Transmigrated Female Official

Today is the fifteenth of August, and Chu Qingluo plans to hold a lively moon-viewing party at her residence.

She invited a group of friends to Ningxiang Courtyard for a meal and games, and finally released sky lanterns together to make wishes and pray for blessings.

So, Luo Lifei and Chu Yilin, Shaoyao and Gongsun Yanlu, as well as the others from Mingyifang, all arrived as promised. Tong Ling was also among the invitees.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, the moon-viewing party was naturally hosted by Chu Qingluo, the organizer. She stood up, cleared her throat, and said, "The Chu family's main kitchen has specially made small mooncakes for everyone. Some of these small mooncakes contain red dates. Whoever eats the mooncake containing red dates will have to guess a riddle. Those who can't guess it will have to perform a talent."

“What’s so difficult about that?” Chu Yilin was the first to reply: “Third Sister, I’m a master of riddles.”

Chu Qinglu smiled mysteriously and said, "That's no ordinary riddle. Second Brother, you'd better get ready to put on a show."

If you think that Chu Qingluo only prepared those literary riddles and word puzzles, you'd be sorely mistaken. She's a modern person through and through, so of course she'd come up with brain teasers to broaden the horizons of these ancient people.

"That sounds interesting." Peony expressed her great interest in participating, and then asked Gongsun Yanlu, who was standing next to her, "This shouldn't be too difficult for you, right?"

Seeing Chu Qingluo's confident demeanor, Gongsun Yanlu realized that things were probably not as simple as they had imagined. Not wanting to make any boastful claims, he humbly replied, "...It's really hard to say."

Luo Lifei suddenly burst out laughing: "I really want to see what Yilin is like when he dances."

Chu Qinglu nodded enthusiastically in agreement, saying, "I'm really looking forward to it too!"

"Stop thinking about it." Chu Yilin ruthlessly interrupted their daydreams, emphasizing, "Have you forgotten that I can't dance? My specialty is—eating."

"..." Chu Qingluo glanced at him sideways and laughed, "I don't object if you want to perform eating a hundred mooncakes within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, anyway, there are plenty of mooncakes."

"Third Sister, are you so sure I can't answer the riddle you gave me?" Chu Yilin asked, unwilling to give up.

Ji Qiran, who had been sitting aside watching the fun, stepped forward, put his arm around Chu Qingluo's shoulder, and said, "It's no surprise that you couldn't answer it. That was a question set by our Qingluo."

"Tsk tsk tsk..." Every time Chu Yilin saw Ji Qiran's domineering attitude, he couldn't help but get goosebumps. Was he still the unruly seventh prince he knew before?!

At this moment, even the usually taciturn Ryonan stood up and asked, "Master, does this game only have punishments and no rewards?"

"Hmm..." Chu Qingluo was so sure that they wouldn't be able to guess the answer that she hadn't considered this. After thinking for a moment, she replied, "It was my oversight. The person who answers the riddle should also receive a reward."

August then asked, "What's the reward?"

Chu Qingluo readily agreed, "I have prepared a Forget-Worry Pillow for each of you as a Mid-Autumn Festival gift. As for the reward for answering the riddle correctly, you can suggest whatever you want."

"Wow—! That's great!" Nine-Tails' eyes were shining. "Miss, Miss, can the person who solves the riddle really make any request?"

Standing to the side, Kirito saw through Kurama's little scheme and couldn't help but pour cold water on it, saying, "That's not for you either. You can't figure it out anyway, so just give up on that idea."

"Don't underestimate me! Maybe the heavens will be kind and I'll just guess right?" Nine-Tails retorted.

Ji Qiran turned around, glanced at him from head to toe, and said, "Tongmu doesn't underestimate you; on the contrary, he knows you quite well."

He knew that neither the Seventh Prince nor Tongmu would think highly of him, but they were right, he really didn't have the ability... Nine-Tails could only pout in frustration and let out a muffled groan.

Seeing everyone's eager anticipation, Tong Ling couldn't sit still any longer. She gave Wu Yang a meaningful look, then said, "Then I'll go first." With that, she took a deep breath, carefully examined the plate of small mooncakes in front of her, selected one, and took a bite…

However, there was no trace of red dates inside.

Tong Ling was not giving up, so she broke open the remaining half of the mooncake to check, and there really was nothing there.

Seeing her so disappointed, Chu Qingluo comforted her, "Don't worry, there are still many on the table, and the hit rate is very high."

Seeing everyone looking at her, Tong Ling shyly waved the mooncake in her hand and said, "Oh, the mooncakes made by the Chu family are really delicious!"

Chu Qinglu smiled without saying a word and turned to the others, urging, "Who wants to try next?"

Chu Yilin didn't believe the riddle was really that difficult, so he casually picked up a small mooncake and said, "I'll do it." He took a big bite carelessly, chewed it a couple of times, and then suddenly his eyebrows twitched... He spat out a red date pit.

"Ha! Second brother, you've won the lottery!" Chu Qingluo exclaimed and then eagerly walked to his desk.

"Come on—" Chu Yilin looked ready.

Chu Qinglu smiled confidently and raised her voice to ask, "A chicken and a goose are racing. The chicken runs faster than the goose, so why does the goose reach the finish line first?"

"Isn't that simple?" Chu Yilin replied without hesitation, "Because that chicken is a lame chicken!"

"Second Brother, read the question carefully!" Chu Qingluo tapped his desktop, reminding him, "I already said that chickens run faster than geese, so it's no wonder it's lame!"

"..." Chu Yilin thought for a moment and then said, "That's because the goose knew it couldn't outrun the chicken, so it cheated and ran away first."

"Pfft—!" Chu Qinglu burst out laughing and said, "Wrong! Second Brother, do you want to continue the test?"

