The wind is gentle and the fun is endless

Hearing the last sentence, he slowly realized the problem and asked in surprise, "What? You mean the mother of the uncle?"

"Yes," Xiaoyu said, "I also heard from Youcheng that Madam Xie was not Mr. Xu's original wife, but Mr. Xu's biological mother was. However, Mr. Xu's biological mother passed away, so Mr. Xu married Madam Xie as his second wife, and then Miss Xiangyue was born."

Only then did she realize that this Mrs. Xie was actually her step-mother-in-law.

Huanhuan immediately sighed in her heart. It was bad enough that her husband had an ear disease, but her mother-in-law was her stepmother-in-law, so she had to be more careful when getting along with her. The key point was that her stepmother-in-law was the culprit who caused her husband to suffer from ear disease. The complexity of this situation was beyond all the worries she had before marriage.

After Xiaoyu finished speaking, she poured herself a cup of tea as if to reward herself, raised her head and drank it all in one gulp, praising it, "What a nice smell, what a good tea."

Slowly coming back to her senses from her thoughts, she suddenly caught a glimpse of the quilt covering her body and immediately became dissatisfied, "Xiaoyu, why did you cover me with this red quilt? You knew that I liked green and not red, so why didn't you cover me with the green quilt?"

Xiaoyu immediately replied a little aggrievedly, "Miss, this quilt is not for me. You were covering yourself with this quilt when my uncle called me in."

Huanhuan was stunned. Could it be that Xu Qu covered her with the blanket? Yes, it must be him. It couldn't be anyone else. Huanhuan felt warm in her heart. At present, it seemed that her husband had no other problems except for his ear disease.

At this time, the head maid Qingxing knocked on the door and came in, asking, "Madam, the young master asked if you want to eat in the side room?"

Huanhuan immediately replied, "Yes, I'll be there right away." No matter what happens, you have to eat and sleep. This is Huanhuan's principle of action.

Huanhuan immediately got up, packed up, and after a simple wash, came to the west wing of Xinyuan.

Xu Qu was already waiting there. He sat on a stool with his back facing the door, his hair tied up with a hair crown and a jade hairpin, his hands casually placed on the table, his back straight, his arms slightly clenched, his shoulder blades prominent because he was too thin, one foot casually stretched out in front of him, making him look thin and long-legged. This back figure exuded an elegant temperament, and I couldn't help but dazed when I looked at it slowly.

At this time Xu Qu suddenly turned around and met Huanhuan's eyes. "The gentleman is unparalleled in the world, and the person on the street is like jade." Huanhuan's heart trembled, and he took a step forward involuntarily. He didn't come to his senses until he reached the table.

"Hmm." He thought slowly and hard, trying to talk to Xu Qu, but his mind went blank and he couldn't say anything for a long time.

"Madam, please sit down." Xu Qu spoke first. His voice was a little low, and his tone was light and polite.

Huanhuan quickly sat down opposite Xu Qu.

Xu Qu added, "Because Madam was resting just now, I asked the kitchen to prepare some simple food without asking Madam. I wonder if it suits Madam's appetite."

Huanhuan realized that she had slept for too long and felt a little embarrassed, so she said, "It's okay, I'm not picky about food."

The two began to eat. She slowly called Xu Qu "husband" when she looked up. When Xu Qu saw this, he kept staring at her, waiting for her to continue.

Huanhuan deliberately slowed down her speech and said, "Our Heyang custom is that the newlyweds have to go back to the bride's home on the fifth day after the wedding. Do you know that?"

Xu Qu said, "I heard from Butler Li that we have already made preparations, so Madam, don't worry. However, according to the customs of Shanghuai, we will take Madam to visit our relatives, aunt's family, and uncle's family in the next two days. It will be very busy, so Madam, please be mentally prepared."

Huanhuan said, "I see. This is the same as our Heyang. Don't worry, husband." In fact, Huanhuan was very curious. She didn't know which uncle's house they were going to, whether it was Mrs. Xie's brother's house or Xu Qu's biological uncle's house.

The next few days were just as Xu Qu had said. The two of them were very busy. They not only visited their eldest uncle who was an official in the court, their second uncle who stayed in Shanghuai, but also visited their illegitimate uncle in their own family, who was also called "second uncle" by their mother-in-law.

Xu Qu also has two aunts. The eldest aunt married into the Shi Ning Duke's Mansion in the capital, and the second aunt married into the Shen family, a prominent family in Shanghuai City. The journey to the capital is a little far, so you can wait until the New Year to visit them, but you must go to greet the aunt in Shanghuai City.

Xu Qu's second aunt was a lively lady. When she saw Huanhuan, she was so happy that she held Huanhuan's hand tightly and gave her a very exquisite gold filigree inlaid gemstones and sapphire hollow double phoenix peony hairpin. So although she was tired these few days, Huanhuan was also very happy.

When they arrived at her uncle's house, Huanhuan became much more cautious because Xu Qu was taking her to her stepmother's parents' home.

Before coming here, Huan Huan asked the housekeeper Li of the Xu family about the situation of the Xie family. His stepmother, Madam Xie, was from the famous Xie family in Jiangbei, a family with three generations of elders and five generations of nobles. Although there were no outstanding people in the younger generation, many of the children in the family were talented and ranked among the top ranks.

There are three sons and one daughter in Mrs. Xie's generation. That means Mrs. Xie has three brothers. Two of them are officials outside. The highest-ranking one is the second-rank assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue in the capital. The remaining brother has been staying at home due to illness to manage the huge family business. The uncle they are visiting this time is the one who stayed at home.

On the way to Xie's house, Xu Huan asked Xu Qu's servant Youcheng about the situation of Xie's uncle, and learned that although Xie's uncle who stayed at home was weak, he was very smart and intelligent. He not only managed the business passed down by his ancestors well, but also always figured out ways to make more money. Over the years, he managed the family business wisely, lived within his means, and was good at calculating, which made the family business much bigger.

