frightfiction Chapter 310 Sky Lantern
Chapter 310 Sky Lantern
It was a busy New Year holiday, and we had to entertain guests at home every day. Fortunately, Sun was not a person who liked to join in the fun, and she declined most of the invitations from others, which reduced the number of social engagements.
Busy days pass by especially quickly.
"Xiaomi, the Lantern Festival is coming in two days. Do you and Ran'er want to go out and enjoy the lanterns?"
"I haven't told the prince about this yet. Are mother and father going?"
She wanted to go to see the lanterns. The lantern festival in the capital city would surely be more grand than that in Pingyang County, right? She wondered if the riddles would be easy to guess and if the lanterns would be pretty.
"I won't join in the fun. You and Ran'er are still young, so have fun. You can also release lanterns and make wishes in the moat. If you are interested, you can ask the people below to prepare first." Sun thought that her daughter-in-law was also very busy this year. There was no peace at home, and she never rested, but she didn't complain at all. All matters during the year were handled in an orderly manner.
After all, she is young and should go out and have some fun. Staying in the backyard all day will make her dull. My son likes people who are energetic.
Light lanterns and make a wish?!
"Got it. When the prince comes back, I'll ask him."
Return to your own courtyard.
"Magpie, go find some thin rice paper, thin bamboo strips, and thin iron wire of good quality."
That's right, she plans to make her own Kongming lantern! Isn't it more meaningful to make a wish with a Kongming lantern?
Lin Xiaomi looked at the thin rice paper, thin bamboo strips, and iron wire in front of her, closed her eyes, and carefully recalled the style of the Kongming lantern.
First, select a few relatively straight thin bamboo strips and place them on a flat table. Gently hold both ends of the bamboo strips with both hands and slowly bend them into a round frame.
During the bending process, she was extremely careful, always paying attention to the uniform force to prevent the bamboo strips from breaking. When she was satisfied with the shape of the frame, she picked up the thin wire and cut it into the appropriate length.
Then, the wire is tightly wrapped around the intersections of the bamboo strips to ensure that the frame is firm and stable. Each winding is very careful, neither too loose to cause the frame to loosen, nor too tight to damage the bamboo strips.
Next, Lin Xiaomi took the thin rice paper and spread it flat on the table. She gently covered the bamboo frame with the rice paper, starting from the top and slowly smoothing it down. During the smoothing process, she carefully expelled the air between the rice paper and the frame so that the rice paper could fit tightly on the frame.
In order to better fix the rice paper on the frame, Lin Xiaomi prepared some paste. She used a small brush to dip a proper amount of paste and evenly applied it on the bamboo frame.
Leave a small hole at the bottom of the lamp body to place the candle.
Several maids who were watching from the side asked, "Madam, are these lanterns you made?"
What a strange design, it's so big and made of paper, how can it be placed in water? Besides, this lamp is really ugly.
Lin Xiaomi was not sure whether the Kongming lantern she made could fly.
"Come on, let's go to the yard."
She picked a suitable candle and gently placed it on the small hole at the bottom of the Kongming lantern. To ensure that the candle would not fall during the flight, she found some wire to fix the candle on the Kongming lantern.
After everything was ready, she took out the tinder and carefully moved it close to the candle wick. With a soft "puff" sound, the candle was lit, and the warm flame flickered inside the Kongming lantern.
Lin Xiaomi stared at the Kongming lantern, waiting for it to slowly rise. However, at first the Kongming lantern did not move, but just lay quietly on the ground.
Failed? What went wrong?
That’s how it was before, right?
After a while, the air inside the Kongming lantern gradually heated up and began to expand. Finally, the Kongming lantern moved slightly and then slowly rose up.
Watching the Kongming lantern slowly rise into the sky, the servants in the yard were extremely shocked. What did the wife of the prince do? Why could this lantern fly in the sky?
Everyone looked up, watching the lights flying higher and higher...
Lin Xiaomi's face showed some pride and joy. Her hands-on ability was really good and she could do anything she tried.
"Madam, this lamp is so magical!" exclaimed the magpie.
"Yes, it can actually fly, and fly so high!" Others echoed, watching the lights in the sky getting higher and higher, and what they saw getting smaller and smaller.
Lin Xiaomi explained with a smile: "This is called a sky lantern. It uses the principle that hot air rises. As long as the candle burns and the air inside becomes hot, it will fly."
The servants nodded as if they understood, but their eyes were still closely following the sky lantern, watching it float farther and farther away in the sky.