Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Lantern Festival

Lin Miaomiao and Li Yanhe stood for nearly two hours before the parents who had brought their children finally departed. As they left, those parents reminded their children, "Behave in class, don’t be naughty." Hearing these admonitions, Lin Miaomiao felt a wave of familiarity. Back when she was in school, her mother used to remind her, "Just focus on your studies and don’t get into trouble at school."

Watching the parents walk away, Lin Miaomiao let out a heavy sigh. Li Yanhe took her hand, and the two of them turned to leave. By the time they returned to the small courtyard, it was already noon. Cui Liu was busy in the kitchen. Lin Miaomiao greeted her and asked that she prepare a little extra food for lunch.

Lin Miaomiao was unsure if Sun Ziwen would come for lunch that day, so she asked Cui Liu to prepare in advance. If he did come, they wouldn’t be caught unprepared.

She noticed Jiang Luohan sitting in the courtyard, sipping tea. Suddenly, Lin Miaomiao felt as if her little courtyard had become a place for retirement.

She sat down beside Jiang Luohan and said, “You come here every day to tutor in my courtyard. Don’t you have other things to do?”

Jiang Luohan glanced at her and replied, “You know I’m a doctor. There are very few who can truly appreciate my skill enough to seek my care.”

Lin Miaomiao rolled her eyes and retorted, “A doctor who doesn’t treat patients—that’s failure in your profession.”

Jiang Luohan arched an eyebrow at her. “How is it my failure? It’s because my medical skills are so exceptional they’re beyond price.”

Lin Miaomiao nodded as she glanced at Jiang Luohan, who was puffed up like a peacock. Shaking her head, she wondered what sort of people had taken up residence in her courtyard.

These past few days, it had been Li Yanhe teaching Lin Langluan and Lin Langze how to read. Lin Miaomiao herself had been busy planting watermelons and hadn’t paid much attention to those two mischievous boys.

When the boys saw Lin Miaomiao, they were overjoyed. In truth, both Lin Langluan and Lin Langze were very fond of her. After all, she had rescued them from the forest and taken them in. Though they were young, they understood gratitude.

Lin Miaomiao was, at heart, a kind soul, and she always treated others with warmth.

At noon, Sun Ziwen arrived at Lin Miaomiao’s courtyard with Li Zheng, traveling by carriage. Lin Miaomiao saw Sun Ziwen’s bundle and turned to Li Zheng, asking, “Is Teacher Sun going to be staying here now too?”

Li Zheng nodded and replied, “He’s come such a long way. He can’t stay in that old house every day. It’s nowhere near as comfortable as here.”

Lin Miaomiao nodded. When she turned around, she saw Sun Ziwen smiling warmly at her. “I’ll be troubling you from now on, Miss Lin.”

Lin Miaomiao smiled back. “It’s no trouble at all. I’ll be relying on you myself.”

Cui Liu, ever perceptive, immediately went to tidy up a room and led Sun Ziwen to the guest quarters. Lin Miaomiao glanced at the time and saw that it was nearly time for lunch. Just then, Jiang Luohan strolled lazily out of his room and asked, “Mmm, something smells good. What’s for lunch today?”

Lin Miaomiao glanced at him and replied, “I’m not the one who cooked today. If you want to know what’s for lunch, just ask Cui Liu in the kitchen.”

Jiang Luohan rubbed his nose and sat down at the table. Watching him wait expectantly for his meal, Lin Miaomiao couldn’t help but find it amusing.

After putting his things away in the guest room, Sun Ziwen came out and saw Jiang Luohan already seated, waiting for lunch.

“You—” Sun Ziwen began, but as soon as Jiang Luohan looked up, their eyes met, and both snorted coldly at each other.

Lin Miaomiao watched the two men eyeing each other like proud peacocks and found it funny. She turned to Li Zheng and said, “The two of them seem to know each other. I hope living under the same roof won’t cause any trouble.”

Sun Ziwen heard her and said, a bit displeased, “Why would I quarrel with someone who doesn’t understand propriety or etiquette? Lowering myself to his level would be beneath my dignity.”

Jiang Luohan slammed the table in irritation. “You talk about etiquette and rules all the time, but I’ve never seen you follow them. If you cared so much, would you have ended up demoted?”

