Chen Qiu returned to Suzhou and was scolded by the fierce Qingqing as soon as he entered the door.

The girl thought he had gone out for too long and didn't write a letter to come back. She also thought he had gone out for a walk and didn't bring any gifts to her junior sister, even if it was a bit delicious.

Chen Qiu was also busy forgot about it. He had to comfort the irritable Qingqing and promised to take her to eat some good food in the past few days.

This calmed the angry junior sister down.

"Senior brother, come and help. Tomorrow is a garden party! We have to make our own lanterns quickly."

After Chen Qiu took a shower, changed his clothes, and walked out of the room, he saw Qingqing sitting in the yard, making lanterns with paper and paste.

This girl was skillful and when Shen Qiu went over to see her, she found that she had made several lamps.

There are lotus-shaped and palace lantern styles, which are bent with fine bamboo, pasted with paper of various colors, and are filled with tassels, which looks very beautiful.

"Why don't you make a monkey lamp?"

Chen Qiu joked:

"Don't you like monkeys? You like Sun Wukong, and you like Donkey Kong."

"The monkey lamp is too difficult to make."

Qingqing pursed her mouth and pointed at the pile of failed items piled up in the corner of the yard, saying:

"I tried several times, but I didn't do it."

She pointed to the lights at her hand and said to Chen Qiu:

"You choose one by yourself. I will send the rest to Sister Yaoqin.

Although she is not happy and upset, she doesn’t go to the garden party, but she always has to arrange some things on the piano platform, which I will give in previous years.”

"OK."

Chen Qiu responded.

I have been here in Suzhou for more than half a year, and Chen Qiu has also known some of the scenery of this era.

This garden party is a local custom and is very popular throughout Suzhou and Hangzhou.

It is twice a year, before the Dragon Boat Festival and during the Mid-Autumn Festival, like a large temple fair.

When Chen Qiu entered the city in the morning, he saw that the merchants in Suzhou City were busy decorating the shops with lights and various lanterns were dazzling.

It is said that on that night, people from Suzhou City, regardless of gender, age, would go out to enjoy the lights in the city, and some shops that knew how to run would also hold some activities.

The fireworks and willow alleys in the city are even more concerned, and they also use garden parties to compete for names like courtesans.

Anyway, it's a grand event.

It is said that the rise of garden parties became popular because the Chu royal family sacrificed gods and spread to the people.

However, the great Chu country had already perished more than 20 years ago, but people still had this custom. Chen Qiu picked up a palace lantern and glanced at Qingqing, who was full of enthusiasm.

If this girl knew her life experience, she would be different in her heart.

"Qingqing, although my senior brother forgot this time, I didn't bring you anything."

Chen Qiu sat beside Qingqing, mixing paste for her, and said:

"But this time I went out, I was forced to see some things, and I even killed a flower-picking thief and became a matchmaker."

"Ah, there is such a thing, senior brother, let me talk to you."

Qingqing suddenly became interested. She sat on the stool, looking at her senior brother, looking forward to the next story.

Chen Qiu played with the lantern in his hand and told the story of Changshu.

Qingqing was very excited when she heard this, but when Shen Qiu said that Zhou Qi had kidnapped many innocent women from around Changshu, Qingqing frowned.

"What's wrong?"

Chen Qiu noticed the expression of the junior sister, and he asked:

"Is there anything wrong?"

"Senior brother, you have been away from Suzhou for two months, so naturally I don't know."

Qingqing sat on the small stool and whispered to her senior brother:

"In the past month, many women have also disappeared in Suzhou City, and there are rumors that women have been plundered in several towns outside the city.

I heard from Uncle Liu next door that his eldest son went back to his hometown in Zhenjiang to visit relatives half a month ago, and a woman was missing there."

"Um?"

Chen Qiu also frowned.

In this ancient society, it was not uncommon for thieves to kidnap votes, but it was rare for women to disappear frequently in so many places within two months.

