Chapter 492
The Lantern
Chapter 492 The Lantern
When she was 12 years old, her father went to Beijing to report on his work. It happened that her mother's cousin in Beijing was going to marry her daughter-in-law, so she asked someone to send an invitation.
After the couple discussed it, they decided to go to Beijing together as a family.
After coming to Beijing, she stayed at her cousin's house. When she saw her, her cousin liked her beyond words and said that with her appearance and character, if she was willing to stay in Beijing, she would definitely marry into a good family.
How could her mother be willing to marry her far away, so she changed the subject with a smile.
The wedding was held in style and the bride was beautiful, but she urged her mother to go back early.
She doesn't like Beijing.
The girls here are used to looking through the cracks in the door to see people. When I heard that she was from Luoyang City, she said that Luoyang was a small place.
She said that the peonies embroidered on her body were too large and looked rustic.
She said that the gold hairpin she wore on her head did not look good. Girls from noble families in the Qing Dynasty all wore jade hairpins.
She said to herself that all of you know nothing.
If the peony is not big, how can it be that the chrysanthemum is big?
Luoyang peonies are famous all over the world. They are the flowers that Empress Wu Zetian likes, symbolizing wealth.
Gold hairpin?
I like to wear gold and silver. Can you take care of them one by one?
Before departure, her mother took her to the temple to offer incense.
Since her mother gave birth to her, she has worshiped the Bodhisattva on every first and fifteenth day of the lunar month, and has also set up a small Buddhist hall at home.
Wherever my mother goes, the Buddha will worship there. In her words, you can't live without burning incense and just hold the Buddha's feet temporarily. The Bodhisattva will not bless you.
I went to the nearby Jietai Temple. I heard from my cousin that this temple is the best place to eliminate disasters, pray for blessings, and avoid disasters.
When she was 12 years old, she still didn't believe in gods and Buddhas. She couldn't sit still while her mother was worshiping there, so she just looked here and there in the main hall.
When I turned to the back of the Buddhist hall, I saw a young man in white, kneeling on the futon with his hands clasped, eyes closed, and mumbling something.
That young master is very good-looking, with very red lips and fair skin. He is many times better-looking than the three brats in my family who are always looking for money.
She estimated that the young master's age was no more than ten years old.
Does a ten-year-old young man in brocade have anything to worry about and need to come to worship the Bodhisattva?
She moved around behind him, pricking up her ears to eavesdrop on what he was saying.
When she heard this, she felt happy. She felt that the young master was still a filial son and was praying to the Bodhisattva to protect his biological mother.
At this time, after the young master prayed, he got up from the futon and turned around. He didn't have time to put away the smile on her face, and he looked straight at her.
The young master glanced at her lightly, without any expression, and left.
She snorted and thought to herself that the ladies in the capital were just pretentious, why were the young gentlemen all so noble and did not know how to make money by being friendly.
At this time, her mother called her to go to the abbot to draw lots, and she quickly put the scene behind her.
"Miss Yan, this is the first time we have met."
Mao met Zhu Xuanjiu when he was 12 years old;
Aunt Fu died when Zhu Xuanjiu was nine years old;
So he probably went to Jietai Temple that day to pray for Aunt Fu.
Yan Sanhe asked: "What happened next?"
"What could happen? Later, I will follow my parents back to Luoyang and continue to be my eldest lady."
Mao took a sip of hot tea to moisten her throat. When she looked up at Yan Sanhe, the tenderness in her eyes made Yan Sanhe's heart tremble slightly.
It felt like she was back to the age when she first fell in love.
"So when will the second side be?"
"It was six years later."
Six years later, Mao.
Yan Sanhe: "When do girls in Luoyang City usually get married?"
"Usually around the age of sixteen or seventeen. At your age, Miss Yan, almost everyone is settled."
Mrs. Mao put down the tea cup, "My situation is a bit special. My mother is reluctant for me to marry early, and the fortune teller also said that it is not suitable for me to marry early."
"Fortune-telling?"
Yan Sanhe: "Who counts?"
"I do not know."
Mrs. Mao was stunned by her question, "Anyway, that's what my mother said. Some eminent monk must have approved the fate. I really didn't believe this when I was young. It was only when I got to the Zhu family that I gradually began to believe it." "Well, you continue on. Let’s talk next.”
The Mao family grew up tall and graceful. It is no exaggeration to say that the people who came to ask for marriage flattened the threshold of the Mao family several inches.
Mao's close friends were all married, but she didn't even have an appearance.
Is Mao anxious?
She is in no hurry.
How wonderful life is for her mother's family. She doesn't have to worry about food or clothing, and no one makes her feel angry.
