Chapter 753: Lantern Festival

The fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival.

The Lantern Festival is a very important holiday, and also a very lively one. Compared to the grand Spring Festival, the Lantern Festival is more vibrant, lighthearted, and joyful. If one were to say that the elderly and children in a household look forward to the Spring Festival most, then what the young people love most is the Lantern Festival.

Once the Lantern Festival arrives, the streets and alleys are decorated with lanterns and streamers. At night, bright lanterns shine high, and there is scenery everywhere, not to mention the plays and songs, variety shows, lantern riddles, and parades. Regardless of gender, everyone can go out to the streets to play, and the joy is unrestrained.

Among them, the most magnificent and spectacular is the royal Golden Mountain Fireworks Festival. It is held on the large square in front of Jindinglou at the foot of Zijin Mountain, east of the city. First, fireworks are set off, then ceremonial cannons are fired, stringed instruments are played, and there are continuous grand plays and ten types of variety shows. It is grand and enthusiastic; those who go to watch the excitement could not finish seeing it all in three days and three nights, and even staying out all night would feel insufficient.

Besides the entertainment, every year at night, the royal family leads close ministers to descend upon Jindinglou to watch the fireworks and variety shows on-site, sharing the joy with the people. They also generously reward the performers and even the surrounding commoners, letting everyone share in the royal family's good fortune.

Since the current Emperor ascended the throne over ten years ago, the royal family members who ascend the building every year are the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, close princes, and dozens of high-ranking officials. Since last year, the Empress has been added. One would think this year will be no exception.

However, in these past few days, dark clouds have pressed down upon Jingcheng, and the nine city gates have been under martial law. Commoners are not allowed on the streets without reason, presenting an appearance of a storm about to break. The commoners cannot help but feel anxious, first worrying that their own lives might be caught in the crossfire of the power-hungry, and then worrying about how to obtain daily necessities like firewood, rice, oil, and salt. As for the fireworks festival, that is something only the youths occasionally think about, and they dare not think too much—thinking is useless; it can only be called wishful thinking. Most simply, the Golden Mountain fireworks are outside the city gates, and now that the city gates are sealed, how could the commoners go to watch?

Until two days ago, the dark clouds overhead suddenly dispersed, revealing the blue sky. It seems things have taken a turn for the better. Then, on the second day, the commoners were allowed to enter and exit the streets, but the curfew remained in effect. By the morning of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the city gates were thrown wide open, and finally, people were allowed to leave the city.

Immediately following this, some said that the Golden Mountain Fireworks Festival would be held as usual, and that commoners would still be allowed to watch, and that this year's fireworks festival would be even grander than in previous years.

It is just that not everyone can go to watch this year's fireworks festival. One must be selected from the neighborhoods and wards as someone with a clean background and a good reputation, plus representatives from all walks of life, men, women, old, and young, to be guided by the government to go and watch.

The commoners of Jingcheng were naturally a bit regretful, but also very excited. The regret was naturally that the quota was limited and they probably couldn't go, but the excitement was—since it was narrowed down to specific people, there must be a great reward after watching. The royal family is very wealthy. If one were lucky enough to be chosen, wouldn't one strike it rich?

"What? I was chosen?"

Wei Sanniang was very astonished when she heard this news, and she put down the needlework in her hands.

"Isn't that so? Congratulations, Sanniang. Our ward only selected two people, Old Master Li and you. Old Master Li goes without saying; he is the wealthiest, most powerful, and most prestigious person on our two streets, so it is only right that he was chosen, but you were chosen by drawing lots. It shows your fortune is the greatest; others can't help but envy you." The ward head said this without hiding his envy.

Wei Sanniang hesitated for a moment and said, "But... for a young woman like me to go out alone, and to such a crowded place..."

The ward head said, "What does that matter? In the past, it was inconvenient to go out, but today is the Lantern Festival, and there are no taboos. Could it be that you didn't go out to see the lanterns during the Lantern Festival in previous years? Furthermore, others might not know, but I know you have some martial arts skills. Didn't your old man pass that Crane Hand down to you and your brother? No one would expect that a delicate young woman like you has such a handsome skill. You don't have to fear others bullying you when you are out. How about it, Sanniang? Say something, Wei Er?"

Wei Er, who was brushing the livestock in the courtyard, looked up and said, "Mm. Go ahead. Ride that donkey of ours, dress up, wear new clothes, and don't let people look down on you."

Upon hearing this, Wei Sanniang finally revealed an irrepressible smile.

Wei Sanniang ultimately did not get to ride the donkey.

Although the commoners were allowed to attend the fireworks festival, the livestock were not. With so many commoners, if you rode a horse and I rode a donkey, wouldn't it be chaotic? So Wei Sanniang could only take the voucher and tag, and walk to the destination within the specified time. Moreover, she was not going alone, but queuing up with seven or eight people from the neighboring streets.

When the group arrived at the city gate, they found the city gate was blocked.

It wasn't that there were too many people, but that a carriage procession was passing through the city gate.

This carriage procession had quite a few people, with horses, carriages, and men, moving in a grand and imposing manner with flags fluttering. One look and it was clear they were not ordinary people. Commoners like Wei Sanniang feared officials the most and would never dare to compete for the road with a carriage procession that clearly belonged to big shots, so they all honestly stayed to the side and waited for the procession to pass.

However, while waiting for the procession, Wei Sanniang also heard bursts of discussion, coming from all directions, and it didn't matter who was saying it.

"This display, tsk tsk, he must be a prince at the very least, right?"

