Capítulo 57: The Lantern Festival
Editor: Henyee Translations
"That's enough, Qiye."
The emperor then turned to Lu Changsheng and said, "My daughter can be quite rude, but her personality isn't bad and she's usually kind. Since the Lantern Festival is currently on-going. Imperial Teacher, please let Qiye accompany you and be your guide during the festival. If you think my daughter isn't that useless, please take her with you. If you still don't agree, I won't force you. What do you think?"
It sounded like a fair suggestion.
Since the emperor showed such respect. Lu Changsheng told himself that he should at least give this princess a chance.
"I see. We'll do as you say, Your Majesty."
The emperor immediately grinned and said, "Qiye, cherish this chance! Show the Imperial Teacher what you're capable of!"
Then, the emperor handed his daughter a golden token and said, "If any idiot dares to be disrespectful to the Imperial Teacher, you know what to do."
"I do, father."
Qian Qiye kept the token and turned towards Lu Changsheng, "Teacher Changsheng, let me introduce you to the Lantern Festival of the Dynasty of Da Qian. The Lantern Festival is only held once a year. People from all over the world would come here and celebrate with us. Plus, you'll also be able to see lots of gorgeous beauties! Follow me!"
Qian Qiye grabbed Lu Changsheng's arm in excitement.
When he heard this, Liu Qingfeng was also quite excited.
Gorgeous beauties?
That didn't sound bad at all!
After they left the palace, Qian Qing murmured to himself, "I really hope that the Imperial Teacher can change my daughter. I don't understand why Qiye likes women."
He stood up and also left the palace.
…
At this time, it was already getting dark.
The night sky was like a huge curtain which covered everything.
Against the dark background, the Milky Way looked extremely beautiful.
In the capital, colorful lanterns were everywhere as joyful music filled every corner.
The city had become incredibly vibrant and vigorous because of the festival.
As he set his feet on the stone steps, Lu Changsheng saw a thin layer of green moss on it. He found that this scene somehow interested him.
Liu Qingfeng was attracted by the many stalls that were selling all kinds of things.
However, Qian Qiye's focus was on the many beautiful ladies walking past them.
"The Lantern Festival is just so-so." Liu Qingfeng walked back to Lu Changsheng after buying a toy pinwheel from one of the stalls.
Liu Qingfeng and his pinwheel reminded Lu Changsheng of a silly but cute kid that could usually be found in a TV series.
"Senior Brother, why are you looking at me like that?" Liu Qingfeng asked when he noticed the strange look on Lu Changsheng's face.
"It's nothing." Without giving a clear explanation, Lu Changsheng simply smiled and rubbed Liu Qingfeng's hair.
"You know nothing about the Lantern Festival. This place is just a fair for now. But an hour later, all the stores and stalls will be providing riddles. If you can get correct answers, you'll get lots of good rewards. However, the most important event in the festival is still sending lanterns," Qian Qiye explained to them.
"Sending lanterns? Why would I want to do that?" Liu Qingfeng was curious.
"They aren't gifts. But when the event starts, you'll understand. You two are gonna love it! Perhaps Teacher Changsheng can find his true love here," Qian Qiye explained so.
"True love? Really?" Liu Qingfeng started to feel interested.
An hour later, it started raining in the capital.
However, it was just very light rain, almost like water mist in the air. The kind of fine water that made the place look like a soft and hazy gentle dream.
As they followed Qian Qiye, they came to the most lively streets where all the riddles were available.
These eight streets, either horizontal or vertical, were all very wide and had the space for a few hundred thousand people. But even so, streets were fully packed right now.
The shops were all decorated with colorful lights and lanterns, there were notes attached to them.
The event was all about solving riddles and puzzles.
"Senior Brother, look! That thing can change its color!" Liu Qingfeng pointed at a store's decoration and exclaimed in surprise.
At this moment, Lu Changsheng wished that Liu Qingfeng could stay away from him.
In the world of cultivation, what was so great about things that changed color?
Wait!
Lu Changsheng noticed it was a color-changing stone upon taking a closer look at it.
Even though it looked like a pebble, but the fact that it kept changing its color made it look quite magical.
