Free Web NovelChapter 147: Chapter 146: New Year’s Celebration
The Qinghui Garden was brightly lit.
Mrs. Zhen sat on the couch in the East Wing, laughing and chatting with Huaili.
Du Yundi was dragged away by Du Yunlan to set off firecrackers, leaving Du Yunluo beside Mrs. Zhen, drowsy and sleepy.
Seeing her eyelids drooping, Mrs. Zhen said, "Nannan, sleep on your mother’s lap for a while."
Unable to hold it any longer, Du Yunluo didn’t force herself, tilted her head, and fell asleep, hugging Mrs. Zhen’s waist.
Mrs. Zhen patted her back while smoothing her long hair behind her ear, and whispered to Huaili, "She’s neither young nor grown up, her personality is inexplicable. Clingy, really clingy, yet with a sharp tongue that makes one want to spank her."
Du Yunluo was in a daze, vaguely hearing Huaili laugh. He seemed to move his body to block the oil lamp on the table, whispering something in Mrs. Zhen’s ear, and Mrs. Zhen’s hand that was patting her back straightforwardly greeted Huaili’s direction.
Gradually, Du Yunluo fell into a deep sleep, only reopening her eyes in confusion when Du Yundi came in with the night’s dew.
Mrs. Zhen softly scolded Du Yundi, then gently soothed Du Yunluo.
For a moment, Du Yunluo was confused about how old she was this year, wondering why she was still like when she was five or six years old. If Du Yunru and Du Yundi disturbed her midday nap back then, Mrs. Zhen would coax her with "sweetheart" and "my dear."
She distinctly remembered that when she kept vigil last year, she was the only one.
Alone, in the Buddha hall.
No reunion dinner, though the vegetarian dishes on the table were more sumptuous than usual. Unfortunately, as an old lady, her appetite was small, and she couldn’t eat much.
A heavy snow fell then as well. She was draped in a patched and worn snow jacket, walking step by step into the depths of Dingyuan Marquis Mansion’s inner courtyard.
From afar, she heard joyous laughter and the sounds of drinking games, yet none of it related to her.
She slowly approached a dark little courtyard.
Pushing the wooden gate with effort, her fingertips ached, realizing how desolate it was there, with the wooden doors already sprouting splinters.
The little courtyard was empty, moss and weeds sprouted from the corners of the walls, the flower racks that once held countless Yunluo Flowers now entangled with unidentified vines, imprisoning Du Yunluo’s heart like ropes in the night.
She stood for a long time before slowly retreating and turning to go to the ancestral hall.
The cold memorial archway, the dim candlelight in the ancestral hall, Du Yunluo’s gaze lingered on those familiar names, hanging on and on.
Later, she returned to the Buddha hall, kneeling before Buddha, chanting scriptures until dawn.
She had grown accustomed to kneeling, such that even kneeling for a whole day didn’t make her legs numb to the point of not being able to stand.
Perhaps, this is what it feels like to be old?
So old that even the body has dulled.
Now, snuggled in Mrs. Zhen’s embrace, Du Yunluo slightly twisted, unable to hold back a cry as her foot numbed with pins and needles.
Startled, Mrs. Zhen quickly massaged Du Yunluo’s calf when she saw her gritting her teeth.
Enduring the discomfort, Du Yunluo kept thinking, yes, she is fourteen now.
She already knew the taste of old age, yet Mu Lianxiao had never experienced it, and even before reaching middle age, he was already...
With her eyes downcast, recalling those clear, slightly cool eyes, Du Yunluo bit her lower lip, secretly thinking that this time, she must let Mu Lianxiao experience the taste of aging too.
Both of them, aging but still together.
With this commotion, Du Yunluo was no longer sleepy.
Waiting till the sky showed a hint of dawn, she called the maid to come in, dress her, freshen up, and once ready, she went to Lianfu Garden to offer new year’s greetings.
Du Gongfu was in a great mood, giving red envelopes bigger than those of previous years. Old Mrs. Xia also had a joyful expression, admonishing the children while not forgetting to praise them.
On the third day of January, it was time for married daughters to visit their parents’ home.
