Time Travel and Love

Chapter 501: Blue Knees

The younger generations were noisily chatting and joking in groups outside, while inside the house, Mo Liufang and a few others were talking with Mo Chenfeng and his wife.

"Everyone is here today for the New Year. In previous years, Liu Jin took Jiang Qing and Jiang Che to guard the border and seldom returned to Beijing. My son was in poor health and couldn't come back. Now, everything is finally well." Chen Siyu kept looking at Chu Qingmeng. For some reason, she liked her from the bottom of her heart, very much.

"Yes, everything is here. I wish it would be like this every year." Perhaps because they are getting old, Mo Chenfeng and Chen Siyu always sigh when they see everyone gathered during the holidays.

Chu Qingmeng agreed with a smile, but no one noticed the helplessness in his smile.

The servants brought up many small baskets at the right time, each of which contained a few sheets of red paper and a pair of scissors. They were asking the mistress of each family to cut a window paper-cut for good luck.

Chu Qingmeng looked at the paper and then at Mu Lingxue, pursed his lips and hesitated to speak, "..."

"Just cut it casually, it's just a gesture." Mu Lingxue saw that she didn't know how to do it, so she comforted her, saying that it was just for good luck anyway.

Chu Qingmeng twitched his lips and snipped a few times. When he opened the paper, it revealed a row of little ducks. Chu Qingmeng instantly closed the red paper again. "My talents are always so unexpected."

Mo Liujin obviously also saw the row of little ducks, and he kept suppressing the corners of his mouth while drinking tea to prevent himself from laughing out loud.

Mo Liufang quickly picked up the tea to hide his smile, and then looked at Mo Liujue and others who were also holding tea bowls and suppressing their mouth corners.

Mo Liujue's wife couldn't help but chuckle when she saw this, "Third sister-in-law, just watch how I cut my hair, and follow my lead."

Chu Qingmeng nodded, picked up another piece of paper, and followed her in cutting. But after putting down the scissors, the other person's paper opened to reveal a lifelike peony, while hers was... well... hard to judge.

"..." Chu Qingmeng looked at the others' and then at his own, silently putting the red paper and scissors back into the basket, "Forget it, I'd better not embarrass myself."

"It's just for good luck, it doesn't have to be super beautiful." Chen Siyu smiled and put the haircut she had made into the basket. The servants took them out one by one. "At the end of the Si hour, have Yunshu take you to the small ancestral hall in the mansion to pay your respects. In the evening, have Liufang take the men to the ancestral hall to pay their respects."

The real ancestor worship for the royal family of Dayu was held on the third day of each year, which lasted all day. Smaller ancestral worship on the 30th day was held in the ancestral halls of various prefectures.

Soon it was the end of the Si hour, and Lin Yue took the female relatives to the ancestral hall in the mansion. More than fifty female relatives filled the huge ancestral hall, and they knelt on cushions in order of age, bowed, saluted, burned incense and offered sacrifices.

It was the first time Chu Qingmeng had experienced the complexity of these rituals, and it was also the first time he had performed the grand ceremony of three kowtows and nine bows. It took a full half hour before it was finally completed.

Chu Qingmeng lamented deeply. She rarely knelt and kowtowed. Ever since Mo Yunting exempted her from all rituals when he ascended the throne, she only kowtowed on Mo Chenfeng and Chen Siyu's birthdays and during Chinese New Year. Otherwise, she followed the usual etiquette.

After this hour of hard work today, her knees must be bruised.

After returning to the main hall for a short rest, the servants had already gone to arrange lunch. Chu Qingmeng occasionally smiled as he listened to everyone's gossip.

After lunch, everyone found their own rooms to rest. Although there was a charcoal brazier in the room, it was not as warm as in the warm room.

Chu Qingmeng rested in Mo Liujin's arms for a while, and then Mo Liujue came to call them, "Let's go to father's study."

After entering the study, Chu Qingmeng sat down in the position of the left and right guardians. Mo Chenfeng asked, "My son, Fifteen is dead. Do you know about this?"

"..." Chu Qingmeng was silent for a moment before saying, "I know. I ordered someone to do it."

Mo Chenfeng frowned, "He's already not a problem in the overall situation, why is he doing this again?"

"I used Li Dai Tao Jiang to lure Twelve into the game, but I was careless and Twelve noticed. Now that I'm doomed, I'll spread the word and alert the enemy, making them uneasy. Only when the snipe and the clam fight can the fisherman profit."

"So, Fifteen died a long time ago? But no one noticed except Twelve?" Mo Liufang frowned.

"Yes. If the world is to be at peace, Twelve must die, but it will implicate many others." Chu Qingmeng wanted to smoke, but he had no cigarettes on him. He just played with his Zippo in his hand. "Father, don't blame me. Eleven and I are more than just partners. I owe him two lives. I repaid him once by helping him ascend the throne, and helping him secure the throne is the second time."

"Twelve has already escaped to Dongyue, why must he die?" Mo Liuteng always thought that Twelve was not a big problem.

"It's because he fled to Dongyue that he must die." Chu Qingmeng knew that if he didn't explain Twelve's plan clearly, Mo Chenfeng would still hesitate and might even go to Eleven to persuade him. "Father, Twelve isn't after the throne. His intelligence and planning are no less than Eleven's. But he's after the destruction of Dayu. Once the Dongyue army approaches, Third Brother will inevitably return to the border. At that time, the fifty thousand private soldiers he left in Dayu can begin to move. If Eleven sends troops to suppress them, they will only have the three major camps in the capital. Fourth Brother, Sixth Brother, and He Qi, no matter which one leaves the capital, will take away one-third of the troops..."