Chapter 81 (First Update)
When Yan Ruyi and Song Yiping returned, Fang Yuru and the others were watching the Spring Festival Gala.
Da Hua lay sprawled on Fang Yuru's lap, fast asleep.
The heating in the room was too strong, so Song Yiping helped Yan Ruyi take off her military overcoat and hang it on the coat rack.
Fang Yuru: "It must be cold outside, come over and warm up."
Yan Ruyi sat down next to Fang Yuru and rubbed Da Hua's belly.
Da Hua didn't even budge; she's really quite bold.
Fang Yuru took out two red envelopes from her pocket. "This is my and your dad's New Year's money. You and Yiping each get one."
They said one for each person, but they actually stuffed both red envelopes into Yan Ruyi's hands.
Grandpa Song came over happily and gave two red envelopes as well.
The red envelopes were all bulging; they probably contained a lot of money.
Yan Ruyi said, "We're all so old, why are you still giving us red envelopes?"
"No matter how big he is, he's still a child in our eyes, so please accept him."
Yan Ruyi didn't refuse anymore, "Thank you, Grandpa, thank you, Mom and Dad."
The old man is getting on in years and can't stay up all night, so he went back to his room to sleep after a short while.
Neither Fang Yuru nor Song Chengren had the habit of staying up late.
Fang Yuru said to Yan Ruyi, "You and Yiping can watch TV here if you want. Don't worry about disturbing us. The soundproofing in the house is good. We can't hear the TV in the bedroom."
Fang Yuru and Song Chengren went back to their room to rest. Da Hua, no longer wanting Yan Ruyi, happily followed Fang Yuru.
Only Yan Ruyi and Song Yiping remained in the living room.
This year's Spring Festival Gala wasn't very appealing. Yan Ruyi yawned, forced herself to watch for a while longer, and then buried her head in Song Yiping's arms.
"Tired?"
Yan Ruyi nodded.
"Go upstairs to sleep if you're tired."
Song Yiping turned off the TV, came over and picked Yan Ruyi up in his arms. "Time to sleep."
Since it was just the two of them in the living room, Yan Ruyi wasn't embarrassed and let him carry her upstairs.
Her face was right in front of his Adam's apple, which bobbed up and down whenever he spoke.
She couldn't resist and leaned over to lick it.
Song Yiping warned her in a low voice, "Do you still want to sleep later?"
Yan Ruyi quickly closed her eyes, "I want to, but I'm so sleepy."
Song Yiping sneered, "Too late."
Back in the room, Yan Ruyi jumped down from Song Yiping's arms, picked up her pajamas, and said, "I'm going to wash up."
After washing up, she quickly jumped onto the bed.
The sheets and duvet cover should have been freshly washed; they smelled of laundry detergent.
When Song Yiping finished showering and came out, Yan Ruyi lay obediently on the bed with her eyes closed, looking as if she had already fallen asleep.
Song Yiping lifted the blanket and went in, tickling her waist. Yan Ruyi was most afraid of being tickled, and she giggled and rolled into Song Yiping's arms.
How did you know I wasn't asleep?
"You saw how Da Hua slept just now, right? If you were really asleep, you'd look just like Da Hua."
Yan Ruyi angrily punched his chest, "My sleeping posture isn't that bad."
Song Yiping chuckled.
Before the wedding, his mother-in-law told him that Yan Ruyi had a bad sleeping posture.
He thought it couldn't be that bad, but now he finally knows. If he didn't hold her every night, she could do a Thomas Flair in bed.
Song Yiping rolled over and pinned her down, saying, "We haven't settled the score from earlier."
"It was just a lick, why are you being so stingy?"
"Give me a lick too, and we'll be even."
Yan Ruyi lay flat. "Come on."
The licking went awry, and Yan Ruyi pushed him away, asking, "Is this bed sturdy?"
She and Song Yiping rarely came back to stay, so the bed hadn't been replaced; it was still the same bed Song Yiping used to sleep in.
The bed is quite large; it can easily sleep two people.
The bed is a bit old, and Song Yiping is too vigorous, so Yan Ruyi is genuinely worried that the bed might collapse while the two of them are doing it.
That would be so embarrassing.
Song Yiping, "Sturdy".
There was a sudden impact, and the bed creaked.
With another impact, the bed creaked again.
The bedroom of Fang Yuru and Song Chengren is downstairs. It would be too embarrassing if they heard us.
Yan Ruyi reached out to push Song Yiping, "Stop, stop, stop!"
At this critical juncture, we cannot simply stop.
Song Yiping got up, rolled up the blanket, wrapped Yan Ruyi inside, carried her off the bed, and placed her in front of the window. "Stand still and hold onto the windowsill."
He then crawled under the covers and said in a hoarse voice, "Comrade Xiao Yan will have to work hard tonight."
A few snowflakes began to fall outside, but the heating in the room was burning brightly.
Even more popular was the gymnastics activity for two.
This resulted in Yan Ruyi waking up late the next day; she didn't wake up until 8 o'clock.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Song Yiping, unusually, took a break from work and was still fast asleep, holding her close.