"These are the carriages of local feudal lords. Look at those flags; they are not the ones belonging to those old princes in the capital."

"You understand flags? Which feudal lord do you say this is?"

"... I understand a little, but not entirely. Isn't it that the feudal lords from all over have entered the capital? For such a grand ceremony, surely all the feudal lords must go to watch. These feudal lords are like local emperors outside, but once they reach the capital, aren't they still obedient? When they see the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, if they are told to kneel, they kneel; if they are told to kowtow, they kowtow? It shows the world is not in chaos at all; one still has to listen to the Emperor."

Wei Sanniang quietly looked up and saw that new carriage processions were following behind. Procession after procession, when would this end? It seemed that they might not even arrive by the time the fireworks festival started.

Then she heard someone say, "Did you see that? I recognize the procession behind that one; that is the Chun Wangfu! Back in the day, their family was a standard local feudal lord, and now that they have entered the capital, they are also figures to be reckoned with in Jingcheng."

"That powerful? Then how does that Prince Chun compare to Shou Wang?"

"This... if it were ten years ago, I would tell you there is no comparison. In this world, apart from the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, there is only Shou Wang. How could anyone else compare? But now..."

"Even now, they can't compare!"

Someone else joined the discussion, "I came early; Shou Wang's carriage passed by a long time ago. That posture, that momentum, tsk tsk... it's more than a hundred times stronger than Prince Chun's!"

"Yes, he is the Emperor's uncle after all, and he is also the greatest prince now, right? Eh? Shou Wang went so early? Shouldn't such a noble figure be the grand finale? He went even earlier than the younger generation?"

"He is humble. With his status, he doesn't need to rely on being early or late to set himself off. He is willing to go early to serve the Emperor and the Empress Dowager early; he has a respectful heart."

Various discussions were endless, but Wei Sanniang felt they were all talking nonsense, all made up; it would be good if even one percent were true. They were all neighbors; who didn't know who? They could barely recognize the county magistrate; how could they know about the affairs of the heavens?

Prince Chun, on the other hand...

Wei Sanniang had once accidentally caught a glimpse of this Prince's son. In her impression, he was a gentle, polite, and handsome young man, not showing a hint of the arrogance of the golden branches and jade leaves.

She had a very good impression of this young Prince; she certainly wouldn't dare to have any inappropriate thoughts, but it would be nice to see him again.

Just as she was thinking this, her wish was immediately fulfilled.

That Prince Chun was sitting in his carriage, surrounded by a group of guards, and not even his shadow could be seen, but the Prince's son was riding a horse alone, walking at the front of the procession, his appearance still the same as when she had seen him before.

Only, his face did not wear the kind smile from before; he appeared overly serious, and even his brows were locked, as if he had some troubling matter. To use the common parlance on the street, he had "a head full of lawsuits."

What, is he in a bad mood?

Wei Sanniang was a bit puzzled: today is a good day. Celebrating the Lantern Festival, watching lanterns, watching plays, isn't this a good thing? She herself could only watch from afar and was so happy she couldn't sleep; as a young prince, he could occupy such a good position, why was he still unhappy?

When the carriage processions had all passed, it was finally the commoners' turn. Wei Sanniang followed the crowd out of the city, and someone behind urged, "Hurry, hurry, if we delay for a while and the imperial palace's procession comes out, we'll have to yield the road until midnight. Then what lanterns will there be to watch?"

The group rushed all the way to the foot of Zijin Mountain, and from afar, they saw the magnificent Jindinglou.

Wei Sanniang had been to Jindinglou before, and naturally, she felt this building was incomparably tall, but looking at it this time, she felt the building was even taller by a few degrees.

This was not an illusion; this Jindinglou had definitely been renovated. Not only were several arched support buildings built around it, but the main body of Jindinglou had also been raised by two stories.

The current Jindinglou was a full seven stories high, sitting there as if it were a small hill!

Wei Sanniang looked at that large building and suddenly thought: Aren't the Emperor and the Empress Dowager tired? Climbing this many floors also requires some effort.

As an ordinary commoner, there was certainly no place for her inside Jindinglou. The commoners were all downstairs, while the powerful and noble went upstairs, taking their seats on different floors according to their status.

What made Wei Sanniang happy was that although those powerful and noble people could go upstairs, their entourages—those guards, attendants, and maids—could not go up, and they were all sent far away. Their positions were even further back than the commoners', and in front of the building, apart from the big shots, there were only the watching commoners. Although they were standing, they also occupied a relatively good view.

However, after entering the commoner area, the positions were not very fixed; being in front or behind basically depended on pushing. Although there were people watching so that it wouldn't lead to fighting over positions, it was inevitable to push back and forth. Wei Sanniang was separated from her group, but she relied on her skills and slim figure to squeeze to the very front.

Surrounded by strangers, beside her was a refined middle-aged man. In Wei Sanniang's mind, such a person should also be an official; she didn't know why he had landed on the ground and was standing with them.

"Excuse me, let me through, thank you. Eh, the play hasn't started yet. Sigh... this position isn't very good either."

The middle-aged man beside her gave up a spot and suddenly smiled, "Is this position not good? This is the best position downstairs."

Wei Sanniang smiled embarrassedly, "This position is very good, very close to the Emperor, but a bit far from the stage. I'm still here to watch the play."

The middle-aged man smiled and said, "What is there to watch in the play on the stage? The real good play is upstairs."

Wei Sanniang was a bit confused and was about to ask when she heard someone shout, "The Imperial Carriage arrives—"