Author: Vanilla Muse

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Chapter 107.2 – Fishing for Lanterns

The old woman laughed. “Rest assured, gong zi.”

“Then, thank you!” An Zi Ran saluted to her.

“Gong zi is polite. It is but a slight effort.”

At the same time, on the opposite shore of the Huai Zi River.

After the conclusion of the poetry competition, a group of excited young talents crowded together and came to the riverside. They saw hundreds of beautiful lanterns floating on the river, one after another, and everyone was dazzled.

“This year seems to have more lights than last year.” A young man with a somewhat handsome face stood by the river with a paper fan. He sighed as he looked at these lanterns. Be that as it may, his eyes were shining as he looked at these lanterns, as if having a pair of discerning eyes.

“Don’t know if I can fish up a fated marriage this year. I’m really looking forward to it!”

“You? Wait a few more years, ba.”

“Hey. You’re looking down on me. What’s wrong with me? Can’t I get married? Don’t think I don’t know. Although you didn’t say it, your heart is actually thirstier* than me!”

[*T/N: 饥渴 ji ke – “hungry and thirsty” or figuratively “to crave (knowledge, love, etc)”]

“You’re thirsty!”

A man stepped out to interrupt their conversation. “Okay, don’t quarrel anymore, hurry up, otherwise the good ones will be taken away.”

When they heard this sentence, the two were reluctant to stop bickering, but when they turned around they saw that everyone was looking at the lanterns, and some people had already fished one up. The two hurriedly ran over. If they were any slower, they really would be left behind.

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

When it came to fishing up lanterns, they must be tastefully chosen.

Most of the ladies who were seeking marriage made the lanterns themselves. The ladies were quite skilled with their hands, and there were many patterns. They were not the same as those sold on the market. Although there were many types of lanterns, the patterns were repeated, so if you wanted to know if the owner of the lantern made it, you had to look at the pattern and structure of the lantern.

After watching for a while, some people picked out the lanterns that they liked.

The number of lanterns was decreasing, and those who have yet to pick a lantern were getting anxious. For example, the two people who were just quarreling. Their families’ financial situation was not the best, so they hoped they would be able to fish up a lantern from a lady of a wealthy family. But as they perused the lanterns, one second they found this lantern looked good, and the next second they thought that lantern looked good.

Their hesitation made them slower than the others.

“Hey, look, there’s a lantern there, so ugly!”

At this moment, a young man standing upright on the steps suddenly pointed at a light slowly drifting across from him. Against the backdrop of the many beautiful lanterns, this lantern really looked ugly.

The others looked up and saw an ugly duckling. The duckling’s paper was yellow, almost the same shade as the candlelight, especially its big bill, which looked particularly funny.

“It really is ugly. Whose lantern is this?”

Someone laughed and echoed the sentiment immediately.

“Should we fish it up and take a look?” Someone suggested.

“Okay!”

“Nonsense!”

At this moment, a low voice of reprove suddenly thundered. It slammed into everyone’s hearts at once, and a few people were startled. They turned around subconsciously. When they saw the speaker, they immediately turned mute. It wasn’t that they knew each other, but that this person’s momentum was somewhat amazing. At one glance, it was clear that he was no ordinary person.

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However, there were some who refused to accept his authority and jumped out to protest.

It was the very young man who carried a fan in the middle of winter. “Who are you? What reason do you have to stop us? Don’t forget, everyone has a chance to choose a lantern.”

The man’s cold eyes fell on him.

The young man’s shoulders shrank back, but he didn’t want to lose momentum, so he still straightened up his chest.

Just then, the gentle and refined companion beside the man stood up. He was more handsome and nobler than the young man, and in comparison was even more extraordinary.

“That being the case, you can use your chance to pick up that lantern, but as you said, the chance is only once, are you willing or not?”

The young man choked.

He certainly didn’t want to. He waited for a few months for this chance, how could it be wasted on the ugly yellow duck for nothing?!

He didn’t say anything, and the others did not say anything. They were different from the other two. Their family backgrounds weren’t particularly good, merely depending on their intellect and talents to stand here.

