In less than 20 days, it will be the end of the year, and the Cao family, who was full of confidence at the beginning, has never heard the news that Xu Xintai is going to be released.

Especially in the past few days, Xinyue has always seen her upset, and she has also treated herself a little coldly, but it is not very obvious, but the reason for this, Xinyue also knows in her heart.

When Xinyue went to her room to look for her, she saw her sitting on the couch sideways, looking listless, and she couldn't manage the affairs in the house

After Xinyue sat down, Cao Shi smiled reluctantly, "What are you looking for me?" ”

"I'm here to ask about the New Year's in my sister-in-law's house, but it's ready, is there anything I need to help with?" Xinyue took a closer look at Cao's expression, and saw that she was a little annoyed and said, "Look at my spirit, but I let Mama Tian prepare according to the way she did in previous years, but it's not a big deal, your injuries are well healed... Oh, your injuries are completely healed. With that, Cao got up from the soft couch.

I remembered another incident and said to the new moon, "Tomorrow, it is the tenth day of the lunar month, and the Shangqing Palace also opens the altar on this day to pray for blessings, and the ladies in Beijing have to go to the Shangqing Palace to ask for talisman paper, and paste it in the house for peace in the coming year. ”

"I'll go" Xinyue felt that Cao Shi said this, as if he was saying it to her, but she didn't mean it badly, and she also opened her mouth to help.

"Crescent, you didn't have to go." Cao Shi also felt the new moon, and realized that she was deliberately saying this to her, she reached out and took the new moon's hand, her hand was cold, just like she treated Cao at the moment, there was not much sincerity.

"It's nothing," Crescent Moon smiled decently, plinking the broken hair from her forehead.

"This, this is not my original intention" Cao wanted to reach out and hold Xinyue's hand, but Xinyue had already taken her hand back and said to Cao, "Come today, there is one more thing to tell my sister-in-law." ”

"I..."The reason why the Cao family is separated from Xinyue is because some strange Xinyue has been unwilling to agree to the Queen Mother and marry her nephew Jiang Yang, so she has been refusing to speak to Xu Xintai until now.

Xinyue had already seen it, so she said to Cao, "Just now the queen sent a letter, saying that Your Majesty has allowed it, and on the sixteenth day of the first month, after the opening of the dynasty is copied, I will release my brother, and I will also come down to deal with my brother, Your Majesty's meaning is to detain my brother and go to the courtyard for a year, and then send my brother from the command of General Jiang, starting from the centurion." I came here to tell my sister-in-law this, so that my sister-in-law can recover her spirit and deal with the affairs of the family? ”

"Really?" Hearing this, Cao immediately got up from the couch, "Can your brother come back?" ”

"Yes" After Xinyue smiled, she stood up and said to Cao, "There is one more thing, now, my brother's return date has been set, tomorrow I will go to Shangqing Palace, and after asking for New Year's talisman paper for our Anxuanhou Mansion, Xinyue will return to my courtyard." ”

"Are you because of what just happened? No, Crescent, if you don't want to go, you can go. Cao also got up from the couch and grabbed Xinyue's arm.

"Naturally not, I have been bothering my sister-in-law in the house for many days, this folk also has customs, the daughter of the marriage, it is inconvenient to spend the New Year in the mother's house, I will not trouble your sister-in-law here." With that, Crescent turned to leave.

"Crescent, are you going to be separated from me again? I, I just got the wrong idea, and you're just..."

"Sister-in-law, you have my brother and two children with my brother in your heart, that's enough, we weren't close people, but now it's just because the people we care about together have some connections, and now, the person you're worried about is about to come back, we just need to live across the layers as before." Saying that, Xinyue turned around to leave, but Cao still refused to let go of Xinyue's hand, "You also treat your Yao'er sincerely, is she completely worthy of you?" ”

"I don't ask her to be worthy of it, I just give it sincerely." With that, Crescent Moon walked out of Cao's room.

