wedding dress

Chapter 194 The Former Residence
Everything is fine in Suizhou, but Xiaodong and the others still decide to leave for the capital after seven days.

Xiaodong misses the capital, very much.

She missed King An, Zhao Lu, the Empress Dowager, even the stuffed pancakes she ate in the morning in the capital, the garden of her new home, the pond, and the chubby fat cat Plum Blossom.I didn't take it out this time, I wonder if it is doing well these days?
Even here I am happy, very happy.But she still couldn't stop being homesick.

Yes, she already regards the capital as her hometown.

Maybe Suizhou will become another home for her.But... not now.

Zhao Zhi recovered quickly. Half of her illness was heart disease, and the other half was due to lack of care after giving birth.After the Zhang family's affairs were completely settled, she recovered quickly. Maybe there is a saying that is true: women are weak, but mothers are strong.For the sake of the child, she can no longer let herself be weak like before.

Qin Lie arranged people to send her away from Dongquan as she wished.Zhao Zhi's dowry maid was also sent over by Zhang Manting, and when she saw her, she threw herself on the ground and burst into tears.

After sending Zhao Zhi away, the house suddenly became much quieter.There is no smoke and smell of medicine when decocting medicine, and there is no baby crying.Qin Lie couldn't understand Xiaodong's thoughts very well, he knew that she likes to be lively and lively with relatives and friends, separation will always make her sad for a while.For example, the last time she was in the capital, she was lost for several days when Qin Shi and Yao Jinfeng were sent away.But the brothers and sisters of the Li family quickly filled this gap. They are real treasures. For Zhang Ziqian's words that water should be used when drinking tea, they jumped up and down very busy. Collecting dew and going up the mountain to fetch spring water is simply a good apprentice of 24 filial piety.

"Are you really going to take them back to Beijing?"

"Well, it looks like they won't be able to get rid of them." Qin Lie smiled: "Don't worry, someone can control them now."

Xiaodong is not so optimistic.The cow is still a cow when it is brought to the capital, can these two monkeys turn their backs on their evil ways?But don't be honest for a while and then go back to your old ways and cause some troublesome troubles.

"By the way, let's go to the west city of Suizhou tomorrow. Do you want to visit Yao's house?"

Xiaodong was taken aback for a moment: "Yao family?"

Playing too crazy these days, she has completely forgotten about it.

An Wang also mentioned it!
Suizhou is not only Qin Lie's hometown, but also Yao Qingyuan's hometown!

Xiaodong was a little ashamed, but also a little confused: "Can I go?"

Although Wang An hasn't said anything these years, Xiaodong is not a fool.Although Yao Qingyuan had passed away long ago, the Yao family had never sent anyone to the capital to see her, and they had no letters or brought anything with them, which was very abnormal.Look at the Shen family, although Zhao Lu's mother, Concubine Shen, has passed away for many years, earlier than Yao Qingyuan, but the Shen family has maintained a good relationship with Prince An's Mansion. Lived there for several years.

And the Yao family... why is there no movement from the Yao family?The Yao family is her uncle's family, and the atmosphere at this time, the uncle's family is the closest relative.Yao Qingyuan is dead, but Xiaodong is still there. The Yao family has not had any contact with Prince An's Mansion for so many years—if Yao Jinfeng is counted, it can be regarded as a relationship—but Yao Jinfeng has already left the Yao family.Xiaodong called her cousin...but she had never heard anything about Yao's family from Yao Jinfeng's place.

"Actually, the Yao family is almost broken up now. The one closest to you is Yao Jinfeng's own father, your cousin, who has also passed away. Now the Yao family is inherited by a side branch. I also heard... ...they never got along."

Xiaodong nodded.

She thought so too.Either there was something hidden about Yao Qingyuan back then, or Yao Qingyuan no longer had close relatives in the Yao family.

"Let's not go around in circles. I've inquired. The place where your mother lived should be empty now. Let me take a look with you."

"Alright."

Xiaodong was also a little curious.

Also, when I went back, I also confessed to King An.

Qin Lie acted very quickly. After sending Zhao Zhi away, he arranged the affairs at hand the next day and took Xiaodong to the west city by boat.It is not too close from Dongquan where they live to Xicheng, and it will take half a day by boat.Xiaodong felt very surprised when he looked out from the cabin.She hasn't been to this place in Suizhou yet.What I saw a few days ago was a kind of exotic style. Most people lived in the mountains. What I saw were wooden buildings, bamboo buildings, stone houses and earthen houses, but this place seemed to be in a town in the Central Plains. Brick and tile houses, some houses have high courtyard walls, cornices, carved beams and painted buildings-compared with Dongquan, Xicheng does not seem to be a remote place at all.

"Most of the people living here are officials, gentry and wealthy households, which is very different from Dongquan."

Xiaodong understood and nodded.

It seems that the Yao family can be regarded as a big family in the area.

