Although she was looking forward to it, she had no intention of stopping there. She wanted to be the "evil boss" and exploit everyone until the last day of the year, and then start "working" on the seventh day of the New Year. Anyway, she didn't need to worry about anything that needed to be prepared during the holidays - just last year, she asked her mother about it once, and her mother told her to stay at home and it was none of her business.
Han had previously told Wenren Taibo that all those who were away had returned home to celebrate the New Year - this year Wenren Xu's wife You came back with their two children - but their daughter was still busy.
Wenren Taibo took advantage of this moment and asked, "Xuan'er, are you still going to be busy?" he asked hesitantly.
"Well, it will be over in a few days."
Wenren Taibo was suddenly speechless and wanted to say, "It won't be paid off in a few days, how long do you want to wait?"
Xiao Cao seemed to see what Wenren Taibo was thinking, and said with a smile: "Dad, I will take a few days off after the New Year."
Wenren Taibo sighed helplessly, "Xuan'er, you don't have to work so hard. It won't hurt to take things slow."
Xiaocao smiled unchanged, "But I always want to complete the hospital as soon as possible. Once it's completed, I won't be so busy anymore."
Wenren Taibo had no choice but to say, "Be careful. Your mother has been nagging about it more than once."
"Yes, I know. By the way, Dad, will the imperial court ban writing until the 15th?"
"It was indeed the case in previous years. This year, the court will be held on the eighth day." He did not wait for Xiaocao to ask, and continued to explain, "The emperor is celebrating his fiftieth birthday. In addition, he has achieved unprecedented success in treating the epidemic, so he will definitely celebrate it. Before this, other countries have sent letters of credence, not only small vassal countries, but also neighboring big countries, who want to send envoys to congratulate the emperor. Now, envoys have already set foot on the land of Qichao. It is estimated that envoys should arrive around the tenth day."
Xiaocao understood then. It turned out that she had been busy with her own affairs before and no one told her about this. She also never asked about other things, so she knew nothing about it. But after hearing this, Xiaocao seemed to remember that she seemed to have forgotten to prepare a birthday gift for Emperor Xuanren. Today was different from the past. She needed to prepare a birthday gift separately.
Seeing Xiaocao's strange expression, "What's wrong with Xuan'er?" Wenren Taibo asked.
Xiaocao told about his negligence.
"It's not a big deal." Tai Bo said with a smile, "I think the head nanny at your princess's mansion will prepare it. Also, your mother probably needs some too. You can take some time to check it out later. Otherwise, now that I think of it, if you have anything you want to give as a gift, it's not too late to prepare it."
"Since you have prepared it, then I won't prepare anything else. I am not good at handling these things. I can privately make some small items that are beneficial to the body and send them to father. There should be no problem with that?" Xiaocao was not sure.
"That's good, no problem." Wenren Taibo nodded.
When someone in the family has a birthday, these things are mostly given as gifts. Except for those who want to make money, there is probably no one who doesn't like them. Of course, Emperor Xuanren and the Empress Dowager in the palace also gave a lot of gifts. They were all very practical things. For people like them who have everything they need, this thought is even more thoughtful.
If my dad says it's okay, then it must be okay.
However, Xiaocao also thought that she had given quite a few small gifts before, so she thought of something new this time. However, she didn't spend much time on this matter, and she forgot everything when she was so busy. - Don't blame me, it's not that Emperor Xuanren is not important, but in comparison, in Xiaocao's place, people with good health probably have to move back.
The entire Wen family, from top to bottom, had to prepare for the New Year according to the old rules. Even Han, the head of the family, was not too busy, so the others were even more idle. At this time, Xiaocao still went out every day, and sometimes she was not seen for a whole day, which seemed quite abrupt, which meant that they seemed too... idle? I felt a little guilty, what should I do
Xiaocao said he wanted to be an "evil boss", and he really carried it out to the end. He really did not go out until New Year's Eve.
Although the people below were "exploited", no one, whether in the Princess's Mansion or outside, complained. Although it was exploitation, other places were kind enough. Wenren Taibo realized that it was the end of the year, so he asked the Princess's Mansion to increase the monthly allowance for those who joined the nursing school in the mansion, and also prepared a large number of festival gifts. Although they were ordinary things, they were already very rare for outsiders. Everyone praised Princess Anguo for her kindness.
