Red Crisp Hands (I)

Xinjie got on his horse and galloped away, but things were not as easy as he thought.

The first time he saw his wife tied up in a chair, it was very different from the last time he saw her in front of the Shohe Temple. At that time, although she was nearly four months pregnant, and had gone through all kinds of twists and turns in the middle, she was still in good spirits, especially when arguing and dueling with her opponents, that kind of killing and decisiveness, that kind of aggressiveness, full of heroic spirit, soft and beautiful with a man's unique aura, full of wisdom and wit in conversation, otherwise how could the other party break down.

Now, more than a month later, the verdict is two. There is no longer a sharp edge, no longer a shining eye, and there is only indifference and indifference on the pale and haggard face. The moment he entered, she knew it was him, and she would not be mistaken, but soon she concealed her feelings for him with indifference. She sat lazily on the chair where Xiao Jiu bound her. After he untied the rope, the first thing she said was to let him go. It's about peace and indifference. If he hadn't witnessed her ago's struggles in the first few days, and had not heard her call to himself at that time, he would have believed her. With his old haughty character, maybe he will really walk away. After that, she didn't respond to his hugs and calls.

He knew why Xiao Jiu had to send her back, and even if Xiao Jiu could bear her just using him as a stand-in, he couldn't see her wither. This withering is the drying up of the heart spring, which Xiao Jiu cannot repair.

When he picked her up, he felt much lighter than before, and although she was well-proportioned before, she was round and jade, and now she was fluttering in her arms. But her struggles were stronger than ever. From the small courtyard all the way to Aokien, they are struggling to break free, and the people on the road are looking at them. When I returned to Aokien, all the servants flocked to it, but they were all scared away when they saw it. She couldn't make a sound on the way, but when she got home, she started crying and screaming, and she kept struggling to resist. He never knew he had to work so hard to have her, like he was a**her. It wasn't until she was exhausted that she suddenly fell silent. But instead of leaning on him as intimately as before, she lay down on the bed and turned inside, curled up like a wounded and cold-sensitive little rabbit.

Although he hugged her tightly from behind, he knew that the pressure and injuries she had endured over the past few months would not be able to heal overnight. It was clear that after she was hurt, she would no longer lean closer to him for protection, but wrapped herself in this self-healing action. He didn't know when he would be able to go back to the state of being held and pampered by her.

There was an autumn rain outside, and the raindrops were gently dripping on the leaves and flowers. A row of moonflowers under the eaves of the outside looks even more delicate in the morning light after being gently watered. And his wife was still so pale and haggard, and tired. He remembered how beautiful she was when she was in Xianyang. He also doubted that the imperial power, the family business, and the Jade Gate, which he had worked so hard to maintain, were worth sacrificing the people he loved the most.

Xinjie hurried to do some things early in the morning while his wife was still asleep. After a hysterical shouting, crying, and mourning, the exhausted wife slept deeply. Yiyi's enthronement ceremony is approaching, there are many things to arrange, and there are still some doubts about the old case in front, and even the death of his mother is not fully clear yet. He knew that he needed to be by his wife's side at such times, but he couldn't afford to do these things, so for the first time today, he gave up his habit of nearly twenty years and went out without practicing for an hour and a half.

In the autumn morning after the new rain, the air is faintly blended with the fragrance of wood flowers, which looks sweet and moist. Wan Ning stood in front of her familiar dressing table, looking slowly at her freshly washed pale face in the mirror, her eyes were still a little red and swollen, and her hair was tied casually from behind with a ribbon. For the first time since the loss of her child, she had looked at herself in the mirror, and at this moment, it was as if she didn't know herself. For more than a month, she tried to make herself aloof and calm. But when the poison gas attacked, she was still crazy and conscious, and what made her even more painful was the damage caused to Xiao Jiu. Maybe it's wise for Xiao Jiu to leave like this, otherwise one day he will go crazy with him. However, for Xinjie, she is not confident that she can go back to the past, and she can still see each other so sincerely, and a veil dyed with ink cannot be completely washed white.

Cai'er and Yuling came in with breakfast and tea. Cai'er was still so innocent, and Yuling felt extremely heartbroken when she saw her. At the time of the breakup of Woyunguan, her hostess was still so shrewd and decisive, and her spirit was flying, and now she looked so cold and haggard. In the three months that they were running around together, the young grandmother was so calm no matter what happened, but she was full of life at all times, and now, she couldn't see the aura of life, only a cold and sluggish. She couldn't resist going over and helping her pull up her loose hair. She saw tears glistening in her eyes, and she stopped talking.

