No matter how much she delays, it is impossible to keep delaying. At her age, she has been criticized by many people for not getting married. Although Xiaocao doesn't really care about it, she knows very well that Tingyu will be under a lot of pressure in this situation.
No matter what happens between her and Tingyu, it is always an "internal conflict" and outsiders are absolutely not allowed to interfere.
Emperor Xuanren nodded, "That's not bad. I asked the Ministry of Works, and they said the hospital should be finished in April. Now we can set a date for the wedding and slowly start preparing. But summer is always too hot and uncomfortable. I'll ask the Imperial Observatory to choose a good date after September, so that you have enough time to prepare for your marriage after the hospital is completed."
Xiao Cao pursed her lips and smiled softly, seeming a little shy. After all, this was a big deal, wasn't it? "Thank you, father."
"An Guo is still a girl, why is the emperor talking about this now?" The empress dowager beside her laughed.
"Okay, I won't say any more." Emperor Xuanren asked casually. "But, Anguo, how long has your warm-up banquet for the princess's mansion been delayed? It's not good to delay things. Choose a date at the beginning of the year."
Speaking of this, Xiaocao was a little embarrassed. Originally, the Princess Mansion was almost ready at the beginning. She just needed to ask for a date and then she could post it. Because she was busy, she wanted to delay it for two more days. As a result, she delayed it day by day until today. Originally, it would have been nothing if it had been delayed for a long time. Now that it was mentioned... "It's been more than two months. It's not necessary anymore, right?"
"Of course not. We are all waiting for Princess Anguo's first banquet." Princess Fukang said with a smile, "Everyone knows that you are very busy before. It's just right that you are not busy during the first few days of the year."
Fan Wuguo, who was sitting nonchalantly and throwing food into his mouth, nodded in agreement. The others were also talking and laughing, jokingly saying they wanted to beg for a meal.
Now that things have come to this, it seems a bit awkward to refuse.
However, it is definitely not possible on the first or second day, and she is planning to "go to work" on the seventh day, so there are only four days in between. She also has to see if any wealthy family is holding a birthday banquet or a wedding during these days. After all, if there is, they will surely have prepared it long ago, and probably no one will refuse the "house-warming banquet" in her princess mansion. By then, most of the guests will be taken away, and the happy event will be ruined, which will make her a big enemy.
"Then I'll go back and think about it."
"There's no need to discuss it. Let's just do it on the fifth day. No one in the imperial city will have any major events on that day." Everyone knew Xiaocao's concerns. Princess Fukang used to live in seclusion, and when something happened in a family, usually no one would show up. After Fan Wuguo's face recovered, she slowly started to go out, and naturally knew everything she should know.
"Okay, then let's put it on the fifth day."
Originally, the house-warming party should have been held on an appropriate date, but Xiaocao's date was obviously not suitable, and it had been more than two months since then, so it couldn't be considered a proper house-warming party. At most, it was just a gathering of everyone at the princess's mansion.
The banquets that followed were also quite relaxed. During the formal banquet, everyone just ate and drank, and there was also singing and dancing. However, the Queen Mother was old, and Princess Duan and Princess Cheng were both pregnant, so they left the table relatively early.
—Ming Zhixin is about to give birth now. She was not too implicated by the Ming family's downfall, but she was able to sit on the position of princess thanks to this piece of meat behind her. However, there are many women in the backyard of Prince Cheng's mansion and it is quite chaotic. As a princess, she has no backing, and it is very capable and resourceful for her to be able to keep the child. But now there are two more pregnancies in the backyard of Prince Cheng's mansion. She is no longer the only one in her belly, and because he needs a legitimate son, Prince Cheng reluctantly protects her a little. This is one of the reasons why she has been safe until now. But, it is easy to imagine that she will not have a very good life. Other pregnant women have gained weight, but she has lost weight. Therefore, it is a bit scary to have a big belly.
In comparison, Princess Duan, who is also a pregnant woman, is much more comfortable. Her husband is considerate and they already have two sons, so she has no pressure to give birth to a legitimate son. Although there are other women in the backyard of Prince Duan's mansion, none of them dare to be unruly in front of Princess Duan. While she is pregnant, the entire mansion revolves around her, and her family is also supportive. She looks very good and smiles almost all the time.
It is true that there is no harm without comparison. When Princess Cheng saw Princess Duan, she was so envious, jealous and hateful. However, no matter what she thought in her mind, she could only think about it. After all, no matter how vicious a person is, if there are no conditions and opportunities to carry out his evil deeds, he can only hold it in. Doing anything out of line is seeking death.
Ming Zhixin is not at her wit's end, so she won't do anything stupid.
Xiaocao was different from others, she had relatives at home and had to go back to celebrate the New Year with them. Even Emperor Xuanren could not stop her. Of course, she did not leave early, but left the palace almost after the banquet was over.
When Xiaocao returned to Wenrenjia, it was actually not yet nine o'clock. However, at this time usually, most people had already gone to bed. Tonight was different. Except for very young children who really couldn't control themselves, probably few people went to bed. Not only that, but there were still many people strolling outside. There was no curfew, and lights were on everywhere, so it was possible for people to play all night long.
