Chapter 380: 380. Lantern Festival Assassination Incident (Midnight)

Translator: 549690339

In late December, they began to prepare the New Year’s goods at home, and also received the New Year’s goods sent from the north and the south one after another.

Qiao Jing bought some smoked meat and other goods from the north. He still remembered Su Liang saying she liked the smoked meat from a shop in Nanping City, so Qiao Jing made Qiao Cong specially buy quite a lot to send to the capital city.

From the south, the goods were prepared by Lian Shun, one portion to the Lin’s family, another to Su Mansion, mostly the specialties of the south. Besides the New Year’s goods, there were also a large pile of gifts from Nian Jincheng and Lian Shun prepared for Gu Xiaonuan.

Previously, Nian Jincheng and Lian Shun had a bet on whether Su Liang was pregnant with a boy or a girl, with the loser forfeiting the chance to be the child’s godfather. It turned out that Lian Shun, who was the first to offer to be Gu Xiaonuan’s godfather, guessed incorrectly.

But he did not accept the outcome. The letter he sent showed him completely taking on the role of Gu Xiaonuan’s godfather and seeming as though he would grow wings to fly to the capital city to hold Gu Xiaonuan if he could.

Lian Shun did not mention Ying Ying, but some things have already been left unsaid between them. If there was news, Su Liang would definitely inform him. If she did not say anything, it meant there was no news, and asking would be of no use.

Su Liang had Song Qi prepare the New Year’s goods at the beginning of the month to be sent to Xuanbei City and Jiaye City.

The couplets were written by Gu Ling, who also cut out many window decorations.

On the 28th day of the 12th lunar month, Cen Man and Lao Mu watched the child while Su Liang and Gu Ling put up the couplets together.

After Su Liang recovered from childbirth, she wanted to move around, but for now, she was unable to do any vigorous exercises, so she looked for some things to do.

Gu Ling mixed the glue, Gu Ling was responsible for pasting, and Su Liang was responsible for handing him the couplets and checking if they were pasted properly.

“Is Xiaonuan crying?” Gu Ling suddenly stopped and asked Su Liang.

Su Liang listened carefully and shook her head. “No. I think you, master, are suffering from separation anxiety. The moment you part with the child, you keep thinking about her and feel that others cannot take good care of her.”

“Is there such a disease?” Gu Ling furrowed his brows.

“Yes, a psychological problem,” Su Liang said. “You will get used to it. We can’t always keep an eye on her.”

“But Xiaonuan is really crying,” Gu Ling said.

Su Liang looked helpless, “Master you…”. She stopped mid-sentence when she too heard the crying coming from Yuanming Pavilion. Her baby’s cry was indeed piercing.

Following that, Lao Mu’s voice calling for her could be heard, “Xiaoliang! Nuannuan is hungry!”

Su Liang immediately dropped the couplet in her hand and rushed over.

Gu Ling also followed along, the couplet that was not yet firmly attached was blown by the wind and stuck to the face of Qi Yan who was coming over to help…

As Su Liang held Gu Xiaonuan to feed her, she complained that she had just fed her not too long ago.

Gu Xiaonuan ended up not eating, laughing cheerfully, kicking and waving her arms in Su Liang’s arms, her bright eyes full of mirth, as if she was saying that it was fun.

Su Liang handed Gu Xiaonuan to Gu Ling, “Your daughter is a little liar.”

Gu Ling held his daughter with a gentle look of amusement, shaking her slightly, “Is she really that smart?”

Su Liang: …. It seems like in the future it will only be up to her to discipline the child when necessary.

Her mindset is now different from when she first gave birth to the child. It’s probably because Gu Ling is too good of a father, making Su Liang feel that she can only be a strict mother, holding her rationale in check.

However, just now when Su Liang heard that Gu Xiaonuan was hungry and rushed back to the Yuanming Pavilion, it revealed that her rationality also had its limits.

After playing with Gu Xiaonuan for a while, Gu Ling and Su Liang continued pasting the couplets, only for them to hear Gu Xiaonuan crying again just as they left Yuanming Pavilion.

