As Anna knew, Karenin was not the kind of person who didn't even know how to pack his clothes, on the contrary, perhaps no one in the world could fold them so carefully and carefully as he did.

Karenin's fingers were fairer than those of ordinary men, and because of their thinness, they looked very slender and had no protruding phalanges, and a sapphire ring seemed to be the only ornament of the civil servant, while Anna's finger was a ruby.

Even a three-year-old child knows the meaning of the ring.

Anna never imagined that one day she would wear this.

At first, she felt that this was what was imposed on her, and it made people happy and angry to watch.

The happy thing is that she is not dead after all, she has no worries about food and clothing, and she does not need to be a servant or a handywoman who is reprimanded, and the angry thing is that she is tied up with a man, in such an era. But in any case, maybe she was lucky after all, and that night, when the man came back again, she was indeed moved.

"Can you say that now?"

Karenin put his folded clothes aside, but he did not look angry. In a sense, this man has a surprisingly good temper.

"I," Anna said, pausing to touch the ring, "if you have to know." ”

"Yes."

Karenin's insistence made Anna look at him before replying: "Don't you think that the status of women is too low?" Alexey. ”

"Whether it's a rich woman or a woman who doesn't have money, they don't really have any rights. Like, if I ask for a divorce from you, then both of us will be affected, and your and my reputations will be damaged, even if it has nothing to do with anyone else in the first place. Our son Seryosha, if he wants to gain a foothold in this circle in the future, it will be very difficult. Anna said slowly.

"A woman gives far more than a man, but whether it is wealth or status, it is like a vine, and without a man or a tree, it is like being worthless."

"Anna." Karenin spoke up.

"Don't worry, I'm not excited." Anna smiled, "I think, seriously, that the question of rights and equality between men and women has not changed much in the first hundred years or the next hundred years. ”

She pulled her hair: "You see, maybe you are laughing at me in your heart right now, or maybe you don't approve of me, after all, I'm talking for a large group of women, and by the way, I'm belittling the men." ”

Karenin looked at her and said, "No. ”

Anna paused and looked at the other person.

Karenin clasped his hands and frowned slightly, and said: "I have always believed that the rights and duties of women are essentially no different from those of men. A civilized and advanced country is mostly reflected in the respect that men have for women. ”

"It's going to be a long process."

"You mean, if you can, you're fully behind that?" Anna asked.

"Actually, I'm reluctant to do that to this extent, but if you ask me what I really think, yes, Anna. Don't explain it to anyone, that will put me in a bad position. ”

"Well," Anna blinked, "you'll have to please me." ”

"Flattering?" Karenin frowned, and then reproached, "I thought it was already possible to fold clothes at your request." ”

"It's not that simple."

"I won't agree, Anna, it's one thing or another."

"Then I'll have to ask someone else, for example, Count Vronsky, and I think he'll approve of me." Anna said slowly.

"If you think that, I think it's very unseemly." Karenin paused, and although he understood that his wife's remark was nothing more than a joke and had no practical meaning, he still wanted to explain the seriousness of the matter.

"The matter of Count Vronsky should not continue to haunt us as husband and wife, and I think you will agree not to mention it again, will you?"

"Oh, then I won't mention it." Anna happily agreed.

"By the way, Alexei, you deliberately helped Count Vronsky's mother so that he would owe you a favor."

"I'm a government official, and it's the right thing to do with all the people who might help me."

"Including being a benefactor who helped his mother." Anna laughed, and Karenin coughed a little uncomfortably.

"The instinct of a government official, okay, I got it." Anna said.

"Remember what I said, don't let us get into an unseemly situation." Karenin said. Then he groaned again and said, "Don't get yourself involved in anything again." ”

"Unless you lock me up at home."

"Give me your promise, Anna, don't worry me ......"

As soon as the word worry came out, a kiss was printed on the corner of Karenin's mouth.

"I try." Anna left the man's side and smiled, "Last time I promised to take care of my body, this time I gave half of the promise. ”

"You ......" Karenin was a little confused.

"You see, how strange. Every time you say you're worried about me, I think you're such a good person. Anna said as if talking to herself, it was so different from her.

Before this, she was obviously very resistant to this kind of feeling, and now, it is still the same. But she also understands that in front of this smart man, it is not easy to really hide her thoughts completely, so the truth and the lie are half each, and in the end, I don't know if she directed herself or acted herself.

Karenin raised his hand and put his arm around Anna's waist, deepening the kiss.

For some reason, although it was a kiss, Karenin had a lingering doubt in his heart, but people like him have never been willing to be the kind of husband who would doubt his wife in marriage.

Skepticism is immoral, trust is fundamental.

Karenin persuaded himself like that.

The atmosphere of the dinner was a bit solemn, but not too bad.

Led by Anna, the children had a lot of fun, and there was a little smile on the face of Tao Li and Anna's conversation, but as long as Skihua opened his mouth, the atmosphere would be cold.

By the end of the day, Skiva finally couldn't take it anymore and he dragged Karenin to the tavern.

"Mom, Daddy is out." Grisha quickly told Tao Li, who pretended not to hear, and at last seemed a little annoyed, and she said hatefully, "Let him go!" ”

Grisha shrunk his neck, he felt that his mother was like a fire-breathing dragon now, a little scary, and he ran to Seryosha again, he usually ran to Tanya, but now he had a new playmate.

"I heard that my dad was with Venissa-sensei, but I didn't believe it." Grisha said to Seryosha, his little fat hand twisting and muttering, "Shouldn't Daddy be with Mommy?" ”

Seryosha was older than Grisha, and he knew what this kind of thing was about, but instead of saying it directly, he comforted Grisha.

