Do you know: I am Xu Jiazi

Chapter 428 I, Gu Tingyi, can't cure you [Thank you! Thank you again! I owe you more chapters]

Lantern Festival,

The bright moon is in the sky,

The city of Bianjing inside and outside has been illuminated by countless lanterns.

The imperial city of the Great Zhou Dynasty was decorated with lanterns and colorful lights.

The most lively place is Xuande Gate, the southern gate of the imperial city.
As in previous years,
After dark, there was a bustling crowd outside Xuande Gate, and many huge lanterns were placed on the wide Imperial Street and the surrounding open spaces.

In the city gate tower,

The emperor sat on the dragon throne and looked at the scene below the city wall.

I have seen this scene dozens of times since the emperor ascended the throne, but when I saw it again today, my mood was very different from before.

"call!"

There were cries of surprise like thunder and sea from the bottom of the city gate tower.

"Father, what's going on outside?"

Princess Yue'er, sitting on the embroidered cushion below the emperor, was holding the hand of her younger sister Princess Yu'er. The two little princesses were very cute.

Before the emperor could speak, Zhao Fang said, "Sister, it must be the Kongming lanterns that have risen! Come on, I'll take you to see it."

As he spoke, Zhao Fang stretched out his hands, took his two sisters' hands, walked out of the tower, and came to the city wall outside.

"Wow! It's so high!"

Princess Yue'er exclaimed as she looked at the huge yellow lanterns rising on both sides of the city gate tower.

The emperor also stood up from the dragon throne and walked to the door with a group of ministers who came to the tower tonight. He looked at the bright lanterns high up and nodded in appreciation: "The Ministry of Works has put in a lot of effort this year!"

After the emperor finished speaking, he glanced at Duke Lian in the crowd.

Duke Lian hurriedly bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

The ministers around nodded one after another.

I have never seen such a big Kongming lantern in previous years.

When the emperor looked at Duke Lian who was bowing, he also saw Prime Minister Shen standing among the crowd.

Looking at the emperor's gaze, the eunuch beside him whispered, "Your Majesty, how about asking Mr. Shen to come over?"

The emperor nodded.

After a while, Prime Minister Shen walked to the side of the emperor.

"Is Ruige okay at Shenqing's home?"

Grand Chancellor Shen bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am grateful to the young master of the Yu family for his help. My son was sleeping peacefully when I came."

The emperor nodded: "Fortunately, no disaster has occurred!"

Prime Minister Shen bowed even deeper.

"The one being proposed for marriage is Zheng Jun's daughter?"

"Your Majesty, yes."

"When the wedding date is set, you must let me know."

"The minister obeys the order."

Inside the tower

Mrs. Sun, the wife of Marquis Xu, was dressed solemnly and was sitting on an embroidered cushion, leaning over to listen to the conversation between the Queen and Madam Shen.

The eunuch who arranged the seats in the palace was also thoughtful.
In front of Sun was the wife of Duke Lian, below her was the wife of Marquis Ningyuan, Bai, and behind her was Madam Wu. Everyone around her was familiar.

The Queen, who was sitting next to the Emperor's throne, said, "Last year, we recovered the old territory of Baigao, and Lord Wang opened up the border in Hehuang before. Now there are already a lot of horses in the northwest."

"Madam Shen, you should pay more attention to the families in the capital when they sell horses to the south."

The eldest lady of the Shen family stood up from her embroidered cushion and bowed: "Don't worry, your majesty, I will do my best."

The queen smiled and nodded.

After listening to the conversation, Sun stood up, bowed to the queen and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, don't always think about the northwest. The horse trade between the Mongolian tribes in the north and our Great Zhou also requires the help of the eldest lady of the Shen family!"

When Sun finished speaking,
Bai Shi, who was standing by, also stood up and saluted: "Madam, you know that my family started out as a salt merchant shipping company. We have some business along the coast of Guangnan West Road. Madam Shen, please help my family when you return."

