Chapter 47

  The 15th day of the first month is an auspicious festival.

  The night of the Lantern Festival in Bianliang City is filled with dazzling lights, and people take to the streets with their elderly and young children to watch the lanterns.

  Boys and girls tonight are allowed to be unrestrained.

  Looking at the crowded people on the street, Xiaofeng felt a mix of emotions.

  Who the hell said ancient people were conservative?

  That era was during the Song Dynasty, before the Ming and Qing Dynasties opened up. Even before Zhu Xi's academic school appeared in the Southern Song Dynasty, the Northern Song Dynasty was still very inclusive.

  Lantern Festival, also known as the Shangyuan Festival, is China's real Valentine's Day. In open-minded dynasties, on this day, men and women who hit it off would hold hands and find a secluded spot to make love, commonly known as "wild union".

  The most famous wild combination in history is Tai Sang Yeung, and it's simply a thousand-year-old legend...

  Little Feng suddenly felt that her thinking seemed a bit too scattered as she stood outside the Kaifeng Prefecture, looking at the street scene while waiting for Zhan Zhao to come out.

  Today is Lantern Festival, also Valentine's Day. She came to find Xiao Mao to go out and watch the lanterns together - it seems like there's a bit of ambiguity?

  Why didn't Xiaohe remind her at all?

  It seems that she is really not suitable to come and find Xiao Mao together today, it's more reasonable to call a few guards from the Taishi Mansion to follow her than to ask Xiao Mao to accompany her.

  "Xiaohe, let's go back."

  "What? Why miss?" Mr. Tanaka will be out soon.

  "Xiaohe, today is the Lantern Festival, look at these men and women on the street who are so lovingly gazing at each other. I just remembered that today is also Valentine's Day! I rushed to find Zhan Zhao to accompany me to watch the lanterns, what if he misunderstands?"

  Xiaohe hadn't had time to speak when Lu Xiaofeng already heard Zhan Zhao's voice, which seemed to carry a hint of smile, "Miss Lu."

  Uh... it's too late, they've already come out, and leaving now would look bad.

  Xiaohe lowered his head, and Zhang Daxian had already heard Miss's words. It was really not easy for Miss to have such an awakening now.

  Suddenly, Lu Xiaofeng felt inexplicably guilty and didn't dare to look directly at Zhan Zhao, he could only awkwardly call out, "Zhan Huwei."

  "Let's go." Zhan Zhao's expression remained unchanged, as if he hadn't heard her previous words at all.

  Lu Xiaofeng hesitated, if she hadn't thought of it, it would have been fine. If today wasn't Chinese Valentine's Day, it would have been fine too. But the problem was, she had already thought of it, and today really was Chinese Valentine's Day, so going out to watch the lanterns with Xian Xiaomao in such a grand manner would feel completely different.

  Xiaohe, this clever girl, quietly retreated a bit, so that the two of them could talk freely.

  Zhan Zhao's old god looked at her with a serious expression, waiting for her response.

  Lu Xiaofeng bit her lower lip, raised her eyes to meet his amused gaze, and the original confident momentum instantly dissipated by half. Her face also uncontrollably flushed slightly, and she could only cough awkwardly once, forcing herself to say: "Uh... it seems like today I... we're not quite suitable for going out together..."

  It's never felt so hard to say a word, it's simply embarrassing.

  This dead cat actually has those playful expressions looking at her, poor thing, poor thing, I don't know how my heart is laughing at her thirteen points.

  How boring!

  "Hey, Xiao Mao. The little spark in her eyes was immediately extinguished, and the rare hint of shyness on Little Phoenix's face disappeared, replaced by a domineering aura. "Are you laughing at me? I may be a girl, but I'm not used to thinking of myself as one, so it's normal for my reactions to be slow."

  Zhan Zhao smiled and nodded his head slightly.

  "Are you still smiling?" Little Phoenix was really furious and reached out to slap him.

  Zhan Zhao slightly shifted his body and didn't completely dodge her hand, allowing her to vent her anger by slapping his arm twice.

  "Zhan Mou thinks that girls can have a girl's consciousness, which is rare and precious." There's no more sincere words than this.

  "Hah... Zhan Zhao..." Lu Xiaofeng lifted his skirt and kicked him directly. This was too much!