He woke up as soon as Yan Ruyi moved.
Still half-asleep, he asked, "Why are you awake so early?"
Yan Ruyi pulled her watch out of her pillow to show him the time, "It's already 8 o'clock, hurry up and get up."
When she was at her parents' home, her mother woke up the whole family at 5 a.m. because people would come to pay New Year's visits as early as 6 a.m.
Moreover, this was her first time spending the Lunar New Year at her husband's family home. On such a festive occasion, she slept until 8 a.m. If people found out, they would laugh at her.
She had already taken off her pajamas from yesterday, and was still completely naked. She didn't ask Song Yiping to get her any clothes, and got out of bed to put on her pajamas and go wash up.
After washing up, Song Yiping also got up.
Yan Ruyi asked nervously, "Have people already come to wish us a Happy New Year?"
Song Yiping calmly replied, "It's so early, no one should be coming."
Yan Ruyi felt a little relieved.
As soon as I opened the door, I heard people talking downstairs. Judging from their voices, it sounded like Yang Shiyuan and the others had arrived.
Yan Ruyi punched Song Yiping in anger and whispered, "Didn't you say no one would come?"
Song Yiping said, "Nobody ever comes this early before. It's fine if they come, it's the Lunar New Year, can't people sleep in?"
Yan Ruyi shirked responsibility, saying, "It's all your fault. I've said it once, that's enough."
Song Yiping: "You're accusing me again. It's all because you're holding me and won't let go..."
Yan Ruyi quickly covered his mouth to stop him from saying anything more.
When the two came downstairs, Yan Ruyi's face was red.
Fang Yuru noticed her first, "Why is your face so red? Did you catch a cold?"
Yan Ruyi's face turned even redder, but a cold was a good excuse.
She coughed twice. "Maybe a little."
Fang Yuru: "I guess you caught a chill when you went out with Yiping last night. We have cold medicine at home, do you want to take some?"
Song Yiping came to her rescue, saying, "You don't need to take medicine, and you don't have a fever."
Seeing Yang Shiyuan looking at him mischievously, he went over and asked Yang Shiyuan, "Why did you come so early?"
Yang Shiyuan laughed and said, "We've always come around this time every year."
Despite being exposed for his lie, Commander Song remained calm. "I misremembered. I thought you wouldn't arrive until at least 10 o'clock."
Song Manyi said, "Yiping, you guys are too lazy. It's the New Year, who sleeps until 8 o'clock before getting up?"
Fang Yuru: "What are you saying? We've been busy all year, and we finally have a holiday. Can't you even let us have a proper rest?"
Grandpa Song said, "We don't have that many rules in our family. I'm just getting old and don't need much sleep. Otherwise, I could sleep even more than Yiping."
Song Manli muttered, "She really spoils her daughter-in-law."
Dong Yingxue, who was sitting next to her, glanced at her after hearing this.
Although Dong Yingxue was the daughter-in-law that Song Manli had chosen, the relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was just so-so.
She found it strange that Yan Ruyi had overslept, and Fang Yuru hadn't said anything, so why was Song Manli so talkative?
Her mother-in-law, sometimes she's just a bit of a handful.
Everyone else had eaten, except for Yan Ruyi and Song Yiping.
Song Yiping went to the kitchen and cooked two bowls of egg noodles, one for himself and one for Yan Ruyi.
Yan Ruyi was too embarrassed to eat in the living room, so the two of them ate in the kitchen.
After breakfast, I returned to the living room and saw everyone gathered around Grandpa Song talking.
I don't know how, but we ended up talking about antiques.
Grandpa Song, "Ruyi, has anything unusual happened in the antique world lately?"
Yan Ruyi said, "There isn't one in the antique circle, but there is one in the archaeology circle, which is quite rare."
Everyone immediately became interested. "What's so special about it?"
Yan Ruyi then shared the information about the cemetery village and the data she had found with everyone.
Grandpa Song, "What did you just say was a princess?"
“Princess Shou’an died at the age of 6. This is all the information I found, and it’s all unofficial history.”
Grandpa Song said to Song Yiping, "Go to my study, there's a book called 'The Story of the Tang Dynasty' on my desk, go and get it."
Song Yiping brought over the book that Grandpa Song had asked for.
Grandpa Song took it, flipped to the page he was looking for based on his memory, and then handed it to Yan Ruyi.
"Take a look at this content."
Yan Ruyi took the book, and Dong Yingxue curiously leaned over as well.
The title of this chapter in the book is "A Short Biography of Anle", which contains the sentence, "...Anle's youngest daughter was exceptionally intelligent from a young age and was greatly loved by her maternal grandmother, who bestowed upon her the name Shou'an."
Princess Anle was the daughter of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, and her mother was the famous Empress Wei.
According to the book, Empress Wei was Shou'an's maternal grandmother. Because Shou'an was exceptionally intelligent from a young age, Empress Wei was very fond of her and specially asked Emperor Zhongzong to bestow the name Shou'an upon the little girl.
