A life of ups and downs is pure joy

Lin Qinghuan and Xiao Yi went shopping in Jinhan City. When they sat down in the superior private room of Jingshui Tower, her stomach was already rumbling with hunger.

The graceful woman sat down in front of the screen in the private room and began to play the pipa with her face half covered.

"How come a woman can play and compose music? Jinhan City is really a place where hidden dragons and crouching tigers are everywhere." The melodious vocal music nourished Lin Qinghuan's ears, and she couldn't help but praise it.

"They are all musicians, so naturally they are good at this." Xiao Yi didn't think there was anything strange about it and said casually.

Lin Qinghuan glanced at him without saying anything else. She asked Yun Xiang to bring over all the jewelry she had selected and bought, and opened them and displayed them in front of her.

"If it weren't for Sister Yue's golden bracelet, it would be hard to buy the white jade hairpin of the Grandson of Heaven. Only this kind of plain white jade hairpin can bring out this feeling of being isolated from the world, naturally graceful, and noble-minded. I want to give this to Sister Mo, who has always been elegant; the jade hairpin is inlaid with gold, and the emerald ruyi is the hairpin body, noble and elegant, which is most suitable for my eldest sister, who has always dressed elegantly and beautifully; the cicada wings are lightly embellished on the hairpin head, and the tassels are playful and cute. I want to give this to Nan'er, who is born exquisite, simple and cute, and is the best match; the red hairpin is inserted in the temples, and the whispers are sweet. My third sister is naturally noble. "She's cold, and doesn't like ordinary things. I want to give her this special red wood one. A beautiful woman with dark hair tied up lightly, placing it before a guqin, is truly a beautiful painting. These two velvet flower hairpins will be given to Fourth Sister and Ru'er. Fourth Sister doesn't like to dress up by nature, and at most she'll wear two small velvet flowers. My Ru'er is still young, innocent and lovely, and anything too gorgeous wouldn't suit her age. I have a bunch of beautiful jewelry in Suheju, and I'll give them all to her when she's a little older." Lin Qinghuan finished distributing all the gifts in one breath, then took a few sips of the tea handed to her by Chuxia to moisten her throat.

"What about you?" Xiao Yi has always liked listening to Lin Qinghuan talk, and now he sees her mumbling in a coherent manner.

"My dear, I will of course wear the jewelry you picked every day. Women dress up to please themselves, and women express their husband's love." Lin Qinghuan said, pointing to the jewelry in another box.

"Have you read a lot of books recently?" Xiao Yi smiled happily after hearing this, and then asked again.

"How did you know? I've read through several poetry collections on your bookshelf. The only thing that worries me is that there are too many uncommon characters, and I only have a vague understanding of them." Lin Qinghuan said, still looking at Xiao Yi in confusion.

"I have already annotated the places you circled in Zhang Chao's literary collection. You can do the same with the other books. I will annotate them for you whenever I see them. You are very studious now." Xiao Yi said with a smile.

"My husband is so outstanding. Huan'er doesn't want to be a vulgar woman. I want to have a chat with him and write poems together when we have nothing to do. Isn't it wonderful?" Lin Qinghuan now feels that she is really useless except for her good looks, so she is madly enriching herself at that time.

"No matter what, you are the most beautiful and outstanding wife in my heart. I support you in whatever you like to do." Xiao Yi patted Lin Qinghuan's tender face gently and said.

"My husband treats Huan'er so well, but now Huan'er is almost fainting from hunger." After Lin Qinghuan said this, her little face was full of complaints because of hunger.

"The dishes are here!" There was a knock on the door outside the private room. Chu Xia went forward to open the door, and saw the leading man with a group of maids carrying wooden trays walking in in an orderly manner. He announced the name of each dish as they were placed. Each dish was small and exquisite, with good color, fragrance and taste.

"The dishes have been served, please enjoy your meal, my two nobles." The man retreated again with a row of maids, very respectfully. After all, there were only a few people in the entire Jinhan City who could sit in this special elegant pavilion. Naturally, they knew that the two people inside were either royal relatives or nobles.

"Husband, is it just the two of us?" Chuxia and Yunxiang had already left and gone to the dining table in the hall with Dayuan to eat, leaving the couple sitting here alone.

"I don't like being disturbed by others, so I won't let them in to serve me." Xiao Yi nodded. He just wanted to stay here with Lin Qinghuan and watch his little wife eat with relish.

"There are so many dishes on this table, it's almost like a New Year's family dinner. How can we finish them all?" Lin Qinghuan said in surprise as he looked at the rich scene in front of him, which looked like a full banquet.

