The reason why Tan Ting and his party arrived late was because they had to stop at the Weiping Mansion next door due to business matters.

Two hours ago.

There was flying snow in the sky, and a group of people stood on the embankment of Chaoyun River to look around. They saw heavy snow falling, and people who looked like officials wanted to leave.

"The cracked embankment cannot be stabilized by just having a few discussions here. Mr. Tan and Mr. Qiu, why don't you two follow me back to the government office to discuss it?"

Liao Qiu, the prefect of Weiping Prefecture, said, looking at Tan intently. Ting glanced at him.

Although this uncle of the Tan family is not as official as himself, he is the eldest son of the Tan family.

Nowadays, in both the government and the public, the aristocratic families are intertwined and powerful. The eldest son of a big family like the Tan family, who has had a pavilion elder, cannot be compared to a mere prefect.

Therefore, whether they should continue to discuss the reinforcement of the Chaoyun River embankment or disperse and discuss it another day depends on what Tan Ting, who was passing by temporarily, wanted to do.

He said and motioned to Mr. Qiu beside him.

Mr. Qiu is the head of the Pingze Qiu family of the Weiping Mansion. The Qiu family is also considered a wealthy family in the local area, but compared to the prominence of the Tan family in Qing Dynasty, they can only stay away.

Mr. Qiu stroked his beard and looked at Tan Ting without rushing to answer.

"What do you mean, Mr. Tan...?"

Tan Ting was silent for a moment.

The embankment of Weiping Mansion had nothing to do with him.

But Weiping Mansion was originally the place where Xiang Zhiyuan served as the prefect. Later, Xiang Zhiyuan was convicted of corruption by the court, one of which was embezzlement of river construction funds.

Although Xiang Zhiyuan is dead now, there is something wrong with the Chaoyun River where he embezzled the money to repair the river.

The most unfortunate thing is that Xiang Zhiyuan is the father of his first wife and his father-in-law.

There is currently no problem with the embankment, and the prefect Liao Qiu has no reason to report to the court for the money to repair the river. He is reluctant to pay from the government office, so he wants to find the Qiu family, a local wealthy family, to provide some money to strengthen the embankment.

Of course, Ms. Qiu didn't want to spend money, but she also considered that her dozens of acres of fertile farmland were not far from the cracked embankment. After much deliberation, she waited for him on the road for a few days and temporarily invited him here.

Tan Ting stood beside the river embankment with his hands behind his hands.

The turbulent Chaoyun River was also frozen at this time, and the snow fell on the ice and melted into the ice within a few breaths.

The ice-carved lines on his face revealed a stern look, and his pair of inky eyes silently looked at the frozen embankment.

Magistrate Liao and Master Qiu asked that question for a long time, and then he slowly withdrew his gaze, his eyes lightly passing over Magistrate Liao and Master Qiu.

"Tan will visit the government office another day."

Magistrate Liao's eyes lit up when he heard this. The Tan family's uncle agreed to this matter.

He couldn't help but say, "The Tan family is indeed a great family of poetry, calligraphy and etiquette, and a model for the family."

He said this, and Master Qiu was in harmony with him.

"Aristocratic families with poems, books and etiquette passed down from generation to generation are naturally different from ordinary people from poor families. Even if people from poor families study and become officials, they will not be able to hold on. In all likelihood, they will become corrupt officials. If something goes wrong, they will eventually have to deal with it. A family like this can carry it."

His meaning couldn't be clearer.

Magistrate Liao was even more concerned about the money for river construction being settled. He wanted to continue to praise Tan Ting, but he saw that the eldest son of the Tan family had already wanted to leave.

Magistrate Liao did not dare to delay, so he sent him away with good words.

Tan Ting and his party continued on their way.

The young man Zhengji chased after Tan Ting and did not dare to speak, but the staff Qin Jiao muttered and spoke.

"That Mr. Xiang is too greedy. If he hadn't been discovered and dismissed early, he would have been greedy for money and money in his future official career."

He sighed long and hard.

This person is not a staff member of the Tan family, but comes from the old Lin Ge family.

Because he entered the Lin Mansion through Tan Ting's aunt Tan's family, he was closer to the Tan family. This time, he also went back to his hometown to count the dowry property for Tan's family.

Of course, Tan didn't just tell him this one thing.

At that moment, Qin Jiao sighed softly.

"Don't make this matter a big deal. It's not a joke to implicate the uncle's career. After all... the Xiang family's daughter still occupies the position of the Tan family's clan wife and the uncle's first wife."

After that, he peeked . He glanced at Tan Ting.

I saw the uncle's thin lips pursed into a deep line.

Qin Jiao raised his lips secretly.

He dared to say so directly because he knew that Tan Ting and his first wife, Xiang, had little to no relationship.

Back then, it was Na Xiang who came to the house with a marriage contract and "forced the marriage".

