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Su Zhi had no choice but to go with the flow of the crowd, ensuring she didn’t get knocked down. She felt like a leaf carried along by a swift river, her feet seemingly unresponsive as she was swept forward by the force of the crowd. She could only move forward in a daze, surrounded by shoulders and heads, her vision blurred.
Why were there suddenly so many people here? There weren’t this many just a moment ago!
Finally, Su Zhi found a gap and managed to reach the edge of the street. Looking back, she saw people still running forward, with cries of pain echoing as some unfortunate individuals were trampled after being knocked down. She felt relieved that she hadn’t suffered the same fate, realizing she could have been trampled as well. The thought of ending up as a time-traveling woman trampled to death was truly embarrassing.
Su Zhi stood on the side, helping to lift and move a few fallen individuals to safety before retreating to a safer spot herself. She didn’t want to risk getting swept back into the chaotic crowd.
“Everyone, stop running! The fire hasn’t even reached this area, so please stop running—”
Su Zhi shouted loudly, looking in the direction where smoke was billowing, but the flames she had seen earlier seemed to have subsided. Perhaps the fire had been extinguished. She couldn’t understand why people were still panicking and running around. If they just walked calmly, the fire wouldn’t reach them. The chaos might lead to people getting trampled before they got burned!
Her cries managed to halt some individuals, but others continued to run, caught up in the frenzy and too preoccupied to heed her warning.
“Join me in shouting to make them stop! If they don’t, someone might actually get trampled to death! Look at these few here!”
Su Zhi directed her attention to the individuals she had managed to stop, pointing towards the others still in discomfort on the ground. They quickly joined her in calling out to the running crowd. Together, they pulled and shouted at those still trying to flee, gradually bringing more and more people to a halt. As the chaos subsided, those who had been running realized there was only smoke nearby, with no massive flames chasing them. They felt embarrassed and relieved.
With the crowd coming to a stop, the atmosphere shifted from joyous celebration to a mix of gratefulness, scolding, complaints, and cries. The festive mood had dissipated entirely.
Observing the colorful lanterns still glowing vibrantly on each side of the street in the night, Su Zhi couldn’t help but feel that this Lantern Festival had turned into a heart-pounding and intense experience.
As the people gradually calmed down, Su Zhi decided it was time to find Shen Zi’an. She hoped he hadn’t been swept away by the crowd during the chaos, trusting in his strength to handle any situation. While she wasn’t overly anxious, she did worry that he might be concerned if he couldn’t locate her.
Su Zhi pondered her surroundings as she retraced her steps, realizing she hadn’t walked through this particular street before. Her visits to the town were typically for business purposes, not leisurely strolls, so she wasn’t very familiar with the town’s layout. This street felt unfamiliar to her, especially since she and Shen Zi’an hadn’t walked along it while admiring the lanterns.
Arriving at a crossroads, Su Zhi felt uncertain about which direction to take. She had been following the crowd earlier and hadn’t paid attention to the specific route they had come from.
Surrounded by the dazzling lanterns illuminating the darkness, the buildings on either side, while not grand, took on an antique charm under the light of the lanterns.
Standing at this street corner amidst the bustling crowd, Su Zhi couldn’t help but feel a sense of loneliness. She scanned her surroundings, hoping to catch sight of Shen Zi’an suddenly appearing from somewhere.
“As the east wind dances, petals fall from a thousand trees, stars scattered like rain…” she mused softly, finding solace in the familiar words of the poem amidst the unfamiliar streetscape.
Su Zhi decided to stand quietly at a vendor’s stall on the street corner, realizing that aimlessly wandering through various streets would only lead to confusion. She contemplated how if she walked east, Shen Zi’an might go west, and if she headed south, he could be in the north, causing them to miss each other. It seemed more sensible to wait patiently for him to find her. She was confident that he was out searching for her and would soon locate her.
As this realization settled in, Su Zhi’s anxiety subsided. Observing the people around her once again enjoying the lanterns with laughter and cheer, it felt like the earlier chaos and panic had dissolved into a dreamlike state, as if it had never happened. She noted how easily people panicked but also how quickly they could forget about disasters. Turning her attention back to the lanterns, she found them even more captivating, prompting her to involuntarily speak a line of poetry.
