The name "Tongxintang" was personally written by Xu Yunci, who specially chose the characters "Tongxin".
He entered the courtyard, which was quiet, assuming the person would be resting inside. But when he went inside, there was no one there; only Qiu Fan was guarding the door.
"Where is Madam?"
Qiu Fan had learned a lot from Lian Dong, and without looking up, she curtsied and replied, "I just took Lian Dong to the flower hall and haven't come back yet."
Xu Yunci was somewhat puzzled, so he turned around and walked towards the flower hall. Sure enough, in front of the beaded curtain in the flower hall, Li Shiyue was sitting on a chair, and in front of her was a thick stack of account books, which looked like she had only flipped to a few pages.
He lifted the beaded curtain in front of him, walked around the screens of the two people in the front row, and came out from behind.
The flower hall faces the second gate, which is naturally open in broad daylight.
The slight clattering of the beaded curtain failed to draw Li Shiyue's attention, but it was Lian Dong and Luo's mother who noticed it.
Just as he was about to speak, Xu Yunci shook his head slightly.
Standing beside Li Shiyue was an elderly nanny, none other than Granny Sun, who managed some affairs of the inner quarters.
Granny Sun placed her finger in front of the account book and clearly explained its uses. Li Shiyue listened attentively and didn't even notice that someone else had moved to her side.
"Granny?"
Suddenly, Granny Sun fell silent. Li Shiyue looked up in confusion and saw Granny Sun take a small step back, her expression respectful and her knees bent in her direction.
Somewhat puzzled, she turned around and saw Xu Yunci. Her expression was a mixture of surprise and joy: "When did you arrive?"
Xu Yunci took the ledger from her hand. The ledger was filled with detailed accounts, recording every penny and expenditure of the Duke's mansion.
He placed the ledger on the table and sat down on the wooden chair on the other side: "Not long ago, I just arrived. Seeing how engrossed you were, I didn't let Aunt Luo and Lian Dong make a sound."
Li Shiyue glanced at the account book in front of her and instructed Lian Dong, "Go check the stove to see if there are any pastries left, and brew a pot of tea. Granny and Mother have been with me for half a day, and even if they're not tired, they're parched. Go and rest for a while."
Granny Sun and Granny Luo didn't hesitate and tactfully withdrew, as having tea and cake was a reward from their master.
Only the two of them remained in the flower hall. Li Shiyue straightened her back, and a tingling, numb pain gradually crept in.
Suddenly, a pair of large hands landed on her waist. Li Shiyue quickly looked around, but there was no one there, so she breathed a sigh of relief.
Xu Yunci blocked her outstretched hand, and slowly and firmly pressed her waist with both hands to drive away her discomfort.
Ultimately, it's his fault; after all, he was the one who indulged himself last night.
Li Shiyue glanced at him quickly, and seeing that no one was around, she let him have his way. It was really comfortable, to say the least.
"Have you finished dealing with your business? Didn't you say you were going to Songyuan to take care of some things?"
"It's all settled, it's nothing serious, and I won't shirk my responsibilities."
Xu Yunci looked calm and composed, as if he hadn't encountered any trouble, which put Li Shiyue at ease.
Noticing the slight upturn at the corners of his mouth, he seemed to be in a good mood. Li Shiyue pushed the teacup beside her toward him; it was freshly brewed. "Is something good happening? You seem to be in a good mood."
Xu Yunci wasn't surprised by her question. He raised his eyebrows slightly, as if he was smug, and it seemed he had been waiting for her to say that.
“I not only handled the matters His Highness instructed, but also did some other things that were supposed to be done.”
He paused, and seeing the genuine curiosity on Li Shiyue's face, he added, "The Du family, I sent someone to the Du family, which is Du Liangdi's maternal family."
"Isn't her daughter-in-law in a hurry to get married? I'll act as a matchmaker and find portraits of all the well-known men in the capital to send over. I guarantee that when the Du family's daughter-in-law sees them, she'll definitely like them and come to our door as a concubine."
"To avoid targeting the wrong people, we can close the door and enjoy our peaceful lives."
Li Shiyue looked at him in surprise, she really didn't expect him to go to such lengths.
"Won't doing this offend the Du family of the General's Mansion? And since they're both officials in the same court, won't it create enmity?"
Xu Yunci picked up the teacup, slowly lifted the lid, and took a big sip, seemingly unconcerned.
"So what? I am the Vice Magistrate of the Capital Prefecture, an official. If I were to offend Your Highness after serving for so many years, I would have done so long ago. Why wait until today?"
"Offending them is one thing, turning against them is another. In any case, they can't touch me now, and I won't give them a chance to find fault."
He put down his teacup, tilted his head to look at Li Shiyue, and his mood improved even more: "Is my wife worried about her husband?"
Before Li Shiyue could answer, Xu Yunci sat up straight, a slight smile curving his lips: "To be honest, it feels quite nice to be thought of by my wife. I hope my wife will think of me often in the future."
Li Shiyue glared at him angrily and slapped away his outstretched hand.
"Why do you say that? It wasn't like this before. How come you've shown your true colors after marriage? This behavior is quite different from the cousin I know."
She turned around, closed the ledger in front of her, and neatly placed it aside.
Xu Yunci put the ink brush back where it was before her and picked up the round fan that she had placed aside, playing with it in his hand.
The fan was imbued with her scent, not the cloying sweet fragrance, but the sachets she always dried and made herself.
He didn't know when, but his clothes and body were also tinged with this faint fragrance. Normally, he wouldn't be too picky about fragrances, but now it was different; he simply couldn't stand any other scents.
The round fan features a famous double-sided embroidery of landscapes, and an indigo tassel hangs from the black jade handle.
"I'm not joking. Did you send someone to the Du family and say anything? The Du family responded like this. Could it be that you've really made enemies?"
Li Shiyue looked at Xu Yunci's face with worry in her eyes. It was one thing for her not to share a husband with another woman, but if Xu Yunci really disregarded everything and made enemies with someone, after all, he was serving in the same court as the Du family's young master, she didn't want him to secretly trip her up.
Although Xu Yunci's abilities and status mean that as long as the Emperor and His Highness are still alive, nothing will happen that would displease the Emperor, we must still be wary of him.
Seeing her so serious, Xu Yunci put down the fan in her hand and did not hide anything: "Of course I have anger but dare not speak it, but they deserve it."
"On the second day of our marriage, we went to the palace to express our gratitude and pay our respects. The Du family wanted to use Consort Du to try and get their daughter into the Duke's mansion. They really have a dream."
"Let alone the Du family, even if the emperor intends to bestow a concubine upon someone, he will consider their status. The current head of the Du family is General Du, the elder brother of Consort Du, who serves in the same court as me."
"Although she is only a concubine's daughter of the Du family, if she were to become a concubine in the Xu family, General Du's reputation would be trampled under the feet of the Xu family in the future."
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