Maqiao was hurt and said, "Me! Miss Lan, don't you recognize me? Back then, I even gave you a ball and got beaten up by my brothers! "
It was no wonder that Miss Lan didn't recognize him. Maqiao had only participated in the Cuju competition once. From then on, he didn't even have the right to wave flags and shout battle cries, so Lan Yiqing didn't have any impression of him. So even though he was walking beside Yang Fan, the girls automatically thought of him as a passerby.
Lan Yiqing really did think of him when he said that. She immediately felt a little discouraged. She thought that she had something to blackmail about the little bald monk. Since this bald donkey was also here, it was likely that the little bald monk and the young lady might not necessarily be a couple.
Jiang Xuning saw this pretty girl blocking their way and couldn't help but ask Yang Fan curiously, "Xiao Fan, who is this girl?"
Yang Fan said, "This is Miss Lan. She's one of the people inside." He raised his thumb and pointed in the direction of the palace. Then he turned to Jiang Xuning and said with a smile, "Miss Lan is very good at soccer. Little Brother was almost at a disadvantage when I played soccer with her."
In fact, although Lan Yiqing played well, she was far from Yang Fan. Since Princess Taiping and Shanghai Wan'er weren't there, she and Gao Ying played the role of the vanguard. Therefore, the number of balls that were intercepted by Yang Fan from her hands was really innumerable.
After hearing Yang Fan's words, the girl thought that he was teasing her. She couldn't help but blush and snorted, "You don't have to pretend! It's true that I'm not as good as you, but if you want to win, there's no way. We'll definitely win the Cuju competition tomorrow! "
Yang Fan laughed, "Don't be so sure. What if we win?"
Lan Yiqing immediately became interested and rubbed her palms together, "Why, you want to bet something? Sure, tell me, what do you want to bet! "
Hearing that they were going to bet, the other girls also became spirited.
Life in the palace was a hundred times more boring than that of the common people. Every day was the same scenery and the same things. There was only so much space to begin with, and only a few people could be seen every day. The rules and laws were a hundred times more strict than that of the common people. Therefore, in addition to the boredom, the people in the palace invented many games.
These girls were addicted to gambling, such as fishing, boating, swinging, shuttlecock, and so on. A few girls came over and excitedly said, "Quickly tell us, what kind of prize will we have? We have won the championship every year in this Cuju competition. Do you think your White Horse Temple can do it? Humph, although your martial arts are not bad, it's hard to support a lone tree. It's impossible for you to win. This lady will bet with you! "
When Maqiao heard this, he immediately stepped forward and stood in front of Yang Fan, saying loudly, "Can we bet on anything?"
The girls said, "Anything is fine, just say it!"
Maqiao said in an imposing manner, "That's fine! If we win, Miss Lan will become my wife! "
Miss Lan's little face immediately turned red. She shyly scolded, "Bullsh * t! Who wants to marry you? "
The other girls, on the other hand, all asked at once, "What happens if you lose?"
Maqiao patted his chest and said, "If we lose, I will give myself to Miss Lan and become my husband!"
"Scram!"
The girls pouted coquettishly and kicked Ma Qiao aside with their jade-like feet.
"Alright, stop fooling around! What a scandal on the streets! "
Xie Muwen slightly furrowed her heroic brows and walked over. She looked Yang Fan up and down and smiled lightly, "Tomorrow is the Cuju competition. You still have the mood to parade the streets and watch the lanterns. Are you sure you will win?"
Yang Fan smiled and said, "Miss Lan does not dare to accept the challenge. Could it be that Miss Xie wants to accept the bet?"
Xie Muwen raised her eyebrows and asked, "What bet?"
Maqiao patted the dust off his body and said, "Naturally, if you lose, you will become my brother's wife. If we lose, my brother will compensate you and become your husband."
Xie Muwen ignored him and only said to Yang Fan, "In tomorrow's Cuju competition, if it's a 'free fight', you may have a chance to win. Unfortunately, it's not!"
Yang Fan said, "Maybe we will lose, but remember, I will not lose!"
"What do you mean?"
Yang Fan said, "Those of us will not be able to catch up to you in a short period of time. However, if I can defeat all the heroes … Ha, I'm wrong! It should be defeating all the girls. That will be enough for my White Horse Temple to be insufferably arrogant! And I have this ability! "
Xie Muwen smiled and said, "You are too confident. Too much confidence is arrogance, Chief Master!"
Yang Fan raised his eyebrows and looked straight into her eyes. He said word by word, "Whether it is arrogance or not, you will know tomorrow! Miss Xie, it's not just you! Even the Princess and Shangguan Daizhao, who are admired by all of you, will bow at my feet once they are on the court! "
While the two were arguing, there was already a person standing in the bustling crowd on the side of the road. She was looking at them with interest.
This person was a woman dressed in men's clothing. Around her stood four women dressed in men's clothing. Four extremely strong women dressed in men's clothing. The four women were like four giant pillars. They had thick thighs, thick waists, thick arms, and big faces. If one did not look carefully, one would really think that they were men.
