Chapter 166

Chapter 166

In the blink of an eye, it was New Year's Eve. This was Wang Ying's sixth year since his transmigration, and he was now twenty-three years old.

Early in the morning, Uncle Chen climbed a ladder to hang lanterns. Er Shun saw him and hurried over to help. "Sir, you should come down. I'll hang them."

"I'm not that old yet. I can do it."

"Come down quickly. Let's not have you taking a fall during the New Year celebrations."

Uncle Chen descended the ladder and handed him the lantern, then stayed below to steady the ladder.

Er Shun's injuries had fully healed, but the knocked-out teeth couldn't be fixed, so he had a gap in his smile. He didn't mind, though, as Wang Ying had given him a generous amount of money as compensation.

He had saved the money carefully, planning to give half to his parents when he returned to his hometown this year.

"Whoa, the lanterns at our house are hung so high this year! You can see them from way down the alley!" Ma Qianzi returned from outside with the Huang family's two boys.

Er Shun dusted off his hands and laughed. "Well, who do you think hung them?"

Ma Qianzi gave a thumbs-up. "Brother Er Shun, your skills are top-notch!"

"You must be Baiguan and Qianzi. Come on inside."

The two Huang children greeted them shyly and followed Ma Qianzi inside to drop off their luggage. Since the martial arts school was on break, Wang Ying had arranged for them to be brought back to celebrate the New Year together.

The two boys had changed a lot during their two years at the martial arts school. Baiguan had grown almost as tall as his father, and Qianzi had also shot up.

Wang Ying often sent servants to check on them, sometimes bringing food, other times clothes.

He had promised to help take care of the two children and naturally wouldn't go back on his word. Although life at the martial arts school was tough, the boys had grown into fine young men.

"Get settled here first. I'll take you to see the young master later."

"Thank you, Brother Ma."

They set down their bundles and sat on the warm kang, looking around the room.

Qianzi, being younger, couldn't resist getting up and peeking outside. "The master's moved to a bigger house. It's so spacious!"

"This isn't like the martial arts school. Don't say anything inappropriate when you see the young master later."

"Got it, brother."

Ma Zhandong headed to the eastern courtyard and spoke to the maidservant there. Shortly after, the maidservant came out and said, "The young master says to bring Qianzi and Baiguan over."

In the room, Wang Ying dressed Yuanbao in new clothes. "Go play in your grandmother's room. Wheat and the others should be there."

"Okay!" The little one scampered off.

Soon, Ma Qianzi brought Qianzi and Baiguan over. It had been over a year since Wang Ying last saw them, and he could hardly recognize the two boys.

They knelt and kowtowed. Wang Ying quickly helped them up. "Get up, get up. Did you get used to life at the martial arts school?"

Huang Baiguan said, "It was hard at first, but we got used to it over time. Our master treats us very well."

Qianzi nodded in agreement. The martial arts master was indeed very good to them.

Their master also shared the surname Huang. He was an old bachelor who had never married and, upon learning the boys were orphans, adopted them as his foster sons.

He was strict with them but genuinely cared for them, spending all his earnings on food for the boys. Growing boys eat their fathers poor, and without Huang An supporting them, they wouldn't have grown so tall in these two years.

Wang Ying said, "I'm relieved to see you're both doing well. We might return to our hometown around April next year. Would you like to come along and visit?"

The boys nodded eagerly. They had long wanted to go back. When their father passed, they hadn't even been able to build a proper grave for him. Huang Baiguan regretted it deeply every time he thought about it.

Every Qingming Festival and Ghost Festival, the brothers could only secretly buy some joss paper and incense to burn for their father at the crossroads, unsure if he received it. This time, they would build a grave for their father so they would have a place to pay their respects in the future.

After chatting for a while, Wang Ying let them go rest and went to the front courtyard himself.

The main room was warm and cozy. Chen Rong and Li Shi sat on the kang cracking sunflower seeds, while Lin Qiu and Lin Sui sat on stools watching the children play. Second Baby was almost six months old and could already sit up on his own. He watched his older brothers running around and cried impatiently.

"I could hear Second Baby from outside. Whose little one is so loud?"

Second Baby looked up at Wang Ying and stretched out his chubby little hands, asking to be held.

Wang Ying took off his cloak and handed it to Lin Sui, then picked up Second Baby and bounced him in his arms. "This little one is solid. Feels even heavier than Yuanbao was at six months."

Chen Rong laughed. "He is heavy. I remember Yuanbao was only seventeen or eighteen jin back then. This one is twenty jin."

"Hey, our little warrior." Wang Ying clicked his tongue to tease him, and the little one giggled, showing his two tiny milk teeth.

Yuanbao ran over and tugged at Wang Ying's pants. "Father, I want to be held too! Hold me too!"

Wheat stood nearby, shyly hiding his hands behind his back, looking at him with big, pitiful eyes. Wang Ying handed the baby back to Lin Qiu and picked up both children. They giggled happily.

Li Shi said, "Don't hold them like that. You might drop them."

Wang Ying held them for a while before putting them down. He was almost out of strength. This was the downside of his body—it had much less muscle compared to a man's. In his previous life, carrying seventy or eighty jin of fertilizer would have been no problem at all.

Soon, Chen Qingyan and Chen Qingsong arrived. In the last minor exam of the year, Chen Qingsong hadn't performed well and dropped out of the top forty, landing in the second-tier class.

