East Panlou Street, the Qiqiao Market was bustling.
With carts and horses filling the market and Luo Qi crowding the street, stalls selling Qiqiao festival items lined up along the road. Children dressed in fine clothes bought newly-blood lotus flowers to wear on their heads, pretending to hustle down the street like grinding children.
As Lu Tong and her group disembarked from the carriage, they were dazzled by the lively scene before them.
"It’s so lively here, it’s almost like the Lantern Festival!" exclaid Duan Xiaoyan.
Lu Tong looked up towards the distance.
As night deepened, the road was illuminated by the glow of colorful lights, and the joyous music from the distant Qiqiao Tower mingled with the crisp laughter of won, creating a path of lights and moonlight. There were also stages with all sorts of performances, tightrope walking, acrobatics, sorsaults, and ball kicking... overwhelming the eyes.
Pei Yunshu cautioned, "There are too many people, be careful not to get separated."
No sooner had she finished speaking than Lu Tong felt a push from behind. Pei Yunng, walking on the outer side, looked down and reminded, "Watch your step."
Last year during Qixi, Lu Tong was stationed at West Street, and even then Renxin dical Hall wasn’t as bustling as it was now. At that ti, she was busy making dicinal tea and hadn’t co out to take a stroll, only now realizing that Shengjing’s Qixi was no less festive than the Lantern Festival.
Youthful couples and newlyweds all ca out, filling the street market with the fragrance of horses and carriages, and even the bright lights gave the clear night sky a radiant glow.
Walking on the inside, Lu Tong stayed close to Pei Yunshu. A crowd had gathered ahead, and Pei Yunshu smiled, "That’s the Fragrant Bridge gathering."
"Fragrant Bridge gathering?"
Lu Tong was puzzled.
In the center of the crowd, there stood a bridge as tall as a person. At first glance, it seed to be made of paper, and its railings were decorated with various threads and embroidered plants, vibrant and vivid. A woman stood at one end of the bridge, holding a candlestick and addressing the crowd.
"That bridge is made of incense sticks, representing the Magpie Bridge," Pei Yunshu explained in Lu Tong’s ear, "People place the embroidered flowers on the Fragrant Bridge, and when night falls, they worship the twin stars and burn the bridge to symbolize ’Crossing the Magpie Bridge.’ It signifies that lovers will have a smooth, enduring life together."
She asked Lu Tong, "Miss Lu, do you have soone in mind who you wish to do this for?"
Lu Tong politely declined.
"I’ll do it, I’m interested!" said Duan Xiaoyan enthusiastically. He squeezed through the crowd, paid his copper coin, and carefully placed a Treasure Bead on the bridge, bowing three tis with reverence.
When he returned, he was t with various expressions from the group and added, "...I did it for Zhizi. I hope she won’t entrust with sothing other than a dog next ti."
Hearing this, Pei Yunshu was taken aback, and Xiao Zhufeng, who had been silently following behind, glanced at her.
With a light cough, Fangzi pointed towards a tower further away, adorned with colorful lanterns, "There’s a competition for girls’ skills at the Qiqiao Tower ahead. Let’s go have a look at the excitent."
The group then continued forward.
Approaching the front of the Qiqiao Market, the crowd beca denser. At the front stood a small building, shaped like a tower, with each floor bustling with activity. At the very bottom, there was a table laden with pastries, jujubes, hazelnuts, peanuts, and other fruits. A few won wearing square scarves were busy catering to the visitors.
Below the table hung several wooden plaques with inscriptions such as: Happy Spider Spins Luck, Needle Threading for Good Fortune, Lanye’s Skill Contest, Moonlight Needle Threading, Needle Threading Test of Skill, and so on.
Duan Xiaoyan looked puzzled, "What’s this?"
"This is ’Boqiao’ for Qixi," ca the response.
The woman in front of the table explained, "On Qixi, the girls who seek skills must determine their dexterity through ’Boqiao.’ If they win, the Weaving Maid will send a gift, blessing them to be deft and skilled in needlework from then on."
The woman turned to Lu Tong and Pei Yunshu at the front of the group, and seeing their graceful beauty, her smile grew even warr, "My, such lovely girls; at first glance, one can tell you’re clever and skilled. Why not try ’Boqiao’? Needle threading is the simplest - just five copper coins. If you win first place, you get a ’Valley Board.’"
Lu Tong looked at the Valley Board on the table.
Soil was spread on a small wooden board, sprouting millet seedlings, with a wooden village, carved old n, children, and a yellow dog standing in the "fields." It was very intricate and charming.
Pei Yunshu took interest in the Valley Board as well.
"Treasure Bead would definitely like this if I take it back," she said with a smile, asking Fangzi to hand over the money, "I’ll give it a try."
The woman took Pei Yunshu’s copper coin and imdiately picked up a spool of five-colored silk thread, handing it to her along with a seven-eyed needle.
"Miss, stand over here," said the woman.
She led Pei Yunshu to the open space below the first floor of the tower, where seven or eight young won were already standing. It had been a long ti since Pei Yunshu mixed with a crowd for entertainnt, and she looked sowhat ill at ease. Fangzi quickly moved to protect her side.
"On the seventh day of the seventh month, you thread the seven-eyed needle. When the gong sounds, you’ll start threading. The faster you thread, the more fortune you beg for."
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