Chapter 182 Unwrapping Gifts
It was late at night.
The guests gradually left, and Miss Zhang had her nanny take her younger brother back home. The once bustling Marshal's Mansion returned to silence.
After the excitement, a deep sense of exhaustion follows.
Mao Mao nestled in her mother's arms, resting her head on her mother's shoulder. Her soft, plump cheeks were squeezed up, and she was so sleepy that she could barely keep her eyes open.
"Maomao? Maomao?"
Lou Hongjian held his younger sister's drooping little hand and gently shook it.
Mao Mao propped her head up and looked at him in confusion. She stared blankly for a while, as if she had finally recognized him. She opened her mouth to call him "brother," but first let out a big yawn, and her round eyes became misty with tears.
Lou Hongjian found it hilarious.
He tried to tease his sister, but Lou Yansui slapped his outstretched hand away.
"Third Brother, Mao Mao is very tired. Don't disturb Mao Mao's sleep."
Lou Hongjian reluctantly stopped, saying, "Oh."
How can I not be tired?
First, my dad took me out to a social event, and then I danced all night.
Later, someone else played the harmonica for a long time.
Originally, the third concubine only taught her a short two-minute tune, but the student had her own ideas. It was the first time Mao Mao had performed in front of so many people, and she became more and more excited as she played. She played until she was panting, and then her brother carried her off the stage.
After the harmonica performance ended, the guests fell into a rare silence that lasted for a long time.
Not to mention the guests, everyone in the Lou family is still feeling dizzy.
It was getting late, and the banquet ended late at night. Everyone was exhausted after a whole night, so they all went back to their rooms to rest.
No one came to take her daughter away today. Xia Xiaoxiang carried the exhausted Mao Mao back home, gave her a bath, and put her in bed.
As soon as she touched the pillow, Mao Mao skillfully found a comfortable position for herself, rubbed against the soft pillow, grabbed a corner of the quilt, and closed her eyes sleepily.
Soon, her breathing became soft, and her chubby little face looked adorable as she slept. Xia Xiaoxiang watched for a while, then couldn't resist giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek.
She moved quietly, quickly finished washing, and then returned to lie down next to her daughter.
Perhaps awakened by her noise, Mao Mao groggily sat up from under the covers.
Xia Xiaoxiang yawned and patted her back, "What's wrong?"
"I didn't eat noodles."
Mao Mao rubbed her eyes and said sleepily, "Mao Mao hasn't eaten noodles yet."
Xia Xiaoxiang was stunned: "It's so late, why are you having noodles?"
"Mommy made noodles." Mao Mao said, crawling out of the soft quilt and struggling to get out of bed. "I have to eat noodles on my birthday."
She lay on the edge of the bed, and with a skillful push of her little feet, she slid down, her bare feet landing on the cold floor. Once she was steady, Mao Mao wobbled and walked outside.
Xia Xiaoxiang was both amused and exasperated.
Seeing that the little girl had already stood on tiptoe to turn the doorknob, Xia Xiaoxiang had no choice but to lift the blanket and sit up herself: "I'm right here, where are you going to eat noodles?"
Xia Xiaoxiang caught up with her, took her soft little hand, and walked towards the kitchen.
"You've eaten so much delicious food today, how come you're still not full?"
"You have to eat noodles on your birthday, that's what Mom said." Mao Mao nodded her little head: "And add two eggs too."
"It's not that we didn't have the means before, we couldn't afford a cake, so we could only give you longevity noodles."
As Xia Xiaoxiang walked, she said, "You got to eat a huge cake today! It was so big! The First Madam hired a chef from a Western restaurant, and it took several people working together to make it!"
"Yeah, the noodles are delicious."
What else could Xia Xiaoxiang say?
Of course, only I can spoil my own daughter.
In the dead of night, only the big white cat was still awake. Hearing the two people making noise, it poked its head out from the stairwell and quickly followed them up, paws pawing the way.
The two people and the cat walked through the hall and into the kitchen.
It was so late that even the servants in the kitchen had gone to bed, but there was still some broth warming on the stove.
Mao Mao carried her little stool and obediently sat down beside her, resting her chubby chin on her hand as she watched her mother busy herself. The big white cat squatted beside her, its fluffy tail occasionally brushing against the back of her feet.
The white mist gradually blurred Xia Xiaoxiang's figure.
A bowl of longevity noodles was quickly ladled out of the pot, topped with two fried eggs that were golden brown and slightly charred at the edges. Because it was evening, there weren't many noodles in it.
Xia Xiaoxiang handed her the chopsticks: "Eat."
Mao Mao took the chopsticks, clumsily rolled up the noodles, and quickly buried her head in the bowl, slurping them down.
"Is Mom's noodles delicious?"
"Um!"
Xia Xiaoxiang pursed her lips and chuckled to herself.
After a while, watching Mao Mao's adorable eating habits, she too had her appetite awakened.
"Mao Mao, give one egg to your mother."
Mao Mao generously pushed the bowl over so that she could take the other egg.
