The latches outside the carriage jingled, and the atmosphere inside was ambiguous. Yuan Xi widened her eyes, and it took her a while to realize what was happening. She reflexively reached out and pushed his chest, but stopped abruptly and only grabbed his collar instead, which instead added a sense of reluctance.

Her mind was in a mess, and she froze there, unable to move forward or backward. At this moment, she felt the pressure on her lips slowly lift away, and she quickly took a deep breath. Xiao Du's face stopped half an inch in front of her, his eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of mist, and his fingertips gently brushed her cheek, saying, "Hasn't anyone told you that you should pay attention when you are kissed?"

Yuan Xi's pink lips parted slightly, she blinked blankly, and whispered, "Who...who should tell me." Xiao Du finally gave up on the idea of ​​getting a normal response, and simply lifted her chin again and kissed her hard. , her lips tasted soft and waxy, just like her voice, with a sweet breath that melted into her heart little by little. Just when he was satisfied and wanted to deepen the kiss, the carriage suddenly stopped, and the curtain was opened from the outside. The young man who occupied the seat by the lake stood outside the carriage with a smile on his face and said: "Hou Master, in front of you is the famous Zuixian Tower in the capital. The third lady asked me to come to you and said that I can’t make it in time for dinner now, so I might as well eat here.”

He had never received twenty strokes of the cane before, so he thought he could make up for it and took the opportunity to curry favor with the emperor. However, he saw Xiao Du staring at him with murderous eyes, and behind him...behind him sat the red-faced lady. The servant suddenly felt a chill from head to toe, and his legs could not help but tremble. The experiences of the first half of his life began to fly before his eyes...

Xiao Du looked him up and down, and finally uttered a word through his teeth: "Get lost!" The servant ran away in a hurry as if he had been pardoned. Xiao Zhixuan looked at him strangely as he ran back with a pale face, and shouted: "How about it, big brother, do you agree to eat here?" The servant wiped his sweat in shock, thinking: "At least you didn't eat me."

Xiao Du turned back to the car angrily and saw Yuan Xi hugging the brocade cushion with a red face, trying to bury her face in it. He suddenly laughed again, so he pulled the brocade cushion away. Just as he was about to speak, Xiao Zhixuan jumped out of the car and shouted, "Brother, I heard that the Eight Treasure Duck in Zuixianlou is particularly famous. Let's go and try it today..."

When she saw the scene inside the car, although she was still a little confused, she understood a little bit. She immediately retracted her neck and silently backed away, leaving only a sentence from a distance: "I'll go to the restaurant to wait for you." Xiao Du was so angry at these ungentlemen that his face turned gloomy. At this time, Yuan Xi raised her head and said pitifully: "I'm hungry..." Xiao Du glared at her angrily and amusedly, and finally had no choice but to pull her out of the car.

After finishing their meal at Zuixianlou, the group returned to the Marquis' Mansion when it was already dark. As soon as Xiao Zhixuan stepped into the door, she ran forward happily, then turned back and squinted her eyes and said, "I'm going back to my room first. Brother and sister-in-law, you should rest early."

Xiao Du walked slowly beside Yuan Xi, and was about to say something when he suddenly saw a familiar figure flashing in front of him. He was moved and said hurriedly, "I have something to do." Then he walked forward quickly. Yuan Xi had not dared to look at him since he got off the car, and he had not tasted the whole meal. Seeing him leave in a hurry, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt a little inexplicably sad.

The moonlight slowly lengthened the shadows of the people. Yuan Xi reached out and secretly brushed her lips. Her heart seemed to be gently pulled by something, and her feet felt a little empty. When the group walked past Mrs. Zhao's courtyard, they suddenly heard An He exclaim in a low voice: "That person seems to be the master!"

Yuan Xi raised her head and saw the old marquis standing alone with his hands behind his back. His gray clothes blended into the shadows of the trees. A thin mist climbed up his robe and wet his temples a little bit. But his posture did not move at all. He just stared at the window frame foolishly, as if this was the only thing worth watching in the world. The stars in the sky were reflected in his eyes, which contained tenderness, pity, reluctance, and something that Yuan Xi could not understand. And in the pale yellow paper window, a weak and thin figure was reflected, as if leaning against the window and crying silently. But she did not know that the person she was thinking about was standing outside this wall. It was just a stone's throw away, yet it was as far away as the world.

