Chapter 356

Lantern Festival Exhibition on January 15th was not affected by the death of Emperor Xianjia last year.

At the beginning of the evening, the long street was already lit up with lights.

The appearance of a star in the sky seemed to gradually ignite the splendor of the city.

Several lights eventually converged into a bustling brightness.

“I didn’t expect there to be so many people.” Song Yixiao carried a begonia lantern that Jian Xubai had just bought and leaned close to the parapet of the stone arch bridge. She looked at the surging tide of people around her with some novelty and amazement.

Originally, Ji Su’s suggestion was to book a private room in the best restaurant in the area, so that the two of them could enjoy the view of the lanterns from above and the restaurant’s best dishes at the same time. The point was that they didn’t have to stand together with the crowd on the street.

But the couple felt that it was a rare occasion to come out and have fun. It would be frustrating if they were not involved in the situation. So, they insisted on changing into their regular clothes and travelling with just a few guards.

But Ji Su’s prediction was right. As time went on, the street became more and more crowded. At the very beginning, there were people who noticed the guards vaguely escorting the couple and deliberately didn’t come close. But later on, when there were so many people crowding the street, who cared about this?

If it wasn’t for Jian Xubai who kept holding her, Song Yixiao would have almost bumped into strangers several times.

But compared to the couple’s excited mood, this was not a big problem.

The two of them looked at the lanterns along the shoreline at the bridge. Song Yixiao smiled and said, “It’s a pity that Qingyue is too young. Otherwise, I could have brought her out today.”

“What do you want to bring her out for?” Jian Xubai didn’t think that it was a good idea to bring their daughter with them. He shifted his feet slightly to better protect his wife from the crowd, and also took the opportunity to kiss her on her forehead. He smiled slightly and said, “If she wants to see the lanterns, her future husband can bring her here. What’s the point of hounding her parents?”

Song Yixiao didn’t know how to react but gave him a firm twist on the waist, “I thought you loved her! I didn’t expect you to be so stingy. You are even not willing to bring her to Lantern Festival Exhibition. When she grows up, I’ll tell her and see if she will still talk to you!”

“Of course my daughter is important. But how can I forget my wife?” Jian Xubai lifted his hand and swept her hair blown down by the night wind. He said with a smile, “Didn’t you just say you wanted to eat sweet dumplings? The stall over there is full of people. Maybe it’s good.”

The couple moved slowly with the crowd. The small food stall was indeed full of people, but only after they had gone there did they realize that the people were not attracted by the food, but by the fact that something had happened here. A customer had ordered a bowl of sweet dumplings, and halfway through eating, he had fallen down with his stool!

When they held him up, he was twitching and his eyes were rolled up. He looked like he was dying!

In this situation, the crowd suspected that there was something wrong with the food, so they stopped the owner of the stall from getting away, and sent two young men who were quick enough to get to the office.

But under such a circumstance, it was hard enough for the officials to squeeze through.

So the people nearby came to see what all the fuss was about.

“Forget it. Let’s find another one!” Jian Xubai had thought that he had found a good sweet dumpling shop. If the food was clean, the couple could have a fresh meal.

But he didn’t expect to run into such a thing. And someone had already reported it to the office, so he thought there was no point in wasting time here. He turned around and said to his wife, “When the officials come over later, they will inevitably detain the people at the stall.”

Song Yixiao was about to agree when she suddenly gazed at someone and said, “Who is that?”

Jian Xubai looked in the direction of her sight. He saw the crowd not far away was forcibly parted by two guards, and a handsome man in fox fur walked in with his sleeves folded. He said in a light voice, “If there was something wrong with the sweet dumplings, why did only this one person become sick while the others were safe and sound?”

In fact, after the initial panic, everyone had figured it out. But firstly, it was during the process of eating the sweet dumplings that the accident happened. So, until the cause was found out, the owner of the stall could not be uninvolved. Secondly, the diner had brought a little girl with him. After he fell down, the child, who was only seven or eight years old, was so confused that she only hugged him and cried. Her pitiful appearance made people stand on the diner’s side.

But what surprised Song Yixiao was not that the man had pointed out this fact, but that this man was actually Su Shaoge, whom she had not seen for a long time.

