Top Scholar

Chapter 166 Lanterns

Upon seeing this, Su Lu turned his head and saw three graceful young women walking straight towards them, surrounded by maids and servants.

The three young women were dressed in contrasting styles. One wore a short, gold-embroidered blouse in a begonia-red hue, with a ruby ​​adorning her forehead; her smile was brighter than peach blossoms. Another wore a plain sky-blue gauze skirt, her beauty as ethereal as a fairy descended from heaven, her elegance as refined as ink-washed spring mountains. The third wore a pale persimmon-colored blouse and skirt, her graceful movements as dignified as a peony in its first bloom.

The appearance of the three young beauties immediately attracted the attention of the surrounding tourists. The folk customs in Sichuan are more unrestrained than those in the Central Plains, and even more so in southern Sichuan. If it weren't for the fierce-looking warriors following behind them, some lecherous men would have already come up to chat them up.

"Brother, my sister and the others are here!" Zhu Ziming said to Su Lu, "Isn't the one in the yellow dress pretty?"

Only a little kid could still care about his sister; all the older brothers surrounded her, bowing and greeting the most beautiful woman in the blue dress.

"Oh my, Miss Huang is here too?!"

"Miss Huang, it's been a long time! You're even more charming now!"

"Little sister, do you still remember your brother?"

The woman in the yellow dress sighed and scolded, "You all better behave yourselves! If you scare Huang Meimei, we won't go out with you anymore!"

"Sister, what are you saying? We were just saying hello!" The brothers quickly tried to clear their names, and Zhu Zijing then said to Huang E, "Don't worry, sister, we're your protectors tonight! We'll make sure no unwanted suitors spoil your enjoyment of the lanterns!"

"Thank you." The young lady Huang curtsied and said with a smile, "If it weren't for the fact that we have several brothers with us, Father would never have let us out."

"Did you hear that?" the Zhu brothers said smugly to their sister.

Miss Zhu sighed and rubbed her forehead. These guys are usually so arrogant, they're never this obsequious...

While the group was talking, the woman in the red dress walked straight toward the Su brothers.

"Is it her?" Su Lu asked softly.

“It’s her.” Su Tai nodded and said softly, “Shall we run?”

"Where are you going? They've already come knocking on our door." Su Lu said with a wry smile. It was obvious that Miss Zhu had insisted that her brothers bring the two of them here, which was exactly what this girl in the red dress wanted.

The reward was to bring that Miss Huang out too...

"What should we do?" Su Tai said anxiously, "We need to think of something quickly, she's coming."

"Don't be afraid, she doesn't eat people." Su Lu said softly, "We'll deal with whatever comes our way."

At this moment, the girl in the red dress, She Yunluo, approached, smilingly scrutinizing the two brothers. Her large, expressive eyes were full of smugness, clearly saying, 'Where do you think you're going to run now?'

"Big sister, is something the matter?" When it comes to talking, Su Lu is definitely the one to step up.

Upon hearing this, She Yunlu rolled her eyes and looked at Su Tai, saying, "We meet again."

"Ah." This time, Su Tai couldn't pretend not to know him and asked in a low voice, "What do you want?"

"..." The girl in the red dress was speechless with anger again, thinking to herself, what are these two guys doing? Do they have to be so unapproachable? Am I some kind of monster?

He forced a smile and said, "I'm here to apologize. I mistook you for someone else last time."

“Right?” Su Tai chuckled and said, “I told you I didn’t know you.”

"But we've met today, haven't we? My name is She Yunluo." She Yunluo clasped her hands in a fist salute to Su Tai and asked, "May I ask your name, sir?"

“My name is…” Su Tai said helplessly, “Su Tai.”

"So it's Brother Su." She Yunlu nodded in satisfaction, then glanced at Su Lu and asked, "Little brother, what's your name?"

Su Lu was actually more than half a head taller than She Yunlu, but since he had called her "elder sister" at the beginning, she could only smile wryly and say, "Su Lu."

