Chapter 83 Chapter 83 Birthday

Chapter 83 Chapter 83 Birthday

The first day of August is a sunny day.

This was the first time Cheng Yian went out after she became pregnant. The maid padded the carriage tightly. After Rulan put the teacups and clothes on the carriage, she repeatedly told Qiu Qing, who was driving the carriage,

"You have to go slower and don't bump around, understand?"

Qiu Qing crossed his hands in front of his stomach, looked at Rulan with a smile, and nodded, "Understood."

Rulan always felt that he looked too absent-minded and didn't seem to have listened to her. She glared at him anxiously, "Grandma has just gotten better. Today is her lucky day. There can't be any mistakes."

Rulan was born with a round and fair complexion, and her face was like a peach, full and rosy. The fiercer she was, the cuter she was. Qiu Qing had been dealing with her for so long and was very familiar with her temper. He immediately saluted her and said, "I understand. I promise to do it."

Meeting his serious look, Rulan blushed again and ran away in a hurry.

Some time ago, Cheng Yian and Lu Xusheng arranged their marriage. Qiu Qing took out all her monthly allowance and gave it to Rulan as a betrothal gift. Cheng Yian originally wanted to marry Rulan off earlier, but Rulan insisted on being taken care of after her confinement before she would get married, so the marriage had to be postponed.

Qiu Qing looked at Rulan who was fleeing in panic, rubbed his nose and smiled so hard that his teeth were showing.

Yesterday, all the rooms in the mansion sent gifts to Cheng Yian. This morning, she put on a silver-red long jacket with a front opening and full sleeves. Served by Sister Ming and Nanny Li, she went to each room to return the gifts to the ladies and sisters-in-law. After she was done, she got in the car and left.

Lu Xusheng took a leave of absence today to accompany us, but because of what he said last night, he looked gloomy all the way and felt a little disappointed.

Cheng Yian tugged at his sleeve and said, "What's wrong with being like my father? No matter if you are talented, handsome or capable, as long as you are like my father, you won't suffer any loss."

Lu Xusheng still didn't give up. "Your dream isn't very real, is it? Is it because you missed your father too much recently that you dreamed about him?"

Cheng Yian glared at him and said, "My father is fine at home, why should I miss him? You are far away at the front line, it is you I miss."

I was worried about him, but I dreamed of a child who looked like Cheng Mingyu, which was really despairing.

Lu Xusheng's cheeks were sore.

"No, I remember now. Dreams are the opposite of what they used to be. If I dreamed that you look like your father, then maybe you will look like me when you are born."

Thinking of this, Lu Xusheng felt at ease.

Cheng Yian scowled, "Why should he be like you? The child I give birth to must be like me."

Lu Xusheng refused, "If it's a daughter, she will definitely look like me. If it's a son, he must look like me."

"Why should my daughter be like you? Isn't it good to be like me..."

"Daughters take after their fathers."

"What about the son? The son is just like the mother, right?"

Lu Xusheng smiled calmly, "If I had a son, why would he be as beautiful as you? He should be as brave and outstanding as me."

Cheng Yian glanced at her man, who was handsome and tall, with a masculine aura, calm and majestic.

He is the best example of a man, and it is indeed a blessing for my son to look like him.

Cheng Yian realized that he had lost and covered his head, "Then it's like you."

When the couple arrived at the pharmacy, Xia Fu and Cheng Mingyu found that their daughter's eyelids were drooping and she seemed unhappy.

"What's wrong? Pingping, are you feeling unwell?" Cheng Mingyu hurried forward to ask.

Cheng Yian didn't have to go out, but because he went out, his father felt guilty.

Lu Xusheng had won the argument, and the smile on his face had not yet faded. He immediately explained, "Don't worry, father-in-law. The journey was very smooth. It's just that An An argued with me about the baby's appearance just now, and she lost the argument, so she was a little unhappy."

Cheng Mingyu couldn't stand his son-in-law bullying his daughter, so he glanced at him sharply.

Lu Xusheng realized that he was getting too carried away and immediately stopped smiling.

Xia Fu, on the other hand, was at a loss whether to laugh or cry when she saw her childish daughter and son-in-law. She hurriedly led her daughter into the house and said, "The baby is still in the belly and hasn't grown into anything yet. How can you two argue about it? No matter how you two think about it, it won't work. It still has to be born for it to count."

Lu Xusheng followed his father-in-law into the house and agreed, "My mother-in-law is right. Dreams don't work."

Cheng Yian twitched the corner of his mouth and glared at him.