Cai'er and Yuling waited for her to finish breakfast and drink tea, Wanning herself returned to the dressing table again, Yuling hurriedly came over to comb her hair slowly, she knew that the master loved to be beautiful, as long as she still had the heart to dress herself, there would be a turnaround. She carefully helped her comb a little bit. The rosewood comb ran softly across her scalp and through her silky black hair. Yuling and Cai'er both like to help Wanjing comb their hair, looking at the silk silk, feeling its sliding, with a soft beauty.

She figured out that her master would not go out today, so she loosely tied a bun on top of it, and it was still loosely scattered below. Yu Ling picked up the golden rose in the dresser, which was the master's favorite, and was about to put a hairpin on her, but Wan Ning stopped her, took the rose and looked at it without speaking or moving, just crying silently. Yuling didn't know what to do, Xinjie had already walked in and motioned for her to go out. Xinjie had been back for a while, just quietly watching them comb their hair at the door. He walked to the dressing table, half-knelt down, held Wanning's hand holding the rose, and looked at her faintly. She was finally willing to lift her big tear-filled eyes to look at him head-on, full of pain, helplessness and helplessness. This look stung him deeply, so that he could not face her, so he could only embrace her in his arms, and hide his inner sorrow with kisses.

The news of Wanning's return soon spread. is not only concerned about the people of the Tang family, the queen mother and the crown prince, but also many people who pay attention to Xinjie's already empty wife. They calculated the benefits that this wife's position might bring to the family. As for whether his daughter will be happy after marrying, no one has considered it, which is a normal thing in the official family and royal family in the capital. Among these calculating people, the most disappointed and happier at Wanning's return is Prince Zhi, the father of the county lord Yiyan. Jing'an is about to marry Tang Xintian, and the queen is already discussing with everyone the wedding date after the enthronement ceremony. At the beginning, Prince Zhi asked Yiyan to follow him to the Tang family in Guanxi, and he also fell in love with the lintel of the Tang family and the relationship with the Queen Mother. Recently, everyone learned through various channels that General Yutai of Pingluan Pavilion, who had the power of life and death by the emperor's special decree, was actually the third son of the Tang family, this fast-rising young military and political dignitary, of course, is the best son-in-law candidate for Prince Zhi, much better than the stupid fifth elder of the Tang family chosen by his daughter, and the past, Xinjie's special mother has also made Prince Zhi unforgettable.

Since re-accepting him in extreme vulnerability the day after Wanning's return, Xinjie finds that his wife is far more attached to him than before. Although the prince and the people of the Tang family knew that Wan Ning had returned, no one had come to disturb them, and the prince even asked people to send important official documents and newspapers to Aoki Garden, so that he didn't have to go out for official business, and could accompany his wife well. Even so, there are still some uninvited guests from time to time, all of whom are civil and military generals in the DPRK and China. In the past, no one knew the identity of Xinjie, so there were no people in the officialdom in Aoki Garden, and now this person who had just desperately saved the new emperor and lost the child in his wife's womb because of it, naturally became the object of these people who hoped to rise by making friends and climbing up. Every time he had no choice but to go out and sit with them for a short time, he hurried back to his wife. Of course, Ning'er, who was born in the court, knew it well, but she and Xinjie didn't like these people from the bottom of their hearts.

On this day, several editors of the Hanlin Academy came together, and a few of them were met by Xinjie when he went in and out of the capital to meet various literati and elegant gatherings, saying that it was to discuss poetry and literature, but in fact, it was also the meaning of making friends. Xinjie sat there, although he didn't do anything on the surface, but he was extremely impatient in his heart. Everyone eagerly discussed the rhythm and poetry, which he used to like, and it is estimated that these people also took a lot of time to come prepared, and he could not bear to give them too much face, so he could only deal with it a little. He was thinking about how to end the visit, when he suddenly saw his wife come in with a girl and serve tea and snacks. All of you here are from Hanlin Academy, and they have never walked around the palace, so naturally they don't know Miss Ning. However, her dress and temperament are indeed not ordinary girls, although she still looks a little haggard, but her brilliance is incomprehensible. When she placed the tea on the table beside him, he grabbed her and let her sit on his lap.