Do you know: I am Xu Jiazi

Chapter 419: Staying up all night [Thank you! Goodbye! I owe you words]

at night,

Huihefang

The Mansion of Duke Lian

A white light flashed in the distance.
The light dimly illuminated the snow that had not yet melted on the shady roof to the north of the Lu family's house.

"Boom~~~"

After a slight delay, the loud sound of fireworks exploding came from the direction of the palace.

"Brother, brother! Look, there are huge fireworks in the palace!"

Lu Zezong, who was wearing ear protection and setting off firecrackers and fireworks with Xu Zaijing in the yard, pointed in the direction of the palace and shouted.

Xu Zaijing looked in the direction that Lu Zezong pointed at, and looked at the fireworks exploding in the night sky: “So beautiful!”

"Yeah! I've never seen one this big before."

"Maybe he was let go last year and you didn't see him in our house," said Xu Zaijing.

Last year, Lu Zezong spent the New Year at Xu's house.

Lu Zezong nodded hesitantly: "Brother, you are right, it is really possible!"

A flash of white light,
"Boom~"

Another firework exploded.

Sisters Qingcao and Yunxiang, wearing earmuffs and brocade cotton coats, stood behind Xu Zaijing.
The bright lights of the fireworks in the palace illuminated the faces of the three little maids, and their eyes were sparkling.

Quyuan Street is quite far from the imperial palace, and it was rare to see fireworks in the palace during the New Year in previous years.

The second firework above the palace dissipated in the night sky.

The Lu family's yard was much darker than before, once again immersed in the dim light of lanterns.

When Lu Zezong was about to continue setting off his firecrackers,
There was another flash of white light.

The bright lights of the fireworks also illuminated the second floor of the wooden building where the Rong family used to watch the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Standing on the wooden building were the Rong family members wearing thick winter clothes.

Rong Xian looked at the dissipating fireworks and said, "Sister said there would be beautiful fireworks tonight, and it turned out she wasn't lying!"

Rong Xian finished speaking.

The night sky in the direction of the palace fell slightly into darkness.

"Brother, are there only these three fireworks?"

Rong Feiyan, whose cheeks were red from the winter night's cold, asked while breathing out white air.

Rong Xian looked at his sister and smiled: "Hey, little sister, guess."

Rong Xian had just finished speaking.
"Ouch! Mom, why did you hit me on the head?"

The eldest lady of the Rong family exhaled white air: "If there is, I will still be freezing on the second floor just to watch the fireworks. If there is no one, I will go downstairs!"

"Yes, yes! My sister said the palace might be open overnight!"

"How many fireworks will be set off then?" exclaimed Fuchang Hou on the side.

Rong Xian said, "Dad, most of them are set off at this time. In the second half of the night, there may be one set off every fifteen minutes."

After watching the fireworks for a while, the master of the Rong family and his wife went down the wooden building together and returned to the room where the stove was heating and the floor heating was burning.

Rong Xian and Rong Feiyan did not follow.

"Ugh!"

Junghyun sighed.

"Alas!" Rong Xian sighed again, then looked at Rong Feiyan who was looking into the distance on the second floor and said, "Sister, don't you care about me, your brother?"

Looking elsewhere, Rong Feiyan said casually, "Brother, what's wrong with you?"

"fine!"

Rong Feiyan rolled her eyes at Rong Xian and said, "Brother, I'm hungry. I'll go down first."

"Ok!"

Rongxian nodded.

After Rong Feiyan brought Ningxiang and Xibu downstairs, Rong Xian looked in the direction of the Chai family and said to himself sadly, "Alas, my love that ended in vain."

Rong Xian is already quite old now. Before, Concubine Rong summoned him and Rong Feiyan into the palace and had already arranged his marriage: to a girl from the family of Duke Dou.

Compared to the upstart Rong family, which rose to prominence since Concubine Rong entered the palace and whose ancestors had little background, this marriage is a good one.

The current emperor is in good health and there is no problem for him to live another ten or eight years.

