The Seventh Princess Insists on Making Me Be a Kept Woman (GL) - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Pearl, Emerald, and White Jade Soup

As a result, the streets and alleys of Changyong suddenly saw an influx of students and scholars arriving from out of town. The meeting of talented individuals and beauties brought fragrant ribbons, laughter, and cheer everywhere, seemingly driving away the loneliness of winter.

At the Consort’s residence, Little Radish burst into Lian Liejin’s room, shouting repeatedly, “Get up! Why are you taking a nap? I think today is the Lantern Festival here. The streets are so lively! We never celebrated festivals on Qingyue Mountain.”

Having stayed up late the night before to make pills for Gao Jingxi, Lian Liejin barely opened her eyes. “You mountain girl, what’s so good about lanterns? It’s just a festival created by businessmen to trick people out of money.”

“Says the businesswoman herself.” Little Radish desperately pulled Lian Liejin up. “Let’s go! I haven’t explored Changyong City yet.”

Having no choice, Lian Liejin got up and put on a set of black clothes with gold-embroidered cuffs. With the black jade hanging from her waist, she looked like an elegant, young man.

By the time the two of them slowly got ready, the winter afternoon, which had been relatively bright, was already giving way to sunset.

The streets, lit up by lamps, were indeed bustling. The sounds of vendors hawking their wares along the street were non-stop. Little Radish was incredibly excited. She bought several sugar figurines, a bag of fried cakes, and a pile of small pinwheels, kites, and opera masks.

In less than half an hour, most of the money they had brought was spent.

However, as night fell, the number of people on the street didn’t decrease; it increased, even becoming quite crowded.

“Let’s go watch the fireworks display at Tianyuan Residence. It starts in the time it takes an incense stick to burn.” Little Radish weighed the silver in her hand. “I have one tael left. Just enough for the entrance fee.”

Lian Liejin smiled. “Let’s go. It’s rare to see you this happy.”

Tianyuan Residence had six floors. The top floor offered an excellent view, overlooking the entire Changyong City from all directions.

As soon as they sat down, the waiter brought a pot of good wine and a few appetizers.

Perhaps because of Lian Liejin’s striking appearance, girls at several tables kept secretly looking at her. Some of the bolder ones even came directly to ask for Lian Liejin’s name.

“This is my child!” Lian Liejin pointed to Little Radish. To avoid trouble, she always used Little Radish as a shield.

Seeing the girl leave in disappointment, Little Radish complained, “You always take advantage of me. This bowl of Osmanthus Snow Swallow Tangyuan is all mine. You can’t eat any.”

Then, Little Radish didn’t hear Lian Liejin’s reply for a long time. She swallowed the tangyuan in her mouth and realized Lian Liejin had stood up, staring intently in one direction.

Just then, colorful fireworks suddenly erupted in the sky. Countless lights shone on Lian Liejin, but they made her seem a little lonely.

Little Radish had never seen such an expression on Lian Liejin’s face. She followed the person’s gaze. She only saw the graceful back of a woman. The woman was wearing a long, brocade robe with a dark red gauze surface, displaying an air of elegance and nobility.

With just a back view, she was already this stunning. The girl wondered how beautiful the woman’s face must be.

“Hey,” Little Radish poked Lian Liejin. “Don’t fall for her. You belong to the Seventh Princess. And didn’t you see all those young masters and misses surrounding her?”

Lian Liejin lowered her gaze and said softly, “That is the Seventh Princess.”

“Wow, the number one beauty in the world really lives up to her reputation. You’re lucky with women.”

“Let’s go,” Lian Liejin grabbed Little Radish and headed toward the stairs.

“No, wait, my kite! My tangyuan!”

“We’ll buy it next time.” Seeing that Little Radish was causing a commotion and fearing being discovered by Gao Jingxi, Lian Liejin used force, clamped Little Radish under her arm, and hurried downstairs.

Coincidentally, Gao Jingxi seemed to sense something and turned around, but she only managed to catch sight of a flash of black clothing and a cold, moon-like profile.

