Tanjia Hot Spring Resort.

Xiang Yi heard what his sister Xiang Ning said. After dinner, he called people in the villa to ask questions.

She first asked who lived here.

It's a pity that this is a famous hot spring area in the suburbs of Beijing. Half of the mountain is full of hot spring resorts for various households. Families with some reputation in Beijing all have residences here.

Xiang Yi didn't ask anything, so he asked who lived here.

The servant below counted them with his fingers. Although most of the houses were removed, there were still many people living in their houses.

Xiang Yi couldn't ask one by one and expose herself. She thought about it and called the cook on the stove.

"Let's make some snacks from our Qinghan hometown. The Tan family is going to live here for a while and walk around with the neighbors."

When we first moved in, it was normal to walk around with the neighbors. If the strange wife really was Xiang Ning's biological mother should also pay attention to the Tan family. If she is interested, she can find a way to contact them.

Xiang Yi gave a series of instructions after eating.

She was only thinking about Xiang Ning's adventure today, and didn't pay much attention to what Xiang Ning was doing at the moment. Instead, Xiang Ning secretly looked at her.

Ever since she fell into a ditch and was injured, and her sister came to take care of her, something has changed.

The eldest sister first refused to let Ayu be with her, and then took her to Tan's house. Ayu went to school on weekdays, and Xiu Mu rarely saw her when she came home. Every time she mentioned Ayu, the eldest sister would not He answered her words and just looked at her lovingly.

Later, the eldest sister said that she would take her to see night blindness in other places, and she also said that she would hide her identity. She always felt strange. Fortunately, it didn't happen, but it brought her here again.

But today she said that she had encountered this strange thing, and the eldest sister seemed to be shocked...

Xiang Ning thought of the strange things these days, and felt a little uneasy in his heart.

But her elder sister had always protected her behind her, and now she seemed unwilling to tell her everything. Naturally, it was hard for her to ask.

But what could it be? Who could that strange wife be...

In an inconspicuous and profound compound in Hot Spring Mountain.

As soon as the two maids who had just recognized the wrong person returned to the yard, they ran to their wife's door anxiously, ready to see with their own eyes whether the wife was there.

But the two of them carefully peeked into the room, looking specifically at the place under the window where the wife usually painted, but they saw no one at all.

Both of them were shocked.

One of them said, "Where's the wife? Why aren't you here?!"

The other maid swallowed her foam, thinking of the punishment she had suffered because of the wife's absence, she even broke out in a sweat.

"That's not the wife just now, is it?"

"What are you talking nonsense about? That girl is so young, even if she is 80% similar to the wife, she is not the same age! Stop talking nonsense and ask someone to ask.

" The man who was sweating suddenly came back to his senses, "That's right..."

But as soon as she turned around, she saw the woman standing behind them.

The woman still held painting paints in her hands, green, yellow, and blue, and the colorful eyes made her face look older and regain the brilliance of her youth.

Her skin is fair and delicate, and she has a smart Jiangnan beauty appearance. People can't help but feel close to her at the first sight.

The woman's eyes fell on the two maids.

"You just said that you met a little girl who looks exactly like me?"

she asked, and the two maids had to nod even if they didn't want to say more.

"The slaves mistakenly recognized the person and thought..."

The woman holding the paint chuckled softly and asked as she walked into the room.

"You thought I ran out again, didn't you? Don't scare that girl."

The two maids looked embarrassed. After entering the room, they apologized and knelt in front of the painting table.

"It's the slaves who are presumptuous. Fortunately, the girl is not angry. Madam, please forgive me."

The woman was not prepared to ignore them anymore and picked up the unfinished portrait on her desk.

The portrait showed a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl, wearing a light pink dress, quietly twisting a flower and sitting among the flowers.

As soon as the woman looked over, her eyes softened to the extreme, and then flashed with a hint of water.

She looked at the painting in silence for a few moments, then picked up the painting and asked the two maids.

"How similar is the girl you said you saw to the person in my painting?"

The two maids raised their heads and looked at the painting, and their eyes widened in the next moment.

The girl they just saw looked like she had stepped out of the portrait in the wife's hand.

