As the biggest Lantern Festival feast in the Song Dynasty, the expenses were shocking. Just the various foods tributed from all over the world cost 300,000 taels of silver. In addition to the lanterns, the venue also had the most critical riddle prizes. The total expenditure of this event was definitely more than one million.

With the eunuch's elongated tone, Zhao Zhen, an official from the Song Dynasty, brought Empress Guo and four noble concubines from the harem to the banquet, and also announced the beginning of the banquet.

Everything was as usual. Before the banquet began, there were the flattery words of officials and envoys from various countries. They all made the Song Dynasty unlimited for thousands of years. But who could have expected that the Northern Song Dynasty would be destroyed by the newly rising barbarian Jurchens in the north for more than a hundred years!

"Do you know! The most expensive prize for lantern riddles today is the Wenyu Bao Fan customized by the imperial court in our folding fan shop. It is inlaid with nine rare gems, and there are all the poems, calligraphy and paintings of famous Bianjing masters. The price is 250,000 taels!" Taking advantage of the celebration of all officials, Bai Xinlan came to Zhao Lei and said proudly in a low voice.

"Why don't I know about the folding fan worth 250,000 taels of silver?" Zhao Lei said with a puzzled look on his face.

"Official, you are so busy that you can't touch the ground recently. And you haven't been to bed in my room for several days. You don't have time to notify you!" Bai Xinlan said with jealousy in her voice.

With the jealous young wife, Zhao Lei whispered and said, "It's not that I'm jealous about these things! I've been feeding you these days before leaving. Why didn't you say that at that time?"

"Hate! I have asked Sister Xiao Cui. You haven't stayed in her room these days. You have been sleeping there these days! It's not my sister Ruoruo's place! Or you brought back the widow in the East Chamber!" Bai Xinlan asked with a jealous look on her face.

The widow in Bai Xinlan's mouth refers to Guo Wei brought back by Zhao Lei. His widow's identity is an excuse for Zhao Lei to conceal Guo Wei's origin.

"Don't ask so much. I'll go to your place to sleep tonight. Don't be jealous. There will be wrinkles." Zhao Lei said to Bai Xinlan with a smile.

Hearing Zhao Lei's words, the intelligent Bai Xinlan acted coquettishly and stopped pursuing these matters. At this time, the celebration of all officials had ended, and the Lantern Festival officially began. A group of young and beautiful singing and dancing beauties walked into the square and began singing and dancing performances.

Listening to the familiar lyrics, Zhao Lei shook his head and said tiredly: "Why is it still Brother Yong's "Sheng Chazi, Yuanxi"! The Lantern Festival has been singing and dancing these two years. It is not idle. Isn't it that new lyrics of Lantern Festival have been released in the Song Dynasty in the past two years?"

"There are many new lyrics in Lantern Festival, but there are no ones that can compare with Lord Ouyang's "Sheng Chazi, Yuanxi". Singing new lyrics will make people involuntarily compare Lord Ouyang's lyrics. No one is confident that he can compare Lord Ouyang, so he has been using old lyrics!" Although Bai Xinlan left the circle, she was still very clear about the matters in the circle. Hearing Zhao Lei's complaint, she explained with a smile.

"The words others make are not as good as Lord Ouyang, but officials can definitely make better words than Lord Ouyang. Is it, officials!" Xiao Cui looked at Zhao Lei expectantly and said.

"Lyrics! Sanshi, do you really want to make a new lyric and compete with Uncle Yong!" Wang Su's voice suddenly came, and he suddenly appeared behind Zhao Lei like a ghost.

"Brother Zhongyi! Why did you suddenly run here again?" Zhao Lei said in fear at the elusive king Su.

"It's so boring there. Sanshi, don't you see everyone guessing riddles? Let's go and watch riddles too! I heard that the official has invested a lot of money for riddles this year. The most difficult prize for riddles is worth up to 250,000 taels of silver!" Wang Su was also very informed. He actually found out the value of the highest prize.