"So you're Young Master Su." These words drew over Miss Huang, who was wearing a blue dress.

"I wouldn't dare," Su Lu said modestly.

"This humble woman, Huang E, greets Young Master Su." The ethereal Miss Huang curtsied to him and said gracefully, "I apologize to Young Master Su."

"This... Miss Huang, what makes you say that?" Su Lu asked, puzzled.

“The ‘patriot’ of Si Tui Pavilion, I am the ‘Blacksmith Huang’ of White Pagoda Street,” Huang E whispered to him.

"Oh!" Su Lu understood and couldn't help but exclaim, "So that first line was written by Miss Huang! She is truly intelligent and talented, and her skill is ingenious!"

“Young master, you flatter me. Your second line is far superior to my first in terms of both talent and style.” Huang E shook her head slightly and said seriously, “Not to mention that I used the wrong words, which is truly laughable.” “Oh, so you mean that there shouldn’t be black in the seven colors, but green?” Su Lu laughed and said, “I think it’s a good change. Coal is black. To insist that it’s green is just moldy.”

"In short, it was my fault. I've forced you to continue down this wrong path and live in fear instead of fear," Huang E apologized again.

"You mean that?" Su Lu couldn't help but laugh. "I should thank you. I racked my brains but couldn't come up with a single word to match 'fear'. Then I found out that you didn't strictly use seven colors, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Now I can finally find a single word to replace it without any guilt."

"So we're in the same boat," Huang E said, amused.

"Have you two finished talking about the King?" Zhu Zigen urged, "It's time for us to stroll through the lantern market!"

“Okay, Brother Zhu.” Huang E nodded, then bowed to Su Lufu and said, “Brother Su, please.”

"Please, young lady." Su Lu returned the greeting with a fist and palm salute.

Huang E then returned to Miss Zhu's side, and She Yunluo finally let go of the pitiful Su Tai.

Three girls walked ahead, followed closely by a group of men who acted as their protectors, as they entered the gradually lit-up lantern market.

~~
As night falls and the lights come on, the Luzhou Lantern Market finally reveals its dazzling and magnificent true appearance.

Under the illumination of thousands of lanterns, the entire street was as bright as day. Every shop along the street had a canopy, colorful curtains, and lanterns, each vying for attention with its own unique style, making it a feast for the eyes... A rooster lantern made of bamboo strips stood proudly on the eaves, while dragon lanterns, phoenix lanterns, and crane lanterns were carried in the air on bamboo poles, swaying slightly in the wind, truly like celestial birds and rare beasts descending to earth.

There are also various butterfly lanterns, pagoda lanterns, lanterns symbolizing harmony, lanterns symbolizing two immortals of harmony, lanterns symbolizing the arrival of three yangs, lanterns symbolizing peace in all four seasons, lanterns symbolizing five sons vying for the top spot, lanterns symbolizing the auspiciousness of six kingdoms, lanterns symbolizing seven talented scholars, lanterns symbolizing the eight immortals crossing the sea, lanterns symbolizing nine sons passing the imperial examination, lanterns symbolizing ambush from all sides... It's dazzling, and one can only wish that their parents had given them an extra eye.

Su Lu gazed at the enormous "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea Lantern," its silk surface depicting life-size figures of the Eight Immortals who appeared one by one, exquisitely lifelike, as the lantern's shadow moved. However, he noticed that his beloved He Xiangu was missing from this version; instead, there was Xu Shenweng carrying a gourd on his back… No wonder this version had been replaced!
Men, women, and children of all ages in Luzhou flocked to the streets to watch the lanterns, each carrying a small lantern. Walking the streets, they resembled a flowing galaxy. Fireworks of all shapes and sizes burst open in the sky. The light and shadow were dazzling, obscuring all beauty. Smoke and dust shrouded the area, preventing the moon from shining brightly and the dew from falling—a truly bizarre and spectacular sight!
In this environment, people also let go of their usual reserve and became enthusiastic and unrestrained. They laughed and sang loudly, children chased and played, young men and women secretly held hands, and many vagrants fawned over girls who did not have male companions...

