The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

She lost her daughter before she even had a chance to hold her.

Later, when Wanyue was born, she gave all the guilt and love she had for that other child to Wanyue.

After the emperor learned of this, he neglected the empress and showed extra favor to Wanyue.

But this incident remains a scar in their hearts.

Now, the only thing his eldest daughter remembers is that when she was born, he hung the Shen family heirloom, a small grass-shaped pendant, around her neck.

That pendant might not be particularly valuable to others, but it holds special significance for the Shen family.

Back then, Consort Hua's grandfather, Shen Zhenbang, earned his first fortune by selling fodder.

The Shen family was able to expand their business and even become imperial merchants because of that first pot of gold.

The jade pendant shaped like a small grass was bought by Shen Zhenbang with his first pot of gold for his newborn son, Shen Jingguo, who was also the father of Consort Hua.

This jade pendant became a family heirloom of the Shen family, so that they would remember that it was because of the hard work of their grandfather's generation that they had the family business they had today.

Consort Hua had comforted herself more than once that as long as the pendant was on her daughter, she would definitely find her.

But when she thought about the chaos of those years, she felt like she was just deceiving herself.

At that time, people were so hungry that they resorted to cannibalism, and corpses of people who had starved to death were often seen on the streets.

In those difficult times, how could that pendant possibly have survived?

When Granny Cao came in, she saw Consort Hua sitting by the window, wiping away tears with a handkerchief.

"Your Majesty, it's getting dark. Shall we light a lamp?"

Consort Hua snapped out of her thoughts. "It's so late already, let's light the lamps."

Granny Cao looked at Consort Hua with heartache, "Your Highness, you miss Princess Wanming again, don't you?"

"You are blessed with good fortune. Heaven will surely take pity on the good deeds you have done and protect Princess Wanming so that she can grow up safely."

Consort Hua, her eyes red-rimmed, spoke softly, "I hope so."

"Today, when I saw Wanyue so happily telling me about things outside the palace, about that person named Shen Cao, I don't know why, but I thought of Wanming."

"If that child grows up safely, he will probably be about the same age as that Shen Cao."

"You didn't see how happy Wanyue was when she talked about her sister."

"If Wanming were alive, the two of them would definitely have a very good relationship."

"Pah! Your Highness, what are you saying? Princess Wanming is definitely alive."

Consort Hua stared blankly at Granny Cao. "Alright, it's late. Take a bath and change your clothes. I'm sleepy."

Granny Cao sighed heavily as she looked at Consort Hua's forlorn figure.

Sigh, so many years have passed, and Consort Hua still becomes like this whenever she thinks of Princess Wanming; there's no way to persuade her otherwise.

Xin'an County...

Since what happened with Feng Er, Xiao Qiao has become noticeably more lively.

Early this morning, Shen Cao led them to take out the red paper they had bought in advance, preparing to write the character '福' (fortune) and couplets.

Xiaoqiao and Shen Wan helped Shen Cao cut the red paper into the desired size.

Shen Qing and Xiao Qi helped Shen Chen move his desk from the study to the yard.

The weather has been exceptionally good these past few days; the sun comes out early, and the sky is clear and blue.

It's much warmer to bask in the sun than to stay indoors.

Shen's mother went to the kitchen to make paste.

Mr. Shen looked at the several pairs of large red lanterns on the ground and was troubled. He was thinking about how to hang the lanterns on the door.

Even Lai Cai wagged its tail excitedly and ran around in front of everyone.

It didn't know what the New Year meant, but it knew that its food had been getting better and better these past few days.

The leaves in the yard had long since fallen, leaving it bare.

"How about we cut some smaller pieces of red paper, write some blessings on them, and stick them on the tree branches?"

"Sister Cao'er's suggestion is good, I agree." Xiaoqiao nodded.

She seemed to remember where this custom originated, but couldn't recall the specifics.

After listening to Shen Cao's words, Shen Chen glanced at the small bridge and said, "I remember that Daqing Kingdom seems to have a custom of hanging red cloth on trees during the New Year and writing blessings on them, wishing for a smooth year ahead."

Shen Cao thought for a moment, "It's okay, we're sticking red paper on it, and it's for our family to see."

Shen Chen took five or six calligraphy brushes and said, "Then you guys write the character '福' (fortune), and I'll be in charge of writing the couplets."

Shen Cao and the others each took a pen and wrote the character "福" (fortune/blessing) on ​​a square piece of red paper.

Shen Cao awkwardly picked up the calligraphy brush and wrote the character "福" (fortune/blessing).

Seeing his sister's handwriting, Shen Qing laughed out loud, "Sister, your handwriting is really... a bit ugly."

Shen Qing picked up the "Fu" character he had written and said, "Mine is better than yours."

Shen Cao glanced at what Shen Qing had written, pouted, and said, "What do you know? This is called round script, isn't it cute?"

Shen Cao's "Fu" character was round and plump; although it didn't look good, it wasn't ugly at all.

She just wasn't used to writing with a brush, so it looked a bit awkward.

Shen Cao wrote a few words, then her wrist started to hurt. "You guys write, I want to write a blessing."

Wishing my family peace and happiness in the new year.

"I hope my older brother will achieve top marks in his exams next year."

"I hope Xiaoqiao's younger brother is safe and well."

"I hope Shen Cao can make a lot of money next year."

"hope……"

In the courtyard, Shen Chen was writing couplets, while his younger siblings laid out the "Fu" characters they had written to dry on the open ground.

The courtyard was filled with "Fu" characters of various shapes, and sunlight shone on them.

The light shone on Shen Wan, Shen Qing, and Xiao Qi, who were lying on the ground writing.

The sunlight shone on Lai Cai, who was lying in the doghouse watching the Shen family members write.

It shines warmly in the hearts of everyone who looks forward to the New Year.

By the time they had finished pasting the couplets and the character "福" (fortune), it was already noon.

The once bare branches are now covered with all sorts of red blessings.

Every window has a "福" (good fortune) sticker on it.

There are also some window decorations of various shapes, which, although strange, are also heartwarming.

Shen Cao looked at the newly renovated courtyard and smiled happily.

This is her first New Year in this world. In previous years, as a corporate slave, she was always busy working and working overtime at the company.

We only get a holiday the day before Lunar New Year's Eve, so we can't participate in these things at all.

When she returned home, even the New Year's goods had been prepared.

Later, she quit her job to become a chef, just as it became popular to order New Year's Eve dinners from restaurants. She was so busy before the New Year that she barely had time to breathe.

In my memory, the scene of pasting paper-cut window decorations and couplets before the Lunar New Year was when I was a child and it was done at my grandfather's house during winter vacation.

At that time, she felt that the New Year was getting more and more boring each year, and she didn't even feel anything until New Year's Eve arrived.

Now, she feels that same feeling of the whole family preparing for the New Year together.

Shopping for New Year's goods, putting up Spring Festival couplets, hanging lanterns...

It’s great to celebrate the Chinese New Year!