The ugly duckling finally drifted to the shore while they were talking, but no one was interested in it at this time. Everyone went off to fish up lanterns. As the lanterns around the ugly duckling were picked one by one, only it was left alone. On the river, it looked particularly lonely.

The people who have picked lanterns were already scrambling to open the papers tucked within. There was excitement, disappointment, doubt, and hesitation.

Although some people hoped to get the lantern of a lady from a rich family, they could not see the family background of the other person based on the lantern. This was a form of fate, and those with courage could get happiness, but some people were worried that the other person was an ugly woman, so they hesitated non-stop.

The refined gentleman standing by the river suddenly walked over to the ugly duckling.

The man came over and glanced at him and said, “Interested?”

The refined gentleman smiled gently, “Indeed interested. There are so many beautiful lanterns, but the other side picks an ugly duckling. I wonder what kind of woman it will be?”

“Actually, I am also interested in knowing,” the man said out of the blue.

The refined gentleman laughed, “I knew you would be interested.”

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

Unlike other people, they did not carry high expectations for fishing lanterns, so it didn’t matter even if the opportunity was wasted. At worst, they could just put the ugly duckling back in the river after looking at it. There wouldn’t be any great affect.

The man then bent down to pick up the ugly duckling. It really contained a piece of card stock. The man carefully removed the card stock and handed it to the refined gentleman.

The refined gentleman received the piece of paper, took a look, and laughed.

“The owner of this lantern is really an interesting person. It seems like we did not fish out this lantern for nothing.”

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Chapter 107.1 – Fishing for Lanterns

Setting off lanterns on the Huai Zi River was not just for young women wishing for a marriage predestined by fate.

The Huai Zi River did not evolve into the Matchmaking River until later. As early as twenty or thirty years ago, the Huai Zi River did not have the alias of Matchmaking River. People set lanterns on the river just to pray for blessings.

At that time, it was not only young women who could pray for marriage. Men, old people, and children would buy lanterns if they had any wishes, or they could make one by themselves, write their wishes, and then set them on the river.

The reason why this was the case now was because later on, some man unexpectedly fished up a lantern and then ended up marrying the owner of the lantern. This was the origin of the Matchmaking River. It developed until this day, and now it was rare to see any men setting lanterns on the river.

But rarely seen did not mean that there were none. Occasionally there were still some men who would set lanterns on the river.

Whispers rose up around them from time to time, but An Zi Ran ignored those people. He went down the steps of the Huai Zi River to set off the lantern in his hands.

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

There were many beautiful lanterns floating on the river, many of them were flower-shaped lanterns. Most of them were made by the young women themselves. Each one was very skilled with their hands, and the lanterns looked no worse than the ones that street vendors sold.

“What did you write?”

Fu Wu Tian asked curiously when he saw An Zi Ran bend down. Just now, he did not deliberately read what his wang fei wrote on the card stock.

An Zi Ran put the duckling lantern on the river. The shape of the duckling was not ugly, but it stuck out amongst the many beautiful and good-looking flower lanterns. In comparison it looked bad, just like an ugly duckling.

Before he could answer, the surrounding young ladies laughed.

They also saw this ugly duckling, and probably didn’t expect anyone to choose such an ugly duck, furthermore, the person was a man, and words like “such an ugly duck” sounded from time to time.

Although it looked like the young ladies were looking at the ugly duckling, they could still see that some of the young ladies were looking at them from time to time. Most of them were peeking at Fu Wu Tian. Of course, there were also many taking glances at An Zi Ran.

Both of them were excellent in appearance, but the man who could really make people feel safe was Fu Wu Tian, a man who was very mature and attractive at first glance.

An Zi Ran returned to Fu Wu Tian’s side, and answered unselfconsciously, “Just a little game. If someone fishes it up then it’s fate, if no one gets it then it doesn’t matter.”

Speaking like so, he made Fu Wu Tian even more curious about what he wrote on the card stock. A little game? It sounded very mysterious.

An Zi Ran did not intend to tell him for the time being.

