It actually snowed in Lingzhou on New Year's Eve this year.
It was just a fine, dense rain during the day, which turned into small snowflakes when it was getting dark.
Huayang was a princess born and raised in Beijing. She had to experience several heavy snowfalls every winter. She didn’t feel anything last year when there was no snow in Lingzhou. But this year, she saw such a stingy snowfall that melted directly into water when it fell on the ground. Huayang was inevitably disappointed. Once she was disappointed, she became disgusted and said to Chen Jingzong, “The snow here is really boring. The snow in Beijing is really beautiful. It snows overnight, and the next day, everything is covered in silver.”
The two had just returned from the main house after having the New Year's Eve dinner. Chaoyun was holding a lantern in front, and Chen Jingzong was holding an umbrella for Huayang.
The light was dim, and her face looked even paler against the fox fur cloak. Her little mouth was red as she complained softly.
Chen Jingzong looked at her and said, "Yes, everything in the capital is good. How can it compare to our poor and remote place?"
Huayang was caught off guard by him. She was just talking about the matter at hand, how did he bring it up with everything
After glaring at him, Huayang looked at the snow around him for a few more times and went into the house.
There was no floor heating in the ancestral home, and charcoal was burning in the inner room. Even so, Huayang still felt chilly and cold. After getting into bed, she waited for Chen Jingzong to come up and warm her up. Unexpectedly, after washing his feet, this guy actually got into another quilt that was almost useless in this winter, and lay with his back to her!
Huayang hugged the hot water bottle that the maids had stuffed in earlier, and asked him in confusion: "Who provoked you tonight? Why are you angry with me?"
He not only scolded her with words, but also slept in a separate bed. It was obvious that he was angry!
Huayang didn't have to sleep in the same bed with Chen Jingzong, but his anger came out of nowhere, so she wanted to find out clearly.
Chen Jingzong didn't say anything.
Huayang snorted and turned around.
After an unknown amount of time, she heard Chen Jingzong lift the quilt and get out of bed. Because the light was still on in the room, Huayang turned her head curiously, and then saw Chen Jingzong fishing something out of the lotus bowl!
Huayang gritted his teeth, immediately grasped the quilt tightly, and pressed it down with his body.
However, Chen Jingzong could easily shake the entire bed, and Huayang's whole body weight was of no use. Soon Chen Jingzong pulled open her quilt and got in, holding her wrist and started kissing her.
Huayang was unhappy, and did not struggle, but said coldly: "Let go, you offended me tonight."
How could there be such a beautiful thing in the world? You offend a princess and still want to sleep with her
Chen Jingzong kissed her twice more before stopping. He raised his head from the crook of her neck and looked at her with his dark eyes.
Huayang looked at him with a stern face.
After a moment, Chen Jingzong said, "You offended me first."
Huayang: "How did I offend you? Just because I said the snow here is not good?"
Chen Jingzong: "You say you dislike Xue, but in your heart you may dislike me, making indirect accusations."
Huayang: …
I've heard of making trouble without reason, but I've never heard of someone being so unreasonable. Are you deliberately looking for trouble
"Go down!"
Chen Jingzong did not insist. He lay down behind her and held her in his arms, using his chest as a warm stove for her like other nights this winter.
Huayang was annoyed by his temper and didn't want to cooperate. But just as she moved away, she was pulled back by Chen Jingzong. After going through this several times, she was too lazy to waste any effort. Besides, she really liked it this way.
However, as soon as he sensed her compromise, Chen Jingzong's hands began to become dishonest. The couple had not had any major conflicts recently, and the little anger that had arisen tonight soon disappeared under his persistence. The snow outside the window was getting heavier, and the temperature in the bed was getting higher and higher.
When they were really together, the weird look in Chen Jingzong's eyes disappeared. He looked at her intently and even brushed aside her long hair that was scattered on her shoulders, which made Huayang's face flush.
"I don't have much impression of the snow in the capital. It's not as white as yours, right?"
Huayang: "Shut up!"
Chen Jingzong smiled and looked into her eyes: "The snow in the capital may be better than that in Lingzhou, but men may not be as good. Otherwise, why do you insist on choosing a man from Lingzhou as your consort?"
Huayang: …
If she is really a fairy, she will definitely make Chen Jingzong mute! .
After the New Year, time seemed to speed up all of a sudden, and in the blink of an eye it was the end of March, and the peach blossoms were in full bloom.
Huayang moved back to the Chen family's ancestral home from Ningyuan with Chaoyun, Chaoyue, Zhener and Zhuer.
On the seventh day of April, my father-in-law and mother-in-law will remove the mourning period, and then stay here for a few more days, and will leave for the capital at the latest in the middle of the month.
Not only Huayang was arranged this way, Yu Xiu and Luo Yuyan also returned to their ancestral home. Although the three brothers Chen Jingzong still had jobs, the newly appointed officials would be arriving soon, so the three brothers still had to return to Beijing to serve as officials.
The peonies in the small garden had just begun to sprout buds, and it was unknown whether they would bloom when they set out.
When Huayang first came to Lingzhou the year before last, she wanted not to stay there for even a night. Even after her rebirth, Huayang had only trained her character and was no longer easily impatient. She also had no feelings for the Chen family's old house. Now that she was leaving, Huayang looked at the small garden that Chen Jingzong had personally arranged, and then at the rolling green hills to the north of the town, she suddenly realized that she was actually a little reluctant to leave.
"Fourth Aunt!"
A sweet and soft voice came over, Huayang turned around and saw Luo Yuyan walking towards him with her two-year-old daughter Wanqing.
