding praise floated over one after another. One could vaguely hear words like “beautiful”, “revolving lantern,” , “butterfly”, and so on.
Pleasantly, An Le straightened her body and gently shook the lantern in her hand. Her pitch-black pupils sparkled under the light of the lamp outside the window, like the brightest stars in the night sky.
Her lantern was personally made by Sister Yanfei. It was the only one in the capital!
Chu Yi pushed the wheelchair forward slowly.
There were countless lanterns hanging on both sides of the street. The bigger the restaurant, the more lanterns there were. Lotus lanterns, revolving lanterns, horse-riding lanterns… All kinds of lanterns lit up the surroundings with joy.
Gu Yanfei and An Le couldn’t take their eyes off it. They were amazed, and their eyes were wide open.
Not only was this An Le’s first time at the Lantern Festival, but it was also her first time out of the palace. She was amazed by everything she saw and lingered at every stall on the street.
She had only walked a few hundred feet, but she had already bought a basket of trinkets.
“Sister, the purse in that shop is really beautiful!”
“Sister, this candied plum… It’s sour and sweet and delicious.”
“Sister, does this bracelet look good?”
“Sister, let’s go over there and guess the riddle!”
Strings of red lanterns hung outside the restaurant like a red curtain, illuminating the entire restaurant in a bright red color. It was a joyous scene.
Outside the entrance of the restaurant, there were many people who came to guess the riddles. They were surrounded by three layers inside and three layers outside.
A waiter was shouting at the top of his lungs, “10 copper coins for a riddle. If you’re right, this lantern is yours.”
“If you guess 10 riddles correctly, our restaurant will also give you a jar of excellent wine, ‘Sword Orchid Spring’.
“Don’t miss it. ‘
There were many onlookers, but not many people were guessing riddles. After all, it cost 10 copper coins per try. Most people just wanted to join in on the fun and look on as bystanders.
“I’ll do it.” An Le happily raised her hand to the waiter and casually picked a lantern.
The waiter tore open the white paper on the lantern, revealing the riddle on it:
the fragrance of flowers at the end of spring and the beginning of autumn.
This question wasn’t difficult.
An Le tilted her little face and thought for a while before saying, “The end of spring is the sun, and the beginning of autumn is the river. Placed together, it’s the word ‘scent’, and the flower fragrance is also the word ‘scent’! ”
“Miss, you’re really smart. You guessed right.” The waiter clapped his hands heavily and said, “Miss, do you still want to continue guessing?”
‘Yes!” An Le said proudly.
An Le was in high spirits. She had guessed 10 riddles in a row, but of course, she didn’t guess all of them.
Gu Yanfei would guess the ones that she couldn’t; Chu Yi would guess the ones that Gu Yanfei also couldn’t.
After surmounting many obstacles along the way and guessing 10 riddles in a row, An Le felt bored. She pulled Gu Yanfei’s sleeve and wanted to leave.
The waiter could tell that these three people didn’t lack money. He happily tempted her and said, “Miss, if you can guess the most riddles correctly today, you can win the Lantern King.”
“Look, that’s the Lantern King!”
The waiter turned around and pointed at the restaurant at the back. In the middle of the hall hung an exquisite palace revolving lantern. It shone with golden light and was gorgeous and dazzling.
An Le glanced at it, but her interest was waning.
That palace revolving lantern was indeed not bad, but in her opinion, it couldn’t compare to the butterfly lantern that Gu Yanfei had given her.
The waiter wanted to say a few more words of advice, but he heard a crisp slap coming from the hall of the restaurant..