When Xinyue returned to the room, Feng'er and Fei'er had already packed their things, just waiting for Xinyue and Cao's resignation to return.

"Girl, when are we leaving?"

"Early the day after tomorrow."

"Didn't the girl say that she could leave tomorrow?" Feng'er asked a little uncomfortably.

"Are you unhappy living here?" Xinyue sat next to Feng'er and poured her a glass of water with her own hands.

"No" Feng'er was duplicitous, but Fei'er said bluntly, "Girl, this Anxuanhou Mansion has never really accepted us, and the mother-in-law and subordinates in the mansion have never..."

"Okay," Xinyue also poured her a cup of tea, "Now that my brother's affairs are over, we should go back too." Saying that, Xinyue held her head with her hands, and said to the two girls a little leisurely, "Drink the tea, and then pick out a good dress for me to wear tomorrow, I really owe this place, but for the sake of Minhui and Mincong, I also like it, and I hope this place can be good."

Feng'er opened the wardrobe, and Xinyue looked at the newly made clothes, "One of my brother's, one for each of the two children, and when I leave the day after tomorrow, I will give it to my sister-in-law." ”

"Yes" Hao'er took it from the closet, and in the closet, there was only a lilac dress left, and Xinyue was not satisfied, and said to the two, "Take my blue dress." ”

"Yes" Feng'er untied the burden, took out the robe that Xinyue liked very much, and hung it on the hanger, the beads on the neck were of the right size, and the pattern was also the lotus pattern that Xinyue liked.

"That's it." Crescent Moon chose her clothes, lowered her gaze, picked up the book she had in her hand, and read it.

On the second day, the new moon opened her eyes a little tiredly, saying that she was going to go, but no one wanted to be poked in the back when she went out.

Today was the occasion when it was not too late, and the new moon no longer stayed in bed, so she got up.

Feng'er put on her shoes, lifted the curtain and said, "The weather outside today is gloomy, I don't know if it will snow in the afternoon, girl, let's come down from the mountain and go back to our yard." ”

Xinyue looked up, poked her eyes out of the half-hidden window, and sure enough, the sky outside was gloomy, and then nodded, "Okay, it's snowing, even if it's an official road, it's not too easy to walk." ”

"Yes, the slave and maid will send someone to tell Uncle Wang to prepare." As she spoke, she put her cloak on the shoulders of the crescent moon and dropped her cape.

Crescent Moon shrugged her shoulders and tugged her cloak into her arms, "It's still a little cold today, let Fei'er find my deer hair boots, I have to walk a long way today, and my feet are frozen." ”

"Yes" After Feng'er went out, Xinyue washed her face, sat in front of the mirror, looked at herself in the mirror, today is not a day to be in the limelight, Xinyue selected two simple and generous jewelry in the makeup box, and also picked a white hairpin with a hint of pink, which is also considered to be filial piety for the prince who has not yet been mourned.

After dressing up, Crescent stepped on the boots on the soles of her feet, the long skirt fell down, covering the toes of her shoes, and Crescent Moon felt as if she was stepping on a tuft of cotton at this time, warm, soft and very heeled.

"Let's eat, girl" Feng'er took the rice porridge she had boiled herself and put it on the table.

Xinyue nodded, there are melon dishes on the table that she likes to eat, but it is not this season, and it is difficult to make.

"Didn't you say you didn't have to do it?" The new moon felt troublesome and costly, so from the winter until the spring of the following year, it was ordered not to do it.

"This was sent by An'er beside Mrs. in the morning, saying that the kitchen made it yesterday, knowing that the girl loves to eat, she sent a small jar, which is enough for the girl to eat until spring." Feng'er handed the melon vegetable to Xinyue's hand.