Fu Wu Tian glanced at the side of his face and took hold of his hand again. In a low voice he said, “This prince is looking forward to wang fei’s little game.”

An Zi Ran covered the back of Fu Wu Tian’s hand with his other hand, but did not say anymore.

The whispering voices around them gradually quieted down. The young ladies’ eyes almost popped out when they saw them holding hands. Men and women were not the same. It’s weird to see two men holding hands, especially in the twenty-first century, but here, there was only one explanation.

Whether it was the girls peeking at An Zi Ran or at Fu Wu Tian, they were all disappointed.

Two men with such good looks turned out to be a pair?

But there were still some people’s gazes that were comparatively strange.

From appearances, it was clear who was dominant, but in the eyes of some, the one on the bottom was often some pet from a male brothel. Furthermore, only a pet from a male brothel would have the audacity to display affection in public with another man.

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But no matter how vicious their thoughts were An Zi Ran did not have mind reading capabilities.

Before leaving the Huai Zi River, An Zi Ran went to the table where the card stock was placed, took a few more, and wrote a sentence on each piece of paper, and then he left with Fu Wu Tian.

“I want to eat jellied tofu*.”

[*T/N: a.k.a. soft bean curd]

Looking at the bustling crowd, An Zi Ran suddenly had this idea. It was almost an hour after dinner, just enough time for them to digest dinner.

Fu Wu Tian would naturally meet his needs. When he just came here, he saw a family selling jellied tofu on the side of the road. The business was popular, so it should be delicious.

After a while, the two came to the stall selling jellied tofu.

The owners of the stall were an old couple. They were both gray-haired and seemed to be over their sixties. The stall was not large. There were four old tables and chairs next to it. However, there were seven or eight people eating jellied tofu at this time, and some of them have already eaten three or four bowls.

The two of them approached the old couple.

An Zi Ran spoke to the old man, “Two bowls of jellied tofu.”

“One moment, sirs.” The old man said and picked up two bowls. The action was deft. Very soon, he had filled two bowls and put a tablespoon of brown sugar in each. He originally wanted to put two tablespoons, but An Zi Ran stopped him. The old man’s brown sugar was not lumpy, but liquid. It looked slightly sweet.

An Zi Ran was not used to eating things that were too sweet. He has eaten jellied tofu before, but it was not the same as this.

Because there were no seats, the two stood and ate.

As soon as the tofu entered his mouth, it melted away immediately. There wasn’t a lot of brown sugar, so it was not particularly sweet, making the flavor of the tofu more intense.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

No wonder there was so many customers. Really could not pity the owner for putting up a stall at his old age. The taste of the jellied tofu was enough to make anyone who has eaten it a repeat customer.

There wasn’t much tofu in one bowl. The two of them polished off their bowls in a few mouthfuls.

Fu Wu Tian took An Zi Ran’s bowl, and brought the two bowls, along with the tofu money, and handed it to the old woman, who smiled right away and said thank you.

“Granny.” An Zi Ran suddenly stepped forward to call the old woman who was about to return to her husband. “There’s a matter I want to trouble you with, don’t know if it’s convenient or not?”

The old woman was surprised. “Gong zi, please speak.”

An Zi Ran handed a piece of card stock that had been prepared ahead of time to her, and whispered something to her.

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Chapter 106.2 – Lantern Festival

Huai Zi River. Lantern Festival.

Large and small, all kinds of lanterns were hanging in the streets. They looked like little red suns. Lanterns bearing the wishes of people floated along the river, one after another. Men and women stood at the riverside admiring the sight, occasionally letting out exclamations of surprise.

Asides from being a traditional festival of Da Ya, the Lantern Festival had another meaning.

Men and women were paired up. Those without a partner could try for a fated encounter at the Lantern Festival and find their other half. And the Huai Zi River was like an experienced red string of fate, bringing young women’s lanterns from one side of the river to the other side, where the young men of the city were.

In addition to the Lantern Festival every year, people with lofty ideals in the capital and elegant scholars would also hold various parties or competitions on the other side of the Huai Zi River to show off their talents.

In addition, young scholars would fish up the young women’s lanterns beneath the public eye.

