Li Xia had independently created a lantern carousel. Once a candle inside was lit, the heat generated airflow, causing the wheel axle to rotate. On the axle were cut-outs, and the candlelight cast the shadows of these cut-outs onto the screen. It depicted their entire journey from Liuzhou to the Capital City.
"Xia Xia, you're really talented!" Li Xin watched the images in awe.
"Your drawing skills are the real talent." If it wasn't for Li Xin's excellent drawing, how could they achieve this effect? Li Xia was good at carving, but not so much at drawing.
"Do you want to learn? I can teach you." Li Xin sincerely hoped that Li Xia would become proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
"No," Li Xia declined without hesitation, she preferred lying around doing nothing and basking in the sun. Learning was too exhausting, and she was not interested at all. Auntie Mei, who was standing by, felt an itch in her hand listening to Li Xia so boldly refusing. The opportunities you couldn't even beg for from a young lady offering personal instruction were being rejected by her own daughter.
Li Xin was not surprised by Li Xia's answer, "Whenever you want to learn, you can come to me. I can teach you at any time."
Li Xia felt that Li Xin's good intentions were destined to fall through. She was not going to learn at all.
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Auntie Mei had arranged for lanterns to be hung in the courtyard early. Guessing the riddles on the lanterns could win a corresponding prize. The idea of giving silver as a prize was proposed by Li Xia, as it was the most practical.
Li Xin thought it was a good idea and agreed. Naturally, Li Hui had no objections and provided all the prizes. The prizes were made public: 50 taels of silver. This had motivated everyone in the mansion.
Qiu Chan really wanted the silver and pulled Qiu Kui to guess the lantern riddles. She confidently told Li Xia, "Miss, I will definitely win the prize."
"Why do you suddenly want to win?" Li Xia was curious about Qiu Chan, who usually didn't care about anything other than eating. Why had she become so proactive this time?
"Miss, Qiu Chan wants that 50 taels of silver," Qiu Ling saw Qiu Chan's intention very clearly.
Upon hearing about the silver, Li Xia immediately understood what was going on. This girl had always been upset about how much she ate. Looking at Qiu Chan holding Qiu Kui's hand determinedly, Li Xia couldn't help but laugh, "What a cute girl."
Standing by were Qiu Shui and Qiu Ling. Hearing Li Xia's laughter, they both twitched their lips. After all, how could Qiu Chan, who was so big, be considered cute?
The servants gathered in the courtyard, and Li Hui stood on the steps and simply explained the rules. Anyone who guessed the riddle on the lantern would receive a prize.
After announcing the rules, the lantern festival began. The servants were eager to guess the lantern riddles to win a prize. Li Xin, Li Xia, Li Hui, and Auntie Mei didn't lack that bit of silver, so there was no need to compete with the servants. The four of them walked around separately while looking at the lanterns.
Qiu Chan, pulling Qiu Kui along, rushed off first. Qiu Shui also went to guess the riddles, leaving only Qiu Ling staying close to Li Xia.
"You can also go guess the riddles, you don't need to stay with me. Nothing will happen at home."
"Miss, I can't read much." Now, Qiu Ling had several hundred taels of silver that she could use, so she didn't care as much about the 50 taels.
Previously, Li Xia had let Qiu Ling learn to read with Qiu Kui. But obviously, Qiu Ling had not taken it seriously. She did well in other tasks that Li Xia assigned. But when it came to learning to read, Qiu Ling was clearly resistant.
Qiu Ling was reluctant to reveal the reason, and Li Xia didn't press for more. When Qiu Ling was ready to talk, it wouldn't be too late for Li Xia to listen.
Li Xia's carousel lantern attracted the most spectators. The wind spun the lantern rapidly, bringing the images on the lantern to life. Li Xin was also there. Even though she had seen it before, she still loved it.
"Xia Xia, you're amazing. This lantern is both beautiful and interesting," Li Xin praised again as Li Xia approached.
"Sister, if you like it, I'll have someone send the lantern to Fuqing Courtyard after the crowd disperses," Li Xia replied. She enjoyed the process of making the lantern more than the finished product.
"Thank you, Xia Xia," Li Xin accepted without hesitation. She truly loved this carousel lantern and wanted to keep it. This trip to the Capital City had given her many memories to cherish.
"Those who haven't guessed the lantern riddles, please hurry. We will announce the results in half an hour," Zhang Hu shouted as he walked around, urging everyone to speed up.
Zhang Hu's call prompted those who were still admiring the carousel lantern to leave. The lantern was beautiful, but the prize was more important. Fifty taels of silver was equivalent to several years of their monthly wages.
Zhao Pan was tallying the solved lantern riddles. As a steward, he didn't participate in the guessing. However, Li Hui had promised that those who were working and couldn't guess the riddles would receive three times their monthly wages. The prize was only for one person, not everyone could get it, but the triple wages were a sure thing. The staff on duty that night were all very happy.
The results were surprising. Cook Lady Bai came in first, and Qiu Kui came in second. Cook Lady Bai won fifty taels of silver. Qiu Kui and Qiu Chan also won twenty taels of silver. Dan Mo, who came in third, won ten taels of silver.
Everyone else who guessed the riddles correctly received a reward, ranging from a few hundred wen to one or two taels of silver. All the servants in Li's house had a fruitful night, except for Li Hui, who had to pay out a lot of money.
After the prizes were distributed, Auntie Mei brought out two large buckets of yuanxiao (rice dumplings). How could there be a Lantern Festival without yuanxiao? Everyone was served a bowl of yuanxiao.
The yuanxiao in the Capital City was sweet, while in Liuzhou, it was mostly savory. The kitchen prepared both sweet and savory yuanxiao, which were cooked together. Whether one got a sweet or savory dumpling depended on their luck.
Li Xia liked both sweet and savory. But she had five in a row, all of which were savory, not a single sweet one.
Seeing Li Xia complaining about not getting any sweet ones, Li Xin scooped a sweet yuanxiao into Li Xia's bowl. "This one is sweet, eat it quickly."
"Sister, how did you know this one is sweet?"
"There's a black sesame seed on top of the sweet ones." Li Xia looked at the yuanxiao and indeed, there was a black sesame seed on it. It tasted sweet when she put it in her mouth. The remaining few in the bowl that had black sesame seeds on them were all sweet. She hadn't expected Li Xin to be so observant.
"It's not that I'm observant, I had told Cook Lady Bai before wrapping them to mark the sweet ones with black sesame seeds," Li Xin explained.
Suddenly, a loud bang echoed.
The people in the courtyard were startled, some even dropped their bowls, shattering them on the ground. The sound of the breaking bowls brought everyone back to their senses. Auntie Mei tightly held Li Xia's hand, muttering, "We didn't go out, how could something happen? Xia, you must be careful."
Auntie Mei's words left Li Xia speechless, wondering what it had to do with her.
"Everyone, don't panic, return to your respective posts," Li Hui quickly came to his senses and calmed everyone down.
He then ordered Zhang Hu to find out what was going on.
Inside Osmanthus Alley, households with members still out anxiously waited with their doors open, while those with everyone at home firmly shut their doors, refusing to come out.
As Zhang Hu stepped outside the main gate, he spotted someone standing at the entrance of a house near the Li family's home. He approached intending to ask a few questions, but the person retreated a step and promptly closed the door at his approach.
Zhang Hu was left utterly puzzled. Was all that really necessary? All he wanted to do was ask about the situation. Shaking off his confusion, Zhang Hu turned his attention to the next house, only to find the same scenario— the person there also retreated and shut the door.
