The hour clock struck the hour.
Alexie got up and said, "I'm going to sleep, Aunt Anna."
"Okay, if you need anything, you can come to me or Anushka and the others."
Alexie responded lightly to express his understanding.
After sending the boy to the door of the bedroom, Anna said goodnight to him before leaving.
She came to Karenin's private study, knocked on the door, and entered only after receiving a voice of approval.
She gently closed the door of the study and approached her husband, it seemed that his work had just finished.
"Have you finished your work yet?"
"Yes." Karenin tidied up the desk.
Anna will not help him at this time. On official matters, unless Karenin asked, Anna would not mess with the other party's things.
"I'm curious what you said to Alexie." Anna asked sweetly. With my right hand resting on the table, I am really curious now, and I have to hear the willful look of the answer.
Karenin was no longer surprised by his wife's appearance.
In the past, he would stop the movements of his hands very carefully and concentrate on answering her questions, but now, he is used to satisfying her curiosity while finishing his own work.
He got up to put the organized files on the hidden side of the bookshelf, and Anna followed him like a small drag bucket.
"What I told him is that he can stay in Petersburg, if he chooses to go to the military academy I arranged for him." Karenin paused, and fiddled with the book with his thin and strong fingers, arranging the documents accurately put in.
"And, I don't want to hear any bad rumors."
"But what if someone else bullied him?" Anna asked intentionally.
Then she saw her husband turn to look at her after he finished his work, his blue eyes flashed with indecipherable emotion, and finally, it seemed to surrender.
"Anna, I said don't let me hear it." After finishing speaking, Anna got a reproachful look.
Karenin then walked towards the desk again, put some letters away into different categories, and said casually: "No matter where you are, there will always be these things that need to be dealt with. It's the same even for people with family protection, but, It’s just handled differently.”
"In a place like a military academy, there will inevitably be some collisions and frictions, which are different from traditional boarding schools. Regardless of whether he is young and vigorous, or his family background, since he has chosen this path, he will inevitably be rejected again in the future." People stir up emotions."
"It's obviously irrational for him to be patient. In the past few years, he can always learn something to protect himself."
As these words fell to the ground, Karenin just closed the drawer.
"Were you like this before?" Anna asked with a soft voice.
She liked to know everything about Karenin, the good and the bad.
The bad part is always a little bit harder, which means heavier emotions and more heartache. But only when she understands those pasts better, Anna feels that she can find a better way to treat her husband.
Life is still a long time, and friction is unavoidable.
But rather than becoming at a loss and bewildered by that time, Anna would rather know in advance how to solve and appease her.
"It's not that bad, Anna. I'm not in the same situation as Alexei."
Karenin's voice was calm.
He took Anna's hand and asked her to sit opposite, but the latter gently refused.
"I just stand." Anna said with a smile, sometimes she likes this height.
Because of her height, Anna looked up to her husband most of the time.
The gesture of looking up means more reverence, and at the same time, Anna also understands that the person being looked up to also bears more responsibilities invisibly.
No man likes to look up to his own sex.
But no matter who it is, or most men, there have been times when they looked up to a woman.
That's mother.
That means dependence and trust.
At such times, Anna hoped to become someone Karenin could trust. She did not tell anyone about her secret thoughts, nor did Karenin ask them. More often, he persuaded her to sit down, or he slightly frowned to allow her this eccentricity.
At this time, he was like an ordinary man, a little slow that made people smile.
However, maybe the night tonight is too gentle, or it may be because we have been apart for too long.
The grown-up who was always too rigid and serious suddenly did something that touched Anna.
Anna was originally standing, right in front of Karenin.
After the latter sat down, he didn't open his mouth as usual, nor frowned slightly, he just raised his right hand, and put Anna's folded hand in front of his lower abdomen into his palm.
"a little cold?"
Karenin asked, and raised his other hand, pulling Anna closer to him, so close that Anna's knee touched the opponent's knee.
"No... well, a little?" Anna froze for a moment, and then asked another question.
Karenin glanced at her, frowned slightly, and finally relaxed.
