The courtyard is full of greenery, and the window is half-closed. A woman is putting on makeup in front of the mirror. Her face, which is no longer young, is filled with a smile like a young girl in love. The smile spreads along the lines at the corners of her eyes, making her originally pale cheeks blush like spring clouds, which makes her look even more attractive than if she had put on rouge. She curled her lips slightly, and her eyes were shining. She picked and chose in the sandalwood dressing box, and finally found a gold silk double-luan step-shaking pendant. She raised her wrist high and asked the person behind her, "Will I look old wearing this?"

Nanny Yu behind her put the hairpin into her bun and said with a smile, "Madam, you are not old at all. You don't even have a single gray hair. You look so good today. You look good in anything you wear."

Madam Zhao glared at her coquettishly and said, "You are such a sweet talker. What time is it now? Is the master coming over?"

Nanny Yu glanced at the leaky pot and said, "Madam, don't worry. It's only the 15th hour. Didn't the master say that he can only come over when it's almost dinner time?"

Mrs. Zhao rubbed the jade bracelet on her hand nervously, her face suddenly flushed, she lowered her head and whispered, "You said... will the master stay here tonight?"

Nanny Yu tidied up her hair and said with a smile, "Since the master has taken the initiative to ask to have dinner with Madam, he must be prepared to stay overnight." She bent down and whispered in Madam Zhao's ear, "Don't worry, Madam, I specially chose ylang-ylang for today's incense, and we'll add some wine to liven it up. I'm not afraid that he won't stay."

Mrs. Zhao's face flushed in the bronze mirror, as if she had returned to her youth. She sat anxiously in her new house, waiting for the man she had thought of thousands of times to come. If there was another chance, could everything start all over again?

While she was anxiously waiting with all kinds of thoughts in her mind, someone was galloping along the way. Xiao Zhixuan opened the car curtain and looked at the red sun gradually setting in the sky. She couldn't help but turn around and complain: "Brother, it's all your fault. I clearly told you yesterday, but you are still so late today. If it's completely dark, I'm afraid we won't be able to see the dragon boat race."

Xiao Du glanced at the green rice dumpling in Yuan Xi's hand and answered absentmindedly, "You just want to play. There was such a big commotion in the temple yesterday. My father and I were busy all day to settle those clan members and shut up those monks. Do you think everyone is as free as you?"

Thinking of what happened in the Buddhist temple yesterday, Xiao Zhixuan's eyes dimmed and she said, "Actually, Madam is quite pitiful..." Before she finished speaking, Xiao Du glared at her. She immediately realized that she had said something she shouldn't have said, and quickly shrank her neck with guilt. Xiao Du said, "Remember! You can fool around on weekdays, but don't discuss the affairs of your elders casually."

At this time, Yuan Xi finally finished peeling the rice dumplings slowly and carefully, and handed the white and glutinous rice dumplings to Xiao Zhixuan with a smile, saying, "Madame Li told me that sweet osmanthus flowers were added to it. Come and taste it and see how it tastes." Xiao Zhixuan had just been scolded, and now she smiled when she smelled the fragrance. As soon as she took the rice dumpling in her hand, she felt a resentful gaze from the side. Xiao Zhixuan rolled her eyes, raised her head proudly, stuffed the rice dumpling into her mouth, and said, "The rice dumplings peeled by my sister-in-law are delicious."

Xiao Du glared at her fiercely, and turned his head to the window with a dark face. Yuan Xi was stunned for a long time before she realized what happened. She quickly peeled another zongzi and handed it to Xiao Du. Xiao Du didn't even look at it, and just said coldly: "Eat it yourself, I don't like sweet and greasy food." Yuan Xi thought about it and thought that he really didn't like it, so she said "oh" and put it in her mouth. Before she swallowed the zongzi in her mouth, he stared at her with angry eyes. Yuan Xi blinked and couldn't eat this zongzi, but she really didn't understand how she had provoked him.

The galloping horses outside the window were unaware of the subtle thoughts in the car, and they kept driving until they arrived at the most famous Yuquan Lake in Beijing. Before the few people got off the car, they heard the deafening sound of drums and cheers coming from the lake. More than a dozen painted dragon boats, following the rhythm of the drums, created white waves in the lake.

Colorful boats raced on the lake, and the shores on both sides were crowded with excited people, who shouted excitedly and waved their hands to cheer for the oarsmen on the boats. However, there was a large open space closest to the lakeshore, where many awnings were built on the ground with thick curtains, for rich young men and women to rest and watch.

Xiao Zhixuan was immediately infected by this atmosphere. She jumped out of the car holding Yuan Xi's hand and hurriedly walked towards the awning with a small flag with the word "Xiao" on it. When she turned around, she found that Xiao Du was following her slowly with a stern face.

She then smiled secretly, jumped back to Xiao Du's side, and whispered in his ear: "I know that my sister-in-law made a few love ropes yesterday. When I went to see her just now, I paid special attention to see that she brought them out. She must have been waiting to give them to you. Okay, okay, you should be happy now."

