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Chapter 218: Thousand Lantern Building, Disaster

The so called tiled pagoda lantern is a tall hallowed pagoda built using tiles and bricks, filled with burning firewood, and lit after finishing paying respect to the moon. The moon worship this time naturally isn’t the same as when offering sacrifices at home. The spectacle will be very grand, and the site set in the open space in front of the Thousand Lantern Building.

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The Thousand Lantern Building is the main building in the district where large-scale gatherings are held in the capital. It’s three stories tall, and inside and outside of the building had a total of nine thousand, nine hundred, and ninety-nine lanterns. However, having all the lanterns lit, all year round it was also just those two three times, that’s all.

When it was still a distance away from the Thousand Lantern Building, everyone just climbed down from the horse carriage one by one, preparing to go over on foot.

And tonight, there was completely no need for the servants to the light the way. The place where they are at was already brightly lit, light coming from all sides, the shadow all gathered under the feet. This kind of scene, even Jing Wan felt astonished by. In Qi’an Fu, they similarly celebrated festivals, but it still wasn’t able to reach this level of grandness. This was even just the Mid-Autumn Festival, don’t know how spectacular the Lantern Festival will be.

The several older brothers also headed out as protective guards.

Speaking of which, her eldest sister-in-law, little Wang-shi, needed to wait until tomorrow before coming out of confinement. This is also a very fortunate thing. If by chance the child was born a day earlier on the fifteenth of the seventh lunar month, the day of the Ghost Festival^[1], then that would really be asking for one’s life. That was just another kind of ghost child.

Actually, when coming out, Jing Wan originally wanted to let her eldest tang brother and her own third brother stay at home to accompany their wife, but unfortunately the elders didn’t agree. What little Wang-shi thought, Jing Wan didn’t know, but for Sun Yi Jia, that was purely having Luo Jing Bo kicked out. She was perfectly fine at home, with a bunch of people keeping her company, so with or without him was all the same. However, for the younger brothers and sisters going out, it wasn’t the same. The amount of them weren’t considered few, so how could they not have the older brothers accompanying along.

Moreover, those few from the Gu family also shamelessly followed. Just, Jing Wan didn’t pay them any attention. That Miss Lian’er was still thinking of becoming Luo Jing Bo’s concubine. Although that path got Jing Wan unhesitantly blocked by Jing Wan, but whenever that girl sees Luo Jing Bo, this older cousin, although she never says anything, it was still a look of wishing to cry, her expression gloomy or like as if looking at a traitor to her love. Luo Jing Bo had ran into her those two or three times, goosebumps directly emerging on his body, taking a detour whenever he saw her. With these two siblings both ignoring them, the other brothers and sisters of the Luo family naturally also had them treated as invisible people.

Luo Jing Bo walked next to Jing Wan, explaining to Jing Wan the situations of the various festivals in the capital, and naturally was also able to pull out all kinds of interesting stories. Jing Wan quite cheerfully listened.

Originally, since Jing Wan was already engaged, the protective guard should be a certain someone. After all, tonight was a good opportunity to openly have a date. Just, unfortunately, the Emperor arranged a family banquet, and even if he wanted to come out to accompany Jing Wan, it definitely wouldn’t be now. If Le Cheng Emperor were to have a seizure and refuse to let them go, wanting to hold a small-scale festival in the palace and whatnot, he’ll probably just…………..come out even sooner. According to a certain someone’s personality, to want to use these boring matters to trap him, it’s better to just wash up and go to bed. It’ll be easier to achieve in the dreams.

Although there were many people, because there were servants and bodyguards blocking in the surrounding, this walk was also very relaxing, and definitely won’t have situations where the crowd is crammed together appearing. Moreover, those ordinary commoners also won’t come to this area. This was a place where families of high officials and noble personages parked their carriages after all. To barge in for no reason, perhaps one will just get pinned a label of ‘harboring malicious intentions’. How wronged would that be.

When there was nothing, one generally won’t come here. This was also Jing Wan’s first time seeing the Thousand Lantern Building. At this very moment, the lanterns inside and outside of the building were all lit, the lantern fire burning brightly, looking just like a shinning giant treasure. If looking at it from far away, that effect most likely will be even more distinct.

At this very moment, the incense burner table was already set up, all the offerings also all on the table.

And in the surrounding, several tiled pagodas were already built, not just having hollowed out interiors. For the sake of keeping with the meaning of reunion, several circular holes were also left on the pagoda itself, appearing to very much have an artistic aesthetic, and much more troublesome than making square shaped holes.

And Jing Wan, under her third brother’s explanation, finally learned that standing on the central axis of this lantern building and seeing the moon perfectly suspend over the crown of the building, the rites for paying respect to the moon will begin. Jing Wan stood over to have a look, guessing that this time was more or less about time.

“Don’t know which madam will be the one presiding over the rites this year?”

“It’s the Left Assistant Minister of Revenue’s madam.”

Jing Wan listened to the side. She also had learned from her third brother that every year, it was a different person presiding over the moon worshiping rites. And this Left Assistant Minister of Revenue was Noble Consort Su’s full-blooded older brother. The one presiding over the rites tonight was her elder sister-in-law.

The left and right assistant ministers of the Ministry of Revenue were on disagreeing terms. But, if the current Head Minister of Revenue were to go down, this position, nine times out of ten will fall onto this left assistant minister’s head. And the people of Rui Qinwang’s faction have been continuously plotting for this. Perhaps this was just something that will happen within the next one or two years.

Jing Wan thought for a moment. Seemingly for that father of hers, the place where he held an empty post was precisely the Ministry of Revenue.

