The fireworks at the princess's mansion lasted for about half an hour before they stopped.
There is a custom of staying up all night on New Year's Eve, so the eldest princess suggested playing mahjong in Lanhe Hall to kill time.
Yun Xiangye had never played the popular card game in Chang'an City. She just watched Gu Yan, his parents, and grandmother play.
After watching two or three games, Yun Xiangye had a rough understanding of the rules.
After three consecutive rounds, Mrs. Gu won every time.
Madam Gu also knew that the three younger generations were trying to cheer her up. She yawned and said, "It seems I'm getting old. It's not even midnight yet and I'm already feeling sleepy. Ah Xiang, come and play with me. I'm going back to the courtyard first."
Yun Xiangye whispered, "I'm afraid I won't fight well."
Xie Zhixuan chuckled and said, "It's okay, just some family fun to pass the time."
Yun Xiangye sat down where Madam Gu stood up, waiting for the maid to deal the cards.
Yun Xiangye took the cards in his hand, looked at them, and smiled gently.
Gu Yan came close to Yun Xiangye and wanted to see the cards. Yun Xiangye quickly hid the cards and said, "Don't look at my cards."
Gu Yan whispered, "I'm just teaching you how to play. You look at me as if I can win your money. Aren't our money and yours one and the same?"
Yun Xiangye thought that their money was one before, but it was not the same now.
Xie Zhixuan smiled softly and said to Gu Yan, "Let Xiangye play by herself. You are not allowed to peek."
Yun Xiangye looked at the cards several times and felt that the cards in her hand were excellent. She was also worried that it was because she was not very good at playing cards, but after just one round, she actually won three games, and she couldn't help but feel happy.
After a few rounds, Yun Xiangye had a pile of silver coins in front of her.
Gu Yan frowned and looked at Yun Xiangye and said, "You really didn't know how to play the leaf trick before?"
Yun Xiangye said, "No."
If Gu Yan hadn't seen Yun Xiangye play mahjong in the past three years, he would have thought that she was playing dumb and that Yun Xiangye won every round.
"Sister-in-law, you won so much?"
Gu Jingyu came over with a piece of paper and said, "This is the family tree of my relatives that I just drew for you. There are also some in-laws between noble families. The nobles in Chang'an are more or less related to each other."
Yun Xiangye took the Gu family relatives' drawing that Gu Jingyu had made. It was very clear and distinct. She smiled and said, "Jingyu, I'll give you all the silver I just won. Thank you for helping me draw the picture to clarify the relationship between the relatives."
Xie Zhixuan frowned as she looked at Gu Yan across from her. "You haven't told me about Xiangye's family's relatives yet? And you even asked your sister to draw a picture to tell me?"
Gu Yan whispered: "I..."
Gu Yan had no choice but to lower his head, not daring to look at Xie Zhixuan's eyes.
Xie Zhixuan sighed softly, "You! Forget it, I won't talk about you during the New Year, and I won't play cards anymore. Go help Xiangye sort out these relatives at home."
Gu Yan readily responded, "Yes, mother."
Yun Xiangye and Gu Yan returned to Qingfeng Garden, and Nuonuo was already fast asleep.
Yun Xiangye sat on the small couch and looked at the picture drawn by Gu Jingyu.
The Gu family does not have many relatives, except for one aunt, who is the wife of General Yuan.
Gu Yan has quite a few uncles, but his family has already split up, and his uncles are considered to be side branches. He no longer interacts with these uncles except for major events.
There is also the Duke of Weiguo’s Mansion, which is the maiden family of Gu Yan’s grandmother, so the relationship is not distant.
The other relatives are those from Gu Yan’s mother’s side, all of whom are royal relatives.
Yun Xiangye was stunned when she saw the relationship on the picture. "Gu Yan, your aunt and your uncle are married? How can they get married?"
Gu Yan said, "Didn't I tell you that my aunt was born after my grandmother left the late emperor? Uncle Xiang is my mother's half-brother, and my aunt is my mother's half-sister. Uncle Xiang and my aunt are not related by blood, so it's fine for them to get married."
Yun Xiangye found it a bit confusing, but after thinking it over carefully, she realized that they could indeed get married: "So... are you my aunt or my uncle?"
"Since I was little, my uncle has always called me uncle, and my aunt has always called me aunt."
Yun Xiangye looked at the intricate web of relationships in the diagram. It really wasn't something that could be sorted out in a day. "Yesterday, when I accompanied you to the ancestral hall to worship your ancestors, I saw that your grandfather's generation seemed to have five brothers. How come your fifth grandfather's lineage has no children? I don't see any of his descendants in the family tree."
If a person has no offspring during his lifetime, the clan should arrange for an adopted son.
At that time, Yun Xiangye's father passed away early, and the uncles and aunts of the Yun family wanted to have her cousin adopted by her father.
It was because Yun Xiangye promised her uncles and aunts that she would only marry a son-in-law after she established a daughter-in-law household, that she did not have an extra younger brother.
In Gu Yan's family, it is a bit strange that his grandfather's fifth brother has no adopted son.
Gu Yan covered Yun Xiangye's mouth and said, "Don't mention Fifth Grandfather at home."
Gu Yan made a silencing gesture towards Yun Xiangye, "So it's taboo to mention my fifth grandfather at home."
Yun Xiangye couldn't believe that Gu Yan's family had such a secret. "And this part isn't right either. Isn't Princess Ningxiang the daughter of the King of Chu? Why did Jingyu write that Princess Ningxiang is the daughter of Shengkuang, the Minister of Rites?"
Gu Yan said, "The aunt of the Prince of Chu was also married for the second time. Sister Ningxiang was originally the daughter of Shengkuang. After Shengkuang divorced his second aunt, my second aunt took Sister Ningxiang to marry my second uncle. The Empress had no daughter, so His Majesty and the Empress adopted Sister Xiangxiang as their adopted daughter, gave her the surname Zhao and the title of Princess."
Yun Xiangye said, "I never thought that Zhao Jing's mother was also married to Prince Chu for the second time?"
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