"This..." The eldest lady of the Shen family looked at Mrs. Sun and Mrs. Bai with some surprise, and then looked at the Queen.

The Queen smiled and said, "Then Madam Shen will take care of it."

"Yes."

Seeing the emperor, Zhao Fang and his officials return to the tower,

The queen smiled and stood up and said, "Let's go and see what's going on outside."

The ladies of the imperial court came to the city wall outside the tower.
Looking at the bright moon in the night sky,

There is a Kongming lantern hanging high next to the bright moon.
Further away, the people of Bian Jing were releasing small Kongming lanterns, and it seemed as if the Milky Way was slowly sliding up to the sky from the ground.

There was a bustling crowd under the city wall. The various huge lanterns and the surging flow of people dissipated a lot of the chill of the early spring night.

"It's so beautiful!"

Bai sighed as she stood beside Sun.

"Yes!"

"Those kids of ours are probably watching the lanterns in the wooden building over there!"

Mrs. Wu pointed to a wooden building in the distance and said.

In the wooden building pointed out by Mrs. Wu,

Gu Tingye stood beside Xu Zaijing, looked at the young man coming from the stairs and said, "Brother Jing, why is he here?"

Xu Zaijing: "I invited him here!"

"What! Brother Jing, you know that he and I don't get along!"

Gu Tingye said urgently.

Xu Zaijing glanced at Gu Tingye and said, "Mrs. Bai asked me to invite you."

"You can't decide on Sister Yi's marriage."

Xu Zaijing patted Gu Tingye on the shoulder and walked towards Huang Qingyue: "Brother Yue, you are late enough."

"Something happened at home, so I was delayed a little."

Gu Tingye interrupted: "What's the matter?"

Huang Qingyue replied somewhat awkwardly: "A relative returned to Beijing, and I helped my mother to welcome him."

Gu Tingye looked at Huang Qingyue's expression, then glanced at Xu Zaijing: "Is it your cousin from the Yuan family who has returned?"

Huang Qingyue nodded.

"What's the big deal? Come, let me introduce you to them."

Xu Zaijing smiled, put his arm around Huang Qingyue's shoulders, and walked towards the crowd.

After some introduction,
There were a few people Huang Qingyue already knew, and most of the new ones were brothers from dukes' families such as Qi Heng, Lu Zezong, and Liang Han.

When Xu Zaijing was introducing the people, a maid from the Chai family walked up to Chai Jin and said a few words.

After listening to this, Chai Jin looked at the maid and said, "Yunmu, tell your daughter that we will be downstairs in half an hour."

After listening to this, Yunmu bowed and turned to walk upstairs.

On the streets of Bianjing,

The Sheng family's carriage had already stopped by the roadside.

Mother Cui and Minglan supported the old lady on each side as they walked down the street.

Looking at the lanterns on the street, the old lady's eyes were filled with memories.

After walking around for a while,
Everyone came to the downstairs of a restaurant some distance away from Xuande Gate.

The old lady stopped and looked at Sheng Hong and Wang Ruofu behind her and said, "Old Lady Yu is waiting for me upstairs, so I won't go shopping anymore!"

"Hong'er, please accompany the lady for a walk."

"Yes, mother." Sheng Hong bowed and replied.

The old lady nodded and said to Minglan, "Ming'er, come here!"

Rulan, held by Wang Ruofu's hand,

She pursed her lips as she looked at the restaurant sign, then raised her head and said, "Mother, I am a little tired from walking, and I want to go upstairs with grandma."

Wang Ruofu looked at Rulan and nodded helplessly: "Go!" Then she let go of Rulan's hand.

Molan, who was standing behind Sheng Hong, rolled her eyes when she saw Rulan's look.

Go up to the second floor of the restaurant,

The old lady brought the two Lans into the private room.

