Chapter 213: Chapter 212: Lantern RiddlesOn the flower boat, guessing riddles was a common occurrence.


    However, this particular contest stood out because Quanzhou’s top talented woman, Qin Tangyue, was participating, drawing extra attention.


    Especially since her opponent at the moment seemed exceptionally calm.


    A remarkably handsome man by her side even casually plucked a grape and slipped it beneath her veil, while the woman in the contest just pretended to glare at him in anger, seemingly unconcerned about the outcome of the competition.


    The onlookers watched this scene, thinking to themselves, This is surely too much confidence, right?


    Sang Yan, accused of being "over-confident," didn’t notice anyone’s gaze at all.


    She sent a displeased look to He Ying, silently expressing her dissatisfaction, Hmph, attracting butterflies and bees!


    He Ying innocently pinched her hand, his smiling eyes filled with tenderness, "Don’t be mad. Or do you want me to let Lu Zijin kill them all?"


    His tone was cruel, but the look he gave Sang Yan was extra innocent.


    Sang Yan: "..."


    Are you really okay with deciding the fate of several suitors just like that?


    Sigh.


    She looked at the tenderness in He Ying’s eyes and chose to surrender.


    "I won’t lose."


    Sang Yan held his hand back, conveying reassurance with her eyes, "Don’t kill anyone rashly."


    She really feared he would become displeased and have Lu Zijin take care of them.


    "Yes, I believe you."


    He Ying scratched the palm of her hand, his gaze intoxicatingly soft.


    Sang Yan’s ears reddened from his teasing.


    Qin Tangyue watched their entangled gazes and intimate flirtation, almost grinding her teeth to dust.


    Isn’t she just a bland woman?


    This man really doesn’t know how to appreciate!


    Yet the more she thought this, the more she wanted to snatch him away.


    Accompanied by the sound of a gong, the shopkeeper who was pulled in to act as the judge shouted, "The competition begins—"


    For the contest, the shopkeeper randomly picked a brocade bag from the lanterns, and presented the riddle.


    The first person to answer correctly would score a point, until the end when the one with the most points would win.


    Sang Yan focused intently, staring at the shopkeeper.


    Qin Tangyue, unwilling to show weakness, became uncharacteristically cautious, listening carefully as the shopkeeper read the riddle.


    "Public yet forgetting private."


    The shopkeeper’s voice boomed, his face alight with excitement.


    These four characters had barely passed through Sang Yan’s mind when the answer came to her, yet before she could speak, Qin Tangyue had already said it first.


    "Eight!"


    "Congratulations, Miss Qin, you are correct."


    Qin Tangyue lifted her chin toward Sang Yan, her eyes filled with pride.


    Sang Yan: "..."


    She was annoyed.


    It was just one question, after all.


    The shopkeeper began the second riddle, "Where is the lady going."


    Overflowing with confidence, Qin Tangyue was about to answer—


    Sang Yan was already prepared, and the answer slipped out: "Two!"


    "Congratulations to this young lady as well, for the correct answer."


    The shopkeeper glanced at the evenly matched pair and turned to pick another brocade bag.


    Qin Tangyue gritted her teeth, struggling to maintain composure, and gave Sang Yan a smile, "The lady has quick reactions, it’s just a pity that the riddles here are merely for amusement and not challenging—"


    Between the lines, it was clear—Sang Yan could answer only because the questions were too simple.


    Sang Yan pursed her lips, reminding herself not to get angry with a little girl.


    "You’re right, they are pretty simple."


    Sang Yan thought for a moment, then smirked, "Then how about we come up with our own riddles instead? Just one question, and the first to guess wins. How does that sound?"


    Qin Tangyue was brimming with self-assurance, "Fine."


    Hmph, this woman is so arrogant, she needs to be taught a lesson!


    Soon, someone brought over brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, placing them in the center of the table.


    Qin Tangyue rolled up her sleeves, delicate jade hands gripping the brush, dipping it full of ink, she wrote down the riddle on the spread-out rice paper.


