The remote alley was silent, except for the sound of wind that suddenly appeared and disappeared from every corner.

Zhengji followed his uncle, feeling that compared to the silence around him, the atmosphere around him seemed to be deathly silent.

No one dared to speak at this time.

But unfortunately at this time, there was some movement in the remote courtyard.

Everyone didn't know what Tan Ting was planning. Was he going to go into the courtyard and call out Xiang Yi, or was he going to wait here for Xiang Yi to come out?

However, Tan Ting had no choice. There were a few more footsteps in the courtyard. Just when the people in the courtyard were about to come out, he raised his hand.

In the remote alley, a gust of wind passed by, and no one was left.

When Xiang Yi took Qiao Yun out, there was only the cold wind wandering in the alley.

She signaled to Gu Yansheng and Qiu Ying not to come out to see each other off, so as not to attract anyone's attention. Before leaving, she bowed briefly to Gu Yansheng and left quickly with Qiao Yun.

The master and servant quickly left the remote alley.

The secluded courtyard was deserted.

For a long time, Tan Ting, the uncle of the Tan family, looked at his wife's disappearing back, then quietly followed her and left.

He didn't tell anyone about it, and he ordered his subordinates not to mention it. He just secretly kept his men nearby.

Tan family.

Xiang Yi returned to the main courtyard as usual. A steward came to take care of something. She took care of a few things and then began to sit under the window and put the final touches on Tan Ting's new clothes.

She sat there quietly, and Tan Ting saw her when she returned to the yard.

This scene was no different from ordinary times. If he saw it on ordinary days, he would still feel a sense of stability and warmth in his heart.

He now...

he stepped into the room.

Stepping into the hall, she looked back.

She put down the clothes in her hands and walked over, "Master is back."

Tan Ting's body was covered with a strong chill. She stepped forward to change his clothes, but there was no difference at all as usual.

He didn't say anything, just looked down at her.

Under the dark eyebrows in the distance, she looked calm. He really couldn't tell the difference from the past, except...

when he raised her hand to adjust her collar, he smelled a familiar smell of medicine.

Tan Ting's mind wandered for a moment, and his mood was complicated for a while.

Therefore, the suddenly reduced supply of ointments at home was not his imagination. She had indeed taken them away and given them to the people in the yard, right?

That person, if he guessed correctly, was Na Shenggu, or the Taoist priest next to the prince, right?

So her fingertips were also stained with the smell of the medicine, does it mean that she personally treated the man's wounds and changed his medicine?

Thinking of this, Tan Ting felt his heart aching with pain, a feeling that he had almost never experienced before.

He looked closely at his wife who was lowering her head to change clothes for him.

So what is the relationship between her and that person?

It's just that he couldn't ask, he just kept the corners of his mouth pressed.

He remembered that when he was in the alley, countless thoughts passed through his mind, so many that he almost couldn't help but find out.

But if she really went to explore, what dignity would there be to her?

He had to wait until she came out soon.

When he saw that her clothes were neatly dressed, her bun was not messy at all, and her eyes were clear and she was saluting the people inside before leaving, he felt that his hanging heart was mostly relieved.

But what kind of relationship she had with that person was still unknown for a while.

She had already helped him change his clothes, and was stunned for a moment when her eyes fell on the new injury on his hand.

"Is the uncle injured? Has Zhengji given medicine to the uncle?"

Tan Ting glanced at her silently as he said this.

She looked at the injury of the man next to her, and Masaki had no choice but to take care of his wounds...

But when she asked, it was obvious that she had something in mind, and she looked at him with an almost imperceptible nervousness.

Tan Ting's heart turned slightly and he said.

"It's just a minor injury. I just don't have much ointment at home."

He said lightly.

Xiang Yi almost broke into sweat when he finished speaking.

While she was glad that she didn't take all the medicine and kept some, she couldn't help but wonder if the old man had discovered something strange.