"I just ordered the signature dishes because I wanted you to try them all. I didn't know you were so greedy before, and I always felt that I had wronged you." Xiao Yi now felt that he owed his darling wife a lot two years ago. He had ignored her in Luoyi Pavilion and had never visited her. Although there were reasons, the more he loved her, the more he felt he owed her.

"If An Cai and Xiao Zhu were here, they could finish it, but I'm greedy and don't have such a big appetite. My husband, you don't eat much, so today we're going to be stuffed to death." Lin Qinghuan said as she started to taste it.

"Little fool, just taste a little of each." After Xiao Yi finished speaking, he picked up some new dishes for Lin Qinghuan and put them in a new bowl and plate.

"Husband, you eat too." Lin Qinghuan picked up the food and fed it to Xiao Yi's mouth personally.

After finishing their meal comfortably, the couple started to listen to music and drink tea. Chuxia and Yunxiang also came up to continue serving. Today, the two girls were also taking a rest. The eldest master did not allow them to serve the meal, so the two of them and Dayuan had a great time downstairs eating delicious food and watching performances.

"You take a rest for a while, then we'll go listen to the stories told by the most famous storyteller here." Xiao Yi said.

"Whenever we go, I'm not tired at all." Lin Qinghuan loves to play, and now he is starting to get anxious.

"Don't be impatient, little fool. The storyteller hasn't entered yet. Someone will come to call him soon. Just open the window over there." After Xiao Yi finished speaking, Chu Xia walked to the wooden window on the left. After opening the window, she found that their private room was facing the stage. It was clearly visible and had a wide view.

It was already evening when the couple returned to the Xiao Mansion after a day of fun. When they reached the gate of Qingbo Courtyard, they saw Hu Taoniang's personal maid Chunfeng pacing back and forth nervously at the door.

"I almost forgot that Madam Hu is still waiting for your husband to go and accompany her. Then go. Since it is a nightmare, we must comfort her carefully." Lin Qinghuan had promised herself, so now he could only force a smile and let Xiao Yi go to Honglian Pavilion.

Xiao Yi smiled and went to the direction of Honglian Pavilion with Da Yuan. Lin Qinghuan glanced at his back and felt a little uncomfortable, so she went back to the inner room alone and had no intention of arranging dinner. Chu Xia and Yun Xiang looked at each other in confusion, and Shu Yin came over.

"Young Madam, don't you want to eat?" Shuyin asked, glancing at the closed door.

"Well, the girl might be tired after playing all day. Let her have a rest. I'll go in and serve her later." Chuxia patted Yunxiang. She knew that Lin Qinghuan didn't want to be disturbed at this time.

"Really? The young lady said it, but why did the eldest master really go there?" Yun Xiang muttered. Shu Yin looked at the two of them in confusion, but it was not easy to ask. She could only look at the door again and shook her head and left.

Lin Qinghuan sat at the table, her chin supported by her hand, in a daze, her mind was in a mess. Her husband was now dining with another woman. She could imagine Hu Taoniang acting like a spoiled child next to Xiao Yi, and she couldn't help but feel angry again. When she thought about the two of them going to be affectionate at night, she couldn't help but feel aggrieved. Why did she have to share her husband with someone else? She felt so unhappy and aggrieved. If she had been with Brother Yu at the beginning, she would not have such a huge complaint.

"If you like another woman and still have her in your heart, then you shouldn't like me." Lin Qinghuan angrily took off the new hairpin on her head and threw it heavily on the table. Chu Xia and Yun Xiang, who were wandering at the door, heard the movement inside and looked at each other at a loss.

Chuxia's brows were twisted into a big frown. She was very familiar with the girl's temper. Now she must be crying alone again.

The atmosphere in Honglian Pavilion was very festive. Hutao Niang was dressed in gorgeous clothes and looked very charming. She was beside Xiao Yi, serving him meals, bringing him tea and water, and massaging his shoulders and legs.

Xiao Yi smiled playfully at the little beauty and said, "Tao'er has always been well-behaved, but now it's very hard for you to take care of grandma. I'm usually busy with official duties, and the young lady is not in good health. Please take care of the old lady. Grandma has always liked you."

"My dear husband, please don't say that. Tao'er is flattered. You are my husband, and I must be filial to my grandmother and mother. Tao'er also knows that the young lady is not in good health. When my grandmother gets better, Tao'er will go back to serve the young lady. She treats Tao'er so kindly and so gentle and virtuous. Tao'er will definitely be grateful." Hu Taoniang has always been very good at talking. Every word she said was reasonable and tender.

"Well, Tao'er is the most well-behaved and sensible." Xiao Yi pinched the chin of the beauty who was leaning against him and said.

"Husband, I haven't seen Tao'er dance for so long. Do you want to watch it?" Hu Tao Niang asked coquettishly while hugging Xiao Yi's neck, looking at him seductively. No matter what, she must make him stay with her tonight.