As they sat down at the door, Xia Fu thought of Cheng Yian when he was born and smiled, "But the child must look like his father when he is born."

Cheng Mingyu heard this and glanced over.

Xia Fu didn't look at him, but just stroked the back of her daughter's hand as if she was reminiscing.

She will never forget what Cheng Yian looked like when he was just born. He looked exactly like Cheng Mingyu, even his hair was the same. At first the old lady was worried that someone would notice something, but fortunately he grew more and more like her.

Cheng Yian was stunned and asked, "Why?"

"Because children are very smart and want their dad to love them."

With his mother-in-law's support, Lu Xusheng has more confidence in himself. "It is natural for a child to resemble his father."

Cheng Yian gave up completely.

Cheng Mingyu was rarely seen without Bo Lu's life. It is undeniable that when he saw Cheng Yian's little face when she was one month old, his heart melted into tears.

Afterwards, Cheng Yian and Lu Xusheng strolled around the yard, while Cheng Mingyu and Xia Fu went to the back room to cook.

Cheng Mingyu made her favorite triangle cake for her child, and Xia Fu rolled out the noodles herself and cooked longevity noodles for her daughter.

It was the first time Xia Fu cooked for her daughter and she was very excited.

She was still a little flustered in her room, but when she looked at Cheng Mingyu beside her, she saw that he was very familiar with the place.

"The master of the house can cook?"

Cheng Mingyu said, "That's all I know."

Xia Fu chuckled and said, "Then I will also practice my cooking skills."

Cheng Mingyu was a little worried as he watched her struggling to roll out the noodles.

"Can you? How about I help you?"

"Has the master ever rolled out noodles?"

Cheng Mingyu shook his head.

"Then I'll do it."

Xia Fu is still very confident.

Cheng Yian hid stealthily under the attic window on the second floor, peeking at his parents through the kitchen window.

Lu Xusheng sat at the table drinking tea. Seeing her eyebrows sometimes furrowed and sometimes relaxed, he said speechlessly,

"Do you really need to spy? Your father and mother must have reconciled."

How can you not see what's going on between men and women?

Even though my father-in-law and mother-in-law didn't exchange glances when they first entered the room, there was no difference in the tacit understanding between their actions.

Lu Xusheng witnessed Cheng Mingyu forcing the King of Yunnan to leave the capital. It has been more than two months. If his father-in-law still hasn't succeeded, then he is not worthy of him.

The skill of the Prime Minister of the current dynasty.

However, it was really an eye-opener for Lu Xusheng to find out that his father-in-law opened a shop for his mother-in-law in the bustling former Chao City.

My father-in-law's career is indeed getting better and better.

Worthy of being the Prime Minister.

Lu Xusheng admired her and pulled Cheng Yian back to have tea.

Cheng Yian was pregnant, and Xia Fu prepared sour plum tea for her. Drinking it was very soothing and also helped to boost her appetite.

At about noon, the meal was served, and Cheng Mingyu's triangular cake and Xia Fu's longevity noodles were placed in front of Cheng Yian.

Cheng Yian was sitting between the two of them, and Lu Xusheng was sitting opposite Cheng Yian.

Xia Fu gave half of her bowl of longevity noodles to her son-in-law, and Cheng Mingyu piled all of his triangle cakes in front of Cheng Yian, as he had no time to cook for his son-in-law.

"Where did you go just now? I didn't see you downstairs?" Xia Fu asked Cheng Yian.

Cheng Yian said calmly, "Oh, my daughter was just looking at the scenery in the attic."

After she finished speaking, she secretly glanced at her parents' expressions. Cheng Mingyu knew what was going on but pretended not to hear and handed her a pair of chopsticks.

Xia Fuwei felt a little uncomfortable, but she still urged her to eat calmly.

"Eat noodles, don't let it get cold."

It's not that easy to cool down.

On the first day of August, the autumn heat was still very strong. Even a man as hot-blooded as Lu Xusheng felt hot even with only a single shirt.

Cheng Yian looked at the hot noodles, blew on them, picked up a handful and put it in his mouth. The taste was so good... he almost couldn't swallow it.

Although it was rare to eat my mother’s longevity noodles for the first time, I never expected that the noodles would taste so bad.

It seems that my mother’s cooking skills are not that good.

Xia Fu stared at her daughter nervously, "An An, how does it taste?"

As a considerate little boy, Cheng Yian certainly couldn't spoil his mother's fun, and nodded quickly, "It's delicious, very delicious."

