As the New Year approaches, there are frequent exchanges between families.

Qin Jiao, who was counting the property of Mrs. Lin in Qingkan, received a message from Mrs. Lin asking him how things were going.

Qin Jiao had a headache.

In the past few days since he came to the Tan family, he had been paying attention to the faults of the clan wife Xiang, but unfortunately he didn't notice any of them.

Qin Jiaozheng didn't know how to reply, he didn't want the jade pendant incident to come out.

The day Qin Jiao learned about this, he asked the boy beside him to call Zhengji over.

"What happened to Mrs. Xiang? Can you tell me in detail?"

Zhengji didn't know why he looked so happy and told everything he knew.

As soon as the words fell, Qin Jiao couldn't help stroking his hands, "Okay, okay."

"Okay?" Zhengji swallowed and spat, "Mr. Qin, my uncle's face has been gloomy for two days in a row. How can it be good?"

Qin Jiao took a picture. His shoulders, "This benefit is not in the immediate future, but in the long run. When the uncle returns to Beijing..."

"What?"

Unfortunately, Qin Jiao didn't say anything, and just smiled, "It's inconvenient for me to say this. I told you earlier, but good things can never go wrong... Speaking of which, the Xiang family, as a clan wife, actually accepted bribes, which made the Tan family trust her so much in vain."

Qin Jiao had already decided to write a letter back to Lin Da. Madam, even the ink is grinding now.

Zhengji said, "We haven't found out yet. Isn't it necessarily related to the madam?"

"What else is there?"

Qin Jiao disagreed. He thought that Tan Ting had always been worried about Xiang Zhiyuan's corruption. , now Xiang is acting the same as her father, which shows that the uncle is not in a good mood.

So he kicked Zhengji away and said, "Okay, okay, you can go back and serve the uncle." After Zhengji

left, Qin Jiao immediately wrote a handwritten letter about how Xiang Yi accepted bribes and angered Tan Ting . I asked my servant to come over.

"You should pay more attention. If you see anyone who has been arranged by the Tan family to come to Beijing in the past few days, ask them to send the letter to the eldest lady. Have you remembered it?"

After the young man had written it down, Qin Jiao let it go. He continued to work hard for Mrs. Lin without complaint.

The way out for a poor family lies in the aristocratic family. He cannot make the aristocratic family unhappy like the Xiang family did.

...

Tan has a good family.

Tan Jiangfan locked himself in the room since Qiu made trouble that day and refused to come out even to eat.

Tan Youliang, the fifth master of Tan Tan, was only obsessed with playing chess. Mrs. Qiu asked him to call his son out, but he reprimanded Mr. Qiu, "Why bother? Can you please stop making trouble over nothing?"

Mr. Qiu couldn't control his son, and was scolded by her husband again. Remembering that she had made a scene, Chu Xinggu was still in the shantang and had not been kicked out, and the Zong family had only temporarily locked up that girl Qiao Yun.

She was so upset that when she heard her neighbor say that another batch of good wood had arrived at Mrs. Fusan's house, she had no time to look at it.

She was afraid that if she really investigated it, it would be on her head.

After thinking about it, she went back to her room, grabbed a handful of coins, put them into a dusty purse, changed into inconspicuous clothes, and secretly went to the Tan family's clan house while avoiding people.

She found the little maid who had delivered the bracelet to Qiao Yun's room for her.

The little maid was so scared that something happened and she couldn't sleep well for two days. She couldn't help crying when she saw Mrs. Qiu.

Qiu quickly covered her mouth.

"Why are you crying? No one is here to take you out. If you don't tell me or God doesn't tell me, who will know?"

After she finished speaking, she stuffed the inconspicuous purse in her hand into the little maid's waist.

"The money will buy you a hairband. Remember to keep your mouth tight, otherwise, I won't be able to protect you!"

The little maid was frightened by her coaxing and covered her mouth to stop crying.

Qiu was relieved.

She identified Qiao Yun and Xinggu with both physical and human evidence. As long as the little maid didn't tell the truth, it would be impossible for them to stand up.

