Taiping Inn

This courtyard has two entrances and exits. One is the door that the carriage just entered, and the other door leads directly to the inner courtyard of the inn, which is used for cooking, heating, and boiling water. There will be a waiter guarding here all year round.

Li Xuandu asked the waiter for hot water, took a bath, changed his clothes, and then changed into a black long gown, a stone blue crane cloak, and upturned cloud shoes. Then he took out the folding fan with black background and gold characters that he got from Fan Wencheng, and looked like a young man from a wealthy family.

This is also unavoidable. In the South City where the Qian family is located, people who come in and out are either rich or noble. No matter how well they dress, they will not attract attention. If they are poor, they will attract attention. Li Xuandu does not want to attract attention, so he can only "follow the local customs".

Besides, visiting people to ask for help is also a courtesy.

Then Li Xuandu left the inn and went to the South City.

The land area of ​​South City and West City is almost the same, but the population of West City is more than 100 times that of South City, because South City is mostly the residence of wealthy families, which often covers hundreds of acres, so naturally "the land is vast and the population is sparse".

If you want to go from West City to South City, you either pass through North City or East City. Fortunately, Li Xuandu is now in East City, so you can go directly there.

After arriving in South City, the scene has changed completely.

Because of the coming and going of people in East City, all the snow has been swept away. Except for the roofs, there is almost no white. However, except for the necessary streets, other places in South City are still covered with snow, which makes South City more quiet.

Li Xuandu walked in South City according to his memory, and almost walked through half of South City. Finally, after asking two pedestrians, he finally found a long alley with an inconspicuous entrance. In the depths of the alley was a single-family door.

This is certainly not the ancestral home of the Qian family.

No matter what, when the Qian family followed Emperor Taizu in the uprising, they were already a powerful place. No matter how low-key they were, they would not settle down in such a place. This is actually a private residence of Qian Yulong, which is rarely known. As for the purpose of the private residence, it is naturally to hide a beautiful woman. There is no man in this private residence on weekdays. In addition to the beautiful woman who is hidden in the golden house and a group of maids who are responsible for serving, there is also an old woman with quite good cultivation. In her early years, she was also a big shot in the world, but she offended her enemies and was hurt by others. She had no hope of being promoted to the Return to the True Realm in this life, so she took shelter in the Qian family and became Qian Yulong's confidant. She is here to take care of her in her old age and to guard the house.

Speaking of this beautiful lady, her surname is Liu and her name is Yushuang. She can't be considered a canary. Her father is a wealthy businessman in Jiangnan. He has no sons, so he arranged a marriage for her. However, she didn't expect that her husband died early and she became a widow at a young age. After her father passed away, a group of relatives coveted her property. As a weak woman, she was oppressed by the clan rules and etiquette, and it was difficult to cope with it. Qian Yulong happened to know about this, so he helped her.

Since it was the eldest son of the Qian family who spoke, naturally no one dared to bother Liu Yushuang again, and she went to thank him. Qian Yulong had been interested in her for a long time, and later helped her several times. As a result, the two of them hooked up and Liu Yushuang became Qian Yulong's mistress. In other words, Liu Yushuang followed Qian Yulong, but she didn't enter the Qian family. After all, the threshold of the Qian family was too high, and she, a widow, might not be able to pass it. Even if she was lucky enough to cross it, she would be a concubine.

Although Li Xuandu had never married, let alone a concubine, he knew about wives and concubines.

Concubines were divided into "noble concubines" and "lowly concubines". If a betrothal gift was given, the concubine had a good family background, and her mother's family was not bad, but she had to marry into a family with a higher status than her own for other reasons, she would be a "noble concubine". Although she had to be obedient in front of the wife, she was not allowed to be beaten or scolded. There were also those who gave birth to a son, and the son was also very hardworking, and the mother was honored by the son, and she could be considered a "noble concubine".

In addition to these two types, other concubines, maids, prostitutes who redeemed themselves, and widows who remarried were all "lowly concubines".

You should know that the gap between the wife and the lowly concubine was as big as the gap between the Shenxiao Sect and the Fenglei Sect. The wife could kill and sell the concubines at will, almost like an item.

Although Liu Yushuang had the family property left by her father, it was far inferior to the Qian family. She was also a widow. If she entered the Qian family, she would be a "concubine" and allowed Qian Yulong's wife to do whatever she wanted.

