The koi swam lazily in the shallow waters, weaving amongst one another as they glided between lotus roots and beneath the leaves. Their scales glimmered as sunlight caught on them. Fei Li was crouched down by the edge watching the fish. Most of his servants, guards and other staff had the day off for the festival. There were very few people in the estate now, so it was especially quiet. Earlier, one of his junior servants had come by. The young man had insisted the koi had to be fed, so Fei Li had taken the bowl of vegetable scraps from him and sent him back to his family. Fei Li had just cast out the last of the scraps into the squirming gasp of hungry mouths and shimmering scales when he was approached by Yang Xun and Zhao Mei, followed by a reluctant Lu Qinyi.
“We’re going to attend the festival,” Yang Xun informed Fei Li.
Fei Li’s brows creased a little and he stood up.
He dusted off his hands and unrolled his sleeves, smoothing them out as he thought. Even here on the edge of the city, the festivities and celebrations would be busy. It would be difficult for them not to be noticed, especially with Lu Qinyi attending with them. It was dangerous, and for something so frivolous as well. But Yang Xun and Zhao Mei knew that already, they had likely already made their minds up. They hadn’t really come to him for permission. They needed an escort. With so many of his guards off duty for the day, that would be difficult…
“I’ll go with you then,” Fei Li finally decided.
Yang Xun frowned and folded his arms across his chest but eventually shrugged in acceptance. Zhao Mei had a look of cool indifference, which could be taken as tacit acceptance. Fei Li looked over at Lu Qinyi. Lu Qinyi looked away, staring off to the side instead.
And so Fei Li found himself accompanying the trio.
Although this was a relatively minor festival, specifically celebrating the bloom of a particular Northern flower considered to bring good fortune for the following harvest, it was no less popular. The town was coloured with decor, lanterns hung from every eave and strung overhead, ribbons and banners and decorative displays for every shopfront. There were lanterns and paper crafts shaped into the many blooming petals of the Harvest Bloom, a cousin flower of the chrysanthemum. Such colourful paper crafts adorned the up-dos of the women who gathered in the streets, while the more well-to-do women had real ones from their private gardens slipped amongst their hair. Other paper crafts were made of very thin paper and had little cylinder paper shoots attached in the centre. Kids would gather round as an older child would light the top on fire. The kids would scatter back a short distance and flames would consume the paper until it reached the end, sending the paper flying up into the air until the flame went out, leaving a sprinkling rain of ash instead. The kids would whoop excitedly and beg their elder for another. Some kids were running about, ducking between people’s legs as they chased about playing games with one another. The air was filled with the scent of the wares different vendors were serving to the sides of the flowing crowds.
As Fei Li had thought, with this many people around and so close to a capital city where many soldiers and military personnel resided, the odds of the Southern trio getting recognised was high. As they walked, they would catch the gazes of soldiers whose expressions would turn from disbelief to hostility. But then they would see Fei Li. Fei Li would meet their gazes but he would turn away before they could recover from their shocked stupor. He didn’t give them the chance to drop into a formal salute to their general. This was his men’s off duty time and they were out with either their friends, family or partners. He didn’t intend to disrupt it, just as they wouldn’t dare to disrupt him, nor his company, no matter how controversial and strange the company he was with.
“General Fei!”
…There were exceptions.
Xi Ming was alight with joy and pleasant surprise at coming across Fei Li. Coming across his anti-social workaholic general was the last thing he had expected when he had come out with friends to attend the festivities. Tian Jun was with him at the time. His eyes had nearly popped out of his head seeing his General at such an occasion and in… casual clothes?! Once he had recovered from the shock, they both approached their general to greet him. Fei Li’s gaze swept to where Lu Qinyi and his once-subordinates were. Seeing that they were some distance away and slipping into the crowds, he relaxed. He would catch up to them later, it was better these two groups didn’t mix. He turned back to the two before him and acknowledged their salutes with a nod. Xi Ming was at ease and comfortable with a smile on his face as he faced Fei Li. Tian Jun however looked more nervous, but he was also pleased to see his general. He admired him, although not to the level Xi Ming did.
“Xi Ming. Tian Jun.”
“I thought you didn’t attend things like this, General Fei. I never thought I’d see you here.”
That was true. Previous times, Fei Li had waved his men off to go celebrate and enjoy festivities while under strict instructions. If any of his soldiers disturbed the civilians or caused a ruckus, he wouldn’t be lenient on consequences. That alone was enough for his men to behave themselves, so Fei Li himself stayed back and continued working.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Today is an exception.”
“Vb sbe gfjiis vbc’a jaafcv atfrf xlcvr bo bmmjrlbcr atfc?”
