Chapter 413

From the fourteenth to the sixteenth of the first lunar month, it was a good time to enjoy the lanterns. Every year at this time, skilled craftsmen would gather in Jin Ling city to sell all kinds of lanterns that they had meticulously made.

On the fourteenth day, the lanterns would be tested, and on the fifteenth day, it would be the busiest lantern festival. These few days, the city gates would not be closed, allowing the commoners to come and go as they pleased.

On the morning of the fifteenth, Zhan Ning 'er and Sister Sun were flying kites in the posthouse. This was also a common activity in the south during the Upper Yuan Dynasty.

Not far away, under a small pavilion, there was an official who was staying in the posthouse to celebrate the New Year. He was singing a song. The song was very suitable for the occasion. It was a song called "Kite Song": "Kite, the most important thing is a thousand-foot string. Too thin, too fluttering, not afraid of you going to the sky. Strands, sections, I catch you and wrap you around my side. It's not that I don't want to let go, but when I let go, you will not return. I will listen to the wind of you, and I will find out your height and distance. "

Zhan Ning 'er was pulling the kite and listening to the song. Unconsciously, she thought of Ye Xiaotian. If Ye Xiaotian was the kite that flew high in the sky, and she could pull the string here to decide whether he would fly higher or closer to her. How great would that be?

As Zhan Ning 'er was thinking, she suddenly felt something. She turned her head and saw Ye Xiaotian and Tang Xianzu hurriedly walking out. Zhan Ning' er hurriedly called out, "Ye Xiaotian, where are you going?"

Ye Xiaotian waved his hand at her and said loudly, "I am going with Brother Tang to find Hong Xing and the others to play mahjong."

Zhan Ning 'er raised her voice and said, "We are going to watch the lanterns tonight. Are you coming back?"

Ye Xiaotian had already walked out of the courtyard. He only waved his hand at Ning 'er from afar. He did not say that he was coming back, nor did he say that he was not coming back. Zhan Ning 'er frowned and muttered to herself, "Why is he so addicted to mahjong these days? He leaves very early and comes back very late every day …"

Zhan Ning 'er suddenly thought of the day when Ye Xiaotian came back limping. There were obvious mud marks on the knees of his robe. He felt that Ye Xiaotian's story of playing mahjong was not true. However, he could not figure out where the problem was. Perhaps it was as Ye Xiaotian said, that he fell when he was playing with Kuai Peng.

…

Residence of Zhenyuan, Pavilion.

Li Xuancheng rushed downstairs with a box in hand. Li Xuancheng was proficient in carving. He had been immersed in this line of work for many years and had been guided by a master. He was already at the level of a master. Li Xuancheng held a box and rushed downstairs. Li Xuancheng was an expert in carving. He had been immersed in this field for many years and had been guided by a famous master. He had already reached the level of a master.

Li Xuancheng felt that this carving was extremely good. The jade material was also of high quality. Once the carving was completed, he could not wait to present this treasure to Xia Yingying. He wanted to give this jade Buddha as a gift to Yingying.

Li Xuancheng rushed downstairs and was surprised to see Master Xia sitting in the hall downstairs drinking tea. Li Xuancheng hurriedly stopped in his tracks and respectfully greeted, "Master."

"Oh? It's the Imperial Uncle. Quick! Please take a seat! " When Master Xia saw that it was Li Xuancheng, he quickly stood up. Li Xuancheng quickly took two steps forward and said attentively, "Master, please sit. There's no need to be so polite."

"Good! Good! " Master Xia sat down and glanced at Li Xuancheng. He smiled and said, "Is the Imperial Uncle going to watch the lanterns tonight?"

Li Xuancheng nodded, "That's my plan. Xuancheng would also like to invite Lady Yingying to watch the lanterns with me."

Master Xia looked at the small box in his hand and snorted, "That girl, she's still sulking at me. This girl has really been spoiled rotten by this old man. "

Master Xia stroked his beard and sighed, "I won't hide it from you. I am very satisfied with you, Imperial Uncle. You have a good family background, a good character, a good appearance and you are deeply devoted to my Yingying. However, you have to coax her into changing her mind. I have a group of sons, but I only have one daughter. I won't hide it from you, in the three generations of the Xia family, she's the only girl. I really don't want to force her to cry and seek her own death … "

"This junior understands, this junior understands!" Hearing Master Xia's public declaration, Li Xuancheng was surprised and happy. He said confidently, "As the saying goes, sincerity can move metal and stone. Master, don't worry, Xuancheng will use my sincerity to influence Lady Yingying! "

On the third floor of the Verdant Drop Pavilion, outside Yingying's boudoir, two burly maids stood with their heads held high and their hands behind their backs. From the looks of it, Yingying had been placed under house arrest. Master Xia was afraid that she would escape to meet up with Ye Xiaotian again, so he kept a close watch outside the door.

Yingying sat in front of the dressing table and made a face at herself in the mirror. She thought that the person in the mirror was her father. It was very difficult to make the usually optimistic Yingying feel sad. Ever since she was young, she had never had a wish that she had not fulfilled. Why would she cry and seek her own death?

A beam of light suddenly appeared on the wall. It swayed back and forth, gradually moving towards the bronze mirror. Yingying hurriedly covered her eyes with her hands, blocking the reflection from the mirror. Then, she happily ran to the balcony. There was a balcony on the third floor. Standing there, one could overlook the entire Marquis of Zhenyuan's residence.

