shameless

“Cough cough cough…”

Tan Linshuang immediately let go of his hand, touched his chest and coughed violently a few times. When he looked up again, the panic in his eyes was gone.

"Ma'am, what a coincidence."

He smiled at Zhao Mingyan, as if a spring breeze was blowing.

But Zhao Mingyan only felt like a fly was flying towards him.

She waved her hand, a half-smile on her lips, "My husband, have you learned teleportation? One moment he was in the study, and the next moment he was outside my back door."

"My lady, you are joking."

The corners of Tan Linshuang's mouth widened, but the smile seemed a little embarrassed.

How to explain such a predicament?

He was indeed in the study before, but not just a moment ago, but two hours ago.

After reading the adoption list of the orphanage, he recorded the orphans taken away by Tan Mozhu or in the name of the Tan family in another booklet, and then copied a separate copy for Ayun, instructing him to send someone to track the true whereabouts of these children, and then... he had nothing to do.

In the past, when Zhao Mingyan and his servant were there, the North Courtyard was always bustling. The two of them could act like ten people in the courtyard... or even more.

Now that they are not here, the courtyard has returned to the quietness it had before the wedding, which makes Tan Linshuang a little uncomfortable.

He rubbed his sore neck, slowly stood up and walked to the flower hall.

On weekdays, Zhao Mingyan would always spend time in the flower hall, eating snacks, reading novels, or painting the flowers and plants in the courtyard. Unlike other women in the back house, she would not appreciate flowers, do needlework, play the piano, recite poems, or chat with her husband.

It seemed that the two of them would only chat for a while in bed after turning off the lights at night.

They really didn’t look like a couple, more like… Tan Linshuang shook her head, unable to remember for a moment.

While his thoughts were drifting, he had already walked to the stone table and found that the fictional book that Zhao Mingyan had been reading recently was still spread out on the table, which she had not had time to take back to the room.

He picked it up curiously and took a closer look. It turned out to be not a fictional storybook, but a lantern record, which contained illustrations of various lanterns from the Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty.

Flipping through the book casually, he suddenly thought of Mingyue Zhai, and at the same time recalled the scene he saw on the day of his return home.

"I wonder if Zhao Mingyan was ultimately fighting with an egg against a rock, or was he fighting ten with one?"

With this doubt, he quietly left through the side door and rode alone to Zhaohua Town. Like a stranger, he led the horse towards Mingyuezhai.

Although he was the son-in-law of the Zhao family, the lamp makers and shop assistants at Mingyuezhai hardly knew him, so he walked to the door boldly, tied his horse, and walked into the front shop with his hands behind his back.

"You're here."

However, as soon as I stepped over the threshold, I heard a familiar voice.

Mother-in-law!

He was startled and was about to make up a reason for being alone here when he saw Li Yuzhu approaching a customer in the store.

call……

After breathing a sigh of relief, he turned around and prepared to run away.

But just when he glanced at Li Yuzhu and the guest, his feet paused. After a moment of hesitation, he left the front shop and went around to the back door. He just saw Li Yuzhu and the guest coming out, and then they left Mingyuezhai talking and laughing all the way.

For some unknown reason, he followed.

Until, he followed to the back door of Zhao's mansion.

The two men stayed in there for a long time, but they never came out. He was reluctant to leave, as he always wanted to know who the man was.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Mingyan showed up.

I went out today without checking the almanac!

After secretly regretting himself, he put away his awkward smile and spoke again calmly, "Didn't my wife accompany my grandmother to inspect the business? Why did she run back to her parents' home?"

Zhao Mingyan held the tea set in front of him and said confidently, "I bought a set of bamboo tea sets for my mother at Youmingqi. My grandmother thought it was still early, so she suggested that I go back to my mother's home and personally deliver the tea set to her."

"My grandmother is thoughtful and considerate. She said she was sending me tea sets, but in reality, she wanted me to come back and meet my mother and chat about family matters."

"I'm afraid my mother doesn't have time to chat with you right now." Tan Linshuang's eyes were deep, flashing with a faint light, and there was something hidden in her words.

"What do you mean?" Zhao Mingyan narrowed his eyes slightly.

Then, she looked past Tan Linshuang and towards the back door, "What were you looking at just now?"

Tan Linshuang rubbed her hands, pulled her against the wall, and whispered to her, "Is our mother planning to score a second goal?"

Squeak——

As soon as he finished speaking, the back door that had been closed for a long time suddenly opened, and an elegant man who looked to be in his thirties walked out.

"Mr. Mei?" Zhao Mingyan was surprised.

"Is your last name really Mei?" Tan Linshuang looked mischievous.

Zhao Mingyan glanced at him, watched Mr. Mei leave, then stepped back from the wall and said to him sternly, "Mr. Mei is a private school teacher near my home. He was also a student of my grandfather. He and my mother have known each other since childhood and they still visit frequently."

"Do you visit often?"

Tan Linshuang grasped the key point and raised her left eyebrow, saying, "It seems that our mother and Mr. Mei are indeed very close friends."

"What did you see?" Zhao Mingyan's eyes suddenly became sharp.

Tan Linshuang smiled slightly, folding her hands in front of her, "Madam, aren't you going to bring tea sets to our mother? Do you need your husband to accompany you?"

Zhao Mingyan hesitated for a moment, tilting her head to look at him. "My husband cares so much about my mother. It really proves the old saying that a son-in-law is half a son."

"The old saying is always right." Tan Linshuang smiled and nodded.

"But there's no old saying that goes, a son-in-law should chase after his mother-in-law and follow her?" Zhao Mingyan's eyes became more and more sharp.

