“I wish we can celebrate this, Miss.” Xiao Yu held an aggrieved tone.

“It’s fine.”

“Why?”

“By not celebrating it, I don’t need to see an unsightly view on this peaceful day,” Wei Liuying replied calmly.

Since she didn’t really have any friend that could visit her during her birthday, why should she bother with it? Meeting her siblings only made her brain work harder, and it was really tiring. She wanted to have some rest occasionally too.

Xiao Yu pouted. She wanted her Miss to gain more attention and preferably attracted some noblemen. In a few more months, Wei Hong would surely start to search for suitors for both Wei Zilin and Wei Liuying. It was not known whom he would pick in the end.

A servant hurriedly came in. “Third Miss, First Miss is here.”

Wei Liuying arched her eyebrows. She waved her hand and stood up to head to the hall. “Bring her in.”

“Yes.”

Wei Xiao Hua walked in elegantly and the two women greeted each other. From their expression, one might even think that they were two loving sisters who hadn’t met for a long time and missed each other.

“May I know the reason for your visit today, First Sister?”

Wei Xiao Hua smiled. “Third Sister, today is your birthday. How come I don't wish you a long life?”

“In that case, I must thank you for your consideration.”

The two women smiled and drank the tea. Their eyes were trying to read each other, but they found that the other party was simply too hard to read. It was as if their masks were too perfect, not letting anything out of their face.

“Third Sister is not planning to hold a celebration?”

“My Mother is unwell today. If I insist on having a celebration, wouldn’t I be seen as unfilial?” Wei Liuying retorted back with a smile. It was always the same excuse every single year. If one still didn’t understand that Feng Chun purposely did that, they would be the biggest idiot in the world.

Wei Xiao Hua held an ‘Ah, I see’ expression. She looked at Wei Liuying with concern. “It’s such a pity. But at the very least, I will give you my well wishes.”

“Many thanks for your care, First Sister.”

The two girls chatted for a bit more before Wei Xiao Hua left the residence. Wei Liuying herself also closed the door and returned back to her room. She sighed to herself. After Wei Xiao Hua changed, she became harder and harder to deal with.

She genuinely wondered what kind of inspiration struck Wei Xiao Hua on that fateful day.

“Miss, are you alright?” Xiao Qing asked worriedly.

Wei Liuying nodded. “I’m fine. Where’s Xiao Yu?”

“She’s watching First Miss’s movement after she left the residence.”

“I see.”

Not long afterwards, Xiao Yu returned. Her expression was strange. She looked at Wei Liuying. “Miss, First Miss didn’t do anything weird. She just returned back to her own quarter as if there’s nothing.”

Wei Liuying nodded. She had already expected that Wei Xiao Hua wouldn’t really do anything. Besides, it was also an unnecessary move to do anything today. Neither one of them was in a hurry for anything.

Xiao Yu noticed that Wei Liuying didn’t seem to mind. She heaved a sigh of relief and changed the topic, “Miss, what do you plan to wear on Lantern Festival?”

“I’ll wear a purple dress.”

“Purple?” Xiao Qing was surprised. “Wouldn't it be weird to wear that color, Miss?”

“I don’t want to attract attention,” Wei Liuying replied.

Lantern Festival was the most favorite festival for ladies. This was the only chance they were allowed to come out of their house without carriages and veil. They were allowed to blend with the crowd with only some bodyguards for noble ladies to celebrate New Year by lighting up lanterns.

The street would be crowded, but everyone was excited. There were countless love stories that people often said when they were talking about the Lantern Festival.

Who wouldn’t want to meet the man of their dream?

Xiao Yu’s eyes glimmered. “In that case, would you like to dress up more, Miss.”

“I’ll wear a veil.”

“Miss…”

The other two servants whined a bit, which made Wei Liuying laugh a bit. However, she didn’t really wish to attract any attention, so she would just stay low during the Lantern Festival.

 

29.    Lantern Festival

 

After the children finished their preparation, they gathered outside.

