Chapter 24 – Lantern Festival
Mengyao Gu did not dwell on the decision for too long.
For this year’s Lantern Festival, she decided that the family would not stay cooped up in the house and would also bring Gu Qingheng along.
It would be a shame to miss such an exciting festival this year.
When Gu Qingheng heard Mengyao Gu’s answer, he immediately let out an excited roar. Afterwards, with a beaming smile, he ran around outside for several laps. After a while, he came back with a smile on his face, trying to curry favor with Mengyao Gu.
It seemed that not only Mengyao Gu was conflicted, but Gu Qingheng was also.
While Gu Qingheng was out running wild, Gu Yu directly promised Mengyao Gu that he would keep a close eye on Gu Qingheng on the night of the Lantern Festival and ensure his safety.
This reassured Mengyao Gu considerably, and her initial feeling of regret lessened.
She couldn’t be on guard against a thief every single day. Although Mengyao Gu was worried about Gu Qingheng being abducted, as long as they were vigilant, things wouldn’t turn bad.
After all, Mengyao Gu and Gu Yu were no ordinary people. It was still possible to prevent traffickers from abducting people.
However, upon seeing Gu Qingheng’s happy expression, Mengyao Gu couldn’t help but feel annoyed.
This younger brother was truly a handful!
Afterwards, Mengyao Gu ate dinner with a stern face and ignored Gu Qingheng for the entire afternoon.
Gu Qingheng felt this obvious change very clearly, and as a result, he couldn’t even study properly all afternoon, preoccupied with how to make his sister happy.
Gu Qingheng wasn’t insisting on going just to cause trouble. It was just that his sister had always gone hunting on the mountain, and they had never attended such lively festivals together…
Finally, Gu Yu came up with a plan. He told Gu Qingheng to find some thorn branches to carry on his back and then go to Mengyao Gu to confess his faults.
At first, Gu Qingheng didn’t understand why he had to carry thorn branches. But after Gu Yu told him the story of “carrying thorns to confess,” he immediately got excited and rushed to find thorn branches.
Unfortunately, Gu Qingheng couldn’t find any thorn branches later. In the end, he had to tie the household broom to his back and stride into the room to appease his sister.
Gu Yu didn’t know what happened in between, but when he saw the siblings making up at dinner, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Although Gu Yu appeared calm, he was also worried that Mengyao Gu and Gu Qingheng would continue to quarrel… Fortunately, their conflict had been resolved, and he no longer had to worry.
…
And so, after deciding on the plan for the Lantern Festival, time unknowingly passed until the day of the festival.
In the evening, with Gu Qingheng asking every hour, Mengyao Gu had no choice but to set off from home for the town at seven in the evening.
In the past two days, whether Wang Chang was planning something big or not, there had been no more news of people disappearing. This had reassured the civilians of Lian Town, and they began to prepare for the Lantern Festival.
Families who had lost their children were heartbroken and naturally did not participate in the Lantern Festival this year. Instead, they stayed at home, holding onto mementos and grieving silently.
Despite the mix of joy and sorrow, the Lantern Festival was not delayed.
When Gu Yu and his group arrived in Lian Town and felt the lively atmosphere around them, this was already confirmed.
Not only Gu Qingheng, who found everything curious, but Gu Yu and Mengyao Gu were also the same.
Gu Yu was not an ancient person, and Mengyao Gu had spent a long time on the mountain making money from hunting. Therefore, the three members of the Gu family naturally did not have time to participate in various festival celebrations, which is why they were so curious at this moment.
Although it was already dark, the streets were brightly lit and filled with people, more lively than during the day.
Coupled with various entertainment activities, it further boosted the excitement of the people who came to play, and they enthusiastically participated in the games.
As the three members of the Gu family strolled down the street, they were also attracted by various interesting things. When Gu Qingheng saw a small stall selling lanterns that was hosting a riddle-guessing game, he quickly grabbed Gu Yu and Mengyao Gu, one in each hand, and ran straight towards the lantern stall.
“Boss, your riddles are too hard to guess!”
“Exactly! Other places don’t have riddles as difficult as yours! With this much effort, I might as well just buy one and save myself the brainpower.”
“I guess it’s a tangerine… Why is it wrong again? Don’t tell me you don’t even know the answer!”
“Let’s go, let’s go elsewhere. This place isn’t fun at all.”
When the three members of the Gu family arrived at the place selling lanterns, the loud shouting from the surroundings also reached them. However, despite what was being said, the crowd around the stall did not decrease but rather increased, leading to a growing number of people.
This made Gu Yu curious as well. He wondered what was so special about this place selling lanterns that it could attract so much attention from passersby.
And when Gu Yu’s eyes fell on the lantern stall, he realized that the lanterns sold here were much more beautiful than those sold elsewhere.
The Lantern Festival was different from ordinary festivals. The lanterns sold on this day were all round and plump, like hanging balls.
Compared to delicate lanterns with various shapes, these round and plump lanterns were a bit hard to describe. At least the lanterns Gu Yu had seen at other stalls looked like cotton quilts casually bundled into a ball and stuck with a wooden stick.
However, the lanterns here were different from ordinary ones. Although upon closer inspection, the craftsmanship was still rough, the shapes were much more pleasing.