Although the Dou family is now a duke's mansion, there are no outstanding descendants who can take on the responsibility, whether in studying or practicing martial arts.

It's a good thing to have Rong Xian, a favorite concubine's brother who can speak to the emperor, to take care of her.

Quyuan Street,
Yong Yi Hou Mansion,

It's quite far from the palace.
Only the faint sound of fireworks could be heard.

Mrs. Sun, the wife of Marquis Xu, stood in the yard, watching Zaiduan and Zaizhan bringing their sons to set off firecrackers.

Like last year, Lu Zezong's maternal grandparents still sent a lot of fireworks.

The fire-breathing fireworks made of a bamboo tube as thick as his forearm that Zaiduan was lighting with incense sticks were sent by the Li family.

Sparks were spraying outwards, making the Xu family's yard very bright.

Sun had a smile on her face, but there was some melancholy in her eyes.

Hua Lan, who was standing by, looked at the official and his son who were smiling happily, then glanced at Sun and said softly, "Mother-in-law, what's wrong with you?"

Sun looked at Hualan and smiled, "It's okay. For the past sixteen or seventeen years, Jing'er has been in the yard at this time every year. I didn't see him this year, so I'm still a little uncomfortable."

Thinking about the feeling of celebrating the New Year at the Xu family for the first time, Hualan took Sun's arm and said, "Mother-in-law, we will be able to see Xiaowu tomorrow."

Sun smiled.

Hua Lan continued, "I wonder if my brother wrote any new poems at the dinner table tonight."

Cuichan behind Hualan said with a smile, "Madam, Bo Ge'er has been insisting on this for many years. I think it is very likely that he will sing the same song "Shou Sui" tonight."

Sun smiled again as she listened to the interesting stories of the Sheng family.

After a while,
Sun looked at her son and grandson in the yard and shouted, "Stop playing! Come inside!"

The end of the Xu hour (9:00 pm)
On a cold winter night,
The sounds of firecrackers and fireworks in Bianjing City gradually died down.

This also made the large fireworks set off every quarter of an hour in the palace particularly conspicuous.

"Boom~"

The sound of fireworks reached the inner courtyard of the Chai family.

Listen to the movement,

Chai Jin, who was playing mahjong for fun after dinner, glanced outside.

"Brother, are you going to come out?"

Chai Bo's voice came.

Chai Jin looked at the leaf cards in his hand and threw them on the table in defeat. He said to Chai Zhengzheng beside him: "Zhengzheng, come on, I'll try my luck tonight."

"Ok?"

Mrs. Chai frowned and glared at Chai Jin.

"Good luck! Come on, sister!"

Chai Zhengzheng on the side waved his hand and said, "Brother, you play."

Chai Jin shook his head and walked over: "What are you looking at? Are you so fascinated?"

Chai Zhengzheng, who had a pile of books beside him, smiled and said, "The vernacular novel that Li's Fifth Lady sent over yesterday is quite interesting."

The Chai family master, who was in high spirits, said with a smile, "Jin'er, Zheng'er, which one of you two is coming over?"

"Sister, I'll help you, go ahead."

Chai Jin quickly pulled out the script in front of Chai Zhengzheng and held it in his own hand.

Chai Zhengzheng pretended to be angry and looked at Chai Jin. Chai Jin smiled and waved his hand: "Go quickly."

Chai Zhengzheng stood up helplessly and said to Wei Fang, who was eating candied fruit and talking with Yun Mu in the corner of the hall, "Fang Niang, play music."

"Yes, girl."

Wei Fangzhi smiled and put the candied fruit back on the plate.
After wiping his hands with a handkerchief, he picked up the pipa that was placed on the table beside him.

Soon, the sound of a pipa with a cheerful and brisk rhythm and a medium pitch began to sound slowly.

In the sound of music,

After a few rounds of leaf cards,
The smile on the head of the Chai family gradually disappeared. He became suspicious when playing cards and kept looking at the expression of his daughter Chai Zhengzheng from time to time.

