Seeking Truth with a Sword-Chapter 380 - 331: Begging for Ingenuity

Chapter 380: Chapter 331: Begging for Ingenuity
CRACKLE! POP! POP!
Suddenly, a series of firecracker sounds erupted from the street outside the house; it wasn’t just one family setting them off, but several.
"Hmm?"
Li Ang, somewhat curious, put down his newspaper. He got up, walked to the courtyard, and opened the door to look outside. He noticed that some shops across the street had hung up lanterns and tied colorful ribbons, clearly preparing for a festival.
He walked back to the living room and sat down, wondering, "Is there a festival coming up soon?"
"Yes, the Qixiao Festival is in three days," Chai Chai and Galuo said in unison.
"Eh?"
Li Ang blinked. The Qixiao Festival, also known as Chinese Valentine’s Day, could be traced back to the Ancient Times and the worship of Star Constellations. Women would pray to the Weaver for skillful hands, a happy marriage, and a harmonious family, holding various activities.
For instance, they would thread colorful strings through seven needles with holes—whoever did it fastest was deemed to have successfully prayed for more dexterity.
Alternatively, they might place a small spider in a little box the day before. Then, on the Qixiao Festival, they would open the box to see whose spider had woven a denser web, as that person would receive the Weaver’s blessing.
All in all, it was a leisure festival typically celebrated by young women gathering at home.
It was different from festivals like the Lantern Festival or Shangsi, which were full-blown public carnivals where everyone went out.
"It’s a custom that spread from the Western Country," Chai Chai explained. "They have a similar legend over there, like our Cowherd and Weaver. A young man and woman were deeply in love but weren’t blessed by their parents. In the end, on the seventh day of the seventh month in the Western Country, they died in each other’s arms. After death, they transformed into butterflies, destined to meet once a year. It was even featured in the Lanling Newspaper a few days ago; it was very moving."
"Mmm," Galuo nodded in agreement. "The author who adapted that Western Country legend into an article, writing under the pseudonym Jin Jiang, has an exceptional writing style. It made me want to kidnap her—ahem, I mean, invite her to the Turkic lands and treat her with utmost hospitality."
Newspapers from Chang’an were distributed throughout Yu Country, offering a wide variety of categories, including publications from the Academic Palace, as well as those covering sports, horse racing, and business.
Among them, the Lanling Newspaper, established during the era of the Holy Empress, specialized in publishing sentimental stories and was beloved by women of all ages.
The employed authors ranged from talented women in secluded boudoirs to unsuccessful scholars drifting through places of pleasure. It even included a high court official—a Minister of Personnel during the Holy Empress’s era. When young, this minister couldn’t afford meals, so he wrote serialized short articles and anonymously submitted them to the Lanling Newspaper.
When this was exposed, the Minister of Personnel was fiercely impeached by the Imperial Censorate, accused of moral corruption and disgracing the scholarly class. Everyone thought he would lose his position.
However, to everyone’s surprise, the Holy Empress annulled all impeachments and even hosted a banquet for this Minister of Personnel at the Great Ming Palace. It turned out the Holy Empress was also his loyal reader; when the author had seemingly vanished, she had presumed him dead and mourned for quite some time.
After that, this Minister of Personnel experienced smooth sailing in his career, eventually reaching the position of Prime Minister.
The Lanling Newspaper thus gained a special aura, allowing it to publish articles that other minor papers were forbidden to print. Many female students from the Academic Palace would purchase it, affectionately calling their favorite authors ’Madame’ or ’Lady’.
Tch, what a strong sense of déjà vu.
Chai Chai nodded. "After that article came out, the Chang’an Chamber of Commerce decided to sponsor this year’s Qixiao Festival. Flowers, silk fabrics, bracelets, rouge—all these goods are discounted."
"Ah, this..."
The feeling of déjà vu intensified.
Li Ang asked, his eyes slightly unfocused, "Don’t tell me there’s also a million-string subsidy involved?"
"Eh? How did you know?" Galuo exclaimed in surprise. "The Chang’an Chamber of Commerce decided to pool together one million strings of coins to cover all promotional expenses.
"Besides that, they’ve covered everything: the cost of festive lanterns and silk ribbons for all the shops, the overtime pay for Government Officials, and even the hardship stipends for the garrison soldiers patrolling the streets."
"Will the court agree?" Li Ang questioned, puzzled.
For the court, large numbers of townspeople going out was a troublesome matter. Government Officials had to maintain public order on the streets and arrest troublemakers. Garrison soldiers, accompanied by fine dogs, had to patrol extensively. Moreover, the officials needed to prepare contingency plans to prevent incidents such as fires.
"They agreed, didn’t they? Prince Yue’s wedding is on the evening of the Qixiao Festival, isn’t it?" Chai Chai said. "If Chang’an is a bit livelier that day, perhaps it will cheer up His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress too."
"I see..." Li Ang finally remembered Li Hui’s wedding and scratched his head.
Li Leqing has been going on about this for over half a year, so skipping it is out of the question. But what kind of gift should I get?
Just as he was pondering this, RUMBLE...
The sound of a carriage stopped at the front door. Li Leqing spryly hopped off, crossed the courtyard, and entered the living room, smiling at Li Ang. "You’re back."
"I’m back," Li Ang nodded. "Are you here to pick up Cui Qiao?"
"Mm. The wedding is in three days. There are still some final preparations: checking the return gift lists, arranging seating for the wedding guests, and taste-testing the snacks provided by various restaurants."
Li Leqing then said, "Galuo, why don’t you come too?"
"Sure!" Hearing there would be food, drink, and fun, Galuo’s face lit up, and she agreed without hesitation.
During Li Ang’s absence, Li Leqing often visited Chai Chai, bringing Galuo along. Yu Country was progressive and inclusive; it wouldn’t discriminate against a young girl like her merely due to tense international relations. This stance was understandable, especially since many individuals of Turkic descent served as high-ranking officers, top officials, and even eunuchs in the Yu Kingdom’s Court.
Furthermore, the Emperor and Empress had truly spared no expense for their most beloved son’s wedding.
The grandeur and extravagance of the wedding were set to be unprecedented. It would be quite an experience to witness it.
Chai Chai and Galuo climbed into the carriage, but Li Leqing didn’t follow immediately. She blinked and asked softly, "Was participating in the trials tiring?"
"Not really. I dropped out on the third day and spent the remaining days aboard the Heavenly Boat," Li Ang waved his hand and smiled. "I have no regrets, really. Being able to beat up some of those Taihao Mountain folks and knock them out of the competition was quite satisfying."
"Mm-hmm!" Li Leqing nodded, then hesitated slightly. "Um... on the day of the Qixiao Festival, are you... free?"
"For the wedding? I’m free. I’ll definitely be there."
"No, not that. The wedding is at night. I’m asking if you’re free in the evening." Li Leqing’s face turned a slight shade of red. "The major wedding gifts are all prepared. It’s just the candies and flowers to be given to the townspeople that still need to be purchased at the last minute. I was wondering... if you’d be free to go out with me that day, to stroll through the streets..."
"Huh? Shouldn’t the Prince Manor’s steward have arranged all that in advance...?" Li Ang began, but he trailed off as he saw Li Leqing’s face turn noticeably redder, her gaze dropping to her own shoetips.
He quickly changed his tune, "Free, absolutely free! So, should I come pick you up, or will you come find me?"
"I’ll come get you. Just make sure you’re home, okay?"
Li Leqing breathed a sigh of relief. She practically fled, stepping out of the courtyard and hopping into the carriage.
This left Li Ang alone in the living room, scratching his head.