When Huo Xiaolong and Hou Xiangxiang climbed up to the back door of their house in the red-light district, they were both a little nervous. They were both sixteen or seventeen years old, like flowers in full bloom. They couldn't possibly be beaten up.

"Hehe, Mom, Mother."

The moment Huo Xiaolong poked his head out after taking off his smock, Cen Ang gestured to He Yi. Both mothers looked in that direction with eyes that had been familiar since childhood.

"Has our little bodhisattva who saves us from suffering returned?"

"Oh, Mother, don't say that." The girl was pouting at He Yi, but her mother's nagging was really unpleasant.

"So what do you want your mother to say? She came down from the city wall without even saying goodbye. And to make matters worse, she gave very strict orders, leaving her sword on the wall. She knows she listens to you, right?"

"Hehe, Mom, I won't do it again. I'll definitely say hello to you next time."

"You'll do it again?!"

He Yi took out a feather duster from behind her back and reached out to grab Huo Xiaolong.

The girl moved swiftly and climbed onto the roof.

"Mother, she's sixteen! Sixteen years old! A young lady shouldn't be beaten anymore!"

“Young lady? I don’t think you’re a proper young lady at all.” He Yi pointed at Huo Xiaolong and told him to get down.

A graceful beauty emerged from the Huo family courtyard. She wore a pink cotton-padded jacket, and her horse-face skirt swayed gently with her lotus-like steps. Even in the winter when she was wearing a cotton-padded jacket, her waistline was still visible.

"Mother, Long'er just got back. That little glutton must have suffered a lot. I roasted some persimmons for her. Come down and eat them quickly."

Chunying looked at the girl who had returned safely and smiled and waved to her. She had been her sister-in-law for so long, but she still felt the same way she did when she first met her at the age of four.

She's still so gentle and considerate.

He never said a harsh word.

Chunying watched the girl scooping out bright red persimmons with a wooden spoon, then reached out and tidied her stray hairs.

"Have you suffered?" Chunying asked softly.

"No, Er Ya brings me three meals a day. If anything is bitter, it's the medicine that's bitter. Most of the time, it's my sister who suffers. Sister, you don't know, almost all the doctors who go down there have been infected with the plague. No amount of protection can help."

"The little girl refused to drink the elixir even if it meant her death. Her little face was sallow. I think she'll definitely get a beating when she gets home today."

"But why haven't we heard any sounds of her being beaten yet after all this time?"

The beauty laughed so hard she couldn't stand up straight. These children had always loved watching each other make a scene since they were little. If it weren't for the fact that the Lady of the Marquis was less ruthless now, the child would probably be climbing the wall again in a little while.

“You,” Chunying said, poking her forehead with her finger.

"Xiangxiang has grown up too."

"She'll still be a little girl when she grows up."

"That's wonderful." The beautiful woman said quietly as she watched Huo Xiaolong eating persimmons.

"What's so good about it, sis?"

"You guys are good friends, we've been playing together since we were kids."

"My sister also has someone I've known since childhood, so we're good friends too."

Chunying looked up at the fallen leaves covering the courtyard. It was quite nice. She guessed that in a little while, as evening approached, the group of maids who were now young ladies would come over with brooms to sweep up the fallen leaves.

The beauty can no longer remember her childhood friends; she thinks she had a few.

But it's okay, she's doing well now.

As the autumn wind blew by, Hou Xiangxiang quietly entered the courtyard, intending to take a bath before being beaten. Unexpectedly, her mother was already waiting for her at the door of her room, sitting on a small stool.

"mother."

"Miss Hou still knows to come home?"

The girl, who had nothing to say, looked up at her mother. Her mother's posture was still so dignified. She guessed she would never be able to learn to sit like that in her entire life. Would her mother be very disappointed?

"Why don't you give me a beating, Mom?"

"???"

"This is the first time in my life I've ever heard someone say 'ask for a beating'!"

The dignified lady had disappeared. Hearing the angry roar in the courtyard, Xu Zheng, who had come to the door with gifts, felt extremely awkward. Should he knock on the door or not?

I heard that Xiangxiang tested the medicine on herself and came up with a good prescription, so I brought gifts to celebrate with my sister.

"Never mind." Looking at her daughter, who had shrunk to the size of a quail, Lady Hou pushed open the door.

Inside the boudoir were Hou Xiangxiang's favorite dishes, a large table full of them, and the Liuxian skirt that she had begged her mother to make for her at the embroidery shop, the kind with a very long skirt and sleeves.

Behind the screen was steaming hot bathwater, and the whole room was warm from the heating.

"mother?"

Hou Xiangxiang was a little incredulous that her mother had let her go so easily. Madam Hou turned around and looked at the daughter who had run away from home and forced her to divorce.

She had thought that having a child would make her even more attached to the mansion. From the moment she was born, she became the Lady of the Marquis's lifelong concern.

But it was this child who helped her escape from the mire.

"My son is very capable." As she said this, the Lady Hou's eyes were a little red and her voice trembled slightly.

How could she not worry? When Xiangxiang hadn't left the tent for several days in a row, this mother knew that her child had caught the disease and was hiding from her, afraid that her family would worry.

The young girl smiled and then listened to what Lady Hou had to say.

"After washing up, eating, and resting, I'll go and pay my respects to my maternal and paternal grandparents."

"OK!"

From now on, I am also my mother's pride.

When Lady Hou returned to the main hall, the steward reported that Xu was loitering at the door. The woman rubbed her temples and waved him in.

"Yingying, I heard that Xiangxiang is back, and..."

"What Yingying? Calling me my younger sister?" Lady Hou said, flicking her sleeve.

Yingying is the maiden name of Lady Hou. Hou Xiangxiang, who came to see her mother to ask her to drink some medicine to prevent the plague, was at the door when she heard the name Yingying and her eyes widened.

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