Xinyue looked at this small plate of dishes, which must have been arranged by the Cao family, so she said to Feng'er, "In the autumn, you and Fei'er received some golden cinnamon and made osmanthus nectar, and then asked Wang Da to go to the pharmacy to pick up a package of good tangerine peel and send it to Hui'er together. ”

After the order, Xinyue picked up the chopsticks and sandwiched a piece of diced melon and vegetables, this dish is really rare, and it is also rare and delicious, so Xinyue, who originally had no appetite, ate melon vegetables, drank two bowls of porridge, and ate a large piece of purple rice cake.

Sitting in the carriage, Xinyue rubbed her stomach with some annoyance, if she sulked for a while, and then stirred the food in this stomach, it would definitely be very uncomfortable.

"Girl, but choking?" Fei'er brought the tea and handed it to Crescent Moon's hand.

Xinyue took it and took two sips, but it was a lot better, "It's all to blame, the porridge is so delicious, I eat an extra bowl." ”

"The slave maid also cooked this porridge the day before yesterday, and the girl only drank half a bowl, and it didn't hurt the girl." Feng'er was not convinced, and her hand patted Xinyue's back to comfort her.

"yes, it's just that today's food is extra delicious." Crescent Moon smiled, and her mood improved a lot.

"Girl, this cage mountain is difficult to travel, the Shangqing Palace of this national teacher is built here, I don't know if we can go up in a carriage today." Feng'er was a little embarrassed, at this time he had already gone out of the south city gate, and after four or five miles, he arrived at Langshan.

"Cage Mountain?" Fei'er is a newcomer, so naturally she doesn't know much about this mountain.

"Yes, it's like a chicken coop, about the same height on all sides, and the top of the hill is suddenly steep. Generally, the carriage can only be parked halfway up the mountain, and the road behind it can only be walked up, but the people who come to ask for talisman paper today are all female dependents, and the national teacher should be able to cast spells, so let the carriage go up. Feng'er asked expectantly.

"Spellcasting?" Fei'er's curious eyes widened.

"Yes, the Shangqing Palace on the cage mountain is the place personally chosen by Yu He Guoshi, if he wants to let people in, although the carriage is a little difficult, but it will definitely be able to go up to the top of the mountain. If the national teacher of Yu He didn't really want people to come, the carriage could only stop halfway up the mountain, and people had to go up by themselves. It's like the national teacher casting a spell. Feng'er said that Yu He's ability was amazing, and Xinyue listened from the sidelines, and only smiled.

"Really?" With that, Fei'er's thoughts had already flown to the bottom of the cage mountain to see it with her own eyes.

"Girl, what are you laughing at? You forgot, last time Mrs. Shizi took you to the Shangqing Palace to burn incense, our carriage, and all the carriages that day, failed to get up. "I thought the new moon had forgotten.

Xinyue shook her head, "I naturally haven't forgotten, all, you went to inquire about this matter?" ”

Feng'er nodded, "Yes, the slave maid also heard that the people in the capital come to the Shangqing Palace to burn incense, but the days when they can go up in a carriage are only a handful, and in a year, there is only summer and the weather is good." Yu He's favorite days can go to the top. ”

"It's winter, and the weather isn't good today, so our carriage won't be able to get up."

"It's not just ours, it's Your Majesty who came, and the National Teacher Yu He just let His Majesty go up in a sedan chair." Feng'er was still discussing enthusiastically. The new moon had lost interest, lifted the curtain of the carriage, and looked outside, it was really a lot of snow this day.

At the foot of the cage mountain, today is the day when Yu He opened the altar, the foot of the mountain is naturally very lively, there are vendors who set up stalls, sell food and chores here, the crescent moon looks at it through the curtain, and the coachman also slows down, there are many people here, and it is not good to step on people.

Today there must be dignitaries and dignitaries, and there are still some beggars here, following the carriage, hoping to get some money to eat.

Seeing that there were two beggar-looking children, one older and one younger, following their carriage, Xinyue said to Feng'er, "You bring the bag of snacks and untie a bag." ”

"Yes" Feng'er also saw these two beggars, and immediately untied her baggage, took out a bag of snacks, opened the curtain, and handed it to the two children who had been following.