Moreover, this uncle had always been close to his sister, Mrs. Xie, and after his sister got married, the two families often visited each other. He had a son and a daughter, the eldest son was born out of wedlock, and the second daughter was born out of wedlock. These two were about the same age as Xu Qu, and since childhood they often stayed at their aunt's home, the Xu family, so they were also very familiar with Xu Qu; and when Xu Qu was young, he and Xiangyue also often visited this uncle's home.

After hearing this, he slowly understood why Xu Qu brought his new wife to visit his stepmother's parents' home. It turned out that there was such a relationship.

When visiting the Xie family, Huanhuan met Mr. Xie, who was about the same age as Xu Qu. As soon as Mr. Xie saw Huanhuan, he bowed and said, "Madam Xu, my name is Xie Shen, and I am Xu Qu's cousin and close friend who grew up together. It is a great honor to meet you today."

Huanhuan quickly replied, "It is my great honor to meet Master Xie today."

Then Mr. Xie punched Xu Qu on the arm with one hand, and said with a smile, "How come I went back to Liuzhou with my mother to visit relatives for three months, and when I came back, Brother Qu got married? He didn't tell anyone about it before, so I missed Brother Qu's wedding by two days. I'm so envious, Brother Qu has his own real beautiful bride now."

For some reason, Xu Qu's eyes widened immediately after hearing this, and he glared at Mr. Xie, suggesting something. Mr. Xie received the warning in his eyes, smiled awkwardly, and shut up.

Then, Xu Qu said calmly, "Who knows if you came back a few days later just to save the gift money?"

Xie Shen was dissatisfied when he heard this and said, "Brother Qu, what you said is not right. How can I be a stingy person? Look, when I was in those Yihong Pavilion and Fangfei Garden, I never hesitated to take action. What's more, I have a good relationship with Brother Qu. How could I be so stingy for such a small gift money..."

This made sense at first, but before he could think about it, Xu Qu immediately interrupted, "How would I know how you would act? The auspicious day is set, and the matter is urgent. It just so happens that Brother Shen is not at home."

Xie Shen smiled broadly, leaned against the pillar on one side and said leisurely, "Isn't it? Coincidence, right? Don't worry, I will prepare a gift in a few days and deliver it to your house in person."

While the two of them were talking, Huan Huan was watching from the side. This Mr. Xie Shen was handsome and graceful, and his posture was often playful while he was talking. He was either holding on to someone or leaning on an object beside him, waving a folding fan in his hand, with a completely uninhibited attitude. And Xu Qu's tone also changed from the usual cold and distant to a slightly relaxed one, which showed that the two of them were indeed very close.

After a few busy days, the day to return to her parents' home finally came. Early in the morning, Xu Qu and his wife got on a horse-drawn carriage and set off for Heyang. Xiaoyu and Youcheng sat in a subsequent carriage, which was loaded with gifts that Xu Qu brought to his parents-in-law.

Mrs. Xie was really a thoughtful person. She had asked Butler Li to prepare the gifts long ago. There were the best tea, fine wine produced by Yongningfang, the most famous winery in Shanghuai, snacks from Fanhualou, the largest restaurant in Shanghuai, cups of nourishing bird's nests, whole roots of ginseng, etc.

There was a small table in the carriage where Huanhuan and Xu Qu sat. They sat on both sides of the small table. In the narrow space, Xu Qu rested on the small table with one hand on his forehead. Huanhuan looked at him quietly. He had sharp eyebrows, and his eyeliner formed a downward arc when he closed his eyes. His long eyelashes cast a half circle of shadow under his eyes. His straight nose, thin lips and fair skin showed that he was pampered.

"What a great man he is," Huanhuan admired in his heart, "it's a pity that he has ear disease." Huanhuan's admiration turned into lament.

As if she had sensed something, Xu Qu opened her eyes and looked at Huanhuan, who coughed lightly in embarrassment. Should she say something? On impulse, Huanhuan asked the question that had been lingering in her mind for the past few days, "Does my husband have any relatives in his maternal uncle's family?"

Xu Qu lowered his eyes when he heard this, and bowed his head without saying anything. He slowly thought to himself, this is bad, it seems inappropriate to suddenly ask someone about their sad story, it's too rude. After a moment, Xu Qu raised his eyes and looked away, and said with a smile, "My maternal grandfather's family is a military general. My maternal grandfather and my maternal uncle's family have been stationed at the border for more than 30 years."

"Oh, I see." Huanhuan shyly lifted the hair beside her ear and said nothing more. After a while, as the carriage swayed, Huanhuan lowered her head and fell asleep on the small table.

In a daze, she had a dream. In her dream, she was walking in the desert at the border. The round orange sun was hanging in the sky and was about to set. She walked hurriedly, one foot deep and one foot shallow, but she felt something holding her arm. She was anxious to get rid of it, but she heard a very pleasant voice, "Madam, we are here."

It turned out that they had finally arrived at the door of Feng's house. Xu Qu was talking while pushing Huanhuan's arm. Huanhuan raised her head sleepily. As soon as the carriage stopped, she immediately opened the curtain of the carriage and bent down to get out of the carriage. She saw her brother Feng Shunqing and sister-in-law Pei Xiushan waiting at the door of the house. Huanhuan waved at them and smiled and called "Brother and sister-in-law!"

"Hey——" Huanhuan's brother and sister-in-law also smiled and waved at Huanhuan, responding to her. Huanhuan ran over excitedly, and held hands with sister-in-law affectionately. Sister-in-law stroked Huanhuan's hair and said with a smile, "Oh, the little girl in our family has tied her hair into a bun."

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