Lin Miaomiao sat to the side, feeling as if sparks were about to fly between them. At that moment, the front door opened and Li Yanhe entered.

Once he sat down, Lin Langluan and Lin Langze also took their seats obediently, ready to eat. After Cui Liu brought the dishes to the table, everyone prepared to begin their meal.

Lin Qi and the others ate at a different table. As Lin Miaomiao glanced around, she noticed a sudden, heavy silence at the table. She covertly observed Sun Ziwen and Jiang Luohan.

After a while, Lin Miaomiao nudged Li Yanhe, and soon after, his cold voice broke the standoff: “If you two don’t want to eat, you can leave.”

At those words, Sun Ziwen and Jiang Luohan stopped bickering and began eating in silence. Li Yanhe glanced at Lin Miaomiao and said, “I’ve long heard that the Sun and Jiang families are at odds, all because of those two young masters.”

His voice was icy, but Lin Miaomiao was intrigued. “So why the feud? Was it over a woman?”

She blurted out the question without thinking, and immediately both Sun Ziwen and Jiang Luohan retorted in unison, “Would my quarrel with him be over a woman?”

Lin Miaomiao realized her words had lit a fuse between them. At that moment, Li Yanhe shot them a cold look, and both instantly fell silent.

Suddenly, Lin Miaomiao found Li Yanhe’s icy demeanor quite interesting. She smiled prettily at Lin Langluan and Lin Langze. “You two must always get along. Otherwise, your brother won’t let you sit at the table. If you can’t eat, you’ll go hungry. And if you go hungry, you’ll starve.”

She was half-joking with the two mischievous boys. She knew that boys at a certain age were bound to fight, but constant bickering could still harm their relationship.

With a ready example before her, Lin Miaomiao took the opportunity to educate the boys according to their personalities. Lin Langluan and Lin Langze quickly replied, “Sister, we never quarrel. If there’s a problem, we settle it with our fists.”

Lin Miaomiao felt her words had been wasted and rolled her eyes. Just then, she heard Li Yanhe say to the boys, “If you two keep settling arguments with your fists, it means you have too much free time. If that’s the case, the drill grounds at the barracks are empty at noon. You can go there and practice for another hour.”

After saying this, Li Yanhe placed a piece of meat in Lin Miaomiao’s bowl. “And you,” he said to her, “stop bringing in every stray cat and dog. It’s made this house unbearably noisy.”

His voice was colder than ever, and everyone at the table seemed to feel the sting of his words. After all, Lin Langluan and Lin Langze had been brought back by Lin Miaomiao, Li Zheng was staying because of her, and so were Jiang Luohan and Sun Ziwen.

Once the head of the household had spoken, silence fell over the table once more. As Li Yanhe ate, he would occasionally put food into Lin Miaomiao’s bowl. Suddenly, she realized that he was not as emotionless as he appeared; in fact, he could be quite cunning.

After the meal, Lin Langluan and Lin Langze obediently went to their room for a nap. They never dared provoke Li Yanhe, and after what he’d just said, they wouldn’t even think of skipping their rest or misbehaving.

That afternoon, everyone was neatly assigned their tasks by Li Yanhe, leaving only Lin Miaomiao and Li Yanhe free to take a carriage outing.

Lin Langluan and Lin Langze spent the afternoon learning to read with Li Zheng, and had a Go lesson with Jiang Luohan in the evening.

Sun Ziwen had to teach in Lin Miaomiao’s class that afternoon. Once Lin Miaomiao woke from her nap, she and Li Yanhe went out to see the lantern festival together.

They rode in a carriage toward Luo City, the most prosperous and wealthy of the fifteen border towns.

This city was bustling and affluent. It took Lin Miaomiao and Li Yanhe two days by carriage to reach it.

Luo City was the innermost of the border towns, and its development was remarkable. The land was fertile, so the people here did not suffer displacement.

In fact, many of the border people would come to live in Luo City, but the city was notoriously unfriendly to outsiders, making life difficult for newcomers.

Because of this, few chose to settle in Luo City, preferring to live elsewhere, and only a select few made their home there.

When Lin Miaomiao and Li Yanhe arrived, they found that the city was holding its annual Lantern Festival.