The Eldest Daughter Is Beautiful and Saucy
Chapter 1138: departure
Chapter 1138 Departure
Seeing that Queen Mother Yan looked absent-minded, the maid washed her hands and stood beside her. She bent over to gather the white fluffy blanket on her legs and whispered, “Queen Mother, today is New Year’s Eve. Even if His Majesty and the Ninth Prince have returned, they will have to patrol the camp and talk to the soldiers for a while. Why don’t you fill your stomach with some bird’s nest porridge first?”
“No…” Queen Mother Yan stroked the stove cover embroidered with green bamboo in her arms, let out a long breath, and took out a handkerchief to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes.
“The Queen Mother is missing the late Emperor.” Queen Mother Yan’s personal maid also had tears in her eyes, because she knew that the Queen Mother and the late Emperor had a deep relationship.
“On this day in previous years, the late emperor would always be by my side. He would always unexpectedly give me some small things to make me happy. The late emperor always said that the treasury was in a difficult situation so he could only give me some worthless small things, but… Anu, I am very happy in my heart. No matter what he gave me, it shows that he has me in his heart! I am really happy…”
Thinking of the past with Murong Yu, Queen Mother Yan burst into tears and wished she could go with Murong Yu right now. But if she left, there would be no one to control A Yan. If he had other thoughts, her children would not be able to cope with it.
Queen Mother Yan knew that although she did not have any great abilities, Murong Yan had always respected her as his sister-in-law. With her around…A Yan would not act without any scruples.
“Anu, do you think… will A Yan not come back to celebrate New Year’s Eve? After all, today is New Year’s Eve, and the Emperor of the Great Zhou is pregnant with his child. How can A Li and I be as important as his child?” Queen Mother Yan felt a pain in her heart.
As they were talking, the eunuch outside came in through the curtain, bowed and said, “Queen Mother, His Majesty and the Ninth Prince are coming this way!”
Queen Mother Yan wiped her tears with a handkerchief, supported Anu’s hand and stood up, revealing a joyful smile: “Go quickly, and ask a few people to hold lanterns to welcome them. It’s snowing hard today… Tell Your Majesty and the Ninth Prince to be careful of the slippery roads!”
“yes!”
“Go and warm up a pot of the fruit honey brewed by Meng Zhaorong. The apricot honey is fragrant and leaves a lingering taste in your mouth. Although A Li is young, he can drink a couple of cups! Let A Yan also taste Meng Zhaorong’s craftsmanship.” Queen Mother Yan said with a smile.
“Hey!” Anu responded and turned to warm the fruit honey.
Murong Li and Murong Yan walked in with a chill, took off their cloaks, and then stepped forward to pay their respects to Queen Dowager Yan.
“My son greets my mother! Happy New Year, mother!”
“Ayan meets sister-in-law! Happy New Year, sister-in-law!”
Seeing that Murong Yan had taken off his mask with a smile on his face, as if he didn’t care about what she had said before, Queen Dowager Yan felt a lot more at ease.
She turned her head and glanced at her personal maid Anu, who quickly brought over with a smile a red lacquered and gold-painted bamboo square plate with two red purses in it, one embroidered with a golden dragon and the other with a golden python.
Queen Mother Yan took the purse embroidered with a golden dragon from the tray and said to Murong Li with a smile, “Ah Li, this is the purse that A Niang gave you as a New Year gift. Next year… you must continue to work hard and be a good emperor who will not disappoint your father and your uncle!”
Murong Li took the purse and said with a smile, “My son will be a good emperor who will reassure our mother and the people.”
Queen Mother Yan nodded with a smile, took the purse embroidered with a golden python from the tray, and looked at Murong Yan with a smile: “Ayan, in previous years, you were not at home during New Year’s Eve, and your brother always prepared a red envelope for you, saying that he would give it to you when you came back! This year… Ayan is in Yan State for the New Year, but your brother…”
At this point, Queen Mother Yan’s voice choked with sobs and her eyes turned red again. She forced herself to smile at Murong Yan and said, “So this year’s New Year’s red envelope is given to you by your sister-in-law! Don’t take what your sister-in-law said that day to heart. It was your sister-in-law who was too narrow-minded and hurt our A Yan’s heart.”
“Sister-in-law, we are a family and we don’t have to argue with each other! Even if our teeth and tongues clash, ordinary families will quarrel with each other. But because we were born in the royal family, when we talk about family affairs… we are also talking about state affairs!” Murong Yan wanted to ease the atmosphere, and his eyes fell on the purse in the hands of the Queen Mother Yan, “Sister-in-law, A Yan is already an adult! If you accept this New Year’s red envelope, won’t little A Li laugh at you?”
Queen Mother Yan was amused and laughed out loud: “How dare he! In front of my sister-in-law… you will always be the child I first met!”
Murong Yan was no longer polite. He stepped forward to take the red envelope and thanked him solemnly.
“Empress Dowager, Your Majesty, and Prince Ninth, the food has been reheated and is ready to eat!” Anu stepped forward and saluted.
Murong Yan sat down at the round table, watching his sister-in-law constantly putting food on his and Murong Li’s plates, and couldn’t help but think of Bai Qingyan again…
If Bai Qingyan hadn’t asked him to come back to celebrate New Year’s Eve, he would definitely have stayed in Da Zhou to accompany Bai Qingyan. How sad would his sister-in-law be to have spent New Year’s Eve without her brother for the first time? She might even be more suspicious that he would hand over Yan State to Bai Qingyan in the future, and have a deeper misunderstanding of Da Zhou and him.
“Your brother said that this braised lion’s head dish is our mother’s specialty. It was A Yan’s favorite dish when he was a child. I made it according to the recipe left by our mother. This is the second time I make it and I don’t know how it tastes. A Yan, you try it!” Queen Mother Yan picked up a piece for Murong Yan and asked him to taste it with a smile.
When he was a child and his mother was still alive, she would always cook a lot of food that he and his brothers had never heard of before in her spare time when she was handling state affairs. Later, after his mother passed away, he gradually forgot those tastes as time went by.
“Thank you, sister-in-law!” Murong Yan said with a smile.
Seeing his mother and Uncle Nine getting along harmoniously, Murong Li’s face was filled with smiles. This is what a family should be like.
·
The white snow fell all night, covering the double-eaved green tiles of Pingdu City with crystal white. Even the charred ruins were covered with a thick layer of white fluffy snow.
Bai Jinzhi got up early and went to Bai Qingyan’s place to have breakfast. He also asked about his elder sister’s future plans. But just as he arrived outside his elder sister’s door, he heard his fifth brother mention again the matter of asking his elder sister to return to the capital city.
She quickly signaled to Wei Zhong not to report it and put her ear to the carved partition to eavesdrop.
“The Spring Examination will begin in late February or early March. I will definitely rush back before the Palace Examination at the latest. I will set off at the end of January…” Bai Qingyan washed his hands and picked up a piece of steamed cake for Bai Qingyu. He smiled and looked up at the door and said, “Xiao Si, come in for breakfast too. Don’t eavesdrop.”
Bai Jinzhi opened the quilted blue-grey curtain and came in, smiling and saying, “I just got here, I haven’t heard anything yet!”
As he spoke, Bai Jinzhi walked to the stove, warmed his hands by the fire, washed his hands, and then sat down at the round table. Wei Zhong added a set of bowls and chopsticks for Bai Jinzhi, and served her a bowl of porridge, then stepped aside.
The third update, continue to ask for monthly tickets…