CH 469

As the sky gradually darkened, various lanterns began to hang in the capital city.

The more magnificent the shop, the more luxurious and exquisite the lanterns hanging at the entrance.

Besides landscape paintings, there were also riddles written on the lanterns, specifically for people to guess while enjoying the night.

Groups of people gathered around the lanterns, constantly guessing.

Those who guessed correctly happily took down the exquisite lanterns and brought them home, while those who didn't were laughed at and left embarrassed.

The capital city was bustling with activity.

Li Huowang, holding a horse, slightly dodged a child running towards him from behind. The girl was carrying an orchid lantern, while the boy was riding a bamboo horse. Both had happy smiles on their faces.

Is this the method of the Monitoring Bureau? The capital city was destroyed by Dou Lao before, but in just a few months, it has been restored.

After observing for a while, Li Huowang asked Bai Lingmiao, who was sitting in the carriage, "What festival is it today that the capital city is not under curfew?"

"Senior Li, it's the Shangsi Festival." Bai Lingmiao's voice was soft as she read her book.

"Shangsi Festival?" Li Huowang quickly recalled this festival from Hong Zhong's memories. It was the day when girls of "marriageable age" held the "coming-of-age ceremony".

On this day, adults would dress up their fifteen-year-old daughters, and they would eat flower pancakes, drink flower tea, and eat black rice before going out to play. They would also wear pomegranate flowers on their heads to pray for a good marriage in the future.

Once the coming-of-age ceremony was over, girls had to be cautious about their behavior and couldn't show themselves casually. Matchmakers could also come to propose.

"Shangsi Festival." Li Huowang muttered the name and walked towards the house that Hong Zhong had given him before.

Just as he was about to reach the entrance of the alley, Li Huowang suddenly saw Zhuge Yuan blocking his way.

"Hmm? What's wrong? Is there an ambush?" Li Huowang's eyes instantly filled with killing intent, and his muscles tightened.

Zhuge Yuan sighed lightly, shook his head slightly, and nodded towards Bai Lingmiao in the carriage.

Seeing Bai Lingmiao's desolate expression at this moment, Li Huowang instantly understood the message Zhuge Yuan was trying to convey. "Miao Miao, have you never had the coming-of-age ceremony on Shangsi Festival before?"

Bai Lingmiao gently shook her head, "No, when I reached the age of the coming-of-age ceremony, I had already been taken away by Danyang Zi."

Upon hearing this, Li Huowang walked towards the direction that Zhuge Yuan's folding fan pointed to. There was a vendor selling pomegranate flowers.

When he came back, he inserted the deep orange pomegranate flower he held into Bai Lingmiao's white hair.

We are "pawread.com", find us on google.

"It's okay, since you missed it before, I'll make it up for you today!"

Before Bai Lingmiao could hesitate, Li Huowang took her hand and walked towards a grand tailor shop.

Li Sui wanted to follow, but he was immediately stopped by Li Huowang. "Li Sui, send the carriage home!"

When Bai Lingmiao came out of the tailor shop again, her plain white clothes had completely changed.

With a light-colored silk skirt, a water lotus-colored ribbon, and a long skirt with a purple-blue trailing hem and a fitted waist, she immediately attracted many gazes when she appeared on the street.

The tailor shop had obviously prepared for Shangsi Festival in advance, and the ready-made clothes were all suitable for young girls. They fit Bai Lingmiao perfectly.

However, Bai Lingmiao was obviously uncomfortable with being stared at. Nervously, she kept scratching the delicate orchid embroidered on her sleeve with her fingernails. "Senior Li, why are they looking at me?"

"Because you are beautiful. You are the most beautiful in the entire capital city. What else do we need to do? Right, eat flower pancakes, drink flower tea, and eat black rice! Tonight, don't think about anything else, just enjoy this festival that belongs to you!"

At first, Bai Lingmiao didn't let go, but with the atmosphere around her and Li Huowang's guidance, a smile gradually appeared on her face, blending into the lively street scene.

She followed Li Huowang, strolling through the bustling streets of the capital city, admiring the beautiful scenery, guessing lantern riddles, and eating flower pancakes.

At this moment, she was wearing beautiful clothes, eating delicious food, and enjoying this short but extremely joyful moment.

Li Huowang and Zhuge Yuan stood side by side behind her, watching her figure in the distance as she played pitch-pot, as well as her focused expression.

"Clap!" The four characters "天生我才" on Zhuge Yuan's folding fan spread out, and he fanned himself. "Brother Li, it seems like your confidante has something on her mind."

Li Huowang nodded slightly with a complicated expression. "I know, I know."

"Do you need me to help you figure it out?"

"Zhuge, I know you are well-read, but you can't help with this matter. I currently don't have a good solution, so I can only leave it to time and hope that time will take everything away."

Just as the two were chatting, a young man holding a jade cat and walking towards them on the roadside caught Li Huowang's attention.

This person had fair skin and delicate features, with a hint of elegance in his moon-white attire.

It was not strange to see men looking at girls on the street, but what was strange was that Li Huowang couldn't see through his ten emotions and eight sufferings, which was unusual.

Moreover, he was accompanied by several tall servants, and surprisingly, Li Huowang couldn't see their depths either.

As they approached, Li Huowang's heart tightened. "Who are they? Why are they disguising themselves and approaching me? Could it be that my true identity has been exposed?"

But just as Li Huowang was thinking this, the young man turned his heel and entered a jade shop on the side of the road. Li Huowang, feeling uneasy, quietly approached.

When he got closer, Li Huowang discovered that the young man seemed to want the shopkeeper of the jade shop to appraise his jade cat.Listening to the jade shopkeeper's incessant praises for the jade cat in his arms, the young man seemed extraordinarily pleased. "Haha, I indeed have a good eye. A thing I bought for five hundred taels is actually worth five thousand taels!"

When the young man came out, his servant immediately began to flatter him, making him even more delighted.

Seeing that they didn't even glance in his direction and walked straight ahead, Li Huowang thought to himself: "What's going on? Could it be that they were just passing by?"

"Am I being too nervous?" Just as Li Huowang was pondering this question, he suddenly noticed that the young man was heading towards Bai Lingmiao!

Li Huowang immediately dashed forward, his bronze coin sword already drawn, ready to swing at any sign of movement from the other party.

"Young lady, I am honored to meet you." The young man's eyes shone as he stared intently at her white hair.

(End of Chapter)