Chapter 166 [VIP]
Before she knew it, it was New Year's Eve. This year marked the sixth year since Wang Ying transmigrated, and she was already twenty-three years old.
Early in the morning, Uncle Chen was climbing a ladder to hang lanterns when Er Shun saw him and quickly came forward to help, saying, "Please come down, I'll hang them myself."
"I'm not old yet, I can still hang out."
"Come down quickly, don't fall during the New Year."
Uncle Chen climbed down the ladder and handed him the lantern, then helped hold the ladder from below.
Er Shun's injuries have healed, but the tooth that was knocked out can't be replaced, so he has a gap when he smiles. However, he doesn't care, since his master gave him so much money as compensation.
He will save all the money carefully and take half of it back to his parents when he goes back to his hometown this year.
"Wow, our lanterns are hung really high this year! You can see them from far away as you walk into the alley!" Ma Qianzi said as he returned from outside with the two boys from the Huang family.
Er Shun patted the dust off his hands and laughed, "Then why don't you take a look at who hung it?"
Ma Qianzi gave a thumbs up, "Er Shun's cooking skills are naturally beyond question!"
"These must be a hundred strings of cash and a thousand strings of cash. Come inside quickly."
The two children from the Huang family greeted him reservedly and followed Ma Qianzi into the house to settle their luggage. Since the martial arts team was on holiday, Wang Ying had someone bring them back to celebrate the New Year together.
The two children changed a lot in the two years they spent in the martial arts world. Bai Guan has grown to be almost as tall as his father, and Qian Guan has also grown quite a bit.
Wang Ying would occasionally send her servants to check on them, sometimes bringing them food, sometimes bringing them clothes.
Having promised to help take care of the two children, I naturally couldn't go back on my word. Although life in the martial arts world was tough, the two children had grown up quite a bit.
"You all tidy up here first, and I'll take you to see your husband later."
"Thank you, Brother Ma."
The two put down their bundles, sat on the warm kang (a heated brick bed), and looked around the room.
Qian Guan was still young, and couldn't help but get up and peer out from the doorway. "The landlord has moved to a bigger house. It's so spacious!"
"Once we arrive at this martial arts school, you are not allowed to speak carelessly when you see the young master."
"Okay, bro."
Ma Zhandong arrived at the east courtyard and spoke to the old woman inside. Soon after, the old woman came out and said, "Young master wants you to bring Qianguan and Baiguan over."
Inside the house, Wang Ying helped Yuanbao put on his new clothes. "Go play in your grandmother's room. Xiaomai and the others should be there."
"Okay!" The little guy ran out.
Soon after, Ma Qianzi brought Qian Guan and Bai Guan over. Wang Ying hadn't seen the two children for over a year and almost didn't recognize them.
The two knelt down and kowtowed. Wang Ying quickly helped them up, saying, "Get up quickly. How have you adapted to life in the martial arts world?"
Huang Baiguan said, "At first, I wasn't used to it, but I got used to it over time. My master is very good to us."
Qian Guan nodded in agreement; the martial arts master had indeed treated them very well.
Their teacher, also surnamed Huang, was an old bachelor who had never married. Upon learning that the two were orphans, he adopted them as his godsons.
He was very strict with them, but he also genuinely loved the two children. He spent all the money he earned on food for them. "These little boys are going to eat their father out of house and home." If it weren't for Huang An supporting them, they wouldn't have grown so tall in the last two years.
Wang Ying said, "I'm relieved to see that you're all doing well. I might go back to my hometown next April. Would you like to come with me then?"
The two children nodded repeatedly. They had long wanted to go back and visit their father. When he passed away, they hadn't even built a grave for him, and Huang Baiguan always regretted it whenever he thought about it.
Every year during Qingming and Zhongyuan Festival, the two brothers can only secretly buy some paper money and incense to burn for their father at the crossroads, not knowing if they will receive it. This time when they go back, they will definitely repair their father's grave so that there will be a place for worship in the future.
After exchanging a few words, Wang Ying told them to go back and rest, and then got up and went to the front yard herself.
Inside the warm room, Chen Rong and Li Shi were sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) eating melon seeds, while Lin Qiu and Lin Sui sat on stools watching the children play. Er Bao was almost six months old and could already sit up on his own. He cried anxiously as he watched his older brothers running around on the floor.
"I could hear Erbao's voice from outside. Whose little kid is so loud?"
Erbao looked up at Wang Ying and stretched out his two chubby little hands, wanting a hug.
Wang Ying took off her cloak and handed it to Lin Sui, then took the second baby in her arms and bounced him around. "This little guy is really chubby. He looks even fatter than Yuanbao was when he was six months old."
Chen Rong laughed and said, "He's fat. I remember Yuanbao only weighed seventeen or eighteen pounds back then, but he's already twenty pounds."
“Hey, our little hero!” Wang Ying teased him with a flick of her tongue, and the little guy giggled, revealing two tiny baby teeth.
Seeing this, Yuanbao ran over and tugged at Wang Ying's trouser leg, "Father, I want to hug you too, I want to hug you too."
Xiaomai stood to the side, embarrassed, with her hands behind her back and looking at him pitifully with her big eyes. Wang Ying returned the child to Lin Qiu, then reached out and picked up both children together. The two children giggled happily.
Li said, "You can't hold them like that, you might drop them."
Wang Ying held the child for a while before putting him down; he was also exhausted. That was the only downside to the boy's body—he had far less muscle mass than most men. In his previous life, he could easily have carried seventy or eighty pounds of fertilizer.
Soon after, Chen Qingyan and Chen Qingsong arrived. Chen Qingsong did not perform well in the last small test of the year and dropped out of the top forty and into Class B.
