Drive a RV and go farming in ancient times.

This year, every family is very low-key.

There was nothing interesting to do on the street. All the lively and festive places were temporarily closed due to the national mourning. Only a few shops were open to welcome and send off customers.

But not many people come to visit, because of the continuous heavy snow, making it difficult to walk on the road. There are potholes everywhere you step on. The north wind is howling and the cold is biting. Who would want to go out in such weather?

Apart from purchasing necessary items, how can the rest of the time be better than sitting around the stove at home?

In the past two years, honeycomb coal stoves have become almost universal. Coal mining has never stopped, and coal has become cheaper and cheaper. Ordinary people don't have to feel too bad about buying them. Finally, winter is no longer so unbearable.

The honeycomb coal workshop jointly run by the Gu family and Su Zhe also took the opportunity to make a fortune.

However, all the silver was taken away by Xu Huaiyi and used to comfort the soldiers who were seriously injured in the war with him and had to retire and return home.

The imperial court issued pensions, and Xu Huaiyi was afraid that someone would take advantage of it, so he kept a close eye on it. In the end, the full amount was delivered to the soldiers, but for them who had lost their ability to work, it was still a drop in the bucket.

It is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish. Xu Huaiyi recruited many people to work in his own farm or shop. However, there were limited positions available, and there were always some places that could not be taken care of.

He took out some money at the end of the year and purchased a large amount of rice, flour, oil, cotton cloth, pork and other daily necessities for the people. He had people deliver them to the family one by one, which helped to make up for the shortfall and comfort himself.

For fear of offending others and causing people to think too much, Xu Huaiyi deliberately covered up what he did. If it weren't for a special investigation, no one would know about it.

Gu Huanxi even teased him for this, saying that he was wearing gorgeous clothes and walking at night, hiding his merits and fame.

Such a huge sum of money was spent, but not a single sound was heard.

We had previously set up a tent outside the city gate to give out porridge and gained some good reputation, but this year we didn’t want to attract attention, so we didn’t do that.

However, the charity hall expanded its site and took in many homeless orphans, which could be considered as a good deed.

In the last few days before the New Year, Gu Huanxi was busy arranging people to clean the house and prepare various foods, while Xu Huaiyi gave New Year gifts to people he knew.

He is now a marquis, and also the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard. He has both fame and power. He came personally to deliver New Year gifts, showing his sincerity.

Every time I go to a house, I am warmly welcomed and I give back an even warmer welcome. The relationship is maintained through give and take.

There is also Hutian Village, where Xu Huaiyi went there in person. In recent years, he has been fighting wars everywhere and has had fewer contacts there, but the gifts he gave have increased year by year.

He also had the village temple and school expanded. People from all around liked to come to Hutian Village to burn incense and pray. During festivals, the village was crowded with people, and the village was prosperous everywhere.

The villagers have indeed become prosperous, and every household has a surplus. It is a well-known wealthy village, and young men have no trouble finding wives. It is no longer the ominous place that everyone avoided a few years ago.

On New Year's Eve, people didn't dare to post couplets, couldn't hang lanterns, and there was no sound of firecrackers. Snow began to fall at noon, fluttering down like goose feathers, covering the entire capital city.

There was only whiteness between heaven and earth.

New Year's Eve passed in silence and quiet.

The three members of the Gu family lived a very happy life. In the RV, they could laugh as loudly as they wanted without fear of giving others an excuse to laugh.

Xu Huaiyi dug out the Spring Festival Galas of previous years and watched them with his daughter while eating snacks. When they saw interesting parts, the father and daughter laughed so hard that they fell forward and backward with joy.

Gu Huanxi watched this scene with a smile, her hand subconsciously placed on her lower abdomen. After taking medicine for several months, Doctor Jiao took her pulse and hinted that she could try to have a baby. If all went well, by this time next year, they would be a family of four.

The next day was the beginning of the new year, but not many people went out to pay New Year's greetings.

It snowed heavily last night and all the roads were blocked, making it difficult for vehicles to travel and the streets were very deserted.

Xu Huaiyi wrapped himself in a thick cloak and went out for a stroll on horseback. No matter how cold it was, he had to visit people to wish them a happy new year. It was a courtesy.

After having lunch at Sun's house, he came back drunk and lay down as soon as he entered the dormitory.

Seeing this, Gu Huanxi scolded him while making him a bowl of hangover soup and watched him drink it. "How much did you drink?"

Xu Huaiyi leaned against the pillow, his eyes half drunk, and said vaguely, "Not much, just a few glasses..."

Gu Huanxi didn't believe it, so she put a hot towel on his face and wiped it twice in a not-so-gentle manner. When she saw that he finally opened his eyes, she asked unhappily, "How many drinks does it take to get you this drunk? Did someone force you to drink? Or are you just unhappy?"

Xu Huaiyi shook his head. "Many people from the Sun family have come here, all because our master is going to be the Prime Minister, and they are trying to stir up trouble. Our master's two biological sons are not here, so I have to take over and accompany them for drinking, right?

Each and every one of them is an important official of the court. It would be bad to leave anyone out. I didn't even give them a warm welcome. I just went through the motions and toasted them all, and this is what happened.

This is because some water was secretly added to the wine, otherwise, someone would definitely have to carry it back.

