With a single imperial edict, the entire Earl's mansion fell silent.
Gu Chengyan was carried to the mulberry garden every day, where he and Guan Yingying stayed in the courtyard to recover from their injuries; Xie Xiangxiang was looking for Gu Chengyan's concubine, preparing to compete with Aunt Yue.
The old lady quietly recuperated at the Ci'en Nursing Home and dared not to torment Xie Zhaozhao anymore. She also understood that those who wanted to covet the dowry were dreaming; those who wanted her to take care of them while they were ill would only make them worse; and those who wanted to take advantage of her would find the fruit tasted worse than excrement.
For a while, no one came to Qingpu Courtyard to cause trouble.
Around the Lantern Festival, the imperial court lifted the curfew, and Xie Zhaozhao and Gu Shaoyu agreed to go to the lantern festival together.
At 1:00 PM, Mo Yan was keeping watch outside the Earl's residence. As soon as he saw Gu Shaoyu's carriage appear on the main street, he immediately ran back to Qingpu Courtyard to report.
Xie Zhaozhao dressed in a brocade robe, cloak, and hood, and led Yuan Yuan to wait at the main gate of the Earl's mansion.
Gu Shaoyu finished his court session, and Nanxing drove his carriage back. When he saw Xie Zhaozhao waiting for him at the door, he couldn't stay in the carriage any longer and immediately got off.
He took her hand and asked, "Why did you come out?"
Xie Zhaozhao said with a smile, "I can't wait."
With that one sentence, Gu Shaoyu's hand tightened, his eyes filled with something, and he reached out a finger to gently hook the tip of her nose, saying softly, "Me too..."
Gu Shaoyu took Xie Zhaozhao's hand and got into his carriage, which was still driven by Nanxing.
Yuan Yuan and the others boarded the next carriage, driven by Mo Yan.
Two carriages slowly moved along the street. Xie Zhaozhao looked outside through the veil, while Gu Shaoyu sat beside her, holding her hand.
The streets were bustling and lively, with people coming and going in a constant stream, and sedan chairs and horse-drawn carriages weaving through the streets.
Along the streets and alleys, people constantly hawked their wares, selling cosmetics, jewelry, books, and lanterns. In the garden pavilions along the street, various lanterns hung haphazardly, with riddles hanging on the signs beneath them.
Despite the earthquake and natural disaster last year, Dagan has been a prosperous city in recent years, thanks to its economic recovery. The bustling streets are a testament to this.
"The berries are ripe."
"Candy ball, candy ball!"
Seeing the two carrying straw mounds with strings of candied hawthorns stuck on them, Xie Zhaozhao immediately swallowed hard.
Gu Shaoyu immediately told Nanxing to stop the car.
"Go and buy a few strings of candied hawthorns."
Nanxing parked the car, bought four skewers, gave two to Xie Zhaozhao, and then gave two more to Yuanyuan.
Xie Zhaozhao looked at the small, round, red candy ball with a thin layer of brown sugar syrup.
She looked very eager and carefully took a bite.
It's sweet and sour, and very delicious.
Currently, sugar balls are made by dipping hawthorn berries in syrup, which quickly solidifies and becomes hard and brittle in winter.
It's called candied hawthorn, but it's not made from rock sugar; it's made from frozen candied hawthorn.
Xie Zhaozhao ate two pieces with satisfaction, her mouth watering.
She looked up and saw Gu Shaoyu looking at her. She quickly offered him a skewer of candy, but Gu Shaoyu shook his head, still looking at her.
Xie Zhaozhao gave him the one she had eaten before he ate it.
Xie Zhaozhao's eyes sparkled with a playful and delighted light, and the curve of her lips gradually widened, like a budding flower swaying gently in a breeze, revealing a set of pearly teeth that were neat and glossy.
Gu Shaoyu stared intently at her for a while, then leaned closer, wiped a drop of syrup from the corner of her mouth with his finger, and put it in his own mouth.