“It should be a persistent illness. It happened to strike just now. It has nothing to do with the sweet dumplings.” When the couple was surprised, Su Shaoge had already leaned down to take the dying man’s pulse and took a handkerchief from a servant to wipe his hands. He said, “It’s a pity that I am not knowledgeable, and I don’t have any medicine with me. So, there is nothing I can do.”

Although the onlookers didn’t know his identity, they knew that he was not an ordinary person by the way he dressed and acted. Both the owner of the stall and the diner whose illness stroke were, at a glance, just normal people.

With his status, Su Shaoge obviously didn’t need to come to this dispute to help one side. They heard the words and were somewhat convinced. They only pity the little girl who was still crying, “Are there other adults in her family? If this is her only elder, how will the child get on in the future?”

The owner of the stall, however, was relieved and rushed forward to kneel and thank Su Shaoge.

Su Shaoge waved his hand and simply said, “My father loves your sweet dumplings. Can you make him a bowl of sweet dumplings now? We will be going back later.”

Outside the crowd, Song Yixiao and Jian Xubai looked at each other and both thought, “No wonder he involved himself in this dispute.”

Emperor Xianjia had died. Emperor Duanhua was on the throne. Although the Su Family still had Empress Dowager in the palace, they were no longer as prominent as they had been when they were the family of Empress.

At present, the Su Family would be careful with what they said and did.

If there was no reason, Su Shaoge, who was not a flamboyant person, would not have come out to meddle in this matter in full view of the public.

It was because Duke of Ji was a regular customer of this stall.

“This is probably the last time that Duke of Ji will eat the sweet dumplings here.” Song Yixiao thought silently in her heart, “After all, it’s been half a year since the former emperor’s death. If he goes back at this time, it won’t affect the reputation of the former emperor and the current emperor much anymore.”

As they watched the owner of the stall go to light the fire and cook the sweet dumplings, the couple were about to leave, when Su Shaoge turned his head and looked over, nodding slightly at them.

“Madam Song?” The Su Family had never been close to Duke of Yan’s Family, and at present they were even more different. Therefore, even if they met by chance, a nod would be enough. There was no need to greet him. Jian Xubai was about to take his wife’s hand and leave, when an unexpected voice came from behind them, “Are you here for the sweet dumplings too?”

“I saw a lot of people here on the bridge and thought this stall was extraordinarily good. So, I came to take a look.” Hearing the words, Song Yixiao turned her head and saw that it was indeed Su Shaomo, wrapped in a purple mink fur, standing two paces away. Four sturdy guards were trying to keep the crowd away from her. Therefore, although she was in the middle of the crowd, this young lady of Fufeng Hall was still in a dignified manner, “But I didn’t expect this accident to happen. Are you also out to see the lanterns?”

Su Shaomo’s temperament was, to put it nicely, simple-minded and didn’t know how to beat around the bush. To put it badly, it meant that she was naturally stupid and didn’t know how to read faces.

Take this case as an example. Her brother, Su Shaoge, only nodded to the couple, but she came up to greet Song Yixiao and said, “You’ve come to the right place. Although this stall is small, my father has said that this is the best place in the capital city to make sweet dumplings! Not even our family chef’s ancestral skills can compare!”

She continued to say, “We are here companying our father. He’s not been feeling well lately. He suddenly wants to see the lanterns today. He’s upstairs over there!”

As she said, she pointed towards a restaurant in the back.

The couple, out of courtesy, also looked in that direction, originally not expecting to see Duke of Ji in this crowded scene at night. But they really saw a middle-aged man in a purple shirt, surrounded by several guards, holding the rail and looking over.

The man’s eyes looked similar to Su Shaoge’s, and his temperament was heroic. So, he must be Su Nianyi.

When Jian Xubai and Song Yixiao took a look at him, they met his eyes and they were all slightly stunned.

But then they reacted immediately. Each nodded their head in greeting and moved away from their gazes.

Song Yixiao noticed that the gaze of Duke of Ji didn’t only contain his concern about his own kids, but more melancholy and sorrow and a faint sense of longing.

“Does Duke of Ji regret what he did back then?” Song Yixiao thought, and swept her eyes at her husband beside her. Speaking of this, Jian Xubai was also a victim of the Su Family’s ambition at that time.

If it wasn’t for Duke of Ji and Empress Dowager Su planning to cooperate to steal the throne, why would Wuhuan have fought for six years?

