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Fine Night of the Lantern Festival
T/N: Translated by Jen on Broken Jinsei! Please do not repost my translations! All translations outside of Broken Jinsei are stolen and reposted without permission!
Shen Lan Chi had long agreed with Lu Qi Yang to come see the lantern festival together. Just, Shen Lan Chi took some time to coax Shen first madam, thus arriving a bit late.
Seeing the heir’s cheeks slightly red from the night wind, she felt a bit guilty, saying, “This time, it’s my fault, took a while to coax my mother, thus coming late. Do you have something you want? This older sister will treat you!”
Lu Qi Yang slanted his mouth and said, “You’re really going to treat me? Then, buy one of everything on this street for this young master.”
Although appearing to be grumbling, his eyes and brows nevertheless carried a smile. That smile was dreamy, directly warming Shen Lan Chi’s heart. Although during the daytime, some annoying matters had occurred, but seeing Lu Qi Yang’s smile, she also cheered up.
Whatever Lu Qi Yang wants, she’ll just buy for him.
She lifted her eyes, seeing the stalls in the street lined up one after another, the lantern light swaying and flickering, turning the surrounding into a smokey red. Food, drinks, toys, paper sparrows, little hand-drums, walnut cakes, and more, there was everything. If she really were to buy each and every one, then don’t even think about strolling around tonight.
Seeing her reveal a contemplating look, Lu Qi Yang suddenly held his stomach and burst into laughter, saying, “I’m joking with you, you even took it seriously. Forget it, forget it, let’s just go look at the masks on that stall over there.”
On the stall by the street hung a row of masks. These masks were different from usual masks. Never mind being painted evenly in powdered gold lacquer, there was also three half-bloomed lotus flowers on the forehead. Aside from this, the craftsman even used black ink to finely outline the eye-sockets, then lined up three vermillion dots on the root of the nose, causing this mask to give off an exotic feel.
“I remember now. This mask came from the Banjaro Kingdom.” Shen Lan Chi pointed at that mask and said, “Didn’t his Majesty just agree to do trade with them this year? That Banjaro Kingdom will also soon be sending someone to the capital to meet with his Majesty.”
At the door of the shop stood a shop assistant. Seeing her pointing at the masks, he enthusiastically said, “Miss, do you want to buy a Banjaro mask to admire? That Princess Yong Chun in the palace also likes to wear them for fun.”
While the shop assistant was talking, Lu Qi Yang had already fished out his money. He bought a mask, handing it to her and saying with a smile, “Why don’t you just wear it for fun, I’ll pay for it this time. Around this time next year, who knows where I’ll be, so perhaps won’t have the opportunity to buy you these little things.”
“If you’re not in the capital, then where will you be?” Shen Lan Chi asked.
“I already told you, after some time, I’ll be going to the borders to take over my royal father’s mantle. That wasn’t a joke.” Lu Qi Yang half hung his head, studying the silk flower in her hair. He clicked his tongue and said, “If I really leave, I won’t be able to come back for a while.”
Shen Lan Chi’s eyes slightly flickered, immediately understanding——No wonder lately Lu Qi Yang often stayed in the army camp outside of the city, or followed Zhennan Wang’s former subordinates around. Turns out, he was preparing for his military training.
This originally should be a good thing, but she just felt sad inside, feeling a little melancholic. She recalled when she was little, when her grandfather taught her how to read and write, he would say, “At the end of every month, must recite ‘Book of State’ and ‘Book of Songs’ at least once.” At the time, whenever she thought about how the end of the month eventually will come, and she inevitably will have to recite, she would just have this similar feeling, this sour and sad feeling.
The day to recite, it’s best if it never comes.
“What are you thinking about? This look, it’s like I’m going to force you to recite a book.” Lu Qi Yang reached out to scrape her nose, then pushed her shoulder and said, “Look over there, so lively.”
Shen Lan Chi rubbed her nose and gazed over in that direction. In the middle of the crowd, she saw two strong and muscular men wearing the mask of the Banjaro Kingdom, holding a red whip and precious sword in their hand, going at each other back and forth, showing off their martial arts, their gestures and moves dazzling the eyes. The crowd exploded into cheers from time to time, the sound of the copper coins landing in the tray ringing endlessly.
TN: All translations outside of Broken Jinsei are stolen and reposted without permission!
Shen Lan Chi just glanced over once and her line of sight immediately got drawn away by one of the spectators. That man wore a frost white silk garment, very handsome and elegant, precisely that older brother of hers that was supposed to be at a social gathering, Shen Ting Yuan.
