An ugly girl starts off, then becomes a beauty

The couple returned to the Marquis' Mansion together and happened to meet Shen and Shen Huajun who were about to go out in front of the gate.

He stepped forward and greeted them - Nie Ce's return was so sudden that no one in the house had received the news, and the Shen aunt and nephew were obviously stunned for a moment.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming back? Did Grandpa know?" Shen immediately put on a smile, and Shen Huajun followed suit and bowed as a greeting. With her brows lowered, the Shen family's daughter's cheeks were slightly flushed. Sang Ling observed the two people opposite him silently while returning the greeting.

"I don't know yet. My nephew will go to the Hall of Justice later." Nie Ce behaved very politely.

Sang Ling was stunned when he heard this - he had never been to the Hall of Right and Wrong since he came back.

It's also strange.

"Ah, good, it's good to be back, it's good to be back, but--" Shen said, and the next moment she caught a glimpse of the book bag that Nie Ce was carrying, and then looked at Sang Ling, "Why did you come back with your nephew's wife?"

One came back from Jiaozhou, and the other one is in Zhijiamenguan. Could it be that these are in the same direction?

Meet halfway?

"I went to pick her up." Nie Ce smiled slightly, "Aunt, I can't stay long. I'll apologize to you later." He raised his hand and pointed to the direction of the mansion gate.

This means entering the palace.

Apologies and the like were just polite words, Shen had no choice but to step aside and make way, glancing at Shen Huajun behind her, feeling unhappy. She was always humiliated in front of others, and finally saw the Marquis again after half a year, but she didn't even know how to give him a glance or a hint.

She couldn't help but spit at her niece in a low voice, then turned around to look at her.

Just then, I saw the girl from the Sang family looking over here.

Shen's heart couldn't help but stagnate again, as if she had done something wrong and was discovered, and she quickly turned her gaze away.

*

The couple dispersed in front of the courtyard of the Hall of Right and Wrong, and Nie Ce handed the book bag back to Sang Ling.

"Should I go in?" she asked.

"No need. Aren't you coming to pay your respects tomorrow?"

That was true. She and Grandpa Nie had never met except for the greetings during the morning and the family dinners during the New Year. So she smiled and wanted to bow to him, but Nie Ce raised his hand to stop her, "That's enough, it's just the two of us, why are you still doing this?"

After saying that, he went in.

Sang Ling couldn't help but stand there in a daze for a while, thinking back to the year before, Nie Ce almost immediately headed south, and the last conversation between the two was still in the carriage.

Although she knew that he was angry at that time, she did not insist on talking about it.

In the past six months, she had actually pondered to herself countless times: if Nie Ce came back, would the relationship between him and her continue to be so awkward? There was obviously a conflict, but she didn't know how to talk it out. How should her relationship between them be defined?

When she had a heart-to-heart talk with Cheng Ai in the first two months, Cheng Ai had also mentioned this matter, and she had even considered it for Sang Ling - if the Marquis came back, how should she, as his wife, talk this out? She could calm the conflict by being submissive, acting coquettishly and making excuses.

She avoided the topic at the time and was unwilling to talk about it more.

But I thought about it many times afterwards.

Until she unexpectedly met Nie Ce again today, she had never expected that there would not be much estrangement between the two of them when they got along again...

Although Nie Ce stayed in the Marquis' Mansion the entire afternoon, it was already dark when he returned to Wuyuan.

At this time, Sang Ling had just finished her dinner and was walking in the yard. Zong Xiang and Wei Chu followed behind her. The two little girls were talking in low voices. Cheng Ai was stringing jasmine flowers in the corridor.

The wind in the corridor made the leaves rustle, and the servant at the gate shouted, "The Marquis is back."

The servants in the courtyard responded immediately and started to work. Sang Ling went to greet him with his hands in his pockets, "Have you had your meal?"

"I have eaten with my grandfather." He took off his outer robe as he walked. When he entered the bedroom, Ying Bushi knelt beside him and untied his sleeves. Two servants came up and poured water for him.

Sang Ling stopped to the side and watched for a while, shrugged slightly, and sat down next to him. There was a low table between the two of them - this was also where Nie Ce slept. After the servants in the room left, he would move the low table inward, then bring the quilt from the couch over, and finally just lie down like that.

I slept here when I was at home last autumn and winter.

Fortunately, the bedrooms of the wealthy families all have chimneys and burning stoves, otherwise if one slept here every day with thin quilts, it would be unbearable for anyone.

Sang Ling was still observing the environment, wondering whether the felt mat was soft enough, when Cheng Ai gave her a look, but she didn't understand what she meant at that time.

Just wait to see her quietly take Zong Xiang and Wei Chu out -

Only then did I vaguely figure out something.