"It was the first time my daughter had noodles made by me. She loved it."

Xia Fu's eyes immediately turned red when she heard this, and she tucked her eyes with a handkerchief, "As long as you like it, mother will make it for you every year in the future."

The longevity noodles are eaten once a year and must be eaten even on one’s knees.

Cheng Yian took two more sips.

Unfortunately, she was pregnant and in the first three months of her pregnancy. Her taste buds had not yet fully opened and she even had some signs of nausea, so she was not able to swallow so smoothly.

Cheng Mingyu has always been attentive. He noticed that something was wrong with his daughter and glanced at the bowl of noodles.

Seeing Cheng Yian praising the noodles endlessly, Lu Xusheng on the opposite side also took two bites out of courtesy. While chewing the noodles in his mouth, he couldn't help but glance at Cheng Yian on the opposite side.

Cheng Yian winked at him.

Lu Xusheng understood what he meant and continued eating.

After all, he is the minister of the court. He has seen all kinds of situations and is very cunning.

Back in the days at Baiyin Mountain, we could even eat grass leaves, so a bowl of noodles was nothing to us.

When Xia Fu asked him if it suited his taste, Lu Xusheng smiled and said, "It's very good. My mother-in-law's cooking skills are very much to my taste."

You only eat it once a year, so just bear with it and it will pass.

Xia Fu was still embarrassed. "Before I came to Beijing, I was looking forward to making a bowl of longevity noodles for An An, so I cooked for him a few times in the palace. The prince and Mu Xun both said it was delicious. I was worried that it might not suit your taste, but I didn't expect that you liked it too."

Xia Fu took too many bitter medicines when she was recovering from an injury, and now her taste buds have lost their sensitivity. Unless she is taking medicine or unless the taste is obviously sour, sweet, bitter or spicy, she can no longer taste most delicacies, so she can only trust other people's evaluations.

The King of Yunnan learned the truth from the old princess and warned Mu Xun early on. Mu Xun felt extremely bitter in his heart, but he was cheering in his mouth.

Xia Fu thought her cooking skills were pretty decent.

Cheng Yian took a bite of noodles and immediately stuffed the triangular cake made by her father into her mouth to soothe her taste buds. Cheng Mingyu, who was standing beside her, saw through his daughter's thoughts and saw that there was still more than half of the bowl of noodles left. He couldn't bear to see his daughter embarrassed, so he said,

"Ping Ping, Daddy also wants to taste your mother's cooking, why don't you leave this bowl of noodles for Daddy."

Rich families are very particular about meals. For example, the bowl of noodles in front of Cheng Yian is not eaten directly, but the noodles are scooped from the bowl and placed in each person's individual small bowl before entering the mouth, so the noodles are still clean.

Cheng Yian blinked and looked at her father, and the father and daughter exchanged looks.

It's obvious that Dad has seen through the clues.

Cheng Yian was really worried that he would vomit it out later, which would hurt his mother's face, so he could only reluctantly give it up.

"Then Daddy, leave some for me. Don't eat it all in one go."

Cheng Mingyu understood, "Okay."

He agreed verbally, but actually had no intention of keeping it for his daughter.

When Xia Fu saw Cheng Mingyu snatching her daughter's food in front of her son-in-law, her face turned red and she hurriedly urged Lu Xusheng to

"Xusheng, try the dishes beside. These are the chefs hired by your father-in-law. They are all very good cooks."

Although she couldn't taste it, the people Cheng Mingyu brought should not be bad.

Cheng Mingyu replied, "This is the chef of the Cheng Mansion."

Cheng Mingyu took a mouthful of noodles and tasted the slightly bitter taste inside, which made his heart ache.

Cheng Mingyu was so full with a bowl of noodles that he couldn't eat anything else. Xia Fu was busy serving food to her daughter. Cheng Yian hadn't been treated like this in eight hundred years and was a little overwhelmed. Hearing them calling "Ping Ping" and "An An" one by one, he felt indescribable pain in his heart.

There is a feeling that it is clearly "the moon surrounded by stars" but it is redundant.

She suddenly had a playful thought, "Daddy, why do you always call me Ping Ping? Who gave me this nickname Ping Ping?"

Cheng Mingyu paused slightly.

On the other side, Xia Fu coughed lightly and continued, "I gave it the name. But I think An An sounds better." So she likes to call her An An.

Cheng Yian played dumb and said, "Oh, An An was given to me by my father."

Xia Fu: “…”

Then he stuffed a bowl of food into his daughter's mouth.

Lu Xusheng looked at the happy family of three without saying a word.

