Xie Wangzhi glanced at Changsheng, swallowed, and hesitantly reached out his hand. His fingertips trembled as he gently hooked his hand.
She was a little embarrassed, but Changsheng was very natural. He held her in his arms, said "Hold on tight", turned around and took Xie Wangzhi's hand, and walked against the crowd towards the lighthouse.
After walking like this, Xie Wangzhi finally understood why Changsheng asked her to hold on tight, because there were too many people, if she let go, she would be swept away by the crowd. Changsheng led her, going in the opposite direction of the surging crowd, like Ye Jieao's lone boat, deliberately going against the tide.
There were fireworks at midnight. The closer it got to the time of the fireworks, the more people came to the East Market. Xie Wangzhi was able to avoid the people on both sides at first, but later she had to brush shoulders with people and almost bumped into them several times. She held the rotating lantern in one hand, and the other hand was held by Changsheng. She followed Changsheng through the gap in the crowd. The wind blew up the few strands of hair left by her ears, and even a corner of her shawl fluttered slightly when she jogged.
She looked up at Changsheng, and the boy who was pulling her looked ahead, his hair was covered with the light from the lantern. The light burned out the outline of his face, and when his eyelashes blinked, they sprinkled tiny dots of light. His eyes were illuminated by the warm yellow light and turned into a deeper amber. The deep part of his pupils reflected the flickering lights of the East Market, and tiny pieces of gold fluttered in his eyes.
There were more and more people, and sometimes she had to squeeze between two people. If she was really separated, she would have to wait until the Lantern Festival was over before she could find her way back to Daming Palace. But Xie Wangzhi was not afraid, because she was still holding Changsheng's hand, whose finger bones were clear and his palm was warm, holding her tightly, as if he was holding on to the rare joy in his life.
She looked at Changsheng, her face flushed, her eyes sparkling as she called him, "Changsheng... Changsheng!"
"Are you tired?" Changsheng turned his head to look at her, ducking to avoid the lights hanging on the porter's shoulder pole. "We still have some way to go, and the acrobatics are about to start. I'm afraid we can't stop."
"No, I'm not tired. I just want to tell you," Xie Wangzhi also dodged over. She was a little out of breath and said after a while, "I'm very happy. I'm really happy now."
Changsheng was slightly startled, then smiled: "Just be happy. Hang on tight!"
"Um!"
The two hands were tightly clasped, with their fingertips hooked together. Changsheng finally smiled at Xie Wangzhi and continued to run towards the lantern tower with her.
**
Unlike the magic show stalls she had seen before, the variety shows under the lantern tower were more varied, not only did they include knife swallowing and fire walking, but there were also singing and dancing performances. The folk music was different from the music in the palace, and when she really got to the lantern tower, Xie Wangzhi was simply overwhelmed. There were too many things she had never seen before, and all she saw were new and dazzling.
In the end, she became very excited, and finally acted like a girl of her age. She jumped up or stood on tiptoe just like the other young ladies and gentlemen who came to watch the acrobatics, just to get a closer look at the artists.
Changsheng was used to it. He walked outside the palace all year round. He was surprised in the first year, but after watching it year after year, it was nothing but the same tricks over and over again. He was not very interested. The singing and dancing performances were not good, but Xie Wangzhi was good. He stood beside the girl and occasionally stretched out his hand to protect her so that no one would accidentally bump into her.
He looked at Xie Wangzhi's face, which was flushed with excitement, and felt happy from the bottom of his heart. Changsheng thought, this is good, he himself is bound in the palace, his life and death hang on a thread, and he has no peace day and night, but at least he can let Xie Wangzhi see things outside the palace, so that she will not know nothing when she leaves the palace in the future.
Changsheng closed his eyes and suddenly smiled.
When the show was over, Xie Wangzhi was still not satisfied, the blush on his face hadn't faded. He turned to look at Changsheng, his tone full of excitement: "It's really beautiful, I've never seen it before. I'm so happy."
She said she was happy several times tonight. Changsheng nodded and asked easily, "Which one do you like best?"
"Hmm... I like the one that changes masks." Xie Wangzhi recalled carefully, "I think it's magical. Just touch your face and the mask will change. Well, I remember there were Kunlun slaves, noble ladies, witches... Oh, and a black cat!"
“Yes, there is this.”
"That black cat mask is pitch black, and the face is big. Doesn't it look like a coal ball?"
Changsheng couldn't help laughing: "Why, in your eyes, the only thing that's big about Coal Ball is its face?"
"... Anyway, it's not here, and it can't understand." It seems wrong to say bad things about people behind their backs, and it seems wrong to say bad things about cats. Xie Wangzhi felt a little guilty and apologized to Meiqiu in his heart, "Meiqiu has gained weight recently."
"Isn't it because you always feed it?" Changsheng didn't care about this. "Do you like the mask?"
"I like it." Xie Wangzhi didn't understand why he asked that. "What's wrong?"
"Then let's go buy some masks." Changsheng wanted to hold Xie Wangzhi's hand again.
Just now they were trying to get lost, but now they were not moving. Xie Wangzhi felt a little awkward, and didn't want to let him hold her hand, so he instinctively moved back. After dodging like this, Changsheng didn't say anything, but she felt that she was being rude, so she quickly added, "What mask do you want to buy?"
