White Fence Dream

Chapter 151 Festival
Meet Shen Qing? Zhou Jingyun was stunned for a moment, and did not answer immediately. Instead, he turned around, got out of bed, poured himself a sip of water, and then turned around and handed it to Zhuang Li.

Zhuang Li reached out and took it as usual.

But Zhou Jingyun didn't let go of the teacup. He looked at her and asked, "Are you Ah Li?"

Zhuang Li was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but burst out laughing. Then he understood why Zhou Jingyun asked that.

He had just told her story honestly last night. Shen Qing was a very dangerous person to her, but before dawn she suddenly woke him up and said she wanted to see Shen Qing.

Zhou Jingyun was wondering if it was really what she wanted to see, or...

After hearing so many incredible things, he did not become distracted, but became more cautious.

This is also a good thing for her.

Zhuang Li stopped smiling and nodded seriously: "I am."

After answering like this, she felt Zhou Jingyun let go of the teacup, so she withdrew her hand, took a sip of tea, and motioned Zhou Jingyun to sit down.

"It's true that I wanted to take a look at Shen Qing. In fact, I went to see Shen Qing on purpose yesterday."

Having said this, he looked at Zhou Jingyun and smiled.

"I didn't expect to scare the prince, and I didn't succeed."

It turned out that he went there on purpose. Zhou Jingyun breathed a sigh of relief, then shook his head: "You are too risky."

Did she find out about Shen Qing at that time?

She did say it, but she didn’t seem to say how she found out. Was it through that Miss Li?

She is really amazing. She has hardly left the house since she came to Beijing. Faced with the situation where her "husband" is unreliable, she can find a way out on her own...

The voice of Zhuang Li came to my ear.

"I am in the open while he is in the dark. If I don't take risks, I might suffer losses all the time."

Having said that, Zhuang Li reached out and pulled Zhou Jingyun's sleeve.

"Besides, when I say take a look, I really just want to take a look. I won't get close to you, let alone talk to you."

She went to see him yesterday. Although she was interrupted, there would naturally be a second time if she did it once. It’s not that she would be helpless if he left her, but she was still willing to "act coquettishly" with him. Zhou Jingyun looked at the hand that was pinching her sleeve, and when she saw him looking at her, she shook her little hand.

Zhou Jingyun nodded, "Okay." He looked at Zhuang Li again, "You know yourself and his abilities better than I do, so be careful."

Zhuang Li smiled happily: "Yes, I love to cherish myself."

When she was a child, her father told her that it was precisely because others hated her that she should take better care of herself.

Zhou Jingyun said hello.

"It's still early, sleep a little longer." Zhuang Li said with some apology.

She didn't sleep all night because she had something on her mind. After she figured out a solution, she couldn't help but wake up Zhou Jingyun.

Zhou Jingyun stood up and said, "It's almost dawn. Today is the fifteenth day of the lunar month and my family is busy. I'll go and keep an eye on him and find out where Shen Qing is." He paused and said, "After I learned that Shen Qing had intercepted the letter, I also arranged for someone to keep an eye on him."

"The prince is a man who will not suffer any loss." Zhuang Li said with a smile.

Zhou Jingyun smiled and said, "Why don't you sleep a little longer? You haven't slept all night, have you?" After that, he put down the tent and went out without waiting for Zhuang Li to answer.

Zhuang Li was lying on the bed, listening to Zhou Jingyun's footsteps. The maids on duty were also awakened by the voices in the room and stood outside. They heard Zhou Jingyun telling them, "Young Madam, please sleep a little longer. Don't disturb her."

The footsteps faded away, the voices died away, and silence returned inside and outside.

Zhuang Li looked at the roof of the tent quietly for a moment.

In fact, her luck wasn't too bad.

When Zhuang Li woke up again, it was already daybreak. Hearing the noise, Chunyue walked in from outside and said, "The prince has finished his meal in the outer study and went to the Marquis's place. He told the young lady not to rush over and just go there before lunch."

After saying this, he smiled.

Zhuang Li glanced at her and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

Chunyue said: "It's a festival, I'm happy."

The Crown Prince and the Young Lady were back to normal again, but this was just her feeling. The Young Lady and the Crown Prince didn't tell anyone, and she, as a servant, couldn't mention it at all.

Zhuang Li naturally saw that Chunyue was not telling the truth, but she would not ask further questions. As long as she was happy, it was a good thing. She raised her hand and grabbed a handful of money from the box and stuffed it into Chunyue's pocket: "Here, I'll make you happier."

Chunyue chuckled as she held the money.

The wife of the Marquis of Dongyang set the festival dinner at noon so that the young people and children in the family could go to the street to enjoy the lanterns in the evening.