Chu Yilin leaned back in his chair and said dismissively, "Does that goose think it can fly?"

"Wrong again!"

"...Fine, fine, just reveal the answer!"

"The reason is simple: the chicken ran in the wrong direction!"

When this answer was announced, everyone couldn't help but laugh.

"Cough!" Chu Yilin almost choked on his tea! He stared intently at Chu Qingluo, wanting to argue, but then realized her statement was absolutely true, and he was momentarily speechless: "Really..."

"How was it? Was it the kind of riddles that Second Brother is good at?" Chu Qingluo asked in a slightly provocative tone.

"What's going on in your little head?"

"Second brother seems quite unconvinced? How about I ask you another question?"

Seeing that Luo Lifei was also looking at him with expectant eyes, Chu Yilin had no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it. "Come on!"

Question: Who is the hardest person to wake up when they fall asleep?

Chu Yilin glanced at Ji Qiran subconsciously and replied, "Someone who's completely drunk?"

Ji Qiran noticed his gaze and returned it with a cold stare, clearly displeased.

"wrong!"

"That is... someone whose life hangs in the balance."

"Second brother, you have to think about these kinds of riddles in a roundabout way, not directly."

The others present couldn't help but start discussing it as well...

After waiting for a while, seeing that Chu Yilin was still frowning and at a loss, Chu Qingluo revealed: "People who pretend to be asleep are the hardest to wake up."

Everyone nodded in agreement. "That's exactly right."

"..." This question left Chu Yilin speechless, and he could only admit defeat: "I'm willing to accept my loss."

"Ha! Second Brother, why don't you take some time to think about what you're going to perform later?" Chu Qingluo couldn't help but laugh, then turned to the others and invited, "Everyone, come and give it a try—"

As soon as she finished speaking, Ling Nan waved the mooncake in his hand, indicating that he had also eaten a mooncake with red dates inside.

Chu Qingluo looked at Ling Nan, wondering what reward he would ask for if he answered correctly. With that in mind, she deliberately let him off the hook and asked, "A pond without water, a piece of land without soil. Guess the Chinese character."

Before Ling Nan could answer, Chu Yilin became displeased and hurriedly said, "Third Sister, you're being unfair! Why did you give him such an infuriatingly simple question?"

Chu Qinglu raised an eyebrow and said confidently, "I'm the one who set the questions, so I get to decide."

"You..." Chu Yilin wanted to continue complaining, but then she caught a glimpse of Ji Qiran beside her with a 'what can you do about it' look on his face, so she had to swallow her words. "...You win."

Chu Qingluo playfully winked at him and then asked, "Lingnan, do you have an answer yet?"

Lingnan nodded and said calmly, "Also."

Chu Qinglu clapped her hands: "Correct!" Then, with a curious look, she asked, "What reward do you want?"

“I…” Ling Nan glanced thoughtfully at Luo Lifei before saying, “Later, I would like to release a sky lantern together with Lifei…”

Chu Yilin exclaimed in surprise: "What—?!"

Chu Qingluo exclaimed, "What a great idea!" The request he made was not difficult to fulfill, and it fully demonstrated his deep affection for Luo Lifei. Chu Qingluo sincerely appreciated this aspect of him.

"I disagree!" Chu Yilin was clearly unhappy.

"Second brother, you can't have your way of deciding this." Chu Qingluo winked at Luo Lifei and said, "Lifei, this request isn't unreasonable, is it?"

“No problem—what’s so difficult about this?” Luo Lifei agreed with ease, which made Chu Yilin even more depressed.

After that, Nine-Tailed Fox, August, Peony, and the others all ate the small mooncakes with red dates inside, but Tong Ling, who wanted to win the prize the most, never got her wish.

She looked at the half-eaten mooncake in her hand and sighed heavily! She had lost count of how many mooncakes she had eaten, but she still couldn't find the red date!

Chu Qinglu couldn't stand it any longer and said, "Since you're so eager to guess the questions, I'll give you a special favor."

"Really?!" Tong Ling was overjoyed and somewhat incredulous: "Can I answer the question even if I didn't eat a mooncake with red dates in it?"

"It's just for fun, it's all about having a good time."

"Thank you, Qingluo!" Since Tong Ling went to the school to be Wu Yang's assistant, she has become much closer to the people of the Chu family. In addition, since she and Chu Qingluo have both left the palace, they no longer use such polite titles.

"Ready?"

After Tong Ling nodded, Chu Qingluo asked, "Why do wild geese fly south?"

Tong Ling hesitated uncertainly, "Aren't we supposed to fly south for the winter?"

"Hehe." Chu Qingluo twirled her finger and said, "Think about it from a different angle."

"Hmm..." Tong Ling looked very troubled and frowned.

"Wu Yang, do you want to lend a hand to your deputy?" Chu Qingluo asked in turn.

"..." Wu Yang was suddenly called out and was stunned for a moment. After seeing Tong Ling looking at him with a pleading expression, he replied, "Qing Luo's question is... extremely rare. I'm afraid I'm willing but unable to answer it."

"Rare?" Chu Yilin tossed a piece of fruit in his hand and caught it, saying, "That's too polite a way of putting it; it's clearly nonsense."

Chu Qingluo ignored Chu Yilin's teasing and prompted, "Think about it again. Wild geese, flying south?" She emphasized the word 'flying'.

After hearing this, Wu Yang's eyes suddenly flashed, and he replied, "Because...it's impossible to walk there?"

"Correct! Because walking is too slow!"

"Ah...hahaha!" Tong Ling suddenly realized, tapping her head and saying, "Of course the geese flew away! My stupid brain just couldn't see that coming!"