However, the woman in men's clothing standing in the middle of them looked very delicate and slender even though she was tall and well-developed. This woman had a greasy nose, phoenix eyes, and red lips. Although she was dressed in men's clothing, which slightly concealed her beauty, she was still very charming. She was Princess Taiping, Li Lingyue.
The true joy of admiring the lanterns was not something that could be enjoyed by the rich and powerful standing in their own courtyard, accompanied by a group of servants, admiring the lanterns of their own home. If one wanted to have true joy, he had to walk on the streets, walk into the streets, and have fun with the people.
Princess Taiping had changed into men's clothing for the purpose of admiring the lanterns in the streets.
Princess Taiping had originally brought eight maids and two sons out to admire the lanterns. But the two children were still young. One was only one year old, and the other was only four years old. After playing for a while, they became sleepy. Princess Taiping ordered the four maids to take them back to the palace, while she and the other four continued admiring the lanterns.
Along the way, her depressed mood gradually eased. When Yang Fan and Xie Xiaoman were making a bet on the street, she happened to pass by and saw this scene.
As soon as Princess Taiping stopped, her four maidservants automatically stood around her, using their broad bodies to surround Princess Taiping tightly. Although there were many tourists on the street, no one could move them in the slightest.
These eight maids were all sumo wrestlers. Every year during the Lantern Festival, the sumo wrestlers in the palace would not only be male sumo wrestlers, but also female sumo wrestlers. If Yang Fan saw these four giant pillars, he would know why women could also win. Although they were women, they were more manly than men.
Yang Fan raised his eyebrows and said in a powerful voice, "Not only you, even the Princess and Shangguan Daizhao, who are highly respected by you, once on the court, they also have to bow at my feet!" When he said this, Princess Taiping's eyes suddenly flashed, and the corners of her mouth gently hooked up into an interesting smile.
At this moment, a man in a short brown shirt and a felt hat walked along the long street with his hands clasped in front of his chest. He smiled amiably and said, "Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me! Thank you for making way, please make way! "
Behind him, there were seven or eight human-pulled carts slowly coming. Although the carts were not big, the poles on the carts were piled up like a small mountain. If they were not tied with ropes, they would have long been scattered on the ground.
The man in front of them was surnamed Lu, called Lu Mo, and he was a merchant. Last year during the Upper Yuan Dynasty, he was stranded in Lantian County of Chang 'an because he was a traveling merchant. He did not have time to rush back to Luoyang, so he spent the whole first month in Lantian County of Chang' an. Although he was in a foreign land, he still had to celebrate the festival, so Lu Mo also asked his family to buy colorful lanterns, poles, and prepared a sumptuous banquet.
As a result, when he was burning the Exploding Rods, he was surprised to find that the Exploding Rods he bought were far louder than ordinary ones. Moreover, they would emit a beautiful glow and thick smoke as they burned, making it look even more festive.
Lu Mo was a merchant, so he was very concerned about this. He quickly grabbed the unburned poles and examined them carefully. It turned out that there was a local man named Li Tian who came up with an ingenious idea. He stuffed saltpeter into the explosive rods. This way, the explosive rods would be more flammable. When they were burning, they would explode with loud noises and beautiful fireworks. The smoke billowed, creating a very festive atmosphere.
After Li Tian invented this exploding rod, his exploding rod became the hottest selling exploding rod in Lantian County. However, this person was not very business-minded. Although his exploding rod was selling well, he had never thought of expanding his business to other places. After Lu Mo figured out the trick, it was as if he had found a treasure.
At this time of the year, people would throw some brittle bamboo poles into the brazier. When the fire burned, the bamboo would explode, making crackling sounds to celebrate the festival. Li Tian's invention was obviously more suitable for the festive atmosphere than the traditional poles. After Lu Mo returned to Luoyang, he tried making a batch on New Year's Day, and as expected, it was very popular.
Lu Mo was greatly encouraged and hired a lot of people to work day and night, waiting for the three days of the Lantern Festival to make a lot of money. The poles he made were stuffed with saltpeter. Although the price was high, with the purchasing power of Luoyang's people, they could definitely afford it. There were hundreds of thousands of people on this four kilometer long street. Even if only 1% of them were willing to buy his poles, he would still be rich.
Lu Mo bowed along the way, beaming with joy as he opened the way. Looking at the bustling crowd, he seemed to have seen a mountain of gold waving at him.
As soon as Yang Fan said this, Lan Yiqing angrily rebuked, "Arrogant!" She was about to go forward and argue with him, but Xie Muwen raised her hand to stop her. She sneered at Yang Fan and said, "Alright! Then this lady will wait and see! Let's meet at the Ju arena, goodbye! "
Since Yang Fan was competing with someone, Maqiao obviously had to cheer for his brother. Seeing Lu Mo excitedly rushing over with seven or eight carts full of poles, Maqiao immediately yelled, "Shopkeeper, stop! We want to buy firecrackers to celebrate our victory in the Ju arena! "
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
