Chapter 445: Chapter 289: Celebrating the New Year (1)
Xing Nanny verbally agreed, but she secretly signaled to Wan Lu to quickly invite Assistant Minister Xiao over.
Wan Lu hurriedly left.
About half a quarter of an hour later, Xiao Song hurried over. After hearing from Xing Nanny that Ran Yan had not eaten lunch or dinner, he disregarded all propriety, walked straight into the room, lifted his robe, and sat down by the bed, softly calling, “Ah Yan.”
Xiao Song tugged at her quilt, but it didn’t budge. “Ah Yan, get up. I’ll take you out to have fun. If you don’t get up now, I might just have to carry away the quilt with you in it,” he teased.
…
Without a response, Xiao Song did as he said. He wrapped her in the quilt and prepared to carry her away.
“Xiao Yuezhi, put down!” Ran Yan already felt embarrassed, and being carried out in a quilt due to shyness would only add to her humiliation.
Xiao Song put her down, and because Ran Yan had also pulled off her socks when she got into bed, he set her foot on top of his, bringing their bodies very close together. Xiao Song’s llow voice was right by her ear, “I have done things even more embarrassing than this before, but I never reacted like you are now.”
“What have you done?” Ran Yan’s nose touched his chest, wrapped in the quilt in his embrace, feeling very safe.
Xiao Song said with a smile, “Tonight, there’s no curfew in East Market. I’ll take you out. We can talk while we walk.”
“Okay.” Ran Yan felt that she had been too girlish just now, and now, standing on Xiao Song’s feet, so close and intimate, she couldn’t help but cough awkwardly. She struggled out of his embrace and, dragging the quilt, walked back to the bed. “Then you wait outside for a while. I need to change.”
Xiao Song smiled indulgently, “Hmm.”
Seeing that Xiao Song was indeed able to coax Ran Yan, Wan Lu couldn’t hide her delight. She imdiately called the maids in, lowering the curtain between the outer and inner chambers. anwhile, Xiao Song sat down at a table in the outer chamber, where a maid promptly presented him with tea,
Ran Yan knelt before the dressing table, feeling a sense of wonder. She had been sure she didn’t want to see anyone, feeling incredibly awkward, but after he arrived, she inexplicably felt much more at ease. Ran Yan couldn’t understand why, but she knew that her feeling at that mont was like a snail that had found its shell, finally safe.
Wan Lu specially found a pale pink short jacket for Ran Yan, the collar trimd with rabbit fur, which made Ran Yan’s fair face seem even more charming. She quickly arranged Ran Yan’s hair into a simple maid’s hairstyle.
Looking in the mirror, Ran Yan frowned and said, “Last ti I wore that rabbit fur cape, soone made fun of . Don’t give that kind of getup again.”
“Made fun?” Wan Lu couldn’t agree, “I think Assistant Minister Xiao liked it very much.”
Ran Yan was puzzled. Really? Why did she feel that it was mockery?
In the outer chamber, Xiao Song, who could hear their conversation perfectly, unconsciously lifted the corners of his mouth. The warmth of the mont made him sowhat impatient to get married.
Thinking of marriage, the situation between the Qidian family and the Cui Family was currently tense, but the Cui Family’s grand gesture of seeking a betrothal had leaked out. Since outsiders didn’t know for whom they were proposing, the Cui Family ended up taking eighteen-year-old Ran iyu as a concubine for their twenty-first son from the Ran family, successfully concealing the affair.
Cui Ershiyi was the legitimate son of the fourth branch of the Cui Family, and his circumstance was similar to that of Sang Chen. Both the fourth and sixth branches of the Cui Family were in similar straits, with only a few mbers left, but Cui Ershiyi’s personal qualities fell far short of those of Sang Chen.
Regarding such an outco, Xiao Song did not want to delve deeply into the influence of the elderly lady; his aim was simply to marry Ran Yan and bring her ho. What others thought was not his concern.
As Xiao Song pondered, the drapes were drawn back, and a beauty in a pale yellow robe stepped out from the inner chamber, dressed in simple yet radiant clothes. With her delicate features lightly brushed with makeup, her eyebrows swept lightly, and cheeks blushed softly with rouge as if she was constantly shy and timid, she truly embodied the proverb “unchanged by wealth and honors, her innocent true self shows.”
“Is it so strange?” Ran Yan asked, noticing the surprise in Xiao Song’s eyes.
Xiao Song shook his head, “I rely hadn’t imagined that my own Ah Yan, when dolled up, could be even more delicate than Ran Yun by threefold.”
Ran Yun was only thirteen or fourteen years old, while Ran Yan was already sixteen, even more so in spirit, having lived two lifetis of sixteen. Flattered by his complint, especially the term “my own Ah Yan,” she felt sowhat embarrassed at that mont.
“Let’s go,” Xiao Song stood up, taking Ran Yan’s hand, his eyes and brows brimming with smiles.
The two of them got into the carriage from the Inner Gate and set off for East Market without delay.
Tonight was New Year’s Eve, a ti when curfew was usually in effect and people would have long been in their dreams, yet at this very mont, every ward’s gate stood wide open. On each street, colorful towers faced each other – red doors and embroidered houses, carved beams and painted rafters – while rows of lanterns in various colors hung on either side, shaped as oblongs, spheres, hexagonal palace lanterns, tower lanterns, and all kinds of festive lights, adorned with landscapes, beauties, or inscriptions.
Even before they reached East Market, they could already feel the strong festive atmosphere of the New Year.
When the carriage passed through Pingkang Square and East Market, the air was filled with the lodious sound of string and woodwind instrunts. Nearly all of the courtesans from Pingkang Square had sward to the streets, using every charm at their disposal to attract patrons.
Xiao Song instructed the carriage to stop in front of a restaurant at the entrance to East Market, and the two entered hand in hand. To prevent unexpected visits from distinguished guests, the restaurant owner had naturally made preparations before the holiday, often reserving an extra ten or so elegant private rooms, leaving them vacant that evening. Should any nobility co by, they would be well equipped to accommodate them. So even though the restaurant was packed, when the owner recognized Xiao Song, he imdiately led them to a private room.
Holidays like New Year’s Eve, Lantern Festival, and Qixi Festival often had n and won venturing out together, which was not a bizarre occurrence; however, the fact that Assistant Minister Xiao was out with a lady was indeed a great surprise to many.
Thus, as soon as the two of them reached the second floor, the diners in the great hall below erupted like a pot boiling over. The festive mood made everyone feel good, and their passion for gossip reached unprecedented heights, so they imdiately began a lively debate about Assistant Minister Xiao’s matrimonial matters and Ran Yan’s identity.
Xiao Song and Ran Yan had just arrived at the entrance of the private room when soone pushed open the door from the room next door.
It was a group of young gentlen in round-collared Hanfu, but upon closer inspection, their delicate features revealed they were won. Ran Yan did not pay much attention to them, but they turned to look her way.
Xiao Song paused his steps, and seeing them, stepped forward with a smile, subtly shielding Ran Yan behind him, and greeted with a bow, “It turns out to be Lady Dugu.”
Ran Yan felt a bit curious; the two ladies from the Dugu Family, Dugu Lanning and Dugu Lanyan, although of noble status, were not significant enough for Xiao Song to stop so deliberately and greet them with such courteous language.
Dugu Lanning and Dugu Lanyan returned the greeting in turn.
“Heh, just how delicate and beautiful is Assistant Minister Xiao’s young lady that she is hidden so carefully?”
Suddenly, a woman’s voice floated over leisurely. This voice was unlike the delicate tone of most won, but rather like a breeze through the forest, light and airy, exuding an inherent nobility. (
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