Song and dance really couldn't arouse Zhao Lei's interest. After thinking for a while, Zhao Lei nodded and agreed, taking Bai Xinlan and other four girls, Wang Su and the three girls around him, to the nearby lanterns.

Zhao Lei greeted the nearby officials and walked towards the nearest lamp tree. At this moment, he suddenly saw a familiar figure.

Princess Sheng Guo was wearing an apricot yellow Taoist robe and stood under a lamp tree, smiling and looking at Zhao Lei in the crowd.

Zhao Lei looked at Shengguo, who showed his original appearance. The redness on Shengguo's face had completely subsided. His pretty face and slim and graceful figure were like a lonely plum blossom on the snow, beautiful and arrogant.

"The east wind blooms at night, thousands of flowers and trees blow down, and the stars are like rain. The BMW car is full of fragrance, the phoenix sounds, the pot is turned, and the fish and dragon dances overnight.

The moths are golden wisps of snow willows, and the smiles are filled with fragrance. I searched for him for thousands of times, but when I suddenly came back, the man was in the dim place." Zhao Lei was obsessed with the beauty of Princess Shengguo, and involuntarily recited Xin Qiji's "Qingyu Case, Yuanxi" that he had just remembered.

"I searched for him in the crowd for thousands of times, but when I came back, the man was in the middle of the mountain! Lord Zhao, I am so literary, not only have good literary skills, but also have better vision!" The lyrics chanted by Zhao Lei quickly attracted everyone's attention and taste. The elegant and elegant Wen Yanbo happened to pass by here. When he heard Zhao Lei's lyrics, he immediately walked out and shouted loudly.

When Princess Shengguo heard Zhao Lei's poem, she blushed in pretty face, glanced at Zhao Lei sweetly, turned around and left, leaving Zhao Lei with a look of loss.

"It turns out to be Lord Wen. Lord Wen is not there to enjoy the singing and dancing. I guess he is also a fantasy person when I come here!" Zhao Lei was disappointed for a moment, immediately raised his spirits and said with a smile to Wen Yanbo.

"There are only a few people who know each other. Does Lord Zhao like to guess riddles too?" Wen Yanbo bowed and replied.

"It's just a hobby, just a puzzle game, just play." Zhao Lei looked at Wen Yanbo, couldn't figure out the reason why he came forward, and replied carefully.

"Lanner riddles are games that test more talent. Everyone likes to play them. I wonder if Lord Zhao is interested in playing them with his subordinates!" Wen Yanbo said to Zhao Lei with a smile.

When Zhao Lei heard this, he didn't understand the origin of Wen Yanbo. He came to challenge him and used riddles to compete for his talents. However, Zhao Lei was really not familiar with things like riddles. Just as he wanted to shirk him, Bai Xinlan next to him spoke.

"You are polite, Lord Wen, the official is here to guess riddles today. It is better to have fun with everyone than to have fun alone. Of course, you have to play together to have fun!" Bai Xinlan looked at Wen Yanbo and a young woman beside him and challenged her in dissatisfaction.

Zhao Lei was slightly stunned. Only then did he realize that Wen Yanbo stood beside him. Isn’t it Bai Xinlan’s mortal enemy that year, Lu Shuangshuang, a famous prostitute in Bianjing who later married Wen Yanbo? No wonder Bai Xinlan took the initiative to fight. It turned out that he saw his mortal enemy!

However, Zhao Lei is really not good at lantern riddles. He is just trying to suggest that it is worse than poetry or couplets. He is more skilled in these interactions. After all, he can read more and will definitely stump Wen Yanbo, but he is really powerless to guess a single game like lantern riddles.

"Haha! Let's do it! I heard that the officials and the two prime ministers had a mystery. No one can guess yet. This riddle is the finale tonight. The prize is said to be worth a huge million yuan. How about Lord Zhao and Lord Wen betting on this riddle?" Wang Su suddenly smiled slightly and interrupted.

When Zhao Lei heard Wang Su's words, he immediately understood that Juemi was a riddle that was difficult to guess. Since he was as smart as Wang Su, even Wen Yanbo could not guess either. Then even if Zhao Lei could not guess, he would not only draw. Zhao Lei would not lose face too much. Thinking of this, Zhao Lei smiled slightly and agreed.

