"Here we come." Xia Chu called and waved to them.
Su Qianan and Bingwen each bowed to the three of them. The Marquis nodded, and Xia Chu motioned for them to sit down.
Bingwen and Li Xinlan sat together, exchanging some news about the capital. Su Qian'an sat next to Xia Chu. Xia Chu told him that he had gone to Qian Le's place to reassure him. The Marquis felt a little empty for a moment when he took the throne...
Finally, the food and wine were all served. The Marquis coughed and said, "The food is here."
Two small groups stopped talking to each other and sat upright.
Xia Chu looked at Mr. Hou and said with a sweet smile: "Father, today is New Year's Eve. I don't want any new year's money either. To be more practical, I just want two people from you."
"People? Who?"
The Marquis didn't react, and the others also looked surprised.
"It's up to the people in the house to give it to them or not."
Xia Chu held her chin in her hands and blinked her smart eyes.
"You can use the people in the house as you wish, no matter what you give or not."
The Marquis smiled brightly, thinking it was a big deal.
"I'm not using it, I want it." Xia Chu emphasized.
"Is there a difference?" Mr. Hou raised his eyebrows.
"That's for sure. I'm using them, but in fact they still listen to you. If I want to come over, they can only listen to me." Xia Chu said plausibly.
"So clearly divided?"
The Marquis was a little unhappy.
"It's not that I have to divide it with my father. There are some things that I have to be their only master before I can give them orders."
Xia Chu pursed his lips, looking aggrieved.
The Marquis felt that there was nothing wrong with what Xia Chu said, and out of the corner of his eye he glanced at his charming appearance and waved his hand.
"Give it."
"Then please ask Father to pick two secret guards for me."
Xia Chu beamed with joy.
The hand that the Marquis was waving his sleeves was stiff. He originally thought that Xia Chu just wanted Mo Xiang, or a capable attendant like Cong Ting by his side. I really didn't expect him to want to be a secret guard.
"How do you know there are secret guards in the house?"
"Which prince or nobleman didn't order his own secret guards?" Xia Chu didn't take it seriously.
The Marquis nodded, feeling that his words made sense.
Xia Chu continued: "The one who has been following me during this period is called Bian Ding, right? I want him, and you are choosing one for Bingwen. One is to protect his safety, and the other is to wait for me to leave Beijing. The two can also make it easier for us to deliver news."
The Marquis' face became more and more solemn as he spoke. It was indeed not difficult to know that there were secret guards. However, I am afraid that even the current emperor will not know the names of the secret guards of the Hou Mansion.
The Marquis asked with a serious look on his face: "How did you know that his name is Bian Ding?"
"Now you know that our Master Bingwen has great magical powers." Xia Chu threw the blame to Bingwen without changing his expression.
He encountered two critical moments in his previous life.
Once, Xiao Yanjun was assassinated, taking her with him. It was that time that Bian Ding showed up to save them, and she realized that there was always such a person beside her. The second and last time. She was placed under house arrest by Xiao Yanjun, who severed the tendons in her hands and feet. Bian Ding appeared, but never appeared again...
"Master Bingwen certainly lives up to his reputation."
The Marquis' eyes fell on the disguised Bingwen, and he couldn't help but take a high look.
Bingwen suddenly heard such a big thing, and his mind was already buzzing. Suddenly, he was wearing a tall hat again, and he could feel the hot gaze from the Marquis all over his body. He looked at his nose and heart, not knowing how to respond.
"Isn't this famous reputation due to you?" Xia Chu saw Bingwen's uncomfortable expression and spoke out to save him.
"Hurry up and call those two secret guards in."
"Bian Ding, Bian Hao." Mr. Hou shouted to the door.
In the blink of an eye, a knock on the door was heard.
"Come in." Hou Ye said.
With a "squeak" sound, the door of the house was pushed open, and two men in black suits came in.
"Master Marquis." The two of them knelt down and saluted at the same time.
"Get up. From now on, you will be the young master's people." The Marquis ordered.
The two looked at each other and said yes at the same time.
"Bian Ding, you can continue to follow me from now on. Bian Hao, you can follow Bingwen from now on."
The two of them said yes again to Xia Chu.
"I know you have doubts. As a secret guard, you should not appear in front of people other than the master. However, the people in this room today are all people close to me. I hope that includes you two. In the future, everyone will inevitably have intersections. It will also be convenient to get to know each other."
"I understand," the two replied.
Xia Chu nodded.
"Now that you understand, let's sit down and have a New Year's Eve dinner together."
Both of them were shocked when they heard this and looked up at the Marquis.
"Who is your master?" Xia Chu held his chin with his left hand and tapped the table with his right index finger. His face was lazy, but his tone was solemn and sullen.
The two of them looked away, knelt down at the same time, and replied, "It's the young master."
"Then what do you think of the Marquis after what I say?"
The two of them were oppressed by Xia Chu's sudden burst of fierce momentum, and hurriedly replied: "I know my mistake."
"Sit." Xia Chu ordered.
After hearing this, the two people immediately stood up and sat down obediently.
The Marquis took a deep look at Xia Chu, with three points of dissatisfaction and seven points of appreciation.
Xia Chu knew that he was not happy that he had not informed the Marquis beforehand, but there was nothing he could do about it. When people come over, they must be treated with kindness and power to let them know whose words they should listen to in the future. Xia Chu poured a glass of wine for Mr. Hou.
