TEFSCBSS Chapter 97

Chapter 97: It’s Confirmed—The Scholar Is a Jerk

The ten candidates remained in the same groups as before. As it turns out, splitting up for investigation has proven to be quite effective.

Group Five and the others headed to the lantern parade float and the riverside first. After all, those areas had fewer people and more concentrated objects, making them easier to investigate.

Candidate Five walked over to the lantern float, studying the vehicle as it moved along the street. He turned to ask Li Tiechui, “Brother Li, have you always been responsible for making the lantern floats every year?”

“Of course! Our Li family has the best craftsmanship in the entire southern part of the city. When it comes to these parade floats, they always come to me. Just look at the patterns, the handiwork—if I say we’re second best in the south, no one dares claim to be first!”

Li Tiechui was proud of his work. Teaming up with Su Li had been one of his best decisions. Ever since that time, they played out the script scenario, it led to a long-term partnership. Business had improved, and so had his reputation. He was finally living up to his ancestors’ legacy.

Candidate Five nodded. “So the lantern float this year was also commissioned by the same partner as before?”

“Ha! I know what you’re trying to ask—you want to know why there’s a one-person compartment inside, right?” Li Tiechui clicked his tongue, then spilled everything he knew without holding back.

“Of course, it was the same client. Every year they send me the design, and I just follow the blueprint.”

“And as for that compartment inside the float, it’s not that big a deal. Most of the floats in previous years had one too.”

Candidate Five perked up. “Why’s that?”

Li Tiechui gestured with his hands as he explained, “You know, when you have a parade like this, it needs a little flair. There’s always a troupe performing—sometimes breathing fire, tossing flowers, or doing a dramatic vanishing act. They need to keep things fresh every year.”

“All those props have to be stored somewhere, right? So that one-person compartment’s been part of the design for a long time. It’s not some big secret—just something regular folks don’t know about.”

“So by your logic, anyone who’s been involved in the performance or knows about stage tricks would be aware of this setup?” Candidate Five asked quickly, as if something had just clicked.

“Exactly. That’s the idea. I heard you guys found the scholar’s footprints near the float, right? My guess is, he knew about the compartment and waited until the performance ended before sneaking inside.”

Candidate Five nodded—he agreed with the theory.

Even though the lantern float was large, there weren’t any other obvious clues. So Candidate Five turned to approach Li Tiezhu.

“Hey, Brother Li—long time no see.”

Li Tiezhu was just as quiet and reserved as always. He simply nodded without speaking.

Candidate Five didn’t mind. He glanced at the piece of paper in Li Tiezhu’s hand. “Is that the schedule for the lantern parade that day? Mind if I take a look?”

Without a word, Li Tiezhu handed over the paper.

It listed the streets the float would travel, the times for each stop, and what performances would be happening at each location.

Sure enough, there it was: a disappearing act.

Coincidentally, it was always scheduled to happen when the float reached the middle of the street. After the performance, the performer would join the crowd on the float, cheering with everyone else.

Once they reached the end of the route, where there were fewer spectators, the performer would sneak back into the compartment and wait for the assistant’s cue (a bell ring) to exit once again.

But the wonton stall had been set up at the very beginning of that street route.

If the performance schedule was followed, the person in the compartment at that time should’ve been the performer. If the scholar tried to sneak in there too, not only would the space have been too cramped, but someone would’ve definitely noticed.

Candidate Five was puzzled.

In the previous rounds of questioning, everyone had said the show went smoothly. The vanishing act happened as expected, and it was even praised for being especially impressive—some women even tossed sachets at the performer in admiration.

So what was going on now?

Candidate Five rubbed his temple in frustration. He couldn’t figure it out.

Meanwhile, Candidates Three and Eight had arrived at the riverside scene. In a small decorative pond used for the qushui liushang tradition, about thirty tiny river lanterns floated on the water.

“Hey, are those slips of paper on the lanterns?” Candidate Three asked in surprise. These were just small decorative models, and the lanterns, the paper slips, and the writing on them were all tiny.

He picked up one of the river lanterns and squinted to read the note attached to it.

“Money comes, money flows in from all directions”?

Uh… okay…

He set down that particularly sincere wish and picked up another slip of paper.

“I want to eat roast chicken.”???

Next one!

“First, may I live long and prosper.
Second, may I lie flat without being nagged?
Third, may I always be surrounded by handsome guys and beautiful girls.
Fourth, may I eat pig’s feet and pork knuckle at every meal?
Fifth…”

Hmm. Okay. So these river lanterns are for people’s hopes and dreams…
(Yeah, right! Who has such simple-minded wishes?!)

Three and Eight exchanged a glance, both feeling the unexpected weight of their task. Turns out this job wasn’t any easier than digging through old case files.

Resigned to their fate, they squinted at the wish slips until they were nearly cross-eyed.

Aside from the ridiculous wishes, they also found a ton of poems from would-be romantics…

“A heart as pure as the moon,
Wishing only to see her dance in the moonlight” — Ugh!

“Eyes like paintings, voice like silk,
Her smile could bring down a city” — Ew, what the heck?!

…

Finally!

“Yo! Look what I found!” Number Eight shouted, practically jumping with excitement. He yanked Number Three over.

Sure enough, the signature at the bottom of the note said: “From Xiucai Lang” (the Scholar)!

But the content of the note left them scratching their heads.

It read:

“On the night of autumn, at the hour of the Rat, I stroll among the lanterns,
My pace is slow and lingering, I understand your thoughts.”

“What does that even mean? He was planning to meet someone for a lantern date at midnight?” Number Three was confused. He’d never done anything like sneaking off for a secret date.

“Maybe? Possibly? But what’s with the last two lines?” Number Eight was just as lost. He was a total straight-shooter—stuff like this was way beyond him. “If it’s a date, what’s with the slow walking part? Is he saying there’s no rush?”

Number Three stroked his chin, recalling how his sisters got ready before going out. Then, combining that with the line “I understand your thoughts,” he confidently interpreted:

“He’s saying—even though he’s excited to meet her, he knows she’s going to need time to get dressed up and look her best. So he’s telling her, ‘Take your time, no rush. I’ll wait until midnight to go see the lanterns with you.’ That’s what it means, right?”

Number Eight still felt like something was a little off… but honestly, it made sense. The translation worked.

He let out a sigh. “No wonder that scholar’s so popular at Moon Fairy Pavilion. He knows how to talk. That was smooth—thoughtful.”

Then he suddenly paused. “Wait a sec—didn’t he have a proposal planned that very day? So what… he was planning to propose to Chun Ya first, and then sneak off at midnight to meet another girl from Moon Fairy Pavilion?”

Pft. Scumbag!

The two of them looked thoroughly disgusted.

They jotted down the note’s contents, planning to ask around at Moon Fairy Pavilion and find out which poor girl had been duped by that player.

Three, Five, and Eight regrouped, huddling together to exchange information. After a bit of whispering, they turned and headed toward the Moon Fairy Pavilion.

At the pavilion, Group One was already there. The four young men stood facing a crowd of beautiful women, each of them blushing bright red and pretending to be completely focused on their questioning.

Even Number One was speaking gently for once. “Sister Yue, do you happen to know Xiucai Lang and Chun Ya?”