The wind is gentle and the fun is endless

Bad news always spreads quickly, and soon all kinds of rumors spread when Huanhuan dressed up as a man and strolled around Yihong Pavilion at night. Taking advantage of this rumor, Huanhuan and Xu Qu went to several brothels, which was a radical move and created a lot of momentum for the rouge business that had just started.

Now this first step has been completed well, and the quality of the rouge will become the key to whether it can be sold.

Xu Qu was still very busy these days. Every day when he went out, he would sit in the study and think carefully about everything he needed to do next and write it down. When Xu Qu came back, the two would discuss the details one by one.

Finally, they both felt that it was almost time to open the shop, so they agreed to split up. Xu Qu had already found several shops to choose from, so he was responsible for the final selection and decoration of the shop; he slowly returned to Heyang to discuss the purchase of goods with Qiao Ji.

Without further ado, the next day after the two of them agreed, Huanhuan took Xiaoyu on a carriage back to Heyang.

Huanhuan had walked this road back to her parents' home many times, but this time she was particularly nervous. Along the way, she was full of thoughts, not interested in the scenery, and didn't talk much. When they were almost home, Xiaoyu finally couldn't help it and asked, "Miss, do you think the master and the mistress know that we went to the brothel to sell rouge? What would happen if they knew?"

"Who knows?" Huanhuan felt a little guilty. Her old-fashioned father should, no, definitely could not accept it. She seemed to see her father's anger and her mother's tears. And her brother, who had studied hard for so many years and was finally about to become an official, would be influenced by her? Would her sister-in-law look down on her, and would she be laughed at by her own family, the Pei family?

Everything is unknown. In the past, I always thought the road was too long and wanted to get home quickly. But today, I felt that the horse was walking too fast.

Finally, the carriage stopped. Slowly stepping into the courtyard, she first saw her mother and sister-in-law with their maids playing with their little niece in the courtyard. She called out in a less than righteous manner, "Mother! Sister-in-law!"

Huanhuan's mother was obviously surprised to see Huanhuan and said, "Huh? Why did you come back suddenly?" Then she looked behind Huanhuan and confirmed that only Huanhuan and Xiaoyu came back, so she asked, "What's wrong? Did you have a fight with your uncle?"

My sister-in-law was as warm as usual. She came forward with the child in her arms, took the child's hand and held it slowly, and kept signaling to the babbling child to call her aunt.

Then they entered the house and sat down. They saw Mr. Feng just coming out of the study. He was also surprised at Huan Huan's arrival, but behaved normally and didn't say much.

Seeing that they seemed unaware of the situation, the drum beating in my heart slowly stopped.

She looked around but didn't see her brother Feng Shunqing, so she asked, "Where's your brother?"

My sister-in-law answered, "He went to have a farewell drink with some of his former classmates and old friends."

"Goodbye?" He asked slowly, "Brother, are you saying goodbye?"

"Yes, your brother's official certificate has come down, and he will take up the post soon." Mother said to Huanhuan excitedly.

"Oh, this is good. I wonder where my brother will be working next?" Huanhuan asked with genuine joy.

My sister-in-law replied, "Jinghu South Road Shaozhou."

Slowly he asked doubtfully, "Isn't it a bit remote?"

At this time, Master Feng said, "Your brother is so young and yet he is able to serve as the deputy chief of a prefecture or county. This is already a great favor from the emperor. How can you be picky and complain about this or that?"

Huanhuan was about to say something, but her sister-in-law held her arm and responded, "Father is right. Shunqing thinks so too."

"Yeah," Mr. Feng nodded, and then asked slowly, "Why did you come back so suddenly? Did you have a fight with your husband? You can't just go back to your parents' home after a fight. You don't know etiquette. As a wife, how can you do whatever you want?"

Seeing that Master Feng seemed to be about to give a long lecture, he quickly said lightly, "It wasn't a quarrel. I came back for two days to deal with some business matters of the Xu family. I will leave after I finish them."

Master Feng nodded and said, "That's good. You guys can talk. I'll go back to the study first."