Yuan Xi stared at the scene blankly, lowered her head and sighed silently, told An He and Rong Xuan not to make any noise, and walked carefully by the side, fearing to disturb the quiet confrontation in the night. She didn't know what happened between her grandfather and mother-in-law, and she didn't really understand the love and hate, right and wrong hidden in the years until many years later.

Xiao Du walked quickly into the study room. A man slowly emerged from the darkness. He was wearing black clothes and black boots, with a sword on his waist and only a dark green camellia embroidered on the corner of his robe. This was the symbol of the Marquis's secret guard. When he saw Xiao Du, he saluted quickly and said with a face full of self-blame: "It's all my fault for coming late. I almost caused the Marquis and his wife to get into trouble!"

Xiao Du waved his hands and said, "It's okay. I just didn't expect them to be so anxious. There are so many people around Yuquan Lake, and they dared to take the risk." He lifted his robe and sat down, and asked again, "Did you catch anyone alive?"

The secret guard shook his head and said, "Those few were well-trained assassins. When they saw they couldn't escape, they immediately committed suicide and left no clues. But in my opinion, this incident must be related to the Xia family."

Xiao Du's eyes flickered, and he asked, "Is there movement at the border again?"

The secret guard took out a secret letter from his pocket and handed it over. Xiao Du opened it and took a closer look. He sneered and said, "That old fox, Prime Minister Xia, really wants to make use of the affair between the Kingdom of Wu and Mu Rong to send Xia Xian to take over as the commander of the Xiao Family Army. It's a pity that no one in the Xiao Family Army is willing to listen to his orders. He can't lead a battalion at Yuhan Pass and can't accomplish anything. He has to return to the capital in disgrace."

The secret guard lowered his voice and said, "So they should know very well that as long as the Marquis is still here, General Zheng and his men will not easily hand over their military power, and they can't do anything to the Xiao family army. That's why they are desperate this time and can't wait to attack the Marquis."

Xiao Du placed the secret letter near the candle and burned it, saying, "I never thought that Prime Minister Xia was so cruel. In order to deal with me, he even ignored the safety of his own daughter."

The man in black hesitated for a while, and finally said, "How can you be sure that Madam has nothing to do with this matter?"

Xiao Du turned around abruptly, glared at him fiercely and said, "How dare you speak ill of the mistress!" The man in black knelt down hastily, but his face showed no sign of retreating as he said, "Forgive me for being frank, but the lady is the daughter of Prime Minister Xia, and happened to be in danger with the Marquis. Regardless of whether she has anything to do with this matter, she is the closest person to the Marquis after all, and we must be on guard!"

Xiao Du was stunned for a moment, and her always shy face and her eyes flashing like a deer appeared in front of him. Would someone with such eyes tell lies? He waved his hands impatiently and said, "That's enough, I know my limits." Then he seemed to remember something and asked, "How is the person I asked you to check last time?"

The secret guard said: "Luo Yuan is from Jizhou. He was a Jinshi in the Gengzi year. The following year, he was recommended to the Hanlin Academy as an editor. He lives a simple life and does not join any cliques. He rarely interacts with other Jinshi in the same year. When he was young, he worked as a teacher in the Xia family. However, after entering the court, he was not found to have any intersection with the Xia party."

Xiao Du pondered for a moment and said, "Please take a letter to Luo Yuan for me. Tell him that my sister is naughty and that we need to hire a new teacher. Ask him if he is willing to come to the mansion to teach my sister when he is not on duty."

The secret guard raised his head and gave him a strange look, but said nothing more. He followed the order and climbed out the window.

Xiao Du sat alone in the room for a long time. The moonlight shone through the window lattice onto the silver bow on the wall. The slightly sad face of the late emperor seemed to reappear in his mind. His voice was low and full of expectation: "The Xiao Family Army is the lifelong hard work of your father and I. It is an iron cavalry guarding the border. Now it is handed over to you. You must remember that no matter what the cost, you must keep it!"

The fragrance of gardenia woke him up suddenly. Xiao Du stood up and walked to the outside of Yuan Xi's yard. A branch of apricot blossom was blooming slanting out of the yard wall. Her soft and sticky voice sounded in the distance. He stood there silently for a long time, and finally gently picked the apricot blossom in front of him, held it in his hand, turned around and left.