Chapter 182 Heartfelt Conversation
"The adults would watch us, and if anyone disobeyed and swam too far, they would grab their ears and beat them back. But I was a girl after all, and when I grew up, my parents wouldn't let me play by the water anymore, saying it was unbecoming. They even made me learn needlework, and God knows, I was such a nuisance."
Zhao Yan also laughed, "So how's your study going?"
"It was pretty normal. I was only ten years old at the time, and my parents were worried that I wouldn't be able to get married, but I didn't listen."
"Yeah, she shouldn't have trouble finding a husband." Zhao Yan said.
Yu Huatang continued, "Of course. When I was fourteen or fifteen, many people wanted to propose marriage to me, but my cousin said we should wait two years until I was older and more sensible. At that time, there was also a young man who passed by our place. He said he was from Qinhuangdao, but I don't know where he was. He wanted to come to my house to propose marriage, but later, he left because of family matters. And then..."
She didn't say anything else, as if she remembered something, and her face was sad.
Zhao Yan knew that later on, she was seen by Ding Gui, and then she came to the capital...
If it were not for this, she would not have come to the capital, would not have become Lady Qiaodeng, and would not have experienced so much suffering.
If her life had been like in the past, she would have been married long ago, and her husband and wife would have loved each other very much. Her children would have been as smart and strong as she was.
"It's windy, is it cold?" he asked.
Yu Huatang shook her head, but clenched her hands in her sleeves. Then she said, "Zhao Yan, I heard that your second sister-in-law's family wants to introduce you to a girl. She's also dignified and elegant, and well-educated. You should take a look at her. Maybe after getting to know her, she'll be good. But don't tell me you want to do something with me. It's meaningless."
"Okay, I'll go see it." He said casually, took off his coat, put it on her, and said gently, "You too, you should think more about yourself. It's impossible for people to be right every step of the way, so don't always find fault with yourself. If, in the future, there really is such a person who you can entrust your life to..."
He couldn't go on at this point. Although he knew that she would not choose him again, if someone really walked beside her one day, he would only feel heartbroken, let alone say words of blessing.
Yu Huatang ended the topic, "Okay, it's getting late, let's go."
…………
On the day of the winter solstice, a major event occurred in the capital. The imperial concubine was assassinated and became seriously ill. The empress dowager beat several imperial doctors with sticks.
In the end, it was still of no avail. Two days after the winter solstice, the imperial concubine passed away.
As soon as the news spread, martial law was imposed in the capital. The imperial concubine was the niece of the empress dowager, and her death meant that the empress dowager's party had finally collapsed.
Qingxing had never seen such a big event before, and she was curious and scared. Although Yu Huatang had never experienced it, he knew that the families of high-ranking officials would definitely step up their efforts at this time, as the emperor was currently purging his followers.
She warned Qingxing to be careful with her words and actions and not to cause trouble for the Zhao family.
Fortunately, the Ministry of Internal Affairs did not stop the classes in Tianjing Pavilion in the past few days. It was just that Eunuch Cao could no longer come to teach. The other teachers were there, and Yu Huatang went out as usual.
A few days later, the clerk brought the copied books, two of which were said to be from Lord Zhao. Yu Huatang opened them and carefully examined his handwriting, which was very elegant.
She said to Qingxing, "Pack up these books. Maybe when you're broke, you can sell them for money."
Qing Xing asked in confusion, "Ah, why? Don't you need to pack the other things?"
"Just these two." Yu Huatang said with a smile.
The weather was getting colder and colder, and the classes at Tianjing Pavilion were almost over. When she came back from outside that day, she remembered that she had asked him to go and see the girl from his second sister-in-law's family, but there was no movement.
That day, Zhao Yan came back from outside. Yu Huatang went over to him, walked a few steps with him, and said, "Master Zhao, I think I'll move out in a few days."
Zhao Yan quickly said, "There's no need. Besides, the New Year is almost here. You're the one we hired to treat my mother's illness. If you move out now, people might think my family is ungrateful. Besides, houses in the capital become more expensive towards the end of the year, so moving out now would be a waste of money. For now, even I wouldn't agree to this, let alone my mother."
He said so, and she didn't know how to refute him. She just wanted to go back and ask Mrs. Zhao if it was possible to move out.
She said nothing more and said goodbye to him, "Then I'll go first."
He stopped and watched her go away.
The weather became colder and it snowed heavily that day.
As soon as Yu Huatang went out, he met Zhao Yan who was waiting outside the door.
Zhao Yan said, "I have other things to do today, so I won't be accompanying you. Besides, I might have to be away for another two weeks. I've already made arrangements at home."
Yu Huatang was surprised, "It took so long, is there something wrong?"
Zhao Yan said, "A friend of mine wants to see me, so I'm going to help him with something."
Yu Huatang was puzzled, "Will it take so long?"
"Well, don't worry. Just go to Tianjing Pavilion as usual. If anyone gossips about you or makes you angry, tell my mother," he said.
Yu Huatang disagreed and said, "I understand. I'll leave first."
"good."
…………
It's freezing cold.
As soon as I go out and am not careful, my hands and feet will become numb from the cold.
In the afternoon, there were even fewer people on the streets. Ouyang Zui was rushing from the suburbs to the capital, feeling extremely depressed. He had originally been given a sinecure in the Honglu Temple, and had nothing to do all day long. He just drank wine in brothels and slept with girls in romantic places, and was very happy.
But his father insisted on giving him the task of preparing for the New Year celebrations in the palace, and he had to find many rare and unique things to make the nobles in the palace laugh more.
It's already the coldest time of the year, and having to run to the suburbs every day is not a life for human beings.
At this time, a voice came from outside, "Sir, the good stuff has arrived, do you want to buy it?"
This was a code word specifically for selling those things. Ouyang Zui was about to say, "Get lost..."
The man said, "It's a very good thing. You will definitely like it after seeing it."
After saying that, he handed the book over.
Ouyang Zui took it and flipped through it casually. The album was indeed very exquisite and the content was good, so he was satisfied.
He took a few glances and felt a little impatient. He had been living like a bitter melon these days and had already reached the limit of his patience.
Ouyang Zui took a few books and read them back, but he felt dissatisfied with only the pictures and not the people. When evening came, he remembered what the man had said, and the people were ready.
He stood up and immediately told the servant to prepare the car.
The servant said that the Duke had not allowed him to go out recently, so Ouyang Zui scolded him and said that he was the master.
The servant had no choice but to prepare the car, and half an hour later, he followed the man to a place.
At first glance it looks like an ordinary courtyard, but once you go in you will realize that there is a lot going on inside. The gauze is fluttering, and several beauties can be seen under the dim candlelight. The crimson window gauze is lifted by the evening breeze, and the candlelight casts the silhouette of the woman leaning on the railing on the gauze. The fragmented light from the hairpins on her hair is like the Milky Way falling into a spring boudoir.
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