In that instant, she stood up from her seat in a slight loss of composure, silently muttering, “Guan Xie…”

The handsome young men and women at the same table quickly asked, “Your Highness, is something wrong?”

Gao Jingxi shook her head, mocking herself. How could it be Guan Xie? I don’t even know what she looks like.

“Nothing. Let’s watch the fireworks.”

Chen Yu smiled faintly. “It is truly Chen Yu’s honor to admire the fireworks with Eldest Sister Lian, Second Brother, and Her Highness the Princess today.”

“No need for formalities when we are out. Being able to drink and chat with several future pillars of the court is the true joy of life.” Gao Jingxi quickly suppressed all her emotions, acting as if the person who had lost composure moments ago wasn’t her. “You must all perform well at the Poetry Conference in two days.”

The group quickly stood up from their seats and bowed. “We will definitely give it our all and not fail to meet Your Highness’s expectations.”

“See, there you go again. Don’t be so mindful of the difference in status.”

Gao Jingxi’s well-timed light laugh was intoxicating, like aged wine. The hearts of the young people warmed, and they wished they could immediately climb mountains and cross seas for the Princess.

Only A You, standing by the side, noticed her Princess’s distraction. Gao Jingxi’s small silver spoon was picked up and put down several times, and the sweet soup in the bowl remained untouched, only having lost its warmth.

On the other side, Lian Liejin, who had just left Tianyuan Residence, put Little Radish down. The child immediately began to protest: “I only ate one mouthful of the Osmanthus Snow Swallow Tangyuan! Are you trying to starve me?”

The fireworks in the sky were becoming more and more brilliant. Lian Liejin involuntarily turned back to look at the sixth floor and then distractedly replied, “Let’s go back and eat. I’ll cook.”

“No, I want to eat outside.” Little Radish looked suspiciously at Lian Liejin, her eyes rolling. “You just saw the Seventh Princess celebrating the festival with other people, and you can’t handle it?”

Little Radish was stubborn. When she was an orphan, she was wrongly accused of stealing and nearly beaten to death but refused to apologize. Lian Liejin felt the few dozen copper coins remaining on her body, ignored the latter half of Little Radish’s remark, and walked directly to a vegetable stall that was about to close. “Boss, I’ll take all the leftover tofu, radishes, and Chinese cabbage.”

After buying the vegetables, she borrowed a pot. Lian Liejin pulled Little Radish toward the riverbank, finding a sheltered spot out of the wind.

“Go gather some straw and twigs. I’ll cook you a pot of Pearl, Emerald, and White Jade Soup.”

“With all due respect, we have a pot but no fire.”

Lian Liejin left the radish, cabbage, and tofu where they were. She looked around. After the fireworks finished, the street suddenly had many people selling lanterns, and some even had activities like writing poems or solving riddles to win a lantern. “Wait here. I’ll go get a fire.”

Little Radish scoffed, “Fearful of his wife.” Then she walked into the woods.

Returning to the main street, Lian Liejin straightened her clothes and headed straight for a stall that offered a lantern for a poem.

The lanterns at this stall were exquisitely crafted, standing out from the others. Consequently, many young women gathered around the stall in groups of two or three, either writing poems or chatting together.

“To all young masters and misses, I am unskilled and only know the craft of making lanterns, yet I have a fondness for poetry and verse. To win this largest and finest Phoenix Lantern, you must write the best poem.”

“Boss, writing a poem is easy, but what is the topic?”

“The topic will be my lanterns, and the time limit is the time it takes an incense stick to burn.”

Lian Liejin took the paper and brush from the table in front of the stall and, without hesitation, wrote down the poem she had memorized from before she transmigrated:

Last year, during the Lantern Festival,

The flower market lights were as bright as day.

The moon climbed above the willow tips,

A meeting was set after dusk.

This year, during the Lantern Festival,

The moon and the lights remain the same.

But the person from last year is nowhere to be seen,

Tears dampen the sleeves of my spring gown.