Dream of the Red Chamber: Daiyu and I swapped clothes

Chapter 63 Lantern Festival
Upon arriving at the hanging flower gate, one would see that all the necessary carriages and horses were already prepared.

Wang Xifeng and Ping'er were busy helping people into the carriage, their faces beaming with joy.

"My dear sisters, please squeeze in. There are many people and cars outside today, and it's inconvenient for the manor to send too many carriages, lest you get separated."

Before he finished speaking, Li Chen, arm in arm with Xue Baochai and Shi Xiangyun, walked up to them with a smile.

"Second sister-in-law, won't you come with us to play?"

When Feng Jie saw Li Chen, her smile faltered slightly, but she quickly composed herself and said, "On such a fine day, how can the old lady be left unattended? I'll stay and keep the old lady company. Eldest sister-in-law, you'll go with us, but remember, you must not get out of the carriage without permission. Look after each other."

"Okay, thank you so much, Second Sister-in-law."

After everyone boarded the carriage one by one, even Baoyu, who was the last to dawdle, got into the sedan chair by himself.

As Wang Xifeng watched the carriage recede into the distance, she seemed to vaguely see silver coins flowing out of the treasury like water.

“These little devils will cause trouble again this time, and it won’t be easy to stop them from spending at least a hundred taels of silver.”

Ping'er quickly smiled apologetically and comforted her, "It only happens once a year, Grandma, please don't take it too seriously."

Wang Xifeng shook her head and smiled bitterly, supporting her waist as she headed towards Rongqing Hall, thinking to herself, "I still have to find a way out. Since Lin Yatou won't speak up, I'll have to sound out Aunt and Bao Yatou's opinions."

……

During the Lantern Festival, countless lantern festivals of all sizes are held throughout the four cities of Beijing.

The place where Li Chen and his group were visiting was the most bustling area in the western part of the city, adjacent to Zhuque Street.

In the western part of the city, the residences of the founding nobles were mostly located, and the children of the neighboring families were all from collateral branches of their respective families. They were all considered to be of high status, so the lantern festival was the most lively place for them to enjoy themselves.

As the group arrived at the street corner, the sedan curtain was lifted, revealing a tapestry of thousands of lights, as if they were in a starry, celestial pool.

The entire street was brightly lit, and the lanterns piled up to create a fairyland of Penglai. The silk figures of the Eight Immortals crossing the sea even seemed to move their eyes. Under the eaves hung revolving lanterns, and the story of the Phoenix Seeking Its Mate on the gauze screens flowed endlessly.

Lotus lanterns floated downstream in the river, while grape lanterns hanging from the old locust trees on the embankment were almost indistinguishable from real ones.

The opera troupe on the arched bridge was performing "The Peony Pavilion," and the sound of string and bamboo instruments drew crowds of onlookers in layers.

Along both banks of the river, countless vendors set up stalls, creating a lively and bustling atmosphere.

Soldiers from the city patrol could be seen everywhere maintaining order.

This sight stirred the hearts of the young women in the sedan chair, and once the carriage came to a stop, they flocked to Li Wan like colorful birds released from their cages.

"Sisters must travel together, and if they are going to different places, each must bring a group of servants."

Li Wan carefully instructed, "Don't talk to outsiders, and definitely don't argue. Bao'er and Lin'er keep an eye on Yun'er, and San'er stay close to me."

"Know it!"

The girls responded cheerfully.

Jia Baoyu stepped forward, smiling broadly, and asked, "And what about me? Am I just supposed to watch over all the sisters?"

Li Wan couldn't help but chuckle, "Just take care of yourself and don't go looking for trouble."

Everyone burst into laughter, and then merged into the surging crowd.

As expected, the imperial guards did not enforce the curfew, and crowds thronged everywhere.

The sweet aroma of sugar figurines, sugar paintings, and candied hawthorns was irresistible, while the savory fragrance of roasted meat and crystal pork knuckle filled the air. Li Chen enthusiastically led her sisters along the street to sample the delicacies, enjoying themselves to their hearts' content.

While they were sharing a box of freshly baked crab roe pastries, Shi Xiangyun suddenly tugged at Li Chen's sleeve: "Sister Lin, look at that!"

Li Chen followed the gaze and saw a pitch-pot stall not far away.

The blue cloth banner reads, "Nine out of ten people throw the pot, and an ivory fan will be given as a gift."

The fan lay in the brocade box, propped up at the highest point. The gold-painted fan surface depicted plum blossoms reflected in the snow, and under the lamplight, its color was warm and lustrous, truly a fine piece.

