Chapter 57 New Year
"you……"
The words she wanted to say were stuck in her heart, and Su Wanwan didn't know how to start.
Pei Changfeng's lips gently rubbed her cheek, and the moisture in his eyes wet her eyelashes.
"You blame me," Pei Changfeng's voice was choked with sobs, "If I wasn't incompetent, why would you have to suffer like this? You don't blame me, but I blame myself even more. I couldn't protect you and let you endure such pain and suffering. If this time they were not after money, but for your life, what should I do..."
He didn't dare to think about it. Pei Changfeng tried to think about it during this day and night, but without exception, he hated himself every time.
Su Wanwan didn't know what to say. She touched Pei Changfeng's hair as if to comfort him.
But this incident planted an even stronger spark in Pei Changfeng's heart. He wanted to move up until he reached a position where no one dared to bully Su Wanwan.
If there was no Su Wanwan in the world, there would be no today and no future for Pei Changfeng.
In the end, Cai Wenchang and Pei Yaozu were each beaten with twenty sticks and sentenced to ten years in prison.
When Su Wanwan asked about it after her mouth injury healed, she couldn't help but sigh that Uncle Pei's family of three was finally complete.
In the blink of an eye, it was the end of the year. Su Wanwan had already prepared new clothes to wear for the New Year, and on New Year's Eve, she couldn't wait to put them on.
She was wearing a pink dress, as such a bright color suited her well, and she looked as graceful and charming as a camellia.
Pei Changfeng's winter clothes were also made by Su Wanwan. It was a long silver coat with no patterns embroidered on it, and Su Wanwan didn't know how to embroider, but because he had a good-looking skin, he looked good in anything.
The New Year's Eve dinner was prepared by Widow Liu. After all, there were few people and she could cook quickly. There were six dishes and one soup, and the soup was old hen soup.
Pei Changfeng had been drinking chicken soup for half a year. Although he felt sick of it, he still finished it all after Su Wanwan served him a full bowl.
They stayed up all night to celebrate the New Year in the small courtyard of Su Wanwan and Pei Changfeng, but Su Chaochao couldn't stand it. Just after the hour of Xu, his eyelids began to droop, and he was finally carried back by Widow Liu.
Su Wanwan and Pei Changfeng were keeping watch together. Su Wanwan didn't want to sit there, so she went to bed early. She read a storybook while Pei Changfeng read a book.
After midnight, fireworks bloomed in the sky. Su Wanwan threw away the book, got out of bed, opened the window to watch the fireworks.
Pei Changfeng came over and put his coat on her.
"It's a new year," Su Wanwan held her chin and looked at the sky, her expression was particularly bright and innocent, "Husband, have you prepared New Year's money for me?"
"Guess what," Pei Changfeng couldn't help laughing and pinched her cheek, "You'll know when you wake up."
With this expectation, Su Wanwan wanted to go to the next day immediately, but Pei Changfeng had no intention of letting her sleep. He kept kissing her until the sound of fireworks stopped.
When Su Wanwan woke up, Pei Changfeng was already awake. She sat up in a daze and felt something hard under the pillow.
She took it out and saw that it was actually a gold ingot!
Su Wanwan suddenly became alert. She had never seen a gold ingot in her life! How much was this gold ingot worth?
She couldn't help but take a bite on the gold ingot. Pei Changfeng happened to see this scene when he pushed the door open. He didn't know if it was due to psychological reasons, but he always felt that Su Wanwan was as cute as a child who had not yet grown up. Of course, no real child was as cute as her.
"Is this my lucky money?"
"Yes," Pei Changfeng took out a red seal from his arms, "I wanted to use this to hold it, but this red seal is a little small and can't fit in."
"Where did you get the gold ingots?" Su Wanwan was a little suspicious. "Isn't all the money in our family with me?"
"This is what my grandmother gave me," Pei Changfeng touched her head, "Your gold hairpin, my gold ingot, now I give it to you as your New Year's money."
Speaking of the gold hairpin, Su Wanwan was so disgusted by it that she never wore it again because Pei Yaozu bit it. She felt nauseous when she saw the teeth marks.
Su Wanwan hugged Pei Changfeng, buried her face in his chest and said sweetly: "My husband, you are so good. Everything you have is mine. Remember?"
"Remember," Pei Changfeng smoothed her hair and smiled gently, "All of them are yours.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, every household was extremely lively. Since Su Wanwan woke up this morning, the sound of firecrackers has never stopped in her ears.
Su Wanwan was frightened several times by Su Chaochao throwing firecrackers. Finally, she couldn't bear it anymore and pinned him down and spanked him hard several times.
