Chapter 69 Watching Fireworks
Especially Chen, she felt a little embarrassed.
As Xu Shuyao's aunt, this matter should be hers.
But she was angry with her daughter-in-law recently and was busy teaching Jinshan, so she had no time to take care of her niece.
Next came Liu and Liu Qingwan, the housekeeper of the Duke's wife in the mansion. The old lady asked Xu Shuyao to follow Wang, obviously she valued her very much.
Among the girls of the Xiao family, only the eldest daughter, Xiao Jinru, was brought up by Wang.
Even though Liu Qingwan has married into the Duke's Mansion, she can only follow her mother-in-law to manage the affairs of the second house and cannot even get involved in the Duke's Mansion.
Even Wang herself was a little surprised.
However, the old lady always has her reasons for doing things.
She felt that her mother-in-law liked this girl Xu very much and wanted to train her well and find a good marriage for her.
Therefore, there was no reason for Wang to refuse.
Even Xu Shuyao herself was stunned for a moment before she obediently said hello.
Old Madam Xiao looked at her with a smile, and liked her more and more the more she looked at her.
It was warm in Songhe Hall, but snow was falling outside.
This lunch was not a reunion dinner. Although men and women sat at separate tables, they were not far away from each other.
There was mutton spine hotpot on the table, and Xu Shuyao ate a lot of it.
After dinner, she took two maids to take a walk in the corridor on the side of Songhe Hall. When she was tired, she leaned on the railing to watch the snow.
Huixiang was playing with footprints in the snow. Xu Shuyao found it interesting and became interested too.
She asked Qiaowei to go inside and get a cloak to wrap herself up, and then she went out.
The snow had just started to fall, and a thin layer had already covered the ground. It fluttered down, landing on hair and bodies, and melted in an instant.
Xu Shuyao felt the cool touch on her face, and her mood suddenly improved.
She picked up a stick and scratched the snow a few times. Qiao Wei also came over from the corridor, "Hey!"
She looked around the painting, "Could this person... be that girl Huixiang?"
Xu Shuyao winked at her, and the master and servant huddled together and giggled.
Huixiang ran over foolishly, "Master! Who are these people in this painting? Why do they look more like a ball than me?"
Chunsheng looked at her from inside with envy, muttering, "Cousin, it's so nice of you to do this!"
Several young men from the Xiao Mansion were drinking in the warm room of Songhe Hall. When the drinking was in full swing, they saw the Crown Prince and Xiao Jinwen looking out through the window lattice.
The second son, Xiao Jinrong, came over and asked, "What are you looking at?"
Xiao Mo turned around and continued pouring wine.
Xiao Jinwen smiled and pulled the curtains when he turned around.
The second young master returned to his seat embarrassedly, but his mind was still thinking about the bright face he had just seen. Her smile was as beautiful as a flower, which made the white snow scene come alive.
Originally, he thought that the woman was just like his stepmother, plotting his marriage with great care.
So, even though I know she is pretty, I can still ignore it.
He even did many excessive things to her.
But, is what he thinks really correct?
Thinking about his cousin Liu, who he once regarded as a fairy, and now became his wife, she caused unrest in the backyard.
Every day she either complained to him about her stepmother or criticized the maids.
Chun Xing had been with him for several years, and suddenly died like this. How could Xiao Jinrong not feel anything at all?
We have endured for so long in the past, and we agreed to make her a concubine after the marriage. It is impossible for us to make such a low-level mistake at this critical juncture.
However, one of the wife and the concubine had to be given up, so he did not question the second young lady's statement.
"Cough... cough cough cough..." Because he was fed too much, the second young master Xiao suddenly started coughing repeatedly.
Xiao Jinwen, who was standing next to him, patted his back and said soothingly, "Slow down! Slow down! Who snatched it from you?"
He had heard a lot about the second wife recently, and felt a little sympathy for the second brother.
But to Xiao Jinrong, it sounded like a double entendre. Wasn't he afraid that his cousin Liu would be robbed?
So the cough became even worse.
Xiao Mo glanced at his two younger brothers indifferently and continued to drink his wine.
Because it was snowing and everyone was going to have a reunion dinner together in the evening, no one went back to their own yard.
The women chatted and played mahjong. Xu Shuyao didn't know how to play, so she sat next to Old Madam Xiao and watched.
The old man played a few rounds and was about to go to sleep, so he said to her, "Yaoyao, come here!"
Xu Shuyao looked at the people at the table: Chen, Liu, and Xiao Jinshan. Liu Qingwan was sitting on the side and, like her, she did not sit at the table.
"Why not let cousin Liu come? I haven't learned it yet." She just watched for a while and roughly knew how to play.
But Liu lost twenty taels of silver in just a short while, and Xu Shuyao was very nervous when she saw this.
Chen scoffed at her: "Come on!"
Xu Shuyao had no choice but to force the issue.
Sure enough, after a few rounds, she lost ten taels of silver.
Fortunately, the game of Majiang didn’t last long. When it was getting dark, everyone clamored to go out and watch the servants set off fireworks.
In the past two years, Xu Shuyao stayed in Songhe Hall obediently and did not go out.
This time she had no intention of going out, but Old Madam Xiao urged her, "Why don't you go and see the excitement too! What are you doing following us old people?"
She is old and has seen too much before, so she doesn't want to join in the fun.
Wang thought that the Duke and her second son must be in a bad mood, so she stayed with her mother-in-law.
Chen didn't want to move. Although her two daughters' marriages were settled, she was completely defeated with her stepson, so she was not in the mood.
Instead, the third wife, Mrs. Liu, went with Liu Qingwan.
Xu Shuyao followed behind them.
The fireworks were set off in an open place, some distance away from Songhe Hall.
Xu Shuyao walked along the way and saw that the two people in front of her quickened their pace, but she was not in a hurry.
After walking for a while, I saw a group of people gathered over there in the distance.
By this time the fireworks had been lit, so she stopped moving forward.
Looking back, I saw that there was a wall where I was standing, and a little further inward, which could block the wind and snow outside, but still allow me to see the fireworks exploding in the sky clearly.
"Girl! Aren't you going to move forward?" Yuzhu asked when she heard the sound and rushed over.
Xu Shuyao smiled at her and said, "If you want to go forward, go ahead! Don't worry about us."
Yuzhu and Molan hesitated for a moment, but still went.
Xu Shuyao raised her head and looked straight up into the sky.
Xiao Jinwen arrived a little late, and while walking on the road, he suddenly saw three people, a master and a servant, standing under the courtyard wall.
He quickly folded his umbrella and walked closer, "Cousin Xu!"
Ever since her fourth cousin got engaged, Xu Shuyao hardly ever spoke to him alone again.
"Fourth cousin!"
After greeting each other, there was a moment of silence between the two.
Yuzhu went to the crowd. Liu Qingwan saw her but didn't see Xu Shuyao, so she asked, "Where is your master?"
"The master is over there, so it's the same if I say stand further away."
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