frightfiction Chapter 31 Mid-Autumn Festival Chapter
Chapter 31 Mid-Autumn Festival Chapter
The Mid-Autumn Festival arrived in the blink of an eye. The city was bustling with activity at night. Children, carrying lanterns, chased and played, their laughter echoing in the night air. Adults gathered together, enjoying mooncakes and various delicacies, sharing the little things and joys of life. In addition, traditional activities such as solving lantern riddles and appreciating lanterns added to the festive atmosphere, making everyone feel the warmth and joy of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Princess Wan'er and Su Muyang celebrated the festival at their new home in the city. Now that they were settled, they decided to spend the evening at their own home, since they would be visiting the palace during the day to celebrate with their parents and watch the performances. Hand in hand, they walked through the corridor and into the pavilion, where they admired the moon and ate mooncakes together. Princess Wan'er was exceptionally happy, while Su Muyang felt a pang of melancholy, as this was the first time in over twenty years that he couldn't be with his parents for the festival.
At this moment, Princess Wan'er took the initiative to hug Su Muyang and asked softly,
"What's wrong, husband? Why do you look a little unhappy?"
Su Muyang forced a smile. "It's nothing, I just miss my parents a little."
Princess Wan'er comforted him, "Don't be upset. We'll visit them again after the fifteenth. We can also bring them to live with us in the future, which will fulfill your wish."
"You're so thoughtful, that's wonderful," Su Muyang replied, touched.
"There's a lantern festival and a lantern riddle guessing game at the night market. Let's go over there and watch the fun!" Princess Wan'er suggested.
"Alright, let's go!" Su Muyang readily agreed, then took Princess Wan'er's hand and went out for a stroll.
Because Princess Wan'er was exceptionally talented and well-read, she won many prizes in the lantern riddle guessing activity, including rabbit lanterns, mooncake gift boxes, jewelry, and more.
"Would you like to join in? Guessing riddles is a lot of fun," Princess Wan'er asked with a smile.
Su Muyang waved his hands repeatedly in refusal, saying, "Forget it, I wasn't serious when I was studying, so I don't know much. I'd better not participate in the activity."
However, when they arrived at the ring toss stall, Princess Wan'er didn't win a single prize. Su Muyang noticed her embarrassment and quickly bought a handful of rings from the stall owner. He then helped Princess Wan'er toss the rings to win prizes. Before long, they won a small white rabbit in a cage, a potted plant, and a fish tank full of goldfish.
"Wow! You're a ring toss expert! That's amazing!" Princess Wan'er praised him excitedly.
Su Muyang replied with a smug look, "That's right. I used to work part-time at the night market, so ring toss is not a difficult task for me."
"Part-time job? I've never heard you mention that before. What exactly does it involve?" Princess Wan'er asked curiously.
Su Muyang replied, "It's a bit embarrassing to say, but it's the kind of job where you play ring toss for free at a stall, specifically to attract passersby to play the ring toss."
Princess Wan'er laughed, "Hehehe, quite interesting."
Su Muyang smiled and replied, "Although I didn't earn much money before, I've improved my ring toss skills. Tell me what kind of gift you like in the future, and I'll go to the ring toss game to win you a gift."
"Alright! My husband is so good!" Princess Wan'er replied with a sweet smile.
Su Yuning and Ye Beichen, the young couple, returned to their village to reunite with their families. Not only did they return, but they also brought back various flavors of mooncakes, sweet pastries, and even roast chicken, fine wine, and fresh fruit. The family celebrated the festival in their hometown. Old Su was especially happy to see Ye Beichen. He patted Ye Beichen on the shoulder and gave him some instructions…
"My future son-in-law, it's great to see you again! I'm so happy! Today is a wonderful day. Since you're here, please join me for drinks and food." Ye Beichen nodded hurriedly and agreed.
At this moment, the woman beside him quickly reminded him, "Old Su, you've only just recovered, don't drink anymore."
Old Su waved his hand and replied, "I'm so happy my son-in-law is here today! I have to have a drink with him!"