The two were speechless for a moment, and the woman raised an eyebrow at them.

"What? Are they similar?"

The two of them couldn't help but nodded.

"They are very similar!"

After saying this, the woman was startled for a moment, then looked at the two of them and asked.

"Are they similar in age?"

Both of them said yes, saying that the girl was fifteen or sixteen years old.

After the two of them finished talking, they saw that their wife had stopped talking. She was confused as to what she had thought of, and her expression seemed to be trembling a little, but she just hummed for a while and turned away and said something.

"There are many similar people in the world. Don't be dazzled by it anymore. It's my fault that you scare others for no reason."

The two maids saw that she was a little angry and didn't dare to say anything more. They kowtowed in response . down.

She turned her back and said again.

"At my age, I have long accepted my fate and know that I will never be able to leave in this life. You should stop harming others."

After she finished speaking, she waved the two maids to go down.

As soon as the two left, only the expensive incense burning next to the painting desk was left in the room.

The woman's hand holding the painting trembled. She looked at the image of her imaginary daughter in the painting, and then looked out the window from the top edge of the painting.

she murmured.

"Ning Ning, is that you?"

...

After eating alone at noon, the woman became a little distracted and couldn't help but think about the little girl that the two maids said was very similar to her.

I couldn't fall asleep even after taking a nap in the afternoon, and I couldn't even draw a single stroke when I picked up the brush.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, the concierge came over carrying something.

No one visits her here, and no one even knows that there is someone living here all year round.

But the concierge said.

"Madam, a noble man from the nearby villa moved here and gave some snacks to the neighbors. These are for us."

The concierge put the snack box on the corridor, and a maid came over and said.

"If Madam has no intention, I will take care of it for you."

But the woman raised her hand to stop her.

"I don't know what kind of novel snack it is. Open it and take a look."

The maid said nothing more and immediately opened the snack box. There were several snacks from other places in it.

She asked at a glance.

"Who sent it?"

the concierge replied.

"It's the Tan family."

"Qingkan Tan family? The family whose surname is Xiang?"

the concierge said repeatedly, "It was Mrs. Xiang who came to the villa and ordered people to send snacks to the neighbors."

After the concierge said, The woman was silent for a while.

The maid looked towards her and

asked, "Ma'am, do you want to try it?" The woman looked at the dessert calmly and said it didn't matter whether she tried it or not.

"It's just that reciprocity must be reciprocated."

She said and ordered the maid, "You ask Zao Shang to make a box of the Jiangnan snacks I often eat, and send them back as a return gift tomorrow."

After she finished speaking, it was as true as ever. Not caring at all, he turned around and returned to the room.

...

Xiang Yi did not wait for a reply that day and rested with his heart full of thoughts.

The next morning, just after dinner, every house she had sent snacks to responded to her request, and they all responded with gifts in a polite manner, including flowers, snacks, or melons and fruits.

Xiang Yi carefully read each family's return gifts.

Xiang Ning also came over to help her look at it, "Sister, I look at these return gifts carefully."

Xiang Yi smiled and didn't say anything, but saw Xiang Ning open a box and suddenly made a sound.

"What's wrong?"

The little girl pushed the box to show her.

"This family actually gave us Jiangnan snacks. The styles of these snacks are the same as those hometown snacks my mother loved to eat in the past!"

Xiang Yi looked at the Jiangnan snacks that were almost exactly the same as her mother's favorite snacks. Stunned for a moment.

"Whose gift is this from?"

The servant asked, her surname was Zhang, and she belonged to an imperial businessman's family. Living in the house was the wife of the imperial businessman who had been recovering from illness all year round.

Xiang Yi asked for more details, but the servants didn't know. They only knew that the lady had never been seen before. She seemed to be in very poor health and never went out.

Xiang Yi's heart skipped a beat when he heard this, and he looked at the box of snacks and fell into thought.

That lady is most likely Ning Ning's biological mother, but she seems to be completely unable to get out of that lofty mansion and is trapped in it...

the capital.

Tan Ting stayed in the Yamen for a longer period of time for several days in a row. The senior officials in the General Administration Department, seeing his progress, all said that his future was limitless.