"What a beautiful fan!"

Xiangyun excitedly pulled Li Chen along, "A handsome young man like me deserves such a fine fan!"

Li Chen smiled; this tomboy was thinking about random things again.

A large crowd had already gathered in front of the vendors, with many people expressing their frustration and regret. How could there not be something fishy going on?

Before Li Chen could speak, Jia Baoyu stepped forward and said, "Truly elegant! I'll win it and give it to my sister!"

Shi Xiangyun wanted to play the pitch-pot game, while the three younger sisters wanted to guess riddles, so the group split into two. Li Wan led the three sisters to the other side, while Xue Baochai, Shi Xiangyun, Li Chen, and Jia Baoyu went to the pitch-pot game area and agreed to meet again after the firecrackers were set off on the riverbank.

After taking stock of the manpower, Jia Baoyu volunteered and went to the stall with great enthusiasm.

Pushing through the crowd, Jia Baoyu slapped down some loose silver and said, "Stadium owner, give me ten arrows first."

"Alright, young master."

Without asking the price, Baoyu took the arrows and confidently began to throw them.

Pitch-pot is also a game played by women in their boudoirs. The vendor here has arranged pitch-pots in three rows, nine in total, with the furthest one being more than ten feet away.

Full of confidence, Jia Baoyu picked up an arrow and easily shot the first two arrows into the pot.

But starting with the third arrow, the arrow would always tremble slightly at the mouth of the pot before slipping away.

It turns out that a thin copper wire is embedded in the inner wall of the spout, which will deflect the arrow if there is a slight deviation.

The furthest spout is even inlaid with a copper coin.

"Unfortunately, it was just a hair's breadth away!"

Jia Baoyu tried the test three times, and his best result was only six pots. In the end, he only got a five-colored silk ribbon, and he hurriedly took out more silver from his pocket.

Xiangyun, unconvinced, stepped forward to try, but she was a little weak and couldn't reach the furthest row at all.

After two attempts, Shi Xiangyun was already disheartened and couldn't help but sigh, "This stall owner is too cunning. There's a copper coin on the spout of the pot, and it pops out like an arrow the moment it's touched..."

The stall owner stroked his beard and chuckled, "Young lady, you're mistaken. How could ordinary pitch-pot be worthy of such auspicious fortune?"

Despite his relentless efforts, Jia Baoyu finally fell into the trap of eight arrows.

By then, he was covered in a fine sweat and his arms were trembling slightly.

Everyone held their breath, and when Jia Baoyu threw it again, the arrow indeed hit the copper coin and bounced to the ground.

The onlookers could only sigh in despair.

The stall owner smiled and said, "Bring ten more arrows for this young master."

Li Chen observed intently for a moment, then suddenly chuckled.

He stepped forward and snatched the remaining arrow from Jia Baoyu's hand, then vigorously rubbed it several times on the greasy handkerchief he had just used to wipe his mouth.

Then, gently shake your wrist.

Lin Daiyu's body had been practicing calligraphy for many years, and her control over the force of her strokes was almost like muscle memory.

But when the arrow flew out, Jia Baoyu wanted to shout to stop it, but it hit the copper coin and slowly drifted into the mouth of the pot.

After a moment of silence, the entire audience erupted in cheers.

The stall owner stared in disbelief for a long time before shakily taking down the bone fan: "Young lady, I am truly impressed by your skill in 'oil-scaled money-making'."

"Ask, accept, accept."

Li Chen immediately gave the bone fan to Shi Xiangyun, while Baoyu, standing nearby, was almost petrified.

"Sister! Thanks to you!"

Shi Xiangyun happily accepted the bone fan, and couldn't put it down.

Jia Baoyu slowly came to his senses and could only sigh.

During the rest of the trip, Xue Baochai and Shi Xiangyun naturally stayed close to Li Chen.

Shi Xiangyun would occasionally display her fan and fan herself with pride.

Jia Baoyu was feeling utterly bored and longing to return to his mansion when he suddenly saw a slender figure standing by the riverbank.

Alone and timidly looking around, it seemed to have gotten separated from its companions.

Baoyu's eyes lit up, and he straightened his clothes and stepped forward to bow. "Miss, I feel like I've seen you somewhere before. You look like an old acquaintance."

"But you've gotten separated from your family. Would you like me to help you?"

Upon hearing this, the woman with a silk scarf around her neck looked up, her brows furrowing sharply beneath her veil...

(End of this chapter)