She washed her hands before returning home from her adopted brother's place today, and changed her clothes when she returned home.

But she never expected that the old man would accidentally hurt his hand and move the medicine box.

But she couldn't tell him everything, so she had to pretend to be normal.

"I don't have too much medicine at home. I'll ask someone to replenish it tomorrow."

After she finished speaking, she asked as usual, "Do you have any other instructions?"

Tan Ting didn't have any other instructions anymore. That's all for looking at her.

He thought that no matter how different they were from before, there was no way she could lie to him.

But now, he knew that she not only lied to him, but she continued to lie...

Tan Ting said no more, nodded silently, turned around and left the room in a muffled voice.

Seeing that he didn't continue to dwell on the problem, Xiang Yi thought he hadn't noticed, so he walked him to the door, then turned around and went back to the window to continue making clothes.

She didn't even take two more steps.

Tan Ting couldn't help but look back at her.

This time she noticed it, but asked without knowing what was going on.

"Master, is there anything else to do?"

The air in the room was unusually stuffy.

The man spoke in a low voice.

"No."

After he finished speaking, he quickly left the main room without saying another word.

...

On the contrary, in the courtyard, Zhengji looked at the main house nervously.

Nothing happened in the main room quietly, and then the uncle walked out with pursed lips.

Zhengji couldn't figure out what was going on between the uncle and his wife. He just looked at his uncle and saw him lowering his eyes and striding out of the main courtyard.

There was a gust of wind in the main courtyard, which was deserted and desolate.

Zhengji looked back at the main room, then at his father, and followed quickly with sadness.

...

That night, in Qiuzhao Garden, Mrs. Zhao invited the whole family to have dinner together again.

The first ones to come this time were Tan Jian and Yang Zhen.

That day, Tan Jian's new clothes were torn. Yang Zhen almost cut him when he went back. He was so frightened that he kept begging for mercy. Aunt Lu beside Yang Zhen couldn't stand it anymore. She was afraid that her own girl would be like this, even if she didn't offend him. My uncle, even if Old Madam Qiu Zhaoyuan knew about it, he would not be in a good position.

But my girl was spirited, so she had to use all her housekeeping skills and said she could mend new clothes.

After Nanny Lu said this, the two enemies stopped.

Aunt Lu had endured half of her life for her two enemies. Today, Tan Jian finally put on new clothes again. If you don't look carefully, you can't tell that they are patchwork clothes.

Yang Zhen was no longer angry with him.

Tan Jian quickly asked Grandma Lu to rest and recuperate, and then made a small apology to his wife, and the two quickly reconciled.

Today, when they heard Qiu Zhaoyuan calling for dinner, the two came talking and laughing.

There was no one here, so Zhao naturally let them sit in the hall.

Yang Zhen couldn't sit down and went to find her sister-in-law. When she left the door, she saw Xiang Yi and Tan Rong coming.

Tan Rong didn't have much energy after what happened to Mr. Sheng. After entering the room, she sat alone and didn't know what to think. It was Tan Jian who asked Xiang Yi.

"Sister-in-law, why didn't eldest brother come?"

Xiang Yi replied, "I went to the study room, maybe I'm busy with something."

After hearing this, Tan Jian said again, "I heard that eldest brother was injured by a firecracker. I don't know how serious the injury is. Heavy?"

Only then did Xiang Yi know that he was blown up by a firecracker, but she remembered that two-thirds of the ointment was missing and didn't want to mention it more.

She just said, "It shouldn't be too serious."

As soon as she finished speaking, the man lifted the curtain and walked in.

Xiang Yi saw his eyes falling on her, and when she looked at him, he turned away and sat down at the table without saying a word.

Tan Jian and the others saluted him, and she also moved.

But for some reason, he felt a little depressed in his unclear mood.

Tan Jian paid the most attention to his eldest brother and immediately noticed something was wrong with him.

These days, especially after the New Year, my eldest brother's mood is obviously much better than when he first came home. What's going on today?

