The first day of August was a beautiful autumn day with clear and cool weather.
Xiao Qi went out early in the morning, humming a tune as he drove the carriage to Xu's house. The sun was shining and he was in a good mood. The wheels of the carriage made light sounds on the bluestone slabs. After Xiao Qi got off the carriage, he knocked on the door of Xu's house.
The one who opened the door was the girl next to Xu Mingyu. She glanced at Xiao Qi, was stunned for a moment, and quickly opened the door, rubbing her hands and saying, "Hey, Xiao Qi, why are you here?"
Xiao Qi smiled and put his hands on his hips, "Why, Master Qi, I can't come?"
Li Xiang pouted. This kid was not even as tall as her shoulders, and he dared to call himself "Seventh Master"? ! Lu Hao did not come by himself, but asked Xiao Qi to come every now and then to deliver some things. The Xu family was not without opinions. Even though Li Xiang was good-tempered, she was dissatisfied in her heart, and her eyes looking at Xiao Qi were a little subtle.
Xiao Qi didn't notice Li Xiang's expression, and just smiled and said, "I'm back for good things!" Then, he walked into the Xu family's yard as if he knew the way. He looked around and saw that the yard was quiet, so he asked, "Where is your master? Is no one home?"
Mingyu was practicing calligraphy in the room. When she heard Xiaoqi's voice, she opened the curtain and came out, saying with a smile, "Seventh Master, what are you talking about? Aren't Lixiang and I human beings?"
Xiao Qi looked up and quickly looked away. Mingyu was wearing a plain white autumn shirt and an apricot-yellow high-waisted skirt. Her clean and fair face was not made up, with a healthy blush. She was dressed neatly. At first glance, she seemed just an ordinary beautiful girl. However, when she smiled at people, her eyebrows were curved and the corners of her mouth were slightly raised, as if the brilliance radiated from her in an instant, making her lively and charming, making people can't help but brighten their eyes.
No wonder I couldn't forget her since I saw her! Xiao Qi couldn't help but think.
"You and Lixiang are of course human!" Xiao Qi shouted stubbornly, ignoring Mingyu's mocking "Seventh Master", and her immature face turned suspiciously red. She coughed twice. Pretending to be serious, she said, "I'm looking for Lord Xu and Madam Xu to discuss something important."
"What a coincidence." Mingyu smiled and spread her hands, "My parents are not at home today. My mother will probably not be home until noon."
Xiao Qi groaned and scratched his head. He couldn't wait that long, as he had other things to do later. He hesitated for a moment, thinking that it would be the same if he told Xu Mingyu about the matter. So he said casually, "Then I'll tell you. It's like this. My master asked the Minister of Revenue, Lord Gong, to act as a matchmaker. I will accompany Lord Gong to visit tomorrow. Lord Xu and Madam Xu must be at home tomorrow!"
Lord Gong is a veteran figure, highly respected, and popular. It is not easy to ask Lord Gong to act as a matchmaker, and it would be embarrassing to be turned away.
Mingyu opened her mouth slightly in surprise. She frowned, and the emotions that surged in her heart were panic and confusion. She originally thought that Mrs. Lu did not agree, and there was no room for negotiation on this marriage. But Lu Hao directly asked the Shangshu to be the matchmaker. Once that Lord Gong came to the door, I am afraid that this marriage will be settled.
"How could it be..." Mingyu was panicked and confused, secretly hating herself for not taking it seriously before. Before Xiaoqi came, she was thinking that it was already August and she had to urge her father to return all the gifts Lu Hao had sent. Her wishful thinking led to the situation going in an irreversible direction.
Xiao Qi glanced at Mingyu with a smile, and automatically interpreted Mingyu's frightened expression as surprise. "Why not?" Xiao Qi smiled and said, "Master Xu and Madam Xu must be at home tomorrow! Our master will definitely bring Master Gong to visit!"
Mingyu forced a smile with difficulty, "This... is too hasty... Besides, your wife doesn't like me either, I think it's better to..."
"Don't talk nonsense!" Xiao Qi's face was stern. He would never tolerate anyone saying anything bad about Lu Hao. Even if it was about Lu Hao's mother. Mingyu was Lu Hao's fiancée. She was able to marry Lu Hao because her ancestors were buried in the right place and she had accumulated virtue for several lifetimes. She should think about Lu Hao wholeheartedly and respect Lu Hao's mother. Saying such things was simply treasonous.
Seeing Mingyu's smile faded and her face turned stern, Xiaoqi felt a little timid. She realized belatedly that she had spoken too harshly just now. With a flattering tone, Xiaoqi spoke up and said with a smile, "Hey, that's not what I meant. Our old lady is a little strict, but she is a very good person. Don't have any ideas. Look how good our grandfather is to you and how much he cares about you! He even invited Lord Gong, and Lord Gong has never been a matchmaker for anyone in his life!"
