Soon, the two passed the inspection and entered the capital.

During the whole process, Liu Tangxi was distracted, pursing her lips for a while, and secretly looking at Wei Hanzhou from time to time.

On the other hand, Wei Hanzhou closed his eyes after the inspection and fell asleep leaning against the luggage at the back.

Seeing Wei Hanzhou like this, Liu Tangxi looked at him even more recklessly.

However, because it was dark in the carriage and because she was too nervous, Liu Tangxi did not see Wei Hanzhou's red ears.

After this little incident, Liu Tangxi no longer had the heart to look at the capital city and kept staring at Wei Hanzhou.

After entering the city, the carriage drove for about two quarters of an hour before stopping at the gate of a house.

As soon as the carriage stopped, Wei Hanzhou opened his eyes.

Liu Tangxi hadn't taken her eyes off him yet.

After staring at each other for a moment, Liu Tangxi immediately looked away and changed the subject, "Uh, that, it seems we've arrived."

Wei Hanzhou coughed lightly and said, "Well, get off the car."

Wei Hanzhou got off the car first, and Liu Tangxi followed behind him.

Wei Hanzhou was waiting on the side, and stretched out his hand to help her down. However, after Liu Tangxi looked at him, her eyes wandered, and she jumped down by herself, holding onto the carriage.

Wei Hanzhou glanced at her and withdrew his hand.

After getting off the car, Liu Tangxi was attracted by the house in front of him.

The house doesn't look big from the outside. It's not the kind of big house with two stone lions at the door as shown in TV dramas. It's a small house with a door width estimated to be no more than two meters.

Soon, the door opened from the inside.

An old man in his fifties came out from inside, and when he saw Wei Hanzhou, he began to greet him, "Greetings, sir."

Wei Hanzhou nodded slightly, glanced at Liu Tangxi, and said, "This is my wife."

The old man quickly bowed to Liu Tangxi and said, "Meet the Madam."

Liu Tangxi raised his hand to let the person get up.

"I'll ask someone to come out and move the things." With that, the old man went in again.

Wei Hanzhou briefly explained, "This house was a gift from the emperor. There are three servants. The one just mentioned is the gatekeeper, Old Zhang. There is also a maid named Chen in the kitchen and a servant named Ading. They were originally servants of the guilty minister's family and worked in the outer courtyard. They have nothing to do with this."

Liu Tangxi nodded.

Wei Hanzhou and Liu Tangxi didn't have much luggage, and soon they had moved everything down.

The carriage they were riding in was rented from a trading company, which also had a store in the capital. The driver refused their offer of dinner and drove the carriage to the trading company.

Liu Tangxi followed Wei Hanzhou into the yard.

This yard doesn't look big from the outside, but it's a different world once you go inside.

As soon as you enter, you will see a front wall with back houses on both sides. After passing the front wall, you will see a large courtyard with corridors on both sides.

The corridor on one side is connected to a small garden, and there is a back door on one side of the small garden.

The corridor on the other side is connected to the kitchen, next to which are several utility rooms and servants' quarters.

Opposite the front wall are several main rooms, and behind them are several back rooms.

The overall area of ​​the courtyard looks similar to that in Weijia Village, but

It looks like a courtyard house, with a very large courtyard in the middle. This one divides the entire courtyard into several seemingly independent but interconnected spaces. The courtyard in the middle is smaller, but it has a small garden, a gate wall, and so on.

Although it is much smaller than the mansion where the original owner lived in his memory, Liu Tangxi is still quite satisfied with it.

There are only two of them, she and Wei Hanzhou, so why do they live in such a big place?

She originally thought she would have to rent a house when she arrived in the capital, but unexpectedly the emperor gave her a house as a reward, which was a pleasant surprise.

The yard was quite clean, there was not much dust on the corridor, and the house was also clean. It seemed that the servants had cleaned it before they came.

Liu Tangxi went back to the house to pack up her things, while Wei Hanzhou went out to talk to the servants.

