She just wanted to escape the gaze of onlookers.
"Slow down, don't fall," Ling Mohan quickly grabbed Feng Jin, urging her not to rush.
"I have a way to make it so no one stares at you."
Ling Mohan said mysteriously, taking Feng Jin's hand and walking towards a stall.
He picked up a rabbit mask and put it on Feng Jin, saying, "This way, we can avoid attention."
Feng Jin took off the mask and looked at it. The rabbit mask was indeed exquisitely made, lifelike.
Feng Jin's eyes fell on the tiger mask hanging at the very top of the stall. She directly took it down and put it on Ling Mohan's face, "Not bad."
The tiger, king of beasts, its majestic aura perfectly matched Ling Mohan.
Ling Mohan readily bought both masks.
The two walked around holding hands.
"It's so lively here," Feng Jin's eyes darted around, seeing stalls selling everything, almost too much to take in.
"There's a lantern riddle guessing over there, let's go quickly."
Feng Jin pulled Ling Mohan's hand and walked forward.
"Each esteemed customer, below each lantern hangs a prize. Each guess costs ten coins. If you guess correctly, you take the prize and the lantern."
"Shopkeeper Zhang, the second to last one."
Shopkeeper Zhang stepped forward, took a lantern, and read the riddle below: "Half full, half empty."
Feng Jin's eyes flickered, and she whispered in Ling Mohan's ear, "The answer is 'river'."
As soon as she finished speaking, the man guessing the riddle uttered the answer: "It's 'river'."
"This gentleman has guessed correctly. This sachet is yours," Shopkeeper Zhang directly handed the lantern to him.
"Shopkeeper, what is the riddle on the topmost lantern?"
Shopkeeper Zhang glanced at the topmost lantern and smiled, saying, "This riddle is the grand finale, posed by the former dean of the Ying Tian Prefecture Academy. Whoever answers it correctly will win this fine white jade hairpin."
"I'll give it a try. Shopkeeper, please read the riddle," said a scholar in white from among the crowd.
"Young master indeed has courage. Then listen to the riddle: Six flying petals enter the house, sitting and watching green bamboo turn into jade branches. Now, looking from a high tower, it covers all the world's rough paths."
The scholar in white faltered, hesitated for a long time, and finally sighed, "I cannot figure out this riddle. I have made a fool of myself."
"Is there anyone else who can guess the answer?" Shopkeeper Zhang called out to the crowd.
"The answer is 'snow'," a clear female voice came from the crowd.
Everyone turned to look in the direction of the voice. Two figures wearing masks stood there, and the speaker was Feng Jin.
"Shopkeeper, am I correct?" Feng Jin stepped forward and asked.
"Shopkeeper, quickly tell us if this lady is correct?"
"Shopkeeper, hurry and announce the answer."
"This lady has guessed correctly. The answer is indeed snow," Shopkeeper Zhang said with a wry smile.
He had paid a hefty sum to the former dean to write this riddle, intending to make a good profit. He hadn't expected such an inauspicious start, failing so quickly.
"Shopkeeper, can I have the white jade hairpin?" Feng Jin had taken a liking to the white jade hairpin at first sight, which was why she had spoken up to guess the riddle.
"Naturally, naturally, it must be given to you."
Shopkeeper Zhang could no longer smile. With stumbling steps, he stepped forward and handed the white jade hairpin to Feng Jin.
Ling Mohan took the hairpin and tucked it into Feng Jin's hair, "Beautiful."
"Of course, my taste is naturally good," Feng Jin said, contentedly touching the white jade hairpin in her hair.
"Shopkeeper, I won't take your hairpin for free. How about I give you a riddle, and you offer a good prize in return? I guarantee you'll make a fortune."
"That would be wonderful, absolutely wonderful. Madam, please write it down."
Shopkeeper Zhang quickly asked for paper and brush. As long as there was a riddle to hold the fort, why worry about not making money?
Feng Jin took the brush and poured ink onto the paper, her graceful handwriting appearing on the sheet. After finishing the last stroke, Feng Jin looked at the writing with satisfaction, "Shopkeeper, take a look, is it acceptable."
Shopkeeper Zhang stepped forward and looked. He saw a passage written on the paper.
"Walking the streets with nothing to do, I carry a pot to buy wine. If I see a shop, I double the amount. If I see flowers, I drink a dou. After encountering flowers and shops three times, I drink the pot of wine dry. Pray tell, how much wine was in this pot originally?"
Upon reading it, Shopkeeper Zhang's face was filled with surprise, and he repeatedly praised, "Good... good, Madam, you are truly remarkable."
With this riddle, he was sure to make a fortune this year.
Feng Jin smiled triumphantly. This was the famous arithmetic riddle, "Li Bai Buys Wine."
From her observations during this period, arithmetic in this dynasty was far from advanced, basically at a kindergarten level. This riddle, she suspected, would make them rack their brains and still not be able to solve it.
"Shopkeeper, if you are satisfied, then good. Here is the answer. We will not disturb your business any further. We shall leave now," Feng Jin handed the slip of paper with the answer to Shopkeeper Zhang.
Shopkeeper Zhang, his mind solely focused on the riddle, hastily hung it up after Feng Jin left and took out his prized possession as the prize.
Feng Jin browsed casually. Before long, she felt her stomach rumble and pulled Ling Mohan towards a restaurant. Just as they were about to order, Feng Jin paused slightly and asked, "Did you bring money this time?"
The bitter lesson from last time was still vivid in her memory. This time, no matter what, she had to confirm first before ordering, to avoid being caught out again.
"Yes, I did. Order whatever you like," Ling Mohan said in a deep voice.
Receiving the satisfactory answer, Feng Jin was no longer reserved. She generously ordered a table full of dishes. Since she wasn't paying, she might as well enjoy herself to the fullest.
Ling Mohan took a sip of the tea in his cup and immediately sensed something was wrong. He put the teacup aside and stopped drinking.
After struggling internally for a long time, he hesitated before asking, "What was the answer to that riddle?"
He had thought about it for a long time but still couldn't come up with the correct answer.
Feng Jin's hand, holding chopsticks, paused. She casually replied, "Seven-eighths of a dou of wine."
This calculation required using an equation, a daunting puzzle for ancient people. She figured no one would be able to solve it anytime soon.
Ling Mohan lowered his eyes. Even with the correct answer, he still couldn't fully grasp how it worked.
"Don't think about it anymore. I saw this riddle in ancient texts, so it's natural you can't figure it out. Let's eat first,"
Feng Jin couldn't bear to see Ling Mohan racking his brains and still coming up with nothing, so she prompted him.
"How did you calculate it?"
"Because I'm smarter than you, it's that simple." Feng Jin couldn't stand people prying too much, so she said directly and impolitely.
Ling Mohan's pride was immediately dealt a great blow. This was the first time he had encountered a riddle he couldn't solve, and he was even mocked by his wife for being too slow.