On the third day of Wei Shao’s departure from the city, the last of his troops pulled out this morning, and Yuyang regained its usual peacefulness.

The Wei family was not like other families. The family member was not many, and with the changes ten years ago, now even much simple. Mrs. Xu and Mrs. Zhu had left. Three days ago, Wei Shao also left. The north house and the east house are empty. After nightfall, only the west house was lit up, which made it look lonely.

Xiao Qiao had a fulfilled life these days. The first day after Wei Shao left, every servant in charge reported the accounts to her, and then she looked at some of the warehouses. She had been busy until the sky was dark and only then rested.

Now that spring had started, it would be the perfect time to build a garden. The next day, Xiao Qiao called the florist to survey the north house and chose the garden’s location. After that, she called an experienced carpenter and mason to start the construction. Another busy day passed.

Today, the carpenters submitted the garden’s design, and Xiao Qiao was satisfied. She appointed a competent steward to take charge of the matter.

The Lady built the garden to please the Old Madam, so the steward naturally did his best and did not dare to neglect his duties.

Today was also the 50th birthday of Wei Liang’s mother. Wei Liang had not returned from Jinyang, so naturally, he could not come back to celebrate her birthday. Wei Liang’s mother and Mrs. Zhu are of the same generation. In terms of seniority, Xiao Qiao should call her aunt. Today, she went to Wei Liang’s house to congratulate his mother in person.

When Wei Liang’s mother and his wife saw the Lady coming to their door, they were very flattered. Xiao Qiao came back late because they entertained her. After bathing, she did not need to wait for Wei Shao to return as before, so she asked someone to close the courtyard door early. She climbed into bed and fell asleep.Xiao Qiao has been busy these days. Although they are all trivial matters, they still need a lot of energy. She also drank two glasses of wine at the birthday banquet. Once her head hit the pillow, she quickly fell asleep.

She slept until some time when she felt the urge to relieve herself. She crawled out from the hot blanket, did not light a lamp, only put on a piece of clothing, and went to the bathroom. After cleaning her hands, with half-closed eyes, she felt the bed and got into the blanket, comfortably wrapped up again. Once the eyes were closed, she soon fell asleep again.

Suddenly there was a pounding on the door. The sound was not light, interspersed with Chun Niang’s shouting. It seemed that something big had happened. Xiao Qiao woke up completely, startled, opened her eyes, and asked, “Chun Niang, what is it?”

“Lady, wake up! General Jia is here! He is waiting outside the gate now. Master asked him to escort you to Jinyang!”

General Jia was the one who escorted Xiao Qiao to the south and was already very familiar with him.

Although Chun Niang had tried to restrain herself, the slightly elevated tone of her voice gave away her excitement and surprise at the moment.

Xiao Qiao was stunned, then rolled over and faced inward, lazily said: “In the middle of the night, why should I go to Jinyang? You go and tell General Jia. I’m not going.”

Chun Niang felt anxious and tapped on the door again. When she saw that the door was not opening, she was helpless and was afraid that Mr. Jia would be impatient, so she hurried to the front door first, took a breath, and said, “General, wait a little longer. It was too sudden, and it took some effort for the Lady to get up, fix her makeup, and pack her clothes.”Mr. Jia had rushed to return from Zhuo County at night with the Marquis. He was waiting at the city’s entrance, asking him to come and pick up the Lady quickly. The Marquis had been waiting for some time, but the Lady still hadn’t come out. Mr. Jia said, “Marquis has instructed me to pick up her first. You can bring the remaining things on the road tomorrow.”

Of course, Chun Niang did not know that Wei Shao had personally come back. She thought he had asked Mr. Jia to pick up the Lady. She wanted to stall him and said: “I know, I know. General Jia, please wait a little longer. I’ll rush her again.” After saying that, she ran in again in a hurry and tapped on the door again to call Xiao Qiao.

Xiao Qiao knew that she would not stop until she opened the door. She got up to light the lamp, open the door, and lie on the bed again.

Chun Niang chased her to the bedside, gasping for breath while trying to persuade her: “This is not the time for you to be angry! Mr. Jia is still waiting outside the door for you! The carriage is waiting! Behave and get up quickly.”

Xiao Qiao only closed her eyes and shook her head, “I’m not going. I want to sleep.”

Chun Niang was anxiously spinning around in front of the bed, desperate to wake up the disobedient Lady. She suddenly remembered and said: “When you were drunk, I did not carry you in, but it was Master himself. Seeing that you were unconscious and drunk, he said a few words. He blamed me for not taking good care of you. I can see that he loves you! He loves you in his heart! He has been gone for three days, but he sent General Jia back to pick you up, which means he wants you to go with him. You should not follow your petty nature again! Just go quickly! Lest you cause further trouble.”

Xiao Qiao’s eyes were closed, but when she heard the words, she opened them and turned round: “He was the one who carried me into the room? Why didn’t you tell me that day?”

Chun Niang hesitated and said in a low voice: “Master told me not to say anything. Perhaps he was ashamed to admit it. He has already…, Lady you ……”

Chun Niang kept on persuading, but Xiao Qiao ignored her. She slowly sat up and looked down while recalling the strange feeling she felt that day and gradually coming to her senses.

No wonder she had that strange feeling in her haze. At that time, she struggled to open her eyes, but she was too drunk to wake up. Finally, she understood completely. That sticky and uncomfortable feeling all over her body. And her lower part, too.

“Chun Niang, how long did he stay after he sent me into the room?” Xiao Qiao suddenly raised her head, interrupted Chun Niang, and asked her.