At this moment, the housekeeper outside the door suddenly knocked, "My lord, someone from the Zhenbei General's mansion has sent an invitation."
Elder Xu waved his hand, and the man in the study immediately flickered and disappeared into the darkness.
The next moment, the housekeeper pushed the door open and entered, showing no surprise at the sudden disappearance of a person from the room.
He respectfully handed over the invitation.
Elder Xu took the invitation and opened it. After seeing the contents, his brows furrowed deeply. "Has the Zhenbei General's mansion also started to take sides now?"
The housekeeper, not understanding, asked, "My lord, what does the invitation say?"
Elder Xu handed the invitation over. "General Gu plans to host a banquet on the tenth day to officially introduce his long-lost daughter to the world."
The housekeeper was surprised. "The woman who saved the Second Prince's life and lives in his villa is truly General Gu's daughter? How can there be such a coincidence in this world?"
Elder Xu's expression was tense, and he did not reply.
The point of this matter was not how coincidental it was, but the implication behind the Zhenbei General's mansion making a public show of acknowledging the daughter living in the Second Prince's villa.
Elder Xu sighed heavily, looking a little tired. "The palace will be celebrating a festival tomorrow. I fear it will be lively again."
...
Because she had promised the children that there would be cake on their birthdays, Li Yue Shu naturally prepared one for Shen Yi Min.
The cake was about ten inches, and there were also many dishes. However, with so many people in the family, there were usually no leftovers.
"Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you..."
Li Yue Shu led everyone in singing the birthday song. The joyful laughter spread from the courtyard like a flame ignited in the winter.
Li Yue Shu placed the homemade birthday hat on Shen Yi Min's head. "A Min, make a wish!"
Shen Yi Min had always found the act of closing his eyes and making a wish a bit childish, but seeing everyone's expectant faces, he finally raised his hand.
In the past few years, his only wish was to return to Chongzhou, bring his imperial concubine out with honor, and make all those who had harmed them pay!
But now, he had one more wish.
He wished that this happy and simple life could continue forever.
After making the wish, the first slice of cake was naturally Shen Yi Min's.
As everyone was distributing the cake, Shen Zhi Yu suddenly reached out and tugged at Shen Yi Min. "Big Brother, what did you wish for just now?"
Shen Yi Min gently stroked his head. "Fourth Brother, what do you want Big Brother to wish for?"
Shen Zhi Yu's eyes lit up. "Yu wishes to have endless cake every day!"
As he spoke, he gestured with his hand, as if his wish could come true.
Shen Yi Min looked at him with doting eyes and was about to say something when Shen Ting Yi, who was beside him, suddenly spoke. "Fourth Brother, wishes spoken aloud don't come true, so your cake is also gone."
Shen Zhi Yu froze for a moment, as if trying to process her words.
After a long while, he suddenly pouted, his eyes teary, and looked at Li Yue Shu. "Mother..."
Li Yue Shu was amused and exasperated. She quickly hugged him and comforted him. "Alright, alright, your Big Brother was teasing you! He knows that wishes spoken aloud don't come true, so he won't tell you what he wished for."
If she told this little fellow that wishes spoken aloud also came true, wouldn't he pester her for cake every day!
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but glare at Shen Ting Yi.
The latter stuck out her tongue, looking mischievous.
If it were in the past, Shen Ting Yi would have thought Li Yue Shu was going to hit them if she glared at her like this.
But now, she could be mischievous and playful like an ordinary child.
Shen Zhi Yu, listening to his mother's comfort, looked up with a wronged expression, his eyes still teary.
"Then... then what did Big Brother wish for?"
He seemed determined to get to the bottom of it.
Li Yue Shu helplessly looked at Shen Yi Min, blinking her eyes, signaling him to make up an excuse to placate him.
Shen Yi Min understood instantly. After a moment's thought, he came up with an idea. "Actually, my wish is related to you."
Li Yue Shu, who was being stared at, was stunned and didn't react.
Under everyone's gaze, Shen Yi Min slowly said, "We both call the mother of A Lian 'Aunt Mo'. There is a generation gap between me and A Lian. Those who don't know will misunderstand."
No one had expected him to say this, and everyone was stunned.
It was Mo Lian who reacted first, looking at him incredulously. "Yi Min, you... I was just joking when I asked you to call me Uncle, and you're still holding a grudge?"
The others only then realized what was happening, and for a moment, they didn't know what expression to put on.
Li Yue Shu was speechless.
She was accustomed to calling Mo Lian "Aunt Mo" in her daily life and had not considered these issues at all.
She really didn't expect that the seemingly gentle and carefree A Min would have such a childish side.
However, when he said "generation gap" just now, did it mean he recognized her as his stepmother?
Li Yue Shu's lips curled into a slight smile, and a hint of teasing appeared in her eyes. "Wishes spoken aloud don't come true."
Mo Lian chimed in beside her. "Madam is right! Let's not talk about wishes anymore. I'll toast Yi Min. I wish you a happy birthday."
He smiled kindly, but Shen Yi Min pouted.
Don't think he didn't know what this fellow was thinking. He would probably keep trying to find ways to make him say "Uncle."
Li Yue Shu pretended not to see the exchanged glances between the two children. She picked up the drink on the table. "A Min is eight years old now. Mother wishes you joy and health year after year."
Everyone followed with their blessings, quickly changing the subject, but their occasional glances at Shen Yi Min were filled with teasing smiles.
...
After dinner, Li Yue Shu sent Shen Tan and the others to the medicine hall. After resting for a while, she began to prepare for the New Year's Eve dinner.
The winter in Tongmu County had no snow, but it was still bone-chillingly cold. The only vegetables available were stored radishes and pickled vegetables.
Li Yue Shu remembered that the original book mentioned that in this world, some people put effort into growing vegetables indoors, using charcoal fires to raise the temperature.
However, because it was time-consuming, labor-intensive, and required a lot of charcoal, only royalty and nobles did it.
Her spatial dimension had a regenerative function. The vegetables that Xiao Yu had stored in the small kitchen before were almost inexhaustible.
Therefore, Li Yue Shu specifically took some out, intending to make two refreshing side dishes.
Seeing the vegetables that looked as fresh as if they had just been picked from the ground, Aunt Liu was shocked. "Yue Shu, where did you get these vegetables from?"
Li Yue Shu replied without a blush or a skipped heartbeat. "I picked them up in the back mountain. I originally wanted to try my luck and see if I could hunt a few rabbits. I accidentally walked deeper and happened to see a patch of wild vegetables."
Aunt Liu was surprised that something like this had happened, but she was still puzzled. "There are wild vegetables even at this season? But these don't look like wild vegetables!"
Li Yue Shu's expression was calm, as if she didn't think the appearance of off-season vegetables was strange.
"Anything that grows in the wild is a wild vegetable. This must have just had some seeds fall there." Li Yue Shu placed the vegetables directly in Aunt Liu's hand. "Soak the vegetables in water to wash off the sand. I'll go kill the fish."
She directly changed the subject. Her calm demeanor made Aunt Liu feel like she was making a fuss over nothing.
Wild vegetables, after all, included all kinds.
The back mountain, anything was possible.