When they looked up, the two women's expressions were startled, and then joy quickly appeared on their faces.
Xiaocui said before that he had returned to Kyoto, but he missed it a few days ago. In fact, they did not go out in the past few days.
The joy on Zeng Zuimo's face was quickly concealed by her. Wan Ruoqing took a few steps forward quickly, and then stopped again. Although she was excited in her heart, it turned into calm when the voice came out.
"Xiao Cui said before that I thought you would come over in the next few days."
Li Yi nodded, without any politeness or unfamiliarity. He nodded and said, "I have been delayed due to some things these days."
Wan Ruoqing looked at him and asked with a smile: "Is Mrs. Li's health okay?"
Neither of them noticed that when they heard these three words, Zeng Zuimo's body trembled slightly, his eyes looked at Li Yi, and then quickly looked away.
“It’s all good.”
Li Yi looked back and asked, "The man who just went out, is he the Minister of Household Affairs?"
The defense force around Yangliu Lane is actually not low. However, all of this is based on the premise of not disturbing their normal lives. Those blind dandies or people with ulterior motives cannot get close to the gate of the courtyard at all. However, if the conquest is
As long as they agree, no one else will stop them.
Wan Ruoqing nodded, then turned his head and looked at Zeng Zuimo.
Zeng Zuimo had already stood up, walked over, looked at Li Yi, and said softly: "I'm sorry."
"Ah?" Li Yi was startled, not knowing why she suddenly said this.
"I was actually at home that day." Zeng Zuimo lowered his head and said, "If it weren't for me, this wouldn't have happened."
This matter has actually been buried in her heart for a long time. The two emotions of self-blame and guilt are intertwined in her heart every day. It was not until this moment that she finally felt relieved when she saw that he was safe and sound with her own eyes.
Li Yi finally recalled that he had been to Yangliu Lane that day. At that time, Xiaocui said that Zeng Zuimo was not here. When he went back, he met the Taoist nun.
He smiled and waved his hand at this moment, not caring about the matter at all, and said: "This is none of your business. She had premeditated it, not that day, but maybe the next day or the third day."
Without asking why Zeng Zuimo asked Xiaocui to lie that day, Li Yi looked at her and asked with some uncertainty: "That Minister Zeng..."
Zeng Zuimo whispered: "He is my second uncle."
When he suddenly heard the news, Li Yi looked slightly startled, looked at her, and asked: "What... is going on?"
He could feel Zeng Zuimo's emotions at this moment. After saying this, he immediately changed his words, "If it's inconvenient..."
"There's nothing inconvenient." Zeng Zuimo shook his head and said, "It's all over."
She walked out the door, "I just have to go to the shop, let's talk while walking."
…
Li Yi really didn't expect that she would have such a story.
Although the Zeng family was not very prominent more than ten years ago, it was still considered a wealthy family in Kyoto. Of course, the Zeng family at that time was not the Zeng family now.
Zeng Zuimo's father seemed to be a minor official in the Ministry of Revenue. Later, he was pushed to the forefront because he made a mistake on an important matter and was involved in a battle in the court. As a result, the direct line of the Zeng family suffered heavy losses.
The men were convicted, beheaded, or exiled, while the women were sent to the Jiaofangsi, while the others were spared.
Later, the second wife of the Zeng family got involved with the Cui family, and the Zeng family regained its strength. Zeng Shichun even rose to the rank of Minister of Household Affairs. After all, the Zeng family is more prominent today than it was ten years ago.
As a direct descendant of the Zeng family, Zeng Zuimo was implicated at a very young age. After many twists and turns, he was transferred to Jiaofangsi, Qunyuyuan, and then redeemed himself and came to Kyoto...
She had never mentioned these things before, and this was the first time Li Yi knew about them.
Li Yi looked at her and asked, "Do you still have any family members in the Jiaofang Division?"
Zeng Zuimo shook his head and said, "My mother had already committed suicide before they came to ransack the house. In fact, I was the only one."
Li Yi had heard about what was going on in the Jiaofangsi and the brothel, and then thought of her decisive and almost stubborn temperament. He could also roughly imagine how she grew up step by step from an official's daughter to what she is now.
.
The amount of hardships and pains he endured during this process was something that even in his two lifetimes, he would never be able to realize.
Thinking of these things, he felt inexplicably sad. Zeng Zuimo looked up inadvertently and caught a certain expression on his face.
Li Yi's heart sank. He was worried that with her temperament, she might regard this as pity or pity, so he hurriedly explained: "Don't..."
Seeing his nervous look, Zeng Zuimo smiled instead, with a warm feeling in his heart, and asked: "What about you, where have you been these past few months?"
Wan Ruoqing, who had been silent along the way, also turned to look at him.
"All the way to the west, first to Shuzhou, and then stayed in Qi for two months..."
Li Yi talked lightly and briefly recounted the journey of the past few months. As for the dangerous parts, he naturally skipped one sentence.
Even so, the two women also heard something different from it. They clenched their pink fists in their sleeves, but they didn't show anything on their faces.
A few steps behind him, the look of surprise on the face of the sloppy old man never faded.
At this moment, he finally understood why that shortcut was always blocked...
Li Yi didn't say much on this topic. When he passed by a certain clothing store, he cleverly diverted the topic away.
In terms of clothing, Kyoto has undoubtedly led the trend of Jingguo and even the surrounding countries. The dazzling clothing has dazzled women. As for underwear, it has now been accepted by most women, although there are still some conservative people who still think about it.
Resistance, but it can no longer affect this vigorous underwear reform.
Goulan has not changed much. In fact, the operation model there has matured, and the number of Goulan in Kyoto has long reached saturation. In the past few months, in addition to expanding to further prefectures and counties, it has also
Taking root in the ground, it gradually became a daily habit of the people.
Every time I dream back at midnight, Wan Ruoqing still vaguely remembers that more than a year ago, when that hook fence was about to close and everyone was worried about their livelihood, he broke into everyone's sight with a stern attitude.
middle.
At first, I just wanted to live and survive in this world. Later, I no longer had to worry about life, and I wanted to make the actors in Qing'an Mansion live a better life. And then..., it became what it is today.
The extremely grand picture originally conceived will probably be realized soon.
Li Yi estimated the time and said: "It's getting late, let's find a place to eat first."
"Why don't you go back and do it." Wan Ruoqing suggested.
Li Yi pointed to the restaurant in front and said, "I'll go check out the shop and Gou Lan in front later. Let's make do with it here first."
Wan Ruoqing nodded, and Zeng Zuimo naturally had no objections.
Since various new operas began to appear in Kyoto, many people, whether ordinary people or powerful officials, have developed the habit of listening to operas. Many restaurants in Kyoto have also made some improvements.
After entering the restaurant, the first thing we faced was a half-person-high stage.
On the stage, there are actors specially invited by the restaurant to perform for the guests who come and go to eat.
In the lobby on the first floor, facing the stage, tables are arranged in a constellation. The location on the second floor is better, and you can have a panoramic view from above. Of course, the price will be higher accordingly.
It was supposed to be dinner time when Li Yi and the two women walked into the restaurant, but there were not many guests. From the outside, this place should be a high-end restaurant. Ordinary people may not be able to afford it. If such a situation occurs
That's normal.
Soon a waiter came over to greet him. At this time, somewhere on the second floor, at a banquet where people were drinking wine, wine glasses were clinked but not taken back.
Seeing this, one person asked strangely: "Young Master Qin, what's wrong?"
