Fang Tianying was generous and directly booked the best restaurant in town. The four of them sat in a private room on the third floor of the restaurant, looking down, and had a panoramic view of the entire long street.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, the town is decorated with festive atmosphere.
It was not yet completely dark, but all kinds of lanterns had been hung on the roadside, waiting to be lit when night fell.
"I knew that Brother Qin was well-educated, but I didn't expect that he was also so good at writing poetry." Fang Tianying repeated the two lines of poetry he heard from the servant and praised, "Excellent, really wonderful."
Chen Yanan fiddled with the vegetable leaves on the plate and sneered, "Okay, Master Fang, do you understand poetry?"
"Why don't I understand? Do you think I'm really ignorant?" Fang Tianying scolded with a smile, "Eat your food. I haven't seen you for a few days. Why are you eating so little? Are you losing weight?"
Chen Yanan froze, seeming a little embarrassed: "Who, who cares!"
It was unclear whether Fang Tianying understood the poem, but Jing Li really didn't understand it. His appreciation of poetry was not at that level yet, but he heard Fang Tianying say on the way that Qin Zhao had composed a poem that no other student in the world could compose.
As expected, it’s Qin Zhao.
Jing Li hid his hand under the table and gently squeezed Qin Zhao's hand, whispering, "You are amazing."
Qin Zhao was picking up some food for him when he caught a glimpse of Xiaoyu's expression. He felt a little itchy in his heart. He held the other's soft fingers with his backhand, rubbed his fingertips on the back of his hand, and leaned close to his ear to say something.
Fang Tianying suddenly said: "Brother Qin is more than amazing, he is truly an all-rounder!"
Qin Zhao: “…”
This is why he doesn't like to have outsiders following him.
Qin Zhao felt helpless, but he didn't know what to say, so he let go of Jing Li's hand and said, "Mr. Fang, you are too kind."
Jing Li recalled the information Fang Tianying had told him before and asked, "Did the prince who came up with this poem really say that whoever could come up with the right answer would be promoted to the Imperial Academy?"
"Of course, I heard from my father that Prince Rong said this in front of the emperor and all the civil and military officials, so it can't be false." Fang Tianying said this and sighed again, "It's a pity that Brother Qin was born at the wrong time, and now it's no longer possible."
"No?"
Jing Li wanted to ask more, but was interrupted by Chen Yan'an: "What's wrong with being born at the wrong time? It should be said that Brother Qin escaped a disaster. If he had really been promoted to the capital at that time, would he still have a chance to survive?"
Fang Tianying hummed: "That's true."
Jing Li vaguely sensed something from their words and asked, "What do you mean? Why do you say that if you are promoted, you will have no future?"
"You don't know?" Chen Yan'an looked around and saw that the private room they were in was closed on all sides and had excellent sound insulation. He lowered his voice and said, "Prince Rong conspired to usurp the throne a few years ago and was killed by the emperor's order. His body was torn to pieces!"
Qin Zhao paused in drinking the soup, and the spoon made a slight sound when it hit the wall of the bowl.
But no one noticed this subtle sound.
“So that’s how it is…” Jing Li felt inexplicably regretful.
Although no one knew who the prince was, he dared to say in front of the world that anyone who could recite his poems would be promoted to an official. He must be a very talented person with an arrogant and unrestrained temperament.
It turns out he was already dead...
As if hearing the regret in his words, Chen Yanan added: "Sister-in-law, don't just look at one side of the story. That Prince Rong did a lot of bad things, and it's not a pity that he died. When the emperor was young, he was regent for seven years. He was corrupt and took bribes, and took human lives lightly. It's no wonder that the emperor wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible after he became powerful enough."
"… Or how can it be said that talent and knowledge have nothing to do with character?"
Jing Li blinked in surprise: "Is he so bad?"
"That's not the case." Fang Tianying interrupted, "My father said that during his time as regent, many policies were implemented that benefited the country and the people. If he hadn't improved the status of merchants, my family wouldn't be where we are today."
