Allure of a Country Maiden-Chapter 252 - 250

Xiao’er and Shangguan Xuanyi were walking behind, watching the four siblings excitedly up ahead.

"Why do I feel like we’re a married couple watching our kids play around?"

Shangguan Xuanyi looked at the four people ahead and frowned, "Too few."

"What?" For the first time, Xiao’er didn’t understand Shangguan Xuanyi’s words and looked at him in confusion.

"One daughter is too few, we should have more daughters in the future. Three sons would be enough!" Shangguan Xuanyi declared this with a serious face.

It would be best if the sons all resembled Xiao’er.

Damn!

Xiao’er’s face turned instantly red! It was a mix of anger and embarrassment!

A few daughters plus three sons? She would basically be a pig giving birth!

"I can’t do that! If you want that many, you have to give birth yourself." Just thinking about it was scary for Xiao’er.

"If I could..." He would be willing to bear the children if he could, as long as they were his and hers. But he didn’t have that ability!

Xiao’er: "..."

Wait a minute!

How old was she now? Wasn’t it too early to discuss having children?

They weren’t even married yet! Much of their life was ahead of them!

This topic couldn’t go on!

"Brother Shangguan, let’s go solve lantern riddles. I want to win the prettiest palace lantern." Xiao’er decisively diverted the topic.

"Okay!" So Shangguan Xuanyi carefully protected Xiao’er from being brushed by others, and distractedly noticed the pretty lanterns on both sides.

"Is the Lantern Festival in the Imperial Capital always this lively?"

"Hmm. Isn’t it lively in Shengping County?"

"I don’t know; this is my first time going out to see the lanterns during the Lantern Festival." Xiao’er casually said.

"I’m honored to be able to accompany you to see the lanterns for the first time."

Shangguan Xuanyi thought about her past, just the events he had investigated were enough to pain his heart.

If only he had gone to Shengping County a bit earlier, then he could have known her earlier and she could have suffered less.

But from now on, those people wouldn’t dare bully her under the guise of kinship anymore.

Unknowingly, the two of them had followed Jingrui and the others to the front of the Rare Treasure Building.

Maybe because it was rich, the lanterns here were much prettier than at other shops.

Of course, there were also more people.

They all walked in.

Xiao’er saw a palace lantern made of gold forming a colorful butterfly pattern as the skeleton and inlaid with five colored glazes. The wings of the five butterflies were also inlaid with five colored gems.

The candle flame flickered inside; the whole palace lantern looked brilliant and luxurious.

Beneath the lantern hung five colored ribbons, each embroidered with the first line of a couplet.

Many people were scratching their heads and thinking about the second line of these couplets.

"The couplet ’Smoke locks willows around the pond’ is too hard to match. These five characters involve the five elements of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth, and their imagery is profound."

’Smoke locks willows around the pond’? This sounds familiar! Xiao’er looked at the words on the five ribbons. It turned out that they were all famous couplets from her previous life.

This is truly divine assistance!

If even God was helping her cheat, and she didn’t match them, it would be too disrespectful to God.

"Brother Shangguan, I’m going to win this palace lantern for you." She thought to herself that the candle inside should be replaced with a luminous pearl, that would be perfection!

Many scholars nearby who had been matching the couplets for a long time and hadn’t yet succeeded, heard Xiao’er’s words and couldn’t help but speak sarcastically.

"Braggart!"

"Too big for her boots!"

"Vain and arrogant!"

"Ignorant woman scholar!"

...

Jinghao was unsatisfied hearing these words, "A dog’s eyes low and a dog’s mouth can’t spit out ivory!"

"Why are you cursing at people!" A scholar stood up and pointed at Jinghao asking.

"But I didn’t!" Jinghao appeared innocent.

"Just now you did call us ’dogs looking down on people, and dogs that couldn’t spit out ivory’!" The scholar was full of righteous indignation.

"Clearly, I was referring to dogs! How on earth do you think I was insulting people?" Jinghao gave him a quick once-over. Indeed, he was a perfect resemblance to a dog.

"You..." The scholar’s face turned red, not knowing how to respond.

"If you are not a dog, then stop barking and don’t interrupt my sister’s couplet matching."

None of the scholars dared to say a word then, as no one was willing to admit that they were dogs.

"Young Master Shangguan, Miss Xiao’er, are you also here to guess the lantern riddles?" The voice of Li Yunning rang from behind them.

Xiao’er frowned subconsciously. Why did she bump into this person wherever she went?

Xiao’er turned around and laughed, "What a coincidence, Miss Li!"

"The lanterns of the Rare Treasure Building are the most beautiful in the Imperial Capital every year. I come and guess my favorite lamp every year." Li Yunning smiled gracefully, suggesting that she was not following them.

Everyone looked at her with admiration hearing this. So this lady was also a talented woman, who had been successfully guessing the most beautiful lantern’s riddle of Rare Treasure Building each year.

The previous years’ riddles, although difficult, were not as hard as this year’s. This year, they were couplets and five of them. They were truly difficult.

Could this Miss Li guess it? And how many could she guess?

Xiao’er nodded to Li Yunning, then asked the shopkeeper, "If I guess the lower couplets of the five upper couplets on the top, can I have this palace lantern?"

"Yes, miss."

"Good, please listen carefully, shopkeeper!"

Li Yunning was shocked in her heart. Can Xiao’er guess so quickly?!

"Upper couplet: Smoke locked pond willows, Lower couplet: Peach burns Jinjiang embankment." Xiao’er propped her chin with her hand, pretended to think for a moment before she started.

"Smoke locked pond willows, Peach burns Jinjiang embankment. Splendid! Really splendid!" An old man stroked his white beard and praised.

Then, Xiao’er went on to guess the rest of the four couplets without pausing.

"Upper couplet: Lonely cold windows empty guard, Lower couplet: Parasol tree decayed stalks in vain perch."

"Upper couplet: Water with insects is turbid, water with fish is fishing, water, water, water, rivers and lakes are vast.

Lower couplet: Below the tree is root, above the tree is end, tree, tree, tree, pine Chinese fir camphor is dense."

"Upper couplet: Cicada noisy forest the quieter, Lower couplet: Bird sings mountain more secluded."

"Upper couplet: Phoenix falls on parasol tree, parasol tree falls Phoenix, Lower couplet: Pearls and gemstones together, gemstones connect pearls."

Crowd: Silence! So silent that you could hear a pin drop!

The shopkeeper of Rare Treasure Building was stunned!

The palace lantern was very expensive, and the owner had spent a lot of money to create it. The owner planned to use it as the lantern king of each year’s Lantern Festival and came up with five couplets to make it more challenging!

And this idea was his, even the most educated people only had today’s time, it would be impossible for them to match all these five couplets!

Who could tell him where this lady was from? How could she have all the couplets matching correctly in less than 15 minutes?!

There were some scholars here who had tried all day but still couldn’t match a single couplet.

The best one only matched two, and they were not as good as this lady’s!

"Shopkeeper, shouldn’t you bring down the palace lantern?" Jinghao urged excitedly.

As if waking from a dream, the crowd began to stir.

"Did she really figure it out?!"

Jinghao: "Really!"

"How is that possible?!"

Jinghao: "Why wouldn’t it be possible?"

"Where did this lady come from? How old is she? How can she match all these couplets?"

Xiao’er: I come from the future, bringing thousands of years of human civilization and wisdom, standing on the shoulders of giants.