When they looked up, the two women were startled for a moment. Then, joy quickly appeared on their faces.
Xiao Cui had said that he had returned to the capital, but they had missed him a few days ago. In fact, they had not gone out these days.
The joy on Zeng Zuimo's face was quickly concealed. Wan Ruoqing quickly took a few steps forward and then paused. Although she was excited, her voice turned into calmness.
"Xiao Cui said before that she thought you would come over in a few days."
Li Yi nodded. Without any courtesy or awkwardness, he nodded and said, "I've been delayed by some matters these few days."
Wan Ruoqing looked at him and asked with a smile, "How is Madam Li?"
Neither of them noticed that Zeng Zuimo's body trembled slightly when she heard this. She looked at Li Yi and then quickly looked away.
"She is fine."
Li Yi looked back and asked, "Was the one who went out just now assistant minister Zeng of the Ministry of Revenue?"
The security around Willow Alley was not low. However, all of this was on the premise that they did not disturb their daily lives. Those ignorant playboys or those with ulterior motives could not even get close to the gate. However, if they had their permission, no one would stop them.
Wan Ruoqing nodded and then turned to look at Zeng Zuimo.
Zeng Zuimo had already stood up and walked over. Looking at Li Yi, she said softly, "I am sorry."
"Huh?" Li Yi was startled, not knowing why she would suddenly say this.
"I was actually at home that day." Zeng Zuimo lowered her head. "If it wasn't for me, this would not have happened."
This matter had actually been buried in her heart for a long time. The two emotions of self-blame and guilt intertwined in her heart every day. It was only at this moment, when she saw that he was safe and sound with her own eyes, that her heart could finally be at ease.
Li Yi finally remembered that he had been to Willow Lane that day. At that time, Xiaocui said that Zeng Zuimo was not there. When he went back, he met the Taoist Nun.
At this moment, he smiled and waved his hand, as if he didn't care about this matter at all. He said, "This has nothing to do with you. She originally planned it. If it wasn't that day, it could have been the second day, or the third day."
Instead of asking why Zeng Zuimo asked Xiao Cui to lie that day, Li Yi looked at her and asked uncertainly, "That assistant minister Zeng …"
Zeng Zuimo whispered, "It's my second uncle."
Suddenly hearing this news, Li Yi was startled. He looked at her and asked, "This … What is going on?"
He could feel Ceng Zuimo's emotions at this moment. After saying this, he immediately changed his words. "If it's not convenient …"
"It's not inconvenient." Zeng Zuimo shook her head. "It's all in the past."
She walked towards the door. "I'm about to go to the shop. Let's talk on the way."
…
Li Yi really didn't expect that she actually had such a story.
More than a decade ago, the Zeng family was not very prominent, but in the capital city, it was also regarded as a rich family. Of course, the Zeng family at that time was not the Zeng family now.
Zeng Zuimo's father seemed to be a small official in the Ministry of Revenue. Later, because of a mistake in an important matter, he was involved in the struggle in the court and was pushed to the teeth of the storm. As a result, the direct line of the Zeng family suffered a heavy blow. The men were punished, beheaded or exiled, and the women were sent to the Musical House, while the others were safe.
Later, the second branch of the Zeng family got in touch with the Cui family, so the Zeng family recovered. Zeng Shichun was even promoted to the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue. In fact, today's Zeng family was more prominent than ten years ago.
As a direct line of the Zeng family, Zeng Zuimo was implicated at a very young age. After several twists and turns, she moved to the Musical House, the Jade Courtyard, and then redeemed herself and came to the capital city …
She had never mentioned these things before, so it was the first time for Li Yi to know.
Li Yi looked at her and asked, "Are there any family members in the Musical House now?"
Zeng Zuimo shook her head and said, "My mother had committed suicide before they came to confiscate our house. In fact, I am the only one."
Li Yi had heard about what happened in the Musical House and the brothel, and then associated it with her decisive and almost stubborn character, he could roughly imagine how she grew up step by step from the daughter of an official to become what she was now.
How many hardships and sufferings she had suffered, even if he had lived two lives, he could not understand it at all.
Thinking of these things, he inexplicably felt a little sad in his heart. Zeng Zuimo inadvertently raised her head and happened to catch a certain expression on his face.
Li Yi's heart sank. He was worried that with her character, she might regard this as pity or pity, so he hurriedly explained, "Don't …"
Seeing his nervous look, Zeng Zuimo smiled, and a trace of warmth surged in her heart. She asked, "What about you? Where have you been these months?"
Ruoqing, who had not spoken all the way, also turned to look at him.
"All the way to the west, first to Shuzhou, and then stayed in the Qi Kingdom for two months …"
Li Yi gave a brief account of his journey over the past few months. As for the dangerous parts, he naturally skipped over them in a single sentence.
Even so, the two women heard something different from his words. They clenched their fists in their sleeves, but did not show the slightest emotion on their faces.
A few steps behind him, the shock on the face of the sloppy old man had never faded.
At this moment, he finally understood why that shortcut was always blocked …
Li Yi did not say much on this topic. When passing by a clothing store, he cleverly changed the topic.
In terms of clothing, the capital city had undoubtedly set the trend for the Jing Kingdom and even the surrounding countries. The dazzling array of clothing had caused the eyes of the women to be dazzled. As for undergarments, most of the women had already accepted them. Although there were still some conservative women who still resisted, they could no longer affect the vigorous reform of undergarments.
The brothel had not changed much. In fact, the operating model had matured, and the number of brothels in the capital had long reached saturation. In these months, in addition to expanding to more distant states and counties, they also took root in their respective places, and gradually became a daily thing for the people.
Every midnight, Wan Ruoqing would vaguely remember that more than a year ago, when the brothel was about to close and everyone was worried about their livelihood, he broke into everyone's sight with a disdainful attitude.
At first, he just wanted to live and survive in such a world. Later, he didn't have to worry about living, and he wanted to let the performers of Qing 'an Mansion live a better life. Later … it became what it was today.
The magnificent picture that he had imagined at the beginning would probably be realized in the near future.
Li Yi estimated the time and said, "It's getting late. Let's find a place to eat first."
"Why don't we go back and cook?" Wan Ruoqing suggested.
Li Yi pointed to the restaurant in front and said, "In a while, we'll go to the shops and brothel in front to take a look. Let's make do here first."
Wan Ruoqing nodded, and Zeng Zuimo naturally had no objections.
Ever since all kinds of new plays began to rise in the capital, whether it was the common people or the powerful officials, many people had developed the habit of listening to plays. Many restaurants in the capital had also undergone some changes.
After entering the restaurant, the first thing they faced was a stage that was half the height of a person.
On the stage, there were performers specially hired by the restaurant to perform for the guests to enjoy.
In the lobby on the first floor, facing the stage, the tables were arranged in the shape of stars. The position on the second floor was better, and one could see the whole scene from a high place. Of course, the corresponding price was more expensive.
When Li Yi and the two women walked into the restaurant, it should be mealtime, but there weren't many customers eating. From the outside, this should be a high-end restaurant. Ordinary people probably couldn't afford it, so it was normal for such a situation to occur.
Soon, a waiter came to greet them. At this time, somewhere on the second floor, wine glasses were clinked, but they were not taken back.
Seeing this, someone asked curiously, "Young Master Qin, what's wrong?"
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