Chen Yanan said: "But the people he killed were not fake."
Fang Tianying said calmly: "But this meal is my treat."
"..." Chen Yan'an immediately backed off, "Okay, Young Master, you are right."
"So it's a good thing that Brother Qin didn't come up with this poem before." Chen Yan'an said, "I heard that after the emperor killed Prince Rong, he purged all of his followers in the court. If he had really joined that prince's army, I'm afraid he would have lost his life long ago."
Qin Zhao said nothing.
After a moment, he whispered, "When did the emperor order the execution of that prince?"
"The emperor announced it to the world more than two years ago. At that time, Brother Qin was still bedridden." Chen Yan'an said, "But there are rumors among the people that the emperor had secretly killed Prince Rong several years ago, but he dared to say it only when he had finally cleaned up all his followers."
"… Tsk, think about how pitiful that little emperor is. If it's true as the rumors say, when he killed Prince Rong, he was not even as old as Fang Tianying and me, right?"
Jing Li opened his mouth, not knowing what to say for a moment.
He had never heard of such royal secrets before. They sounded complicated and dangerous. Fortunately, these things were far away from him.
There was a moment of silence at the table. Qin Zhao picked up some food for Jing Li and said calmly, "It's the Mid-Autumn Festival. Why are you talking about this? Let's eat."
The few of them didn't talk about this topic anymore.
Chen Yanan and Fang Tianying were classmates before. They joked around and chatted in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.
The meal was a lively one. After the meal, Fang Tianying was still not satisfied. He said that he knew there would be lantern riddles at the temple fair, and wanted to take Qin Zhao and Jing Li to go for a walk.
Jing Li, the naive guy, almost followed him again, but was pulled back by Qin Zhao by his collar.
Qin Zhao said calmly: "No need, we can just go by ourselves."
Fang Tianying hadn't understood the deep meaning of Qin Zhao's words, but Chen Yan'an reacted. He smiled at Qin Zhao and took Fang Tianying aside: "Come on, come on, what are you and I thinking about with our lantern riddles? Accompany me to the tavern to drink some osmanthus wine. We didn't have this opportunity before!"
"No, why should I be with you--" Before Fang Tianying could finish his words, he was dragged away by Chen Yan'an.
Jing Li looked at the two people's backs blankly and called out: "Hey, what are you doing—"
His voice stopped abruptly.
Qin Zhao raised his hand and gently pinched Jing Li's earlobe, and asked in a low voice: "Why, do you still want to go with me?"
Jing Li: “…”
Maybe because he completed his plan today, Jing Li was in a very good mood and a little too proud of himself for a moment, and he didn't even notice Qin Zhao's attitude.
But no matter how slow his reaction was, he could still hear the danger in Qin Zhao's words.
Jing Li shook his head timidly, then smiled at him flatteringly: "No, I want to be with you."
Qin Zhao: "Sweet talk."
"But..." Jing Li turned around and looked in the direction where Chen Yanan and Fang Tianying left, and whispered, "I also want to try the osmanthus wine..."
Qin Zhao: “…”
Qin Zhao sighed: "I'll buy it for you later."
Greedy fish.
Qin Zhao took Jing Li for a walk on a long street full of lanterns. When they saw someone selling candies and cakes on the roadside, they stopped to buy some.
He had just paid the money when he heard a jeer from behind him.
Looking back, Jing Li was holding a osmanthus flower in his hand, looking a little dazed.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, many unmarried women would go out to the streets to have fun. In this era, men and women were more open-minded. If a woman saw someone she liked on the street, she would throw a flower branch into the other person's hand as a token of her love.
Jing Li had heard of such rumors, but this was the first time he had actually encountered one.
He looked at the women in front of him, somewhat flustered.
"I-I'm not-"
A hand reached out from the side, took the branch, and handed it back politely: "He is my husband, the girl has misunderstood."
After saying that, without paying attention to the woman's reaction, he stuffed the candy into Jing Li's hand, took his hand and walked forward without looking back.
