Chapter 222: The First Birthday [Bonus Chapter]

Chapter 222: The First Birthday Celebration 'Bonus Chapter'

The wedding of Min Leyi and Wu Shen was grand, and a humorous incident occurred during the ceremony.

The famous General Wu Shen, while carrying his bride into the house, was so nervous he nearly stumbled on the steps. Fortunately, his great strength and strong sense of balance allowed him to regain his balance just in time. Otherwise, the incident of the groom and his new husband falling to the ground on their wedding day would have been talked about for a lifetime.

As November drew to a close, amidst the swirling snowstorms, the year entered its final month. Qiu Huanian's family also had a major event to prepare for.

— Gu Gu and Yang Yang's first birthday was just around the corner.

As the children of the influential Prefect Du and Qishu County Princess, Gu Gu and Yang Yang had never lacked attention since birth. Although they had stayed at home due to their young age, people outside had never forgotten about them.

After entering December, the Prefect's residence began to receive numerous inquiries about the upcoming first birthday celebration. While they claimed to want to see the little princes, their actual intention was to use this opportunity to get closer to the children's fathers.

Jiu Jiu sorted through the invitations and showed them to Qiu Huanian, "There are even people who want to propose a childhood betrothal for Yang Yang. It's really hard to know what to say."

The invitation Jiu Jiu pointed to was worded very subtly, with the matter of the childhood betrothal only hinted at in a few strokes. But both Jiu Jiu and Qiu Huanian were very familiar with such diplomatic language and could understand the underlying meaning at a glance.

The family wanting to propose the betrothal was a well-established clan whose ancestral lands lie within Tianjin Prefecture, surnamed Sun. Although the Sun clan could not compare to the former Jiangnan Chi Clan or the Jie Clan of Jinzhou, they were still a distinguished family with a history of several hundred years, having produced many high-ranking officials and noblewomen.

Following Emperor Zhaoxin's ascension to the throne, he dealt with a group of prominent families. To stabilize public sentiment, he divided and ruled, while also courting and reusing another group of families. The Sun clan was among those reused.

The Sun clan was deeply entrenched in the Tianjin Prefecture. Even a powerful outsider cannot easily dominate a local force. Du Yunse, having just arrived in Tianjin, needed to maintain good relations with them to ensure smooth governance.

Qiu Huanian had too many things to attend to and had not met many members of the Sun clan. Jiu Jiu, now representing the residence in the regular social gatherings of the noblewomen of Tianjin Prefecture, often dealt with the young ladies and gentlemen of the Sun clan.

The childhood betrothal proposed in the Sun clan's invitation was for their youngest generation's eldest son, who was three years old. In terms of status and conditions, it was very sincere. But Jiu Jiu knew that Brother Hua would never agree to it.

Of course, Qiu Huanian did not want to agree. He had been fuming all day, and when he spoke to Du Yunse at night, he was still gritting his teeth.

Little Yang Yang, unaware of what his father was thinking, lay carefree on the small bed in the cozy pavilion, yawning. After winter arrived, the big play bed was put away. In this era, with scarce medicine and low resistance in children, falling ill was no small matter.

Without the big play bed, Yang Yang became even lazier, spending most of his day lounging around. Even though Gu Gu could already take a few steps holding onto the railing, Yang Yang was in no hurry.

Qiu Huanian poked his son's soft little belly and muttered, "I, a go-getter, how did I end up with such a lazy little one? What will you do if you encounter something unpleasant in the future and still be this lazy?"

Yang Yang yawned again, swatted away his dad's playful hand, slowly rolled over, and protected his little belly by lying on his stomach, continuing to pretend to be fast asleep.

"..." Qiu Huanian looked at Du Yunse, "You deal with him!"

Du Yunse chuckled, unable to scold the little one and even less able to defy the older one, so he changed the subject.

"You don't need to worry about the Sun clan. I will firmly reject them the next time I meet their clan leader."

"I'm not worried about that." Qiu Huanian leaned on Du Yunse's shoulder and shook his head, "I just feel..."

Qiu Huanian organized his thoughts, and Du Yunse patiently waited for him to speak.

"Yang Yang is only one year old, and the Sun clan's child is only three. We have no idea what their personalities or characters will be like in the future. Our two families are not that close, far from knowing each other well. Just because their statuses are suitable and it aligns with their interests, they think they can arrange a marriage. Whether the children will like each other or have any wishes when they grow up is completely unimportant."

"We were lucky to meet each other. Gu Gu is a man, and in this world, he will have more initiative. But Yang Yang..."

Qiu Huanian looked at the little one pretending to be fast asleep, almost blending into the small bed, and resisted the urge to rub his little bottom sticking up.

This little guy always pretends to be fast asleep when he doesn't want to deal with adults, using all his cleverness for laziness!

Qiu Huanian did not continue, but Du Yunse, understanding his long-term worries, already knew his concerns.

"We are here." Du Yunse held Qiu Huanian's hand tightly, "I am here, let him sleep."

