Luckily, everything had been prepared in advance, and after Ran Yan hurriedly bathed, she began to dress and put on makeup.
The maid insisted on her usual principle, doing her utmost to dress her in a soft and charming style. This time, Xiaoman also used all her skills, and somehow managed to transform Ran Yan’s lifeless face into one that exuded youthful charm and gentle beauty.
Looking at herself in the mirror, Ran Yan felt extremely uncomfortable. She had already changed her face and was not yet fully accustomed to it. Now with this appearance, she felt like even her soul was no longer her own!
However, there was no time to change her outfit. Since she couldn’t see herself anyway, she reluctantly braved it out in this guise and went to the side hall to find Ran Yunsheng.
Today, Ran Yunsheng was wearing a dark blue robe with a round collar and narrow sleeves, a black silk cap on his head, and soft boots on his feet. The added hint of ruggedness to his usual softness made him look like a dashing and luminous young gentleman, rather than someone indistinguishable between male or female.
"Brother should wear Hu clothing more often in the future," Ran Yan said after admiring him for a while.
Ran Yunsheng’s beautiful eyes didn’t hide his amazement at Ran Yan’s beauty, and he couldn’t resist teasing her, "Yan, you should take the mask tonight. Brother is afraid someone might abduct you."
Am I really that frail? Ran Yan frowned and nodded, "It’s better to wear the mask."
Ran Yunsheng’s indirect praise of her beauty was misunderstood by Ran Yan.
Ran Yunsheng thought Ran Yan was joking on purpose and burst into laughter, oblivious to the fact that Ran Yan’s sense of humor was always different from others; she genuinely didn’t like how she looked now.
As they spoke, the two of them left the house. Since Wan Lu still hadn’t fully recovered, and Ran Yan disliked taking the maid sent by the Gao family out, she went alone with Ran Yunsheng and boarded the carriage.
During Qixi and Lantern Festival, women need not wear the mask and can enjoy themselves with their sweethearts, making it very lively.
The weather had been clear for two days, and the night sky was bright; a half-moon was floating near the Milky Way, which looked like a wisp of light smoke.
Every year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the moonlight prevents us from seeing the Milky Way, making it look like the Heavenly River has vanished, and it’s the time when the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meet. However, in reality, the distance between them remains unchanged.
Ran Yan leaned against the window and looked out. After the carriage had been moving for a while, the tranquil night gradually gave way to the noisy street market, with rows of long red lanterns lighting up along the Pingjiang River bank, winding like a dragon without end in sight.
On the wide Pingjiang River, brightly lit boats floated with carved lattices for walls and light silk for drapes, looking exceptionally luxurious. Among them, the most conspicuous was a three-tiered, elaborately carved large boat. With its pavilions and terraces looking no different from houses and festooned with streamers and hexagonal silk lanterns hanging at every interval of two steps, the deck bustled with people and laughter, a sight of great fun.
"What place is that?" Ran Yan couldn’t help asking.
Ran Yunsheng replied, "That’s the Zhou family’s boat. Every Qixi it’s moored on the bank of the Pingjiang River. If you’re from a noble family, you can go aboard to play. Would you like to go, Yan?"
Ran Yan shook her head. When noble ladies gathered together, aside from gossiping and trying to outshine each other, there was no fun to be had. It was better to stroll through the street market and experience the Qixi atmosphere of the Great Tang.
The carriage stopped at the side of the road, and Ran Yan still put on her mask.
After disembarking, the noise became even clearer, enveloping her and giving a genuine sense of being part of the hustle and bustle. Attracted by this lively and traditional atmosphere, Ran Yan and Ran Yunsheng began to casually stroll around the street market together.
However, Ran Yunsheng’s remarkable appearance and Ran Yan’s inconvenient mask forced them to walk along the spacious edges, completely losing the joy of blending in with the crowd.
Ran Yan stood on some steps, peering through the gauze, and spotted a few mask stalls up ahead. Pulling Ran Yunsheng with her, they each picked one and put them on.
Many people in the street market were wearing masks, so the two of them didn’t stand out. This made moving around much easier.
"There’s a stall selling exquisite fruit candies up ahead. Let’s go buy some," Ran Yunsheng said. There were many varieties of the fruit candies, presented in various shapes inside the food box, looking quite tempting.
Buying fruit candies wasn’t necessarily because they were so delicious; it was purely part of the Qixi Festival atmosphere.
"Young master, young mistress, buy a pound of fruit candies today and get a bottle of Baizi!" the stall owner called out enthusiastically.
Eating pine nuts, taking Baizi, and folding lotus leaves were customs of the Tang Dynasty’s Qixi Festival. Baizi was said to be a secret remedy made from pine and cypress. This miraculous pill, mixed with dew collected on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, was claimed to extend life by ten years with one pill, twenty years with two.