During the Lantern Festival three years ago, a heavy rain dampened the enthusiasm of the young men and women from aristocratic families for the night lantern festival.

Yuan Xi hid in the Seventh Aunt's room and ate a bowl of Eight Treasures Noodles with satisfaction. He felt warm all over, and was very satisfied and happy. This Eight Treasures Noodles was created by the Seventh Aunt. It used eight kinds of delicacies to make the soup, and then used buckwheat, corn, lotus root powder, etc. to make colorful noodles. It was both beautiful and delicious, but it was not only labor-intensive, but also cost the Seventh Aunt several months' salary. Yuan Xi ate so much that he almost swallowed his tongue. He smiled and said, "In my opinion, the whole table of dishes made by the chef today is not as delicious as this bowl of noodles made by Aunt."

Seventh Aunt looked at her innocent and contented expression, and her nose felt a little sour. Today was her fifteenth birthday, which should have been her most important day, but it passed by in silence. Yuan Xi smiled with bright eyes and said, "Daddy mentioned it was my birthday at the banquet today, and said he would give me a gift. What do you think it will be?"

Seeing the expectation in her eyes, the Seventh Aunt could not bear to let her down, so she took out a butterfly jade hairpin from her bosom and solemnly put it on her hair. She put on a smile and said, "This is a gift from Aunt to you. From today on, Yuan Xi is a grown-up girl."

Yuan Xi happily touched the hairpin on her head, looked at herself in the bronze mirror, and asked with her head tilted: "Auntie, what does Jigui mean?"

Seventh Aunt touched her head lovingly and said softly, "That means from today on, you can get married and become someone else's wife." She paused suddenly, turned her face away, and secretly wiped away her tears.

Yuan Xi did not notice her abnormality, but blushed, secretly thinking about the man she would marry in the future. The sound of rain outside the window was pattering, Yuan Xi leaned over the window sill, propped up her head and looked out. Tonight, the Prime Minister's Mansion had lit a long-burning lamp, and the colorful gauze lanterns were swaying and flickering in the misty rain, like dazzling stars on the sky. For some reason, a figure emerged in her mind, so faint that she could not see clearly and could not touch it. It seemed to be not far away, but when she stretched out her hand, it seemed to be far away. So for the first time, the fifteen-year-old Yuan Xi felt some regret in her heart that she herself did not understand.

But she didn't know that beyond the mist and rain, in the alley behind the west gate of the prime minister's residence, there was a man standing quietly in the rain with an oil umbrella. The wind in the first month of the lunar year was still a little cold, blowing up his black hair tied with a square scarf, and then soaking it with rain water, and falling on his shoulders. The cold rain slowly climbed up along his trousers and legs, making him feel stiff. He didn't remember how long he stood there, but just stared stubbornly towards the wall, waiting... The rain was getting heavier, making the lantern under the eaves flicker, just like his heart, swaying in the wind and rain, floating up and down without reaching the edge.

Inside the courtyard wall, there were sounds of children playing, and young ladies shouting at their maids to light lanterns. He listened for a long time, but he couldn't hear the sound he wanted to hear the most. At this time, he heard a "bang" and the fireworks of the Lantern Festival were lit in the distance, illuminating the sky with colorful lights, but they were soon dimmed by the rain. He stared blankly at the fleeting fireworks and finally realized that the person he was waiting for would never come again. So he lowered his head and smiled self-deprecatingly. Even if he thought about it day and night, he couldn't get it. Everything was just a delusion.

He walked out in a daze until he disappeared out of the alley. The lonely gauze lantern under the eaves kept swaying. Only the raindrops that day remembered this once obsessive story. Across the changing time, under the same cold rain, Yuan Xi asked An He to put away the umbrella, and she hurriedly opened the door, repeatedly searched in the cabinet, and opened the boxes to search, but she couldn't find the book that the young master mentioned. She buried her head and thought for a long time, and finally called Li Ma in and asked, "Do you remember that three years ago, the young master sent me a book called "Peach Blossom Fan"?"

Nanny Li's expression became a little strange, and she lowered her head and dared not look at her. Yuan Xi immediately noticed something was wrong, and hurriedly grabbed her hand and asked anxiously: "Where is the book now?" Nanny Li sighed, hesitated for a long time, and finally said: "I saw that the book was full of obscene words and pornographic content, which was really not suitable for the young lady to read. I was afraid that the young lady would have some inappropriate thoughts after reading it, so I took the initiative to secretly put it away!"