Late at night,
It's getting colder.
The Chai family's hall was still warm as spring.

Chai Zhengzheng stood up, stretched, and said, "I don't want to play anymore. It's boring to always win! Big brother, you come."

Mrs. Chai, who was sitting at the card table, smiled and shook her head. She reached out to take the sweet hot tea offered by the maid, took a sip and said, "Jin'er, come here."

Chai Jin put down the book reluctantly, sat back at the card table and drank the refreshing tea like Mrs. Chai.

Chai Zhengzheng picked up the storybook again and said a few words to Yunmu before reading it.

quickly,

There was a jade-like porcelain bowl on the table next to Chai Zhengzheng, with a black frozen pear soaking in it.

When they finished reading the storybook and exchanged books, Chai Zhengzheng took a bite of the frozen pear and shrank his shoulders beautifully.

The Lu family of the Duke of Lian,
I stayed up all night with nothing to do.

The spacious hall in the inner courtyard is covered with thick carpets.
Although the old lady of the Duke is not young anymore, she is still playing mahjong with her daughters-in-law and granddaughters at the card table.

There was a girl from the Lu family playing the game of pitching a pot.

While playing the game of tossing pots and cards, they would look to the other side from time to time.

The reason is,

The elderly Duke Lian drank some wine and suddenly became interested in a martial arts contest.

At this moment, he was gesturing to Xu Zaijing on the carpet left empty after the servants moved away the tables and chairs.

Both of them moved extremely slowly, it was not so much a fight as it was Xu Zaijing feeding them moves.

Subsequently,

Lu Zezong came on stage again to let Xu Zaijing "test" the results of his training over the past year or so.

After playing around for a while,
Xu Zaijing asked Lu Zezong to bring his chuiwan cue and chuiwan balls to the hall.

Xu Zaijing placed a teacup lying on its side on the carpet, and the two brothers played indoor chuiwan.

The beginning of the Yin hour (around 3 a.m.)
Fireworks still exploded from time to time in the palace.

The old duke and the old lady have gone to bed.

The young people in the hall did not feel sleepy after drinking tea.

The Lu family kitchen delivered the freshly cooked food to the hall.

Xu Zaijing looked at the dining table and saw a large plate of fried fish fillets, just like the one he had yesterday evening. He knew that the Lu family made extra fish because they saw that he liked to eat fish.

full meal,

After talking for a while in the hall and taking a break,

It's already 4:00 AM.

Xu Zaijing and Lu Zezong put on thick winter clothes and went to the street outside the mansion, shouting "selling dementia".

After returning, the things they did in the yard, such as lighting fires and putting out fires, were similar to what they did at Xu's house.

When it's still dark,
Xu Zaijing and Lu Zezong left the hall again, this time following Lu's third son, Prince Consort Lu, to visit the close relatives of the Lu family.

A group of three people were riding horses, followed by a servant who had a lot of notes in his arms.

If the family has average relations, does not want to welcome guests, is in mourning at home, or is resting and does not want to open the door, the servant will usually put the invitation into the cloth bag hanging on the door.

Chai family
After Chai Zhengzheng washed his face and refreshed himself,

She began to let the maid Fu Yi help her to comb her hair again.

I'm going to the palace to pay New Year's greetings this morning, so I must dress up again.

Chai Zhengzheng, who felt a little sleepy after staying up late, yawned loudly and closed his eyes.

Yunmu took the copper basin filled with hot water from the maid and dipped the towel into the hot water in the basin.

After wrung out the towel with just the right amount of hot water, Yunmu began to wipe Chai Zhengzheng's face, who had his eyes closed.

Seeing Chai Zhengzheng's unconsciously raised mouth corners and the very shallow dimples on her fair cheeks, Yunmu smiled and said, "Miss, I see that you are in a very good mood today."

"Ah."

Hearing this, Chai Zhengzheng responded, and the dimples on his cheeks deepened.

