Chapter Seventy-Four: Lantern Riddles (Part One)

The so-called lantern riddle is also known as guessing riddles, lantern tigers, literary tigers, or by names such as wall-shooting lanterns, trading lanterns, archery, deciphering, splitting, and so on, with various appellations among the people. New Year lantern riddles are written on all sorts of exquisite silk lanterns, inviting people to solve them and thus drawing their attention. Lantern riddles are most popular during the Lantern Festival, but after the first day of the New Year, as every household hangs lanterns and decorations, riddles inevitably follow. Among these, the riddles on the grand lanterns of wealthy families are especially eye-catching, and their rewards are the richest. Furthermore, solving one of these riddles can bring great fame, making people flock to the challenge.

Some lantern riddles are paired with beautiful illustrations, pasted onto elegant lanterns, and appear enchanting in the night. The riddles may involve characters, objects, people, events, and so forth, and their forms range from refined to popular, from mainstream to folk. In short, the answers are myriad and all-encompassing. This, indeed, is the charm and difficulty of the lantern riddle.

When the silk drapes were removed from the Cai family’s painted tower, rows of lanterns were revealed. People, young and old, surged forward, racking their brains to solve the riddles hanging from the lanterns, hoping to ascend the tower and perhaps reach its very top, where they might catch a glimpse of the famed Cai family maiden. With their own wit and charm, some aspired to win her heart and thereby rise to glory as a son-in-law of the illustrious Cai clan.

In truth, those hoping to win the beauty’s favor were few. The notion that solving the Cai maiden’s riddles would win her affection was but rumor, for the Cai family had never made such a promise. How could the marriage of a wealthy family’s daughter be treated so lightly? Among the riddle-solvers, many saw the underlying reality and kept clear heads; most sought fame or fortune, with only a handful joining for mere amusement.

Li Sanjian, too, was one who sought profit. He strained every faculty to ease his family’s current plight, ultimately solving ten lantern riddles to qualify for entry and join others on the lowest floor of the painted tower.

Together with Li Sanjian, twenty people entered the lowest floor, all around the age of twenty, with Li Sanjian being the youngest and the oldest a bearded man in his thirties. At this point, Li Sanjian finally realized that those who solved the riddles were not all young; many in their forties and fifties had also succeeded, yet they were refused entry for various reasons, as were those considered unattractive.

Could it really be a selection for a son-in-law? All those entering the tower harbored this suspicion, Li Sanjian included.

On the tower’s top floor, in a room screened by bamboo blinds—

“Has anyone solved the Exiled Immortal’s riddle?” A man of about fifty sat on a carved, cushioned chair, asking.

Though his age neared the threshold of destiny, the man was well preserved. He had arched brows and phoenix eyes; aside from a few barely visible white hairs at his temples, his hair and beard were black, his eyes bright, and his skin, fair and rosy as a youth’s. Dressed in a black silk jacket with cross-collar, his chest broad and posture upright, he appeared full of vigor.

Beside him stood his eldest son, in his twenties, whose frame seemed rather frail. Swathed in a blue sable cloak, he still felt cold, with the earflaps of his fur cap pulled down to warm his pale cheeks.

“Father,” the man in blue answered respectfully, holding a delicate warm jug, “they haven’t reached my younger sister’s riddle yet.”

“I see…” the older man smiled. “Many of these have come to the capital for the imperial examination, haven’t they?”

“There should be some,” the son replied. “The list will be delivered soon for your perusal.”

“No need.” The father nodded. “Regardless of the outcome, they should all be treated with respect and presented with generous gifts for coming to my Cai Garden.”

“Rest assured, Father, I understand,” the son responded.

“Yōu,” the father asked after a pause, “how are the New Year tributes for the palace preparations?”

“I have followed your instructions and prepared everything. They are ready to be sent to the palace,” replied the son.

The older man glanced at his son and sighed inwardly. His eldest, You, had always been proper, and as an adult, he had become even more so. Though exceedingly respectful, always addressing him as ‘Father,’ there always seemed to be some distance between them—unlike his other children, who affectionately called him ‘Papa.’

“No,” the father finally said, “do not send them directly to the palace.”

“What do you mean, Father?” the son asked.

“Don’t they all have outside residences? Send the gifts there to avoid any suspicion,” the father explained. “For the eunuch Tong, you must prepare an especially generous gift and deliver it yourself, and, You, select a few of the more beautiful maidens from the household and send them as well.”