In the distance, there was another residence. That residence also had a small three-story building. A piece of white cloth hung down from the second floor. There was a painting drawn on the cloth. On the painting was a little boy and a little girl. The boy was pouting to kiss the girl's face. The girl had two pigtails on her head. She twisted her fingers and looked charmingly naive.

Yingying laughed out loud. She hurriedly covered her mouth and guiltily looked back. Then, she looked up the building. The painting had been rolled up, revealing the second painting below. In the painting, the little girl was locked in a cage. She was holding onto the bars of the cage pitifully. The little boy was holding onto a sword and was about to pounce to save the girl. In front of the cage stood a few burly men with puffed chests.

As Yingying looked at the painting, her smile became sweeter and sweeter. She leaned against the bars and held her face with her hands, smiling like a flower.

Ye Xiaotian had been unable to break through the heavy defenses of the Marquis's residence. However, Ye Xiaotian was not someone who would admit defeat so easily. When he heard that the residence next door belonged to Liu Junyang's cousin, he thought of a special method.

Ye Xiaotian first used money to bribe the chef in charge of buying groceries in the Marquis's residence. After finding out where Yingying lived, he borrowed Liu Junyang's cousin's embroidery building and used a small mirror to contact Yingying.

However, at such a distance, it was inconvenient to shout or write. Furthermore, it would easily alert the people of the Marquis's residence. Thus, Ye Xiaotian switched to painting. He first used the mirror to contact Yingying, then quickly showed her the painting. If the painting was accidentally seen by others, they might not be able to understand its meaning.

In Liu Junyang's cousin's embroidery building, the floor was covered with a piece of white leather. Liu Junyang held up a mop that had been dipped in ink. Her face was black and white as she weakly shouted at Ye Xiaotian's back, "Hey! I say, what's the next painting? "

Yingying had a sweet smile on her face. Her hands were on the railing and her sharp chin was propped up. Her enchanting eyelashes fluttered as she looked at the embroidery building in the distance with infatuation and satisfaction. Suddenly, she saw a very strange scene. Yingying's eyes widened and she carefully looked at it.

"Hmm? Little Brother Tian, what … does this mean? "

Yingying frowned and muttered to herself in puzzlement.

…

On the night of the Upper Lantern Festival, the entire city was in a festive mood.

A bright full moon hung in the sky.

People walked to and fro on the long street, and laughter could be heard.

The streets were crowded with people, and there were all kinds of colorful lanterns hanging in front of many houses and on both sides of the street. The dragon and lion dance teams passed by on the long street, attracting the attention of the common people. Many people carried lanterns and happily walked on the street, looking at the lanterns and guessing word riddles.

The Marquis's residence was also decorated with lanterns. Old Master Xia and Third Master Gu were admiring the lanterns in the courtyard. Based on their age and status, they naturally would not wander the streets. However, Li Xuancheng was standing under the Jade Drop Building. He had been waiting for a long time.

"Get out, get out, all of you get out!" A shout came from upstairs, followed by a loud slam of the door. A moment later, Xia Da and Xia Er came down from upstairs and said to Li Xuancheng embarrassedly, "Imperial Uncle, my little sister, she … Cough! I'm really sorry. "

Anger rose in Li Xuancheng's heart. As the Imperial Uncle, when had he ever been given the cold shoulder by a woman? In order to please Yingying, he had repeatedly humbled himself and made concessions, but Yingying became worse. She rejected the jade Buddha statue that he gave her in return, and she rejected him again when he invited her to watch the lanterns tonight. No matter how good Li Xuancheng's temper was, he could not help but be angry.

He took a deep breath and adjusted his emotions, then smiled gracefully, "It's alright. Since Miss Yingying doesn't like to go out, then Li won't go out either. Haha, let's celebrate the Shangyuan with a banquet downstairs, what do you think?"

The Xia brothers were all wine lovers, especially when they felt that their sister had slighted the Imperial Uncle. They felt bad and immediately responded. Li Xuancheng ordered someone to prepare a table and send it over.

In the Jade Drop Building, Yingying wore a cloak with the pattern of a crane. She stood at the top of the building and looked into the distance. From afar, the sound of gongs and drums could be heard. Looking down from the building, one could see thousands of lanterns and pavilions. The city was filled with lanterns and the sound of flutes and drums could be heard.

Yingying raised her head to look at the bright moon in the sky and thought to herself, "Brother Xiaotian's last painting also had a bright moon and a weird basket. What does it mean?"

On the main street of Jin Ling, Zhan Ning 'er was walking with Sister Sun, Hua Yunfei, and Mao Wenzhi. There were all kinds of lanterns by the side of the road, but she was still disinterested. Ye Xiaotian had yet to return even at night. Ning 'er truly hated the horse hooks to the bone.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the crowd in front. Following that, Sister Sun also jumped up in shock and shouted, "Ah! Look, what a big lantern! Sister Ning 'er, look! "

Zhan Ning 'er looked in the direction that Sister Sun was pointing. She saw a huge lotus lantern flying in the sky. Maybe this lantern used the same principle as the Kongming lantern. It was actually floating in the sky. Below the huge lantern, there seemed to be something like a hanging basket. There was actually someone inside.

The huge lantern wasn't flying very high. It was only about two feet above the top of the city wall. When it flew over the top of the city wall, the lights on the top of the city wall reflected the hanging basket. Zhan Ning 'er's heart suddenly skipped a beat. She saw the person standing in the hanging basket. Although it was only a back view, she would definitely not be wrong. That was Ye Xiaotian. It must be Ye Xiaotian.