Chapter 77: A Glimpse of Ten Thousand Years

  Old Master Yao smiled and said, "Alright, alright, Zan is still young, it's too early to talk about these things now! Today is New Year's Eve, we should be talking about happy things! Foolish child, you've found a good home, this is a great joy! First and foremost, you must take care of yourself, serve your husband and in-laws well, don't let people look down on you or our Yao family!"

  Yao Cun Jia hastily stood up and solemnly replied.

  Mr. Yao smiled and comforted his daughter with a few words, diverting the topic, and then everyone laughed and clinked their cups together, talking about other pleasant things.

  Yao Cunhui watched with a cold eye, smiling on her face, but in her heart she couldn't help feeling a faint chill of sorrow.

  The father is too cruel, even calculating people's hearts. How can he take advantage of his sister's kindness and filial piety?

  This meal, sentence by sentence, seems chaotic and disorderly, but in reality it's like the gentle spring rain that silently reminds her sister: remember the Yao family, remember your brother, remember to help the Yao family! Even the words of concern for her sister's well-being sound so fake - she's not doing well herself, struggling to make ends meet, and naturally can't help the Yao family.

  In the first month, it was even more lively. The people who came to visit and give gifts to Yao Cun Jia almost burst through the door. Many families that didn't usually go out made an appearance. Not only did Madam Ma come out, but even Yao Cun Hui was dragged out to entertain guests, busy to the point of not having a moment to spare.

  The Yun family had already sent word over before the New Year, saying that Old Lady Yun's words would be heeded and they would add twenty more dowry items for Yao Cun Jia, which would also be delivered in the first month.

  In the capital, all the young ladies waiting to be married were extremely envious. Yao Cunjia's name suddenly spread among the young ladies in their boudoirs. Many people were curious and wanted to see her true face, wondering what kind of woman she was, with such good fortune: having such a good husband and such a grand dowry!

  The several sisters of the Yun family were quite familiar with the young ladies in the capital, so they invited the Yao sisters to a gathering through the Yun sisters. Mr. Yao was delighted that his daughters had opened up their social circle among the young ladies in the capital and often let all three daughters attend.

  Everyone saw that Yao Cun Jia was dignified and elegant in his actions, with a beautiful and stately appearance. He was very kind to people and things, which reduced the discontent in their hearts by three points. Then they saw that Yao Cun Hui was intelligent and friendly, enthusiastic and gentle, while Yao Cun Mei was lively and cheerful, lovely and radiant. Suddenly, everyone became attentive. As a result, Yao Cun Hui unexpectedly made friends with three or four close friends from the inner chambers, which was an unexpected joy.

  The Lantern Festival is approaching, and on this evening, the capital's curfew is lifted. It is a night of revelry that lasts till dawn. The streets are filled with various forms of entertainment: lanterns, fireworks, dragon dances, lion dances, acrobatics, circus performances, cockfights, Hu people's songs and dances, as well as stalls selling all sorts of new and interesting things, making it hard for visitors to tear themselves away.

  Old Master Yao thought there were too many people on the street, and he didn't want to let Yao Cun Jia go out that evening. But thinking of his daughter, who might not see such a prosperous scene in Beijing again for years to come, he couldn't resist her initiative and had to agree.

  Yao Shizan wanted to go too, and Yao Lao couldn't dissuade him, so he decided to take his son himself. The crowd was dense, and only by holding his precious son's hand could he feel at ease. Although Yao Shizan felt a little regretful that he couldn't be with his two sisters, thinking about it, it was better than being locked up at home, so he agreed very readily.

  The two sisters, Yao Cunhui, walked hand in hand on the street, with a smile of youth and happiness on their faces. The sound of silver bells echoed from time to time as they laughed and played together, surrounded by dazzling goods and bustling scenes that were hard to take in.

  The Lantern Festival is also the Flower Lantern Festival, and the most lively one is naturally the Flower Lantern Street. The sky and the earth are filled with colorful lanterns, dazzling five colors, fire trees and silver flowers, there are giant stacked lamp mountains and towers, as well as small and delicate lanterns that confuse your eyes. The most dazzling ones are undoubtedly the character-painted rotating lanterns, while the most interesting ones are the lantern riddles hanging under pink, red, purple, and crimson lanterns.

  This is the official annual Lantern Riddle Conference, with rich prizes and a display of talent that wins applause from the crowd, one of the most lively places in the streets. Sister Yao Cunhui also came to watch the excitement.

  "Sister, let me guess one!" Yao Cunhui pulled her sister's hand and rushed into the crowd to look at those lantern riddles. She glanced over quickly, but unfortunately, she didn't even understand what many of them meant, let alone guess correctly.

  "I see you're always holding onto your scrolls every day, yet you can't even guess one?" Yao Cun Jia smiled and curved his lips.

  Because of the four words "volume does not leave hand", several scholars next to them glanced at the sisters with a mixture of surprise and disapproval.

  Yao Cunhui rolled her eyes, thinking to herself: "What are you looking at? I may not be able to take the imperial examination, but that doesn't mean I'm inferior to you! What can you do to me even if you boast?"

  "This is unprofessional! What I usually see has nothing to do with this half-baked stuff!"

  "Shameless!" Yao Cun Jia was taken aback and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  All the lantern riddles are divided into four levels of difficulty, each hanging under a lantern of a different color. The prizes corresponding to each level are also different in value.

