The Pingyang City in early April is still very cold.

  When the wind lanterns in the Qingluoyuan were all hung up, Xie Yan only returned from the front yard. Mo He habitually took over the cloak handed over by Xie Yan and it seemed that Master Hou had come back directly from outside. Just thinking of hanging up the cloak, he smelled a faint scent of rouge. With no one noticing her around, she casually leaned in to take another sniff, and indeed it was the scent of rouge, which was different from Madam's.

  Marquis Hou had always been a clean and self-disciplined person, how could he have gone to such a place? But they were still in the third day of their honeymoon... Mo He's hands felt a bit constrained, rubbing the edge of her clothes, unsure of what to do. Just then, Li Niang was calling her to serve dinner. In a flash of inspiration, she quickly took off Xie Yun's cloak and only told Li Niang that Marquis Hou's cloak was dirty, she would go send it for washing and come back immediately. Li Niang naturally didn't know Mo He's thoughts, so she instructed her to hurry up and come back.

  Today's dinner was different from the previous two days, in addition to still following Xie Yan's taste and adding a few more light dishes, also added a spicy and sour meat foam dish.

  "Do you like spicy food?" Xie Xun elegantly moved his chopsticks, naturally noticing the difference in today's dishes.

  In the past few days, Xie Xuan had been very good at following the rule of "not speaking while eating", but now she suddenly opened her mouth to ask her, which made Qin Miao somewhat unexpected. "Yes, don't look at me from Jiangnan, but this flavor is not a bit Jiangnan, I have loved spicy flavors since childhood."

  Since the conversation had already started, Qin Miao didn't intend to be stingy and only respond with one sentence: "When I was young, all the dishes at home were from Hangzhou City, and they were all Hangbang cuisine. This Hangbang cuisine isn't bad, it's just not exciting enough. So I would make a fuss and refuse to eat until Father hired a chef from Shu, his skills..." As she spoke, she swallowed her saliva and smiled awkwardly at Xie Xuan.

  "But this meat dish is also very good, very good..." She quickly shut her mouth and focused on eating the rice in her bowl, because just a moment ago she was enthusiastically trying to introduce the culinary skills of that Sichuan chef to Xie Yun when she received a sharp glare from Master Xie's eyes, which left her feeling chilled to the bone.

  Got it! Food doesn't talk... It's not like I wanted to speak up, but you asked me if I love eating spicy food or not. Qin Miao didn't dare roll her eyes in front of Xie Yan, but she had already rolled her eyes countless times in her heart, and managed to finish this meal without losing her appetite.

  As the night fell, Xie Xun still slept on the inner side as usual, while Qin Miao lay on the outer side with her bedclothes pulled up. She knew that nothing would happen tonight, no one told her, but she just knew.

  Qin Miao stared blankly at the ceiling, a dark expanse that made it impossible to discern the flowers, birds, insects, and fish painted on it. As she gazed, she began to feel a little wronged, unjustifiably so. Since marrying into the Xie family, the person by her side was indeed her husband, the beautiful young master she had longed for, yet in recent days, they had exchanged few words.

  Although Xie Xuan is taciturn towards others in the Chao Lu Yuan, or even towards his ancestors, his elder brother Qin Yu is also not talkative outside, but in front of his sister-in-law Cui Feng, he is simply a chatterbox. Every time he comes back from going out, his brother will bring gifts for his sister-in-law, even if it's just going to the city to stroll around, he will bring some delicious pastries or snacks. As soon as he has free time, he accompanies his sister-in-law, even if it's just sitting by her side watching, they can spend a good half day together. In Qin Miao's understanding, this is what couples in the world should be like.

  But why is it that when it comes to myself, things are not like this? Qin Miao turned her head to look at Xie Yan lying beside her, only to see him still fast asleep with his eyes closed and his hands neatly clasped together on the quilt. His face was still so finely chiseled and handsome, yet such a handsome face had never smiled at her before.

  A surge of sourness rose from her chest, like the ants climbing up a tree she had seen as a child, crawling up her throat and reaching all the way to her nose. Then, the same sourness rushed into her eye sockets, making her lose control. A hot stream flowed down from her eyes along her cheeks, leaving Qin Miao at a loss for what to do. She hastily turned over onto her back, but that hot stream seemed unwilling to spare her, continuing to linger on.

  This is Qin Miao, for the first time in her life, she truly shed tears.

  It turns out that tears are bitter...

  The next morning, Qin Miao was still maintaining the posture of sleeping on her side. When she got up, she felt a slight soreness in her right hand. Although she didn't hold out hope, she subconsciously looked inside and found that Xie Yan was no longer there. She stared blankly at the empty space for a long time before calling in Zi Xuan to attend to her morning routine.

  Today, Qin Miao was very busy, as she was busy handing over the affairs of the mansion with Sun Shi. Just looking at the account books in the mansion took up almost half a day's time, and even her usual rest was skipped. When the lanterns were first lit, Po Feng, who was beside Xie Yan, came to report that Master Hou would not be returning for dinner tonight as he had social engagements with his colleagues. Qin Miao then simply ate something herself, ordered someone to light the lamps, and continued to huddle in the study looking at accounts.

  "Madam, it's getting late. You've been looking at the account books all day. Hurry up and rest, don't strain your eyes." Ru Mo brought in a bowl of red bean porridge as ordered by Li Mama, just in time to see Qin Miao sitting upright at the large desk, flipping through the account books. Under the soft lamp light, her small face was solemn and serious, but she still furrowed her brow, occasionally shaking her head.

  Qin Miao raised her head to look at Ru Mo and casually instructed, "Put it down." Suddenly thinking of something else, she added a sentence to Ru Mo, "Tonight's social gathering, can't avoid drinking. Hurry up and instruct the kitchen to prepare some hangover soup, wait for Master Hou to come back and drink. Remember, warm it up."

  Ru Mo watched as Qin Miao once again buried her head in a pile of account books, and the words she wanted to say got stuck in her throat. Although she had only been with this new mistress for a few days, Ru Mo genuinely liked Qin Miao. This was because Qin Miao never put on airs like some of the masters in the Hou Mansion, and she was also very kind to the servants on a daily basis. Especially when it came to how she treated Zi Xuan, Li Mama, and Yu Lu, Ru Mo had witnessed it all, and this was a mistress who could treat her close servants as family. So that day when she discovered the different lip color scents on Master Hou's cloak, although she decided to keep it hidden at the time, her heart couldn't shake off the feeling of unease, always thinking that she owed an apology to the new mistress. But if she said this, would the mistress think she was overstepping?

  Xie Yun was really drunk and wasn't carried back by Baofeng until the hour of You.

  Qin Miao, wearing her nightclothes, with the help of Ru Mo, finally laid Xie Yun down on the bed, simply wiped him clean and changed his clothes, persuading him to drink the sobering soup, had already taken up more than half a time period.

  With a bright red face, Xie Yan leaned crookedly against the golden silk pillow, her eyes dazedly staring at Qin Miao.

  "You look really good..."

  This was the first time Xie Yun praised Qin Miao, but it was when he was drunk.

  Qin Miao, who had been busy all day, originally had a dizzy head, but now it was clear and calm. The familiar sour feeling rushed out of her eyes, unstoppable, and a certain part of her heart was tightly grasped, the grievances accumulated over the past few days suddenly burst out.

  Then Qin Miao cried loudly on Xie Yan's body, why did she cry every time she met this person...