In Sima Hong's memory, Mingyu called him "Second Master" and "Houye", but never called him by his full name. The little girl had a very bad temper, which showed that she was really angry this time.
Sima Hong was fearless except for making his wife angry, because she would ignore him if she got angry.
“No, I won’t let you go!” Sima Hong was getting stubborn. Afraid that Mingyu would get angry, he didn’t dare to keep silent like before. “You’re a liar. You clearly said at the beginning that you would wait for me to come back, but in the end you followed that villain named Lu... you!”
Talking about the past, Sima Hong felt that he had been deceived and fooled. He felt very wronged and angry. He thought bitterly that he should lock her up and never let anyone see her again, or just take her all the way to Xi'an Prefecture, so that he could feel at ease. He gritted his teeth and said this, but he was reluctant to let go of Mingyu. He held her tightly in his arms, fearing that if he let go, his wife would grow wings and fly away.
Mingyu lay on Sima Hong's chest, listening to the deep hum in his chest as he spoke, and watching the horses galloping through the knee-deep grass. They had already left the city gate and arrived in the suburbs of Beijing. The wild grass that had grown wildly in the summer had already turned mostly yellow, experiencing the last golden hour. She thought of the horse farm outside Tianshui a few years ago, when she also rode on a horse and galloped through the tall and lush flowers and grass.
It's just that the situation is very different now. At that time, she probably would never have dreamed that she and Sima Hong would come to this point.
Mingyu reached out and grabbed Sima Hong's clothes, whispering, "I'm not engaged to Lu Hao." She couldn't help laughing and said, "I don't like him, and I don't want to be engaged to him."
Sima Hong's breathing was just above Mingyu's head. After a few breaths, Sima Hong suddenly stopped Zhuifeng, hurriedly grabbed the girl's shoulders, and asked in disbelief: "What did you say? Say it again!"
Mingyu smiled with curved eyebrows and looked up at Sima Hong seriously. I don't know how long this guy hasn't cleaned himself up properly. His beard is untidy, his eyes are bloodshot, and he looks like a dusty and embarrassed man. Seeing him like this, Mingyu felt warm in her heart and said, "I said, I am not engaged to Lord Lu, and I will not be engaged to him."
Sima Hong also looked at Mingyu. During the months he was away, the little girl had obviously lived a good life. Her fair and tender skin was like fine porcelain, with a healthy pink color. Her big watery eyes shone with a cunning brilliance, which still fascinated him. Sima Hong looked at her without blinking, his eyes full of love for Mingyu, and he shouted in his heart, it's great, such a lively and beautiful Mingyu. She is his! It was worth his traveling day and night to rush back in fear, for fear that if he was a step late, his wife would be someone else's.
Mingyu lowered her head under Sima Hong's fiery gaze. She said, "Send me back. You must have scared my family members by doing this." If she didn't go back, she was afraid that Madam Xu would report to the government that a thug had robbed a decent woman in broad daylight.
Sima Hong was reluctant to send his wife back home just after he had held her in his arms for a while, but he also knew that he had gone too far today. Looking at his delicate wife, Sima Hong carefully held Mingyu in his arms. Her warm and slender body pressed against his chest, like a fire burning in his heart, making him feel hot all over.
Zhuifeng walked back slowly, Sima Hong prayed in his heart that he would walk slower and the road would be longer, but after a while, he arrived at the gate of the capital. After reaching the gate, more and more people came and went, Sima Hong got off the horse, let Mingyu sit on the horse, and he led the horse slowly into the city.
The two of them first arrived at Xu's cloth shop. When they were about three feet away, Mingyu saw Xu Changqian, Madam Xu, and Lixiang, who was crying like a tearful person, hurriedly walking out. It looked like they were going to report the case to the government. Mingyu hurriedly shouted, "Father, mother! I'm here!"
Hearing Mingyu's voice, Madam Xu and Xu Changqian turned their heads at the same time. Seeing Mingyu, Madam Xu ran over first. Mingyu quickly turned over and got off the horse. Madam Xu hugged Mingyu and burst into tears. Her legs went limp and she collapsed to the ground with Mingyu in her arms, crying, "My dear girl, you scared me to death!"
She thought she would never see her daughter again in this life.
Seeing her mother so frightened, Mingyu's eyes turned red and she choked up and said, "Mom, I'm fine, don't be afraid."
Seeing how frightened Madam Xu was, Sima Hong felt very sorry. He took two steps forward, helped Madam Xu up from the ground, and rubbed his hands, saying, "It's all my fault. I made my father-in-law and mother-in-law worry."
Mingyu supported her mother as she stood up. When she heard Sima Hong call her "father-in-law and mother-in-law", she was very upset. He called her so smoothly. He was really... shameless.
Madam Xu had just been crying loudly, and there were already groups of passers-by coming over to watch the fun. Mingyu took out a handkerchief to wipe Madam Xu's face, then quickly called Lixiang over, and together they helped Madam Xu into the cloth shop and walked to the backyard. Sima Hong tied the horse to the door of the cloth shop and followed them very consciously. Xu Changqian stared at him, then turned back to look at the people watching the fun, and walked into the backyard silently.