When Liu Tangxi came out, it was getting dark and it was almost night.

When Wei Hanzhou saw her coming out, he turned around and looked at her and asked, "Madam, do you want to eat outside?"

Liu Tangxi had never been to the capital, and to be honest, she was quite curious about it. After all, it was the largest and most prosperous place in the Dali Dynasty.

However, when I think about the fact that the original owner was very high-profile and often went out, there must have been quite a few people in the capital who had seen her.

After thinking it over, she decided not to go out for the time being.

At this moment, she hadn't figured out how to face the Marquis' Mansion. Although she had thought about returning to the capital and the Marquis' Mansion before, this idea had gradually faded over time. What remained in her mind was more about going back and giving an explanation to the original owner's family.

"Forget it. I'm tired from the journey. I might as well just do something at home." Liu Tangxi refused.

Wei Hanzhou frowned slightly. According to his understanding of her, she should be very happy to come to the capital. But looking at her expression, there seemed to be something wrong. He didn't know if it was his illusion, but he always felt that his wife had been different since she left home, as if she had something on her mind.

At first, it could be said that it was because I missed my family and was reluctant to leave, but in the following few days, apart from the illness, there seemed to be other reasons.

"Madam, I haven't had time to buy rice, noodles and vegetables." Mrs. Chen explained in a low voice.

A look of tension and worry appeared on her face.

Liu Tangxi glanced at Wei Hanzhou and understood instantly.

Wei Hanzhou had been gone for a month, and he didn't have much extra money on him, so he probably didn't pay his servants when he left. And these servants were from the homes of criminals, so they were probably afraid of being driven out, so they were much more cautious than others.

Liu Tangxi said hurriedly, "It's okay. Wait until tomorrow when you get some money from me and then go buy it."

Mrs. Chen's expression suddenly became much better. She was not so nervous anymore and responded, "Okay, okay."

After asking about the monthly salary of Wei Hanzhou and others, Liu Tangxi went into the house to get the money and gave each of them one month's salary.

"Thank you for taking care of the house this month."

"Thank you, ma'am." The servants finally smiled, no longer as nervous and restrained as before.

While Liu Tangxi was handling things, Wei Hanzhou was watching from the side.

He had always known that she was amazing, that nothing seemed to be too difficult for her.

When she was at the farm, she was very good at feeding pigs and making fire. She never complained about the house being dirty. Once she felt it was dirty, she would clean it herself. She would not complain if the food was not delicious. She would cook it herself.

She can embroider and read.

Now it seems that she also knows how to discipline servants.

She could endure the hardships of the lower class people, and she was also adept at managing the rear quarters of high-level officials.

What is her identity?

Wei Hanzhou began to think about this matter again.

Seeing her recent abnormal behavior, could it be related to the capital? In an instant, this thought popped up in Wei Hanzhou's mind.

After a while, it was already dark outside. Liu Tangxi glanced at Wei Hanzhou who was standing aside, wondering what he was thinking. After thinking for a while, he said, "How about we go out to eat?"

There was no rice, flour, or rapeseed at home, so there were only some snacks in her luggage. She had eaten snacks at noon, and she had eaten a lot of snacks on the road these days. She had eaten enough. Even if there was a risk of being discovered when she went out, she didn't want to eat those things anymore.

Wei Hanzhou came back to his senses and said, "Okay."

Liu Tangxi changed out of her brown coarse cloth clothes and put on a goose-yellow cotton one.

She has never been a particular person. When she goes out, she always puts comfort first. Besides, there are many germs outside and the journey is tiring. Besides, she is so beautiful. If there are robbers on the road, Wei Hanzhou, a weak scholar, can't protect her. Wouldn't she be at a disadvantage? So, after thinking about it, it is not worthwhile to wear nice clothes. She has always worn coarse cloth clothes that are resistant to dirt.

Now that he has changed into goose yellow clothes, his whole temperament has changed at once.

