Being a second wife is difficult: I'm busy raising children in the Earl's mansion.

Jiang Wan looked up at Xiao Man, a hint of surprise in her eyes: "Aren't you going to play in the snow with them?"

Xiaoman gently placed the tray on the corner of the table, arranging the teacups one by one, and replied with a smile, "This servant doesn't like to join in that kind of fun."

"Just now, Qiutang and the others wanted to go out and play, but they were afraid that no one would take care of them in the courtyard, so they didn't dare to move. I took their place and told them to go out and play with the others without worry."

"As for me, Madam knows that I dislike crowds and am afraid of the cold. No matter how nice it is outside, it's not as pleasant as sitting by the stove in this room."

"I just heard from the servants that Madam brought Shan'er back. I thought you had been walking outside for quite a while and must be freezing, so I took the liberty of warming two cups of milk tea in the kitchen."

"The milk was delivered this morning, it's very fresh. I added honey, it's sweet, and the kids should love it."

As she spoke, she glanced at Lu Shan on the kang (a heated brick bed), as if waiting for her to make a decision.

Lu Shan's gaze was indeed drawn to the steaming white porcelain cup, and she stopped writing, staring at the cup of milk tea for several moments.

She looked up at Jiang Wan again, her eyes sparkling, as if waiting for her to nod.

Jiang Wan gently pushed the cup in front of her, smiling as she watched her carefully hold the cup with both hands.

"This is the perfect time to drink it," Jiang Wan said, glancing at Xiaoman again. "Thank you for your trouble."

"You're too kind, Madam."

Xiaoman smiled slightly, showing no intention of lingering. She carried the tray back to the door curtain, as if she planned to wait until they finished drinking before coming in to clear the cups.

Jiang Wan looked up at her and saw her standing by the curtain with her hands tucked in. She then pointed to the low stool next to the charcoal brazier.

"Don't just stand there. If you're cold, come inside."

"There's a small stool over there, let's move it over and sit down to warm up by the fire. It's getting cold standing by the curtain all by yourself."

Xiaoman was somewhat surprised, as if she hadn't expected Jiang Wan to ask her to sit down. She stopped in her tracks and didn't move for a moment.

Seeing that she didn't move, Jiang Wan added, "Shan'er and I are painting. You sit down and watch. Even if you don't go out to play, you should still enjoy the charm of this winter snow."

Lu Shan also looked up, holding her teacup, and smiled at her.

Xiaoman stopped refusing, moved a stool over, sat down by the charcoal brazier, stretched her hands above the fire, and her palms turned slightly red from the heat.

The room quieted down, with only the occasional soft popping of the charcoal fire.

Jiang Wan bent down and added two more leaves to the branch, while Lu Shan dipped her brush in red paint and started dotting plum blossoms on the branch.

Her hand was still a little rusty when she held the pen, and her hand trembled slightly as she put pen to paper, resulting in crooked and uneven petals.

Jiang Wan reached out and supported her elbow, helping her adjust her pen grip: "Sister Shan, don't strain your wrist, just let the pen tip fall down on its own."

Following the force of her hand, Lu Shan made another stroke, and it was indeed much steadyer.

Xiaoman also came over, bent down slightly, and focused her gaze on the paper without making a sound to disturb them.

After Lu Shan finished drawing the first plum blossom crookedly, she looked up at them, and Jiang Wan smiled, patted her head, and praised her.

"This branch is drawn much more steadily than before."

Xiaoman chimed in, "The colors are applied beautifully too, so sparsely, they really look like real flowers!"

Lu Shan's ears turned slightly red as she was stared at by the two people.

She lowered her head and whispered, "Thank you, Mother. Thank you, Sister Xiaoman." Then she picked up her brush, dipped it in red paint, and continued drawing earnestly.

Faint laughter occasionally drifted from outside, but it was muffled by a wall and made the room feel even quieter and warmer.

Just then, footsteps came from the courtyard gate.

Lu Wan pushed open the door at the front, holding a small snow sculpture about the size of her palm in her hands. It was all white. Before she could say anything, her eyes were drawn to a painting on the couch.

She peeked in, her voice immediately lighting up: "Oh! You guys are drawing!"

Lu Zhao followed her by half a step and glanced at the couch as well, a slight smile on his lips, without rushing to speak.

Lu Hui followed at the back. Seeing that the room was warm, he breathed on it and rubbed it in his palms before leaning his head over to look.

Lu Shan looked up and, seeing them, her eyes lit up. Her voice was soft as she first called out "Sister," before continuing, "I'm painting plum blossoms. Mother taught me!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Wan quickly went around the table, leaned over, and looked closely, nodding as she did so: "This branch is painted so beautifully, and the colors are just right."

Lu Shan blushed again after being praised like that, and gently handed the pen in her hand to Lu Wan, as if she wanted her to try it too.

Seeing the group chattering amongst themselves, and noticing that Lu Wan was holding something in her hands, Jiang Wan smiled and asked, "What is that you're holding, Wan-jie?"

Lu Wan then came to her senses and handed the bundle in her hand to Jiang Wan.

Jiang Wan looked down and realized that it was actually a snow rabbit, carved with great lifelike detail.

"This was carved by Granny Gui! After you left, Mother, we were building lions over there when we ran into Grandmother, who was also visiting the garden. She said she heard it was lively here and came to see for herself."

"We pulled her over to see the lion we made, and Grandma was so happy to see it. She praised us a lot!"

"Granny Gui was also there. As she listened, she said she could also carve snow sculptures. Grandmother told us not to underestimate her, but we didn't believe her!"

"So she just squatted down next to the snowdrift, and in no time she'd sculpted this little rabbit." Lu Wan said, lifting the rabbit up a bit more. "Look at its little ears, they're perked up so proudly!"