Tan Ting did not dare to accept it, mainly because the house was deserted and no one was waiting for him under the window while making clothes.

Having said that, as soon as his wife left home, she was like a mud cow entering the sea, and there was no news at all.

He had no idea what she was busy with at the villa. If he hadn't sent someone to deliver the message, who knows if she was there.

Thinking of this, he returned home and saw no one in the main room. He sat under the window where she usually sat and was angry for a while.

But someone from the laundry room brought freshly washed clothes.

Tan Ting looked up and saw one of the new clothes that he had never worn before, and was stunned for a moment.

"This dress is mine too?"

It's not Tan Jian's or Brother Yu's, right?

Don't dare to mix up the master's clothes in the laundry room. Liandao belongs to the master.

"These are the new summer clothes that Madam made for you a few days ago. The slaves have just washed them."

As soon as he finished speaking, Tan Ting opened his eyes wide in surprise, and the anger he had just had with his wife disappeared.

"Madam is always interested in me," he said.

Everyone below agreed, "That's natural."

Tan Ting raised the corner of his mouth.

The next day, when he went to the office to change his clothes, he put on the new clothes his wife had made for him. Then he stood tall in front of Xiang Yi's dressing mirror and looked at it for a while.

I didn't want to wear new clothes and before I had time to eat dinner, Cheng Yunxian suddenly sent a message.

Tan Ting immediately cheered up, changed out of his new clothes into a pair of inconspicuous black clothes, had someone notify Gu Yansheng, and went out quietly.

The place Cheng Yun dedicated it to was near a small lake outside Beijing.

Tan Ting didn't know that the Cheng family had such a courtyard that included half of the lake.

But Gu Yansheng was not very surprised. He secretly paid more attention to the Cheng family. "Cheng Luo, the great master of Cheng, likes this place very much and comes here often."

Both of them were wearing ordinary clothes, but Cheng Yunxian asked them to change into Wearing the clothes of a Cheng family boy, he entered the house on the lake through an inconspicuous side door.

Cheng Yunxian was also there, and had arrived here a few days in advance, preparing everything for the two of them to infiltrate today.

Tan Ting said little, but Gu Yansheng said something.

"How did Miss Cheng expect that your father would come these days?"

Cheng Yunxian had never seen him before, so he thought he was an important person around Tan Ting, so he replied.

"My father often comes here, especially in May," she said. "Every year around these days, my father will come to this lake and even soak in the water all day long. I just guessed based on his habits in previous years. "

After she said this, Tan Ting paused.

"Come here every May on these days?"

Cheng Yunxian nodded.

Tan Ting thought of something and looked back at Gu Yansheng. He saw that Gu Yansheng had put away the usual smile on his lips and his face was a little colder.

After all, this was Cheng Luo's territory, and what Cheng Yunxian could do was very limited. He sent the two of them to the lake without letting them stay any longer.

It was inconvenient for her to go there, so she sent someone to show them the way.

The two soon arrived in the bamboo forest by the lake.

The wind blew from the lake, turning quietly in the bamboo forest, and there were gusts of dark wind.

They were all dressed as Cheng's boys, quietly picking up the grass and leaves in the bamboo forest.

But both of them looked at the lake. Apart from waves, they didn't see Cheng Luo's shadow.

However, there were still two servants who looked like secret guards by the lake, staring closely at the lake.

Tan Ting and Gu Yansheng both felt a strange feeling. Could it be that Cheng Luo was hiding in the lake?

Just as they were thinking about it, the waves on the lake suddenly rose, and someone came up from the lake. They both looked intently, and it was none other than Mr. Cheng Luo.

From a distance, he was half-backed, and his face could not be seen clearly, but there was no doubt that it was him, and everyone standing on the shore immediately saluted.

At this time, Gu Yansheng whispered to Tan Ting.

"Cheng Luo wears a veil all year round, but he didn't wear it today..."

Before he finished speaking, Cheng Luo happened to turn around, and their eyes fell on his face.

Underneath Cheng Luo's handsome upper face, the lower half of his face was twisted and weird, and his skin color was not normal at all. If he looked closely, he saw that it was actually a burn!

This scene is extremely horrifying. An ordinary person would be frightened by this scene.