“I’ll allow you to leave, but you should have guards around you,” Wei Hong said sternly to his children. They all wanted to come out to celebrate the Lantern Festival, and he didn’t have any valid reason to disagree. After all, there were many other noble families too who were participating in the festival.

“We understand, Father.”

“Good. Don’t create trouble.”

“Yes.”

They all said that they understood, but Wei Hong was highly doubtful. Last year, his children attracted unwanted attention when they were outing. Even though there was nothing too bad, it was still a shame for him to have such rowdy children.

“Where do you want to go?” Wei Hong Zheng asked when the five of them gathered near the gate.

“I’ll go to see the Lion and Dragon dance,” Wei Yijun replied.

“Isn’t it the same every year?” Wei Hong Zheng asked in confusion. What was the fun in seeing the same dance each year?

Wei Yijun shook his head. “There’s always some additional variety added. I wonder what it is this year.”

Seeing their eldest brother was already engrossed in his mind, the others chose not to bother him. They all knew that Wei Yijun liked arts, which was one of his entertainment in his busy schedule. Because of that, neither one of them made fun of him as they agreed to part ways.

“What do you want to do, First Sister?” Wei Zilin asked.

Wei Xiao Hua arched her eyebrows. She smiled lightly. “I want to see the lanterns’ riddles and try my luck.”

“Oh.” Wei Zilin clearly didn’t like the riddles that the lanterns held inside because it was too hard in her opinion. She felt that her intelligence will be insulted if she tried to answer the riddles.

“What’s so fun about those riddles?” Wei Hong Zheng complained. The gate was opened, so they started walking. Wei Yijun had already departed first after bidding them farewell while the others were still in the group.

Wei Liuying looked at her second brother. “Second Brother, you can go and take a look at other places if you want.”

“Hmm, good idea.”

Wei Hong Zheng was only 13 years old, so naturally he was also a very curious child. He bid his farewell and several guards quickly followed him. There were only a few guards and servants left to accompany the three young ladies.

“Do you want to leave too?” Wei Xiao Hua asked politely.

“There’s no need.”

“Alright, let’s go to the lantern’s riddles area.”

Wei Liuying thought about wearing a veil to cover her face, but when she saw the ladies on the street, she was hesitant. Most of them didn’t even bother to cover their faces. After all, their intention when they came out was to attract some handsome and powerful young master.

‘I don’t really want to attract anyone.’

With that, Wei Liuying wore her veil with Xiao Qing following behind her. Wei Xiao Hua was the one who led their small group. If they excluded the servants, it would surely be a small group.

They stopped near a stall and Wei Xiao Hua bought a lantern. The servant was holding onto the lantern as Wei Xiao Hua took the piece of bamboo scroll that was inserted inside.

“In the morning, I have four legs. In the afternoon, I have 2 legs, and in the evening, I have 3 legs. What am I?” Wei Xiao Hua’s lips curled up to form a smile. How easy.

Wei Zilin wore a blank look. “What is it?”

“It’s really easy. It’s human, right?” Wei Xiao Hua asked the woman in the stall.

The woman smiled and nodded. “Yes, Miss is really smart.”

“It’s nothing,” Wei Xiao Hua laughed sweetly.

“Uh, how can it be human?” Wei Zilin was utterly confused. She was the best when it came to painting, poetry, and so on among the three of them. But when it came to solving riddles, she was clearly the worst. Her brain didn’t seem to connect the dot at all.

“Morning signified the start of the day, which is also the beginning phrase of life. Babies use their hands as legs, so it’s said that they have four legs. Afternoon signified the middle of life where adults use two legs. Evening meant it’s almost the end, which signified elderly who wore staff to help them walk,” Wei Liuying explained.

Wei Xiao Hua nodded. She looked at Wei Liuying with a smile. “You’re not bad, Third Sister.”

“You too, First Sister,” Wei Liuying replied humbly.

“Would you like to try another one?” the woman asked as she listened to their conversation. It didn’t seem like they were all friends.

“Sure.”