With the New Year approaching, there has been no news about the beauties sent from Binzhou.

Nothing good happened to Fan Tongwen either.

Huan Yue then quietly went about his life.

The end of the year is very busy; the emperor can't take care of his eldest grandson, but Huan Yue still has to look after him.

Before the New Year, a heavy snow fell, and little Xie Yi, bundled up like a ball, sat at the door watching the snow fall outside.

Yan Boxuan yelled and told his younger brother to go play in the snow.

This time, Jiulang will have to beat him up. The eldest nephew is different from the eldest grandnephew. The eldest nephew sits there so composed. When he gets a little older, he'll look like the emperor.

Yan Boxuan didn't care what his cousin looked like; he just felt it wasn't convenient for his cousin to play, so he played with his uncles instead.

Hachiro and Juro were rolling around in the snow.

Xie Yi watched with great interest and showed no envy; he just found it fun.

Huan Yue returned, picked up the child and kissed him, then went inside and took off his coat. Layer upon layer.

Only when they take their clothes off inside are they truly beautiful children.

The child needs his mother's help to change clothes.

Huan Yue stood to the side, and something seemed off.

Chaoyun suddenly remembered: "Has Your Highness's time passed?"

Huan Yue nodded: "Let's talk about it after the New Year."

Chaoyun thought, "Shouldn't we call the imperial physician now? Being too busy during the New Year isn't good for the children."

However, Huan Yue is alright. With Wen Miao and Guo Bing helping her, she seems to be slacking off when she comes back to spend time with the children.

Little Xie looked at his mother.

Huan Yue picked him up and cleaned him up.

The child has forgotten that mothers are the best.

Chaoyun should remember that it's good that Your Majesty is pregnant now. She should have more children while she's still young and listen to less nonsense.

Huan Yue had already figured it out, so he didn't mince words.

Chaoyun was also very composed. She went to greet Xiuyun and let Xiangnu see what was going on. She should be able to tell.

Xiuyun also felt there was no rush, as the Empress knew what was going on.

The Chang family also had a share in this year's banquet.

In Anxingfang, He Shuiying and Jing Wei were both extremely busy.

The banquet was reserved for the Earl of Fumin, Lady Anle, the Chang family (including Chang Dalang and Chang Erlang), all of whom were close relatives; others were not qualified.

Deng Fang and Yu Yan didn't argue at all. They'd been to the palace, and that was that. They still had to live their own lives.

The group was busy preparing for Madam Anle's New Year celebrations, and they also had to prepare for the other people's New Year celebrations.

There are many people in Sheng'an, and there will probably be just as many people coming to Sheng'an for the Spring Festival in the future, so we will prepare more and more.

Jing Wei is the busiest.

He Shuiying is taking care of her grandson. Chang Xiaozhong is doing quite well.

The palace maid then said to Lady Anle, "Some people have sharp tongues and always have to say this and that. Let them talk."

He Shuiying nodded. She ignored everyone who said it.

Regardless of whether they say nice things or not, it's mostly for their own purposes. Just don't listen.

A village woman overheard: "The Kingdom of Da Shi and the Kingdom of Wu Nu sent eight hundred beauties, leaving only three hundred in the palace. Pingkang Ward sold one hundred, and everyone is praising how wonderful those beauties are. Isn't this waste of money and lust a bad thing?"

The palace maid nodded: "They've forgotten how the Duke of Cheng's family died. The beauties were just spoils of war, not necessities. How dare a group of people still have the nerve to do this?"

The village woman nodded: "I've never seen them farming, I've never seen them fighting, and I've never seen them do well in school. All they care about is having fun."

The palace maids felt that if this continued, Pingkangfang would be doomed.

He Shuiying had no say in the matter. She only cared about her own son, and now that she had a son, she didn't need to think about taking a concubine.

Why would ordinary people take concubines? Why would they send their own daughters to be someone else's concubines? These are all bad things.

He Shuiying felt that sons and daughters were all the same, so even if she didn't have a son, she wouldn't be allowed to take a concubine.

