Chapter 311: Chapter 125 The So-Called Beloved One_1

In front of Jingde Gate in Shengjing, lights and decorations were hung all around the city, inside and out.

Along the city gate avenue, the east and west corner towers, and at various official and temple sites, awnings were raised and lamps set up. Imperial Street was teeming with people, and performers from various theatrical academies demonstrated "extraordinary skills and talents, singing and dancing a hundred plays."

Lu Tong and Du Changqing, along with their companions, walked on Imperial Street beneath Jingde Gate. It was Yin Zheng’s first time witnessing such a lively scene, and she couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration, "This truly is Shengjing!"

On the fifteenth of the first lunar month, the people of Su Nan City also enjoyed the spectacle of lantern gazing, but their festival was far less bustling than this. The myriad styles of lanterns left onlookers dazzled, with lanterns shaped like various deities rising in the clouds above the colorful awnings, while stately, solemn lantern lotuses shone around, and within them, giant Buddha statues smilingly sat atop the mountains of lanterns, overlooking the city’s hustle and bustle below.

Ah Cheng pointed toward a giant golden dragon structured from tens of thousands of candles ahead and exclaimed, "Look over there!"

The mighty dragon stretched its body along the riverbank, with eyes that gleamed brilliantly. Its scales were embroidered with silver threads, and from a distance, it appeared as though the whole dragon could leap from the water’s surface any moment, rising into the clouds.

Seeing Lu Tong walking beside him, Du Changqing spoke with barely concealed pride, "How about it, Doctor Lu, was this trip not worth it?"

Lu Tong smiled and lowered his head.

The lantern festival in Shengjing was incredibly beautiful, even more lively than in Su Nan, not to mention Changwu County. Somewhere close by, a person was performing magic; a group of people held up a single canoe, merely covering it with a black cloth, and in an instant, it vanished without a trace before the crowd’s eyes.

Yin Zheng let out a "wow" and squeezed through to the front to watch, utterly astonished.

Others were "tightrope walking." On a suspended rope, a performer with a red cloth tied around his head, holding a balance pole, walked cautiously above, mesmerizing and startling the onlookers, leaving them holding their breath in suspense.

Miao Liangfang didn’t find such acts particularly interesting, instead, his attention was caught by the street performers spewing five-colored water. These people took a mouthful of water, tilted their heads back for a moment, then spat it out with a "puff" turning it into a green color. They took another mouthful, waited for a few seconds, and upon spitting, the water turned red, and so on with black, white, yellow...

Miao Liangfang watched for a while and eventually understood the trick. He unabashedly criticized in front of the spectators, "They’ve got fragrant pellets in their mouths, I see. There should also be qiu long, aconitum, and rest incense... Otherwise, why would their sleeves be so wide? Isn’t it just to make it easy to hold the medicinal pellets when drinking water..."

Before he could finish, he was met with a furious glare from the performer who spat the five-colored water.

At that moment, they reached a street vendor selling glutinous rice dumplings, surrounded by patrons already waiting. The pot boiled with water, and the pristine white dumplings bobbed up and down, swelling like pearls and emitting a hint of fragrance.

Ah Cheng, tempted by the sight, asked Du Changqing for a few coins and squeezed in to buy some.

While sending him off, Du Changqing advised, "Take your time, don’t get lost in the crowd. Get two bowls for Doctor Lu and Miss Yin Zheng too." Then, turning back to Lu Tong, he said, "These aren’t very tasty; just try them if you like... Doctor Lu?"

There was no one in front of him; Lu Tong had disappeared.

When Lu Tong realized she had gotten separated from Du Changqing and the others, she had already traveled quite a distance from where they were.

The street tonight was bustling with passing crowds, and being pushed along by the throng, it didn’t take long to lose sight of her companions.

She stood still for a moment, waiting for no one’s shadow to pass by, then thought for a second and turned around, continuing to walk forward.

There were guards patrolling around Jingde Gate tonight, so it wouldn’t be too dangerous. Every neighborhood entrance also had small shadow puppet booths set up to prevent residents and children from getting lost. If Du Changqing and the others realized she was missing and couldn’t find her immediately, they would likely go to the puppet booth up ahead and wait for her.

Lu Tong decided not to look back and slowly followed the crowd forward.

As the night deepened, the lights grew brighter and the crowds thicker.

Every few steps, there were food vendors, selling quail bones, white sausages, diced crystal fish, roasted chestnuts, salted black bean soup, and the like. People also performed puppetry with medicinal tricks, creating puppets so lifelike they were nearly indistinguishable from real people, gorgeously dressed and dancing and twirling under the bursting firecrackers, prettier than regular fireworks.

Lu Tong made her way slowly through the people, and amid the noise and laughter, strains of ripple-like musical sounds floated to her. It was the performers from the musical academy playing the zither, perhaps with the sound of flutes and pipes as well.

Something drifted overhead.

Lu Tong looked up and paused in wonder.

Afar on Guangji River, tens of thousands of lotus lanterns floated densely, while above the surface, an array of luminescent colors filled the night sky. At a glance, the darkness was as bright as day, filled with competing radiance, soft and blended.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read