The children all went back to their rooms, and the fire in the stove gradually went out.
The broth in the hot pot stopped boiling.
The room suddenly felt much colder.
He Youyou took out a thin blanket from her spatial storage and draped it over herself.
Watching Zhao Changqing across from him drink one cup after another.
"Your Highness, you'll get drunk if you drink any more."
Zhao Changqing's hand, which was holding the wine glass, suddenly stopped.
"Youyou, did you pay your respects to the Han family today?"
On New Year's Eve, it is customary for every household to worship their ancestors.
"Yes, I already took Ahri to pay respects before dinner. Do you want to go?"
He Youyou suddenly remembered that he and Han Silang had an unusual relationship.
"Please... take me to the ancestral temple."
"good."
He Youyou is a straightforward person.
She wrapped the blanket around herself and got up to lead the way.
The winter night was bitterly cold.
Even wrapped in a blanket, the chill was still unbearable.
Zhao Changqing followed her to a small ancestral hall in the backyard.
Inside, an ever-burning lamp was lit, and offerings of three kinds of sacrificial animals and various fruits were laid out on the altar.
He Youyou stepped forward, picked up three sticks of incense from the incense table, and handed them to him.
Zhao Changqing approached the ever-burning lamp, lit the incense, and inserted it into the incense burner.
He stepped back and knelt on the prayer mat.
He had been in the Han family for over a decade, and he had always harbored hatred for them.
He resented the Han family for insisting on having an adopted son, and he resented his father for sending him here.
Only now do I realize that it is the Han family who should be filled with resentment.
The more than ten members of the Han family who died unjustly should be hated by the Zhao family.
The Zhao family has wronged them.
He Youyou saw him kneeling on the prayer mat, lost in thought, with a melancholy and sorrowful expression on his face, and couldn't help but feel a little worried.
"Hanzhang, what's wrong? Are you alright?"
Zhao Changqing suddenly came to his senses, bent down, and kowtowed three times.
Then he got up and picked up a memorial tablet from above.
The memorial tablet of my late husband, Han Silang.
"Youyou, do you know how the Han family members died?"
He Youyou shook her head: "I don't know, but I guess they didn't die a natural death. I went to the ancestral graves and looked at the tombstones, and those tombstones don't seem to have been erected by the descendants of the Han family."
With his back to her, Zhao Changqing lowered his head and said dejectedly, "The Han family, more than a dozen people, were executed by my great-great-grandfather."
He Youyou was somewhat surprised.
Her mind raced, recalling every detail she knew since arriving here.
"The people of Jizhou all say that the Han family has rendered meritorious service in supporting the rise of the new emperor..."
"Yes." Zhao Changqing's voice was choked with emotion. "The Han family's ancestor... followed the founding emperor and made great contributions to the expansion of our dynasty's territory. The Han family is skilled in military tactics and has a great reputation in the army."
He Youyou remained silent: "So, this is a story about someone who achieved great merit but was suspected by his master?"
Zhao Changqing shook his head: "Now, the truth of the matter is unknown. Was it the Emperor's suspicion, or the Han family's rebellion? No one knows the details. The court only claims that the dozen or so members of the Han family died of plague at the border. However, the late Emperor knew this was not the case. The late Emperor and Han Shizhao were childhood friends. When he received the news of the Han family's extermination, he rushed there, but it was too late. The late Emperor could only have someone steal their bodies and secretly transport them back to Jizhou for burial, keeping this a secret for decades, only telling his elder brother on his deathbed."
Upon hearing this, He Youyou suddenly remembered something: "Wait! Then where did my deceased husband... Han Silang... come from?"
If the Han family had been silenced for decades, and Han Silang was only in his early twenties, where did he come from?
Zhao Changqing gripped the memorial tablet tightly in his hand: "He... was an adopted son. He was an adopted son specially arranged by the late emperor to atone for his sins and to ensure the continuation of the Han family line."
"That's right."
He Youyou suddenly realized.
Han Silang was an adopted son. After he died, a new adopted son was found to continue the family line and ensure that the ancestors of the Han family continued to have food offerings.
She looked at the row of memorial tablets and listened to the tragic story, but her heart was not greatly moved.
There was no resentment whatsoever.
Do they resent the founding emperor on behalf of the Han family?
It's not her turn.
“Youyou, I want to take Han Silang’s memorial tablet.” Zhao Changqing looked down at the memorial tablet in his hand.
"Um?"
"He was merely a pawn of the late emperor. Once he had fulfilled his purpose as a pawn, he should have disappeared. There's no need to keep him here."
He Youyou didn't care; it was just a memorial tablet.
"Then you should take good care of them."
"I will."
Suddenly, a series of firecrackers went off outside.
Firecrackers bid farewell to the old year, and plum blossoms welcome the new spring.
“It’s New Year’s Day.” He Youyou turned and walked outside. “I’m going to call the children out to set off firecrackers.”
Zhao Wenqi, who had just drifted off to sleep, was woken up by the noise. He heard that they were going to set off firecrackers and fireworks, and he struggled to raise his hand and rub his eyes.
"Wait for me, I'm not asleep yet, I want to go too."
He Youyou and the two children played happily in the yard for a long time.
After setting off the firecrackers, as usual, she took out several brocade pouches containing lucky money and distributed them to everyone.
They were saying auspicious New Year's greetings.
Ah Li solemnly knelt down and kowtowed several times to her mother.
Wishing my mother a happy and healthy New Year!
The second prince grinned and said, "Wishing Auntie a prosperous year ahead!"
"Yes, I like hearing that."
After He Youyou finished distributing the baby's food, she turned around and saw Zhao Changqing standing under the shadow of a tree.
She took a few steps toward him and handed him the brocade pouch: "Happy New Year, Your Highness!"
Zhao Changqing held the memorial tablet in one hand and awkwardly put away the brocade pouch.
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