Maybe she looked like a country girl just now, but now she looks a bit like the girl from a poor family.

This was the new dress she had made for herself in preparation for her visit to the capital.

When they came out of the house, seeing the surprise in Wei Hanzhou's eyes, Liu Tangxi deliberately turned around in front of him and asked, "Does it look good?"

Wei Hanzhou coughed lightly and said, "It looks good."

Hearing this, Liu Tangxi smiled, took out a veil of the same color from his sleeve and put it on his face.

Then, he naturally took Wei Hanzhou's arm and said, "Let's go?"

Wei Hanzhou took a look at the yellow cotton clothes interwoven with his own gray clothes and said, "Okay."

After walking a few steps and just walking out of the main hall, Liu Tangxi suddenly stopped and looked at Wei Hanzhou beside him.

Wei Hanzhou didn't know why she stopped and looked at her sideways.

"I just remembered, weren't you poisoned? Are you still dizzy?" Liu Tangxi asked nervously.

Wei Hanzhou shook his head and said, "No problem."

If I felt a little dizzy at first, after being in contact with her for such a long time, I no longer felt anything.

Liu Tangxi frowned and asked, "Really? But Doctor Jiang clearly said you were poisoned."

"Doctor Jiang also said that my husband's poisoning was relatively minor. Moreover, didn't you see that he was not very nervous about the prince's poisoning. It can be seen that this poison is not serious." Wei Hanzhou refuted with reason.

Liu Tangxi thought carefully about what happened during the day and felt that what Wei Hanzhou said made a lot of sense. He looked at Wei Hanzhou's face carefully and saw that he looked normal. After thinking for a while, he said, "Why don't we go to the street and find a doctor to take my pulse and prescribe some medicine?"

Wei Hanzhou said, "No need. If you feel uncomfortable, I will go see you tomorrow.

. "

Seeing Wei Hanzhou insisted, Liu Tangxi said nothing more, and the two of them walked out arm in arm.

After exiting the main gate, every household had red lanterns hung outside their doors, so I could see clearly. The street in front of me was no different from what I saw during the day, very long and very quiet.

Presumably, the people living here are officials of similar status to Wei Hanzhou, otherwise, the emperor would not have given the house here.

Just as I was thinking about it, a carriage drove over from the alley entrance on the east side. In the darkness, the sound of horse hooves could be heard.

Liu Tangxi and Wei Hanzhou were walking, and were heading in the opposite direction of the carriage.

The carriage quickly passed them both.

But suddenly, it stopped not far from them.

"Wei Xiuzhuan?"

Wei Hanzhou was the top scholar in the imperial examination and was appointed by the emperor as an editor in the Hanlin Academy, a position of sixth rank.

Apparently, the man who called him knew him.

Wei Hanzhou stopped and looked back at the carriage.

Liu Tangxi also stopped and looked over.

"It really is you. I saw you from a distance just now but I didn't recognize you. But why did you return to Beijing so soon?"

Wei Hanzhou glanced at Liu Tangxi, patted her hands, and whispered, "This is Huang Fucheng of the Zhanshi Mansion."

Liu Tangxi understood and took his hand off Wei Hanzhou's arm.

"Greetings, Mr. Huang." Wei Hanzhou saluted.

This person was none other than the top scholar of the last exam. Before, he was a compiler in the Hanlin Academy like Wei Hanzhou. However, he did not stay in the Hanlin Academy for long before he became a disciple of the crown prince. Now, he works in the Zhanshi Mansion, which is dedicated to assisting the crown prince, as a minister of the mansion, a sixth-rank official.

This person was of higher rank than Wei Hanzhou, so Liu Tangxi bowed his head slightly in salute.

Huang Fucheng glanced at Wei Hanzhou, then turned his gaze to Liu Tangxi who was standing beside Wei Hanzhou.

He and Wei Hanzhou were the top scorers in the imperial examinations one after the other, so it was inevitable that they would be compared with each other.