He hadn't heard of any major events in the clan, and his eldest brother didn't seem like someone who would care about a minor injury.

The room was quiet. Tan Jian carefully walked to his sister-in-law's side and spoke in a very soft voice.

"Sister-in-law, has something happened to eldest brother?"

When he said this, Xiang Yi also felt that there was something unusual about this uncle, but if something happened, she didn't think it was the case.

She responded to Tan Jian in a low voice, "It shouldn't be a big deal."

After she said this, the maids serving the meal arrived, and she got up to arrange the meal. She didn't notice that the old man above her looked even more gloomy. He was aroused, and his expression was even more complicated.

Tan Ting closed his eyes.

He should have thought of it.

She didn't actually care whether he was hurt or unhappy.

...

She also sat next to him during the meal today and served him dishes as usual. Tan Ting wanted her not to bother herself for a moment.

She didn't really want to serve him food.

But he couldn't say these words, so he could only pick up a few extra dishes she usually picked up and put them into her bowl in a low voice.

The two of them looked the same as before. Tan Jian felt relieved when he saw that although his eldest brother was emotionally a little strange, his actions were the same as before.

Only Tan Ting would look at his wife for a second while she was picking up food for him.

What is her relationship with that man? Does she really not want to say a word to him?

Naturally, Xiang Yi would not guess what he was thinking, nor would he take the initiative to tell him.

Tan Ting had dinner with his family and went back to his study in the outer courtyard without even leaving a breath. He didn't even ask about Tan Jian's history today.

Until evening, the lights in the entire Gu'anfang Tan family were extinguished one by one, and the old man had not returned home yet.

Xiang Yi is also a little strange. Recently, he spends more time in the study in the inner courtyard. Even in the outer courtyard, he will come back early.

What happened today?

She looked into the courtyard, and a maid came over and asked her, "Madam, do you have any instructions?"

The little maid asked, and Xiang Yi was silent for a moment.

If the old man doesn't come back, he must be busy with other matters of his own.

Is she still urging him to go back to his room?

She shook her head and let the little maid go.

She finally finished the new clothes for Tan Ting.

Unlike Yang Zhen who had a sewing room to help her, Xiang Yi spent every bit of his time to sew the clothes for Mr. Tan, stitch by stitch, and it took a lot longer.

The light flickered, and she cut off the threads. She arranged the new clothes, carefully flattened them and placed them on the blue cloth of the table.

The night was getting deeper and deeper, and there was no movement in the entire Gu'anfang. It was quiet everywhere, as if it was completely covered by an ink-like curtain.

Xiang Yi yawned.

If he had been in the inner study, she might have kept the lights on waiting for him for a while, but since he hadn't come back yet, she might have stayed in the outer courtyard.

Xiang Yi didn't wait any longer, washed himself and fell asleep.

...

the study room in the outer courtyard.

Following his uncle's instructions, Zhengji hurriedly packed up the bed in the study room in the outer courtyard that had not been used for several days.

But he had packed up here, and turned around to ask the uncle to rest. When he turned around, he found that there was no one in the study.

Zhengji was surprised. After asking, he found out that the uncle had left.

...

Tan Ting returned to the main courtyard.

However, the lights in the main room had been turned out.

Tan Ting's footsteps stopped in front of the courtyard gate. He didn't know if he was so unwelcome, or if he should just go back.

But he still entered the room quietly.

The room was dark, and her long breathing could be heard faintly.

The man stood in front of the bed and looked at the people in the curtain.

Under the clear curtain, she fell into a deep sleep, just like before.

Tan Ting couldn't help but think that if he hadn't discovered anything by himself, she would never have taken the initiative to tell him.

Moreover, the Taoist priest next to the prince was stared at by so many people in the court, but no one could find out where this person came from.

She is not the kind of woman who is easily deceived by men. Could it be that she has known this person before?

