The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

"Don't worry, I know."

"By the way, Auntie, don't linger after you leave the capital. Go straight home. I'm afraid those people will still follow you. After all, you know some secrets. If they are really heartless, they will definitely kill you to silence you."

Aunt Xu's body trembled slightly. "Okay, okay, I understand, I understand. You...you can rest assured."

I wanted to say a few words of comfort, but I was afraid she might do something bad to herself. However, with someone like Aunt Xu, I was afraid that saying too much might cause her to do something else.

In the end, Du Mingxian didn't say anything, chatted briefly for a couple of minutes, and then went home.

After returning, she seized the opportunity, quietly went out of the outhouse, contacted the people the Crown Prince had given her, and told them that Madam Xu and her son would be leaving the next day before returning.

Because she was going to the inner courtyard, Du Mingxian had been very attentive lately, spending every day with Liu Ya.

They go together in the morning and come back together at noon. Du Mingxian goes for a walk to buy groceries at noon, so she will leave a little later in the afternoon. Liu Ya, on the other hand, goes to buy groceries in the afternoon and will leave a little earlier.

To keep up with Liu Ya's pace, Du Mingxian also worked hard, making one and a half sets of clothes a day, and three sets of clothes in two days.

But several days have passed, and although Aunt Xu and her son have been gone for four days, there has been no movement from her side.

When I came back at noon, I found that someone had come to look at the house. After looking at it, they rented the house on the spot, which was one or two yuan more per month than the price that Du Mingxian and the others were paying.

Du Mingxian was quite surprised when she heard the price. It had only been a few days, and the exam was held only once every three years, a dream for so many people.

Many people enter the examination hall, but very few actually make it into officialdom.

The couple who came to view the house were a young couple with a child, who was about four years old and looked rather dull.

The woman greeted Du Mingxian and Liu Ya warmly, "Hello, we just moved here. My husband is going to take the imperial examination next year."

Liu Ya glanced at the woman, neither particularly enthusiastic nor cold, and said, "Several people in our courtyard will be taking the imperial examination next year. My name is Liu Ya."

"My name is Guixiang, Lin Guixiang."

Du Mingxian noticed that Lin Guixiang's eyes were fixed on her after she finished speaking. "Du Mingxian, which room do you want to stay in?"

"We just moved here, and we may need your help again in the future."

"You're too kind. We've only been in Beijing for a short time. It's almost noon, so I need to hurry home and cook." Du Mingxian said and left. This woman's eyes weren't very straight.

Moreover, when Lin Guixiang was talking to them in the courtyard, her husband was standing in the room watching them, and the way he looked at them... made them very uncomfortable.

Du Mingxian went back to her room to cook. It was noon, and the sun was shining brightly, so she decided to keep the curtains up to dissipate some of the smoke in the room.

Liu Ya was also going to cook, but Lin Guixiang pulled Liu Ya aside and said with a wronged look, "Sister Liu Ya, does Xiao Du not like me? Why did he leave without saying a word?"

"No, we rushed back to cook, and we still have chores to do this afternoon." Liu Ya deliberately kept some distance from her. "You just got here, so hurry up and get ready."

As Liu Ya spoke, she opened the door to the back room. Lin Guixiang was surprised to see that Liu Ya's back room only contained kitchenware, but she also liked it very much.

“Your back room is really nice. With a room like this for cooking, you don’t have to worry about disturbing the men’s reading.”

"Ah."

Liu Ya was a little unhappy that Lin Guixiang followed her in. They had only just met and weren't very familiar with each other, and for Lin Guixiang to just come into her house and look her over like that showed a lack of boundaries.

Du Mingxian, who was in her room, was also paying attention to the commotion outside. When she heard Lin Guixiang talking to Liu Ya in the back room, her impression of Lin Guixiang worsened even further.

"This is great! Where did you buy these vegetables? They look very nice. Are these pickled vegetables in this jar?"

Liu Ya was originally going to cook, but seeing Lin Guixiang still wandering around, she became a little unhappy and stood up, staring at Lin Guixiang, "Go back and clean up, I'm going to cook."

Lin Guixiang noticed Liu Ya's cold expression and immediately knew that the other party didn't like her. "Well, I... I'm just a quick-tongued person, I don't have any bad intentions."

"Get out, don't waste my time." Liu Ya didn't want to talk to her at all.