"I hope you really kept your promise when you were at the Skiva's house, Anna." He said almost with a sigh.
Anna then smiled and let the other party warm her hands.
"I always try to take care of myself as best I can when I'm alone, but," she said after a pause and then a little shyly, "when I'm at home, I'm always negligent."
"It's very irrational," said Karenin, almost completely puzzled. He didn't even lift his eyes to look at his wife, but looked carefully at her hands to see if they were frostbitten.
Anna's little words of love did not bring more romantic words, but to her, the temperature of her palm surpassed everything.
After the last bad spring, Anna received a telegram from Karenin's sister.
In fact, it was their nephew Andrey who wanted to come to Petersburg to see his good friend Charlie.
For this, Anna happened to have an idea.
"What are your plans for this vacation, Alexey."
"I have a schedule. But I can spare a day, what's the matter?" Karenin asked.
When Anna heard this, she wanted to forget it, but after thinking about it, she told the other party her thoughts.
"Since Andre will come over tomorrow, Charlie's parents will also send him over, and Alexey, we are going to entertain three little boys at once this time. It would be too much to keep them trapped in this house." It shouldn't be."
"so?"
"So, what if I take the children to a dacha in the country for a few days? I'll take Anushka with them."
When she got married, Anna had full knowledge of Karenin's property status, because it was written on a scroll of parchment.
The dacha in the country wasn't Karenin's only property, and it wasn't the best, but there was also a large forest there, which was just the right season to go.
"I think it is feasible. I will arrange it in the afternoon." Karenin nodded and agreed to the decision.
"Then your arrangement?"
"It's not very important. For the time being, it can be postponed or postponed. I will spare a day. Don't worry, Anna." Karenin said, already having a rough arrangement for the meeting in his mind.
"You are so considerate, Alexei." Anna kissed Karenin on the cheek, smiled, and told him that she was going to tell Alexei about it.
Karenin looked at his wife's back, and looked away after a while.
His wife's soft voice was still in his ears, gentle, full of gratitude, and sincere.
What is the so-called marriage? The great man thought so.
You have lost nothing, but you have a wife.
She loves you and brings something more into your life.
She loves your loved ones and has become the mistress of your home, keeping your life in order.
Your relatives, you used to keep in touch with them at a stable frequency, starting with a friendly address and a decent greeting, the family relationship between you is not strong but warm.
But now.
The letters you receive start with Dear xx and become Dear xx and xx.
The frequency of you being mentioned in the letters gradually decreased, and your sister asked more about your wife. Then, the letters only addressed to you gradually also addressed to your wife.
She entered your life so easily. Fall in love with your loved one and make your life her own.
And you didn't even realize such a change, until one day, she had to interrupt your work and your arrangements in order to take good care of your loved ones, and you suddenly realized what she had done for you.
Thinking of this, Karenin moved his hands away from the document.
He folded his hands in a pensive pose.
If it is someone who does not know the truth, I am afraid that the chief is thinking about an important political decision, at least one that will directly affect a province.
But in fact, Karenin just suddenly realized that he didn't seem to have done anything for his wife.
So, Karenin thought, let it be so for now.
After returning from the department in the evening, Karenin got out of the carriage, still at the exact time, without delay at all.
He saw Peter smile inexplicably, but he didn't care.
Karenin returned to the hall with precise and steady steps.
Kearney took his coat, and he was loosening his cuffs when he saw his wife coming down the spiral escalator.
Today she was wearing the light green satin skirt she had seen in the daytime, but now she added a embroidered bright yellow shawl.
Some curly black hair came down, tied up slightly with a silver ribbon, and put aside, when he looked at him from the side, his slender neck was as beautiful as a swan.
"Welcome home."
His wife said, gray eyes shining like stars in the night sky. The corners of the lips are curved, as tender as red tassels.
The steward left, and the servants went about their business.
Karenin also walked towards his wife and stood still. After she blinked, he leaned over and kissed his wife on the lips, and said, "I will stay with you for three days, Anna."