“Big sister, big sister…………..” Just as Jing Wan was somewhat lost in thought, Yu Yao pounced up from behind, hugging her.

Jing Wan pulled her over, turning around, “Yu Yao has come? Just you alone?”

“Aside from father and mother, everyone else from home all came out, but I don’t want to stay together with them, so afterwards, just directly came here.” Yu Yao explained like so.

Jing Wan glanced at the crowd of servant girls, servant women, and bodyguards tightly following behind her, and rather didn’t worry something would happen to her.

Although the times Yu Yao interacted with Jing Wan were comparatively more, but their ages were still relatively far apart. When there were children of the same age present, it was still easier for Yu Yao play together with them. Letting Yu Yao become acquainted with her own family’s two younger tang sisters, the little girls very quickly just started chatting together.

Shortly after, Yuan Qiao Qiao and Zhou Ying Shuang appeared together, and also quite a few others that she was acquainted with, mutually greeting. As time elapsed, the people that gathered increased more and more. Jing Wan estimated that in this place, as well as in this time period, it should be the most concentrated place and time tonight.

A beautiful middle-aged madam came out. The rites for paying respect to the moon were about to formally begin.

The area in the middle was completely cleared out. Each family’s servants as well as the males all retreated out.

Although the moon worship this time was completely voluntary, and there was also no rule on who stood where, but no matter where, there all exists ‘unspoken rules’. Those whose birth and background were relatively low would always consciously move back a little, and those girls from ordinary commoner’s families further could only stand in the outer surrounding. Jing Wan however directly led along Yu Yao and headed to the front. At this time, there was truly no need to modestly decline.

Rather, it was that younger sister-in-law of Jing Wan’s maternal aunt that subconsciously followed after Jing Wan. However, she got slightly blocked by people, “Miss Gu, that isn’t a place where you should go. It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand the rules, but don’t implicate the Luo family in getting said by others to be mannerless.”

That girl instantly just reddened her eyes. However, in the end, she wasn’t a little white flower type like that other pair of mother and daughter, and didn’t really cry out, but the humiliation inside made her internal organs all burn in pain, even constantly feeling that the people in the surrounding were all looking at her, pointing fingers, making her both ashamed and angry, unable to show her face, simply not daring to lift her head.

The Luo family’s fifth, sixth, and seventh, three young misses directly casted her a glance. The place in the very front, they all won’t think about going.

This little episode, naturally no one cared about.

The entire moon worshiping process was more or less the same as the one at home, and didn’t use up much time either.

After paying respect to the moon, everyone also just scattered. Going sightseeing, playing with lanterns, admiring lanterns, playing games, it was all according to one’s wish. Although one wouldn’t really go as far as to play around for the entire night, playing until midnight was very likely.

Yu Yao and the two slightly older than her young misses from the Luo family actually got along quite well, this while wanting invite one another to go play together. Yu Yao had enough people following, and the Luo family also could divide out some people. As such, there was rather no need to worry about their safety, just appointing the time and place when ready to go home, before letting them off.

Yuan Qiao Qiao excitedly pulled along Jing Wan and Zhou Ying Shuan, preparing to go place lanterns in the water.

The river that passed through the city was just to the side, so they didn’t need to walk too far either.

On the riverbank, there were quite a few people selling river lanterns, the variety also quite numerous, and the one with the most of was still the lotus flower shaped ones.

Yuan Qiao Qiao singlehandedly bought a whole bunch, justifying it as buying one for everyone at home.

Jing Wan and Zhou Ying Shuang were both between laughter and tears. This river lantern was also a wish making lantern, or praying lantern. This one wish or prayer from everyone, the deity in charge of this aspect wasn’t able to attend to completely, you alone wanting to place this many, suppose it will be even more impossible to realize. However, this was also just for fun, expressing one’s wish or writing something unrealistic.

Jing Wan originally was still thinking of waiting for this Qiao Qiao older cousin to spend a bunch of time writing things, but in the end, she directly took out her own embroidered pouch, taking out the already prepared slips of papers, placing one in each lantern, her movements very swift.

Alright, this simply wasn’t a last minute idea.

Jing Wan just bought one, and thinking for a moment, wrote down, ‘the family well and healthy’.

“What about this prince?”

A line practically pressing close to the ear had Jing Wan quite startled. Turning around, she shot a glare at the culprit that suddenly appeared, somewhat gritting her teeth as she opened her mouth, “Wangye, people scaring people can scare someone to death.”

Li Hong Yuan hooked a smile, “It was this prince’s fault. Next time, will definitely warn you in advance.”

When this bastard smiled, the destructive power was too great. Furthermore, it was even with a gentle expression, practically just asking for one’s life.

That’s why, when the person was good-looking, sure enough, there were benefits. Jing Wan also believed herself to just be a mere mortal.

Li Hong Yuan also took a flower lantern, quickly writing a few words.

Jing Wan didn’t look. Because of a certain someone’s appearance, the surrounding became a bit off. For instance, Zhou Ying Shuang and Yuan Qiao Qiao both just became relatively restrained, that smile stiffening quite a bit, and at the same time, there were also those that secretly peeked in this direction. Regardless of whether they recognized him or not, all in all, the Jin Qinwang that restrained his dark aura was very attractive to the eyes.

Jing Wan inadvertently casted a glance at the younger sister-in-law of her maternal aunt’s. After coming out, this Miss Gu just followed her like a little tail. And right now, she was gazing at a certain someone, dazedly lost in thought. That expression was just like having lost her soul.

Jing Wan inwardly cursed a line: ‘Walking disaster’.

[1] Ghost Festival – The day when offerings are made to the deceased