Dusk is gradually rising, and the red clouds in the western sky reflect the temple under the glazed tiles.

Yang Zhen was still in shock just now.

She said, "I have long thought that my sister-in-law has a really good temper. Fortunately, her brother has a good temper and is willing to stand up for the eldest sister."

She clicked her tongue, "It's a pity that my sister-in-law didn't let Xiang Yu finish what he said. But the eldest brother also agreed to let the sister-in-law go back to her parents' home."

Tan Jian was drinking tea to calm his nerves.

What Xiang Yu said was powerful enough. If Xiang Yu was allowed to finish what he said, he wouldn't even dare to think about his elder brother's face.

As for the sister-in-law's return to her parents' home, he remembered that the last time her sister-in-law returned to her parents' home was when she returned home.

At that time, the elder brother had to go to Beijing to take the exam and did not return home three times. Later, after the elder brother came to Beijing, the elder sister-in-law chose a day to go back to her parents' home for half a month.

After that there was no more.

Tan Jian sighed, but saw that his wife was still praising Xiang Yu's performance as a sister with great interest.

He very much doubted that his wife was not from the Yang family or the Tan family.

Is she from the Xiang family?

Before she could finish her thoughts, she called him.

"Let's go to my sister-in-law's guest house."

Tan Jian choked. The tea was so frightening that he couldn't speak. After letting it sit on his chest for a long time, he said.

"Madam, is this appropriate?"

"It is appropriate." She jumped down from the couch, "If you don't go, can I go by myself?"

Tan Jian coughed twice and looked at his wife who walked out of the house in a hurry. , had to follow.

...

The red clouds dissipated, night fell, and the scattered lights of the temple shone with the quiet light of the Buddhist temple.

The guest courtyard where the Xiang family stayed was quiet, with Xiang Yi and his brother talking in the room.

Xiang Yu's anger hadn't subsided yet, so he crossed his arms in anger.

Xiang Yi sighed.

"My accounts are clean. They can't do anything to me. On the contrary, those clowns are digging their own graves."

She looked at the sharp look on her younger brother's face and persuaded him, "This matter is over, but If you get into trouble with the Tan family again because of this matter, wouldn't it be a small gain at a loss?"

She said, her eyes moving slightly.

"Women cannot take the imperial examination, and there is no other man in the Xiang family besides you. You have to remember what you should do most, so you won't get angry over such a trivial matter."

Xiang Yu pursed his lips in frustration.

The eldest sister has always had a forbearing temperament. What she wants is nothing else. She wants the Xiang family to be established and its reputation to be restored to innocence.

The atmosphere in the guest room darkened.

Xiang Ning looked at her eldest sister and Xiang Yu, and silently lit a piece of soothing incense between the three of them.

The soothing fragrance smelled calm, the white smoke slowly rose, and the atmosphere in the room gradually calmed down.

At this moment, there was a knock on the door outside.

The three of them got up to look and saw Tan Ting and Zhengji outside the door.

When Tan Ting arrived here, none of the three expected.

Xiang Yu's brows, which he had finally let go of, furrowed again, while Xiang Ning also looked wary.

Tan Ting paused and saw Xiang Yi walking forward. She was still wearing a plain white long coat, but her body was dyed with the calming scent of soothing incense. The scent was inexplicably consistent with her overall temperament.

He didn't know how he got here, maybe Yunxia happened to be there, or maybe it was someone else.

But now that he saw her quiet here, he suddenly wanted to have a few words with her alone.

His thin lips moved slightly, just looking at Xiang Yu and Xiang Ning's alert expressions, Tan Ting didn't know how to speak.

He could only look at his wife silently, but she didn't know what he was going to do, so she asked in his eyes.

"Why are you here, uncle? Do you have anything to give me?"

Xiang Yu's expression turned even uglier when he heard that he was about to give instructions. Even the well-behaved Xiang Ning became sullen. They looked at him as if he wanted to torture their eldest sister. of savage beasts.

Tension swirled in the small courtyard.

Tan Ting sighed silently.

He said nothing happened, turned his eyes, and landed on Xiang Yi again.

"It's cold today, and it's even colder on the mountain. I wonder if you can get used to it."

The guest house that Anluo Temple left for the Tan family is quite different from the guest house that Xiang Yu and the others rented. The former can burn the ground. Dragon, the latter can only use a charcoal basin to keep warm.

Tan Ting's original intention was to bring Xiang Yu and Xiang Ning to Tan's guest house, but with such a commotion this afternoon, not to mention Xiang Yu and Xiang Ning, even Xiang Yi left.

He asked, and Xiang Yu snorted. What he wanted to say was suppressed by Xiang Yi's eyes. Xiang Ning was more obedient and did not speak, but the alert look on his face did not fade at all.

Finally, Xiang Yi spoke.

There was no change in her expression, and her voice was always calm.

"Thank you for your concern, uncle."

Compared with Xiang Yu's rejection and Xiang Ning's caution, her response without any change made Tan Ting's original intention of having a few words with her alone become more and more at a loss for words.

He looked at her silently, while she turned her eyes slightly to the side.

Not to mention talking alone, not even making eye contact.

Tan Ting felt bitter in his mouth. At this moment, there was another sound of footsteps outside the hospital.

Yang Zhen and Tan Jian also arrived.

The guest house where the Xiang family temporarily settled was bustling with activity.

Tan Ting looked at the people in the courtyard. It was completely impossible for him to have a few words with her alone.

He was unhappy and glanced at Tan Jian.

Tan Jian never thought that his elder brother was there, and when he glanced at him again, his heart trembled.

