When the capital entered December, there were two more snowfalls.
Wang Yu looked at the heavy snow falling outside the house. The heating had already been turned on in the house. Today was Mu Xiu. Wang Yu held Cheng Chen in his arms, sat on the couch in front of the window, and opened the letter that had just been delivered.
Cheng Chen asked, "A letter from the village chief?"
Wang Yu kissed his hair and said, "Well, it should be about the elementary school. We came here in July, and it has been five months. The elementary school should be completed."
Wang Yu opened the letter and read it to Cheng Chen. The letter said that the village primary school had been built and the school land had been purchased. Although they did not buy it together, they could still grow crops next year and have an income.
Many people in the village sent their children to study and learn to read, including some girls and boys, so the village chief hired another teacher, a scholar, who was introduced by Master Song.
The letter thanked Wang Yu again, and said that the letter had arrived. It was probably the New Year soon, so he wished Wang Yu and his family all the best and good health.
Cheng Chen sat up and turned around, saying happily, "It's really been built. The village chief also said that many girls and boys have gone to study there."
Wang Yu looked at Cheng Chen's happy face, put away the letter, and scratched his nose. "Well, this is a good thing."
After reading the letter, Wang Yu also wrote back to the village chief, saying that he had received the letter and was very happy that the elementary school had started. He hoped that everyone would study hard. He also wished everyone a happy new year in the letter and hoped that Yuxi Village would become better and better. He also asked someone to prepare some pens, ink, paper and inkstone to send to the post station together with the letter.
The annual holiday begins on December 29th, and the official seal is officially sealed until January 16th when it is put back on duty.
I heard that in the previous dynasty, officials had to pay New Year's greetings to the emperor on the first day of the Lunar New Year. This was abolished after the founding of the Dali Dynasty so that officials could stay at home with their families.
The New Year's Eve banquet in the palace was just an ordinary family dinner, which was only attended by relatives or ministers whom the emperor liked very much. Chen Yanwen was the son-in-law of the emperor and he must attend, but he didn't expect that the emperor would specially ask Wang Yu to go as well.
After Wang Yu heard the decree from the eunuch, he couldn't help but complain in his heart. He didn't want to go. Wouldn't it be nice to stay at home with her husband on New Year's Eve?
However, his colleagues in the Hanlin Academy were immediately envious. They knew that the emperor liked Wang Yu very much and summoned him to the Yangxin Palace whenever he had time, but they didn't expect that he would even be invited to a family dinner like New Year's Eve. They were so envious and jealous that even Lord Xie couldn't help but feel envious.
Fortunately, they couldn't hear Wang Yu's inner complaints, otherwise they would probably beat him up.
After returning home, Wang Yu hugged Cheng Chen aggrievedly and said, "I have to go to the palace to attend a banquet on New Year's Eve tomorrow, so I can't be at home with you."
Cheng Chen found it funny to see her husband acting like a spoiled child. Outsiders had never seen her husband like this. Although Cheng Chen was not an official, she knew that the fact that her husband was allowed to attend a banquet like the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Imperial Palace showed that he was very popular with the emperor, which was a good thing that many officials wished for.
Cheng Chen kissed her husband to comfort him, "It's okay, we can celebrate the New Year together on the first day."
Wang Yu hugged his waist and said, "Then Achen has to make it up to me tonight."
Cheng Chen really couldn't figure out the cause and effect of these two things. Why was she the one compensating him? Her husband was always so shameless in this matter. She glared at him and turned to leave.
At night, Wang Yu did make amends with her husband. Afterwards, Wang Yu fell asleep with her husband in her arms, feeling very satisfied.
On New Year's Eve, Wang Yu went to the palace to attend the banquet on time. Several people were surprised to see Wang Yu. They knew that this person was the new third place in the imperial examination and was very favored by the emperor. However, seeing him at a family banquet once again refreshed his status in the emperor's eyes.
Wang Yu sat at the back and looked around the front. It was indeed a family dinner. There were not too many people. The emperor had no brothers, only a sister, so there were no princes or the like.
The first seat on the lower left is for the three princes, opposite them are the seats for the two princesses. Princess Le'an and Chen Yanwen sit in the second seat on the lower right, opposite them sit Mr. Lan's family, and below them are the seats for the Minister of Revenue's family and the Anping Marquis' family.
Opposite Wang Yu was the family of the Marquis of Zhenguo. The old marquis had two grandsons, two sons were still guarding the border, and the only youngest daughter was married to the emperor as a concubine.
The emperor had only one empress and two concubines. The empress was married when he was still the emperor or the crown prince. She gave birth to Princess Le Jia the following year. The two concubines were taken in because the empress was injured during childbirth and had not had children for many years.
One is the daughter of the chief minister of the cabinet and the minister of the Ministry of Revenue. She gave birth to the eldest prince in the second year after her marriage. He is ten years old this year and was named a noble concubine. Coincidentally, the queen gave birth to the second prince after the birth of the eldest prince. He is eight years old this year. Later, she gave birth to the third prince who is over three years old. The daughter of the Marquis of Zhenguo is Concubine Hui. She gave birth to the second princess Yongning, who is nine years old this year.
After Zhang Siyuan arrived, he did not go to his seat, but sat directly next to Wang Yu. Anping Hou glanced at him and left without saying anything. His elder brother shook his sleeves and snorted, but Zhang Siyuan ignored him and started talking to Wang Yu.
After the emperor, empress, princes and princesses arrived and exchanged greetings, the banquet officially began. The princes and princesses, all grown up, greeted the emperor one by one and said auspicious words.
The third prince was a little younger, and was not as good at speaking auspicious words as his two older brothers, but he was really cute and spoke in a baby voice. The emperor was very happy and asked him to come up and sit with him, which showed how much the emperor loved this youngest son.
After that, this group of people started to wish each other a happy new year. There was nothing too new. They just said auspicious words, such as "May you live a long life, be blessed as vast as the east sea, and live as long as the southern mountains", and then "May the harvest be abundant, the world be peaceful, and the people live and work happily".
The emperor was pleased and waved his hand, "Today is a family dinner, everyone please feel free to do as you please."
The dancers and musicians took turns to perform on stage. It was really nice to see the performance of the Royal Dance Troupe, with its ancient-style dance and music. Wang Yu watched it with great interest.
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