After three o'clock in the afternoon, his aunt and grandmother called to urge him to go, so Shen Yu drove the whole family to Xu's house.

The traditional Lantern Festival dinner is to be eaten early so that one can enjoy the lanterns at night. However, in recent years, this activity of enjoying the lanterns has been neglected. The Xu family still maintains the habit of having dinner early today, and it is also nice for the whole family to get together for tea and chat after dinner.

When they arrived at the Xu residence, grandma and aunt-in-law surrounded Meng Tao and asked her how she was feeling. As the due date approached, everyone was looking forward to it but also a little nervous.

Before the dinner, Meng Tao went to her eldest cousin's room to visit Gu Yingying. The Xu family was equipped with a doctor who would come at any time, and there were ointments brought by Shen Heping and Xu Zhen, so Gu Yingying did not go to the hospital. The wound on her face was treated and wrapped with gauze, and she rested in the room. Grandma Xu asked Sister Ma to take special care of her and send her all the food and supplies. Her eldest aunt also came to visit often.

In the morning, someone came to the Gu residence to pick up Gu Yingying. They were Jian Rong and Gu Fangfang. They said it was the Lantern Festival, and they wanted to take their eldest daughter home for a reunion. Xu Hengkai was not at home at that time, but he had made instructions. So the aunt-in-law used the excuse that Gu Yingying was in the hospital, but she didn't know which hospital Hengkai had taken her to, so she directly sent Jian Rong and her daughter away.

Gu Yingying herself didn't want to go back. Gu Panpan almost took her life last night, and the Gu family was still covering up for her and stopping Xu Hengkai from bringing Gu Panpan to justice. Gu Yingying was completely heartbroken.

Meng Tao talked to Gu Yingying for a while, and seeing that she was in good spirits and calm as usual, she felt relieved.

When dinner was about to start, Shen Yu came to pick up Meng Tao, and Xu Hengkai also came back. Because Gu Yingying was not going to the restaurant, Xu Hengkai accompanied her to eat in the room. Meng Tao said it was a perfect opportunity, they could light a few candles and enjoy a romantic candlelight dinner.

As expected, cousin Xu was tempted and was about to go looking for a candle, but Shen Yu said: Be careful not to make things worse. The smell of burning candles is so bad that it will definitely not be good for the wound.

Cousin Xu: “…”

Hesitantly looking left and right, he saw his cousin looking serious but pursing his lips, and his cousin's wife holding her big belly and laughing. He immediately realized that he was being teased by the couple, and he became angry and drove them out.

Gu Yingying covered her cheeks, she couldn't laugh and it was so hard to hold it back. She looked at her fiancé with curved brows. He seemed to have become stupid after falling in love, but even with this stupid look, she loved him more and more and couldn't extricate herself.

The couple who were kicked out walked slowly along the corridor. Meng Tao was still laughing. Shen Yu held her waist and said, "Stop laughing. Laughing too much will cause miscarriage."

"Who told you to talk like that? Look, you can't teach your cousin a lesson."

Shen Yu chuckled: "How can you blame me for this?"

"Why not blame you? You don't understand romance and you're talking nonsense."

“How many candles does it take to be romantic?”

"Of course, like in the movies, with flickering candlelight, beautiful and fragrant roses, and melodious violin music."

"My eldest cousin doesn't have roses or violins either, just a room full of antique mahogany belongings. If you turn off the bright lights, there will be a few red candles swaying in the wind. I know that families prepare red candles for the New Year. Isn't that romantic? It would be best if you put up a few big red papers, then you can enter the bridal chamber."

Meng Tao couldn't help laughing and pinched him: "You just don't understand!"

"We call this romantic: the moon is above the treetops, and we meet after dusk. If it were in ancient times, I would take you to enjoy the lanterns."

Hearing the flower lanterns, Meng Tao suddenly cried out, and Shen Yu was startled and asked anxiously, "What's wrong? Are you feeling uncomfortable?"

