Chapter 144 I'm getting impatient
On the day of the Lantern Festival, every household hangs lanterns at their doorsteps early in the morning, and some wealthy families even have their courtyards brightly lit.
As in previous years, the Lu family gathered in the main courtyard, eating glutinous rice balls while watching the servants light up the lanterns in the courtyard one by one.
Later that evening, Lu Erge was going to take his children to Tianjie to see the lantern festival, and Lu Ersao was still trying to persuade her younger sister to go with them later.
When Lü Ruxin didn't respond, her nephew and niece ran over and grabbed her hands, acting coquettishly.
She hugged the two children and said with a smile, "Instead of bothering me here, you might as well go and coax Grandpa and Grandma to come along. Your aunt will go with you then."
Mother Lü scolded, "You're always full of tricks. Your father and I are not going to see the lanterns with you. You only tricked us into going to the lantern festival so that we would help watch these two little ones."
"Mother sees through things but doesn't say anything; she really doesn't give her sister-in-law any face at all."
After Lü Ruxin finished speaking, the whole family laughed.
At this moment, the steward walked in from outside, went to Mr. Lü's side, and whispered, "Master, the eldest daughter has just arrived."
The smile on Mr. Lü's face faded slightly, but his tone was not as intense as it had been a few days ago: "Where is he?"
"The gatekeeper said that the young lady did not allow anyone to announce her arrival, saying that the master and madam were probably too busy to see her today. She kowtowed three times at the door and then left."
"What does Ru Hui mean by this?" Mother Lü also heard the steward's words, and her expression changed.
"What else could it mean? She's just upset that we didn't see her last time." Although he said that, for some reason, Mr. Lü felt a little uneasy.
His eldest daughter has never been so yielding before. Could it be that something has happened to her?
He said to the steward, "Call the gatekeeper here."
"Yes." Not long after the steward left, he returned with the gatekeeper of the Lü residence. The gatekeeper had an honest face and looked rather flustered.
Father Lü asked gently, "Did Ru Hui say anything else?"
The gatekeeper hesitated for a moment before saying, "I saw that the young lady had been standing outside the gate, so I said that the master should be free today, so why don't we just come in and see her? But she shook her head and said that she didn't want to disturb the peace of the house. When she left, I vaguely heard her say that she would never say such a thing again."
After hearing the gatekeeper's words, Mr. Lü's expression softened, and he felt that his eldest daughter had finally realized her mistake.
He waved to the gatekeeper: "Alright, go down now."
After the gatekeeper left, Madam Lü said with displeasure, "If it weren't for you, how could Ru Hui have refused to come in today? What kind of father are you?"
"Alright, it seems this girl knows she was wrong. If you want to see her, just go see her in a couple of days."
Mother Lü glanced at him and asked, "You're not stopping me this time?"
Mr. Lü coughed lightly and ignored her.
As Lü Ruxin listened to her parents' words, her expression darkened. She thought to herself, "As expected of Lü Ruhui, she really knows how to manipulate people's hearts. She even used such a method to soften my father's heart."
After leaving the Lü family, Lü Ruhui walked along the brightly lit street towards the Liu residence.
There were many people on the road today, mostly parents with their children. They had finished their meals early and went to Tianjie to see the lanterns.
Lu Ruhui walked past passersby, and many people only realized that someone had just passed by when they smelled the fragrance.
When they arrived at the Liu family's residence, it was just past dusk. The Liu family's gate was open, and the steward was standing at the door, looking out from time to time, as if waiting for someone.
When she got closer, the butler seemed to finally notice her and hurriedly stepped forward, his attitude extremely respectful: "Madam, you've arrived."
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
"Madam, you flatter me. Please come in. Master has been waiting for you in the courtyard and hasn't even eaten yet."
Lü Ruhui responded, but did not point out the inappropriate way of addressing the housekeeper, and went straight to the main courtyard.
The steward followed behind, thinking to himself that the mansion had become lifeless during the time the madam was away. Fortunately, the master had come to his senses after the New Year and knew how to coax her back.
