She wished to escape the scrutiny of onlookers.
"Slow down, don't fall," Ling Mohan quickly pulled Feng Jin back, worried she might trip running so fast.
"I have a way to make people stop staring at you."
Ling Mohan said mysteriously, taking Feng Jin's hand and leading her towards a stall.
He picked up a rabbit mask and placed it on Feng Jin's face, "This way, we can avoid attention."
Feng Jin took off the mask and looked at it. The rabbit mask was indeed exquisitely made, lifelike.
Feng Jin spotted the tiger mask hanging at the very top of the stall. She directly took it down and put it on Ling Mohan's face, "Not bad."
Tigers, the kings of beasts, their majestic aura perfectly matched Ling Mohan.
Ling Mohan readily bought both masks.
They walked around hand in hand.
"It's so lively here," Feng Jin's eyes darted around, selling everything imaginable, it was too much to take in.
"There's a lantern riddle game over there, let's go quickly."
Feng Jin pulled Ling Mohan's hand and walked towards the front.
"Esteemed customers, there are prizes hanging under each lantern. Each guess costs ten copper coins. If you guess correctly, you get to keep the prize and the lantern."
"Shopkeeper Zhang, the second to last one."
Shopkeeper Zhang stepped forward, took the lantern, and read the riddle: "Half full, half empty."
Feng Jin's eyes twinkled, and she whispered into Ling Mohan's ear, "The answer is 'River'."
As soon as she finished speaking, the man guessing the riddle said the answer, "It's River."
"This gentleman has guessed correctly. This purse is yours, sir," Shopkeeper Zhang handed the lantern over directly.
"Shopkeeper, what's the riddle on the topmost lantern?"
Shopkeeper Zhang glanced at the topmost lantern and smiled, "This riddle is the grand finale, posed by the former dean of Ying Tian Prefecture Academy. Whoever can answer it will win this fine white jade hairpin."
"I'll try. Shopkeeper, please read the riddle," said a scholar in white clothes, stepping forward from the crowd.
"Sir, you certainly have courage. Then listen to the riddle: 'When six-petaled flying flowers enter the house, sitting and watching green bamboo turn into jade branches. Now looking down from a tall building, it covers all the difficult paths in the human world.'"
The scholar in white was taken aback. He hesitated for a long time and still couldn't utter the answer. He lowered his head and sighed, "I cannot figure out this riddle. I apologize for my inadequacy."
"Is there anyone else who can guess the answer?" Shopkeeper Zhang called out to the crowd.
"The answer is 'Snow'," a clear, melodious female voice called out from the crowd.
Everyone turned towards the direction of the voice. A man and a woman, both wearing masks, were standing there. The speaker was Feng Jin.
"Shopkeeper, am I correct?" Feng Jin stepped forward and asked.
"Shopkeeper, quickly tell us if this lady is correct?"
"Shopkeeper, announce the answer quickly."
"This lady has guessed correctly. The answer is indeed Snow," Shopkeeper Zhang said with a somewhat bitter smile.
He had spent a fortune to ask the old dean to write this riddle, intending to make a substantial profit from it. He never expected such an inauspicious start, failing so quickly.
"Shopkeeper, can I have the white jade hairpin?" Feng Jin had her eye on the white jade hairpin, which was why she had stepped up to guess the riddle.
"Of course, of course, you must have it."
Shopkeeper Zhang could no longer smile. Stumbling, he stepped forward and handed the white jade hairpin to Feng Jin.
Ling Mohan took the hairpin and placed it in Feng Jin's hair, "It's beautiful."
"Of course, my taste is naturally excellent," Feng Jin said, contentedly touching the white jade hairpin in her hair.
"Shopkeeper, I won't take your hairpin for free. How about I give you a riddle, and you set a good prize, and I guarantee you'll make a fortune."
"That would be excellent, excellent. Madam, please write it down."
Shopkeeper Zhang hastily had paper and brush prepared. As long as he had a riddle to anchor the event, he wouldn't worry about not making money.
Feng Jin took the brush and swirled ink on the paper. Elegant characters appeared on the paper. After the last stroke, Feng Jin looked at the words on the paper with satisfaction, "Shopkeeper, take a look. Is this acceptable?"
Shopkeeper Zhang stepped forward and looked. The paper contained a passage of text.
"Walking on the street with nothing to do, carrying a pot to buy wine. If you encounter a shop, double the amount; if you see flowers, drink a dou. Three encounters with flowers and shops, and you drink all the wine in the pot. Just tell me, how much wine was originally in this pot?"
After reading it, Shopkeeper Zhang's face was filled with astonishment. He praised repeatedly, "Good... good, Madam, you are truly remarkable."
With this riddle, he was sure to make a fortune this year.
Feng Jin smiled triumphantly. This was the famous arithmetic riddle "Li Bai Buys Wine."
Based on her understanding during this period, arithmetic in this dynasty was far from advanced, essentially at a kindergarten level. This riddle would likely make them rack their brains without finding an answer.
"Shopkeeper, I'm glad you're satisfied. Here is the answer. I won't disturb your business any longer. We'll take our leave," Feng Jin handed Shopkeeper Zhang a slip of paper with the answer written on it.
Shopkeeper Zhang, completely engrossed in the riddle, quickly hung it up after Feng Jin left, using his most prized possession as the prize.
Feng Jin browsed leisurely. Before long, she felt a rumble in her stomach and pulled Ling Mohan directly towards a restaurant. Just as she was about to order, Feng Jin paused slightly and asked, "Did you bring money this time?"
The painful lesson from last time was still fresh in her memory. This time, she had to ask clearly before ordering, so as not to be tricked again.
"Yes, you can order whatever you like," Ling Mohan said in a deep voice.
Getting the satisfactory answer, Feng Jin didn't hold back and ordered a table full of dishes. Since she wasn't paying, she might as well eat to her heart's content.
Ling Mohan took a sip of the tea in his cup and immediately felt the taste was off. He put the teacup aside and stopped drinking.
After struggling internally for a long time, he hesitated and asked, "What was the answer to that riddle?"
He had thought about it for a long time but couldn't come up with the correct answer.
Feng Jin paused her chopsticks and casually replied, "Seven-eighths of a dou of wine."
This calculation required the use of algebraic equations. For ancient people, this was an insurmountable puzzle, and she figured no one would be able to solve it anytime soon.
Ling Mohan's eyes lowered. Even after receiving the correct answer, he still didn't fully understand how it worked.
"Don't think about it anymore. This riddle is something I saw in ancient texts. You naturally wouldn't be able to figure it out. Let's eat first," Feng Jin said, unable to bear seeing Ling Mohan rack his brains without getting anywhere.
"How did you calculate it?"
"Because I'm smarter than you. It's that simple." Feng Jin couldn't stand people prying. She replied bluntly.
Ling Mohan's pride was greatly wounded. This was the first time he had encountered a riddle he couldn't solve, and he was even ridiculed by his wife for being too slow.