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

Gu Honglian said with a cold expression, "Is this a small matter? You do nothing but read books at home. It would be fine if you could study well, but you failed the imperial examination three times."

"Since you're so capable, then show it to me. Stop trying to outdo me all the time. Go find some work to do tomorrow. We don't keep useless people in our family."

With her nephew as a comparison, Gu Honglian had very little patience left for Fan Tong.

She will never again indulge Fan Tong in reading at home.

Fan Tong has to go out and work to earn money.

Fan Tong originally wanted to continue his counterattack, but feeling the unfriendly gazes of Gu Dashu and Gu Dahan, he swallowed the anger Gu Honglian had given him.

He told himself that a true man should know how to endure humiliation and bear heavy burdens.

He remembered the humiliation his wife had inflicted on him today, and the first thing he would do when he became successful was to divorce her.

While it's not easy to divorce Gu Honglian since she has Tong Huaqiong and Gu Jingzhe backing her up, she can take several beautiful concubines.

As long as he has enough value, Tong Huaqiong and Gu Jingzhe will turn a blind eye to this.

Fan Tong believed in his own mental victory that he would definitely win in the future.

"It's okay if a plate of dumplings gets spilled, don't let it affect everyone's New Year celebrations," Tong Huaqiong shouted outside.

"The dumplings are here."

Su Chengmin strode into the house carrying the dumplings.

"These dumplings smell really good," Zhao said.

Plates of dumplings were placed on the table. Everyone had already eaten their New Year's Eve dinner, but the steaming dumplings in front of them made them feel hungry again.

"Here, Grandson, eat first."

After the men in the kitchen finished their work and came in, everyone gathered around the table again.

Tong Huaqiong picked up a dumpling and placed it on the plate in front of the grandson.

"Whoever finds the packet with the copper coin first will have good luck all year round," Tong Huaqiong said.

To bring good luck, I put a few copper coins inside the dumplings.

As soon as he finished speaking, the grandson spat out a copper coin.

"Little Dragon got to eat."

"Xiaolong will have good luck for the next year."

Man'er and Yaozu clapped their hands to congratulate the grandson of the emperor on being the first to eat the copper coin dumpling.

The grandson laughed along with him.

He saw it clearly just now; when Tong Huaqiong picked up a dumpling for him, she just randomly picked one.

Besides, the dumplings are all identical and there are no markings, so who knows which one has a coin inside?

He believed he was the luckiest person.

Tong Huaqiong said, "It's not just one year; every year from now on will bring good luck."

As we were talking, I suddenly felt something pressing against my back molar.

Upon spitting it out, she realized she had also eaten a coin-shaped dumpling.

"I ate it too."

Man'er was the third person to get a taste.

Immediately afterwards, Gu Taohua and Lu Zhaozhao also got to eat.

With so many people getting to eat, everyone became even more energetic, wanting to eat the coin dumplings for good luck.

Soon, Gu Jingzhe, Gu Dahan, Gu Xiaoxue, and others got to eat. Gu Dashu, who hadn't gotten any and thought he was out of luck, finally got to eat one when he forced himself to finish the last dumpling.

"I got to eat it! My younger brother, Gu Jingzhe, will definitely pass the imperial examination with flying colors!" Gu Dashu said excitedly.

He felt that nothing was more important than Gu Jingzhe's success in the imperial examination at this stage.

The family is not short of money or property, but lacks academic achievements. Gu Jingzhe will surely be able to make up for that in the imperial examinations.

Strangely enough, everyone except Fan Tong got to eat coin dumplings.

Fan Tong looked dejected and gave an awkward smile. Gu Honglian then said to him, "Husband, we are husband and wife as one. If I eat something auspicious, it means you've had good fortune too. The saying 'a wife's status rises with her husband's' means you're destined for success."

These words left Fan Tong extremely depressed.

Since he had good luck, why did Gu Honglian get to eat it instead of him?

Tong Huaqiong and Fan Tong were puzzled as to why they didn't get to eat the coin dumplings.

The last dumpling left in the bowl was eaten by Gu Dashu. Tong Huaqiong didn't understand where the dumpling with the copper coin in it went.

She wasn't a stingy person; since she wanted to bring good luck, she packed the copper coins according to the number of people.

The case was finally solved. It turned out that while eating dumplings, the pug that the grandson had given to Man'er had crawled under the table, and Man'er picked up a dumpling and fed it to the dog.

The dumpling with the copper coin on it was eaten by the pug.

The pug spat out the copper coin, which rolled down to Man'er's feet.

Man'er lowered her head, pointed at the copper coin, and said, "My little dog also had good luck; it ate a dumpling with a copper coin inside."

Everyone: "."

Fan Tong's face turned green.

So he's not even as good as a dog.

"Let's go set off fireworks."

Through the window, Man'er could already see fireworks being set off by nearby families. She pulled her grandson outside.

Gu Taohua is playful and wants to set off the fireworks herself.

Su Chengmin came to the courtyard with her and helped her release the animals.

Beautiful fireworks rose into the sky and then burst open in mid-air.

Tong Huaqiong and the others stood under the corridor, looking up at the sky. Sure enough, the palace had gathered the best fireworks masters in the world, and the fireworks they made were dazzling and varied, with not only various flower patterns, but also lifelike animal patterns.

The entire courtyard was filled with dazzling fireworks.

"I'll accompany you to admire the lanterns on the fifteenth. The Lantern Festival in Shengjing has the most beautiful lanterns in the world," Su Chengmin said to Gu Taohua.

Gu Taohua turned her head to look at Su Chengmin. The light from the exploding fireworks made Gu Taohua's eyes sparkle, and Su Chengmin was stunned.

"Aren't you on duty on the Lantern Festival?"

For Shengjing, the Lantern Festival was a time of great prosperity and excitement, but the most important thing was fire prevention and avoiding any accidents that might happen during the festivities.

At that time, the entire Imperial Guard will have to be mobilized for patrols.

Su Chengmin said, "I've already made arrangements. I'll set aside two hours to accompany you around."

Gu Taohua smiled and nodded, as the wind blew snowflakes onto the hair on her forehead.

Su Chengmin couldn't help but reach out and brush the snow off Gu Taohua's forehead.

Gu Taohua's face was flushed.

Fan Tong felt a pang of jealousy as she watched Su Chengmin and Gu Taohua's intimate interaction.

I regret missing out on the peach blossoms again.

The most important quality of the leader of the Imperial Guard is to be more perceptive than ordinary people. Su Chengmin suddenly felt a gaze shooting towards him.

He looked in the direction of the gaze.

Fan Tong, who was hiding under the corridor, was caught red-handed by Su Chengmin and had no choice but to turn his head away.

Gu Honglian also discovered Fan Tong's activities. In front of her sister-in-law, Gu Honglian didn't know what to say, mainly because she was afraid of angering her sister-in-law and Gu Taohua, who would then be kicked out of the house.

"Fan Tong, do you want to die? This is the third time you've been peeping at Tao Hua. Do you think I'm dead and can't see through your thoughts? You'd better stop now. If my sister-in-law and Tao Hua find out, you're dead. Do you want to be kicked out in the middle of winter? Don't drag me down with you."

"Don't even think about such nonsense. Don't you even consider whether you're good enough for my niece? You better behave yourself as my uncle. If I find you peeking at Gu Taohua again, don't blame me for being impolite."

Gu Honglian moved closer to Fan Tong, her voice whispering a warning in his ear like a ghost.

In fact, even without Gu Honglian's reminder, Fan Tong was already terrified after seeing Su Chengmin's frightening gaze. (End of Chapter)