Chapter 117 Lantern Festival (two chapters in one, 4000 words)
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Imperial Street was packed with people coming to see the Lantern Festival.
Su Yanli's family also packed up and prepared to go early, so as not to be crowded with children. Shu Tong was about to go to the mule cart when there was a knock on the gate. He hurried over to open the door, "Manager Santai, why are you here?"
Shu Tong subconsciously looked towards the carriage, "Young Prince..." he thought, everyone went to see the lantern festival and had dinner early, isn't it a bit late to come and have a free meal now?
Santai is different from Shuangrui. Shuangrui usually looks like a nice guy with a smile on his face, but when he follows Zhao Lan, he has an expressionless look on his face, just like a world-weary second-generation rich kid.
He said word by word, "The young prince didn't come, so he sent me to bring a carriage to Dr. Su. This is the coachman, and these two are the guards."
Shu Tong was stunned. He didn't hear what the master said to the second lady. He asked Santai to wait for a moment and turned around to report.
Su Yanli was also surprised, "I didn't hear him mention it when I was having dinner here on the tenth day, so why did he suddenly send a carriage over?" He looked at his daughter. Although he was a teacher and it seemed reasonable for students to give their teachers some convenience, the student's status was special and he could not afford it.
Su Ruojin's brain was spinning. Why did Zhao Lan show such kindness? Was it a favor to the meat grinder? Or a favor to eat and drink for free? She looked towards the gate and met Santai's eyes.
He bowed.
Now that the carriage is here, let him return the favor!
"Dad, since the young prince has good intentions, then we should accept it. Then, as a teacher, you should work harder to teach and educate people."
It seems that his daughter is naturally good at dealing with people. Since his daughter said yes, Su Yanli no longer felt any pressure or burden. "Okay, Dad will give him some special treatment."
Su Ruojin pursed her lips and smiled, thinking, Young Prince Zhao doesn't want to take the imperial examination, so this special treatment will probably be in vain.
With the little prince's carriage, the mule cart at home was empty. Originally, Lu Dani was going to walk there with Mother Dong and others, but now Shu Tong drove the mule cart to take them to see the lantern festival. Li Xiuzhu was stunned and shook her head and refused to go, so she was dragged onto the carriage by Mother Dong.
She was the only one left at home. Mother Dong was not worried about others, but she was worried about her being alone at home.
Yang Si Niang asked Su Ruojin to watch the lantern festival together every year, but every year it failed. She stood at the door and watched Su Ruojin get on the carriage. She could only wave her hand and said, "You must go to the lantern shed of Duke Zheng's mansion. I'll wait for you there."
Su Ruojin couldn't make any promises, so she just said, "Hurry up, if it's any later, it will be hard to walk in the crowded place."
When Yang Si Niang heard that it was difficult to travel, she ran into the yard and shouted, "Mom, when are we leaving?"
Madam Yang was dressing in the bedroom, while Mr. Yang was standing beside her, sorting out his clothes. The couple were clearly together, but they were like strangers, each busy with their own things.
Looking at the man sorting out his clothes in the bronze mirror, Madam Yang suppressed her anger and asked, "Where are you fooling around again?"
Yang Yushi frowned, "What nonsense, I was doing that for official business."
"Official business, official business." Madam Yang angrily slammed the comb on the table. In an instant, a tooth of the horn comb broke. She turned around and said angrily, "You always say this is not good, or that is not good. You are the best in the world."
"This is my duty as an imperial censor."
Madam Yang was annoyed by his respectful attitude and said, "Okay, I won't talk to you about responsibilities. As a grown man, you have to support your family, right? Where's the money?"
"How much salary can a seventh-rank official like me get? You have a dowry shop, right? These are enough for the family to spend."
"You..." Madam Yang was so angry that her heart ached. She reached out her hand and wanted to tear down the dressing table. "Yang Jingzi, don't think I don't dare to divorce you."
Lord Yang frowned and then relaxed his brows: "No, you won't divorce. You can't afford to lose this person."
"You..." Madam Yang stretched out her hand to scratch the man's thief face. Her daughter knocked on the door outside. "Mom, mom, Ajin's family has left. When are we leaving?"
Lord Yang glanced at his wife, who looked furious, and whispered, "Hurry up, I'll accompany you to the Zhengguogong Mansion Lantern Festival to show up, to give you face and not embarrass you." Then he went to open the door and said with a smile, "Arong——"
"Father, are you all right?"
Lord Yang nodded, "Go in, and hurry your mother up."
Yang Birong seemed to sense something, and the smile on her little face suddenly stopped. She looked at her father, and then at her mother in front of the dressing table. Her mother was inserting a gold hairpin. It seemed like nothing was happening, but also like something had happened.
She can't understand.
