bookcurios Chapter 163 Lantern Festival Chapter
Chapter 163 Lantern Festival Chapter
He Ningxin blinked and looked at Guo Xin, whispering, "Speaking of the devil is true. It really is true that you can't talk about people behind their backs."
Guo Xin tapped He Ningxin's forehead and said, "See, let him come to the yard."
He Ningxin stood up, bowed, and said playfully, "Sister, I'll go first. Don't forget the lanterns tomorrow."
Guo Xin nodded, but was wondering in his heart why Zhao He sent someone to deliver the message today. Could it be that something went wrong in the workshop?
"Miss Guo, I'm here to pass on a message from my prince." Wen Yan walked into the courtyard and bowed. Seeing Guo Xin nod, he said, "Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival. My prince wants to invite you to join us at the Lantern Festival. What do you think?"
Guo Xin looked at Wen Yan in surprise. She didn't expect that Zhao He would invite her to the Lantern Festival. Even though they were often together because of workshop matters during this period, their relationship was not so good, right?
Besides, isn't it common for couples to go to the Lantern Festival together? Why is there such an invitation? Did His Majesty order it?
Wen Yan seemed to see Guo Xin's confusion, and said, "My dear, my prince said that this invitation is in the name of alliance partners, and it has nothing to do with men and women. His Highness said that he also knows something about corruption, so he wants to take you to see the other side of the capital."
The other side?
"But, I have already made an appointment with my younger sister to watch the lanterns together on the Lantern Festival tomorrow. I am afraid I cannot accept the invitation from the Sixth Prince."
Wen Yan smiled and said, "My Highness had anticipated this. He said that if the young lady has an appointment with her sisters at home, and if the person with whom she has an appointment does not mind, I wonder if she can travel together?"
"Your Highness has made such a good arrangement. It would be bad if I didn't agree to it."
"Then I'll meet you at Changxing Tower at 11:00 p.m. tomorrow."
……
Guo Xin was still full of doubts until the night of the Lantern Festival. She really couldn't figure out which aspect of the capital was related to corruption, and she was absent-minded during dinner.
"Sister, sister." He Ningxin called out several times, and seeing that Guo Xin still had no reaction, she carefully poked Guo Xin's arm.
"Huh?" Guo Xin came back to his senses and looked at He Ningxin, looking confused.
"I called you several times, but you didn't respond at all. What are you thinking about, sister? Is it the Sixth Prince?"
He Ningxin knew yesterday that the Sixth Prince would join them at the Lantern Festival tonight. Although she was somewhat reluctant, after all, this was supposed to be a time for her and her sister to be alone, she had already agreed to it and could not not go.
Besides, she was also very interested in the so-called other side of the capital. What on earth did this have to do with the corruption case?
Guo Xin shook his head and said, "No, I just have doubts about the other side of what he said, and I have been thinking about it since yesterday, but the answer to this mystery will be revealed soon."
Madam He saw the two sisters whispering to each other and knew about the Lantern Festival, so she said, "Xin'er, Ning Xin, it seems that the time is almost up. You should go out. Remember, don't come back late and don't leave the maids and servants to go to the alleys alone."
After Guo Xin and the other person bowed and accepted the greeting, they headed towards Changxing Tower as agreed.
"Sixth Master."
"Miss Guo, Miss He."
Guo Xin followed Zhao He's footsteps and walked outside, saying, "I wonder what the other side of the capital that Sixth Master is talking about is, and how it is related to the case I raised?"
Zhao He smiled, pointed at the lanterns on the street, and said, "Do you think the lanterns on the street are beautiful?"
Guo Xin looked in the direction of Zhao He's hand. It was a well-made rabbit lamp, very lifelike. If it were in her previous life, it could be put in a museum as an exhibit. She turned her head to look at He Ningxin and saw that her eyes were also shining.
He took out some silver from his pocket and asked, "How much is this rabbit lantern?"
The woman at the stall immediately took down the rabbit lantern and said enthusiastically, "Young lady, you have a good eye. This is our shop's ancestral rabbit lantern. Outsiders can't learn to make it. It's just a little expensive. It costs one or two taels of silver."
After saying that, her eyes kept moving back and forth between He Ningxin and Guo Xin. Guo Xin saw the woman's appearance, put the silver on the table, took the lantern and gave it to He Ningxin, and smiled at the woman.
The woman's eyebrows were curved, and auspicious words kept coming out: "Thank you, young lady. I wish you a happy life, peace and health, and find a good man as soon as possible."
Guo Xin smiled and nodded as she continued to walk forward. He Ningxin followed, holding Guo Xin's hand. Zhao He said, "The woman just now was originally a very poor person. Later, she was noticed by the government of Jingzhao Prefecture, and was taught the art of making lanterns and some straw weaving."
"The woman and her family slowly came out of their predicament. Jingzhao Prefecture also helped many people like this, but although they had good intentions, they also had their own selfish desires."
When Guo Xin heard this, he understood what Zhao He wanted to say, so he interrupted Zhao He and said, "So although those people will help some poor people, they will also embezzle the money that belongs to other poor people."
Zhao He nodded and said, "If that's the case, do you still think that the corrupt officials should be severely punished according to the booklet you handed over?"
"Although they did good things, that can't offset the bad things they did. Merits and demerits have always been calculated separately."
"But have you ever thought about what would happen to those poor people if there were no officials? So I think those officials should be punished, but not as severely as you said."
Guo Xin remained silent, as if the bustling crowd around him had nothing to do with them.
Zhao He continued, "This matter was actually told to me by my third brother. I also read your booklet. In fact, many of the suggestions in it are very good, but they may not be suitable for our current situation in Dazhao. If we deal with too many people at once, who can work for our Dazhao Dynasty?"
“Even if we promote new and honest people, it takes time to train them.”
Guo Xin listened to this long string of words, opened and closed his mouth, and after a long while he said: "What you said does not make sense, but are we going to just let those poor people who have suffered because of corruption go like this?"
"No, the officials need to deal with it, but not now. Dazhao is facing internal and external troubles, so it's not the best time to deal with it. And why are officials corrupt? We guess that in addition to human selfishness, it is also because the salaries of Dazhao officials are not high and it is difficult for them to support their families."
Guo Xin did not respond, but felt He Ningxin pinch her gently. After a long while, she said, "Let's not talk about the corruption for now. This matter cannot be dealt with in just a few words. I have another thing I want to ask you."