It was the Lantern Festival, and the four quarters—East, West, South, and North—of Bianjing, the capital of the Central Plains, were a scene of bustling prosperity. The streets were hung with colorful lanterns, and the entertainment quarters echoed with cuju and acrobatics, while commoners performed lion dances and street artists swallowed swords. At night, the city was ablaze with light, a magnificent spectacle that would not fade for five full days.
Yuling was standing on a street corner in the East City of Bianjing, watching the dragon lanterns. Young women on the street wore pearls and emeralds in their hair and carried lotus lanterns in small groups. Their murmuring chatter was drowned out by the deafening roar of firecrackers. Seen from afar, the lights were like a forest of silver flowers in bloom, and the silks and satins formed clouds of colorful brocade.
She wore a pinkish-white silk gown and casual tassel hairpins, with a gold hairpin featuring a jade-green agate skewered at an angle into her hair. She strolled leisurely through the night market.
Chapter 70