Many reckless young men tried to approach Huang E, She Yunluo, and the other two, but without exception, they were all blocked by the fierce-looking Luo Luo warriors and had to reluctantly change their targets.

~~
The lantern market is a combination of lanterns and market stalls. Besides the thousands of lanterns, there are also a dazzling array of food stalls. In addition to the usual steamed pork with rice flour, braised chicken feet, plum blossom sugar cakes, and glutinous rice cakes, there are also seasonal delicacies, such as floating glutinous rice balls, fried glutinous rice balls, and lantern-shaped pastries…

The iron pot is filled with milky white soup, and the snow-white glutinous rice balls float in it. Some vendors will also cook the glutinous rice balls with fermented rice wine, so that the glutinous rice balls are soft and chewy and the soup is sweeter and more fragrant.

Fried glutinous rice balls are even rarer. The glutinous rice skin is rolled in oil into golden balls, placed on a small plate, and eaten with a bamboo skewer. Blow away the hot air and bite through the crispy shell, and the sweet black sesame seeds flow into your mouth. It's hot and fragrant, making it irresistible!
And then there's that 'Lantern Shadow Pastry' that you can only find in big cities... On the paper-thin, flaky pastry, you can even see the outlines of a jade rabbit and a full moon. Unfortunately, there are too many bright lights today, so no shadows are cast.

People came to the lantern market not only to admire the lanterns but also for the novel food. So none of them ate dinner at home, vowing to eat their way from one end of the street to the other. But before they even reached the halfway point, they were all already full…

Apart from Su Tai and She Yunluo.

Su Tai held the food that his male companions couldn't finish, while She Yunluo clutched the food that her female companions couldn't finish, and kept eating and eating.

"Delicious, so delicious!" Su Tai was so happy that he forgot his guard and mumbled to She Yunluo, the only one who could keep him company until this point, "Want some roasted pork skin?"

"Mmm..." She Yunluo had her mouth full and didn't have time to answer. She stretched out her only free left little finger and ring finger and picked up the skewer that Su Tai handed over.

"People in big cities really know how to eat things. I never thought pig skin could be eaten like this." She Yunlu swallowed the sweet rice balls in her mouth and exclaimed, "In Linzhou, we eat pig skin with the meat."

“Where I’m from, we make aspic, which is also quite delicious.” When it comes to food, Su Tai finally stopped being a taciturn person and commented seriously, “But this is still the most satisfying; one bite and your mouth is full of oil.”

"I'd really like to try the aspic," She Yunluo said. "Where are you from? I'll try it sometime."

"Brother Qiu, have a skewer too." Su Tai turned to Su Lu, completely ignoring her comment.

"This guy looks simple-minded, but he's cunning." She Yunluo angrily bit off a piece of roasted pork skin, which made Miss Zhu chuckle.

"You're only just realizing this?"

"Have you two eaten your fill?" At this moment, Zhu Zigeng, the eldest brother, asked the two rice bowls.

"I'm almost full now that I've finished what I have in my hand," Su Tai replied, meaning he meant about 70% full.

“Mmm.” She Yunluo nodded and said, “Me too.”

Su Tai glanced at her upon hearing this, wondering why she was imitating him.

"That's good! Shall we go guess the riddles?" Zhu Zigeng said anxiously, "If we're too late, all the prizes will be won!"

"Alright, alright, hurry up and go!" Everyone present was a scholar, and naturally, they did not want to miss this essential part of the Lantern Festival.

"It's pointless." Only She Yunlu muttered softly, "We can't eat the prize money anyway."

But the minority had to submit to the majority, and everyone happily returned to the Drum Tower.

(End of this chapter)