Mfl Ol ofia Wl Zlcu’r defralbclcu kjr j yla ragjcuf jcv atf uglc bc Wl Zlcu’r ojmf vlvc’a tfiq. Dea tf mbeivc’a vfafgwlcf ktja la kjr Wl Zlcu kjr ufaalcu ja rb tf jcrkfgfv ageatoeiis. “Rb. P vbc’a.”
“Great! If you could please wait right here, General, please don’t go anywhere!” Xi Ming was too excited not to waste the opportunity to be nervous about how he was requesting things from his general. He had gotten more comfortable in his position as Fei Li’s right hand man over time anyway. Xi Ming dashed off into the crowd. Tian Jun looked after him in shock and confusion, hurriedly murmuring an apology to General Fei before he chased after the other. He calling out to Xi Ming as he weaved through the streams of people.
Fei Li felt just as confused. He remained where he was, standing in a small spot clear of all the surrounding business. He’d lost sight of both his soldiers so he could only wait there uncertainly for them.
After a short while had passed, Xi Ming returned with a now much more eager Tian Jun in tow. And they carried with them… handfuls of food from the various street vendors that lined the edges of the roads. Skewers of different grilled meats and vegetables, savoury pancakes, rice balls and buns, even shaobing.
“Please accept these General Fei! You wouldn’t have had the chance to try these before, right?” Xi Ming bowed to him with his offerings held out in front of him. Fei Li stared at them in stupefied silence. Xi Ming remained as he was until Fei Li recovered enough to reach out and accept them. The former’s brows knitted in confusion at the gesture. Xi Ming, however, looked quite pleased with Fei Li’s acceptance.
Seeing this gave Tian Jun the courage to bow as well, holding out the dumplings he had bought. “This is for you as well!”
Fei Li frowned slightly as he felt a bit… odd about the friendly gestures but he accepted them as well. He looked at the armful of food items he now held. “…Why?”
Xi Ming flashed a toothy smile. “It’s a thanks.”
Fei Li was about to ask what for when there was a loud voice that called out, “Ming, Jun-er! Are you guys coming or not?!”
Xi Ming shot his rambunctious group of friends a glare and upon them seeing who it was Xi Ming and Tian Jun had been busy talking to, their eyes blew wide. They immediately shut their mouths and bowed their heads in respect. Xi Ming felt reluctant that he had to give up such a rare moment but he had made plans with his friends and they were expecting them. So he and Tian Jun bowed deeply to Fei Li once more. “Thank you for your deeds, General Fei!”
Tian Jun then bid a respectful farewell and jogged over to their waiting friends. Xi Ming turned to wave to Fei Li as he was walking away and called out “Enjoy the festival, General Fei!”
“…”
Fei Li looked helplessly at his gifts. What am I meant to do with all this? There was far too much of it, and Fei Li noted a little disappointedly that none of the items were sweet either. Still, he wouldn’t reject the sincere gesture. He took a bite of the grilled squid skewer as he wandered the lively town to reconvene with the Southern Trio.
“Where did you get all of that?” Yang Xun asked as Fei Li rejoined them.
“I was given it.” Fei Li offloaded some of his plentiful food burden onto him and Yang Xun nodded in thanks as he then passed it on to Zhao Mei and Lu Qinyi.
“Aren’t you popular? It would have been handy to know we could use you for free food.”
Fei Li’s brows raised. “Don’t you use my money to buy your food anyway?”
Yang Xun shrugged. “That’s payment for the work we assist you with.”
“He still technically pays for it. Living out of someone else’s pockets isn’t terrible, I quite like it. We should spend more when we go out next.” Zhao Mei commented, taking a large bite of a rice ball.
Fei Li frowned. “Would a thank you not be better than telling me you plan to spend my wealth into bankruptcy?”
“We’re only being honest.” Yang Xun replied without any shame.
Lu Qinyi said nothing but there was amusement contained in the gaze that was cast down on the shaobing he was picking at.
The evening continued on as sunset painted the sky before finally giving way to the night. The innumerable lanterns kept everything comfortably lit and back lit the group as they sat on a quiet edge of the lake, which was a short walk from the town, to watch the fireworks display. The boats had been paddled out into the lake holding packages of bamboo carefully stuffed with gunpowder. This was the ordinary kind, it didn’t contain the same power as the specially sourced powder Fei Li had used to blow out a valley. As the fuses finally burned to their end and released the firework, it shot up into the night sky in a brilliant burst. It sprayed out beautifully from the centre of the lake like a waterspout of light, raining down in sparks before extinguishing as it met the water. The other boats that drifted on the water’s surface followed suit, illuminating the sky in splendid eruptions of bright light while the lake below reflected the sparks that rained down like golden glitter. People along the water’s edge lit firecrackers in celebration like pops of sparks.
