Warm medicine emits fragrance

On New Year's Eve, Fan Liuer was dragged out of bed by Li Chenbi early in the morning.

According to the custom of the Li family, on this morning, all the masters of the mansion had to go to the west courtyard early to pay their respects to the old lady.

After having breakfast with the old lady, we will accompany her to the ancestral hall to worship our ancestors. Once all these things are done, we can relax and the whole family can chat, play mahjong, and wait for the New Year's Eve dinner.

Fan Liuer was unaware of these things; she thought all she needed to do today was attend the New Year's Eve dinner.

She was still dazed when Li Chenbi helped her get dressed.

She yawned lazily and asked, "What are you doing so early?"

Li Chenbi grabbed her arm and slipped it into his sleeve. "Go and pay your respects to my mother."

Fan Liuer didn't take it seriously, thinking that she could just pay her respects and then come back. So she obediently followed Li Chenbi's instructions and got dressed with his help.

This time, Li Chenbi did not comb her hair again, but instead called Siqing over.

Under Li Chenbi's guidance, Siqing styled Fan Liuer's hair into a bun for the day.

It's similar to Li Chen's hairstyle from yesterday, but more refined.

The hair accessories were replaced; most of them broke last night, leaving only one pearl hairpin.

Li Chenbi took that hairpin out of the quilt and put it on Fan Liuer himself.

When Fan Liuer saw the hairpin, her face flushed red, and she cursed Li Chenbi in her heart.

How shameless!

After dressing and grooming herself, before leaving the house, Li Chenbi took out a cloak and wrapped it around Fan Liuer, keeping her completely covered.

Fan Liuer thought that was enough, but when she went out, she saw a sedan chair at the door.

She turned to look at Li Chenbi, who simply led her into the sedan chair.

"It's quite chilly today, don't catch a cold."

A strange feeling stirred within Fan Liuer, making her forget even to try and please Li Chenbi.

The sedan chair was cramped, only big enough for one person, and decorated in a bright and playful style, clearly designed specifically for women.

It was also well protected from the wind; once you got into the sedan chair, the cold wind outside was blocked, and you could no longer feel the biting cold.

Fan Liuer sat down and looked at the several hand warmers prepared beside her, feeling even more moved.

The sedan chair rose steadily, and she sat on the thick, soft cushions, holding a hand warmer in her hands. She was dressed very warmly and was not cold at all.

Since winter began, she has almost stayed indoors and hasn't gone out much. She should be happy to be able to come out and get some fresh air this time.

But at this moment, I couldn't feel happy at all.

The sound of Li Chenbi and Li Qiuping talking could be heard outside. Fan Liuer was unconsciously drawn to the sound and leaned her head against the side of the sedan chair where Li Chenbi was standing, stroking the hand warmer in her hand.

I feel a little melancholy.

Taking a sedan chair was faster than Fan Liuer walking, and it took much less time than when she came to the West Courtyard before.

When the sedan chair landed, she was still caught up in those complicated emotions until the door was opened and a long, strong hand reached in.

"We've arrived, come out," Li Chenbi said from outside the sedan chair.

At this moment, Fan Liuer actually had some thoughts of backing down.

I always feel that if I were to hold those hands, it would be like a burden being placed on my shoulders.

She has to take responsibility for this.

Seeing that she didn't react, Li Chenbi, who was outside the sedan chair, bent down and looked through the low sedan door. "What's wrong?"

Fan Liuer took a deep breath, suppressing the complicated thoughts in her mind, "It's nothing, I'm just a little cold."

As she spoke, she hurriedly grabbed two hand warmers, bent down and crawled out of the sedan chair, ignoring Li Chenbi's hands.

Li Chenbi reached out but found nothing. He frowned and looked at Fan Liuer, who was already standing beside him. Then he looked at her hands and saw that she was holding a hand warmer in each hand. He couldn't help but chuckle.

"This hand warmer fits you perfectly, doesn't it? I had it custom-made to fit your hand size."

As he spoke, he took the hand warmer from one of Fan Liuer's hands and handed it to Li Qiuping. Then he took Fan Liuer's hand and held her entire hand in his palm.

"But it's still warmer for me to hold your hand."

He said this while looking at Fan Liuer and smiling. Li Chenbi was good-looking, and his handsome face with a doting and proud smile could easily win people's hearts.

Fan Liuer dared not look, lowered her head and whispered in agreement, "Of course."

Li Chenbi assumed she was just shy, so he tightened his grip on her hand and stopped teasing her, leading her into the house.

The commotion outside had already been heard by those inside. As soon as Fan Liuer stepped into the hall with Li Chenbi, she was met with the gaze of countless eyes.

The old lady sat in the head seat, and to her left was a middle-aged man who looked much older than Li Chenbi; he must be her uncle, Li Chenxin.

Sitting next to Li Chenxin was a woman dressed in elegant and luxurious attire, presumably the eldest daughter-in-law.

Further down, there is a young girl and a young boy, who should be Miss Li Yuhe and Young Master Li Yufeng from Beiyuan.

The girl was already of marriageable age, while the boy looked a little younger, probably around thirteen or fourteen years old.

Fan Liuer could sense all the emotions contained in those scrutinizing gazes.

Li Chenxin and his wife loathed her, their gazes fixed on her with a cold and sharp intensity.

Li Yuhe's gaze was filled only with curiosity.

Li Yufeng's gaze was full of disdain.

Fan Liuer had never experienced such a scene before, and couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

Li Chenbi's grip on her hand tightened, and she heard Li Chenbi's soft, reassuring voice in her ear, "Don't be nervous."

"Didn't I say that even if you turn the Li mansion upside down today, I'll still cover for you?"

With these words, Fan Liuer felt a little more confident.

"Second brother, what are you whispering about? You're all here, why don't you hurry up and greet Mother?" Li Chenxin's voice rang out.

Li Chenbi ignored his provocation and walked towards the old lady with Fan Liuer in his hand.

"daughter."

Fan Liuer immediately spoke up: "May the old lady enjoy a peaceful and healthy new year."

The old lady looked at the two people in front of her and felt a headache coming on.

She didn't dislike Fan Liuer, but she couldn't accept that her son would choose to marry a wet nurse instead of so many noble ladies.

Unfortunately, her youngest son has always been very opinionated, and she can't make decisions for him.

More importantly, she herself had chosen this wet nurse and pushed her onto Li Chenbi's bed, which made her even more unsure of herself and unable to find a reason to blame her.

Today is New Year's Eve, and the old lady didn't want to make things too ugly, so she sighed and waved her hand.

"Please sit down."

Li Chenbi led Fan Liuer to sit on the old lady's right.

At first, Fan Liuer didn't dare to sit down. As a wet nurse, how could she dare to sit on equal footing with this group of people?

Just as she was hesitating, the eldest young mistress spoke up.

"Ever since my second brother took over the household management, things have become increasingly unruly. When did a wet nurse become allowed to sit with the master? It's a laughing stock."