“Gege, I want one.”
The carriage stopped under a pine tree with dark gray tree barks in the alley. The two got out, and the coach man saluted Ji Yue with a slight bow before departing.
During their ride from the palace to the city center, the sky had turned dark, but the lights outside made the atmosphere as bright as day.
“Let’s go.” Ji Yue said, “The carriage will pick us up here at nightfall.”
Which means they have four hours of fun.
When Wei Lian saw that no one was following them, he asked, “You are not taking your entourage?”
He didn’t even feel the presence of shadow guards either.
“Take them out for what?” Ji Yue said, “It’s rare to be out of the palace. Naturally, there will only be fun times.”
Wei Lian was not the only person who had never experienced how the folks celebrated the Lantern Festival, as it was Ji Yue’s first time as well. Verbally, he was only here to accompany Wei Lian, but inside, he had been looking forward to today just as much as the youth.
“Let’s go.” Ji Yue said as he picked up his feet and walked out of the alley.
Wei Lian paused before following quietly.
As soon as they were out of the alley, the smell of smoke and fire instantly invaded their noses as the streets were crowded and bustling with activity, so much so it was inevitable to bump against someone else’s shoulder or step on people’s feet. The peddlers shouted to attract business, and pedestrians mingled in groups of more than two. What was displayed on the stalls were colored lanterns, masks, tanghulu, and many more. There were groups of mixed genders wandering about, cheering and laughing, and some wearing masks they had purchased during this festival.
The fireworks blossomed into the night sky as the moon was smooth and round, shining brightly below. There were sounds in the distance by the river decorated with lanterns as many women put lotus lanterns by the river to make new year’s wishes. There was a huge, predestined marriage tree with many red ribbons filled with the names of lovers hanging on its branches. Many pairs of ideal lovers loved to show their affection here.
The pastry stand was filled with children. As long as the kids correctly solve a math question, they could receive a free sweet. A large shed was set up outside the small food shop where the guests could eat hot glutinous rice balls as soon as they sat on the bench for only five copper coins.
A scene of fireworks and lanterns.
A tide of people that brought clamor to this mortal life. The moment Ji Yue and Wei Lian walked out of the alley, they immediately captured everyone’s attention as the world seemed to turn quiet for a moment.
People all over the street fixed their eyes on the two, completely stupefied by the two breathtaking figures.
Whose young masters came out to play…no, correction. Which immortals descended from heaven?
Today, many young masters from upper-class families came out to have fun, many of whom had impressive appearances, but none of them possessed appearances like these two.
The young man in red had a quiet manner and demure posture, stunning in any angle. While the youth stood with only grace known by the immortal, looking like he was curved only with the finest jade. It was rare to have beauty of one in a million be together in a pair.
If a family was able to give birth to one of these beauties, then it was from their ancestors’ accumulated merit. With the two standing together, it was completely unreal.
To put it mildly, these two claimed all the beauty points predestined for this world cleanly.
Wei Lian calmly bore everyone’s line of sight.
…What happened to keeping a low profile?
Not their fault they got eye-catching natural appearances.
He immediately covered his face with his sleeve and whispered, “Let’s go buy a mask.”
Ji Yue nodded silently.
_
In front of the mask stall, Wei Lian was going to choose two decent looking ones at random, but Ji Yue picked up a white fox mask and put it on the youth’s face without a second word.
The mask covered the youth’s charming face, revealing only the crimson lips and exquisite chin. Instead of lowering his beauty, it welcomed a mysterious suggestion for imagination.
“This suits you very well, little fox.” Ji Yue smirked.
Without hesitation, Wei Lian put a ferocious-looking ghost mask on Ji Yue’s face. “This one suits you as well.”
Ji Yue: “…”
He knew that he was called the human realm’s King Yan, but this was the first time someone dared to bluntly put it in front of him.
“I don’t want this.” Ji Yue raised his hand, wanting to remove the mask.
Wei Lian turned and picked up an adorable rabbit mask. “Then choose between this or that.”
Ji Yue silently put his hand down.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Blcu Tjc kjr ralii yfaafg, ja ifjra la kjr lwqbrlcu.
Cr atf Blcu bo Hlc, tbk mbeiv tf yf j gjyyla?
Al Tef vlvc’a atlcx jybea la ecali tf qjlv obg atf wjrxr jcv kjixfv j vlrajcmf jkjs. Qts wera tf mtbbrf bcis ogbw atf akb?
Lf mbeiv mifjgis cba ilrafc ab Qfl Oljc’r bqalbcr!
Unfortunately, it was too late. Ji Yue continued to wander in gloom with the ghost mask over his face.
The youth beside him looked very happy. He checked different things throughout the way, finding everything new and strange.
As if he had never seen the world before. Ji Yue mocked internally.
But on second thought, he had not seen much of the world himself.
