Chapter 61: Together from dawn till dusk, we journey until daybreak.

Li Yue'er grew up in the academy and knew best about its holiday schedule.

The timing and length of holidays usually depend on the weather. If it snows early and heavily this year, the holiday will start a few days earlier. If the snow is light and the weather is not cold, the holiday will start a few days later. The timing is not fixed, but it will not be later than New Year's Eve.

Let alone the academy and its students, even the imperial court and its officials need to close their doors and rest during the New Year.

Li Yue'er comforted herself while carefully enjoying this hard-won holiday.

The Lunar New Year is the day after tomorrow, and she only got her holiday today. According to the mistress and Sister Su, her annual leave is five days long, and she will continue to attend classes on the third day of the Lunar New Year.

She doesn't have many days left to play.

Li Yue'er finally managed to find time to bring Meng Xiaoxiao to the hot springs, but unfortunately, she was menstruating and couldn't go into the water. She could only sit by the pool in a long-sleeved dress, soaking her feet while watching them play in the water.

Li Yue'er then discovered that the rattan was an excellent swimmer; not only could it swim several laps, but it could also dive down, stay submerged for a while, and then surface again.

Meng Xiaoxiao was also a non-swimmer, but she was brave. After being led by Teng Huang to familiarize herself with the depth of the hot spring pool, she was able to play on her own.

Sister Su and the mistress also came to soak in the pool today.

Sister Su was clearly unwilling to sit with the mistress. Although the two of them sat down close to the edge of the pool, there was enough space between them for five or six more people to sit.

Li Yue'er sat smilingly next to the mistress, her skirt lifted above her knees, her feet and calves soaking in the spring water.

Dansha brought over a fruit platter, and Li Yue'er took an orange, peeled it, and served it to the mistress segment by segment.

The mistress also took an orange, held it in her palm, and warmed it in the spring water before handing it to Li Yue'er so she could eat it herself.

Dansha went into the water, and the three of them started playing rattan ball in the water.

Li Yue'er gently rubbed her toes against her mistress's arm. Seeing that the other woman ignored her, she boldly bit her lip, lifted her leg, grabbed the hem of her skirt, and used her toes to pinch her mistress's earlobe.

Qu Rong, "..."

Why doesn't she put it in her mouth?

Qu Rong grabbed Li Yue'er's ankle with her other hand. If it weren't for the fact that she was menstruating and couldn't go into the water, she would definitely have pulled Li Yue'er into the water to scare her.

Qu Rong looked up at Li Yue'er, speechless.

Li Yue'er, with half an orange in her mouth, bent down and fed it to her, her eyes urging her silently:

Hurry, they're looking over here.

Qu Rong had no choice but to reluctantly open her mouth and take it.

Li Yue'er bit off half of an orange segment, and put the other half into her mouth.

Li Yue'er raised her head with bright eyes and continued watching Teng Huang and Meng Xiaoxiao play ball, her feet casually splashing water next to the mistress as if trying to hide them.

Her legs were always swinging back and forth, their smooth, white flesh like mutton fat jade, making it impossible to look away.

Qu Rong turned around and gently tugged at the hem of Li Yue'er's skirt that had piled up on her legs.

Li Yue'er, "Hmm?"

Her clothes, which had been completely dry and draped over her knees, were pulled to her feet by the mistress and swayed on the water's surface, the hem of her skirt resembling a pink lotus blooming in a hot spring.

The skirt is like lotus petals blooming on the water, and the calves and feet immersed in the water are like lotus roots.

Using her skirt as a cover, the mistress casually crossed her arm across her body, her hand touching her calf.

Li Yue'er, "..."

Li Yue'er lightly stepped on the mistress's wrist with her toes, and then the mistress grabbed her foot as well, even pinching her toes maliciously.

childish!

Li Yue'er glared at her with her head down, but the mistress ignored her and focused on watching Teng Huang play with the ball, her face extremely serious.

Teng Huang and Xiao Xiao were in charge of playing, while Dan Sha was in charge of picking up the rattan balls that had run far away and throwing them back.

If Xiaoxiao's ball floats over, Su Rou will even smile and gently push it back to her by using the water to keep it floating.

As evening fell, it started snowing again.

Su Rou looked up at the sky and reached out her palm to catch the snowflakes.

Qu Rong raised her hand and beckoned a maid to bring a cloak and drape it over Li Yue'er.

They didn't feel cold while soaking in the pool, and the snowflakes didn't have a chance to fall on them. Only Li Yue'er, who was sitting on the shore, would get wet in the snow.

A smile appeared in Li Yue'er's eyes. She no longer cared about the mistress touching her calf. She gripped the edge of the hood with both hands and, using the fur collar of the hood as cover, lowered her head and kissed the mistress's forehead.

Fujiki witnessed this and immediately pouted, letting out a long whistle, "Yo~"

Li Yue'er's cheeks were slightly flushed, her eyes curved, and she looked up at the sky as if she hadn't heard anything.

The mistress, however, remained calm, as if her forehead had been kissed by snowflakes, her face showing no emotion.

