How can someone travel through time and space and become a beggar?

After Jia Qingwu appeared at the You family banquet, invitations to banquets came one after another, whether because of Li Xuemu or the Jia family.

But with the New Year approaching, Jia Qingwu only picked a few close friends. Xia Chu was also invited specifically, but she asked Jia Qingwu to turn them down. It was boring. No friends, no gossip, just eating, drinking, and looking at flowers. And having to be wary of other people's witty remarks was exhausting. It would be better to stay home and read, or write music and play the pipa.

At this time, Xia Chu missed Bai Wuxia and the others a little. They gathered together, sang, painted, danced with swords, and even whispered crickets to each other.

She didn't want to go, and Jia Qingwu didn't force her, but she would always ask before leaving. Jia Wanlin and Jia Wanqing had been there twice, and when they heard that a troupe had been invited, they eagerly followed.

She slept until she woke up naturally. Xia Chu missed the warm quilt and not only did she not get up, she even huddled in. Outside, she could hear Jia Qingwu getting ready to go out. She had recently transferred two maids back, one named Tianlan and the other Tianqing. Together with Aunt Xu, there were three people to serve her.

Cuihua and Cuiya stayed beside Xia Chu to serve her. She wanted to be lazy for a while. Cuihua heard the noise and knocked on the door gently. "Miss, are you awake? Do you want to get up now?"

"Get up..." Xia Chu reached out a hand and was instantly enveloped by the cold air. She shrunk back with a whoosh, curling up in the covers. How could Huizhou be colder than Lin'an? After another quarter of an hour, she finally managed to get dressed in bed.

Cuihua calculated the time and came in with hot water almost when she just sat up and was about to get out of bed.

"It's too cold today, but you can't skip breakfast. If you don't want to get up, you can eat and then go to sleep." Cuihua said with a smile, wrung out a hot towel and handed it over.

It was so corrupt, so depraved, even washing my face required a towel. Xia Chu condemned herself as she applied the hot towel to her face. It was still a little hot, just enough to wake her up.

Wash your face, brush your teeth, and apply facial cream. Cui Ya took a look at the progress and went to the kitchen to bring breakfast.

Minced meat and vegetable porridge, lotus root shreds, pickled cucumber strips, water chestnut cake, and small crispy cakes, the portions are not big, and they are all Xia Chu's favorite foods.

"My mother left?" Xia Chu asked. Jia Qingwu's spirits were improving, and they were living separately. Doctor Gong had come to see her the last time and said Jia Qingwu was much better and could stop the herbal diet. She should continue to take good care of herself, but she should avoid extreme joy and sorrow and try to maintain a calm mind.

This meant everything was fine, and Xia Chu breathed a sigh of relief. Old Madam Jia was overjoyed and thanked Old Gong repeatedly.

"The Madam is out. She's going to the Wang family for a banquet today." Before leaving, Jia Qingwu had instructed them to serve her well and ensure that the cousin had a good meal. As for whether she wanted to sleep or do anything else afterward, it was up to her.

Xia Chu said nothing more and cleared the table of food. Cui Ya went forward to collect the plates and then left. At first, they had never seen any lady eat everything so cleanly, but now they were used to it. In all the years in the Jia family, the masters would always leave at least half of the food. The servants would pick it up and eat it. Cousin was the only one who ate everything like this.

However, those who came out to serve as servants were all from poor families, and the idea of not wasting food was ingrained in their bones. Even though they didn't pick up anything delicious, they didn't look down on it. After all, the Wang family who adopted the cousin were ordinary people, so eating cleanly was normal. If they started to waste food once they moved to a wealthy family, they would look down on them.

Cuihua lit a hand warmer and placed it on the table. "Cousin, do you want to sleep a little longer?"

"I'm not going to sleep anymore. Bring me Pipa." Xia Chu held the hand warmer and looked at the sky outside. It was cold, but it wasn't snowing. It wasn't cold, but the chill seemed to be drilling into the bones.

Cuihua went to play the pipa, but she felt that she wouldn't be able to play for much longer. After all, her fingers were numb and the strings were cold and stiff. It was really not the best time to play the pipa.

Xia Chu didn't play much, the strings were too cold. When she wasn't playing the pipa, she read. Jia Qingwu had gathered some local customs and travelogues for her. She quite liked them; some people's travelogues were quite interesting.

Cuihua was waiting on the side, with a small stove on the table boiling water.

Suddenly, she heard some commotion outside. Xia Chu looked over and saw Cui Ya and the maids decorating the doors and windows. She went over and saw that the maids were holding many things in their arms, all bright red, which looked festive. "So many red lanterns?"

The maids hurriedly saluted her, and Cui Ya smiled and replied, "Yes, it was around the New Year, and the mansion bought a lot. Each courtyard was given some, so I went to get it back."

Seeing that her cousin seemed interested, Cuihua picked up a small string of lanterns and asked tentatively, "Do you like them, cousin? Or is there anything you'd like to hang them on?"

When asked this, Xia Chu looked at the eight small lanterns, each about the size of a baby's fist, and thought of the swing in the yard. "Give me two strings."

"Okay, where do you want to hang it? Do you need my help?" Cuihua asked as she handed it over.

"Hang them on the swing, you guys go ahead and get busy." Xia Chu hooked two strings of lanterns with her fingers and hung them on both sides of the swing. After hanging them, she used her fingers to adjust the tassels underneath. She wondered if her mother would be surprised when she came back later.

It wasn't until Jia Qingwu mentioned going to the front yard the next day that she realized it was already New Year's Eve. She hadn't even noticed it was New Year's Eve, having skipped cleaning the house, making sugar-coated melons, freezing tofu, or frying meatballs.

This time of year was the busiest time for her and Dong Xiaohuan. They would be busy from morning till night almost every day, making all kinds of food, all in preparation for the New Year's Eve dinner.

Although it’s busy and tiring, it feels more festive. When I don’t have to do anything, I don’t have that extra feeling of finally getting to eat that meal after a month of preparation.

A family dinner was naturally a feast that everyone in the family had to attend, even the infant. However, since they were a wealthy family, the child was looked after by the wet nurse and maids, so he wouldn't interfere with the Third Lady's meal.

After this period of rest, the Third Lady looked better than when they first met.

After Xia Chu finished her greetings, she looked at Little Star twice. His white and tender eyes, with dark pupils that were clean and clear, reminded her of when he was just born. He was like a completely different child. She couldn't help but reach out and touch his hand. It was soft and smooth, like tofu.

"Ah..." Maybe Xingxing felt someone was attacking her, but she turned her head and looked at Xia Chu, who couldn't speak yet.

Xingxing was the nickname Mrs. Jia San gave the child, and Xia Chu thought it sounded very nice. She'd heard that children that young could barely see, yet their focused eyes seemed to see her. Xia Chu couldn't help but tease him with a few "ohs." Xingxing waved his chubby little arms and smiled a soft, sweet smile that was so endearing it would melt anyone's heart.

"Isn't he cute?" No mother would be unhappy to see someone like their child. And in the eyes of every mother, their own child is the cutest in the world.