"Go ahead." Xiao Yi raised the corners of his mouth and smiled faintly.

Lin Qinghuan, who was alone in Qingbo Courtyard, had already gone from feeling wronged and complaining to no longer wanting to care about this philandering man. She stood up and called out to Chu Xiayun to come in and help her wash up, and asked Shuyin to go to the study to get her some books.

"Young Madam, can I...can I enter the eldest master's study?" Shu Yin knew Xiao Yi's personality and the rules of Qingbo Courtyard, and asked with some uneasiness at this moment.

"Go ahead. I told you to go. What else can you say?" Lin Qinghuan glanced at her and said, feeling even more resentful towards Xiao Yi.

It was late at night. After washing up, Lin Qinghuan turned into a pretty and elegant lady again. She lay on the couch in a white dress, with a bunch of candles lit beside her. She looked at the poetry collection in her hand, trying to calm down her strange emotions.

"The eldest master will probably stay at Honglian Pavilion tonight. Hey, can't the young lady sleep?" Yun Xiang went out with a wooden basin to pour water. He glanced at the entrance of Qingbo Courtyard and saw that Lin Qinghuan's room was very bright. He couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"Girl, do you want to sleep?" Chu Xia asked, standing next to Lin Qinghuan.

"I'm not sleepy. Read for a while longer. You can go down and have a rest. You don't need to come in to serve me." Lin Qinghuan said without raising his head.

After a while, he found that the girl was still standing there, so he looked up, spoke in a gentle tone, and gently asked her to go down and rest. Seeing this, Chuxia could only walk out, looking back every few steps.

A few hours ago, Hu Tao Niang was the only one left in the Red Lotus Pavilion. She looked at the bronze mirror with tears on her eyes. Xiao Yi watched her dance and then left, saying that he had some official business to attend to. In the end, he did not stay. The woman stared at the mirror in a daze with grievance, and then got up angrily, took out the doll from the cabinet and started acupuncture.

Xiao Yi was in Xiao Bowen's study, and the two were discussing the matter of managing the salt tax in the spring.

"Yier, the emperor has already drafted an edict. After the New Year, you will go to Cenyao County as the Imperial Censor of Salt. The journey is quite far and it will probably take another three to five months. Remember to explain some matters in the capital to Faner and Juer. I heard that you want to take Huaner with you?" Xiao Bowen asked.

"Yes, bringing her along won't affect anything. Hong Qi will follow along and take care of her." Xiao Yi replied.

Xiao Bowen looked meaningfully at his son, who used to be unmoved by women. Now he seemed like a different person. He even brought his wife with him on a business trip. It was a bit too surprising, but he was young and energetic now, so he couldn't say much.

"Take good care of yourself." Xiao Bowen probably heard Liu Ji talking about the young couple, so he could only say this awkwardly, and then asked Xiao Yi to go back. He had promised Aunt Chen to go to Qiu Shui Pavilion today, and several little grandchildren were waiting for their grandfather there.

Liu Ji sat on the couch and listened to someone report that the master had gone to Qiu Shui Pavilion. She could only nod helplessly.

"See, when he was young, the master always stayed in my yard, but now that he is old, he often goes to Chen Xiang's place. It is because of those grandchildren. Why are my Yi'er and Huan'er still nowhere to be found?" Liu Ji complained.

"Eldest sister, I heard that Huan'er is now drinking medicine every day to regulate her menstruation. It's really hard for the child." Liu Rong said.

"Ah, was it because I urged her too obviously that Huan'er...what kind of medicine did she drink?" Liu Ji said a little embarrassedly. After all, Lin Qinghuan was not very old.

"Xier has seen the medicine residue. It is a good medicine for pregnancy. It should be the prescription given to her by her elder sister, Madam Jia, from her mother's side. She will be able to get pregnant in the future." Liu Rong said knowingly. She knew the prescription, but she didn't know some of the ingredients in it. The second young lady of the Lin family is really capable.

Liu Ji nodded happily, as if she was as happy as seeing her grandson being born.

In Qingbo Courtyard, Xiao Yi pushed open the door, and Lin Qinghuan looked back in surprise at him as he walked in.

"Why...why are you back?" Lin Qinghuan asked curiously.

"It's late at night. If I don't come back, where will I sleep?" Xiao Yi walked over and said.

Lin Qinghuan glanced at him, then saw the court robes hanging next to the wardrobe, and then said unhappily, "Since my husband is back, then take a bath before going to bed."

Xiao Yi saw through the silly woman's little thoughts at a glance, and just let her go despite her jealousy and disgust towards his trip to the Red Lotus Pavilion.

After the couple blew out the candles and went to bed, Yunxiang and Chuxia happily walked back to their room arm in arm.