As a member of the royal family, they have seen extravagant lifestyles, swimming in wealth as high as heaven, as if they were living in the realm of the immortal.
But they have never seen all the forms offered in the world, how the mass of common people living in this world, each family with their own light.
If one never witnessed the fire offered in the folks’ world, they could never consider themselves as someone who experienced everything the world could offer.
_
“Oh, tanghulu!” The youth beside him suddenly shouted in surprise.
Ji Yue followed the other’s sight and saw a stall selling fruit snack. The children were the stall’s only customers as well as elders with kids.
“Go and buy a skewer.” Wei Lian gazed back at him. “I heard it is delicious.”
Wei Lian had never eaten tanghulu before as it was labeled a commoner food and had no place in the Chu Palace. He heard from Chang Shou that this fruit snack tasted sour and sweet, but he never had a chance to taste it.
Now that he finally spotted one, he must try one for himself.
Ji Yue was also slightly excited. As a sweet-loving ruler, tanghulu was naturally his favorite.
However, seeing how he was tricked by Wei Lian earlier, he did not want to grant the other person’s wish.
“Are you a child?” Ji Yue laughed impolitely. “Only children eat tanghulu.”
Wei Lian looked slightly disappointed. “I have never eaten one before.”
Ji Yue wavered a little.
Wei Lian suddenly leaned closer to him and whispered into his ear, “Gege, I want one.”
Ji Yue: “!!!”
This voice immediately pulled him back to the night half a month ago. The youth was in the midst of pleasure under his fingertips, flushing at the tip of his eyes.
What Ji Yue was going to do the first thing they returned to the palace was to shower three buckets worth of cold water.
Wei Lian was simply an addictive poison.
Ji Yue tried to stand firm to his bottom line. “I’m not—” He would never be led by the nose by this cunning fox!
The little fox was still standing in front of him with curved smiling eyes, and an intimate tone.
“Please?”
Ji Yue murmured, “…Fine.”
After the time to burn an incense—or fifteen minutes.
Wei Lian, with a tanghulu skewer in his hand, looked at Ji Yue in surprise. “I asked you to buy me one, how did it turn into you carrying the whole display stand back?”
Ji Yue, carrying the whole stand of tanghulu and looking like a vendor selling the snack: “…”
He also wanted to know why he had lost his mind and buy the whole stand.
Was it because Wei Lian whispered into his ear, ‘Gege, I want one’?
He just…
Just wanted to buy him everything.
Ji Yue angrily pulled one skewer off of the display stand. “And I’m not going to eat any?”
Wei Lian repeated lightly, “Only children eat tanghulu.”
Ji Yue: “…”
His face hurt from the verbal slapping.
Ji Yue stubbornly said, “I’m a child, so what? I’m just the age of seven three-year-old children.”
Wei Lian: “…”
This was the first time he had heard someone saying their twenty-one of age in such a refreshed and refined manner.
What a three-year-old Ji Yue thing to say.
Wei Lian asked sincerely, “Are you not afraid of getting a toothache after eating so many of them?”
Ji Yue replied, “A real ruler is not afraid of any pain, didi.”
Wei Lian resisted the urge to smile. “But we still have four hours. Don’t you think it’s inconvenient to carry it the whole way?”
Ji Yue turned silent.
He was looking dumber and dumber.
Luckily, he spotted a group of gathered children playing not very far from him. He went forward and stuffed the stand into one of the kid’s hands, leaving with, “For you kids.”
Leave the things done with nothing left behind.
_
“Oh, it’s so lively over there.” Wei Lian looked in one direction. “What are they looking at?”
Not far away, people gathered in a circle to spectate something, cheering and applauding from time to time.
Ji Yue said, “We can find out once we go have a look.”
He pulled Wei Lian into the crowd and pushed their way to the front. It turned out it was a group of traveling performing artists who were showing their talent by breaking a large stone on top of another’s body.
Ji Yue lost interest not long after. “Such insignificant talent. Anyone with some internal energy could do it.”
Instead of answering, Wei Lian watched with great interest.
Since the other party was interested, Ji Yue continued to watch with patience.
The next performance was a man swallowing a sword. A strong looking man raised his head and gobbled up a long sword bit by bit, which put the onlookers on the edge. It even frightened a timid girl as she covered her face and couldn’t bear to look straight at the performer.
Finally, what was left visible to the sword was the hilt before the man pulled out the sword, completely unharmed.
First the crowd was stunned, then they thunderously applauded with their cheering.
Ji Yue shattered the illusion by explaining, “That sword is retractable.”
Followed by a conjuring trick.
Ji Yue repeated, “Just a diversionary tactic.”
Wei Lian: “…”
Fortunately, Ji Yue was not using a loud voice. Otherwise, they would be driven out for spoiling the performance.
