Wupo Po did not intend to join the excitement, but Consort Mei insisted on taking her. With her daughter requesting it, Wupo Po had to oblige, and it was also a good opportunity to spend time with her daughter.
The group set off in a grand procession towards Hanwen Street.
As night gradually enveloped the city, the entire capital transformed into a sea of lanterns, appearing as ethereal as a celestial street market from afar.
Lanterns of various designs adorned both sides of the street, twinkling like brilliant, colorful pearls in the darkness, making one feel as though they were in an immortal realm.
Pedestrians strolled in small groups, their robes fluttering and their jade ornaments jingling, their laughter and cheerful voices filling the air.
In the spacious square by the street, vendors sold lanterns, competitions were held, riddles were guessed, and acrobats performed to entertain the crowds, the boisterous sounds reaching the heavens.
Lu Huo walked at the forefront, carrying Si Zai on his back. Si Zai’s eyes were wide, his head turning to gaze curiously at the surrounding sights, his hands and feet wriggling with excitement.
Lu Ye, wearing a mask, held Bai Sheng’s hand. Consort Mei, veiled and arm-in-arm with Wupo Po, followed behind Lu Huo.
Behind them were Prince Yu and Qiu Bian, followed by Yang Ming, Wei Han, Qing Yu, and their third and fourth uncles.
Fearing that Lu Huo would be too tired from carrying Si Zai for an extended period, Bai Sheng had Lu Ye, Yang Ming, Wei Han, and Qing Yu each carry one of the children on their necks.
Prince Yu, feeling overlooked, insisted on taking Lao San from Wei Han’s neck and placing him on his own.
Worried that Rui Rui might accidentally make Prince Yu cry with his rough handling, Bai Sheng immediately asked Lu Ye to swap Lao Er on his shoulders with Rui Rui.
The four handsome young men, each with a cute and beautiful child perched on their neck, immediately attracted a great deal of attention.
Passing by a monkey show, the group stopped. The monkey trainer had several large monkeys performing tasks like wearing hats, serving tea, and bowing, their antics endearing and drawing hearty laughter from the surrounding onlookers.
However, when it was time for a young monkey to perform the fire hoop trick, it remained squatting, unresponsive to the trainer’s commands.
The young monkey seemed tired and unwilling to move. The trainer, seeing himself publicly embarrassed by the monkey’s defiance, became furious. He grabbed his whip and lashed out at the animal. The young monkey trembled under the blows, letting out piercing cries.
Seeing this, Hua Hua raised her little finger and pointed at the monkey trainer, saying, "Stop, don't hit it!"
Due to Hua Hua’s uniquely soft voice and the fact that Qing Yu, carrying her, was at the very front and closest to the trainer, her voice caused everyone to freeze for a moment.
The little monkey, upon seeing Hua Hua, suddenly regained a spark in its dull eyes and looked at her pleadingly.
The trainer, seeing it was a two-year-old child pointing at him, was initially annoyed. However, he glanced at the person carrying her and the others standing beside her, assessing that this group was not to be trifled with. He plastered a smile on his face and said, "Little darling, this beast is disobedient and must be disciplined harshly. Once it’s well-behaved, it will perform amusing tricks for you."
With that, he prepared to raise his whip again.
Lu Ye raised his hand and caught the whip. He tossed a silver ingot onto the ground and said in a deep voice, "I'll buy this little monkey."
The monkey trainer picked up the silver ingot, weighed it in his hand, and immediately smiled obsequiously, saying, "Certainly, I'll pack it up for you right away."
The trainer placed the young monkey into a small bamboo cage and handed it to Lu Ye.
Upon seeing this, Lu Huo immediately took the cage and began carrying it.
The group continued on their way.
When they reached a particularly large lantern stall, Wupo Po saw a woman in a yellow dress, wearing a veiled hat, emerge from the stall carrying two mandarin duck lanterns.
She immediately stopped.