Ye Beichen also tried to smooth things over for him, saying, "It's okay to drink a little."
At the Su family's dining table were not only Old Su and his wife, but also their eldest son and daughter-in-law, with the daughter-in-law holding a nearly one-month-old baby. Also present were Su Yuning and Ye Beichen, and Old Mrs. Su sitting in the main seat.
Grandma Su is getting old, and there are many dishes she can't eat. She won't eat dishes with chili peppers or Sichuan peppercorns, and she can't even bite into fried fish or fried lotus root. So her thoughtful daughter-in-law put plain dumplings and steamed egg custard in front of her.
At the dinner table, Grandma Su asked curiously, "Young master, don't your parents worry about you not going home for the Mid-Autumn Festival?"
Ye Beichen smiled slightly and explained to her in a gentle voice, "We don't celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in the northern desert. Apart from the New Year and the Harvest Festival, we don't have any other festivals."
Upon hearing that she was from the northern desert, Old Lady Su turned pale with fright and asked nervously, "The northern desert and our Great Song have long been at odds. You wouldn't happen to be a spy sent by the northern desert, would you?"
Ye Beichen smiled and waved his hand, "No."
Then, Su Yuning revealed his identity to her family: "Ye Beichen is the Crown Prince of Mobei. He came to our Great Song City to do business."
At this moment, the eldest daughter-in-law asked curiously, "Is His Highness the Crown Prince a very high position? Is it higher than the titles of the princes of our Great Song Dynasty?"
Su Yuning replied with a smile, "Sister-in-law, you don't know, His Highness the Heir Apparent is the same as His Highness the Crown Prince, and is even higher in rank than a prince."
"Amazing!" the eldest son and his wife exclaimed in unison.
After the reunion dinner, the eldest son of the Su family carried a lantern to escort his grandmother home, while Su Yuning and Ye Beichen escorted his sister-in-law and nephew home on either side.
"It's so late, why don't you stay at my place? Yu Ning, the baby, and I will share a room. Young Master Ye, you can share a room with Boss Su for the night," Yang Yuyan gently advised.
"Okay, thank you." Ye Beichen readily nodded in agreement.
When Zhao Shouyi returned to the city, he heard that a new employee had joined the shop, and that Su Yuning had arranged it. So he felt embarrassed to fire the employee and could only suppress his anger.
However, the new girl was extremely unreasonable. Not only did she repeatedly steal food from the store to help her family, but she also repeatedly provoked Nangong Xue'er.
Nangong Xue'er asked her to clean the kitchen, but the girl ignored her.
"Hey, newbie, I told you to clean up, didn't you hear me?" Nangong Xue'er was so angry she had a headache.
"Who do you think you are? What gives you the right to boss me around?" the girl retorted rudely.
Unable to get her to do anything, Nangong Xue'er had no choice but to have other employees clean the house.
What's most infuriating is that the young girl actually wanted to rise to the top and become the boss's wife.
When the boss, Zhao Shouyi, saw the steaming hot wontons on his counter, he asked his employee who delivered them.
The receptionist had no choice but to answer truthfully that it was a gift from the new employee.
Immediately afterwards, the young girl went up to Zhao Shouyi and fawned over him, "Young Master Zhao, you haven't eaten yet, have you? I specially cooked some fresh meat wontons for you. You can eat them before you get busy with work."
Zhao Shouyi told her, "Since you're here, just do your job well and don't do these useless things."
The little girl wiped away her tears, feeling wronged. "I was thinking about your health, how could it be something useless?"
Seeing the little girl crying, Zhao Shouyi felt a bit helpless and could only explain to her.
"I already have a fiancée. It's her job to cook for me. Don't try to be nice to me. Sometimes good intentions can backfire. Do you understand?"
The young girl hugged him tightly and wouldn't let go. "No, you and her are not suitable. That Nangong girl looks like someone who never lifts a finger. She can't take good care of you. Be with me instead. I can wash your clothes, cook for you, and even have children for you."
