Dinner was simple and sumptuous.

It’s a rare family reunion in the Cao Mansion, and everyone except Deng Ji is here!

Although there are still some shortcomings, it is enough for people to be happy that the family can reunite and spend the new year together.[]

Same with Cao Peng!

It has been three years since he took office as the governor of Nanyang County.

For the past three years, he has spent every New Year alone. Even last year, when he was appointed as Tingwei, he left Xudu for various reasons and was unable to reunite with his family. It is probably the first time in six or seven years that things are so tidy today.

Once, Cao Ji prepared a large copper hot pot and freshly slaughtered lamb sent from Bingzhou. The fat and lean meat slices were cut very thin. Rinse them in boiling water and dip them in the sauce.

Eating it is the best delicacy when the world is freezing.

Mrs. Zhang also prepared Jiangdong rice wine for drinking.

I heated the wine and it was very warm and comfortable. Cao Peng and Cao Ji were sitting at the same table, and the women were sitting in the back room. However, there were really few men in the Cao family! The second generation disciples, except for Deng Ai, were almost all children.

It was impossible to sit down at the table. As a result, there were only a few lonely people at the huge dining table.

In addition to Cao Ji and his son, there were also Deng Ai, Sun Shao and Xu Gai.

Cai Di stayed in Xudu and failed to return.

And Jiang Wei and Fu Qian are still young. Jiang Wei is only seven years old now. He has lived in Xingyang since he was a child and has become one with the Cao family. Fu Qian is even more like this. He is only four years old and is not even very sensible. This also makes the chairman of the Cao family,

It seemed a bit deserted. Cao Peng saw that it was too deserted, so he ran to call Pang Tong, Fa Zheng, Ma Su, Zhao Yun, Shamoke and Wang Shuang over. As for their female relatives, they went into the back compartment to eat...

Pang Tong was already married, married to the daughter of the Kuai family in Jingzhou, and gave birth to a son named Pang Hong, who was only two years old.

He couldn't go back to Jingzhou to celebrate the New Year, so he naturally stayed with Cao Peng.

Previously, after Pang Tong resigned as the governor of Hexi, he sent his wife and children to Xingyang, intending to let the children grow up and study at Fuxishan Academy. But this time, Pang Tong's wife and children also came to Yecheng. For Pang Tong,

, is naturally a happy event. Fa Zheng got married a few months ago, and he married the daughter of a wealthy local family in Xi County. She is not very beautiful, but she is dignified, has an excellent temperament, and a very gentle temperament. She is a housekeeper.

Good girl Shamoko... I guess it will be difficult to get married in a while. He is ugly, three points better than Pang Tong, and he is a barbarian, so he needs an opportunity.

This group of people all lived in Cao Mansion. When Cao Peng greeted them, the atmosphere suddenly became warm.

Everyone exchanged cups and cups together, and it wasn't until midnight that they finally returned home happily.

Cao Peng didn't drink too much, just a small drink. Cao Ji was really drunk and was sent to the bedroom to rest early.

Women, you are not sleepy yet.

So they gathered together and whispered.

The children were already tired. The older ones like Cao Yang, Cao Yun, and Cao Rui also fell asleep because they had to get up early to practice. Cao Peng put on his clothes and walked in the palace. The bright moon was bright and shining with silver.

The light made the Marquis Mansion seem to be covered with a thin layer of white frost. In the blink of an eye, thirteen years have passed...

I was reborn in the Three Kingdoms, and I never thought that one day I would be able to reach such a high position.

A gust of wind blows, and the drunkenness rises.

Cao Peng was so excited that he walked along the path among the flowers, and before he knew it, he came to the back garden!

An artificial lake with frozen surface.

This lake is living water and is connected to the Zhang River. When spring comes and the flowers bloom, the scenery will be completely different.

There is a small pavilion on the lake. It is not large but extremely exquisite.

The twists and turns of the covered bridge formed a moving picture. However, it was late at night, and the garden should have been deserted, with no trace of people. But in the waterside pavilion, the lights were flashing, and there was the faint sound of a piano, and the tune was sad.

Cao Peng couldn't help but be curious and walked towards the waterside pavilion.

But behind a bamboo curtain, there was a graceful figure.

"Who's in there?"

Cao Peng asked in a deep voice.

Bang!

There was the sound of a water glass falling to the ground in the small pavilion, followed by a delicate female voice with Wu Nong's soft accent, "Who is outside?"

"Mrs. Joe?"