Xie Zhaozhao said embarrassedly, "I actually got some on my face? Don't eat it, it's not clean!"
"Sweet!" Gu Shaoyu looked at his fingers, not knowing what he meant by "sweet." "My fingers are perfectly clean."
He slowly chewed the syrup in his mouth for a while, then said in a serious tone, "Before the New Year, several young scholars from a certain place gathered with their beautiful concubines and maids to enjoy the snow at Huangjue Mountain, where two unpleasant things happened."
"We're all friends, how could we not be happy at a gathering?" Xie Zhaozhao replied while taking small bites of a candy ball.
"Yeah, it was pretty unpleasant."
Gu Shaoyu said that the candidates were all very young, some with beautiful concubines and some with personal maids.
There was also a talented young man named Wu Youren who rode a tall horse and went with his friend's sister to Kou Bian.
When everyone arrived at the courtyard where they were gathering on the mountaintop, as soon as the cars and horses stopped, everyone rushed to the outhouse to release the water. After returning, they discussed how to eat.
Everyone was tired and hungry after the long journey.
Qin, who organized the gathering, brought fresh snacks. Hearing that everyone was hungry, he happily took a basket of snacks out of his car and said, "Come on, let me distribute the snacks so everyone can have some peace of mind."
When everyone saw that he had come out of the latrine without washing his hands, they all suggested that his head maid distribute the urination.
Qin was a little embarrassed, so he asked the head maid who had been serving him all the way to distribute the food.
The maidservant didn't hesitate and readily accepted the basket, distributing snacks to everyone.
Everyone was starving, so they took the snacks and ate them with gusto, exclaiming how delicious they were.
Only Qin's coachman waved his hand and refused: "Young master, this servant is not hungry."
The head maid smiled and said, "How can you not be hungry after traveling all this way? Here, take this."
The driver reluctantly accepted the snacks, but didn't eat them.
The head maid said curiously, "Please eat, don't be shy. There's more if you finish, I'll get you some more."
The driver shook his head vigorously, not only refusing to eat, but also throwing the snacks down the hillside when no one was looking.
Wu Youren happened to see this and frowned, saying, "Your master painstakingly brought these pastries, which are the best pastries from the pastry shop, and you actually threw them away. What's the reason for that?"
His shouting was heard by several people, who accused him of having some dissatisfaction with his master.
Feeling deeply humiliated, Qin brandished his horsewhip and whipped him, demanding he explain why the pastries had been lost...
At this point, Gu Shaoyu looked at Xie Zhaozhao.
"What do you think is the reason?" Gu Shaoyu asked.
Xie Zhaozhao blinked and asked tentatively, "Not clean?"
Gu Shaoyu silently moved a little further away from Xie Zhaozhao, revealing the answer.
"The coachman had no choice but to tell the truth—you only saw the master touch her once, but the head maid touched her all the way!"
Xie Zhaozhao stopped eating the candy ball in surprise, and looking at Gu Shao's serious face, she suddenly blushed.
She picked up a cushion from the floor and threw it at him, gritting her teeth as she said, "Gu, Shao, Yu!"
Gu Shaoyu suppressed a chuckle, shielding his face and head with his arm, causing the pillow to be knocked aside.
The two were playfully fighting inside when Nanxing suddenly asked from the front, "Is there one more unpleasant thing?"
Xie Zhaozhao paused, about to continue hitting him, then suddenly let out a muffled laugh, her shoulders shaking like leaves in the wind!
Gu Shaoyu's face darkened, and he said through the carriage curtain, "Nanxing, remember, starting tomorrow, you and Beichen will switch shifts!"
Nanxing's grin instantly shut up.
Xie Zhaozhao couldn't hold back any longer and laughed until her stomach hurt. Seeing her laughing like that, Gu Shaoyu had no choice but to take the candy ball for her, and his own expression softened.
After laughing for a while, Xie Zhaozhao thought of poor Nanxing, pressed her chest lightly, and said to Gu Shaoyu, "Tell me quickly, what's the other unpleasant thing?"
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