Unlike when outside, Wang Youbao could now let go of many restraints.
As Li Wuyu reached out her hand, he also lifted his to interlock fingers with her.
When their fingers intertwined, both of them laughed, looking at each other with smiles that held a hint of shyness.
"Before, I didn’t understand why my master and master dad always held hands ," Li Wuyu gazed at their clasped hands and murmured as if talking to herself, "Now I know, holding makes it feel more secure, tighter, like it’s hard to let go of your hand, and I want to keep holding on to you ."
For Li Wuyu and Wang Youbao, this was already a very bold statement. Whether it was Li Wuyu, who spoke, or Wang Youbao, who listened, both of their faces turned red with embarrassment.
But after a while, Wang Youbao softly broke the silence, "Wuyu, let’s always hold hands in our room from now on."
Outside, he couldn’t bring himself to do such a thing; he cared about his pride, and felt it wasn’t proper, but in their room, he was quite willing.
"Mhm~" Li Wuyu immediately nodded happily. In fact, outside, she too felt embarrassed to hold hands with her husband like that, being able to hold hands in the room already satisfied her greatly.
Seeing that Li Wuyu was always so easy to please, her smile as radiant as the warm sun in winter, Wang Youbao couldn’t help feeling moved. He inched closer to Li Wuyu, who was initially startled, then closed her eyes, allowing Wang Youbao to kiss her lips.
Even though they had been married for a while, they were still very shy about such matters. Even a simple peck on the lips, barely qualifying as a kiss, made them blush all over again.
Meanwhile, Xiao Changyi and An Jing were riding horses, halfway home.
An Jing hummed an unknown song, and as she did, she began to tease, "Husband, you, Prince Yi, have fallen to the point where you need to earn your own pocket money, haha~"
Xiao Changyi remained silent, allowing An Jing to jest.
After a few more teasing comments, An Jing turned serious and said, "Anyway, it’s a good method."
It was then that Xiao Changyi responded, "Mhm."
Thinking of the upcoming Qingming Festival and the ancestor worship, An Jing continued, "Qingming is almost upon us, and we need to prepare our ceremonial garments for the event. However, I heard from Wen Xian that we might not be able to stay together. You and the four children should stand with the men, and we women will stand separately. You’ll have to take care of the four children by yourself, and I hope they’ll behave and not make any fuss."
Ancestor worship is very solemn and serious, and she was genuinely worried that her four children might think it’s a game and become unruly, which would be quite inappropriate.
Xiao Changyi said, "I will make sure they behave."
An Jing laughed, "They do tend to listen to you more, but don’t be too harsh, I don’t want to see all the children crying and looking for comfort from me."
In the blink of an eye, Qingming arrived.
That day, An Jing and Xiao Changyi got up early, not only dressing themselves in the ceremonial garments but also dressing their four children.
Ancients placed great importance on sacrificial rituals, and the people here were no exception.
Especially the Royal Family’s ancestral worship was not just a family affair, but a matter of national significance, grandiose and solemn beyond words.
There are many types of ceremonial garments, but those worn for ancestral worship were the most solemn, exuding a deep sense of remembrance, just like the ceremonial garments An Jing and Xiao Changyi were wearing now.