kvmb Chapter 190 Birthday
Chapter 190 Birthday
It was almost dusk, An Yun and Lao Zhou drove the carriage towards the inner city. Mu Liang sent Li Yunye back to Zhuo Mansion as usual. After a tiring day at the cloth shop, Li Yunye leaned against his brother and muttered tiredly:
"Brother Muliang, tomorrow is Mid-Autumn Festival, can you give me a day off?"
"Are you tired and confused? Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival and the cloth shop will be closed." Seeing his brother so tired, Mu Liang shook his head helplessly. He was just asking him to do some accounting.
Li Yunye was so shocked that his eyes widened. He didn't expect that Jingsong State also had such a humane side. Even shops were closed during festivals? When he was in Qile City before, most shops were indeed closed during the Spring Festival, but he didn't expect that shops would be willing to close during the Mid-Autumn Festival. The ancients knew how to enjoy life.
"Brother Mu Liang, where are we going to play tomorrow?" Li Yunye naturally did not dare to let Mu Liang see his surprise. He changed the subject and asked again. When he thought about playing, he naturally became excited.
"The most fun and lively time of the Mid-Autumn Festival is at night. People from the outer city will gather in various restaurants to enjoy the moon. The restaurants will be packed with people and seats must be booked in advance. After enjoying the moon, you can also go to the riverside to light lanterns and pray for blessings. The streets and alleys of Liangdu will be filled with singing and dancing until the fifth watch of the next morning."
"Then shouldn't we hurry to the restaurant to reserve a table?" After listening to Mu Liang's introduction, Li Yunye became even more excited.
"What? You won't stay at the Zhuo Mansion tomorrow to watch the moon with Old Madam Zhuo?" Mu Liang asked with a smile without any hurry.
"After accompanying my uncle and grandmother to appreciate the moon, we will go to the outer city to play!" Li Yunye was stunned for a moment. He should indeed accompany his uncle and grandmother first, but fortunately, his uncle and grandmother could not stay up late, so neither side was delayed.
"Okay." Mu Liang nodded in agreement, and then handed a wooden box beside him to Li Yunye.
"Hmm? What is this?" Li Yunye curiously opened the wooden box and saw a golden unicorn with emerald eyes inside. He looked at Mu Liang in surprise and joy: "Is it for me?"
"Have you forgotten? Today is your birthday. This is your birthday gift from me." Mu Liang continued to nod and smile.
Jiang Siyao was stunned for a moment before she realized that Li Yunye’s birthday was August 14, the day before the Mid-Autumn Festival, which was an easy birthday to remember.
"This should be very expensive, right?" Li Yunye stared at the golden unicorn in the box. Although he pretended to be calm on the surface, his eyes were full of an unconcealable greed for money.
"Of course it's not as much as the one thousand taels last time." Mu Liang couldn't help laughing at his brother-in-law's rare "sensible" behavior, so he joked.
"Then it won't cost any money! Thank you, Brother Muliang!" Seeing that his sworn brother was laughing at him, Li Yunye glared at him, then took the golden unicorn without any hesitation.
"Mr. Li, happy birthday."
"An Yun wishes you a happy and harmonious future every year."
"Thank you." Hearing Lao Zhou and An Yun congratulating him on his birthday outside the carriage, Li Yunye couldn't help but feel warm in his heart and smiled.
"I, your brother, also wish you a gift every year and an inch of happiness."
"Thank you, Brother Muliang."
Mu Liang's gentle blessing made Li Yunye's nose sore. He couldn't help but throw himself into his arms and choked with sobs.
"Silly boy, you're one year older. You should stop crying all the time." Mu Liang was stunned at first, then he gently patted the head of the person in his arms and smiled warmly.
Jiang Siyao didn't say anything, just buried her face in Mu Liang's arms. Her birthday was on Children's Day, which was also a particularly easy birthday to remember. But from childhood to adulthood, except when her grandmother was alive, she could celebrate it on time every year. Her mother always made mistakes and she either celebrated it in advance or made up for it. When she got older, she simply didn't celebrate her birthday. Without expectations, there would be no disappointment.
