Mrs. Du always felt that something was going to happen.
More than a month passed and Yinhu did not show up, but someone delivered meals to him every day. Later, Mrs. Du said that she would do it herself, and all she needed to do was to bring some firewood and rice every few days.
After the other party did as he was told, he came less and less often.
Mrs. Du squatted in front of the stove, watching the fire inside the stove gradually weaken and the aroma gradually wafting out of the pot above.
She stood up, lifted the lid of the pot, and carefully shoveled out the mixed grain rice in the pot. The layer of rice at the bottom of the pot had already turned a slightly dark yellow color and gave off a burnt aroma.
This is Mrs. Du's favorite flavor. She took the spatula and gently pushed it along the surface of the pot, and the layer of rice fell off smoothly.
Mrs. Du scraped the pot back and forth a few times to make sure there were no rice grains standing on it. Then she laboriously lifted the wooden barrel next to it and poured the well water in it into the pot. With a splash, the cold water and the hot pot stirred up a layer of steam that rushed up to the beams.
Mrs. Du put the lid back on the pot. At this time, the firewood under the stove was almost burned out. The last remaining fire was just enough to heat the water in the pot so that she could take a short bath.
Mrs. Du has always been very clean. Whether she was staying at Lu's or Yuan's mansion, she was too embarrassed to ask for permission. Now that she lives alone, she has more free time.
She was too lazy to go back to her room to eat, so she sat down by the stove, picked up the wooden bowl, and started eating with the pickled amaranth.
She felt that she was getting lazier these days. She was so listless that she didn't even want to cook. The warmth from the stove beneath her made her feel warm all over and a little drowsy.
She chewed the rice and thought to herself, the previous meals were all made by Mr. Yinhu's wife, right?
That woman is quite pitiful. I don't know how she became disfigured. Mr. Yinhu has always kept her by his side. They must have a very good relationship, right?
But Mrs. Du felt a little disappointed. How could Mr. Yinhu, such a free and easy-going master, suddenly not come?
Is it something urgent, or is he afraid that his wife will be wary of him?
Mrs. Du's face turned slightly red. What on earth was she thinking?
She was distracted when she suddenly heard a knock on the front door. When Mrs. Du heard the knock, she was delighted and stood up immediately.
Yinhu's servant knocked on the door three times in a row, but Mr. Yinhu knocked two short and two long. It meant that the master was coming!
She quickly washed her hands, tidied her hair, looked down, straightened her clothes, then took a step forward and hurried over to open the door.
As soon as she opened the door, she saw Yinhu standing in front of the door with a strange look on his face.
Mrs. Du subconsciously looked behind him and saw Lu Lingqi with a strange expression on her face. She quickly pulled Yinhu into the yard and blocked the door herself, saying anxiously, "Go out the back door!"
Her first reaction was that Yinhu was caught by Lu Lingqi!
As a result, the hidden tiger did not move. While Mrs. Du was in a daze, her wrist was grabbed by Lu Lingqi.
Lu Lingqi had a half-smile on her face and said to Yuan Xi, "She protects you so much. It seems that Madam Du is very worried about you."
Yuan Xi looked embarrassed and couldn't explain himself anymore!
A full quarter of an hour passed, and when the three of them were seated, Yuan Xi hesitantly explained the whole cause and effect. Mrs. Du had a dazed look on her face, and it took her a long time to sort out her thoughts.
I was wrong, but what was Mr. Yinhu thinking?
As the ruler of a state and a descendant of the Yuan family, he pretended to be a fortune teller and swindled people. Was the person he deceived being Marquis Wen?
You really are not afraid of death!
The key point is, he actually succeeded and even Lu Lingqi was deceived by him!
Seeing Mrs. Du's hopeless look, Lu Lingqi said with a smile: "Madam, you really haven't had any private conversation with your husband..."
After hearing this, the two waved their hands and said, "How is that possible!"
Lu Lingqi looked at the two of them and snorted coldly, "What is this all about? Where do you think I am?"
When Madam Du was afraid to speak, Lu Lingqi rushed over and hugged her, "It's great to see you again in a foreign country."
Mrs. Du saw tears flashing in the corners of Lu Lingqi's eyes, and her eyes also became moist and she was speechless.
Lu Lingqi took Madam Du's hand and glared at Yuan Xi fiercely, "This is all caused by my husband, ignore him."
Yuan Xi had a numb look on his face. Now he could only play dumb. Getting involved in women's affairs at this time would be tantamount to seeking his own death.
Seeing Yuan Xi standing there, Lu Lingqi snorted coldly, "You go back first. I have something to say to Madam Du."
Yuan Xi wiped the sweat from his forehead and said hurriedly, "You guys chat slowly, I'll be leaving first." After that, he walked out.
Madam Du wanted to see him off, but Lu Lingqi held her back and snorted, "Don't worry about him. He's definitely targeting you, Madam."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi quickened his pace and ran away.
Seeing Yuan Xi's guilty look, Lu Lingqi waved her fist triumphantly and pulled Mrs. Du aside to talk.
The two talked for quite a while before Mrs. Du realized that so many thrilling things had happened in the Lu Mansion and even to Lu Lingqi after she left. She was extremely shocked.
She whispered, "My lady, your fate is truly unfortunate. I ran away first."
"But if you survive a great disaster, you will have good fortune in the future. Madam has found her ideal husband now, so it can be said that all the hardship has paid off."
Madam Du was also secretly surprised that Lu Lingqi was not his legal wife. How could Marquis Wen bear to let her go?
Seeing Mrs. Du's expression, Lu Lingqi sighed, "My father probably felt that he couldn't protect me, so he entrusted me to him."