"Take more people with you when you go out, don't go near places with a lot of fireworks, don't go to restaurants, teahouses, or Sanqufang for fun..." Mrs. Dongyang Marquis repeatedly reminded, "Don't go too far from home, just enjoy the lanterns in the three nearby streets."

Zhou Jiuniang couldn't help but say, "The lights in the East Market are the most beautiful."

It’s also far from home.

The wife of the Marquis of Dongyang looked at her and said: "If you don't want to go out, go to the attic at home. You can also see the lights from a high place."

Even if she just stood at the door, she could feel the atmosphere which was not comparable to that of climbing up to the attic. Zhou Jiuniang immediately stopped talking.

Zhou Jingyun coughed lightly at this time: "Mother, Ah Li and I are going to the East Market..."

Everyone in the room looked over immediately, especially Zhou Jiuniang. Before she could open her mouth, Zhou Jingyun hurriedly continued.

"Minister Wang of the Ministry of Rites is hosting a banquet at Wanhua Tower in the East Market."

There was no way she could go to the banquet, Zhou Jiuniang pouted.

Mrs. Dongyang Marquis didn't know what to say. She looked at him and said, "There are many people at the festival. Don't drink too much. Come back early."

Zhou Jingyun responded with a "yes", and Zhuang Li beside him also bowed his head in greeting.

Because there were many things to prepare for the festival, Lady Dongyang Marquis sent everyone away.

"…The prince must have agreed to attend the banquet in order to take his sister-in-law to see the lanterns." Zhou Jiuniang's voice came from outside, "Brother Prince never went out to attend banquets during festivals before..."

"How old are you? You're talking about the past. What do you know about the past?" Zhou Jiuniang's concubine scolded her.

The two of them walked out muttering to each other.

Mrs. Dongyanghou in the room heard it and curled her lips at Mother Xu: "He must be taking his wife to see the lanterns."

Mother Xu was tying a colorful string on a small lantern and said with a smile: "Madam, the prince is already so old, are you still worried that he will be taken away by kidnappers or bumped into or stepped on by others? In two years, you can bring your children to see the lanterns." The wife of the Marquis of Dongyang could not help but clasp her hands together and murmured in the direction of the Buddhist hall: "I don't ask for a boy or a girl, but if I can have a child this year, I will feel at ease." At this point, she looked at Mother Xu, "Sometimes I feel like these days are like a dream, Jingyun suddenly married someone..."

Mother Xu interrupted her with a cry, "What do you mean by suddenly? It's because the prince has been looking for someone for many years and finally found the one he likes and married her." Then she stuffed the colorful rope in her hand into her hand and said, "Madam, you are too free during the holidays. Please help me tie the rope so that I don't have to think too much."

The wife of the Marquis of Dongyang made a pooh sound.

The others here were trying to guess Zhou Jingyun's intentions. When they returned to the courtyard, Zhuang Li also asked, "Is it..."

Zhou Jingyun nodded and took over the conversation: "Yes, the news came that Shen Qing will go to General Li's float tonight to help with the fun."

The powerful and noble families would set up mountains of lights and decorate floats in the city to add color to the festival and to demonstrate their family status.

General Li’s family will naturally not fall behind.

He is really busy.

He has been in and out of Princess Jinyu's mansion, and has also had frequent exchanges with Empress Yang's family. Now he has hooked up with General Li. This Shen Qing is indeed Shen Qing. Zhou Jingyun was silent for a moment, then looked at Zhuang Li: "The float will be displayed in the busiest East Market. Wanhua Tower is on the street. You can sit by the window and watch the float, and you can also catch a glimpse of Shen Qing playing music on the float." At this point, he smiled again, "Wanhua Tower does have a banquet for Minister Wang. I will go over to toast."

Zhuang Li nodded: "Thank you, my Lord."

Zhou Jingyun shook his head. What was there to thank him for? He just frowned slightly and asked, "Is it safe?"

Zhuang Li smiled: "It's not safe. There is no such thing as a foolproof thing in this world."

Zhou Jingyun frowned even more, and the next moment he saw Zhuang Li raising his hand and waving it at him.

"But I'm prepared."

Her hands were clenched, as if she was holding something.

Zhou Jingyun couldn't help but ask: "What is it?"

Zhuang Li hid his hands behind his back and smiled: "I can't tell you now. Only when we get there and reach that moment, Zhou Jingyun will know."

When she got there, Zhou Jingyun would know at that moment? This sounded strange, but the matter between her and Shen Qing was strange to begin with, the stranger the better, which meant that she was really prepared.

Zhou Jingyun didn't ask any more questions, just nodded and said okay.

.......
.......
As night falls, the capital city shines brightly.

Shangguan Yue was leaning against the corner of the wall outside the princess's mansion as usual. In the past, no outsiders were allowed to approach the mansion, but now it was different. The princess had put away her slaves and was very approachable. These days, many brave people passed by here just to see the novelty.

