Chapter 79 part 1 - Lantern Festival (part 1)
After sending Ouyang Yi off, Xie Zhen felt that the whole mansion was quiet.
She had her servants put everything in the Pavilion Changqing back, cleaning up inside and outside of the courtyard, cleaning up all traces of Ouyang Yi’s residence before letting it go.
When Yan Yu returned from the palace, she was instructing her servants to throw away all the tables and chairs Ouyang Yi had used and replace them with new ones.
She stood in the courtyard of the Pavilion Changqing, looking so adorable even when she was bossing around.
Liu Lan carried the bedding and pillow that Ouyang Yi had used before and walked out. She asked, “Empress, do you still keep these things?”
She righteously asked, “Do you want to keep it for the new year?”
When she turned her head and saw Yan Yu looking at her meaningfully, she blushed and ran to him, “I threw away all the things that Ouyang Yi used. Are you angry?”
He lowered his eyes and did not find it strange at all. “Why am I angry?”
“Because it costs a lot of money to buy things back,” she said.
That miser’s small appearance made him feel that it was funny.
Ignoring the servants, Yan Yu pinched her face, “Do I look poor?”
She giggled, covered her face and took a step back. “Not poor.”
Little bastard.
Yan Yu stared at her. Suddenly, he stepped forward, grabbed her hand, and led her out of the Pavilion Changqing. On the way back to the Haoyue Courtyard, he said, “In the future, everything in the mansion will belong to you. You can buy whatever you want.”
There were many servants on the road, but when they saw them, they curtsied.
“So good?”
He looked back at her helplessly, perhaps thinking she was uninterested. “Do I usually treat you badly?”
She nodded without thinking. “Of course not, but it’s so bad.”
This was especially for the times she had just married into. Just thinking about it made her feel very wronged. At that time, she only felt that she had fallen into a wolf’s nest. She didn’t have any chance to escape, and didn’t even have the confidence to speak. She was like a little daughter-in-law. She didn’t know how he got better… Their relationship had changed since she’d returned home.
Yan Yu wanted to retort, but after thinking for a moment, he realized that it was indeed the case.
He walked in front and made a sound of apology.
He said something else, but she didn’t catch it. She chased him and asked what he had said, but he wouldn’t say it a second time.
He kept his mouth shut, no matter what she said.
As they walked, it suddenly started snowing. It seemed to be snowing all the time this winter, and snow showed the rich of next year, There would be definitely a good harvest in the fields next year. Yan Yu went back to the room and brought her a cloak to wrap around her. He didn’t let the servants follow them as he led her to the backyard.
The lake in the backyard was covered in a thick layer of ice. Standing at the heart of the lake, one could see most of the scenery in the mansion.
“What did you bring me here for?” Xie Zhen said with her red nose because of the cold.
He and she stood in the pavilion, where a stove and a pot of warm wine had been prepared in advance. He led her to a seat and placed the stove on the table in her arms. “Nothing.”
He suddenly wanted to be alone with her.
No matter how he thought about it, this was the most suitable place.
She looked at him strangely, and though suspicious, she said nothing. Seeing that there was only wine on the table, she poured a cup for each of them, “What kind of wine is this?”
“Old Shao Xing.”
As Yan Yu was speaking she was going to have a drink, but the girl had probably forgotten that she was a bad drinker, and he didn’t expect her because she might get drunk with a glass of wine. He wanted to stop her, but seeing her eager face, he thought that it would be just the two of them anyway. She could drink if she wanted to, at most she would get drunk and he would just carry her back.
So he allowed her to drink half a glass.
As the warm wine entered her stomach, she felt much warmer. She held the stove and tilted her head, saying, “It’s the new year soon.”
She used to spend the New Year with her parents in Qingzhou. This year, she came to the capital with the Duke of Dingguo’s family. However, after marrying Yan Yu, she should attend the palace’s banquet.
Yan Yu rested his chin on his hands, admiring her wobbly figuer. “What gift do you want for New Year’s?”
