Chapter 93: Prisoner Niu Lie Listening to the Wind and Rain The lantern festival in Guyang River was not as crowded as the lantern festival at Banshan. The government seemed to have deliberately spread the lanterns far apart, which made the arrangement quite interesting. Lingxiang looked around, picked up some lanterns that looked relatively gorgeous and tore off the lantern sticks. However, unexpectedly, although she guessed the riddles, the lantern decorations were just some ordinary objects, either rouge and powder, or calligraphy and paintings. They were really boring. What she wanted was pure silver. Even if she didn't have any silver, copper coins would do. Why would she put away these vulgar things? Long Qi followed Lingxiang all the way, trying to block the lotus lantern behind him from being seen by her, and also trying to be careful of passers-by. However, he was overthinking this, as Lingxiang was completely focused on solving the lantern riddles and had no time to pay attention to him. Look, Lingxiang pulled off another lantern stick, which read "round when drawing, square when writing, short in winter, long in summer." Such a simple riddle was probably just to fool children. Lingxiang curled her lips and wrote the answer on the back of the lantern stick. The lantern master took it, checked the puzzle pieces, and shouted, "Solve the Luanfeng lantern riddle! Five cents for the lantern!" Five coins! Lingxiang had never thought that such a simple riddle could have a prize of five coins. Lingxiang felt a surge of excitement when she took the change handed over by the lantern holder - it was worth it for her to solve the lantern riddles for a whole night, and finally she saw the money! At this moment, a gong was suddenly struck in the West Pavilion by the Guyang River. Everyone hurried towards the pavilion. It seemed that the biggest jackpot of the night was about to be announced.
There will definitely be a lot of people gathering when there are heavy colors, and soon there will be three layers of people outside the pavilion. This time the riddle is a sleeping dragon lantern, the lantern is lifelike, but there is no lantern sign. When everyone was wondering, they saw the man who struck the gong took out two scrolls from his arms, hung one of them up, and covered it with a piece of silk cloth. “Listen to me everyone. The riddle of this Wolong Lantern is a couplet. The upper couplet is written by the city lord himself. If you want to win the big prize, you must write the lower couplet on this other silk scroll. Not only must the riddles match, but the answers must also match.” As he spoke, he spread the empty gold silk hanging scroll on the small table. Such riddles were quite strange. Everyone was just waiting for the lantern master to reveal the riddle, but they heard the man striking the gong say, "This time the lantern riddle is 'A Prisoner of Oxen Lying Listening to the Wind and Rain'. This zither was a dowry from the city lord's wife, so we take it out today as a prize." As he spoke, he lifted the silk cloth behind him. The riddle was not revealed, but the lanterns were shown to everyone. I guess the city lord was confident about the riddle. However, everyone's mind was not on this, and they were all attracted by the Qiuniuqin on the stage. The zither was a Fuxi zither, with a brown body and reddish-brown hue that looked like deer antlers, and with cow-hair cracks on it, it was obvious that it was not an ordinary item. But what was even more unusual was that the head of the zither was carved with a prisoner cow, lying down with its eyes closed and listening quietly, which was very lifelike. Even if a layman sees this piano, even if he doesn't play it, if he sells it to someone who knows about piano, he will definitely make a lot of money. Ling Xiang was also attracted by the zither, not because of its value, but because there was a hint of spiritual energy lingering around it. This is an ancient magic weapon! Only ancient magic tools can retain their spirits! Just as everyone was intoxicated by the beauty of the zither, the man beating the gong covered it with silk cloth and said, "You have already seen the lanterns, and I will tell you the rules. You can only answer this riddle once, no matter who you are, you must write it down and you cannot regret it. If you are right, the zither will be presented to you. If you are not right, you must take the zither back to the city lord's mansion. I hope that those who come up to answer the riddle will think twice, don't lose your way, and don't ruin others' plans." When the gong beater finished speaking, the lamplighter peeled off the cloth on the hanging scroll, and saw the words "White snake crossing the river, with a red sun above its head" written on it. Once the riddle was revealed, everyone in the audience was racking their brains, but none of them could figure it out. At this moment, the person who struck the gong spoke again: "This riddle will be hung in the pavilion before three o'clock in the morning. Gentlemen, please think about it slowly first, or go somewhere else to slowly think. You may be able to guess it later. Now I am about to enter into meditation, and the prayer meeting in the South Pavilion is about to begin. You may as well go there first, release a water lantern and make a wish, in order to obtain the blessing of the heavenly officials and smooth sailing in the coming year." Although most people left as he said, there were still a few people in the audience who were racking their brains to think, as if they would be able to figure it out when they got closer to the lanterns. Although Lingxiang was attracted by the guqin, she was also puzzled by the lantern obsession. Although she had read all the books in Langhuan Pavilion since she was a child, she mostly focused on how to repair her spiritual roots, and had never studied some books with excellent writing carefully. Long Qi didn't care about the prize. When he heard that the prayer was about to begin, he hurriedly pulled the incense and ran to the South Pavilion. Lingxiang was now so focused on how to solve the riddle that she didn't pay any attention and let Longqi pull her along. When she came to her senses, she had been taken to the bank of Guyang River near Nanting. "Why did you bring me here?" Lingxiang asked casually with a confused look on her face. At this time, Long Qi took the two lotus lanterns behind him and brought them in front of him as if by magic.
Lingxiang didn't expect that Long Qi actually believed the peddler's words. He took out a fire stick to light the lamps and slowly put the two lamps into the water. She wanted to ridicule Long Qi, but she heard Long Qi say: "I heard from Mai Dong that although you have been loved by the elders in the sect since you were a child, you are actually very lonely in your heart. I understand why you are like this. When I was wandering in the streets before, I was just like you, but since I met you, I feel that I have been thinking about you. If possible, I want to accompany you in the future, whether it is to see all the mountains and rivers, or to play with the world, even if it is hell, we will be rampant together." Having said this, Long Qi felt that something was wrong, and he quickly stood up and scratched his head: "I mean... I think..." I think…… Long Qi's chest was heaving, his face was red, and he didn't know what to say next. He had never been so reckless since he was a child, and what he said just now was different from what he had prepared before, but... But the words have already been spoken. Lingxiang was also filled with emotion. She was not an ignorant person. Long Qi's words were so clear, how could she not understand? Can…… "I'm afraid you're injured and have a fever," he said, reaching out to touch Long Qi's forehead, "If you don't have a fever, why are you talking nonsense..." Just as he was about to take his hand back, Long Qi grabbed it. People often compare catkins to women's hands, but the one that Long Qi held in his hand, although small, felt a bit rough. "I don't have a fever!" He didn't have time to think about it, and blurted out: "I want...I want..." He looked at the little man in front of him, and suddenly felt his throat a little dry, so he swallowed hard. "I want to be with you forever!" The riddle of the Prison Ox Lyre is taken from the story of Xu Wenchang, a famous painter in the Ming Dynasty. (End of this chapter)