Moonlit Calamity: The Dragon Girl's Life of Idleness is Broken

Chapter 349 The Bustling Night Market

"Pfft..."

Clusters of fire suddenly ignited, briefly illuminating everything around them. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a fire-breathing performance in front of them. Yellow flames splashed onto the faces of the audience, revealing expressions of surprise or excitement.

The hour of Xu (7-9 PM) is usually the busiest time, and even the cold weather cannot dampen people's enthusiasm for the New Year.

The night market was bustling with people. Children carrying all sorts of small lanterns, such as koi lanterns, rabbit lanterns, and lotus lanterns, played and frolicked among the crowds. The lanterns swayed and their laughter was crisp and clear.

On the street, there were not only fire-breathing performers, but also jar-balancing performers, chest-breaking performers, and stilt walkers dressed as heavenly soldiers and generals. The "dong dong qiang qiang" of gongs and drums resounded loudly, and the cheers and applause from the audience rose one wave after another.

"Sister Long, look! There are sugar paintings for sale here!" Ruoyang linked arms with Long Chuqing and stood in front of a sugar painting stall.

The stall owner was drawing a small bird with outstretched wings, with several small flowers drawn below it; the drawing was very delicate.

"Young lady, whatever style you want, I can make it for you," the stall owner said.

Ruoyang shook his head: "No, no, I'll just take a look."

The stall owner's expression clearly showed dissatisfaction: If you're not going to buy anything, why are you standing in front of my stall looking at me? Don't you know you're blocking my business?

Seeing this, Long Chuqing quickly pulled Ruoyang away.

After watching the sugar painting, she pulled Long Chuqing aside to watch the sugar blowing. Along the way, they also watched the fire-breathing performance and the chest-breaking boulder demonstration.

Princess Ruoyang's face flushed with excitement, and she was amazed by the performance of the actors in costumes and on stilts.

Before our eyes, there are dappled and flowing lights and shadows, and the colorful lantern halos are reflected in everyone's eyes like a galaxy.

Princess Ruoyang pulled Long Chuqing along as they strolled from stall to stall, their eyes scanning the dazzling array of goods on the street. They felt that their eyes alone were no longer enough to take it all in.

Prince Qi, Prince Xuan, and Xiao Han followed closely behind them, lest they get separated due to the crowds on the street.

The stalls selling jewelry and cosmetics were surrounded by little girls.

"Sister Long, what do you think of this?" Princess Ruoyang put a delicate bracelet on her wrist and showed it to Long Chuqing. The bracelet had small bells on it, which made a crisp "ding-a-ling" sound when shaken. These little trinkets were especially attractive to the little girl.

Long Chuqing nodded: "Yes, this style is very nice! It's small and exquisite."

"Hehe... I think it's pretty good too!" Ruoyang shook the bell on her wrist again, then turned to the stall owner: "Boss, please wrap up all of these for me!"

"Okay," the stall owner replied with a smile.

Ruoyang bought several pieces of jewelry. Even though she never lacked these things, she was still attracted by the exquisite little trinkets in front of her.

Xiao Han quickly walked to Long Chuqing and Ruoyang's side: "Chuqing, it's crowded, you two be careful. Zhi'er, don't run around, or you'll get separated."

"Seventh Brother, I know..." Ruoyang replied, then was drawn to a mask stall not far away. "Sister Long, let's go take a look over there."

"Don't worry, I'll protect her." Long Chuqing turned back and said to Xiao Han, then was pulled away by Ruoyang.

Prince Qi stepped forward and patted Xiao Han on the shoulder, "It's not easy for Zhi'er to come out of the palace. It's rare for her to be so happy, so let her have a good time!"

“That’s right, with so many of us watching, nothing will go wrong. Besides, Miss Long is with Zhi’er, so there’s nothing to worry about.” Prince Xuan said, “Let’s go and take a look.”

The stalls offer a variety of masks, including ferocious Nuo dance masks, comical masks, theatrical masks, animal masks, charming fox fairy masks, majestic Thunder God and Lightning Goddess masks, with all sorts of styles, rich colors, and diverse types to suit different preferences.

"Sister Long, what do you think of this?"

Ruoyang covered his face with a hideous Nuo dance mask and asked Long Chuqing, who was standing next to him, a pair of big, blinking eyes that could be seen through the two holes in the mask.

“This is a classic Nuo dance mask, but…” Long Chuqing carefully examined the various masks on display at the stall, then picked up a charming fox fairy mask. “This kind of ferocious mask is not suitable for a young girl. If you want to buy one, choose a prettier fox fairy mask!”

“I’m not afraid.” Ruoyang took off the mask and shook her head. She carefully examined the Nuo dance mask in her hand. “There was a Nuo dance performance in the palace on New Year’s Eve. I really wanted a mask like this back then. I thought it was very powerful. I didn’t expect to find it here. I must buy one.”

Ruoyang's tone was firm, and it was clear that she really wanted the mask.

Logically speaking, these special masks would be more attractive to boys, and ordinary girls would be timid or even afraid when they see these patterns. Unexpectedly, the princess was not afraid at all.

Long Chuqing smiled and said, "Okay, buy it if you like it, as long as you're not afraid."

"Fifth Brother, Sixth Brother, Seventh Brother, what do you think?" Ruoyang picked up two more different masks and showed them to Prince Qi, Prince Xuan, and Xiao Han. "I think the colors of these two are also very nice."

The three of them looked on in surprise. King Xuan smiled and said, "You little girl, you've got some nerve, liking such a strange look."

"Sixth Brother, this is a traditional art, used to ward off plagues and diseases. I'm not afraid at all!"

Prince Qi said, "Alright, alright, it's good that you're not afraid. I'm just afraid that if you buy it and accidentally see it in the middle of the night, you'll be so scared that you'll cry."

Ruoyang pouted: "Hmph, I'm all grown up now, I won't cry!"

The three of them looked at each other, then smiled and shook their heads.

"This young lady has excellent taste." The stall owner chuckled. "My stall has a wide variety of masks, all exquisitely made, and the pigments used are of the highest quality, so they won't fade easily. Please feel free to choose whichever you like."

Ruoyang nodded.

"I want to buy a few more so I can give them to the Emperor... Little brother and little sister, Sister Dragon, can you help me choose some?"

"Okay!"

“Sister Long, that fox fairy mask you just picked up is also nice. My seventh and eighth sisters should like it. My ninth brother should like that Thunder God mask. No, no, my ninth brother also likes Nuo dance masks. Buy him a Nuo dance mask too. He will be very happy. And also…”

"Oh dear... how about we buy one of each and take them back so they can choose for themselves?"

After some deliberation, Princess Ruoyang made a decision: since there were so many guards around, she didn't need to bring it up herself.

"Fifth Brother, Sixth Brother, Seventh Brother, why don't you come and pick one too?" Ruoyang turned around and said to the three people standing behind him.

King Xuan walked up to the stall and said, "Alright, I'll pick one too."

The stall owner realized this was a big order and began to introduce the business with a smile.