wedding dress

Chapter 113 Plum Blossom
When he came, Xiaodong was practicing calligraphy, and he didn't lift his head when he heard the message. He finished writing the last stroke of the phonetic character before saying, "Got it."

She put the words she had just written on the shelf beside her, and then she got up and looked in the mirror, and straightened her hair on her temples. Today, she combed a slanting cloud bun, and she wore a hibiscus flower on her temples.

She has grown a lot taller than this time last year, and she can no longer wear the clothes at this time last year, and Xiaodong even compares them, her skirt has shrunk to her ankles.

Before Qin Lie came back, Xiaodong had to think about it almost every day, where he had gone, and whether he was safe or not.When the news of her return was confirmed, Xiaodong's heart finally fell to the bottom with a "boom", feeling indescribably at ease.

Zhao Lu was talking to Qin Lie, the hall was full of several big boxes, as soon as Xiaodong stepped into the hall door, Qin Lie turned around.

——Sure enough, it was tanned like a piece of black charcoal.

No matter how used to seeing him like this, Xiaodong finds it very pleasing to the eye, completely different from the usual white-faced scholars.

"Sister Xiaodong."

Xiaodong met Li with him, and looked him up and down. He was thinner and darker, but he looked very energetic.Qin Lie took a careful look at her, and then said with a smile: "My sister is taller."

The boxes Qin Lie brought contained furs, jade, spices, cloth, and medicinal materials, none of which were produced in the Central Plains.Zhao Luzheng and Qin Lie said: "How much money can you make by running this trip, and you have spent so much to give away favors, isn't it a waste of money? Just have one thing for everything."

Qin Lie smiled: "Then let me keep it with you, and I'll ask you for it when it's short."

Even though he said that, everyone knew that he would not come to ask for it.

"There is another thing, it is for Xiaodong's younger sister to relieve her boredom."

Qin Lie beckoned, and the person standing outside came in with a basket.Qin Lie lifted the cloth covering his head, and a fluffy head poked out from inside.

Xiaodong was caught off guard, shrank back in fright, and looked carefully, it turned out to be a white kitten.The long hair is extremely soft, the face is plump, and the watery eyes are looking at this strange place, and let out a low "meow".

"Sister Xiaodong doesn't go to school now, and stays at home all day, so I made this to relieve boredom."

Xiaodong has never raised these things before. Even if there are some birds in Yufang Pavilion and fish in the pond, those are not pets, and she doesn’t need to feed them with water. Xiaodong tried to reach out and hug the kitten. There was a silver bell tied around the cat's neck, it was very docile, obediently let her hug it, stretched out its tongue and licked its paws, and lazily found a comfortable position in her arms and lay down.

Zhao Lu was dissatisfied immediately: "This is still a lazy cat."

Qin Lie hurriedly said: "Lazy, those naughty ones scratch and bite everywhere, and like to run around. This lazy one is cute and clean, so it's suitable for little girls to keep and play with."

Xiaodong couldn't help laughing, cooperating with this laziness also has its benefits.

She and Qin Lie went back without saying a few words. After noon, she said she was going to take a nap, and sent everyone else out, and even left a window specially.Sure enough, after a while, the window sash was silently pushed open, and Qin Lie jumped in from the window as nimbly and nimbly as a big cat.

Xiaodong was sitting by the couch, she had already removed the hairpin ring before taking a nap, her hair was partly loose, she smiled and asked in a low voice, "Where did you find a cat?"

Qin Lie said: "An acquaintance with whom I have business dealings lives in Changde. The daughter's cat has just given birth to four kittens. I want one. Do you like it?"

Xiaodong nodded and said, "Thank you for your trouble, I like it very much. But what does it eat?"

"I eat everything, and I'm not a pet." Qin Lie pulled a stool to sit down: "It's been a long time since I saw you, how are you?"

"Alright," Xiaodong said, "How are you doing? Was the journey safe? Is this business a lot of money?"

"TOEFL TOEFL, if you don't lose money," said a profiteer, with a frank and sincere smile, and told her what she had seen on the road, the endless Gobi, and when she woke up in the morning, she found that she was sleeping in the sand and was almost buried alive. .Although there was a guide, the small lake that the guide remembered had dried up. Fortunately, they met another caravan, so that they would not be exhausted and lost.He also talked about the experience of encountering snakes and wolves. Xiaodong listened intently. Qin Lie didn't describe it in a long way, but it was very real and vivid, very fascinating.

"It's really hard work."

"Fortunately."

Xiaodong also talked about it, but she didn't have anything to say, she just lived at home, and then talked about Zhao Zhi's marriage, Xiaodong asked Qin Lie: "Have you been to Pingzhou?"

"Go often."

"Then, Zhang family, do you know?"

Qin Lie nodded and said: "Naturally, Zhang's family is one of the largest families in Pingzhou. Those hilltops are all owned by his family. They have a good reputation. They built bridges and paved roads and built temples. I don’t know Zhang’s family.”

Xiaodong felt a little relieved, and asked again: "What about Zhang Manting? Do you recognize it?"

Qin Lie shook his head: "I haven't dealt with them before, and I have had one or two business dealings with the Zhang family. If this Mr. Zhang concentrates on his studies and doesn't ask about money and goods stores, he will naturally not know me."

That's right.

