IHOEAYSTTTIW Chapter 40
by VolareChapter 40 Giving Lin Yan a Mid-Autumn Festival Shock…
The smile on Lin Yan’s face instantly froze, and by the time Yun Qi helped him up, the smile had completely disappeared.
“This servant hasn’t rested well these past two days. If I’ve offended you, please forgive me, young master.” The woman reluctantly moved closer to Yun Qi, but Yun Qi pushed her hand away.
“Alright, you can leave.” Yun Qi slammed the tray onto the table, grabbed the handkerchief from earlier, and meticulously wiped his hands, his face full of disgust.
“Yes.” The woman’s voice choked with sobs as she limped out of the room, a faint weeping still audible. Unfortunately, her target was as wooden as could be, and he didn’t say a word to make her stay until she closed the door.
The room quieted down, and the sounds of music and women’s laughter outside became clearer.
Yun Qi kept wiping until his wrists were red before putting the handkerchief down. He cautiously moved closer to Lin Yan and explained with a wronged expression, “Big Brother, I…”
“It’s okay.” Lin Yan waved his hand, forcing a smile.
He didn’t know what was wrong with himself. He was the one who suggested coming to the brothel, but now he found it exceptionally boring. The wine pot filled with liquor was exquisitely crafted, but he had no interest in it. However, since it had already been brought up, it would be a waste not to try it. Lin Yan poured himself a shallow glass and muttered, “I’ll try this.”
Lin Yan only took a small sip before putting the cup down, pushing it aside with a grimace that showed his disgust: “Not good.”
Yun Qi handed Lin Yan the pastries he had bought today. While Lin Yan was busy struggling with the pastries, he picked up the cup and took a small sip. It tasted like ordinary wine, not particularly good or bad, so why was Big Brother reacting so strongly?
Was Big Brother jealous?
The thought instantly brightened Yun Qi’s mood. Today wasn’t a complete waste after all. He drained the cup in one gulp and, taking advantage of the fact that the music outside hadn’t reached its climax, pulled Lin Yan out. The courtesan’s performance was about to begin, and no one cared about the two going against the flow, even grateful that they were giving up seats that were already scarce.
The paths in the red-light district were intricate and interconnected. Yun Qi weaved and turned for a long time, returning to the original starting point. Lin Yan silently followed behind him, completely devoid of his usual energy.
Yun Qi tugged at Lin Yan’s sleeve and started searching for the exit again. It wasn’t until they had finally emerged from the red-light district that Lin Yan mumbled dejectedly, “You’re right, the red-light district isn’t fun at all.”
Usually, Lin Yan was the one cheering Yun Qi up, but today it was the other way around.
“But the nightlife has only just begun!” Yun Qi pulled Lin Yan into a small alley, turning left and right. The sounds of voices grew louder, and light seeped through the cracks.
Yun Qi stopped at the entrance of the alley and gestured with a “please” gesture. Lin Yan raised an eyebrow and walked towards the light in the direction he indicated.
The prosperity of the Great Zhou was revealed before Lin Yan’s eyes.
The moonlight, like water, gently spilled onto the streets, and the whole street was draped in a dreamy veil of light. The stalls on both sides of the street were densely packed, and the lanterns were colorful and varied in shape.
“The Mid-Autumn Festival is so lively! I thought it would be…” Lin Yan made a face, pinched his throat, and said in a strange voice, “July is here, the gates of hell open…”
“The Mid-Autumn Festival is a very important festival, almost as important as New Year’s Eve and the Spring Festival.” Yun Qi carefully shielded Lin Yan from the crowded people and began to explain the story of the Mid-Autumn Festival in detail. “Legend has it that on this day, the two officials in charge of the underworld will celebrate. They always get completely drunk, so the deceased will sneak out of the unguarded gate to the other world to see their loved ones.”
“The gate to the other world?” Lin Yan’s hand, which was playing with a rabbit lantern, paused, and he looked up at the starry sky. “Does the gate back to New China count too? Will it open a crack today?”
The Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns were very bright, and Lin Yan didn’t find any stars in the night sky, nor did he see Yun Qi’s lost expression.
“Maybe,” Yun Qi quickly adjusted his disappointed expression and casually flicked the switch on the rabbit lantern.
“This little rabbit can actually move?” Lin Yan’s attention was indeed drawn back, and he curiously played with the rabbit lantern. “So cute, I want one, I want one.”
Yun Qi pulled out silver from his purse and threw it to the lantern vendor. By the time the vendor had given him the change, Lin Yan had already run to a sugar painting stall.
Sugar paintings didn’t attract Lin Yan, but adding a turntable did.
“I spin it, and you paint whatever it lands on?” Lin Yan was eager to try, and amidst the crowd of children chanting “Dragon, dragon, dragon,” he spun the pointer.
The pointer spun two circles and actually landed on the dragon.
“Here, silver.” Lin Yan pointed to the dragon on the painting and excitedly urged, “Paint it, paint it.”
The vendor’s movements were very smooth, and the lines of sugar falling on the iron plate were also very fluid, so the painting that came out… also had a style of its own.
Lin Yan poked the dragon, which had been smudged into a mess, and curled his lips in disgust. “What is this?”
Yun Qi had to squeeze through the crowd to hand the intact rabbit lantern to Lin Yan as if he was offering a treasure: “Big Brother, your lantern.”
“Thanks.” Lin Yan took the rabbit lantern and casually shoved the sugar painting into Yun Qi’s hand. Lin Yan broke off the dragon’s whiskers and poked that mass of stuff. He didn’t want to call it a dragon, so he gave it a more suitable name, “Here’s a caterpillar for you.”
Yun Qi raised his eyebrows, took the sugar and bit into it.
The crowd was gradually growing, and Lin Yan’s height of 1.75 meters seemed particularly small. Coupled with the fact that he could be captivated by any store for five or six minutes, by the time he reached the riverbank to release the wishing lanterns, it was completely blocked.
Lin Yan pushed left and right, but still couldn’t squeeze in. He could only see the river full of lanterns of all sizes through the gaps.
Yun Qi managed to squeeze into the crowd. He naturally took Lin Yan’s hand, and as Lin Yan leaned in, he said, “Big Brother doesn’t have to squeeze with them. I know a good place to see the lanterns.”
Yun Qi led Lin Yan through the bustling crowd to the foot of a seven-story pagoda.
Looking at the heavy gate, Lin Yan hesitated, “You can’t just enter here, right?”
“It’s okay.” Yun Qi pushed the gate open a small crack and pulled Lin Yan in. “I’ve already taken care of it. We can just sneak in.”
Lin Yan always felt uneasy, but the thought of seeing the lanterns finally won.
The seven-story pagoda flickered with lights, and each floor was decorated with red lanterns, illuminating the pagoda in red. The stairs of the pagoda were a bit narrow, and the fragile Lin Yan climbed carefully, but still stumbled.
Yun Qi wasn’t in a hurry, and walked slowly behind him, protecting Lin Yan. As they climbed higher, the noise outside gradually diminished, and the view became more open.
“Finally made it up.” Lin Yan slowed down and couldn’t wait to dash to the outer deck. The cool night breeze blew in his face, dispelling the heat of July. Looking into the distance, the night view of the Capital City was spectacular. Countless lanterns dotted the streets and alleys like stars, and the river sparkled with silver in the moonlight, like a winding ribbon.
Lin Yan quietly watched for a long time, and then whispered, “The trees blaze like fire, the flowers like silver, the star bridge is open, the iron chains undone… it’s probably like this.”
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