Chapter 705: Chapter 705: How to Arrange the Longevity Festival
Later on, there were too many provocations, and after being reprimanded by Su Ran, Lian Changhe managed to hold back from speaking out. He was unwilling to deal with Lian Bingcheng, glaring at him whenever he saw him, turning his gaze fiercely away, the anger in his heart first and foremost.
Lian Bingcheng also felt guilty; if it hadn’t been for Lin Yuejuan’s testimony about the existence of that fat man, he would have been at a loss for an explanation. Therefore, whenever Lian Changhe mocked him or gave him a glare, he had no retort and couldn’t help but take his anger out on that hairless-mouthed fat man, cursing him from time to time.
These two men’s estrangement, coupled with Lian Wanzhen’s gloomy face that looked as if he were a starving ghost reincarnated, desperately gobbling up food, made the atmosphere around the dining table rather dull.
It was no wonder Lian Wanzhen didn’t want to talk; he had indeed spent a day with Lian Bingcheng getting nothing but the cold shoulder from the northwest wind, receiving answers that only added to his frustration. Having starved the whole day, he truly had no mood for conversation.
The other people at the table were not talkative either. Lih Qingshu rarely fell silent, eating quietly, and Qian Chen only reacted when Lian Wanzhen passed him some chili peppers; otherwise, he barely joined in on any conversation.
Seeing this, Su Ran began to make small talk with Lin Yuejuan, chatting about Huihui’s children, and that made the atmosphere at the table livelier.
When the topic of tomorrow’s Longevity Festival came up, Lian Musu thought for a moment, then asked Su Ran, Lin Yuejuan, and Lih Qingshu if they wanted to go to the market festival for a visit.
Lian Changhe, Lian Bingcheng, and Lian Wanzhen all looked over at once, with Lian Wanzhen and Lian Bingcheng continuing to eat while they watched.
Lih Qingshu shook his head, explaining that he and Qian Chen had some matters to attend to the next day.
Lin Yuejuan was immediately intrigued; she lived not far from Capital City, in Yanqing Mansion, where the Longevity Festival was a bustling event, getting more and more elaborate each year. But a small place was still a small place, and couldn’t compare to the grandeur of the Capital City.
She had heard that on the day of the Longevity Festival, Capital City would be packed with people shoulder to shoulder, the market buzzing with activity. There were all kinds of food, drinks, clothing, and goods for sale, with plenty of places to visit and enjoy.
Previously during the Longevity Event, her shop had been too busy for her to experience it in Capital City, but now that she was actually here, she was tempted.
Su Ran noticed her interest and smiled, saying, "Let’s go. After all, it’s also the birthday of my little girl’s husband. It would be nice to celebrate together, even though he’s out of our league."
Lian Changhe spoke up, "Ranran, I’ll accompany you tomorrow. I’ll carry anything you want to buy, so you can enjoy the festival without getting tired."
Lian Bingcheng put down his chopsticks, opening his mouth as if he wanted to say something.
Lian Changhe glanced at him and said disdainfully, "Some people, thin as a rake, good for nothing, top rank in fasting, fears even carrying a chicken, can’t push through the crowd at the market, their only advantage being that they don’t take up space."
Lian Bingcheng shut his mouth and didn’t speak further, picking up his chopsticks again and eating solemnly.
Lian Wanzhen swallowed the food in his mouth and joined in, "Mom, just go and have fun. Xiao Bao has brought back plenty of Silver; you can buy whatever you want. I’ll go too, to protect you and dad."
"If you go, who will wait for that fat man?" Lian Changhe tapped him.
"Oh..." He had forgotten about that. Lian Wanzhen thought carefully and said worriedly, "With so many people there, I won’t feel at ease if I’m not with you."
Lian Changhe became concerned, "That is a problem..."
Not to brag, but with his second son capable of taking on ten men alone, any issue at the market that could affect others would definitely not be a problem for them, but...
Lian Mu gave Su Ran and Lin Yuejuan a serving of food each with her chopsticks and spoke up, "Dad, second brother, why don’t I join you with Wu Sheng?"
Lian Wanzhen hurriedly reminded, "Big Brother, didn’t you say you were going to visit that old man... Divine Doctor Huang? Divine Doctor Huang has a temper, you know. If you don’t go see him soon, he might just eat you alive."
At the mention of Divine Doctor Huang, Lian Wanzhen shivered as if pricked by needles, experiencing both pain and numbness.
Lian Changhe agreed wholeheartedly, "Mmm, even Xiao Bao has sent a message inquiring about this matter. Musu, you can’t delay any longer. If you do, both Dad and Mom will be worried."
Su Ran also agreed with this, "Once the little daughter is fine, everyone can rest assured. Therefore, Lian Musu’s leg injury becomes the top priority."
Lin Yuejuan and the usually silent Lih Qingshu also spoke up, urging Lian Musu to prioritize his visit to Divine Doctor Huang above all else.
Lian Musu wanted to struggle a bit more, thinking to wait a bit longer at this time, but the decision was out of his hands.
Lian Wanzhen, nodding as he listened, summed up, "Big Brother, our family currently has only two pressing issues: one is visiting our little sister, and the other is your leg injury. Both cannot afford further delay. Moreover, with your current reputation, if you were to go, wouldn’t we be swarmed by bookworms and maidens?"
Lian Changhe nodded vigorously, recalling the situation when they went to fetch Lin Yuejuan.
Lian Musu had no choice but to agree.
The discussion had reached a stalemate when Lian Changhe’s gaze caught someone in the corner of his eye, prompting him to direct his anger at that person. He glared at Lian Bingcheng with indignation plastered over his face, all because of this reckless man who was unreliable.
Bingcheng, who was eating quietly, wearily set down his bowl and chewed and swallowed his food. He then declared, "Tomorrow, I’ll just go and wait for that fatso alone; Musu can come along."
Lian Changhe snorted and muttered softly, "That’s more like it."
Su Ran was worried, "Bingcheng, can you manage on your own?"
"How could I not manage? I’m a living, breathing man," Bingcheng said, glancing at Lian Changhe and whispering, "I’ve got to be useful for something, right..."
Upon hearing this, Lin Yuejuan couldn’t help but feel her anger spike, "If you can manage, then why did you have Musu go a whole day without eating or drinking? Just surviving on the Northwest wind is almost enough to starve Musu to death."
Lian Wanzhen hurried to clarify, "Clan Aunt, I can still hold on. It’s the Clan Uncle who nearly passed out from hunger."
From this perspective, Lian Wanzhen really felt that Lian Bingcheng was unreliable. The two had asked the Shadow Guard repeatedly where Hu Miaomiao had gone, annoying them to the point that eventually, they stopped showing up altogether.
Recalling how he had previously threatened to jump into the river to provoke the Shadow Guard into notifying Lin Yuejuan, Bingcheng was prepared to use the same tactic again.
But with no river or lake nearby, there was no place to jump into, so after much thought, he came up with the "excellent idea" of starting a hunger strike. To push for results, he joined Wanzhen in not eating nor drinking, spending a day blowing in the Northwest wind.
However, he didn’t anticipate that, on a matter of principle, the Shadow Guard would be so unyielding, heartlessly watching them fast for a whole day without intervening.
Eventually, both men were so hungry that their stomachs rumbled incessantly. While Wanzhen was still lively and energetic,
Bingcheng, being too thin, couldn’t take it any longer. Feeling faint from hunger, he weakly cried out that they hadn’t waited out the fatso, and he’d die of starvation first, barely clinging to life.