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  Qī Fēng Rán and his wife were the last to arrive. Huá Rú lowered her gaze when she first saw Qī Wǔ Shì, calmly walked forward to pay respects, and completed all the rituals. People who didn't know the situation couldn't tell that anything was different from usual.

  However, Qi You saw that if he had respect and affection for his mother before, now it was just politeness.

  Emotions have never been free; his mother has never understood this principle.

  Lao swept his eyes over everyone and said, "Now that we're all here, let's have dinner."

  "Yes."

  Hua Ru finished serving the two elderly people and hastily took a couple of mouthfuls before putting down her chopsticks. At this time, the food was no longer attractive to her.

  After everyone finished eating, Qi You got up and said calmly to his grandparents, "Grandfather, Grandmother, I'll take Ru Chu out for a walk."

  The two old men exchanged a glance, and thought of their grandson not going to the Crown Prince's mansion for work today, they understood a bit in their hearts, and were probably afraid that the tea garden was something entrusted by the Crown Prince.

  "Don't be too late."

  "Yes."

  The two were just about to leave when Qi Lin suddenly spoke up, "Wasn't it just the other day that I heard you had gone out of the mansion? And now you're going out again today? Isn't this not quite right?"

  The old man glared at her with a strange look, "What, didn't you promise to take care of this?"

  "How dare I think that, it's just that as a woman who usually stays indoors, going out and showing her face isn't quite right, also for the sake of the Qi Manor. Absolutely no other meaning." Saying this, Qi Lin Shi still looked at Hua Ru Chu with an apologetic expression, "Nephew, don't overthink it."

  Her good mood was ruined, Hua Ruochu lowered her head and twisted her hands, putting on a frightened expression without saying a word.

  Qilin said that it's really hard to pick out, originally because of hearing that Yu'er stayed at Huaru's place again last night and was dissatisfied with Qiwu, now also thinks this is the reason. A woman should not always go out and show off, even if it's for the prince's business, she can't leave the house so frequently.

  This will spread out a bad rumor and lose face for the entire Qi Manor.

  "Mother, I think Second Brother and Sister are right. Newcomer has just arrived and already caused trouble, which also affects her reputation."

  The old man hadn't even spoken yet, but the old master slapped the armrest of his chair, glared with tiger eyes, and thundered, "I've agreed to it, what's not satisfying you?"

  The people in the house were so frightened that they all stood up, and the three sons even knelt down with a soft knee, "I dare not."

  "I dare not shut my mouth, if I let you spread unpleasant rumors about Yu'er from your mouths, don't blame me for not giving you a chance to save face." The old man coldly swept his eyes over the few people in the room, and only softened when he looked at Qi You and his wife, "You two go."

  "Yes, I'll take my leave."

  As he turned around, Qi You coldly swept a glance at the three kneeling elders, his gaze lingering on his mother for a moment. In front of his grandparents, he was so arrogant, and yesterday when he went to pay his respects, his attitude was probably even more overbearing than this.

  The two of them walked out of the main courtyard in silence. Hua Ru Chu turned her head and instructed, "Tell Yun Shu to bring it out, we'll wait at the door."

  Qiu Jin looked worried and glanced at him, then nodded and quickly ran away.

  Qian An had already gone to instruct the sedan chair bearers to get ready as soon as they came out, leaving only two people facing each other in silence.

  Qī Yòu glanced at her and said, "Let's go."

  "Alright."

  All the way, neither of them spoke. Qiyou felt that the person beside him was even heavy in his footsteps at this moment, and his whole body was filled with coldness and fatigue. He suddenly became a little worried, would he be tired of such a life and disappear from his life?

  Such thoughts emerged and spread like long grass, Qi You almost couldn't control the urge to hold him in his arms and comfort him, but...the location was not right.

  From the main hall to the entrance of the mansion was very close, when the two came out, the sedan chair was already waiting at the door. Hua Ruochu didn't need anyone to attend to her, she lifted the curtain and got in, without being seen by others, she didn't have to maintain a dignified demeanor, Hua Ruochu relaxed her body and leaned against the sedan chair.

  She thought that with this errand she could go out freely, but it turned out that she was too naive. In this era, women cannot show their faces in public, it will affect their reputation.

  This is still following Qi You out of the mansion, if she were alone, her mother-in-law would probably drown her with saliva.

  This won't do, if she continues like this she'll suffocate, there must be a way, there must be.

  The curtain on the small window was lifted from outside, and Qi You slightly bent down to see the fatigue and anxiety that Hua Ru had not had time to hide when she first came in. His feelings were no longer calm as before, his heart was unstable.

  "It won't be like this in the future, I'll ask the prince to give me a secret order, with the secret order in hand, none of them will be able to say anything."

  "I hope so, husband. I got up early today and I'm a bit tired, I want to take a nap."

  She tightened her grip on the curtain, although she was used to calling him "husband" when they were out, but at this moment, he always felt a little different, as if... she was deliberately pulling away.

  Hasty footsteps echoed from behind, Qi You put down the curtain and turned around to see Yun Shu and others gesturing for Qi An to bring several servants over.

  "Let's go, be careful."

  "Yes, let's lift the sedan chair."

  The sedan chair swayed back and forth, Hua Ru had her eyes closed, thinking about how to make life in the inner house less suffocating.

