It was still early, but the winter was short. The sky outside the window had darkened and replaced it with lights. Mrs. Xue, who was dizzy, said, "It's not early, and I have to go back to the shop. Please say goodbye."

Lord Hou, who was sitting opposite, said, "I won't keep Mrs. Xue, so I'll send you back."

"There is no need to work hard, Lord Xue." Madam Xue said hurriedly.

Lord Hou smiled and said, "You are a woman. If I don't give it to you, it will look so ungraceful."

When Mrs. Xue heard this, she couldn't continue to refuse, so she just blurted out: "What about such a particular thing?"

She got up first, and Lord Hou also stood up. The two went downstairs together, and the manager in the Liyuan was also sent to the door. Outside the door, there were two men holding horses standing on the side. A man opened the wooden door behind, lifted the curtain, and bowed to wait for the two to get on the car.

Mrs. Xue turned her head and looked at the servant who opened the door for them. She felt a little restrained. But after drinking a lot of wine, she felt a little fluttering. She felt that she had no worries for a moment, as if she had become a respected and qualified woman, both glorious and generous. Although everything was illusory, she was in a good mood at this moment, which was real.

She walked onto the carriage and felt a little difficult to get off her feet. The floor was covered with white soft lamb fur, the wooden boards on both sides were covered with lightly rolled up gold thread silk, and there were large chairs inside, and there were even a few tables with several books on it. The carriage looked big from the outside and was not very eye-catching, but I didn't expect it to be so gorgeous inside.

"Sit down." said Master Hou.

Mrs. Xue carefully sat on the soft cushion on the wide chair. After dark, it was colder outside, and there was no fire for heating in the carriage. However, Mrs. Xue had the illusion of warmth surrounded by fur cushions and silk.

"It snows, and it feels even colder after night." Lord Hou said in his voice. He spoke casually, his voice was gentle, and it was reassuring to hear his voice.

Mrs. Xue lowered her eyes and replied softly: "Yes."

Lord Hou turned his upper body and reached out to take something out. Mrs. Xue looked sideways and saw a neatly folded blanket. Mr. Hou put the blanket on Mrs. Xue's knee.

The carriage then started and slowly drove away from the place. Mrs. Xue couldn't speak for a while, but just touched the soft blanket with her hand and sat silently in the carriage with Lord Hou. Sometimes Mr. Hou didn't talk much, and at this time both of them suddenly fell into silence.

Mrs. Xue occasionally secretly glanced at the man sitting next to her, and felt that he was a little different from a scholar. But when he heard his words and the scenes of books in the car, he should be indeed a scholar. Moreover, when the government was looking for the Xue family, there were military officers from the capital and local officials who recommended him. Lord Hou was from the government, yes.

Mrs. Xue gently supported her chin with her hands and looked out the car window in a daze.

Although it was dark, the streets were still bustling with bright lights. Amid the noise of various sounds, there was a prosperous and gorgeous scene.

She looked at it for a while, then turned around and said, "The first time I have arrived in the capital, the capital is a really good place, I think it's very good."

Lord Hou's voice said: "During the Han and Tang Dynasties, two cities in the big city were set up, with the east and west, and the towns were isolated and traded places were restricted. Later, it gradually became like this, and there were all kinds of business in the streets and alleys. The world was changing, and business would only become more and more prosperous."

Mrs. Xue whispered: "Mr. Hou is really knowledgeable."

Her cheeks were flushed after drinking, and her eyes were chuckled, and she continued to watch the street scene with interest. She felt that all the scenery was beautiful. There was a sound of a pipa from the pavilion on the side of the road, and the shadow of the singer was very beautiful on the window with the lights on. The pipa plucked a fine string sound, forming a slowly rising and falling tone, making people feel lingering and affectionate, and sad.

Mrs. Xue wanted to say something, but in the end she could only sigh: "It sounds nice." After a moment, she said again, "The capital of tonight seems different from the previous two days, it seems like there is something more, probably the sound of the pipa."

"It's just not very suitable for the situation." said Master Hou.

Mrs. Xue looked back and said, "What?"

"This pipa song. The lyrics of this song are not suitable for the scene." said Master Hou. He glanced at Mrs. Xue and chanted slowly, "I have been so passionate since ancient times that I am sad about my separation, and I am even more ungrateful. Where can I wake up from the Qing Autumn Festival tonight? The morning breeze and waning moon on the willow bank."

Mrs. Xue was stunned when she heard this, and she recited silently in a daze. She came to her senses and smiled. "It's still a literati who can't say anything that everyone can't say, and it's so wonderful."

Lord Hou said calmly: "So our Ming Dynasty not only needs technology, but also culture."

The capital is really full of poetry and painting, but I don’t know whether it is this prosperous and prosperous place that creates the artistic conception or whether people have the feeling of being intimate and distant in their hearts.

