The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 17: Lantern Festival

In a blink of an eye, it is the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. There are firecrackers on New Year's Eve and lights on the Lantern Festival. The Spring Festival begins with firecrackers on New Year's Eve and ends with lights on the Lantern Festival.

The Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month is also known as the Lantern Market, the Lantern Festival and the Lantern Stepping Festival.

Because there was too much snow in the twelfth month of the second year of Yongchang, in the third year of Yongchang, except for three days of snow on the first, second and third days of the first lunar month, there was no snow from then on until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. The clouds in the sky became thinner, and the moon could be seen from time to time. This made the lantern fairs in many parts of the capital more prosperous than any other year, and the lantern fairs in Qianmen Street and Liulichang were the most brilliant and prosperous.

As soon as it got dark, lanterns were lit up everywhere on Qianmen Street. From afar, the patches of red set off the endless darkness of the sky, and Qianmen Street seemed to be floating in the air with red below and black above.

The wind howled in the night, and the breath turned into ice. Everyone was wrapped in thick cotton-padded jackets, and adults and children were so cold that their noses were running, but they were still very happy.

There's no way, there are too few entertainment programs in this era.

As there were too many people coming to watch the lanterns, Shuntian Prefecture and the Infantry Command Office sent thousands of soldiers to maintain order. From Zhengyang Gate to Yongding Gate, there were soldiers with guns and swords on both sides.

There are a lot of people at the Lantern Festival, and some people with ulterior motives may take the opportunity to commit crimes, so we have to be on guard.

The streets were crowded with people, and the colorful lanterns on both sides of the streets were dazzling.

In Qianmen, the place with the brightest lights is Lantern Street. In this short alley, there are more than 20 lantern shops. Each shop is decorated with lights and displays their unique skills in an attempt to show off their beauty. The front of the shop is crowded with people who come to join in the fun, including families with the elderly and children who go out to view the lanterns.

Suddenly, the sound of firecrackers rang out on Qianmen Street, and fireworks fell colorfully from the sky not far away. Everyone understood that a shop was going to set off flower boxes.

During the Lantern Festival, besides viewing the lanterns, another activity is watching the flower boxes being released.

The flower box was painted with colorful paintings and contained mechanisms. The layers were not just floating in the air like ordinary flower boxes, with no necessary connection between them. The layers were tightly connected like a chain, like a whole play with a script. After it was lit, each layer rose up and fell down, representing a scene in the play. This scene was intertwined with the next scene, like peeling bamboo shoots layer by layer, linked together, and finally there were clusters of brilliant lights.

This is a way of playing that combines fireworks, firecrackers and lights, just like watching a big drama. Not to mention this era when entertainment programs are scarce, even in later times, it is extremely gorgeous and dazzling, breathtaking.

The performance of placing flower boxes is the privilege of the rich, while people without money can only watch the fun.

The crowd was surging, everyone was scrambling to run forward, the noise was deafening, the scene was suddenly in chaos, everyone was squeezed to the ground, especially those who were carrying children. When they stood firmly on their backs, they found that the children on their backs were gone.

The streets were packed with people, and finding a child was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

The same scene was played out repeatedly in the streets and alleys near Qianmen Street. Families who lost their children could only search for them while heading to Shuntian Prefecture to report the case.

It's been less than an hour since ion time, time flies so fast.

The lights in the private room were dim and the windows were wide open. The cold wind of the cold night blew Li Hu's fur coat backwards.

He stood by the window, looking at the street, his eyes shining.

From time to time, middle-aged strong men holding children turned into the alley, and there were even a few beggars who stayed beside the Shuntian Prefecture officials for a while before leaving. They were extremely arrogant!
They were determined to give the imperial court a warning and give the emperor a hard slap in the face.

Just then, Zhang Cheng hurried in and whispered something in Li Hu's ear.

"Am I seeing things?" Li Hu's gaze shifted from the street to him.

Zhang Cheng: "No doubt about it. The foul smell on his body is definitely from the Tartars outside the Great Wall."

Li Hu's eyes flashed: "Stare at him to death."

Zhang Cheng: “Yes.” He turned and left.

Li Hu turned his gaze to the window again. He had carefully prepared for this moment for more than a month, but he did not expect there would be an unexpected surprise, and a big one at that. The Tartars from outside the Great Wall that the Northern Pacification Office had dug deep but could not find actually came to him on their own initiative. It seemed that the old man was on his side.

There was a sound of footsteps, and Zhang Cheng came over again and said softly: "The black dens of the beggars have basically been controlled. We are just waiting for those beggars to fall into the trap."

Li Hu nodded.

Zhang Cheng hesitated for a moment and said, "Sir, we have found the bandits from the Northern Pacification Division. They are the ones who had a conflict with us."

Li Hu frowned: "Oh? Where?"

Zhang Cheng: "First I was wandering around Chongbeifang, now I'm heading to Chongnanfang."

Li Hu understood. They also guessed that the Tartars outside the Great Wall would come out to see the lights, but unfortunately they were one step too late. The other party had already returned to their hideout.

At this time, a captain in civilian clothes ran in and knelt down in front of Li Hu: "Report! We have tracked down the Tatars' stronghold outside the pass. It is next to the Zhengdongfang temple."

Next to the temple?

Li Hu was stunned for a moment. Why do they like to hide near the temple?
Zhang Cheng: "This location is too close to Chongnanfang. The Northern Pacification Office's guards may arrive at any time."

Li Hu raised his hand and said, "You watch here, I'll take people over there." Then he walked out.

The people who came to watch the lanterns had to return home before midnight, but those who lived near the temple could not go back at this time. They were blocked at the street corner by the soldiers from the South Camp and were not allowed to leave. For a while, many people squatted along the wall and at the intersection, and were not allowed to say a word.

Another round of sound of an entire team running was heard, and the common people were excited. It was the Jinyiwei, and there would be something exciting to watch.

A team of Jinyiwei appeared on the street.

"Stop!" The officer of the South Camp who was guarding the street stopped the Jinyiwei team, "It's curfew here, take a detour!"

The General Flag of the Northern Pacification Division said: "You are blind, how dare you block the way of the Northern Pacification Division? It's not even midnight on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. What's the point of banning the night? Get out of the way!"

"Come here!" the officer of the South Camp shouted.

Many soldiers from the South Camp ran over and blocked the street entrance.

"Rebellion!" The two enemies were extremely jealous of each other when they met. The general flag of the Northern Pacification Division was furious and drew the knife at his waist.

With a swish, the Northern Pacification Division soldiers behind him all drew their swords!

With a swish, the soldiers of the South Camp drew their swords and shouted, "Retreat!"

The people squatting there looked at them excitedly.

The general rolled his eyes, sheathed his sword, and said, "Put the sword away."

The Northern Pacification Division soldiers sheathed their swords together.

The general flag smiled and looked at the officer of the South Camp, then swept his eyes over everyone's faces one by one, saying, "Does anyone among you know the laws of Dashun? Killing the Jinyiwei of the Northern Pacification Division is a crime of conspiracy to rebel, and the whole family will be exterminated." He waved his hand, "Let's go."

The general flag was in front, and the soldiers of the Northern Pacification Office followed closely behind, advancing forward in neat steps.

(End of this chapter)