In the dead of night, the mother and daughter quietly finished the whole bowl of longevity noodles, wiped their mouths, and went back to their room hand in hand. They brushed their teeth again before lying down in a loving embrace.
The big white cat jumped onto the bed, found a suitable spot next to Mao Mao, and curled itself up in a ball.
Soon, even breathing could be heard in the room.
...
The next morning, Mao Mao opened her eyes wide with energy and sat up in bed in a flash.
She ran outside barefoot on the floor, her short legs clattering as she went.
Yesterday was Mao Mao's birthday, so today is the day to unwrap her gifts.
For a four-year-old, the happiest thing is unwrapping gifts and discovering surprises!
Before, only her mother would give her birthday presents, but now it's different. Yesterday, Mao Mao received many gifts; every guest brought a beautifully wrapped gift box, and the boxes, big and small, filled the entire room.
However, before she could even reach the room where the gifts were stored, she was caught on the way by the third concubine.
"Good heavens, Mao Mao!" Third Aunt shouted, "Why did you run out without even putting on shoes, combing your hair, or changing your clothes?!"
Mao Mao helped the third concubine and smiled sweetly at her.
"Mao Mao, go open your presents!"
"Your birthday presents are all safely stored there, they can't be lost, what's the rush?"
Third Aunt carried her back, changed her pajamas, combed her hair, and applied face cream to her face again. Later, Mao Mao couldn't wait any longer and even skipped applying the fragrant face cream, pulling her along to hurriedly find a gift.
"Slow down, slow down, we haven't eaten yet!"
Mao Mao had no choice but to turn into the dining room and hurriedly shovel rice into her mouth.
It was rare to see her eat so hastily, and when everyone heard that she was in a hurry to open her gift, they were immediately overjoyed.
The gifts were piled up in the small room, their colorful wrapping papers dazzling, and had already been divided into two piles.
One pile was from guests who didn't know each other, and the other pile was from people Mao Mao knew.
Mao Mao plunged headfirst into the pile behind her.
Everyone came to watch the excitement. It was still early, and even Lou Heming wasn't in a hurry to go out.
The first thing to be seized was a small gift box with a delicate bow tied on it.
The gift box was well-packaged, but it was also a bit difficult to open. Mao Mao struggled to open it and took out a small box from inside.
Upon opening it, there was a gleaming golden longevity lock.
She exclaimed "Eh!", opened her eyes wide, took out the longevity lock, and held it in her small hands, looking at it over and over.
The longevity lock is exquisitely crafted and feels incredibly heavy in the hand.
The card with the blessing written on it fell to the ground, but Mao Mao couldn't read yet, so she glanced at it and skipped it. The second concubine picked it up quickly and looked at the signature on it.
It was written about my second mother.
The second concubine looked at the first concubine in surprise: "This must have cost a lot of money, right?"
The first wife smiled and said, "It's alright, I've saved up some money recently."
The third concubine looked over upon hearing this, her delicately drawn willow-leaf eyebrows slightly raised, but she said nothing.
The longevity lock was hung around her neck, and Mao Mao grabbed the second box.
Open it, and this time it's Shen Zhaolin's.
He gave me a stack of books, children's primers, with a line of strong, vigorous penmanship on the first blank page: "May my friend be like a seedling in spring, growing daily, becoming wiser and more intelligent, and always joyful."
Mao Mao glanced at it and put it down as well.
Lou Yansui took it and glanced at it. There were also careful annotations inside, some of which were even more detailed than what was taught in school, and the handwriting looked very familiar.
Lou Yansui asked in surprise, "Could it be that Professor Shen made the annotations himself?"
"Joke." The others all craned their necks to look.
The Shen family is a family of scholars with a rich family tradition of learning. Having such a meticulous primer gives them an advantage over many other children.
Mao Mao has already been dismantled to the next one.
The gift box was opened, and inside was a key.
Mao Mao stared blankly at the key in her hand, then bit it with her little baby teeth. It was hard and didn't taste good.
Lou Dashuai rubbed his hands together, eagerly saying, "Mao Mao, this is a gift from Dad."
Lou Hongjian couldn't help but ask, "Dad, did you give me a house?"
Lou Dashuai immediately glared at him: "Why give me a house? Mao Mao is still so young, she wants to live with her father for the rest of her life."
Lou Hongjian immediately pulled his head back.
"This is the key to the lock. It's a gift I sent, and it's parked in the yard outside." Commander Lou was confident in his gift.
Everyone rushed out to see.
There was a children's toy car parked in the yard.
It looks somewhat like a car, with four wheels, and also like a rickshaw, with an open-air backrest seat. It also resembles a bicycle, where children sit and pedal like they would on a bicycle to move forward.
Mao Mao immediately raised her little hand with bright eyes: "Daddy, hug me!"
Lou Dashuai carried her into the seat.
With Mao Mao holding the steering wheel, she pushed off with her short legs, and the stroller rolled forward a little.
Wow!
Mao Mao touched the toy car under her bottom with great affection and raised her little head.
So cool!
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