Chapter 2: Shangyuan (II)

“Mandarin ducks play in pairs in the water, butterflies flutter in pairs among the flowers; I possess countless tender feelings—whom can I share them with in this life? Red beans symbolize longing, planted in my heart from a past life; I wait for fate to bring us together to enjoy spring, summer, autumn, and winter.”
According to the note, it should be eight characters.
Li Kuo was highly skilled in poetry, extremely sensitive to rhythm, rhyme, and sentence structure. Though he hadn’t practiced riddles specifically, it still helped a bit.
Eight characters… eight characters…
The couplet consisted of eight lines, yet the riddle required only eight characters—could it be one character per line?
Indeed, that was the trick of the riddle!
If one failed to see this clue, even a great scholar of our time wouldn’t be able to solve it. But once the trick was understood, the answer became obvious.
“This riddle is quite simple,” Li Kuo said with a slight smile to the shopkeeper, then began to explain.
“First, the Mandarin ducks are birds of love—playing in pairs in the water shows deep affection. So this line represents the character for ‘love.’ Next, ‘loving the flowers’ means diving into the flower beds, so this line represents the character for ‘dive.’ The third line, ‘I possess countless tender feelings,’ refers to deep affection, so it’s the character for ‘affection.’ The next line, ‘to blend together,’ is simply the character for ‘combine.’”
He paused briefly before continuing.
“The fifth line’s character ‘seed’ clearly implies being planted in the ground, so it’s the character for ‘ground.’ The sixth line, ‘planted in a past life,’ suggests something that has lasted for a long time, so it’s the character for ‘long.’ As for the seventh line, two people meeting together—doesn’t that mean the character for ‘heaven’? The last line refers to a long duration of time, so it’s the character for ‘long.’ Put them all together—doesn’t it mean ‘deep affection and lasting love’?”
“Oh! Right, right! This young master has given an excellent answer. The answer is indeed the eight characters ‘deep affection and lasting love’!”
The shopkeeper was clearly surprised that Li Kuo had solved the riddle so quickly and was momentarily stunned.
Du Jingtian excitedly jumped to Li Kuo’s side, snatched the tiger-head lantern, and said, “Now this tiger-head lantern is mine! Oh, I didn’t expect Seventh Brother to be so good at riddles. How about this—solve all these riddles, and we can take all these colored lanterns home.”
Seeing how skilled Li Kuo was at riddles, Miss Du resolved to take all the lanterns hanging in the shop.
“That’s not possible! Absolutely not!”
Only then did the shopkeeper wake up from his shock. Realizing the boy’s talent, he didn’t dare let him continue solving riddles. If the boy solved them all, he might end up losing everything he had.

“Hey, how can you do business like this? Five coins per attempt—that was what you said yourself!”
Miss Du was no easy target; she clenched her fists and took a step toward the clerk.
The shopkeeper instinctively stepped back and said, “Ah, I wasn’t clear enough earlier. Everyone can only guess the riddle once, just once!”
Du Jingtian laughed loudly, pointing at the clerk with a trembling hand. “Oh, why didn’t you say that earlier? Ah, why didn’t you say anything? Everyone, be fair—this guy obviously made up this excuse because my husband is good at guessing riddles. Your excuse is pure nonsense!”
“Yes, this shopkeeper is really untrustworthy.”
“Hmm, he’s all about making money.”
“Nine out of ten merchants are dishonest—true enough.”
“Why not let that young man guess? There’s no such rule in the world!”
The crowd grew angry, and everyone criticized the unscrupulous clerk.
“No, it’s not like that.”
The clerk quickly waved his hands. If things escalated, not only would he fail to do business well that day, but he might even lose his place in Chang’an City in the future.
“Ah Tian!”
Li Kuo glared at Du Jingtian, stopping her from causing trouble. “It’s just a small business for the shopkeeper. Don’t make more trouble! Why do we need so many lanterns? Besides, I may not even be able to guess all the answers.”
“Be obedient. Let’s go ahead.”
Li Kuo grabbed Du Jingtian’s wrist and led her forward.
“Shopkeeper, here are five coins. Please take them.”
Shen Liniang took out five Kaiyuan Tongbao coins from her purse and handed them to the clerk.
“Thank you, thank you! You’re really kind!”
Amidst the crowd’s mixed comments, the three of them finally left that troublesome place.
“Tch, you stingy wretch! You’re clearly worried about losing that money!”
Since Miss Du hadn’t gotten her way, she was naturally upset. Poor “Seventh Brother” had once again been mocked by her.
“It’s unfair! It’s such a huge injustice!”
Li Kuo spread his hands and looked distressed. As for Ah Tian’s expenses, she was the one who spent the most at home. No one else would suffer but Miss Du herself.
“Yes, Sister Jingtian, shouldn’t you stop framing the young man?”
Shen Liniang sighed in agreement.
“Hmph, the two of you are exactly the same!”
Du Jingtian ignored them and walked straight ahead.
“Ah Tian, wait for me!”…
Seeing the crowd gathered ahead, Du Jingtian curiously approached. Unfortunately, all in front of her were burly men, so she couldn’t see anything at all.

