Speaking of these lanterns, it’s said to be quite a regret. Before Dong Dabao was sold to the human trafficker by Old Lady Cui, she suddenly took an interest in these little lanterns. At that time, Mother Dong said that when Baobao’s birthday came around, she would give her a lantern as a gift. Unfortunately, plans can’t keep up with changes. For the following ten years, no one knew whether Baobao was dead or alive. When the child finally returned, the entire household was so tormented by Gu Poison that there wasn’t a single peaceful day, and the matter of the lantern kept being postponed until this year, when Mother Dong finally fulfilled her original promise. At night, even though it was only the second lunar month, the Xihui Courtyard was bathed in lights and decorated with colors, bursting with festivity. One after another, the little red lanterns hung underneath the eaves, with their dim yellow lights shining through the red paper, casting a faint rosy halo on the ground. After nightfall, Dong’s parents excused themselves, claiming age had taken its toll and that they needed to rest early. Yun Ge also found a random excuse to leave. But in reality, it was considerate of them, knowing that they had all been together during the day, and that at night, the atmosphere should rightfully be intimate amongst this husband with six wives, and since there were already enough lanterns in the courtyard, they didn’t light more. "My wife, I think the sky is especially clear tonight, let’s watch the stars together!" Liang Yuening came out from the house holding a quilt, eyes sparkling like the cold stars above. Not wanting to disappoint him but also considering the feelings of the others, she had recently begun to learn the importance of treating everyone equally. So she looked towards the other brothers, seeking the opinions of the rest. Yixuan smiled and said, "I have no objections," as it was his night, and since even Yixuan had spoken in this way, the others naturally had no objections either. Lao Si carried out a table and set it up in the courtyard, Yixuan also brought out some spiced dried meat and snacks, the eldest brother warmed some wine to ward off the chill, and Yuening, clutching the quilt, scampered towards the second brother to drape it over him. Shujun also brought out more quilts from the house, one for each person, to guard against the night chill. The family gathered together, and it was unclear who started it, but they ended up talking about amusing childhood stories of the brothers. Like the time Little Wu got into a fight outside and both the eldest brother and Third Brother backed him up. Or how once, Aunt Wang from next door, thinking the brothers didn’t have a capable woman in the house to stand up for them, kept coming over to take advantage of them, until the second brother devised a scheme that made Aunt Wang suffer a major loss. There was also the time Shujun accidentally stumbled upon goblins fighting, and was chased around the village by a male and a female from the fray, but Shujun insisted she hadn’t seen anything, though whether everyone believed her was open to interpretation. Another time when the eldest brother and Third Brother went hunting in the mountains, Lao Si and Haoming sulkily washed rice and cooked meals, resulting in undercooked rice, and they nearly set the kitchen on fire. And then there was Yixuan, who even as a child was very thoughtful and sensible, standing up for his brothers when they were bullied and presenting a united front against outsiders. This was a part of the Liang brothers’ childhood that Dong Huiying didn’t know. "Little Liu was still wetting the bed at the age of six!" Shujun mercilessly exposed Yixuan’s past without any reservations. Yixuan retorted calmly, "It was clearly Third Brother who poured water on me and did it on purpose to tease me." Yue Ning joined in the fun too, "Fourth brother used to pick up a little dog. He named it Xiao Huang and he held it while sleeping every night. If he didn’t hug the dog, he couldn’t sleep."