"I thought you wouldn't come out tonight!" Old Madam Yu said to Yu Yanran and smiled as she held her hand.

"Since I promised you, there's no reason for me not to come out."

The old lady said this and smiled at Yu Yanran who saluted her.

After the two old men sat down,
The three little girls sat together.

Because everyone was looking out the window and admiring the lanterns all around, it was a bit cold in the private room, so no one took off their cloaks.

When Mrs. Yu saw Rulan picking up the snacks on the table and eating them, she hurriedly said, "Go, serve Miss Rulan a cup of hot tea."

Hearing this, Rulan smiled at Old Madam Yu with a hint of sadness on her face.

Two old men were talking.
Yu Yanran took the tea from the nanny and placed it in front of Rulan: "Sister Rulan, eat slowly! The tea is a little hot, warm your hands before eating!"

Rulan nodded repeatedly and swallowed the snack. She said, "Molan has been walking all the way here, looking at lanterns and guessing riddles. She must be exhausted! Humph!"

Minglan pursed her lips and said nothing.

Yu Yanran said: "Sister Molan has always been talented and learned."

"She? She's just pretending! By the way, Sister Yanran, why didn't your sister come with you?" After asking, Rulan lowered her head and blew away the tea.

Yu Yanran and Minglan looked at each other and said, "My sister follows my father and stepmother."

Rulan carefully took a sip of tea and put down the teacup: "I have seen your sister Yu Yanhong before. She is obviously the daughter of a second wife. I don't know why she is so arrogant!"

Listening to the conversation of the little girls,

The old lady smiled apologetically at Madam Yu.

Madam Yu waved her hand and whispered, "My son is also a fool! I'm not afraid of you laughing at me! My husband and I were careless before, and we almost let the dowry left by Yanran's deceased mother be embezzled by that man!"

The old lady frowned and shook her head: "How could someone do this?!"

Old Madam Yu shook her head and sighed, looking out the window and said, "If it weren't for the knight's reminder, maybe Yanran's mother's dowry would be... Not to mention the unhappy things, look at the Kongming lantern in front of the Xuande Gate, it's really big!" The old lady looked out as she was told.

"Come to think of it, when we were young, you watched the lanterns on the Xuande Gate Tower!"

Hearing what Old Madam Yu said, she smiled and looked at the bright moon hanging high in the sky: "That was many years ago! By the way, the old sister-in-law from the eldest branch of the Sheng family will come to the capital in a while, and I will have to ask you to accompany her then."

"Then we will have to find a marriage partner for the eldest grandson of the eldest branch."

Madam Yu nodded and looked at Yu Yanran: "You said my Yanran might be."

The old lady waved her hand: "Yanran is the eldest granddaughter of the Grand Master after all, and she is not a good match for my family."

"What do you mean by being well-matched? I just want Yanran to find a family that treats her well! Then my husband and I can leave without any worries. When I see my first daughter-in-law a hundred years later, I will have something to say!"

Looking at Madam Yu's expression, the old lady nodded helplessly: "Well, then, the three of us old ladies will discuss it together!"

The two old ladies talked for a while.
"It's almost time to rest, let's go watch the lanterns!"

The old lady stood up and said with a smile.

Rulan was listening to Minglan and Yanran discussing embroidery skills and felt a little sleepy.

Hearing the old lady's words, her face drooped and she whispered, "Ah? Still want to go shopping!?"

The third floor of the wooden building,

Rong Xian, who had just arrived, was wearing a bright red brocade robe.
There are silk flowers in her temples,

After greeting Xu Zaijing warmly, he was talking to Chai Bo with a smile.

Qi Heng was standing next to Chai Bo. Seeing Rong Xian's showy appearance, Qi Heng took the opportunity to ask, "Brother Xian, I heard that your marriage is settled?"

Rong Xian was so happy that he froze for a moment, and then nodded after his smile slowly faded.