Yuan Xi was furious and anxious, but since things had come to this point, it was useless to blame her. She could only bite her lips anxiously and asked, "What about now? Where is the book?" Nanny Li knew she was in the wrong, so she quickly returned to her room and took out the book. She said, "Although I didn't show it to the young lady, I kept it carefully. It wasn't damaged at all."

Yuan Xi hurriedly asked her and An He to wait outside the room, and began to sit in front of the window and read the book carefully. The book contained infatuated love, changes in family and country, the vicissitudes of life, and unfulfilled desires. In the end, there was only a green lamp and an ancient Buddha, and the two of them forgot each other. As usual, the book contained the comments or annotations of the young master written in small characters. Yuan Xi was very absorbed in reading it, and her eyes were red at the end, and she felt sad because of the people and events in the book. At this moment, she saw the last line of words left by the young master at the end: "Wanwan: The world is always full of twists and turns, only true love and sincerity are the most precious." There were a few drops of ink next to this line of words, as if the person who wrote it hesitated for a long time before making up his mind and continued to write: "I will wait for you to grow up. If you are also willing, you can throw a red plum blossom outside the west gate wall on the day of the Lantern Festival and the day of your marriage. If I can get an official position next year, I will go to the prime minister's mansion to propose marriage. No matter how difficult it is, I will definitely marry you."

Yuan Xi stared at the words blankly. Shock, heartache, sorrow and helplessness all surged into her heart at that moment. Although she was married, she was ignorant and only knew that she had to admire her husband. She felt safe when he protected her and blushed when he kissed her. But until this moment, she really understood what love was: the sweetness when they met, the longing after separation, and the heartache when she found that she had lost him. She slowly closed her eyes and let the tears flow slowly from her eyes. She knew that she only had the right to be sad at this moment, just like the red plum blossom that waited on the branch but eventually withered and missed the flowering period. Everything seemed inappropriate.

At this moment, Nanny Li's voice suddenly rang out from outside the door: "My Lord, you are here!" Yuan Xi was startled and quickly hid the book on the table. She then tidied up her messed up hair with a guilty conscience. At this time, Xiao Du had already pushed the door open and said with a smile: "I bought you the famous lotus cake from Din Tai Fung. Come and try it and see if you like it?"

He took out a paper package and opened it on the table. The sweet aroma immediately filled the room. "This lotus cake is my little sister's favorite. Every time I go out to do something, she asks me to buy some for her. I'm not always willing to buy these girls' food." After saying this, he looked at her as if to take credit. When he saw her face clearly, he asked in confusion, "Did you cry just now?"

Yuan Xi suddenly felt guilty and quickly grabbed a piece of cake and put it in his mouth, mumbling: "I was too engrossed in reading the book just now, and the ending was not very good, so I couldn't help feeling sad." Xiao Du then smiled and said, "What's so good about those made-up stories that is worth crying about." His eyes suddenly sank, as if he was recalling some distant past, and he said slowly: "Only after seeing those truly irreparable cruelties can you understand what true sadness is." Yuan Xi stared blankly at his face, which showed an expression of grief that she had never seen before, and for a moment she even forgot her own thoughts.

When Xiao Du came to his senses, he saw her munching on the cake in a daze. He suddenly had an idea in his mind, so he smiled slyly and said, "You ate the cake crumbs on your face." Yuan Xi came to her senses and felt very embarrassed. She hurriedly raised her sleeves to wipe it off. Xiao Du found it more and more interesting. He hid a small piece of crumbs and stuck it on her face. He leaned over and bit it lightly with his lips. He leaned close to her face and said softly, "Let me help you. "Before Yuan Xi could react, he smeared another piece on her lips. Seeing his ambiguous smile getting closer and closer, Yuan Xi panicked and stepped back suddenly. Xiao Du's face stopped an inch in front of her, with a probing look in his eyes. Yuan Xi didn't know how to explain it, so she simply stuffed the unfinished lotus cake in her hand into his mouth and said righteously: "If you want to eat, take it yourself. Why do you have to eat mine?"

Xiao Du's mouth was stuffed full of food, and he was in a state of confusion. At this moment, there was a sudden and urgent knock on the door. Zhou Jingyuan's voice rang out, "Something happened to the Marquis!" The two looked at each other, both of them were shocked. Xiao Du wiped his mouth and shouted to the outside, "Come in and talk!"

