Having enjoyed delicious food and beautiful scenery, Mingxiu was in an excellent mood. She looked at Kangxi with a puzzled expression and asked, "This place is quite far from our home. How did you find it?" Transportation was inconvenient at that time, so finding a fun place wasn't easy.

"Haha, this was recommended by one of my students before. He said his elders often come back and say it's incredibly beautiful here. I was thinking that we've been away for quite a while now, and we've been either in crowded places or overseas. There haven't been any suitable places to go. Now that we've found a suitable place, and it's snowing today, so I brought you here to have some fun. The timing is perfect too," Kangxi said with a smile.

Mingxiu nodded and sincerely praised, "This place is really nice, so beautiful."

"That's right," Kangxi said happily. "Not only are the snacks here delicious, but there are also many beautiful sights. There are many colors of plum blossoms alone, as well as some other flowers. Most importantly, there are greenhouses here. It is said that the owner of this place was fortunate enough to learn about this method when he went to the capital, so he used it specially. Many vegetables and fruits are grown inside, and people can go in to pick them."

Mingxiu's eyes lit up: "This person has good taste. There must be a lot of people who like this." Mingxiu sighed. This is not just a matter of good taste. This greenhouse needs charcoal fires and requires someone to take good care of it at all times. So this person must be very capable to be able to set it up.

"Yes, everyone loves that you can pick your own fruit, so this garden is always in high demand. I had to book it well in advance." And even then, I used connections.

Mingxiu exclaimed in surprise, "Ah, so many people like it? I miscalculated. We should have made one like this in the capital. It would have been great to make money that way."

Kangxi chuckled: "You really can't stop talking about money. Even if we did it in the capital, business wouldn't be very good. Besides, what's wrong with using this time to do something else? Alright, go take a stroll and enjoy the scenery around here."

Mingxiu nodded, stood up, and took a deep breath. There were many plum blossoms around her, and with the heavy snow still falling, the air was filled with the cool fragrance of plum blossoms, which smelled exceptionally good.

She wore a pinkish-purple cloak today, while Kangxi wore a dark blue fur cloak. The sight of the two of them walking in the snow was truly delightful.

Mingxiu and Kangxi had a great time there for three days, and then slowly headed back after the snow stopped.

During this time, they built snowmen, had snowball fights, enjoyed the scenery, brewed tea around a stove, ate hot pot in the snow, and took photos. They did everything they could.

If it weren't for her old age, Mingxiu felt she could build an ice rink for skiing.

By the time they got back, it was almost Chinese New Year, and it was time to buy New Year's goods. Mingxiu started to busy herself with home renovations.

Kangxi took on the task of writing couplets for the family. In the past, the family would buy them, but Mingxiu didn't want to buy any this year, so she handed the task over to Kangxi and asked him to write them on all the doors inside and outside the house.

Then I also mailed some couplets, food, and red envelopes to my children so that we could all celebrate the New Year together.

Kangxi struggled to look at the two sheets of paper in front of him. After reading the contents, he glanced at Mingxiu with some resistance: "Is this really necessary? If we don't have cats or dogs, we can just not write this."

Mingxiu refused righteously: "No, you must write it. Although we don't have any pets, we have dog kennels and cat kennels. Since we have them, how can we not have couplets? You don't need to think about it, just write it down." As she spoke, Mingxiu pushed the paper towards Kangxi.

Kangxi's lips twitched as he watched Mingxiu struggle, saying, "At most, we only have a doghouse in the cat's den. That's not even a doghouse. If a dog lived there, it would probably freeze to death in the winter."

Mingxiu thought about it for a moment and realized it was true: "Okay then, let's just write about cats. We can arrange the dog one when the production is finished." It's just a pity that she couldn't use the couplet she came up with for the dog. She had thought about it for a long time.

Kangxi breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, he no longer had to write about dogs.

So he picked up a pen and began to write down the couplet that Mingxiu had imagined for the cat. First line: May wealth and treasures bring you a Happy New Year; Second line: May your fur be smooth and your droppings round, bringing prosperity to all; Horizontal scroll: May the cat be fat and the family prosperous. Not bad at all.

Mingxiu held the couplet, looked it over from left to right, and was very satisfied. Then she directed the person to put the couplet up.

They didn't have any relatives visiting them. When Kangxi sent the gifts to the capital, the people who returned brought back several boxes of things, all of which were gifts from his children.

However, they are either busy with other things or have too many personal matters to attend to, so they cannot come over and can only send the gifts along.

Since there's no need to visit relatives, the most important thing at home is preparing the New Year's Eve dinner.

During the day, Kangxi watched as the couplets were pasted up, while Yulan and the others watched as the house was thoroughly cleaned inside and out.

Mingxiu was busy preparing the menu for the New Year's Eve dinner. She had prepared a total of sixteen dishes, including steamed fish, braised pork, boiled shrimp, glutinous rice with eight treasures, braised pork ribs, boiled bok choy, and four-happiness meatballs.

Lunar New Year's Eve

Mingxiu had gathered everyone together early in the morning. Today, Mingxiu was dressed in a bright red dress and had a hairpin of the same color in her hair. Kangxi was dressed in a dark gold long robe with a black background and gold trim, and he looked extremely rich and noble.

Mingxiu smiled and looked at the people standing below: "Everyone has worked hard all year. Today is Lunar New Year's Eve. I wish you all a happy new year. Everyone will receive half a year's salary. I have had a lot of food prepared. There will be plenty of good wine and food tonight. I hope you all have a good time. There are also gifts prepared by me and the Emperor Emeritus. You can go and choose whichever one you like."

"Yes, thank you, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager and the Emperor Emeritus."

"Alright, everyone, eat and drink tonight. The Empress Dowager and the Emperor Emeritus will not keep you here any longer. Have fun! If you want to go out for a walk, just discuss the time with Yu Lan and the others. I will not restrict you."

After Mingxiu finished speaking, she dismissed the servants, leaving only Mingxiu and Kangxi in the pavilion.

"Happy New Year, Xuan Ye." Mingxiu looked at Kangxi with a smile.

Looking at the warm, smiling faces under the lamplight, Kangxi smiled knowingly: "Happy New Year, Mingxiu."