The entire Chu family compound had been cleaned up and was waiting for the arrival of the New Year.
Paper-cut window decorations had been pasted in Mei Ying Xuan, and red lanterns were hung at the door, creating a festive atmosphere.
All the maids and servants were waiting respectfully at the courtyard gate.
Song Wanchu scanned their faces one by one: Nan Zhi, Su Yue, Xia He, Ying Lan, Xiang Yun, Hua Sui...
Nan Zhi and Su Yue rushed forward and hugged Song Wanchu. They laughed and cried at the same time, as if they had found a lost treasure and were reluctant to let go.
Song Wanchu could hardly breathe.
Xiang Yun ran forward and knelt down, her eyes full of tears with excitement. "Thank you, miss, for your great kindness! The Yue family is gone, and all the servants were confiscated by the government. But Lord Shi returned our family's indentures without asking for a single cent. My mother and sister were freed from the clutches of the Yue family, and my father and brother were also released from prison!"
Song Wanchu motioned for her to get up. "Tomorrow is Chinese New Year's Eve. Do you want to go out and reunite with your family?"
Xiang Yun's eyes lit up, but she quickly suppressed her smile. "This maid wants to stay and serve the miss."
During the New Year, there were many things to do, and there were already not enough people around the miss.
"I don't have that many things to do, and I don't need so many people around me. I'll allow you to go home for the New Year."
Xiang Yun was overjoyed and smiled like a flower. "The miss is so kind to this maid!"
Song Wanchu rewarded her with twenty taels of silver and told her to buy gifts and New Year's goods for her family.
These twenty taels of silver were more than her monthly salary in the Yue family for a whole year.
The little girl happily packed her luggage and left through the side gate.
Everyone joyfully welcomed Song Wanchu into the house.
Before closing the door, Su Yue looked outside for a long time.
"What are you looking at?" Xia He asked curiously.
"Will Bai Zhi and Luo Cen not come anymore?"
Song Wanchu remembered the Crown Prince's look.
She felt much lighter. "They won't come anymore. From now on, there won't be any of the Crown Prince's people around us."
Su Yue almost cheered.
"It's good that they don't come. Those two always had straight faces. They were more serious than the old maids. Wherever they were, I felt the air was thinner."
Everyone burst into laughter, and the New Year atmosphere became even more lively.
The small kitchen started preparing meals, and Nan Zhi made a lot of snacks. Just as she was about to put the tea and snacks on the small couch, Song Wanchu saw the dancing shadows of the plum blossoms outside the window and suddenly got in the mood.
"It's warm today. Put them outside. Let's enjoy the plum blossoms while eating."
Unfortunately, just as the tea and snacks were laid out, a commotion ruined the mood.
They heard an old man roar, "Liang Yuzhou, are you tired of your good life? Are you deliberately looking for trouble?"
Song Wanchu's heart skipped a beat. Wasn't that the voice of Taoist Qiu?
What good deed had Liang Yuzhou done to make Taoist Qiu so angry?
Also, why could she hear Taoist Qiu's roar in her own yard?
Hua Sui was smart. She ran out to find out what was going on and came back in a flash.
"Miss, Taoist Qiu and Taoist Qingzhou were arranged in Bingtong Yuan next to ours. This maid heard that they seemed to be arguing about a piece of clothing."
Was Taoist Qiu so angry just because of a piece of clothing?
Why was Liang Yuzhou becoming more and more childish?
Song Wanchu put down the teacup in her hand, called Xia He and Ying Lan, and went to Bingtong Yuan.
She hadn't talked to Liang Yuzhou for a day and a night.
She was still angry.
The door was half-open. Taoist Qiu was sitting angrily on the concubine's couch.
Liang Yuzhou was holding a nightgown he had just fished out of the water basin. His handsome face was full of grievance and anger.
The clothes were still dripping water.
Seeing this, Ying Lan stepped forward and wanted to take the nightgown. Liang Yuzhou said in a muffled voice, "No one is allowed to touch it!"
