In a blink of an eye, it was the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Yingbao and A Niang changed into casual clothes and went to watch the lanterns with a group of palace maids.
Wei Xiuxiu, holding her daughter, did not fall behind and walked among the crowd with everyone.
She and her daughter Wenzhu ate well and dressed well at the Jiang family. They quickly recovered and looked much younger.
"Mom, it's beautiful!" Wen Zhu put one arm around Wei Xiuxiu's neck and pointed to the lanterns on the side of the road with the other.
Wei Xiuxiu smiled and nodded: "Which one do you like, I will buy one for you."
The county lady and Anren were both very easy-going. During the Chinese New Year, they gave her an extra red envelope of ten taels in total, saying it was a New Year's gift to Wenzhu.
Wei Xiuxiu plans to buy a rabbit lantern for her daughter to make her happy.
Wenzhu retracted her hand and whispered, "No, let's save the money and provide for our mother in her old age."
Wei Xiuxiu kissed her daughter's face and said, "It's too early for mother to retire. Lanterns are not expensive. If Ah Zhu likes one, buy one and light it up at night."
Wenzhu then nodded and looked carefully to both sides.
Under the eaves of the shops on both sides are hung various colored lanterns, emitting warm light. There are glazed palace lanterns, lotus lanterns, revolving lanterns, white elephant lanterns, and crab lanterns.
There are also toad lanterns, official puppet lanterns, carp lanterns, crane lanterns, peacock lanterns, mandarin duck lanterns, cow lanterns and sheep lanterns, which are quite varied.
In front of every merchant's shop, there are long strings of crab lanterns and square-hole money lanterns hanging, symbolizing wealth coming from all directions and traveling all over the world.
Yingbao and A Niang walked and looked along the way, and finally stopped in front of their own shop.
She spent more than two thousand taels of silver to buy this three-room shop, which she has now handed over to her second cousin to run, temporarily selling potted plants for all seasons.
When spring and summer come and the price of potted plants drops, I let my second cousin set up a shop in it to sell Qinchuan County specialties.
Or it would be nice to open a rouge and powder shop, and then have my second aunt Yan Ru take care of it.
Yan Ru knows how to make rouge and powder, which means she is very experienced in this area and it should not be difficult to make.
With me backing them up, I believe those old-fashioned rouge and powder shops wouldn't dare to do anything behind their backs.
"Aunt San, Yingbao, please go upstairs. I'm ready."
Jiang Quan stood at the door and said with a smile: "When the tour comes, it will be great to sit upstairs and watch."
Yingbao nodded and took her mother and the maids upstairs.
The second floor is quite spacious, with tables and chairs placed near the window, making it convenient to sit down and watch.
The second cousin also asked the servant to make almond tea and lit many lamps, making the upstairs brightly lit.
There are also more than a dozen lanterns hanging under the eaves of the corridor downstairs, as well as a dozen pieces of colorful silk. On the colorful silk are pasted yellow paper strips with riddles written on them. People who come to watch the lanterns are asked to guess the answers. Those who guess the answers can receive corresponding prizes.
Yingbao gave a generous reward. She said to the palace maids and servants beside her, "You can also guess. If you guess correctly, you will also receive a prize."
Among these prizes, the lowest prize is three colored candy balls, followed by five colored candy balls, then ten candies, a silk flower, a lantern, etc. The best first prize is a pair of silver bead flowers, worth five taels of silver.
All these rewards were written on a large piece of red paper and posted at the door of the store to attract customers.
When the palace maids and servants saw that the county lady invited them to play as well, they couldn't help but jump for joy. They bowed and ran downstairs, laughing and looking at the riddles.
Mudan and Meixiang did not go down, but stayed quietly beside the county lady.
Under Yingbao's encouragement, Xinghua and Zhenzhu Amber can recognize a lot of words and can barely understand the riddles on the lanterns, but there are only two palace maids who can read, and the rest can just watch for fun.
