Duke of Wei.
Unlike the Gu family, the Li family was originally small, and besides Li Censhen, all of his brothers were out on business and had not returned to Beijing for several years, so this person seemed to be even fewer.
However, less is less, and there is still some excitement.
Yin Wan is very good at taking care of the house, and she knows how to control her. Early in the morning, she gave the people below her New Year's seals and a new set of clothes. 's reward.
When the people below have been rewarded, they are naturally happy, and they work very energetically.
The cleaning of the cleaning, the replacement of the lanterns, and the lanterns, decorate the Li family very festively.
When it was almost time to eat, Li Qinyuan accompanied his grandmother to talk for an afternoon. This would wait for his grandmother to return to the back room to change clothes. He also got up and went back to his yard to change into a new set of clothes.
He was not used to being served by people since he was a child.
After changing his clothes, he invited the servant to ask, "Apart from Fu Xian and the others, are there still people sending gifts these days?"
When the servant heard this, he quickly took out the close-fitting booklet, read it once, and whispered, "No, no."
do not have it
Li Qinyuan sat on the chair and tapped the table with his slender fingers. It would be fine if he didn't tell him a happy birthday, and he didn't even have a gift? This is not like a little girl's style.
Could it be that he was busy and forgot
It's not impossible. On New Year's Eve, their family reunites with their families. It's lively and lively, and it's normal not to remember.
But Li Qinyuan couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He had never looked forward to this day before, nor did he expect any gifts or gifts, but... thinking that if she gave it, he would be happy no matter what it was.
It is a happy birthday, and it is also good.
"Yes… "
The little servant was a little afraid of him, and when he saw his eyebrows lowered, he became even more afraid, and his voice became stammered, "Short, is there something missing?"
Li Qinyuan shook his head and said in a low voice, "It's nothing."
It was already dark outside, and the lanterns in the corridor and in the yard were already lit. He was afraid that his grandmother would be in a hurry, so he didn't stay any longer. When he got up, he threw the purse he had prepared long ago from his sleeve.
He used to have a good relationship with a book boy, but a few years ago, my mother got sick, and Li Qinyuan asked him to leave and go home to take care of him.
Now this little servant is still sent by my grandmother.
He doesn't need someone to take care of him, and this little servant is just doing some errands and is not familiar with it.
"Master, this...?" The little servant was a little puzzled as he held his purse.
"For you."
Li Qinyuan did not explain much.
"Yes, but it's too much." Even if you don't open it, you can measure it out. There must be dozens of taels of silver in it. He only has 2 taels of silver per month. For half the money, the Seventh Young Master gave too much.
Although he was short of money, he dared not ask for it.
Li Qinyuan originally didn't want to explain, but seeing this little servant was a little stunned, as if he wouldn't dare to ask for it if he didn't make it clear, he frowned and couldn't help but say, "Don't you have a sick sister? Take the money. Buy someone some medicine."
Done.
He didn't say any more and walked out.
The little servant held his purse and stared blankly at Li Qin's retreating back. After a while, he regained his senses.
He remembered that when the young master came back a few days ago, he was talking to a little brother from a fellow village about his sister's illness. Just when the young master came back, his fellow asked him to beg the young master, but how dare he
Unexpectedly, the young master didn't say anything at that time, but now...
The circles of his eyes suddenly turned red, and the tears dripped down.
When he first came to the mansion, he knew that he was going to be sent to the Seventh Young Master. He cried for several days. People who knew him said he was too unlucky, and he thought so too.
But now-
He didn't think he was unlucky at all.
The young master is a good man, he looks cold on the outside, but warm in his heart.
The servant wiped away his tears, looked at Li Qin's figure far away, and grinned, he must serve the young master well in the future!
When Li Qinyuan arrived at Shou'an Hall, almost everyone had come.
Li Censhen and Mrs. Li were sitting on the chairs, and Dong'er was also sitting properly. Only Yin Wan was still busy inside and out. When she saw him go in, Mrs. Li called him with a smile, "Qilang, hurry up. Come here, I'll be waiting for you."
Li Censhen glanced at him, but did not speak, still holding the wine cup in his hand.
"Grandmother." Li Qinyuan called out, ignoring Li Censhen, and walked over on his own.
Dong'er was sitting just right at first. Although he was young, he was taught to be very disciplined and not to be hugged. He sat on a high chair by himself, with his legs resting quietly. Li Qinyuan came in and whispered to the mama next to him, then grabbed the things that had been prepared early in the morning, and got off the chair by someone.
He is afraid of his father, and he is also afraid of his own brother...