  This time Zhan Zhao dodged and easily grasped her hand, "It's getting late, let's go out to watch the lanterns."

  Lu Xiaofeng was stunned: "......"

  Zhan Zhao smiled and took her hand, leading her down the steps of Kaifeng Prefecture and into the crowd.

  Xiao He quietly followed up.

  Lu Xiaofeng furrowed his brow and began thinking about a serious problem.

  It seems she has been ignoring something all along...

  "Ah......" After walking for a while, Xiaofeng finally figured it out, that thing she had been ignoring all along, or rather the fact was - Zhan Zhao seemed to like her, and that jade pendant was actually an engagement token!!!!!!

  Wow!

  It's really a case of shooting geese all day, but being pecked in the eye by a goose. She only now realizes that she has been made a fool of for who knows how long, and yet she can guarantee that Xiao He has always been aware of everything, but her personal maids are actually on someone else's side?

  Hey Xiaohe, even if you're a cat lover, this is still too much.

  "What's wrong?" Zhan Zhao turned his head and looked at her with concern.

  Lu Xiaofeng's eyes narrowed dangerously, and she grabbed Zhan Zhao's hand that was holding hers, grinding her teeth: "Zhan Xiao Mao, I just realized that you started designing me so early. I thought your image was so high and great, aren't you ashamed of doing this?"

  You are a southern hero, you are a noble cat, you are the great knight who is admired by countless people, how can you be so shameless as to deceive a girl who believes in your heroic character?

  Zhan Zhao looked at her with a serious expression, slightly curving his lips and said: "As the saying goes, 'a virtuous woman is shy and reserved, a gentleman is fond of her', I don't think there's anything to be ashamed of in doing this."

  ……

  Lu Xiaofeng's other hand pointed at him with his index finger, but he couldn't say anything.

  She was really convinced!

  In the future, whoever dares to say that Zhan Xiaoming is a stupid cat who is too kind and righteous, even a bit silly in terms of emotions, she will definitely beat him until his face is covered with peach blossoms, let him know why flowers are so red!

  Are you kidding me?

  Xiaohe covered her mouth and smiled in the back, Miss rarely had such a look of being blocked by someone that she couldn't even speak.

  Zhan Zhao picked up a lotus lantern from the roadside stall and handed it to Lu Xiaofeng.

  Lu Xiaofeng raised an eyebrow, not intending to accept his negotiation.

  Zhan Zhao directly grabbed her hand and put it on, saying: "Hold on, go release it by the river later."

  "Will this wish really come true?" Little Phoenix was attracted by the lotus-shaped lantern in her hand, and her gaze couldn't help but fall on the crowded riverbank.

  Zhan Zhao didn't answer and instead asked back, "What about you?"

  Lu Xiaofeng naturally said: "I think it's better to rely on oneself than to ask others."

  Zhan Zhao smiled as he looked at her.

  Lu Xiaofeng said seriously, "I didn't say anything wrong. I remember hearing a story when I was young. It said that a believer went to the temple to worship Guanyin Bodhisattva and saw the bodhisattva worshipping his own golden Buddha statue. He asked the bodhisattva why, and the bodhisattva replied, 'It's better to rely on oneself than to rely on others.'"

  "You're right."

  But Lu Xiaofeng still put down the lotus seat flower lamp in his hand at a riverbank where there were fewer people.

  "Miss, you haven't made a wish."

  "Alright."

  "It's clearly not."

  Making a wish is not necessarily about clasping your hands together in front of a flower lamp and silently reciting it, if the Buddha truly has a spirit, then he should know what each person's deepest desire is.

  Xiaohe thinks Miss has a point too.

  Lu Xiaofeng turned his head to look at Zhan Zhao.

  Under the reflection of the river's light, a purple-robed girl wrapped in a white fox fur coat, with a jade-like face and a smile that seemed to hold a thousand words, appeared before him. In an instant, it was as if nothing else existed between heaven and earth except for this person, this smiling face.

  "Zhan Zhao, come here."

  Zhan Zhao followed his words and walked over.

  Lu Xiaofeng stood shoulder to shoulder with him by the river, pointing at the lanterns floating on the river surface and said: "This scene is really beautiful." Such a view is rarely seen in later generations.

