Just now at the Drunken Melody Tower, Shen Baozhu could only steal a few glances and vaguely saw that Xu Yutang was quite beautiful. It was not until now, looking at her directly, that she truly got a clear view of Xu Yutang's appearance.
Xu Yutang was dressed in an apricot-colored dress and carried a tiny bundle on her back. Her skin was fair, and she was a bit tall. A gilded blue beaded hairpin adorned her half - coiled hair of a young girl. The whole person was lively and sprightly. But Xu Yutang stood with a straight back, and just by standing there, one could tell that her deportment was excellent.
The servant was about to announce their arrival when Yan Mingli stopped him. "No need to go through the trouble. I was just about to find Qiuqiu. Let her come with me."
"Yes, son - in - law," the servant said respectfully and opened the door.
Although he was not yet married, Yan Mingli liked to hear others call him son - in - law. In such trivial matters, Chen Miaochun always indulged him. So Yan Mingli always liked to come to the Yong'an Marquis Mansion. Not for anything else, but just for that "son - in - law" from the servants.
Hearing the words "son - in - law", Xu Yutang preconceived that Yan Mingli was Chen Ruxia's husband. She took small steps and followed behind Yan Mingli.
Yan Mingli rarely used a carriage when going out. So he walked with Shen Baozhu from the Drunken Melody Tower to Su Ming's shop and then to the Yong'an Marquis Mansion, crossing most of the capital.
He was already used to it, but Shen Baozhu was still a bit unaccustomed. For example, at this moment, her legs were sore and numb, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
Yan Mingli noticed that Shen Baozhu's steps slowed down. He picked her up with one hand. "You need to walk more to grow taller."
Lin Yu: [Yan Mingli walked such a long way and could still pick up Baozhu with one hand. His physical strength and endurance are quite good.]
Dragon King: [Is the ill - fated couple Qiuqiu's mother's niece? So it's the gossip of relatives. There might be more to come.]
Since Chen Miaochun had not returned, Mother Chen and Qiuqiu still lived in the main courtyard.
When Yan Mingli carried Shen Baozhu to the main courtyard, Qiuqiu was standing in a daze under the eaves.
"Qiuqiu!" Shen Baozhu broke free from Yan Mingli's arms and excitedly ran in front of Qiuqiu.
Seeing Shen Baozhu, Qiuqiu's listless eyes moved slightly.
She reached out and tugged at Shen Baozhu's corner of the clothes, forcing a smile. "Baozhu!"
Shen Baozhu wrapped her small hand around Qiuqiu's. She said with heartache, "Qiuqiu, did you have another nightmare?"
"Yeah," Qiuqiu replied softly.
In that fire, although Chen Ruxia had protected her, Qiuqiu was not injured but was overly frightened.
Qiuqiu would have nightmares from time to time, and the next day she would be listless like this.
This was Qiuqiu's heart ailment. Doctor Liu could only prescribe a few more soothing prescriptions for her. Shen Baozhu wanted to help and had also asked the three immortals.
Immortal Qingyun called it a mental demon. In the cultivation world, there was no way to cure it. One could only endure it on their own.
Lin Yu specially took half a day's leave to consult the dean of the Psychological Research Institute. The reply was that a face - to - face diagnosis was needed, and treatment with both medicine and psychological counseling was required.
This method wouldn't work. Qiuqiu couldn't have a face - to - face diagnosis, and in the interstellar era, the drug management for mental diseases was very strict, and it was difficult for the drugs to circulate.
The Dragon King had a straightforward idea. Let Qiuqiu lose her memory and forget that fire directly. Without this part of the memory, there would be no heart ailment.
Seeing that Qiuqiu had another nightmare, the Dragon King brought up the old matter again. [Why not just use this king's idea? Eat some fruit and directly lose your memory. It'll also save Qiuqiu from suffering.]
Shen Baozhu tightened her grip on Qiuqiu's hand. "Qiuqiu, do you want to eat a fruit and forget what happened that day?"
Qiuqiu didn't say a word. She slowly leaned her body and nestled beside Shen Baozhu.
Looking at this scene, Yan Mingli couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart. He already knew the ins and outs of the Yong'an Marquis Mansion and decided to go to the South Wind Pavilion again at night to beat Wang Linchun up severely.
"You are... Yutang?" Mother Chen stood at the door and recognized Xu Yutang at a glance.
