Hearing the footsteps, everyone guessed who it was.
"Auntie!"
Sui Sui broke free from Su Nan's hand and went out to greet him.
Seeing Su Nan's alarmed expression, everyone in the room burst into laughter.
Qiuju smiled and went to the door to greet him. Su Jin glared at Su Nan and said, "You're a boy, you have to give way to the girl. The proper etiquette between ruler and subject is essential."
The curtain was lifted, and a pretty little face popped in with a grin.
"Sui Sui, your little aunt misses you."
"Sister Yue'er, you're here too."
"Greetings, Princess!"
"Greetings, Princess."
"Ahem, everyone's here! No need for formalities, we're all family, don't stand on ceremony." Chang Le smiled broadly at everyone in the room.
With his elder brother by his side, Su Nan also pretended to stand up and bow. Usually, when he met Chang Le in front of the academy, he would just give her a perfunctory bow.
Upon hearing Chang Le say that there was no need for formalities, he immediately sat down again.
Following Chang Le in was Jing'er, who was carrying a cloth bag that looked quite heavy.
Sui Sui pulled Chang Le's hand and tried to sit down next to her mother.
Chang Le said, "Wait a little longer each year, I'll bring you New Year's money."
Jing'er hurriedly handed over the cloth bag.
"Auntie, the New Year's money is given on New Year's Eve. It's too early to give it to me now."
Chang Le took the cloth bag, widened her eyes, and rummaged through it to find a purse that was twice the size of a regular purse.
“Sui Sui, take this. My brother said I’m not allowed to leave the palace tonight. I was thinking of going to the street to see the lion dance, but I can’t.”
"Thank you, Auntie, this New Year's money is too heavy."
Sui Sui was holding a heavy purse, unsure where to put it. He had two packets of poison for self-defense in his pants pocket.
Ever since that incident, he has carried the poison packet with him every time he changes clothes, without fail, only leaving it by his side when he sleeps at night.
Seeing that he was struggling to carry her, Jiang Shuyue pointed to the coffee table, and Sui Sui went over and placed her on the coffee table.
Chang Le took another one and stuffed it into Su Nan's hand, "Here, since you haven't angered me lately, you get one too."
“You, I’m not a child anymore, why would I want New Year’s money? Besides, you’re younger than me, how can I… let the princess spend money?”
Su Nan's face flushed red, and under the pressure of her older brother's gaze, she swallowed back the words she was about to say.
"You're so boring. I'll just give it to you, why don't you just take it? Is money too hot to handle?"
Seeing her aunt's cheeks puffing out, Su Jin gently kicked Su Nan's shin, "Why are you talking so much nonsense? The princess told you to take it, so take it. Hurry up and thank Her Highness."
"Thank you, Your Highness. I am unworthy of such a favor."
Under the intimidating gaze of his elder brother, Su Nan had no choice but to obediently cup his hands in thanks.
Seeing the two bickering lovers looking at each other, Jiang Shuyue covered her mouth with her sleeve and chuckled.
Chang Le walked towards her, and Jiang Shuyue patted the seat next to her, "Chang Le, sit down quickly, lunch will be served soon."
"No rush, everyone who sees it will receive a gift. My elder sister said it's never wrong to be generous with gifts, so I've prepared gifts for all of you."
Before Jiang Shuyue could react, a purse was already stuffed into her bosom.
Seeing that Chang Le hadn't taken a seat, Su Jin stood next to Su Nan.
Seeing Chang Le walk towards him, he readily accepted the purse with both hands, and respectfully bowed, saying, "Thank you, Your Highness, for your expense."
Su Nan: "..."
Brother, you're accepting a young girl's tip? Don't you have any integrity left?
It's unbearable to look at.
"Lord Su, you're too kind. I often come to the Su residence for meals. Consider it payment for my meals."
"This, Your Highness is too understanding of this humble subject." Su Jin's lips twitched violently, but he pretended to be calm as he accepted the purse.
Although his salary was less than that of a first-rank minister, it was more than enough to support his family in the capital without him having to buy a house.
It was naturally difficult to refuse a princess's reward. Su Jin looked up and saw that the other people in the room had strange expressions.
The older sister held her teacup and drank her tea with her head down, while Su Nan looked at her as if she were a fool.
Only Sui Sui played with the purse in front of her.
Chang Le slipped two purses into Qiu Ju's hand, saying, "Here, the other one is for Guard Gao."
"Thank you for your generous gift, Your Highness. I wish you a happy new year in advance."
Qiuju accepted the gift without hesitation and bowed respectfully.
Chang Le returned the rest, along with the cloth bag, to Jing'er.
“We often come here and cause trouble for the servants in the manor. Give all of this to Steward Du and ask him to distribute it among everyone.”
Jing'er accepted the order and left. Chang Le, like a butterfly, gracefully sat down next to Jiang Shuyue.
"Auntie, try these pastries your second uncle just bought." Sui Sui thoughtfully pushed the plate towards Chang Le.
Qiuju added a teacup, and Jiang Shuyue picked up the teapot and personally poured a cup of tea for Chang Le, saying, "Chang Le, please have a sip of this beauty-enhancing tea first."
Chang Le took the tea and sipped it. "Sister Yue'er, this beauty tea has a subtle sweetness, it's very delicious. Next time I go to the Jiang residence, will you still brew this tea?"
Whenever Chang Le visited the Su residence, Su Nan would simply brew her a couple of chrysanthemum teas to entertain her.
Such delicious tea, with such a unique name—she could guess with her toes that the recipe must be from Sister Yue'er.
"No problem, I'll teach you how to make various health-preserving teas when I have time."
Chang Le picked up a piece of pastry and put it in her mouth, her phoenix eyes crinkling with laughter. "Okay, okay, I like learning to brew tea. Reading those damn books every day is so boring."
The meal was still served at two separate tables. Chang Le hadn't had Juxian Pavilion's honey-roasted goose in a long time, and she was very satisfied with the meal.
The Su family didn't have many servants, and everyone was overjoyed to receive the princess's generous reward.
After the meal, they drank tea for a while. Jiang Shuyue, fearing that she would delay Su Jin's official business, got up to take her leave.
Chang Le, holding Sui Sui's hand, said to Jiang Shuyue, "Sister Yue'er, you go ahead first. I'll return to the palace an hour later. We'll meet again another day."
"Okay, see you another day." Jiang Shuyue patted her son's head and waved to Chang Le.
As Du Qi saw the master and servant out, Su Nan placed two purses in front of Sui Sui, saying, "Sui Sui, please accept these. Your second uncle has no money, so I'm just offering them to you."
One of the pouches was given to him by Jiang Shuyue. Su Nan felt embarrassed for his older brother when he remembered how he readily accepted the pouch.
"Okay, I'll keep them all. I'll give them to you every year when my second uncle gets married."
Sui Sui didn't stand on ceremony; she grabbed three purses and ran back to her bedroom.
"Who taught you to say that?"
Seeing the sharp look in Chang Le's eyes, Su Nan rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I didn't teach her."
“Su Nan, you are not even old enough to be married yet. You should study hard like your older brother and pass the imperial examinations. Don’t think about getting married every day at such a young age.”
When Chang Le reprimands someone, he acts like an elder.
"Xiao Yun, don't push your luck. When have I ever been thinking about getting married every day? Don't slander me and ruin my reputation."
Su Nan immediately reacted like a lit firecracker, calling Chang Le by her maiden name and completely forgetting the etiquette between ruler and subject that his elder brother often reminded him of.
"Tsk tsk tsk! How strange, when did Young Master Su start caring about his reputation?"
"You, I'm talking about reputation!"
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