"The capital is different; they set off far more firecrackers than in Pingyang County."

"You bet, my ears are ringing from all the noise."

Inside the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion, Huo Xiaolong followed behind Cen Ang, along with a Zhanchenlou assassin of similar stature to the Empress, heading towards the palace.

Long'er said that on New Year's Eve, he would stay in the palace for one night in place of Xiao Lanhua and the Empress, and the price would be three hundred taels of silver per night.

These female assassins went crazy for it. All they had to do was sleep in a human skin mask, and besides, they could eat as many snacks as they wanted in the palace and get paid. What a great job!

Eunuch Wang received his first assignment at the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion: to go with his granddaughter to steal the Empress.

“Long’er, aren’t we going a bit too far with what we’re doing? After all, she’s the Empress.” Eunuch Wang said.

“Grandpa, we’ve already promised them. Besides, the Emperor hasn’t visited the Empress for a long time. Consort Xiao has been having Consort Wen keep him occupied these past few days, so he doesn’t have time to visit anyone else.”

Consort Wen has her flaws, and her tendency to look down on others is a bit excessive.

But when it comes to her son, this woman suddenly becomes incredibly obedient and docile.

Xiao Lanhua's sister-in-law is the elder sister of the Prince of Zhenbei. She and her son like that little girl and live together. Consort Wen is afraid that if she is disobedient, Ruyi will trip up Huanlu.

The Empress took her leave first, as she did every New Year's Eve. She couldn't drink, and she felt uncomfortable watching the ministers clinking glasses and exchanging insincere toasts.

Firecrackers crackled outside the palace, but the cold, quiet alleyways inside were eerily quiet.

"Your Majesty the Empress."

Wei Shuyi was sitting on the bed, just waiting for the palace maids to help her wash up, when she saw a head peeking out from the high roof.

"Prince Zhenbei, what are you doing here? Come down quickly, don't fall, the roof is slippery."

The Empress was a little anxious; she truly loved Hou Xiangxiang and her children.

Huo Xiaolong waved to her, then leaped down from above, followed by a woman wearing a queen's skin mask.

"We agreed today, I'd take you out to play. Look, I've brought you along."

Long'er stepped aside, revealing a face that looked exactly like the Empress's.

"This is a capital offense! Nonsense!"

The Empress scolded her verbally, but her body obediently lifted her leg and reached out her hand as Huo Xiaolong tied the rope for her.

"It's alright, the Emperor won't come. He'll drink himself into bed today."

Huo Xiaolong gave a wink to the assassin behind him, and the woman immediately got up and changed into the empress's dress.

His body gradually lifted into the air, with Cen Ang and Eunuch Wang pulling on the rope above.

When Wei Shuyi came up and saw that it was Cen Ang, she felt a little embarrassed. This aunt was the one who strictly followed the palace rules, so how could she be so indulgent towards the child?

"Aunt Cen."

Cen Ang nodded, not having time to exchange pleasantries with her, he reached out and hoisted the woman onto his shoulder, and the group followed Eunuch Wang, gathering their strength and running quickly out of the palace.

Once on the street, the empress was put down.

The sound of firecrackers rang in her ears, and at first the woman was startled.

But when she followed in the footsteps of the Prince of Zhenbei and his men, she was less afraid.

The woman looked up at the dazzling fireworks in the sky and reached out to touch them.

May Your Majesty have a blessed and auspicious Lunar New Year's Eve!

Before they knew it, the group had arrived at the Prince's mansion. Now, the girls had finished their meal and were preparing to go out for a stroll.

There are night markets in Beijing on New Year's Eve, and the streets are bustling with people. Hou Xiangxiang and Dani'er are waiting for Huo Xiaolong at the door.

"Is Miss Hou here too?" the Empress asked.

"Yes, we always spend the New Year together. Your Majesty, we want to go out for a stroll. Would you like to come with us?"

Wei Shuyi nodded.

"good."

Before they even left the alley, Da Ni'er put a mask on the Empress's face, just in case someone recognized her.

Hou Xiangxiang held her hand and helped her guess riddles, while Da Nier and Huo Xiaolong each bought her candied hawthorns and helped her win lanterns by tossing rings together.

Wei Shuyi felt that this was the happiest day of her life, even happier than when her sister was alive.

If only my sister were here.

As the Empress looked at the candied hawthorn in her hand, Xiao Lanhua's hearty laughter rang in her ears.

The woman turned her head and saw Xiao Lanhua walking with Ruyi and the others. Even though she was wearing a mask, Wei Shuyi could recognize her at a glance.

Having spent so much time together in the palace, who wouldn't recognize whom?

"Sister Shuyi is here too."

Outside the palace, no one would be foolish enough to address the other party as "Your Majesty," Xiao Lanhua said.

"Isn't Sister Lanhua here too?"

The empress spoke to her with a slightly aggressive tone the first time, which surprised the woman.

Then, Xiao Lanhua, with a grin, took Xiao An'an from Ruyi's arms. Wei Shuyi could tell from the lower half of her face that she had ill intentions.

"Sister Shuyi, isn't he handsome? He's my nephew."

Consort Xiao meant: Hehe, although neither of us has children, I have a brother and sister-in-law who are good to me, and I can play with their children as I please. Do you have any? You don't, but I do.

The Empress smiled in imitation of her, and with a flick of her wrist, she brought Hou Xiangxiang over. The little girl was still eating, looking at Wei Shuyi with a bewildered expression, somewhat puzzled.

"Sister Lanhua, look at my goddaughter, isn't she pretty?"

ah?

Huo Xiaolong looked completely bewildered.

Da Ni'er didn't say anything either.

Actually, the two of them were alright, but the most awkward thing was that Lady Hou was following behind them.

Lady Hou: My daughter suddenly has a godmother?

Hou Xiangxiang immediately understood what the two women were comparing, but mainly, she thought, "Your Majesty, I'm almost twenty. Is it really appropriate to compare myself to an infant?"

The little girl swallowed the last bite of the candied hawthorn, took her younger sister from her mother's arms, and handed her to the Empress.

He then spoke:

"Here, this is your goddaughter."

This was the first time the Empress had held a child. The woman's hands trembled slightly; she had lost all interest in arguing. She asked softly...

"The firecrackers are so loud outside, won't they scare her?"

"No, I often toss her around to play with, and she's so happy," the little girl said, somewhat smugly.

Upon hearing this, Lady Hou felt a sudden itch to touch her hand, and Xu Zheng, seeing this, quickly took her hand and said:

"You can't hit your child on New Year's Eve."

“That will cause injury,” the Queen retorted.

The little girl waved her hand and replied:

"It's alright, Long'er and Dani'er are right here, they won't let the child fall to the ground."

Wei Shuyi glanced at Huo Xiaolong, who was in the furthest circle of the house, and the Grassland King, who kept buying snacks. The Empress was a little worried about the boy.

Then the woman spoke:

"When you have time in the future, bring your sister to visit the palace more often."

“Alright, it just so happens that my mother is too busy to take care of her. When she has nothing to do, she can leave her with me and Sister Qiushui. From now on, I will bring her to the palace for you to play with every day, Your Majesty.”

This time, Huo Xiaolong didn't betray his best friend. Instead, he covered her mouth and said, "Sister, if you can't speak properly, then say less. Otherwise, I'm afraid you'll get beaten up before the Lantern Festival."

The Lady Hou's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

Xu Qiushui quickly tried to distract her.

Having a younger sister isn't easy either; she's always trying to break up fights.