Chapter 865: A Gambler Must Accept Defeat

ven the village head and his wife.These winter clothes are made of fine cotton and new cotton, with no embroidery or patterns. They are simple in style but warm. The accompanying cotton shoes are the...Mrs. Wu grew up in the south and learned to make delicious cured pork from a young age. Occasionally, when she was feeling well, she would prepare several pieces of it and hang them from the beams in the kitchen.

Everyone was born and raised in the north, so they weren't very used to that taste, but it's good to try something new...

Thus laughing and joking, everyone entered the courtyard.

Wan'er, Wenjuan, and Mrs. Wen led their children out to greet them.

Jiayiben was just the king of kids, and soon became familiar with Xingxing and Yueyager.

Then, they put them on their shoulders, carrying one each, and ran all over the yard, occasionally jumping over walls, causing the two children to scream with laughter.

After they entered the house, the two children became Jia Yi's little followers, following him wherever he went...

As for Yuan Yuan, she was spitting bubbles and waving her arms and legs in protest while lying in her mother's arms.

But his uncle, he would never even dare to hold him, let alone take him flying through the sky.

Because babies a few months old are like they have no bones, feeling that a little bit of force could hurt them...

Li Laotai's words were polite, but in fact, everyone had started preparing lunch in the kitchen before they went out.

Dishes of chicken, fish, meat and eggs were placed on the table. They were stir-fried, deep-fried, steamed or braised, with a beautiful aroma and enticing colors.

Jiayi's favorite dishes are all kinds of meat, like braised pork ribs, grilled lamb chops, cumin lamb and more.

Jia Yi was not polite and ate a big meal until he was full.

In the end, he followed his brothers to the hot spring pool at the Hou Mansion, had a good wash, changed into the tunic and trousers made by grandma with her own hands, then lay down on the kang and fell asleep with loud snores.

Although Lao Huang was helping him keep watch in the cell, he still couldn't sleep soundly.

After all, that was someone else's turf. Even if the guards were polite to him, who knows what they might be thinking Perhaps they were already plotting how to get rid of him...

Now he's finally home, no more worries, he can have a good sleep!

Some families are filled with joy, while others are burdened with sorrow. When some people rejoice, others naturally feel downcast.

The middle-aged official was escorted to the Jingzhao Mansion by the veteran soldiers.

The magistrate symbolically fined the person a sum of silver and then released them.

The magistrate of Jingzhao Prefecture did not have the authority to punish officials, so when the county princess ordered him brought here, it wasn't because she intended to actually do anything to him. It was merely a lesson.

This middle-aged official escaped the danger, but he felt humiliated.

Leaving the office of the Jingzhao Mansion, he headed straight to a courtyard in the south of the city.

After the man left, the owner of the courtyard hurried straight to Wang's house...

In Wang's study, Second Brother Wang frowned and slammed his teacup down, blaming his elder brother.

"I told you this wouldn't work, but you didn't listen. You must have instigated those people to submit a petition!

"

Now that the Li family boy is fine, it's our family who's been put on fire.

Wang Zecheng was also agitated, his face darkened as he retorted: "I originally thought that Li Lao Si would return from the northern campaign, and Li Jia Yi would also come back to offer captives and seek credit. With a little bit of gossip circulating, it would be enough to sow discord in the emperor's mind and make him wary of the Li family."

"Who would have thought, Li Jiayi had the guts to directly kick Wu Yan to death!"

If Wu Yan were still the Duke of State, Li Jia would have been punished no matter what.

But unexpectedly, the Wu family was imprisoned by the emperor, and Wu Yan became a fugitive...

"Back then, you should have stopped. Why would you let people write petitions" Wang Lao Er poured himself a cup of tea and drank it down in one gulp, but it couldn't quench the anger burning inside him.

Wang Zecheng got up and paced back and forth, saying, “I thought about striking while the iron is hot, but I didn't expect the emperor to trust the Li family so much that he handed them the memorial...”

