Chapter 99

99 Dangerous Yuan Night
In the blink of an eye, it was the third day of the new year. Chen Yaohui led everyone to start clearing and widening the stream. Everyone started digging from the pool at the foot of the mountain. They first dug the pool deeper and widened it. Then, they followed the downstream of the pool all the way down to the village entrance. They also used stones to build steps at the entrance of every house and expanded the stream until it reached the pool.
Just as they dug the stream ditch, Li Yu began to prepare to pave the way. Li Yu went to the stonemason and bought a large stone to roll back. She asked the supervisor to pick up the river sand and yellow mud.
Li Yu brought the long workman to let them step on the yellow mud until it was sticky. They stirred it with five stones of yellow mud, three stones of river sand and two stones of cooked lime, before laying it on the road. They flattened it with a shovel and pulled the stone roller to compact the road.
When the villagers saw Li Yu leading people to pave the way, they all took the initiative to help. A wide road that was made of three kinds of soil was paved from the entrance of the village to the entrance of every house. When the road was paved, everyone looked at the neat and clean village on the road and felt that their lives were too comfortable.
On the day of the Lantern Festival, Zhou Jia, Li Yu, and Li Mei went to Tongzhou City to celebrate the Lantern Festival. As soon as Zhou Jia arrived in Tongzhou City, he brought Zhao Cai and Ji Xiang to busy themselves.
Li Yu brought Li Mei and her family to the house Zhou Jia had bought in Tongzhou City. The house was located in Osmanthus Alley in the East City.
When she arrived at the entrance of the residence, Li Yu saw that the door had already been painted. The date-red door looked simple and elegant. There were layers of brick carvings on the lintel that symbolized auspiciousness. Even the cracks in the bricks were cleaned until they were bright.
Li Yu looked up and admired the brick carvings before being pulled into the open door by Laidi. Laidi looked at the furnishings in the main room and smiled. “Cousin-in-law cleaned this up like my cousin’s house. This sofa is still the most comfortable. When no one is around, you can sit whenever you want. It’s also comfortable to lie down for a while.”
Zhaodi tugged at Laidi. “Look, you’ve grown another year. You’re not as mature as Ah Qing.”
Li Mei smiled in disdain. “She was reincarnated from a monkey. There’s no rest.”
Liu Changmin looked at his two daughters lovingly and chuckled. “Don’t be afraid. It’s good to have a child that is energetic and one that is quiet at home.”
Li Mei rolled her eyes at him. “Go ahead and spoil her!”
After everyone finished eating, Li Qing pulled Li Mei and Liu Changmin along. “Uncle, Aunt, let’s go take a stroll on the street.”
Li Mei nodded and smiled. “Okay, let’s go.”
When the group reached the street, they saw that there were already a lot of people on the street. Both sides of the street were already hung with all kinds of lanterns. Li Yu realized that there was a large water vat behind every lamp rack and felt that it might be used to prevent misfiring.
Laidi looked at the lanterns and kept muttering, “This is an eagle lamp, an old ox lamp, and there are two big snakes here…”
A youth at the side retorted in disdain, “This is a two-dragon opera lamp. A country girl wouldn’t recognize it!”
Laidi placed her hands on her hips and glared at the young man. “It’s none of your business. If I want to, I’ll say it’ls two big snakes. Hmph!”
The young man turned away angrily and shouted, “I won’t lower myself to your level, country girl.”
Laidi shouted at his back, “You’re the country girl.” Li Mei knocked on Laidi. “You’re the busybody.”
Everyone laughed and continued forward. Up ahead, they saw the three-headed lion dancing. In the middle was a man wearing a smiling monk’s head mask. He was waving a horsetail whisk freely to tease the lion. The lion rolled up and down with the smiling monk’s movements, jumping, reaching high, and picking at the offerings.
Everyone watched for a while before scattering a few copper coins and walking towards the back. The lanterns at the back were even more exciting. Five Blessings for Spring, Treasure Basin, Hundred Birds Pay Homage to the Phoenix, Copper Lamp, Tiger, Lion… All kinds of lanterns dazzled everyone.
