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On New Year's Eve, every household lit their everlasting lamps, and there seemed to be no darkness on the streets.
He Yu returned home with a slight buzz from drinking. Before he reached the Central Courtyard, he heard cheerful laughter coming from inside the house. A smile finally appeared on He Yu's busy and tired face. Zhao Hezhong followed closely behind He Yu, carefully observing his lord's expression, and quickly said, "The princess and Xiao Daren are making dumplings with Lady Wang!"
"Making dumplings?" He Yu was taken aback, then a smile spread across his face. "This must be the princess's idea again, right?"
"Of course," Zhao Hezhong immediately replied with a smile. "The princess wants to make sure the prince can eat the dumplings she made herself!"
"Oh? Is that so?" He Yu initially thought they were just passing the time for fun, but he didn't expect that his Yao Yao had such ambition. "Let's go in and take a look!"
As He Yu spoke, he walked into the house with great interest. Passing through the main hall, he saw Wu Yun and Liu Jin curled up together by the warm charcoal brazier, using their fluffy paws to cover their heads as they slept soundly. Hearing someone enter, Liu Jin moved its ears, opened its eyes to see its master, yawned, and then went back to sleep.
Finding it amusing, He Yu approached and playfully ruffled Liu Jin and Wu Yun's fur a couple of times. After receiving two disdainful sneezes in return, he stood up satisfied and walked toward the inner room.
"Wow, what a lively scene!" He Yu said with great interest as he looked at the three people making a ruckus inside, led by Xiao Yao.
Wang Yan'er and Xiao Yi felt a bit shy upon seeing He Yu suddenly appear at the door, while Xiao Yao was full of excitement. "Oh? You're back! Come here!" she said cheerfully, waving at He Yu. Following her invitation, He Yu walked over and hugged Xiao Yao. "What are you doing? It looks like fun."
"Look at this! My brother's dumplings! I feel like I could eat several at once!" Xiao Yao teased her brother without any hesitation. Xiao Yi naturally wouldn't back down either. "Yeah, is that even a dumpling? That looks like a bun!"
He Yu looked at the oddly shaped dumplings nearby; Xiao Yi's dumplings were flat and couldn't stand up straight, lying haphazardly on one side. He Yu smiled as he commented, "Not bad; at least this way they won't burst when boiled."
"What do you mean by burst?" Xiao Yao lightly pushed He Yu. "It's New Year's; no bursting allowed!"
"Then what should I do?" He Yu feigned an attitude of seeking advice.
Xiao Yao replied seriously, "You need to 'earn' it."
"Earning?" He Yu was somewhat confused.
Wang Yan'er stifled a laugh upon hearing Xiao Yao's words. Seeing his future Daughter-in-law laughing so much, Xiao Mo Yi approached with a grin and said, "Looks like you know something about it, Daughter-in-law?"
Having not yet married but hearing Xiao Mo Yi call her Daughter-in-law made Wang Yan'er feel her face flush. She hurriedly nodded her head and then seemed to remember something about Xiao Mo Yi’s words and quickly nodded again. This left Xiao Mo Yi puzzled by her nodding and shaking of her head as he scratched the back of his head in confusion and asked, "So do you know or not?"
Wang Yan'er blushed and nodded, saying, "I understand."
"What is it?" Xiao Mo Yi immediately asked, glancing at He Yu, as if to say, see, I can figure it out without relying on you, Daughter-in-law. He Yu looked at the smug Xiao Mo Yi and had no intention of getting angry with someone who was completely opposite to his gentlemanly demeanor in court; after all, he was his Brother-in-law!
"Actually, this is a saying among us common folks. 'Zheng le' actually means 'to earn money,' hoping for a good harvest in the coming year, more money, and a better life," Wang Yan'er explained softly.
So that was the case; now everyone understood. "How about that?" Xiao Yao said proudly. "This is what we call wisdom coming from the people; there are wise individuals among the common folk!"
"Yes, yes," He Yu immediately chimed in with Xiao Yao. "Hmm, next year I also want to go out and engage with the people more, talk to these common folks; it seems there will be plenty to gain."
"That’s a must."
The group continued making dumplings while chatting. He Yu joined in, and Xiao Yao quickly noticed that He Yu was quite skilled at making dumplings. At first, a few were a bit misshapen due to his lack of experience, but after watching Wang Yan'er’s technique, he quickly learned.
He even imitated his Sister-in-law's methods and made several different shapes of dumplings! Xiao Yao suddenly felt her husband's malice and couldn’t help but put down the dough she was working with, pouting, "You’re too clever; your dumplings look so good that I’ll feel embarrassed letting you eat the ones I made!"
Upon hearing this, He Yu quickly leaned over and kissed Xiao Yao on the forehead, comforting her, "It’s okay; your dumplings look great too—thin skin and generous filling. And as long as they’re made by you, I’ll eat them all no matter how they look."
