You Are So Gossiping
Sam Evans scratched his head, conflicted inside. By rights, if his mother asked, refusing her would be unfilial.
But his mother's behavior tonight was truly chilling.
Susan Evans saw Sam Evans struggling, her gaze growing cold. She pulled her daughter back into the house, then turned and said, "Forget it, if you want to give, then give. Clearly, in your eyes, only your parents matter—never the three of us!"
Meanwhile, Grandma Evans happily carried the food she'd snatched from the third household back home, and as soon as she entered, she started showing off to Grandpa Evans.
"Old man, look at me! Aren't I amazing? Now our New Year's Eve dinner will have meat! That table of wild greens left my mouth dry without a drop of oil!" Old Madam Su boasted.
Who could've guessed Grandpa Evans would suddenly slap her and shout, "What? You went to Lily's house to stir up trouble again? Young Lord Hayes is spending New Year's there! Governor Yale warned us a thousand times not to anger the Young Lord—are you trying to get our family killed? You ignorant woman, if you cause trouble again, I'll beat you to death!"
Old Madam Su clutched her face, stubbornly retorting, "I'm doing this for our family!"
"Our family's been ruined by you ignorant women!" Grandpa Evans raised his voice, pointing at Lana Evans in the next room. "If it weren't for her harebrained idea to mess with Lily, would we have lost our fields? Would we have offended Magistrate Yao? After the New Year, I'm selling that jinx Lana Evans for whatever price she fetches! Our family can't stand her bad luck any longer! And you, old woman, if you mess with Lily again, I'll sell you too!"
In the next room, Lana Evans lay curled up in bed, shivering under the covers, her heart icy cold.
With Old Master Su furious, everyone in the Su family was terrified. Suddenly, a loud commotion erupted from the village outside.
"The New Year is here!" Children from every household rushed outside to celebrate.
At Evans Manor.
"It's a brand new year. Next year, our family will be even better." Lily leaned against Lucky, the two snuggled together in the corner of the kang, watching Uncle Wang and the others play cards.
"If my wife says it'll be better, then it definitely will be." Lucky grinned, wrapping his arm around Lily's waist.
After a while, everyone got tired of playing and went off to sleep. Lily was already asleep, and Lucky, not wanting to wake her, wrapped her in a quilt and carried her horizontally back to their room.
On the way, he ran into Leonard Li, Heir of Huainan, who looked at Lucky with a half-smile: "Tomorrow, the first day of the New Year, the Imperial New Year Banquet will be held, and the Emperor will bestow marriage and confer a title upon someone."
Lucky glanced at Leonard Li. "What does that have to do with me? And what does it have to do with you?"
Leonard Li blinked. "After tomorrow, everyone will know that Princess Mira of the neighboring kingdom is the fiancée of Young Lord Hayes, heir to Marquis Weiyuan, Prince of Qin, Alexander Hayes."
Lucky looked down at the sleeping Lily in his arms, a warm, pampering smile tugging at his lips. He ignored Leonard Li and strode off, carrying Lily back to their room.
Leonard Li gazed meaningfully at Lucky's retreating figure, then turned to Sean Hayes, who stuck to him like glue. "Egghead, I heard Princess Mira is the kingdom's greatest beauty. She's crossed swords with your master Alexander Hayes on the battlefield several times—they say there's some mutual admiration, huh?"
Sean Hayes rolled his eyes. "Young Lord Hayes, you really are a gossip."
Leonard Li widened his eyes. "Hey, how is that gossiping!? This is called knowing your enemy! Hey, Egghead, don't walk away! I'm telling you, I'm not a gossip—stop treating me like those village women who love to chatter..."