Chapter 152

"Yes!" Fu Tingjun replied with a smile. "We're going to West Street to see the lanterns." As she spoke, it suddenly occurred to her that A Sen had been staying in the outer courtyard all these days and hadn't come to her room. Could it be that now that she was formally married in, he felt a little unaccustomed? Thinking this, she asked him gently, "Would you like to come see the lanterns with us?"

A Sen's eyes lit up, but then he quickly glanced at Zhao Ling and murmured, "I... I don't want to go..."

Why did that sound a bit insincere?

Fu Tingjun looked toward Zhao Ling.

She saw Zhao Ling standing there with his hands behind his back, his expression cold and stern, just as usual.

She smiled at A Sen and said, "What's the matter with you? You're speaking hesitantly, as if you've become distant with me."

"No, no," A Sen said quickly. "I haven't become distant with sister-in-law." His eyes darted around. "I... I was just thinking, could you bring me some Wosi candy from Chen Fuji's shop when you come back? I can go see the lanterns at West Street with Brother Zheng San and the others tomorrow instead."

Fu Tingjun patted his head and said with a smile, "Don't worry, I'll definitely bring you some Wosi candy when I come back."

A Sen nodded with a beaming smile, his bright big eyes curving like crescent moons, and the joyful, carefree spirit returned to his face.

Zhao Ling helped Fu Tingjun into the carriage.

Fu Tingjun immediately tugged at Zhao Ling's sleeve. "What exactly did you say to A Sen?"

"I don't understand what you mean," Zhao Ling said, looking as if he truly didn't understand. "When did I ever say anything to A Sen?"

"You're still not admitting it," Fu Tingjun shot him a glare. "Otherwise, why would that child look to you for cues when he spoke? Tell me quickly, what did you say to him?"

"I really didn't say anything," Zhao Ling refused to admit it to the death, then whispered in her ear, "I've been with you every day these past few days—when would I have had time to deal with anything else? You can't wrongfully accuse me." His tone was ambiguous.

Fu Tingjun wasn't about to fall for that. She said, "You know what you've done yourself. If you won't admit it, I won't press the matter. But he's your younger brother now—don't keep treating him like a servant boy. Also, once you return to the palace after your leave ends, make proper inquiries. A Sen isn't young anymore; it's not right for him to keep following me around. We need to find a proper tutor to give him his basic education. We don't expect him to pass the provincial or metropolitan examinations, but he should at least become a licentiate. That way, even if he goes into business or farming, he'll have some confidence."

"Understood," Zhao Ling said, somewhat deflated. "I'll go ask Teacher Yao about it."

Fu Tingjun pressed her lips together and smiled.

Zhao Ling had most likely wanted to have her alone, which was why he'd stirred up all this fuss.

She gently kissed Zhao Ling on the cheek and said shyly, "Let's go see the flower lanterns."

That kiss seemed to restore Zhao Ling's vitality instantly. His spirits lifted, and he pulled Fu Tingjun into his arms.

Fu Tingjun quickly said, "We're going to see the lanterns in a bit. If you ruin my makeup and get me stared at and whispered about, I'll never go out with you again."

Zhao Ling smiled awkwardly and indeed just held her obediently.

Fu Tingjun still felt a bit uneasy, so she lifted the carriage curtain and looked outside, pointing at a decorated archway by the roadside. "Where is this?"

Zhao Ling had brought her out for fun, and seeing her interest, he was naturally happy to answer. He leaned over to look out the window and said, "This is the archway on Shuangnian Street."

The driver, seeing that Zhao Ling's answer was too brief, couldn't help but chime in, "Madam may not know, but Shuangnian Street connects to Chaoyangmen Avenue, so an archway was erected here. To the east is Chaoyangmen Avenue, and to the west is Shuangnian Street. Speaking of Shuangnian Street, there's a story behind it. It's said that in the previous dynasty, there was a family surnamed Chen who had two sons—the elder was called Da Nian, and the younger Xiao Nian..." The driver narrated at length, like a storyteller, and Fu Tingjun listened with great interest, occasionally asking a question or two. The driver grew even more enthusiastic, and along the way, he told the story of Danian Street, then Mingzhao Ward, then Anle Hall. His humorous delivery had Fu Tingjun laughing heartily, and she would occasionally ask Zhao Ling, "Did you hear that?"

Zhao Ling would smile and nod, saying, "I heard it."

Then Fu Tingjun would prick up her ears and listen to the driver again.

Zhao Ling looked at Fu Tingjun's face, flushed from laughing, and felt immense joy in his heart.

If he could make A Jun this happy, his life would be complete and without flaw.

In the distance, the dazzling lights of West Street were already visible.

The driver stopped the carriage by the roadside and said with a smile, "Sir, Madam, the carriage can't go any further. I'm afraid you'll have to walk the rest of the way."

Zhao Ling helped Fu Tingjun down from the carriage. Before them stretched a dazzling tower of lanterns, piled higher than the Penglai Pavilion, built from lanterns of every color. Fireworks burst in colorful blooms across the night sky, and brightly dressed men, women, and children passed by in groups of three or five, laughing and chatting. Though they had not yet entered West Street, the bustling clamor and magnificent grandeur of the capital's lantern fair were already plain to see.

Fu Tingjun grew excited.

Zhao Ling took her hand. "Stay close to me, and be careful not to get lost."

"Mm!" Fu Tingjun nodded eagerly.

Rabbit lanterns made of gauze, revolving horse lanterns of horsehide, octagonal lanterns of glass, linked pearl lanterns of white silk... Fu Tingjun, squeezed in among the crowd, could hardly take them all in.