He had been gloomy and depressed ever since returning from the break.

Chen Qingyan took the time to go through the exam questions with him again, and his results were much better this time.

Last night, the brothers had a heart-to-heart talk by candlelight. Chen Qingyan told him many things. The issue was that Qing Song cared too much about what his classmates said. Hearing people say he wasn't as good as his eldest or second brother made him uncomfortable, and the more he dwelled on it, the worse he felt, leading to his poor exam performance.

But Qing Song was naturally cheerful. Once he figured it out, he stopped brooding. As soon as he entered the room, he was laughing and playing wildly with the children.

Chen Qingyan sat down and asked, "Is Cao Kun not coming for the New Year?"

Lin Qiu shook her head. "He wasn't comfortable leaving his mother alone in the county town, so we have to celebrate separately this year."

Li Shi said, "It would have been better to bring your mother-in-law along earlier."

"The old lady is used to living alone and isn't comfortable traveling far."

Chen Rong said, "Well, I'm the one who likes to run around and see new places."

Wang Ying laughed. "In a few years, maybe you can even come with us to the capital for a visit."

"Oh, it's a deal then! When Qingyan becomes an official in the capital, this old aunt will come live with you. Don't get tired of me and kick me out."

Li Shi was doubled over with laughter. Amid the laughter, footsteps sounded outside, and Qing Yun's clear voice came through. "Mother, big brother, sister-in-law, little brother—I'm back!"

Chen Qingsong ran to open the door and saw Qing Yun and Liu Changyi returning with armfuls of gifts.

"Why are you back?" Li Shi welcomed them into the room with pleasant surprise.

Normally, a married daughter would return to her parents' home on the second day of the Lunar New Year for a visit.

Qing Yun said, "My mother-in-law said that the first year of marriage can be hard to get used to, so she told us to come back to celebrate the New Year. We’ll stay at home for the New Year next year."

Li Shi held her daughter and son-in-law’s hands, emotional. To have such understanding in-laws was a blessing her daughter must have earned over many lifetimes.

"Auntie, Auntie!"

"Little Yuanbao~" Qing Yun reached out to hold the child, but Liu Changyi moved quickly and picked up Yuanbao himself. "Your uncle will hold you."

Yuanbao frowned at Liu Changyi, his little face looking like he wanted to say something, making everyone laugh.

Li Shi realized and pulled her daughter to sit down, asking quietly, "Are you pregnant?"

Qing Yun blushed and nodded. A few days ago, she felt nauseous during a meal, so Qin Furong called a doctor to check on her. It’s still early, so she needs to take good care of herself.

Getting pregnant just over two months after marriage was wonderful news. Her parents were overjoyed and immediately gave Qing Yun two shop deeds.

She doesn’t need to manage these shops herself—they’re already run by regular managers. She just needs to collect the rent each month.

Chen Rong clapped her hands happily. "How wonderful! Our family is growing again!"

In ancient times, big families were important—more people meant greater prosperity. The Chen family was small, so every new child was a celebration.

Li Shi held her daughter's hand and carefully advised her, "Avoid cold foods these days, and eat less spicy food too. Try not to go out when the roads are slippery with snow—falls in the early months can easily lead to miscarriage, so be very careful."

Qing Yun nodded, taking note of each point.

Lin Qiu told her about childbirth, having recently given birth to Second Baby and being quite experienced.

The men felt a bit awkward and got up and went to the study.

Liu Changyi would also go to the capital next year for the Metropolitan Examination, so the two discussed exam preparations.

"Recently, my uncle sent a letter. He was very happy to hear I passed the provincial exam and is looking forward to me taking the Metropolitan Examination in the capital next year." Liu Changyi’s uncle is Liu Yaozhi, the Minister of Personnel, Chief of the Grand Secretariat, and Tutor to the Crown Prince.

The Wu Dynasty did not have a Chancellor, but his status was pretty much the same—second only to the emperor.

The Liu family had few members. Liu Yaozhi had only one son, currently serving in Bozhou, so he placed great importance on his family's education.

"In the letter, Uncle specifically said he'd arranged a place for us to stay and that we should go together after the New Year."

Chen Qingyan asked, "Won’t we be troubling him?"

"Don’t worry, we’re family. Besides, you don’t know anyone in the capital—finding a place to stay isn’t easy. Ordinary inns aren’t safe, and nicer ones cost two taels a day. A month would run five or six hundred taels!"

Chen Qingyan was surprised. "Then I’d better go with you." He still relied on his husband to support the family and didn’t dare spend recklessly.

"We’ll also get to see Huai. I haven’t seen him in two months—I really miss him."

Qing Song listened enviously nearby. He missed his second brother too, but after the New Year, school would start, and he couldn’t go along.

Liu Changyi comforted him, "Don’t worry, Qing Song. Your turn will come. By then, maybe your eldest brother will have made it into the Hanlin Academy and can accompany you to the exams."

Chen Qingyan hadn’t thought that far ahead—he just wanted to focus on doing well in the upcoming exam.

That evening, the family prepared a large feast. Everyone gathered around the table, ringing in the new year with laughter and joy!

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Author’s note: I’ve been traveling these past few days, so there might be typos. I’ll correct them carefully when I return.