Mother Deng saw her son returned, she looked at him left and right. Then, realized that there was no hiding place filled with pouches. Mother Deng was very confused.

Considering her son’s appearance, height, and attire, weren’t they attractive enough?

Liao Shi, as the dull older brother didn’t have much thought, “Little brother, you’re back! Do you want to eat something? I’ve saved some for you.”

Liao Tingyu shook his head. Although he didn’t eat anything in the afternoon. He had been walking around the streets and ate some snacks along the way. Right now, his stomach was full.

“Big brother, why are you still here? It’s so late, why isn’t everyone sleeping?”

“Well, I’m just accompanying my parents. How was your experience at the Lantern Festival today? It’s my first time celebrating this festival here.” Liao Shi said.

“It’s not bad. It’s quite lively, with a lot of people. Just wait for sao-zi to recover. You can have fun at the Lantern Festival next year.”

“Yes, that sounds good. Your sister-in-law has been looking forward to the Lantern Festival for a long time. It’s a shame! We didn’t expect the child to be born at this time. When she was pregnant, she kept saying she wanted to go to the Lantern Festival.”

“It’s a pity not to go. Well, these are the snacks I brought back. Give them to sister-in-law when you return.” Liao Tingyu thought for a moment and handed all the snacks to Liao Shi.

Liao Shi accepted them sheepishly. He couldn’t quite understand it, he just something but his little brother gave him a lot of foods.

Mother Deng looked at her youngest son with a puzzled expression as he gave all the food to his eldest son, but the lantern was remained in his hand.

Being an experienced mother who knew her son well, she was clever enough to disperse the people, “Alright, now that he is back, let’s go to bed. It’s quite late, we can discuss things tomorrow.”

Liao Shi glanced strangely at Mother Deng, as she had clearly been waiting for him. So, why was she heading to bed now?

But he was quite clever. He tucked the foods under his arm and hurried to his room without looking back.

Mother Deng watched her eldest son’s retreating figure, her lips curled up, “What’s up with that kid? Running off so quickly? Am I going to eat his food?”

Liao Ming patted mother Deng’s shoulder with understanding. Their eldest son was indeed a young man with no foresight.

The food must be delicious, and he didn’t even share it.

.

In their room, Mother Deng lay on the bed, half-squinting her eyes and mused, “Old man, do you think there’s something off with our second child today?”

Liao Ming was nearly asleep then he was awakened again. When he woke up, his brain was slow to react.

“What’s wrong? Everything seems fine.”

“What is fine? Today, he gave food to his older brother. Look at the lantern in his hand; it’s purple. That boy likes blue, black and white. He despises bright colors the most.”

“It’s a festival, it’s nice to have bright lanterns!” Liao Ming guessed without much thought.

“Don’t about the color; look at the shape, it’s a flower. With our son’s personality, would he like that kind of lantern? Don’t you know your own son?” mother Deng, acting like a detective, pointed out.

“Also, as soon as he returned this afternoon, he went into his room to change clothes. He wore something entirely different. I’ve never seen him wear it before, and I have no idea when he got that outfit. There’s definitely something amiss. I remember you being like this before.”

Liao Ming had already left for his dream, but mother Deng’s words brought him back.

He used to what?

Liao Ming suddenly remembered the foolish things he did when he was young. He fell in love with mother Deng at first sight, a fierce and intelligent girl. It was during a Lantern Festival decades ago that they met and fell in love.

What did he wear at that time?

Liao Ming reminisced about his youth, to impress his sweetheart, he borrowed a particularly fine piece of clothing to wear.

It was precisely because of this that he married mother Deng as he had wished, and they supported each other through the years.

However, his son’s behavior today was indeed a replica of his own back then.

And, he had seen that outfit before in a tailor shop when I was walking around. It wasn’t for sale; he heard it was custom-made by a scholar.

Initially, he was curious, and he overheard the shopkeeper lamenting about the excellent design of the clothes. The shopkeeper wanted to buy it, but the scholar had refused.

On the way back, he was still grumbling about how scholars didn’t appreciate business opportunity.

It turned out it was his own son. The gears in Liao Ming’s mind were turning, while mother Deng’s thoughts were racing.

The two of them turned around simultaneously, their thoughts evident in their eyes. They exchanged glances and smiled.

“Go to sleep. We have to get up early tomorrow.”

“Yeah, let’s sleep.”

.

Liao Tingyu laid down restlessly on his bed, a purple lantern hanging above.