However, Yang Zhen didn't notice the tension in the atmosphere. She hit it off with the Xiang family as soon as they met. She got to know Xiang Ning and Xiang Ning. She especially liked Xiang Ning when she saw that he was well-behaved and fair.

There is great harmony among the women, but the atmosphere among the men in the courtyard is tense.

Tan Jian neither dared to disturb his brother nor provoke Xiang's brother, so he only dared to ask Xiang Yi in a low voice.

"Sister-in-law is really going back to her parents' house?"

As soon as he said this, Xiang Yu glared at her before her sister-in-law could say anything.

Tan Jian didn't know what he said wrong, but he only said one sentence...

Xiang Yi calmed him down and said warmly.

"Well, let's go back and stay for a few days."

Tan Jian said "Oh" and nodded carefully. He wanted to ask his sister-in-law how many days she would be back, but he didn't dare to ask in Xiang Yu's eyes.

But his elder brother spoke at this moment.

"How many days will it take to come back?"

Hearing him ask, Xiang Yi thought for a moment, "Do you think it will take three days?"

After all, there are many things in the twelfth lunar month.

But what she said immediately made Xiang Yu frown, and Xiang Ning couldn't help but say.

"If it lasts three days, my sister will have to go back and forth. Isn't it too hard?"

The words revealed the dissatisfaction of the little girl who felt sorry for her eldest sister.

Tan Ting had no choice but to change his mind, "Then five days."

He added two more days, firstly because he didn't want his wife to be too busy, and secondly, he didn't want to make the Xiang brothers and sisters too dissatisfied.

Unexpectedly, Xiang Yu snorted coldly.

"I'm afraid it's just fifty days, Mr. Tan doesn't care, right?"

After all, he hasn't been home for three years, what's the importance of his wife to him?

These words are very annoying.

Tan Jian was stunned on the spot.

He felt that not only himself, but also the entire Tan family, the entire Qingkan County and even Ningnan Prefecture, no one dared to say such a thing to his eldest brother.

But the more Yang Zhen looked at the twin siblings of the Xiang family, the more she liked them.

Xiang Yi quickly warned Xiang Yu not to talk nonsense anymore.

Tan Ting was neither around, and in the end he could only say, "Then four days," he looked at Xiang Yi, "I will pick you up in Qingzhou in four days."

Xiang Yi never imagined that he would pick him up.

She thought that Tan Ting had already tolerated Xiang Yu a lot because the Tan family checked her accounts.

But the relationship between her and Tan Ting is far from that.

This uncle of the Tan family probably just said a polite word.

She shook her head, "It's freezing cold. I can just go back by myself. I don't have to worry about it."

Xiang Yu wanted to speak again after hearing this.

This time Tan Ting spoke before him.

In the mountain breeze at night, Xiang Yi, dressed in white clothes, floats like clouds in the mountain breeze.

Tan Ting took a deep look at her.

"Yes."

Xiang Yu was speechless, but Xiang Yi actually paused.

Neither Xiang Yu nor Xiang Yi agreed to the seven-day water journey, so Tan Ting had no choice but to preside over the cancellation, fast with them for a day, and light a lantern for Liang.

As soon as the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month passed, Xiang Yu took Xiang Yi back to their place of stay in Qingzhou.

Tan Ting promised for four days, but naturally he could not stay any longer, so he had to return to Tan's house in Qingkan with Tan Jian and Yang Zhen.

When they left, only three of the four came back. Mrs. Zhao was surprised when she heard that Xiang Yi was going home for four days, and she couldn't help but get a headache.

"There were so many things going on a year ago, how could it happen that I returned to my parents' home at this time?"

Tan Ting knew that his aunt didn't like these family affairs. She didn't have any headaches at all. After she got married, she took care of the family for several years before she got married. Got this disease.

Tan Ting didn't want her to blame Xiang Yi for this, so he said that he had asked Xiang Yi to go back.

"If the mother is tired, the son will take care of it for a few days."

"How can this be done? How can any eldest son of a clan take care of the common affairs of the clan?"

There are respected elders in the Zhao family, and she cannot break the rules.

She couldn't help but look at her newly married second daughter-in-law.

When Yang Zhen saw her looking over, her eyes lit up and she said excitedly.

"Does mother want me to help with the housekeeping? I've been with my mother for a few days. Although my mother thinks I'm stupid, I think I can give it a try."

Mrs. Zhao almost choked.

She quickly said forget it. If she really let her second daughter-in-law take over, she would probably have an even worse headache.

"That's all, I'll just deal with it in the next four days."

Qingzhou and the Xiang family entered the small courtyard for the second time, and it was as lively and festive as the Chinese New Year.

New Year's goods were all put out in the town, such as candied dates, melon seeds, sweet balls, and soybean cakes. The three siblings bought a lot of them.

Neighbors heard that the eldest sister of the Xiang family and the wife of the Tan family in Qingkan were back, and they all came over to see her.

When they met Xiang Yi, they saw that she did not have silk and satin, her hair was not covered with pearls, and she did not have a group of slaves.

She stood in the yard and served them snacks in an approachable manner.

The neighbors were surprised.

They also have aristocratic families here, the farther away is the Pingze Qiu family, the head of the family is so rich that she can’t even walk without breath; the closer one lives the branches of the Fengling Chen family, one of the four major families, those people are the worst, never He doesn't look at people with a straight face, he just wants to squeeze out their land and fields...

But this clan wife of the Qingkan Tan family seems to be completely different.

They were embarrassed to only eat food from the Xiang family, so they all brought tea fruits.

During the coming and going, the Xiang family, which lived on the edge of the town, became the busiest place in the town.

.....

As for the Qingkan Tan family, there was chaos in the deserted place, and it was a different story.

**

"Contracting Marriage" is published in Jinjiang Literature City.