Fortunately, both Tan Ting and Gu Yansheng were very good people, but Tan Ting's heart was filled with turmoil.

If he remembered correctly, Gu Yansheng's uncle, the eunuch Gu Xianying, was killed in a sudden fire in May of that year.

And Cheng Luo had severe burns on his face, and he would frequently come to this lake and sink under the water in May. Does this mean that the shadow of the past has not receded, and that what happened to Gu Xianying was exactly what he did?

Tan Ting was speechless for a moment.

If Cheng Luo really killed Gu Xianying, then why.

I'm afraid this was buried in the palace fire along with Gu Xianying's death. I don't know if the cause can be unearthed.

Tan Ting looked at Gu Yansheng and saw that Gu Yansheng silently clenched his hands, his finger bones crackling in the wind in the bamboo forest.

He was about to say "Condolences", after all, people cannot be resurrected after death.

At this moment, Cheng Luo stepped ashore from the lake.

I didn't want him to say the first thing he said when he got ashore.

"In five days, bring me the eunuch here. I will do it myself this year..."

Before he could finish his words, he had already wrapped up his clothes and walked away.

Eunuch? !

Tan Ting was stunned on the spot, and Gu Yansheng on the side also opened his eyes wide and looked at Cheng Luo's leaving figure in disbelief.

Cheng Luo's cold and strange voice just now seemed to still echo repeatedly on the water.

...

When leaving the Cheng family, Tan Tingte left a special message for Cheng Yunxian.

"Don't worry, Miss Cheng. Tan will keep his word."

Cheng Yunxian breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally, finally she was getting out of this sea of ​​misery.

No one knows how much her father's temperament has changed since he burned the lower half of his face.

His mother couldn't stand him, so she became seriously ill and frightened to death. Her stepmother had lived in seclusion since she was married and rarely showed up. Her brother even took the initiative to leave as soon as the period of filial piety was over. She was left to keep her mother's filial piety and spend every day. Facing this father...

She solemnly thanked Tan Ting, and her voice became hoarse for a while.

Tan Ting nodded slowly and left with Gu Yansheng.

After leaving the Cheng family, Gu Yansheng proposed to leave separately.

Tan Ting knew that Gu Yansheng had other plans, so he said seriously.

"Taoist priest, if you can find Tan, just ask."

Gu Yansheng's eyes fell slightly on his face and he bowed to him.

The Cheng family and the Lin family still don't know how many things are hidden under the water that people can't see clearly.

Tan Ting returned to Beijing and found someone to give instructions.

On the second day, I went to the Yamen as usual, and then I had two days of rest.

After Tan Ting left the capital, he quickly went to the hot spring villa on the outskirts of Beijing.

The author has something to say:

Mr. Tan: I finally took a vacation.

Tomorrow there will be a hot spring game (bushi) that you want...

I recommend a friend's ancient saying "After Changing Husbands" to watch the cherry blossoms/text. If you are interested, collect it ~

Copywriting:

Mr. Yan, a wealthy businessman in the town, wanted to find a good husband for his only daughter. Son-in-law, he supports many poor scholars.

Yan Ruyue took a fancy to the most handsome one at a glance.

The entire county knew that Miss Yan had liked the scholar for many years and was waiting to get married to him. Paint his eyebrows and hair, wash his hands and make soup for him.

However, on the day of the wedding, the groom was nowhere to be found, and everyone was waiting to see the Yan family's joke.

"Miss, what should I do? The auspicious time is coming soon!"

Yan Ruyue lifted her red hijab and made eye contact with the cold-faced man in the crowd.

——Then, the man stood up to the scholar and worshiped her.

The bridegroom's official family was impoverished, and Yan Ruyue, a charming young lady, felt uncomfortable everywhere, so she agreed with him that they would separate after getting through this, and go back to the bridge and go back to the road.

The man said softly: Okay

——————-

Xie Yan owed her a favor. When he saw her biting her red lips and her eyes dim with tears, he took a step to return her favor.

They are just a couple in name only, Xie Yan always told himself this, but he was still moved uncontrollably.

He was the one who agreed to separate at first, and he was the one who tried his best to keep her behind.