Qi Shi smiled and said to Bai Wanqing in her arms, “This is our little Eighth’s first Little New Year!”

Qi Shi’s nanny adjusted the thick fur-lined hood on Bai Wanqing’s head, afraid of letting her get cold: “Madam, quickly go inside to warm up, don’t let our Eighth Miss get frozen…”

Qi Shi responded and carried Bai Wanqing up the high steps of the covered walkway. The servant girls and nannies hurriedly paid their respects and lifted the curtains.

As soon as Bai Wanqing arrived, she was held in Bai Qingyan’s arms. The little girl couldn’t speak yet but supported herself on the small table by the soft couch to stand up, then tumbled back down. She pursed her lips but didn’t cry, crawled to Bai Qingyan’s side, used her to stand up again, and reached out to grab the jade hairpin in Bai Qingyan’s hair.

Bai Jinzhao and Bai Jinhua loved the fair, chubby Bai Wanqing so much. The two squeezed behind Bai Qingyan, covering their faces with their hands to play peek-a-boo with Bai Wanqing. Whenever she saw the identical faces of her two sisters appear before her eyes, Bai Wanqing would lie against Bai Qingyan’s shoulder and giggle, drooling onto Bai Qingyan’s shoulder.

Bai Qingyan didn’t mind at all. She skillfully held Bai Wanqing in her arms, used a handkerchief to wipe the little girl’s mouth, then took a soft pastry and placed it near Bai Wanqing’s mouth. The little girl held the pastry and gnawed on it, covering it entirely with her drool.

“Oh my, little Eighth drools so much now…” Bai Jinhua pulled out a handkerchief and bent down to wipe the little girl’s drool.

Bai Wanqing snatched Bai Jinhua’s handkerchief and nestled in Bai Qingyan’s arms, looking extremely charming and adorable.

“Oh! Elder Sister, look, little Eighth grabbed my handkerchief!” Bai Jinhua widened her eyes.

“You were the same when you were little!” Fourth Madam Wang Shi said with a laugh. “When you were this age, you liked to grab your Second Sister’s handkerchief. Once you got it, you’d look as proud as our little Eighth does now.”

“That can’t be right!” Bai Jinhua turned to look at Fourth Madam Wang Shi. “Mother must be remembering wrong. It must have been Fifth Sister! We two look the same—Mother must be remembering wrong.”

Bai Jinzhao, who was eating pastries, looked up with crumbs around her mouth, her face full of innocent confusion.

Fifth Madam Qi Shi covered her mouth and laughed: “Just looking at our little Sixth’s fierce expression, I know… the one who grabbed Jinxiu’s handkerchief back then was this little demon.”

The family ate their New Year’s Eve dinner amid laughter and chatter until the hour of Hai. It was only when Bai Wanqing fell asleep in Bai Qingyan’s arms that Fifth Madam Qi Shi had the wet nurse carry Bai Wanqing and take her leave first. Fourth Madam Wang Shi, seeing it was getting late, also took her two daughters and returned to their courtyard.

Only the Third Madam Li Shi remained. Tonight, she had drunk two extra cups of rose honey dew. Looking at the swirling snow outside the window, she began missing her daughter Bai Jinzhi, who was campaigning in distant lands. Her eyes filled with tears, her heart full of worry: “I don’t know if Fourth Girl received the winter clothes I sent to her, don’t know if she’s eating and sleeping well, if she’s been injured. That little heartless one… every time she sends a letter back, she never asks how her mother is doing! I’m afraid… afraid she’s like A’Bao, only reporting good news and hiding the bad. If she gets hurt, we wouldn’t even know.”

A mother worries when her child travels a thousand li, especially when Bai Jinzhi is on the battlefield.

Dong Shi handed Li Shi a handkerchief and comforted her softly: “Don’t worry. A’Bao has arranged people around Fourth Girl. If she gets injured, the people around her will send word back!”