When they walked to the back, the streets were filled with all kinds of snacks. The fragrance assaulted their noses and the sound of shouting and selling could be heard. Li Yu brought everyone to sit at a stall selling wontons. There were also people selling fried wontons beside them. Li Qing ran to buy a few skewers and Laidi’s mouth was soon filled with food.
After shopping for a long time, everyone felt tired. When they were walking back, Li Yu bought a safety buckle for Zhou Jia and planned to give it to him as a birthday gift.
When they returned home, Zhou Jia was still not back. Li Yu and Zhaodi went to the house to sleep and woke up to hear Zhou Jia and Li Qing talking.
Li Yu walked to the central room and saw Zhou Jia holding a stack of exam-like books. He and Li Qing were reading intently and discussed from time to time.
Li Yu did not disturb the two of them as they went out quietly. She went to the kitchen and cooked dinner with the kitchen maid. After eating, everyone set off to look at the lanterns on the street.
After walking out of Osmanthus Lane, they saw that the streets were brightly lit and filled with people. Zhou Jia turned to Li Yu and the others and instructed, “Everyone, hold hands and don’t get separated. If you get separated, return to Osmanthus Lane.”
Li Mei looked at the people on the street and kept shaking her head. “It’s too crowded. I’d better rest at home. You guys go!”
Zhaodi also shook her head and stopped walking. Liu Changmin looked at Li Mei. “Ah Mei, I’ll bring Di to take a look and be back soon.”
Li Mei waved her hand and brought Zhaodi back. Li Yu and everyone squeezed into the crowd hand in hand. The lanterns at night were even more gorgeous and resplendent. Everyone was dazzled as they walked and followed the crowd to the place with the most lanterns during the day.
There were too many people to squeeze through. Li Qing pulled Zhou Jia and Liu Changmin to stand in front of a shop to guess the lantern riddle.
Li Yu was holding Laidi’s hand and looking at a lantern. She turned around and saw that the tall youth in the forest was also watching the lantern with that young master. Li Yu’s heart skipped a beat. She had a feeling that nothing good would happen if she bumped into these two.
“Let’s go.” Li Yu pulled Laidi towards Zhou Jia. Just as the few of them gathered, a miserable scream suddenly sounded. Li Yu turned around and saw blood spurting out. A man dressed as a performer was holding a short knife in his hand and his chest had been pierced by the guard.
The young master was instantly surrounded by guards. The people watching the lantern panicked and fled in all directions. Some fell to the ground accidentally and were trampled over by the panicked crowd. They lay on the ground and let out tragic cries. The black-clothed people who had appeared out of nowhere rushed towards the young master.
The young master pulled back the guards who were retreating into the crowd. The group of people was exposed in the open space. The merchants were busy scooping water to extinguish the lanterns. The originally colorful street instantly became dark.
Li Yu, Zhou Jia, and Liu Changmin protected Li Qing and Lai Di as they retreated behind the lamp rack. Li Yu shouted at them, “Everyone, stand against the wall and don’t move. You might be trampled to death if you go out.”
Li Qing and Laidi nodded nervously. The sound of weapons colliding became more and more intense. The shouts and sounds of killing mixed together. Li Yu realized that Young Master had already retreated to a wide place with his men to prevent more people from dying because of him.
More and more men in black appeared in front of the young master and guards. The tall youth and guards were struggling to protect him. Li Yu’s heart was in turmoil. After seeing the tall youth get stabbed, Li Yu couldn’t help but shout at Zhou Jia, “Don’t move. I’ll go help the young master in the forest.”
Before Zhou Jia could react, he saw Li Yu take out the long saber from somewhere. She ran a few steps and jumped onto a lamp rack. The saber swept down and past the men in black at the periphery with an overwhelming force. Wherever the blade passed, the men in black immediately fell to the ground.
When the tall youth saw Li Yu, he shouted happily, “Young Master, look, it’s a girl from the forest.”
Young Master looked at the valiant Li Yu and nodded excitedly.
Li Yu kicked one of them over and cut the throat of a man in black. Seeing that there was strong help, the young man’s guard raised his confidence and protected the young man in the middle, resisting with his life.