Originally, I wanted to say that I would leave the capital after the delegation's visit ended in a few days, but I thought that if I said that, Kaiyang would be upset.
Upon hearing this, Madam Qi glanced at her husband and said first, "Xiao Duo, don't overthink it, it's not because of that."
Upon hearing this, Wei Junpei opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, and then said to Hong Xiaoduo, "Let's not talk about that unpleasant matter of impersonating Kaiyang for now. As soon as I came back, I heard that Tan Jijiu of Qishan Academy got sick because of our Kaiyang. What happened?"
"Grandfather, it was he who spoke rudely to Mother first, and Kaiyang couldn't hold back," Kaiyang replied softly.
Seeing his grandson's expression, Wei Junpei quickly said, "He did the right thing. He's my good grandson. It's a pity I wasn't there at the time and didn't see him get his comeuppance."
"Oh, Grandfather, you're not going to scold me for disrespecting my elders?" Kaiyang asked, somewhat surprised.
Wei Junpei laughed: "You're defending your mother. Your grandfather isn't senile. Why would he blame you?"
Upon hearing this, Kaiyang immediately smiled and his eyes narrowed. Hua Shi looked at her son's adorable little face, and lovingly dipped the freshly peeled shrimp in the seasoning before feeding it to her son.
"Thank you, Mother." After thanking her, Kaiyang opened his mouth and bit into a shrimp. It was at this moment that he truly let down his guard in front of his family.
"That young master from the Dong family was quite sensible today, he didn't..." Lord Wei had only spoken halfway when the gatekeeper came to report that the sixth young master of the Dong family had arrived.
Wei Junpei tugged at his beard speechlessly, saying that this man couldn't help but mutter to himself.
"Where is he?" Wei Zizheng asked quickly when his father did not respond.
Upon hearing this, the gatekeeper pointed outside the door.
It's not his fault; he knows his young master calls that man "uncle" very affectionately, and he didn't dare leave him waiting outside the gate. He wanted to invite him to wait in the living room, but the man insisted on coming along!
"Uncle Yuefan is here." Upon hearing this, Kaiyang couldn't sit still any longer and got up to head for the door.
Hong Xiaoduo kept a close eye on the reactions of the Wei family members. Seeing that they did not frown or show any displeasure at Kaiyang's actions, she felt even more at ease.
Everyone got up and went outside. When they saw what was happening outside, they were all stunned.
"Lord Wei, Madam." Dong Yuefan clasped her hands in greeting to the group, then winked at Hong Xiaoduo.
If they hadn't known that this kid genuinely considered Hong Xiaoduo a sister, the Wei family members would have ordered their servants to throw this lecher out just because of that wink he gave him earlier.
What's wrong with Prime Minister Dong's son? He dared to publicly harass the Wei family's benefactor in their Wei residence!
"Last night at the resort, you and Kaiyang both said you liked watching fireworks, right? I was thinking of letting you two enjoy them to your heart's content, but unfortunately, there are still several months until the New Year, and they haven't even started yet."
I managed to gather this much after searching every firecracker shop within a hundred miles of the capital. I had intended to pay more money to have the firecracker makers make more, but I soon learned that making fireworks and firecrackers requires gunpowder, which needs to be registered and approved by the government before it can be purchased, making the process quite complicated.
So, let's just make do with these for now?
"If I have the chance in the future, I'll make more?" Dong Yuefan said regretfully, pointing to the fireworks tubes placed to the side.
After hearing Dong Yuefan's words, the people from the Wei family looked at him much more gently. Just because of a single sentence from Kaiyang and Xiaoduo, he had mobilized a large group of people to search for fireworks everywhere!
No wonder I haven't heard anything about him today. Turns out he's been busy with this. He's such a carefree guy, but he's spoiling his own child!
So, we were only halfway through dinner when we started watching fireworks in the yard. It's not New Year's or any other holiday, yet they're setting off so many fireworks!
Watching Kaiyang take the coarse incense prepared by Dong Yuefan and light the first tinder under his guidance, Hua Shi and her mother-in-law Qi Shi exchanged glances and refrained from stepping forward to stop him.
Fireworks shot into the sky and exploded, blooming in a dazzling display of colors, one after another. The entire night sky brightened, and the shimmering light reflected on the faces of everyone in the courtyard. Lord Wei and Lady Qi, Wei Zizheng and Lady Hua, two generations of four people, seemed to be discovering for the first time how beautiful fireworks could be.
After the first firework display ended, Hong Xiaoduo lit the second one. This one's fireworks resembled a meteor shower or fireflies dancing in the night.
Immediately afterwards, Kaiyang lit the third one, and Hong Xiaoduo the next... A full half hour later, the courtyard was filled with the smell of gunpowder, the air was thick with mist, and scraps of paper slowly drifted down to the ground.
Even so, Hong Xiaoduo and Kaiyang, one big and one small, still held the coarse incense sticks with lingering interest, looking around for any that had been left unlit.
Dong Yuefan almost said, "I'll let you two order and watch to your heart's content during the New Year," but then he remembered that Hong Xiaoduo wouldn't stay in Beijing for the New Year, and he himself would be leaving Beijing for the border military camp in a few days, so he definitely wouldn't be coming back for the New Year. Therefore, he couldn't make that promise.
That's why he went through all this trouble.
After seeing Dong Yuefan off, they didn't continue eating dinner. Lord Wei asked Hong Xiaoduo if she was tired, and if not, she could come to his study to sit for a while.
Kaiyang instinctively lifted his foot to follow, but Hua grabbed his sleeve and shook her head slightly. Only then did Kaiyang realize that his grandfather had something to say to his mother alone, probably about the family that impersonated him.
As soon as Hong Xiaoduo arrived at the study, the kitchen brought over two bowls of shredded chicken noodles.
The old man and the young man slurped down their noodles, and only then did Lord Wei begin to get down to business.
It turned out that he went out of the capital because he found the fake Tong'er's father, Shao Huaiqing, who was also the son of Qi's cousin and Wei Junpei's sister-in-law.
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