Denghuaxiao

 Chapter 207 Lan Ye’s fight of cleverness

To the east of Panlou Street, the begging market is busy.

 The market is full of cars and horses, and the streets are full of Luoqi. Along the street are colorful tents selling begging items. There are well-dressed children buying newly bloomed lotus flowers and putting them on their heads, pretending to be millers and running through the streets.

As soon as Lu Zhuo and his party got off the carriage, they were dazzled by the excitement in front of them.

“It’s so lively, it’s just in time for the Lantern Festival!” Duan Xiaoyan sighed.

Lu Zhuo raised his eyes and looked into the distance.

The night is getting darker, and the streets are full of lights and flowers. In the distance, there is a lot of music in the begging tower, mixed with the women talking and laughing, and the moon is shining brightly all the way. There are also a variety of performances in the theater, such as trampling, spinning, somersaults, kicking...it's dazzling to watch.

Pei Yunshu warned: "There are too many people, be careful not to get separated."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Zhuo felt himself being pushed in. Pei Yunying walked on the outside and lowered his head to remind: "Watch your step."

 Last year’s Chinese Valentine’s Day, Lu Yan was sitting in the West Street restaurant. The Renxin Medical Center was not as busy as it is now. She was busy making tea at that time and did not go out for a walk. Now she realizes that the Chinese Valentine’s Day in Shengjing is not much better than the Lantern Festival.

Young men, women, or young couples all came out in large numbers, the streets were filled with the fragrance of cars and horses, and the bright lights illuminated the blue sky and clear night.

Lu Zhuo was walking inside, next to Pei Yunshu. He saw a crowd gathering in front of him. Pei Yunshu smiled and said, "That's the Xiangqiao Club."

 “Xiangqiao Club?”

 Lu Zhen was confused.

In the middle of the crowd, there is a bridge that is as high as one person. At first glance, it looks like it is made of paper. The bridge rails are tied with many silk threads and embroidered flowers and plants, which are rich and bright. Opposite the bridge, there is a woman standing, holding a candlestick. , speaking to the crowd.

"That is a bridge tied with incense threads, and it is used as a magpie bridge." Pei Yunshu's explanation came to his ears, "People put braided flowers on the incense bridge, and when night falls, they sacrifice the twin stars and burn the twin bridges, which means that the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl 'crossed the Magpie Bridge' , lovers will have a smooth future and grow old together.”

She asked Lu Huan: "Miss Lu, does she have someone she likes? Do you want to put one on her too?"

Lu Zhen politely declined.

“I’ll let you go, I’ll let you go, I’m interested!” After Duan Xiaoyan said this, he happily squeezed into the crowd, paid the copper plate, placed a precious flower on the bridge, and bowed devoutly three times.

When he came back, he saw everyone's expressions on his face, and added: "...I gave it to Gardenia. I hope she won't treat her like a dog next time."

Hearing this, Pei Yunshu was startled, and Xiao Zhufeng, who was walking silently behind, glanced at her.

Fangzi coughed lightly and pointed to a building further away that was hung with colorful lanterns: "There is a Women's Festival Saiqiao in the Qiqiao Building in front. Let's go and see the excitement."

 Everyone continued to move forward.

When we got to the front of the Qiqiao Market, the crowd became more and more crowded. There was a small building in the front, built in the shape of a pavilion. Every floor was very lively. There was a table on the bottom floor, with copper bowls on the table filled with halva and red dates. , hazelnuts, peanuts and other fruits. Several women wearing kerchiefs were greeting tourists.

There are also several wooden signs hanging under the stage, which read: Happy spiders should be skillful, thread needles to beg for skills, orchids fight for skills on a night, thread needles against the moon, thread needles to test skills, and so on.

 Duan Xiaoyan looked puzzled: "What is this?"

“This is the fortune-telling trick of Chinese Valentine’s Day.”

