"My lord, these things are not allowed."

On the street, Zhongli stared at Situ Xi's cloudy face and was comforting him softly.

"Most of the sticks in that stick must be the same as the one in my hand."

Situ Xi was holding a wooden stick that he had just bought from a roadside fortune-telling stall. The carvings on it showed the carver's extraordinary knife skills, but the eye-catching words "bloody disaster" would make people ignore this man's superb skill.

skill.

It's not that he is angry, Situ Xi is just a little depressed. That fake Taoist priest is really nothing. He only knows how to make money by selling panic. He also said that he would encounter some strange things in the past two days.

"Maybe it's because my uncle is unlucky!" Qingyu said mischievously in front of Situ Xi's unkind gaze.

…

The weather has warmed up before the Waking of Insects. The three members of Situ Xi's family went to the streets today to return home. They are now heading to Huaiming Gong's Mansion together.

Huimen is also called Guining, and there is a sentence in the Book of Songs such as "If it harms the Huan, it will lead to Guining's parents."

"Ning" should mean tranquility, but when he actually stood in front of the gate of Duke Huaiming's Mansion, Zhongli Min felt a little nervous.

Along the way from the courtyard to the Duke's Mansion, Zhongli Min wore the curtain hat Qingyu bought for her, and the white gauze covered her face. She was nervous at this time for no other reason. After all, she was in Huaiming.

The government is not very popular, so it would be fine if she were alone, but now that Situ Xi is walking with her, she is more worried that those people who used to dislike her will say something that will cause trouble in Situ Xi's heart.

Qingyu has a grimace on her face, and her emotions will be reflected on her face in time. She really doesn't like it here.

The gate of Duke Huaiming's Mansion is very grand. In addition to a few pairs of stone lions in front of the gate to ward off evil spirits, there are also rows of halberds displayed on both sides of the gate. This is a unique treatment for high-ranking officials.

Zhongli Min said that according to etiquette, the couple returning home must wear specific clothes and bring small gifts back to the woman's home, and the woman's family will also go out to greet them.

Observing the palace gate in front of him, it was relatively empty at this time, with only two guards standing inside. Situ Xi took another look at the simple clothes and empty hands of the three of them. At least in terms of attitude, the two parties had reached an agreement.

of.

Without any further pause, the three of them walked into the door together.

There was no obstruction, and Zhongli was slightly embarrassed. The two nurses hurriedly bowed and gave way, and one of them trotted to inform the housekeeper.

After entering the mansion, Situ Xifang felt that the Duke's mansion was really grand. There were green plants and rockeries in the front yard, there were many pavilions and ponds, and there were many roads that lead in different directions.

Such a big old house but not many servants were seen walking around. It should be quite scary at night. Situ Xi thought of some scary stories about the deep house and the courtyard, but just as his thoughts were about to wander, he was stopped abruptly. What should I say?

It's also my father-in-law's house, so it's unlucky and impolite to think about it.

"Ms. sir, my aunt takes care of all the trivial matters at home. We only need to meet her once today. We should be able to go back soon."

Unlike Situ Xi, Zhong Lixin felt complicated when looking at the familiar environment in front of her. After calming down for a moment, she softly explained the situation to Situ Xi.

"I understand. Madam is a little serious today, and I haven't seen you smile at all. I heard from an alchemist before that a low mood will accelerate aging. Madam, you should be careful."

Although it is not clear what Zhongli Min and Qingyu had experienced before and their interpersonal relationships with other people in the family, it is certain that their lives in this house were not smooth in the past.

In ancient times, the homes of wealthy families who had reached this level were relatively complicated. For some children of common people, home was never a paradise.

"Uncle, is this true?"

The whisper on the side widened her eyes and asked Situ Xi for an answer. It was obvious that Situ Xi's half-joking words to adjust the atmosphere had really frightened her.

"Of course."

This is not a lie. Emotions will affect people's endocrine, and endocrine will affect people's emotions. Situ Xi has always felt that this kind of negative feedback is undesirable. As for why he doesn't consider the positive aspects, it is because he can always maintain a good mood.

The people are really not in the majority.

"Ah!" After receiving the affirmative answer, he whispered in shock. He immediately swept away the gloom on his face and forced out a strange smile.

Her smile looked a little weird, but it made the couple next to her laugh softly, and Zhongli lost his worried look just now.

The three of them walked non-stop, and it was quite quiet along the way. It was not until they were about to reach the atrium that everyone suddenly heard the sound of musical instruments coming from behind a row of stone arches on the left, occasionally accompanied by melodious female voices.

The sound of the piano comes.

"It's my father who is listening to music. The family has raised many actors in recent years." Seeing Situ Xi's doubts, Zhongli explained to him calmly.

Listening to the music, Situ Xi couldn't help but think of the old man Fan he met in Jinsefang that morning. Could it be that middle-aged and elderly people in Chu country are popular in doing art early in the morning?

"Do you want to meet your father-in-law later?" Situ Xi really wanted to meet his father-in-law. He had heard some stories about Duke Huaiming in the past few days, and he didn't know what the real person looked like. As a commander-in-chief,

The generals of the three armies, although they may not be as three-headed and six-armed as in teahouse stories, they should still be burly men.

"My father usually doesn't see people. He doesn't care about such small things."

Is it a small matter? Situ Xi glanced at the yard on the left again.

As they walked further and further, an old servant also wearing coarse clothes walked up the stone road at some point. He walked to Zhongli's side, bent down and saluted, and said to the three of them:

"Miss, my wife has invited me. This old slave will lead the way for you and your uncle."

…

After going around several corners, the three of them finally came to a spacious courtyard, but Zhongli's face was a little ugly. She looked at the old servant leading the way and asked loudly: "Steward Chen, this is the third aunt's house."

Let’s go to the courtyard.”

The old servant who was called Steward Chen calmly put a smile on his face, bent his already somewhat stooped back and replied:

"Miss, it's still early now. The eldest lady may still be resting. The third lady specially asked the old slave to bring you to meet her in front of her hospital."

"Zhen'er, now that you're here, no matter how much you hate your aunt, you should still meet her."

At this moment, a loud voice came from the courtyard. The voice was quite harsh and very recognizable. The image of the wealthy woman who came to deliver the letter that day immediately appeared in Situ Xi's mind.

"Let's go in and take a look." Seeing Zhong Lixin looking at him hesitantly after hearing this voice, Situ Xi didn't care at all, patted his robe, and took the lead to raise his legs and step into the hospital.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, Situ Xi saw the third lady lying on a bench with her eyes closed. Two slaves with obvious scars on their faces were washing her hair. There were more than a dozen hairpins on the table beside her.

Various colors of light shine under the sunlight.

Hearing the footsteps approaching, the woman on the bench raised her eyes. When she saw Situ Xi leading the way, she closed her eyes again.

"The Nine Kings are also here. I forgive you for not being able to salute at this moment. It's a bit disrespectful. However, now that you are your elders, you don't need these etiquettes. I will call you Xi'er."

Literally speaking, there seems to be nothing wrong with these words, but the third lady's voice rose and fell a bit deliberately, and she pronounced it in a cadence - cadence is a complimentary word, so it can only be described as yin and yang.

It is said that a person knows his face but not his heart, but there are some people. As soon as she opens her mouth, you can roughly understand her nature.


Chapter completed!