Just then, Nangong Xue'er witnessed this scene and, in a fit of anger, ran out to clear her head.
In short, everyone was annoyed after the girl arrived at the restaurant. Finally, the day of payday arrived.
Zhao Shouyi settled her wages and, according to the standards for the other workers, also gave her a mooncake and a cup of tea. Then, with a serious expression, he instructed her...
"Xia Xiaoman, you have repeatedly talked back to the boss and stolen ingredients from the restaurant. I have decided to fire you. Starting tomorrow, you do not need to come to work. Please take your benefits and wages with you when you leave my shop."
Xia Xiaoman sensed something was wrong and immediately sat down on the ground, covering her face and crying loudly. Passersby outside the door all turned to look, thinking she had suffered some great injustice.
"The Mid-Autumn Festival is a time for family reunion. Xia Xiaoman, stop crying and hurry home to celebrate with your parents," Nangong Xue'er reminded her.
At this moment, Xia Xiaoman actually felt that she was fired because of her, so she took advantage of Nangong Xue'er's inattention and rushed over to push her down.
This enraged Zhao Shouyi. He first helped Nangong Xue'er up from the ground, then grabbed Xia Xiaoman by the collar and slapped her twice before roaring,
"Get out of here! Don't ever show your face in the city again, or I'll beat you up every time I see you!"
Then, Xia Xiaoman was so frightened that she fled in panic, forgetting to take even the Mid-Autumn Festival benefits with her.
The Mid-Autumn Festival was ruined by a guy, and Zhao Shouyi slammed his fist on the table in anger.
The next second, Nangong Xue'er clutched her stomach in pain and said to him,
"My husband, my stomach hurts so much."
"What's wrong? I'll take you to see a doctor, don't be nervous." Zhao Shouyi didn't care about announcing the holiday and carried Nangong Xue'er to the clinic in a princess carry.
The final conclusion was that Nangong Xue'er had experienced a miscarriage and needed to rest for a month, as well as drink herbal soup to nourish the fetus.
Zhao Shouyi breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness, the child is alright."
Nangong Xue'er was the same; she only stopped crying when she heard that the child was alright.
"I'm so sorry, my husband, the wedding has to be postponed. If it weren't for me, things wouldn't be like this," Nangong Xue'er said with a guilty expression.
Zhao Shouyi stroked her hair and replied gently, "It's alright, it's not your fault. My sister and Su Muyang already have a new house, and their relationship is progressing very well. Let them have their wedding first. Our love is stronger than gold, it's okay to get married later."
Upon returning, Zhao Shouyi announced a holiday to his employees, saying, "Mid-Autumn Festival is a day for family reunion. No wonder everyone has been busy all day for the store's business. Go home early to be with your families. We'll have a two-day holiday tomorrow and the day after. I wish everyone a happy Mid-Autumn Festival and a happy family reunion."
"Boss, boss's wife, take care!" the employees replied in unison, and then they all took their Mid-Autumn Festival gifts and went home.
There were three other people in the shop at this time: Nangong Xue'er, Young Master Zhao, and Nangong Xue'er's mother.
Mr. Zhao said embarrassedly, "I'm sorry, Mother-in-law, I didn't take good care of Xue'er. She has had a miscarriage and needs to be protected. Our wedding will have to be postponed."
The mother-in-law was a little unhappy. "If we postpone it, my daughter will probably look even more bloated by then, and she won't look good in her wedding dress. How could you two be so careless?"
At this moment, Nangong Xue'er spoke up for Zhao Shouyi, "Mother, please don't blame him. It's not his fault. If it's inconvenient to get married when the pregnancy is too far along, why not hold the wedding and the full moon celebration together after the baby is born? It would be more festive with double the joy."
At this moment, Nangong Xue'er's mother and Zhao Shouyi exchanged a glance and readily agreed with her opinion.
On Mid-Autumn Festival night, the elderly couple in the Yang family had no appetite for a feast of chicken, duck, fish, and meat. Their daughter was already married, and their son was a troublesome child who hadn't returned since running away from home.