Rebirth: I'm a Daddy's Darling in the Qing Dynasty

Chapter 75: The east wind blows the flowers into the trees at night, and blows down the stars like r

As it turned out, Dexi's experience was correct. Yinzhuo's throat was indeed not seriously injured. After taking medicine for two days after returning home, he was almost fully recovered. There is a proverb that says, "Little child, little child, don't be greedy. After the Laba Festival, it's almost New Year's Day." After the Ice Skating Festival, time flew by, and soon it was New Year's Eve.

The Qing Palace's New Year celebrations this year were no different from previous years, remaining unremarkable. Yinzhuo, as always, performed steadily, relying on his pleasing face, silver tongue, and thick skin to charm the Empress Dowager and his father's wives in the Shou Kang Palace, making them beam with joy and finally bringing out a pile of purses with satisfaction.

If you ask when the capital is most bustling, it must be the Lantern Festival. As the saying goes, "When the moon rises above the willow branches, people meet after dusk." And sure enough, before it even got dark, the people that Yinzhuo had invited arrived.

"Sixth Brother, are you ready? Can we set off now?"

Yinzhi, Yintang, and Yinzhi had already gone out countless times, so they were still able to maintain their composure. However, the thirteenth and fourteenth princes, who were allowed to leave the palace for the first time this year, were obviously impatient. Yinzhi was hurriedly pulled by the fourteenth prince to run outside. When he got up, his arm accidentally hit the corner of the table, which made him wince in pain. It took him a while to feel better. Once the pain subsided, he immediately raised his hand and slapped the fourteenth prince's shiny forehead.

"What's the rush? Since I said I'd take you with me, how could I possibly abandon you?"

Fourteen knew he was in the wrong and was afraid his sixth brother would really not take him with him later, so even if he got a slap on the forehead, he could only smile apologetically.

"Sixth Brother, although I've heard Ninth Brother and Tenth Brother talk about how lively it is outside during the Lantern Festival, I've never actually seen it. Now that I'm finally able to go out, I'm a little excited. Sixth Brother, it was all my fault earlier, please don't leave me out."

Of course, Yinzhuo wouldn't abandon the Fourteenth Prince over such a trivial matter. Without further delay, the group gathered its members and headed out of the palace.

The east wind blows, setting off a thousand trees of flowers, and scatters stars like rain. The capital city is more lively than ever before on the Lantern Festival. In addition to the various lanterns that line both sides of the streets, there are dragon dances, lion dances, riddle guessing, iron flower performances, acrobatics, and vendors selling all kinds of food and trinkets. Their cries come from all around. This lively scene makes the thirteenth and fourteenth children, who are leaving the palace for the first time, feel that their eyes can't take it all in.

"Wow~ Ninth Brother, you really weren't lying to me before. Celebrating the New Year outside the palace is much more interesting than inside."

Perhaps because he was too excited, Fourteenth Prince didn't stop making noise at all, which startled Yinzhen so much that he quickly covered his mouth. Fortunately, the street was bustling with activity and there were many guards around, so it didn't attract too much attention.

"Keep your voice down. We're outside the palace. Watch your words. The streets are crowded today. You and Thirteen better stay close to us and don't wander off. If you get separated from us in this crowd, it'll be a real problem."

Fourteen nodded hastily, and only then did Yinzhen release his hand from his mouth. The group continued strolling along the street. After walking a few steps, Fourteen's attention was drawn to a dough figurine stall by the roadside. He broke free from Yinzhen's grasp and dragged Thirteen toward it.

"Dexi, hurry up and take your men to catch up with those two lads. Make sure you keep a close eye on them and make sure nothing happens to them. I knew that Fourteenth Prince was never someone to be trifled with. It seems that Yinzhen ignored what you just said."

Looking at Yinzhuo's exasperated appearance, Yintang couldn't help but think of the first time he and Yinzhen left the palace, when his sixth brother had scolded them in the same way.

"Sixth Brother, don't worry. Dexi has taken some men and followed them. He's always reliable, he'll definitely keep an eye on those two lads for you. Thirteen and Fourteen are seeing this kind of excitement for the first time, so it's understandable that they're excited. But once they've been out and about more often, they'll get used to it and won't find it so novel anymore."

"Sixth Brother, do you think this dough figurine looks like Fourth Brother?"

Although the etiquette was as described, Yinzhuo still found it hard not to feel a headache when faced with such a troublesome younger brother as the Fourteenth. While the group was talking, the Thirteenth and Fourteenth returned, each carrying several dough figurines. The Fourteenth handed the dough figurines in his hands to Yinzhuo, pointed to one of them, and asked with a smile.

The figure was clearly sculpted based on the description given by the Fourteenth Prince. Its features did not resemble Yinzhen's at all, but rather the Fourteenth Prince's. However, upon closer inspection, the figure's expression did indeed bear some of Yinzhen's coldness, which caused the crowd to burst into laughter.

"The craftsmanship of this dough figurine is quite good. Although Fourth Brother is not here, the facial features are modeled after Fourteenth Brother, but the spirit is captured very well, and it has a bit of Fourth Brother's flavor."

Since it was the Lantern Festival, guessing lantern riddles was an essential activity. Thirteen and Fourteen were quickly drawn to the colorful lanterns hanging on both sides of the street and insisted on going over.

"Sixth Brother, I want to take that carp lantern back to Mother. Can you help me win it back?"

The owner of the lantern stall was an old man. Seeing that Yinzhuo and his companions were dressed in fine clothes, he knew that these people were not short of money. When he saw that the Fourteenth Prince had taken a fancy to his shop's prized carp lantern, he quickly got up to greet him.

"Young master, you have a truly discerning eye. I'm not bragging, but if you ask around the entire capital, when it comes to lantern-making skills, if my family claims to be second, no one dares to claim to be first. This carp lantern is our prized possession this year. Getting it is simple. See all these lanterns over here? As long as you can connect the lantern riddles in a line, whether it's horizontal or vertical, you'll be eligible to shoot the lantern. Solving the riddles is free, but shooting the lantern will cost money—one tael of silver per arrow. See that gong over there? If you hit it three times, you can take the lantern home."

Upon hearing this, Yinzhuo immediately became interested. Putting aside the question of how skilled the lantern maker was, he was quite adept at business, attracting customers by offering free lantern riddles and making money by shooting lanterns. The gong looked quite large, but it was nighttime, and although the street wasn't too dark, the gong was hung so high that it wouldn't be easy to hit it, let alone hit it three times.

"Alright, boss, how about we solve some riddles and I, your younger brother, do the archery?"

Of the group, the tenth brother is now the best archer, so this heavy responsibility naturally falls on his shoulders.

The shopkeeper glanced at Yinzhi, who was being pointed at by Yinzhi, and seeing that he was only an eleven or twelve-year-old boy, he didn't think his archery skills could be that good, so he readily agreed.