How could the uncle like a woman who married like this?

Furthermore, another thing Tan ordered was for him to pay attention to Tan Ting's wife, Xiang.

Tan didn't say much, but Qin Jiao knew in his heart.

Uncle Tan entered the court as an official at a young age and had an unlimited future, but Xiang's background was not satisfactory.

How could the proud Mrs. Lin, Mrs. Tan, be willing to let her nephew be dragged down by such a woman?

However, Tan Ting had no intention of delving into Qin Jiao's thoughts.

He took one last look at the cracked embankment and returned to Qingkan County with a sullen face. Unexpectedly, he saw another lonely scene in front of Qingkan County.

They could only rush into the city before the city gate closed.

In the city, the Tan family.

Xiang Yi arranged for the boy who had fainted from the cold and went to Qiuzhaoyuan to pay respects to Mr. Zhao.

Zhao had a headache and asked her to go back and rest by herself through the door. Only then did Xiang Yi return to his room.

After waiting outside for a whole day, the whole person was freezing inside and out.

Qiao Yun made ginger soup and put a hand stove in her hand.

Xiang Yi smiled, "It's so quick to get rid of the cold now."

"Isn't this enough?" Qiao Yun said, carrying hot water and a footbath, testing the water temperature, helping Xiang Yi take off his shoes and socks and put a pair of cold Put your feet in.

"Ma'am, please warm me up."

Xiang Yi smiled and breathed a long sigh of relief in the warmth.

Unexpectedly, this breath did not fall to the ground, but suddenly there were many footsteps in the courtyard.

Then, footsteps came to the door. The moment the door opened, the winter night wind and snow poured in.

Xiang Yi looked up and saw the man standing in the wind and snow.

Tan Ting also saw his wife.

She was sitting on an indoor armchair as warm as spring, soaking in hot soup and holding the hand stove to keep warm.

The room was quiet for a while.

Xiang Yi was stunned for a moment, and didn't come back to his senses until he saw the coldness in the man's eyes and the tight frown at the corners of his mouth.

She could only put everything aside, put on her shoes and socks again, and walked forward to greet him.

His expression did not change as she stepped forward. Instead, it condensed with the wind and snow behind him, becoming more and more grim.

Even if we haven't seen each other for three years, some things won't change.

For example, he is the eldest son of a noble family, and she is just the daughter of a corrupt official with a bad reputation.

Under his expression, Xiang Yi didn't make any unnecessary explanations and asked Qiao Yun to put away all the heating things.

Silently waiting for Tan Ting to change clothes.

His figure seemed to be much taller and taller than when he was newly married three years ago. His three years of official career in Beijing had given him a strange and solemn aura.

There was silence in the room again.

Xiang Yi thought of something and asked.

"Uncle, are you still going to pay your respects to your mother today?"

The sky was completely dark, and it was windy and snowy outside.

Xiang Yi was thinking about Zhao being unwell just now, and wanted to remind her, but the man spoke before her.

Tan Ting's brows deepened and he glanced at his wife.

"Honor your parents, regardless of rain or snow."

When the words fell, Xiang Yi swallowed the words he wanted to remind him immediately.

She nodded, tied the belt for him, took two steps back, and retreated away from him.

"That's what the uncle said."

After saying this, the room became silent again.

Until Tan Ting opened the door of the main room and stepped out, the wind rushed in, sweeping away the remaining warmth in the room.

Xiang Yi, who had been freezing for a whole day, had not yet warmed up, so he followed him to Qiuzhaoyuan step by step.

...

They went, and Mrs. Zhao was naturally surprised, but the snow got heavier and Mrs. Zhao kept having a headache and discomfort, so she didn't let Tan Jian and Tan Rong come over, saying that it wouldn't be too late for the family to meet again tomorrow.

After sitting back and forth for less than a quarter of an hour, Xiang Yi followed Tan Ting back to the main courtyard.

After working hard all day, she was really tired.

But the man was not sleepy at all. He sat in front of the desk under the window and turned on the light on the desk.

The silence in the room was like the dark night outside, enveloping people endlessly.

Xiang Yi's body has never been able to warm up, and he is now getting chills.

But no one said much.

Until it was unclear what day it was, Tan Ting walked from the desk to the basin stand, simply washed up and went to bed.

Xiang Yi was finally able to lie down.

The night wind made the window lattice rustle, and the two of them only spoke three sentences, twenty-seven words, from beginning to end.

The candles were blown out and darkness fell. In the empty room, silence, desolation and darkness were like the dark clouds gathering above the head, constantly pressing down, suppressing the atmosphere until it was almost solid.

The person sleeping just one punch away from Xiang Yi exuded the warmth of a man.

However, although Xiang Yi is cold, he does not covet the warmth at all.

The cold air rolled in from the gap between the brocade quilts between the two of them. No one approached the other, and no one proposed a complete separation.