Li Shi wiped her tears with the handkerchief and said quietly: “When Fourth Girl was at home, I always criticized her for not being accomplished, for never acting like a proper young lady. But now that the child is gone… my heart feels so empty! If she doesn’t want to learn to be a proper young lady, then so be it! As long as she can return safely, I’ll never force her to learn things she doesn’t want to learn again.”

This Little New Year’s Eve indeed felt quiet without Bai Jinzhi’s cheerful noise. Not to mention Third Aunt—even Bai Qingyan missed Bai Jinzhi greatly and was very concerned about her. Her voice was slightly hoarse: “Third Aunt, it’s A’Bao who has wronged you and Fourth Sister…”

Li Shi came to her senses, knowing that her loss of composure made Bai Qingyan feel bad. She quickly wiped her tears with the handkerchief and said: “Oh! Third Aunt just drank too much. Don’t take it to heart! Those three words ‘wronged you’… should be said by your Third Uncle to Third Aunt! All our Bai family sons are gone. You and your elder sister-in-law are supporting the Bai family with great difficulty. Third Aunt isn’t someone who doesn’t know what’s important. That Fourth Girl can be useful, can share the Bai family’s burdens like her brothers did—Third Aunt is very happy about it! It’s just natural to worry!”

Hearing the crackling sound of sparks bursting in the brazier, Li Shi looked at Bai Qingyan with sorrowful expression, reached out to grasp Bai Qingyan’s hand, lowered her eyes and gently stroked the back of Bai Qingyan’s hand, saying solemnly: “From last year to today, this year has felt as long as a lifetime. That these remaining orphans and widows of the Bai family could safely return from the capital to Shouyang… A’Bao, you’ve worked so hard! Third Aunt knows it all in her heart!”

Bai Qingyan’s eyes reddened as she smiled at her Third Aunt.

Before long, Third Madam Li Shi’s nanny also helped Li Shi leave and return to her quarters.

Only Dong Shi and Bai Qingyan, mother and daughter, remained in Meixiang Pavilion. Dong Shi’s heart was also sorrowful… not to mention sending clothes to A’Yu, she didn’t even dare make him clothes, afraid that letting others know A’Yu was still alive would bring him danger.

Dong Shi smiled and grasped her daughter’s hand, only smiling without speaking, only praying that Heaven would bless this pair of her children to live well, to be safe in this life, then she would be completely satisfied.

“Mother, this is a sweet soup that Nanny Tong and the cook have been working on recently. It tastes quite good. A’Bao knows Mother doesn’t like sweet things, but today is Little New Year. The bitter days of the year are over, and A’Bao hopes that in the days to come, Mother can live more sweetly every day. Please try it, Mother.” Bai Qingyan smiled and pushed the soup bowl toward Dong Shi.

Dong Shi nodded with a smile, tears streaming down: “Good!”

Live more sweetly every day…

As long as her children were still alive, no matter how bitter the days were, Dong Shi’s heart was sweet.

“I wonder if the people Mother sent to Dengzhou to deliver New Year gifts are already on their way back.” Bai Qingyan hoped that the people who went to Dengzhou to deliver New Year gifts could bring back some news about A’Yu for her and Mother.

Dong Shi looked up at Bai Qingyan, knowing why she was thinking about the people who went to Dengzhou to deliver gifts. She smiled: “The person I sent to deliver New Year gifts is my dowry steward. He hasn’t returned to Dengzhou for many years, so I allowed him to stay in Dengzhou through the first month before returning.”

Before that steward departed, Dong Shi had instructed him to pay more attention to news about Nanrong.

Dong Shi… also hoped the steward could bring back news about her son, even just a few words.

The snow in Shouyang City fell heavier and heavier, a vast expanse of white, enveloping the ancient, solemn Bai family ancestral home with its azure bricks, jade-green tiles, red railings, and vermilion lacquer.

The courtyards were deep, the drifting snow slow and scattered.

No matter how the wind swept the flying snow outside the windows, no matter how the cold wind chilled to the bone, the lights in Meixiang Pavilion burned bright and were not affected in the slightest.

Just like the Bai family now, wind and snow could no longer easily shake them.