In the dark night, a man's miserable scream startled the birds resting on the treetops. They flapped their wings and flew over the rows of glazed tile roofs, then landed on the white walls, staring straight at the bluestone road illuminated by the moonlight.

Soon, many footsteps appeared on the road, the shadow of the lantern kept shaking, and there were noisy discussions. Attracted by the screams, the maids and servants ran all the way to the lake, and saw Zhang Jin, who worked in the accounting office, fell into the lake at some point. At this moment, he was staring in horror and struggling hysterically in the water. Others thought it was a bit strange. Zhang Jin was not afraid of water. Since he was not far from the shore, why didn't he swim back by himself?

But just as they were stunned, the head floating on the lake seemed to have no strength to struggle, and began to sink with its eyes rolled back. The others did not dare to delay any longer, and rushed over to pick him up.

Zhang Jin was helped to the shore, soaking wet. He lay on the ground, breathing heavily, staring upward with eyes wide open, as if his entire soul had been drained out. He did not answer anyone who asked him questions. At this time, a maid came forward. Zhang Jin glanced sideways and saw a pair of embroidered shoes standing beside him. He was immediately frightened and screamed wildly. He got up, pushed away the crowd and ran forward in a panic, as if there was an evil ghost following him step by step...

On the second day, two pieces of news were circulated in the mansion. The first was that Zhang Jin personally admitted that she had an affair with Qian'er, and when she failed to seduce the second young master, she accidentally pushed Qian'er into the lake when Qian'er came to discuss with her. The second was that Qian'er had returned to the mansion with resentment and came back to seek revenge. It was she who showed up in person last night, frightening Zhang Jin to madness, and he fell into the lake in extreme fear, and was entangled so that he could not get out of the lake.

The mystery of the ghost face that appeared in the mansion had not been solved, and now there was the ghost of the wronged man who wanted to kill him. For a while, the people in the mansion were in a panic, not knowing whether the wronged ghost was still in the mansion to seek revenge and harm people. However, due to the pressure from the master, no one dared to discuss it publicly. They only secretly carried talismans to drive away ghosts and avoid evil, secretly hoping that they would not be so unlucky to be encountered by it.

The rumors soon reached Yuan Xi's ears, but she didn't take them seriously. In this world, the so-called ghosts and gods are mostly just trickery. In the end, it's just that people have something to hide. So what she was most concerned about was the fact that Princess Qing would come to stay at the Marquis' Mansion in three days. The Princess of the vassal king came to Beijing and was a close friend of the princess. If something went wrong, it would be difficult to explain to the palace or her mother-in-law.

Fortunately, during the days when she was under house arrest, Aunt Cai had arranged all the engineering matters for him, and renovated the Qixia Courtyard to be lush with flowers and trees, exquisite and luxurious, and worthy of the status of a prince's wife.

She therefore took advantage of the days of recuperation to read many ancient books, and after discussing with Zhou Jingyuan, she arranged everything, including the welcoming ceremony and purchase of items for the day when the princess entered the palace, with great detail. Only then did she relax her tense nerves a little.

Just at this time, Xiao Du sent someone to say that he wanted to take her to the farm for a visit. Yuan Xi thought that her leg injury had healed, and it was a good opportunity to relax, so she happily agreed.

On the day of the departure, Yuan Xi was waiting beside the carriage with An He and the others, and unexpectedly saw Xiao Du wearing a bright red crepe straight-sleeved gown with a hundred butterfly flowers, a gilded belt buckle, a rhinoceros horn gold hook, a mutton-fat jade crown on his head, and a variety of palace pendants around his waist, which jingled when he walked.

Yuan Xi had never seen him dressed so gorgeously since their wedding day. She blinked, wondering if the servant had conveyed the wrong message and that he was not going to the farm today but to attend some important banquet.

Seeing her standing there in a daze, Xiao Du couldn't help but tilt his head and whisper to his follower Xiaochun beside him: "Are you sure she will like it dressed like this?"

