Chapter 493 - 187: Celebrating the New Year (Part 2)
Chapter 493: Chapter 187: Celebrating the New Year (Part 2)
Zhao Jing comforted his mother, "As long as I do well, Father’s grave will never lack for respect. If you get homesick, Mom, I’ll take a couple of months off next year and bring you back for a visit."
Hearing this, Mrs. Zhao quickly demurred. "I was just being a little sentimental, why did you take it so seriously? When you first came to the Prefecture to study, you promised that you wouldn’t return home until you earned the title of scholar. Jing, you can’t go back on your word."
Zhao Jing: "..."
He had meant to comfort his mother, only to get a lecture from her instead.
They drank and chatted, and time flew by without them noticing.
As midnight approached, Mrs. Zhao and Xiang’er could no longer stay awake. Chen Wanqing and Zhao Jing walked the two of them back to their courtyard to rest before returning to the parlor to continue the New Year’s vigil with De’an.
The three of them were getting sleepy too, so they took out the deck of cards Xu Su Ying had made and played to pass the time.
They chatted as they played. "What day is Mr. Sheng’s banquet?"
"The sixth."
"When does the prefectural school start up again?"
"The sixteenth."
"When are we going to pay our New Year’s respects to Mr. Yin and Mr. Sun?"
"Let’s say the eighth."
"Why the eighth and not the seventh?"
"I was observing the heavens last night. It might snow on the seventh."
"Snow, my ass. Spring officially started on the second. If it’s snowing after the start of spring, are you trying to imply that His Majesty is an incompetent ruler?"
"It has nothing to do with an incompetent ruler. It’s just a late cold snap."
"Didn’t Sheng Saya also invite us to the lantern show on the Lantern Festival? You two can go if you want, but I’m not."
"Why?"
"That woman is vicious. She stepped on my foot, so when she climbed a plum tree to pick blossoms, I shook the tree on purpose and made her fall. Then she chased me through the whole plum grove, making me step on a hibernating snake. I nearly died of fright."
"That’s a big deal. Why didn’t you mention it yesterday?"
"I forgot. I was too preoccupied with the shock of Xu Yanhe’s situation yesterday, so I completely forgot about Sheng Saya’s little prank..."
Their conversation jumped from one topic to another, growing more and more nonsensical.
Thankfully, the sky was finally beginning to brighten. They pushed their cards aside and stood up to go give Mrs. Zhao their New Year’s greetings.
Mrs. Zhao was already up.
Although she had only slept for about six hours, perhaps because it was the New Year, she was in high spirits and looked absolutely radiant.
The younger ones wished Mrs. Zhao a happy New Year, and she was absolutely delighted. She first gave each of them some lucky money, then offered them candy for a sweet start to the year.
Finally, they went before the memorial tablet for Zhao Jing’s father, where they bowed and made offerings. With these formalities complete, their duties were done.
After a quick bite of a few dumplings, Zhao Jing, Chen Wanqing, and De’an returned to their own courtyards to sleep.
It was a good thing they were in the Prefecture. If they were back in the Zhao Village, the New Year’s Day tradition of kowtowing to all the elders would be enough to leave their knees bruised.
But they didn’t have to do that in the Prefecture. Although the New Year felt a little quieter here, not having to run around paying visits to everyone was a real convenience.
This was one of the most peaceful times of the year, and they all cherished it.
And so, the first order of business was to go back to sleep.
On the fourth, Zhao Jing and Chen Wanqing went to the Xie Family’s home to pay New Year’s respects to Xie Ming and his wife.
On the fifth, they visited Wang Jun’s home.
On the sixth, a banquet was held at the Magistrate’s residence, so Zhao Jing and De’an set out early.
On the seventh, Zhao Jing’s prediction came true—it actually snowed again.
The snow fell for a day and a night. By the morning of the eighth, the drifts were knee-deep. As far as the eye could see, the world was draped in silver, and the air itself felt sharper with cold.
Jinbao romped through the snow, leaving a trail of paw prints like little plum blossoms in every courtyard. Xiang’er said he was acting like a crazy puppy.
Jinbao’s mother, Zhaocai, was much more composed in contrast. The large dog patrolled the courtyard at a leisurely pace, as if inspecting her territory. Seeing that all was in order, she sat down contentedly in front of the doghouse her masters had built for her.
This was also the day Zhao Jing and De’an had arranged to visit Mr. Sun and Mr. Yin.
The two set out early in the morning but didn’t return until after dark.
"That scoundrel Mr. Yin! He had a ton of visitors and was worried he didn’t have anyone to help entertain them. We showed up at the perfect time and he immediately roped us into service. He’s a real piece of work. He just watched as people forced drinks on us. Not only did he not stop them, he was cheering them on from the sidelines! I’m telling you, he’s still holding a grudge against Jing for all the trouble he caused him. This was his chance to get revenge."
Zhao Jing had indeed drunk a great deal. He reeked of alcohol and was so drunk he couldn’t walk in a straight line.
Chen Wanqing helped him into his room and made him drink a bowl of sobering soup. Once she saw that he was sound asleep, she went to check on De’an.
De’an was already snoring up a storm, sleeping even more soundly than Jinbao.