She chose to be a concubine out of helplessness. Instead of entering the Qian family and becoming a concubine bound by rules and regulations, how could it be better to be free outside? After all, she had the family property left by her father and had no shortage of money to spend, so why should she look at other people's faces.

As for why Li Xuandu knew all this, it was because Qian Yulong had brought Li Xuandu here to show his closeness. The woman personally cooked a table of home-cooked dishes for the two of them. At that time, Li Xuandu called the woman "little sister-in-law" because of the social relationship.

Li Xuandu went forward and knocked on the door.

Not long after, the door opened a crack, revealing an old face. It was an old woman in her sixties, with a hunched body, gloomy eyebrows, drooping mouth corners, and a murderous look on her face, as if someone owed her thousands of taels of silver and didn't pay it back.

She looked at Li Xuandu expressionlessly and asked coldly: "What can I do for you, sir?"

Li Xuandu smiled and said: "My surname is Li, I am a friend of Brother Qian, I came here a few years ago."

The old woman was startled, staring at Li Xuandu for a long time, and then she suddenly said: "It turned out to be Mr. Li, why is Mr. Li here? The eldest son is not here at this time."

Li Xuandu said, "It's hard for me to go to Qian's ancestral home to look for him, so I came here and asked for trouble."

The old woman suddenly browed: "I have already said that the eldest son is not here..."

Li Xuandu whispered and said, "Whether the 'child talisman' or the flying sword to pass the letter, please report it."

The old woman was silent for a moment and nodded, "Please wait for Mr. Li."

Li Xuandu took a step back and stood in the alley outside the door and waited quietly.

The old woman closed the door and left. After about half a stick of incense, the door opened again. This time, in addition to the old woman, there was also the mistress of this private house, Liu Yushuang.

Liu Yushuang is a woman over thirty years old. Her face has not changed much. She is still as she was before, with her polite behavior and a mature woman's charm in her dignity.

Li Xuandu bowed and said, "I have met my sister-in-law."

Liu Yushuang gave Li Xuan a blessing and said with a smile: "I have lost my wish. I hope Mr. Li will forgive me and ask Mr. Li to come in and speak."

Li Xuandu shook his head and said, "Brother Qian is not in the mansion at this time. If I enter rashly, I am afraid that the etiquette will be inconsistent."

Liu Yushuang said generously: "I am not tilted. Since my uncle has led Mr. Li to this place, I naturally regard Mr. Li as a close friend. If I let Mr. Li guard outside the door, he would want him. I blamed me."

Since Liu Yushuang had already said that, Li Xuan couldn't refuse, so he followed her into the house.

The house is neither big nor small, it looks empty when it is big, but it will become cramped when it is small. It is just right if it is big or small.

After passing around a screen wall, there is the main hall.

After entering the main hall, Li Xuandu and Liu Yushuang sat down separately. A maid immediately brought tea. It was steaming hot, and the green bud tips floated on the water surface of the covered bowl, and they all floated upright there. It was the newly picked Ming Dynasty this year. It is also Qian Yulong’s favorite.

Li Xuandu's nose sucked the fragrance of tea floating from the cover bowl and praised, "Good tea."

Liu Yushuang smiled and said, "The first batch of Lion Peak new tea this year was picked when the buds were dewed at night. Yulong loves this one the most."

Li Xuandu smiled slightly: "Brother Qian is a person from Heytea, and he is the most particular."

After about a cup of tea, a loud voice rang out of the front yard: "Zi Mansion, Zi Mansion, I want to be a brother."

A moment later, a handsome young man entered the main hall, wearing a silk robe with white cicada wings, her chest exposed, revealing half of her white chest, and her hand was also a folding fan with white jade as a fan bone. She was really white. As for the young master Ruyu, he can barely be considered. It’s just that such a young man from a noble family is not romantic or arrogant, and he is not so noble. Even the arrogance and domineering of a playboy is lacking. Instead, he is born with a rash aura of a rude world. He is so angry that he can’t help but scream. Huh, the contrast is huge.

Li Xuandu and Liu Yushuang stood up to greet each other.

The visitor threw the folding fan in his hand to Liu Yushuang beside him, held Li Xuandu's arm, and smiled and said, "Li Zi Mansion, Li Zi Mansion, I finally saw you again. After years of separation, are you safe?"

The person who came was Qian Yulong, the eldest son of the Qian family.