  Zhan Zhao didn't say anything, he could see her joy, the kind of joy that shone from the corners of her eyebrows and eyes, making the people who saw it feel happy too.

  Lu Xiaofeng suddenly leaned in close to him, smiling slyly at him.

  Zhan Zhao's sword eyebrows slightly raised.

  Lu Xiaofeng's hand gently pressed onto his chest, still with that smiling and delicate appearance, her voice was also very low, "Zhan Xiao Mao, I heard you... can't swim..." With a slight exertion of force, she pushed a certain person into the river.

  Zhan Zhaohad already harbored doubts in her heart, and at the moment she made her move, she borrowed force to withdraw, stepping on a lotus lantern in the river with one foot, and then landed back on the rock edge with a beautiful posture. Looking at the mischievous girl who failed, I really didn't know what to say.

  "Miss——" Xiao He was startled.

  Lu Xiaofeng put his hands on his waist, snorted and pointed at someone: "You think your lightness skill is good? I just wanted to let you go to the Bian River to take an open-air bath."

  "Thanks for your kindness, Miss." Zhan Zhao wasn't angry at all. He had been thinking that this girl wouldn't let him off so easily, and indeed!

  Xiaohe quickly reached out and pulled his careless mistress away from the dangerous riverbank.

  "Miss, you'd better be careful, or you might end up pushing Mr. Zhan into the river and falling in yourself."

  Zhan Zhao: "......"

  Lu Xiaofeng was deeply moved and felt a sense of relief, indeed she was his loyal and devoted maid, after all, her heart belonged to him more.

  "Come on, the river lanterns have been released. Let's go to the night market to eat." Lu Xiaofeng grabbed Xiaohe's hand and ran forward.

  Zhan Zhao drew his sword and followed him up.

  On this festive day when everyone is rejoicing, probably the most annoying thing would be to run into a despicable scoundrel.

  Although he hasn't done anything despicable yet, judging from the usual plot of this drama, even if there are some changes in the local area, the ending is still predetermined, and this guy is still a scumbag.

  So, facing such a despicable person, Xiaofeng felt it was really hard to treat him normally with a clear conscience. She thought that she had already shown great restraint by not taking out her knife and solving the problem violently from the start.

  "Miss Pang, what a coincidence, running into you at the Lantern Festival."

  Xiaofeng Lu: You must have owed me eight lifetimes of bad luck to run into you.

  "Little Prince." Zhan Zhao reminded him and greeted the other party.

  It wasn't until then that Chai Wenyi discovered that Zhan Zhao was actually following behind Miss Pong, and his face couldn't hide his astonishment for a moment. "You actually let Zhan Zhao follow you?"

  Lu Xiaofeng said, "This is ridiculous. With the Imperial Cat by my side, how could I still have safety issues? When it comes to my safety and personal grudges, of course my father would choose the former." Pang Taishi was indeed a good husband and father, although he had devoted his life to opposing her idol, but in other aspects, he really wasn't that bad.

  Zhan Zhao's heart sank slightly, she had actually reported to Pang Taishi before? Was this true or false?

  Xiaohe said: There's no way you'd agree to this even if Taishi were to spoil Miss again.

  "Ah, I see. So it was actually to have Zhan Zhao protect you."

  What's with that relieved expression on your face? Are you kidding me? You act like it's got something to do with you, but it doesn't.

  Xiao Feng originally still had a grudge against Zhan Xiao Mao, but as soon as Chai Wen Yi appeared, the primary and secondary contradictions immediately became clear.

  Lu Xiaofeng turned around and grabbed a certain cat, laughing: "Let's go, Zhan Zhao, let's go eat wontons over there."

  Zhan Zhao smiled and cooperated with her.

  Xiaohe followed along as well.

  Behind him was a stunned Chai Wen Yi, had he misjudged?

  The young lady of the Peng Mansion actually dared to grab the arm of Xian Zhao, the imperial cat of the Kaifeng Prefecture, in broad daylight?

  "Little Prince." One of the Wang estate's house slaves stepped forward.

  "Come here."

  "Yes."

  Chai Wen whispered something in his ear, and then that servant quickly ran away.

  Lu Xiaofeng finally found a satisfactory wonton shop with Zhan Zhao and sat down.