  Scholars, gentlemen and those who attached themselves to the elegant chose to guess one or two, while ordinary people chose three or four.

  Yao Cunhui was originally unaware of this rule, and as soon as she heard about it, she immediately stared at the third and fourth grades without hesitation. Yao Cunjia naturally didn't lower herself to that level, but could only smile wryly and let her be.

  A lantern riddle appeared before his eyes. After a moment's consideration, Yao Cun Jia reached out to tear off the colored paper, but unexpectedly another hand also touched the colored paper at the same time.

  Yao Cun Jia was taken aback, and subconsciously raised her eyes to look over, only to find that the other person was also looking back at her. It was a man with a jade crown on his head, wearing a brocade sash and fine clothes. The man had a slender figure, an elegant demeanor, a face as white as jade, sword-like eyebrows, and starry eyes. Without asking, it was clear that he was a young master from a wealthy family. His deep and bright eyes were like the sea and stars, shining brightly at her, with a fleeting light flashing across the bottom of his eyes, as if containing a feeling called stunning surprise.

  "Did you guess it too?" The man asked with a smile, his voice clear and warm, like the first chirp of a young phoenix.

  Yao Cun's eyes sparkled as she lightly blinked and turned her gaze away, a faint smile on her face. She looked back at the man with an air of clarity and purity, smiling as she said: "Judging from your accent, sir, you seem to be from elsewhere. I'll let you have this lantern riddle!"

  As she spoke, her slender hands gently put it down.

  The man was taken aback, couldn't help but chuckle and nodded slightly: "I concede!"

  "Sister! Sister!" Yao Cunhui came from somewhere, grabbed Yao Cun Jia's arm and said excitedly: "Come quickly to help me see if that one is right or not! I think it looks like it, but again it doesn't look like it. What if we take it down and it's not the right one? Wouldn't that be laughable?"

  Yao Cunhui said as he pulled Yao Cunjia into the crowd.

  "Ah! So startled!" Yao Cun Jia laughed, his tone and eyes filled with doting and tolerance, but he let Yao Cun Hui pull him along, the two sisters disappearing into the vast crowd in an instant.

  Two young servants stood behind the man, exchanging glances with me and then with him. One of them noticed that their master was still lost in thought, so he stepped forward and gently tugged on his sleeve, smiling and saying: "Master, everyone has left..."

  The man's hand also left the colored paper, turned his face and stared at the young servant for a moment, his eyes fell to the ground, but saw a purple violet jade pendant quietly lying there, wearing a big red cord, with a pattern of a flatfish shape, the jade was crystal clear and delicate, in the lamp light that was cast around, it emitted a soft and dim glow.

  The man bent down to pick it up, rubbed his eyes and took a closer look. Suddenly, he was shocked, his eyes flashed, and without hesitation, he rushed into the crowd, searching for the figure in the bright red windbreaker.

  "Master! Master!" The two young servants, Tong An and Tong Hua, were startled and hastily chased after him.

  The two of them secretly cursed in their hearts, what's wrong with the young master? The young master of the Xie family was not like this usually, how could he be so reckless and impulsive just because he saw a beautiful girl? If they go back and let the old master and mistress know...

  The two of them seem to have already heard the sound of the plank hitting their bodies!

  "Miss!" Yao Cun Jia smiled and helped Yao Cun Hui put on a hairpin, which was a newly won green jade pin. The quality of the jade was ordinary but flawless, with a small dragonfly carved at one end embracing a flower, very elegant. Yao Cun Hui liked it very much and asked her sister to put it on for her immediately. Unexpectedly, she heard a clear male voice coming from the direction of her sisters.

  Yao Cun's heart skipped a beat, and she subconsciously turned around. The man's handsome face with a smile was directly reflected in her eyes, and his gaze made her heart beat faster while also feeling somewhat annoyed.

  "Girl! I've finally found you!" Xie Fu Yun was slightly panting, with a warm and excited smile on his face, but in Yao Cun Hui's eyes, it looked utterly ridiculous.

  Where did this watermelon come from?

  "Are you talking to us? Do we know you?" Yao Cunhui, who was a head shorter than Yao Cunjia, stood tall in front of him, glaring at Xie Fuyuan with hostility and sizing him up warily.

  My sister's marriage has just been settled, and if this matter is spread out as rumors, my sister will not be able to get married! No matter what, she won't let anyone ruin her sister's good marriage.

  What a fierce little aunt! Xie Fu Yun's heart is secretly resentful, but also has a few points of fondness: it's rare for sisters to have such good relationships!

  Years later, because his family was in a hurry to send a batch of high-quality Yunjin to the Empress Dowager, he finally managed to get this errand with great difficulty by accompanying his father and smiling. Unexpectedly, today he ran into his fiancée and younger sister-in-law! He had personally seen that jade pendant, which also had a small "运" character on it, so there was no mistake.

  He had always been lukewarm about this marriage, but at this moment, the ripples in his heart spread out layer by layer, and he felt an unprecedented joy and excitement.

  The woman who had seen into his heart at a glance was his fiancée!

  Tong An and Tong Hua rushed over panting when they saw their own young master smiling foolishly at someone else's daughter.

  "Sister, let's go!" Yao Cunhui cast a disgusted glance at the Xie family's operation and turned to pull Yao Cunjia away. In her heart, she was already secretly thinking: Could this be Ma Shi's conspiracy? Ma Shi really spent a lot of money, where did she find such a handsome and elegant man, his appearance fee must not be low!