If it weren't for the way she gripped her calf slightly, her thumb pads rubbing back and forth on her skin, Li Yue'er would have really thought she had lost interest in her.

They soaked in the water from afternoon until dark, and in the evening they ate a whole roasted lamb in the courtyard with the manor's manager and his wife.

The steward taught them how to grill, while the mistress and Sister Su simply sat and ate.

When it was completely dark, Shi Yi came over, carrying some pastries and rolled-up red paper for writing Spring Festival couplets. She handed the red paper to the mistress, distributed the pastries to the others, and then quietly sat on the low stool next to Su Rou's legs. She habitually bent down to slice the cooked mutton for Su Rou, placed it on a small plate, and handed it to her.

Su Rou had already stretched out her hand when she suddenly stopped in mid-air, her eyes never lifting up.

Shi Yi kept looking up at her while holding the plate, without retracting her hand.

"?" Teng Huang turned her head curiously to look over, but before she could see anything unusual, Li Yue'er had already handed the small plate to her.

Li Yue'er's scalp tightened from the sudden turn of events between the two, and she was even more nervous than the people involved. She quickly pulled Teng Huang's gaze back and said without any politeness, "I want one too."

Fujiwara glared at her.

Li Yue'er bit her lip and smiled at her.

Meng Xiaoxiao, following suit, also handed over a plate, saying, "What Sister Yue'er has, Xiaoxiao wants too. Sister Tenghuang can't be biased!"

Gamboge, "..."

Gambo had a bitter look on his face as he turned to look at the cinnabar.

cinnabar,"……"

Teng Huang smiled slyly, placed his hands on Dansha's thighs, and while shaking Dansha's legs, twisted his own shoulders, calling out in a coquettish and affected voice, "Sister Dansha, I want some too~"

Dansha's ears turned red in silence, "..."

With eyes lowered, he worked tirelessly and without complaint, cutting three portions for himself.

Su Rou lowered her eyes and took the small plate, while Shi Yi smiled, a rare sight on his lips.

She turned her head to look behind her, then pulled up a low stool and sat down, rolling up her sleeves. "I'll cut it. Does anyone else want some?"

Without hesitation, Teng Huang brought all the small plates in front of Dan Sha to Shi Yi, instructing, "Make sure my portion is cut into larger pieces."

She wasn't really particular about table manners. If it weren't for Yue'er and Xiaoxiao teasing her, she would have loved to grab a lamb leg and gnaw on it, which would have been more in line with the New Year's atmosphere of eating meat heartily. Even if she had cut the meat into small pieces, they still wouldn't have eaten as elegantly and gracefully as Sister Su.

But when everyone was enjoying the mutton that Shi Yi had sliced, just like Su Rou, no one noticed the slight unusual thing that had happened between Shi Yi and Su Rou earlier.

Qu Rong looked at Li Yue'er with great interest.

She didn't particularly like eating mutton, but she wasn't averse to roasted lamb, so she sat here watching Li Yue'er and the others eat, warming herself by the fire while listening to the steward speak.

The steward was talking about state affairs. Although he was not a scholar, he was a husband, father, and steward. If the situation became chaotic, he had to protect his family and the estate.

Qu Rong then talked to him about these things.

Geographically speaking, Anping Prefecture is located above Kyoto, so even if things get chaotic, they won't be too chaotic.

The new army attacking from the south will not pass through Anping Prefecture. They will only set up camp in the prefectures under the capital and negotiate with the court. Even if the court sends troops to counterattack, they will go south, not north.

Only if the imperial court chooses to retreat can it possibly get to this side. At that time, whether the imperial court chooses to occupy Anping Prefecture and fight against the new army, or to pass through Anping Prefecture and continue its retreat, life here will not be easy.

Especially for wealthy merchants like them, life was even more difficult.

Qu Rong roughly calculated that Qu Ming's letter should have arrived by now. The delay of a few days must be related to the chaos in the south.

After speaking with the steward, Qu Rong looked at Shi Yi.

Since she was already there, Qu Rong didn't let her go back. "Stay and spend the New Year with us. One more person won't make a difference."

Shi Yi: "...Yes."

If you were celebrating the New Year at the Qu residence, the couplets would be gifts from others. There were always scholars who didn't look down on merchants, and even in order to curry favor with them, they would send couplets written by themselves or commissioned by them as New Year's gifts during festivals.

This year, Qu Rong stayed at the manor to celebrate the New Year, so she asked Li Yue'er to grind ink while she rolled up her sleeves and wrote Spring Festival couplets.

For the first time, Li Yue'er looked at her mistress's handwriting carefully and felt that the saying "handwriting reflects the person" was not quite accurate.

The mistress was of a detached and eccentric nature, and her whole demeanor was aloof and indifferent, yet her handwriting was flamboyant and bold!

Just by looking at the words, Li Yue'er vaguely felt that the writer was an ambitious person, which was why he used the pen and ink to stretch his muscles and exert his skills on the paper.