So it's no coincidence that the Taoist came to Tan's house...

Tan Ting couldn't guess the details, and his wife wouldn't tell him.

When he discovered that she had lied to him, he suddenly sobered up and realized that she didn't care about him at all.

The night was heavy.

Tan Ting stood in front of the curtain and stared at her for an unknown amount of time. He pursed his lips and prepared to stop disturbing her. But when he turned around, he saw the neatly pressed clothes on the table that she had made for him.

She neatly pressed the new clothes she gave him and dyed them with his usual spices.

The clothes had fine stitching and exquisite embroidery. He knew how much time and effort she had spent making this dress.

The biggest confusion in Tan Ting's heart emerged uncontrollably.

He looked back at the curtain, even thinking of asking her at this moment.

What is she thinking?

What does she think of him as her husband?

...

The Tan family in Gu'anfang is no different from the past.

When Tan Ting returned to the main courtyard, Xiang Yi asked him to try on the new clothes. If anything didn't fit, she would change the size.

Tan Tingben said "No need to bother", but when he saw her holding the new clothes she gave him, he paused there, looked over with a pair of eyes in surprise, and couldn't help but said, "Then give it a try."

He didn't need her to serve him, So he put on new clothes.

The clothes were just like the clothes he was used to wearing, and they didn't fit at all.

However, she didn't actually measure him.

"What do you think, uncle?" she asked him, "Do you feel uncomfortable?"

Tan Ting had nothing to be picky about, but looking at the new fitting clothes and her soft eyebrows, she couldn't bear to say anything in her heart.

He couldn't ask rashly. After thinking about it for a while, he looked at this new Taoist robe and said thoughtfully.

"There is no disagreement. There are more and more people wearing Taoist robes in the palace, in the government and in the public."

It was difficult for him to say a few more words, and Xiang Yi heard Yang Zhen say that Taoist robes were fashionable in Beijing, and the one he made for Tan Jian was also in this style. , so I made one for Tan Ting.

She nodded and agreed with him, "I heard it from my younger siblings."

Tan Ting glanced at her and saw that she didn't think anything else after saying this, so he had to say another sentence.

"My younger brothers and sisters are from the capital, so they naturally know about it. Not only does the emperor believe in Taoism, but the prince is also often accompanied by a Taoist."

As he finished speaking, Tan Ting's peripheral vision fell on Xiang Yi.

There was a moment of silence in the room.

Xiang Yi was startled at the sudden appearance of the word, and subconsciously wanted to look back at him.

She didn't know if he suddenly mentioned this matter intentionally or unintentionally?

But Xiang Yi changed his mind and turned around to look.

Chen Fuyou of Jinyiwei and the government were about to turn Qingkan upside down, but they couldn't find his sworn brother, and even the drug store that was under key control didn't find any abnormalities.

The situation of her adopted brother was complicated. She didn't know what situation Tan Ting, Chen Fuyou and others had reached when they joined forces.

Could it be that Mr. Tan's words were actually a test?

Xiang Yi didn't dare to act rashly, he just responded casually as if he didn't understand the affairs of the court.

"That's it."

After she finished speaking, she didn't continue.

This Taoist robe was a spring garment, and it was too thin at the moment, so Xiang Yi had to help Tan Ting take it off and put on the previous clothes.

She had no more words to say.

Tan Ting glanced at her quietly and remembered that she had previously asked Chen Fu who he wanted to arrest. He replied that she was related to the East Palace. This time he also mentioned that there was a Taoist in the East Palace who always accompanied him.

But she didn't show any signs of it, cautiously not even looking at him.

Tan Ting was silent.

He knew that if he didn't find a way to figure it out for himself, she might never want to tell him these things.

He said no more and returned to the study with his hands behind his back.

Zhengji followed all the way, only to feel that the uncle's mood was getting lower and lower.

He didn't dare to disturb him, but the uncle suddenly stopped halfway and gave him an order.

