Qian Jiaoniang stepped forward and stood by the desk, “The Marquis really isn’t going?”
Xing Muzheng did not lift his head, just told her to look at the top of his head, “Mm, not going.”
Qian Jiaoniang pondered for a moment, then nodded decisively, “Mm, alright then.”
After speaking, she actually turned and left. Xing Muzheng stared at her back, nearly infuriated to internal injury. This woman wouldn’t even say a kind word? She probably hoped he wouldn’t go so she could enjoy freedom. Xing Muzheng angrily flicked his sleeve, knocking the paperweight off the desk onto the floor.
Qian Jiaoniang turned her head, “What’s wrong?”
Xing Muzheng gritted his teeth, “Nothing.” Couldn’t she ask twice? Maybe he would change his mind again.
Qian Jiaoniang nodded and slowly walked outside. She had almost reached the warm chamber but stood at the door for a moment. She looked back at the study, furrowed her brows, muttered softly to herself. Finally, she sighed and turned back to the study.
She stepped back into the study where Xing Muzheng was sitting angrily in a chair. Not wanting her to return, he immediately stood up and, as if nothing had happened, continued looking at his painting.
Unexpectedly, no matter how fast he moved, Qian Jiaoniang had already seen it. She stepped forward with a smile and said, “This painting won’t run away anyway; you can come appreciate it anytime. Today is the second day of the new year, and the Marquis has finally invited the lion dance troupe. Let’s all go out and watch together.”
Xing Muzheng said nothing. He wanted to speak but didn’t know what to say for a moment. If he insisted too much, and this woman took it seriously again, he really wouldn’t have a way out.
Qian Jiaoniang saw he neither spoke nor moved and was unsure of his attitude. She hesitated for a moment, bit her lip, stepped forward, and grabbed his arm, “Marquis, you should still go. You can come back to appreciate the painting later.”
Xing Muzheng’s heart skipped a beat for no reason as she pulled him. He suppressed the corner of his mouth, expressionless but with a trace of reluctance, and that reluctance mixed with a hint of wanting to resist yet giving in, he let her pull him out the door.
A frame was already set up outside the main gate, and many common folk had gathered to watch. When Qian Jiaoniang and the others arrived at the gate, they heard from afar the sounds of gongs, drums, firecrackers, and the cheers of the crowd along the way. Xing Pingchun hurried forward and saw two huge lion heads shaking and bobbing toward him. Underneath were two pairs of colorful pants legs firmly stepping horse stances. In front, two men with one red and one yellow headscarf carried colorful balls. On both sides of the two lions were many companions wearing headscarves and colorful clothes, moving forward with the drums and gongs.
It turned out these lions were people in disguise, but they looked really good! Xing Pingchun was overjoyed and clapped and cheered along with the crowd.
Qian Jiaoniang, Granny Zhou, Madam Cao, and others stood outside stretching their necks to watch. This was actually Qian Jiaoniang’s first proper viewing of lion dance; before, she had only glanced from afar and then rushed to work. Though she did not cheer as excitedly as Xing Pingchun, the happiness in her eyes was obvious.
The lion dance troupe manager, led by Ding Zhang, came forward to ask for a “cai tou” (lucky token). Xing Muzheng first lowered his gaze, then looked back at Qian Jiaoniang. She was slightly flustered. Her eyes fell on a gold qilin hanging at Xing Muzheng’s waist. She reached to take it off and offer it but then thought it was inappropriate since she herself had nothing suitable to use as a token. She turned to call Hongjuan to fetch something but was stopped by Xing Muzheng. He lifted her hand and handed over the gold qilin, saying, “Since Madam is happy, use this as the token.”
The manager took it, weighed it, and it was very heavy. The fur details were even clearly made. It was obviously a fine treasure. The manager smiled broadly, bowed deeply to them, and carefully hung the gold qilin high on a bamboo pole on the frame.
Zhangzhou’s style was a martial lion dance, and a contest was necessary. After hanging the gold qilin, both lion teams had to form human pyramids. Whichever lion head “bit” the token first would win. Seeing the golden qilin hanging there, both teams fought fiercely, using all eighteen martial arts skills. This amazed Qian Jiaoniang, Xing Pingchun, and the others, who cheered loudly and clapped until their hands turned red.
While everyone else was watching the lion dance happily, only Xing Muzheng kept staring at Qian Jiaoniang. Others watched with joy; he watched happily too.
Unbeknownst to them, Zhao Yaoqian happened to turn her head at that moment and caught Xing Muzheng’s intense gaze at Qian Jiaoniang. The deep black eyes held such strong affection it could almost melt a person.
Zhao Yaoqian’s heart suddenly skipped a beat; she covered her chest.
Madam Hong and the second madam, following the old lady’s instructions, came to visit the Xing residence and happened to catch this lively scene. They saw the red headscarf team biting the gold qilin from the sedan chair and got out to watch. Qian Jiaoniang hurriedly invited the honored guests inside to sit. After greetings, Xing Muzheng excused himself. The two madams invited Qian Jiaoniang to go walk to the city gate to cure their sick air, which she naturally agreed to. So the two families, with all the women and girls, took a stroll to the city gate.