He was only here to see new things. As he was about to leave to check elsewhere, a tough man banged the gong and shouted in a deep voice, “Please pay attention to our last performance for this evening. I guarantee that this is a new one that none has witnessed before.”
Wei Lian paused his departure when he heard the brute man’s announcement.
“Making a person appear out of thin air!” The man emphasized each pronunciation.
As soon as he finished, two men carried a big box from the carriage to the stage. The box was about the size of a…coffin.
Enough room for one person.
“Everyone, please have a look. See how this box is empty.” The big man opened the box, and people craned their necks to check that it was indeed empty.
The space inside of the box was not large, and the interior was visible at a glance. Even if there was a secret mechanism, the surplus space was not enough to hide a person.
Seeing that everyone had an eyeful, the man covered the box and added something about “Please consider tipping if you have the money; please continue to stay as a spectator if not” while a person walked around with a bowl in his hand.
“Now, watch carefully! As a person will soon appear!” The strong man shouted and opened the box in a sudden and grand motion.
A thin, pale hand with a silver bell tied around it stretched out from the edge of the box.
The crowd held their breath.
A pair of purple slippers appeared in everyone’s sight. The woman was dressed in purple gauze, exposing her snow-white skin as the silver bells jingled all over her body. Her long hair was tied into countless pigtails and decorated with silver ornaments. Her beautiful eyes wandered, and her flirtatious expressions peeked out from within from time to time, which immediately captured the souls of thousands of men.
What a beautiful woman; countenance of flowers, appearance of the moon.
The sound of sucking in breath faintly came from the crowd. Ji Yue frowned. His loath of purple exhibited on his face, only covered by his green ghost mask.
He hated purple very much.
“Judging from her dress, she appears to be from Liang.” Wei Lian whispered.
The country of Liang was located in a remote area and known for their shaman’s craft and poison, as well as an outrageous female outfit, which was beyond what the Qin and Chu females would wear.
“This servant girl’s name is Myrna. It is pleasant meeting everyone.” The woman stepped out of the box with her coquettish glances and lovely voice. “Today’s performance is over, but don’t walk off just yet. I will give one gentleman a special performance. Would someone in the audience please help me out in completing the show? I wonder which strong man is willing to assist me?”
All the men got excited as each of them shouted, “Lady, pick me!”
Who wouldn’t want to interact with a beauty? Men were eager for a chance to be the one chosen by her.
As she glanced around, her eyes suddenly lit up. She said to the youth wearing a white fox mask in the center, “Would this gentleman please join this servant on the stage?”
Ji Yue said, “You’re not allow—”
Wei Lian replied, “Sure.”
Ji Yue: “…”
How dare you disobey!
Ignoring Ji Yue’s obstruction, Wei Lian stepped forward and raised his thin lips, a part of his face that was not covered by the mask. “What assistance could this one provide to the lady?”
Myrna’s eyes twinkled as she instructed, “Very simple. The gentleman just needs to stare into this servant girl’s eyes.”
Wei Lian earnestly looked into her eyes and asked, “And then?”
The emotion in her eyes was overflowing as she smiled sweetly. “Then the young master will…”
The next sentence slowly came out of her charming red lips, “Fall in love with this servant girl.”
A moment later, her eyes were almost dried out from the stare.
The youth under the white fox mask remained clear-eyed, and not once had he fallen into a trance.
He even asked her gracefully, “Are you done?”
Her expression changed. “Who are you?!” How was this man not influenced by her charm?
Her charming ability was at perfection, even Lao Lao said so. As long as her mind was firm, the target was a man, he would never escape her control.
The beautiful women of the Liang have a loitered nature and used yang energy to supplement their yin energy, thus improving their skills. She had lost count on the number of men who had fallen for her charm, and there hadn’t been a single failed attempt.
She spotted this gentleman with remarkable energy and thought she could seduce the youth to bed tonight, but she was wrong.
Wei Lian nodded and admitted, “You indeed have extraordinary skill.
“Unfortunately, I like men.”
Myrna: “…”
“So, you like that man in red who is with you?” She glared angrily at Ji Yue, unwilling to accept that her charm could not rival against some man.
“He?” Wei Lian was caught off guard. “He…maybe.”
“Why is there always a maybe or maybe not? You people from the Qin are so skittish. If you like an individual, then you like them. If you don’t like an individual, then you don’t like them. How is there a maybe?” She hmphed.
Wei Lian lowered his gaze and pondered. He remembered the sweetness from the tanghulu he just ate and suddenly smiled.
“You are right. I do like him.”
Thank You for the chapter ｡✰✧(♡´❍`♡)✧✰｡
KYAAAAAAA OMGGG (´ε｀ )
Im enjoying reading this danmei so much😭 Eternally grateful to the translator ❤️
ARGHHH WEI LAN YOU AAAAA ٩(//̀Д/́/)۶
thank you so very much translator (ง •̀_•́)۶