After dinner, while drinking tea, Cheng Mingyu asked Cheng Yian to sit in the armchair against the east wall.

"Sit still, Daddy will draw a picture for you."

Cheng Yi was happy, and was supported by Lu Xusheng to sit over. He asked Cheng Mingyu, "Dad, why did you want to paint my portrait?"

Cheng Mingyu asked someone to set up the table and grind ink, and said with a smile,

"Daddy draws a picture for you every year on your birthday."

Cheng Yian was shocked. "Has this happened in the past?"

“Yes, every year.”

"So there are eighteen?"

Cheng Mingyu nodded, rolled up his sleeves, picked up a small wolf-hair brush and dipped it in ink.

"This is your birthday gift from Daddy."

Cheng Yian looked at Lu Xusheng happily.

Lu Xusheng looked at his beautiful wife and felt a little itchy. He asked his father-in-law, "Where are these portraits now?"

Cheng Mingyu dipped the ink and looked at Xia Fu who was stunned.

"They are all in the Cheng residence's study."

Xia Fu's face was already in tears. She had lost her daughter for 18 years and she wanted so badly to see what her daughter looked like when she was a child.

She covered her face and sobbed for a long time.

As soon as Lu Xusheng heard what Cheng Mingyu said, he understood his father-in-law's intention.

Old fox.

The idea is to seduce my mother-in-law to go to Cheng's house.

He said unkindly, "Father-in-law, since it's a gift for An An, shouldn't you bring it here so that An An can take it back home and treasure it?"

He took it back and hung it in the study so that he could see An An at different times every day.

Cheng Mingyu didn't even look at him, and prepared to pick up his brush, "If you want to keep it, draw it yourself."

Lu Xusheng: “…”

Seeing Cheng Mingyu start writing, Xia Fu and Lu Xusheng couldn't help but come to his side.

It has to be said that there is a reason why Cheng Mingyu is so famous for his talent.

With just a few strokes, he outlined Cheng Yian's general figure.

Even the hem of the clothes was painted with some liveliness by him.

Xia Fu was infatuated with her after taking one look at her.

Cheng Yian sat for a while, his expression a little stiff.

"Daddy, can I move?"

Cheng Mingyu smiled, "You can move as you like."

Cheng Yian felt much more at ease. She looked at Lu Xusheng, and Lu Xusheng also stared at her with his hands behind his back. Eighteen years old was the best age for a girl, and her eyebrows and eyes were so vivid. One could imagine that she must have been very cute when she was a child. When Lu Xusheng thought that there was even a portrait of her at the age of one, he was really greedy.

The couple exchanged glances and reached an agreement that they would go to Cheng's house later to take back the remaining paintings.

Cheng Mingyu's painting skills have long been mastered, and his style is delicate. If Cheng Yian's beauty is ten points, he has painted it ten points.

So realistic.

Thinking he had seen it with his own eyes, Lu Xusheng was even more excited about the remaining 17 paintings.

You have to find a way to get it.

Two quarters of an hour later, Cheng Mingyu put down his writing.

Cheng Yian couldn't wait to go around and look at the portrait.

"How is it?"

Cheng Mingyu stood up and gave her his seat. Lu Xusheng waited for the ink to dry on the side while the couple admired the portrait.

Lu Xusheng stood in front of the painting, not giving Cheng Mingyu any chance to get close.

"Since it's a gift for An An, we can take it back home today, right?"

Cheng Mingyu said, "No."

Lu Xusheng frowned, "Why not?"

"The Cheng family has stricter guards than your Lu Mansion. No one can go to my study. The portraits of the sisters are all kept in the study. It's not good for An An to take her alone. You have seen this painting, so I still want to take it back to the study for collection."

Lu Xusheng couldn't laugh anymore.

Cheng Yian originally thought that the portrait was kept in the Cheng family because they had not yet recognized each other. Since the portraits of her two sisters were also in the Cheng family, it would be inappropriate for her to take them out separately.

She tugged at Lu Xusheng's sleeve and whispered soothingly,

"If we want to see it, we can go to Cheng's house."

Lu Xusheng said nothing, and his mother-in-law married

Before I give it to my father-in-law, I’m afraid I won’t be able to get this painting back.

Xia Fu prepared some water for Cheng Mingyu. Cheng Mingyu came to the next room to wash his hands. Looking at Xia Fu who was lost in thought, he said softly,

"Xia Fu, the remaining 17 paintings are all at Cheng's house. Do you want to go take a look tonight?"