Seeing that there was no one beside Xu Yutang, she frowned. "What happened? Where's your maid?"
The family rules of the Xu family were very strict. The Xu family girls had to cover their faces with veils since childhood, lived in high - rise buildings, and didn't see outsiders. They weren't even allowed to get close to the male members of the family and could only meet them during festivals.
Xu Yutang came alone without a veil. Mother Chen couldn't help but think too much.
"Auntie, I... I..." Xu Yutang stammered and couldn't say a word for a long time.
She dodged her eyes and didn't dare to tell Mother Chen the truth.
Sneaking out to meet a strange man when she already had a betrothal was a serious crime in the Xu family that could cost one's life. Xu Yutang felt extremely guilty.
Seeing that she had something hard to say, Mother Chen sighed softly. "Forget it. You can stay here first."
"Coincidentally, I have a wet nurse who came from the palace here. If your elder brother comes looking for you, we can use the excuse of learning etiquette to fend him off for the time being."
Xu Yutang was quite lucky. On the second day after Chen Miaochun was made a marquis, all the servants in the Yong'an Marquis Mansion were replaced with maids from the palace. The servants were temporarily bought, and the current steward was still a eunuch from the palace.
Even Father Chen and Mother Chen were like this. Only Chen Ruxia moved to the Jingning Princess Mansion with her maid, and her maid was lucky enough to escape this change.
With Mother Chen's protection, Xu Yutang felt much lighter. She replied crisply, "Okay! Thank you, auntie."
Mother Chen waved and called Qiuqiu and Shen Baozhu over. She introduced, "This is your younger sister Qiuqiu, and this is Qiuqiu's good friend Baozhu."
"He is the future son - in - law of the marquis mansion. You should call him..." Mother Chen paused. She couldn't remember Xu Yutang's birth date, only remembering that she was the same age as Chen Ruxia.
Xu Yutang said considerately, "Is he Sister Ruxia's fiancé? Hello, brother - in - law!"
"What are you talking about! I'm Miaochun's husband. You can't talk nonsense like this!" Yan Mingli looked panicked and took several steps back in fright.
He even hid behind Qiuqiu and Shen Baozhu. "You two testify for me. She said this. It has nothing to do with me!"
Xu Yutang was stunned. Did she say something wrong?
She thought carefully and finally remembered that there was also a concubine - born daughter in the marquis mansion. She suddenly realized and said, "So you're Sister Pan'er's husband..."
Yan Mingli was even more scared. He subconsciously jumped up and quickly denied it. "Stop talking. Please stop talking. I have nothing to do with Chen Pan'er. If Ning Shanyuan hears this, I'll be retaliated against by that stingy guy!"
"My wife is Chen Miaochun, the newly - found eldest miss of the Yong'an Marquis Mansion, not Chen Ruxia or Chen Pan'er."
Qiuqiu was amused by Yan Mingli's appearance and hugged Shen Baozhu's arm and laughed.
Shen Baozhu said excitedly, "Qiuqiu is laughing. Brother Mingli, jump a few more times!"
Yan Mingli turned to look at Shen Baozhu in disbelief. "Baozhu! You're selling me out just to make Qiuqiu happy. What about our previous friendship?"
"It's like the chicken leg I ate today," Shen Baozhu blinked and urged, "Jump one more time."
Yan Mingli covered his chest and felt extremely sad. "I thought we were good friends. I didn't expect you to not care about our friendship."
Qiuqiu temporarily forgot about the nightmare. She raised the corners of her mouth and proudly hugged Shen Baozhu. "I'm Baozhu's good friend. We have the best relationship!"
After Mother Chen's explanation, Xu Yutang finally knew that Yan Mingli's fiancée was Chen Miaochun, and Chen Miaochun was the Marquis of Yong'an... Marquis of Yong'an?
Xu Yutang widened her eyes and said in a失态 way, "Is the capital so tolerant? Can a marquis openly marry a man?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the courtyard fell silent.
Dragon King: [Wanna bet? The fool will definitely jump up and deny it.]
Lin Yu: [No bet. It's a sure - loss situation.]
...
At this time, General Mu on the far - away border was having a headache because he had lost three battles in a row.
A small soldier came to report. "General, the court's food and grass have been delivered. I heard that the imperial envoy who delivered the food is the second son of the Jingning Princess."
The second son of the Jingning Princess...
Two figures flashed through General Mu's mind, Shen Danqing and Shen Haiyan.