Gu Gu and Yang Yang's first birthday was not a grand celebration; only their closest friends were invited. From a superstitious perspective, young children cannot handle too much good fortune, and from a scientific standpoint, Qiu Huanian did not want the babies exposed to too many people in the bitter cold.

However, a small celebration does not mean it was low-key. Although the Du residence did not host a grand banquet, gifts kept pouring in from all over. The pair of dragon and phoenix jade pendants personally bestowed by Emperor Zhaoxin made the birthday the talk of the town.

The most important ritual of the first birthday is Zhuazhou, an age-old tradition where, upon a child's first birthday, adults lay out a dozen items for the child to grab at random for good luck.

Regular families would set out a tray with things like Confucian, Buddhist, and Taoist classics, an abacus, scales, knives, scissors, pots, pans, and utensils. Richer families would lay out a fancy mat in the main hall, burn incense, light candles, and offer sacrifices to heaven and ancestors, adding gold, silver, jade, and fresh coins to the mix.

Whether simple or luxurious, the family's blessings for the young life are the same.

Gu Gu and Yang Yang had more than twenty items laid out for their Zhuazhou, including those prepared by Du Yunse and Qiu Huanian, as well as additions from friends.

For example, although Azure Phoenix Lord could not attend, he sent a fancy golden camel bell, meaning the kids would travel far and wide. Their uncle Mei Wangshu was away on a voyage and regretfully missed the birthday celebration, but he left a Zhuazhou prop—a big string of brand-new coins he'd made himself. These "Zhaoxin Tongbao" coins hadn't yet been officially issued, and only favored officials like Du Yunse could have some in advance.

Qiu Huanian and Du Yunse dressed the babies up like little New Year's mascots and placed them on the fancy mat to watch them pick items.

With everyone watching, the always-on-the-move Gu Gu went first. He quickly crawled a few steps, passing by the books carefully selected by Du Yunse. Qiu Huanian noticed Du Yunse's slight disappointment, but before he could laugh, Gu Gu also passed by the schedule Qiu Huanian had painstakingly chosen, breaking both dads' hearts.

"Grab the sword, that shiny one, grab the sword!" Wu Shen and Min Leyi, the young couple, cheered for their gift.

As Gu Gu crawled past the sword, he turned to look at it twice. Just when everyone thought he would choose it, he suddenly turned around, a fake-out that got some laughs.

Finally, predictably unpredictable, Gu Gu crawled back a few steps and grabbed the official seal of the prefect placed by Du Yunse, holding it up triumphantly.

"Wow, just wow! Gu Gu picks a third-rank official seal at first try. It seems your son will surpass you sooner or later."

Du Yunse glanced at Wu Shen, his expression calm but his joy unmistakable. "The young phoenix sings sweeter than the old one. What's wrong with that?"

Qiu Huanian tugged at his belt, reminding him to watch his words. What did he mean by "old phoenix"? He was only twenty-four, still very young!

Many families prepare "official seals" for Zhuazhou, but few like Du Yunse would place a real third-rank official seal. Picking the seal symbolizes that the child will enter officialdom and have a prosperous career.

Du Yunse himself is already a legend, achieving high status at a young age. It's hard to imagine what achievements his son will have in the future, possibly even surpassing his father.

Although Zhuazhou has no scientific basis, everyone loves a good omen. For a moment, relatives and friends in the main hall congratulated the Du family with smiles.

Gu Gu had completed his Zhuazhou, but Yang Yang remained motionless. Qiu Huanian looked down and saw the little one sitting and dozing off, his head nodding, thinking he was getting away with being lazy.

Qiu Huanian smiled helplessly, patted his back, and signaled him to crawl forward and pick something he liked.

Yang Yang looked at his father and finally gave in to the silly grown-ups. He crawled to a spot, grabbed something, hugged it, and lay down to sleep.

Qiu Huanian looked closely and saw that Yang Yang had grabbed the string of new coins left by Sixteen.

Picking money in Zhuazhou is, of course, a good omen. Yang Yang's choice was straightforward and simple, no need to read into it—just cheer.

Meng Yuanling said with a smile, "Like father, like son!"

Is my greatest skill making money? Qiu Huanian was speechless, but judging by others' expressions, they seemed to agree.

After all, looking back at the Du family's journey, every step was first built on Qiu Huanian earning enough money. Now, Qiu's Six Staples has a vast business network with an annual profit close to ten thousand taels of silver. Who would believe it was founded by a country boy in just a few years?

Qiu Huanian smiled and poked the red mole on Yang Yang's forehead. "Alright, alright, liking money is like me. How about we leave Qiu's Six Staples entirely to Yang Yang in the future?"

Qiu Huanian seemed to say it casually, but a few sharp relatives quickly realized he said it on purpose.

The scale and prospects of Qiu's Six Staples are obvious to all. Qiu Huanian explicitly stating that such a large business would be left entirely to a young lad could be interpreted in many profound ways.

After this statement spread, those nosy families should get the message.