Qu Rong glanced at her, meeting Li Yue'er's bright and admiring eyes. She raised an eyebrow slightly, dipped her brush in ink, and touched Li Yue'er's forehead. "I'll only write one. If you're interested, you can write the others."

She only wrote the one on the gate of Zhuangzi.

In previous years, she would have been more reserved and wouldn't have posted the couplets she wrote on the main gate, but rather on the small gate in the inner courtyard.

But the situation has changed.

Not only did the couplets change from the inner gate to the outer gate, but she also had to walk from the backyard to the outside.

Li Yue'er was really itching to write. She hesitated for a moment, then bit her lip and took the pen from the mistress's hand, her voice nervous, "I haven't written in so many years."

Qu Rong washed her hands, frowned, and turned to look at her, "You never wrote this before?"

Li Yue'er looked down at the paper, her mind already considering where each word should be placed. "He's always putting on airs, so naturally he'll write it and stick it on the door. He wouldn't let a girl like me try to teach him a lesson."

Qu Rong said, "I'm not Lu Ban, so feel free to 'show off'."

The mistress didn't scoff at her at all.

Li Yue'er's eyes were full of laughter as she tilted her head to look at her, "Then I'll really write it."

She wrote her own copy and kept it to post in their yard.

Just then, Su Rou came over and wrote her own couplet. The steward's wife came to deliver New Year's goods and, upon learning that they were writing couplets themselves, specially brought some of her own snacks to ask for them.

Su Rou wasn't interested in the food. She put down her pen, washed her hands, and looked at Li Yue'er.

The lady was shrewd and immediately understood. She hurriedly went over to plead with Li Yue'er, "Good girl, please 'reward' me with a portion."

She brought the basket to Li Yue'er; it was full of New Year's treats they had cooked themselves, including peanuts and melon seeds, just enough for them to eat while keeping watch at night.

Li Yue'er's cheeks were burning, but she walked to the table with great composure. "If Madam doesn't mind, I'll write two more."

Although she had a pen in hand, she was troubled about what to write. Su Rou kindly offered a couple of suggestions, but the mistress scoffed, "These two sentences can be used when my old lady passes away."

Su Rou, "..."

Li Yue'er lowered her head and ground the ink, pretending not to hear anything.

Qu Rong said, "The New Year should be festive. Wait until my grandmother is gone before you start feeling sad and sentimental."

Su Rou smiled, not angry, and gestured for them to proceed.

Qu Rong didn't hesitate and said a few words.

Li Yue'er thought the mistress was right! She subconsciously raised her head, but then, remembering that Sister Su was right next to her, she slowly lowered her head again.

Su Rou said, "I think using this pair is acceptable."

"Not bad" is a good word.

The mistress glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, and Su Rou lowered her head to wipe her hands, pretending not to see. This was how the two of them got along, and Li Yue'er wouldn't bother to try to reconcile them.

On the 29th of the lunar year, we put up Spring Festival couplets, set off firecrackers, and steam buns; on the 30th of the lunar year, we celebrate the New Year.

It's lively with lots of people. In the evening, a large table is set up in the courtyard, and anyone who comes can sit down and eat.

Garcinia even brought over the fruit wine and poured it around in a circle.

They ate, drank, and played until almost midnight, at which point everyone stood up, holding their wine cups with both hands, and looked at the mistress sitting in the main seat.

According to custom, at this time, elders would help them make wishes for the coming year.

Qu Rong placed a wine cup on the table, slowly rose, and raised her hand to toast the wine to the outside. Although she spoke to everyone, her eyes slightly turned towards Li Yue'er:

"Boundless joy, may this last year be filled with peace."

As fireworks lit up the sky above the city, the crowd repeated the matriarch's words:

May we be filled with boundless joy and cherish these years.

Firecrackers went off one after another in the outer courtyard of Zhuangzi.

Taking advantage of the noise, Li Yue'er bent down to clink glasses with her mistress and whispered, "May the mistress have joy and happiness year after year."

The mistress raised an eyebrow at her, seemingly displeased with what she had said.

Li Yue'er's face flushed, unsure whether it was from drunkenness or embarrassment. She bit her lower lip and spoke again, her voice softer but clearer, "I wish that you and I could 'share the days and nights, and walk together until the dawn.'"

Then he looked up and drank the wine in one gulp.

After finishing her drink, she left the table to ask Teng Huang for more wine, using this as an excuse to run away and hide the blush on her face.

The mistress always felt that she would run away once she received the indenture, so she took this opportunity to promise the mistress that she would stay by her side and never leave. ...It's just a matter of whether the mistress, who only reads "The Art of War," could understand such refined and subtle words of love.

Li Yue'er seemed to be fleeing in panic.

Qu Rong held the wine cup and watched her quietly, a smile in her eyes, letting the fireworks in the sky illuminate her eyes and beauty mark, slowly sipping the wine that Li Yue'er had offered her.

She is adept at using sweet talk.

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It's actually sweeter when you can't understand it.

if--

Although the mistress couldn't understand, she accepted everything Li Yue'er offered, good or bad. [Heart][Heart][Heart]

I don't believe in love, but I am in love.