Speaking and speaking, he became impatient and turned his head to ask again: "It's useless to talk about these things now, just say it, is there any good way to make these families shut up!"

Wang Laodi let out a cold snort, remained silent for a while before saying: "Those few people are probably going to lose their positions, but it's also because they didn't keep themselves clean, allowing others to find their weaknesses."

"Let's get our house in order, don't let them sentence us too harshly. Throw in some extra gold and silver as compensation, and it should be fine."

Wang Zecheng's eyes twitched with distress, as the household affairs had always been handled by his third brother.

Since the third brother went insane, the industry's revenue has been declining year after year.

Now, to raise a large sum of money again, I'm afraid we'll have to dip into our savings...

Think back to their former glory, how could the Wang family have fallen into such disarray!

As night fell, the heavy snowfall finally came down in abundance.

The winter mountains and villages were clothed in a thick layer of snow.

A carriage, followed by a hundred guards, drove out of the city. The hooves and wheels pressed down on the fluffy new snow all the way to the new village.

The moment the people in the carriage got out, a sharp-eyed attendant immediately shouted to report inside.

"Lord is back, Mr. Wen is back!"

Just then, Old Lady Li came out from the kitchen and greeted the two of them with a cheerful smile.

"Go home and freshen up, change into something comfortable, and then come over for dinner. We're having dumplings tonight!"

The Lord and Mr. Wen bowed, both smiling in response.

When they came again, a table had already been set up in the main hall.

Steaming dumplings, like plump little pigs, lay lazily in the dish, incredibly tempting.

All members of the Li family, young and old, were present. Along with them were Da Yong, Hui Niang, and Mrs. Wen holding their little Yue Yaer.

When Yueya saw her father, she reached out for a hug.

Mr. Wen hurried forward, embraced his beloved daughter, and said to Mrs. Wen, "I heard you were coming over this afternoon to help wrap dumplings"

"That's right, I have nothing to do at home anyway. Come help me out. Your mother-in-law specially prepared three fresh fillings for you, and there are also pork and scallion fillings that the Master likes," Mrs. Wen smiled as she rolled up her husband's sleeves.

On the other side, Jiayin had already seated the lord and said with a smile: "Father, the dumplings with lotus leaf edges in the dish were all made by me!"

The Marquis rubbed her hair and said, “Good, later Father will eat a few more.”

Li Laotai called out to everyone to take their seats, "Hurry up and sit down and eat the dumplings. They'll get cold soon. We're all family, I don't need to be an old woman passing chopsticks for you!"

Everyone laughed and sat down, as usual the men in the main room, the women and children in the east room.

Of course, Jia Yin is an exception. The seat between the Marquis and her father is reserved for her.

Now, the Li family's life is like heaven and earth compared to before.

But the old girls of the Li family still preferred to do some odd jobs, such as making dumplings at these happy gatherings, which they had to do by hand.

This afternoon, the maids and nursemaids took care of the children. The old lady, accompanied by Tao Hongying, Zhao Yuru, Wan'er, Wenjuan, Mrs. Wen, and Hui'er, personally handled everything from chopping the filling to wrapping the dumplings.

In the midst of laughter and conversation, dumplings were made, their savory filling imbued with an extra layer of happiness.

Jia Yin had eaten a few kinds of dumplings filled with different ingredients, and she had already eaten seven or eight. Her little face broke into a smile.

For northerners, there's nothing that a meal of dumplings can't solve.

If there is, then two meals!

Eating steaming dumplings surrounded by loved ones is definitely the warmest moment!

Old Mrs. Li looked at her grandchildren eating with relish, and her stomach was already eight parts full.

She held a plate and kept adding dumplings to everyone's bowls, laughing and saying, "Our family is rarely all together like this. It's more lively than during the Chinese New Year!"

"If Xi Ge'er and An Ge'er were also at home…"o with Erbo, but she was pulled back by Lao Tai Li. “You’re a girl, you shouldn’t get involved in these matters. There are uncles and cousins at home.”With no other option, he could only honestly go w...