Besides, the city of Luoyang is only so big, and there are only so many young people of marriageable age from high-ranking families. She has seen them all, but none of them caught her eye.
During the Lantern Festival that year, Luoyang City held a lantern festival as before.
Mao is the daughter of the magistrate, so she should sit on the city wall, but she can't sit there.
The mother couldn't resist, so she ordered her to take two maids and two guards with her and walk around nearby, and also asked her three sons to follow.
On this day, everyone in Luoyang City came out to look at the lights. Before they had gone far, a group of people were scattered to pieces by the crowd, and no one could find anyone.
Mao was not afraid. As long as she reported her name, any patrolling soldier on the road could report to her father.
As she walked and looked, her eyes were suddenly attracted by a mouse lantern.
She is a rat.
The lantern sellers make horses, dragons, rabbits... all of them look good, but not many mice look good.
"Shopkeeper, I want this lamp. It costs a few cents each."
"Three texts."
Madam Mao was just about to turn around and ask the maid to pay, but when she thought about it, the maid and the guards were all lost, and she didn't have a penny on her.
Damn it, the eldest lady of the magistrate’s family is going to be embarrassed today.
"Three cents, here you go."
A slender hand held the mouse lantern and handed it to her, "Girl, take it."
Mao raised his head.
In front of him was a face that could make people suffocate.
Narrow eyes, a tall nose, thin lips, and skin so white that it's almost transparent.
He was wearing an inconspicuous gray robe and had a slender figure, a head and a half taller than her.
Mao's heart suddenly became confused, and he said angrily: "Why send it to me?"
The man said with a smile on his lips, "Then I'll throw it away."
"Hey, you are..."
"Jie Tai Temple."
He looked at her, "You're smiling at me."
Jietai Temple?
Jietai Temple!
Mao looked at the man's eyebrows and suddenly thought, "Oh... are you the... young master from Jietai Temple?"
Why did you grow so tall all of a sudden?
Mao's eyes almost popped out.
Also, isn't he from the capital?
Why did you come to Luoyang?
He put the mouse lantern into her hand, and his fingertips inadvertently touched her palm, and a numb feeling spread throughout her body.
She retracted her hand as fast as lightning, not wanting to hold another lamp in her hand. The lamp was swayed by her, just like her heart at the moment.
Mao's face was on fire and he spoke incoherently, "Young, young master, what is your name?"
"Zhu Xuanjiu."
he said softly.
(End of this chapter)
When she was 12 years old, her father went to Beijing to report on his work. It happened that her mother's cousin in Beijing was going to marry her daughter-in-law, so she asked someone to send an invitation.
After the couple discussed it, they decided to go to Beijing together as a family.
After coming to Beijing, she stayed at her cousin's house. When she saw her, her cousin liked her beyond words and said that with her appearance and character, if she was willing to stay in Beijing, she would definitely marry into a good family.
How could her mother be willing to marry her far away, so she changed the subject with a smile.
The wedding was held in style and the bride was beautiful, but she urged her mother to go back early.
She doesn't like Beijing.
The girls here are used to looking through the cracks in the door to see people. When I heard that she was from Luoyang City, she said that Luoyang was a small place.
She said that the peonies embroidered on her body were too large and looked rustic.
She said that the gold hairpin she wore on her head did not look good. Girls from noble families in the Qing Dynasty all wore jade hairpins.
She said to herself that all of you know nothing.
If the peony is not big, how can it be that the chrysanthemum is big?
Luoyang peonies are famous all over the world. They are the flowers that Empress Wu Zetian likes, symbolizing wealth.
Gold hairpin?
I like to wear gold and silver. Can you take care of them one by one?
Before departure, her mother took her to the temple to offer incense.
Since her mother gave birth to her, she has worshiped the Bodhisattva on every first and fifteenth day of the lunar month, and has also set up a small Buddhist hall at home.
Wherever my mother goes, the Buddha will worship there. In her words, you can't live without burning incense and just hold the Buddha's feet temporarily. The Bodhisattva will not bless you.
I went to the nearby Jietai Temple. I heard from my cousin that this temple is the best place to eliminate disasters, pray for blessings, and avoid disasters.
When she was 12 years old, she still didn't believe in gods and Buddhas. She couldn't sit still while her mother was worshiping there, so she just looked here and there in the main hall.
When I turned to the back of the Buddhist hall, I saw a young man in white, kneeling on the futon with his hands clasped, eyes closed, and mumbling something.
That young master is very good-looking, with very red lips and fair skin. He is many times better-looking than the three brats in my family who are always looking for money.
She estimated that the young master's age was no more than ten years old.
Does a ten-year-old young man in brocade have anything to worry about and need to come to worship the Bodhisattva?