Carefully looking again, by Shen Ting Yuan’s side, there was also a girl.
Shen Lan Chi was slightly surprised, immediately starting to size up that girl——–That girl had a thin waist, her figure slender and graceful, wearing a pair of embroidered satin shoes on her feet. Her fingers in her sleeve were slender and white like jade, clearly a wealthy family young lady raised in luxury.
Her eyes moved upwards, landing on her mask——
A Banjaro mask that was currently popular.
Mask.
Mask.
Mask!!
That gold mask had the girl’s face tightly covered, not revealing the tiniest bit. The red mole on the mask reflected the dim lantern light, extremely charming.
Shen Lan Chi heavily smacked her own forehead, muttering to herself, “Why must the people of the capital like such a strange mask? Must be Princess Yong Chun that started it.”
If Shen Ting Yuan has someone he likes, then that’s a major matter. If there’s something wrong with the identity of this ‘love’ of his, then perhaps it will affect An Duke Manor’s future. For the sake of planning ahead, Shen Lan Chi must find out this girl’s identity.
“Heir, you stay here and don’t move, I’ll be right back.”
After saying this, Shen Lan Chi put on the mask that Lu Qi Yang bought for her, ruffled her own hair, then tried her best to mimic Xiao Shan Fang’s unrefined way of walking, striding in large steps to Shen Ting Yuan’s side, shouting to that girl, “Who are you!? Why are you together with the Shen family’s young master?! Speak!”
This appearance of hers was a hundred percent like catching someone in an affair. In addition to wearing a mask, no one could recognize her.
Sure enough, that girl blanked for a moment, asking back: “And who are you?”
——–Shen Lan Chi intimately leaned against Shen Ting Yuan, appearing to be very familiar with him.
Shen Ting Yuan made out Shen Lan Chi’s voice, his body stiffening, nervously saying: “This…….this is my younger sister.” He then turned towards Shen Lan Chi, saying in a low voice, “Younger sister, wait for me to go back and explain. This matter is relatively difficult to explain, don’t tell mother for the time being……..”
It would’ve been better if Shen Ting Yuan didn’t speak. Once he spoke, it instead seemed like he was trying to cover up Shen Lan Chi’s identity, further making that girl suspicious.
“Younger sister?” That girl in the mask coldly sneered, “You think I’ve never met Shen Lan Chi before? When she walks, it’s not like this, swaying and twisting, completely not having any proper form, like an uncouth girl that has never learned etiquette before. Shen Ting Yuan, if you dare to deceive me, then don’t blame me for being heartless!”
Shen Ting Yuan’s face turned red, helplessly saying, “She’s really my younger sister.”
“I don’t believe you.” The girl in the mask said, then said to Shen Lan Chi, “Do you dare to take down your mask and let me see exactly which family’s young miss you are?”
“Alright!” Shen Lan Chi put her hands to her hip and rolled her eyes, “Who’s scared of taking it off! But, it’s unfair for me to take it off alone, so you need to take it off too. Let me see which girl is this capable, having my family’s man snatched away!”
The line ‘my family’s man’ caused that girl in the mask to slightly clench her fist, shouting, “Alright! In this Chu capital city, aside from my paternal aunt, I’ve never been scared of anyone before!”
After saying this, that girl untied the mask, revealing a fair and pretty face. Then, seeing her fine brows that were like a painting, and her lips like cinnabar, it was actually the Liu family’s third miss, Liu Ru Yan.
Shen Lan Chi also took off her mask. As soon as Liu Ru Yan saw that the girl leaning against Shen Ting Yuan really was Shen Lan Chi, she was dumbstruck. The two of them stared at one another, staring, staring, staring some more, greatly having the stance of staring at one another to the end of time.
A while later, Shen Lan Chi slightly inhaled a breath of cold air, muttering, “Brother, you really are capable.”
Shen Ting Yuan’s brain didn’t quite get it, thinking that Shen Lan Chi really was praising him. His face slightly turned red and said, “How is this older brother that capable. This older brother is merely an ordinary person.”
“Dummy!” Liu Ru Yan shot him a glare and said, “She’s making fun of you!”
Shen Lan Chi was incredibly shocked——This Liu Ru Yan was the Liu family’s third miss. That Liu family was the second prince’s maternal family, like fire and water with the Shen family, the two families fighting endlessly. Usually, whenever the two families meet outside, they would just start quarreling.
However, her older brother was even more impressive, actually directly having the Liu family’s most renowned third miss captivated.
Carefully thinking it over, it actually wasn’t impossible.