"Brother Xian, the Dou family of Fuguogong is also a noble family in Bianjing for many years. It is a good marriage."

Gu Tingye came over, suppressed his smile and said.

Rong Xian gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, ignoring Gu Tingye.

At this time,

Chai Jin shouted loudly to the Bianjing children in the building: "Let's go downstairs to join in the fun and guess the lantern riddles! I saw the lanterns this year, and some of them are very exquisite."

"Let's go!"

Rong Xian in the crowd couldn't wait to say.

When everyone went downstairs,
The noble ladies from Bian Jing on the fourth floor were also walking on the stairs.

Xu Zaijing and his companions came to the stairs.

Huang Qingyue, who was not far away from him, was about to follow the crowd downstairs, but was grabbed by Xu Zaijing just after taking a step.

Seeing Xu Zaijing shaking his head slightly, Huang Qingyue stopped.

At the staircase on the fourth floor,

You can see the third floor.
Gu Tingyi was talking to Chai Zhengzheng and Rong Feiyan.
suddenly,

Chai Zhengzheng and Rong Feiyan both stopped, leaving Gu Tingyi alone and taking two steps forward.

Gu Tingyi was stunned: "What's wrong? Let's go?"

"Sister Tingyi, you go first, we will follow you."

After Chai Zhengzheng finished speaking, he quickly glanced downstairs, covered his mouth with a handkerchief with a smile in his eyes.

Rong Feiyan looked at Gu Tingyi somewhat embarrassedly.

Gu Tingyi looked downstairs and saw Xu Zaijing holding Gu Tingye's waist and preventing him from moving forward.

In front of Xu Zaijing and Gu Tingye, there was a handsome young man standing there awkwardly.

Gu Tingyi glared at the two girls, Chai and Rong, with some embarrassment and anger, and there was some panic in his eyes as he bit his lips.

Then, Gu Tingyi saw Xu Zaijing.

The panic in her eyes dissipated slightly, and a plan immediately came to her mind.

"Humph!"

Thinking about something, Gu Tingyi walked straight downstairs.

On the third floor,

Gu Tingyi carefully looked at Huang Qingyue's face. After seeing it clearly, she nodded secretly and smiled politely at Huang Qingyue, then
"Second brother, Brother Jing, let's go down together!"

After saying that, Gu Tingyi turned around and winked at Chai Zhengzheng and Rong Feiyan in a protesting manner.

"Good good!"

Gu Tingye broke free from the hand of the somewhat embarrassed Xu Zaijing and nodded repeatedly.

"Tap Tap"

There were footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Sister, why are you walking so fast? Wait for us!"

Chai Zhengzheng's voice came.

When passing by Huang Qingyue,
Both noble ladies looked at Huang Qingyue with admiration.

Coming to Gu Tingyi,
Qi Heng beside Xu Zaijing hurriedly bowed and said, "Hello, cousin."

Chai Zhengzheng smiled and nodded to Qi Heng, then bowed to Xu Zaijing and others.

Lu Zezong, Gu Tingye, Liang Han, Rong Xian and others hurriedly bowed in return.

After Rong Feiyan went downstairs, she looked at her brother's miserable look, which showed that he was extremely heartbroken for losing my love, and she shook her head secretly.

Gu Tingyi had a proud expression as if to say, "I can't deal with you two yet."

As Chai Zhengzheng and Rong Feiyan whispered apologies, the three girls walked hand in hand towards the second floor.

Coming to the staircase leading down to the third floor,

The three noble ladies didn't know who said what, and Gu Tingyi slapped two of them several times in shame and anger.

Rong Xian calmed down, looked between Huang Qingyue and Gu Tingye, and said with a smile: "Brother Ye, I have heard about Brother Yue's achievements in the Western Army. His future is limitless!"

"He is also a handsome man. Although he is still a little bit behind me, Keke and Jing'er in terms of handsomeness and elegance, the Shoushan Earl family is also a long-standing noble family. It is a good match for him."

