Chapter 462: Lantern Festival

Chapter 462: Lantern Festival

Xingxing and her companions walked with purpose toward the street in front of the Marquis of Jiangtai's residence, and within a few steps, they encountered Cen Yueyi and her maid.

As Yu Yonghuai's beloved younger siblings, Xingxing and the others exchanged knowing smiles and unceremoniously nudged their eldest brother toward Miss Cen.

Cen Yueyi's face flushed a deep red.

Xingxing, Yu Yongbai, and Yu Yongliu dashed off one after another.

After running a block, Xingxing, Yu Yongbai, and Yu Yongliu exchanged glances and burst into joyful laughter.

Xingxing, flanked by the gentle Yu Yongbai and the refined Yu Yongliu, and herself, a delicate girl in a red cloak, was a striking sight on the street.

Many young wives and girls secretly peeked at them.

Fortunately, when they reached the area filled with dazzling lanterns, everyone was busy admiring the lights, and the attention on Xingxing and her siblings diminished.

The streets were filled with dazzling lanterns, their lights shimmering, creating a breathtaking scene.

Xingxing had always loved beautiful things since she was a child, and although she didn't say it, the Yu family truly adored her and could easily see through her.

From the start of the street, the word Yu Yongbai and Yu Yongliu kept repeating was—buy.

The moment Xingxing's gaze lingered on a lantern for barely a moment, Yu Yongbai had already decided: "Buy!"

When Xingxing caught the scent of sugar cakes and sniffed, Yu Yongliu had already gone to buy them.

This resulted in the servants trailing Yu Yongbai and Yu Yongliu being weighed down with items before they even finished the first lantern street.

Xingxing turned around, saw the servants burdened with items, and could only think one thing—ridiculous.

"Second brother, third brother, let's discuss this. Let's just look around and not buy everything, okay?" Xingxing bargained with Yu Yongbai and Yu Yongliu.

Yu Yongbai and Yu Yongliu agreed readily, but as soon as Xingxing picked up a box of novel-looking rouge, Yu Yongbai said, "It's only natural for girls to buy rouge. This doesn't count as buying recklessly."

Then he bought six boxes of rouge.

One for Xingxing, one for Wei Pozi, and one each for their mother and aunts—now, seeing that these were gifts for the elders, Xingxing couldn't bring herself to refuse.

But—the two servants really couldn't carry any more.

Yu Yongbai then instructed the servants to go to the nearest Yu family shop and leave the items there.

Xingxing's tummy was already full.

She had already had dinner at home before coming out, but along the way, she had also eaten quite a few snacks.

As Xingxing rubbed her belly, contemplating making a bowl of hawthorn sweet soup to aid digestion once she got home, a firework suddenly burst from the rooftop of a tall building ahead.

Xingxing was mesmerized: "Wow—"

Yu Yongbai looked over and smiled, "That's a new trick by the Huibin Building this year to attract customers. See the lanterns hanging at each corner of their octagonal rooftop? If anyone can solve the riddles on them, they can go up and take a lantern."

Xingxing couldn't help but gasp, "Oh!"

The lanterns were hung high. Even if one solved the riddle, it would take excellent agility to retrieve the lantern.

This challenge not only tested "literary" skills but also added a "martial" aspect.

The challenge has become much greater.

Seeing Xingxing's keen interest, Yu Yongbai smiled and said, "Shall we go and check it out?"

Xingxing nodded happily, "Sure, let's go!"

Although Big Brother, the most skilled one, wasn't there, and Xingxing felt that even if they guessed the riddle, they might not be able to retrieve the lantern, it would still be fun to go and enjoy the lively atmosphere.

Yu Yongbai and Yu Yongliu shared a look and led Xingxing to the Huibin Building.

As they approached the Huibin Building, the crowd became thicker. Yu Yongbai and Yu Yongliu, fearing that Xingxing might get lost in the crowd, each tightly held one of her hands. After some struggle, the three siblings finally made it to the foot of the Huibin Building.

At that moment, there were already many people at the foot of the Huibin Building, with some nearby vendors selling lanterns, making the scene very lively.

Just as Xingxing and her two brothers stood still, they were pushed by the crowd.

Yu Yongbai and Yu Yongliu protected Xingxing, so she wasn't injured, but they both turned to see who had been so careless.

They saw several servants in the same uniform, extending their arms to clear a path: "Excuse us, please make way!"

Yu Yongbai and Yu Yongliu shared a glance and stood firm, protecting Xingxing within their embrace, not yielding an inch.

Under their protection, Xingxing was very steady.

Xingxing instinctively glanced back at the servants' uniforms and whispered to Yu Yongbai and Yu Yongliu, "They are wearing the Duke of Xinguo's household livery."

Yu Yongbai acknowledged with a "Hmm."

It didn't matter if it was the Duke of Xinguo's household; no one could bully their Xingxing.

The servants from the Duke of Xinguo's household didn't get any advantage from Yu Yongbai and Yu Yongliu and didn't want to cause too much of a scene, so they moved on to find another place.

After clearing enough space for several people to stand, a servant eagerly extended his arm to guide, "Young Master, eldest young madam, Second Young Master, Miss Cen, this way."

Xingxing instinctively looked over and saw two young men who looked somewhat similar, protecting Yu Mingzhu who was behind them, just as her second and third brothers had shielded her, coming this way.

However, it was a bit strange; behind those two young men and Yu Mingzhu, there was also a beautifully dressed young lady.

The young lady had only one maid with her, who was being pushed and nearly fell if not for the maid's assistance.

Xingxing instinctively thought of the "eldest young madam" mentioned by the servant earlier.

But Xingxing couldn't help but shake her head.

That couldn't be right; if she were the eldest young madam of the Duke of Xinguo's household, where was her husband?

Xingxing couldn't help but look again at the two young men walking ahead, protecting Yu Mingzhu.

The two young men were clearly brothers, with some resemblance in their features.

They must be the Young Master and Second Young Master mentioned by the servant.

...So, the Young Master of the Duke of Xinguo's household was only concerned with his sister Yu Mingzhu and not his wife?

Xingxing found it a bit ridiculous and couldn't help but shake her head again.

When this group of people stood in the space next to Xingxing and her brothers, Yu Mingzhu also saw Xingxing.

Yu Mingzhu's expression changed slightly, but she quickly smiled and greeted Xingxing, "Miss Yu, what a coincidence?"

As soon as Yu Mingzhu spoke, the gazes of the two young lords from the Duke of Xinguo's residence also turned towards her.

Xingxing gave a polite nod to Yu Mingzhu and said, “Miss Yu, what a coincidence.”

Yu Mingzhu smiled behind her hand, her eyes sweeping over Yu Yongbai and Yu Yongliu. “Are these two your brothers?”

Xingxing responded generously, “They are my second and third brothers.”

Xingxing felt she had little to say to Yu Mingzhu and kept her response brief.

However, when these words reached the ears of Yu Yongbai and Yu Yongliu, they sensed something amiss. Xingxing was like a ray of sunshine, always warm and enthusiastic with everyone, so why did she seem so indifferent towards this “Miss Yu”?