She moved around behind him, pricking up her ears to eavesdrop on what he was saying.
When she heard this, she felt happy. She felt that the young master was still a filial son and was praying to the Bodhisattva to protect his biological mother.
At this time, after the young master prayed, he got up from the futon and turned around. He didn't have time to put away the smile on her face, and he looked straight at her.
The young master glanced at her lightly, without any expression, and left.
She snorted and thought to herself that the ladies in the capital were just pretentious, why were the young gentlemen all so noble and did not know how to make money by being friendly.
At this time, her mother called her to go to the abbot to draw lots, and she quickly put the scene behind her.
"Miss Yan, this is the first time we have met."
Mao met Zhu Xuanjiu when he was 12 years old;
Aunt Fu died when Zhu Xuanjiu was nine years old;
So he probably went to Jietai Temple that day to pray for Aunt Fu.
Yan Sanhe asked: "What happened next?"
"What could happen? Later, I will follow my parents back to Luoyang and continue to be my eldest lady."
Mao took a sip of hot tea to moisten her throat. When she looked up at Yan Sanhe, the tenderness in her eyes made Yan Sanhe's heart tremble slightly.
It felt like she was back to the age when she first fell in love.
"So when will the second side be?"
"It was six years later."
Six years later, Mao.
Yan Sanhe: "When do girls in Luoyang City usually get married?"
"Usually around the age of sixteen or seventeen. At your age, Miss Yan, almost everyone is settled."
Mrs. Mao put down the tea cup, "My situation is a bit special. My mother is reluctant for me to marry early, and the fortune teller also said that it is not suitable for me to marry early."
"Fortune-telling?"
Yan Sanhe: "Who counts?"
"I do not know."
Mrs. Mao was stunned by her question, "Anyway, that's what my mother said. Some eminent monk must have approved the fate. I really didn't believe this when I was young. It was only when I got to the Zhu family that I gradually began to believe it." "Well, you continue on. Let’s talk next.”
The Mao family grew up tall and graceful. It is no exaggeration to say that the people who came to ask for marriage flattened the threshold of the Mao family several inches.
Mao's close friends were all married, but she didn't even have an appearance.
Is Mao anxious?
She is in no hurry.
How wonderful life is for her mother's family. She doesn't have to worry about food or clothing, and no one makes her feel angry.
Besides, the city of Luoyang is only so big, and there are only so many young people of marriageable age from high-ranking families. She has seen them all, but none of them caught her eye.
During the Lantern Festival that year, Luoyang City held a lantern festival as before.
Mao is the daughter of the magistrate, so she should sit on the city wall, but she can't sit there.
The mother couldn't resist, so she ordered her to take two maids and two guards with her and walk around nearby, and also asked her three sons to follow.
On this day, everyone in Luoyang City came out to look at the lights. Before they had gone far, a group of people were scattered to pieces by the crowd, and no one could find anyone.
Mao was not afraid. As long as she reported her name, any patrolling soldier on the road could report to her father.
As she walked and looked, her eyes were suddenly attracted by a mouse lantern.
She is a rat.
The lantern sellers make horses, dragons, rabbits... all of them look good, but not many mice look good.
"Shopkeeper, I want this lamp. It costs a few cents each."
"Three texts."
Madam Mao was just about to turn around and ask the maid to pay, but when she thought about it, the maid and the guards were all lost, and she didn't have a penny on her.
Damn it, the eldest lady of the magistrate’s family is going to be embarrassed today.
"Three cents, here you go."
A slender hand held the mouse lantern and handed it to her, "Girl, take it."
Mao raised his head.
In front of him was a face that could make people suffocate.
Narrow eyes, a tall nose, thin lips, and skin so white that it's almost transparent.
He was wearing an inconspicuous gray robe and had a slender figure, a head and a half taller than her.
Mao's heart suddenly became confused, and he said angrily: "Why send it to me?"
The man said with a smile on his lips, "Then I'll throw it away."
"Hey, you are..."
"Jie Tai Temple."
He looked at her, "You're smiling at me."
Jietai Temple?
Jietai Temple!
Mao looked at the man's eyebrows and suddenly thought, "Oh... are you the... young master from Jietai Temple?"
Why did you grow so tall all of a sudden?
Mao's eyes almost popped out.
Also, isn't he from the capital?
Why did you come to Luoyang?
He put the mouse lantern into her hand, and his fingertips inadvertently touched her palm, and a numb feeling spread throughout her body.
She retracted her hand as fast as lightning, not wanting to hold another lamp in her hand. The lamp was swayed by her, just like her heart at the moment.
Mao's face was on fire and he spoke incoherently, "Young, young master, what is your name?"
"Zhu Xuanjiu."
he said softly.
(End of this chapter)