He had previously taken refuge with the Crown Prince, but the Crown Prince had made more and more mistakes in front of the Emperor over the past two years, while the Third Prince had gained more and more face in front of the Emperor. The voices in the court that the Emperor wanted to depose the Crown Prince were growing louder and louder.

He was often laughed at behind his back because of this.

As for Wei Hanzhou, he neither accepted the Crown Prince's advances nor got close to the Third Prince. He vaguely heard others comparing the two of them, saying that Wei Hanzhou was smarter than him, had better vision than him, and was better at judging situations than him.

But what does it matter if we consider the situation again? He still has a woman who was born in a brothel, and the emperor is troubled by this matter.

"I wonder who the person next to Wei Xiuzhuan is..." Huang Fucheng stared at Liu Tangxi.

Liu Tangxi felt that the look was somewhat unfriendly and frowned slightly.

Wei Hanzhou took a half step to the side, blocking Huang Fucheng's line of sight, bowed, and said very respectfully, "This is my wife."

As Wei Hanzhou finished speaking, the curtain of the carriage was drawn open, and a woman wearing a golden hairpin and a satin dress walked out.

"Madam." Huang Fucheng said to the woman hurriedly with a very attentive attitude.

The woman glanced at Liu Tangxi who was hiding behind Wei Hanzhou and said with a smile, "So this is Wei Xiuzhuan's wife? When I saw her holding Wei Xiuzhuan's arm just now, I thought she was... Oh, look at me, what are you saying? I should say, this woman is...

The child is indeed just as the rumors say."

This is a mockery of Liu Tangxi's brothel background.

Wei Hanzhou looked very ugly and his eyes narrowed slightly.

Liu Tangxi was very surprised.

Did she already have a reputation when she first arrived in the capital? Impossible. So, since it wasn't her doing, it must have been Wei Hanzhou.

But she always felt that these words did not seem to be a compliment to her, but rather a hint of something.

"It's really hard for Wei Xiuzuo to marry a woman like this." Huang Fucheng looked considerate.

Liu Tangxi understood that her feeling just now was correct, these two people were indeed here to cause trouble.

She really wanted to know what Wei Hanzhou had said to her when he came to Beijing to take the exam that caused everyone to treat her like this.

At this time, Wei Hanzhou looked at the woman standing on the carriage and asked, "Who is this?"

Huang Fucheng introduced with a smile, "This is my wife, the third lady of the Shaoqing Mansion of the Dali Temple."

There was a hint of pride in his tone.

"Oh, it's Madam Li. I was a little surprised when Prime Minister Huang called her Madam just now. The Madam I met at the palace banquet last time seemed to be different from the one in front of me."

The expressions of Huang Fucheng and his wife suddenly turned very ugly.

Everyone in the capital knew that after Huang Fucheng passed the imperial examination and became the top scholar, he was dissatisfied with his wife, who came from a merchant family, and wanted to divorce her. But the wife was quite fierce, and everyone in the capital knew about it. Later, when the divorce failed, Huang Fucheng married a second wife, who was Madam Li, who came from the residence of the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple.

"Hmph!" Mrs. Li snorted coldly, opened the curtain and went back to the carriage. She was supposed to attend the last palace banquet, but she was hurt by that bastard and sprained her foot, so she couldn't go.

Huang Fucheng showed a nervous look on his face and glared at Wei Hanzhou who was silent.

Wei Hanzhou looked calm and said respectfully, "Thank you for your concern, my Lord. I am the only one in your house and I live a simple life. Unlike your house where there are many ladies, I think there are more things to worry about. I think your house must be full of things, so I will not bother you and take my wife away first."

After saying that, Wei Hanzhou turned around, took Liu Tangxi's hand, and walked towards the entrance of the alley.

Liu Tangxi was in a daze throughout the whole process. She didn't know what those two were saying about her, nor did she understand why Wei Hanzhou's words made their faces change.