The woman at the table explained: "On Chinese Valentine's Day, girls beg for skill, and they have to use the method of 'divination' to judge the girl's skill. If she wins, the Weaver Girl will give a gift to bless the girl. From then on, she will be clever and skillful. "

The woman looked at Lu Huan and Pei Yunshu, who were at the front of the group. Seeing that they were both slim and beautiful, the woman's smile became warmer: "Oh, what a pretty girl. You can see how clever and clever you are at the first glance. Why don't you do 'Bu Qiao'?" Once, it’s the simplest to beg for skills by threading a needle. It only costs five copper coins. If you win the first place, I will give you a ‘grain board’.”

Lu Zhen looked at the grain plate placed in front of the table.

Dirt was spread on the small wooden boards, and corns were planted. Some corn seedlings grew, and there were wooden houses and villages on them. The woodcarvings of old men, children and yellow dogs stood in the "field", which was very exquisite and cute.

Pei Yunshu also took a fancy to Gu Ban.

"Take this back, Baozhu will definitely like it." She said with a smile, and asked Fangzi to hand over the money, "I'll give it a try."

The woman received Pei Yunshu's copper plate and immediately took a roll of five-color silk thread from the nearby basket and handed it to her along with a seven-hole needle.

 “Girl, stand here.”

The woman took Pei Yunshu to the empty platform under the first floor of the pavilion, where there were still seven or eight young girls standing. Pei Yunshu hadn't stood together like this for a long time, looking a little uncomfortable. Fangzi hurriedly stepped forward to protect him.

"On July 7th, thread a seven-hole needle. When the gong strikes, you will start threading the needle and knotting the thread. Whoever threads the needle faster will get more tricks."

 The woman's voice came from the stage.

 “The fastest one is the one who gets the best of luck! He’s the most powerful one!”

After saying this, the gong was struck and everyone began to thread the needle.

Pei Yunshu was still a little uncomfortable just now. Seeing that several girls around her were already sitting down to thread needles against the moon, she picked up the silk thread and threaded it thinly. Once she was immersed in it, she forgot about her embarrassment. There were cheers and cheers from the crowd all around, making it extremely lively.

Lu Zhen looked at it carefully.

Changwu County is a small place and the Chongqi Festival is not as lively as Shengjing. She had never seen him before when she was in Sunan, and this was the first time she saw "Bu Qiao".

Duan Xiaoyan's noisy cheers reached his ears, but Xiao Zhufeng frowned and interrupted: "Be quiet, don't make any noise."

 The seven or eight girls on the stage all lowered their heads and concentrated on threading. The colorful lights from Qiqiao's upstairs fell on them, making them look particularly light.

Pei Yunshu threaded the thread carefully.

 Before she left the cabinet, female celebrities did not do much. When he arrived at Prince Wenjun's mansion, he never took care of the house, let alone picked up needle and thread. On the other hand, after Baozhu was born, he would make some small clothes for Baozhu from time to time, but his needlework couldn't really be called a good word.

But today, perhaps the atmosphere was lively, or perhaps she was surrounded by such young and enthusiastic girls, which actually gave her a long-lost joy, as if she had returned to the time before she left the cabinet, and on her birthday, she had forgotten her identity. and troubles, indulge in fun.

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 The gong rings, and the time has come.

Pei Yunshu was the last one to complete the seven-hole needle.

 She was a little surprised: "I'm too slow..."

Compared with these ingenious girls, she is indeed not dexterous, and is even a little clumsy - after all, she has too little time to do needlework.

The woman comforted her: "One loss of luck is nothing, there is nothing else." As she said that, her eyes fell on Lu Huan beside Pei Yunshu, "The girl next to me is so pretty, why not give it a try too?"

 “Me?” Lu Yan was confused.

Pei Yunshu looked at her and said, "Yes, I said I was accompanying you young people, but I went to have some fun. Why don't you, Miss Lu, try it too?"

Duan Xiaoyan immediately agreed: "Great! Medical Officer Lu will definitely get the first place."

　　Lu Zhen declined politely: “I don’t know how to sew and thread.”