“Nice verse.”
A clear voice suddenly sounded beside Su Zhi, startling her. She had been admiring the lanterns and reflecting on how the poetry complemented the scene when she heard someone compliment the same sentiment. Startled, she took a step to the side and turned around.
Against the backdrop of the lantern-lit street stood a refined and handsome young man. Whether it was the lanterns enhancing his appearance or his presence elevating the beauty of the lanterns, the scene appeared idyllic, resembling a painting or a theatrical performance that captivated her gaze.
Su Zhi’s mind was spinning with thoughts, realizing that unexpected and serendipitous encounters, similar to those in novels and television dramas, could indeed happen during the Lantern Festival. Initially separated from Shen Zi’an and then encountering a charming gentleman felt like a plot development straight out of a story. Despite already having a husband, she couldn’t help but find these moments intriguing.
“Madam, please forgive me if I startled you.”
The gentleman noticed Su Zhi’s reaction and quickly offered an apology, bowing courteously. His demeanor exuded gentlemanly charm, his gaze fixed on Su Zhi’s face with clarity that was not off-putting.
Su Zhi returned a slight nod without speaking. She had no words to offer in this situation. In the bustling street, she had no intention of engaging with a stranger, unlike the female protagonists in novels who easily struck up conversations. Even though the gentleman appeared gentlemanly, she had no desire to engage further.
Observing Su Zhi’s silence, the gentleman found himself at a loss for words. His eyes lingered on her face, contemplating that this was the third time he had encountered her today, perhaps believing it was fate. Despite his interest, he realized she was already betrothed, rendering any further intentions futile. With a resigned thought, he turned and accepted a lantern from a servant behind him, extending it towards Su Zhi.
“The Madam, this lantern seems to be yours. Let me return it to you.”
Su Zhi recognized the lotus lantern in the gentleman’s hand as her own, dropped during the commotion earlier. She was surprised that he found it and returned it to her.
“Thank you.”
Taking the lantern back, Su Zhi felt a sense of joy. The lantern held sentimental value as it was a gift from Shen Zi’an. Each had one, and the elderly lantern seller had even mentioned they symbolized a harmonious couple, wishing them a lifetime of happiness together. Seeing it returned after being lost made Su Zhi immensely happy, and she felt a sense of warmth towards the man who had kindly returned it.
Observing Su Zhi’s smile, the man smiled back and remarked, “Madam, did you get separated from your husband? It’s not reassuring to be alone in this place, as you must have noticed. It’s not entirely safe here. How about I accompany you while we wait here, and perhaps you can enlighten me with some poetry?”
Su Zhi glanced at the man, appreciating his straightforwardness. Although she felt safe standing alone and didn’t attract trouble like Shen Zhu, she couldn’t dismiss the man who had kindly returned her lantern. His polite nature made her reluctant to send him away. She believed Shen Zi’an would find her soon.
“I dare not claim expertise in poetry. I am a simple farmer’s wife who barely knows a few characters,” Su Zhi replied.
She pondered how the man had overheard her earlier poetic remark. While it was just a passing sentiment, he seemed to have perceived it as a remarkable verse. She hadn’t intended to show off and found it remarkable that he sought to learn from her casual expression.
“Madam, you are too modest. Your poetic phrase earlier was truly stunning, and I am sincerely impressed. Please do not hesitate to enlighten me,” the man responded, urging Su Zhi to share more of her poetic insights.
Su Zhi was taken aback when the gentleman bowed and showed such reverence, prompting her to step aside. She marveled at how timeless and enchanting ancient verses could be, transcending eras. She had never intended to seek fame through reciting poetry, nor did she believe that such verses needed to be kept hidden. In this fictional world, sharing these verses might even enrich the literary culture of that time and place.
“No need for such formality, sir. The verse I mentioned wasn’t my creation; I simply heard it from someone else and remembered it. However, since you are interested, I can share it with you,” Su Zhi said.
She realized that in this fictional world, the verse already existed, sparing others from marveling at its form once more.