The New Year's banquet had a few minor hiccups, but overall it was quite successful. Watching the fireworks from outside gave a sense of peace, prosperity, and a prosperous era.
Emperor Kangxi's favorite grandson was Hongxi, the son of the Crown Prince. He specially brought him along this time to chat with the princes and ministers.
However, the atmosphere on the field was still a little strange.
Apart from the beginning, when the Emperor asked the Crown Prince to offer a toast, and the incident of Hongzhao and Hongqing fighting, the Crown Prince did not speak again.
In the past, the Emperor always regarded the Crown Prince as the apple of his eye, and it was a great honor to be able to act on behalf of the Emperor at events such as the New Year's banquet. However, this year, this did not happen.
No one was particularly interested; they were just making a ruckus for the sake of creating a lively atmosphere.
This year's New Year's banquet is now over, but there are still several days of activities to come.
As expected, Yinzhen kept his promise and gave the genuine Mongolian horse to Hongzhao. He also praised him for his good martial arts skills, but advised him to be careful not to be too reckless next time. Hitting Hongqing directly at the New Year's banquet was too risky and would easily attract gossip.
Hongzhao was already very happy. He thought that after hitting someone, his father would definitely not give him a horse anymore. He didn't expect to receive a word of praise. As for the criticism, he had to accept it.
However, nothing made him as happy as he beat up that brat Hongqing.
He was thinking, "This should be considered my breakthrough to fame, right?"
After all, when the party ended, he saw many of his cousins winking at him, and Hongchun even secretly gave him a thumbs up.
Hongzhao has been living a life of great satisfaction these past few days. Even though his birthday celebration wasn't a big affair, he wasn't unhappy at all; on the contrary, he was quite pleased with himself.
During the Spring Festival, the Imperial Study was not open, and Hongzhao, Hongyan, and Honghui spent their days outside the mansion playing with their cousins.
Changning didn't bother with them; they were just letting them have some fun during the rare few days of the New Year.
Hutuli has been quite well-behaved these past few days. With the roads slippery from the snow, she doesn't like to go out. She's been staying in her room organizing her storeroom ledgers, and she's doing it quite well. This makes Changning very pleased, and it seems that her teaching is starting to show results.
She is now not only learning how to manage affairs, but also being taught needlework by Granny Yin, making sachets and handkerchiefs. She is making some progress, which is much better than before when she embroidered butterflies into crickets.
Hutu felt that she had already acquired some skills, so she clamored that she wanted to embroider a few small capes for Tuantuan and Yuanyuan to try. If she embroidered them well, she would make larger pieces and embroider a ready-made garment for her mother and father.
Changning is very supportive of her daughter's desire to settle down and do needlework. After all, she can't practice martial arts or wield a whip anymore, so doing something that allows her to calm down is certainly better.
When it comes to needlework, Yierha is more skilled, so the two girls often go to the side room together to sort the threads, choose patterns, and cut clothes.
The little cape was quick to make. Hutu chose cherry red fabric with a rabbit fur trim. Although Tuantuan's own fur was long, dense, and thick enough, this made it more windproof.
To everyone's surprise, Tuantuan liked it quite a bit, which made Hutuli overjoyed. You see, this little guy is so cute and picky; he absolutely refuses to wear anything unless it's a style or color he likes.
What does this mean? It means she's no ordinary person!
A scholar should be viewed with new eyes after three days of separation.
The success of the Tuan Tuan cloak greatly excited her. Hu Tuli then prepared to make some needlework for her father and mother, but the difficulty of making clothes for adults was still a bit too high for her, so she decided to make two pairs of socks first.
This thing is both thoughtful and practical, and even if the stitches aren't tight or it looks a bit ugly, it's inside the shoe anyway, so no one can see it, and it doesn't matter if it fails.
Without further ado, she called Yierha over again.
Yierha was practicing calligraphy and copying Buddhist scriptures in her room when she heard about it. She thought it was a good idea and wanted to do something for her father. So the two of them asked for Yinzhen's size and started making socks.
The two little girls were being secretive, not wanting anyone to know, and were planning to give him a surprise.
But how could such a small trick fool Changning?
Just as they asked for the size, Changning immediately knew. She sighed inwardly, thinking, "No wonder they say daughters are like warm cotton-padded jackets. Look at how filial and sensible they are. They are so much better than those brats."
Hutu first drew the shape of the socks on paper, then cut them out to get a feel for them before starting to use the fabric. As she worked, she wondered if her father and mother would like them.
The two girls were preparing a surprise, and Changning certainly wouldn't spoil it. She knew but pretended not to know, and didn't even tell Yinzhen.
Yinzhen has been going out a lot these past two days, and has even visited the estate several times. Changning knows that he is planning to plant crops on the estate, and she is very interested. She even discussed with him what to plant and which crops have a high yield.
Speaking of the Ministry of Revenue, Changning thought of his third brother, who also worked in the Ministry of Revenue, but was in charge of trade. Didn't he manage to get any Western seeds?
Upon hearing Changning's question, Yinzhen was taken aback, but quickly replied, "What good seeds could the West possibly have? The soil and water are different. Crops that can be grown there may not be suitable for us."
"I know that oranges grown south of the Huai River are sweet oranges, but those grown north of it are bitter oranges. But we can still give it a try. Look at quinine, isn't it suitable for our constitution?"
Yinzhen was actually somewhat persuaded and seemed to be deep in thought.
I had previously thought that the Qing Dynasty was still the most powerful in agriculture, but if there are any good seeds from the West, it wouldn't hurt to give them a try.
Changning was somewhat pleased that she had persuaded Yinzhen. Perhaps after he ascended the throne, she could convince him to send men and ships to Xiao Rizi's territory to wipe out all the Japanese pirates, so that they wouldn't take advantage of her and act arrogantly in the future.
We must have a patriotic heart.
Hutuli and Yierha worked for several days and finally each made two pairs of socks. When they brought them over, Yinzhen was stunned. This was the first time he had ever received needlework from his daughter.
He gently stroked the pattern on the socks; the stitches were dense and tight, and although they were a little crooked, he received the weighty sentiment behind them.
"Hutuli and Yierha are so thoughtful, Ama really likes it."
Seeing that their father liked it, the two little girls were overjoyed, and Hutuli even clamored for her father to try it on right now.
Seeing that Yinzhen looked a little embarrassed, Changning quickly smoothed things over, "Alright, alright, these socks look comfortable. I'll make sure your father puts them on first thing tomorrow morning."
Hutuli then cheerfully took out a pair of socks for Changning and said to her in a coquettish tone, "Mother, I also made you a pair. Remember to try them on!"
As for the other pair made by Yierha, they were given to the Fujin (principal wife).
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