dkrc Chapter 51 is indeed quite good.
Chapter 51 is indeed quite good.
When the fifteenth year of Shun'an arrived, the New Year's Eve vigil at the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence came to an end.
Wen Zongji and Pei Rujing returned to Yunguang Courtyard.
The servants had already prepared hot water, so Wen Zongji went to the bathhouse to take a good bath and dispel the chill from his body.
When he returned to the inner room after wringing out his hair, Pei Rujing was in front of her dressing table, letting Qinghe and the others help her dry her hair.
Pei Rujing was already tired, her little head nodding as if she would fall asleep at any moment.
Noticing this, the maids could only speed up their work and quickly dry Pei Rujing's hair.
Wen Zongji, dressed in a white undershirt, sat on a wooden chair to the side and took a sip of hot water to moisten his throat.
Granny Feng reminded him, "Young master, you need to get up early in a few hours to go to the main courtyard to pay your respects to the Marquis and his wife."
It's already the first day of the Lunar New Year, the first day of the new year, a new beginning.
Today, everyone in the Marquis's residence must go and pay their respects to Wen Chuanhong and his wife.
Pei Rujing sobered up a bit upon hearing this: "When will you accompany me back to the Princess's residence?"
Wen Zongji said, "It's fine as long as the county princess makes the decision."
Granny Feng said, "The eldest young lady will also be returning to the manor. Apart from the wedding day, the county princess has not seen the eldest young lady yet."
The eldest aunt is Wen Shuxuan, the eldest daughter of the Marquis's mansion who has already married.
Granny Feng said this to remind Pei Rujing to return to the Princess's residence at a different time than Wen Shuxuan to return to the Marquis's residence, so that Wen Shuxuan would not feel that Pei Rujing was deliberately embarrassing her.
Pei Rujing's mind was already foggy, and she didn't understand what Granny Feng meant at all. She blinked in confusion and asked, "What does her coming back have to do with me?"
Wen Shuxuan was the legitimate daughter of a marquis. The two had met a few times at gatherings, but Wen Shuxuan was four years older than her, and their social circles were different, so they didn't have much of a relationship.
Pei Rujing didn't think she needed to prepare anything because Wen Shuxuan was returning to the mansion.
Granny Feng glanced at Wen Zongji subconsciously, fearing that he would be dissatisfied with Pei Rujing because of these words.
After all, Wen Shuxuan is his sister.
Wen Shuxuan and Wen Zongji were born in the same year, but Wen Zongji was born earlier.
Wen Zongji didn't think that much about it. He knew he had to be direct with his young wife, so he said, "When we pay our respects to Mother tomorrow, ask when my younger sister will be returning to the manor. We need to stagger our return times."
Pei Rujing then realized what was happening and nodded, "Okay."
She didn't insist on returning to the Princess's residence on a specific day.
While the two were talking, Pei Rujing's hair finally dried.
Granny Feng led her maids out.
Pei Rujing yawned and got into bed, slipping under the covers. Seeing her settled, Wen Zongji also lay down.
Pei Rujing leaned closer, nestled in his arms, and asked sleepily, "Should I prepare a gift for your little sister?"
Although Wen Shuxuan is older than her, once Pei Rujing marries Wen Zongji, Wen Shuxuan has to call her sister-in-law.
Wen Zongji didn't quite understand these rules either, so he patted her shoulder and said gently, "Go to sleep. Granny will take care of these things."
Pei Rujing closed her eyes and moved even closer to Wen Zongji.
Although the two have not yet consummated their marriage, they are much closer than before. At least Pei Rujing no longer feels nervous when Wen Zongji is lying next to her.
Wen Zongji inhaled Pei Rujing's scent for a long time, then took her hand and whispered, "Happy New Year, my wife."
Pei Rujing was already asleep.
Wen Zongji also closed his eyes and spent his first New Year in this other world.
……
The next day, Granny Feng came in early to wake them up. Pei Rujing nestled in Wen Zongji's arms, unwilling to get up: "Can't we skip the morning greetings?"
Wen Zongji knew how lazy one could be when lying in bed, so he simply picked Pei Rujing up by the waist and placed her in front of the dressing table.
Qinghe and the others skillfully helped Pei Rujing change clothes and wash up.
After everyone had finished getting ready, the two of them went to the main courtyard together.
The first day of the fifteenth year of Shun'an was exceptionally cold, with the cold wind rustling softly against the dry branches.
Pei Rujing looked at Wen Zongji with resentment: "It's all your fault, you made me sleep less."
Wen Zongji calmly retorted, "The county princess should thank me for not making you late."