Xiaochun stepped forward and said with a smile: "Don't worry, Marquis. It is said that men are lustful, but women are also fond of pretty girls. Marquis, you are so charming and handsome, how can a woman not love you? I promise that you can give Madam a surprise today."

Xiao Du frowned slightly and muttered, "But I don't think her expression looks like surprise."

Xiaochun coughed a few times and said, "Madam, you are just shy. Don't worry, my Lord. Women always say one thing and mean another. They love you to death but can't show it on their faces. Just listen to me and I won't make any mistakes."

Xiao Du looked at him suspiciously. He saw that Xiaochun was always rolling around in the pile of cosmetics, and there were always many maids around him, so he lowered his dignity to ask him for advice. You know, he is proficient in marching and deploying troops, but how to please a woman and make her willingly follow him is a difficult subject for him.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel secretly annoyed. He was a noble man, but he had never been so unconfident as he was now. But he knew in his heart that although she made such a vow to him, it was only because he was her husband. But he could never be sure how much position he occupied in her heart, and his heart was always empty and unreal.

So he carefully planned this trip, and waited until her leg injury healed. He would feel at ease only when he got her whole body. He knew that she didn't like the mansion. She was always very nervous in the mansion and rarely smiled. Only that day at the farm, when she sat by the river and watched them catch fish, did she smile so happily, like a spring flower blooming freely in the wind.

Thinking that he had planned everything and only needed to do it tonight, Xiao Du couldn't help but smile secretly, so he straightened his chest, curved his mouth into a proper arc, and walked towards her with a dashing attitude. Yuan Xi felt more and more strange, and always felt that something was wrong with him today. While she was distracted, Xiao Du had already walked in front of her, so Yuan Xi timidly curved her lips and asked softly: "Are we going to the banquet first today? Do I need to change clothes?"

Xiao Du's smile froze on his face. He glared at Xiaochun behind him. He shook his head with a stern face to hide the embarrassment on his face, then took Yuan Xi's hand and quickly got into the carriage.

The carriage rumbled along, Yuan Xi leaned on the brocade cushion, constantly looking up and down at Xiao Du beside her. Xiao Du felt uncomfortable being looked at by her, and he stared at her guiltily and asked, "What's wrong? Don't I look good in this outfit?"

"It's not that it doesn't look good." Yuan Xi pulled up a string of pendants on his body and asked curiously, "But you don't like to wear these things on weekdays. Is today an important day?"

Xiao Du suddenly felt aggrieved and said quietly, "It's a rare occasion for you and me to go out together, isn't it an important day?"

Yuan Xi finally understood why he was dressed up like a peacock, and couldn't help laughing. Xiao Du got up early today and patiently let Xiao Chun dress him up from head to toe. Unexpectedly, he didn't see her surprised expression, but was ridiculed. So he cursed Xiao Chun thousands of times in his heart and swore that he would transfer him to clean the toilet when he returned home.

Yuan Xi smiled for a while, and when she saw his face getting darker, she knew that he was thinking about her, and she felt a little sweet in her heart. So she leaned close to his ear and said with a blushing face: "No need to dress up, you are naturally the most beautiful in my heart."

Her voice was soft and tender, like a cat's paw gently scratching his heart. Xiao Du felt that his previous irritability was swept away, and the corners of his mouth could no longer be concealed. He lowered his head and saw her leaning lightly in his arms, with a shy and coquettish look. His heart was moved, and he pressed her under him and kissed her fiercely.

Who knew that before he could figure out the feeling, the person in his arms had already begun to twist her body uncomfortably. Yuan Xi blushed, struggled to get up from his arms, and said awkwardly: "Your jade... is poking me." Xiao Du's face changed, and he wished he could drag Xiaochun in and give her a few dozen beatings to vent his anger.

At this time, Xiaochun was sitting happily in another carriage, flirting with a maid. Suddenly, he sneezed violently several times, and felt a gust of cold wind blowing in front of him, which made him shiver deeply.