Hearing this made Xiao Yao beam with joy.
Meanwhile, Xiao Mo Yi also witnessed what it meant for a prince to woo a woman. He then imitated He Yu and approached his own future Daughter-in-law to express his loyalty: "Me too! No matter what you make, I’ll eat it!"
However, Wang Yan'er wasn’t as shameless as Xiao Yao in accepting her husband’s compliments openly; instead, she blushed deeply and shyly nudged Xiao Mo Yi with her elbow to signal him to stop. Yet her lips curled up in a smile, and her eyes sparkled.
Xiao Mo Yi was utterly captivated by her.
At this moment, He Yu and Xiao Yao had stopped their playful banter and were intently watching the couple across from them. Seeing Xiao Mo Yi looking foolishly enchanted, Xiao Yao smirked at He Yu and said, "See? This is what we call love makes one see beauty."
That evening was naturally filled with warmth as everyone gathered together to enjoy a meal of dumplings. Originally, Yun Zhu and the others had carefully separated each person's dumplings, but both Xiao Yao and He Yu opposed this idea, insisting that mixing them together for cooking would be much more fun.
When the master speaks, the servants naturally dare not disobey. Although it is hard to understand, wasn't it the case that they initially ate each other's dumplings? Why are they now cooking them together? However, since the master has decided this, there is no need to question why; just follow orders.
For He Yu, this reunion dinner truly represents a meaningful gathering after many years. A few people sat around the table with several plates of dumplings, along with some dishes and porridge. Everyone was identifying their own dumplings, and it seemed that He Yu's and Wang Yan'er's dumplings were the hardest to recognize.
Xiao Mo Yi was a boisterous man who often made mistakes in identification. However, for some reason, Xiao Yao could always identify correctly which dumplings were made by He Yu, which genuinely pleased He Yu.
Suddenly, He Yu frowned and exclaimed, "Huh? Why are these dumplings sweet?"
Then, He Yu spat out a jujube pit. Seeing this, Xiao Yao immediately laughed and congratulated He Yu, "Master, this is a good omen! Next year will surely bring your wishes to fruition!"
"Really?" He Yu understood what was happening thanks to Xiao Yao's congratulations.
"Yes." Xiao Yao exchanged glances with Wang Yan'er and said with a smile, "We originally intended to wrap copper coins in the dumplings, but we didn't have enough preparation and thought copper coins might not be good after all, so we switched to jujubes. Anyway, those few were wrapped by me and Sister-in-law! You two didn't wrap any; it's just a matter of whether you have this luck!"
"You two kept this from us over such a small matter!" Xiao Mo Yi said.
"This is what sister-in-law bonding is about; you men wouldn't understand!" Xiao Yao huffed proudly.
The two big men at the table exchanged glances and shook their heads with laughter; only their wives or sisters could come up with such ideas! They unanimously agreed.
Later on, Xiao Mo Yi also ate a dumpling with a jujube in it but didn't find any more afterward.
Just as Xiao Mo Yi found it strange, Wang Yan'er smiled and said, "There were only two in total; one was eaten by the prince and one by the master, so naturally there are none left."
"Only two?" Xiao Mo Yi was taken aback. He looked at Xiao Yao and then at his own Daughter-in-law. "So... you all..."
"As long as the master's life goes well, we can be happy too. Sister-in-law, right?" Xiao Yao blinked and then turned to ask Wang Yan'er.
Wang Yan'er pursed her lips and nodded gently. "Yes, as long as the prince and the master are well, we women will surely live good lives."
The two men looked at each other, seeing the emotions reflected in each other's eyes.
Silently determined, they vowed to cherish and pamper this woman, who was truly a part of themselves!
After the New Year's Eve dinner, it was time to stay up and welcome the new year.
Originally, Xiao Yao wanted Xiao Mo Yi to stay and keep vigil together, but Xiao Mo Yi refused, saying, "It's better to keep vigil at home. As long as the family's lamp is lit, we can avoid disasters in the coming year."
Since that was the case, it was naturally inappropriate to insist further.
The two of them saw Xiao Mo Yi and Wang Yan'er off at the gate, watching as the carriage gradually disappeared into the distance. He Yu wrapped Xiao Yao's thick fox fur cloak around her more tightly. "Let's go inside; it's very cold outside."
"Mm." Xiao Yao nodded. He Yu carefully supported Xiao Yao as they walked through the courtyard, afraid she might slip. Now that Xiao Yao was nearly five months pregnant, her belly looked much larger than that of an average pregnant woman at this stage. If it looked this big now, how large would it be by the time she reached full term?
He Yu looked at her swollen belly and suddenly felt a pang of heartache. Her body was so frail; how could she bear such a heavy burden? It must be very difficult for her.
Thinking of this, He Yu suddenly felt a bit teary-eyed.
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