Su Liang complained, “Master, it seems that your prenatal education was useless, I remember you told her the story of the boy who cried wolf.”

Gu Ling chuckled lightly, “If she could understand and remember at that time, I would be afraid.” Perhaps she could be another transmigrator.

After going through a few more attempts that day, Su Liang and Gu Ling discovered that as long as either of them was with Gu Xiaonuan, she wouldn’t fuss. However, if neither was with her, she would occasionally cry out.

But Su Liang wanted to put up the couplets and Gu Ling wanted to be with Su Liang to do that. So, it turned into a family of three putting up the couplets. Gu Ling held Gu Xiaonuan in one arm, and pasted the couplets with the other hand. Even though it was slower, it had its own kind of fun.

Gu Xiaonuan was bundled up tightly, but it couldn’t conceal her excitement about being outdoors, as she giggled non-stop.

When they finished pasting the couplets, Gu Xiaonuan was in a daze and fell asleep, and Gu Ling placed her in the cradle.

Gu Ling felt inspired, laid out a sheet of paper, ground the ink, and painted a picture. In the painting was the warm scene of the three of them pasting the couplets, but he was facing his back because he couldn’t see his own expression and had never painted his own portrait.

Gu Xiaonuan really liked red things. The Chinese knot Gu Ling personally made and hung on the head of the bed had now been moved to the top of the cradle.

On the twenty-ninth, they steamed buns.

Gu Ling and Su Liang had not cooked together in a long time. While Gu Xiaonuan was sleeping, they busily made flower buns in the kitchen.

Gu Ling kneaded the dough, a bit of flour on his face. When Su Liang saw that, she drew closer to help wipe it off, but ended up being held around the waist by Gu Ling, and he lowered his head and kissed her.

Both had been abstaining for a long time, their lips and tongues intertwining, filled with longing, and they didn’t hear when the water in the pot started boiling.

In the end, it was Gu Xiaonuan’s crying that separated them.

Su Liang’s face flushed slightly, “Great God, it’s been more than half a month since my confinement period ended. I am clean now, so it should be alright. How about tonight…”

Gu Ling’s gaze shifted lower, falling on the spot below Su Liang’s neck, “I’d very much like to.”

“No buts, let’s just happily settle on that,” Su Liang took off her apron, washed her hands, and went to soothe the child.

Gu Ling let out a long sigh, not noticing until he turned his head that the water in the pot was boiling. If he didn’t start eating meat again, he really wouldn’t be able to hold on.

By the time Su Liang reentered the kitchen, flower rolls had already been placed in the steamer. Gu Ling had a good habit; he cleaned as he cooked, so the kitchen would still be clean when he finished.

When the flower rolls were ready, Su Liang noticed one with an odd shape. Upon closer inspection, it was actually shaped like a bamboo shoot…

“Is this specially made for Gu Xiaonuan?” Su Liang thought that when Gu Xiaonuan grew up, she must tell her that her beloved father once thought of nickname her ‘Xiaosun’ (Little Bamboo Shoot).

“It’s made for you. Bamboo shoot bean bun.” Gu Ling parted it, revealing the filling inside. He didn’t add extra sugar to the bean bun, and used mashed sweet potato to sweeten it.

Su Liang tasted it; hot, aromatic, sweet, and delicious.

They had agreed to start eating meat that night, but when their passion intensified, Gu Xiaonuan’s howling nearly drove Gu Ling to despair. Perhaps she had slept too much during the day. That night, Gu Xiaonuan was full of energy and only fell asleep halfway through the night. Su Liang was too tired, and their ‘exercise plan’ had to be temporarily postponed.

When Gu Ling woke up the next day, he decided that in order to ensure their daughter slept soundly at night, she couldn’t sleep too much during the day. She needed to develop a regular lifestyle from a young age to have a good body.

As such, on New Year’s Eve, Gu Ling and Su Liang very seriously spent a long time playing with Gu Xiaonuan.

Snow began falling again in the evening, and the family of three had New Year’s Eve dinner with the people in the mansion. The meal was prepared by Nangong Qian and Qiuyue. Cen Man also cooked a couple of dishes, and Gu Ling cooked a fish. Su Liang had been unable to eat fish for a long time during her pregnancy, the mere smell of it causing her to feel nauseous, but today she said she wanted to eat it.

