Chapter 312: Chapter 125 The So-Called Beloved One_2
The riverbank was still crowded with many people, their hands holding bamboo poles from which they suspended lanterns, sending them aloft above the surface of the river.
Were they.....releasing floating lanterns?
Lu Tong gazed at the distance, her eyes betraying a moment of bewilderment.
She was very fond of lanterns, of all kinds.
In her childhood, her temperament was not as serene as Lu Rou’s. She loved excitement and novelty; her father often said that of the three children in the Lu Family, it was she who had the rebellious streak, the smallest in stature yet the most impetuous in nature.
She liked places where people gathered; she enjoyed various festivals. Every year on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, during the Lantern Festival, she would always pester her parents to take her up the mountain to release floating lanterns.
Changwu County was after all a small place, with not many people, and its variety of lanterns could not compare with the prosperity of Shengjing. Even at its busiest, it didn’t awe or impact one like the lantern fair at Jingde Gate.
Back then, in order to make her lantern stand out from the rest, Lu Tong would always beseech her mother to handcraft floating lanterns for her.
Her mother was skilled with her hands, and the floating lanterns she made always received admiring and envious glances from peers. There were those shaped like rabbits, carps, white elephants, floral baskets, and once, she had her mother make a Toad Lamp. The toad was so lifelike that it was somewhat ugly, Lu Qian called it "the ugly toad," but Lu Tong herself liked it very much, reluctantly parting with it when they released the lanterns.
Later, she was taken by Lady Yun back to Luomei Peak.
Lady Yun treated her well; she allowed Lu Tong to browse through her medical scriptures, poison manuals, and pharmacology freely, and sometimes she would make snacks or buy new clothes for Lu Tong.
Lady Yun was also harsh on her; she was Lady Yun’s tool for testing medicine, surviving life and death predicaments solely by her own struggle. Lady Yun even poisoned her, ensuring that she would never be able to leave Luomei Peak.
When Lady Yun was not concocting new medicines, she would go down the mountain. Sometimes, Lu Tong longed for her never to return, so the torturous days would come to an abrupt end. Yet at other times, Lu Tong wished Lady Yun would stay in the mountain with her, even if it meant being a tool for testing medicines.
—Such as New Year’s Eve, such as the New Year’s Day, such as the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the night of the festival.
However, Lady Yun had never returned during these times.
During the seven years on Luomei Peak, she spent the New Year alone, celebrated her birthday alone, and welcomed the Lantern Festival’s night alone.
The Liang Dynasty had a tradition of viewing lanterns on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and in Su Nan, on the night of the Lantern Festival, the townsfolk too would set up tents and decorations, releasing floating lanterns by the river. Those bright floating lanterns would slowly rise into the sky from the foot of the mountain. However, the wind of Su Nan would push them onto Luomei Peak.
Every year at this time, Lu Tong would stand on the summit of Luomei Peak and look down, watching the stars of the human world gently drift upward to the mountain.
This was the only way she could get close to the festive atmosphere.
She would watch from the mountain summit for a very long time, telling herself, "Just one more year, just one more year and I’ll be able to leave the mountain."
Until those stars turned from bright to dim and finally extinguished, until gazing down from the mountaintop, the scattered twinkling lights gradually became nothing in the night, the excitement faded, and darkness began to invade from all directions.
She returned to her thatched hut, where there was no one. Only the garland she had woven from wildflowers lay fallen on the ground, a reminder that today was originally a grand festival in the world below.
Lu Tong sat up, walked to the small table, and lit the oil lamp.
In the bronze oil lamp, a tiny wick flickered unsteadily, causing shallow ripples to emerge in the lamp oil.
Year after year, night after night. Only the rusty bronze lamp kept her company.
The girl adjusted the wick, and its tassel burst open in the middle, spouting flame and light.
When the wick blossoms, it’s seen as an auspicious sign.
She stared at the oil lamp for a very long time, and finally, in her heart, she said to herself:
Next year... next year I will definitely be able to come down from the mountain.
The flowers on Luomei Peak bloomed and then withered, the drifting clouds gathered and dispersed as usual, orioles returned to the treetops in spring, cool moonlight bathed the mountain on summer nights, the rain at night in deep autumn, the clear mornings in the winter snow... the moon waned and waxed, and she repeated the same days.
Another year had passed.
In the pitch-black, desolate mountains, where not a soul could be found, she guarded that small, solitary lamp, and her eyes gradually reddened.
"Dad, mom, sister, second brother," she sobbed, her choking sobs scattered in the wind, "I want... I want to go home."
"Boom—" a sound erupted, it was the street performers by the river breathing fire.
The blue flames burst forth like a sudden blossoming flower, causing the surrounding crowd to exclaim in awe. Those flickering sparks fell into the river, mingling with the countless floating lamps, like the Milky Way pouring down from the heavens.
"Dad, quick, lift me higher! I can’t see!"
The speaker was a five or six-year-old boy perched on his father’s shoulders among the crowd watching the performance, holding a packet of roast chestnuts and cheering for the fire-breathing performer.
The father holding him was quite young, he responded with a smile and hoisted his son higher, all the while cautioning him to be careful not to fall.
In the noisy crowd, laughter abounded everywhere. As young passersby went by, they unwittingly glanced at the father and son enjoying the lanterns, their expressions briefly softened.
He watched the father and son for a long time.
It was only when someone accidentally bumped into him and apologized that Pei Yunmeng came back to his senses and continued walking.
On the fifteenth of the first lunar month, the people of Shengjing indulged in a night stroll, the scenery alight with excitement. Carriages flowed like water, the pink mist enshrouded everything. The young man walked through the bustling crowd, neither the festooned lanterns overhead nor the passing songs could coax a smile from him, his demeanor remained indifferent and his interest wan.
Not far away, a music pavilion’s singers were playing the zither and singing. When they saw this young man pass by, his appearance was outstanding like a pearl among stones and his clothes luxurious, clearly indicating he was from an aristocratic family, so they sang while casting him flirtatious glances with their affectionate eyes.
Pei Yunmeng remained unmoved.
As he reached the thick of the crowd, he was about to continue forward when he suddenly paused.
Amidst the coming and going people, a young woman stood not far away.
In the bitter cold, she wore a cloak with a silver-white base and emerald patterns, covering a deep blue embroidered brocade underneath, as if covered in snowflakes. Her black hair fell to her shoulders, adorned with a few small, fluffy snow-white fur flowers. She looked like a soft and fluffy little rabbit.
The crowd around the stall was noisy with laughter, and she was looking up at the floating lamps twinkling in the night sky.
She watched intently, so earnestly that it was almost devout. The dazzling lights around her fell upon her face, making her usually serene face look youthful and clean.
Like a pearl fallen to the earth.
The singers in the pavilion sang: "The reeds are lush, the white dew turns to frost, the so-called beloved, is across the water..."
The so-called beloved, is across the water...
Thousands of streets and countless lanterns bright as brocade. Ten miles of noisy streets with blaring flutes and drums, a beautiful moment hard to endure.
Separated by the throngs of people coming and going, he silently watched the lantern-gazers, and after a long time, he smiled slightly.
"She really is the beloved, huh."