    Sang Yan also picked up a brush, but her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed.


    He Ying had been watching her, seeing that she seemed to be having some trouble, he walked over, ready to take her brush, "Shall we go back?"


    He didn’t want to waste any more time here.


    He should be spending time with Sang Yan in better places.


    "No!"


    Sang Yan shook her head, suddenly, as if thinking of something, her brows suddenly smoothed out.


    She dipped the brush into the inkstone, her bare hands wielding the brush, sweeping it out in a single breath.


    He Ying glanced at the characters on the rice paper, then looked at Sang Yan with surprise, a faint smile spilling over his thin lips.


    He had been overthinking.


    How could his Ah Yan possibly lose?


    "Time is up!"


    The boss shouted.


    Sang Yan and Qin Tangyue both stopped their movements.


    The girl in the lake-green skirt glanced at Qin Tangyue’s riddle and smiled, showing off to Sang Yan, "If you don’t want to lose face, you might as well admit defeat now and save a bit of dignity."


    "What’s the rush."


    Sang Yan chuckled, ignoring the girl, instead she picked up the rice paper and blew on the ink, handing it to the boss, "Since Miss Qin is interested in my husband, then guess my riddle first, no problem, right?"


    Her voice was gentle, but inside she was in a panic: this word riddle, she had learned from reading "Dream of the Red Chamber," and she really couldn’t remember the more complicated ones.


    If she had to guess Qin Tangyue’s riddle first, she might not be able to figure it out.


    And not figuring it out would mean losing.


    She could only gamble.


    Gamble that Qin Tangyue wouldn’t be able to guess her riddle.


    After all, the answer to this riddle was not easy.


    Listening to her words, Qin Tangyue pursed her lips and thought: Is this woman stupid? It’s already said the first to guess wins! Yet she’s letting her guess first!


    Good.


    The sooner she won, the man would be hers!


    Qin Tangyue reluctantly shifted her gaze from He Ying and looked at the other party, nodding, "Okay."


    Seeing her agreement, the boss picked up Sang Yan’s riddle, slowly spreading it out—


    Qin Tangyue looked over, full of self-confidence, but upon seeing the table, her complexion grew increasingly ugly.


    "What’s the matter with Miss Qin?"


    "Why hasn’t she provided the answer yet? Could it be she can’t guess it?"


    "How could that be possible? Surely Miss Qin is just giving the little lady some face, have you ever seen a riddle Miss Qin couldn’t guess?"


    ...


    Discussions from below reached her ears.


    Qin Tangyue’s face became even more unsightly.


    The girl in the lake-green skirt by her side witnessed the change in Qin Tangyue’s complexion, and curiously leaned over to look. Upon seeing it, her face changed as well.


    While Sang Yan, seeing the expressions on their two faces, felt relieved inside: It’s settled.


    She was very happy and quietly moved closer to He Ying, covering her mouth with her hand, leaned close to his ear, "I won." Sёar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Indeed, reading more books is useful.


    You never know when it might come in handy after a time travel.


    Defeat already showed on Qin Tangyue’s face.


    She looked at Sang Yan, her tone lacking its previous arrogance, "I concede."


    This woman, she was more talented than Qin had imagined.


    At least, Qin could not have written the poem Sang Yan did!


    She had been Quanzhou’s Top Talented Woman for so many years, yet now a random person could outshine her literary flair.


    Silence loomed over the flower boat.


    Quanzhou City’s Top Talented Woman lost?


    Not even confident enough to recite her own riddle?


    What exactly had the little lady written!


    Finally, someone couldn’t suppress their curiosity and asked loudly, "Miss Qin, what exactly did she write?"


    Qin Tangyue picked up the rice paper with the riddle written on it from the table and read out the lantern riddle Sang Yan had written: "The six classics have been pondered in my heart for long, a sword has been honed in hand for ten years. An apricot blossom across the head lies askew, take care not to reveal the secrets of the heavens. A single dot as vast as a pot, covers up what half-made-up face owns. A complete name awaits only when retiring and returning, do you recognize the original face?"