Chapter 821: Lantern Viewing

Fan Tong’s face went dark as iron. He said, "Xiao Feng, I may not be as lucky as you, but Heaven can’t ignore me forever. Do you have to make it sound so ugly? You’re a Deputy General now, but that doesn’t mean I won’t one day leave the cabinet as a prime minister. When that time comes, we’ll still have to rely on each other."

In front of Tong Huaqiong and the others, Fan Tong’s emotions almost collapsed.

Aside from Fan Tong himself, everyone else found his words nothing short of a joke.

Tong Huaqiong almost spat out a mouthful of water.

Fan Tong hadn’t been treated like some honored guest in Tong Huaqiong’s home and felt stifled, yet he didn’t dare voice his dissatisfaction to her. Seeing Nie Xiaofeng relying on his status as the young uncle, he vented all his frustration on him.

And he still talks about leaving the cabinet as a prime minister. Even without the memories of Tong Dajiao from the previous life, just based on Fan Tong’s behavior all these years, becoming prime minister is nothing but a fool’s dream.

Nie Xiaofeng scratched his head and said with disdain, "We’ll talk when you actually become prime minister. As your little uncle, I’m very optimistic about you, you know."

Nie Xiaofeng wasn’t the least bit angered by Fan Tong’s sarcasm. After all, he was the Deputy General; the one who was jealous was Fan Tong, so the advantage was his.

Seeing that Nie Xiaofeng wasn’t ruffled at all by his barbs, Fan Tong only grew more furious.

Gu Honglian saw that Fan Tong had inexplicably started butting heads with Nie Xiaofeng, and her heart thumped with unease, a faint dissatisfaction with Fan Tong rising within her.

This time she stood on Nie Xiaofeng’s side and said to Fan Tong, "What did Xiao Feng say wrong? He was just telling the truth. You failed the provincial exam three times for various reasons. Xiao Feng is a Deputy General now, and you’re just a Scholar. There is indeed a bit of a gap between you two."

Fan Tong gritted his teeth and swallowed his anger, feeling that ever since they reached Shengjing, Gu Honglian had been acting wrong, opposing him in everything.

In a situation like this, shouldn’t Gu Honglian be defending him?

Not only did she not defend him, she even stepped on him to flatter someone else, not leaving him a shred of face.

Gu Honglian, however, felt that she had no idea what Fan Tong was so proud about. Xiao Feng was at least a Deputy General, currently the highest-ranking official in the family.

As Nie Xiaofeng’s senior brother and little uncle, shouldn’t he be trying to climb up to him?

They had just arrived in Shengjing and still needed to rely on Xiao Feng’s influence.

What good would offending Nie Xiaofeng do him?

She was even thinking of leaving Tong Huaqiong’s household to seek refuge with Nie Xiaofeng.

But now that Fan Tong had completely offended Nie Xiaofeng, how was she supposed to ask him for help in the future?

"Our little uncle has great ambition. A rough martial man like me can’t compare. I’ll wait for our little uncle to become prime minister and pull me up," Nie Xiaofeng said carelessly.

Fan Tong was left speechless by the retort. He stiffened his neck and said nothing.

Inwardly, he thought that once spring came and the weather warmed, he absolutely had to go out and seek a path. He refused to believe that, with his learning, he couldn’t find a good future.

The provincial examiner in Ningcheng Village had no eye for talent and couldn’t appreciate his writing, but the people of Shengjing were not so superficial.

Once he gained the appreciation of some noble patron and rose to lofty heights, people like Nie Xiaofeng wouldn’t even be worthy to carry his shoes.

Fan Tong worked hard at comforting himself, and his expression soon returned to calm.

Tong Huaqiong noticed how Fan Tong’s face changed like a Sichuan opera mask and thought to herself that this fellow was just another Gu Ruinian—his ambitions higher than the sky, his abilities thinner than paper. Best if he spent his whole life living in his fantasies.

Even though only Gu Baishuang and Nie Xiaofeng had come from the Nie Family, Tong Huaqiong still went all out with her hospitality.

During the meal, Nie Xiaofeng had a couple more cups of wine, and with reddened eyes he apologized to Gu Baishuang.

He said that his previous thoughts had been too naive, thinking that if he had some success and refrained from fighting over things, the Nie Family would remain harmonious.

