Zhou Qiongyue and Yuan Bohua didn't show up at the New Year's Eve banquet. Although everyone was surprised, they didn't think much of it. After all, Prince Fu'an and Prince Yi were both sitting there! And their seats were so close to the front. Who would dare to say that Prince Fu'an's mansion didn't have the emperor's favor?
Especially after the new emperor ascended the throne, the frequency of summoning Prince Yi was too high. Although Prince Yi was summoned to play chess with him, he was also a favorite of the emperor.
Among all the ministers and nobles in this hall, who wouldn’t envy Yuan Chaokang for being valued by the emperor!
After the New Year, Zhou Qiongyue and Yuan Bohua did not return to Yuan'an, but what Zhou Qiongyue did not expect was that around noon one day, her eldest brother, sister-in-law and fifth brother came.
When Zhou Qiongyue heard the servant's report, she was both surprised and worried, and immediately went out to greet Yuan Bohua, who was leaning on a cane.
When Zhou Qiongyue saw the people, she couldn't hide the joy on her face. "Brother, sister-in-law, and fifth brother, why are you here? It's icy and snowy outside, and the road is hard to walk on. What if the road gets slippery?"
Zhou Qiongyue's tone was full of worry. Her eldest brother, sister-in-law and fifth brother were older than her!
After Zhou Qiongyue finished speaking, she looked behind the three of them again. Seeing that there was not even a junior escorting them, she frowned even more.
After the eldest sister-in-law Cheng followed Zhou Zhiyi and Zhou Zhiquan to pay their respects, she took Zhou Qiongyue's hand and chatted:
"Don't worry about us, little sister. We brought enough escorts when we came, and we also brought a court doctor. We will disturb you and your brother-in-law for a few days."
Yuan Bohua, with one hand on a crutch and the other supported by Yuan Hantao, replied with a smile on his face, "What did you say, sister-in-law? Brother, sister-in-law, Yue'er and I are so happy that Fifth Brother can come. If you can stay here, we will be even happier."
Zhou Zhiyi also smiled and said, "You wish. I have a lot of things going on at home too! The three of us came here secretly this time."
"Brother, did you come here secretly?" Zhou Qiongyue's voice suddenly became louder, and her eyes were full of disapproval.
"It's not a big deal. Why are you so excited, little sister? I know my limits, big brother." After Zhou Zhiyi finished speaking, he went inside first.
Zhou Qiongyue pointed at herself and looked at the others present. "Brother, do you mean I'm making a fuss?"
Sister-in-law Cheng patted Zhou Qiongyue's hand and said teasingly with a smile, "Little sister, you can be braver."
After Cheng finished speaking, she also went in the direction Zhou Zhiyi went in.
Zhou Qiongyue could only look at her fifth brother Zhou Zhiquan in disbelief.
"Little sister, don't look at me. I listen to my big brother." Zhou Zhiquan said this and went inside.
Only Zhou Qiongyue, Yuan Bohua and Yuan Hantao were left there.
Yuan Hantao actually wanted to laugh, but he was a filial grandson, so how could he watch his grandmother's fun? He even laughed.
Yuan Hantao quickly spoke to comfort Zhou Qiongyue, "Grandma, my uncle and the others miss you."
Only Yuan Bohua agreed with Zhou Qiongyue's words, "Yue'er is right, Big Brother and Fifth Brother are too willful, how could they sneak out!
Big Brother and Fifth Brother miss you too, but our Yue'er is also worried about Big Brother and the others' safety. Don't worry, I will talk to Big Brother and the others privately when the time comes."
When Yuan Bohua mentioned that he wanted to talk about Zhou Zhiyi and the others in private, Zhou Qiongyue felt distressed again. "Then you just need to mention it briefly. Big Brother and Fifth Brother are all grandfathers now, and they have to save face too!"
Yuan Bohua also noticed it, of course. He let go of Yuan Hantao's hand and took Zhou Qiongyue's hand. "I will obey the princess. Let's go in quickly! Don't keep my brother and the others waiting for too long."
After being coaxed by Yuan Bohua, Zhou Qiongyue happily went in hand in hand with Yuan Bohua.
When Zhou Qiongyue and Yuan Bohua entered, they saw that Zhou Zhiyi and the other three were already ordering people to serve snacks without any hesitation.
Zhou Qiongyue's face lit up with smiles when she saw this scene. They were both old, but their brother-sister relationship hadn't faded. How wonderful!
Sister-in-law Cheng narrowed her eyes and saw her younger sister standing still not far away. She quickly stretched out her hand and called out, "Little sister, come here quickly, or your elder brother will ruin all the good tea you and the prince have."
Yuan Bohua pulled Zhou Qiongyue over to sit down and said generously, "Big Brother, whichever tea you like? I'll have someone get it for you."
Zhou Zhiyi opened all the teas on the table and smelled them like a child, then pointed at one and said, "This one! It smells so good."
Yuan Bohua immediately ordered Fang Fu to go down and get it.
Sister-in-law Cheng quickly stopped him, "Don't listen to him, Your Majesty. There's still so much here. Even if your eldest brother chewed it dry, he wouldn't be able to finish it all."
Zhou Zhiquan and Zhou Qiongyue watched the fun from the side, occasionally laughing and whispering to each other.
As soon as Zhou Zhiyi, Cheng and Zhou Zhiquan arrived, Zhou Qiongyue felt that the whole village became lively.
As soon as Zhou Qiongyue's mood improved, she began to order her subordinates to prepare food. She listed a long list of dishes, and even Zhou Zhiquan couldn't help but remind her:
"Little sister, is it possible that there are three of us here, not three pigs?"
As soon as Zhou Zhiquan said this, he was hit on the head by Zhou Zhiyi, who retorted to his brother, "You are the only pig."
Zhou Zhiquan refused to listen to his elder brother's words and said aggrievedly: "Brother..."
Cheng was afraid that the two old men would start a quarrel with her younger sister, so she could only reach out and pat Zhou Zhiyi, "What nonsense are you talking about!"
When Zhou Zhiquan saw that his elder brother was being controlled by his elder sister-in-law, he started whispering to Zhou Qiongyue next to him.
In fact, what Zhou Zhiquan was mumbling to Zhou Qiongyue were all the good things that Yu Shi had done in his family. He didn't want his younger sister to help him with something, he just had no one to talk to, so he wanted to find his younger sister to complain.
Zhou Qiongyue didn't mind Zhou Zhiquan complaining to her, and she didn't interfere in their affairs. She just treated it as gossip.
Zhou Zhiyi looked at the crutch beside Yuan Bohua and asked with concern, "How is the prince's health?"
This is also the reason why he and his fifth brother insisted on coming to the hot spring villa. His sister and brother-in-law did not go to the New Year's Eve banquet in the palace. They were worried that his brother-in-law's health was getting worse. His younger sister was crying secretly alone in the villa.
When they saw that the prince was still able to walk today, they breathed a sigh of relief.
Yuan Bohua patted the crutch beside him and said truthfully, "My health is still the same, but living in the hot spring villa this year doesn't feel as difficult as in previous years."
When Zhou Zhiyi heard Yuan Bohua say this, the smile on his face became even brighter. "That's good, that's good!"
Yuan Bohua felt warm in his heart when he saw that his brother-in-law really cared about him.
Zhou Qiongyue was even happier. If she wasn't afraid of being laughed at, she would have wanted to hug her sister-in-law and cry. The feeling of seeing relatives during the Chinese New Year was simply too good to be true.
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