The car drove to the river bank, and the group crossed the river by boat, preparing to walk through the reed field to the farm. However, the farm had a heavy rain yesterday, which turned the reed field into a swamp. The mud under their feet made it very difficult for them to walk. Xiao Du's ornaments were caught by the reeds, and his face was black. Xiao Chun was so scared that she dared not even breathe, and was almost killed by Xiao Du's eyes.

After Xiao Du glared at the instigator, he turned around and found Yuan Xi holding up her skirt and walking forward with difficulty under the support of An He. The soft soles of her shoes were sinking into the mud. He tied up the hem of her skirt and stretched out his hand to her, saying, "Come here, I'll carry you."

Yuan Xi was about to refuse, but he had already squatted down, with an attitude that would not tolerate discussion. The maids and servants beside him deliberately turned their heads away while carrying boxes and baskets, but they all had sly smiles on their faces. Yuan Xi blushed slightly, but still obediently took his hand and let him put it behind his back.

Xiao Du stood up and walked forward. Yuan Xi leaned against his thick back and walked with him through the waist-high reeds. In the distance, the sky was high and the clouds were vast, with geese flying in pairs.

The group finally arrived at the farm. The new manager Han Yun was shocked to see how ferocious the men were. He quickly asked the maids to fetch hot water and asked the servants to help the two men go in to wash and change clothes.

Xiao Du changed his clothes and came out, but he didn't see Yuan Xi. He was about to look for her when he saw Xiao Chun running over with a sly smile and said, "Madam has gone to the kitchen and said she wants to cook a dish for you. You can wait here and get ready to taste Madam's cooking."

Xiao Du suppressed his excitement, glared at him coldly, and said, "Stop talking so much! Stand aside, I'll settle today's account with you later."

Xiaochun knew that he had caused trouble, and originally wanted to come to report the news in order to get some good luck, but he ended up with nothing, and had to stand aside in dismay, waiting for his punishment with a bitter face.

In the small manor, smoke was rising from the stove, and the maids were busy moving around. The dishes were soon placed on the table. The last dish was brought out by Nanny Li, who said with a smile, "This dish was specially made by Madam for the Marquis."

Xiao Du looked up at Yuan Xi, who was standing behind him with a red face and nervously twirling her clothes. He felt warm inside and asked with a smile, "What is this dish?"

Nanny Li turned to look at Yuan Xi, winked at her, and began to introduce: "This is a famous dish from my hometown, called fresh fish soup. It is made with fish mouth and lamb legs, and cooked using the ancestral method to remove the mutton smell and fishy smell, forming the word "fresh". Madam secretly learned from me for a long time, and I specially presented my skills today."

She was talking excitedly and didn't notice that Xiao Du's expression had secretly changed. Xiaochun behind her hurriedly stepped forward and said, "But the Marquis..."

At this time, Xiao Du stretched out his hand to interrupt him, still smiling as he looked at Yuan Xi and said, "Since Madam made it specially for me, I should taste it carefully."

Yuan Xi stood by anxiously, and only when he saw him take a bite and smile with satisfaction did he breathe a sigh of relief and sit down to eat with him. However, Xiao Du's expression became more and more reluctant after he took a few bites. After a while, he put down his chopsticks, said he was full, and hurried to the back of the house.

Yuan Xi thought his behavior was very strange. Xiao Chun stepped forward and said with concern: "Madam, don't you know that the Marquis doesn't eat red meat?"

Yuan Xi was shocked. She had been in the mansion for less than a year, and so many messes had happened. She had only had a few meals with Xiao Du. It was only now that she remembered that there was indeed no red meat at the family dinner. But she was never very particular about food, and she just thought that it might be that the chef in the mansion didn't like to cook red meat. It was not until today that she knew the reason. She felt anxious and guilty, and immediately picked up her skirt and chased after him.