Tranquility was finally restored at the naval ports of Guangdong and Guangxi. Time slowly passed the last day of the first lunar month.
The temperature in the south was gradually rising. Qingyan led the twins towards the courtyard of Prince Zhi. The twins had changed into exquisite spring clothes. Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen had Suzhu prepare a set of exquisite headdresses, saying they were gifts for Songkelierha.
"Mother, can I get my head shaved the day after tomorrow?" Yiken touched the little hair on her head, feeling a little unhappy.
"Of course, will your father accompany you that day?" Qingyan patted his short buzz cut, a smile appearing on his face.
Since Yiken'e was born, Yin would go to get his head shaved together with Yiken'e on the day the dragon raises its head, and the father and son became even more harmonious.
In the courtyard of Prince Zhi, the servants began to busily arrange the heavy winter clothes. Lady Yingenjueluo and her daughter Songkelierha sat in the pavilion, chatting and laughing.
"Fourth Aunt, you've arrived?!" Songkelierha saw Qingyan from the pavilion and quickly got up to greet her.
Qingyan had the maids stand below the pavilion while she and the twins went up to it.
"Sister-in-law, have you had breakfast?" After Qingyan took her seat, a maid brought her a cup of warm water.
"Little darling, the things that need to be prepared for the second day of the second lunar month should be ready in the next two days!" Yingenjueluo knew that the Dragon Raising its Head was the beginning of the year, so Yingenjueluo and Qingyan had to work together to prepare for the banquet.
Qingyan nodded: "Sister-in-law, the market near the military port hasn't opened for business yet, so we have very few things we can use. Luckily, we had quite a few left over for the Spring Festival!"
Yin Genjueluo looked at Qingyan in astonishment. They wanted to use the stored supplies...
"Little darling, can't you think of a way?" Madam Yin Genjue Luo was also in a dilemma. "The things we bought for the New Year are not enough to celebrate the Dragon Head Raising Festival."
For Yin Genjueluo and Qingyan, arriving at the naval port meant that every Lunar New Year was a test.
"Let the kitchen prepare. Su Lan, go and call the head chef!" Qing Yan thought for a moment and then told Su Lan to go and fetch him.
“!” Su Lan immediately accepted the order and returned.
"Sister-in-law, in a couple of days, the craftsmen from Linglong Pavilion will come over and say they want to discuss headdresses. Shall we go and take a look together with Songkelierha?" Qingyan invited Yingenjueluo to make headdresses together, as they had to attend the banquet on the second day of the second lunar month and needed to use some new headdresses.
“Sure, tomorrow?” Yin Genjue Luo Shi was not being polite to Qing Yan at all.
“Yes, come over after breakfast,” Qingyan quickly said.
Hutu Lifengsheng Zhalafen presented a set of exquisite red jewel headdress with the characters for "fortune" and "blessing". The two tassels each had the character "fortune" hanging from them, and below them were tassels made of gold pearls!
"Little darling, isn't this too extravagant!" Yin Genjue Luo Shi saw the headdress and felt it was far too expensive.
"Sister-in-law, please don't interfere. This is just the affection between two little girls. Adults shouldn't 'meddle'!" Qingyan wasn't going to indulge them. Hutulifengshengzhalafen gave his favorite jewelry to Songkelierha; this was a sign of the children's friendship.
Inside the naval port, the training intensity increased so much that the soldiers had no idea what day it was.
As evening approached, Yin said after training that there would be a day off the day after tomorrow. Everyone suddenly remembered that it was the day of the Dragon Raising its Head on the second day of the second lunar month. Some of them touched their hair and laughed.
The younger soldiers were delighted to hear Yin's words and eagerly awaited the day the dragon raises its head.
Inside the study, Yiken'e and Hutulifengshengzhalaf straightened their backs and sat down in their chairs, starting to practice calligraphy at their desks. Qingyan, on the other hand, was embroidering two small purses next to them, each with a colorful longevity pattern composed of bats, peaches, and the character "福" (fortune).
"Little darling, is everything ready?" After learning about the difficulties of purchasing supplies from Su Peisheng, Yin entered the study and the first thing he asked was this question.
Upon hearing the sound, Qingyan placed the purse in her hand into the sewing basket on the mahogany kang table. Recently, her body had become increasingly heavy, and whenever the twins were practicing calligraphy, she could only sit on the daybed with a round cushion under her waist to make herself feel more comfortable.
"Don't get up. You're already so heavy. I shouldn't let you keep working!" Yin looked at Qingyan's big belly, a bitter taste in his mouth.
The stewards in the naval port were also unreliable, so only the two primary wives could start the work.
"Fourth Brother, where's Tenth Brother? I haven't seen him lately," Qingyan asked, puzzled.
"He took people out for training. Little darling, you're seven months along now, you need to be careful!" Yin was always worried about Qingyan's health every time he went out for training.
Qingyan smiled, her legs and feet had started to swell recently. When Yin was sleeping with Qingyan, he would always avoid her stomach, afraid that he would press on her body.
“This isn’t my first pregnancy, and the children are very well-behaved,” Qingyan quickly told Yin.
Previously, when he had twins, Yin wished that after six months of pregnancy, he could stay in bed and recuperate.
"Alright, Physician Yuan also said that we need to exercise!" Yin helped Qingyan off the soft couch and walked back and forth, holding onto the table.
Qingyan felt a bit tired after walking around twice.
"Sisi, how many trips do we need to make?!" Qingyan asked, frowning.
"At least six trips!" Yin helped Qingyan walk back and forth. "So, you need to be extra careful!"
Qingyan, with a mournful face, could only follow Yin's lead, while Yiken watched as her mother was dragged back and forth.
Half an hour later, Qingyan leaned wearily against the cushion. Yin personally poured her a glass of warm water and told her to rest for a while.
"Si Si, on the second day of the second lunar month, do I still have to attend until midnight?" Qingyan asked quickly.
Su Peisheng brought afternoon tea, and Qingyan felt her mouth watering. She had a bit of a headache; the baby in her belly was a glutton.
"Of course, both you and your sister-in-law will be attending, and the women need to be comforted too!" Yin quickly explained.
A bitter smile appeared on Qingyan's face. Sitting for several hours in a row was too tiring for her at her current level.
"Fourth Brother, I might need to go out occasionally!" Yin nodded, and Qingyan shifted her body slightly. "As for food, my sister-in-law and I will have a separate menu!"
"The banquet needs two menus. Discuss it with your sister-in-law tomorrow. If anything is missing, your brother and I will figure it out!" Yin said, patting her hand.
Qingyan tilted her head and glanced at him.
"The markets near the naval port are all closed. If you could buy something there, you wouldn't need it at all!" Qingyan said, pouting slightly.
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