But because of blood relationship, he couldn't help but want to get close to Li Qinyuan.
At this moment, he flung his two little fat legs and ran towards Li Qinyuan. He stopped when he ran in front of the person, raised his head, and stammered, "Brother, brother."
Li Qinyuan stopped and looked down at him, "What's wrong?"
"Here, here." Dong'er handed Li Qinyuan a brocade box engraved with bamboo leaves in his hand. He looked a little nervous, but his eyes were extraordinarily bright, and he stared at Li Qinyuan for a moment. , "Today, today is your birthday, this is Dong'er's gift to you."
He didn't dare to send it before.
But this year, my brother stayed at home for several days, and he talked to him, so he wanted to give it to his brother in person.
Although Dong'er was only three years old, she had already said it very clearly, but because she was shy, she was a little stumped.
Mrs. Li looked amused by the side, so she added a sentence to help others, "This is what your brother bought for you with the New Year's money that he saved before. It cost a lot of money." After speaking, she laughed and teased Dong'er, "Dong'er, why do you only buy it for your brother and not your grandmother?"
Dong'er blushed, "Money, there's not enough money, wait, I'll buy it for my grandmother later."
After he finished speaking, he secretly looked at Li Qinyuan, because Li Qinyuan hadn't picked it up yet, and his small arms were still held high.
Li Qinyuan looked down at him without saying a word. He took the brocade box and opened it to see that it was a good Zihao pen. The words "Qingzhuxuan" were also engraved on the outside. Although Qingzhuxuan's pen was incomparable The writing brush of Wenxuan Pavilion in Langya is also a must in the capital.
Donger still looked up and asked him, "Brother, do you like it?"
"Um."
Li Qinyuan nodded and looked at the innocent and lovely Dong'er in front of him. He somehow remembered what Gu Wuyou had said to him before. He pursed his lips, hesitated for a while, and raised his hand to touch his head. "Come on, let's eat."
She had never been so close to anyone before, Donger stayed there for a moment, and then happily followed Li Qinyuan back to her seat.
Mrs. Li's gift was given to Li Qinyuan early. After waiting for someone to be seated, she asked Chanyi to take out the hot longevity noodles for Li Qinyuan, and then said to Li Qinyuan, "I have cooked chicken soup all afternoon. In the soup base, there are beef balls that you like to eat, and a poached egg for you."
When my mother was here, she would cook a bowl of this kind of longevity noodles for him every year.
Since his mother died, this matter has been handled by his grandmother. Under the influence of the heat, Li Qinyuan's eyes dimmed slightly, and the expression on his face also looked a little sad under the heat, but it was only for a while, before he lifted it. When he looked at Mrs. Li, those indifferent eyelids also got some warmth. He held the chopsticks and said with a warm voice, "Thank you, grandma."
"Silly boy."
Mrs. Li looked at him with a smile. She originally wanted to touch his head, but in the blink of an eye, her grandson had grown so tall that when she was sitting, she couldn't reach her. She felt a little relieved. There are also some children who are full of sadness when they grow up, but in the end they just smile: "Eat, let's Qilang be safe and happy every year."
The stalk was in his throat. Li Qinyuan looked at the person and nodded after a while, "... um."
When the meal was arranged, Mrs. Li didn't let Yin Wan busy anymore, but said with her, "Sit down too, it's been a busy day, it's hard work."
Yin Wan smiled and said, "It's not hard."
He didn't push back, and sat down with a smile.
The Li family is small and only sits at the Eight Immortals table, but Yin Wan is good at enlivening the atmosphere, saying a few funny words from time to time, the house seems to be lively, and the family is rarely happy, having a New Year's Eve dinner .
However, after eating, someone came to spread the word, "Wei Chang is here".
There was silence in the room, and after that, Li Censhen got up and said to Mrs. Li, "Mother, I still have something to do, so I'll go to work first."
When Mrs. Li heard this, she couldn't help frowning, "Today is New Year's Eve, or is it your son's birthday, can't you sit for a while?"
Li Censhen was silent for a while, then turned to look at Li Qinyuan.
Before he could speak, Li Qinyuan, who was sitting upright, suddenly stood up. He didn't look at Li Censhen, but bowed hands with Mrs. Li and said, "Grandmother, I have an appointment with Fu Xian and the others, and it's time to go out. ."
"Shiro..."
Mrs. Li opened her mouth to persuade, but looking at the indifference on his face, she couldn't help sighing again, "Forget it, you go, it's cold outside, you should wear more, don't freeze."
"Yes."
Li Qinyuan nodded, and when he heard Donger calling him "brother" with reluctance, he took out a red envelope that had been prepared for a long time from his arms.
