Chapter 35: Is Xiao Fu Bao Disliked? The Whole City Loves Me With Their Lives
Chapter 35: The Brilliance of the World, We Must See More
Neither Suisui nor Feng Xuanrui knew what "Da Tie Hua" was.
Although Physician Liu had lived in the capital for a long time, he was older and had heard much about such customs.
At this moment, he was carefully explaining to the two children, "Da Tie Hua is similar to releasing river lanterns. It started as a ritual for worship or to mark the start of work, but over time, it evolved into an activity for making wishes and offering thanks."
"Da Tie Hua involves striking molten iron, heated to a high temperature, into the sky. As the sparks scatter, they bloom like magnificent fireworks."
...
Suisui didn’t quite catch what Physician Liu said afterward because the performance had begun.
Even though it was nighttime, a large crowd had gathered to watch.
Cheers rang out in waves.
The blacksmiths lined up in the arena, each with molten iron of over a thousand degrees in their hands. With precise strength and timing, they struck the iron upward.
The molten iron soared into the sky, sparks flying, creating a grand, brilliant display.
Yet, within moments, the sparks slowly fell, leaving only ashes on the ground.
Before anyone had time to feel regret, the next blacksmith quickly followed.
One fiery spectacle after another.
The sky was filled with sparks, seemingly endless, majestic and dazzling.
Suisui had never seen such a spectacle. She didn’t want to blink, afraid to miss even a second of its beauty.
The iron flowers bloomed like a grand, brilliant dream in the night sky, igniting a stunning splendor that captivated the world and filled the air with cheers.
It was as if Suisui could see the beautiful dream that Aunt Deqing had woven for her.
Suisui felt both moved and nervous.
After a while, she softly said to the system in her heart, "Lele, this dream is so beautiful."
In the dream, her brother gently held her hand, and there was a grand display of fire trees and silver flowers.
The warmth of the world, the fireworks of life.
Suisui had it all!
Seeing the contentment and peace on Suisui’s little face, the system finally felt a bit more at ease.
"Suisui, the world is full of splendor, so we must see more of it~"
This time, Suisui felt no anxiety or apprehension.
She pursed her lips slightly and nodded seriously and earnestly, "Mm!"
The Da Tie Hua performance lasted about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense.
Afterward, everyone gradually returned to the city.
Suisui sat in the carriage, recalling the beautiful scene earlier, her face flushed, looking more lively than usual.
Physician Liu watched from the side, feeling very content.
Feng Xuanrui, unusually excited tonight, sat in the carriage, chattering nonstop to Suisui. "That molten iron was so hot, but it was so beautiful when it went up in the sky!"
Suisui obediently responded, "Yes, yes, so beautiful!"
"I feel like writing a poem!"
"Go for it, brother, I want to see it!"
...
Due to his lack of academic prowess, Feng Xuanrui's poem-writing attempt ended in nothing.
However, this didn’t stop him from being a good brother in Suisui’s eyes!
Perhaps the performance was too thrilling, as the children were not only awake on the way back but also quite excited.
Suisui and Feng Xuanrui kept talking, and even the three brothers in the other carriage, despite having seen the performance before, were still animated.
Everyone chatted and laughed all the way back to the Sun residence. Since it was late, Physician Liu sent everyone to wash up and go to bed.
Sun Ronglin was reluctantly pulled back to the rear courtyard.
Last night, Prefect Magistrate Sun had allowed him to squeeze in with Feng Xuanrui, but tonight, it wasn’t appropriate.
The bamboo couch wasn’t big, and with two children squeezed together, neither would sleep well.
After freshening up, Suisui changed into soft sleepwear and lay down in bed.
Feng Xuanrui had promised to tell Suisui a bedtime story, thinking he enjoyed listening to them.
Tonight, since he wasn’t too sleepy and Sun Ronglin wasn’t there to cause trouble, Feng Xuanrui decided to tell Suisui a bedtime story instead!
But he was young and hadn’t learned much.
And, well, he wasn’t the best student.
After thinking for a long time, his face turning red, he finally recited a poem for Suisui.
After hearing it, Suisui’s eyes lit up, and she clapped her hands. "Brother, you’re amazing!"
Feng Xuanrui, who had been feeling a bit frustrated, thought to himself that he really needed to study harder!
He felt like he didn’t deserve Suisui’s praise!
To make up for it, Feng Xuanrui quickly recited another poem. "Suisui, we didn’t get to fly the kite, so I’ll recite a poem about flying kites!"
Suisui thought her brother was truly incredible!
She clapped her little hands until they turned red, looking at Feng Xuanrui with eager eyes.
Feng Xuanrui: ...!
Suddenly, the poem felt much harder to say!
But he forced himself through it, reciting, "...Hurry to catch the east wind and fly the kite."
Suisui didn’t understand a word, but that didn’t stop her from thinking her brother was amazing.
Her clapping grew even louder.
This made Feng Xuanrui even more embarrassed.
He awkwardly patted Suisui’s head. "Time to sleep. Brother is here."
The words "Brother is here" made Suisui feel very safe.
She obediently lay down and closed her eyes.
Feng Xuanrui didn’t rush to leave. He had said he was there, so he would wait until Suisui was truly asleep before leaving.
Even though his eyelids were starting to droop.
But no, he couldn’t!
He had promised to watch over her!
So, he persisted.
After closing her eyes, Suisui heard the system ask.
"The uncle or aunt who tells tonight’s bedtime story is ready. Should we start now?"
In the past, after hearing a bedtime story from her brother, Suisui would feel content and wouldn’t want to hear more.
But Lele had said that the world is full of brilliance, and she should see more.
Suisui thought Lele was right, and she needed to hear more stories to become as amazing as her brother.
One day, Suisui would tell her brother bedtime stories too!
With this thought, Suisui responded loudly in her heart, "Yes!"
This boldness made the system feel particularly proud.
It thought, the little one it's been accompanying is going to grow more and more confident!
The system quickly found someone.
When it saw tonight’s storyteller was Wang Shu, it nearly blacked out.
Suisui, not knowing how to read, saw it was an uncle tonight and felt a little disappointed.
She had wanted a gentle aunt.
But an uncle would do.
Adjusting her mindset, Suisui politely greeted him, "Good evening, Uncle!"
Wang Shu responded courteously, "Hello, Suisui, I’m Uncle Wang Shu."
Having spoken loudly all his life, Wang Shu found it a bit uncomfortable to soften his voice for this bedtime story, as the system required.
But he adapted quickly to new environments.
"Uncle isn’t very good at telling bedtime stories."
"But I can tell you some lessons about life."
"When you encounter something or someone you don’t like, speak up and act boldly."
"You have your own mouth—say whatever you want, don’t worry about what others think!"
"If you can’t win an argument, just walk away. Don’t let others bother you."
"Blame others more and reflect on yourself less!"
"That way, you can live comfortably and happily until you’re ninety-nine."
End of chapter
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