Suddenly, a packet of fried pig's ears wrapped in oil paper appeared before her eyes.

"Here, eat while you look." Zhao Ling smiled at her, then added, "Have you seen a lantern you like? We'll buy one to take home later."

Things were different now from when they were in Zhangye.

Since buying this house, there had been the wedding, and a whole household to support. Before, Zhao Ling had been a single man; now he had a family, and there were necessary social obligations and courtesies to maintain. Every coin saved was a coin earned!

Fu Tingjun shook her head. "I'll tell you when I've found one I like."

Zhao Ling suspected nothing and nodded with a smile. Looking up, he spotted a hawthorn drink stall surrounded by people, and laughed again. "Stand here and don't move. I'll go buy you a cup of hawthorn drink." Without waiting for Fu Tingjun's reply, he squeezed his way to the stall.

Fu Tingjun stood there smiling, feeling that all this noisy crowd and crowded street were utterly lovely in her eyes.

When Zhao Ling came back with the hawthorn drink, she pulled him over to a stall selling trinkets and bought a peachwood hairpin for men as a gift for him. "It's cheap, but the meaning is good. The craftsmanship is simple and natural, with an air of hidden wisdom."

Peachwood wards off evil.

Zhao Ling lowered his head. "Put it in for me."

She took off his bamboo hairpin and inserted the peachwood one.

Zhao Ling took her hand. "Come, I saw a lantern riddle stall up ahead. Watch me win a lantern for you."

Fu Tingjun's eyes and brows brimmed with smiles as she followed Zhao Ling toward the stall.

And indeed, Zhao Ling won a gourd-shaped lantern painted on white silk with the Four Gentlemen of Flowers.

"We can hang it at the head of our bed," Fu Tingjun said joyfully as she took it, holding it carefully, afraid the crowd might crush it.

And so the two of them chatted and laughed, stopping and starting, eating and drinking, until Fu Tingjun began to yawn. Only then did Zhao Ling lead her out of West Street.

But when they reached the place where the carriage was parked, the driver was nowhere to be seen.

They searched for a while but found nothing.

Seeing Fu Tingjun yawn several more times, Zhao Ling could not help but feel annoyed at the driver. "Tomorrow I'll have a word with the carriage shop owner. We'll dock him half his wages."

West Street was still packed with people; the driver must not have expected them to come out so soon and had gone off to enjoy the sights himself.

"Forget the wages," Fu Tingjun said with a smile, a hint of mischief in her eyes. "Why don't we walk back instead? Then the driver will have a good long search for us—wouldn't that be even better?" As she spoke, the image of the driver frantically searching for them floated into her mind, and she let out a light, playful laugh.

Seeing her so pleased, Zhao Ling naturally indulged her.

If A-jun got tired, they could always hail another carriage.

He mused, and by the light of the lantern in Fu Tingjun's hand, the two slowly made their way back.

Fu Tingjun began to talk about visiting lantern fairs as a child. "...A relative's child was once lost. Xiuzhu carried me on his back, Chen Sheng carried Fifth Cousin, Huaisheng carried Sixth Cousin, and the household guards surrounded us in the middle. When I saw all those lanterns filling the streets, I thought the Milky Way had fallen to earth—I was so stunned I couldn't even speak! Fifth Cousin teased me, saying it was just every shop along the street hanging lanterns at the magistrate's command, and there I was staring with my eyes wide. She said that when I got to Xi'an Prefecture and saw the lanterns filling those streets, I'd probably be drooling." She smiled at the memory. "I never thought that when I grew up, I'd come to live in the capital and have the good fortune to see the capital's lanterns!"

Zhao Ling looked at her, his face full of smiles.

Fu Tingjun asked him, "Are the lantern fairs south of the Yangtze the same as the capital's?"

"Not the same," Zhao Ling said softly. "Though every household hangs lanterns and the great families fund lantern towers, they're mostly built by lakes. The reflections in the water and the towers on shore set each other off, and against the star-filled sky, lights twinkle everywhere. It's beautiful, but gentle and understated. Not like the capital, where the streets are wide and the whole street is filled with lanterns, with a lantern tower every few steps—grand and imposing."

"The capital is the imperial city, after all—beneath the Son of Heaven's feet, the heart of the realm." Fu Tingjun nodded. Thinking that Zhao Ling didn't care much for the south, she asked about Shuoping Prefecture instead. "Do they hold lantern fairs for the Mid-Autumn Festival too?"

"Shuoping is barren, and my father never held a lantern festival while he was in office," Zhao Ling said. "But there's a kind of mooncake there with a sugar filling. The locals store them in jars and take them out as gifts for relatives during the New Year."

"What other customs does Shuoping have?" Fu Tingjun asked with interest.

"Let me think," Zhao Ling said with a smile. "It's been so long that I don't remember all that clearly..."

Although there were carriages passing by on the road, they were all carrying passengers. The two walked and chatted as they went, and soon they saw the archway of Shuangnian Street.

Fu Tingjun couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

Only then did Zhao Ling realize his oversight and quickly said, "Are you tired? How about we rest for a bit before continuing?"

"No need," Fu Tingjun shook her head. "We'll be there after one more turn." With that, she quickened her pace onto Shuangnian Street. Her feet felt a bit weak, and the lantern in her hand swayed slightly. The candle flame, already at its last gasp, flickered a few times in the wind before turning into a wisp of blue smoke, plunging the surroundings into darkness.

"It never rains but it pours," she muttered under her breath, but Zhao Ling heard her clearly.

He thought for a moment, then suddenly stepped forward and crouched down in front of Fu Tingjun. "Come, I'll carry you on my back."