He prepared two copies in total, one for Dong’er and one for Gu Wuyou. Looking at Dong’er looking at him, he hesitated for a while before raising his hand to touch his head, his voice soft. He said to him, "I'll play with you in a few days."
After that, he didn't say any more, said to a few people, and walked out with the cloak.
After Li Qinyuan left, the warm atmosphere in the room gradually dissipated. Mrs. Li looked at Li Censhen and opened her mouth to say something, but in the end she didn't say anything. She sighed, shook her head, and turned towards Chan Yi raised his hand, "Help me in and rest."
Yin Wan hurriedly pulled Dong'er up to send her off, and after waiting for her to enter, she glanced at the taciturn Li Censhen and whispered, "Master should have sat with Qilang for a while, this time Qilang did well in the test, even Mr. Xu also wrote a special letter to praise him."
"Besides, today is his birthday."
Li Censhen was silent and didn't speak, and then he said, "I'm busy, take Dong'er to accompany mother." After speaking, he didn't say any more, and went out alone.
Yin Wan looked at his back and sighed again. When she was no longer in sight, she looked down at Dong'er and patted his hand, "Go accompany your grandmother."
When Li Censhen arrived in the study, he saw Wei Qingyi waiting inside. He raised his legs and asked in a deep voice, "What's the matter?"
"Your Majesty."
Wei Qingyi bowed his hands to the people and said in a low voice after saying goodbye, "An urgent letter has been sent from the border, and the eldest prince of the Turks has been imprisoned."
Li Censhen paused for a while, then frowned, "What's going on?"
Wei Qingyi replied: "The emperor of the Turks has long been disliked by this son. The eldest prince bumped into him again at the banquet a while ago. After being provoked, he was thrown into the heavenly prison."
"What is the situation in Turkic now?"
"Most of the courtiers stand for the second prince and want the Turkic emperor to make him the heir, but the eldest prince's mother has a big family, and it's not easy to overthrow it, but..." Wei Qingyi pursed his lips, "If the eldest prince is gone, I'm afraid this will happen. It just came naturally.”
Li Censhen didn't speak any more, he just sat on the chair of the Grand Master, closed his eyes, and after a while, he said, "I will discuss this matter with Your Majesty in person, you should retire first."
Just as Wei Qingyi responded, he heard Li Censhen say, "When you go out, ask someone to deliver this to Ming Tingxuan, not to mention I delivered it."
When Li Censhen spoke, he lingered on the brocade box with his thin fingertips.
There is a long sword in it, as thin as a cicada's wings, but it can be tied around the waist. He spent a lot of time building it himself.
Ming Tingxuan was where Li Qinyuan lived. Wei Qingyi was stunned for a moment. He didn't realize until he took the box. Today seems to be the birthday of the young master, "Why don't you... why don't you give it to the young master in person?"
Li Censhen was silent for a while before speaking, "If I give it, I'm afraid he won't even accept it."
Without waiting for anyone to say anything, he said again: "Go down."
"… Yes."
After the people left, Li Censhen didn't leave, he just sat alone with a lantern, fireworks were set off outside, and the lights stretched his figure very long, and the loneliness was cool.
After Li Qinyuan came out of Li's house, he didn't ride a horse, he didn't even get into a carriage, and he didn't even ask for the lantern in the servant's hand. He just walked alone in a cloak on this long street.
The snow on the ground and on the eaves has not yet melted, and there are lanterns hanging in front of every house, so there is no need to worry about the difficulty of going at night. After walking out of the alley and entering the East Street, it will become more and more lively. Although it is New Year's Eve, because the East City Every year there is a fireworks event at the gate, and many people go out for a walk after dinner.
nature.
Most of these people are ordinary people.
It is impossible for those princely families to come out and watch fireworks with people, they will prepare them at home.
Li Qinyuan didn't like fireworks. Even though it was still early and he could occupy a very good viewing position, he was too lazy to stay here. He continued to walk forward in silence. color.
There are always people in this world who don't have a home.
On such days, instead of staying at home alone, it is better to go outside, order a pot of wine, and have some side dishes.
Li Qinyuan also liked this before. Sometimes he sat for a night, and sometimes he would talk and chat with strangers, but today he was not in the mood. After thinking about it, he still planned to go back to his room and sleep.
Anyway, he's the only one, and it's the same everywhere.
…
And this time.
Li Qinyuan's house outside had already been visited by someone.
Bai Lu changed the lanterns in the yard, put the fireworks and firecrackers prepared earlier on the porch, then turned around and went to the kitchen. Shovel, looking at the frying pan with some fear.