I didn't keep my eyes on him for just a moment and almost got into trouble again.
Qin Zhao sighed in his heart.
But it was not enough to just send those women away. There were many pedestrians on the street tonight, and as they walked along, more and more eyes fell on the two of them.
Qin Zhao finally couldn't bear it anymore, so he went to the street and bought a small koi mask, which covered most of Jing Li's face.
The koi fish on the mask wasn't even one ten-thousandth as cute as Jing Li's original one, but it was better than nothing.
Qin Zhao said: "Wear it properly and don't take it off."
Jing Li was so angry at him that he was speechless.
Obviously, along the way, there were more people looking at Qin Zhao than him, so why was this guy so jealous
Qin Zhao's complexion has been much better recently. After the illness on his face has faded, his face has become even more handsome. Walking on this street, I don't know how many eyes he attracted.
Jing Li did not give in and immediately picked out a fox mask from the stall and put it on Qin Zhao's face.
The mask was very large, and when it was put on, only Qin Zhao's delicate jawline and two thin lips could be seen.
Jing Li nodded with satisfaction: "You look good like this."
Qin Zhao was quite helpless about this: "But why should I wear a fox?"
"A fox suits you best."
Jing Li was happily eating a bag of candy when he suddenly saw something not far away. His eyes lit up: "Is that the place for guessing lantern riddles? Come quickly!"
There is a tall laurel tree at the end of the street, with dozens of lanterns hung under the tree. Under each lantern there are several red pieces of paper with corresponding riddles written on them.
If anyone wanted to guess the riddle, they would take the piece of paper off and write the answer on the blank space on the red paper.
The riddle on each piece of paper is different and corresponds to one answer. There will be no duplication and no cheating.
There were already quite a few scholars gathered under the laurel tree, and Qin Zhao even saw several familiar faces from today's poetry meeting among them.
A vendor sat in front of the osmanthus tree and shouted, "It costs three copper coins to enter and guess the lantern riddles. If you guess three correctly, you will get a red silk to make a wish. If you guess five correctly, you will get a lantern. If you guess ten correctly, you will get a copper coin back and a bottle of osmanthus wine as a gift!"
Jing Li's eyes widened.
Qin Zhao asked: "You just said you wanted osmanthus wine?"
Jing Li nodded repeatedly.
Qin Zhao squeezed his hand and whispered, "Three copper coins, ma'am."
Jing Li took out a copper coin from his arms, Qin Zhao took it, and walked forward to put it on the vendor's stall.
The other party accepted it cheerfully and gave him a pen: "Sir, please feel free to write down the answers on the paper. By the way, we only have one bottle of osmanthus wine. If someone can answer ten questions before you, they will win the prize. Then you can only take the two lanterns as prizes."
To win the big prize, you must not only be able to solve the puzzles, but also be fast.
However, having said that, it is rare for the vendor to meet a customer who can answer all ten questions in one go, so it is more common for this bottle of osmanthus wine to not be given away.
Qin Zhao responded with an "OK" and didn't go in. He just took off all the notes on the lantern closest to him.
The vendor's smile froze on his face.
There are five or six riddles placed under each lantern, each with a different content. Usually, people guess riddles by looking at the riddle first, and then take it down if they can guess the answer.
I've never seen this person act like this before. He took it down without even looking at it.
Qin Zhao took down the riddle and placed it on the table. He quickly glanced at the question and started writing as if without thinking.
Vendor: “???”
I wrote it without thinking. Is this person here to cause trouble
He felt slightly unhappy, so he leaned over to take a look, but was stunned.
Qin Zhao has finished writing his first answer.
is correct.
Without pausing, he immediately began writing the next one.
There were many people guessing riddles around, and no one noticed what was happening here. Only the vendor stared at Qin Zhao. The latter quickly finished writing on the six pieces of red paper, then looked up and grabbed four pieces at random, and bent down to write.