After walking out of the alley, Liu Tangxi couldn't help asking, "What happened just now? Were those two talking about me? What happened that I don't know about?"

Wei Hanzhou looked around and said lightly, "Nothing, just two unrelated people."

"Oh, but——"

"What do you want to eat, ma'am? There are noodles over there, wontons over there, and..."

Hearing this, Liu Tangxi looked towards the street. Seeing the brightly lit and bustling market, her attention suddenly shifted. She looked at the food on the street with excitement, let go of Wei Hanzhou's hand, and walked forward.

Seeing that she was happy, Wei Hanzhou breathed a sigh of relief and followed her.

The capital city is really prosperous. There are still so many people at night.

She has been in this world for two years, and this is the first time she has come out at night.

She was cooking, she was eating. Looking at this, she felt like she had come to another world.

Looking at these delicious foods, Liu Tangxi was moved to tears.

Her stomach started growling at the smell of these things.

After walking for a long time and looking at many things, Liu Tangxi still hadn't decided what to eat.

She wants to try this and that.

But she has no money!

She only had a little over ten taels of silver in total, and if she spent all that on eating and drinking and had no income, it would be gone in no time.

After enduring for a long time, Liu Tangxi became tired and saw a lot of people in front of him. It seemed that someone was telling a story, so he ran over to join in the fun.

The storyteller was taking a break and said the show would start in half a minute.

Seeing so many people watching, Liu Tangxi thought that this person might be very powerful and a good storyteller, so she found a wonton stall nearby and waved to Wei Hanzhou who was walking behind her.

The two of them each ordered a bowl of wontons and sat there waiting.

A bowl of wontons costs six cents, much more expensive than in the town, where it costs only two cents a bowl.

But no matter how expensive it is, you still have to eat.

The food at the small stall outside is so expensive, I guess the food in the restaurant must be even more expensive.

The wontons were served quickly. Looking at the wontons with thin skin and lots of meat, Liu Tangxi couldn't help swallowing his saliva, took the spoon and started eating.

Although it's very hot, it's delicious!

The wonton meat filling sold at the town market is simply incomparable to this. The meat is very tender and the soup is very fresh, so delicious that she almost bit her tongue.

He had just eaten three and was about to eat the fourth when he saw that the bowl in front of him had been replaced by Wei Hanzhou. Liu Tangxi looked at him in surprise.

"My husband hasn't eaten this bowl yet, so you can eat this one," Wei Hanzhou explained.

Liu Tangxi gave him a suspicious look.

"There's a lot in this bowl, eat it quickly, or it will get cold."

Liu Tangxi thought, yes, both bowls have the same amount of food. She just ate three and Wei Hanzhou hasn't eaten yet, so isn't this bowl too much? Goudan is kind enough to know that she is hungry. Thinking of this, Liu Tangxi ate happily.

She had no idea what Wei Hanzhou was thinking.

Wei Hanzhou was eating the wontons in the bowl and thought to himself that things that have been touched by his wife are still delicious.

Liu Tangxi was eating happily when he heard the storyteller beside him start telling a new story.

"It is said that in a distant neighboring country, there was a poor scholar... He started to study at the age of ten... He passed the imperial examination at the age of sixteen..."

Liu Tangxi blew the wontons and ate them in small bites.

Wei Hanzhou frowned.

"Because of his outstanding talent and good looks, after he won the first place in the imperial examination, countless officials and noble families wanted to find him as their son-in-law. Unfortunately, the young champion had already married."

There was a sigh from the crowd.

Liu Tangxi continued to blow the wontons in the spoon.

"... Upon inquiry, it turned out that the number one scholar's wife was originally from a brothel. His mother married her to the number one scholar to please his father."

The wontons were not that hot anymore, so Liu Tangxi didn't need to blow it and ate them in small bites.

Wei Hanzhou glanced at Liu Tangxi.

"What? Do you regret it? Even if I regret it, I won't trade with you. It's too little for me to eat.