"Didn't we agree at the beginning that you would wait for our reply? Why did you suddenly..." Mingyu asked with a frown. No matter what, she couldn't let that Lord Gong come to her house to propose marriage, otherwise everyone in the capital would know about it. How could her parents then refuse
Xiao Qi looked at Mingyu in surprise and wonder, "Answer? What answer?" Could it be that the Xu family would not agree to this marriage? How could it be possible? Even their master looked down on her, so Xu Mingyu could only marry the most noble emperor in the world. "Forget it, I won't say any more to you. Remember to tell Lord Xu and Madam Xu!"
After saying that, Xiao Qi winked at Mingyu proudly and hurried out. After getting on the carriage, Xiao Qi's originally smiling face immediately darkened. Touching his smooth chin, he felt vaguely uneasy. Looking at Xu Mingyu's appearance, she didn't have the shyness and expectation of a bride-to-be, which made people feel that something was wrong. However, Xiao Qi thought about it and couldn't tell what was wrong. In short, it couldn't be the problem of his wise and powerful master.
Maybe all women who remarry are like this
Li Xiang watched the carriage speed away outside the door, and quickly closed the door. Looking at Mingyu with a frown on her face, she asked anxiously, "Miss, what should we do?"
Mingyu gritted his teeth, clenched his hands into fists, looked up and said to Lixiang: "Go to the store to find my mother and tell her to come back soon." Lixiang responded and was about to go out. Mingyu was worried, so he stopped her and said, "I'll go with you."
The two of them hurried out, and the moment they closed the door, a figure flashed by on the wall.
The main door of the Xu family's main house opens into the alley. On weekdays, except for some pedestrians coming and going in the morning when neighbors go to buy vegetables, the rest of the time is very quiet. Everyone lives their lives behind closed doors and very few people appear.
Before they walked out of the alley, they heard the sound of horse hooves behind them. Mingyu was so anxious that he didn't pay attention to the back. He just pushed Lixiang to the side of the road, afraid of blocking the horse riders behind them.
However, just as she was pulling Lixiang forward and the sound of horse hooves was approaching her ears, the rider leaned down, and a pair of strong hands silently passed through her armpits, and with a sudden force, lifted her up into the air.
Mingyu felt that suddenly, the world was spinning, and the feeling of weightlessness hit her all of a sudden. In panic, the blood in her body seemed to stop flowing. The scream in her throat was covered by someone. When she came to her senses, she found that she was sitting sideways on the horse, facing the rider, with someone hugging her waist tightly. The rider's tall body was straight and sturdy, and his arms seemed like two solid iron chains, locking her tightly in his arms.
Mingyu's face was pressed against the man's chest. She couldn't see his face, but his chest was warm and hard. Through his thin autumn shirt, she could still smell the masculine scent of his sweat, and the man's steady and long breath was spraying on her head.
As soon as he sat firmly, the man held Mingyu in his arms with one hand, controlled the reins with the other hand, squeezed his legs against the horse's belly, and accelerated forward.
Li Xiang was so frightened that her eyes widened. The emperor was in a clear and bright place. At most, she had heard of kidnappers who had cheated the daughters of good families and sold them, but she had never heard of anyone who dared to kidnap people openly. How daring and cruel that person must be! It was not until the horse passed her and ran forward that she came to her senses and burst into tears. She was anxious and afraid, and ran after it. However, how could a girl like her catch up with a good horse? After a while, the black horse disappeared from her sight. She could only see the strong and straight back of the rider and the apricot-yellow skirt of her own lady flying in the wind.
Lixiang couldn't catch up with the horse, so she stamped her feet, her face full of tears, and turned around and ran towards Xu's shop.
Mingyu could still hear Lixiang's cries at first, but after a few breaths, she could hear nothing but the sound of the wind blowing past her ears. Her captor was obviously an extremely skilled rider, so he simply let go of the reins and put one arm around her waist, with his big, strong hand on the back of her head. Mingyu's entire upper body and forehead were pressed against the man's chest.
At first Mingyu was a little scared, her heart was beating non-stop, but when her eyes wandered to the man's waist, she saw the familiar scent sachet hanging on his gray coarse cloth robe. For some reason, Mingyu breathed a sigh of relief. She was about to sit up straight, but the man refused to let go and insisted on holding her in his arms. Mingyu blushed when she smelled the man's scent.
“Put me down,” Mingyu said. “Lixiang must be frightened to death.”
He didn't say anything, and hugged Mingyu tighter, his heart full of annoyance and anger. She was just a little liar who was used to lying! She had clearly agreed to wait for him to come back before she left, but in the blink of an eye, she was going to marry someone else, and even the matchmaker was coming to the door. In anger and grievance, he just wanted to rub the slender girl in his arms into his own body, but he was reluctant to use force for fear of hurting her.
He thought, just take her to Xi'an Prefecture. He didn't dare to wait any longer. There were too many variables that he couldn't control. If he missed one step, his wife would no longer be his. He would buy a house in Xi'an Prefecture, get married, and after three or five years, bring Mingyu and the child back. By then, it would be a done deal, and Xu Changqian and Madam Xu would have no choice but to recognize him as their son-in-law.
This idiot! After a long while, there was no response. Zhuifeng was still running forward happily. Mingyu was furious.
"Sima Hong! Stop right there!"