"Let Xiao Guan pay attention to your wife's correspondence."

Xiao Guan was his bodyguard when he was in Beijing. He was quite capable. Tan Tingte allowed him to go home to serve his mother a few days ago. He just came back as an errand after the New Year.

Some secret matters are mostly handled by Xiao Guan.

Zhengji quickly calmed down and said, "Yes."

...

At noon, Xiao Guan quietly arrived in the study.

"My lord, my wife asked Qiao Yun to get a letter from Jixiang Seal Shop. I don't know if it is from Mrs. Qingzhou's aunt's siblings or a letter from someone else."

Xiao Guan is of medium height and appearance. He often wears ordinary brown indigo clothes. Clothes, talking about neither more nor less.

He said that the lady had gone to the shantang at this moment, and before Qiao Yun had time to give the letter to the lady, the letter was in Qiao Yun's room.

He was asking the uncle if he wanted to see this letter whose origin was unknown.

He asked, looking at the uncle carefully.

The uncle seemed to be hesitant, but finally nodded.

Xiao Guan quickly presented the letter to Tan Ting's desk.

The letter was not sent directly to the Tan family's house for Xiang Yi. Instead, it was forwarded from Jixiang Print Shop.

Tan Ting opened the letter, only to find that it was only from Xiang Ning and Xiang Yu.

He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

First, the little girl's handwriting wrote many daily things. Seeing that their siblings were still having a hard time, Tan Ting called Zhengji over and gave some secret instructions.

Then the handwriting changed on the second page, and a fierce spirit appeared on the paper, which was Xiang Yu's tone.

He first mentioned in the letter that the weather would be very cold after the new year, and the people in Dao Qingzhou area were having a hard time. However, the Qiu family who occupied Weiping Mansion was looking out for themselves while snatching charcoal from the hands of the common people. A young man could not survive and went to the government office to redress his grievances, but the magistrate was ill and refused to take any action.

After he finished speaking, he wrote a line below.

"If my father were alive, this kind of thing would never happen."

Tan Ting looked at Xin and paused.

In the eyes of the Xiang family, his father-in-law Xiang Zhiyuan was completely different from Liao Qiu, the current prefect of Weiping.

Tan Ting couldn't help but think that the river embankment built by Xiang Zhiyuan collapsed during his tenure, affecting countless people, but Qingzhou Academy was also built to educate students from poor families. As the children of criminal officials, they dared to live like this in Qingzhou. They were not rejected by the local people, but got along with each other happily...

Tan Ting had already thought about these strange things.

But Xiang Zhiyuan's case was not a small one. The three divisions of the imperial court held a joint trial, and the investigation went back and forth for half a year. There was clear evidence of corruption in each case. In the end, the emperor personally convicted him. It was indeed classified as corruption, but it did not harm his children. That’s all.

Tan Ting's thoughts wandered for a moment, and he kept the matter in his heart silently, and continued to read the letter.

Just by looking at it, the man's eyelids jumped -

he only saw the black and white text Xiang Yu wrote in the letter, "The teacher in the middle school said that my articles have been improving by leaps and bounds recently, and the autumn in August is becoming more and more promising. I just want August to come early. After passing the exam, the eldest sister no longer has to worry about her younger brother's studies, and can leave the Tan family."

After reading this line, Tan Ting paused.

The smell of the not-so-high-quality ink on the letter has not dissipated, and it is currently irritating the person's nostrils.

He could hardly believe what he saw, and read that sentence three times, word for word.

At this time, outside the door, Xiao Guan got the news about the guards and stepped forward to give a urgent reminder.

"Uncle, Madam and Qiao Yun are coming back."

The people in the study finally came back to their senses.

He was silent for a moment, let Xiao Guan come in, sealed the letter as it was, and sent it back to its original place.

He stayed alone in the study and didn't speak for a long time.

He wanted to know how his wife... would respond to Xiang Yu's words.