Hearing the sound of "crackling" from the inside, Gu Wuyou couldn't help but step back, fearing that it would be unsafe, he still held a pot lid in his hand, covering his face, for fear that the hot oil there would splash himself. .
Seeing her like this, Bai Lu couldn't help but want to laugh, "It's better to be a slave."
"no!"
Gu Wuyou's face was tensed, and he said very decisively, "It's not my intention to cook for you."
Looking at the oil pan, she asked, "By the way, what did the person you sent out said?"
Bai Lu replied: "Li Qigong has already come out and said he is coming this way."
Gu Wuyou nodded, weighing the time and not daring to toss any further, while looking at the terrifying frying pan, as if watching the frying pan frying evil spirits in hell, he gritted his teeth and said, "You, You go out first."
"Can you be alone?" Bai Lu was still a little worried.
"Yes, yes!"
It was the first time for Gu Wuyou to cook in two lifetimes. Although she had practiced several times at home, she was guarded by maids and mother-in-law at that time. What she wanted, almost without her having to say it, someone would hand it over. In this way, except for the fire that Bai Lu ordered for her, she made everything else by herself.
She cut the vegetables herself, thick and thin, not delicate at all.
She also kneaded the dough by herself. At the beginning, it was either too dry or too wet. She tossed it a few times before it looked like it was.
There is also shredded pork, which is also very uneven.
Bai Lu has gone out.
Gu Wuyou gritted her teeth and threw the plate of shredded pumpkin into the frying pan as she had practiced before. When she heard a "slap", she almost threw away the lid of the pan in her hand. Some pursed their lips in fright, but hesitantly moved closer.
Bai Lu was standing outside, and from time to time, he could hear the sound from inside, bang bang bang, like firecrackers.
She was a little worried, and asked the edge of the window, "Master, are you alright?"
Gu Wuyou's voice came from inside, "No, it's fine, don't come in."
When Li Qinyuan came over, he saw that the gate of his house was open, lanterns were lit in the yard, and even a few pots of kumquats with peace knots were placed under the porch.
He was stunned, almost thinking he had gone to the wrong place.
But the layout in the yard is still the same as before, and seeing Bai Lu turn around again, he greets him, "Li Qigong."
Li Qinyuan seemed to notice something, his heart jumped, his voice hoarse, and he asked, "Where's your master?"
Bai Lu didn't speak, just smiled and glanced in the direction of the kitchen.
Li Qinyuan pursed his lips and didn't speak anymore, but he walked very fast. When he reached the door of the kitchen, he saw the smoke rising from inside, and the sound of pots and pans bumping. Suddenly it slowed down, it seemed a little unsure, or maybe it was a little unreal.
He walked slowly step by step.
He finally reached the door of the kitchen. In the heat of the room, he saw a little girl in red frying with a spatula in a hurry. He seemed to hear a sound. The little girl turned her head and saw him, her eyes sparkling. said, "Are you here?"
As if he had already guessed that he would come.
Thinking of myself now, my face turned red again, "You, you go out first."
After speaking, no one left, Gu Wuyou walked over with a blushing face and pushed the person out, "You go out first, and come in later!" After she finished speaking, she closed the door and hurriedly ran back to continue. Fried vegetables.
The pumpkin and shredded pork were already cooked, she put another basin of water, and then threw the prepared gnocchi into the pot.
Li Qinyuan was standing outside, looking at the people in the room through a window.
He has never seen such a Gu Wuyou. In his eyes, Gu Wuyou is delicate and gorgeous at any time. She wears the best clothes, from head to toe, even her hair is very beautiful.
But what about Gu Wuyou now
She was wrapped in a cloth around her waist, her face was stained with flour and charcoal ash, her hair was a little crooked due to her hustle and bustle, and a lot of blue strands were scattered, making her whole person look messy.
Such Gu Wuyou lost his usual bright and delicate appearance, but he just hit the softest point in his heart.
The coldness and loneliness he had walked all the way disappeared in an instant. Looking at Gu Wuyou like this, he felt like a hot spring was hiding in his heart, making him warm from head to toe.
While he was still staring inside.
The voice inside suddenly quieted down, and after a while, the door suddenly opened, Gu Wuyou stuck out a small head to look for him again, and when he saw him standing outside the window, his face turned red again.
But he still held his hand and led him inside.
Before the heat in the room dissipated, Gu Wuyou led him to the table before letting go, then holding the bowl full of gnocchi in both hands, he looked up at him, his eyes seemed to hide the stars in the sky, "Brother , happy birthday."