At the servant boy's shout,
the gates of the General's Residence opened, and two maids and two servant boys rushed out, taking their places on either side.
"Welcome home, young master and young madam!"
They all shouted in unison.
Then they brought out a string of firecrackers and set it off, filling the air with an endless crackle and pop.
Jiang Nuan and the others stood to one side, laughing so hard they could barely straighten up.
Jiang Nuan in particular found the whole spectacle strikingly familiar. It seemed to come straight out of a Dramatic Storybook she had recently published in the Capital City. She had never expected someone to stage a real-life version.
Even the firecrackers were a failed version of the gunpowder the alchemists had made, which they had simply put up for sale to recoup some money.
Mao Zhonglin found the entire spectacle mortifying. Without a doubt, his mother, with her wildly unpredictable ideas, had dreamed this up and made his father carry it out.
He glanced anxiously at Ji Anxian. Sure enough, the spectacle had left her frozen in place.
At that moment, Mao Zhonglin felt that the greatest stumbling blocks on his road to romance were probably his own unreliable parents.
The servant boys and maids repeated their welcome several more times.
They successfully drew the attention of everyone passing by.
By then, Mao Qiantao and Tao Ying were standing at the gates of the General's Residence.
Unwilling to be gawked at like a performing monkey any longer, Mao Zhonglin took Ji Anxian by the hand and hurried over to them.
Afraid of missing the show, Jiang Nuan and the others quickly followed.
"Father, Mother, this is..."
Mao Zhonglin was about to introduce Ji Anxian to them, but his mother interrupted him as soon