CH 122.2

Chapter 122.2 – Happiness and Harmony

Right now, Zhi Ting was directing people to replace the old lanterns in the corridor with new red lanterns. She walked around the corridor to supervise everyone’s work, and the little dumpling watched the excitement with a lively expression on her face.

Lu Sheng was still in the Lu Mansion during the previous New Year. Back then, her mother was already seriously ill, and the New Year did not leave much of an impression on her. But given her young age, even her mother’s appearance had already become blurred in her memory, let alone the past New Year celebration. So now the little dumpling saw everything as fresh and new, and wanted to join in the excitement.

Holding the rabbit and looking up, the child eagerly watched as the people changed the lanterns. She did not notice the sudden footsteps behind her until she was lifted up with both hands holding her under her armpit, and she fell into an embrace filled with the fragrance of plum blossoms. “What are you looking at, Ah Sheng?”

Lu Sheng smiled and hugged Lu Qipei’s neck with the back of her hand, and replied in a crisp voice, “I’m looking at the lanterns being hung.”

The old lanterns that had been dismantled were piled up together, and the newly made bright red lanterns were being hung by the servants one by one in the corridor – the corridor’s ceiling was neither tall nor short, and a ladder wasn’t needed just to slowly hang them one by one. The servants held long bamboo poles and latched the lanterns directly on the hooks on the corridor’s ceiling.

There was actually nothing strange about it, but Lu Sheng was looking at it with great interest. Seeing this, Lu Qipei asked her, “Ah Sheng, do you want to try it out yourself?”

The little dumpling’s eyes instantly lit up when she heard this, and she nodded while hugging the rabbit, “I want to try, I want to try.”

Lu Qipei rarely had free time and was happy to play with her, so she asked the servants to bring a bamboo pole and lanterns over. Seeing them, Lu Sheng immediately pushed the rabbit to a servant and raised her bamboo pole, eager to give it a try. Unfortunately, she was still too young, and the only strength she had was the one from holding the rabbit for the past two months. She raised the long bamboo pole and swung the lantern left and right, completely unable to reach the ceiling at all.

The red lantern on the bamboo pole swayed left and right, and you could see the servants retreating one after the other, afraid that they might accidentally get hit by the bamboo pole. As for whether the lantern will be damaged or not, nobody cared. If the Prince Consort could play happily with the child, a lantern was nothing.

The lantern might be nothing, but the child eager to hang it couldn’t withstand the frustration. After a while, she became aggrieved and looked at Lu Qipei pitifully. “Uncle, the lantern isn’t listening to Ah Sheng, it wants to run away!”

The childish words made Lu Qipei laugh, and she had seen enough amusement, so she finally offered a helping hand, “Then Uncle will help you.”

Holding the dumpling in one hand and the bamboo pole in the other, Lu Qipei spent several times more effort to guide Lu Sheng, and finally managed to hang the lantern in the corridor before it got damaged.

Seeing this, Lu Sheng immediately threw the bamboo pole away and clapped her hands in joy, as if she had accomplished something remarkable.

Lu Qipei couldn’t help but laugh, and Qi Yang, who had been watching on the side for a while, also laughed. She picked up a new lantern and waved it in front of Lu Sheng, saying, “If Ah Sheng want to hang a lantern, why go through so much trouble? Just let your Uncle hold you then hang it.”

The lanterns had limited lighting capability, so they weren’t hung too high on the corridor, only around 30 centimeters above a person’s head. A tall person could hang them directly with their hands, but since their sight would be blocked, it could be a bit more troublesome than using a bamboo pole. But holding a child while they hang a lantern was not a problem. Lu Qipei didn’t say it before, because she was just teasing Lu Sheng.

But now, Qi Yang handed the lantern to Lu Sheng, and the little one thought for a moment and immediately looked at Lu Qipei with burning eyes.

Lu Qipei did not refuse either, holding Lu Sheng in her arms and walking to another lantern spot, smiling and holding the child under her arms, lifting her up.  Lu Sheng saw the hook on the corridor’s ceiling with a glance, and easily hung the lantern in her hand.

This was much faster than before, and Lu Sheng immediately became excited, clapping her hands and shouting, “Hang one more, hang one more!”

Lu Qipei hugged her and moved to another spot. Qi Yang handed a new lantern to Lu Sheng, who picked it up and hung it up high… Although it was just a trivial matter, the three of them were getting along harmoniously, as if they were really parents playing with their daughter.

During New Years, the children’s laughter was the most joyful thing. Lu Qipei kindly lifted Lu Sheng as she hung several lanterns in a row. In the end, it was Qi Yang who was worried that Lu Qipei would be tired and stopped it. “Okay, okay, what’s so fun about hanging lanterns? Let the others do it. If Ah Sheng likes lanterns, let’s go to look at them again when the Lantern Festival comes.”

The child was very good at reading people’s expression. Even though she was having a good time and didn’t know what the Lantern Festival Qi Yang was talking about, she still obediently stopped causing trouble when she heard this. She returned to Lu Qipei’s embrace, and was soon picked up by Qi Yang.

Lu Qipei knew that Qi Yang was afraid that she might be tired from lifting the child, but she couldn’t help smiling. She leaned towards Qi Yang’s ear and whispered to her, “It’s just hugging Lu Sheng, how could I get tired so quickly? Aren’t you well aware of my strength, Ah Ning?”

Qi Yang’s face turned red and she pushed her away with her free hand, saying, “Go away, what nonsense are you talking about.”

Lu Qipei smoothly took Lu Sheng’s rabbit from the servant’s hand, but the smile on her face deepened. As for Lu Sheng, she heard the two’s conversation as she was close by, but she didn’t understand the meaning at all. She just looked at them with innocent and ignorant eyes.

Author notes:

Lu Qipei (firmly): I want to resign as soon as possible!

Qi Yang (looking forward to it): I want to take my Prince Consort away to play around

Crown Prince (…): I seem to have heard the sound of a flag…