After Mr. Feng left, the sister-in-law said to Mrs. Feng, "Mother, could you please take care of Zhu'er for me for a while? I have something to show my younger sister."

Mrs. Feng praised it repeatedly and took her maid and granddaughter out to play.

At this time, only Huanhuan's sister-in-law, Mrs. Feng Pei, and Huanhuan were left in the room. Huanhuan asked curiously, "Sister-in-law said last time that your father could help with your brother's official appointment. Why is your brother still assigned to a remote and desolate place to serve as an official?"

Pei explained, "I told my father this originally, and he agreed. He has been asking his friends in the court to keep an eye on this matter. A while ago, he said that there are no lucrative positions available, so your brother should wait a little longer. But your brother volunteered, saying that he had studied hard since childhood and was taught by sages, so he should naturally help the king with state affairs and help the people with difficulties. How could he only seek personal enjoyment and avoid harm and seek profit? Since he has been selected and appointed, he should give priority to the needs of the court, and should be happy to take up the post even if it is in a remote and desolate place, not to mention a mere Shaozhou."

Huanhuan was shocked after hearing this and couldn't help saying, "I've never talked about this with my brother before. I didn't know that he had such an ideal. But I've let your father down and worked in vain. Will the old man be angry?"

Sister-in-law Pei said, "Not at all. My father appreciated your brother even more after hearing his words. He also praised him highly as a role model for the children of our clan."

She said slowly: "It's just hard for you, sister-in-law. Zhu'er is so young. It's not right for her to go with you, and it's not right for her not to go."

Pei smiled and said, "Your brother won't let me go with you. Why should I be sad? I used to think that I was a woman, but now I understand why my father admires your brother so much and married me to him. I can't wait to laugh at meeting such an idealistic and broad-minded husband. What is there to be sad about?"

Huanhuan looked at her sister-in-law and smiled. The two laughed for a while, but Pei stopped smiling, took Huanhuan's hand, and said, "Sister, do you have anything to say to sister-in-law?"

This sentence reminded her of the purpose of her trip, and she couldn't help but feel worried again. However, she didn't know how to start, so she asked hesitantly, "Sister-in-law, did you hear anything?"

Sister-in-law Pei did not beat around the bush and said, "A few days ago, a lady named Gu, who is close to me, came back from a trip to Shanghuai and told me that you and your brother-in-law were visiting Qinlou and Xieguan at Xu's house and were doing rouge business."

He slowly lowered his head and stammered, "Yes, yes. So I came back to purchase goods this time."

"After your brother heard about it, he was very sad. He couldn't sleep all night last night and was sighing." Pei looked at Huan Huan and suddenly said this.

"Why?" Huan Huan looked up at his sister-in-law in surprise and asked, "Is it because you think I'm bringing disgrace to our family, or because it will affect your brother's career?"

My sister-in-law looked at him and sighed slowly, saying, "Silly sister, you are still thinking about others at this time? How could your brother think so? What you said is not true!"

"Then, then why brother..." Huanhuan has always respected her brother and still cares about his opinion.

The sister-in-law's tone softened a lot, and she said, "Your brother is such a smart man. After listening to the description of the incident, he concluded that my sister went to Yihong Pavilion on her own initiative that night when she was discovered. Everything that happened afterwards was just to cover up her tracks and resist those rumors."

"This... uh, uh..." He slowly pinched the corner of his clothes with one hand, half lowered his head, unable to speak.

"Your brother has always been worried that you would be bullied by your husband's family because of insufficient dowry. When this incident happened, he concluded that you were short of money and had a hard time in your husband's family. He felt sorry for you and that he had chosen the wrong husband's family for you. He blamed himself very much and couldn't sleep all night." The sister-in-law looked at Huanhuan, who was at a loss, quietly and told the story.

"So this is what brother wanted to do?" She slowly raised her head with tears in her eyes and said, "No, I'm not short of money. I'm living well in my husband's family. I just want to do something good, so I resorted to this desperate measure... I..." She choked up and couldn't speak.

The sister-in-law stroked Huanhuan's hand and said, "Good sister, we are a family, so we are of the same mind. Just say whatever you want to say. There is no taboo in our family."