Chengcheng Cultural Festival does not take place during the day, but at night. The night has just begun to show a few stars, and Li Xiaowan's car has already arrived in front of the inn.
Li Xiaowan stepped out of the car, still slightly angry.
"Deng Tuzi, if your business grows in the future, you will definitely have to deal with many people. If you are more refined, your business will be easier."
Li Xiaowan's words are not lies. Even though the border is thousands of miles away, there are many arty people in the inner city.
"Please take the trouble."
"Bah, if it weren't for Sister Caiwei's future happiness, you think I would be willing to help you."
Xu Mu pursed his lips and bowed his hands in a dignified manner.
Two carriages started to set off from the inn. Fearing that there would be too much crowds at Wenji, Zhou Zun and two other young men simply left their horses at the inn and got on the carriage to go with them.
"The prize of this year's cultural festival is a crane feather hat. It is said that it is made from crane feathers from the palace treasure garden, and it is also embedded with a few pearls paid tribute from southern Xinjiang."
Li Xiaowan said seriously, trying to arouse Xu Mu's competitive spirit, but she was quickly disappointed. Xu Mu had no expression other than scratching his head.
"Hey, you disciple! Do you really want to be your little boss for the rest of your life?"
"Why not!" Xu Mu rolled his eyes, and curiosity suddenly arose in his heart. A cultural festival in Chengcheng could be so prestigious, but after thinking about it again, he understood.
Chengcheng has been full of talented people for hundreds of years and has brought a lot of blood to the Daji Court. There seems to be nothing wrong with being favored.
We were still a little far away from the street where the cultural festival took place, but we could already hear the cheering sounds of many scholars.
Colorful lanterns are spread from the street to the end of the street. In the night sky, each praying lantern swings higher and higher until it turns into bright lights.
On the crowded streets, not only scholars but also many tourists were walking, turning back every step of the way for fear of dragging down some pretty girl.
The hawker stood in the corner and shouted loudly, the flower girl smiled coquettishly and dropped her handkerchief from the attic, and the oiran danced showily on the boat not far away.
To be honest, this was the most lively scene Xu Mu had seen since time travel. It once made him think that he had entered a certain prosperous age.
"Master, this doesn't seem to be a monkey show." Zhou Zun swallowed.
Si Hu and others nearby also had slightly shocked expressions on their faces. They had never seen such a scene when they were at the border.
"What monkey show?" Li Xiaowan leaned over and stared at Xu Mu suspiciously.
Xu Muqian laughed. If he described the Chengcheng Cultural Festival as a monkey show, Li Xiaowan would probably be angry again.
"Deng's disciple, there will be a poetry meeting at the cultural festival later. You can go up and win that crane feather hat."
"You think too highly of me." Xu Mu was speechless.
Coming here this time is just to give Li Xiaowan face. After all, it was Li Xiaowan who facilitated the big business of harvesting grain.
Before entering the street, it was impossible for the two carriages to move forward. As a last resort, the group had to get out of the carriage.
Several Li family guards waiting at the street corner saw Li Xiaowan arriving and hurriedly approached. Unexpectedly, as soon as they got closer, they were scolded by Li Xiaowan until they were bloody.
It probably means that I am not a fool and do not need anyone to protect me.
According to Xu Mu's original idea, these official ladies in feudal society should be reserved and restrained. Obviously, Li Xiaowan in front of him completely overturned his idea.
"Young disciple, come this way!" Li Xiaowan gasped, and led Xu Mu and his group in a familiar manner, and began to walk forward.
Many scholars who came towards me, some of whom knew Li Xiaowan, smiled charmingly and hurried over to say hello.
"Wanwan! Master Xu!"
Fan Gu and Wang Yun were both sweating profusely as they ran, completely ignoring the cries of the ladies behind them.
"How much do they understand! We and Master Xu have a close friendship from the border guards!"
These words made Xu Mu's heart flutter. Although these two men were a little bit temperamental, they knew how to repay their kindness.
Not like the idiots like Juventus.
"Wanwan, I'll go to the Wenji Poetry Festival together."
Although there are many lantern riddle stages in this huge cultural festival, the most interesting thing is the poetry gathering that brings together countless talented people from the inner city.
Of course, including Xu Mu, this large group of people from Xujiazhuang were somewhat out of place. But Li Xiaowan didn't care, and decided that Xu Muwen was like a star descending from the earth, so she wanted to drag him all the way.
Not long after, with the help of several Li family guards, the group crossed the bustling crowd and walked to an open stone platform.
As far as the eye can see, there are many well-dressed scholars, most of them wearing crowns and jade, and their silk shirts are fluttered by the evening breeze, adding a bit of elegance.
In the center of the stone platform, there is a jade platform. On the jade platform, there is a scribe's hat that shines brightly in the night. It is really beautiful.
Needless to say, this is the prize in Li Xiaowan's mouth, the crane feather hat given by the emperor.
"Boss, that young master is here too!" At this moment, Zhou Zun next to him suddenly exclaimed.
Xu Mu was startled, then looked forward, and was shocked to find that this guy Lu Zizhong had also come to Chengcheng.
Sitting on a chair, Lu Zizhong raised his head alertly. When he found Li Xiaowan standing next to Xu Mu, his brows furrowed deeply for a moment.
For this cultural festival, I was invited by my classmates, so I came all the way from Tangjiang. Unexpectedly, I met that annoying Yakusan'er here again. Moreover, he seemed to have gotten close to an official lady.
"Ignore him." Looking back, Xu Mu spoke in a deep tone.
Business is business, but at Chengcheng's grand event, it's not good to cause a scene.
"There are osmanthus seeds in the third autumn, and lotus flowers ten miles away. The watermelon song goes out into the night, and the fishing old man leads the lotus baby." A fair-faced scholar saw that there were more people, walked to the middle, and spoke leisurely.
In an instant, bursts of cheers erupted around the stone platform.
The people around him, even the three ancestors of Li Xiaowan, were all calm and motionless. After experiencing the hardships at the border, this round of Chengcheng's prosperous age seemed like a world away.
"My great era has been prosperous for four hundred years, the people are safe and secure, and I am here with all my friends, and I feel very relieved."
The clever and flattering words ushered in a second round of applause.
Xu Mu only found it funny. A bunch of industrious scholars could not even hold a sword firmly, but they insisted on talking about prosperity and good health.
He somewhat wanted to leave.
Compared with these delightful hymns, he missed even more the roars of Tongzi Camp fighting to the death at the top of Wangzhou City.
"Xu, you are not allowed to leave." Li Xiaowan bit her lip, as if she had guessed Xu Mu's thoughts, and hurriedly moved her body to block Xu Mu's back.
"I don't like these." Xu Mu frowned slightly.
"I don't like it very much either." Li Xiaowan raised her head. Her beautiful bun, delicate makeup, and hair lifted by the evening breeze made her look charming for a moment.
"I know you don't like it, but my dad...my dad likes elegant and graceful people."