Chapter 393
Chapter 393 : New Year (2)
Looking at the goose feather snowflakes falling from the sky, Yuxi muttered, “Why is it snowing again? This is the sixth snowfall of the year.” It was good to have snow, but if it were too much, it would be a disaster.
Zijin shook her head and said, “It can’t be helped. Since God wants it to snow, no one can stop it!” She didn’t know if it ever snowed this much in the capital.
In the evening, Yun Qing entered the inner courtyard with his whole body covered with a blanket of snow. Seeing this, Mama Qu hurriedly stopped and did not allow him to enter the house, saying, “General, go and change your clothes before entering the house!” She was worried that the cold air coming from his body would freeze Yuxi.
Hearing the commotion, Yuxi came out of the house and said towards Mama Qu, “I’m not that delicate!” After saying that, she turned towards Yun Qing and urged, “Hurry into the house and change your clothes.” Since Yun Qing’s body was covered with snowflakes, Yuxi didn’t take the initiative to go up and untie his cloak. Although Yuxi said she was not delicate, she still had to pay attention to what she could and could not do.
When the head of the family returned home, it was time for the family to start their meal. The New Year’s Eve dinner was naturally very sumptuous, with a big plate of chicken, hand-held mutton, beef steak, eight treasure duck, steamed fish, and red braised pork trotters with soybeans……filling the table to the brim. These many dishes were not just for Yuxi and Yun Qing but also for Huo Changqing and Xu Wu, Master Yang and Yu Zhi. And, of course, Zijin was indispensable.
The Yun Residence New Year’s Eve dinner menu
When the dumplings were served, Yuxi took a bite and immediately touched a hard object. She put down the dumpling in her mouth, then spat out the copper coin and said with a smile, “This is a good start.” Although she knew there was a high probability of her getting the copper coin, she did not expect it to be in her first dumpling.
When Yu Zhi saw this, he said, “I’ll try it too.” After eating six dumplings in a row, he didn’t get a single copper coin.
Zijin poked the dumplings in her bowl, but she didn’t get a single one either. Looking at Yuxi again, who spat out another copper coin, she said with a smile, “It seems that Madam will make a fortune next year.”
Yuxi was also very happy. How could she not when she got three coins in succession? This was a sign of good fortune for next year!
Before Yuxi could say anything, she heard a tinkling sound, and Yun Qing also spat out a copper coin from his mouth. Yuxi laughed heartily. “Great luck, great luck.”
Huo Changqing also had a smile on his face. “This is a good omen.”
Yu Zhi muttered, “Does this dumpling have grown eyes?” Why else would it end up in Yun Qing and Han Yuxi’s bowl only?
This New Year’s Eve dinner was unusually cheerful.
On New Year’s Eve, there was another important activity, and that was the New Year’s Eve vigil. Yuxi kept watch with Yun Qing, and when Yun Qing asked her to go back to bed, she didn’t want to, saying, “I’m not sleepy yet. I’ll go to bed later when I’m sleepy.” She couldn’t keep watch all night, and her body could not take it.
Seeing that Yun Qing did not say anything for a long time, Yuxi asked in a muffled voice, “Why don’t you say anything? I’m happy today. Aren’t you happy?” She wanted to talk to Yun Qing because she was happy.
Yun Qing said, “How can I be unhappy? I’m happy.” Since the change in his family at the age of ten, it was the first time in more than ten years that he had had a good New Year celebration.
Yuxi gave her assent and muttered, “I finally have a home that is truly my own.” When she said this, her nose went sore. She had never asked for much. She only wished for a loving husband and lovely children and she would live as a good wife and mother. Right now, her wish had come true.
Yun Qing’s heart shook at these words, and he reached out to gently hug Yuxi as he softly said, “Yes, this is our home. A home of our own.”
Yuxi responded by hugging Yun Qing tightly. “He Rui, you have to be good to me for the rest of your life, as good as you are to me now, you know?” In her last two lives, she believed she had been mistakenly being blessed for these past six months, and also, since this happiness came so fast, it always felt so unreal, causing her to panic. She was worried that these happy days had all been a dream and she would go back to square one when she woke up.
Yun Qing became helpless after hearing Yuxi’s words. She must have let her imagination run wild again. “You are my wife. Who else should I be good to if not you? Stop thinking nonsense and go to sleep!”
Yuxi felt relieved when she heard this but still muttered, “No, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll stay here with you.”
Yun Qing persuaded helplessly, “It’s not like there’s a floor dragon burning in this room. It’s freezing here. If you catch a cold, not only will it be bad for you, but it will also be bad for the child!”
Hearing this, Yuxi looked up and asked, “He Rui, you still haven’t told me whether you prefer a daughter or a son.” Their unborn child was already four months old, and the two hadn’t discussed this issue yet.
Yun Qing said as he placed his hand on Yuxi’s bulging belly, “I like both son and daughter. But if possible, this child should be a son so that he can protect his sister in the future.”
Hearing this, Yuxi sighed. “Then you may be disappointed. Mama Xi told me that, looking at what I’m eating, there’s a good chance this child will be a daughter.” Although Mama Xi didn’t say it directly to Yuxi, she could still feel it.
Hearing this, Yun Qing said, “A daughter is also very nice. She will be petite, gentle and sweet. I’ll save up a dowry for her later, so she can get married in a beautiful red wedding dress.”