"Although my husband has many faults, he is a trustworthy person when it comes to fulfilling his promises."
After hearing this, Mrs. Du thought of Qin Yilu again and wondered if he was half as responsible as Yuan Xi, how could she have ended up like this?
She couldn't help but praise: "Madam, it is a blessing to find someone who can protect you."
Lu Lingqi snorted angrily, "He's just flirting with other girls everywhere!"
"In a few days, I will be returning to Jicheng with my husband. What are your plans, Madam?"
Mrs. Du hesitated for a moment, "Bingzhou."
Lu Lingqi sighed, "After so much war, if something happens over there, will Madam be able to protect herself even if she goes back?"
Mrs. Du also hesitated. She naturally understood what would happen if she went back alone and encountered a bad person.
She sighed, "What else can I do?"
"I am a woman. I don't have the ability to make a living, and I can't protect myself. If I don't rely on my family, how can I survive?"
"I can stay here forever, right?"
Lu Lingqi's eyes rolled, "How about Madam, come with me first?"
Mrs. Du was startled, "Madam."
Lu Lingqi patted her chest and said, "Madam's relatives in her hometown don't know what's going on yet. Now Bingzhou is full of Xiongnu people, and it's not safe. Why don't I send someone to look for Madam's family first? If they are still there, Madam, how about leaving later?"
"If the situation over there is difficult, Madam can always bring her family to Youzhou."
Mrs. Du hesitated. This was indeed a safe strategy, but following Lu Lingqi, wouldn't that be no different from before?
Seeing Madam Du's hesitation, Lu Lingqi took Madam Du's hand and shook it, saying, "To be honest, Madam, I am a little unsure when I return to Jicheng this time."
"She's my legal wife. If she really acts like a first wife and pressures me, I won't be able to handle it."
"I can't take out the Fang Tian Hua Ji, right?"
"If I had my wife to help me, I would be much more confident!"
Seeing that Mrs. Du was wavering, Lu Lingqi took the opportunity to pull her hand and shook it hard, "Madam, please help Ling'er~"
Mrs. Du had no choice but to say, "Then I will accompany you for a trip."
Lu Lingqi jumped up happily, "I knew Madam wouldn't want to let me go!"
"Don't worry, even though my husband is lustful, he definitely won't dare to touch you with me watching over him!"
Mrs. Du looked at Lu Lingqi's bright smile and thought to herself that she really looked like a carefree child.
News kept coming in that the Xianbei outside the Great Wall were ready to make a move on the border of Youzhou, so Yuan Xi quickened his pace to return to Jicheng.
Everyone was busy packing up things in the mansion. The large items were left behind because the situation was urgent and Yuan Xi needed to pack up and travel simply and rush back as soon as possible to take charge of the situation.
Autumn is the best time for nomadic peoples to move south. Although the Xianbei tribes outside the Great Wall are now loose, they are extremely powerful when they are gathered together. In addition, late autumn is much colder than in previous years. The poor harvest of grassland outside the Great Wall and the unharvested fields inside the Great Wall have prompted this trend of the Xianbei moving south.
In the north, it swept across Liaoxi and Liaodong, and even the Youbeiping border. In the east, it invaded several countries on the Korean Peninsula. Zhao Yun had already led his troops to the border to urgently meet up with Xianyu Fu and others to resist the Xianbei from entering the pass.
However, the Xianbei's entry into the Pass had both advantages and disadvantages. This move by the Xianbei not only caused harm to Yuan Xi's territory, but also the Wuhuan and Gongsun Du within the Pass were the first to bear the brunt. In particular, Gongsun Du, who was located in Lelang, Liaodong, was originally in charge of the countries on the Korean Peninsula and now faced direct impact from the Xianbei.
Yuan Xi secretly felt lucky. He was just unable to think of a good excuse to negotiate with Gongsun Du, but the Xianbei people brought him a pillow just as he was dozing off.
However, Yuan Xi understood that Gongsun Du was not a fool. He could easily negotiate peace with the Xianbei and then shift the blame to other people. So he had to make Gongsun Du understand the principle of "the lips and teeth are cold" and bring in the Wuhuan in Guannei to restrain each other.
From this point of view, Yuan Xi did have some geographical advantages. After all, the territories of Wuhuan and Gongsun Du inside the Great Wall were in direct conflict of interest with the Xianbei outside the Great Wall.
Jicheng and Beixincheng were only a few hundred miles apart. With the help of labor service to widen and level the road, the marching speed increased a lot. After seven or eight days, Yuan Xi arrived in Jicheng.
He saw from afar that Liu He and other officials were waiting at the city gate to greet him, so he jumped off his horse, hurried forward, and said, "Brother Liu, you have worked hard."
Liu He laughed and said, "This time, you have stirred up a big wave in the world again."
Yuan Xi replied: "It's all thanks to Brother Liu who is in charge at the rear."
He lowered his voice and said, "The emperor has a few words for me to pass on to Brother Liu. Let's go to the government office to discuss it in detail."
Liu He felt mixed emotions after hearing this. Was this a message from Liu Xie to him?
Thinking back to when he left Chang'an, Liu Xie was still a little ignorant and had suffered a lot. Now that he has gotten rid of the control of Li Jue and Guo Si, he can say that all the hardship has paid off.
Yuan said to Lu Lingqi behind her, "I have something important to discuss. You go back home first."
Lu Lingqi was a little angry. She was going to meet the eldest wife, and this heartless man didn't accompany her?
Seeing Lu Lingqi's expression, Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Don't worry, she is a very nice person and won't make things difficult for you."