"Shopkeeper, is this for sale?" Lu Changsheng asked curiously.
It wasn't a spirit stone, however, it could change colors on its own.
"This thing isn't for sale, young master. It's a gift as long as you can solve the riddle!" The shopkeeper answered.
Solving a riddle?
Lu Changsheng took a glance at the small piece of paper hanging onto the lantern.
He finally realized the problem.
He couldn't understand the characters.
Should he answer based on a blind guess?
Lu Changsheng took a glance at Liu Qingfeng. When Liu Qingfeng realized the same problem, he somehow appeared to be rather confident.
"Senior Brother, since you're always the one who attracts a lot of attention and admiration. Today, it's my turn to prove my high intelligence for riddle-solving to you!"
He turned to the shopkeeper and said, "It's a field, right?"
Liu Qingfeng was very confident despite the fact that he was making a complete blind guess.
"No." The shopkeeper shook his head.
"Then it should be the character, ancient, right?"
The shopkeeper shook his head again.
"The character, Wang?"
And again.
"The character, Xu?"
"Lin?"
"The character, kill?"
"Joy?"
"It must be the character, field!"
"Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li?"
"Zhou, Wu, Zheng, Wang?"
"Mouse? Cattle?"
"Is it really a character?"
"Are you kidding me?"
"Go to hell!"
Liu Qingfeng's eyes turned red at this point. In Lu Changsheng's point of view, Liu Qingfeng was basically trying out the dictionary. In the end, Lu Changsheng had to stop Liu Qingfeng from driving himself crazy.
How embarrassing!
"Don't pull me back, Senior Brother! I won't leave until I figure it out!" Liu Qingfeng was being irrational now.
Just like a kid in a fit, Liu Qingfeng refused to leave.
"Stop embarrassing yourself." Qian Qiye giggled.
"Embarrassing myself? You try it then!" Liu Qingfeng rolled his eyes as he said grumpily.
"No problem."
Qian Qiye took a glance at the riddle and seriously said to the shopkeeper, "I'm the king of riddles in Da Qian. Don't cry when you lose."
She even bragged about herself before giving the correct answer. It was indeed her style.
"Of course, I won't. Young master, please take a guess."
"I think… It must be the character, god, right?" Qian Qiye said confidently.
The shopkeeper looked a bit afraid. After taking a quick glance at Liu Qingfeng and then Qian Qiye, he shook his head.
"The character, hundred?"
"No."
"The character, new?"
"No.."
"The character, She?"
"The character, cheap?"
"One?"
"Two?"
"Three?"
"Four?"
"Go to hell!"
Qian Qiye lost and was outraged.
Lu Changsheng had to stop her from tearing down the stall.
"That's enough! The both of you, behave yourselves!" Lu Changsheng scolded them.
The shopkeeper's face turned pale because of these two people.
It wasn't a big deal if they didn't know the answer. But their anger was totally unnecessary.
"Senior Brother, I'm sure that the correct answer doesn't exist. This shopkeeper probably doesn't want anyone to take away the stone as a gift!"
"That's right. I've seen many profiteers like you! If you can't afford to lose, then don't set up this stall in the first place!"
Qian Qiye agreed with Liu Qingfeng.
The two of them were simply dumb and they were putting all the blame on others.
The shopkeeper was really scared.
He looked at Lu Changsheng and hurriedly asked for help, "Young Master, I promise I'm not that kind of person. You have such an elegant bearing, and I'm sure you're very talented. Why don't you give it a try?" The shopkeeper suggested.
Give it a try?
Lu Changsheng didn't even understand the characters.
In addition, there were zero clues to the riddle.
However, simply taking a blind shot wouldn't do any harm.
"The character, Qian?"
Lu Changsheng came up with this random guess. He was already ready to leave with Liu Qingfeng and Qian Qiye since he didn't want to embarrass himself any longer.
The shopkeeper was surprised at the answer.
"Young Master, you're indeed brilliant! The answer is Qian!"
Qian Qiye and Liu Qingfeng couldn't believe their ears. Even the bystanders couldn't believe their ears.
Even Lu Changsheng himself couldn't believe it.
Seriously? That was just a guess!
-- Regalo
recibido