If things go well, great; if not, we'll divorce. No chaos or disorder at home.

Outside the gate, someone looked at the Chang family and sneered.

Chang Ziyan was too lazy to bother with those things.

He didn't get any benefits from the Chang family, yet he can still put on a show. They're all scoundrels.

Although there are many families in this world besides the Chang family, such as the Zhang family and the Li family, what others do does not affect the Chang family.

We, the Chang family, are just farmers; we don't play those games.

Chang Zhuan pulled Chang Ziyan aside: "Could this banquet also be a trap?"

Chang Ziyan said, "It's about the same. So, it's better not to go."

Chang Zhuan said, "If you can go, then go. Don't be polite with those people. We'll just stay home and guard our place."

Although this family doesn't expect them to guard it, their main concern is protecting themselves.

Chang Rui was very busy. He visited Sheng'an University Hall and then went to several other academies.

Baishi Village started doing these things a long time ago, but the few educated people in Baishi Village need to prepare, because this is the foundation for a century-old enterprise.

Yongjiafang and Changchun Temple.

The thick snow meant we finally didn't have to work.

Taihua Zhenren, Taiqing Zhenren, Changqing Zhenren, and several others gathered together.

They've only given them this much charcoal; if they separate it, it won't keep them warm. If they burn it all at once, they'll freeze.

There was nothing wrong with them gathering together; Master Taihua could focus on his cultivation in peace.

Taiqing Zhenren didn't take it seriously, but she still wanted to warm her heart.

Master Changqing thought and thought, but didn't have much to say.

Master Taiqing could tell just by looking at it that someone was trying to provoke him. But how much could they possibly achieve?

With a legitimate son now in the Crown Prince's palace, his position is very secure.

Master Changqing was thinking, "What if?" Huan Yue wasn't actually that great; Master Changqing was far more capable than her.

Taiqing Zhenren thought to himself, "The Crown Prince is Xie Zhou, and the Crown Princess is Huan Yue."

Master Changqing asked, "Didn't the Duke of Qi come to see you? Didn't Yan Shu come to see you either?"

Taiqing Zhenren said, "I'm perfectly fine, why would I need to see me? Xie Yu and Yan Shu at least have the palace's approval."

Master Changqing asked, "Didn't Yan Luan miss you either?"

Master Taihua remained silent. And what about Yan Luan? She's still young; some people can lie low for thirty years.

Whoever wins in the end is the winner. Master Taihua has plenty of opportunities.

Master Changqing scoffed. "What chance? Yan Boxuan never even thinks of you. They're the ones who've gained favor."

Master Taihua said, "My children are doing well, so I have no worries."

Taiqing Zhenren remained silent. She wanted to have another son, or even a daughter.

Master Changqing sighed, "Consort Xing was able to give birth to another daughter. Why didn't she come looking for revenge on you?"

Taiqing Zhenren said, "She doesn't have that ability."

Barely able to maintain a foothold in the palace, yet dares to cause trouble?

The palace maids neither agreed nor disagreed.

Snowy days are quite beautiful; once the snow melts, spring will arrive.

Next spring, everyone wants to plant more corn and peanuts.

The food grown at Changchun Temple doesn't taste very good, but it's still edible. Don't be too picky.

Someone else came looking for us.

The eunuch carried a large package and presented it to Master Changqing.

Master Changqing was speechless. She was useless. She had no impact on the Wu Prince's Mansion.

Master Taihua is watching; she'd better just dig her own grave.

Changqing Zhenren didn't want to die. In fact, life at Changchun Temple was quite good, and her son would grow up soon.

The palace maids watched from the side.

Master Changqing no longer wanted to do anything. He would think about it occasionally, but doing it was too much trouble.

Getting anything done at Changchun Temple is too much of a hassle. None of the palace maids or eunuchs are easy to deal with.

The palace maids are waiting for the new year, when the eldest grandson of the emperor will be grown up and can be brought to farm.

Xie's Restaurant finally opened, and King Zheng and Duke Qi served as waiters.

Most people didn't see anything special about it; they were all focused on the banquet to be held in the palace.