"Jiejie, you've been standing for quite a while. Do you feel alright? Would you like to sit down?" the concerned White Carp Spirit fussed.
"You're too sweet, Li'er. Don't worry about me, I feel amazing," Juying smiled. "I've been stuck in Xuanji Palace for so long that I was beginning to forget what the rest of the Empyreal Cloud Palace looked like." Lanterns shining overhead cast her striking features in a warm glow. Starstruck, the young immortal stared at her profile in awe, feeling his breath get caught in his throat.
Smack! Li'er was knocked back to his senses by his older brother, who slapped him upside the back of his head. "Rascal, stop trying to one-up me. That's my future wife that you're eyeing."
Li'er's jaw dropped in alarm. He protested, "I... I'm not! I wasn't trying to-"
"Hushuobadao,*" Juying rolled her eyes at the green-robed immortal. Her attention was once again diverted to the melodious sounds of chatter and laughter rising to the cool, evening sky. Relishing in the sweet taste of freedom, another ecstatic, uncontainable smile broke across her pretty face.
It was the evening of Immortal Yuanji's birthday celebration. Although Juying had yet to finish her entire course of medication, she set her pride aside and grovelled until the Heavenly Emperor begrudgingly relented, allowing her to leave the premises for a single night. She was free!
Well... as free as the basic definition of the word, anyway. He had ordered four palace maids and two guards to tail her for the entirety of the evening, concerned that she might reopen her wounds.
Yuanji had extended an invitation to the silver dragon as well, but he politely declined, claiming that there was much work to tend to.
"Thank you all for participating! Now, moving on to our next event," the Matchmaker enthusiastically announced.
"As you all know, in my years of controlling mortal fate and destiny, I have collected a great number of priceless artefacts and invaluable treasures from the Mortal Realm." Yuanji began in a silvery tone. "Tonight, one lucky winner will be walking away with this white jade hairpin," she conjured it with a flourish, "that was passed down through generations of the Imperial family. It came into my possession more than five millennia ago."
"In other words, Immortal Yuanji is very old- ouch!" Danzhu made an attempt at cracking a joke, but received a sharp elbow to the ribs.
Enthralled, Juying stared at the exquisitely-crafted hairpin that gleamed under the moonlight. It had an intricate-looking ornament that was subject to interpretation. Li'er took a shine to it almost immediately, claiming that it much resembled a white carp!
"The rules are simple. Whoever wants to win this magnificent hairpin can take turns coming on stage to pose riddles to the crowd. The person who guesses correctly can pose a riddle of their own. Tonight's winner will be the person who guesses the third riddle correctly."
Juying gazed at the ornament adoringly. "It is such a beautiful hairpin. The questions must be exceedingly difficult then," she murmured.
Catching wind of her words, Yanyou jutted out his chin and scoffed, "How difficult could they be?" With an overconfident smirk, he declared, "If you want the hairpin, I will help you win it."
"Who will be the first to pose a riddle?" Danzhu raised the enthusiastic invitation.
A/N: hi dears! for the riddles to make sense, this section requires a bit of understanding of the way chinese characters are written. worry not if you have no prior knowledge; i've included the explanations in the glossary list below for your reference!
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Embers of Love
Fantasy"When I found you, the sun found me." ~ It has been 2000 years since Runyu's ascension to the Heavenly Throne. Citizens of the Six Realms are beginning to question the Heavenly Emperor's ability to cope with both Heaven's affairs and his old duties...