When Yunmu was wiping Chai Zhengzheng's hands, Chai Zhengzheng, who still had his eyes closed, said, "The door of the house is open today, right?"

"It's open. Zi Teng just went to see it."

Chai Zhengzheng nodded several times.

Fu Yi, who was fixing her hair behind her, whispered, "Young lady, please move slower."

Two quarters of an hour later,

Chai Zhengzheng stood with his arms outstretched, letting the maid put the new clothes on him.

"Girl, someone is coming to the front yard to wish you a happy new year."

A little maid in new winter clothes called out from outside the door.

Chai Zhengzheng's eyes lit up.
Zi Teng was busy putting a cloak on Chai Zhengzheng.

Yunmu said at the door: "Did the guest from which house understand?"

"Sister Yunmu, they said the Marquis and the Prince of the Qin family in Jingmingfang."

The corners of Chai Zhengzheng's mouth twitched slightly, and his eyes were no longer bright.

She waved to Zi Teng to indicate that it was not necessary, and then sat down on the embroidered cushion beside her.

Rong family
forecourt,

Because the sun rises late in winter and it was still early in the morning, the sky was very dark.

So all the candles on the candlesticks in the reception hall were lit.

The front hall was very bright under the bright yellow candlelight.

The extremely thin screen gauze is embroidered with blooming peonies.

Rong Feiyan was in the dark behind the screen, and could clearly see the front hall through the blank space on the gauze of the screen.

Looking at her brother Rong Xian in the front hall, who after bowing to Xu Zaijing, hugged her brother and patted each other on the back a few times, Rong Feiyan pursed her lips.

While sitting on the chair at the top and talking to Consort Lu, Marquis Fuchang saw Xu Zaijing being hugged by Rong Xian.

Seeing Xu Zaijing's imposing manner, Marquis Fuchang and Madam Rong looked at each other and said, "Go, ask Sanniang in the next room to come out and meet the guest."

Wait for a while,

Rong Feiyan came out from behind the screen with her maid.

At this time, Rong Xian was talking to Lu Zezong who was seated. When he heard Lu Zezong mention the Fuguogong family, the smile on Rong Xian's face froze.

Xu Zaijing, who was sitting below Prince Consort Lu, also saw Rong Feiyan coming out.

Prince Consort Lu and the Marquis of Fuchang and his wife sat there without moving.

Xu Zaijing and Lu Zezong both stood up and bowed in unison, "Miss Feiyan, I wish you a happy and healthy life."

Rong Feiyan smiled, bowed, and stood behind the wife of Marquis Fuchang. She smiled at Lu Zezong and glanced at Xu Zaijing.

He said two more words.

Prince Consort Lu then stood up and said goodbye to the two of them.

"Madam, Miss Feiyan, please stay." Prince Consort Lu said with a smile.

Afterwards, he walked towards the second gate with the Fuchang Marquis and his son.

Watching a group of people walk away from the corridor,
Madam Rong: "Tsk, this Xu family boy is really good, but unfortunately he is still a little behind the young master of the Duke of Qi, and he doesn't have a title! What a pity."

Rong Feiyan, who was standing by, had been looking at the corridor. When she heard Madam Rong's words, she said, "Mother, what does Princess Pingning think of our family? Didn't you hear about it from the Xue family?"

The Xue family is the maiden family of Princess Pingning’s sister-in-law.

Qi Heng’s cousin’s maternal grandfather’s home.

On the way to the Zhu family of Chengping Earl to attend the wedding banquet,
Prince Consort Lu looked at Xu Zaijing and Lu Zezong, the two sworn brothers riding on the little black colt together and said, "Let's go to Zhu's house for a while, then go to Chai's house, and then go home and enter the palace."

Xu Zaijing and Lu Zezong nodded in unison.

Chai family
In the front yard,
It is also in the reception hall.
The maid Yunmu walked in quickly, bowed to Madam Chai, and then came to Chai Zhengzheng's side and said, "Miss, Prince Consort Lu is here with Jing'er and Zong'er."

(End of this chapter)