She felt dizzy. Everything she saw was a double image. She barely muster up her spirit to think about it. All that was left in her mind was this thought: “Kite …”
As soon as she finished speaking, she fell into Yan Yu’s arms.
He caught her in his arms and looked down at her red cheeks. He couldn’t help touch it with fingers, and then he curled his thin lips into a brief smile. “You really don’t have any requests.”
He wanted to prepare a gift for her, but who knew that she only wanted a kite.
In the distance, the bright, misty white, snowflakes from the sky one after another came down, outlined the world of wrapped in silver. Nearer, he embraced her, wrapped her in his cloak, and smiled with his handsome face, lightening the coldness of his brow. He lowered his head at last, and pressed it to her lips.
She had asked him what he had said, but it wasn’t a big deal.
Didn’t she say that he had been bad to her before? Then he would be good to her in the future.
On New Year’s Day, Emperor Yuan Huai set up a family banquet in Lin De Palace. No officials were invited to the banquet, only heirs of the royal family were invited.
Xie Zhen was able to meet the Third Prince, the Fourth Prince and other princes she had never met before, as well as their princesses and other concubines. There were no outsiders at the feast. Emperor Yuan Huai seemed to be in a good mood, and he could not help but drink with the crown prince and the other princes. He sat beside Yan Yu, with the Seventh Prince on his right. Senenth Prince was not married, but was very enthusiastic, calling Xie Zhen “Sixth Sister-in-Law” all the time.
Someone came to toast her, but Yan Yu prevented from doing so.
Some of them were unstoppable, so he drank them for her.
Seeing this, the First Prince could not help but laugh. “I usually look at Sixth’s cold, but I never expected him to be so protective.”
Yan Yu did not retort.
After the family feast, Emperor Yuan Huai led the group to the Taiye Lake to look at the fireworks. The horizon suddenly lit up, and the fireworks began to blaze. Most of it was the fireworks Yan Yu had prepared for her, so she saw it without much enthusiasm. But she was still in a good mood.
After that, the people who did not have mansion outside the palace accompany Emperor Yuan Huai. To the people who had mansion outside the palace, If they wanted to go back, they could do so. Yan Yu, of course, chose to go back. He didn’t show any courtesy to the emperor and brought Xie Zhen back to his own house.
On the way back, she asked with puzzle, “Why don’t you let me drink?”
Actually, she wanted to ask in the palace, but she couldn’t find the right opportunity. She thought it would be all right if she had a drink or two, but Yan Yu wouldn’t even let her touch them.
Yan Yu was drunk by the princes and smelled of alcohol. He closed his eyes and said, “You will get drunk.”
“I’ve never been drunk!”
That’s because she never remembers when she’s drunk?
Yan Yu opened his eyes and looked at her, a smile in his eyes. It was probably because he had just drunk a cup of wine. His eyes were not as cold as usual, only filled with lingering feelings. Seeing this, Xie Zhen’s face turned red. She immediately gave up and sat back, unwilling to give up, she said, “All right.”
C79part2
Chapter 79 Lantern Festival(part 2)
When he returned to the Prince’s Mansion, Wu Ze helped him off the carriage.
Arriving at the gate of the Haoyue Courtyard, he waved Wu Ze down, barely managing to steady himself, and led Xie Zhen to the hall.
After the hall was the inner room.
At the house of the Duke Dingguo’s Mansion, she had initially kept Yan Yu from sleeping with her, letting him sleep outside on the Arhat Bed. He always crawled into her bed in the middle of the night and slept through the night. When he returned to the Prince’s mansion, he naturally refused to let her sleep in the side room. He brought her pillow from the side room and forced her to sleep in the same bed with him.
In the beginning, she had no qualms about going to sleep. After all, it had been so long that there was no way she could drag it out.
However, Yan Yu didn’t sleep with her as she had thought. He just hugged her at night and didn’t do anything else.
She wondered and was glad.