Lu Hui chimed in from the side, his tone full of surprise: "Granny Gui always had a stern face in front of us before. None of us expected her to have this trick up her sleeve."

Lu Zhao stood to the side, her face still flushed from running. For once, she didn't hold back and chimed in with a comment.

"After Granny Gui finished kneading the rabbit, a lot of maids and waiters gathered around to watch. She hadn't even put the rabbit down yet, and a group of people had already surrounded her."

Upon hearing this, Lu Wan quickly took over, speaking rapidly like spilling beans: "Yes, yes, yes! Several people gasped at the time! Granny Gui blushed when she was stared at. Granny Gui is usually such a stern person; it was the first time we'd ever seen her like that."

Lu Hui nodded in agreement: "That's right, we've never seen Granny Gui like that in all these years, her face turned red."

Lu Zhao added, "In the end, it was Grandmother who spoke up, saying, 'Stop crowding around, go do what you're supposed to do,' and only then did the maids and servants disperse."

After he finished speaking, the group exchanged glances, as if they were back in the scene of watching from the sidelines, and they couldn't help but laugh.

The laughter infected the others in the room. Xiaoman, standing to the side, smiled and couldn't help but add, "I never expected that Granny Gui..."

Before he could finish speaking, he shook his head with a smile, as if he didn't know how to continue.

Jiang Wan picked up the conversation, her eyes also filled with laughter: "What you've said has given those of us who didn't see it a vivid picture."

As soon as she said this, another burst of light laughter rang out in the room.

The whole room was filled with a joyful atmosphere. The children's laughter hadn't completely subsided when Lu Wan, having finished laughing, turned her gaze to Lu Shan and leaned in to ask softly, "Sister Shan, are you still coughing?"

Lu Shan shook her head, her voice clearer than before: "I'm not coughing anymore."

Upon hearing this, Lu Wan leaned over and touched her forehead again, making sure it wasn't too hot before withdrawing her hand. She chuckled, "That's good. Anyway, the snow lions aren't going anywhere, they're just piled up there. We can go see them together tomorrow when you're feeling better."

Lu Hui nodded in agreement, "We'll take you to adorn the snow lion with flowers again tomorrow!"

Lu Zhao didn't reply, but the corners of his mouth curved slightly, as if he had tacitly agreed.

As the group was talking, Qinghe walked in from outside, stopped by the door, and announced, "Madam, Aunt Liu has arrived."

Aunt Liu walked in lightly, and first curtsied slightly to Jiang Wan upon entering: "Thank you for taking care of Shan'er, Madam."

Jiang Wan waved her hand: "They're all children from the manor, so there's no need to talk about taking care of them. They had a bit of a cough earlier, but they've already taken their medicine and are much better after resting for half a day."

Aunt Liu nodded, then turned to the children by the bed, and smiled and bowed slightly: "Thank you all for spending the afternoon with Shan'er. It's rare for her to be so happy."

Lu Wan quickly waved her hand: "Auntie, you're too kind. Shan'er is such a good girl!" Lu Hui and Lu Zhao also nodded.

Aunt Liu smiled, and without further formalities, bowed her head and sat down next to Lu Shan.

He reached out and retied the sash of her cloak, then wiped away a bit of ink that had gotten on her sleeve while she was painting, before softly saying, "It's time to go back. Come back and play again tomorrow."

Lu Shan obediently let her tie the straps and then jumped off the bed herself.

She walked up to Jiang Wan, looked up, and said earnestly, "Goodbye, Mother."

She then turned to Lu Wan, Lu Hui, and Lu Zhao, looking at them one by one, saying, "Goodbye, sister! Goodbye, brother Hui! Goodbye, brother Zhao!"

After saying that, she glanced at the snow rabbit on the windowsill, whispered "Goodbye," and then turned back to Aunt Liu's side.

Aunt Liu bent down and picked her up. Lu Shan leaned on her shoulder and waved to the people in the room.

Lu Wan winked at her and said in a low voice, "I'll pick you up from your yard again tomorrow so we can go out together!"

Lu Hui waved to her, "The Snow Lion is still here! Let's go see it together tomorrow!"

Lu Shan leaned on Aunt Liu's shoulder, her eyes crinkling with laughter, waving her little hand goodbye as if she were trying to convey all her feelings.

Aunt Liu carried her to the door, turned back to nod at Jiang Wan, and then stepped out.

The lively atmosphere inside the house gradually subsided.

Lu Wan leaned over the windowsill and gently placed the snow rabbit on it.

The snow was still falling outside the window, landing on the tips of the rabbit's ears, covering them with another layer of fine white.

Lu Hui leaned over and reached out to straighten the rabbit's ears, but instead of straightening them, they became even more crooked. The two of them burst out laughing at the crooked-eared rabbit.

Jiang Wan sat on the tatami and watched them laugh for a while before saying, "Alright, stop fooling around. Let's have dinner here tonight. I'll have the kitchen prepare a few more dishes."

The three children responded in unison and then gathered back around the fireplace, chatting and laughing again.

The snow was still falling outside the window, softly covering the windowsill. The snow rabbit was squatting there, its ears already covered with a thin layer of white.

The snow has been falling continuously for days, and the end of the year is fast approaching.

The old lady's instructions were relayed from Songhe Hall and spread throughout the entire Earl's mansion.

As the year draws to a close, the entire household thoroughly cleans the courtyards, tidies up miscellaneous items, removes years of accumulated dust and bad luck from each courtyard, organizes the offering table in the Buddhist hall, and cleans up the old traces of incense burning over the years.

The annual New Year's Eve celebrations have officially begun.