With Prince Zhao's carriage, no matter where they went, Santai would arrange for patrols, so the whole way was smooth all the way to the Imperial Street Lantern Festival. When they got off the carriage, they found that the carriage was actually parked near the palace gate.
Su Ruojin traveled to the Dayin Dynasty for eight years. This was the first time she was so close to the imperial palace. She looked up at the city gate tower, which was brightly lit and even more spectacular. The soldiers patrolling with swords were dressed in majestic and powerful clothes, even more solemn and awe-inspiring than those seen in movies and TV dramas.
The jumpy Su Sanlang clung tightly to his mother, too frightened to move.
Little Silang was so scared that he went to hide in Su Yanli's arms. He patted the boy's back gently, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid..."
Su Dalang and Su Ruojin looked at each other and smiled, thinking that this was a sign of seeing the world.
Santai welcomed the guests to a luxuriously decorated lantern shed. "Doctor Su, this is the lantern shed of the Prince of Jin's mansion. The prince, princess, and prince are all in the palace. Sitting over there are the prince's concubines and illegitimate sons. I'll take you to greet them. After that, you can go to the lantern festival. If you are tired, you can rest here. The young prince will probably come out of the palace at 8 o'clock to pay respect to you, Doctor."
Su Yanli waved his hand, "Young Prince, go and do your work, don't worry about us."
Santai bowed and said word by word, "The young prince specially took care of it."
Su Yanli looked at his daughter.
Then let’s worship.
Su Yanli had no choice but to say, "Young Prince, you are too polite."
Santai's mission is complete, "The two guards will follow the doctor today, so I won't disturb Dr. Su and his family from visiting the lanterns."
Just as Su Yanli was about to say that he didn't need guards, Santai had already turned around and walked towards the palace gate.
Su Family: ...
The two guards bowed to the Su family and said, "One of us will lead the way for the doctor, and the other will stay behind to block the crowd for the doctor."
It sounds quite thorough.
Su Ruojin shrugged at him. Since she couldn't refuse, she might as well enjoy it.
With a guard, shopping is really different. First, you don’t have to worry about being squeezed, and second, you don’t have to worry about being photographed and carried away.
Wait, Su Ruojin suddenly realized a problem, ran to his father and pulled his sleeve.
Su Yanli leaned forward and said, "Ajin, what's wrong?"
"Dad, if I hadn't pretended to cry during the Lantern Festival last year, would the young prince have been okay?" She looked at the two ordinary guards in front and behind her. They were wearing black cross-collared robes, which were a bit special, but they didn't seem to be particularly eye-catching in the crowded crowd.
Su Yanli followed his daughter's line of sight and glanced at her. "Or was the guard pushed away by someone?"
Su Ruojin: ...That’s possible.
Oops, why did I suddenly think about these things?
Su Ruojin quickly grinned, "Dad, let's go guess the riddles."
Su Yanli smiled gently at his daughter, "Okay."
Under the various lanterns on the street, several pretty young ladies were chattering and looking for lanterns they liked, but one of them turned her head and followed the gentle and elegant young man in the crowd.
In the warm light, he stood tall and straight, and even holding a child in his arms did not diminish his romantic temperament. His black hair was tied up, and he wore a simple white jade and silver crown. He was full of poetry and painting, making people unable to take their eyes away.
"Aoxue..."
"What is Sister Aoxue looking at?"
Aoxue turned back suddenly, "Nothing?"
The beautiful young lady didn't believe it. She looked in the direction she had looked before. There were crowds of people, all of whom were there to see the lanterns. She didn't see the rich and powerful man. She joked, "Prince Wei is probably in the palace."
Aoxue glanced at her and said, "Qingshuang, don't say certain things carelessly, otherwise..." It was New Year's Day, so she held back.
"Okay, okay, I get it." Qingshuang looked impatient. Last year, Prince Wei broke Cheng Lezheng's legs for her, and yet he is still pretending to be noble here. It's really disgusting.
The beautiful young ladies had no fun watching the lanterns, so they went to watch the lanterns and guess lantern riddles.
Aoxue turned around again, searching the crowd, but unfortunately she couldn't find him. I heard that he was a doctor of the Imperial College? Why didn't he come to teach in the Ministry of Education?
Hey!
When they arrived at the Fan family's lantern shed, the women of the Su family held lanterns in their hands. They were all overjoyed and followed Su Yanli with smiles on their faces to pay their respects to Mrs. Fan.
"Come, come..." Mrs. Fan was very enthusiastic. Not only did she ask the maids to bring cakes to the Su children, she also asked her eldest daughter-in-law to come over. "Look, this is the sister Ajin and brother Sanlang that Chengcan mentioned."
Su Ruojin was stunned! Then wouldn't the siblings have to call Fan Yanjia uncle?
Fan Yanjia also realized this problem and immediately blushed, "Mom, am I on good terms with the doctor?"