Wen Yanbo, who was about the same age as Zhao Lei, was not convinced of Zhao Lei's fame. When he heard that he agreed to the competition, Wen Yanbo immediately agreed. With the family members of the court officials who were watching the fun around him, he walked towards the largest lantern in the north of the square.

A huge lantern was hung alone in the most conspicuous place. On the lantern, except for the white sandpaper and the riddles on it, there was nothing in the snow. However, such a strange lantern attracted the officials of the court. Under the lantern, dozens of officials and a group of families gathered, pointing at the lanterns and thinking hard.

"The snow path is gone, and I will make half a seven-character Tang poem! There is a reason to guess half a poem in the world, and it is a seven-character poem in half a sentence. Does half a sentence mean three or four words?" A court official under the lantern shouted loudly, his tone full of reluctance and complaints.

"It's this riddle. I have seen it for a long time, but after thinking about it, I didn't think of the answer. Alas! The official family has released a good riddle this time!" Wang Su took Zhao Lei and Wen Yanbo and a group of people to the giant lantern, pointed to the riddle on the lantern, and sighed.

The snow path is gone, and I have made half a seven-character Tang poem! It seems that I have heard it there, I should have heard it, and I should know the answer, but where have I heard it? Zhao Lei stood under the lantern with a confused look on his face, looking at the lantern and thought.

The puzzled Zhao Lei suddenly saw Wen Tong, an official from the Academy of Calligraphy and Painting in the crowd. Thinking that Wen Tong was Su Xun's cousin, Zhao Lei suddenly thought of the riddle of "The snow path is gone, and he will write half a sentence of seven-character Tang poetry" as if Su Shi had come up with it, and the answer is...

Zhao Lei, who had a clear mind, relaxed and looked at Wen Yanbo and the officials around him with a smile and frowning.

Time passed slowly, and no one guessed this riddle. Wen Yanbo's face became more and more nervous, and cold sweats flowed out in the cold winter.

"You can't guess!" Wen Yanbo thought about it for a long time but didn't think of the answer. He said to Zhao Lei and Wang Su with a pale smile.

"Since Lord Wen admits that he can't guess, I don't know if Lord Zhao has an answer!" Wang Su had known that with Wen Yanbo's talent, he could not find the answer to this riddle, so he asked Zhao Lei with a smile.

Zhao Lei smiled slightly, picked up the paper and pen under the lantern, splashed ink, and quickly wrote out the answer.

"The bird flew into the sky!" Wen Yanbo looked at Zhao Lei's answer, confused and said in confusion.

With the answer to Zhao Lei's riddle, everyone was pondering and didn't understand what Zhao Lei meant.

At this moment, a young official in his twenties suddenly walked out, picked up Zhao Lei and put down the paper and pen, and wrote a Tang poem under the answer to Zhao Lei's riddle.

"A line of egrets climbing into the blue sky!" After the young official finished writing, he stroked his waist in the middle of the word "egret" and said calmly: "The answer to the riddle is a line of white roads, and what Lord Zhao just wrote was also a riddle. The answer to the riddle is that the bird is on the blue sky. The two riddles are put together, which is a complete seven-character Tang poem!"

The words of the young official made everyone nearby realize it, and the intersection praised Zhao Lei and the young official for their cleverness and talent.

"What is this adult?" Zhao Lei asked him in confusion when he saw such a smart official appearing, but he had never heard of it.

"Secretary Chengdelang Liu Chang!" The young official bowed to Zhao Lei without being arrogant or humble.

When Zhao Lei heard the words of the young official Liu Chang, he was shocked. Could it be that the young official in front of him was the most talented and knowledgeable classics and historians of the Song Dynasty who had a close relationship with Ouyang Xiu in history and was called the most talented and knowledgeable classics and historians of the Song Dynasty by many court bosses. He helped Sima Guang write "Zizhi Tongjian" and at the same time, he fought against Liu Chang and Liu Yuanfa, who reformed with Su Shi and others.
Chapter completed!