He had underestimated how sinister people’s hearts could be. His two elder brothers and sisters-in-law had never treated him as a brother. From beginning to end, they’d always seen him as an intruder vying for their resources, guarding against him, resenting him. They even wished he’d die on the battlefield. Not only that, they wanted to carve up every bit of his glory.

With them thinking that way, his father not only didn’t stop them, he even stuck a label on him—that he was too petty and too calculating.

This time, his heart truly turned cold.

If the Nie Family treated him like this, then they could only treat his mother, Gu Baishuang, even worse.

Through this incident, he finally understood Gu Baishuang’s grievances, understood why she insisted on holding all the family businesses in her own hands, and why she took such a stance of cutting herself off from the Nie Family.

Previously, he’d thought they were all one family and that they should avoid quibbling when they could. Now he stood completely on Gu Baishuang’s side.

He even regretted having his two elder brothers and sisters-in-law come to Shengjing, since they’d started causing trouble for Gu Baishuang the moment they arrived.

Nie Xiaofeng cried as he spoke, and Gu Baishuang’s face was full of gratification.

To be honest, when she’d heard before the New Year that Nie Xiaofeng had personally gone to welcome Nie Mingyuan and his two elder brothers and their wives, Gu Baishuang had indeed felt chilled. She’d even considered simply moving out of the General Mansion to live on her own.

Fortunately, her son did not let her down. After clearly seeing his brothers’ and sisters-in-law’s wolfish ambition, he firmly stood on her side, even unmoved by Nie Mingyuan’s moral blackmail.

Tong Huaqiong thought to herself that at least Nie Xiaofeng had come to his senses.

With this mother and son, one holding the Nie Family’s real power and the other clear-headed, if they stayed united, they would never repeat the fate of the previous life.

Gu Baishuang and Nie Xiaofeng stayed until evening before returning.

After that, the entire first month of the year passed by with Tong Huaqiong busy hosting banquets and listening to opera.

Just like that, the fifteenth day of the first month arrived.

On the fifteenth, the streets of Shengjing were packed with carriages flowing like water and horses like dragons. All kinds of lanterns hung everywhere. When night fell and tens of thousands of lanterns were lit at once, the entire city of Shengjing was shrouded in a sea of shimmering lights.

Mrs. Min and Old Mrs. Huang asked Tong Huaqiong’s whole family to go out together to enjoy the lanterns.

The weather had been fine the last few days, with no more snow, and the wind wasn’t as bone-piercing as before.

It was the perfect time to go out and see the lanterns.

After a whole New Year of constant busyness and endless guests, it hadn’t been easy. The Lantern Festival was just right for taking the chance to relax and enjoy the lights.

That evening, Tong Huaqiong led her household out to admire the lanterns.

This time they didn’t take a carriage, because there were simply too many people on the streets. Riding in a carriage would only lead to being stuck in traffic; walking was more suitable.

They could stroll around while enjoying the lights.

"Why didn’t Su Chengmin ask you out to see the lanterns?" Liu Yueer asked Gu Taohua.

Gu Taohua said, "He’s waiting for me at Magpie Bridge."

Dasheng’s customs were quite open, and the separation between men and women wasn’t that strict. Couples who were already engaged could even go out on private dates.

Magpie Bridge was the busiest spot in Shengjing during the Lantern Festival, filled with lights and crowds. Many young men and women went up there to enjoy the lanterns and meet their sweethearts.

Su Chengmin had been on duty these past few days. He’d originally agreed to come pick up Gu Taohua to see the lanterns, but at dusk he suddenly sent word that something had come up in the palace and he wouldn’t be able to leave until nighttime.

He changed their meeting place to Magpie Bridge.

When they reached West Street, Magpie Bridge stood right in the middle of it.

Not far from Magpie Bridge was a viewing platform set up by the Royal Family for the lantern festival. Huge lamps were lit on it, bright as daylight.

On the platform, various performances would be staged in rotation: storytelling, shadow puppetry, martial arts, magic tricks...

At the entrance to West Street they ran into Mrs. Min, Old Mrs. Huang, and Aunt Tang, who were waiting there.

Soon after, Gu Baishuang arrived as well, and they all walked together toward the lantern-viewing platform beside Magpie Bridge.

In the very center of the lantern-viewing platform stood a huge Golden Dragon Lamp. It had just been lit, and many people were gathered around it, cheering.

Man Er, Yaozu, Hua Er, and the other children couldn’t wait and ran straight to the Golden Dragon Lamp.