The wicked mother-in-law doesn't try to whitewash herself; she only abuses her awful children.

Chapter 379 Winning the Lantern
"Which lamp do you want? I'll help you win it."

Gu Jingzhe pointed to the sea of ​​lights in front of him and asked Lu Zhaozhao, completely unaware that Tong Huaqiong and Old Madam Huang had already arrived beside him.

“I want that lotus lantern.” Lu Zhaozhao pointed to the lotus lantern not far away.

The girl's beautiful face looked as pure and lovely as a jasmine flower under the light.

The lantern seller took down the riddle and read it to Gu Jingzhe.

Gu Jingzhe guessed the answer almost without hesitation. The lantern seller smiled and handed the lantern to Gu Jingzhe, who then handed it to Lu Zhaozhao.

Lu Zhaozhao received it, and the smile on her face never stopped the whole time.

From that moment on, Tong Huaqiong knew that she couldn't stop the relationship between Gu Jingzhe and Lu Zhaozhao.

If she really wanted to break up the marriage, she would be ranked alongside Jiao Zhongqing's mother and Lu You's mother as a wicked mother-in-law who broke up her son's marriage in history, a wicked old woman who would be written about in poems and books by literati and cursed by later generations.

All she could do was stop Gu Jingzhe from going astray.

Fortunately, Lu Zhaozhao is now involved in the Lu family's business, so even if Gu Jingzhe is taken away by the princess again in this life, she won't be as isolated and helpless as she was in the previous life.

Moreover, Lu Zhaoyang's fate has been completely rewritten. With Lu Zhaoyang around, Gu Jingzhe wouldn't dare to easily betray Lu Zhaoyang.

Grandma Huang watched Gu Jingzhe and Lu Zhaozhao, a perfect couple, and probed whether Tong Huaqiong had any intention of marrying into the Lu family.

Tong Huaqiong changed the subject.

Gu Jingzhe hasn't even become a scholar yet. Even if she doesn't object to him rekindling his relationship with Lu Zhaozhao, it's too early for them to get engaged now.

As Gu Jingzhe won the riddle, those around him couldn't resist joining in the riddle-guessing game, and the atmosphere at the scene was heated up.

Most people guessed wrong.

After all, businesses need to make a living, so most of the riddles are designed to be tricky and unusual, mainly to create a sense of excitement for those who enjoy the lanterns, rather than for them to win all the lanterns.

Previously, Lu Zhaoyang was in poor health and had almost never participated in lively entertainment activities like this.

Seeing this lantern riddle guessing activity made him especially curious, and with Huang Jingshan nearby, his desire to win was very strong.

Whenever a tricky riddle is posed, Lu Zhaoyang can guess it correctly after a little thought.

Even the usually aloof Huang Jingshan showed enthusiasm for participating today.

Lu Zhaoyang guessed one correctly, and Huang Jingshan would immediately guess the next one. Eventually, the onlookers stopped guessing and just watched the two of them throw out the answers back and forth.

The two of them guessed all the riddles that the merchant had carefully prepared.

The guy's face went from initial joy to calm, and finally to utter despair. He mechanically read the riddle and mechanically fetched the lamp.

Soon, a pile of lights appeared in front of Lu Zhaoyang and Huang Jingshan.

Man'er, Xiaolong, Yaozu, and Duo'er clapped their hands happily around the lamp.

Several children are discussing which one to choose.

Huang Jingshan then let the children choose.

The other children watching looked on with envy.

"We've won so many lanterns, how are we going to take them home?" Old Mrs. Huang grinned from ear to ear.

Her granddaughter and grandson-in-law really make her proud.

"This lamp will only be useful on the fifteenth; otherwise, it'll just gather dust if we take it back," Tong Huaqiong said.

Huang Jingshan said, "Why don't we distribute the lights to the children?"

There were many children watching at the scene.

Not every child gets to carry a lantern.

After all, the price of a lamp is enough to buy a bag of salt, and many families are reluctant to spend that money to buy a lantern for their child.

