"Xianggong, these things are not allowed."

On the street, Zhong Lixuan looked at Situ Xi's cloudy face and comforted him softly.

"Most of the sticks in that holder must be the same as the one I have in my hand."

Situ Xi was holding a wooden stick he had just begged from a fortune-telling booth on the side of the road, and the inscription on it showed that the carver's knife skills were extraordinary, but the eye-catching words "Bloody Disaster" would make people ignore the man's superb skills.

It's not that he's angry, Situ Xi is just a little depressed, that fake Taoist priest is really not a thing, he only knows how to make money by selling panic, and he also said that he will encounter some strange things for two days in a row.

"Maybe it's because of my uncle's bad luck!" whispered to meet Situ Xi's unkind gaze and said mischievously.

……

Before the sting, the climate has warmed up, and the three of Situ Xi's family went to the street today to return to the door, and they are now going to the Huaiming Mansion together.

Huimen is also known as Guining, and there is a sentence in the Book of Poetry such as "harm Huan, return to Ning's parents".

"Ning" should mean tranquility, but when he really stood in front of the gate of the Huaiming Mansion, Zhong Lixuan was a little nervous in his heart.

From the small courtyard to the front of the Guogong Mansion, Zhong Lisu wore a hat that Whispered bought for her all the way, and the white saro covered her face. She was nervous at this time for nothing else, after all, she was not very likable in the Huaiming Mansion, and it would be fine if she was alone, but now that Situ Xi was walking with her, she was more worried that those who had not treated her would say something that would make Situ Xi's heart blocked.

The whisper is a bitter face, her joys, sorrows and sorrows will be reflected on her face in time, she really doesn't like it here.

The gate of the Huaiming Mansion is very magnificent, in addition to a few pairs of stone lions used to ward off evil spirits in front of the door, there are several rows of halberds on both sides of the door inside and outside, which is the unique treatment of dignitaries and nobles.

Listening to Zhong Lisu, according to the etiquette system, the husband and wife who return to the door will wear specific clothes and bring a light gift back to the woman's house, and the woman's family will also go out to greet them.

Observing the gate in front of him, it was relatively empty at this time, only two guards stood inside, and Situ Xi looked at the simple clothes and empty three hands on the three of them. At least in terms of attitude, the two sides have agreed.

Without stopping, the three of them walked into the door together.

There was no obstacle, Zhong Lixuan made a slight leak, and the two guards were busy giving way, and one of them trotted to inform the housekeeper.

Entering the mansion, Situ Xifang felt that this Guogong Mansion was really heroic, with many green rockeries, pavilions and ponds in the front yard, and many roads were divided, leading to different directions.

Such a large ancient mansion did not see a few people walking around, and it should be quite terrifying at night. Situ Xi thought of some thrilling stories about the courtyard of the deep house, but his thoughts were just about to diverge and he was forcibly stopped, how to say that it was also his father-in-law's house, thinking that these were not auspicious and rude.

"Xianggong, the trivial things in the family are all disciplined by the eldest mother, we only need to meet her today, and we should be able to go back soon."

Unlike Situ Xi, looking at the familiar environment in front of her, Zhong Lixuan was complicated, and after a little calm, she explained the situation to Situ Xi softly.

"I see. The lady is a little serious today, and I don't see you smiling. I've heard from a party scholar that a depressed mood will accelerate aging, so be careful. ”

Although it is unclear what happened to Zhong Lishu and Whisper before, and their relationships with the rest of the family, it is certain that the two of them have not had a good time living in this mansion in the past.

In ancient times, the homes of large families that reached this level were more complicated, and for some of the children of concubines, the home was never a paradise.

"Uncle, is this true?"

The whisper on the side widened her eyes and asked Situ Xi for an answer, obviously Situ Xi's half-joking words to adjust the atmosphere just now really frightened her.

"Of course."

This is not a lie, emotions affect people's endocrine, and endocrine affects people's emotions, Situ Xi has always felt that this kind of negative feedback is not advisable. As for why we don't consider the positives, it's because there are really not many people who can always be in a good mood.

"Ahh After receiving an affirmative answer, he was shocked in a whisper, and immediately swept away the gloom on his face, and forced out a strange smile.

Her smile looked a little strange, but it made the couple next to her laugh out loud, and Zhong Lixuan also faded away from his preoccupied appearance.

The three of them walked non-stop, and there was a lot of silence along the way, until they were about to reach the atrium, when they suddenly heard the sound of the harp coming from behind a row of stone arches on the left, and occasionally a melodious female voice accompanied by the sound of the harp.

"It's my father who is listening to the music, and the house has raised a lot of servants in recent years." Seeing Situ Xi's doubts, Zhongli calmly explained to him.

Listening to the song, Situ Xi couldn't help but think of the old man Fan he met in Jinsefang that morning, could it be that the middle-aged and elderly people in the Chu Kingdom are popular to engage in art early in the morning?

"Do you want to meet your father-in-law later?" Situ Xi really wants to meet his father-in-law, he has heard some deeds about Huai Ming Gong in the past few days, and he doesn't know what the real person looks like, as a general who commands the three armies, although he is not as three-headed and six-armed as in the teahouse script, he should also be a burly man.

"Father usually doesn't see people, he doesn't care about these little things."

It's a trivial matter, Situ Xi glanced at the courtyard on the left side again.

The farther and farther he went, an old servant who was also dressed in coarse cloth came over on the stone road beside him, he walked to Zhong Li's side and bent down to salute, and said to the three of them:

"Miss, Madame, please, the old slave will lead the way for you and your uncle."

……

After a few rounds, the three of them finally came to a spacious courtyard, but Zhong Li's face was a little ugly, she looked at the old servant who led the way in front and asked loudly, "Steward Chen, this is the courtyard of the third aunt." ”

The old servant who was called Steward Chen was not in a hurry, with a smile on his face, and bent his already somewhat rickety back and replied:

"Miss, it's still early, the eldest lady is still resting, and the third lady specially told the old slave to bring you to her hospital to meet her."

"Su'er, since you're here, no matter how much you dislike your aunt, you should meet your aunt."

At this moment, there was also a loud voice coming out of the courtyard, which was quite harsh and very recognizable, and Situ Xi's mind immediately appeared in his mind the appearance of the rich woman who came to deliver the letter that day.

"Let's go in and have a look." Seeing that Zhong Lixuan looked at himself with some hesitation after hearing this voice, Situ Xi didn't care at all, patted his robe, and took the lead in raising his legs and entering the hospital.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, Situ Xi saw the third lady lying on a bench with her eyes closed, two slaves and maids with obvious scars on their faces washing her hair, and more than a dozen hairpins on the table next to her shining in the sunlight.

Hearing the sound of footsteps approaching, the woman on the bench opened her eyes, and when she saw that it was Situ Xi who was the head, she closed her eyes again.

"The Nine Kings are also here, and the slave family is inconvenient to salute at the moment, and they are a little sluggish, but now the slave family is also your elder, and your own family does not need these etiquettes, so the slave family will call you Xi'er."

Literally, there seems to be nothing wrong with this, but the third lady's voice fluctuates a little deliberately, and she pronounces it in a subdued tone - a compliment, which has to be described as yin and yang.

It is said that knowing people and knowing faces does not know their hearts, but there are some people, as soon as she speaks, you probably know what her nature is.