Lin Guixiang's face fell, but considering that she would have to live in the courtyard in the future, she could only try to make amends, "Alright, alright, you go ahead with your work, I'll head back now."

After everyone left, Liu Ya immediately closed the door and began cooking in silence.

Du Mingxian's simple dishes are already in the pot, with rice at the bottom and dishes on top. Today it's braised rice, so it will be ready very quickly.

When it was almost time, Ling Silang returned from outside. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he sensed something was different. Turning his head, he discovered that someone was already tidying up the room where Aunt Xu lived.

He glanced at it only once and continued walking home.

When Lin Guixiang's husband saw someone return, he tried to greet them, but the person went straight to the room with a rather unpleasant expression, making him feel that everyone in the courtyard was too arrogant.

"We just arrived today, so let's not cook yet. Let's eat out, and then come back and see if we need anything else."

Lin Guixiang's husband, Sun Tao, didn't object at all when he heard his wife's words. "Okay, let's go out to eat. I've heard that there are many restaurants in the capital with particularly good food."

"I'm afraid that won't work."

Sun Tao's expression changed. "What's wrong? Didn't your family give you some money before you left? Are you reluctant to spend it on us now that you're in the capital?"

"No, no, Father did give us money, but we need to be careful with it. We haven't figured out what's going on in the capital yet. What if we go straight to a restaurant now and it's too expensive for us?"

Although Lin Guixiang has many flaws, she has one advantage: she is good at budgeting. "Let's eat something simple today. We're already in the capital, so we can eat whatever we want."

"Once we find out the details, there will be plenty of opportunities to eat there. Why does it have to be today?"

Sun Tao knew he was being too hasty, but he still felt somewhat uncomfortable.

"I'll buy some meat for us later, and then we'll find a small shop to get some noodles. That should be a decent meal." Lin Guixiang had been with Sun Tao for many years, so she naturally knew how to make this man happy.

Upon hearing that meat was to be bought and hearing Lin Guixiang's coaxing tone, Sun Tao immediately cheered up, "Okay, okay, I'll do it your way."

After saying that, she turned and left without even thinking about her son.

Lin Guixiang glanced at the child standing to the side but ignored him. After quickly tidying herself up, she asked Sun Tao, "Should we bring the child along, or just the two of us?"

"Of course, I'll bring the kids."

"Alright, I'm just worried it's too cold outside. The children don't know any better and keep running around. There are many high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital. If they happen to bump into one of them, it will be difficult to handle the situation."

Chapter 767

"But since you said you'd bring it, then bring it. We'll just have to be careful, it should be fine."

Hearing this, Sun Tao hesitated for a moment and said, "Let's lock him in the room. We'll bring him some food when we come back."

"Row."

Lin Guixiang left without locking the door, and instead went to find Du Mingxian first.

Du Mingxian and Ling Silang were already eating. Because they were eating, the door was closed. When they heard the knocking, Ling Silang went to open the door.

"What's the matter?" He asked in a very cold tone.

When Lin Guixiang saw Ling Silang's handsome face, she suddenly couldn't take her eyes off him and was momentarily stunned.

Ling Silang disliked Lin Guixiang and frowned. "If you have something to say, just say it."

"Oh, my husband and I are going out to buy some things. We've just arrived in the capital and aren't familiar with it. We're worried that if the child goes out with us, he might run away and get lost again if we're not careful. So I'd like to ask your...your wife to look after him for me."

"My wife has to go to work in a bit, I don't have time." Ling Silang said and then closed the door, not caring about the reaction of the people outside.

Du Mingxian naturally heard this. She was quite surprised. It was an unfamiliar environment. Although they paid for the house, it was still an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people. How could Lin Guixiang bear to leave her child there?

Another point.

The child looked very small, and his eyes were blank.

Outside, she had already heard Lin Guixiang go to Liu Ya, but Liu Ya gave her the same answer, saying that she had to go to work in a while and didn't have time.

Lin Guixiang stood in the courtyard with a very unpleasant expression. At this moment, Guo Chen's room door opened, "I'll watch over things for a while. You two go and come back quickly."

"Okay, thank you, thank you."

After Lin Guixiang left, Guo Chen didn't go to the Sun family's room to watch the child. Instead, he took a stool and sat at the doorway, reading a book while observing the activity in the other room.

As long as the child is alright, hasn't gone out, and hasn't gotten lost, that's fine.

He was already a little hungry, and now that he was sitting in the yard, the aroma of food from both sides was wafting into his nose.