"Sister, sister, please, please." Seeing that someone was lending a hand, four or five beggars came up, but the two children who had followed were squeezed aside, the older one had a piece of jujube cake in his hand, and the younger one did not get anything.

"Give them all, the older kid is changing his teeth, but he is not as sensitive as Gao, give more." Xinyue handed the three packets of dim sum in the bag to Feng'er, who was distributing dim sum.

"Girl, the shortbread in there was brought to the national teacher by you." Fei'er was a little embarrassed, but Xinyue was also open-minded, "Without this shortbread, he can still starve to death, but these children, it's so cold this day, eat more, maybe you can survive it."

"Yes" Fei'er listened, and got out of the car and helped Feng'er clean the snacks in her hand.

Seeing that the beggars were getting more and more around, there were originally only five or six people, but there were twelve or thirteen people around.

Xinyue looked at this formation, and then looked at the carriages in front and behind, once they stopped giving alms, they were all surrounded by twelve or thirteen people, at the feet of this son of heaven, or under the Great Shengguo Temple, why did they surround so many beggars.

"It's gone, it's gone, let's go ask for it elsewhere." The group of beggars also obeyed the rules, and they never grabbed if they didn't give it, and they were evenly divided, each of them had two or three cakes in their hands, except for the little one at the beginning, there was nothing, and the big one got a piece of meat shortbread in his hand.

The little one cried naturally, and the older one didn't hesitate to put his meat shortbread in the little one's hand, "Eat quickly, eat quickly, we will be looted by my father, and we will all starve to death." ”

The little one seemed to understand, took the meat shortbread, and with his dirty hands, divided the palm-sized meat shortbread into two, and handed it to the big one, and the two of them were on the side of the road, gobbling up the meat shortbread, and the big hand also had a piece of jujube mud cake, but the two of them carefully took it into their arms.

Xinyue took in this scene, and Xinyue said to Feng'er, "Quietly, give these two children a few copper plates, and let the little third son follow to see what's going on." ”

"Girl, it's two beggar brothers, what is there to see?" At this time, Feng'er had already gotten into the carriage.

Fei'er looked at it and said, "These two children are covered with scars and are not clothed, if they are their fathers, they still have a breath, so naturally they will not let the children suffer like this." ”

"What if their father is sick and the injury is caused by those big beggars?" Feng'er asked.

"The meat shortbread is much better than the jujube mud cake, the average child, if the father is too sick to take care of things, he will definitely keep the meat shortbread for adults to eat, these two children, they are afraid that their father will loot the meat cake, if it is not unfilial piety, there must be a hidden secret. In this peaceful and prosperous world, if he is a man with good hands and feet, can he still starve his two children to death? Go, let the little third son go and see. Xinyue had a commanding tone, and Feng'er had to do it.

When Feng'er came back, she wiped the oil on her hands with a handkerchief in disgust, "These two children have to grab my hands and dirty my hands." ”

"Sister Feng'er, we were also born bitterly, and our family was hungry and couldn't eat, and we were sold, have you forgotten? If we hadn't followed a good master, we would have been begging on the side of the road and would have been beaten and bruised all over our bodies. Fei'er has always looked at Feng'er's eyes because of the late time of serving the new moon, and Feng'er said that she didn't dare to go west, and it was the first time to refute her words.

After hearing this, Xinyue nodded with satisfaction, "What Fei'er said is that people can't forget their roots. ”

"The slave didn't mean that, it was just dirty..."Feng'er lowered her head, and knew that she had said the wrong thing.

"Alright, it's getting late, let's go." So saying, the carriage began to move again.

Halfway up the mountain, there is a large open space here, the gap on the left is larger, specially split to park the carriage, and the right side has built a rain pavilion, at this time there are already many ladies and ladies of dignitaries, park the carriage, and rest in this rain pavilion.