Lu Zhaoyang had the same idea and readily agreed.

Tong Huaqiong quickly interjected, "These lanterns were won by Miss Huang and Young Master Lu for the children." We can't just do good deeds without promoting them.

This wave of support is necessary to give Huang Jingshan a reputation for being kind-hearted.

When the children who were watching heard that the lights were going to be lit, they swarmed forward.

Huang Jingshan, Lu Zhaoyang, Gu Jingzhe, and others stood in front of the lamps, lighting them one by one.

"Don't crowd."

"Everyone has."

Taking advantage of the opportunity to distribute the lanterns, Lu Zhaoyang turned around and quietly handed the money for the lanterns to the merchant.

We can't let the boss lose money.

After saying too much, the shopkeeper pointed to the lights on the shelf and said, "Use the extra money to buy the lights on this shelf."

Soon all the children on the street knew that Miss Huang had won all the lanterns and given them to everyone, and the children who didn't have lanterns ran to get theirs.

This scene naturally caught the attention of Tong Huaqiong and the others. Master Huang praised her repeatedly, becoming increasingly satisfied with the marriage arranged by Tong Huaqiong.

“These lanterns are for children who don’t have lanterns. You have one, so why are you taking another? If you take one, then the other children who don’t have lanterns will get fewer,” Man’er suddenly said, pointing at a child.

Tong Huaqiong saw Xiaolong grab a child's wrist. Tong Huaqiong recognized the child; he was Chunni's younger brother, Chunwang.

Chunwang tried to hit Man'er because of his height, but Xiaolong grabbed his wrist.

Tong Huaqiong dislikes Chunwang very much.

Chunwang's family bought two lanterns. Hearing that the person in front had given the lanterns to Granny Luo, he came to Huang Jingshan to ask for them.

Despite his small size, Xiaolong was surprisingly strong. He gripped Chunwang's wrist tightly, causing Chunwang to wince in pain and lose his grip on the lantern. Man'er took it from him and handed it to a nearby child who didn't have a lantern.

"I'll beat you up every time I see you," Xiaolong said.

Chunwang struggled for a moment, but seeing Tong Huaqiong and Su Chengmin staring at him menacingly, he dared not fight back.

"Grandma Luo, you already have two lanterns, why are you letting Chunwang come and collect them? That's not how you get something for nothing. The child may be ignorant, but don't you understand?"

When Granny Luo saw her grandson being bullied, she rushed over with two lanterns, only to be stabbed mercilessly by Tong Huaqiong.

Those around her expressed their disgust at Granny Luo's behavior.

Even those families who already had lanterns but wanted to take advantage and have their children receive them slunk away.

Soon, Huang Jingshan, Gu Taohua, and the others finished distributing the lanterns.

"This is for you," Su Chengmin said to Gu Taohua, holding up a lantern.

Gu Taohua had just helped Huang Jingshan distribute lanterns and even gave away her own. Su Chengmin left one of his peach blossom lanterns and handed it to Gu Taohua.

"Oh, this is exactly the peach blossom lantern I wanted to keep," Gu Taohua said with a smile.

She had her eye on this peach blossom lantern for a while, but because so many children were taking the lanterns, she felt embarrassed to hide it for herself.

Just as she was lamenting that the peach blossom lantern had been taken away, Su Chengmin unexpectedly hid it for her.

Gu Taohua held up a peach blossom lantern, her face smiling like a peach blossom.

Su Chengmin looked up and saw Gu Taohua's smiling eyes through the lantern.

The lanterns in Yanguan Town on the fifteenth of the month couldn't compare to those in Shengjing, but he felt that both the moonlight and the lanterns tonight were much more beautiful than those in Shengjing.

At the end of the street, there was a troupe of jugglers performing fire-eating.

Let alone children, even adults can't resist this bizarre and exciting performance.

Especially Xiaolong, who grew up in the palace and almost never left the palace, let alone watched folk performances outside.

Seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn't help but widen his eyes in curiosity, and grabbed Man'er's hand to squeeze into the bustling crowd.