Yang Xun and Zhao Mei silently admired the sight. Lu Qinyi watched the display apathetically, almost as if he couldn’t see the fireworks at all, much less enjoy them. After a while, he lowered his head, staring ahead blankly.
When Zhao Mei looked at him, he eased his expression a bit, trying to seem more relaxed so as to lessen their concern. Yang Xun and Zhao Mei fretted over him so easily these days and, unfortunately they paid much closer attention to his moods now. He leaned in a little towards his companions. “What do you think of the fireworks here?”
“They’re impressive.” Zhao Mei admitted.
Yang Xun hummed in agreement. “Which is better, these or that time we went to see the New Year fireworks?”
“The New Year, of course.” Lu Qinyi replied in an effort to keep their attention on the moment instead of him.
Yang Xun looked interested in what had made that decision so easy for him. “What was better about them?”
“You got tripped up by a child and ended up having noodles dumped over you. Because it was a child who had caused the mess, you couldn’t say anything. But watching you mutter to yourself while picking noodles out of your hair was such a funny sight, I still haven’t forgotten. Definitely a good New Year celebration.”
Yang Xun seemed to disagree, pulling a face as Lu Qinyi brought that memory back up. “Why is it that you always remember things like that so clearly?! Well, what about the time we were at the celebratory dinner when you granted Commander Xiao his position. He had made a joke and you started laughing so suddenly you spluttered your soup everywhere! There was a noodle hanging out your nose that time!”
Lu Qinyi immediately went to retort with a No there wasn’t! But before he could, there was the sound of a quiet chuckle. All of their gazes fell to the source of the sound: Fei Li. Fei Li immediately covered up by coughing into his fist but they had already heard it. Fei Li had sat a little away from the trio. He had previously remained very silent as he followed the group much like a shadow. He knew he didn’t truly have a place among them. His relationships with them were that of mutual benefit, reluctant acceptance and tolerance. So he erased his presence there as much as he could to the point he could go largely unnoticed. But now all of them had their eyes on him.
The awkward silence was finally broken by Yang Xun turning his smug gaze to Lu Qinyi. “See? That scene is enough to even break General Fei!”
“It did not happen like that! MeiMei, you remember it, don’t you? Tell him there was no such noodle out my nose! I’d have lost all respect as a general before my career had even really begun!”
Zhao Mei pondered on it. “I believe there was.”
Lu Qinyi gasped. “Liar! You’re just getting revenge on me!”
“You heard her Qinyi! I was right!”
Fei Li had once found this kind of banter grating on the ears. But right then, it felt almost comforting instead, watching the three go back and forth in a familiar routine with Fei Li beside them.
Author’s Note:
Sorry about the delay! Life got busy and I put a lot of research and effort into this chapter with the descriptions and such. Here it is! Thank you for your patience, I hope you enjoy. And yes, I specifically chose a chrysanthemum as an honouring of our beloved chrysanthemum garden and you readers!
Many thanks to our editor Rae who is still completing the last of the edits on the chapter for me which I will add in later. Thank you for your hardwork!
Koi fish can actually be fed scraps as a part of their diet, and they do actually need to be fed multiple times a day: Ref, Ref
The history of ancient fireworks: Ref, Ref, Ref
All the foods I listed were based off actual Chinese festival and street foods: Ref (Lost my other links so you’ll just have to trust me, I used 4 or 5 different sources to check this one)
Also Xi Ming has grown on me in such a short time, he really is adorable. What to do if you see your workaholic general standing in festival grounds for the first time? Dump a lot of food in his arms! 10/10 points to Xi Ming for taking care of Fei Li!
Thank you for such a sweet chapter, and I hope you’ll have a wonderful holiday if it is a holiday season for you! Also, as always, have a really great week and remember to take care of yourself ❤
Thats great to know! Xi Ming has always been a worry to me, I was concerned he was a ‘weak’ character since he doesn’t get the same screen time and attention as the other characters, and I like to have all my characters have some depth to them. He also had one hell of an introduction into the story when he killed a man and plays the role of Lu Qinyi’s antagonist, so it was hard to know if he would still be a character that could be liked and enjoyed. But he’s got such a sweet side and tries his best to look out for our dear Fei, he’s got the right idea, help Fei Li enjoy and live a little!
You’re very welcome and thank you so much! I do indeed, I get a whole two weeks off to write and have fun now. I wish you all the best for the holiday period and new year, take care and thank you for always being so sweet Aerlind! 💕
Such a cute read, thank you for the chapter! 💕
MIYORI! Hi! Welcome back~
You’re very welcome, thank you for the comment!
The research was worth it! Thanks for the chapter!!
Thank you so much! I’m glad my efforts were worthwhile
Uhh…i have been waiting for this chapter and its finally here!😁
Yes! Thank you for the encouragement, I hope you enjoyed!
Its my pleasure 🤗 i look forward to the next chapter