Two figures emerged from inside the door.
It was He Youyou who brought Han Wenzheng.
He Youyou was wrapped in a fox fur coat, her neck hunched, her eyes still glazed over with sleepiness.
When he opened his mouth, all he exhaled was white breath.
"Why are you leaving so early?" she asked in surprise. "It's not even dawn yet. Why didn't you wait until you had breakfast before leaving?"
Zhao Changqing looked at the woman in front of him, a complicated look flashing in his eyes: "We must hurry on our way. If we leave too late, we might miss the post station."
He Youyou looked at the sky.
It was around 5 a.m., before dawn, and before the roosters crowed.
Yesterday, Zhao Changqing said he was leaving, and she thought he would at least leave after breakfast.
She thought for a moment and then took out a few packets of hot pot ingredients from her sleeve.
The kind with the outer packaging removed.
These are square blocks of spicy beef tallow hot pot base, making them very convenient to eat.
The housekeeper who cooks and cleans knows she loves to eat, so she bought her a lot and put them in the cupboard.
Although someone cooks for us and the refrigerator is filled with fresh ingredients every day, the housekeeper doesn't live there. She leaves after cleaning and cooking three meals a day.
He Youyou often works until midnight, and when she gets hungry, she cooks a small hot pot for herself.
During the Spring Festival, she discovered that Zhao Changqing liked this flavor. Although he would sweat profusely from the spiciness every time, he still couldn't bear to put down his chopsticks.
"Young Master Zhao likes hot pot, so take these hot pot base ingredients with you. Just add one ingredient after the water boils each time."
Zhao Changqing stared at her outstretched hand for a moment before realizing what she meant: "Thank you."
He took the base ingredients and handed them to Zuo Ming to put away.
"It's cold and the road is long, so please be careful in everything you do." He Youyou had nothing more to say to this friend of her deceased husband, except for a few polite words.
These past few days, she's been keeping him company with meals and drinks, and even gave up her master bedroom for him to stay in. She thinks she's done a great job of serving him and hasn't wronged him in any way.
Zhao Changqing also took out an exquisite wooden box from his sleeve.
The box is carved with intricate patterns, which are very beautiful.
He Youyou's sleeve contained a spatial dimension, while Zhao Changqing's sleeve was simply something he had prepared and placed inside beforehand.
He handed the wooden box to He Youyou: "These are what I owed Han Silang. Now that Silang has passed away, I can only give them to you, Madam, to keep them. This will put my mind at ease."
"What's this?"
As He Youyou asked, she reached out and opened the wooden box.
It was filled with silver notes.
He Youyou hesitated, "But I don't know where my late husband put the IOU. If you give me the money, I won't be able to find the IOU to return it to you."
Zhao Changqing's eyes flickered slightly: "It's alright. When Han Silang lent me the money, there was no written agreement."
Since the person is dead and there is no IOU, these are just a messy account.
Hearing him say that, He Youyou had no choice but to accept it: "Then I'll write you a receipt to prove that I received the money today, so you can rest assured and not worry that I won't honor the debt."
Zhao Changqing lowered his eyes and said, "There's no need to write a receipt. Han Silang trusts me, and I trust Madam."
Well, what else could she say?
He Youyou put the box into her spatial storage: "Then I wish Young Master Zhao a safe journey."
"I wish Uncle Zhao a safe journey," Han Wenzheng said politely as he followed behind.
Zhao Changqing cupped his hands in greeting: "Take care."
"Take care of yourself."
As dawn broke in the east, the carriage slowly departed from the Han family's residence.
He Youyou watched the carriage drive away until it disappeared from sight, then went inside with Han Zheng to have dinner.
Inside the carriage, Zhao Changqing sat alone, closing his eyes to rest.
Suddenly, the thick cotton curtain was lifted open a crack.
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