Someone also placed a lamp in the courtyard. He was a happy man who returned home with a bag full of pouches.

.

The following day, as if nothing had happened, Liao Tingyu went to school to teach as usual. Meanwhile, mother Deng and Liao Ming continued to manage the family shop.

During this peaceful period, the family enjoyed a happy life.

Chen-zushi, who had been away, returned to town with a generous reward and a new official uniform. After settling in and freshening up, he urgently summoned Liao Tingyu. Chen-zushi was now the Director of Gongbu (Ministry of Industry) in the county government office.

Liao Tingyu had just finished teaching when he learned that an official was looking for him, he thought of the possibilities. Several months had passed, and he had nearly forgotten about the matter.

Upon seeing Chen Yi, whom he had met only once, Liao Tingyu scrutinized him closely and then congratulated him, “Congratulations on your promotion, sir.”

Chen Yi was brimming with joy, a beaming smile on his face, “It’s all thanks to Liao-xiucai that I have this blessing. It’s also the emperor’s blessing. I had initially intended to present my accomplishments to the Prime Minister directly. But unexpectedly, I encountered the Imperial Envoy, who escorted me to the capital. Otherwise, I would never have achieved so much. Look, these are all gifts from His Majesty.”

Liao Tingyu glanced at the boxes in the background.@@novelbin@@

Is this a gift from His Majesty? Seemed a bit too little.

In TV series, they usually reward ten thousand taels of silver. There should be dozens of boxes at least. It appeared the emperor is a bit tight on funds.

If Chen Yi could understand his thoughts, he’d probably be infuriated. How much one could get from a small merit? Naturally, the grand rewards were reserved for the higher ranks. If any crumbs fell through the cracks, that would be great.

Liao Tingyu, formerly an ordinary citizen, now was someone with meritorious deeds. He thought about it, it was nice to get something. If he only gave compliment, it would be really….

Chen Yi, didn’t know what was going on inside Liao Tingyu’s head, he continued speaking, “The emperor’s happy, the officials’ also happy. They have stated their intention to promote me, resulting in a vacant place. Why not take over my old position? You’re a scholar and fully qualified for it.”

Liao Tingyu examined the box handed over by Director Chen, which contained brand-new official uniforms. The uniform was identical to when he had met Director Chen, with one notable change: the name on the uniform now bore his own name.

Director Chen explained, “These clothes were tailored by the Imperial Envoy. Those outsides were gifts from the Emperor and the Minister of Industry. The Minister of Industry holds your proposal in high regard. You can be an official, it was promoted by him.”

Initially, Liao Tingyu thought he would only receive a small share of the rewards. However, Director Chen surprisingly revealed that everything was meant for him alone.

“There are so many things and I didn’t earn it on my own. If I take them all, it’s going to be…” Liao Tingyu pretended to hesitate and embarrassed.

Director Chen remained firm, refusing his apparent temptation, “The rewards I received have already been placed at the county government office. I returned solely to hand these over to you. I’ve settled my family in the county. I originally thought I’d be stuck in this small town for life, but I never expected…”

Chen Yi looked at the sky, his eyes welling up with tears.

“To be honest without your help, I would have visited the capital only a few times for exams, never seen His Majesty’s face. You are my savior. This one merit is enough to last me a lifetime. Let me share it with my children and grandchildren, allow them to brag that you are my noble benefactor.”

Liao Tingyu struggled to find words to comfort the man who was overwhelmed by with joy. This achievement seemed like a lifelong dream, and obtaining it was as rare as catching a glimpse of the emperor himself. But he actually helped Chen Yi did it.

That was the rarest event of meeting the emperor!

Liao Tingyu looked at the man and thought about the dreams, the reality, and the challenge of keeping composure.

.

.

“From now on, this will be your residence. Our town is good, very close to the capital. If you have any better ideas or obtain anything valuable, you can take them directly to the Minister of Industry. He’s a very good person…”

Director Chen recounted everything he had witnessed and heard in the capital, offering insights into the county’s power dynamics and the tasks Liao Tingyu would need to fulfill.

The handover of responsibilities was successfully completed in just one day.

Liao Tingyu thoroughly enjoyed his idle official position. After all, it was a time of peace and prosperity, and there was scarcely any activity in their town. Being an official was more akin to leisure life, complete with a salary from the court, food and drink provisions, and a place to call home. It was indeed an amazing piece of cake.