  After some thought, it seems that the only way to shut those people up is to get a decree from the crown prince. As an iron-clad supporter of the crown prince, he has great authority over the Qi Manor. Even if it's just for show, she must seize the opportunity to leave the manor. What she needs to do is not just tea leaves, but also purple sand pots. Once Ma Bo opens up the situation here, her chances of leaving the manor will only increase, and it's best to lay a solid foundation now, lest it becomes even harder to move later on.

  To get more benefits, one must make sacrifices. Should I tell the prince about the benefits of the purple sand pot? Beautiful things are welcome everywhere.

  After informing Qi You, she no longer had the idea of putting the purple sand pot into the fake face pavilion. Instead, let the prince take advantage of it, and she didn't believe that the dignified Southern Dynasty prince would not leave some benefits for her after taking advantage of it. The rare and precious ones are naturally worth selling at a high price. At most, she took a small head.

  After thinking about it back and forth, the more she thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. To be honest, she had many ideas that could attract Tai Zi, but once they were exposed, Tao Jia would definitely come to her door, recognizing their relationship, which was not what she wanted.

  This life she has a father and mother, an elder brother, no longer needs extra relatives.

  Not to mention it's a family member with danger.

  Qī Yòu was also thinking outside, although the paths were different, they all led to the same destination. He didn't care about these problems that could be solved, his only concern was that Rú Chū had other thoughts, others might forget Rú Chū's origin, but he wouldn't. In the martial arts world, people have many tricks up their sleeves, as the daughter of the Alliance Master, Rú Chū might not know any of them at all, she was just holding back her sharp claws for now.

  He wanted to keep her, and then find another one that could move his heart, which was not easy.

  The heavy atmosphere continued until the tea garden, when Qi Jun rushed out to greet him and saw his master's face sink, even his skin trembled. Although his master had always been expressionless and taciturn, he was actually not difficult to get along with, but this kind of aura that made people dare not approach him was something he had never seen before.

  He swallowed hard and stepped forward to pay his respects, "Your humble servant has seen you, Master."

  Qī Yòu glanced at him and waved his hand, then ignored him again, his eyes falling on the tightly closed carriage curtains.

  "Arrived?" Hua Ruxu lazily asked upon hearing Qi Jun's voice.

  Yun Shu lifted the curtain of the small window and said, "Not yet in the tea garden, Qi Jun's manager came out to greet us. Do you want to get off and walk around?"

  "Alright."

  Qiu Jian hastily stepped forward to roll up the curtains, and Yun Shu supported Hua Ru as she came out. The bright sky made her feel like even her breathing was sweeter, and the rolling green hills seemed to purify all the turmoil in her heart. After releasing her emotions, the last bit of gloominess in her heart also dissipated, and her depressed spirit finally fully recovered.

  Her bright eyes looked at Qi You, "Husband, I want to go for a walk on Tea Mountain."

  Seeing her like this, Xi You's heart also relaxed a bit, "I'll go with you."

  "Alright, Yunshu, you all stay."

  "Yes."

  The two of them almost walked shoulder to shoulder towards the nearest tea mountain, Hua Ru Chu wore a long skirt that was almost touching the ground, it wasn't very convenient for walking, she had to hold it up with her hands, otherwise she would trip and fall, thus, they walked a bit slower.

  Qī Yòu had already turned back several times, endured for a moment, and still stretched out his hand to grab her arm, "Don't fall."

  At this time, the man had lost his coldness in front of others. Hua Ru just looked up at him and couldn't help but think that Qi You was indeed different to her, it's just that this difference weighed a few ounces more.

  Following the man's strength, they walked up together. Before long, their hands were clasped together, one strong and one soft, looking exceptionally compatible. Hua Ru Xian stared at their hands for a while before smiling, but it was just an appearance. Qi You wasn't someone who lacked emotions, she didn't want to be confused by temporary warmth.

  To guard one's heart is the best policy.

  All the way to the top of the mountain, the two people's hands did not let go, even when Hua Ru bent down to look at the tea leaves, Qi You also bent down with her movement, not letting go, but also not releasing.

  This guy... is actually a bit thick-headed. This is Hua Ruochu's new boyfriend, but she won't say it out loud. A man's dignity still needs to be maintained after all.

  "The tender shoots on this piece can be picked now, they have grown just right."

  Qī Yòu looked at her joyful expression, no longer seeing the fatigue of being in the mansion, so vivid, so dazzling. Perhaps, after the Crown Prince ascends to the throne and the crisis in the Qī manor is over, he can often take her out like this. She loves tea so much, he can build a separate courtyard here for her... she should love it very much...

  "Let's go take a look at the old tea tree over there."

  "Okay."

  This time Hua Ru walked ahead, and her speed was very fast, almost jogging. Qi You was pulled to quicken his pace, losing his usual calmness, but in his heart, he felt an unprecedented lightness and joy, he liked this feeling of gain and loss.

  P: In ancient times, women in the inner courtyard had many rules and it was basically impossible to go out from time to time. Of course, Hua Ruochu couldn't always be like this, but she would also have to experience a period of such days before breaking free. If she were to enter the mansion without any restraint, that would be nonsense. Wouldn't this chapter just solve her problem of leaving the mansion?

  As for the weak and delicate appearance of the imperial concubine, after she got used to her life as a woman, what others considered humiliation was no longer humiliating to her. Sometimes being weak and delicate could also be a good protective umbrella. Which chapter is my protagonist suffocating to death? These few chapters are almost suffocating me to death. (If you like this work, welcome to subscribe, reward, your support is my greatest motivation.)

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