After rebirth, the Queen of Madness has gone against the will of Heaven

Chapter 517: Lantern Flower Festival Riddle Guessing

Yu Qingli looked at Murong Yanhui with a headache. His words had disturbed her mood, and now he invited her out to play as if nothing had happened.

Even if he is unruly, doesn't he know that he is now his niece-in-law? He is rushing to do something that others would rather avoid than to be in a melon field or a plum tree.

"Okay, okay, stop thinking about other people's affairs. I have never considered you my niece's wife. Let's go!" Murong Yanhui impatiently pulled Yu Qingli away, while instructing Xiluo to prepare the carriage, and hurried out.

Yu Qingli hadn't been out for a while, so she went out today with a sense of novelty. Looking at the various food stalls on the street, she suddenly recalled her days in Jiangnan. Those soft and glutinous lotus cakes and leaf rakes were full of her happy memories.

It is true that people are happiest in childhood, but it is a pity that such happiness is always fleeting and we don’t know how to cherish it.

"What day is today? There are so many people here." Yu Qingli finally couldn't help but ask.

"Before the imperial examination, it was customary to hold a lantern festival. Firstly, it allowed scholars from all over the country to get to know each other and communicate with each other. Secondly, it was also an opportunity for those who were just starting out to show off their talents and suppress others."

"'Jihua Lantern Festival'?" Yu Qingli exclaimed. How could she have forgotten this? She remembered that in her previous life, she had made a small appearance at the "Jihua Lantern Festival" in order to win over people for Murong Feng. This time, she had to be careful not to show up again.

"It's not convenient to play with so many people. Let's go back." Yu Qingli immediately began to back down.

"It's more fun when there are more people around. It's rare for so many pedantic scholars to get together now, we can just watch the good show of 'literati look down on each other'." Murong Yanhui smiled wickedly, looking very excited.

"But, little uncle, don't you think it's inappropriate for the two of us to appear together in our identities?" Yu Qingli frowned, hoping that Murong Yanhui could change his mind. She didn't want to be pushed to the forefront again. Only by hiding in the dark could she best give the other party a fatal blow.

"So that's what Lili is worried about." Murong Yan smiled back and pulled out a large bundle from under the carriage. "I came prepared."

Yu Qingli looked at Murong Yanhui with full of questions as she opened the bundle. Inside was a set of men's clothes and some simple disguise props.

Yu Qingli couldn't help but look up at Murong Yanhui. What kind of person was this man? So cynical yet thoughtful.

"Sometimes when I go to a place of entertainment, I can't be too conspicuous, right?" Murong Yanhui smiled lightly, lifted the curtain and ordered, "Xiluo, come in and help your young lady change her clothes. I will drive the car myself."

When the carriage stopped at a house at the foot of the mountain, Yu Qingli had transformed herself after Xiluo's skillful dressing up. Even Xiluo matched the two of them and dressed up as a servant. The three of them stood side by side, looking quite charming and suave, attracting a lot of attention.

The long road at the foot of the mountain was already crowded with people. Noon was a good time to eat. The wine shops and teahouses on both sides of the street were full of people. In the bustling crowd, there were passing merchants, common people who came to join in the fun, shopkeepers who had made a fortune, and more of those pedantic scholars. They all wore simple long gowns and sat at the table with some wine and food symbolically placed on the table. They shook their heads and recited to each other, and the meal became a side dish.

It was Xiluo's first time to witness such a scene, and she found it both novel and amusing. She dragged Yu Qingli around to look around. It was rare to see Xiluo being so genuine, so Yu Qingli followed her around. Moreover, Yu Qingli had always been an open-minded person, and she would take things as they came, letting things flow naturally and making the most of it.

Since everything in this life was different from her previous one, then perhaps this "Jacquard Lantern Festival" would also be different. Even if it were the same as her previous life, she would have a reason to come.

Yu Qingli was thinking in her heart while her eyes searched around the crowd. She remembered that she had passed by that person in her previous life. Would she meet him again in this life?

"Miss, it's so lively in front. I wonder what they are doing." Xiluo interrupted Yu Qingli's thoughts. Yu Qingli looked in the direction Xiluo pointed, and saw that the crowd in front was surrounding a restaurant.

The name of the restaurant is "Purple Air Coming from the East". In front of the building, a middle-aged man who looks like the owner is waving a fan proudly and looking down at the scholars in front of him who are in a state of panic.

"What? Canghe is such a big country, and you are a group of people carefully selected from all over the country. You can't even guess this little riddle of mine?" The shopkeeper spoke in a slightly stiff Canghe language and laughed sarcastically.

People from Dong Tang?!

Murong Yanhui and Yu Qingli were both startled when they heard this. Although Dong Tang and Cang He had many business dealings after Tang Yi came, they had no idea when this Dong Tang person opened a restaurant right under their noses. Moreover, the shopkeeper had an extraordinary demeanor and did not look like a money-grubbing businessman at all.

After strolling around for most of the day, Murong Yanhui, who was feeling bored, suddenly became interested. He pulled Yu Qingli's sleeve and got into the crowd.

"I'm hosting a banquet in Xia today, and I want to invite talented and virtuous scholars to come in and taste it for free. What a pity, what a shame." The shopkeeper shook his head, his face full of undisguised sarcasm.