The young people from the Wen family also went out, but they were quite familiar with the various events during the New Year in the imperial city, so they didn't stay outside for too long. They all returned before Xiaocao got home.
Although it was quite relaxing in the palace, it was still more comfortable at home. We chatted and played games together, adults and children mixed together, and made strange lamps of various shapes with various materials. Once people's imagination was developed, even Xiaocao was shocked. However, everyone was very happy.
After playing tired, I sat down to eat some fruits and snacks. Hmm, it was so comfortable.
When the time was almost up, the kitchen brought in the dumplings. When Xiao Cao took the first bite, he tasted a copper coin. Everyone looked over and laughed, saying that their Princess Anguo would have good luck and happiness in the coming year.
Actually, Xiaocao felt that his teeth suffered a little, after all, he didn't think much about it and took a big bite... But even so, he was still very happy.
Everyone ate more or less, and then after putting down their bowls, the young people took the children to play with firecrackers. Actually, these things are very precious and only a few people can afford them. Most ordinary families can just set off firecrackers.
The continuous sound of firecrackers gives people a feeling of peaceful time.
After all, my daily routine was disrupted. I didn't feel it before, but when it was time to go to bed, I was still very sleepy and almost fell asleep as soon as I lay down on the bed. Fortunately, on the first day of the new year, I didn't need to go to the palace early. I could get up later, get ready, and then slowly go into the palace.
Xiaocao only then remembered the "house-warming banquet" held on the fifth day of the first lunar month and told Han about it.
Originally, Han didn't need to worry about this, but as a mother, how could she not worry? And, to be honest, Han might have more opportunities to come into contact with the head nanny and others in Princess Anguo's Mansion than Xiaocao. No matter how little Xiaocao was, she naturally had to help look after the huge Princess Mansion. Fortunately, the people in the Princess Mansion did not object to her intervention, and they reached a tacit understanding to a certain extent. Sometimes, the Princess Mansion would look for Han instead of Xiaocao.
Han said she understood. It was just a wedding banquet, which was nothing more than a common occurrence to her. However, there were more guests this time, and many of them were of noble status. Perhaps apart from those in the palace, the most distinguished people in the entire imperial city would not be absent. This would not have much impact on Han. She would just have to be more careful and not make any mistakes.
It was customary to visit the palace to pay homage on the first day of the new year, and no one caused any trouble, so everything went smoothly.
Everyone knew about the banquet held by Princess Anguo’s mansion on the fifth day of the first lunar month. Although no wealthy families had any happy events on the fifth day of the first lunar month, it did not mean that the “small families” did not have any. Originally, due to class issues, the mutual influence was not great. However, the “small families” would inevitably have relatives from wealthy families. At this time, the wealthy families were often their faces. Now that Princess Anguo had intercepted them, no one from the wealthy families would be willing to go to the “small families”. They felt aggrieved, but what could they do? Should they scold Princess Anguo for being unkind and deliberately going against them? Or should they jump up and down and ask Princess Anguo to change the time? Haha…
Wei Tingyu was really happy. He had already heard from others when he would be able to marry his daughter Xuan'er. Although the person who told him was deliberately trying to make him jealous, he was really happy. The noble young man, who was usually cold and distant, had a smile on his face all the time, which made many girls blush and their hearts beat faster again. Especially since he was basically out of the wheelchair now, his demeanor and manner were top-notch. When he smiled, it was like the ice melting and all things reviving. It was a pity that he only had room for Princess Anguo in his eyes.
Wei Tingyu found some time to meet Xiaocao and expressed his joy from both body and mind.
"Don't be happy too soon, some things are not over yet." Xiaocao couldn't help but pour cold water on him.
However, the fiery heart of Wei Shizi cannot be extinguished even by cold water, let alone ice water. As long as they are together, what does it matter if they are together for a lifetime
On the second day of the Chinese New Year, married women return to their parents' home. Of course, this is not the case for everyone. Usually it is young people, like the Han family, who basically return to their parents' home on the third day of the Chinese New Year with their children and grandchildren.
So, on the second day of the New Year, all the married girls of Xiaocao's generation returned with their husbands and children, and the five sisters-in-law of the previous generation were all at home.
Wenrenxi had given birth to a child more than two months ago. She had been in confinement for a long time, two months. Now she looks pretty good. In comparison, Zuo Guye doesn't seem to be so good. Especially when he saw Xiaocao, he was like a mouse seeing a cat, with obvious fear...
The affairs of the Zuo family had been widely spread for a while. Everyone had heard about Xiaocao's "cruel" methods. However, when their daughter was bullied, her family members directly brought a group of people to attack her husband's family and almost demolished the house. Princess Anguo only targeted one person, which seemed to be a big deal. However, although it was not a big deal, many men were still frightened, while many women applauded and even wanted to send their men to Princess Anguo to let them have a taste of it.
As the son-in-law of the Wen family, he was the most affected and was ridiculed by many people, but he had to be careful not to follow in their footsteps.
It was just a joke, but seeing Master Zuo today still gave them a little warning. Master Zuo used to be a high-spirited person, but now...