"Mrs. Tao is so big. The fourth lady who was sitting at the table in front of her turned around and said a word at this time, smiling.

Du Shi smiled slightly, but did not say a word.

When Mrs. Kong returned, she still sat next to Du. Jingyi heard her whisper, "...... There's an urgent matter at home...... Let's listen to the play, the drama between Boss Cheng and Boss Meng today is really amazing......"

Jingyi pressed her finger.

The nail marks that were pricked by the melon seed shell oozed a hint of dark red.

On the way back, Jingyi was silent.

Du Shi seemed a little tired and didn't speak, but before getting out of the car, she said: "In two days, the Tao family will come up and down to be guests at home, you can't always look so listless...... If you have promised your father, you should rejoice, you know? ”

"Yes, Mother." Jingyi replied at the age of the year.

The window opened a gap, and the wind blowing in was cool.

After Jing Yi said this, she touched her arm.

*************

The day when Tao Shengchuan and his family came to Chengfu as a guest was on July 19.

It had just rained the day before, and since the morning the weather has been sunny and slightly damp, and it is no longer as hot as the previous day.

"It's a bit autumnal." Wan Wei sat in Jing Yi's room, looking out the window, and at Jing Yi who was trying on new clothes with the help of Cui Xi and Qiu Wei.

A lotus-colored skirt was worn on Jingyi's body, making Jingyi's skin whiter and whiter like snow.

Wan Wei looked at it like this, and she was a little dazed.

It was as if she had seen herself more than twenty years ago. It's the same with ink-like hair, lacquer-like eyes, lips like coral, and braided shell-like teeth...... Even the trace of melancholy between the eyebrows is very similar.

She suppressed the sigh that was about to escape from her throat.

Cui Xi was taking a bead chain, and Wan Wei came over when she saw this, took it, and put it on for Jingyi.

"Mother, I'll do it myself." Jingyi said.

Jingyi fumbled for the buckle of the bead chain and buckled it at the back of her neck for a long time before she got it right.

Fingernail-sized beads with a deep purple color.

"Mrs. is thoughtful, the color of this new gown is just like this bead to look good...... I remember that my aunt gave you that bead chain a while ago, although it is not as big as this, it is also very good...... "Wan Wei tidied up for Jingyi and looked in the mirror." The daughter who is in the best age, without powder, is already extremely good-looking. She smiled and instructed softly, "I heard that Mrs. Tao is coming today." The female guest also has the second young grandmother of the Tao family. Remember not to talk too much, but to listen to your father and mother...... Do you hear that? ”

Jingyi looked at Wan Wei and smiled.

The smile is shallow, and the red lips are bent, and the smile is carefree.

The phone rang, and Qiu Wei hurriedly ran to answer the phone.

"Mother knows that you are not happy in your heart." Wan Wei rubbed Jing Yi's cheeks and cheeks, and said, "If you don't feel happy, you have to endure it, so you have to survive this meeting today." ”

Jingyi said, "Okay." ”

That's not a problem at all. She knew since she was a child that in fact, the bigger the scene, the easier it is to deal with, as long as she doesn't talk and follows her mother.

Outside, Qiu Wei put down the receiver and said, "Madam, the eldest lady is calling over there, saying that the time is almost time, and she wants us to go over." ”

Jingyi turned around and approached the mirror, wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, and said with a smile: "Mother, let's go." ”

Seeing Jingyi's attitude, Wan Wei thought that she could go happily, which was not a bad thing. She felt a little relieved and told Cui Xi to follow. As soon as she turned around, she suddenly felt that something was wrong, so she grabbed Jingyi's wrist and asked, "What about the rest of the bracelet?" ”

Jing Yi saw that her mother's face suddenly changed color, and paused, knowing that she couldn't hide it from the world, so she told the truth: "I gave it to that groom on the street a few days ago." ”

Qiao's mother Cui Xi took a breath and didn't dare to make a sound.

Wan Wei almost didn't come up in one breath, so she heard Jingyi say again: "There is also the bead chain that the eldest sister gave me on my birthday last year." ”

Wan Wei held the handkerchief and hit Jing Yi's shoulder at once, and said, "You...... You kid, you're going to be angry with your mother, aren't you? You...... You know it's ...... What is that...... You! She regretted for a moment that her days were short, and she didn't care about this small point, so her fingers couldn't help but poke Jingyi's head fiercely, and suddenly thought that the most important thing at the moment was not to scold Jingyi, and hurriedly said to Cui Xi: "Quick, go back to the house and get it...... Open the box and find the pair of mutton fat jade bracelets...... I remember ......"

"At the bottom of the gold-painted patent box." Cui Xi said.

"Go and find it! Find it and bring it quickly, quickly! Wan Wei sent Cuixi out, pulled Jingyi with one hand, and dragged her out of the room, "Put it on first, maybe you can be confused for a while...... No matter who you give it to, you want to come back......"

"Why are you going to come back if you give it away?" Jingyi said.

"Why don't you want to come back? No matter what method you use, you have to come back at any cost! Wan Wei said.