The new moon did not stop at the carriage, and when she got out of the carriage, Fei'er Fei'er also packed her baggage and followed behind the new moon.

The new moon wore a hat, but just lifted the curtain in front of her, and the rain pavilion was a place for socializing and talking, so naturally there was no need to hide it.

In the crowd, Xinyue quickly saw several ladies who were familiar with her, so she walked over, "Xinyue has seen Mrs. Zhang, Mrs. Wang, and Mrs. Li. ”

"It's Xu Hounu, you're here too." Mrs. Li is the youngest of the three ladies and has a good relationship with Xinyue.

"Yes, my sister-in-law is busy at home, and Minhui also has a cold, she can't be separated, I, an idler, will come here on her behalf." The new moon smiled, and the other two ladies also smiled.

"By the way, I would like to ask the three ladies, what is the road ahead? Horse-drawn carriage possibly go up? Xinyue looked around and found a group of ladies and ladies in fragrant clothes and jade rings, all of whom seemed to be waiting for something.

"There are already two carriages going up just now, and there are two teas in time, and if one more tea doesn't come back, we can go up in the carriage." Speaking of this, Mrs. Wang, who had a cold expression, came to her senses and said to Xinyue.

"That's the best. Since I gave birth to our second child, my legs and feet are sore on a rainy day, and if I go up, I won't want half my life. Mrs. Zhang couldn't help but complain when she heard this, and the other two ladies who had given birth to children also had a deep understanding, and after a while, Mrs. Li asked Xinyue, "Your sister-in-law... No, the wife of the prince of the Yanwen Mansion was born? ”

"I gave birth, the child is almost 100 days old, it's a boy, just wait for the New Year, go out of the national funeral, and treat guests." Crescent Moon's smile didn't affect it in the slightest, and her smile was still very full.

"I heard that the one who married into the Cao family is also pregnant?" Mrs. Wang asked.

Xinyue nodded, "Madame is really well-informed, yes, Yao'er has just been pregnant." ”

"These two county lords are really blessed, especially the county lord Yao, who became pregnant when they got married." Mrs. Zhang also said a word when she heard this.

"yes, yes," Crescent laughed, only to hear them talk about something else.

As she was listening, the crescent moon heard the sound of the carriage bells, and the two carriages returned the way they came, much to the disappointment of the ladies and ladies who were waiting.

"Where are you this time?" Someone asked the coachman who came back.

"Still haven't arrived at the drop-off platform, our master has already gone up, ladies and misses, please hurry up." Hearing this, these ladies didn't care about the sore legs and feet, and they either took the car on the previous section, or went straight up, which would be like a bird and beast scattered.

The new moon watched in place, but for a moment, she asked with some doubts, "Why are they in a hurry to go up and what are they doing?" ”

"Girl, you have forgotten again, the national teacher has rules, and the seats for listening to and learning blessings, regardless of status, are all on a first-come, first-served basis, without exception." Feng'er pulled the crescent moon and hurriedly walked up.

The new moon really forgot about this stubble, "Okay, I'll go, I'll go, don't pull me." ”

"Hurry up, girl, if we sit in the back, we will be laughed at." Fei'er also understood the trick, so she pushed the crescent moon forward.

Xinyue nodded, and just like that, under the strong push of the two people, she walked comfortably.

After walking only four or five hundred steps, Xinyue heard someone call her, and when she turned around, she was the little third son "girl" who was about to go back

"You're back, how's the probing?" Crescent Moon asked.

The little third son took a breath, and said to Xinyue with palpitations, "The girl guessed right, there is something greasy in this." Those two..."

"Take a breath and speak slowly." Seeing that someone looked at her, Xinyue dropped the hat on her head, and the little third son also looked at her and replied to Xinyue, "The father in the mouth of those two children is not his biological father, not only them, but the little beggar we met along the way, who is only ten years old, and the father in his mouth is all alone." ”