"Yes, Grisha, dad and mom are a couple, because dad and mom will have you."

Grisha nodded and smiled with satisfaction, revealing her small mouth that was still missing a tooth.

Later in the evening, Anna was wiping Seryosha's hair.

Seryosha sat down on a small stool and told Anna everything Grisha had told him, and finally said, "I lied, but I don't think Grisha would want to know." ”

"Is this a white lie, or do you think it's better to tell him the truth and then hear him cry?"

"I don't want that." Seryosha sighed softly, then grabbed Anna's hand, tilted her head and asked, "I won't lose yours, will I?" ”

"You've got too much going on in your little head, Twig, and now you need to go to bed." Anna put away the towel, thinking that the seven-year-old child might not be thinking too much.

When Anna went to the bathroom to hang the towel, Seryosha took her arm and shook her in shock.

"I'm not going to lose you or my father, am I?"

Anna continued to hang the towel, only slowly, and then she looked down and saw the big, pupil-colored eyes of his father, and finally said, "You will have my promise." ”

Seryosha let go of his hand with satisfaction.

"Can I sleep with you and my father tonight?" Seryosha asked, crooked his eyes.

"What if I say no?" Anna said, then □□ Seryosha's soft face like a marshmallow, who pouted.

"Please...... No...... Bird ......"

"Tell me you've done your homework, and I'll promise you." Anna let go of her hand.

Seryosha's cheeks flushed, and then nodded, "I'm done, Tanya checked it for me." ”

"That's fine."

Seryosha cheered, and he quickly got into the quilt in a white nightdress, which he was not allowed to do at home, but it was outside, and he needed his mother's company.

While Seryosha urged Anna to go to bed too, Karenin returned, and Skiva was a little drunk, and the butler informed Tao Li, who asked the butler and the valet to throw Skiva into a guest room. Eventually, though, she went there to stay with her husband, even though she declared that she just didn't want to see the children's father die of vomit choking.

"Father, you've been drinking." Seryosha wrinkled his nose, he didn't like the taste of wine.

"More than this obvious fact, I wonder why you don't sleep in your room, Seryosha." Karenin said, standing on the edge of the bed.

"Mom agreed for me to sleep here." Seryosha laughed.

"I can sleep in the middle, I'm small, I won't take up a lot of space." Seryosha lay down and said quickly.

Karenin looked at his son, who had made up his mind to sleep here, and then at his wife, with a slight reproachful look, who only blinked.

"I suggest you go take a shower, Alexey." Anna said.

Karenin stood for a while, and Seryosha was rolling on the bed, and finally he could not help but stop the other party.

"Seryosha, don't get carried away."

Seryosha stopped rolling, lay down upright, and pulled the quilt up, revealing only two large round eyes.

The wood was ready, the rice was cooked, and Karenin went to the bathroom to wash.

By the time he came out, Seryosha had already stuck to his wife's side.

"I want to hear stories, Mom." Seryosha blinked and asked.

"I want to hear it too." Anna said, then looked at Karenin.

Karenin calmly said: "I'm not good at this. ”

"I'm very good today." Seryosha said in a pitiful tone.

"Seryosha deserves to be rewarded, and I think rewards are very effective in motivating a child," Anna said. ”

Karenin was silent for a moment, and then said: "Maybe Daria Alexandrovina will have a suitable storybook." With that, he went out for the time being.

When Tao Li heard Karenin's intention, she smiled: "I didn't expect you to be the kind of father who can read stories to his children, Alexei Alexandrovich. ”

"To be honest, I didn't think about that myself." Karenin said.

Tauri took Karenin to the study, and then she picked out a book.

"It's Grisha's favorite storybook."

"You're a good mother, Daria Alexandrovina."

Tao Li smiled bitterly: "It's a pity that she is not a good woman." ”

"Don't doubt that. Skiver's stupidity and mistakes should not be the standard by which you judge yourself, and no one can criticize a mother who loves her children dearly. Karenin said calmly.

"I didn't expect you to be the one who told me this." Tao Li wiped away her tears, "Whether it's you or Anna, how good, you are better than that hateful person!" ”

"I'm not a good person, and I'm telling you this largely for my wife's sake. She sympathizes with your situation and, desperately, wants you to cheer up, and if you become a strong woman, she will be happier than anyone else. ”

The man's voice was calm, and although there were no big ups and downs in tone, Tao Li could fully feel his protection for his wife.

"I'm so jealous, Alexei Alexandrovich, how nice Anna is, how lucky she is. Neither Sskiva's wife, but her sister, she is your wife, Seryosha is still so sensible and obedient. Tao Li said in a tone of envy.

"You don't need to envy others, Daria Alessandrovina, there are always things in the world that you can do and no one else can do."

"For example, what?" Tao Li asked in a somewhat bleak, distrustful tone.

Karenin thought for a moment, and then said: "For example, your craft of making cookies. ”

Tao Li looked at Karenin with some surprise, and then realized that it was just a joke. She laughed, but not by the joke, but by Karenin the person.

"I've never found you to be a somewhat humorous person before."

"I wasn't used to revealing this to anyone before."

"Because Anna is it?"

Karenin did not affirm or deny.

Tao Li smiled and said, "You really love her, don't you?" ”

"She's my wife, and I love her, don't I?" Karenin asked rhetorically.

Tao Li shook her head and said in a somewhat pitiful tone, "If you keep telling Anna like that, then she will be too pitiful." ”

Karenin wrung his eyebrows, somewhat incomprehensible. 166 Reading Network