However, the book only mentions the existence of Shou'an, without mentioning that she died young or was buried in Yao'an.
Combining the contents of the two books, Yan Ruyi felt that the name of the village of Shoumu was not just a figment of imagination, and there might really be an ancient tomb there.
When Shou'an was a child, Empress Wei doted on her. However, she died young for some unknown reason. Empress Wei was heartbroken and may have chosen a place to give her a grand burial.
Dong Yingxue said, "If anyone had told me the name of this village, I wouldn't have thought about it at all. You people in this line of work are so meticulous."
Song Manli said, "It might all be for nothing, and in the end we'll have nothing to show for it, and all that manpower and money we've invested will be wasted."
Grandpa Song said, "Do you think the people in the Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau are just sitting around doing nothing? Just based on a place name, you organized a group of people to go to the area for investigation. You must have consulted a lot of information and were at least 70 or 80% sure before you sent people there."
...
Yan Ruyi was sitting next to Dong Yingxue, and she was asking Dong Yingxue about the postgraduate entrance examination results.
She took the exam on December 20th, and the results were expected to be available in a month. Now it's been more than a month, and there's still no news.
Yan Ruyi even doubted whether she had failed the exam.
Dong Yingxue: "I've been following this matter closely. I called my classmate before the New Year and he said that the results are still pending and will probably be released after the fifteenth. You got all the standard answers right last time, and you said you did well on the exam, so there's no need to rush. I'll call you as soon as I have any news."
Since the results weren't out yet, Yan Ruyi wasn't in a hurry.
Song Manli returned together with Yang Shiyuan and Dong Yingxue.
On the way, Song Manli asked Dong Yingxue, "Which university did Ruyi apply to for graduate school?"
Peking University.
"She actually took the entrance exam for Peking University's graduate program. Yingxue, I see that your job is quite easy. Why don't you take the exam too?"
Song Manli didn't want Dong Yingxue to be ambitious; she just felt that her daughter-in-law was being outshone by Fang Yuru.
She was unwilling to accept it.
After all, she didn't like Yan Ruyi from the very beginning.
Yang Shiyuan said impatiently, "This is all our own business, why do you always like to interfere?"
Song Manli said, "I just want Yingxue to be more ambitious. Yingxue works in the Education Bureau, which gives her an advantage. It will be easier for her to take the postgraduate entrance exam than for others."
Yang Shiyuan snorted, and neither he nor Dong Yingxue responded to her.
Song Manli tried to salvage the situation by saying, "I think Yan Ruyi's grades are just so-so. Otherwise, she wouldn't have only gotten into Beijing University in the college entrance exam. Besides, she's been out of school for two years now, and she's probably forgotten everything she learned. It would be strange if she could get into Peking University."
Yan Ruyi didn't receive Dong Yingxue's call until after the sixteenth day of the first lunar month.
"Ruyi, the preliminary list has been released. I just checked, and your name is on it."
Yan Ruyi said happily, "Sister-in-law, did you see clearly?"
Dong Yingxue laughed and said, "I checked it several times. The names and workplaces all match up. The interview time has also been announced. It's February 18th. The list will be posted at the Education Bureau soon. You can come and see it for yourself when you have time."
I had just hung up on Dong Yingxue when Luo Huihui called again.
Luo Huihui was even more excited than if she had passed the exam herself. "Ruyi, you passed the preliminary test for Peking University. I saw your name on the list."
Luo Huihui was so loud that Yan Ruyi felt like her ears were about to be deafened.
"Are you still in the office? Keep your voice down."
Luo Huihui also realized that her voice was a bit loud, so she stuck out her tongue and whispered, "I also saw Xie Yunlong's name. He's the one who went to Beijing with you to receive the award last time. He also passed the preliminary test. He applied to Beijing Agricultural and Forestry University."
Yan Ruyi was surprised to find that Xie Yunlong had also applied for a part-time postgraduate program.
Moreover, the university they applied to was located in Beijing.
Back home, she excitedly said, "When I first saw Xie Yunlong, I felt he didn't look like a factory manager, but more like a teacher. He was very refined, wore glasses, and spoke in a gentle manner. Last time we took a car to the auditorium, we sat together. At first, I was sitting by the window, but there was a crack in the window that couldn't be closed properly. He was worried I would be cold, so he specially switched places with me and let me sit inside. I have a pretty good impression of him. If we both pass the second round of interviews, we can go to Beijing together."
Song Yiping said coolly, "Comrade Xiao Yan, you've been praising her for almost half an hour."
Yan Ruyi said, "Your time flies by too fast. I only said about ten sentences, and half an hour has already passed."
"Because when people are jealous, time seems to stretch on forever."
Her commander, Song, was surprisingly frank in saying he was jealous.
Yan Ruyi hugged and kissed him, proving with her actions that no one could compare to her Commander Song.
To prevent Song Yiping from pressing the issue, she quickly changed the subject, "What did you do during your re-examination?"
"We did not conduct a second interview."
She had completely forgotten that Song Yiping was a recommended graduate student.
She was so angry that she didn't want to kiss or hug him anymore.
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