If nothing else, the round shapes of the various small animals were very cute.
“My lanterns are much prettier than those sold elsewhere, and these riddles also have answers. I’m not fooling you, old man! If it were me, I probably wouldn’t be able to answer them either because these riddles were made by the director of Qingshan Academy. I’m just borrowing them as a favor.”
“So it’s from Qingshan Academy, no wonder, no wonder!”
“Since the riddles are from the director, I won’t try to guess either… Since I won’t be able to answer anyway, I’ll just buy one with money.”
Afterwards, the stall owner, hearing the growing discussion around him and seeing that there were enough people, finally opened his mouth to explain the reason why the riddles were difficult to guess.
Upon hearing the words “Qingshan Academy,” the onlookers no longer said much and could only reluctantly take out their silver to buy the lanterns.
With a connection to Qingshan Academy, these riddles were probably incredibly difficult.
“One lantern, two hundred wen. Small business, no credit.”
“Hiss! You might as well be robbing us!”
“This is too expensive! Other places sell lanterns for only twenty wen, and you’re charging ten times as much.”
“Too expensive, too expensive, can’t afford it.”
However, after hearing the stall owner say that each lantern cost two hundred wen, the crowd around them erupted in commotion again.
But the stall owner remained unfazed, continuing to sit on the bench and fiddling with various shaped lanterns, which dangled in the air, swaying slightly, looking quite good.
At the same time, it made the adults who brought their children to watch gnash their teeth in frustration.
Because while the stall owner was arranging the lanterns, their children were also crying incessantly, demanding the cute small animal lanterns.
“Brother-in-law, I like that little fat fox! My sister likes cats, hehehe…”
While everyone else couldn’t solve the riddles and wanted to buy them but found them too expensive, Gu Qingheng spotted the lanterns hanging at the stall. As he spoke to Gu Yu, he did not forget to mention the animals his sister liked.
Mengyao Gu, standing beside them, did not stop him. Instead, as she looked at the lanterns, her eyes were filled with longing, her expression adorably cute.
When Gu Yu saw that both his wife and his younger brother-in-law wanted lanterns, he did not refuse and prepared to give it a try.
If he couldn’t guess, he would just buy them with money. He wasn’t short of money. As for why he didn’t just buy them directly now, it was because Mengyao Gu was used to being frugal. If Gu Yu bought them with money, she would surely feel heartbroken in secret.
However, if Gu Yu couldn’t guess, then buying these lanterns would be no problem.
He had tried his best, and if the result was unsuccessful, there was nothing to be done.
“Stall owner, what is the riddle for that fox lantern?”
“A fair-weather friend, guess one character.”
Gu Yu walked to the stall. Upon hearing the riddle, his mind began to race.
This riddle wasn’t too difficult, but for Gu Yu, who wasn’t particularly gifted, it still required some time to think.
“Tsk tsk, kid, don’t bother guessing! The riddles were made by the director of Qingshan Academy. You won’t be able to figure it out even if you rack your brains.”
“Exactly. People have tried guessing all the riddles here, but no one has been able to guess them correctly. How can a child as young as you possibly get it right!”
“Perhaps a hero emerges from the young! Let’s not lose hope and keep guessing, maybe we’ll guess correctly!”
“Give me a break! Even if I stood here and guessed for three days and three nights, I wouldn’t be able to figure out a single word of the answer.”
“Damn it! My child really loves this lantern, but the price of two hundred wen is truly outrageously expensive.”
“I’m just going to stand here today and not leave. Let’s see if anyone can guess the riddle. Preferably, a highly intelligent person gets it right and takes all the lanterns from this stall.”
“You’re just dreaming. How could there be such a capable person!”
As Gu Yu pondered the answer to the riddle, the onlookers, seeing a child of over ten years old joining in the fun, couldn’t help but speak up, expressing their resentment towards the stall owner.
They had already given up because they couldn’t solve the riddles, but Gu Yu’s sudden appearance naturally became a target for their complaints.
Who would buy such expensive lanterns except a fool!
This stall owner was only relying on the riddles provided by the director of Qingshan Academy. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be left with a single lantern from here!
People said all sorts of things, but Gu Yu remained unmoved, quietly and quickly thinking about the answer to the riddle.
On the contrary, Mengyao Gu and Gu Qingheng, standing beside him, were worried. If they had known it would turn out like this, they wouldn’t have wanted the lanterns!
What was supposed to be a lively riddle-guessing event had now taken a turn for the worse. Gu Yu had become a scapegoat for others to vent their frustrations, making Mengyao Gu even angrier and wanting to pull Gu Yu away and leave immediately.
It was just a lantern, after all!
She didn’t care about it. Pretty lanterns could be found anywhere. There was no need for Gu Yu to endure such things.
“Oh, I’ve thought of it. It’s the character for ‘dumpling’.”
“…Correct.”
However, at that moment, Gu Yu uttered the answer.
Before the crowd could mock Gu Yu for overestimating himself, the stall owner’s eyes widened. Then, with an amazed expression, he announced that Gu Yu had guessed the riddle correctly.
Instantly, the surroundings fell silent.
