The Beacon of Kyushu

Chapter 34

Along the way, the two of them were chatting and laughing, and arrived at Bianhe Street in the blink of an eye.The street was full of feasting and feasting lights, and the doors of every house were filled with colorful and bizarre lanterns. The whole street was immersed in a festive and peaceful atmosphere. The grand occasion of the Lantern Festival.

Murong Yunyao was holding a bowl of glutinous rice balls in her hand, eating with relish, while admiring all kinds of lanterns.Seeing that her expression was full of joy, Yun Zixiao also showed a happy smile from the bottom of her heart.

"Everyone, don't miss it when you pass by. It's time to guess the lantern riddles! One correct answer will reward you with a copper plate, three correct answers will reward you with five taels of silver, and five correct guesses will reward you with a piece of priceless gold leaf. Come and guess the lantern riddles!" A middle-aged man was standing behind an old wooden table and yelling loudly. On the wooden table were actually several copper coins and several ingots of official silver.There are a few red lights hanging on the table, and a few riddles written in red paper hang down from the lights.Following his yelling, many passers-by rushed over and surrounded the table tightly.

Murong Yunyao also became interested, pushed aside the crowd with her hands, and squeezed in forcefully.Yun Zixiao didn't like to be lively at first, but it could be seen that Murong Yunyao was in high spirits, so he had no choice but to protect her and squeeze into the crowd.

At this time, there were many people standing in front of the table, and each of them handed the middle-aged man a copper coin, and then countless pairs of eyes rolled around the puzzles, obviously salivating for the golden leaves worth thousands of gold.But these people looked at it for a long time, and from time to time they talked out the answers in their hearts, but the middle-aged people kept shaking their heads. Obviously, none of these people got the answer right.

Murong Yunyao didn't have a copper plate on her body, so she had to take out a piece of broken silver and handed it to the middle-aged man.When the middle-aged man saw Yin Zi, he smiled all over his face and said, "Young lady, you have a good heart and good luck. I think you will be able to guess the riddle!"

Murong Yunyao didn't reply, but fixed her eyes on the first riddle, "Eight feet square..." She thought for a while, and then said to the middle-aged man, "Isn't eight feet square the word for 'right'?"

The middle-aged man laughed and said: "This girl is very knowledgeable, she guessed right!" He said and handed the penny on the table to Murong Yunyao.Murong Yunyao reached out to take the copper coin, smiled and looked at another puzzle, and said softly: "Fair and upright."

"Girl, this is also an anagram, can you guess what it is?" The middle-aged man looked at Murong Yunyao with a full face.He originally thought that Murong Yunyao would never be able to guess correctly, but Murong Yunyao said without thinking, "It's a word for 'foot'."

The middle-aged man was a little surprised and said: "The girl is really amazing, this copper coin is also yours! If the girl guesses one more, the five taels of silver is also yours!" He said and slammed the five taels of silver on the table. At the meeting, the audience were all attracted by the money, and they took out the copper coins one after another to guess the remaining three lantern riddles.

When Murong Yunyao saw the words "newcomer" written on the third riddle, she was slightly hesitant, and Shao Qing said uncertainly, "Is this the word 'zuo'?"

"Ah! The girl guessed it all!" The middle-aged man was taken aback, looking at the silver in his hand, he was a little bit reluctant, and hesitated.

Seeing this, Murong Yunyao smiled and said: "Why, you are reluctant to give it to me? Forget it, it's a small business, I don't care about you, and when I guess the remaining two, you won't give it to me anymore." Late."

The middle-aged man smiled awkwardly, and said, "The fourth riddle is two people becoming one, can the girl guess what it is?"

Murong Yunyao gestured twice in the air with her hand, and said firmly: "It's the word 'sky'!" She said that she completely ignored the reaction of the middle-aged man, and looked straight at the last mystery.But when she saw the last riddle clearly, her eyes widened suddenly, and she said in amazement: "Go to Tianyingchi? What kind of anagram is this? How can there be such a word in the world?"

Everyone also shouted: "That's right, isn't this deliberately embarrassing? There is no such word at all, it is purely to make fun of us!"

The middle-aged man smiled slightly, "Girl, if you can answer this lantern riddle, the little one will immediately present the gold leaf with both hands. But if you can't answer it, you will be given back all the things you won before." .”

Murong Yunyao snorted coldly, and said unhappily: "You must have a conscience when doing business, and you can't deliberately come up with such an inexplicable riddle just because you feel sorry for Jin Yezi. Be careful that this girl will blow up your business, and beat you all over the place to find you." Teeth!" She said as she rolled up her sleeves and was about to make a move, but was patted lightly by a person behind her.