Yu Qingli looked up and saw a riddle hanging next to the shopkeeper, asking the scholars to guess the answer and interpret it with a poem. The riddle was very simple, just two words "零头", which means an object.

"How can you not guess such a simple riddle?" Murong Yanhui was surprised.

"Can you guess it?" Yu Qingli asked with a smile. The riddle seemed simple, but its scope was extremely broad.

"Of course. What else can we use to calculate a fraction besides 'weighing'?" Murong Yanhui said loudly. But just as he finished speaking, a scholar beside him said, "No, no, no. We've guessed everything we can think of, but this boss says it's wrong."

"Yeah, see? The board next to it is where everyone guessed, and the boss said it was wrong."

Yu Qingli turned her head to look over, only to hear Murong Yan ask, "Then how do you know that the boss isn't deliberately saying you're wrong?"

"The boss said that if no one has guessed it by dinner time, he will reveal the answer. We are all waiting to see if he is deliberately making things difficult for us."

After glancing at the question board, he saw that it was indeed densely packed with all kinds of conceivable answers, and there was indeed no one he had guessed. After looking at the riddle carefully again, Yu Qingli suddenly smiled faintly.

"Miss, have you figured it out?" Xiluo asked happily.

Yu Qingli pulled Murong Yanhui over and whispered a few words, but Murong Yanhui nodded repeatedly, then pushed Yu Qingli out of the crowd.

Yu Qingli originally wanted to let Murong Yan go back to answer this question, but she didn't expect Murong Yan to do this. Looking at the scholars with sharp eyes below, Yu Qingli sighed helplessly in her heart. It seems that even after another life, some things cannot be changed, such as standing out in the Jacquard Lantern Festival.

"Young man, have you guessed the answer?" The shopkeeper smiled politely but the sarcastic smile only made people angry.

At this point, Yu Qingli could no longer hide. She turned around and looked at the shopkeeper calmly, her eyes blazing like stars, her smooth forehead gleaming with a faint pearly luster in the sunlight. A confident smile played on her lips, and she waited until the shopkeeper's sarcasm could no longer be suppressed before she slowly spoke, "Shopkeeper, here is the answer, you must listen carefully."

"I whip the wind-steed horse, the cloud-chariot enters the night, the bright moon tilts slightly over Mirror Lake. I sit by the bamboos beside the tiles, and hear the sound of a zither. My unfading childishness suddenly stirs, and the knocks on the flower stand make the pearls and jade ring. I know who is angry, pushing the window with a frown, urging me to go east."

Yu Qingli had just finished reciting the first verse when the scholars cheered. Yu Qingli gave them a faint smile, then turned and walked behind the shopkeeper, continuing her recitation: "Light as a body. Traveling the three realms, plucking stars to make a necklace, giving it to my beloved. Smiling at the silver bell on the eaves, looking at my reflection with affection. Half a pillow, a moment of fate, beside the mossy vines, only dew shimmers. As spring fades, the clear waters of the capital are far away, and I disturb my guests in anticipation of the first clear day."

As soon as the word "Qing" fell, Yu Qingli placed her hand on the shopkeeper's shoulder, "Shopkeeper, did I guess right?"

The shopkeeper's face paled, his lips trembling as he suddenly gritted his teeth and said, "Guessing correctly is just passing the first level."

The crowd suddenly became noisy, cursing the shopkeeper's dishonesty. Yu Qingli, however, remained calm, smiling at the shopkeeper and making a gesture of invitation. She had an extraordinary aura and a beautiful temperament, adding a touch of elegance to her appearance, making her look like a dashing and elegant young man of noble birth.

The shopkeeper snorted coldly and said, "The moon is haloed and moist."

"Storm and wind will bring relief"

“Sweet rain falls upon all”

"Timely Rain"

"The sun sends me to the top of the world, the wind carries me to all directions, but I have to return to my hometown with tears in my eyes."

"It's still raining." Yu Qingli closed her fan with a snap and said with a smile, "Boss, you can't afford this meal, right?"

The shopkeeper could no longer save face and had to step aside and say, "Sir, please."

"Shopkeeper, it should be the gentlemen who should treat us." Yu Qingli smiled and pointed at the riddle beside her. "You wrote that if anyone guesses correctly, you will treat us to a free meal. You didn't specify that only those who guessed correctly could be treated, or whether those who guessed correctly could bring others, or how many people to treat. Now that I guessed correctly, I want to treat all the scholars present here, so why not?"

The shopkeeper was so shocked by Yu Qingli that he couldn't say a word. However, the scholars cheered. They had just been ridiculed by the shopkeeper, but now Yu Qingli had turned the tables on them. How could they be unhappy?

Murong Yanhui loved to join in the fun. Seeing that Yu Qingli had the upper hand, he immediately jumped to Yu Qingli's side and said with a smile: "Brother Li, I think that although this shopkeeper is dressed in luxurious clothes, he is just a facade. I think today's free meal is over. Why don't we invite all the scholars to show their support to the shopkeeper?"

Murong Yan replied, taking out a gold ingot and tossing it in his hand, "Boss, is this enough?"