  But after seeing what happened next, I felt terrible.

  When Little Phoenix is in a bad mood, she often does things that she would never normally do.

  Lu Xiaofeng fed Zhan Zhao several dumplings in a row, only to find that the scoundrel was still watching from the side, and he got furious. Is this guy sick?

  Is he waiting for her to feed all the wontons in this bowl to Xiao Mao before he's satisfied?

  It seems that some strong measures are needed - Xiaofeng thought and did, biting half of a dumpling and then feeding it to the cat.

  Zhan Zhao was taken aback and didn't speak up right away.

  Little lotus covering her lips, Miss, you are really too unrestrained.

  "Eat." Lu Xiaofeng's eyes were full of warnings.

  Zhan Zhao could only open his mouth and eat, but behind his ears, he couldn't help but feel a little hot.

  Little Phoenix Maiden held a bowl in one hand and a spoon in the other, saying to that scum who had been following and watching: "Chai Xiao Wangye, are you really so shameless as to keep looking on like this?" Can't even bear to feed that cat anymore, okay?

  Zhan Zhao suppressed the laughter in his throat, thinking that Lu Xiaofeng, who was so different from others, couldn't be any more lovely.

  Chai Wen Yi didn't say anything.

  Little Phoenix picked up the bowl of wontons that Boss had just brought over, which belonged to Zhan Zhao, and scooped out one wonton to continue feeding a certain cat.

  She hooked up with that scumbag, just watch and see, let you watch your fill.

  Always watching them, Chi Wen Yi's face gradually had a smile on it.

  When Zhan Zhao realized something was wrong, his body had already gone limp.

  Lü Xiao Feng looked at the bowl in his hand and was shocked - it had been poisoned!

  The little cat only ate two of them, how can the medicine be so powerful?

  "Zhan Zhao, you pesky cat, do you think that with you by Xiao Wang's side, nothing can be done?" Chi Wenyi's sinister and evil face finally emerged.

  Lu Xiaofeng looked at a certain scum with disdain and asked him formally, "What do you want to do?"

  Chai Wenyi said: "After Xiaowang turns you into my person, then goes to propose to Taishi, it should be a sure success."

  Lu Xiaofeng looked at him with admiration, "Very resourceful."

  Then she turned her head to look at the current soft-footed cat, and curiously asked: "Xiao Mao, you are also a seasoned veteran, how come you didn't even taste the filling in the dumplings?"

  Zhan Zhao didn't know what to say to her anymore, couldn't she just cooperate and be a little scared at this time?

  "It was you who fed me." I lost my guard for a moment.

  "Silly cat, another day I'll give you a bowl of poisonous medicine, will you still drink it without hesitation?" Lu Xiao Feng said casually.

  Zhan Zhao smiled but did not speak.

  When Chi Wen came to catch Lu Xiao Feng, she directly gave the bowl of wontons still in her hand to his face and clothes.

  "It's thundering and raining, someone is going to die!" Lu Xiaofeng splashed the person and jumped up to run to one side.

  A white shadow flashed before him, and a paper fan blocked Xia Wenyi's salty pig hand.

  The elegant and handsome Jinmao mouse Bai Yutang transformed into a heavenly guardian of Xiaofeng, as if descended from the heavens.

  Actually, Lü Xiao Feng chose this shop just now because he saw Bai Xiao Wu and two other mice sitting by the window across the street, and it came in handy.

  "Stupid cat, I didn't expect you to fall into someone else's trap so easily. This is truly beyond Lao Wu's expectations."

  "White brother——" At this time, you'd better stop teasing me.

  "It's you, Bai Yutang!" Chai Wenyi also recognized the handsome young man in front of him as the one who had disguised himself as Zhang Jia's daughter on the wedding sedan chair that day, and suddenly all his old and new grievances surged up in his heart.

  Bai Yutang waved the fan in his hand, grinning from ear to ear: "It's me, Chai Xiaowangye. I had an appointment with this silly cat from Kaifeng Prefecture here, and you chose this place to make your move - what a coincidence!"

  Chai Wenyi waved his hand and said, "Bring it up for me."

  A dozen or so servants from the Wang estate rushed out and surrounded Bai Yutang.