“I understand, Father. Please rest assured.” The son acquiesced, though in his heart he disdained the idea—a eunuch with so many beauties, for what purpose? Just for show?

“Papa, Papa, Uncle has arrived!” At that moment, a six-year-old boy came bouncing in, calling out as he ran.

“Ha, I know,” the older man’s face lit up as he saw his favorite son. Lifting him onto his knee, he smiled warmly. “See to matters here; I’ll go down.” With that, he left the painted tower, carrying his fifth son.

“I wonder if anyone will solve the Exiled Immortal’s riddle this year?”

“The Exiled Immortal’s learning surpasses all; among us sisters, she is the most accomplished. This year will likely be as before—no one will succeed.”

“Sister Rong, you jest. My learning is shallow; how could I compare to Sister Qing?”

“Sister Qing, why are you so quiet?”

Inside another room adorned with beaded curtains, several women were gathered, with three young ladies at the center. They wore wide-sleeved robes in pale purple, light blue, and pure white, each covered by a short, fitted silk jacket with high collars, concealing their chests and necks.

One of these ladies was Li Qingzhao, who seemed distracted, her gaze lingering on the twenty who had advanced, her thoughts preoccupied.

“It’s nothing,” Li Qingzhao replied quickly. “I caught a chill last night and feel a little unwell.”

Why has he come? Isn’t he preparing for the Ministry of Rites examination? Why isn’t he studying, but instead mixing with this crowd? Li Qingzhao wondered.

“A chill?” the young woman in white said. “Sister, you’ve always been in good health—how could you catch a chill? Or perhaps, seeing so many talented men... that’s why you’re feeling off?”

The white-clad woman’s face was beautiful yet proud, a faint chill between her brows, her eyes like thin ice, lacking feminine warmth, with a beauty mark on her lower lip that lent her a somewhat cutting air.

She was Li Qingzhao’s cousin, Wang, with whom she’d never gotten along; their sisterhood was cordial in appearance only.

Li Qingzhao felt a flicker of annoyance but did not argue, merely shaking her head. “It’s too soon to call them gifted scholars. Let’s wait until they’ve passed Sister Xue’s test before making such claims.”

“True enough. Xue, if someone does best you, will you marry then? Hehe,” Wang teased the Cai maiden.

“Sister Rong, you always jest at my expense,” the Cai girl replied with a gentle smile. “I am still young—if anyone is to marry, it should be you two, not me. Besides, how could marriage be treated so lightly?”

Her voice, though soft, was melodious as an orchid in a secluded valley.

Her name was Cai Rongxue, styled the Exiled Immortal, daughter of the middle-aged man, eighth in her family, known as Sister Eight, only fourteen this year. She wore a thin veil, concealing her features, but the brows and eyes that showed were as if painted; each glance was enough to steal the breath of any man, making him willingly kneel at her feet. Her exposed skin was as pure as snow, living up to her name.

“Parental will, the matchmaker’s word,” Li Qingzhao smiled, “Sister Xue, are you so bound by convention? If so, why set such difficult riddles for others to solve?”

“I—I… I was only playing on this festive day, nothing more,” Cai Rongxue stammered.

“Festive? Haha, let’s hope it doesn’t become too festive,” Wang laughed.

While the ladies conversed and joked above, the activity below was equally lively. By now, ten had passed the second round and reached the second floor of the painted tower, Li Sanjian among them.

“Brother Hanren, climb another floor and bring honor to our Lingnan scholars!”

“Brother Zhongru, Jiangnan West depends on you—show them your strength!”

“Brother Shaoyun, we of Pingjiang must not lose face!”

“Brother Defu, you’re from the capital—if you’re thrown out, won’t it shame our capital’s scholars? Aren’t you famed for both poetry and essays? If not now, when will you prove yourself?”

……

The ten who had advanced split into four factions: Kaifeng, Jiangxi, Pingjiang, and Lingnan. The crowd below was likewise divided, each group cheering for their own. The leaders were Zhao Mingcheng, a Taixue student from Kaifeng; He Changyan, a candidate from Jiajiang in Jiangxi; Ye Mengde from Pingjiang; and Li Sanjian from Lingnan. Apart from He Changyan, who was over thirty, the rest were quite young, with Li Sanjian the youngest.

Now, the riddle contest was no longer a simple game, but a competition among scholars from different regions. Though Lingnan scholars were few, their momentum matched the other factions—especially as Zeng Gongming, leading the Lingnan contingent, leapt about, his bulk trembling like stormy waves, loudly cheering for Li Sanjian.