Chapter 25 - Wei Xiao Hua’s Birthday

Wei Liuying returned back to her residence and stayed there obediently. She spent most of her time summarizing the books that she had to read. Aside from that, she also spent some time helping her brother.

As the New Year celebration was still ongoing, it was also the time for Wei Xiao Hua's birthday.

They couldn't hold a grand birthday party, so they would usually have dinner together. This time, Wei Liuying was invited as a servant was sent from Wei Xiao Hua's quarter to invite her for a meal in Wei Xiao Hua's residence.

"Miss, are you going to come?" Xiao Qing asked in a worried tone.

Wei Liuying played with a hairpin as she waited for Xiao Yu to finish bundling up her hair to form a bun. She inserted the pin carefully. "Why not?"

"But First Miss is…"

"There's no need to worry," Wei Liuying cut off Xiao Yu's words. "If she planned to do something, I'll be ready to face her."

Xiao Yu pursed her lips. She thought that her Miss had started to be reckless in her action. Wei Household had never been peaceful as it was very common for the young ladies to quarrel with each other. However, their action has been more dignified as of lately, especially Wei Xiao Hua who toned down a lot.

Wei Liuying was not that worried as she headed to Wei Xiao Hua's Quarter. There were a few servants who were already busy to prepare for the banquet. It was supposed to be a peaceful day with them only having lunch together.

"First Sister, Happy Birthday," Wei Liuying greeted politely.

Wei Xiao Hua was wearing a bright brocade dress that complimented her beauty. She smiled. "You've arrived, Third Sister. Please have a seat."

"Thank you."

Not long afterwards, Wei Zilin came. Her expression was calmer than that night, which meant that she had gotten over it. She curtsied. "Happy Birthday First Sister. Third Sister."

"Thank you, Second Sister. Please have a seat."

"Second Sister."

Wei Zilin bowed and took the seat. At the same time, she started to speak again, "Mother asked me to tell you that she's a bit busy. Because of that, she'll be a bit late to lunch."

"It's fine."

The others came one by one. Wei Xiao Hua had prepared two areas. One was for her father and his concubines while the other one was for Wei Liuying and Wei Zilin. The two girls sat on the back while their brothers sat on the front. Both brothers looked tired, but their eyes were still brimming with energy.

It seemed that they were too busy studying to the point that they lacked sleep.

"Xiao Hua."

"Father."

Wei Hong nodded when he saw the place was decorated nicely. At first, he was worried that Wei Xiao Hua couldn't handle it and even Concubine Chou had talked to him at night, expressing her worry.

Now it seemed that the worry was unnecessary. Wei Xiao Hua had grown up and become a proper lady who knew how to conduct herself. In just two weeks, the servants' attitude had become much better as they were willing to follow after Wei Xiao Hua's order without hesitation.

Wei Xiao Hua had truly become the miss in this residence.

"You did great."

Wei Xiao Hua smiled. "Thank you for the praise."

While Wei Hong was satisfied, Concubine Chou gnashed her teeth. She was hoping to see Wei Xiao Hua fail terribly. That way, she would have a reason to take the right to manage the household again. But with Wei Xiao Hua continuing to conduct properly, it was hard for her to find the chance.

'This is only the beginning. We shall see you fail later,' Concubine Chou prayed as she glared at Wei Xiao Hua.

Wei Xiao Hua thoroughly ignored Concubine Chou. She still greeted Concubine Xie and Concubine Feng along with several other concubines who didn't have children in Wei Hong's residence. There were a lot of them and memorizing all of their names could prove to be taxing.

Even Wei Xiao Hua herself was confused how her father even managed so many concubines all at once.

She didn't really prepare much and only for them to have lunch together. After all, it was still inappropriate for her to celebrate her birthday grandly because of her age and status. It was already good enough that all of them gathered together to eat lunch.

"Longevity Noodle," Wei Zilin muttered when she saw the dish in front of her. Her face was sour. On the last month and first month of the year, several of them have their birthdays. As the result, they ended up eating a lot of noodles.

Not long ago, it was hers and Wei Hong Zheng, so she had started to grow sick eating this.

"It's for wishing for a long life," Wei Liuying said in a soft tone. She calmly took her chopsticks and ate when she saw her father and the others have already started. They were eating in harmony and chatted amongst themselves.

Wei Yijun, her first brother, and Wei Hong Zheng were sitting not far from the two sisters. The two brothers finished their meal much faster than the other two.

"You two sure take your time to eat," Wei Hong Zheng commented.

"We don't have hands and mouths that can move faster than Second Brother," Wei Liuying replied softly. She put her chopstick and wiped her mouth as she had just finished.

Wei Zilin's face was red, but her mouth was still filled with noodles, so it was inappropriate for her to speak. She was trying hard to swallow the noodles while averting her eyes.

Wei Yijun nodded calmly. He was a man of few words, so the other siblings had already gotten used with his attitude. Considering that he was using most of his time to study, they wouldn't feel weird if it was said that all he had in his mind was the materials of his study.

"First Sister is having fun," Wei Zilin said after she had managed to swallow her food.

Wei Hong Zheng casted a glance. Wei Xiao Hua was serving Wei Hong with a glass of wine. Even though it was still in the middle of the day, Wei Hong didn't reject the wine and drank calmly.

"She's showing filial piety." Wei Liuying took the cup of tea before her.

"That's filial piety?" Wei Hong Zheng arched his eyebrows. "It looks more like currying favor than anything else."

Wei Liuying sipped the tea slowly. "Women have their own battles that's completely different from you, Second Brother. It's only natural for us to do whatever possible to show our filial piety."

"That's…"

"Third Sister is correct," Wei Yijun remarked. "Also, it's time to return back."

"Wouldn't it be impolite to leave before Father?"

"I'm not going to leave on my own."

Wei Hong Zheng was completely confused, but at this time, a servant came in. She bowed on the ground. "First Miss, His Highness the Fourth Prince had come."