Before she got married, she heard from the mammy that it hurt to do something like that …
While she was still lost in her thoughts, Yan Yu had already covered her with his hands and was chewing on her face.
She let out a whimper of pain.
He smelled of wine and his body was hot, and every time he kissed her she felt as if it were on fire. The more he kissed, the harder it got to stop. She thought they were going to get together tonight, but he just kissed her on the neck and nibbled, finally he breathed heavily and held her and said in a hoarse voice, “Sleep.”
“…”
How can I sleep like this?
His body was on the verge of burning up!
She looked down carefully at his expression, and saw that he was only closing his eyes tightly, as if he was enduring a great deal of hardship. She didn’t understand the ways of men and women, but she had previously promised him that she would get together with him after she reached the age of fifteen. She thought he was thinking for her sake and thought she was afraid, so she reached out to scratch the back of his hand, “Big brother Xiaoyu …”
Yan Yu acknowledged with a grunt, but it was hoarse and heavy.
She looked at his long eyelashes, feeling really embarrassed to open her mouth. She bit her lip and hesitated again and again. “Actually, I’m still a little afraid …”
He didn’t say anything.
She continued, “But …However…
He said, “But what?”
“If you were a little tender…” she said in a low voice, her face red and bleeding all the way up to her ears. “Just …”
These were probably the most beautiful words in the world. Yan Yu’s entire body softened when he heard them. The emotions that he had suppressed with great difficulty were ignited in an instant by her. He gnashed his teeth, wishing he could eat her alive. His arm tightened around her, and he said bitterly, “Xie Zhen, You little bastard!”
She said it like that. Why did he call her that?
Thus, she puffed out her cheeks and turned around. “I’m not a little bastard.”
“I don’t know when I’ll be back,” he said finally, biting her earlobe. “How to deal with if we’re get together and than you’re pregnant?”
Xie Zhen couldn’t bear his bite on her ear and covered it with hand. “Then give birth.”
After a long silence, he said, “I want to stay by your side.”
She blushed again, thinking how far he could go without thinking too much.
“Will you be gone long?”
He said, “At least a year or two.”
“Oh,” she said in the dark.
He was worried. Before he left, he began to warn her, “Don’t forget me.”
“I’ll try.”
He gritted his teeth in anger and finally pressed her under his body to give her another fierce kiss. The little girl’s hair was in disarray under his body, and her watery eyes made his blood boil. He left without saying anything. He ran next door to take a bath before returning. Then, he didn’t dare to find trouble to himself anymore. He just hugged her and slept soundly.
The day quickly arrived on the day of Lantern Festival.
On the day, every family was eating the Yuanxiao, and the Sixth Prince’s Mansion was no exception.
She could eat a whole mouthful of it, and she could eat several at a time. However, Yan Yu didn’t like sweet food, so she scooped one up and brought it to his mouth, trying to coax him: “Eat one, try it, it’s delicious!”
He only took a glance at it, but he remained unmoved.
In the end, she stuffed it into her mouth and bit into it, filling her mouth with sweet filling . Her cheek was round, and he leaned forward to kiss her lips, prying open her teeth and tasting the Yuanxiao in her mouth with her.
Xie Zhen was frightened and didn’t expect to eat like this!
By the time he had finished the Yuanxiao in her mouth and even licked the filling clean, she was still in a daze.
He took a sip of tea and said, “It’s too sweet.” A pun.
“Why did you rob me of my Yuanxiao?”
He asked her, “You didn’t let me eat it?”
But I didn’t let him eat like that!
She pursed her lips and didn’t realize he had such a roguish side to him. But after thinking about it, there was nothing to be angry about. Anyway, he was childish, so she didn’t care as much about it as he did.
The biggest program of the Lantern Festival is not eating Yuanxiao, but the lantern at night.