After the New Year’s Eve meal, Gu Ling and Su Liang first bathed their daughter, then took turns accompanying her, allowing the other person to bathe.

When Su Liang returned to the bedroom after bathing in the study, as soon as she entered the door, she saw Gu Ling’s deep eyes.

Then, both of them were waiting for Gu Xiaonuan to quickly fall asleep. Fortunately, their ‘plan’ succeeded. Gu Xiaonuan closed her eyes after feeding, and soon fell fast asleep.

Gu Ling put Gu Xiaonuan in the cradle, covered her with a light-blocking curtain, and turned around to press Su Liang into the bed…

Gu Ling said that they should keep vigil tonight and not sleep.

Su Liang thought, that sounded reasonable.

The snow was swirling outside the window, while the room was brimming with the warmth of spring.

The old year ends amidst the sound of firecrackers.

Old Mu put on his new clothes early in the morning and ran to the doorstep to set off firecrackers.

Having only slept a short while, Gu Ling, awoken by the distant sound of firecrackers, did some ‘morning exercise’ with the half-asleep Su Liang. Then, feeling refreshed, he got up to change their daughter’s diaper.

Su Liang was too exhausted and slept until noon. In the meantime, Gu Xiaonuan had already received several red envelopes.

By the time Su Liang got up, bathed, and changed into her New Year’s clothes, she went downstairs to find Gu Ling holding Gu Xiaonuan and watching the snow outside the window.

The father and daughter both turned to look at Su Liang. The two similar faces, one as beautiful as a celestial being, the other as pretty as a sprite, made people have to marvel at the creator’s prejudice.

Gu Xiaonuan waved her small hand at Su Liang, which was her way of expressing her fondness for someone.

Su Liang, smiling, walked over. The family of three was dressed in matching outfits, the patterns on their collars and sleeve edges identical.

Cen Man arrived at the door and thought this scene was just beautiful.

“Happy New Year, master.” Su Liang bowed, and Cen Man happily gave her the pre-prepared ‘New Year’s money’. It was not silver, but her favorite concealed weapon.

Old Mu came over with a sizable wooden box, mysteriously urging Su Liang to guess what was inside.

“I guess it’s a piece of wood,” said Su Liang.

Old Mu was at a loss for words, “Guess properly.”

Su Liang insisted she had no clue. Now, Old Mu’s interest lies in tinkering with some bizarre things with Gu Ling, many of which were beyond Su Liang’s imagination.

However, this time Old Mu’s gift to Su Liang was not one of those things, but something Su Liang described a while ago. Old Mu made it.

He slowly opened the wooden box to reveal a maneki-neko (beckoning cat) ornament. He touched a mechanism on the back of the ornament, and the cat’s one paw began to wave at Su Liang.

Su Liang was amazed. The fortune cats from her previous life were all powered by batteries. She had only asked Old Mu and Gu Ling if it was possible to use purely mechanical means to achieve what she described – she didn’t expect Old Mu to actually make it. And he had done it behind Gu Ling’s back, all by himself, just to surprise Su Liang.

However, there’s a slight gap between Old Mu’s aesthetic sense and Gu Ling’s. The expression on the cat’s face is a bit peculiar – dark and light – which made people laugh. Su Liang loved it.

“Thank you, Master. You’re so amazing,” Su Liang hugged the bamboo shoot, allowing Gu Xiaonuan to touch it like a Maneki-neko. Gu Xiaonuan began to laugh.

Having recently given birth, Su Liang tactfully rejected the palace’s banquet invitation, imagining it to be quite boring. Her current greatest joys are raising her child and exercising with Gu Ling.

Duanmu Chen had long grown accustomed to this, and didn’t mind; he just planned to visit his goddaughter at the Su Mansion once the weather was better. Bringing the baby into the palace for him to see was out of the question for now.

By the second day of the year, Su Liang, having no family to visit, stayed home with Gu Ling to take care of the baby.

