Chapter 355 - Chapter 355: Chapter 362: Concealed Heaven and Earth (2/2)
With the Four Great Talents admitting defeat, the winner was beyond question. The host announced the results of the contest, “The winner of this Lantern Riddle Contest has been decided. Before the contest began, our patron stated that whoever wins first place would be gifted with a mysterious present. Now, it’s time to unveil that mysterious gift.”
Upon saying that, the host clapped his hands. Several women in red outfits maneuvered through mechanisms to unlock the black wooden box, revealing a small box within. Upon opening it, a splendid flower lantern was visible. The material from which it was made was unknown, but in the bright night of the lamp festival, it emitted a dazzling brilliance that caught everyone’s eyes.
“Is this the colorful exquisite lamp? It’s beautiful,” Ye Xinxin exclaimed in amazement. Despite the distance making it hard to see clearly, the beauty of the lantern was still palpable.
The people below the stage felt the same, admiring the exquisite and unspeakably beautiful lantern. Someone remarked that this might well be the best colorful lamp in the world, inciting another wave of excitement.
“It’s rightfully the best colorful lamp in the world, truly beautiful!”
“Indeed, it’s the first time I’ve seen such a beautiful flower lantern, I’m at a loss for words.”
Hearing Ye Xinxin’s and the surrounding people’s praise, it seemed that everyone had accepted the beautiful flower lantern as the colorful exquisite lamp, which caused a strange expression to appear on Su Wenyue’s face.
No wonder, as the colorful exquisite lamp had been lost for a long time, last seen during the previous dynasty, and nobody had seen it since. It was normal for them to be mistaken, especially since this flower lantern was indeed beautiful enough. Even if the real colorful exquisite lamp were placed in front of them, likely everyone would still regard this flower lantern as the colorful exquisite lamp.
People tend to gravitate toward beautiful and appealing things. The real colorful exquisite lamp didn’t have such an extravagant and dazzling appearance, looking rather like an extraordinarily ordinary flower lantern, but its inner workings held a universe of secrets.
Han Yu had been observing his daughter-in-law’s reactions all along, and when the woman in red brought out the flower lantern, there was no excitement from her; instead, after a brief moment of amazement, her expression became dismissive. Evidently, the lantern was fake. Based on his daughter-in-law’s previous behavior, if the real colorful exquisite lamp had appeared, she would not have remained so calm. After looking at the flower lantern for a few moments, she lost interest.
Of course, Han Yu’s hunch was not just based on Su Wenyue’s reaction, but also on the way the woman in red handled the lantern when she brought it out. It wasn’t exactly rough, but it lacked any sense of cherishing, leading him to believe instinctively that it was merely a slightly more attractive ordinary flower lantern.
“That’s not the colorful exquisite lamp,” Shangguan Wuyou responded to Ye Xinxin at that moment. Aristocratic families have their own heritage, not just in terms of wealth but also in cultural depth and accumulation of knowledge. Although Shangguan Wuyou had never seen the real colorful exquisite lamp, he had read an account of it in a manuscript in his family’s library, which differed greatly from this glamorous and beautiful lantern.
Su Wenyue was not in a hurry, even though the mysterious gift was said to be the colorful exquisite lamp. She was waiting for the host’s response, to see how the host would proceed, whether he intended to pass off this fake lantern as the real deal to her. But then, suddenly, an unexpected change occurred.