Having a wife is truly remarkable.

After eating, Du Mingxian didn't rest and went back to work with Liu Ya.

Guo Chen originally thought they would be back soon, but Sun Tao and Lin Guixiang went out and saw the prosperity of the capital. After having a simple meal, they started strolling around the streets, completely forgetting about the child.

Guo Chen was also hungry. He thought it would be a short time and he could eat after the couple came back, but who would have thought it would take so long.

He finally couldn't hold back any longer and had to go to Ling Silang. Jiang Liting was the kind of person who relied on his wife for everything, without even a second thought.

Ling Silang didn't go out in the afternoon. After all, he was a candidate and couldn't go out all the time, as it would easily arouse suspicion. He still needed some time to study. If he didn't study and always went out, many students wouldn't want to befriend him.

He was reading a book when he heard a knock on the door. He thought it was the woman from noon again.

"Brother Ling, Brother Ling."

Hearing Guo Chen's voice, Ling Silang got up and went to open the door. "What's wrong?"

"Do you have any food at home? I'm so hungry, so hungry."

"This is..." Ling Silang had been living here for a while, but this was the first time he had seen Guo Chen like this.

"The couple who moved in today said they went out to buy things and will be back soon. They asked someone to watch the child for them. Your wives are both out working, so I thought I'd sit in the yard and watch for a while."

"I didn't expect them to be gone for so long. I'm so hungry that I have no choice but to ask you for help."

Ling Silang wanted to laugh, but was too embarrassed. "Then you stay in the yard for now. You have to keep an eye on the child, right? I'll make you some noodles now."

"Do you have any leftovers from lunch?"

"Gone."

They generally don't leave any food uneaten. Even if there is a little leftover, their wives will put it directly into their spatial storage. The storage space can keep food fresh; it will be exactly the same as when it comes out, unlike leaving it outside.

Guo Chen was still a little disappointed; he wanted to get a bite of something delicious.

Ling Silang noticed his disappointment. "Do you still want to eat?"

"I want to eat, I want to eat. Could you please cook me a bowl of noodles, Brother Ling?"

"it is good."

Guo Chen didn't go into the room, and this time he didn't sit down either. Instead, he stood by the window of Ling Silang's room, listening to the sounds inside.

Ling Silang cooked the noodles very quickly, and he kindly added two eggs and a little bit of greens for Guo Chen.

"Bring your own bowl over, the food is ready."

Guo Chen doesn't cook much, but it's not practical to always eat out, so he has a simple stove.

Upon hearing that he could eat, he quickly grabbed a bowl and went into the room, only to find that it was very different from his own.

His room was cold and lifeless, but Ling's room always gave people a warm feeling when they entered.

Is this the difference between having a woman and not having a woman?

After serving the rice, Guo Chen took it to the courtyard to eat. Standing by the window, he asked, "Brother Ling, why are there green vegetables at this time of year?"

“My family is hardworking. When we don’t finish the vegetables we grow in the garden, my mother and wife dry them into dried vegetables. This makes them easy to store, and in winter we can put them into flour. They’re almost as good as fresh vegetables.”

"Brother Ling, I didn't expect your noodles to be so delicious." Guo Chen genuinely thought they were exceptionally tasty.

Ling Silang wasn't stingy. Since the noodles were already cooked, he couldn't just make a little bit. "If you're not satisfied after finishing your bowl, you can have some more. There's still some left."

"Okay, okay, thank you, Brother Ling."

Guo Chen ate two bowls of noodles and felt warm all over. Moreover, the noodles cooked by Ling Silang were so delicious.

After he finished washing the dishes in the yard, he was about to go back into the house when he saw Lin Guixiang and her husband return.

Upon seeing them return, Guo Chen said, "After you left, the child stayed inside and didn't come out."

"Thank you," Sun Tao said.

Lin Guixiang didn't say anything and went straight into the house.

Guo Chen saw that the two of them had returned empty-handed, so he didn't ask them why they hadn't bought anything when they said they were going out to buy something. Besides, he figured the kids probably hadn't eaten lunch either.

But he didn't want to care about any of that. After being out in the cold yard all afternoon, he really wanted to go back inside.

Back inside, Guo Chen read for a while before going out to buy things.

After Lin Guixiang returned, she realized that the child hadn't eaten anything. Sun Tao didn't even bother to check on it and went straight to read.