"How is that possible?" Duan Xiaoyan said, "Sister Pei has little touch with needlework, while Medical Officer Lu touches needles every day. She sews cloth, but Medical Officer Lu sews wounds. Wounds are more demanding than cloth."

“The wound stitched by Dr. Lu must be very beautiful. It’s not like the scar on Brother Yun Ying’s back. I don’t know which quack doctor stitched it. His craftsmanship is so poor that even I am not as good as me. Isn’t that right, Brother Yun Ying?”

 Lu Huan: “…”

 She subconsciously looked at Pei Yunying.

Pei Yunying looked at her with a half-smile.

 Thinking of the "masterpiece" he left on Pei Yunying's back, Lu Zhen couldn't help but feel guilty.

Pei Yunshu also smiled and advised: "Quan should just have fun, winning or losing is not important. Miss Lu just has fun."

Seeing this, Fangzi took out the copper plate and handed it over. The woman looked happy and hurriedly pulled Lu Zhu forward, "Girl, once you see the quality of Huixinlan, you will definitely find a good match!"

Lu Zong stood still, turned around and looked at the wooden board standing in front of the stage.

 “How do you compare this?” she asked.

 The wooden sign being pointed at had the four words written on it: "Happy Spider Yingqiao".

"That one is a happy spider, Yingqiao," the woman explained upon seeing this. "This morning, I caught the little spider and put it in a box. Later, the girl can choose a box and open it together. The one with more spider webs is Qiao. Hou. The one with few cobwebs is a clever one."

She lowered her voice: "There are fewer people playing this skill game, it all depends on luck. Girls, you want to bet too?"

 Lu Zong pondered.

This sounds no different than gambling.

If Yin Zheng is present, perhaps this item can be a great success. Yin Zheng is very good at gambling. The last time he was in Happy Building, Wan Quan lost all his money.

 But she knows nothing about gambling.

 She said: "I choose this."

  I still chose the item "His spiders should be clever".

The woman was slightly surprised, then smiled and said: "Okay, girl, come to the stage."

At the other end, Duan Xiaoyan couldn't help but be puzzled when he saw that she didn't choose to pierce the seven-hole needle.

“Medical Officer Lu actually chose Xi Zhu,” he scratched his head: “I didn’t expect that she likes gambling so much. Brother Zhufeng,” the young man touched Xiao Zhufeng’s arm, “do you think she can win?”

 Xiao Zhufeng replied with three words of indifference.

"have no idea."

Lu Zhen followed the woman to the stage.

Five or six young girls have already sat down in front of the stage, and they are discussing quietly together. There was a large wooden basket placed in front of the table, and the basket was densely packed with dozens of palm-sized, dark wooden boxes.

 “Happy Spiders” are placed in these small wooden boxes. The girls looked at the boxes in the wooden basket, hesitating which one to choose.

Lu Zhen picked one up and stood up.

 She was so casual that several girls next to her were stunned for a moment. The next moment, Lu Yan opened the box directly.

“Huh?” Duan Xiaoyan was surprised, “Why is she so direct?”

There was no hesitation or hesitation, it was like picking cabbage at the vegetable market, and there was no respect for "divination skill" at all.

Several girls and women were also stunned.

Lu Zhen opened the box, took a look inside, then frowned and let out an exclamation.

 The girls became more curious and stretched their necks to look this way.

"It's the Silver Dream Spider..." She lowered her eyes and looked at the contents of the box, her tone a little strange.

 The girl closest to her timidly said: "Well, what is the Silver Dream Spider..."

 Lu Zhen looked at the other party.

 “It’s a kind of spider.”

She stood and explained in a calm tone: "This spider is slightly poisonous. Although it will not kill people, the spider silk brushing against human skin can easily cause allergies, especially on the face. Once rubbed on the face, rashes will occur. See you in seven or eight days.”

As soon as these words came out, the girls around them immediately touched their faces and subconsciously moved farther away from the wooden basket.