Human traffickers in this era are so rampant?

Not right.

Chen Qiu rubbed his forehead. He had never heard of such a thing before he left Suzhou, that is, is this an emergency?

"Senior brother, I suspect that the flower-picking thief Zhou Qi..."

Qingqing Shen said mysteriously:

"It is probably one of the things that happened. Near Suzhou, there must be people like Zhou Qi who are active. Maybe we can...ah!"

Before the junior sister could finish her words, she was hit on the forehead by the expressionless senior brother. She immediately hugged her head and let out a pain, and then looked at Chen Qiu angrily.

The latter stood up and planned to start practicing martial arts. He said to Qingqing:

"We can't help staying at home honestly."

Chen Qiu picked up the knife and started practicing the knife skills, but in his mind he thought about what Zhou Qi said when he was fighting with him.

Those women were prepared to give to a big man in the world by Zhou Qi. Is the women in Suzhou missing, as Qingqing guessed, and also for the same reason?

Although there are good and evil people in the world, and there are distinctions between the upright demon sects, such things...even in this era, it is a bit too bad for the world, right?

People in this era are superstitious, and so are those who practice martial arts.

Although Chen Qiu has never seen too many heroes in the world, who dares to do such a thing that hurts the will of heaven?

Could it be that he is really a person from the Demon Sect?

With this chaotic thought, Chen Qiu stayed at home all night.

He doesn't like this feeling of being in a vortex. He can collect too little information now, and he knows too little about this world.

If the level is not enough, naturally I can't see through the conspiracy.

At dusk the next day, Qingqing changed into a long green dress and tied up her red hairband and dressed up well. She pulled Chen Qiu, who was not interested, and rushed out of the house.

Both of them didn't ride horses and just walked along the street.

The streets are very lively, and the remote lanterns in Suzhou City are already full of lit lanterns.

Not only are there hanging lamps on the eaves on both sides of the street, but also in the hands of pedestrians, like Chen Qiu and Qingqing, carrying various lanterns.

Under the night, this ancient city seemed to be flying in countless fireflies this night.

The government also prepared for the garden party in advance, and large water tanks were installed on both sides of the street. While the water caught fire, it could be extinguished nearby.

The officials rode their horses and walked on the turbulent streets.

It is said that Suzhou Prefecture Orders will "joy with the people" tonight. In the most lively place in the center of the city, there are also big lanterns written by the Prefecture Orders.

"We've agreed, Qingqing."

Chen Qiu looked at the surrounding lights, and the lights reflected in the waterways in the city, just like star dots.

On the grasshopper boat in the current, there were also tourists who rented boats to cruise the city. In front of the boat, lights were also lit. The laughter, sigh, and the sound of the sour people reciting poems reminded Chen Qiu of the Venetian landscape.

Even though he has never been there.

He said to the cheerful junior sister beside him:

"We're just walking around the market and going back at midnight."

"I know."

Qingqing was not angry either.

In previous years, she and her master had the same requirement when she was having fun in garden parties. Lu Buju never let her go to the busiest markets. There were too many people there, and if something happened, it would be troublesome.

However, even this market outside the "Second Ring Road" of Suzhou Central is very lively tonight.

The merchants on the Luoyue Shangfang Street also raised money to hire opera troupes and dragon dance teams, making the street very lively. Tourists from several nearby markets were attracted.

"Miss, look!"

On the outside of the market, a grasshopper boat parked by the waterway. Xiuhe, wearing green clothes and pretending to be a servant, said to Shen, who was dressed as a man and wearing an exquisite fox demon mask:

"The dragon dances over there, it's so good. When we were young, we couldn't see such prosperous scenes in Yunnan and Guizhou."

"How can such a remote place in the border be compared with this prosperous Suzhou?"

Everyone in Shen played with the folding fan in their hands. She slapped her palms with a fan like a man, and said softly:
To be continued...