Mrs. Zhen rose early, eagerly waiting for Du Yunru.
Du Yunluo was also anxious. When the news came from the front, she immediately ran to the Hanging Flower Gate with a hand warmer. Panting at the gate, she saw the carriage arrive and couldn’t help but smile.
As Du Yunru stepped down from the carriage, the two sisters hadn’t seen each other since the "Three Days Back to Parental Home" visit.
Holding her elder sister’s hand, Du Yunluo carefully examined her, "Seems like you’ve gained some weight."
"What nonsense!" Du Yunru couldn’t tolerate comments about her weight, laughingly spat, "You’re still the same, you haven’t even grown taller."
Du Yunluo pouted and hummed; she just didn’t appear to grow much, that was all, and her height not growing didn’t mean other things didn’t.
In terms of figure, both Du Yunluo and Du Yunru resembled Mrs. Zhen, possessing what they should.
However, if she whispered such things to Du Yunru, she would probably blush red with anger and turn her head away.
Not daring to provoke her, Du Yunluo laughed along and stopped teasing.
The two headed together toward Lianfu Garden.
Du Yunluo laughed and asked, "Where is brother-in-law? Paying respects to grandfather at the front?"
"Yes," Du Yunluo replied, turning to inquire about Du Yunluo’s escapades, "I heard you went to enjoy the plum blossoms?"
Things at Wangmei Garden, Du Yunluo wouldn’t hide from Du Yunru, pulling her aside to whisper everything, causing Du Yunru to gnash her teeth.
"These sister-in-law relationships are the most vexing."
Hearing this, a thought crossed Du Yunluo’s mind, "Big sister, did your sister-in-law trouble you? What did brother-in-law say?"
Du Yunru pursed her lips, "Child’s play. With your brother-in-law home these days, she wouldn’t dare do much; it was only fierce earlier. But right and wrong, grandmother and mother-in-law have it clear in their hearts. I can’t be bothered to argue with her; her little tricks are nothing compared to yours. Wait a couple of years till she’s married off, won’t it be peaceful?"
Shao Yuanzhou was still studying at Lishan Academy. Two months after his wedding, he returned to the academy to study, only coming back to the Capital for the New Year’s holiday with Du Yundi.
Du Yunluo wasn’t worried that Du Yunru would suffer, as in their previous lives, Du Yunru lived smoothly at the Shao Family, with Shao Yuanzhou cherishing her and her mother-in-law treating her like a treasure. Du Yunluo was just discontented with the phrase "not as troublesome as you," since she had behaved very well in the past year, causing no turmoil at all.
Upon entering Lianfu Garden, Mrs. Zhen waited under the veranda, and upon seeing Du Yunru, rushed over to hug her tightly.
When Shao Yuanzhou arrived, Old Mrs. Xia received their bows, happily distributing red envelopes.
Mrs. Zhen looked at her son-in-law, becoming more and more fond of him. After all, seeing her daughter radiant, spirited, and evidently in a good marital relationship, with her son-in-law dearly caring for her daughter, Mrs. Zhen couldn’t be happier.
After Shao Yuanzhou and Du Yunru finished visiting everywhere, Shao Yuanzhou was taken away by Du Yundi and his brothers, and Mrs. Zhen took the two girls back to Qinghui Garden.
Mrs. Zhen had things to discuss with Du Yunru, repeatedly signaling Du Yunluo with her eyes.
Du Yunluo gazed at Du Yunru until her face was flushed red, then laughed and scurried out, leaving Du Yunru calling her a "little rascal" out of shyness.
Amused, Du Yunluo hid in the west wing laughing to herself.
She naturally knew what Mrs. Zhen wanted to say to Du Yunru: taking advantage of Shao Yuanzhou’s stay in the Capital, urging Du Yunru to strive and get pregnant so that when Shao Yuanzhou returned to the academy, she wouldn’t feel unanchored at the Shao Family.
These were the kind of conversations Mrs. Zhen had once had with her.
Yet, perhaps it was the fact that Mu Lianxiao’s time in the Capital was too short, or her own conflicted feelings, but in those five years of infrequent company, she never conceived once.