The figure of that woman…
Consort Mei, noticing her mother staring blankly in one direction, quietly asked, "Mother, what's wrong?"
Wupo Po exclaimed urgently, "That woman in the veiled hat just now strongly resembles my junior sister, Yu Zi! Yue'er, I'm going to follow her. Have them wait here for me!"
Without waiting for Consort Mei's reply, Wupo Po swiftly gave chase.
Bai Sheng, Lu Ye, and the others were somewhat perplexed when Wupo Po suddenly pushed through the crowd and hurried into the throng.
Just as they were about to inquire, Consort Mei said, "I— Wupo Po said she saw a woman who looked very much like Yu Zi! So she went after her. You all wait here, I'll go too!"
She had to protect her mother, and she had heard that the woman named Yu Zi was quite formidable.
"Aunt Qing, wait here!" Upon hearing this, Lu Ye and Prince Yu exchanged glances, immediately put the third and second cubs down, and then, with a light touch of their toes, ascended to the rooftops on either side of the street like two gusts of wind.
Standing on the rooftops, they looked down and saw Wupo Po chasing after a woman.
Lu Ye and Prince Yu sped along the rooftops towards the woman's direction.
The woman seemed to sense that she was being followed and suddenly turned into a dark alley. By the time Lu Ye, Prince Yu, and Wupo Po arrived, the woman had already vanished.
To avoid alerting their quarry, several of them did not pursue further.
"Master, how did you recognize the woman in the veiled hat as Yu Zi?" Bai Sheng asked, quite puzzled. After all, over thirty years had passed, and people could change considerably, not to mention the woman was wearing a veiled hat.
Wupo Po, catching her breath, said, "Because Yu Zi has a slight limp in her right foot, not very noticeable, so most people wouldn't see it. She was also wearing a yellow dress, her favorite color, and carrying a pair of mandarin duck lanterns.
On the Lantern Festival when she was 14, she bought a pair of mandarin duck lanterns, kept one for herself, and gave the other to our master.
Our master thought I had given it to him, so he happily accepted it and hung it by his bedside every day. Later, when he found out it was from Yu Zi, he despised it and threw the lantern away.
Yu Zi was very angry, and from then on, she bought two mandarin duck lanterns every Lantern Festival."
"So many coincidences pointing to the same person, that woman must be Yu Zi," Consort Mei stated with certainty.
Lu Ye nodded. "This indicates that Yu Zi is in the capital, and finding her will be much easier."
"Yes, we must find her!" Bai Sheng clenched her fist, ready to teach the scheming woman a lesson at any moment.
"I'll immediately dispatch hidden guards to investigate. We'll turn the city upside down to find her!" Prince Yu declared solemnly.
"I'll also send people out to search separately, but we must proceed with caution and not alert her," Lu Ye cautioned in a low voice.
Everyone nodded.
From then on, no one had the appetite for further lantern viewing and decided to return to the residence early.
Upon hearing that they were going home, Si Zai immediately drooped, his face filled with despair.
Bai Sheng said with affection, "My darling cubs, grow up quickly and practice martial arts diligently. Once you can protect yourselves, I won't stop you from going wherever you wish."
Lu Ye glanced at Qing Yu and Wei Han and cleared his throat.
Qing Yu and Wei Han immediately chuckled at Bai Sheng and said, "Sister-in-law, we'd still like to look around. Why don't you let Miss Lu Huo take Si Zai, and we can protect them along the way?"
Bai Sheng, having witnessed Qing Yu and Wei Han's martial arts skills, expressed her gratitude. "That would be wonderful, thank you both, brother guards. I feel at ease knowing you are watching."
Qing Yu took Lao Er, and Wei Han took Lao Si. Lu Huo, with Lao Da and Lao San on her, continued to walk into the surging crowd.
The remaining members returned to the Lu residence.
Lu Ye summoned his "rats" to search the entire city for Yu Zi, and also dispatched numerous secret agents to conduct discreet investigations within the capital.
Prince Yu also dispatched his hidden guards.