"I know this word." A cold male voice came from behind Murong Yunyao, and then he took Murong Yunyao's hand and walked slowly to her side.Seeing that the person holding her back was Yun Zixiao, Murong Yunyao hurriedly asked, "Brother Yun, do you really have such a word?"

"Yes!" Yun Zixiao looked at the middle-aged man confidently, and said slowly, "Shopkeeper, is the answer to the riddle 'Ya'? Yun Ya Zhi Ya."

The middle-aged man looked at Yun Zixiao in shock, and asked, "Young master, you actually know the sword Yunya of Feng Yichen, the head of the Lingxiao sect in the past!" The middle-aged man looked at Murong Yunyao earlier. Admiration, at this time looking at Yun Zixiao's gaze is full of admiration.

He said excitedly: "My lord, I have been posing lantern riddles in Bianliang for more than ten years, and no one has ever guessed the answer correctly. You are No. 1! I have never met anyone who knows the ancient sword Yunya. second!"

Yun Zixiao smiled, "To tell you the truth about this store owner, my descendant is none other than Feng Yichen, the head of the Lingxiao Sect in the past."

Some of the crowd cast admiring glances at Yun Zixiao, and most of them asked Feng Yichen who the hell was.

Yun Zixiao ignored everyone's expressions, just cupped his hands at the middle-aged man, and said: "The sea has changed, time has passed. Thank you for remembering my ancestors..." Before he finished speaking, Murong Yunyao walked quickly for some reason He ran away, leaving Yun Zixiao and the talking crowd behind.

"My lord, your golden leaf!" The middle-aged man took out an exquisite wooden box from his bosom, and was about to hand it to Yun Zixiao, but Yun Zixiao quickly chased after Murong Yunyao's back.

The lanterns were shining, and the two walked side by side.

This situation should have been warm and sweet, but Murong Yunyao was unhappy.She seemed to have something on her mind, and it was difficult to express it quickly, and it was also difficult to keep her mouth shut.Yun Zixiao noticed that Murong Yunyao's expression was different, and hurriedly asked: "Sister, what's wrong with you? Why are you suddenly unhappy?"

Murong Yunyao shook her head silently, and asked after a while: "Brother Yun, try to read the five words of the answer together..."

"Connected?" Yun Zixiao thought for a while, and said, "If you read it together, it is 'the end of the world'." Following his own voice, he suddenly understood what Murong Yunyao was thinking, and fell silent for a while. .

"Brother Yun, I always feel that it is not a good omen to guess such an answer on the Shangyuan Festival, just in case..." Murong Yunyao looked at Yun Zixiao worriedly.Yun Zixiao had no choice but to embrace Murong Yunyao in his arms, and said softly: "Sister, can you try to read these five words backwards?"

"Reverse?" Murong Yunyao was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said: "Yes, if it is reversed, the world is close by, that is to say, our two hearts are connected, even if they are far apart, they are only close by. Look at it this way, It's a good sign, too!"

Yun Zixiao nodded slightly, "That's right, things in this world are good or bad, so how can you know it's a blessing if you lose your horse?"

While the two were talking, they came to a lamp stand, Murong Yunyao saw many uniquely shaped lanterns on the stand, seemed to have forgotten the unhappiness just now, and ran over quickly.While watching, she said, "Brother Yun, come and see it! The lanterns in this house are really unique!"

Yun Zixiao was not interested in these things at first, but when Murong Yunyao called him, he had no choice but to walk closer.He looked at these lanterns, but he didn't see any difference from ordinary lanterns, so he asked softly, "Which one do you like?"

At this time, the storekeeper of the lamp stand saw that the two were dressed in gorgeous clothes and had a good temperament, so he hurriedly smiled and said: "Haha, this official has such an elegant life, he must be the yamen of some adult in the court, right? You must Did you bring your wife here to enjoy the lanterns?"

Yun Zixiao was noncommittal when he heard the words, but Murong Yunyao smiled and said: "Shopkeeper, we are not married yet. But with your good words, we will definitely invite you to have a wedding wine when we get married!"

The storekeeper smiled and cupped his hands and said, "Great, thank you, little lady!" He pointed at the lanterns on the stand, and said generously, "Little lady, which one do you fancy? The little one will definitely call you." Discount!"

