Noble Lady

Xue Chenyu had no idea what Situ Zhen said to the emperor when he entered the palace.

But from that day on, Shengjing also entered a joyous New Year atmosphere.

The sound of firecrackers marks the end of the year, and the spring breeze brings warmth to Tusu. Every household is busy on New Year's Day, always replacing the old charms with new ones.

This year's New Year's Eve dinner at the Marquis' Mansion was particularly lively.

In addition to the five members of the Xue family, there are also Mr. Lu and Mrs. Qi. The custom of giving New Year's money by the grandparents, which was not practiced in previous years, was brought up this year.

Xue Luoyan, Xue Huai, and Weng Xuemei all received a lot of New Year's money.

Of course, they kept saying auspicious words like "Happy New Year", "Congratulations on your wealth", and "Good luck and good fortune".

Naturally, this made the elders very happy.

The new year is coming, and staying up on New Year's Eve has become the highlight of this year.

However, after distributing the New Year's money, Mr. Lu and Mrs. Qi were too tired to do so and returned to the courtyard.

Mrs. Qi's original words were: "I am old and can't endure it anymore. I will leave the task of staying up all night to you young people."

Mr. Lu refused to admit his old age and said proudly, "Then I will stay and keep the children company until the New Year's Eve."

however.

Mrs. Qi rolled her eyes and dragged the man away.

She didn't know about others, but she didn't know about this old man's physical condition. He said he was staying up all night, but in fact, he was already sleepy and fell asleep before he even sat until midnight.

It would be better to leave the decent task of staying up all night to the young people. If they show off less, they can live a few more years.

Afterwards, Mrs. Xue, who had been busy for more than half a month preparing for the New Year, also wanted to go back to her room to rest, and Marquis Xue naturally accompanied her.

So, the task of staying up all night to celebrate the New Year was given to Xue Chenyu.

As well as Xue Luoyan and Xue Huai.

Of course, Yuzhu and other maids also came over and formed a circle around them.

Xue Chenyu gave them all heavy red envelopes, which were very valuable New Year's money. The little girls were all beaming with joy when they received them.

Uncle Fu, who was old but still strong, gave them some charcoal and food after his night patrol, and was ready to stay and celebrate the New Year together.

After being persuaded again and again by Xue Chenyu's three siblings, he finally accepted that he still had to deal with visiting guests tomorrow and went to rest happily.

"Uncle Fu." Xue Huai chased after him before he left the house, holding a heavy red purse and handing it to him with both hands.

Uncle Fu was stunned. "Sir, what are you doing? Lord Fu and his wife have already given it to you."

"This is given by my sister." Xue Huai said, looking at Xue Chenyu who was sitting by the fire in the warm room.

Fu Bo's first reaction was to refuse, but Xue Huai said, "Eldest sister said that the intentions of father and mother are intentional, and her heart is also intentional."

"It's not possible that you accepted the gifts from my father and mother, but you are unwilling to accept the gifts from my sister, right?"

This little guy is very eloquent. Uncle Fu is no match for him and has no choice but to accept it.

Yaoyao bowed to Xue Chenyu and then left.

Xue Huai secretly breathed a sigh of relief: It turns out that the title of elder sister is still useful.

After Uncle Fu walked away with the lantern, Xue Huai entered the warm room. There were only girls in the room, and he was the only young man with a servant.

If it were anyone else, they would probably feel uncomfortable, but he didn't feel that at all and even squeezed in between Xue Chenyu and Xue Luoyan.

"Girls and boys should not sit at the same table after the age of seven. How can you squeeze in here?" Xue Chenyu threw a handkerchief embroidered with green bamboo in his face.

Xue Huai didn't take it seriously. Instead, he moved closer to Xue Chenyu and said, "Sister, I have something I want to tell you..."

Before he even uttered the word "say", Xue Chenyu saw through his thoughts and said, "If you want to give Uncle Qian Fu, just say so directly. Stop using my name as a cover."

Xue Huai glared: "How do you..." know?

