Records of the Cattle and Horses of Chang'an

Chapter 376 The Iron Tree Blooms

Xiao Jiang gave Yanxia a questioning look. Yanxia raised her chin towards Li Xueyan: If you want to know, ask yourself!

"Hurry up and tell me! Otherwise I won't be polite!"

Jiang Shangxian rubbed the soft flesh on her waist a few times as he spoke, causing Li Xueyan to giggle uncontrollably. Her face turned red as if blood was about to drip out, and she begged for mercy repeatedly: "Okay, okay, I'll tell you what I mean. There are so many people here, don't tickle me!"

"Speak!" Xiao Jiang temporarily stopped the attack of his happy little hands.

"Yes, yes. Yesterday I went to look for him and saw a hollow white jade scent bag. He saw that I liked him, so he gave it to me."

As soon as she said that, Li Xueyan felt like she was on fire. She kept slapping her face with her hands. "It's nothing. I just got it for being thick-skinned."

"hiss...."

Jiang Shangxian took a breath and said, "Where? Let me see, Zhao Shan is the most stingy guy. Normally, he wouldn't give anything even if you asked. But you said you liked him and he gave it to you. Isn't that a big deal?"

The sun is rising in the west, the stingy man is plucking the feathers on his own initiative, Zhao Shan, this old tree is about to bloom!

Jiang Shangxian was so excited that the little sisters were about to achieve their wishes that he wanted to jump around on the spot. Now everything was fine and he could finally rest assured!

"Here it is"

Li Xueyan was delighted to hear her words. She had just said it casually at the time and didn't expect that stingy Zhao Shan to give it to her. Who knew that he would give it to her just like that? She was so happy that she felt silly.

"Be careful, this thing won't stand being dropped." She carefully took a purse from her waist, untied the drawstring, and held it in her hands to show Jiang Shangxian: "This is it. It's not really a fine jade, but the carving is lifelike, and it's delicate and small. It's not too heavy to carry around."

Although she is usually carefree, she became a little shy when she received the first gift from her lover, and was hesitant to praise the white jade sachet which was not worth mentioning to her.

Xiao Jiang didn't dare to touch it. He glanced at it for a few seconds and told her to put it away. "Don't eat it here. It might cause a disturbance with so many people around. Just wait in the carriage. I'll get it out for you. You can eat it with Zhao Shan."

Li Xueyan's eyes were bright, her heart was beating fast, she smiled and didn't refuse.

Yanxia secretly gave Xiao Jiang a thumbs up: It still has to be you, Aunt Jiang!

At the same time, about eighty miles from Chang'an City, a ten-man escort was escorting more than ten carriages slowly along the official road. A dashing, dark-skinned girl lifted the curtain and peeked out. Her bright, dark eyes immediately curved, and she turned her head and said joyfully, "Madam, we're almost in Chang'an!"

The girl was Huirong. After not seeing her for several months, her skin, which was once delicate, looked a little dry and her cheeks were red. It was obvious that she had been severely exposed to the wind and sun. However, her mental state was exceptionally good, and she was much more lively than when she was in Cui Mansion.

In the carriage, Liu Manqiang, with her head full of silver and a few mottled black hairs, still looked a little sick, but her spirit was much stronger than before. Her eyes could not withstand the invasion of time and had deep wrinkles on them, inevitably drooping a little, but a beauty is still a beauty in her old age.

She looked at Huirong with eyes full of fondness: "It's windy outside. Even though it's almost time, you should take care of your face. How can a young lady be so dark?"

Zheng Qiuyi was no longer as serious and vigilant as she was at the Zhao family. Although she was not completely relaxed, she did have a hint of a smile on her face: "Madam, this girl is very wild. I don't know how you can stand her!"

Huirong smiled, revealing a mouthful of large white teeth. Her two front teeth were larger than the other teeth, making her look particularly like a black rabbit. "Grandun, Madam really likes me. I haven't been around these days, so I don't know how Madam is doing these days."

"I haven't seen Yue Niang for many years." When talking about her only daughter, Liu Manqiang couldn't help but show some worry on her face, and more of it was deep longing.

Nowadays, how many parents don’t want their daughters to marry far away, just because they are afraid that they will see each other less and less due to the long journey?

CCTV always sings when the Chinese New Year is approaching: Go home often, go home often...

Not to mention that in the Tang Dynasty, where infrastructure was poor and transportation was even more inconvenient, Liu Manqiang missed her daughter every day and night at the Zhao family. She took out her daughter's childhood clothes and toys countless times and touched and looked at them over and over again, which allowed her to survive in that deep courtyard.

At this moment, what she was holding in her hand was a headband, which was of average embroidery and decorated with only some gems. It was very old and the color had faded to the point that it was unrecognizable. However, it was well preserved, and it was obvious that it was used very carefully.

This was the embroidery that Zhao Yue had been forced to learn needlework from. It took her quite some time to finally embroider it as a job. She knew her own daughter well, and she was a very restless person. She was very reluctant to embroider a headband for her when she was asked to do so.

"Don't worry, old lady. Didn't Huirong say that? Madam is doing very well now. She can eat and sleep well. Jiulang is getting married too. What a happy event! Weren't you worried about Jiulang's reluctance to get married before? Now everything is fine."

Zheng Qiuyi and Huirong are relatives, but they are a bit distant. That's how it is with children born in a family. They can always be related in some way.

"Old lady, Jiulang is very capable now. He is good at martial arts and studying. He has become the Shaoqing of Dali Temple at such a young age. You will definitely like him when you see him!" Huirong was full of pride when she mentioned Cui Bianxu.

"You said before that the woman engaged to Jiulang was a commoner?" Liu Manqiang asked again, fearing that she had remembered it wrong.

When Jiang Shangxian was mentioned, Huirong's expression was a little strange. The first time they met, they had a fistfight. After that, she had been listening to Jiang Shangxian's stories with an awkward expression. Every time, she wanted to stop listening, but she couldn't bear to do it. If she was asked to say something bad about Jiang Shangxian, she couldn't say it, so she just said something good...

It’s also a bit difficult!

"That Miss Jiang is indeed from a commoner family, and she is a little lacking in manners. When I left Chang'an, she was still learning from Madam in the mansion."

Unexpectedly, Liu Manqiang burst out laughing after hearing this: "Then I must take a good look at how well she teaches!"

Her daughter is not a well-behaved person!

When Zhao Yue had just married into the Cui family, she received the most letters from her daughter, almost one every two or three days, all of which were complaints about the Cui family's many rules and how annoying they were.

She felt both distressed and amused when she held the letters at the time, but gradually the letters became less and less. Her children had started their own families and needed to manage the household, serve their parents-in-law, educate their children, and hold their husband's heart. She could understand this.

But that feeling was ultimately one of loss, loneliness, and solitude. Later, when her father and mother passed away, it seemed as if she was the only one left in the world...