Gu Tingye glared at Rong Xian's show-off look and clenched his fists in annoyance: "Rong..."

"Hey, hey, hey! Brother Ye, you speak my mind first!"

"I"

Xu Zaijing raised his eyebrows and smiled at Liang Han: "Let's go, let's go shopping!"

After walking for a long time on the busy streets of Bianjing,

Gu Tingyi saw several exquisite and unusual lanterns hanging on a roadside stall.

But the stall owner requires you to guess the riddle correctly before you can buy anything.

Noble ladies such as Gu Tingyi, Chai Zhengzheng and Rong Feiyan tried several times but failed to guess correctly.

She looked back and waved, "Second brother, come and help me!"

Gu Tingye, who was not far away, left Xu Zaijing and others who were also guessing riddles, and hurried to Gu Tingyi's side, carefully looking at the riddles hanging under the lanterns.

After trying several times, I still couldn't guess it right.

Gu Tingyi, Chai Zhengzheng, Rong Feiyan and other girls were so depressed that they could only scratch their heads.

"Forget it, it seems we have no chance with it."

Chai Zhengzheng touched the beautiful lantern in the air that she liked, and glanced at Xu Zaijing who was standing behind them with a smile on his face.

"Let's go!"

The ladies left this place and walked forward surrounded by servants and guards.

After walking a few steps,

Gu Tingyi looked back and said, "They all can't guess, why are they still there?"

Having said that, he continued walking forward.

On the lantern stand,
Xu Zaijing, Gu Tingye and other noble sons were still pondering over the puzzle.

Not far away from me, there were three girls wearing cloaks and capes.
Behind the girls were two silver-haired old ladies.

Everyone was so engrossed in the riddles that they didn't even look at the people around them.

When Yu Yanran and Minglan whispered to each other for a while, guessed the riddle and bought Gu Tingyi's favorite lantern, Xu Zaijing and others looked over curiously.

"Eh? Miss Yu, Miss Five, Miss Six, why are you here?"

Outside, Xu Zaijing did not call out his name.

The three girls smiled and bowed to Xu Zaijing and the others.

Xu Zaijing also saw the two old ladies.
Just as he was about to walk towards his great-aunt, Madam Sheng,
But he saw his great aunt smiling and waving at him, indicating that he didn't need to go over and continue guessing riddles.

Yu Yanran bowed and said to Minglan, "Minglan, this lantern is not my favorite. Let's guess the answers to the other lanterns!"

Yu Yanran said this while pointing at the lanterns at the edge of the stall.

Afterwards, Yu Yanran, Minglan and Rulan started to whisper again. After the three of them guessed the answer again,

Xu Zaijing and others also figured out the questioner's thinking.

quickly,

Several lanterns fell into the hands of Xu Zaijing, Gu Tingye and others.

Among them, Xu Zaijing had the most lanterns, followed by Gu Tingye, and then Qi Heng and Liang Han.

Afterwards, Gu Tingye guessed the answer to Yu Yanran's favorite lantern, and exchanged this lantern for the one that Gu Tingyi liked.

After Chai Zhengzheng and a few others walked around for a while, they didn't see such exquisite lanterns anymore, so they decided to go back to that stall and try again.

Then they met Gu Tingye and his group who were walking forward.

Seeing that he had gotten the lantern he liked, Gu Tingyi bowed happily.

Xu Zaijing, who was standing by, handed the lantern in his hand to Gu Tingyi and said, "Here, pick one and play with it."

Gu Tingyi quickly reached out to the lantern that Xu Zaijing handed over, then smiled and said, "Thank you, Brother Jing!"

As he said this, he took the lantern.

Watching the ladies walking away with their lanterns,
Xu Zaijing and his men continued to move forward.

Gu Tingye fell behind, looking at Minglan behind him and Yu Yanran beside him.

(End of this chapter)