The sun had yet to set, and the lanterns had just begun to shine. The streets were filled with all sorts of lanterns of strange shapes and colors. At this time, the young ladys came out. The most boisterous time of the year, was the 15th day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival. The streets were not only filled with people selling lanterns, but also with people guessing their riddles. The entire street was bustling with noise and excitement. The distant sky was filled with light and the stars were sparse. It was a grand occasion in the capital.
She wanted to go out and play, but Yan Yu said there were too many people out there and wouldn’t agree to take her out.
She seemed to hear the distant noise of the street. “We would take Wu Ze and Wu Bin?”
Yan Yu sat under the veranda. “No.”
She snorted at him, “Big Brother Xiaoyu is a bad guy!”
Unmoved, he inclined his head to accept the accusation. It wasn’t that he didn’t want her to leave, it was just that he hadn’t been safe recently … He was followed everywhere, and it would only be more dangerous to take her with him.
Xie Zhen refused to give up and rolled her eyes, “Let’s go out, shall we?” she said and kissed on his face.
He blushed and stared up at her.
She pretended not to see, kissing him from face to mouth, just like his kiss, slowly licking the corners of his mouth. “Okay?”
She nibbled at him earnestly, her soft voice humming softly.
He finally couldn’t resist and bit her on the lips. “Alright.”
She came out as she had hoped.
Outside, like a bird released from a cage, there was joy. The carriage stopped at the end of the street and they got out of it. She led him through the stalls. Her child’s heart had not left her, and she was curious to see anything, even the little Mianren by the roadside.
She asked the grandpa to make tow Mianren, just like her and Yan Yu, but she didn’t expect that he would really make two Mianren so well. The look in Mianren’s eyes was very similar to theirs.
Xie Zhen handed the Mianren of smiling woman to Yan Yu, while she holded the Mianren of wicked man said, “Brother Xiaoyu, can’t you smile?”
As she said that, she placed the man in front of him on his face. Under the light of the floral lights, she saw that they were exactly the same.
She giggled and dragged him off to the next place. “I want to eat Nest Candy!”
Yan Yu bought her a small bag.
She held the oilskin package all the way and wanted everything she saw, Yan Yu was in charge of paying for it. Furthermore, What she couldn’t finish was eaten by Yan Yu. but Nest Candy was so sweet that he wouldn’t eat it no matter what. She fed it to him herself, smiling, and asked, “Is it good?”
Yan Yu pursed his lips and looked at her without saying anything.
She was about to leave when he stopped her and wiped the sugar from her lips with his thumb. “Why do you eat so much?”
She blinked her big eyes and said, “All right?”
He stayed for a while longer before letting out an “En, Alright.”
On her left hand was a stall selling lanterns, on top of which hung many exquisite lanterns. Her eyes were drawn to the two prettiest lanterns in the stall. She picked out two of the best ones, then handed them to Yan Yu and said generously, “This is for you.”
Yan Yu was still eating the leftover bag of Nest Candy. He asked casually, “Why did you buy a rabbit lantern?”
“Lool like you.”
What did he look like, a man of seven feet, like a rabbit?
She continued, “. “If you’re in a hurry, your eyes will turn red.”
Instead, he handed the lantern to Wu Ze and led her back to the lake with one hand. It was the busiest place, and the shore trees were full of riddles, fireworks, and river lamps. Both sides as bright as the day, many lovers meet here, speaking out their love each other.
There were many river lantern floating on the surface of the lake. The spots of fire were like stars, adorning the calm surface of the lake. It was like a galaxy, with two side of it were Niulang and Zhinv.
Yan Yu handed her the river lantern Wu Ze had bought. She happily led him to the lake, lit the candle, and gently pushed it towards the center of the lake.
When the river lantern had drifted away, she turned to him and asked, “Brother Xiaoyu, what do you think I wish for?”
Her eyes were bright.
He looked at her.
She leaned close to his ear and said in a very soft voice, as if she was whispering, “I hope that big brother Xiaoyu can return safely.”
His heart skipped a beat.
This fool, does she not know that speaking out the wish is useless?
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