Murong Yunyao thought for a while, pointed at the red bean tree-shaped lantern made of paper, and said with a smile: "Brother Yun, this is interesting and has a good meaning, I want this."

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Young lady, you have good eyesight. This lamp was supposed to sell for one hundred copper coins, so you can give me fifty copper coins!"

Yun Zixiao was about to pay the shopkeeper, but Murong Yunyao grabbed him by the sleeve of his clothes, pointed to the air and said excitedly: "Brother Yun, look quickly! Look quickly!"

He looked at the sky as he said, only to see that the wind and snow had gradually subsided, and Kongming lanterns were slowly rising in the distance.Each of these Kongming lanterns carries love and wishes, and the warm firelight is full of the warmth and sweetness of many people.With the night wind, Kongming Lanterns floated into the distance, shining brightly in the sky, turning into a magnificent light curtain, into a vast starry sky, and into sweet dreams one after another.

Not to mention Murong Yunyao in this situation, even Yun Zixiao was so shocked that he seemed to be suffocated, and was moved to the point of tears.He stared blankly at these Kongming lanterns, not only Zhuge Liang, the first pavilion master of Shuiyun Pavilion, but also the scene of his father defeating Murong Yanzhao with the help of Kongming lanterns appeared in his mind.

Yun Zixiao's body trembled slightly, but when he saw Murong Yunyao beside him, he sighed helplessly and murmured softly in his heart: "Why? Why is the girl I fell in love with the enemy's daughter? Lover The most painful thing in the world is not knowing how to choose. Love, but betrayed parents, hate, but betrayed her..."

"Brother Yun." When Yun Zixiao was feeling melancholy, Murong Yunyao gently tugged at his sleeve, and said with a smile, "Brother Yun, they also want to light up the sky lanterns."

Yun Zixiao nodded slightly dully, looking at the store with both eyes, "Shop, do you have a Kongming lantern here?"

The shopkeeper smiled proudly: "Yes! I'm not blowing, the Kongming lantern I made is a masterpiece! Not only is it exquisite in appearance, but the most important thing is that it can fly high and far. Would you like one?"

Yun Zixiao nodded, "Give us one."

"Okay!" The storekeeper responded, and quickly picked out the most beautiful Kongming lantern from the box beside it, and carefully took out a small oil lamp from the box, and gently placed it on the shelf under the Kongming lantern.Then he took the pen and ink from the booth, handed it to Yun Zixiao and said, "Officer, did you write the words on it yourself, or did you do it for me?"

"Of course we wrote it ourselves." Murong Yunyao didn't wait for Yun Zixiao to answer, took the pen and ink and put it in front of Yun Zixiao, smiled and looked at Yun Zixiao, "Brother Yun, what do you think we should write? "

Yun Zixiao said: "Why don't you just write 'Hold your hand, and grow old with you. Life and death have a great agreement, and talk to Zicheng'."

Murong Yunyao frowned, and spat on the ground a few times, "Bah, bah, bah! What nonsense, life and death are too inauspicious! It's as if we will part ways in the future!"

Yun Zixiao smiled slightly, "How about just writing the first sentence?"

Murong Yunyao nodded with a smile and said: "'Hold your hand, grow old with you' is quite a good sentence, just write this sentence!"

Yun Zixiao picked up a pen and wrote eight big characters on the Kongming lantern according to his words. The characters are elegant and elegant, with a style of their own, which seems to be no less inferior to the masters of calligraphy in the past dynasties.Murong Yunyao smiled and said, "Brother Yun, I used to think that my handwriting was already beautiful, but compared to yours, it looks like a child's scribbles! Who did you learn your handwriting from?"

"My father." Although Yun Zixiao's voice was flat, there was a hint of sadness and nostalgia in his tone.Seeing this, Murong Yunyao lowered her head in embarrassment, and said softly, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked..."

Yun Zixiao shook his head and said, "It's okay."

As he spoke, he held Murong Yunyao's hand, let her body lean against his chest tightly, and together lit the delicate little oil lamp under the Kongming Lantern, and the Kongming Lantern rose slowly under the gaze of the two of them.Murong Yunyao looked at the Kongming Lantern flying into the air with a smile, and jumped up happily!Before her feet landed, the smile on her face suddenly froze.I saw that the Kongming Lantern that had just been raised was knocked down by a gust of wind. Fortunately, it landed on an open space not far away, so no pedestrians were injured.

"Shopkeeper, what's the matter with your lamp!" Murong Yunyao said displeasedly: "Didn't you say that you are very skilled and the lamp can fly very high and far? Why did it fall down just after taking off!"

