After another heavy snowfall, the Laba Festival will arrive.
Because of the frailty of the Nian family, Qian Shengyan continued to manage the affairs of the courtyard. The day before Laba Festival, she had various beans soaked, and on the morning of the eighth day of the first lunar month, everyone had a fragrant Laba porridge to drink.
Hongli's face swelled up from drinking, and the small bowl was quickly emptied. He wanted more, but Qian Shengyan was worried that he wouldn't be able to digest the mixed grains, so she replaced the second bowl with rice porridge.
Hongli didn't mind at all and still drank with great relish. Yinzhen, watching him eat, was also able to drink half a bowl more.
After breakfast, Qian Shengyan, despite her pregnant belly, gave some instructions. Then someone came to report that Consort Nian had invited the Prince to dine at Leshan Academy that evening, and that she had personally cooked eight-treasure porridge for him to try.
Ha, inviting you to dinner so early in the morning, you probably just started soaking the beans.
Since Qian Shengyan had no say in Yinzhen's decision anyway, she simply waved her hand, sending someone to inform Yinzhen, and then went back to her room to lie down.
She didn't ask what Yinzhen said, but before dinner, Qingxue came to ask her what she wanted to eat. She was pinching Hongli's chubby hand and trimming his nails.
When Qingxue asked her this, Qian Shengyan remembered the invitation from the Nian family. She couldn't help but sneer, "Anyway, I don't eat eight-treasure porridge." She paused, "It's so cold, let them make a hot pot, some beef and mutton, and some thin noodles too."
She grabbed Hongli's hands with both of them and shook them off: "How about Mother and Hongli eat hot pot together?"
"Okay!" Hongli grinned, revealing his pearly white teeth, but then added, "Father wants some too!"
Qian Shengyan: ...
Oh, silly child, your father went to eat someone else's rouge.
Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore. Anyway, she's about to have two children. What do men matter? She can raise more when she becomes Empress Dowager.
Holding Hongli's hand with one hand and touching her belly with the other, Qian Shengyan tried her best to reassure herself, but...
Her emotions fluctuated greatly during her pregnancy, and her eyes still welled up with tears.
She blinked hard to wipe away the tears in her eyes, and was about to say something to Hongli when she heard a soft laugh from outside the curtain. The person lifted the curtain and came in: "What, don't you want to let the master eat your hot pot?"
"...Master is going to have some porridge, how would he have time to eat hot pot?" Qian Shengyan blurted out without thinking.
Yinzhen was not angry. He simply waved for Su Peisheng and the others following behind him to leave, then pinched Qian Shengyan's cheek with one hand and squeezed out the flesh on her face: "Sharp-tongued."
"Father, Mother will give you some." Hongli was still defending Qian Shengyan, and he didn't forget to say, "Eight Treasure Porridge, Hongli wants to drink it too."
"Then let's have some together tonight." After making the decision, Yinzhen saw that Qian Shengyan's porcelain-white face was slightly red from being pinched by him, so he couldn't help but explain, "Why would a sick person drink eight-treasure porridge? It's hard to digest."
Qian Shengyan knew she shouldn't be doing this, but a smile just crept up on her own.
She smiled at Yinzhen with a charmingly reproachful look, then gave a soft hum and picked up Hongli's chubby hand to continue trimming his nails.
Yinzhen reached out his large hand and squeezed Hongli's chubby little hand, then pinched hers, and touched her belly. He laughed again: "It's a good Laba Festival, of course I have to spend it with the children."
Oh, so that means you're going to accompany Hongli and his unborn child, and she's just a side trip.
Qian Shengyan couldn't help but feel a little jealous and let out a soft snort. The next moment, Yinzhen patted her bottom: "You're getting more and more spoiled. If you keep going like this, let's see who else but me will spoil you."
"Then you'll spoil me, Your Highness, and keep spoiling me." Qian Shengyan pouted and looked up at him, making Yinzhen's Adam's apple bob slightly. After a moment, he couldn't help but raise his hand to cover Hongli's eyes and kiss her soft pink lips. He then smiled and sighed, "You're just here to make trouble for Your Highness."
The two snuggled together sweetly. Hongli initially waited obediently, but after a while, he couldn't wait any longer and started to pry open Yinzhen's large hand. Qian Shengyan, noticing this, couldn't help but laugh. She also raised her hand and covered Yinzhen's hand. When Hongli touched two hands, he was startled and exclaimed, "Mother! Mother! Father has two hands!"
"Hahahaha!" Qian Shengyan was so amused by her silly son that she fell onto Yinzhen. Yinzhen covered his son with one hand and held Qian Shengyan's belly with the other. He was both helpless and annoyed, but seeing her laughing like this, he couldn't help but let out a warm smile in his eyes.
After the Laba Festival, the New Year is just around the corner. At present, only the Lion Garden family in Rehe has people around, and all the gift-giving is done in the capital. Ulanara clan also sent someone early on to bring the gift list for Yinzhen to review. If there are no problems, then the gifts will be given directly according to the list.
Last year, it was Qian Shengyan, who had just entered the Prince's mansion, who was very cautious at the time. She wanted to throw all the responsibility to Yinzhen's wet nurse and didn't want to take any responsibility at all.
But Qian Shengyan felt that she had grown a lot this year. She had gained experience and knowledge. The gift list from the mansion was sent to her first, and she even found a few things that were inappropriate.
Yinzhen immediately circled the item and made adjustments, then sent the gift list back to the capital.
However, Qian Shengyan was not complacent; on the contrary, she found it strange. Why did the gifts arranged by the Fujin (wife of a woman of humble origins) for those two families be several times more substantial than those for other families of similar standing?
Such an obvious mistake shouldn't be made.
Yinzhen seemed to see through her thoughts, and when the two were lying in bed that night, he explained to her, "Those families are relatives of the Ulanara family. She was testing whether Your Majesty wanted to give the Ulanara family an important position."
"Ah!" Qian Shengyan hadn't expected this outcome, and she was so startled that she sat up abruptly in bed. "Wouldn't that mean I've ruined your plans, Master?"
"No." Yinzhen pulled her back down to lie down, and said slowly, "It's just right. I have so many useful servants under my command, why would I use the Ulanara family? They dared to drug me, humph."
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