“Dead Little Seven, damn Seven Bun, come here quickly~~~!”
When Miss Du unleashed her mighty roar, Young Master Li was in trouble. Facing the astonished gazes of everyone, he stepped forward quickly and said, “Didn’t I say not to call me that outside?”
Miss Du, unfazed, crossed her arms and said, “Someone bullied me.”
“You… Sigh.”
The young man helplessly waved his hand and said, “Well then, Miss, have you found anything interesting?”
Hearing this, Du Jingtian exclaimed happily, “Look, so many people have gathered over there—there must be something fun. You’re tall; help me see what they’re doing in there.”
Li Kuo almost spat blood—so Miss Du was up to no good again.
The young man had no choice but to walk up to the crowd and look inside. In the center of a half-mu square area stood a colored flag, with two hemp ropes with hooks tightly intertwined at one end and held by two bare-chested men at the other. Not far from the flag was a large drum, with a drummer standing beside it. It seemed the competition hadn’t started yet.
It was hook wrestling! (Note 1) The young man smiled bitterly. Now, Ah Tian wouldn’t insist on playing, would she?
“That’s hook wrestling. You can’t play it!”
Li Kuo shrugged at Du Jingtian and explained.
“Why can’t I play? I insist on playing! And you, damn Seven Bun, must play with me too!”
Du Jingtian was full of mischief and wouldn’t be dissuaded by just one sentence from Li Kuo. Just like that, General Li failed to persuade her and ended up getting involved himself.
“Hey, wait, wait…”
Li Kuo was pulled by Du Jingtian through the crowd into the arena.
“You guys want to play hook wrestling?”
A burly man with a hawk-like nose and thick beard glanced at them disdainfully and asked.
“We…”
“Exactly! This young lady wants to play hook wrestling!”
Before Li Kuo could speak, Miss Du answered, startling the man, who took a deep breath.
A noblewoman dressed in fine clothes wanting to play hook wrestling—this could only happen in the open-minded Chang’an of the Tang Dynasty!
“Alright, which team do you want to join?”
The bearded man was straightforward and immediately agreed to Du Jingtian’s request.
“It’s not ‘I’. It’s ‘we’. My husband and I will play together.”
Miss Du stepped forward, pressing her breasts almost against the man’s bare chest.
“Uh… I should have made that clearer.”

The burly man quickly stepped back and explained, “This tug-of-war is meant to ensure fairness and justice—friends who are together cannot be placed in different teams. Since you and your husband are husband and wife, of course you can’t be in the same team.”
“I see!”
Du Jingtian sucked on her finger and nodded seriously.
“Qilang, I’ll go to the blue side, and you go to the red side!”
After thinking for a moment, the young woman made her choice. It turned out that the participants in this tug-of-war were divided into red and blue teams, with ribbons of the same color hanging on each side.
“How could I dare refuse Jingtian’s order?”
Li Kuo shook his head helplessly and voluntarily headed toward the side with the red ribbon.
“Please, all the elders and villagers, take your positions!”
The bearded giant raised a colorful flag high and shouted.
Hearing this, the men on both sides rubbed their hands together, gripping their ropes tightly.
“Get ready!”
The bearded giant nodded in satisfaction and shouted, “Start!”
At that moment, the warriors on both sides exerted force. Amidst the rapid beats of the drums, the red and blue dragons intertwined tightly, creating a chaotic scene.