Meng Tao shook her head: "No, I miss Brother Jinniu."

Shen Yu: “…”

She was scared and broke into a cold sweat, thinking that her stomach really hurt from laughing just now. She covered her stomach with her hands and said, "Didn't Brother Jinniu and Zhou Cuiling call before the holiday? Everything is fine at home, don't worry."

"The one hanging on the window? It's also called a lantern. It's so ugly."

"You won't do it."

"What's so difficult about it? I can definitely do it if I work hard. However, by the time I'm done, it will probably be over the Lantern Festival. I'll go outside and pick one for you later."

"Where can I pick it?"

"I remember that there was a unit that hung lanterns every year, some with poems and some with portraits, all kinds of them. I'm sure you'll like them."

"Take me there?"

"No, the security in that courtyard is quite tight. There's a guard every ten steps and a sentry every five steps."

"Ah? Then forget it. If you get caught, I'll have to bring you food."

"Not really."

Shen Yu pinched his young wife's chubby face and couldn't help laughing at her frightened and cute look.

When they walked into the restaurant, everyone was already seated, waiting for them and their spouses. The men's and women's tables were next to each other. Shen Yu sent Meng Tao to her mother Xu Zhen, and then he sat down at the men's table.

The second aunt diligently scooped a bowl of chicken soup for Meng Tao, but Xu Zhen waved her hand to block it and gave her daughter-in-law a bowl of dried water shield soup. The daughter-in-law had a good appetite and gained weight rapidly. She was about to give birth, and the nutritionist said she couldn't eat too greasy food. The chicken soup was not degreased, so it was better not to have it so late at night. It would be better to drink something refreshing and light.

Deng Liyun was rejected and couldn't help curling her lips. She thought to herself that she was from the countryside and didn't know manners. If the old lady hadn't been sitting at the head, she wouldn't have been sitting there. Wu Danning would have been known as a virtuous woman. Why would she bother to please two country girls? She didn't know that Xu Zhen was her sister-in-law Xu Jia back then. She just felt that the old man and the old lady were getting more and more confused as they got older. They wanted a daughter so much that they would recognize any girl who looked like her as their own daughter and worship her like their own daughter. Real relatives like Wu Hong and Deng Linlin were not allowed to attend the family banquet. The more she thought about it, the more angry she became.

Deng Liyun conveniently placed the chicken soup that was blocked in front of Pan Lina, patted her on the back and said, "This soup is nutritious, drink more while it's hot."

Pan Lina saw with her own eyes that Second Aunt was handing the bowl of soup to Meng Tao, but after a circle it came to her. She immediately felt bad: Why was it given to me only when Meng Tao didn't want it?

She used to be the only grandchild daughter-in-law in the Xu residence. She was given all the good things first, and her needs were met before others were given them. But since Meng Tao came, she was squeezed to this point? She had to drink Meng Tao's leftover soup!

Pan Lina sobbed and cried, tears streaming down her face. She pushed the bowl of soup in front of her hard, stood up and ran out of the restaurant.

The loud bang startled people at two tables, and they all looked at the figure who ran away with a puzzled look on their faces.

Deng Liyun opened her mouth wide: What did she do? She served a bowl of soup with good intentions, but she refused to give it to one person, and got mad when she gave it to the second person? What, what, is this evil?! Grandma Xu calmly watched Xu Hengze at the table over there chase out, and asked Ma Sao to clean up the overturned soup bowl, wipe the table clean, and call the children to continue eating.

After drinking a few sips of soup, Grandma Xu looked at her eldest daughter-in-law and said, "Hengze has to go back to work tomorrow. The young couple can't bear to part, so let Hengze take Lina with him. She will be bored staying at home. After dinner, help them pack up and try to pack up whatever they want to take."

Wu Daning nodded with no expression on his face.

Usually when the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law discuss things, Deng Liyun would say a few words to show her presence, but at this time she was very quiet, holding the spoon and drinking the soup carefully.

(End of this chapter)