Interestingly, on this very day, the envoys from the royal families of the Liang and Yin countries, sent to visit their princesses, arrived at the capital. The princesses were unable to return to their families, so it was as if their own families had come to visit them.

Duanmu Chen graciously allowed Situ Yao and Ji Yueyan to meet their visitors, also preparing gifts in return.

As outsiders couldn’t stay within the palace for long, the visitors left on the same day.

However, before they had departed, Duanmu Chen already knew the contents of their conversations.

Ji Yueyan’s side had nothing notable; it was all routine. The visitors asked whether she had adapted to the environment of Qian Country, how her health was, and so forth. Ji Yueyan’s mother had passed away long ago and her father had also recently died. The emperor of the Yin Country had become her unfamiliar half-brother, Ji Yuebai. Nothing there was worth her lamenting.

The “secret talk” with Situ Yao held much more of Duanmu Chen’s attention. Perhaps aware of potential eavesdroppers, the queries were quite cryptic. Situ Yao didn’t mention any negligence on part of Duanmu Chen, only stating that she was doing well and that her family need not worry.

But, the listening masters were certain they heard the sound of Situ Yao’s tears.

Why would she cry if she’s doing well? Could it simply be longing for her homeland and relatives? However, Duanmu Chen didn’t actually neglect Situ Yao. Even during her pregnancy, he occasionally visited her. The initial tacit understanding and intimate feelings between them just weren’t the same anymore.

After hearing the report, Duanmu Chen took no action. Whether Situ Yao had awakened or become more shrewd, he was only concerned with the outcome. She was his woman and would give birth to his child. As long as she didn’t make any inappropriate comments or actions for Liang Country in the future, he would treat her well.

Soon it was the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the New Year.

A grand lantern fair took place throughout the city. Whether Gu Ling and Su Liang would attend depended on Gu Xiaonuan. It was unsafe to bring a baby into such a large crowd and they feared it would scare her, but the little one was still unused to her parents not being around.

Zhengzheng had been begging Gu Ling to make him a small airplane-shaped lantern, which Gu Ling then agreed to.

By evening, Lu Yu came with Zhengzheng, and received the lantern from Gu Ling.

Having lit it, Zhengzheng was overjoyed. “Master is so amazing! This looks so cool!” The little airplane, hung by a string seemed like it was truly flying.

Zhengzheng really wanted to see the lanterns with Gu Xiaonuan, but Su Liang said that her sister was still too young to go.

Reluctantly understanding, Zhengzheng said, “My mother said the same thing. I’ll just tell her all about it tomorrow!”

Su Liang agreed, even though Gu Xiaonuan at her current stage couldn’t understand what was being said.

Gu Ling made other lanterns too: a rabbit-shaped lantern for Su Liang, and surprisingly another bamboo shoot-shaped lantern for Gu Xiaonuan…

Gu Ling stated that he couldn’t think of anything more suitable to give to his daughter, so he just went along with Su Liang’s previous name for the little God, the bamboo shoot, assuming it had some strange connection to Gu Xiaonuan.

Su Liang commented that it didn’t matter if it was a bamboo shoot, it was pretty cute after all.

Old Mu and Cen Man accompanied Nangong Qian to the lantern festival, with Qiuyue tagging along. As soon as they reached the crowded streets, Nangong Qian started coughing from the crush of the crowd and the scent of fireworks in the air. Old Mu quickly led them into the Wan Family Restaurant, where a private room had been reserved for them.

Once inside, they found that the Lin’s family was already there, so they joined them. The Lin’s had brought their children to enjoy the festivity, but as they are quite young, Lin Shuzhi didn’t think it would be safe to bring them downstairs.

After a while, Lian Shun’s parents also came, bringing Lian Shan with them. Yuan Pei trailed behind them.

As only Nangong Qian and Lian Shan were unmarried ladies of similar age, they sat together, conversing. They had previously met at the Su Mansion.

Lian Shun’s father started a game of chess with Lin Shuzhi while Cen Man chatted with Madam Lin.

Bored, Old Mu gazed down at the street, hoping to see a nice lantern that he could bring home for his beloved disciple. However, he soon spotted a pickpocket amidst the crowd.