"You've been carrying such a large bag of silver in your pocket, and you haven't been willing to give it to anyone. When you saw Uncle Fu coming, your eyes lit up. And just now, Uncle Fu was at the door and saluted me. It was so obvious that anyone could see it."

Xue Chenyu's tone was helpless.

After that, the dozen or so girls in the room, big and small, said in unison, "Yes, we all saw it."

Xue Huai: Why is there no crack in the ground for me to crawl into?

At such an embarrassing moment, everyone almost couldn't help laughing out loud, but for Mr. Xue's sake, they all held back.

But Xue Huai felt embarrassed and found an excuse to go to the bathroom and slipped away early.

Xue Chenyu: Got to pee. Go ahead.

Naturally, the child never came back after he left.

But this did not prevent Xue Chenyu from chatting and laughing with a group of maids.

Xue Luoyan suggested: "Everyone, please tell me about the unique customs in your hometown. If you find any interesting ones, I will give you a reward."

After these words were spoken, there was a brief silence.

Yuzhu is a born child of the Marquis's Mansion. Madam He is Madam Xue's maid who came with her as a dowry. Her father died when she was a child. She grew up in the Marquis of Wu'an's Mansion in the capital. How could she know where her hometown was?

Xia He was originally from a poor family. With no way to make a living, her family sold her into slavery. Leaving home at such a young age, how much could she remember about her hometown?

Qiuhua is also a family-born child.

Yumei is a child from a poor family. She has been sold several times since she was thirteen years old.

Weng Xuemei is considered good, but her growing environment is different from that of others.

Everyone looked at each other, feeling that it was a little strange to say these things during the New Year.

"It doesn't matter what customs are. If Luoluo wants to hear it, just tell her." Xue Chenyu said with a slow smile.

As soon as she opened her mouth, everyone had a direction and knew how to start.

One by one they spoke with great interest.

To sum up, Yumei and Weng Xuemei are both from the south, but one is from the Central Plains and the other is in the very south.

The others are from the north.

Because the dates of the Little New Year are different in the north and south.

We laughed and joked until the second half of the night.

Xue Luoyan, who had been the happiest before, was now so sleepy that she fell asleep in her sister Xue Chenyu's arms.

Yuyan didn't dare to wake her up, nor did she dare to leave, so she just waited by the side.

"Qiuhua, please send the second young lady back." Xue Chenyu's arm was numb from being pillowed, so she called Qiuhua over. "You and Yumei will be on duty tomorrow. You two should send the second young lady back and then go to bed early."

Yumei, who was also a little sleepy, stood up when she heard the call.

Xue Chenyu couldn't help laughing and even helped her up when she was dizzy.

"You should go back and rest early, otherwise how will you have the energy to serve me tomorrow?"

Qiuhua hesitated for a moment and nodded.

Then he took the sleeping Xue Luoyan from Xue Chenyu's arms.

Xue Huai stood up dazedly, "Sister, you should go back and rest. I'll watch over you for the rest of the night."

"Okay, our Xue Xiaohuai has grown up and can be relied upon." Xue Chenyu responded with a smile.

Qiuhua sent Xue Luoyan away, and then she sat with Xue Huai for half an hour before calling Yuzhu and the others back to Furongju.

It was the late night and everyone was really tired.

Before Xue Chenyu left, Xue Huai vowed again and again, "I will definitely stay here until dawn."

"The dawn marks the beginning of a new year."

Returned to Furongju.

Xue Chenyu took off her hairpins, combed her hair, washed up briefly, and then went to rest. She also asked Yuzhu and Xiahe to go back and rest early.

Weng Xuemei wanted to share a bed with her, but she refused.

"No, if I let you stay here, Luo Luo will be angry tomorrow morning."

The little girl could only leave angrily.

Afterwards, Xue Chenyu put aside all her fatigue and quietly crawled into bed.

Finally I can get some sleep.

However, just as this thought flashed through her mind, she heard a slight "click" sound coming from the window.