Su Chaochao cried and screamed, "Sister, it's New Year's Day today!"
"You deserve a beating during the New Year!" Su Wanwan snatched his firecrackers, pretended to light them and stuffed them into his pants. Su Chaochao immediately screamed and admitted his mistake.
She was good at taking care of children. Widow Liu was eating fried dough twists on the side and pretended to give some advice. God knows she was also annoyed by this damn kid Su Chaochao. She kept setting off firecrackers here and there every day, which was so scary!
Pei Changfeng was reading a book in the room with the window wide open. There was a smile on his lips that lingered for a long time.
Chen Liang, who lives nearby, went home to celebrate the New Year. He should come back after the Lantern Festival on the 15th. However, the Yang brothers next door came on the 5th and brought New Year gifts from the Yang family.
In addition to the ordinary chicken, duck, fish and meat, the list of New Year gifts also includes silks, satins, gold and jade jewelry. It can be seen that they are specially given to Su Wanwan.
"Are grandpa and grandma in good health lately?" Pei Changfeng led the two of them to sit down.
"Since I learned that you passed the imperial examination and were going to take part in the Spring Examination, my grandmother's health has been getting better day by day, and my grandfather is also looking forward to your return. By the way, when are you going to Beijing? Why don't you live in the Marquis' Mansion after you arrive in Beijing?"
"The spring examination is in March, so we can go to the capital in February," Pei Changfeng smiled, "but we won't live in the Marquis' Mansion. In addition to my husband and I, we also have my mother-in-law and my wife's brother to accommodate. It's not convenient for so many people to live in the Marquis' Mansion."
"Don't say such things," Yang Tianxiang said, "Now the Marquis's Mansion is declining in number, and we need someone to live in and make it more lively. Besides, after you come to Beijing, your grandparents will definitely want to see you all the time. If you live outside the mansion, it will be inconvenient. You should just live in the Marquis' Mansion."
Pei Changfeng still shook his head. To him, although the Marquis' Mansion was his mother's family home, he was still just a guest and was inevitably bound by some rules. It was not as comfortable as living outside.
"If grandpa and grandma are worried, I will live closer to the Marquis' Mansion and visit them every day to pay my respects," Pei Changfeng politely refused, "Cousin, please don't persuade me anymore."
His attitude was firm. Although Yang Tianxiang felt sorry, he didn't say anything more. After delivering the holiday gifts, he took the letter that Pei Changfeng wrote to the two elders and returned to the capital.
After the people from the Marquis' Mansion left, Su Wanwan touched and looked at the materials and liked them very much. "Husband, these materials are really beautiful."
"Use it to make spring clothes," Pei Changfeng handed her the jewelry box, "and these."
Because of these things, even though Su Wanwan had never met Pei Changfeng's grandmother, the old lady of the Marquis' Mansion, she already had a good impression of her.
Pei Changfeng did not come to the capital again. Although Mrs. Yang felt it was a pity, she quickly became happy when she saw the thick letter.
"This child, if he has anything to say, he can just ask his cousin to send it to him. Why write a letter?" Madam Yang Hou unfolded the letter with a smile. "The handwriting is so beautiful. No wonder he passed the exam and became the top scorer."
Lord Yang on the side also sat over. Although he didn't say anything, he couldn't hide the satisfaction on his face.
There are now four generations in the Marquis' Mansion. Except for Lord Yang who was a military scholar when he was young, his three sons were only scholars. Among the grandchildren, only Yang Tianxiang was a scholar, and the others did not even pass the examination to become a scholar. Now the excellence of his grandson makes Lord Yang feel gratified.
In the evening, the second wife Dai came to pay respects. Madam Yanghou was still talking to Ji about the letter. "The child was very thoughtful. He told me and the marquis to take care of our health and said a lot of caring words. Look at the handwriting. It's so beautiful. The child is also good-looking. The handwriting is like the person. My Lu'er also writes well. The child takes after his mother."
"Then why doesn't he come to see mother?" Dai said with a fake smile, "If he is really filial, he should bring his country wife to pay you New Year's greetings. What's the point of just talking without doing anything?"
Madam Yang Hou's face darkened. "Why are you here if you're not in the yard taking care of the second child?"
"He's not sick because of me, but because of that concubine. Even if I want to serve her, she may not be willing to do so." Dai was born into a noble family, higher than the Yang family, so she didn't take this family seriously. "You are so good that you only care about your grandson and don't care about the life and death of your own son."