Cao Peng was startled, raised the bamboo curtain and walked into the small pavilion.

It’s true that Mrs. Da Qiao is in there!

In the entire Cao Mansion, not many people treated Wu Nong with his soft accent.

Huang Yueying can speak it, but over the years, she has mostly used northern Mandarin, and it has even become a habit. Sun Shangxiang often speaks Jiangdong dialect, but at this time, she is accompanying the old lady to talk in the flower hall, so it is impossible.

After thinking about it, there is only one Mrs. Da Qiao... It's just that it's so late, what is she doing alone in this small pavilion? Cao Peng stepped into the small pavilion, with doubts in his eyes.

Under the light, Mrs. Da Qiao was wearing a white dress that was out of season.

Wearing a snow-white fur cloak, it highlights her petite, exquisite and charming figure.

It's not too cold in the small pavilion, and there are two braziers burning.

Mrs. Qiao looked slightly panicked and stood there, a little at a loss.

There was a touch of burgundy on that gorgeous face, which was obviously caused by drinking.

Seeing Cao Peng, she seemed to be relieved. She stepped forward and bowed Yingying, and said softly: "I have met the Marquis of Wuxiang."

"Hey, sister-in-law, why do you need to be so polite?"

Cao Peng quickly reached out to help him, but when he touched Da Qiao's body, he couldn't help but frown.

"Why is my sister-in-law wearing so little on such a cold day?

I'll ask someone to bring me some clothes so I won't catch the cold... Xiao Shao also said on the way that he wanted to spend time with his sister-in-law, so how could he let her stay here alone?"

"no, I'm fine!"

Da Qiao quickly reached out and grabbed Cao Peng's sleeve.

Skin-to-skin contact, Mrs. Qiao's hands were cold and there was no warmth at all. Although they were as smooth and tender as mutton-fat jade, the coldness made it impossible to miss her at all.

"Sister-in-law, you're so cold and yet you say it's inappropriate."

"Marquis of Wuxiang..."

"Hey, you and I can be considered a family now. Xiang'er married me, and Xiao Shao became my teacher. Why are my sisters-in-law so different from each other?"

Mrs. Qiao's face turned red, and she looked even more pretty under the light.

"It was a slip of the tongue, uncle. Don't blame me."

"Sit down first."

Cao Peng could tell that Mrs. Qiao had something on her mind.

So he asked Mrs. Qiao to sit down, brought the two braziers closer, and added some charcoal to make the fire more intense.

He looked up at the table. There was a piano and a pair of drinking utensils on it.

He thought for a while, found an iron frame from the corner of the pavilion, put it on the brazier, then put a basin of water on it, and put the wine pot into the water to heat it.

"Sister-in-law is so elegant. The moon is full tonight. Are you sure you can play the piano and enjoy the moon?"

"ah?"

Mrs. Qiao was stunned for a moment and shook her head, "I'm just in a depressed mood, how can I be happy?

Uncle, is he here to persuade me?"

"Persuasion?" Cao Peng was startled, "What do you mean by persuasion? I just entered the house today and I still don't know what happened.

If sister-in-law is feeling depressed, she might as well talk to me."

Unexpectedly, Mrs. Qiao did not answer.

She sat sideways, stretched out her jade-white catkins, and brushed the strings with her slender jade fingers, emitting melodious notes. Outside the small pavilion, the cold wind howled... along with the notes, there was a hint of desolation and helplessness.

Cao Peng didn't rush him. When he saw that the wine was almost gone, he took it out and filled up a glass.

"ah!"

Mrs. Qiao saw Cao Peng pick up the wine glass and drink it down in one gulp, and wanted to stop him, but it was a little late. She couldn't help but let out a soft cry, and wanted to speak, but she didn't know how to say it. There was a hint of crimson on her pretty face.

"What's wrong?"

"No, it's nothing."

Mrs. Qiao blushed and turned around quickly.

As the lights flickered, Cao Peng noticed that there was a little bit of carmine left on the rim of the cup in his hand. He suddenly realized it, and he quickly stood up and put down the wine cup with an embarrassed look on his face. He didn't know what to say.

This cup was used by Mrs. Qiao just now...

There are two cups on the table, one is upside down.

Cao Peng thought it was the cup used by Mrs. Qiao, but he didn't expect...

After a long while, Mrs. Qiao seemed to have calmed down, turned around, and suddenly smiled slightly, "Uncle, would you like to listen to me playing the piano?"
To be continued...