On the morning of New Year's Eve, the inner courtyard of the Duke's mansion was already decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations. Li Shiyue even went out much earlier than usual.

As soon as she entered the courtyard of Shousong Hall, she saw Lianchun and the others in the corridor wearing newly tailored winter coats. When they saw Li Shiyue, they smiled and lifted the heavy curtain: "Please come in, Miss Li."

As soon as I stepped inside, I heard Madam Xu's laughter. She smiled and said as she walked, "I'm still late. I couldn't be the first to wish my maternal grandmother a Happy New Year."

Walking into the room and around the screen, I discovered that sitting next to Old Madam Xu was Madam Zhou, dressed in a bright red cloak.

She glanced at it with a smile, then curtsied and knelt on the cushion brought by the maid, saying with a beaming smile, "I wish my maternal grandmother a happy new year, may your heart be as steadfast as the Southern Mountain, and your life as long as the evergreen pine."

As soon as she finished speaking, she placed her hands on the hem of her dress, touched her forehead to the back of her hands three times, kowtowed three times, and then stood up.

"You, you, you actually say these things to make me happy."

Old Madam Xu pointed at her, her smile genuine. She took the item from the tray held by Granny Chang—a thing wrapped in red cloth—and personally handed it to her.

“It’s New Year’s Day, and this is the lucky money your maternal grandmother prepared for you. You received yours first this morning; your cousins ​​haven’t come over yet.”

"Thank you, maternal grandmother."

Li Shiyue accepted the gift with a smile, then turned to Zhou Shi and curtsied, saying, "Yan Yan wishes Aunt a Happy New Year and all the best."

Although Zhou was an elder, her current title was not high enough for her to kneel and pay her respects, so she only curtsied and slightly bent her knees.

Zhou didn't put on airs. She reached out to help him up and took the New Year's money, also wrapped in red cloth, from the old woman behind her: "I prepared it a long time ago. Yan Yan is the first one."

"Si Lang went out with the master early this morning and will be back soon. As for A Qing, she will come later. The Yang family's mistress is looking for her, and she can't get away for the time being."

"When I left, I specifically said that I would ask her grandmother to forgive me and that I would come over later to apologize to you."

Old Madam Xu had never cared about such trivial matters. She waved her hand and said, "Why are we talking like family? Does this child think her grandmother is senile? Let the younger generation play as they please."

"Make sure you have a good time and don't let the Yang family find any fault with you. This is also to save face for Aqing. If you do a good job now, people won't look down on our girl. She's your own girl, so you should take good care of her."

"Yes, our great-grandmother loved the children the most."

Zhou was all smiles, looking quite pleased with herself. She seemed comfortable with Xu Lingqing meeting the Yang family alone, suggesting that the person from the Yang family who came today was just their daughter.

Before they could exchange more than a few words, Xu Yunci and Xu Yunxu arrived. Naturally, they came in first to offer New Year's greetings to Old Madam Xu and Madam Zhou.

The Duke of Rongguo and Madam Yang arrived a little later. Li Shiyue got up and stepped aside, making room for Old Madam Xu, as the Duke of Rongguo and Madam Yang also wanted to pay their respects to Old Madam Xu for the New Year.

Before long, all the members of the fourth branch of the family arrived, and Madam Xu couldn't stop smiling as she looked at the large room full of people.

"Good, good, good. Grandma has prepared lucky money for you all this year. Good, good."

After she finished speaking, she called Xu Yunyao and Xu Lingqing over. Granny Chang came out from the inner room, carrying two identical wooden boxes in her hands, which looked quite heavy.

“I gave Yuan Niang five thousand taels for her marriage because she married the Crown Prince. I gave A Zi two thousand taels as usual for her marriage. You two siblings, one is getting engaged and the other is getting married, so I gave each of you two two thousand taels as my blessing for your future marriages.”

Old Madam Xu took the wooden box from Granny Chang's hands and placed it directly into the hands of the brother and sister. Before they could speak, she called out, "Erlang, Yan Yan, you two come here."

Li Shiyue and Xu Yunci knelt down and saw that Granny Chang had taken out two more wooden boxes, which were no different from the ones given to the four siblings earlier.

“Yan Yan has always lived at home, and even after her marriage, she will still live in the Duke’s mansion. Your maternal grandmother has prepared everything you need.”

"I'm giving it to both of you today. Erlang is the eldest son of the eldest branch of the family, so I'm adding a thousand taels for you. It's nothing much. You can decide whether to keep it for yourself or give it to your wife after you get married."

“Yan Yan is my granddaughter, and you are also my darling after you entered the household. Just like the other sisters in the household, I will also give you two thousand taels as a dowry.”

"Today is the New Year. The new year will pass quickly, and you two will get married. You've finally waited for this day. Good, good."

Madam Xu sat cross-legged on the heated couch, looking at the room full of younger generations. Apart from Xu Yunxu and Xu Yunbo, the marriages of the rest had been arranged.

"Grandma, this is too much..."

Before Li Shiyue could finish speaking, even her attempt to send it back was stopped by Old Madam Xu.

“Take what’s given to you. Even though you’re married into the family, your maternal grandmother will still love you just the same.”

Li Shiyue met Madam Xu's gaze, knelt beside Xu Yunci while holding the wooden box, and the two kowtowed together.

Madam Xu glanced at Xu Yunbo beside Madam Wei and Xu Yunxu beside Madam Yang: "You two don't need to rush. Grandmother has already made preparations. Once you two are engaged, Grandmother will give them to you. However, Sanlang is not young anymore, so it's time to make preparations as well."

After she finished speaking, she looked at the people in the room, and her lips hadn't fallen open all day.

Xu Huaiting glanced at Madam Wei, stood up and said, "I think so too. After all, I only have one son, Sanlang, and his bride should be of good character."

"My son is going to ask my elder sister-in-law for help with this matter. As you know, my husband and I don't have much contact with people in the capital. We really can't think of anyone else who can help us besides my elder sister-in-law."

“Those matchmakers talk a good game, but none of them are as good as our own family. Besides, my eldest sister-in-law is reliable and doesn’t care about family background; she just wants a girl with good character.”

Madam Yang did not agree immediately. After glancing at the reactions of Old Madam Xu and Duke Rong, she nodded in agreement: "Alright, I will first look at a few suitable families and send them to Third Uncle and Third Sister-in-law for their consideration. If they are suitable, we will discuss the next steps."

"The most important thing is that Sanlang himself likes it. He is often in the military camp now, so why not find a girl from a military family? They should be able to get along well."

If she is too quiet and reserved, she won't be able to handle things and will have the same character as Wei Shi. In that case, the third branch of the family probably won't be able to stand up. We still need to find someone more capable.

Xu Huaiting and Madam Wei hadn't thought that far ahead. They just felt that what Madam Yang said made a lot of sense. They glanced at Xu Yunbo, who remained silent, and nodded in unison.

Since the incident with Wei Yujie, Xu Yunbo's return to the manor this time lacked his previous enthusiasm, probably because he still harbored resentment towards the Wei family.