In Songheyuan, Mrs. Cheng, the Duke's wife, was in a very good mood. She held her eldest grandson's hand and looked at her carefully.
"Okay, our fisherman has grown a lot taller. The second grandmother looks happy!" She pressed the handkerchief at the corner of her eyes. This grandson has been with me since he was a child. Thanks to him being by his side, he was able to survive those years.
.
Mu Qi wiped her tears, stretched out his arms to hug her, and comforted her while patting her: "Second grandmother, my grandson is back. He will stay by your side from now on. You can't even drive him away."
Mrs. Cheng patted him: "Okay, then I won't leave. My second grandmother is thinking about you and looking forward to you every day. I wonder if you can eat outside. This can be regarded as looking forward to having you back. I was afraid that you wouldn't be able to catch up with your father."
It’s her birthday, so I can’t send your little aunt off to get married.”
Mu Yan sat aside and couldn't help but said: "What's my birthday?"
My heart felt sweet, but I just refused to admit that my son came all the way to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with his family and celebrate his birthday. Every time the child turns one year older, he becomes one year older and spends one less year with Xi'er.
.
A very special birthday.
Mu Qi turned to look at his awkward father and smiled.
He said to Mrs. Cheng: "These grandchildren all remember it. They galloped all the way without ever dismounting, for fear of missing out."
These words made Mrs. Cheng feel very distressed, and said angrily: "Oh, your father's birthday is not going to be celebrated even if it is less than a year. Why don't you stop? What if you are exhausted?"
Then he took Sunsun and looked him up and down, for fear that he might have lost a hair or a piece of flesh somewhere.
Mu Yan glared at his eldest son with dissatisfaction. He said that he had done this because he had been away for two years and could not learn to be steady.
Mu Yao happened to see it while sitting in her mother's arms. She covered her little mouth and snickered, and winked at her second brother and sister.
He said to his eldest brother and grandmother: "I heard last night that my father and mother were still thinking about my eldest brother, saying that he should be back a few days ago, but there was still no sign of him. They said that he had made everyone worried, and that he would give me a good beating when he came back!"
Mu Qin's hips tightened.
She glanced at her father with a guilty look and explained: "My husband was sick on the way, so we were late. Later when we arrived in Tongzhou, my husband was afraid that we would be waiting at home, so he asked us to come back first, so we came back first.
"
"How could you leave your husband and come back first!" Mu Yan grimaced again and wanted to give him a few more words, but when Huo Xi looked at him, he stopped talking.
"Sir, there are guards around you. I also left Yanzhi behind, and I have already arrived in Tongzhou." Mu Qi explained in a low voice.
Mrs. Cheng glared at her son and said, "We've already arrived in Tongzhou. We'll be in Beijing in just a day or two. Besides, there are guards following us. What's the big deal?" She also made a show of lecturing her grandson.
Thinking of something, he said again, "Why don't you let Rouge follow you?"
Mu Qi glanced at her father. Except for Yanzhi, his father asked the secret guards to follow him. Although he didn't tell him, he knew it. He was going on a study tour, and his mother didn't trust him to be alone outside.
"Second grandmother, my skills are no weaker than Yanzhi's. And I have so many classmates."
"How can you do it alone? You have to have guards following you."
"Yes, my grandson has made a note of it, and will remember to take more guards with him when he goes out in the future."
Huo Xi was happy that his son was back, and asked the kitchen to cook the meals he usually likes to eat. He set a full table and the whole family sat around to warm him up.
Seeing several children sitting around her and Mu Yan, Huo Xi couldn't stop smiling.
It has been four years since Xuande was declared, and nine years have passed since she and Mu Yan brought Wan'er back from Yunnan. The changes in personnel over the years have caught people off guard.
In the 22nd year of Yongkang, Emperor Yongkang died on the way back to Beijing from his fifth expedition to Mongolia, and the prince succeeded to the throne. Unexpectedly, the prince also died only ten months after he succeeded to the throne. The crown prince who was personally named by Emperor Yongkang at that time
Sun inherited the throne.
It is now the fourth year of Xuande. In the past nine years, there have been three emperors, and Xiao Yuer is already fifteen years old.
As a descendant of the Duke of Guizhou, and under the strict guidance of Mu Yan and his maternal uncle, Xiao Yuer was excellent in both literary and martial arts, and was one of the best among the nobles in the capital. In addition to his noble status, he became a military official a few years ago.
Someone came to Huo Xi to kiss him.