Mrs. Qiu looked around and left quickly.

But she didn't see a figure flashing past behind the cypress tree in the nearby corner.

Uncle Zhongqing's Mansion was a respectable Duke's Mansion in Beijing, and the marriage between Tan and Yang's family had been decided long before Tan Ting's father was around.

Now that Tan Jian and the second lady of the uncle's house, Yang Zhen, are old, the marriage is naturally a matter of course.

Especially when Tan Tingte came back from the capital, the wedding was a grand occasion.

Almost half of Qingkan County is occupied by the residences and shops of the Tan family. The sedan chair of Uncle Zhongqing entered the city from the north gate and passed through half of the county to the Tan family. Everyone in the city knew about it.

Everyone came to see the excitement, and the groom Tan Jian, who was riding a tall horse in the middle of the road, was so crowded that he almost had no way to go.

Fortunately, Tan Ting had already anticipated this and had prepared manpower to clear the road in advance. Thanks to his reputation, the county magistrate also sent officials to give orders.

Tan Jian's path to welcoming the bride became more secure again. The corners of his mouth were raised and he couldn't help but secretly look at the red sedan next to him.

Although he knew that the bride must be wearing a red hijab and sitting quietly in the sedan chair, he could not see anything, but...

but, how did he see a pair of big bright eyes in the door curtain? !

Those eyes also saw him, and the next moment their eyes met, the door curtain suddenly opened, blocking the line of sight.

Tan Jian: "..."

Am I blind?

The marriage did not go smoothly because of this incident.

On the contrary, Xiang Yi discovered that Tan Jian kept secretly looking at the bride, even when he was praying to heaven and earth, he secretly looked at her.

Xiang Yi thought that since the Yang family's dowry box entered the Tan family's door, Tan Jian's face had been glowing every day.

You must like it very much, right?

Xiang Yi smiled warmly.

At least Tan Jian is looking forward to his bride, and their marriage can get off to a good start...

The bustle of the day passed, until the second watch drum sounded, and those who made noise about the wedding also stopped. In the alleys of the Tan family Then it gradually became quiet.

Xiang Yi went to see Qiao Yun once. Qiao Yun, who had been imprisoned for two days, blamed herself, "Did I bring down the reputation of my wife..."

Xiang Yi said it didn't matter, "The most important thing now is , to find out what’s going on.”

Her voice was gentle and steady, and it had a calming power in Qiao Yun’s ears.

Qiao Yun's eyes were red.

Xiang Yi cast a comforting look and smiled with her.

"Just rest peacefully for a few days. Just remember to keep all the ledgers."

The Tan family's accounts are placed in Tan Ting and Xiang Yi's main room, and Xiang Yi's private accounts are kept in Qiao Yun's place.

Qiao Yun vaguely seemed to understand what Xiang Yi meant.

"Madam, don't worry, all the servants are put away!"



When I came back from the back room, the night was dark, the moonlight was far and clear, and it spread lightly on the eaves, black tiles and bluestone road in the cold winter.

Xiang Yi looked up and saw a waning moon hanging low in the sky.

she asked suddenly.

"What's today in the twenties?"

The little maid holding the lantern for her was stunned for a moment.

"Madam, I was busy and forgot, today is the twenty-fifth."

Twenty-five...

During the second half of the return journey, Xiang Yi didn't let the little maid pick up the lamp anymore, and sent her back to sleep, walking alone. The clear moonlight slowly returned to the main room.

She went back to clean up before Tan Ting came back.

Ever since the day of the accident, the room had become increasingly silent. Apart from the shallow breathing and occasional footsteps, it was as if no one was there.

Although he had been busy all day, Tan Ting had no intention of taking a break immediately. He stood in front of the desk and wrote with his arms hanging from his arms.

Xiang Yi was still sitting on the high chair under the window, lighting a small lamp, and unhurriedly sewing for his sister Xiang Ning.

The atmosphere in the room seemed to freeze.