"What you just said, Kunlun slaves, divine witches," Changsheng said indifferently, "You can buy a black cat if you want."
"No need." Xie Wangzhi said, "Actually, I just like watching the artists change masks, not that I like it myself."
"Why?"
"Because the mask blocks the person's face, I can only see the mask and don't know who is behind it."
Xie Wangzhi said it casually, without any other meaning, but Changsheng was slightly startled, and after a moment he sighed very lightly: "Yes. The mask will cover the face. When you put on the mask, you can be anyone, and anyone can be a face."
The meaning behind these words was too complicated, and Xie Wangzhi could not understand them for a while. She just thought that Changsheng had been bullied in the music school. She was silent for a while, and pulled his sleeve: "But I know who you are."
Changsheng was stunned: "Me?"
"Yes, I know who you are. With a mask on, you can be anyone, a Kunlun slave, a noble lady, a witch, or even a black cat. But I know it's you behind the mask." Xie Wangzhi looked at him steadily and said seriously, "Whether you are wearing a mask or not, you are Changsheng, someone I know."
An inexplicable emotion suddenly surged up in Changsheng's heart. The girl in front of him had an innocent face and said innocent words. He should laugh at her for not understanding, but he couldn't say it. His throat seemed to be strangled and the root of his tongue was slightly numb.
"Yeah, it's all me. I'm not like anyone else." He felt his voice was trembling when he spoke, but it sounded very steady to his ears, and even had a hint of smile. "Since we're not buying masks, let's go somewhere else. Are you hungry?"
"I..." It would have been better if she hadn't asked. After asking this, Xie Wangzhi really felt that she was hungry, and even felt her stomach rumbling. She pursed her lips and whispered, "...I think I'm hungry."
"Let's go eat." Changsheng didn't try to pull Xie Wangzhi's hand again, and took two steps back. "Do you want wontons or Yuanxiao?"
"Ordinarily, we should eat Yuanxiao during the Lantern Festival, but I ate this tonight." He was obviously hungry, but when Xie Wangzhi recalled the sweet and sticky taste of Yuanxiao, he didn't seem to want to eat it, "I still want to eat wontons."
"I know there's a wonton stand nearby." Changsheng said, "Let's go."
Xie Wangzhi nodded, carefully grabbed Changsheng's sleeve, and followed him out of the lighthouse.
After walking for a while, Xie Wangzhi saw the wonton stall. There were not many people eating supper at this time, and there were several empty tables next to the stall. The stall owner stood behind a large pot with boiling water. The newly made wontons were undulating in the water, steaming out the obvious aroma of meat and noodles.
"What do you think?" Changsheng moved closer and lowered his voice, "I've never tasted it before, would you like to try it?"
Xie Wangzhi sniffed and nodded: "I think the fragrance is very good, let's take this one."
Changsheng smiled, walked to the front of the stall, and just as he greeted the stall owner, the word "two" came out of his mouth, and he changed his words: "... one bowl."
"Don't take advantage of my poor hearing. I heard it just now." The stall owner was actually a middle-aged man, who looked to be in his thirties or forties, but he spoke in an old man's tone, "Young man, why did you suddenly change your mind? Do you think my wontons are not pleasing to your eyes?"
"How could that be?" Changsheng touched his sleeves and took out all the coins from them. "My purse was stolen, and there are only a few coins in my sleeves. Can you spare me a bowl?"
He was good-looking and well-mannered, and it looked like someone had really touched his wallet. The stall owner didn't get angry, but glanced at Xie Wangzhi and deliberately said, "Oh, no, selling a bowl of wontons only costs a few Tongbao coins, I won't do this losing business."
"Then I..." Xie Wangzhi knew that the stall owner had a hard time, and just as he was about to pay, he suddenly remembered that he didn't bring his purse, and he hesitated, "... I didn't bring it."
She looked at Changsheng and said, "Forget it. I'm not that hungry."
"What does it matter whether you're hungry or not? It's just a bowl of wontons, it's good to try it." Changsheng put the Tongbao on the stall, "Just one bowl, no need to spare."
He sat down at the side, and Xie Wangzhi had no choice but to sit at the same table with him because she couldn't take the money back. She looked at Changsheng in confusion for a while: "What about your wallet?"
"It's not the one you gave me." Changsheng held his chin with one hand, smiling, "It's fine if it was stolen. There's not much silver in it, so it doesn't matter."
"That won't work either. Who has an easy life? It's so hard to save some money." Xie Wangzhi lowered his eyes, "How could there be such a bad person in Chang'an City..."
"There are many bad people in Chang'an City, but there are also many good people. How many people want to squeeze in, just to walk between good and bad." Changsheng smiled slightly with a hint of sarcasm, and lowered his voice, "Isn't it the same in Daming Palace?"
The words were spoken softly, and only Xie Wangzhi could hear them. She was startled, and just then the stall owner came over with a bowl. The bowl was filled with bone soup, with chopped green onions sprinkled on top, and it was full of wontons, at least one and a half bowls, and the aroma of meat filled her face.
“This…” Xie Wangzhi was stunned.
Changsheng was not in a hurry. He smiled at the stall owner and tapped his fingertips on the table lightly: "Eat."
The author has something to say: OK, update! The updates will be more stable from now on, usually at 8pm. If it is updated at 12pm, it should be two updates that day (but this situation basically does not happen (smoke)