Jingyi listened, her mother was not used to speaking harshly, and her words were still soft.

"Mother, you are talking more and more like your father's tone." Jingyi said.

It's like a knot. She also knew that she was confused just now, and when she heard Jingyi say that it was given to the groom, she knew that she must not come back. It's no wonder that she just stared at her in the room for the past few days, and she didn't expect to notice here. She glared at Qiao's mother and Qiu Wei again in a blink of an eye. The two of them knew that they were at a loss, so they had quietly retreated a few steps away without saying a word.

"Mother, what does it matter if these things outside the body are there or not? I'm all here. Jingyi said.

When Cui Xi came to the front with a sachet, Wan Hui took the sachet with her hand, opened the mouth of the sachet with a trembling hand, and the golden silk silk was fighting in her hand, and the jade bracelet in the bag jingled crisply. A pair of simple mutton fat jade bracelets were held in Wan Wei's hands, and without saying a word, he put one on each wrist of Jingyi.

Jing Yi looked at the bracelet, although it was different from her original pair in terms of jade quality and style, at first glance it was enough to confuse the real thing. If you don't look closely, you really can't tell the difference. She folded the bracelet.

Wan Wei stuffed the bag back into Cui Xi's hand, grabbed Jing Yi's wrist, and dragged her as she walked, saying, "Remember, the sleeves are up...... If it is seen by the wife, or the master, I will see what you will do! It was a token given by the Tao family when they first made a marriage, how could the token be lost! ”

"Hiding it from your mother?" Jingyi asked.

"Of course you have to hide it today, do you want to beg for a fight?" Wan Wei said angrily.

"Mother won't beat me for such a thing again......" Jingyi muttered in a low voice.

"You're still reasonable, is this a normal thing?" Wan Wei said.

She didn't want a sedan chair to carry it, and pulled Jingyi away.

The mother-in-law carried two small bamboo sedan chairs to follow, and she waved her hand back.

Jingyi followed Wanyi, always adapting to her footsteps.

Wan Wei was angry, but he walked faster than usual.

Jingyi lowered her head, and from under her mother's long skirt, she couldn't see shoes at all—her father had four wives and concubines, and only her mother was small-footed—she couldn't imagine that these little feet had also crossed the ocean and followed her father to almost all countries on the European continent...... She couldn't imagine what it would be like for a small-footed woman like her mother to walk on the banks of the Rhine. Oh, my mother never wore a dress; What should it look like in a dress? She can't actually imagine that like her mother, she wears a dress. She is the lady who came out of the painting......

It is a long way to get from Xinglu to Du's residence.

Wan Wei walked and walked, and his breath seemed to be much calmer, and he gradually let go of Jingyi's hand. Jingyi leaned over and grabbed her arm, was brushed away by her, and glared.

Jingyi had no choice but to follow her.

They walked through the side door into the courtyard of Du's residence.

Jingyi felt a little inexplicably panicked in her heart, although she had already made up her mind. And she already knew who she was going to meet today...... In the past few days, she has thought about it countless times, what she wants to say when she sees Tao Xiang.

There was the sound of footsteps in the distance, and Jingyi caught up and took her mother's hand.

At this time, they were walking along the porch, and through the hollow window on the courtyard wall, they could see that people were walking into the courtyard—Jingyi pulled her mother to stop and said, "Mother, wait, someone is coming." ”

Wan Wei frowned, and Jing Yi gestured to her.

She looked through the window.

Through the bright veil, they should be able to see the courtyard, and the people in the courtyard can't see them - the one who walks in the front is Cheng Dafu, the chief housekeeper of the Cheng Mansion. He leads the way in front of the right, pausing from time to time to get used to the people behind him.

Jing Yi saw an elderly man with a tall and straight figure. Judging from the posture of the aisle, there is no doubt that this person must be a soldier. In other words, he should be Tao Shengchuan...... Walking with Tao Shengchuan was his father. The father who was wearing a long shirt and Tao Shengchuan, who was also wearing a long shirt, held hands and talked and laughed.

She is used to seeing her father not smiling, and it is rare for her to be so happy from the bottom of her heart.

Cheng Shiyun and Tao Shengchuan laughed from time to time. Cheng Shiyun occasionally pointed to a certain place in the house, Tao Shengchuan paused for a moment, and when he said something, there was another burst of knowing laughter.

Jing Yi clenched her hands unconsciously.

Behind Tao Shengchuan and Cheng Shiyun were three men and two women. Except for the slender and tall Zhi Shen, the two men are very similar to Tao Shengchuan's figure and temperament, and compared to Zhi Shen, they are almost half as generous. The two women, one old and one young, were both dressed in cheongsam.

Jing Yi's gaze was fixed on the man walking at the back - Tao Xiang's footsteps were obviously more steady than the others. Recently, many of the new guests of the Cheng family have come to visit the style of Qingwangfu, and when they enter the garden, they all look left and right, but he does not squint...... Jing Yi was thinking about it, and Tao Xiao turned his head