No one broke the silence.

It wasn't until nearly three o'clock that Tan Ting came back from the desk.

The two of them washed and undressed as before. Xiang Yi also blew out the candles and entered the tent after him.

The waning moon cast some light in front of the bed.

Xiang Yi couldn't help but imagine what he would do next.

Should we continue with the same rules, or should we leave her alone?

A cold wind passed between the two of them, and the moonlight shone thinly on the tent.

In the tent, the hand that crossed the gap between the two and landed on Xiang Yi's waist never came over.

The cold wind still passed between the two of them.

Xiang Yi suddenly felt that being disliked by him was not a bad thing.

She closed her eyes in relief.

...

The next day, the bride pays homage to her elders, recognizes her relatives, and pays homage to the ancestral hall.

The busy schedule didn't end until noon.

The bride indeed has a blessed face, with a round face, and her facial features are not small and delicate. Instead, her eyes are like apricots, her nose is high, her lips are red, and she has a lucky mole on her chin that is common among Shandong people.

Xiang Yi followed Zhao's instructions and told the bride Yang Zhen some rules at home.

She talked for half an hour, and then she saw the bride's head moving slightly and her eyes raised as she listened.

Xiang Yi looked funny.

"Brothers and sisters, please go back first. We can talk about it some other time."

"Ah? Is this okay? I can hold on for a while."

Chun Sun laughed when he heard that, and Xiang Yi said, "It's okay." , let her go back and rest.

Now that there was nothing else going on, Xiang Yi thought of his adopted brother Gu Yansheng.

I don’t know if there is any news.

Thinking about it, she asked someone to hitch a carriage and went to the Jixiang Seal Shop in person.

When Xiang Yi arrived, neither the shopkeeper nor the boy was there. She walked all the way to the backyard and saw the shopkeeper talking to a group of people.

They were a group of men who looked like craftsmen in thin clothes, anxious to say something to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper's surname was Jiang. When he saw Xiang Yi coming, he asked the group of people to go back first.

"They said they could either cut the wages in half, or hire someone else, and let us figure it out ourselves... The wages have really been cut a lot, let me think about what to do."

Those people hunched over and looked sad. , thanked him and left with a sigh.

Xiang Yi glanced at them from afar and asked, only to find out that they were woodcarving craftsmen, and they only took on odd jobs with very low wages. Even so, their money was cut in half, making life difficult.

Shopkeeper Jiang said it was a pity, "Actually, their craftsmanship is pretty good, but the world is like this..."

He didn't say much, and replied when Xiang Yi asked about letters from home.

"No letter has been sent. Madam, just wait."

Xiang Yi nodded.

No news, but that’s good news.

If there is something urgent, Xiang Ning and Xiang Yu will deliver the letter directly to the Tan family's house.

Shopkeeper Jiang asked people to serve tea and talked about Xiang Yi's printing of the word "harmony" last time.

"Madam, this seal is really of high quality. Many people came to inquire about the price. I thought I could sell it at a high price, so I decided not to make a move in a hurry."

Xiang Yi agreed, "You know the market better than me. Look at it. The only thing that can be done is not to sell it to the Tan family."

Shopkeeper Jiang understood that it was not necessary, and Mrs. Xiang did not want the Tan family to know about it.

"Don't worry, madam, we won't sell it to the Tan family."

The two said a few more words, and shopkeeper Jiang brought up the good jade he had collected for Xiang Yi and sent her away.

As soon as Xiang Yi left, someone came into the shop.

...

Tan Ting met several friends who passed by Qingkan today.

When he came back from saying goodbye to his friends, he went to the book shop on the county government street. When he came out of the book shop, he saw a printing shop that he had not paid much attention to before.

He stepped into the shop and immediately saw a small yellow stone seal placed in the middle.

The small seal is only about the size of a thumb. It has a lotus with leaves carved on it. The carving is delicate and the style is generous. The bottom of the seal is engraved with the word "和" in a rare ancient script.

His eyes lit up, "How can I sell this seal?"