At this moment, the carriage suddenly tilted and swung violently. Mrs. Xue was not careful and exclaimed, and her body was lifted by the wall of the car. Her uncontrollable body suddenly became stable again. She hit Master Hou and was held by his big hand. In an instant, she also grabbed Master Hou's arm, feeling that his body was strong and steady, and there was a vague smell of good smell on his body. Mrs. Xue suddenly felt that she had become weaker and could not even use her strength.

The entourage cries and scolds came from outside, and then shouted: "Do not go!"

A man clasped his fist outside the car window and said, "Prince, please forgive me, are you okay?"

Lord Hou said: "Nothing is wrong."

He then hurriedly took away the hand that held Miss Xue. It turned out that he pressed Miss Xue's back with one hand and pressed on her chest with the other. Miss Xue's face felt hot. Fortunately, the light in the carriage was dim, and the only light was also the light shining from outside. Perhaps no one could see her expression clearly at the moment?

Lord Hou said in his voice: "Miss Xue, don't blame me, I didn't mean it."

Mrs. Xue felt even more embarrassed and thought to herself that it would be better if you don’t say anything. She didn’t know how to answer, but she fell into a very embarrassing silence in the car.

After a long time, Madam Xue was drowsy and thought of the appropriate words in her heart. She whispered: "Thank you, Lord Hou, for protecting Jingquan."

Lord Hou's voice said "um" without any fluctuation. But Mrs. Xue suddenly realized that the hand he was holding quietly spread in front of his nose and sniffed it gently. Mrs. Xue glared at him silently, thinking that if she was usually accusing people, she would definitely curse people. But now she didn't know what was going on, and her temperament seemed to be weak, pretending not to know and unable to speak.

When Mrs. Xue observed Lord Hou, she saw that he had returned to his vague appearance, and thought that civil servants were so hypocritical?

Maybe because of something embarrassing just now, the two of them said less. Until the carriage stopped, the follower asked Lord Hou if he had arrived at the place. Mrs. Xue opened the curtain and took a look, and said, "It's here. It's quite close to the restaurant we met."

Lord Hou smiled and said, "It's really not far away, I've only walked half of the city."

Mrs. Xue came to her senses later and her face turned red. She lowered her head and said, "My despair, I'll say goodbye."

Lord Hou nodded and said, "We will have a date later."

The shop of the Xue family has closed and belongs to the owner's property. Mrs. Xue is a fellow clan of the owner's family, and this time she went to Beijing, she only lived here. There is a shop in front of the house, and the yard behind it is a living place. This is the case in many shops doing business in the city.

When Mrs. Xue walked into the backyard, she soon heard the sound of polishing in her room. She lifted the door and entered, and immediately seemed to have changed her body. She said angrily: "It's big night, aren't you afraid of clamoring for others? Are you thinking of your own home?"

The "rustling" sound still didn't stop, making people anxious. A man's voice said, "You've drunk."

When Mrs. Xue entered the house, she began to clean up the messy things. She turned her head and looked at the figure inside: "When people talk about business, they can drink you, can they not drink it? If you go, I don't have to drink it. But if you ask you to go, you won't go even if you beat me to death! You only know how to polish the mirror."

The figure did not move, and he didn't say anything anymore.

Mrs. Xue put down the things in her hand, looked for a while, then turned around and asked, "Have you boiled water?"

The voice inside said, "It's cold, where are you going to wash?"

Mrs. Xue was trembling with anger, grabbed an empty pot and threw it on the ground, "I'm looking for water to drink, what do you mean?"

"It's meaningless." The voice said.

Mrs. Xue said angrily: "What kind of person do you don't know?"

The person inside said: "Your reputation in Huzhou is not good. As soon as I went out, I heard someone whispering to your nozi, saying vividly. I can't raise my head, I live worse than a dog, and you still blame me for not wanting to see people."

"Just listen? You won't ask them to go back and touch him, mom's stuff!" Madam Xue cursed, "Would I go out and show up in public? Our mirror shop was borrowing money ten years ago. When can I pay it back?"

The voice said again: "Don't think about my face, but for the two kids named Xue."

"Stop talking! I drank wine and my mouth was very dry." Mrs. Xue said coldly, "I tell you that I have a clear conscience and will never do anything shameful."

After saying that, Mrs. Xue bent down and picked up the iron pot that had fallen to the ground, turned around and walked out. In the kitchen in the corner of the yard, there was no spark on the stove, so she had to raise the fire first, then fetch water and boil water on the stove.

The kitchen was dark and cold, and Madam Xue was so cold that she was frozen. She quickly approached the stove and kept warm with the fire. She looked at the floating flames, exhaled a long breath, and curled up there for a while.

Somehow, she murmured in a low voice: "It's even more painful to part, I'm neglected in the Qing Autumn Festival. Where can I wake up from the wine tonight? The morning breeze and waning moon on the willow bank..."
Chapter completed!