Seeing this, the shopkeeper was a little panicked, and smiled awkwardly: "This... I don't know about this small one! Many people have bought it before, and none of them... If it's not a small one, I'll give you one for free. It's an apology!"

Murong Yunyao snorted coldly, "I'm a good-hearted girl, so I won't argue with you this time, quickly bring us a new lamp!"

The shopkeeper was busy and got a new lamp. Yun Zixiao held the pen again and wrote the eight characters "Hold your hand and grow old with you" on the lamp. The two joined hands again to light the lamp, looking forward to it. This new Kongming Lantern, I hope it can carry the wishes of the two of them far away.

The Kongming Lantern flew into the air again, flying eight or nine zhang upwards. Seeing that it was still rising steadily, Murong Yunyao showed a happy smile.But who would have thought that a strong wind suddenly blew up at this time, and the new Kongming lantern was blown down again.

Seeing this, Murong Yunyao couldn't help turning her brows upside down, her almond eyes wide open, glaring at the shopkeeper and saying: "Shopkeeper, do you really know how to make lamps? I don't blame you for the first lamp, but the second lamp also fell, you have to give Let me explain!"

The shopkeeper kept rubbing his hands, and said with embarrassment: "This...I really don't know what's going on, so...how about I give you another one?"

Murong Yunyao said angrily: "Shopkeeper, you can't repeat everything again and again. If you send us a lamp again, don't blame me for smashing your stall and dragging you, a black-hearted businessman, to the Yamen to see the officials!"

The storekeeper shook his head repeatedly and said: "Little lady, don't get excited, be careful to get angry. I promise, this kind of thing will never happen again!" He took out the third Kongming lantern and handed it to Murong Yunyao tremblingly. .

Murong Yunyao took the Kongming lantern, rolled her eyes at the shopkeeper, and then looked at Yun Zixiao affectionately, "Brother Yun, let's play it again, this time it will definitely not fall down again."

Yun Zixiao nodded, picked up a pen for the third time and wrote on the lamp the eight characters "Hold your hand. Grow old with you", held Murong Yunyao's hand for the third time, lit the oil lamp, and wanted to let go of this full lamp. Kongming Lanterns for expressing feelings.This time the flight was more stable and higher than the previous two times. The two thought they had finally succeeded this time, so they hugged each other happily.Unexpectedly, a strong wind blew up for the third time in midair, once again ruthlessly overturning the wishes of the two of them, and they fell rapidly.The falling Kongming Lantern burned in mid-air, like a bright meteor, flashed briefly in the sky, and eventually the lamp inevitably ran out of oil and turned into a wisp of dust.

As the "shooting star" fell, the crystal tears in Murong Yunyao's eyes rolled down like broken pearls. She understood that in everything, there is one and two, but three and four. The wish is not promised.No matter how congenial they are, it is still wishful thinking, and they will not be able to fight for their fate in the end. Their love is only as bright as a meteor for a while, and it can only turn into a silent sigh in the end...

"Brother Yun!"

Murong Yunyao cried and threw herself into Yun Zixiao's embrace, the tears burst out of her eyes, soaking Yun Zixiao's skirt in an instant.Yun Zixiao hugged her tightly, his eyes couldn't help but look towards the direction where the lamp fell, the deep love in his eyes gradually dissipated, and finally he became as lonely as death.

Seeing this situation, the shopkeeper couldn't help sighing, and looked at Yun Zixiao helplessly, "Officer, it's not because of my sincerity, nor because of my poor craftsmanship, it's...it's God's will to trick people." ..."

Yun Zixiao nodded slightly, his eyes slowly shifted to Murong Yunyao in his arms, and said softly: "Sister, don't cry, isn't it just a lamp? I'll buy you as much as you want. It hurts..."

Murong Yunyao choked with sobs and said, "Brother Yun, could it be that we are destined to have nothing to do with each other?"

Yun Zixiao gently stroked her hair, and put her cold little hands into his arms.Relieved: "No, my father is good at divination. He once calculated our marriage when I was young. He said..."

Murong Yunyao shook her head with a wry smile, "Brother Yun, you don't need to say anything, I know you're lying to me. No matter how powerful your father is, it's impossible to figure this out, it's impossible..." She broke free from Yun Zixiao's hand as she spoke. Holding her in her arms, she ran towards the end of the street silently, no matter how Yun Zixiao behind her called, she did not look back.

(End of this chapter)