However, being busy had become a habit, so even if she didn't go out, Xiaocao didn't stay in bed either. They first went to pay their respects to the old lady. It was lively and everyone was there, and the old lady had a rare smile on her face.
Xiaocao has taken good care of the old lady's health, and now she is much better than when Xiaocao first returned home. Of course, it is impossible for her to be full of energy at this age. It would be great if she could not suffer from illness and enjoy her old age.
The old lady has never been close to the younger generation. Even though she likes Xiaocao a little more, she still won't keep her by her side. When the time is right, she will let them go.
It's a rare time when we are not doing anything serious and are just having fun. It's quite fun. It's different from last year when I spent the New Year with Wei Tingyu in someone else's place. Although there were a lot of people there, our status was different, so the feeling was different.
When it was almost noon, Xiaocao found that the meal seemed too sumptuous.
"Because you will be attending the palace banquet in the evening, our family will have the New Year's Eve dinner at noon, so we can have something simple in the evening." Fifth Aunt Yan explained with a smile.
"It's better to let the whole family accommodate me alone."
"It's nothing to be accommodating. It's the same every year. There's nothing wrong with moving it to noon."
The others around also nodded in agreement. It really didn't matter much. After all, it was the first year they officially spent at home. It was uncertain whether they would have the next year - she might get married next year - who would care about those trivial details
Yan pulled Xiaocao, "Speaking of which, Fifth Aunt has another thing to thank you for, Xuanjie?" Seeing the puzzled look on Xiaocao's face, she smiled and said, "It's about your ninth sister's marriage. I had a big fight with your fifth uncle about this matter earlier. Later, your mother came to me and conveyed your words. I calmed down and checked carefully. The young man is indeed a good one. He is hardworking and motivated, polite and humble, and he is also upright. Although his father is a bit of a mess, he is not as bad as expected in other aspects. It was because I didn't trust your fifth uncle that I caused trouble and made a fool of myself."
Yan Shi also knew her mistakes and could correct them. She went back to apologize to her husband and the marriage was settled. There seemed to be some signs of thawing between the couple. Yan Shi had no feelings for her husband, but if the relationship could be eased, she would definitely not be so arrogant as to save face and refuse to reconcile. In fact, it was her husband who was stubborn.
"The most important thing is that the family can live in harmony. I just said that to my mother casually at the time. I hope Aunt Wu didn't think I was meddling in other people's business."
"How can I dislike you? Our fourth girl is the most popular one. You were always busy before and didn't even have time to say a word."
"What are you two talking about? Come here."
After sitting down at the table, since it was a New Year's Eve dinner, the meal naturally lasted quite a long time. Although the tables for men and women were separate, they were not partitioned. People were more relaxed at this time. The younger ones would run around and play in the middle of the meal.
After finishing the meal, even the lunch break was gone. Only the old lady and the children couldn't hold on any longer and went back to catch up for a while. It was not a big deal for others.
Xiaocao was originally planning to find something to do, but she didn't know what was wrong with her uncle. Normally, he would just greet her when they saw each other, and that was all. But today, he asked her to play chess. Although she was confused, Xiaocao didn't refuse.
Xiaocao's chess skills are limited, but he is able to remain calm in front of Emperor Xuanren, and he is naturally very steady when facing Wenren Shaojian.
Among the five brothers of the Wen family, the smartest ones are the eldest and the fifth. In some aspects, the fifth brother is actually better than the eldest. It's just that because of his marriage that year, he stood out from his parents and family, exiled himself, and has never been able to come back since then.
This game was over very quickly. Wenren Shaojian sighed with a hint of disdain, "You lousy chess player."
Xiao Cao was not angry either, and smiled, "Then Uncle Wu, do you want to continue?"
"Yes, of course. I will help you get promoted anyway, or else it will embarrass me."
He was so arrogant that everyone around him felt ashamed for him. Wenren Taibo directly retorted to him, "If you tell others, you are the one who made my daughter lose face."