On New Year's Eve, Wei Min woke up in the morning and leaned against the head of the bed to read a book. She had no intention of getting out of bed. Even A Ruan, a pregnant woman, got up earlier than her.
It snowed all night last night and just stopped this morning. The entire capital was covered in white snow, and all you could see was white, making it impossible to distinguish between the sky and the ground.
When you open the door in the morning, you are greeted by a chilly, biting cold, which instantly dispels the heat from the charcoal basin in the room and refreshes your mind.
Ah Ruan couldn't help but shiver, put his hands to his mouth and breathed out, then took two steps outside and stood under the corridor looking at the Wei Mansion after the heavy snow.
When A Ruan got up, the servants in the mansion were busy clearing the snow in the yard with brooms.
Now that the mistress is pregnant, if she steps on the uncleanly swept snow and slips and falls, no one in the mansion can take the responsibility.
Erjiu came over from the garden gate, walked up to Aruan and asked him, "Master, why are you up so early? Are you hungry?"
A'ruan's appetite has improved recently. Normally, he would feel hungry not long after a meal, let alone after a night.
Ah Ruan lowered her eyes, raised her hand to cover her obviously bulging belly, pursed her lips and smiled, and nodded shyly. He always felt that he had eaten too much recently, which was why his stomach was noticeably bigger.
Erjiu stared at Aruan's pregnant belly with a smile and said crisply, "Didn't the master say that being able to eat is a blessing? Besides, you are not eating alone now, the little master in your belly also needs to eat."
Ah Ruan smiled and did not comment on this.
His wife was eager for him to eat more, so she would never say anything bad about it.
Erjiu asked someone to prepare food. Aruan stood at the door for a while, felt a little cold, and turned back into the house.
Wei Min looked up and saw A Ruan coming back. He gestured for him to come over and asked, "Is it cold outside?"
Ah Ruan's fingers were cold, but Wei Min's warm, dry palms held them in the quilt and pressed them against her belly.
The collision of cold and heat made Ah Ruan wrinkle her nose. After feeling the warmth from Wei Min's body, she nodded as she moved closer to her.
--cold.
Wei Min raised his hand to take off A Ruan's coat, pulled him to the bed, and wrapped him tightly in the quilt. He frowned and asked, "It's cold, but you're up so early?"
A Ruan hid half of his head in the quilt. He did not refute what was said. He leaned contentedly in Wei Min's arms, ready to read a book with her.
Over the years, Wei Min would take time out to teach A'ruan how to read and write, and he even invited a teacher to teach him for two years. Now A'ruan could recognize all the contents of Wei Min's letter, but he didn't quite understand the deeper meaning of some sentences.
Whenever Ah Ruan saw something he didn’t understand, he would raise his hand, point his finger at that place, and look up at Wei Min.
When Wei Min saw this, he would break the sentence into pieces and repeat it to him, with even more patience than the Master.
Wei Min and A Ruan got up only after Erjiu had someone bring in hot water and food.
There are only two masters in the Wei Mansion, and not many people in the whole mansion. They live in a large courtyard with four entrances and exits. It is not noticeable at ordinary times, but it will feel a bit deserted during the festivals.
The servants in the mansion had been hoping to have a little master so that the life would be more lively. This year, the master finally got pregnant, and the firecrackers set off during the New Year seemed to be louder than in previous years.
For Wei Min, the New Year holidays are actually no different from any other time off: he eats when it’s time to eat and reads when it’s time to read.
In previous years, during the New Year’s Eve dinner, Wei Min and his wife, together with Erjiushiba, would gather together for a steaming hot pot.
However, Erjiu's father and sister came to Beijing this year, so A'ruan let Erjiu and Shiba, the couple who just got married this year, go back to celebrate the New Year.
So the New Year's Eve dinner that was supposed to be for four people was suddenly left with only A'ruan and Wei Min.
Wei Min had heard someone mention before that pregnant women should avoid certain foods, so after thinking about it, he asked someone to change the hot pot they had every evening to dumplings.
After dinner, A Ruan wrapped himself in a thick shirt and sat in the main room, sitting by the brazier to stay up all night. Wei Min sat beside him, peeling fruit and bringing him snacks, occasionally raising his hand to stuff something into his mouth.
After A'ruan had eaten his fill, Wei Min confirmed that he would not wake up hungry again at night, and the New Year's Eve party in the Wei Mansion was over.
Wei Min patted his clothes and stood up, saying to A Ruan, "It's cold, you might as well go back to bed instead of just sitting here."
In previous years, when A'ruan stayed up all night to welcome the New Year, he would call Erjiu and Shiba to come play mahjong together, and the four of them would chat and laugh until midnight. Without the two of them here today, it really seems deserted.
Ah Ruan went back to the room and lay in bed, smiling and saying to Wei Min:
——Once the baby is born, the house will be bustling.