Having nothing better to do, Old Mu directly jumped down from the second floor, nabbed the thief who was about to run off, handed back the stolen pouch, and called the patrolling soldiers to bound him away.

Afterward, Old Mu returned to the restaurant and continued to watch for thieves from above, feeling it to be a noble duty.

While observing the moving crowd, Old Mu spotted Lu Yu and Zhengzheng. Zhengzheng was seated on Lu Yu’s shoulders with a delicate painted mask covering the top half of his face. He was excitedly holding an oddly-shaped lantern, looking around. Many people in the streets wore masks, which was also part of the festival tradition. Lu Yu was wearing a larger sized mask, just like his son’s.

Old Mu’s gaze followed them until they were about to disappear into the distance, his eyes suddenly noticing two suspicious figures moving through the crowd towards Lu Yu. Although dressed ordinarily, their arms’ positions caught Old Mu’s attention as they were poised as if prepared to draw knives from their sleeves.

“Old Cen!” A glint appeared in Old Mu’s eyes and he called out to Cen Man before again jumping out of the window.

Cen Man, unaware of what was happening, nevertheless followed Old Mu out immediately.

The others rushed to the window to see what was happening.

After a while, a commotion broke out in the crowd. Due to the sheer size of the crowd and chaos, it was unclear what was happening until cries of “Murder!” rang out.

But soon the brief disturbance was quelled. A person had indeed died, but most people didn’t see it happen. By the time they were informed, order had been restored, and the parties involved had “disappeared”.

Cen Man escorted Lu Yu and Zhengzheng back to the restaurant, while Old Mu dragged the two bodies into a dark alley. When the government soldiers arrived, Old Mu asserted that he was Su Liang’s master. After they sought instructions from their superiors, they allowed Old Mu to handle the matter on his own and stated they would assist if needed in the future.

The two men were indeed assassins. However, they were not killed by Old Mu. He had merely stopped them, after Cen Man had injured them with a hidden weapon, they chose to commit suicide rather than be captured.

Using the light emanating from the entrance of the alley, Old Mu searched the bodies of the two assassins but found nothing that could identify them. Their appearance was very ordinary and their weapons were cheap products easily purchased from roadside stalls. As for their martial arts skill level, it was impossible to tell now that they were dead.

Lu Yu was worried about Wan Hui and his child at home, he wanted to entrust Zhengzheng to Cen Man and go home to check.

Thinking that Old Mu might come over as well, Cen Man relayed this to Nangong Qian and escorted Lu Yu and his son back home.

Old Mu enlisted the help of the government soldiers he had previously contacted, instructing them to help transfer the corpses to the Su Mansion. He then went to the restaurant to get Nangong Qian and they went home together.

Su Liang and Gu Ling were about to go to sleep, when Old Mu called for Gu Ling from below Yuanming Pavilion.

“I’ll go and see what it is.” Gu Ling dressed and went downstairs.

Upon learning that Lu Yu and Zhengzheng had experienced an assassination attempt, Gu Ling immediately furrowed his brow, “Who was it?”

Old Mu shook his head, “I don’t know.” After saying this, he took Gu Ling to see the two corpses.

Gu Ling couldn’t find any clues either, instructing Qi Yan to dispose of the bodies before dawn.

“Old Cen hasn’t returned from taking Zhengzheng home, I’m not sure if anything happened to the Wan family.” Old Mu sighed.

While they were talking, Cen Man returned, reporting that everything was peaceful at the Wan family and there had been no unusual occurrences during the night.

Gu Ling told them to rest, then returned to Yuanming Pavilion.

He first checked on Gu Xiaonuan, who was sleeping soundly.

Gu Ling went to the bedside, removed his shoes and outerwear, and lay down on the outer edge of the bed. Su Liang then asked him what had happened.

After Gu Ling finished explaining, Su Liang seemed thoughtful, “Lu Yu and Zhengzheng often travel outside, and their home location is not a secret. The fact that the assassins chose to strike on a crowded main street tonight, could it mean that the person behind this isn’t very certain, and could only take advantage of such an opportunity? Could it be that there are still surviving members of the Li family who intend to kill Lu Yu and kidnap Zhengzheng?”