There are cars and sedan chairs on the streets here, and women are rarely seen. Everything is similar to the Central Plains.Xiaodong got into a sedan chair, and through the gauze curtains on both sides, he could clearly see the scenery on both sides of the road.The sedan chair creaked and creaked, and after about a meal, the sedan chair stopped. Qin Lie raised the curtain of the sedan chair and reached out to help her out: "Here we are."

Xiaodong looked up, and in front of him were several old trees that had grown for an unknown number of years. The green trees shaded a section of the courtyard wall.Qin Lie helped her walk over, knocked twice on a small black painted door, and someone inside quickly opened the door.

The alley was deep, and dogs barked in the distance.

Qin Lie gave some money to the old servant who opened the door, and the man stepped aside silently, tactfully neither looking up at him nor asking questions.

Xiaodong followed Qin Lie in.

The house is very old, and I'm afraid it wouldn't look much worse if it wasn't 100 years old.But apparently it is often cared for and repaired, so it is well preserved.

There was no one living here, and Artemisia annua grew two or three feet high on the roof tiles, and many weeds emerged from the cracks in the bricks.Along the corners grew many dandelions with fluffy bulbs.

"Is it here?"

"Correct."

They went around to the front yard and pushed open the door of the main house. The house was empty and there was nothing.There are no tables, chairs, utensils, curtains and curtains, and the walls are bare without any calligraphy and painting decoration.

"Come on, it should be here."

The silent old servant unlocked the gate on the east side of the courtyard, and Xiaodong immediately smelled a sweet scent of flowers.

"Osmanthus fragrans?"

"Yes." The old servant whispered, "There are sweet-scented osmanthus here."

Xiaodong thought of the large field of sweet-scented osmanthus in Prince An's mansion, and wondered if it had any connection with these.

Maybe it's because someone likes it very much.

There are dense golden osmanthus flowers sandwiched between the dark green leaves, and the fragrance becomes stronger and stronger.Because of the light rain in the morning, the air was very humid, and the wind blowing on the face was full of moisture and fragrance, as if people were bathed in a fragrant mist.

The courtyard is small and simple, with three rooms, and there is nothing in the main room. Xiaodong stood at the door for a while, then entered the east chamber.

There are simple household items in the East Wing.A bed, a dressing table, a desk, and the shelves against the wall are empty. It turns out that there may have been books or vases here.Perhaps the vase still contained flowering branches from the laurel tree outside.

Because no one has lived here for too long, there is a stale musty smell in the house.

Did Yao Qingyuan ever live here?

Perhaps An Wang had also been here before.

Xiaodong walked slowly to the window, pulled out the latch, and pushed the window open.

The light and the breeze spilled into the room together, and it suddenly seemed bright and vivid.The black lacquered tabletop reflected light, and there was a small makeup box and a comb on the dressing table. These things were very clean, and there were no traces of mildew. It seemed that someone had carefully cleaned and maintained the place.With light and wind, this place no longer looks like an old and uninhabited shabby room, but like a room where people are living.

As if the owner is still there.

She walked lightly across the courtyard and into the house, holding in her hands the branch she had cut from the tree, and put it in a vase, and perhaps trimmed it a little more.The room is filled with the fragrance of sweet-scented osmanthus.She would sit at the dressing table combing her hair with this comb, and maybe forget to clean the comb after she finished combing, so there might be a long soft hair or two left between the teeth of the comb.She would sit at the table, open a book, spread out a sheet of paper, sharpen the ink, and write with her head down——

Xiaodong has never felt Yao Qingyuan's presence as strongly as now.

Feeling so close to her.

She could not find any trace of Yao Qingyuan in Prince An's Mansion.

Yes, no trace.

Xiaodong suddenly discovered that she had been negligent so much.

There is no house she lived in, no clothes she wore, no people who served her, nothing...

It's like... It's like she has never lived in the palace.

She didn't think so much before, and when she touched it occasionally, she also felt that it might be because some people and things had been disposed of after she died of illness. It has been a long time, and maybe An Wang didn't want to hurt the scene, so...

But now she suddenly thought, maybe Yao Qingyuan had never really lived in Prince An's Mansion.The place where she stayed the longest should be the place where she died.

why?

Wang An has a lot of affection for her, and this Xiaodong has no doubts.But there are so few imprints of their life together... so few are unreasonable.

Even the house that Yao Qingyuan lived in a long time ago can leave some traces of the past, it doesn't make sense that there is nothing in the palace.

Qin Lie came to her side, Xiaodong seemed a little dazed and dazed.Qin Lie thought beforehand that Xiaodong might feel depressed when he came to her mother's former residence.But now it seems that she has something she can't figure out.

"what happened?"

"fine……"

Xiaodong came back to his senses, and stretched out his hand to close the window.The room suddenly darkened again, looking a little gloomy and depressing.

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Waking up from my nap today still confused... looks like it will take me a few days to really feel the fact that I'm home mentally.

Ah, ask for a ticket~~~
(End of this chapter)