Tan Linshuang rubbed her nose and said, "Perhaps today's timing is not good. How about I come back with you another day and give this tea set to our mother."

"Again?"

Zhao Mingyan nearly burst out laughing, looking at him playfully. "Although my husband can teleport, his memory is not good. It wasn't you who came back with me today. It was our coachman, Li Si, who brought Xiaozhu and me here."

"But you, my husband, have been talking about irrelevant things for so long, and you haven't explained clearly why you are here."

Tan Linshuang was speechless for a moment.

"Madam...cough cough cough..."

He bent over and coughed again.

"Ouch! Husband, please don't cough up your lungs."

Zhao Mingyan raised her eyebrows and patted his back considerately.

Pah pah pah——

It was deafening, and Tan Linshuang felt that if she continued to hit him, her lungs would really be beaten out.

"My wife!"

He quickly stood up and hugged Zhao Mingyan. "I haven't really visited your Zhaohua Town yet. It's better to meet by chance than to invite you. Please do your best to be a good host and take me to experience this Zhao family's civilized land today."

"Husband, do you know how to write these four words 'salacious face and salacious skin'?" Zhao Mingyan sneered.

"Hmm."

Tan Linshuang shook her head, then suddenly tilted her head and placed it on her shoulder. "I hope you can give me some advice."

Feeling his shoulders sink, Zhao Mingyan stuffed the tea set in her hand into his arms in an unpleasant manner, and then pulled him towards the carriage.

"Wait a minute!"

Tan Linshuang grabbed her and handed the tea set back to her. "Let Li Si take Xiaozhu back alone. I came here on horseback. We'll ride back later."

"You can also ride a horse?" Zhao Mingyan was shocked.

Tan Linshuang coughed twice and couldn't help laughing: "My wife, I am weak, not disabled."

Hearing this, Zhao Mingyan shifted her gaze to his indescribable position and smiled meaningfully, "Isn't he disabled?"

The evening breeze brought rosy clouds, covering the bustling Huadengfang with a hazy orange hue, making the hustle and bustle even more lovely.

Zhao Mingyan and Tan Linshuang walked side by side on the streets with flickering lanterns. Their shadows cast on the ground sometimes overlapped and sometimes intertwined, just like a pair of lovers in shadow puppetry, their ears never leaving their cheeks.

"The streets of our Zhaohua Town are not much different from your Yongnian Town. They are all linear. If you are close to the river, you will form a city because of the water, and live by the river."

Tan Linshuang nodded. "It's similar, but the difference is that you use lanterns as decorations, while we use bamboo as fences."

"The land and water nurture the people, and the customs and practices of each place determine the market." Zhao Mingyan continued with a smile.

"I wonder if the silk sold in the silk shops here is the same as the silk we sell here."

Suddenly, they saw a silk shop in front of them. Tan Linshuang took Zhao Mingyan's hand and walked quickly towards it. "Let's buy some silk to make lanterns. Then my lady won't have to tear down our red silk curtains anymore."

Zhao Mingyan's hand, which was held by him, trembled slightly. She suddenly recalled the experience of that day and blushed.

"Ma'am, what do you think of this red?"

Tan Linshuang didn't notice her abnormality. He walked into the store, let go of her hand, and started to choose.

Zhao Mingyan glanced at the red silk he had chosen and couldn't help but think of the fat lady he had painted. She couldn't help but ask sarcastically, "Husband, do you want to be the bridegroom every night?"

Tan Linshuang blinked dreamily, "Isn't it pretty?"

"It's as red as the red veil that covered my head on my wedding day." Zhao Mingyan snorted coldly.

"Isn't that quite festive?" Tan Linshuang was puzzled.

"Was our wedding day happy?" Zhao Mingyan glanced at him, a hint of resentment flashing in her eyes.

Tan Linshuang lowered his head timidly, feeling lonely.

Afterwards, he obediently followed Zhao Mingyan and no longer made any choices on his own.

"Hey! Isn't this Zhao Dong's house?"

The shopkeeper recognized Zhao Mingyan and greeted her with a smile.

Zhao Mingyan immediately pulled Tan Linshuang to her side and said with a shy smile, "This is my husband, the eldest son of the Tan family."

"Oh! Now I should call you Madam Tan." The shopkeeper said hurriedly.

Zhao Mingyan forced a smile, inexplicably resisting this new title.

Tan Linshuang suddenly put his arm around her shoulders and said to the shopkeeper, "My wife is still Shopkeeper Zhao."

Zhao Mingyan was stunned and looked up at him, just in time to see him winking and smiling at her.

"Hey...my lady, what do you think of this green? It's fresh and elegant, like the tender leaves of early spring."

Before Zhao Mingyan could respond, Tan Linshuang had already shifted her gaze and pointed to a roll of green silk beside her.

"This is called Willow Green, the color of willow branches." Zhao Mingyan also looked over.

The shopkeeper then asked someone to take down a horse for the two men to examine carefully.

Tan Linshuang seemed to like this color very much. She held it in her hands and looked at it repeatedly. Finally, she covered Zhao Mingyan's mouth with it and praised it repeatedly: "Who said that crimson is beautiful? Willow green is also beautiful..."

The green silk veil fell from above, catching Zhao Mingyan off guard, just like the red veil that fell on her wedding night.

Under the red veil, she could not see Tan Linshuang's face clearly; but under the green silk, she could clearly see Tan Linshuang's smile at that moment.

Like jade in spring, full of vitality.

Tan Linshuang also stared at her through the green silk without blinking.

Under the red silk tent, she looks like a peach; under the green silk, she looks like a green pear.