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

Only one lantern per person.

If you felt that you have fate on your side, then you could take the lantern to the opposite side of the river to find the young woman. If you didn’t have that in mind, then you must put the lantern back in the Huai Zi River.

Although not everyone had a fated meeting, each season of the Lantern Festival did promote a lot of lovers, so the Huai Zi River was also known as the Matchmaking River, specializing in building bridges and tying red strings between men and women.

An Zi Ran entered the Lantern Festival, accompanied by Fu Wu Tian. There were two big red lanterns hanging at the front door of every household. The lanterns glowed a festive red. The whole street, including the Huai Zi River, was immersed in laughter and hazy red light.

As someone accustomed to the neon lights of modern times, seeing a similar scene again, An Zi Ran’s expression could not help but become distracted.

“What happened?”

Fu Wu Tian immediately noticed that there was something wrong with his expression.

An Zi Ran shook his head. “It’s nothing. It just feels like I haven’t been out shopping for a long time. Almost a year has passed, so quickly.” A few months more and he would be seventeen years old.

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“If wang fei likes, we can come out more often in the future and walk around.” Fu Wu Tian held his hand. Under the hazy red lights of the lanterns, Fu Wu Tian’s handsome features were not as ostentatious as usual, and instead, gained a gentler edge. He liked the feeling of spending time with his wang fei. Even without words, there was a tacit understanding that belonged only to them.

An Zi Ran looked down at their intertwined hands and suddenly said in a low voice, “Okay.”

Surprise flashed through Fu Wu Tian’s eyes. He never thought that An Zi Ran would reply so frankly. The teenager’s handsome face was suffused with red light, and his complexion softened. Fu Wu Tian never regretted marrying him, and he even rejoiced at his foresight of the time.

“What? It is very unexpected?” An Zi Ran raised an eyebrow at him.

Fu Wu Tian’s mouth twitched slightly. His wang fei seemed to carry a different bearing tonight; even the arch of an eyebrow was more stirring than usual.

The two holding hands actually did not attract much attention.

At this moment, everyone’s attention was on the roadside stalls, because stalls from the four markets were all concentrated here tonight. What used to be seen in various marketplaces could now all be seen here at the Lantern Festival. This was one of the reasons why the festival was always so lively.

Usually, it was impossible to run around and go to all four markets, so with this opportunity, almost every family would come out as a unit to the Lantern Festival.

The two stopped in front of a stall selling all kinds of beautiful lanterns. The lanterns were not the traditional cylindrical shape, but of various strange animal shapes, as well as flower and fruit type lanterns. They came in reds, blues, lavenders, and so on. They were all very beautiful.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

“What kind of lantern does these two sirs like? I have everything here. The price is not too expensive. The cheapest goes down to as low as ten yuan and the most expensive is only thirty yuan.” The hawker said with a smile.

An Zi Ran randomly picked up a lantern in the shape of a duck.

The animal shaped lanterns were not the most expensive. They only cost twenty yuan. The fruit ones were the cheapest. Most ordinary people would buy this type. The last type were the flower shaped ones. These were the most expensive. Because the manufacturing process was complex, it was the most time-consuming type to make. Its beautiful style was especially attractive to young and beautiful ladies.

Fu Wu Tian handed the hawker twenty yuan.

For this outing, Fu Yi gave them a pouch filled to the brim with little silver pieces.

After buying the lantern, the two of them then went to the banks of Huai Zi River and came upon a stall that specifically offered card stock for people to write inscriptions or wishes.

The owner of the stall seemed to be absent. There was only a small box on the table, a stack of card stock, and a brush and ink stone. There was a piece of paper stuck on the front of the box, declaring that a sheet of card stock cost one yuan.

Fu Wu Tian threw a yuan into the box.

An Zi Ran selected a sheet of light blue card stock, took up the brush, and wrote a sentence on the paper. Then he placed it on the lantern. After doing all this, the two came to the riverside of the Huai Zi River. There was already a huge crowd of pretty young ladies gathered by the river. In sharp contrast, the two of them looked lofty and towering.

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