Hearing this, Yuxi was relieved. “That’s good. I was afraid you would hate to have a daughter!” Having a son was the obsession of almost all women because only by having a son could they gain a real foothold in their husband’s family and have something to fall back on in the future. But it was not up to her to decide whether to have a son or a daughter. She was slightly more at ease now that she had Yun Qing’s words.
Yun Qing didn’t know that Yuxi had this worry as he said, “What’s there to worry about? Even if we have a daughter this time, we can still try again and eventually, we will have a son.” Both of them were in good health and would one day have a son.
When Yuxi heard this, she felt she wouldn’t have to eat anything sweet for a year.
While the Yun Residence was happy, the capital was not. The Crown Prince’s eldest di son was assassinated by an assassin in the Liuli Palace.
If it were usual, the Han family would have gone to make a courtesy call to the Imperial Palace on this day. This year, however, the Han family was in mourning, so they stayed at home and did not go anywhere, nor could they go anywhere.
It was a shichen later that Han Jianming received the news. “How did His Royal Highness’ eldest di son die?” This was odd. How could there be an assassin when the inner courtyard of the Imperial Palace was heavily guarded?
The news bearer answered in a lowered voice, “This little one has learnt that the assassin was originally going to assassinate Song Guifei, but in the end, Song Guifei pushed out His Highness’ eldest di son, who was playing with her, to block the incoming blade. As for how the assassin entered Liuli Palace carrying a dagger, this little one hasn’t found out yet.” The Crown Prince’s eldest di son, Zhou Shen, had been brought into the palace by Song Guifei after Xuan Wang was crowned the Crown Prince and had been there for three months. On the surface, Song Guifei said she was lonely and wanted a child to keep her company, but everyone knew what she was doing in reality.
Han Jianming nodded. “Understood. Have someone keep an eye on this and tell me if there is any latest development.”
Mr Zhao looked bewildered and said, “With the first di son gone, I’m afraid there will be winds and waves in the Imperial Court again.” The Crown Princess had only one son, and now she had lost him because of Song Guifei. Whether it was the Crown Princess or the Yu family, this matter was not likely to end well.
When Han Jianming heard these words, he thought that the bigger the storm, the better.
When Yu Xiyu heard that her son had lost his life, she fainted on the spot. After the Imperial Physician’s examination, he announced that the Crown Princess was one month pregnant.
When Yu Xiyu woke up, she heard that she was pregnant and touched her stomach, tears falling from her eyes, “My Shen-er, my Shen-er……”
Her trusted momo was in tears as she tried to comfort her, “Your Highness, take care of yourself and the child in your belly.” In a time of crisis, that malicious woman even had the gut to use her own grandson to shield her from disaster.
Hearing these words, a flash of hatred appeared in Yu Xiyu’s eyes, “One day, I will make her pay for my Shen-er’s life.” That day, when Song Guifei wanted to raise Zhou Shen, Yu Xiyu was unwilling to do so. Seeing this reaction, Song Guifei pretended to be ill, blackmailing the Crown Prince and Yu Xiyu. In the end, when the Crown Prince gave the word, Yu Xiyu was forced to send her son to Liuli Palace. Otherwise, something like this would not have happened today. Yu Xiyu not only hated Song Guifei, but she also hated the Crown Prince.
The only one who enjoyed this news was Yuchen. After the twins had reached three months old, Song Guifei wanted to take the two children away to raise them. How could Yuchen be willing to be separated from her flesh and blood? Unlike Yu Xiyu, Jing Wang stood by Yuchen’s side, so the matter ended with a loose end. Of course, this also made Song Guifei disgusted with Yuchen, and she tried to make her life uncomfortable.
Momo Gui spoke with a lingering fear in her heart, “Fortunately, the young masters were not sent to the Liuli Palace. Otherwise, we would not know what happened now! Usually, when people become grandmothers, they will sacrifice themselves to protect their children and grandchildren, but in her case, she uses them to protect herself. I believe this incident is enough to make the Crown Prince and Wangye see her true colours clearly.”
Yuchen would definitely not give her children to Song Guifei to raise. To put it bluntly, she did not like Song Guifei at all. “So what if they could see her clearly? She is still their mother. Even if she had acted too much, they would still not dare to do something disobedient and unfilial towards her.” The most crucial thing was that the Emperor was still protecting that sl*t. Speaking of which, Yuchen even found it unbelievable that although Song Guifei was outstanding in appearance, she was now nearly forty years old, and the Emperor was still obedient to her.
Hearing this, Momo Gui spoke with deeply worried and sick at heart, “Niangniang, do you think, now that His Highness, eldest di grandson, is gone, will she again set her mind on the young masters?”
Hearing this, Yuchen gave a disdainful smile. “She won’t have the face to come out for the time being, so there’s no need to worry about this.” What face would Song Guifei have to appear in front of everyone nowadays when she had just taken out her grandson to defend herself from being stabbed? She was bound to pretend to be sick for a while. It was good that Yuchen was pregnant, so she wouldn’t have been asked to serve her mother-in-law when she was faking her illness.
Speaking of this, Yuchen asked, “Has the identity of the assassin been found out?” She didn’t know about the rest of the Imperial Palace, but the Liuli Palace was heavily guarded, and it was strange enough that the assassin had appeared there.
Momo Gui shook her head. “I can’t find anything. The news has all been blocked. Now that the harem is sealed off and the Crown Prince is investigating thoroughly, there will be no peace in the Imperial Palace this year.”
Yuchen didn’t care about it either way. “Let’s just get on with our own lives.” The more they could get Song Guifei down, the better. It wasn’t like she would die if they caused her to have mental suffering anyway.