The subtle fragrance of cotton needles

Tu Song was discussing matters at the residence of the Minister of Rites when he suddenly saw a servant from the Ma residence rushing in. He glanced at Tu Song and said, "Master, someone is coming from the residence of the Right Prime Minister, without waiting for the Minister to ask."

Minister Ma subconsciously looked at Tu Song, and Tu Song was also a little surprised. He came out to discuss matters, and his family members generally would not come to him unless there was something important.

"What happened?" Tu Song asked calmly without showing any emotion.

"I don't know. It's just that the servant from your house came and didn't tell me what happened."

Tu Song thought about it for a while, then stood up and bowed to Minister Ma, saying, "Minister Ma, I'm sorry. There was an emergency at home, and I have to go back to deal with it. I hope you will forgive me."

"Prime Minister, please go ahead. I will take care of the rest. Xiao Li, go and prepare the carriage for the Prime Minister."

"Thank you, Minister Ma." Tu Song then went out.

"You really don't know what happened?" Minister Ma waited until Tu Song walked away, then asked the servant meaningfully.

The servant really didn't know and just shook his head.

When Tu Song came out of the Ma Mansion, he saw his servant. He did not say anything, but asked the servant to get on the carriage. After the carriage had left the street for a while, he asked the servant, "What happened?"

The servant handed Xia Yanxiang's letter to Tu Song, and then said what Shen had asked him to tell Tu Song: "Master, Madam asked me to tell you that she and the young master have already gone to the Xia Mansion. Please don't go back home, just go directly to the Xia Mansion."

Tu Song read the letter with a serious face, said nothing, and just nodded.

"Master, Master!" The housekeeper was originally settling in the front yard, but after hearing a report from a servant, he hurriedly sent someone to report to Xia Liu.

Xia Liu was talking about love with Yang Jin at this time. When she heard the servant's exclamation, she was immediately dissatisfied and scolded him rudely: "What's the hurry?"

The servant was still outside the house. Hearing Xia Liu's tone, he knew that he had come at a bad time. However, the housekeeper was in a hurry, so he had no choice but to go ahead and say, "Master, the wife of the Right Prime Minister and the young master are here."

Xia Liu's mood was immediately ruined, and her heart began to beat fast. She pushed Yang Jin away in a panic, stood up, and turned around on the spot: "Who was so blind to report the news?!"

Yang Jin was a little panicked when she heard that Shen and Tu Xiao were coming, but she soon felt relieved. She had nothing to do with Tu's affairs, and she didn't need to go to the main hall in the front yard to meet Shen and her son.

Xia Liu was very annoyed and said directly to the outsider: "Go and tell them directly that I'm not here."

"It's too late. The wife of the Right Prime Minister has already sat in the main hall. She said that if you were not here, she would wait for you to come back. She also said that the Prime Minister would be here soon, and the three of them would stay in our Xia Mansion for dinner." The housekeeper had tried to stop the Shen mother and son before, but they couldn't stop them at all!

Xia Liu scratched his head in annoyance, knowing that hiding was not a solution, so he went straight to the main hall and left a message to the people outside: "Go, call the third young lady and the lady over."

"But, isn't Madam still kneeling in the ancestral hall?"

"Let her out!" Xia Liu looked so impatient that the servants didn't dare to remind her anymore.

When they arrived at the main hall, Tu Xiao also stood up and saluted Xia Liu: "Nephew Tu Xiao greets uncle."

Xia Liu acted like an elder and nodded politely, indicating that Tu Xiao could sit down. Then, she asked Shen in confusion, "What instructions do you have for my sister-in-law?"

Shen sneered. She was born in a military family and never liked any kind of face-saving exchanges. Her dissatisfaction with Xia Liu was evident on her face: "Lord Shangshu has such great authority! Everyone who comes is a guest. Lord Shangshu left us mother and son out in the main hall. Since we are your wife's family, no matter how close our relationship is, you can't treat us so neglectfully, right? We haven't even seen your wife!"

Xia Liu was embarrassed for a moment. Everyone in the Darong Dynasty knew that the wife of the Right Prime Minister came from a military family. Her own family background was already prominent. Although her family had begun to decline, she married well and never gave anyone face. However, if she was dissatisfied, she would still help them and never consider anyone's face.

Hearing Shen's sarcasm, Xia Liu felt a little embarrassed and said awkwardly, "Sister-in-law, you misunderstood. Madam has just been feeling unwell for the past two days. I told her to have a good rest and not to see guests."

"Oh! Feeling unwell? Then why did I hear that it was our A Ling who made a mistake and was punished by the adults to kneel in the ancestral hall?" Shen didn't buy his nonsense and said sarcastically.

Xia Liu was even more embarrassed, but she was blaming Tu in her heart, why didn't he come even after she invited him? Was she deliberately trying to embarrass him in front of her family?

Tu Xiao also spoke appropriately at this time: "Speaking of which, sister Yanxiang hasn't been back to our Tu family for a long time. I heard that she was sick a few days ago. I wonder if she is feeling better now?"

Xia Liu was even more embarrassed, but at this point he had roughly guessed who went to the Right Prime Minister's Mansion to report the news.

"Ah, Yan'er, she's much better. There's nothing serious wrong with her. She just still feels a little uncomfortable. The doctor said she needs to rest well." Tu Xiao was a junior after all, and he didn't dare to say anything disrespectful to Xia Liu. Xia Liu quickly turned the topic to Tu Xiao, not giving Shen the opportunity to continue to ridicule him.

Shen could see Xia Liu's intention, but she didn't say anything. She just looked at Xia Liu like a clown.

Xia Liu was even more anxious at this moment: "I have sent someone to call Madam and Yan'er. I think they will be very happy to know that Madam and their virtuous nephew are here."

Shen sneered and did not answer.

"Master, the Madam and the Third Miss are here."

Xia Liu then breathed a sigh of relief and sat up straighter.

Shen and Tu Xiao looked towards the door together and saw Tu walking slowly and Xia Yanxiang with a pale face.

"Ah Ling! Yan Er!"