Zhengzheng’s birth father is the former biggest porcelain merchant in Qian Country, the third young master of the Li family, who had tried every means to kidnap Zhengzheng when he was alive.

“If it were the people from the Li family, they shouldn’t be death soldiers.” Gu Ling didn’t think this was likely.

“You’re right.” Su Liang shook her head, “It’s even less likely to be traffickers.”

But if it was someone who wanted to get to Su Liang and Gu Ling, and thought to kidnap Zhengzheng because he was close to them… Su Liang didn’t think their enemies would be that weak.

At this moment, in a courtyard of the Nian mansion in the capital city of Qian Country, which had been vacant for a long time, a lamp was lit.

This place had once been confiscated, when the sisters Nian Ruxue and Nian Ruting were exposed for deceiving the emperor, the Nian family was exiled.

On the day of the incident, Nian Ruxue disappeared and had never been seen again. Later, when Nian Ruting was rescued by Su Liang during the rescue mission for Nian Jincheng, she was meant to die, but she was kept by Yan Shiqi and later ended up in Duanmu Yi’s hands. Since Duanmu Yi’s attempt to disgust Gu Ling with Nian Ruting failed, he told Duanmu Chen that he had executed her.

Later, Nian Jincheng reclaimed everything after Gu Ling reclaimed his identity. He also became the owner of this mansion, but he never lived here again and all the servants were dismissed.

“Tingting, those two failures you deployed, they’re useless!” An exquisitely-dressed middle-aged woman waved off the dust from the chair and sat down.

Another woman in the room slowly walked to another chair, also sitting down without dusting it off, her voice raspy, “Once upon a time, Nian Ruxue loved to sit here.”

If Su Liang was there, she would recognize her instantly. This woman was Nian Ruting, the former Nian family member who was infatuated with Gu Ling. And the middle-aged woman, Ren Dong would recognize, she was her master, Shaoyao.

The fact that Nian Ruting was still alive was unknown even to Duanmu Yi. Because at that time he did indeed order Nian Ruting’s execution, but it was Shaoyao who was assigned to it. At that time, Shaoyao was disgruntled with Ren Dong and on a whim, she spared Nian Ruting’s life and took her as a disciple.

Shaoyao looked displeased, “Tingting, your master is speaking to you.”

Nian Ruting caressed the armrest of the chair, totally ignoring Shaoyao, “My life was ruined by Nian Ruxue. She must still be alive, just don’t know which gutter she’s hiding in.”

Shaoyao’s expression darkened with anger. She had taken in Nian Ruting in the hopes that she would be grateful and obedient, the thing she could least tolerate was rebellious disciples.

Seeing this, Shaoyao stood up and slapped Nian Ruting hard, “Have you woken up now?”

Nian Ruting didn’t seem to be in pain. She pulled at her injured lips and laughed instead, “Master, I heard your question. Those two are useless indeed, their only strength is their loyalty to me, willing to die at my command. Tonight was just a trial, I originally wanted to kill that boy and make Su Liang suffer. It was a great opportunity, but well, it just didn’t succeed.”

“Why do you insist on causing trouble for Su Liang even though you said that your sister Nian Ruxue is the one you hate most?” Shaoyao scoffed.

Nian Ruting sneered, “Master, I said that Nian Ruxue ruined my life and I hate her, but I didn’t say that I hate her the most. Even though she ruined my life and everything I wanted was taken by Su Liang, after all, isn’t your new master also an enemy of Su Liang? If you want to win the favor of your new master, the best gift is Su Liang’s head.”

Shaoyao coldly stared at Nian Ruting, “Don’t think about using me! My master wants not only Su Liang’s life, but also the life of Gu Ling whom you have been thinking about all the time!”

The color drained from Nian Ruting’s face, “Why is he always so dismissive of me? We are destined to be together, we were supposed to be betrothed. It’s all because of Nian Ruxue and Su Liang, those two vicious women!”

“Enough with your nonsense!” Shaoyao snapped impatiently, “I came here not for you. Behave yourself! Don’t act rashly without my order! I don’t want to see a stupid action like the one tonight happening again!”