Xiao Du snorted and said, "A few broken ropes, what's there to be happy about?" But his expression softened involuntarily and his steps became quicker. Xiao Zhixuan secretly made a face, took his hand and walked towards Yuan Xi happily.

A group of people walked into the pavilion, where tea and fruits had been prepared. They saw that the competition in front of them had reached its fiercest moment. The drummer sitting on the bow of the boat was beating the gongs and drums with all his might. The shouts in his ears were getting louder and louder. The rowers with red cloths tied on their heads were getting excited. They took off their coats one after another, revealing their strong and dark upper bodies. Sweat dripped from their muscles, which looked particularly pleasing to the eye against the white waves flying beside them.

The young ladies from the noble families on the shore had never seen such a scene before and they all cried out in surprise. Some of them quickly covered their faces and turned away, while some of the brave ones lowered their heads in shame but could not help but open their eyes wide, wanting to see the full extent of the excitement.

Xiao Du and his men were closest to the boat, so they could see it more clearly. When he saw this scene, he quickly turned around to look at Yuan Xi beside him. As expected, she was staring at those men with a calm expression. He felt even more uncomfortable, so he put the teacup on the table and said, "Go out and get some fresh air!"

Yuan Xi was watching intently when Xiao Zhixuan suddenly pulled her sleeve. She turned around and saw her husband glaring at her viciously. She didn't understand what was going on. She only heard Xiao Du say, "What's so good about it? Come with me for a walk."

Although Yuan Xi was very reluctant to miss this rare lively scene, seeing Xiao Du's bad face, he had to resign himself to following him out. Who knew that as soon as he left the pavilion, he saw a few people wearing moon-white silk clothes, gauze hats and square scarves outside another pavilion not far away, reciting poems and composing poems facing the ferry competition. One of them turned around and seemed a little surprised to see them, but then smiled again, bowed from a distance, and said, "My Lord, Madam, I didn't expect to meet you again today after parting at the farm."

Xiao Du, however, could no longer laugh. He frowned and shouted inside, "Who chose this position?"

A servant came up to him, not knowing what was going on, and said proudly, "I came here early to take the position. This is the clearest place to watch the competition. What do you think, Lord?" Xiao Du turned his head and glanced at him, then said coldly, "When you go back, you will receive twenty canes!"

The boy's smile froze on his face, and he didn't have time to close his open mouth, which turned into a weird expression that was uglier than crying. While he was thinking with a sad face, what went wrong to offend this marquis, in the Xuanyuan Marquis's mansion, Xiao Yunjing was pushing open a door and walking inside. When Mrs. Zhao heard the noise, she stood up quickly, straightened her clothes nervously, and walked to the door to welcome him in.

Xiao Yunjing lifted his robe and sat beside the table, saying, "You are not feeling well, so there is no need to come specially to greet us." Madam Zhao smiled and said, "The wine and food have been prepared, and we are just waiting for you to come and start the meal." After that, she told the maids in the room to come in. As soon as the wine and food were served, Nanny Yu led the maids out of the room and considerately closed the door.

Under the candlelight in the room, only two figures were left facing each other silently. They hadn't been alone like this for a long time, and for a moment they were a little awkward and at a loss. Mrs. Zhao stood up gently, poured a glass of wine for each of them, and said, "Today is the Dragon Boat Festival, so it's just right to drink a glass of calamus wine to celebrate the festival."

Xiao Yunjing gently held her wrist and said, "You can't drink." Mrs. Zhao smiled and shook her head, saying, "I'm in a good mood today, and it's okay to have a few drinks." Xiao Yunjing looked at her deeply, and finally did not stop her. The two drank a few cups and talked a few words, and the atmosphere gradually became harmonious. After a while, Mrs. Zhao held her forehead, looked at Xiao Yunjing with her beautiful eyes and said, "I can't hold my liquor, I wonder if you can help me to rest on the couch."

Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were full of waves, and her charming drunken state was reflected in the candlelight, which made Xiao Yunjing feel inexplicably throbbing. He stood up and helped her up. Mrs. Zhao gently leaned her head on his chest, her messy hair gently brushed across his neck, and the fragrance on her body kept drilling into his nose, which finally made Xiao Yunjing feel a little emotional, and he couldn't help but hug her body tighter.

Mrs. Zhao raised her head and looked into his intoxicated eyes. She was delighted and said softly, "Master, do you still remember the first time we met?"

Who knew that just as she finished speaking, she felt his body suddenly stiffen, and Xiao Yunjing's eyes gradually turned cold, the tenderness just now had long disappeared. He put her on the couch and said, "Madam, you are drunk, so you should rest early." After that, he walked out without looking back.

"Wait!" Madam Zhao propped herself up by the bed curtain, unable to hold back the tears in her eyes any longer. She trembled and shouted unwillingly, "It's been so many years. Tell me, what did I do wrong?"

Xiao Yunjing paused, turned around and stared at her for a long time, and finally said slowly: "You really don't know what you did wrong?"

Mrs. Zhao's eyes were filled with anger, which finally turned into astonishment and fear under his gaze. Her body slowly slid down and finally sat softly on the bed, but she could no longer make any sound.