But regardless of whether they can read or not, this group of beautiful girls standing under the lanterns at the store door are a beautiful sight and quickly attracted many young men to gather around.
Jiang Quan asked several servants to watch over her and not allow anyone to take advantage of his maid.
Wei Xiuxiu also brought her daughter to guess the riddles, and she actually guessed quite a few correctly, but they were all candies.
Wenzhu happily peeled off the yellow paper that indicated the answer guessed by A Niang and handed it to the servant who was responsible for distributing rewards.
This servant was an official slave named Xiong Shan, about thirty years old, and a strong servant assigned by the court to Jiang Jie for service.
"Uncle Xiong, my mother guessed another one right. The answer is Beginning of Summer. Do you think it's correct?" Wenzhu smiled at Xiongshan with curved eyes.
Xiong Shan took it and checked the answer.
Dayu became king (guess a solar term), the answer is indeed the Beginning of Summer.
"Yes, I'll give you the prize now." Xiong Shan counted out five candies and gave them to Wen Zhu.
Wenzhu was so happy that she stuffed all the candies into her little bag.
"Mom, my bag is no longer full." Wen Zhu said while nestling in Wei Xiuxiu's arms.
Wei Xiuxiu hugged her daughter and said with a smile: "Then let's not guess anymore, let's go buy lanterns."
"OK."
Xiong Shan looked up at the mother and daughter and suddenly said, "I happen to have a rabbit lamp here. I'll give it to you."
As he spoke, he took out a small colorful rabbit lantern from behind him, which was just the right size for a child of Wenzhu's age to hold.
Wenzhu cheered and took it happily: "It looks great, thank you Uncle Xiong."
Wei Xiuxiu felt a little sorry and asked, "How much is the lantern?"
Xiong Shan: "I'm giving this to Wen Zhu. I don't want any money."
"How can this be so embarrassing."
"It's for the child to play with, it's not worth much. You even made clothes for me." Xiong Shan looked up at Wei Xiuxiu and said, "Xiuxiu, it's not easy for you to take care of the child. If you have any difficulties in the future, just tell me. I will definitely help you if I can."
Wei Xiuxiu blushed and nodded slightly.
Suddenly, there was a commotion on the street, and the sound of gongs and drums could be heard.
A group of shirtless men were holding dragon lanterns and waving them continuously. From a distance, the dragon on the lanterns looked like it was alive, swimming with its fangs and claws bared.
Behind the dragon held by a dozen people, there were dozens of people holding various koi lanterns, walking, dancing and singing: "In the first month of the year, the jade mirror shines on the imperial throne, heroic songs and urgent drums send celebrations, the carp and golden dragon descend to the mortal world, adding ten thousand years to the lifespan..."
Behind the dragon dance team are many dancers and musicians, and some people dress up as various characters, such as Zhong Kui, Xiangliu, the God of Wealth, the Goddess, etc., dancing as they walk.
These parades would circle the Duanmen Gate on the imperial city side twice and perform for the emperor and concubines on the Xuande Tower.
Yingbao waited until all the dragon dance teams had passed before coming down from upstairs with A Niang.
She glanced at Xiongshan as she passed by him.
This man has a solemn face and a strong body, which makes him a good match for Wei Xiuxiu.
Alas, I have neglected the lifelong affairs of the servants and maids in my house.
Especially the four maids assigned to the emperor and Jiang Jie's two servants, they are all quite old.
Just like Meixiang, she must be nineteen this year, and Lanxiang is eighteen or nineteen, they should have gotten married a long time ago.
But what kind of family should I find for them to match them
Palace maids are not like slaves. They are all good citizens. When they get older, their masters can let them go home directly if they are willing.
But Yingbao couldn't just let them go, because they were sent by the emperor and might be the emperor's spies.
Otherwise, go back and ask Meixiang and the others if they want to get married.
If they are interested, I will find them a son-in-law.