Song Wanchu didn't want to talk to him.
"Master, what's going on?"
Taoist Qiu snorted heavily. When facing Wanchu, his expression softened a little.
"Just now when he was taking medicine, I passed by and accidentally bumped into him. The medicine spilled on his collar and soaked his nightgown. He went crazy and took it off to wash it. I said I would help him wash it. Who knew that the fabric of the clothes was so delicate that it split when I rubbed it. He just wouldn't let it go and said that I had ruined his most precious thing and that he would never forgive me in this lifetime!"
People really do laugh when they are speechless.
Song Wanchu thought Liang Yuzhou was going too far. Not only Taoist Qiu, but even she couldn't bear it.
"Liang Yuzhou, can you be a bit more mature?"
Where had that cold, noble, and aloof Taoist Qingzhou gone?
Liang Yuzhou didn't say a word. His black eyes were quiet, and he stared blankly at Song Wanchu, as if he was trying hard to trace her outline.
His hands were shaking, as if what he was holding was not an ordinary piece of clothing but a broken rare treasure.
Song Wanchu thought he was acting strangely. Her gaze shifted from his face to the nightgown.
It was a piece of clothing made of rain-silk brocade. There was a painting of a bamboo embroidered on the chest, standing proudly against the wind, just like his elegance.
Her heart seemed to be tightly squeezed. Memories flooded into her mind like a flood breaking through a dam.
Bitterness mixed with a hint of annoyance wrapped around Song Wanchu like vines.
This nightgown was made by her own hands a year ago. On the day she got the concubine-release letter, she embroidered that bamboo, which was like a farewell gift for him.
It had been so long that even she herself had forgotten about the existence of this nightgown.
It turned out that he had been wearing it all the time.
She slowly stepped forward and reached out to take the nightgown. Only when Liang Yuzhou recognized her scent did he let go.
There was a large stain of blood on the front of the nightgown. A tear had split the bamboo leaves, and it had been sewn up with a needle and thread.
But the person who sewed it was not very skilled. The stitches were crooked, and several bamboo leaves were also distorted.
Song Wanchu's heart was squeezed even tighter, and her eyes gradually turned red.
On the day of the wedding procession, he was wearing this nightgown.
That tear was left by her sword stabbing into his chest.
Liang Yuzhou was very particular about his food and clothing. He didn't like imperfect things, and clothes were no exception.
But this nightgown, which had been ruined by the sword and blood, he had treasured like a precious gem and worn for a whole year.
Liang Yuzhou heard a soft sobbing sound. He groped around, and his hand waved in the air for a while before he touched Song Wanchu's face. His fingertips trembled as he wiped away her tears.
"This is the gift you left for me. Wearing it is like holding you in my arms. Only then did I have the courage to get through that year without you."
Song Wanchu blinked desperately, but the tears still kept falling. "Let me make another one for you, okay?"
Liang Yuzhou shook his head. "No, I only want this one."
It was of extraordinary significance and was no longer just an ordinary nightgown.
Both of them had once placed their feelings for each other on this nightgown.
Through their partings and reunions, it was the witness of their love.
Ying Lan quickly said, "It doesn't matter. This maid will take it to be washed and mended. I guarantee it will be as good as new."
There was deep doubt in Liang Yuzhou's eyes.
Song Wanchu handed the nightgown to Ying Lan. "Take it."
Taoist Qiu quietly walked in at some point.
His anger had subsided, and he felt a bit regretful for losing his temper just now.
"You, really, why didn't you make things clear?"
"Would you understand if I did?"
Liang Yuzhou was a bit annoyed. "Who said it was just a piece of lousy clothing? Do you believe I'll burn it for you?"
The smile on Taoist Qiu's face froze.
He still remembered that when he said that angry words, Liang Yuzhou looked like he was going to kill someone.
What Wan Chu gave him was his life!
Just as the atmosphere was awkward, Xiao Anzi entered Bingtong Yuan.
"Master Qiu, Master Qingzhou, Miss Song, His Highness the Crown Prince requests your presence!"