The carriage stopped outside Zhuo's house, and Li Yunye also pulled Mu Liang out of the carriage. Brother Fan Zhengyi would be celebrating the festival alone if he went back, so it would be better for him to stay at Zhuo's house and join in the fun.
Mu Liang couldn't refuse. Today was his sworn brother's birthday and he naturally didn't want to make him unhappy, so he had to follow him into Zhuo's house.
"Grandma, cousin, it's not even Mid-Autumn Festival yet, why is the dinner tonight so sumptuous?"
Mu Liang was greeting Old Madam Zhuo and Censor Zhuo one by one. Li Yunye looked at the table full of sumptuous food in the hall and couldn't help but smile curiously.
"This table of delicacies is naturally prepared for our little birthday boy." Old Madam Zhuo said happily, and then she pulled Li Yunye to sit in the seat of honor where she usually sat, and continued with a smile: "Today the birthday boy is the most important, you sit here."
"My great-uncle..." Li Yunye was about to stand up nervously, but Censor Zhuo waved his hand and said:
"Your aunt and grandmother asked you to sit down, so just sit down. Today is your birthday, so you can sit down."
After hearing what his cousin said and seeing Brother Mu Liang nodded at him, Li Yunye sat down with peace of mind.
Afterwards, Old Madam Zhuo and Censor Zhuo sat on both sides of Li Yunye respectively, while Mu Liang sat in the lower seat directly opposite Li Yunye.
"Aunt and grandmother, cousin, how did you know that today is my birthday?" Li Yunye asked curiously before the meal started.
"Ahem, a few months ago, the old lady asked me about your birthday." Mu Liang coughed lightly and smiled at his brother guiltily.
"Bring it in." Without waiting for Li Yunye's response, Madam Zhuo gave another order to the outside, and then a maid brought a bowl of longevity noodles and placed it in front of Li Yunye, also with a happy face, "Happy birthday, Mr. Li."
"Thank you."
Li Yunye smiled at the maid, then turned around and looked at the longevity noodles in front of him. He couldn't help but recall that when he was a child, his grandmother would cook a bowl of longevity noodles with a beautiful poached egg on the morning of her birthday.
"You will get married and start a family when you return to Jiangnan next year. This is the gift that my aunt and grandmother prepared for my future granddaughter-in-law." While Li Yunye was stunned, Madam Zhuo opened a wooden box in front of him. Inside was a pair of exquisitely crafted, smooth, bright green jade bracelets like rippling water, clear and deep.
"Aunt and grandmother, today is my birthday. How are you going to prepare gifts for others?" Li Yunye pretended to be disappointed and grumbled to Madam Zhuo.
After hearing what Madam Zhuo said, Li Yunye felt mixed emotions. He never expected that his lie would make his aunt and grandmother feel at ease and even give them such an expensive gift. However, he couldn't let his aunt and grandmother and his cousin find out, so he had to play out the play to the end.
"You silly child, what do you mean by 'others'? She will be your wife soon!" Old Madam Zhuo patted Li Yunye's back lightly and pretended to be angry.
Then there was a burst of laughter inside and outside the hall.
"Cousin also wishes you a happy birthday and good luck." After laughing, Zhuo Yanzheng also gave Li Yunye a flawless white jade pendant, which was obviously made of top-grade white jade.
"Thank you, uncle." Li Yunye gratefully accepted the gift, then turned around and threw himself into Madam Zhuo's arms and said with a smile, "Thank you, too, aunt."
"Well, you still have some conscience." Old Madam Zhuo smiled, raised her hand and tapped Li Yunye's forehead, and said angrily again.
The maids waiting at the door laughed again.
Li Yunye snuggled in his aunt's and grandmother's arms with his eyes raised with joy. He had a very happy birthday today. It was the first time since he could remember that everyone had gathered together to celebrate his birthday.