During their grandfather’s birthday banquet, Liu Ru Yan got schemed against by the second branch and nearly fell into the water. It was Shen Ting Yuan that saved her. Afterwards, Shen Ting Yuan asked Shen Lan Chi, “What all do girls think about normally?” Presumably, at the time, he was troubled over love.
If her older brother really likes this Liu family third miss, then things will be troublesome.
Everything else aside, solely the question of whether or not the Liu family is willing to have their daughter married over is already an earth-shattering difficult problem.
“You, you, you, quickly put the mask back on!” Shen Lan Chi swiftly looked around at the crowd in the surrounding, then shouted at Liu Ru Yan, “What if someone were to run into you two on a date here? Liu third miss, do you still want your reputation or not?”
Liu Ru Yan’s fine brows slightly furrowed, bluntly saying, “Reputation? I, Liu Ru Yan, have always dared to do and dared to admit, what is there to not acknowledge? Since I’ve taken a fancy to this man, then there’s no reason to go back on my word. Liking is just liking, hating is just hating, why hide it?”
She spoke with such conviction that the poor Shen Ting Yuan to the side instantly turned red all over, practically about to drip with blood. His voice trembled as he softly said, “Third miss, don’t say too much, don’t say too much……”
Shen Lan Chi inhaled another cold breath.
What an incredible Liu third miss, even more bold than her.
Liu Ru Yan’s eyes spun, suddenly thinking of something. She reached out and tightly grabbed onto Shen Lan Chi’s arm, coldly staring at her and asking, “It can’t be that you’re going to run your mouth outside? I don’t care about my reputation, but this bookworm extremely values reputation. Shen Lan Chi, if you dare to go around spreading nonsense, I won’t easily forgive you.”
Shen Lan Chi was annoyed, “Is Liu third miss stupid, or am I stupid? Why would I go out to gossip about my own older brother?”
“Hey……” Liu Ru Yan also came to realization, feeling somewhat embarrassed. She let go of her, her eyes slightly dodging, softly saying, “I….I was stupid.”
“Isn’t this Liu third miss?” Right at this time, a voice sounded.
They all lifted their heads, seeing a young master in brocade clothes and black boots slowly walking over.
It was Lu Qi Yang.
Seeing the situation before him, he slightly raised his long brow, saying, “Yo, this is…….on a date?”
Liu Ru Yan’s complexion instantly turned pale.
——Shen Lan Chi was Shen Ting Yuan’s younger sister, so certainly won’t have this matter spread out. But this Zhennan Wang Manor’s heir, that was just hard to say.
“Liu third miss, why this nervous?” Lu Qi Yang said, “Merely the love affair between man and woman, what’s there to make a big deal out of?”
Unfortunately, Liu Ru Yan’s complexion was still like a white sheet of paper.
Seeing Liu Ru Yan still tense and on guard, Lu Qi Yang slightly sighed, having a helpless look.
He freed one hand and embraced Shen Lan Chi’s waist, having her taken into his arms.
“Forget it.” Lu Qi Yang said, “Who doesn’t have a few little secrets? Since Lan Lan and I learned of Liu third miss’s secret, then why don’t we make a trade, letting Liu third miss learn of our secret too?”
He held Shen Lan Chi’s waist, his complexion like usual, his lips carrying a smile. The surrounding was brightly lit by lanterns, illuminating the night. The decorated carriages were full of fragrance, the fish and dragon intertwining. In the crowd not far away, a group of performers wielded the sword, the audience’s cheers resounding like thunder.
“In this way, Liu third miss won’t need to worry.” Liu Qi Yang was extremely considerate, saying with a smile, “If I have this matter said to others, then Liu third miss can just retaliate back.”
“Lu Qi Yang, you idiot…….” Shen Lan Chi lifted her head in slight annoyance, grumbling, “Didn’t I tell you to wait for me over there?” After saying this, she had that mask of the Banjaro Kingdom shoved onto his head, a look of wanting to smother him to death.
Although there was anger in her tone, she didn’t really struggle, clearly just like an old married couple.
Liu Ru Yan’s complexion changed like the color palette.
Shen Ting Yuan’s complexion further changed like the color palette.
“Wait, wait……younger sister….how can you, with the heir…….third miss…..listen to me…….younger sister, no…..third miss….heir..no, no no no, younger sister, you and the third miss…..no, it’s heir how can you…..nononononono…….”
Shen Ting Yuan was at a loss for words, turning left and right, not knowing who to speak to first.
A good while later, he heavily slapped himself and said, “I….I must be dreaming, right?”
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