Not full. ”

Liu Tangxi protected her bowl and said, "Don't think she didn't see it. Wei Hanzhou had already eaten several, but not as many as in her bowl." Liu Tangxi was reluctant to exchange such delicious wontons with Wei Hanzhou.

After saying that, Liu Tangxi lowered his head and continued eating.

"When the emperor heard this, he thought to himself, how could this woman's status be worthy of our young and handsome No. 1 scholar? He immediately ordered the No. 1 scholar to divorce his wife."

"It's time to divorce her. This woman is of low status and not worthy of our number one scholar!" someone in the crowd said.

"Yes, I support the top scholar in divorcing his wife!"

Hearing the voices in the crowd, Liu Tangxi looked over and thought, isn't it just a story? Is it necessary to be so excited? Besides, the brothel girl has already become a good woman and married the number one scholar. She has done nothing wrong. How can she be divorced just like that?

If I really divorce her, I would be a traitor.

Wei Hanzhou glanced at the storyteller with cold eyes, then turned to look at Liu Tangxi and asked, "Have you finished eating?"

Liu Tangxi turned around and said, "No, why are you in such a hurry? I haven't finished listening to the rest of the story yet."

As soon as he finished speaking, the storyteller continued talking.

"The number one scholar knelt down on the throne room with a thud."

The noise in the crowd died down, and everyone listened attentively with bated breath.

"I heard from the number one scholar that although my wife was born in a brothel, she worked as a embroiderer to earn money for my studies, and she also took care of my parents at home. If I divorce her, wouldn't I be unfaithful, unfilial, unkind, and unjust? I'm sorry, I can't do such a thing." As he said this, the storyteller slapped the wake-up stick.

Suddenly, the voice in the crowd changed.

The woman secretly wiped away her tears and praised the number one scholar for his kindness and righteousness.

The man also said more words of admiration.

As Liu Tangxi listened, he suddenly found something wrong. Why did this story sound so familiar?

Then he turned and looked at Wei Hanzhou.

Seeing Wei Hanzhou's ugly expression, Liu Tangxi became more certain and asked in a low voice, "Is he talking about us?"

Wei Hanzhou said with a cold face, "My lady, don't listen to his nonsense. You have had a hard journey. Let's go back and rest after eating."

Liu Tangxi pressed Wei Hanzhou's hand and said, "Don't worry, what are you going to do? I haven't finished listening yet. Listen again."

Wei Hanzhou glanced at Liu Tangxi's face and saw that she didn't seem angry and was very interested, so he sat down again.

"The emperor was furious! He immediately ordered someone to chop off the number one scholar's head."

There was another cry of surprise from the crowd.

"The emperor asked the number one scholar if he was willing to change his mind and divorce his wife. However, the number one scholar still did not change his original intention and said, 'Even if you kill me, I will not divorce my wife.'"

There was another round of cheers from the crowd.

Liu Tangxi glanced at Wei Hanzhou and asked in a low voice, "Does the emperor really want to chop off your head because of this?"

Wei Hanzhou frowned and said, "Not really."

"At this time, the ministers begged the emperor to spare this righteous and loyal number one scholar... The emperor finally rescinded his order."

After the story was told, everyone stayed together for a long time to discuss it.

Liu Tangxi drank the last sip of soup and went back with Wei Hanzhou.

After walking through this busy street and returning to the quiet alley where they lived, Liu Tangxi couldn't help but ask curiously, "How much truth is there in what the storyteller said?"

"One point."

Who are you kidding, Liu Tangxi thought. But what she heard was more than a little true.

"So, except for the part about the Emperor wanting to chop off your head, everything else is true?"

Wei Hanzhou glanced at her and said nothing.

He clearly said only one part of the truth, but to her it was the opposite.

Seeing this, Liu Tangxi's smile deepened, and with a little pride on her face, she said, "I didn't realize that my husband, you love me so deeply that you will never change until death."