Last year, Wanqing was still a little baby who only knew how to eat, drink, defecate and urinate. Now, she can run unsteadily, has grown two rows of white teeth, and speaks clearly.
Wanqing inherited the good looks of Chen Xiaozong and Luo Yuyan, with a fair face and big eyes. She was at the most lovable age. She ran towards her happily, and even Huayang couldn't help but feel softened.
"Fourth Aunt, Huahua!"
Huayang held the little girl with one hand and touched her head with the other.
Luo Yuyan sat down next to her and told the wet nurse to take her daughter to play somewhere else. She could also see that Huayang had no intention of hugging her daughter. After all, she was a princess of the royal family and would not easily hug someone else's child.
"I just went to see my sister-in-law, she was still packing her things." Luo Yuyan took the initiative to chat, "Is everything ready, Princess?"
Huayang nodded.
Luo Yuyan sighed softly, "Finally I have to go back. There is no one I know here to hang out with. I am almost bored. Princess, are you also eager to go back to the palace?"
Huayang smiled and said, "Of course."
Luo Yuyan looked towards the north, revealing some of her true feelings: "Since I was a child, this is the first time I've been so far away from the capital. I'm not afraid of being laughed at by the princess. These past few nights, I couldn't sleep because of excitement when I thought about seeing my father, mother, brother and sister-in-law. Third Master, eldest sister-in-law and their relatives are all here. In our family, perhaps only the princess can understand how I feel right now."
Huayang looked at her and agreed.
She had been sleepless for several nights in a row. She couldn't help thinking about seeing her father who had died in her previous life, throwing herself into her mother's arms and acting coquettishly, and rubbing her younger brother the crown prince's head and pinching his cheeks before he grew taller than her.
When she couldn't sleep, she poked Chen Jingzong. Chen Jingzong was eager to spend time with her. After a fierce entanglement, Huayang became sleepy and slept until dawn.
But Chen Jingzong had endless energy, and Huayang couldn't stand it anymore. That night, she just leaned on Chen Jingzong's arms and said, "Father, have you thought about how to arrange for your second uncle?"
Chen Tingxian from the East Courtyard now has no wife or children. His father-in-law would definitely not bear to leave him alone in the old house.
Chen Jingzong: "The old man wanted to take him back to Beijing and arrange a marriage for him there, but he didn't want to and insisted on staying in his hometown to farm."
Regarding this point, Chen Jingzong could understand his second uncle's thoughts.
Second uncle was not a good student since he was young, and he was incompatible with the old man. If he stayed in the ancestral home, he could still be his own boss. He could farm when he wanted to, and go out when he wanted to. Even if he was weak and couldn't control the servants at home, at least the servants didn't dare to bully him. If he really went to the capital, he was unfamiliar with the place and there were officials everywhere. Second uncle would definitely not dare to go out casually. If he didn't go out, he would have to stay at home and be called by the old man to talk from time to time...
If it were Chen Jingzong, he would also stay and would rather eat vegetarian food every day than have to look at the old man's face.
Huayang: "Does father agree?"
Chen Jingzong: "My second uncle knelt down and begged him, crying for a while, and he still had to stay at home to look after the ancestral graves, so the old man had no choice but to agree."
Huayang: "Will he get married in the future?"
She was a little worried that Chen Tingshi would marry another greedy woman like Qi.
Chen Jingzong: "We have already chosen a candidate. She is a maidservant who was with the old lady when she was alive. She is in her thirties, well-educated and sensible. She went to the East Courtyard to take care of my second uncle after Qi left. According to my mother, we will arrange my second uncle's wedding before we leave, and my father will also leave a few reliable people to prevent similar things from happening again in our hometown."
Hua Yang was surprised and asked, "Will your uncle agree to let him marry a maid?"
Chen Jingzong sneered: "He insisted on marrying her."
The old man was a good brother. He felt sorry for his younger brother who had lost his wife and son. He was afraid that his younger brother would become sick due to loneliness, so he arranged for a suitable woman to take care of him early on.
No matter how honest and cowardly a man is, he will not be able to stay at peace in that place, and something bad might have happened long ago.
Originally, it would be fine for her to be a concubine, but my second uncle insisted on marrying her as his wife. The maid was content with her lot, and the old man was probably afraid of trouble if he married another woman, so he just followed my second uncle.
Huayang tried to figure out the ins and outs of this and felt a little sick.
In this world, men always ask women to remain widows for their husbands to prove their loyalty, but when a man dies, he is always in a hurry to marry a new wife. Even if it is not convenient to marry a new wife, he will take the wife away first, as if they cannot live without women.
She pushed Chen Jingzong away and asked him to sleep in the next bed.
Chen Jingzong did not move: "You disgust him, what does it have to do with me?"
Huayang: "All men in the world are the same."
Chen Jingzong: "I am different. Even if you... divorce me one day, I will not look for someone else."
Huayang: "Of course it's easy to talk about it, but with your greed, you might have already set your eyes on some pretty girl the moment you left the princess's mansion."
Chen Jingzong: "That girl must be you, so you'd better not divorce me. If you dare to do so, a greedy person like me will sneak into the princess's mansion in the middle of the night and force you to give her to me."
Huayang: …
She tried to imagine the situation, and then she found that Chen Jingzong seemed really capable of doing such lawless things!
Pushing away his restless hands, Hua Yang asked with a sneer, "What if I die before you and you become a widower?"
She wanted to hear what else he could come up with.
Chen Jingzong thought for a moment and said with a smile: "That depends on you. If you still want to be my wife, as long as your soul comes to me, I don't mind giving you Yang..."
Huayang directly blocked his mouth with a quilt!
(End of this chapter)