Prince Gui (Wei Jing) came out to meet the Eldest Princess and his two sister-in-laws.
“Uncle Wu, I miss you so much.” As soon as Xiao Ning saw her fourth uncle, she ran over to act coquettishly.
When they were still in the Yan Palace, because of his young age, Wei Jing spent the most time with his nephews and nieces, especially Ba Lang and Xiao Ning, who were born later.
Now that Wei Jing was also on an errand, and he lived far away, Xiao Ning missed him.
“Ning Ning is getting more beautiful,” Wei Jing skillfully picked up his niece and boasted with a smile.
Xiao Ning kissed her uncle’s cheek.
Ji Xianxian joked, “Uncle Wu has his own child now, so he won’t have time to accompany you in the future.”
Wei Jing couldn’t accept what his sister-in-law said, so he politely invited everyone in, “Come in.” Then they went to Wang Junfang’s yard.
Wang Junfang was leaning on the couch in the second room. Because of confinement, it was not easy to use too much ice, and the room smelled strong.
Yin Hui and the others had children before, so they were considerate and didn’t care, but Wang Junfang looked embarrassed, and her smile was far-fetched. Maybe the more noble and proud people were, the less they wanted to be seen in their embarrassment.
Shiyi Lang was only three days old, a tiny bundle who did nothing but eat and sleep; there was nothing much to do with or tease about.
Xiao Ning quickly lost interest in her cousin and went outside to play with Xiao Mei and Xiao Zhuang.
Jiu Lang and Xiao Bao of Fu Shan’s family have not yet celebrated their first birthday, so they could only watch in the arms of their respective wet nurses.
“It’s hot here, Sisters-in-law, go to the flower hall and drink tea.”
There were so many people in the room, and Wang Junfang felt a headache when she heard them talking, and it was unbearable. Therefore, she forced a smile and persuaded them.
Everyone could see that she was uncomfortable and told her to take a good rest, so they moved to the flower hall.
When they arrived at the hall, the guests chose places to sit according to their closeness.
As soon as Yin Hui sat down on a chair, Ji Xianxian, Fu Shan, and Wei Ying all came over. Because Ji Xianxian was a step too late, she failed to grab the seats on the left and right sides of Yin Hui, making her angry.
Wei Ying laughed at her, saying, “The Second sister-in-law is so close to the Third sister-in-law, and it’s easy to visit her, why is she still fighting with us now?”
Fu Shan chimed in, “That’s right.”
Ji Xianxian snorted and went to sit next to Wei Shan.
The Eldest Princess smiled at Xu Qingwan, saying, “They are still like children.”
Xu Qingwan said softly, “We have lived together in Pingcheng for so long, and we have long been like sisters.”
The sisters who had stayed together the longest and had the deepest feelings. Once married into their husbands’ households, those who usually kept their gaze low would become sisters-in-law, and unless the family was separated, they would live together for a significant portion of their lives, constituting the whole second half of life at every turn.
The Eldest Princess glanced at Yin Hui and asked Xu Qingwan with her eyes, “As a sister-in-law, why are you not as popular as Yin Hui?”
Xu Qingwan returned a wry smile.
She was the Eldest Sister-in-law, the first to marry and the first to have children, and because she was the wife of the Eldest Son, she had to assist her aunt in housekeeping, so she was very busy every day, leaving her with no time to socialize with her sisters-in-law. Moreover, her sisters-in-law each had their own temperaments. Ji Xianxian was arrogant and domineering and had been confronting her tit for tat. Yin Hui was tactful but had her own arrogance. As for Fu Shan, she fell in love with Yin Hui as soon as she entered the Yan Palace and went to Chengxin Hall every day.
Wang Junfang was the only one similar to her. Unfortunately, Wang Junfang married too late and lived alone with her husband in a separate mansion. There was no time for the five sisters-in-law to live together in the same mansion.
Xu Qingwan had her reasons, but the Eldest Princess felt that this was not good.
Her father was a person who attached great importance to family affection. Being liked by two sister-in-laws and Wei Ying at the same time would make her father appreciate the temperament of his third daughter-in-law even more.
Before the Crown Prince was established, no one knew what her father was thinking. At this time, the Elder Brother had to strive to excel in all aspects. According to the observation of the Eldest Princess, among the four brothers, the Third Brother, Prince Shu, was the one who posed the greatest threat to the Elder Brother.
After dining at the Gui Mansion, it would be the Dragon Boat Festival.
At that time, the officials also had a holiday.
If it weren’t for Wen Ruyue, Wei Luo would have taken his wife and children to the outskirts to watch the folk dragon boat race. However, since his cousin was also present, going out would mean his wife having to constantly entertain her, which would only add to the trouble, so Wei Luo dismissed the idea.
Wen Ruyue was also tactful. After breakfast, she sat with her cousin’s family for a while, then excused herself to return to her hall to transcribe scriptures and meditate.
“Father, I want to participate in the dragon boat race,” Xiao Ning coquettishly said, her waist adorned with the pink sachet her mother had given her that morning.
Wei Luo glanced over; both Heng and Xun had sachets tied around their waists, and Yin Hui had also put one on. Among the family of five, he was the only one still wearing last year’s Dragon Boat Festival sachet.
“The dragon boat is too small. How about we compete in rowing instead?” Wei Luo suggested.
“Okay! Father, where’s the boat?” Xiao Ning asked eagerly.
Wei Luo instructed Chang Feng to find two small wooden boats.
Yin Hui looked at Wei Luo. “How should we compete?”
Wei Luo had already thought it through when he agreed to his daughter’s request. “I’ll row with Ning Ning in one boat, and you’ll row with Heng and Xun in the other.”