"Father, would you like to start the banquet?"
The Marquis understood Xia Chu's intention and was not really angry. Hearing his words, he raised his glass and started the banquet.
"I hope everyone here will have everything go well in the future after drinking this glass of Tusu wine."
The fireworks and firecrackers in the yard were set off, and everyone raised their glasses and stood up to thank the Marquis.
"I guess you don't know how to prepare it yourself, so I bought a few sets for you." After Xia Chu finished drinking, he took out the new clothes he bought for Bingwen and handed them over.
Bingwen stood up, took it respectfully, and thanked him for the reward.
Before that, Bingwen didn't know what Xia Chu called him to do. He asked Su Qianan, but Su Qianan didn't know. Both of them thought that there might be some urgent order that required him to come in disguise.
Unexpectedly, I was afraid that he would be alone and sad today. Bingwen was moved in his heart, and now he saw that Xia Chu had even prepared new clothes for him. The excitement on his face was beyond words.
Xia Chu saw Su Qian'an's envious eyes and smiled, patting him on the shoulder.
"Don't look at it, your new clothes will be prepared by the Marquis Mansion, and your share has been delivered to the house."
When Su Qian'an heard this, she looked away embarrassedly. Everyone stood up and raised their glasses, and then paid tribute to the Marquis and Xia Chu together, and thanked them one after another.
Xia Chu took out the sachet again and handed one to each person.
Bian Ding asked in astonishment: "We have one too?"
"Of course, I just said that. Everyone present is close to me, including the two of you."
Bian Hao was flattered and took it. Everyone toasted to Xia Chu again.
"Hey, Bingwen's sachets are also unique." The Marquis noticed that everyone had red sachets, embroidered with lucky charms. But in Bingwen's hand, there was a blue sachet embroidered with pink flowers. The Marquis turned his head and looked at Xia Chu inquiringly. Could it be that Xia Chu was interested in Bingwen...
Xia Chu didn't realize what the Marquis was thinking, and said disapprovingly: "What you brought was purchased by the Marquis Mansion. I brought the Bingwen one down from the mountain."
"Master is partial." Su Qian'an muttered.
Xia Chu rewarded him violently.
"If others see Mr. Bingwen wearing the sachet of my Marquis Mansion, you might as well go out and shout that he is mine."
Everyone laughed, and the atmosphere suddenly became lively. Even the Marquis burst into laughter as he smelled the scent of the sachet.
"The scent is unique."
Xia Chu immediately became proud.
"The sachet itself is nothing rare, but the fragrance inside..." Xia Chu added with a long tail note to whet everyone's appetite: "If you look around the capital, you can't buy it."
Xia Chu thought to himself, this is the incense made by Blue Feather Sakura. Let alone the capital, there is none in the whole world.
After hearing this, everyone held it up in front of them, sniffed it carefully, and then put it away properly. I thought the young master gave this sachet to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck in the New Year, but it turns out it is such a precious thing.
At the beginning of summer, I can’t help but miss Qizilan Mountain. In previous years, New Year's Eve was spent in the mountains. Although Bai Ruofei didn't even prepare a single item for the New Year, she would still be there on this day. Four people gathered together to watch the New Year's Eve together, drinking Tusu wine, writing poems and paintings with Lan Xilin, and playing chess on the piano. And he and Lan Yuying were forced to cheer for them...
Xia Chu's eyes swept over everyone's faces one by one. The people in these rooms include the Marquis. In the past, on this day of reunion, I was always alone.
After thinking about this, he stood up, raised his glass, and said to everyone: "In the past, you may have been alone. But I hope that in the years to come, we can all get together to have a New Year's Eve dinner like today. You all. Remember, from now on, you are no longer alone..."
Everyone felt a little sad when they heard the first two sentences, but they waited until Xia Chu finished speaking. There was a thin layer of mist in their eyes, their faces were moved, and their minds were agitated. The eyes they looked at each other were a little softer.
"How long do you plan to let me toast?" Xia Chu asked with raised eyebrows.
Everyone just came back to their senses and hurriedly raised their glasses.
"Eat quickly. After talking for a long time, the dishes are getting cold." Xia Chu said while serving dishes to the Marquis.
Su Qian'an watched Xia Chu serving dishes to the Marquis, and raised her hand to serve Xia Chu. Everyone finally started to use their chopsticks.
Bingwen looked at Xia Chu's warm smile. At this time, I really wanted to change seats with Su Qian'an. He also wanted to... provide food for the young master.
Xia Chu also suggested that everyone play drinking games, poetry, riddles, singing and other entertainment programs. For a moment, the vegetables and meat in the pot were tumbling, and the lively atmosphere on the table spread. Drinking and drinking, cups overflowing...
Xia Chu always paid attention to the Marquis, adding wine and vegetables, and occasionally whispered a few words.
The Marquis looked at the Hou Mansion, which had not been bustling for a long time, and suddenly felt that it would be good for so many people to have a meal together.
This New Year's Eve dinner lasted from Youshi to Haishi.
Li Xinlan resigned first, and she wanted to go back to Yixiang Building to take care of things.
Xia Chu let everyone disperse and stayed with the Marquis to watch the New Year's Eve.
(End of chapter)