Alas, when the master is busy, the disciple has to do the hard work, I am suffering for the master..."

Seeing that he looked a little melancholy when he said this, Gu Huanxi understood and asked, "Do you miss your master? Or did Minister Sun talk to you about something?"

Xu Huaiyi smiled bitterly and said, "Master came to see me and talked to me alone in the study. There's really no need to explain so much. How could I not know the whole story? It's a question of position, and I can't disobey the order. It's only natural for Master to go to the border to replace me. There's really nothing to worry about..."

Gu Huanxi said, "If you were still just a student at Jingwu Academy, he would definitely not explain so much to you, but now you are a marquis and in charge of the Royal Guards. It is not reasonable for the Sun family to let you have any grudges."

Xu Huaiyi said “hmm”, “That’s why I feel even more uncomfortable…”

Gu Huanxi rolled her eyes at him, "What's so wrong with being so hypocritical? Why do people strive to climb the social ladder? For wealth, power, influence, and to win the respect and recognition of others. When your status changes, other people's attitudes toward you will also change. Isn't this normal?

This is not snobbish, it's human nature. We are all vulgar people. Do you have to play the game of "the water is too clear to have fish"? We can't do that either. Just like with Emperor Yongping, can you still look at him with the old eyes now?"

Xu Huaiyi shook his head subconsciously and said gloomily, "Not only him, but also Xiaoyu, I dare not act like before. After all, he is the prince. In public, I have to respectfully perform the etiquette of a subject..."

"So, we are changing, and others are changing too. The Sun family's attitude towards you in the future will definitely not be the same as before." Gu Huanxi said calmly, stating the facts objectively, "In the past, they were close to you, but they didn't respect you much because you didn't have that kind of status. Now that you have status and power, they will value you more, but they are not as close and casual as before."

Xu Huaiyi sighed, rubbed his face, and didn't want to talk about this topic anymore. Instead, he shared with her the gossip he heard at the table.

This family is busy and that family is busy. The seemingly peaceful capital city is actually bustling with activity.

Inevitably, the palace and royal gossip will also be mentioned, which is what everyone talks about the most. Not only is it exciting, it also involves the previous dynasty, and its appeal is unquestionable.

"Everyone praises the Queen for her virtue. She manages the harem in harmony and never oppresses any concubine. She treats all the princes equally and takes extra care of the pregnant concubines. She never makes excuses to bully them. The Emperor is very satisfied with her and has publicly praised her. On the first and fifteenth day of every month, she must return to the Queen's Palace to give her enough dignity and respect..."

"He was indifferent to other concubines. He went to eat with them as a matter of routine. Because of the national mourning, he did not stay overnight. However, it was said that someone was restless and took the initiative to seduce the emperor, which made him furious and he banished the person to the cold palace..."

"By the way, it seems that there will be another beauty pageant next year. There are still too few concubines in the harem. The emperor has few children, so he needs to expand the royal family. Well, this is what the Empress Dowager meant. She said it at the family dinner on New Year's Eve, and the emperor vaguely agreed."

"Speaking of which, as an emperor, he doesn't have many children. Apart from Xiaoyu, there is only the fourth prince born to the queen, who is only one year old. It is not clear whether the one that Concubine De is carrying is a boy or a girl. In addition, the second prince born to Li Wanyu was scratched on the face on the night of the palace coup, leaving scars, which caused a drastic change in his temperament. He rarely appears in public and is considered useless. The royal family is worried about their two sons..."

"Just wait, the harem will definitely become more and more lively in the future. What do you mean the wives and concubines are living in harmony? Humph, who knows what they are fighting about in private. It's just to fool the emperor."

"I hope the emperor will not make a mistake, or else Xiaoyu will be harmed..."

Gu Huanxi listened with great interest while eating melon seeds, and occasionally responded, "The emperor will definitely be confused. You men, especially those in high positions, are the most conceited. Just wait and see. If the emperor can't handle the harem, no matter how well he manages the government, he will be like a fool in the harem..."

Every woman is an expert at palace fighting, and it is not difficult for them to play tricks on the emperor.

But I guess the emperor won't care too much. All men are the same. They like to turn a blind eye and deceive themselves. Anyway, as long as the conflict doesn't get out of hand, you can just pretend nothing happened and live in harmony in your own backyard. You just need to enjoy the happiness of having two wives."

Xu Huaiyi hurriedly defended himself, "Wife, that doesn't include me. What's the point of having so many wives? I only drink from one of the three thousand rivers..."

Gu Huanxi snorted and laughed, "What if I agree to let you take a concubine?"

Xu Huaiyi raised his hand to vote, "Then I will definitely not betray you either."

She just listened to this. Gu Huanxi didn't have high expectations for men's nature anyway. She perfunctorily praised him twice and said, "Even if the emperor selects concubines, there won't be many princes born in the harem. Empress Xiao is not a good person. She is now setting up a virtuous person, probably to clear her suspicion in the future. She will never watch illegitimate children being born one after another to compete with her son for the family business..."

Xu Huaiyi nodded and said, "Let Han Jun go and give him a few more instructions."

"It would be best if the emperor paid attention to it. His care would be more useful than anyone else's."

"Okay, I'll remind you."