Chapter 101: Chinese New Year is different from Chinese New Year
Delicacies from land and sea were served on the table, and music and dancing were performed. Even during the New Year, no one was so discerning as to deliberately cause trouble for the Emperor and Empress, so the palace banquet concluded successfully.
After a busy day in the palace, Jiang's mother and her friends could not fill their stomachs with cold dishes. They returned home in the dark and found that the old man and the old lady had prepared a table of delicious food for them.
"Come in, are you cold? All of you, hurry over to the brazier and warm yourself up. Your daughter-in-law will give you a hot water bottle. Look at how cold your hands are. Oh my God, please don't catch a cold!"
The old lady kept chattering around her daughter-in-law.
Mrs. Xu washed her hands and wiped off the water stains, then took the hot water bottle handed to her by her mother-in-law with a smile, and said something nice with a grateful look on her face.
"Mother is so considerate. My hands are indeed a little cold. As they say, an old person in the family is like a treasure. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration for me."
"Haha, that's right. I, an old woman, have eaten more salt than you have eaten rice. You will not suffer any loss if you listen to the advice of the elderly.
Suozi is not at home, so I must help him take care of his wife and children. After all, he is my own grandson, I am very happy, why should I thank you?
The old lady was obviously very happy, but she was still stubborn. But now that she was in a good mood, she would definitely be more willing to take care of her daughter-in-law.
Sisters Jiang Wan and Jiang Han secretly gave their mother a thumbs-up. Meanwhile, the sober old man sat off to the side, smiling as he watched his daughter-in-law coax his wife into a tizzy.
Hey, life is pretty good these days.
"Grandma, you prepared so many delicious foods?"
Ever since the fourth child of the Jiang family successfully entered the womb, the position of the third child as the darling of the Jiang family had been slightly shaken. Fortunately, the child was very brave. After washing his hands, he blew on them a few times to warm them up, and then rushed to the dinner table with a smile on his face.
"That's not great. It's New Year's Day, and your grandfather and I thought you'd have a second meal when you come back from outside, so we prepared a table full of chicken, duck, fish and meat. Yaozu, don't eat this big chicken leg tonight, give it to your mother and your brother."
The old lady was as partial as ever. As soon as the family sat down at the dinner table, her eldest grandson, who had always been the most precious, had to sit back.
"Okay, then I'll eat the duck legs!"
"Come on, come on, eat it while it's hot. Don't let my eldest grandson get thin from starvation. Daughter-in-law, you should eat it quickly too. Don't let my youngest grandson starve."
Look at this ingrained preference for boys over girls. Jiang Wan and her sister ignored it. They didn't need a stutter anymore. Whatever they lacked from their grandparents, their parents would always compensate them double.
The two sisters each filled a bowl of chicken soup, holding it in their hands to keep warm while sipping it. They weren't really hungry, but they were cold after the bumpy ride back home.
"Big girl, how is things in the palace?"
The old man was enjoying himself while sipping chicken soup and chatting with his eldest granddaughter. The two old men didn't attend the banquet, partly because they were worried their bodies wouldn't be able to handle it, and partly because they felt they knew nothing and didn't want to embarrass their children. But that didn't mean he wasn't curious about the bustle of the palace.
Jiang Wan smiled lightly.
"Grandpa, what do you want to hear? About the dishes at the banquet, or the little songs played? There's nothing else to hear. After all, it's the beginning of the new dynasty, so I think we should keep things simple. Right, Mom?"
It wasn't that she was nitpicking, but tonight's palace banquet wasn't anything like the grand spectacle she'd seen on TV dramas. There weren't any of those foreign ministers celebrating with fireworks or performances by talented scholars and beautiful women.
We just got together to chat and have a meal. If you didn't know, you would think that everyone was just there to have a meal.
Upon hearing this, Xu nodded.
"Indeed."
There was a smile in her eyes and a hint of nostalgia in her tone.
"The capital used to be bustling during the Spring Festival. Not to mention the lavish banquets at the palace, even the people would hold various ceremonies and celebrations. The Lantern Festival was especially so, with lights ablaze all night long. There were countless lanterns that the craftsmen couldn't create, and even the palace lanterns gifted by the palace were truly exquisite. Alas, that was all those years ago."
"Really, Mom? Was New Year's Eve really that lively when you were a kid? Can you tell us about it?"
The children were extremely interested, and even the old man and the old woman pricked up their ears and listened with great interest. After all, strictly speaking, the daughter-in-law was the only one in the family who had truly seen the world.
"I still remember when I was eight years old..."
Inside the house, the Jiang family, young and old, were having a reunion dinner in a lively atmosphere. Outside, the breeze accompanied the cold night. In this place full of festive lights, a lonely guy was seen sitting in the yard, drinking alone with a glass of wine.
Qin Zhenning held a warm wine jug in one hand and sat leisurely on the corridor in the yard, listening to the wind, watching the snow and appreciating the night view.
"Why is our daughter so beautiful? Everything about her is good. Paired with that idiot Li Laosi, isn't it like a flower stuck in a flower? I feel uncomfortable..."
He was clutching the jade pendant in his hand and mumbling something. Maybe he was a little drunk, as one could hear a hint of grievance in his tone.
"Actually, I'm quite jealous of Jiang Huailiang. You have no idea how filial our daughter is. Before Jiang's army set out, he even came to show off in front of me, saying that my daughter had made him a pair of shoes.
You have no idea how ugly those shoes look on him!
I think if I wore those shoes, I would be so handsome and unparalleled that I would be all the rage! Well, after all, I'm so good-looking, I can make that rough guy Jiang Huailiang look like a nobody!
Wife, don’t you agree?
He lowered his head and stroked the jade pendant in his hand. A drop of water fell from the sky and hit the jade pendant, making him feel cold in his heart.
"I really hate you, Xu Ruojin."
Blinking away the moisture in his eyes, he stood up with the help of his arms, holding on to the pillar, and walked unsteadily towards the couple's yard.
"I want to get drunk and sleep, please go away.
I intend to come into your dreams tonight."
There was a hint of sadness in the voice.
The people who stayed in the capital, whether they were bustling or sad, had nothing to do with those who were far away on the expedition. They were just a group of tireless and desperate oxen and horses.
"Who said that?"
Jiang Huailiang glared at his future son-in-law, who was complaining nonsense, and frightened him so much that his little body trembled.
"Dad, I'm just mumbling casually, why are you making such a loud noise?"
Li Chengxiu squatted beside the fire, holding a broken bowl with a bitter look on his face. He sniffed and took another sip of hot porridge.
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