In just a few words, Qin Zhao had already answered all ten questions.
He put down his pen and handed the ten pieces of red paper to the vendor: "Take a look, are these answers correct?"
The vendors looked at him as if they had seen a ghost.
He had just been staring at Qin Zhao the whole time, so he naturally knew that everything he wrote was correct. Now he took it over and checked it again carefully, nodding repeatedly: "Yes, all correct!"
Qin Zhao: "Thank you."
The vendor shouted, "Congratulations to this gentleman for guessing ten riddles. I'll give you a bottle of osmanthus wine as a gift!"
Everyone was in an uproar, asking around who had answered the question correctly. The vendor also wanted to ask Qin Zhao's name, but Qin Zhao just shook his head, took the osmanthus wine and copper coins handed over by the vendor, and walked away quietly with Jing Li.
A small river runs through the town, and on the other side of the river many people are releasing lanterns.
Qin Zhao and Jing Li were sitting on the other side of the stone bridge, which seemed particularly quiet in comparison.
Qin Zhao opened the lid of the wine flask and handed the sweet-scented osmanthus wine to Jing Li: "You can only drink one sip."
"I know. I can drink quite well."
Jing Li's words were pure self-deception.
He can drink a lot, but only if the alcohol content is between a few and 10 degrees. If he drinks something with a higher alcohol content, he will get dizzy after just one drink.
But, this is just osmanthus wine, and it’s from ancient times, how high can the alcohol content be
Jing Li thought so and took a small sip.
The first sip of the drink is filled with the sweet fragrance of osmanthus, which rushes straight into your nose and fills your heart with sweet floral aroma. With the sweet osmanthus scent covering it, you can hardly taste any alcohol.
Jing Li's eyes brightened and he took another sip.
He just kept drinking. Qin Zhao tilted his head to look at him and couldn't help but persuade him again: "Drink less, we still have to go to light lanterns later."
"I know." Jing Li narrowed his eyes, savoring the sweet-scented osmanthus fragrance in his mouth, "It's already quite late now, let's go home after lighting the lanterns, there's still—"
There are also surprises prepared.
Jing Li pursed his lips and said nothing more.
Qin Zhao could tell from his hesitation that he was guilty, so he tilted his head and asked, "What else is there at home?"
“Hmm…” Jing Li avoided looking and said nothing.
Qin Zhao gently rubbed the other's earlobe with his fingers and wanted to ask more questions, but was suddenly blocked by a kiss with the scent of osmanthus.
Jing Li pried open his lips and teeth and kissed him carefully. His mouth was filled with the aroma of osmanthus wine, which was sweet like honey, as if he had eaten a piece of soft osmanthus cake.
After a while, Qin Zhao stepped back and said with a smile: "Don't think you can get rid of me like this. You sent me away today. What exactly do you want to do—"
Before he could finish his words, the body in front of him suddenly went limp and fell into his arms.
Qin Zhao: “…”
"Xiao Yu?" Qin Zhao patted his back and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong with you?"
Jing Li rubbed his head against his shoulder and said in a vague voice: "Don't make noise... I feel a little dizzy..."
Are you... drunk
Qin Zhao took the bottle of osmanthus wine from his hand, shook it slightly, and it was empty.
He turned his head to look at the other side of the river and sighed.
I should have let him drink after lighting the lanterns.
Jing Li soon became drunk and unconscious, but luckily he was short and thin, so it was not difficult to help him up. Qin Zhao half hugged and half embraced him back to the village, and opened the door while panting slightly.
The yard was dark. Qin Zhao stumbled in, holding a lamp in one hand and supporting Jing Li with the other.
He first placed Jing Li on a bamboo chair in the yard, then walked toward the main house with a lantern.
I pushed open the door of the main house, but was stunned.
The house has changed.
The hanging curtains were changed to red, and a large "囍" character was posted opposite the main door. The table in the front was also covered with red cloth and two brand new red candlesticks were placed on it.
This is... the surprise Jing Li wants to give him.