She always spoke in such a sarcastic way. Even though Lady Yang was unhappy, she did not scold her. After all, it was her son who did the wrong thing first. Bringing a concubine back into the house was indeed an extremely shameful thing.
"I've already vented my anger for you. He knelt in the ancestral hall for three days. Now he's sick. You should go take care of him and repair the relationship between you and your wife. Do you think I can take my heart back to you if I take care of him?"
Dai was so angry that her face turned red. "Are you pretending not to know or are you really not aware? I only gave birth to a daughter, and he found this woman outside and gave birth to a son!"
"But didn't he listen to you and not let the child come back?" Madam Yang frowned, "What else do you want?"
"Humph, he didn't come back, but he must be thinking about him. I want you to promise me that the bastard will never set foot in the gate of the Yang family in his life!"
Madam Yang was already sixty years old. She had experienced the pain of losing her daughter and was very weak. She was very tired of such energy-consuming trivial matters. Usually, the affairs of the mansion were left to the eldest daughter-in-law Ji. But since this matter concerned her son, it was not appropriate to let the eldest daughter-in-law do it. She said tiredly, "Is it useful if I promise?"
"How long can I live? How can I care about your affairs after I die? You are not young anymore. You shouldn't be so tantrum. The important thing is to let the second brother's heart return to you."
Ji looked around, feeling very embarrassed, not knowing whether to speak or not. Seeing her sister-in-law Dai's unhappy expression, she finally said, "Mother is right. This is a grudge between you two."
Dai's body swayed for a moment, and she didn't want to show her defeat in front of her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law, so she forced herself to go back.
When she returned to the courtyard and saw her daughter Yang Ying, she couldn't help crying, "They all bullied me, the Yang family bullied me!"
Yang Ying was startled by her and guessed that she was sad about her father's matter.
Yang Ying calmly advised: "Mother, why are you so sad about this? Even if that woman gave birth to a son, she is just a lowly singing girl, and her son is an even lower-class concubine's son. Father will not do anything stupid."
Dai shook her head, "You don't understand. Your father is too heartless. He doesn't care about the relationship between husband and wife. He has made me a laughing stock. It's really hateful. And that concubine is three years older than you!"
Yang Ying pursed her lips and said, "So what? A concubine is just a concubine after all."
"Having said that, I have my true feelings for your father. Now that my true feelings have been trampled on like this, I cannot swallow this anger. I want your grandmother to make the decision for me, but she will only say that it is a matter between us. I would be blind to marry into a family like this."
The Marquis's Mansion was in decline, but Dai's family was in its heyday. She was indeed marrying down, whether it was twenty years ago or now.
Looking at her now decadent mother, Yang Ying sighed and said, love can harm people.
After the beginning of the year, the temperature gradually warmed up. Although the sun came out, it was still cold during the days when the snow melted.
Su Wanwan somehow became lazy and was always unwilling to move. She would just find a place to sleep all day long, which made Widow Liu suspicious again, always suspecting that she was pregnant.
The two have been married for half a year, but they have not reached that stage yet. Su Wanwan sometimes can't bear it, let alone Pei Changfeng. Now they each sleep in a separate quilt. It is best not to talk before going to bed. The ideal state is to fall asleep as soon as you close your eyes.
Pei Changfeng's legs were getting better day by day, but he was becoming more and more resentful. Sometimes when he couldn't concentrate on reading, he would stare at Su Wanwan in a daze, like a wolf wanting to eat meat.
Su Wanwan couldn't stand his look, so she went to sleep with Widow Liu for a few days and didn't come back until after the Lantern Festival.
On the night he came back, Pei Changfeng seemed to have gone out. Su Wanwan went to bed after washing up. She had to sleep. Kissing and hugging her all the time was just scratching the surface and had no effect. It was better for her to sleep peacefully.
Su Wanwan slept until midnight, and she vaguely felt someone crawling into her quilt. She turned her head and smelled a faint smell of alcohol.
"Have you been drinking?" Su Wanwan was surprised.
"I drank a little," Pei Changfeng kissed her neck, "Why didn't you come back to sleep for so many days?"
Su Wanwan's eyes wandered, "Well... don't you think it's better to sleep without coming back?"
"I don't think so." Pei Changfeng turned her over to face him, "I won't allow you to do that again."
Su Wanwan felt a little itchy after his kiss, so she simply closed her eyes. After all, one last kiss would be fine.
But today seemed a little different. When his hand touched her, Su Wanwan quickly closed her eyes like a cat with its fur standing on end, "No!"
Pei Changfeng felt wronged, "Of course..."
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