With Situ Jue no longer having a successor, Lu Nianfu was naturally in high spirits and couldn't resist eating an extra bowl of rice that evening.
Situ Yan advised her, "Take it easy, be careful not to crowd my daughter by eating too much."
Lu Nianfu patted her belly, "Don't worry, my daughter is petite and won't take up much space."
Situ Yan: ...
At that moment, Yao'er stumbled over, "Daddy, Mommy, eat, eat."
"What does my good son want to eat?" Situ Yan scooped him up and placed him on his lap, then picked up a chopstick of green vegetables. Yao'er shook his head vigorously, "Want meat, meat."
The little fellow had only recently learned to speak, stringing words together, making it difficult for people to understand, yet he loved to talk.
Situ Yan then gave him a small piece of pork skin and said, "Wife, isn't Yao'er's first birthday soon?"
"Is it?" Having been too busy lately, Lu Nianfu couldn't remember such things and was momentarily bewildered. It was Granny Xu beside them who sighed, "Your Highness, Your Highness, the little prince's birthday was on the twenty-second of February, more than half a month ago."
Situ Yan frowned, "Such an important matter, and the masters forgot, why didn't you remind us?"
"But Your Highness, the Princess is still in mourning, so it's not appropriate to have a grand celebration even for the little master's birthday." In fact, she had reminded them, but the Princess might have been too busy and forgot after hearing it.
Situ Yan: ...
Well, he had forgotten about that too. How could this cheap father-in-law still cause trouble even after his death?
"Ahem, it seems a grand celebration is out of the question. However, it is still the little prince's first birthday, and it wouldn't be right to just gloss over it. At the very least, let him have his *zhuazhou* (grasping ceremony). Xu Ma, please make arrangements. I will invite close friends over for a simple meal to liven things up and celebrate his birthday."
Lu Nianfu felt a bit ashamed. Forgetting her son's first birthday was truly inexcusable. What's more, she seemed to recall Granny Xu reminding her. She said awkwardly, "Your Highness, isn't it a bit inappropriate to make up for his birthday after it has passed?"
"It's better than him asking us in the future what he grasped during his *zhuazhou*, and us telling him we forgot about it."
Lu Nianfu wholeheartedly agreed.
That night, Situ Yan put aside official duties and wrote invitations by lamplight. Lu Nianfu held her belly and ground ink for him, calling it "red sleeves adding fragrance."
Ji Jin had gone to the imperial palace. Situ Yan first wrote one for Ouyang Wen, then thought better of it and didn't forget Cheng Beizheng, as the two families were now related by marriage. Moreover, Cheng Beizheng was now married, and there was really no need for him to be displeased with him. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
After writing for Cheng Beizheng, he casually wrote for Cheng Beiyu. That fellow was now alone, so he might as well come and have some fun.
And then, there was nothing more.
Lu Nianfu saw him stop writing for a long time, "Your Highness, why aren't you writing anymore?"
"Who am I writing to? We only have a few close friends in the capital."
"Don't we still have Chang Dong and the others?"
"Ha, if I call them over for dinner, I just need to say the word, and they'll come rushing over. Why bother with these fancy words?"
Lu Nianfu ground the ink, "How about sending one to Third Brother? Third Sister-in-law and I have a decent relationship, she'd probably be happy to come and liven things up."
Situ Yan waved his hand, "If I invite Third Brother, I can't not invite Sixth Brother, so let's forget it."
Since being released, Situ Lang had been like a disgruntled youth. When Situ Jue was alive, he would glare at him. After Situ Jue was gone, he became sarcastic all day long. Unless Situ Yan was crazy, he would never invite this fellow to his home.
Lu Nianfu couldn't help but laugh, "Situ Jue is dead, and Sixth Brother still hasn't recovered?"
"Who knows? A grown man, always complaining. It's a good thing Father has gone to the imperial palace, otherwise, he'd be driven mad by him. Oh, wife, do you want to invite Mother?"
"With all us younger generation, if she's the only elder, she'll probably be more uncomfortable. I'll bring Yao'er to see her another day."
"How is she doing with Shopkeeper Yan?"
"Uncle Yan seems quite happy. Oh, right, Your Highness, do you know about Taifeng Bank?"
Situ Yan looked at her strangely, "How could I not know?"
Although Taifeng Bank wasn't the largest bank in the capital, it was quite famous, and its reputation ranked highly in the city.
Lu Nianfu said, "Uncle Yan came today and said that Taifeng Bank is preparing to be sold. He asked if I was interested in taking it over. Your Highness, do you think this is feasible?"