Mrs. Xu was extremely frightened just now. When she saw her daughter standing in front of her in good health, the taut string in her heart suddenly broke. Now she felt that she had no strength in her body. With the support of Mingyu and Lixiang, she barely walked into the backyard and sat on the stone bench in the yard to rest.
After Xu Changqian came in, he saw his wife was so frightened that her face turned pale. He pointed at Sima Hong and asked, "Are you the Marquis of Anxi? You are the one who kidnapped my daughter in broad daylight?" Except for the Marquis of Anxi, no one would be so arrogant as to call them father-in-law and mother-in-law...
Seeing his father-in-law's bad face, Sima Hong smiled and said, "There is inconvenience in communication between the capital and Xi'an Prefecture. There are some misunderstandings... I was anxious for a moment. Please forgive me, father-in-law. This will not happen again in the future."
After hearing this, Xu Changqian didn't waste any more words with Sima Hong. He turned around and went to the front shop, snatched the ruler that the clerk was using to measure the cloth, rushed into the backyard with the ruler, and beat Sima Hong on the head.
Sima Hong quickly stretched out his arms to cover his face, not daring to hide, fearing that hiding would displease his father-in-law. He took every blow from the iron ruler and said, "Father-in-law, please hit me as much as you want. It's my fault. Please calm down and don't get yourself hurt by it."
Xu Changqian was extremely angry, and his hands became more and more ruthless, "Who is your father-in-law? I am a poor man, I dare not claim to be related to the Marquis!"
It was early autumn, Sima Hong was still wearing a thin summer shirt, and the iron ruler made of pig iron hit him with loud slapping sounds, hitting his flesh with each hit. Mingyu was frightened when she heard it, and saw that her father had no intention of stopping after hitting him a few times, so she ran over to block Sima Hong, grabbed Xu Changqian's arm holding the iron ruler, and advised the furious Xu Changqian: "Dad, forget it, don't hit him!"
Then he turned to Sima Hong and said, "Go quickly."
Xu Changqian was a scholar, and he was already out of breath after a fight. After beating Sima Hong, his anger had almost subsided and his reason had returned. If he continued to beat Anxi Marquis, I'm afraid the emperor would not agree with him. Now that he had a way out, he snorted and threw the iron ruler onto the stone table.
Sima Hong knew that he had done something wrong today, and that he had gone too far under impulse. He bowed deeply to Xu Changqian and Mrs. Xu, who was still wiping away tears, and said sincerely, "It's all my fault, and I deserve this beating from my father-in-law. Father-in-law and mother-in-law, calm down first. I'll come to your house tomorrow to kowtow and apologize."
Seeing that Xu Changqian and Madam Xu still ignored him, Sima Hong looked at Mingyu deeply, turned around and left the shop.
Xu Changqian glanced at Sima Hong's departing back with a bad temper, and helped Madam Xu into the backyard wing. Seeing Mingyu follow in with her head down, she looked like she knew she was wrong. After all, she was his beloved, so he couldn't scold her anymore. He just sighed heavily, helped Madam Xu sit down, and sat down next to her. He said to Mingyu, "I've heard about Lord Lu from Lixiang. After what happened just now, I also understand what you think. I just want to ask you, have you made up your mind to follow him—Marquis Anxi?"
When Madam Xu heard what her husband said, she immediately became anxious. Without caring about anything else, she took Mingyu's hand and said, "Mingyu, don't be stupid again. How is Lord Lu not as good as Marquis Anxi? The Marquis looks glorious, but he is in danger on the battlefield... Think about the dirty things their family has done before... No matter how you look at it, Lord Lu is better than him. If you marry him, you will be a stable Mrs. Lu!"
Mingyu lowered her head and remained silent for a long while before finally saying, "I think he's... not bad."
Seeing her daughter's attitude, Madam Xu knew that Lu Hao's path was completely unworkable. She felt extremely sorry and sighed, "If I had known this would happen, I would not have done it in the first place!"
Mingyu's heart was in a mess. Things are unpredictable. She didn't know it would end up like this. It seemed that her road with Sima Hong was smooth, but when she thought about the problems she was facing, it was like looking at flowers in the fog.
The room was silent for a while. After a while, Xu Changqian broke the silence, "Where is Mingye? Isn't he on vacation today? Why can't I see him?" The clerk in the store ran to the yamen to find him and said that something big had happened at home. When he hurried to the store and listened to Lixiang's story in tears, he didn't think much about it. Now that he calmed down, he took his anger out on his son. If he was at home, this wouldn't have happened.
Mrs. Xu shook her head, looking lazy and listless. She had enough to worry about with her daughter, so how could she care about her lively son? "Who knows? He left home so early in the morning, and I don't know where he went. Maybe he's already home by now."