Although there were many rumors circulating outside, saying that the lady was infertile but refused to step down, as the steward of the Liu family, he could see clearly that the master and lady were both willing to give and receive.
A man like their master would rather adopt a child than take a concubine. If he doesn't have true feelings for his wife, then there are probably very few truly sincere people in the world.
Life was fine until the adopted young master caused this trouble. Hopefully, they can clear things up soon. Since Madam came today, she must be giving Master a chance, right?
As Lü Ruhui entered the main courtyard, she saw many lanterns hanging there, and even the style and position of the lanterns were similar to those of last year.
Each lantern also has a riddle written on it.
Judging from the characters above, they should all have been written by Liu Xiangze himself.
She looked at them curiously one by one, and after looking at five, she only guessed three of the riddles correctly.
Just as she was about to continue reading, Liu Xiangze came out carrying two lanterns. With just one glance, Lü Ruhui's gaze was drawn to the two lanterns.
Liu Xiangze was holding a pair of revolving lanterns, with silhouettes of a man and a woman painted on the lantern tubes inside. They were reading, writing, eating, and doing ordinary things.
He handed one of the lanterns to Lü Ruhui and said to her, "This is my first time making lanterns, so I'm a little clumsy. Just make do with it."
It's rare to see him so insecure about himself.
Lü Ruhui took the lantern and held it in front of her. The lamp tube inside slowly rotated, which was quite interesting.
Although this revolving lantern isn't as exquisite as those sold outside, it's still quite well-made for a beginner.
"It's very pretty, I like it a lot."
Liu Xiangze smiled and said, "I'm glad you like it."
He glanced at the sky and suggested, "Shall we go for a stroll through the lantern festival?"
In previous years, he didn't like to join in the fun, but Lü Ruhui did, and would occasionally drag him along.
"I'm not going, there are too many people."
"Well..." He racked his brains, not knowing what to say to make her stay longer.
She used to talk and he would listen. But when it was his turn to talk, he realized how difficult it was to find a common topic.
"I heard from the housekeeper that you haven't eaten yet?" Lü Ruhui interrupted him and asked.
Liu Xiangze paused for a moment, then nodded: "We haven't had a meal yet, why don't we eat together?"
"I've already eaten."
A hint of disappointment flashed across Liu Xiangze's face, and then he heard her say, "Have someone set out the meal. I've told you so many times to eat on time, so you don't get a stomach ache from hunger."
"I know, it won't happen again." Liu Xiangze solemnly replied and hurriedly instructed the servants to prepare the meal.
Soon after, the butler brought over the food and drinks.
Liu Xiangze doesn't usually drink alcohol, but today he suddenly felt like drinking.
Lu Ruhui hung the revolving lantern on the shelf next to her and sat down at the table to keep him company.
Seeing that she really refused to eat a single bite, Liu Xiangze didn't try to persuade her anymore, picked up his chopsticks, and started eating.
Lu Ruhui sat quietly, and when she looked up, she saw that a few sprigs of winter plum blossoms had been inserted into a vase in the corner at some point.
She stared at the winter plum blossoms for a long time before looking away.
Liu Xiangze only put down his chopsticks after finishing the last grain of rice in the bowl.
He then poured himself a glass of wine and drank it all in one gulp. The spicy liquid made his expression look a little strange.
"Don't you dislike drinking?"
She still remembers that on their wedding day, Liu Xiangze drank the nuptial wine with a forced expression.
At the time, she thought that Liu Xiangze was dissatisfied with her. Later, she discovered that he never drank alcohol, not even when he was having a banquet with his colleagues.
"It's not that I don't like it, it's just that I get drunk too easily." After just one glass of wine, Liu Xiangze's face and ears turned red, and then he drank another glass.
"You got drunk after just two drinks?"
"It takes four cups to get drunk." Liu Xiangze held up three fingers. Lü Ruhui couldn't help but find it amusing. It seemed he really was a little drunk; his alcohol tolerance was truly terrible.
