Chapter 153 Return to Beijing
The cold moon is coming, and the gray leaves are bidding farewell to the frost.
It was the winter of the fifth year of Cheng'an, and the official road was sparsely populated, with a cold and depressing atmosphere.
A carriage was traveling on a cobblestone road. The dead branches on the roadside were covered with bright rime. The wheels rolled over the snow, making a fine clattering sound like broken jade.
There was a warm charcoal fire burning in the carriage, but the atmosphere was very cold.
Yueli leaned against the car wall unhappily, staring out the window with her back to the person opposite her, leaving only the stubborn back of her head facing him.
Xiao Mingcheng was wearing a sky-blue robe with narrow sleeves and a leather belt around his waist, outlining his tall and strong body.
At this moment, his usually expressionless face was filled with tenderness. He reached out his hand several times to hold the woman's hand, but she shook him off every time.
Yueli snorted softly and turned her head away even more, too lazy to look at him.
"I don't mean to blame you, but it's the end of the year, and we have a lot of things to buy when we return to Beijing. My salary is limited, and I really..." A trace of embarrassment appeared on the man's dark face, "I really can't afford your extravagance."
Yue Li almost got furious when she heard this. She had only bought a few hairpins before leaving Jiangning, but he kept nagging her all the way.
After following Xiao Mingcheng for a year, her dowry was still not full!
It's not as good as it was in Chunfeng Pavilion before. At least every time those playboys came to see her, even if they could only talk to her, they would send boxes of gold, silver and jewelry to her house. It was not as tight as it is now.
He is a general, but he is unwilling to spend so much salary on her.
Yueli was lucky at first, at least the man who bought her had a decent appearance and figure, was an official appointed by the court, and had a clean family without even a concubine, but who knew he was so stingy.
She couldn't help but say sarcastically, "How dare I blame you? If you don't like those hairpins, just return them."
Xiao Mingcheng had been with her for a year, so he knew that she was just saying that out of anger. If he really returned the things, she would quarrel with him for three days and three nights.
He had just been transferred back to the capital from the Jiangnan area, and it was the New Year, a busy time, and he really couldn't stand her tossing and turning.
Yueli is good in every way, except that she is a little too delicate and spends money lavishly.
If it were normal times, if she spent a hundred taels to buy a few hairpins, he would let her do it. After all, he didn't have much money on a normal day. But this year he was going back home and had bought a lot of things. He had already spent most of this year's salary, and she had to buy those things at this time.
But looking at Yueli's pretty profile, which looked so delicate even when she was angry, Xiao Mingcheng couldn't bear to say anything to her anymore.
"When we return to the capital, there will be rewards from the palace at the end of the year. I'll give them all to you then, okay?"
Yueli's ears twitched, and she was a little curious about what the reward from the palace would be.
Xiao Mingcheng continued, "The Empress Dowager will give some jewelry and fabrics for the female relatives, and His Majesty will also give some antiques and ornaments, which can be placed in your room."
Yueli then turned around and asked, "Really?"
Xiao Mingcheng smiled and held her soft little hand: "Really, I won't lie to you."
"Mother and sister will have theirs, and I'll give you my share, okay?"
Yueli was finally comforted and said in a delicate voice, "Okay then, I'm not angry with you anymore."
The atmosphere in the carriage relaxed a lot. As the two talked, they got off the official road and were about to reach the city gate.
But at this moment, the carriage was suddenly bumped, and Yueli's shoulder hit the wall of the carriage. She immediately became angry again, lifted the curtain and looked at the carriage opposite.
The road into the city after leaving the official road was a bit narrow and could only accommodate two carriages. The oncoming carriage was wider than usual, which was why it bumped into them.
Xiao Mingcheng pulled Yue Li back and went out to negotiate with the other party.
At the moment when the curtain fell, a corner of the curtain of the carriage opposite was lifted up. The person inside took a look and asked the coachman to negotiate.
I don’t know what the two of them talked about, but not long after, Xiao Mingcheng came up.
"The other party was walking a little too fast, but luckily, we didn't actually collide with him."
It gets dark early in winter, so Xiao Mingcheng didn't delay any longer. After this little episode, he asked the coachman to speed into the city.
*
Shou'an Marquis Mansion.
The Shou'an Marquis and his wife and Xiao Mingyue were waiting in the lobby.
The housekeeper hurried in, his face full of joy: "My Lord, Madam, the prince is back."
Xiao Mingyue stood up immediately: "So soon? I haven't seen my brother in a long time."
She skipped out, and the Marquis's wife followed her, scolding her with a smile, "You always quarreled with your brother when you were together before, and now you're thinking about it again after not seeing him for a year?"
Xiao Mingyue said shyly: "It's been a long time since we last met..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Mingcheng walked in from the gate with Yue Li.
Yue Li was in the capital for the first time and was very curious along the way. When she saw the luxurious and grand marquis' mansion, she couldn't help but look around.
This is much bigger than the mansion I lived in in Jiangning.
Yue Li followed Xiao Mingcheng nervously. When she looked over his shoulder, the first person she saw was Marquis Shou'an.
Although she had met him once in Jiangning, when she saw him again, Yue Li still had only one thought in her mind.
So ugly.
Fortunately, Xiao Mingcheng did not follow him.
Next to Marquis Shou'an was a graceful and elegant woman who looked to be around forty years old. Next to her was a girl of fifteen or sixteen years old, who had a sense of arrogance between her eyebrows and seemed difficult to get along with.
"Father, Mother." Xiao Mingcheng smiled slightly and looked at Xiao Mingyue again, "Sister."
Shou An Hou patted his shoulder and said, "It's good that you're back. It's good that you're back."
The Marquis's wife pulled his arm and looked him around. "You've been away for a year. How come you've lost so much weight?"
The family of four was there, asking about each other's well-being. Yueli twisted her fingers awkwardly, lowered her head and stared at her toes.
At this time, Xiao Mingcheng held her hand: "Mother, this is Yueli. I told you about it in the letter."
Yue Li smiled, but she didn't follow Xiao Mingcheng's lead and call him "Father and Mother." She just said, "Greetings, Lord Marquis, and Madam Marquis."
Marquis Shou'an didn't say anything. His wife's expression remained unchanged, but the smile in her eyes faded a little. She responded indifferently and ignored Yue Li again.
However, Xiao Mingyue kept looking at her, sizing her up and down as if he was looking at a piece of merchandise, which made Yueli frown.
Xiao Mingcheng knew that Yueli might be feeling uncomfortable, so he asked his servant Xiao Lu to take her back to her room first.
Yueli followed Xiao Lu, carrying her bag. Before they left, she could hear the four of them laughing and chatting, as well as the Marquis's wife saying, "You're already twenty-six, and the Empress Dowager has asked about your marriage. You must choose carefully this time you come back."
Yue Li walked away and didn't hear what Xiao Mingcheng answered.
The bright moonlight cast her lonely shadow. Yueli hugged the small bag tightly in her arms.
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