The little girl was lying on the edge of the table, her big round eyes full of anticipation, almost popping out of her sockets, that desire was almost impossible to refuse.

Seeing this, the stall owner couldn't help but chuckle, and then announced loudly: "Little guy, your brother is really good at solving all these riddles."

As soon as these words were spoken, Xiao Youniang and Zhang Siwa immediately cheered for joy. Even the usually quiet Wu Niang raised the corners of her mouth slightly, revealing a barely perceptible smile.

Seeing this, Zhang Sanwa gently rubbed the hair of his two sisters, with a doting smile on his face, and then politely bowed to the stall owner: "Excuse me, can we take the lanterns we have chosen now?"

His tone showed the composure of a winner as well as humility and politeness.

"Take it, take it!"

The stall owner sighed helplessly, with a bitter smile on his face, as if he was paying his final respects to these difficult riddles.

With deft movements, he took down three colorful lanterns. Those lanterns were painted with intricate patterns and glowed brightly. Each lantern exuded a festive and warm feeling unique to the festival.

The stall owner personally handed them to the expectant children in front of him, with both regret and relief in his eyes.

The little girl took the long-awaited rabbit lantern with trembling hands. The rabbit shape on the rabbit lantern was lifelike, with its two long ears swaying gently, as if it was about to jump out at the next moment.

Her eyes widened slightly, with excitement flashing in her pupils. The joy of getting what she wanted made her hold the lamp tighter, fearing that this beauty would suddenly disappear.

The Yuanbao lamp in Wu Niang's hand was shining with golden light. She held it gently as if she were protecting a treasure, her fingertips lightly touching the smooth surface, and her eyes were filled with the purity and curiosity unique to a child.

The Yuanbao lantern seemed to contain infinite good luck, shining on her young face and making her smile even brighter.

Zhang Siwa, on the other hand, had a very proud look on his face. He held the exquisite revolving lantern in his hand and approached the brothers to show off his trophy. The horses painted on the revolving lantern seemed to become more vivid as he grew more proud.

The guards behind the brothers tensed their muscles and wanted to step forward to stop them, but were stopped when the elder brother shook his head gently.

The elder brother's eyes showed both doting and an imperceptible depth towards his younger brother. He slowly tore up the unfinished riddle in his hand, threw away the charcoal pencil, and fixed his eyes on Zhang Sanwa with burning and meaningful intent.

"I can see that you have received a good education. I guess you are planning to take the imperial examination, right?"

"So what?" Zhang Sanwa raised his eyebrows, his tone relaxed, with a hint of provocation in his eyes.

The young man bit his lip, trying to suppress his unwillingness, and said word by word: "If you are also concerned about the imperial examination, then let's play another round. With my wisdom, I will definitely be able to pass the imperial examination. Why don't we decide the winner based on the ranking in the imperial examination!"

Zhang Sanwa couldn't help but laugh when he heard this, his eyes full of disbelief: "The imperial examination is such a big deal, you actually want to use it as a bet?"

Facing Zhang Sanwa's questioning, the boy obviously did not admit defeat. His persistence seemed to be not just a game, but also a strong confidence and persistence in his own abilities.

Although all this seemed irrational to outsiders, the boy still insisted on making this unusual bet with Zhang Sanwa.

On the other side, Zhang Siwa's situation was not optimistic either.

The boy's younger brother, an impulsive and arrogant little boy, witnessed his brother's misfortune and directly snatched the revolving lantern from Zhang Siwa's hand.

His actions were rude and impolite, almost touching Zhang Siwa's eyes several times, nearly causing injury.

The little girl was frightened by this sudden scene and her face turned pale. She was about to step forward to help, but she found that the boy's younger brother not only did not restrain himself, but instead signaled the seemingly well-trained guards behind him to intervene and snatch.

The guards looked at each other, and without saying a word, they strode towards Zhang Siwa. The air was filled with a tense atmosphere as if a storm was about to come.

Seeing the situation escalating, the stall owner wanted to step in to mediate, but the young man pointed at his nose and scolded him harshly, his words full of disdain and contempt.

The stall owner knew very well that this was not someone who could be easily provoked, so he could only lower his head in disappointment and choose to protect himself.

At this time, Xu Liyun and his wife, who had been observing in secret, saw that the situation was critical and the guards were ready to move. They picked up the sticks behind the door without hesitation and bravely rushed into the chaos.

Although Wu Niang was extremely anxious and wanted to rush forward to help her brother, when she saw that her mother had already joined the battle, she pulled Xiao You Niang aside and watched what happened.

Although the guards brought by the boy were well-trained, they were still caught off guard by Xu Liyun's fierce attack.

One was instantly repelled and let go of Zhang Siwa, while the other tried to stop Zhang Sanwa who came to rescue him, but the situation had already reversed.

Just when the revolving lantern was about to fall into the hands of others, Xu Liyun, like a Valkyrie, turned the stick in her hand into a flash of lightning and accurately knocked down the guards who were entangled with Zhang Siwa to the ground. The scene was shocking.

The little girl held a rabbit lantern in her hand and cheered for her mother excitedly. Her eyes were full of admiration for her heroic mother, and she was completely unaware of the dangers lurking around her.

Although the opponents were numerous, they began to look vulnerable in the face of Xu Liyun's bravery.

Just as the melee reached its climax, a group of little beggars suddenly emerged from all directions, targeting Wu Niang and Xiao You Niang.

Wu Niang relied on her sharp intuition and quickly pulled her sister to dodge. However, the beggars attacked fiercely, rushing in like a tide. Some of the older beggars were even more cunning and tried to take advantage of the chaos to approach the two girls. The atmosphere became increasingly tense...

In the chaotic market, Wu Niang's hand accidentally slipped in panic, and Xiao You Niang's petite body was instantly swallowed up by the rushing crowd, like a fragile fallen leaf, swept away by the ruthless waves, and gradually disappeared in the bustling crowd in the distance.

Although Xiao Youniang was usually smart and clever, her three-year-old body seemed so weak in the face of such a torrent. She could only allow herself to be pushed by the crowd, and her sister's warm figure was instantly submerged out of sight.

In fear, the little girl's heart seemed to be tightly grasped by an invisible hand. In panic, she was about to shout for help, but her cheeks were suddenly covered by a warm feeling, followed by a pungent stench. A piece of dirty cloth suddenly covered her mouth and nose, making it difficult for her to breathe. The world seemed to freeze at that moment.

At the same time, a pair of strong and powerful arms held her tightly in a solid embrace like an iron clamp. Without any explanation, the little girl only felt a flash of light before her eyes, and her body was forcibly taken away from the bustling market and lost in the crowd, as if she had evaporated from the face of the earth, leaving no trace.

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