"Why do you suddenly want to drink today?" she asked curiously.
Because he had been drinking, he was able to say things he would never have been able to say before.
Liu Xiangze remained silent for a while, not answering the question, but instead asking her, "That day when I apologized to you, you said you forgave me, is that true?"
Lu Ruhui slowly shifted her gaze from him, forcing a smile onto her face: "...It's true."
"If...you really forgive me, could you give me another chance?" he said earnestly to Lü Ruhui.
Because of the alcohol, his eyes were a little red, and he even spoke more bluntly.
"What opportunity?"
He said, "Give me another chance to marry you."
Just as Lü Ruhui was about to speak, he added, "I know you're disappointed in me. I said the wrong thing and did the wrong thing, but I promise it won't happen again."
As he spoke, he raised his hand as if to make a vow.
Lü Ruhui smiled but did not answer.
After drinking, Liu Xiangze became exceptionally stubborn, as if he was determined to get an answer from her before he would give up.
After being questioned by him for a long time, Lü Ruhui finally said, "Let me think about it."
"How long will it take you to consider this?" Liu Xiangze pressed.
Lu Ruhui lowered her head and thought for a moment, then said, "Tomorrow, when you're sober, if you still remember what you said, come and ask me, and I'll tell you the answer."
"Okay." Liu Xiangze nodded solemnly. "I'll come find you tomorrow."
Looking at Liu Xiangze, whose face was flushed and whose eyes were glazed, Lü Ruhui said to him, "Let me help you back to your room to rest."
Liu Xiangze obediently followed her into the inner room and said in a muffled voice, "Ruhui, your hands are a little cold."
"Because it's cold."
"Really? But your hands were always warm in the winters before."
"This year is different."
"oh……"
He lay back down on the bed, and Lü Ruhui helped him take off his boots and covered him with a blanket. Before falling asleep, he held her hand and asked, "Ruhui, will you say yes to me tomorrow?"
"Go to sleep."
Soon, the sound of his even breathing filled the room.
Although he has a very low alcohol tolerance, he becomes very obedient when drunk.
Lu Ruhui sat on the edge of the bed, looking at his peaceful sleeping face.
She had been looking at this face since she was young, and more than a decade had passed in the blink of an eye, yet he hadn't changed much.
Lu Ruhui touched his cheek with her cold hand and smiled, but sadly she would never see it again.
But habits are easy to break. Just like her, during the time of her divorce, she wasn't used to waking up every night to find no one beside her.
But I eventually got used to it.
Liu Xiangze will get used to it eventually.
Changpingfang
After lighting all the lanterns in the house, Achan went back inside and changed into a new set of clothes.
The upper body is a red padded jacket embroidered with gold thread auspicious patterns, with snow-white rabbit fur trimmed on the collar and sleeves. The lower body is a snow-white long skirt with red plum blossoms embroidered on the hem, which is both warm and festive.
When the knocking sounded, she was still sitting in front of her dressing table, fixing her hair.
She ignored the person outside the door and went to look at the golden plum blossom hairpin she had chosen that day in front of the mirror. The more she looked at it, the more she liked it.
thump thump thump...
After a while, there were three more knocks on the door, one after the other.
Achan then turned around to open the door.
The door opened, and the lanterns hanging on the porch swayed gently. Bai Xiuming, dressed in a black brocade robe and wearing a black cloak, stood outside the door.
When Achan saw him, her eyes immediately curved into a smile.
Bai Xiuming gazed intently at A Chan, and as she smiled radiantly, he extended his hand to her: "I wonder if I have the honor of inviting you, young lady, to enjoy the lanterns together?"
"Okay." Ah Chan's soft little hand slipped into his palm and was held by him.
After the two left the house, Achan's voice could be faintly heard.
"Why are you so late? I've been waiting anxiously."
Although she changed her clothes and styled her hair beautifully while waiting, she was very anxious.
Bai Xiuming chuckled, "It's my fault. I'll definitely come earlier next time."
"Okay, I forgive you."
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