Wei Min lifted a corner of the quilt and lay down, holding A'ruan in his arms, and habitually put his hand on his lower abdomen and touched it, "One is lively enough, too many will be too noisy."
Wei Min bent down and kissed A Ruan's forehead. After he lay down, he said, "It's enough for you to suffer this time. If you suffer more, I will feel bad."
Upon hearing this, Ah Ruan's mouth slowly opened up, and he felt as if his heart was gently bitten by something, making it numb and itchy.
With a smile on his face and tenderness in his eyes, he raised his head and kissed Wei Min's chin, looking at her with sparkling eyes.
The cold wind was howling outside, but inside the house was warm as spring. The two of them were lying on the bed, and the atmosphere between them was very good. It would be inappropriate if they did not do something.
Wei Min couldn't stand the teasing. After A Ruan took the initiative to kiss him, his heart moved. He turned around, propped his arms on him, and bent his head to kiss him.
When they were deeply in love, they remembered that Ruan was pregnant. They struggled to stop, kissed her forehead, and said softly, "Go to sleep."
Wei Min waited until A'ruan was almost asleep before he lowered his head and whispered in his ear, "Don't be so proactive next time."
Ah Ruan's eyelids were almost glued together, and in a daze he heard her say, "If you look at me a few more times in bed, I'll think you're inviting me."
Ah Ruan: “…”
Wei Min asked Feng Yu, and she said that A'ruan was fine and the baby in her belly was also doing well. After three months, when the fetus was stable, it would not be impossible for them to have sex.
The reason why Wei Min had been holding back was because she was afraid of something happening, but if A'ruan took the initiative, then she, as the wife, would naturally have to satisfy her husband's needs.
A'ruan was so sleepy that she couldn't open her eyes. When she heard Wei Min's words, she closed her eyes, frowned, and pushed her away with her soft and weak hands.
Wei Min smiled as he wrapped his fist in his palm, bent down and kissed him before falling asleep.
At midnight, people who were staying up late came out wrapped in cotton robes and set off firecrackers. The sound of firecrackers rang out to mark the end of the old year, and the streets and alleys of the capital were filled with crackling sounds.
The guards who were on night watch at the gate of the capital city took their shifts. They rubbed their hands and stamped their feet in groups of three or four, chatted and laughed with each other, wished each other Happy New Year, and all prepared to go back and have a cup of hot wine to warm themselves up.
At this moment, someone on horseback came galloping in the distance. Before he got close, he raised the token in his hand and shouted, "Open the door quickly. There is an urgent letter from Southern Xinjiang. Your Majesty needs to be informed urgently!"
Upon hearing this, the guards guarding the city gate did not dare to delay and immediately went down to open the door.
The clatter of horse hooves shuttled through the Imperial Street amid the sound of firecrackers, ignoring the New Year atmosphere and heading straight for the palace.
"What?!" Jiang Kunjun was helped out of the inner hall by Lady Yue. He summoned the cavalry guards wearing a coat. After seeing the letter she handed over, he felt unbelievable and said in a hoarse voice: "The letter says that we were defeated?"
"My army is a hundred times stronger than Zhao's. How could we be defeated? Where is the general and the princess?"
The guard lowered his head and knelt on one knee on the ground, his eyes hesitant, and said with difficulty: "The princess followed the general into battle, and the horse got scared and ran wildly, throwing the princess off the horse, injuring her calf..."
The horses used on the battlefield are all specially trained war horses, how could they be frightened so easily?
It was obvious that the pampered princess was on the battlefield for the first time. She was frightened and disturbed her horse, so she fell off the horse and injured her calf.
"Your Majesty!" Yue Meiren screamed when she saw the person next to her was unsteady.
Jiang Kunjun's body swayed, and he took two steps back before he finally stopped. After steadying his feet, he raised his hand to stop Yue Meiren who was trying to help him. He gritted his teeth and threw the letter in his hand to the ground, "This useless thing!"
What a waste of her efforts!
"Does the princess have anything for you to say to me?" Jiang Kunjun's tone was unstable with anger, and his hands hanging at his sides were clenched into fists.
The guard bowed his head and said, "The princess said that it is New Year and she is very worried about Your Majesty and the Queen. I hope you will not get angry after hearing the news. Just wait for her to come back and scold you."
Jiang Kunjun waved his hand and asked the Palace Director to take the guards down to rest, and he sighed silently. This daughter is simply not capable of handling such a heavy responsibility.
She had originally wanted to use this expedition to southern Xinjiang to gain the support of the people when she, the crown princess, ascends the throne in the future, so that she would not lose too much to the eighth prince. But now it seems that she has backfired.
Jiang Kunjun pulled the coat on his shoulders closer and waited for the Palace Secretary to come back and asked her to convey the imperial decree and ask someone to invite Mr. Jin to come to the palace.
Jiang has already lost twice to Zhao State and cannot lose again.
The author has something to say: I have made some changes. Please read it again if you have read it.
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