Huo Xi only said that her son was young and blocked them one by one.
Now I look at my son who has returned to Beijing after studying for two years. He has grown a lot taller and has lost a bit of his tenderness from his brows. He is a handsome young man. I am afraid that more people will come to ask for his hand in marriage. As a mother, I am proud.
And reluctant to give up.
In these years, in addition to Xiao Yu'er and Wan'er, she and Mu Yan also gave birth to two sons, the second son Mu Juan and the youngest son Mu Qi. Of their three sons, Yu'er is sensible and steady, Wan'er is gentle and polite, and Qi'er is lively and naughty.
, and Wan'er is loved by everyone, she is cute and well-behaved.
Huo Xi glanced at the four children one by one, feeling full of pride in her heart.
Suddenly, her hand was pinched. She turned around and saw that it was Mu Yan who had pinched her hand under the table. Looking at the bowl, he asked him to pick up a piece of pork ribs. Huo Xi gave him a slight smile and put the meat in the bowl.
Pick it up and put it into your mouth.
Two days later, it was the annual Mid-Autumn Festival. The Duke's Mansion of Guizhou was decorated with lanterns and colors to celebrate the festival.
Mu Qi brought her younger brothers, sisters and cousins to wear red and colorful decorations in the house. The children commanded their elder brother and made a fuss.
In addition to the four children in the first bedroom, Mu Wang, the second bedroom, has also given birth to two sons and a daughter in recent years. The youngest son, Mu Kun, is the tenth and half a year older than Mu Ai. Mu Jie, the fourth bedroom, has only one son, Mu Ju, who is four and a half years old.
, one year older than Mu Yi, the youngest in the house.
The three boys are of the same age, and they play together at dawn, making the house very lively.
Mu Zhan and Mu Jie followed Mu Yan to the new capital in recent years.
When the capital was moved, Mu Xin, the Fourth Fang, was left in Nanjing by Emperor Yongkang, and was in charge of the affairs of the military governor who stayed in the capital. When the capital was moved to Beijing, although most officials were moved to the new capital, six ministries were still retained in the old capital. Mu Xin has been staying in Nanjing all these years
They all hold office and guard the ancestral home and ancestral land.
Mu Jie followed Mu Yan to Beijing. Mu Ying only came to Beijing in the past two years. The fourth lady Yu asked Cheng and Huo Xi to find a match for her in Beijing. They came to Beijing in advance two years ago to prepare for the marriage.
marry.
After mid-autumn, on August 19, Mu Ying was going to get married. Xiao Yuer had a good relationship with this little aunt, so he rushed back to marry her.
Mu Yanmu looked at the three brothers Mu Jie, standing on the porch and watching the children hanging lanterns in the courtyard.
Nowadays, the court has changed. As a border official and a border guard, Mu Mansion has attracted much attention from the court. Everyone in the manor acts cautiously, fearing that they will make mistakes and be taken advantage of.
In recent years, the three brothers have worked together, and there has been peace and harmony in the house.
Now there are three people in the house, plus Mu Ying who is about to get married, there are nine children. Now they are all gathered around the wooden ladder, chattering and directing Mu Qi who is standing on the wooden ladder to hang a lantern.
They thought Mu Qi was not good at hanging, so they were shouting and jumping around. Several boys wished they could go up and hang themselves.
The three Mu Yan brothers couldn't help laughing. They had a bad taste and asked their servants to bring lanterns and throw them one by one at Mu Qi, Mu Ju and others.
The boys in the Mu family have to learn martial arts since childhood, and it is not a problem to pick up a few lanterns in daily life. Unfortunately, except for Mu Qi, the other boys are too young to play with their father and uncle. After a while, they are in a hurry and staggering around.
Mu Ying led her two nieces, Mu Wan and Mu Xiu, to the side and covered their mouths, laughing and cheering from time to time.
Several little ones, one after another from left to right, screamed when the lanterns were hit, and stamped their feet to call dad, but the three dads didn't stop.
Cheng's Huo Xi and others were sitting in the room chatting and couldn't help but laugh.
"This Yan'er and his two cousins are bullying the younger ones. This is not the time to test the skills of several children. Be careful that we fishermen fall down."
Mrs. Cheng felt sorry for her grandchildren and stopped after looking at them for a while.
The children did not dare to make trouble with Mu Yan, so they chased Mu Jie and Mu Wang several times, and then stopped making trouble for a while. The whole family sat down to eat the Mid-Autumn Family Banquet in a lively manner.