Mrs. Fan: ...But my husband treats Dr. Su as a junior! Is there anything wrong with that?
There's really nothing wrong with that!
Su Ruojin called out mischievously, "Uncle Yan Jia, what lantern are you holding?"
Fan Yanjia: …I suddenly felt unwell.
When someone came to play, Fan Chengcan was very happy. He didn't care about his uncle and brother. He held up his goldfish lantern happily and said, "Sanlang, let's have a lantern battle." He always lost when battling with his uncle, but Su Sanlang, who was the same as himself, would never lose.
The two children picked an empty place to compete with lanterns. Su Silang, who was held in his arms, looked at them jealously and pointed at them, "Go... go..." Su Silang, who was over one year old, could say some simple words and walk a few steps.
Su Yanli found a stool to sit on, put his youngest son down, held him in his arms, and let him jump around.
It is rare to see a man holding a child, let alone a handsome and elegant man. Tonight, the women in the Fan family's lantern shed were in for a feast for the eyes.
"Mrs. Fan, I think I saw this young man last year!"
"My husband's disciples often move around, so of course you have the opportunity to see them."
"Are these all his children?"
"Yes." Mrs. Fan nodded, "They all look smart and clever."
The ladies agreed, "It's really well raised."
Someone asked, "So where is his family..."
Mrs. Fan did not elaborate, "He is not from the capital, but from Pingjiang Prefecture." She just said it as a passing note.
"oh."
Whatever the Su family was talking about, the ladies would naturally turn the topic to things that were valuable to them.
Fan Chengcan looked more powerful than Su Sanlang, but he lost the fight with the lantern to Su Sanlang. He was so angry that he burst into tears, "Impossible...Impossible...My hands must be faster than his..."
Su Sanlang puffed out his small round belly with pride, "I get up every day to learn the moves, so my hand speed is definitely faster than yours."
Get up every day? This naughty kid lies without blinking. He sleeps until he wakes up naturally every day. If he wakes up early, he can practice with everyone. If he wakes up late, it's useless to practice.
Fan Chengcan had tears on his eyelashes: "Practice?"
"It's just to practice martial arts!" Su Sanlang wanted to show off, so he gave the little guy a punch on the spot.
The bad boy fished for three days and rested for two days, but the other girl fished quite well and skillfully, which drew cheers from the ladies.
“This child is so cute!”
"yes!"
Su Family: ...
Su Ruojin: ...This kid is only five years old. Even if he works hard for three days and rests for two days, he has only been learning for two or three months. This set of boxing was actually taught to Mao Ya by Hua Ping. Su Dalang and Su Ruojin haven't learned it yet, but this brat is doing it very well.
Is this talent? Su Yanli is a scholar, Cheng Yingzhen is weak, she doesn't have this gene!
Fan Chengcan's eyes lit up, he even stopped lighting the lamp and crying, he looked at Su Sanlang with admiration, "Sanlang, you are amazing."
“Well…” He was about to brag, but when he saw his father looking at him with a smile, he quickly changed his words, “No… No…” He looked very humble.
Who does this naughty kid look like? Is he talented in changing his face?
In short, Su Sanlang stole the show tonight. His little appearance was very likable. Several ladies wanted to watch him box, and he did not shy away but happily and openly gave them a beating.
After a while, he became familiar with the lady and called her all the right things.
How come a socially anxious couple looked at each other and gave birth to a socially competent son?
Su Dalang was also amused by his brother's "ferocity" and stood aside, smiling quietly.
Su Ruojin thought to herself, even if she was very good at business in her previous life, she couldn't seem as awesome as Su Sanlang. This guy was really awesome.
His personality might be partly the reason, mainly because Su Sanlang was born in a loving environment. Su Ruojin is a very old-fashioned person. When she took Su Sanlang to play in the alley, she would greet people she met and call out to people she saw. In order to understand the ways of the world, she would gossip about everyone she met. She might not realize it, but little Su Sanlang was standing next to her and was subtly influenced, and even Su Ruojin herself did not realize it.
Seeing that it was getting late and the young prince was still waiting to see the teacher, the Su family said goodbye and returned the same way. When they passed by the lantern tent of Duke Zheng's mansion, they were spotted by Yang Si Niang, who quickly stopped them.
The young lady was very excited. She finally met her little friend. "A Jin——" she insisted on pulling her hand into the shed.
Su Ruojin stood there motionless, smiling, "Arong, what lantern did you guess?" She changed the subject, not intending to enter someone else's lantern shed casually.
Sure enough, Yang Si Niang's attention was diverted. She quickly let go of her hand, ran in, and brought out a lantern. "Look, is it beautiful?"
Su Ruojin of course supported her and nodded vigorously, "So beautiful."
"Haha..." The young lady was very proud, "My grandmother gave it to me specially."
"Your grandmother is so kind."
(End of this chapter)
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