After returning from the holiday, I was sullen and depressed.
Chen Qingyan took some time to help him redo the quiz questions, and the result was much better than the actual test.
Last night, the two brothers talked late into the night by candlelight. Chen Qingyan told him a lot. In fact, Qingsong was just too concerned about what his classmates were saying. Hearing people say that he was not as good as his older brothers made him feel very uncomfortable. The more he cared, the more uncomfortable he felt, which led to him underperforming during the exam.
However, Qingsong was an outgoing person, and once he figured it out, he stopped worrying about it. As soon as he entered the house, he was all smiles again, playing wildly with the children.
Chen Qingyan sat down and asked, "Isn't Cao Kun coming for the New Year?"
Lin Qiu shook her head, "I'm worried about leaving my mother-in-law alone in the county town, so we'll have to spend the New Year separately this year."
Li said, "It would have been better to bring my mother-in-law along as well."
"The old lady is used to living alone and is not used to traveling far."
Chen Rong said, "It's just that I like to travel around and want to go everywhere."
Wang Ying smiled and said, "Maybe in a few years we can go to Kyoto together."
"Oh, it's settled then. When Qingyan becomes an official in the capital, Third Aunt will come to live with you. Just don't think I'm a nuisance and kick me out."
Li was amused by her and laughed so hard she almost fell over. Amidst the laughter, footsteps came from outside the door, and Qingyun's clear voice rang in, "Mother, elder brother, sister-in-law, little brother, I'm back!"
Chen Qingsong ran over to open the door and saw Qingyun and Liu Changyi returning with a bunch of things.
"Why are you back?" Mrs. Li asked with delight, welcoming the two into the house.
Normally, married daughters return to their parents' home to visit relatives on the second day of the Lunar New Year.
Qingyun said, "My mother-in-law said that it's bound to be difficult to adjust to the first year of marriage, so she wants us to come back for the New Year and stay at home for the New Year next year."
Holding her daughter and son-in-law's hands, Mrs. Li was filled with emotion. She wondered what kind of good fortune her daughter had accumulated in her past lives to have such understanding in-laws.
"Auntie, Auntie!"
"Little Yuanbao~" Qingyun reached out to hug the child, but Liu Changyi quickly stepped in front of her and picked up Yuanbao himself first. "Uncle, give me a hug."
Yuanbao frowned as he looked at Liu Changyi, his little face showing a hint of something he wanted to say, which made everyone laugh.
Realizing what was happening, Li pulled her daughter down to sit and asked softly, "Are you pregnant?"
Qingyun nodded, her face flushed. She had felt nauseous a few days ago while eating, so Qin Furong called a doctor to examine her. The doctor said that her pregnancy was still in its early stages and she needed to take good care of herself.
The couple had a child just over two months after their marriage, which was a great joy and made the old couple extremely happy. They immediately gave Qingyun the deeds to two shops.
She doesn't need to manage these shops herself; they are all managed by designated people. She just needs to wait to collect rent and get paid each month.
Chen Rong clapped her hands happily and said, "That's great! Our family is going to have another member!"
In ancient times, large families were valued, as a large family meant a prosperous life. The Chen family had too few members, so the addition of each child was a joyous occasion.
Li pulled her aside and carefully instructed her, "Don't eat cold or spicy food these days. Try to avoid going out when the roads are slippery in snowy weather. In the first few months of pregnancy, the fetus is unstable and falls can easily lead to miscarriage, so you have to be careful."
Qingyun nodded and wrote them down one by one.
Lin Qiu then told her some things about childbirth, as she had recently given birth to her second child and was quite experienced.
The men felt embarrassed and got up to go to the study.
Liu Changyi will also be going to the capital next year to take the imperial examination, so the two of them can discuss the examination matters.
"My uncle sent a letter a while ago, and he was very happy to learn that I had passed the provincial examination and was looking forward to me going to the capital to participate in the metropolitan examination next year." Liu Changyi's uncle was Liu Yaozhi, the Minister of Personnel, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, and the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince.
The Wu Dynasty did not have the position of prime minister, but his status was almost the same as that of the prime minister, and he could be said to be second only to the emperor.
The Liu family is small, and Liu Yaozhi only has one son who is currently serving in Bozhou. Therefore, he attaches great importance to the education of his children.
"In the letter, my uncle specifically instructed that a place be prepared for us to stay, and that we could go there together after the New Year."
Chen Qingyan said, "Won't this cause trouble for the adults?"
"Don't worry, we're not strangers. Besides, you don't know any friends in the capital, so finding a place to stay won't be easy. Ordinary inns aren't safe, and a slightly better inn costs two taels of silver a day. Staying for a month would cost five or six hundred taels of silver!"
Chen Qingyan was taken aback. "Then I'll go with you." He was still counting on his husband to earn money to support the family, so he didn't dare to spend lavishly.
"We'll get to see Huai Di then. I've missed him terribly since I haven't seen him for two months."
Chen Qingsong sat beside him, listening with envy. He also missed his second brother, but unfortunately the prefectural school would start after the New Year, so he couldn't go with him.
Liu Changyi comforted him, saying, "Qingsong, don't worry. You'll have to go through this sooner or later. Maybe by then your elder brother will have already entered the Hanlin Academy and will be able to take the exam with you."
Chen Qingyan didn't think that far ahead; he just wanted to do well in this imperial examination before considering anything else.
In the evening, a large table of food was prepared at home, and the whole family sat together, laughing and chatting as they welcomed the new year!
A note from the author:
I'm away on a business trip for the next few days, so there might be some typos that I haven't had time to correct yet. I'll fix them carefully when I get back.
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