 Lu Zong closed the lid.

"Perhaps the spider catcher didn't notice before and put the silver dream spider into the box with the ordinary spider. However, these boxes were mixed together. Before opening, it was not known which box contained the silver dream spider. "

 The girls were further away from the wooden basket.

Although allergies are not fatal, they can affect the face. Who wants to suddenly develop a rash on the face? My young daughter loves beauty, but she doesn’t want to be disfigured.

"Are you telling the truth?" A girl didn't believe it, "Is it really a poisonous spider?"

Lu Huo nodded, his eyes serious: "Of course, I work as an errand at Hanlin Medical College."

As an envoy of Hanlin Medical Officials Academy, you are the official envoy of Hanlin Medical Officials!

Recalling that just now the young man next to Lu Zhuo called her "Medical Officer Lu" one after another, the people around him immediately stood in awe. They no longer had doubts and no longer lingered on "happy spiders should be clever", and they all found women to change needles.

 Suddenly, only Lu Zhuo was left on the table.

She Shi Shiran walked up to the woman and put the wooden box in her hand in front of the woman.

 “The competition is over.”

 Woman: “…”

 The competition was over, it was indeed over, everyone around her had disappeared, and she was the only one left. What does it matter whether it was sparse or dense? There is only one person competing for the title of Qiao Hou, so why fight for the top spot!

 The woman laughed dryly: "Yes, the girl won."

Lu Zong picked up the "grain board" placed in front of the stage as a lottery ticket.

“Can I take this?”

The woman nodded, pulled her back, and asked hesitantly: "Girl, what kind of silver spider is in that box?"

Just now someone else called her "medical officer", and the woman heard it.

 Don’t believe what the medical officer says. If the spider is poisonous, it must be removed as soon as possible.

Lu Zong glanced at the wooden basket on the stage and smiled slightly: "The lights were dim and I couldn't see clearly. It looks like it but doesn't look like it. Maybe I saw it wrong."

When she returned to Pei Yunshu, Duan Xiaoyan and others were extremely silent, looking at her with incomprehensible expressions.

Lu Zhen handed the grain plate to Pei Yunshu: "This is for Baozhu."

Pei Yunshu looked at the grain in her arms, and then at Lu Huo, with a very complicated look on her face.

Duan Xiaoyan on the other side spoke first: "Medical Officer Lu, this is the first time I know that gambling can be played like this."

Everyone thought that Lu Tong ordered "Xi Spider Ying Qiao" and lifted the lid of the box so neatly and confidently, but she didn't expect that she didn't want to bet at all, and just opened up all the people's stalls.

“Amazing!” Duan Xiaoyan exclaimed, not sure whether it was a compliment or a criticism, “As long as no one competes with me, I will be number one!”

There was silence around me.

Pei Yunying tilted her head and shrugged her shoulders slightly.

 Lu Zhen had no choice but to explain.

“I’m not good at needlework, so I may not be the best at threading the needle, so I might as well change to something else, so I can win.”

"There is no need to be humble." Pei Yunying raised his eyebrows, "If you have wisdom, you will win, but if you don't, you will lose. Doctor Lu, you are still so good at being wise."

"The fight between gentlemen involves high skills and subduing the crowd; the fight between villains involves deceit and profit." Lu Zhen answered calmly: "After all, I am a 'villain'."

Her tone was very serious. Pei Yunying laughed and looked down at her: "Doctor Lu is pretending to be a bad guy again?"

Lu Zhen corrected: "It's not a bad person, it's a 'villain'."

The two of them were quarreling with each other, and Pei Yunshu shook her head and laughed.

"Thank you very much, Miss Lu," Pei Yunshu held Lu Shun's hand, "I have received your thoughts. I must like the orb very much. I will keep it well when I go back. The word "qiao" is what makes you so clever. The method is more clever than threading a needle and thread." As he said this, he couldn't help but laugh.