Pei Rujing gritted her teeth: "I want to bite you!"
Even the county magistrate has her morning grumpiness.
Wen Zongji extended his hand: "Now?"
Seeing that he was quite cooperative, Pei Rujing's anger somehow dissipated, and she snorted coldly, "There are too many people outside, I'll let you off the hook for now."
"Thank you, County Princess, for giving me face."
The two walked to the main courtyard, where Wen Chuanhong and Madam Jiang were already seated in the main seats.
Wen Zongji and Pei Rujing greeted each other together: "Your son (daughter-in-law) greets Father and Mother, wishing Father and Mother long life and all things going smoothly."
On this auspicious day, Wen Chuanhong smiled and gave two red envelopes to the two of them, as well as one to the Jiang family.
The red envelope didn't contain silver; instead, it contained copper coins braided into auspicious patterns with colorful ropes, for good luck.
"Thank you, Father and Mother."
Following the two was Wen Zongqi, who greeted Wen Chuanhong and his wife with a smile. After accepting the red envelope, he casually opened it and muttered, "It's always copper coins every year, couldn't they put in a silver note?"
Wen Chuanhong was so angry that his face immediately turned black.
Jiang immediately reprimanded, "Nonsense! Red envelopes are for good luck, how can you do this nonsense!"
Wen Zongqi pursed his lips, but didn't say anything more. He walked to Wen Zongji's side and whispered, "Third Brother, when you have a son, I will definitely put silver notes in my nephew's red envelope."
Wen Ge'er overheard this and staggered over to Wen Zongqi's side, hugged his leg, and looked up at him, saying in a childish voice, "Fourth Uncle, your nephew is here."
Wen Zongqi lowered his head, and the uncle and nephew stared at each other, neither of them speaking for a moment.
Wen Zongji couldn't help but laugh: "Fourth brother, is Brother Wen asking you for a red envelope? And it has to be a red envelope with silver notes in it."
Of the brothers in their generation, only Wen Zongren got married, and only Wen Ge'er was a junior.
They didn't even have the idea of preparing red envelopes.
Now that Brother Wen has come looking for him, Wen Zongqi is in an awkward position.
Pei Rujing smiled too; this little nephew was quite clever and mischievous.
Upon seeing Pei Rujing smile, Wen Ge'er immediately abandoned Wen Zongqi and hugged Pei Rujing, saying, "Beautiful Auntie, would you like to hug Wen Ge'er?"
His aunt smelled so good; he wanted to get close to her.
Zhong, who had been watching to see how Wen Zongqi would respond, widened her eyes and quickly picked up Wen Ge'er, saying awkwardly, "Princess, don't listen to a child's nonsense."
Wen Ge'er's obsession with good looks has embarrassed Zhong Shi countless times.
Wen Ge'er was not even three years old yet, so Pei Rujing certainly wouldn't hold it against him. She just smiled and didn't say anything.
Of course, a hug was out of the question; she had no feelings for children.
Wen Zongji laughed and said, "Wen-ge'er, would you like your third uncle to hold you?"
Wen Ge'er looked at Wen Zongji, then at Pei Rujing, his eyes darting around, and then reached out his hand to Wen Zongji.
Madam Zhong had no choice but to hand Wen Ge'er to Wen Zongji: "He's a bit heavy, put him down if Third Brother gets tired."
Wen-ge'er retorted in his childish voice, "Wen-ge'er isn't heavy."
Wen Zongji weighed him in his hand: "Yes, Brother Wen is not heavy at all."
Wen-ge'er was satisfied and hugged Wen Zongji's neck: "Third Uncle, can Wen-ge'er come to play with you?"
"Why do you want to hang out with me?"
Wen Ge'er glanced at Pei Rujing with his small eyes, but didn't say anything.
Wen Zongji laughed: "Does Brother Wen like Third Aunt?"
Wen-ge nodded: "Auntie smells good!"
Pei Rujing frowned upon hearing this.
It's fortunate that Wen Ge'er is only two years old; if he were any older, he would have been beaten for saying such things.
Wen Zongji playfully pinched his nose: "You certainly know how to pick people. But your third uncle is busy lately. When he's free, he'll invite you to Yunguang Courtyard, okay?"
Wen Ge'er nodded quickly: "Okay."
By this time, the servants had already prepared breakfast.
Wen Zongji then put Wen Ge'er down and let him return to Zhong's side.
Upon learning that breakfast had been prepared, the group headed towards the side room.
Wen Zongji and Pei Rujing walked behind. He bent down slightly, took a sniff, and nodded in a pretentious manner: "It does smell quite nice."
Pei Rujing's face turned red instantly.