Zhou Jingyuan walked in hurriedly and first glanced at Yuan Xi, who was sitting at the table and packing up the food boxes. She seemed to be hesitant to speak. Xiao Du frowned and said, "No need to avoid Madam, just say it quickly." Zhou Jingyuan then said, "I just got the news that Aunt Wang committed suicide in prison!" With a "clang", the food box in Yuan Xi's hand fell to the ground. She covered her mouth and widened her eyes in disbelief.

The rain hit the bamboos, and waves rolled up and down. Xiao Yunjing looked straight at the green bamboo outside the window, as if he had aged ten years. He wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and said, "In this life, I have finally let her down."

Xiao Du stood aside, feeling depressed and frowning, saying, "In my opinion, this matter is full of doubts. I just went to see her today to let her know that there is still hope. How could she suddenly become so depressed and commit suicide in such a short time?" Xiao Yunjing closed his eyes tiredly and said, "Even if we know, what's the use? She died in the imperial prison of Shuntian Prefecture. Now there is no evidence. I'm afraid they won't even let me see her body. "If it's suicide, then it can only be suicide." Xiao Du showed an unwilling look on his face, and said bitterly: "Can we just let it go like this! Let Aunt Wang die in vain." Xiao Yunjing stood up and said to the bamboo leaves outside the window: "Of course, this account will be settled with them slowly. But now the most urgent task is the situation of the Marquis' Mansion and the Xiao Family Army. You must come up with a countermeasure quickly, otherwise..." His face suddenly darkened and he shouted loudly: "Who is it!"

Xiao Du's face changed. He had always suspected that someone was spying on him from behind, so he rushed out the door quickly. However, he saw Xiao Zhixuan wearing a hooded cape and standing in the bamboo forest in fear. He was immediately disappointed and frowned, saying, "What are you doing here? Why don't you fly an umbrella?" Xiao Zhixuan looked aggrieved and said, "I don't know why my rabbit Xiaobai disappeared. I was afraid that it would get sick in the rain, so I hurried out to look for it. I just lost my umbrella. Who knew that as soon as I walked into the bamboo forest, I heard my father roaring at the window. I was scared to death."

Xiao Du shook his head and said, "It's raining so hard, why are you looking for rabbits? Where are your maids? Why don't you let them go and look for them?"

Xiao Zhixuan said pitifully, "I was afraid that Xiaobai would run away, so I let them look for it in another yard." At this time, Xiao Yunjing had already taken an umbrella, walked out of the house quickly, glared at her and said, "A rabbit is lost, so it's lost. What if you get sick from the rain! Go back to your room quickly. You're so old, can't you tell the severity of the problem?" Seeing her father had spoken, Xiao Zhixuan was so scared that she quickly opened her umbrella and walked back obediently. After walking for a while, she turned around and saw that no one was following her. She gathered her umbrella and walked into another room.

As soon as she entered the house, Aunt Cai was sorting out the things she had just moved in. When she saw her, she quickly stepped forward and grabbed her hand, saying, "Why are you all wet? Let Aunt Cai wipe it off for you. Be careful not to get sick."

Xiao Zhixuan looked at her coldly, turned away, lowered her head and said sullenly: "Mom, I don't want to do it anymore."

Aunt Wang's smile gradually cooled, and she asked, "What's wrong? What happened?"

Xiao Zhixuan looked at her and started crying aggrievedly, saying, "I was almost discovered by my father and elder brother just now. I was really scared. I was afraid of how much they would hate me if they knew." She pulled Aunt Cai's arm and begged, "Now that Aunt Wang is gone, we can be reunited as mother and daughter. Please don't do these things anymore, okay?"

Aunt Cai let her head rest on her bosom and said with tears in her eyes: "Mother knows you have been wronged, but mother did this for you! Do you know how painful it was for mother to be separated from you when you were only five years old? Now, although your father has been soft-hearted and let us reunite, mother's status is too low. If I am not careful, I may lose you. Mother really does not want to endure such suffering again."

Xiao Zhixuan cried even harder, and after a while, she raised her eyes and said, "But what's the point of me doing this?"

Seeing that her attitude had softened, Aunt Cai gently stroked her head and said, "My dear child, just do as I say, and you will see the results soon."

Xiao Zhixuan bit her lip, but she couldn't refuse her, so she nodded reluctantly. The two talked for a while, and Aunt Cai sent her out. Then she turned back to her room, took out the calligraphy she copied every day from the cabinet, opened it with satisfaction and admired it, thinking proudly in her heart: You don't know my secrets, but I know all your secrets, this is my biggest bargaining chip.