Lu Zhen looked calm on weekdays, losing a bit of the liveliness that a girl of this age should have. However, what happened tonight allowed Pei Yunshu to vaguely see the liveliness under this girl's indifferent appearance.

　　A girl who can play tricks on others and has a cunning mind.

Just as he was talking, Duan Xiaoyan murmured: "It's so lively, it makes my heart beat."

The young man was gearing up and rushing in excitedly: "I'll try it too—"

 “Hey, hey, hey—”

The woman at the table quickly stopped him and looked him up and down: "Young Master, this is just a girl begging for luck. I have never seen a man come here."

"What's wrong with the men? Why are they treated differently?" Duan Xiaoyan said plausibly, "My daughter has trouble traveling, can't I come on her behalf?"

The woman forced a smile: "These are all girls' houses, and you, a man, sneaking in, aren't you forcing yourself to do something difficult?" Then she looked at the people behind Duan Xiaoyan and pondered for a moment, "Young Master really likes these needle-threading spiders. That’s not possible. Women worship the moon and throw needles, but Lan Ye Dou Qiao can give it a try.”

 Duan Xiaoyan humbly asked: "What is Lanye Dou Qiao?"

 “Have you seen the upstairs?” The woman pointed to the Qiqiao pavilion.

From the attic decorated with colorful lanterns, the sound of flute gradually came.

 “Young men and women, if you have lovers, you can go upstairs to play tricks on Lan Ye.”

The woman explained in detail, "Upstairs, five-colored strands are tied together with each other, and all kinds of begging objects are carved out of lotus roots and hidden in the palace. When the time comes, turn off the lights and search, and whatever you can find will be lucky."

"But, this Lan Ye Dou Qiao is a smear hunt for things. Even if there are guards in the building, there will inevitably be people who fish in troubled waters. Therefore, those who can enter the building to do Qiao are young couples or lovers. What's going on behind the scenes? Even though they can’t see it, the two of them can help each other and enhance their friendship. They can also help each other and overcome difficulties together in the future.”

The woman seems to like to be a matchmaker, or to watch the scene of young people's love. At this point, she also looks longingly, and looks at Duan Xiaoyan.

"If you want to give it a try, young master, just find your sweetheart. If you two go in together, there will be no obstruction. You just said that you have a daughter. The lady is here today. Who is she?"

 Duan Xiaoyan: “…”

Pei Yunshu was silent, Lu Zhu was expressionless, and even Fangzi took a step back in disgust.

Seeing this scene, the woman also understood and said with a smile: "Young Master, you might as well wait for now. It will be the same when you come back next year to beg for skill. Every year is seven, and every year is a festive occasion. There will always be a time when the Young Master can compete for skill."

 Duan Xiaoyan felt sad, but had no choice but to go with no one, so he could only watch the woman leave.

Pei Yunshu glanced at Pei Yunying and suddenly said: "How much silver does Lan Ye need to fight for skill?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone paused. Xiao Zhufeng looked at Pei Yunshu in surprise, with disbelief in his eyes.

The woman hurriedly said: "Lanye fights with two people, of course it's not cheap, twenty coppers at a time."

Pei Yunshu asked Fangzi to pass the copper plate.

Pei Yunying was stunned: "Sister?"

Lu Zhen was also surprised.

This sounds uninteresting, it's just a game of searching for objects in the dark. Why is Pei Yunshu so interested in it?

The next moment, Pei Yunshu reached out and pushed Pei Yunying and Lu Zhu forward with force.

"You two go play," she stood behind her, looking at the two of them with a smile, her tone was so relaxed that it was almost deliberate, "Today is a festival for young people in Japan. I want to see it, but my status is not suitable. You two are better convenient."

“A Ying, Miss Lu, when you two come out, listen to me and treat me as if you have gone in together.”

 Lu Huan: “Wait a minute…”

 “I have already paid the money.”

In the crowd, Pei Yunshu winked at her, "It's not cheap, so we can't waste it."

   Happy 520 to everyone!

　　(End of this chapter)