"Why don't I write a letter back and ask more carefully to see how my character is." Qin Lie knew that Xiaodong didn't have any close friends, that is, Zhao Zhi, who was extremely close.Since she is going to marry a foreigner, Xiaodong is naturally worried.

"Okay, then I will trouble you."

"Why are you polite with me?"

Qin Lie saw an embroidered basket on the head of the bed with a half-made purse inside, it looked very delicate and bright.

"Who is this for?"

"To Zhao Zhi." Xiaodong explained: "I can't do anything else... It's simple to give away toys and clothing, but it lacks sincerity."

The purse was in the Ruyi style, and it had already been embroidered with stalk flowers, with only a few lines, which looked very elegant.

"Your master didn't ask for nothing, and it looks much better than before."

Xiaodong took the purse back and glanced at him: "Could it be that I did poorly in the past?"

Qin Lie reluctantly said: "It's not bad..."

Such insincere praise is more annoying than belittling her.

Xiaodong put the purse back into the basket, with a serious face, but not angry in his heart.

Qin Lie asked her: "Have you put down your kung fu?"

Speaking of this, Xiaodong suddenly felt guilty. Since Qin Lie left, she basically hasn't practiced much.As the saying goes, if you don't practice for one day, you will know it, and if you don't practice for three days, your peers will know it. It's been more than three months since you haven't practiced. How can Qin Lie not find out?
Seeing her guilty conscience, Qin Lie understood.

He said, "You..." He sighed and didn't say anything more, and smiled again after a while.

Xiaodong wondered, could this be an angry smile that hates iron but not steel?He secretly turned his face to take a look, Qin Lie was looking at her, their eyes met, Xiao Dong felt guilty, and his face turned red.

She turned her back again, the room was very quiet, and Qin Lie was silent for a while.After a while, Qin Lie asked, "Where's that cat?"

"Mother Hu said she was afraid of lice and fleas on her body, so she went to take a bath and comb her hair, and said that she would give me a hug after tidying up in two days." Xiaodong cleared her throat, "I named it Plum Blossom, what do you think? "

Qin Lie thought for a while: "What's the explanation for this name?"

Xiaodong explained: "The cat's paw print looks like a plum blossom with five petals? Isn't it suitable?"

Qin Lie nodded, and said solemnly: "It's perfect—but Meihua is a male cat."

Xiaodong almost choked on his saliva, but he calmed down and insisted, "This name is very funny, I think it looks good."

Qin Lie nodded and said, "Exactly."

After all, Xiaodong couldn't hold back his laughter.This smile could be heard from outside, Hongfu asked: "Princess? Do you want some tea?"

Xiaodong hurriedly said, "No need."

It was inconvenient for Qin Lie to stay any longer, he got up to leave, Xiaodong followed and saw him off.People send guests to the door, but she sends them to the window.Qin Lie turned his head and smiled, and turned out the window.

Xiaodong thought about how proficient he was in the business of sliding doors and windows, and remembered his smile when he was leaving——stood quietly for a moment before closing the window.

In the past, she always felt that she was still young, a child.As for Qin Lie, he was an older brother like Zhao Lu.He jumped out of the window to look for her. On the one hand, Xiaodong felt that he was as naughty as an older child, and on the other hand, he also had the exciting feeling of secretly violating the rules.Qin Lie is different from Zhao Lu. Although Zhao Lu loves her, he is still a well-behaved son, but Qin Lie grew up in a completely different world. He and Xiao Dong talked about childhood fun, like cicadas, catching crickets, Catching fireflies, making whistles, making kites, fishing, catching shrimps, hunting...

But after a few years, they all grew up.

Qin Lie is already a majestic man capable of setting up a family, and Xiaodong is no longer a child with a bun and ignorant of world affairs.

Maybe Qin Lie...wouldn't come any more.

Xiaodong finally finished the two purses and took them to Zhao Zhi.Both purses were filled with things, one contained a pair of red coral buckles, and the other contained a red gold mandarin duck pendant inlaid with precious stones.Zhao Zhi was very happy, she held it and looked left and right, thanking her repeatedly.I was happy for a while, but slowly lost my joy: "I will see you in the future... I don't know when I will see you again..."

Xiaodong said: "What are you talking about, Mr. Zhang must be staying in the capital, right? How could your mother want you to stay so far away?"

Zhao Zhi shook her head: "I don't know what my mother is thinking, obviously I don't want to part with it, but I still set him up..."

"Even if you live in Pingzhou for a few years, it's very convenient to come and go. You see, my cousin, he is from Suizhou, not far from Pingzhou, doesn't he often come and go? "

This is of course intended to comfort.Zhao Zhi was married as a daughter-in-law, so naturally she couldn't travel around like Qin Lie did.

Zhao Zhi hurriedly changed the conversation: "The Mid-Autumn Festival will be in two days, what rituals have you prepared for the Empress Dowager?"

Xiaodong smiled: "I originally wanted to embroider a fan, but then I thought, who would use a fan in this season? So I made a pair of shoes instead."

Zhao Zhi nodded, moved closer to Xiaodong, and said in a low voice, "I heard that Empress Dowager Shengde is crazy."

"what?"

"I heard that I don't recognize anyone anymore. She was crying and cursing or crying all day long, and even smashed the heads of the palace servants with vases."

———————
I went to two games in a row today, at my mother’s house at noon, and at night with my husband’s brothers and sisters—I was exhausted.

(End of this chapter)