Jian Xubai would not have been a prisoner, living in a foreign country for many years, and suffering the betrayal of his family, and narrowly escaping death.

She suddenly thought of something and, not caring about Su Shaomo’s presence, came to her husband’s ear and asked solemnly, “Have you recovered…from the poison?”

“What?” Jian Xubai didn’t react at first. He was stunned for a while, then he understood the question. He smiled slightly and said, “Almost. After taking Yuwu Paste for a few more days, I think I’ll be fine in the future!”

When he said this, he remembered what had happened back then and couldn’t help but tease Song Yixiao in a low voice, “Why are you asking this all of a sudden? Do you want to apply Yewu Paste to me again?”

At this, Song Yixiao couldn’t help but blush. She twisted his waist hard. She was about to speak. But Su Shaoge had already gotten the freshly prepared sweet dumplings. He noticed his sister’s behavior and gave the bowl to the servant to carry carefully. Then he came over and said, “Shaomo, why are you down here too? There are so many people here. Don’t you be harmed!”

“I heard from the servants that something happened here, so I came down to take a look. I bring the guards with me anyway. It’s okay.” Su Shaomo didn’t realize that she had done something inappropriate. But she was mindful of her father’s wishes. Seeing that the sweet dumplings were ready, she had no intention to continue the conversation with Song Yixiao. She only waved her hand and said, “Madam Song, we need to deliver the sweet dumplings to Father. You might as well have a try. It’s really good!”

Song Yixiao smiled and agreed, exchanging a few pleasantries with her before saying goodbye. In the meantime, Su Shaoge was waiting for his sister not far away, only smiling slightly and never speaking to the couple.

Only after Su Shaomo had finished did he salute and leave with his sister.

After they left, Jian Xubai looked at the diners who were gradually taking their seats and said to his wife with a smile, “Despite the accident, it seems that the food here is really not bad. Why don’t we order a few bowls of sweet dumplings and ask them to deliver upstairs?”

He was referring to a restaurant a little far from the one where Duke of Ji was staying. After all, both of them had been spoilt since childhood. It was fine for them to try the street food once in a while. But it was a bit unbearable to eat in this corner with a crowd of people. Not only could they not stand it, but others would probably not be comfortable either. So they might as well sit down at a suitable place nearby and ask someone to bring the sweet dumplings over to them.

Song Yixiao had no problem with this. But the couple didn’t know that after the siblings of the Su Family had served the sweet dumplings to Duke of Ji, Su Shaomo went over to the rail to admire the lanterns while Duke of Ji was slowly tasting the bowl of sweet dumplings.

She also saw the behaviors of the couple and could not help but smile slightly.

The smile had no deeper meaning. She simply thought that the couple had believed her recommendation.

But then a look of frustration and loss appeared. As she watched the people underneath her talk, laugh and walk away, eventually disappearing into the crowd, she unconsciously bit her lip.

“What’s on your mind?” Next to her, Su Shaoge had long noticed his sister’s gaze. When he saw that Duke of Ji was not paying attention, he gathered his sleeves and walked over. He said gently, “Are you looking at Duke of Yan and his wife? Why? Don’t tell me that you fancy Duke of Yan.”

“Bah! What are you saying?” Hearing this, Su Shaomo, who had been somewhat upset, immediately stamped her feet with great enthusiasm and spat, “Although Jian Xubai is recognized as a good-looking man, he is just at the same level as you! I’ve seen your face since I was a child. How can I be the kind of person who judges people by their appearance?”

Su Shaoge looked at her with a smile and said, “Alright. I’m just kidding. But you keep staring at them. I remember that you don’t know Madam Song very well either.”

“I miss Shaoling.” Su Shaomo’s words made his smile forced. Yet his sister, who didn’t know to read faces, continued, “The previous two years when I admired the lanterns, Shaoling would accompany me. But this year she went to Qiongzhou with Ji Zifu. I don’t know if there is Lantern Festival Exhibition in that deserted place. If there is one, will Ji Zifu be so considerate as Duke of Yan is to Lady of Yan? When will we meet again?”

Su Shaoge listened to his sister’s words in a daze. After a long time, he smiled slightly and said, “There will be a day like that.”

The rail beneath his hand was unknowingly pinched and left with finger-shaped slots.