A lotus lantern was set up at the street corner today. It is three stories high and looks like a lotus blooming in the night.

It also attracted countless people to come and watch, and praises were heard from time to time.

There were some guards standing in front of the lotus lantern, loudly introducing that the lantern was a filial gift from Shangguan Xiaolangjun to the princess and her husband.

Shangguan Yue saw that more and more people were watching, so she stood up straight, wrapped her red cloak around her, put on her hat, and signaled to Jixiang to "let's go."

Jixiang whispered, "Sir, why don't you wait for the princess and her husband to come out?"

Shangguan Yue carefully presented lanterns to the princess. After being persuaded by her husband, Princess Jinyu finally came out to appreciate the lanterns. Shangguan Yue expressed her apology and respect to the princess. Then under the gaze of the people, Princess Jinyu acknowledged her son, which became a good story of the Lantern Festival.

As a result, Shangguan Yue can stay with Princess Jinyu and become a royal relative.

"No need, my presence is redundant." Shangguan Yue said, "Let the princess and her husband be a loving couple. This is the respect that the princess gives to her husband."

Jixiang said "oh", it was all agreed upon anyway, today it was just a show for the people, even if Shangguan Yue was not there, Princess Jinyu would not regret it, so he didn't say anything more and followed Shangguan Yue to the street.

"Sir, do you want to go back to the boat?" Jixiang asked.

On the 15th and 16th of festivals, the boats also stop operating to avoid disrupting family reunions and attracting less hatred, so that the business can last long.

Shangguan Yue nodded and walked forward with her head down.

"Sir, let's go through the East Market. You can see the lanterns. The East Market is very lively this year." Jixiang suggested.

Shangguan Yue said yes and walked towards the East Market, but she still kept her head down. Jixiang would call out to him from time to time, "Young Master, look at the lanterns." When he looked at the flower cakes sold here, Shangguan Yue would look up, say they were beautiful, wave her hand and say buy them. Soon Jixiang's hands were full.

But Shangguan Yue kept his head down most of the time, with his hat covering his face, and he seemed isolated from the hustle and bustle as he walked in the busy city.

"Young Master, Young Master." Jixiang called again from behind.

Shangguan Yue didn't even raise her head: "It looks good." "Buy it."

Jixiang lowered his voice and said, "It is beautiful, but you can't buy it. It belongs to the son of the Marquis of Dongyang and his young mistress."

Shangguan Yue suddenly stopped and reached out to lift up her hat. The street was brightly lit and people were coming and going. She felt dizzy and couldn't see anything for a moment.

"Where, where?" he asked anxiously, looking around.

The young master had been listless the whole night, and Jixiang was surprised to see him so energetic all of a sudden. Shopkeeper Cai told him to pay attention to the Prince of Dongyang... and his wife, but he didn't say why. So when he saw the Prince of Dongyang and his wife just now, he couldn't help but tell the young master.

Now it seems that the Prince and his wife of Dongyang Marquis are indeed very important to you, right?
Seeing that the young master was about to look for it in a nearby shop, Jixiang quickly stopped him with his arm: "Up, up."

Above?

Shangguan Yue raised her head and recognized that it was Wanhua Tower in front of her.

At this time, the Wanhua Tower was decorated with countless lanterns, like thousands of flowers blooming, so bright that one's eyes would be blinded. But the next moment, the face of the Prince of Dongyang Marquis appeared among the flowers.

He stood by the window, looking at something in the distance, then lowered his head and spoke to the woman sitting by the window next to him.

The woman sitting by the window raised her head, leaned slightly outward, placed her hands on the window, and looked into the distance with her chin supported.

She was wearing an apricot-yellow skirt with colorful ribbons draped over her arms. The ribbons fluttered in the night wind, and the lanterns around her seemed to flow with them, as if they were alive.

Her hair was tied up high, her face was as white as jade, and her eyes were bright.

Shangguan Yue seemed stunned: "Who is she?"

Jixiang squinted his eyes and smiled foolishly: "She is sitting next to the Prince of Dongyang, so she must be the wife of the Prince of Dongyang."

The woman by the window seemed to have heard it. She lowered her eyes to look at the street with a slight smile on her lips.

Shangguan Yue only felt a buzzing in her ears, and at the same time, there was a noise in the street.

"The float is coming——"

Shangguan Yue looked forward. The soldiers cleared the way, the people on the street made way, and a float slowly drove over.

This float is modeled after a peony flower, with the pistil made into a high platform on which a woman is swaying and dancing, and a man is sitting on the shaft, playing the piano with his head down.

The sound of the piano seemed to come from the sky, penetrating the hustle and bustle of the street and falling into everyone's ears.