Lamp Flower Smile

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 Luo Qi. 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.

As the night deepens, the streets are filled with lights and flowers, and in the distance there is a lot of music in the Qiqiu Tower, mixed with women chatting and laughing, and the moon is brightly lit all the way. There is also a theater with a variety of performances, such as trampling, twirling, somersaults, and 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 Zhu felt himself being pushed in. Pei Yunying walked on the outside and lowered his head to remind: "Watch your step."

Last year on Chinese Valentine's Day, Lu Tong was sitting on West Street. Renxin Medical Center was not as busy as it is now. At that time, she was busy making tea and did not go out for a walk. Now she realizes that Chinese Valentine's Day in Shengjing is no less impressive than the Lantern Festival.

Young men, women or 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, and saw a crowd gathered in front of him. Pei Yunshu smiled and said, "That's the Xiangqiao Club."

"Xiangqiao Meeting?"

Lu Chen 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, which is used as a magpie bridge." Pei Yunshu's explanation came to her ears. "People put braided flowers on the incense bridge. After nightfall, they worshiped the twin stars and burned 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 Chen: "Miss Lu, does she have someone she likes? Do you want to put one on her too?"

Lu Chen politely declined.

"I'll let you go, I'm interested!" After Duan Xiaoyan said this, he happily squeezed into the crowd, paid the copper plate, and cherished it, pinned a flower on the bridge, and bowed devoutly three times.

When he came back, he saw everyone with different expressions, and added: "...I gave it to Gardenia. I hope she won't trust others 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 balcony further away that was hung with colorful lanterns: "There is a Women's Festival competition 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. Each floor was very lively. There was a table on the bottom floor, with copper bowls on the table containing 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 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, she is so clever at first glance. Why don't we 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 Chen 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 delicate and cute.

Pei Yunshu also fell in love with Gu Ban.

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

The woman accepted 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.

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

A woman's voice came from the stage.

"The fastest one is the one who gets lucky! He's awesome!"

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

Pei Yunshu was still a little uncomfortable just now. When she saw that several girls around her were already sitting down and threading needles against the moon, she picked up the silk thread and started threading 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 Chen watched 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 made her feel 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.

"Boom——"

The gong rings, and the time has come.

Pei Yunshu was the last 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 even a little clumsy - after all, she has too little time to do needlework.

The woman comforted her: "One loss is nothing, there is nothing else." As she said that, her eyes fell on Lu Yun beside Pei Yunshu, "This girl next to me is so pretty, why don't we give it a try too?"

"Me?" Lu Yan was confused.

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

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

Lu Chen declined politely: "I don't know how to needle 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 sewed it up. His craftsmanship is so poor that even I am not as good as me. Isn't that right, Brother Yun Ying?"

Lu Chen: "..."

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 Zhu couldn't help but feel guilty.

Pei Yunshu also smiled and advised: "This is just for fun. The outcome 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 Tong stood still, turned around and looked at the wooden board standing in front of the stage.

"How does this compare?" she asked.

The wooden sign pointed at read: "Happy spiders should be clever".

"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 in this skill-based game. It all depends on luck. Do you want to make a bet, too?"

Lu Chen pondered.

This sounds no different than gambling.

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

But she knew 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."

On the other side, Duan Xiaoyan couldn't help but be confused 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 indifferent words.

"have no idea."

Lu Yan followed the woman to the stage.

There were five or six young girls sitting in front of the stage, talking 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.

The "Happy Spider" is packed in these small wooden boxes.

The girls looked at the boxes in the wooden basket and hesitated which one to choose.

Lu Zhuo picked one up on his own.

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

"Eh?" Duan Xiaoyan was surprised, "Why is she so direct?"

He didn't even think or hesitate, it was like picking cabbage at the vegetable market, and he didn't even have the slightest respect for "Bu Qiao".

Several girls and women were also stunned.

Lu Yan opened the box, took a look inside, then frowned and exclaimed.

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

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

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

Lu Zhuo looked at the other party.

"It's a 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 him immediately touched their faces and subconsciously moved farther away from the wooden basket.

Lu Yan 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 moved further away from the wooden basket.

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

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

Lu Zhuo nodded, his eyes serious: "Of course, I work as an errand at the Imperial Medical College."

If you are an errand of the Imperial Medical College, you are the Imperial Medical Envoy!

Thinking of the young man next to Lu Zhu calling her "Medical Officer Lu" just now, the people around him immediately stood in awe. They no longer doubted or lingered on "happy spiders should be clever", and all looked for women to change needles.

Suddenly, only Lu Zhuo was left on the table.

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

"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 did it matter whether they were sparse or close? 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 Zhu 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?"

Someone just 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 Zhen 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 expressionless expressions.

Lu Yan handed the grain plate to Pei Yunshu: "This is for the orb."

Pei Yunshu looked at Gu Ban in her arms, and then at Lu Huo, with a complicated look on her face.

Duan Xiaoyan on the 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 "Xizhu Yingqiao" and lifted the lid of the box so neatly and confidently, but they didn't expect that she didn't want to bet at all, and just opened the people's stalls.

"Amazing!" Duan Xiaoyan exclaimed, not sure if it was praise or criticism, "As long as no one competes with me, I will be number one!"

There was silence.

Pei Yunying tilted her head and shrugged slightly.

Lu Chen had no choice but to explain.

"I'm not good at needlework, so I'm not necessarily the best at threading needles. It's better to change to something else. This way 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 outsmarting others."

"The battle between gentlemen is based on superior skills and the ability to win over the crowd. The battle between villains is based on deceit and profit." Lu Zhuo 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 Yan corrected him: "He's not a bad person, he's a 'villain'."

The two of them exchanged words, and Pei Yunshu shook her head and laughed.

"Thank you very much, Miss Lu," Pei Yunshu held Lu Shu'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 ingenious than threading a needle and thread." As he said this, he couldn't help laughing.

Lu Chen looked calm on weekdays, but he had lost a bit of the liveliness that a girl of this age should have. However, tonight, Pei Yunshu could vaguely see the liveliness under the indifferent appearance of this girl.

A girl who can tease people and has a cunning mind.

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

The young man was gearing up and rushing in excitedly: "I'll try 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 man? Why are you 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 things on others?" Then she glanced at the people behind Duan Xiaoyan, and pondered, "Young Master really likes these needle-threading spiders. That’s not possible. Women worship the moon and throw needles, but Lan Ye Douqiao can give it a try.”

Duan Xiaoyan humbly asked: "What is Lan Ye Dou Qiao?"

"Did you see it upstairs?" The woman pointed to the Qiqiao Pavilion.

Above 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 Lan Ye to compete with each other."

The woman explained in detail, "Upstairs, five colored strands are tied together, and all kinds of begging objects are carved from lotus roots and hidden in the hall. 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 fight with Qiao are young couples or lovers. So what's going on in the dark? 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 play matchmaker, or watch the scene of young people's love. When she said this, she also looked at Duan Xiaoyan with longing.

"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 if you come back next year to beg for cleverness. Every year is seven, and every year is a festive season. There will always be a time when the Young Master can fight 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 money does Lan Ye need to fight for skill?"

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

The woman hurriedly said: "Lanye Dou Qiao is two people, of course it is not cheap, twenty coppers at a time."

Pei Yunshu asked Fangzi to pass the copper plate.

Pei Yunying was stunned: "Sister?"

Lu Chen was also surprised.

This sounds like no fun, but 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.

"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, tell me what you said and treat me as if I went in with you."

Lu Yan: "Wait a minute..."

"I have already paid the money."

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

I wish everyone a happy 520!