Three days later was New Year's Eve. Red lanterns had already been hung high in the corridors of the Xu family's back residence. Whether they were masters or servants, everyone had a happy expression on their faces and had changed into new clothes. It finally felt like the New Year was coming.
Xu Lingzi arrived at an exceptionally opportune time this morning. Li Shiyue was with several maids, watching the old women put up couplets.
The couplet read, “Jade willows bid farewell to the old with a thousand smiles, snow reflects the new with ten thousand good things.” The handwriting was elegant. Granny Liu, the most favored servant of Madam Yang, greeted her with a smile: “It’s cold outside, Miss, be careful not to catch a cold.”
Li Shiyue, holding Xu Lingzi's hand, looked at the paper flowers with curiosity and was reluctant to go inside: "It's okay, I'll just take a look. Are they paper-cut window decorations?"
Xu Lingzi moved quickly, taking the paper window decoration from the maid's wooden tray and examining it closely: "Red plum blossoms and auspicious clouds, snow reflecting on the red flower stand. This window decoration is well-cut and matches the couplets perfectly."
As she spoke, Xu Lingzi looked puzzled and said, "This handwriting looks so familiar."
Granny Liu smiled and chimed in, "This year's couplets were all written by the young master himself for each courtyard, so the sixth young lady will naturally recognize them."
"Second brother?"
No wonder it looked so familiar.
Li Shiyue was also surprised. Her gaze fell on the couplet. The handwriting was smooth and powerful. She seemed to see the person standing by the table, writing with a pen.
The two sisters did not linger on the veranda; they linked arms and went inside together.
"Why did you come so early today? Did your aunt let you go?" Li Shiyue was wearing a simple bamboo-green short jacket and sat on the wooden couch, revealing a jade bead on the tip of her shoe.
Xu Lingzi, with her sharp eyes, recognized at a glance that the embroidered shoes on Li Shiyue's feet were the ones that Yang had ordered to be made some time ago: "Yes, let me learn again after the Lantern Festival, and I will come to play with you every day."
Upon hearing this, Li Shiyue raised her eyes slightly: "Is that so? I've heard that we've had many people sending visiting cards to our door these past few days. Today it was Madam Chen from the Imperial Censor's family who came with her son, and yesterday it was Madam Song from the Ministry of Revenue who came with her son."
"Who was it the other day? Oh right, it was the newly appointed Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. What was his name again? I remember his surname was Zheng. I heard he was only twenty years old this year, and he's no less handsome than my cousins."
Li Shiyue revealed a mischievous smile: "I've met these gentlemen, and none of them have caught my eye."
Xu Lingzi blushed and raised her hand as if to pull Li Shiyue: "Well, now you dare to laugh at me, don't you?"
Li Shiyue raised her eyes, her smugness undisguised: "Who told you to laugh at me before? But seeing how carefully Auntie is choosing, don't you really have any favorites?"
"My aunt said she's definitely going to arrange a marriage for you this year."
Xu Lingzi did not refute, and sat back down: "I know, I will really be eighteen after the New Year. Ordinary girls, even if they are not in a hurry to get married, will not be older than eighteen. My father and mother love me, which is why they have kept me for so long. If it is any later, I will really be an old maid when I turn twenty."
She hesitated, but she didn't want to get married. The main reason was that those who wanted to marry her were only after her older sister's status as the Crown Princess, not because they were sincere. She was even more unwilling to accept that.
Li Shiyue didn't urge her, and said with a smile, "It's not too late to settle it after spring. Auntie, you've been thinking carefully, isn't that what you're worried about? After all, it's a matter of a lifetime, so Auntie can't make a decision lightly. Why don't you think about whether you want to give me a red envelope on New Year's Eve?"
Xu Lingzi raised an eyebrow: "Well, Li Yanyan, you've got your eye on my monthly allowance now, haven't you?"
Li Shiyue was just teasing her. Seeing her serious expression, she smiled and said, "Yes, my cousin got a jade hairpin from me, and I gave her earrings as a gift. She always thinks of her cousin when it comes to good things. It's not too much for me to ask her for a red envelope."
Xu Lingzi laughed and poked her forehead: "You!"
Li Shiyue simply took her hand and gently shook Xu Lingzi's arm: "Cousin, please?"
"Okay, okay, I can't do anything with you." Xu Lingzi already liked this little cousin, not to mention that she couldn't refuse her little cousin who knew how to act cute.
They just wanted to have some fun, and Li Shiyue wouldn't care about the size of the bill; it was just a bit of fun between sisters.
"Oh, right, I got a pair of jade hairpins. My cousin's arrival today is just in time, so why don't we each take one?" Li Shiyue said, calling a maid to fetch them from the dressing table in the back room.
When Qiu Fan walked in, her face showed some difficulty. She was very happy to see her sisters sitting on the wooden couch talking. She looked at the wooden box she was holding in her hands and hesitated whether to go in or not, but Xu Lingzi, who had sharp eyes, had already spotted her.
"What is Qiu Fan holding in her arms? You didn't find some good treasure again, did you?"
When Li Shiyue looked over, the smile on her face faded slightly. She avoided the wooden box in Qiu Fan's arms and reached out to take the things from Chun Ling's hands.
Xu Lingzi had long since figured out Li Shiyue's personality, and seeing her like this, she became even more puzzled by the wooden box. But then Qiu Fan, observing Li Shiyue's expression, cautiously asked, "Should we find a place to put it?"
"Hmm, let's put it somewhere out of sight and keep it safe."
Li Shiyue's voice was indifferent, revealing no change in emotion, but Xu Lingzi, sitting opposite her, sensed something was amiss.
Xu Lingzi raised her hand, took two steps forward, and took the wooden box from Qiu Fan's hand. Upon opening it, she found nothing precious inside, just a very common sachet. The wooden box was also the most common type of red lacquered wood with a ruyi pattern, and inside, apart from the ordinary sachet, there was nothing else.
Before she could even speak, Lian Dong led someone into the house; it was Xu Yunci, whom she hadn't seen for several days.
Outside, willow catkins and snowflakes drifted down. Xu Yunci walked in but only stood at the door of the main room, glancing around at the two empty rocking chairs.
"Second brother? What brings you here?" Xu Lingzi, holding the wooden box, raised her hand to lift the beaded curtain in front of her.
Li Shiyue followed closely behind, only to hear the man's cold voice: "I came to find you. Wulang and the others are going to set off fireworks in a while."
Xu Lingzi's eyes lit up, but then she heard Xu Yunci ask, "What are you holding onto? Why won't you let go?"
Xu Lingzi blinked, unsure how to answer. After all, this thing belonged to Li Shiyue, and if she was willing to take it out in front of her, it meant she didn't need to hide it from her. However, since her second brother was a young man, it was indeed inconvenient.
Li Shiyue answered first: "It's just some small things, cousin, you can take it if you like."
"But why did you ask Qiu Fan to put the little thing away where it can't be seen?" Xu Lingzi's eyes were full of doubt. She opened the wooden box again and looked at it carefully, but she couldn't see anything strange about it.
Li Shiyue was wearing a short jacket at the time, and her bare hands clenched tightly after hearing Xu Lingzi's words.
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