Reborn as a Merchant Girl, the General's Beloved

The two of them were drinking tea in the lobby, and they didn't see the young man coming back for a long time. They felt uneasy, but it was inconvenient to talk in a place with others, so they could only look at each other.

Time flows rapidly in silence, silently.

After an unknown amount of time, the young man finally came back, his hair covered with snowflakes, and he said with a smile: "Come with me, both of you!"

Led by the servant, Yuan Yi and Ming Qi went inside.

After walking along the long corridor with carved beams and painted buildings for a full cup of tea, the two finally arrived at an ear room.

At the door was a strange stone, its shape stretched out like a soaring eagle, with a slightly jade-like clarity. A fish pond was built under the stone. The water in the pond was frozen, and the strange stone also emitted bursts of cold smoke, looking very powerful. The man did not take them into the house, but asked them to wait under the stone in the snow. He bent down and knocked lightly on the door.

After a while, a slightly fat middle-aged man came out, paced over, and looked at the two of them with his hands behind his back, arrogant and disdainful.

Yuan Yi had never seen Anyuan Earl Hong Shilang, but after carefully observing the man's attire and demeanor, he did not look like Hong Shilang, so he suppressed his anger and put on a smile. Before he could say anything, the man took the initiative to speak, pointing at the painting box behind him and asked, "What is that?"

"Sir, this is Tang Yin's "Autumn Wind and Silk Fan." Yuan Yi handed the painting box over with both hands and looked at the other person's expression.

"I don't know that I have such a treasure!" The other person's face wrinkled. He reached out to take the painting, and without saying another word to them, he turned around and went into the ear room at the back.

The young man laughed, and looking at the silver ingot in his arms, he kindly said to Yuan Yi: "This is Mr. Qiu Rong, the steward of our Earl's Mansion."

Even though Yuan Yi and Ming Qi were able to hold their tempers, they still became increasingly uneasy. They hurried over to pass on their messages and ask for advice, to see if there was anything they could do to help, but they were unaware that Earl An Yuan kept them at a distance and at this moment they were not even allowed to enter his house.

This time, they didn't have to wait long. Qiu Rong came out with a smile and handed over an envelope. He didn't even want to say anything extra. He just waved at the doorman, signaling him to send the two of them out.

After that, no one even turned their gazes over here. The two of them didn't ask any more questions, so they could only follow the young man and walk out in the snow again.

The two of them went out and got on the carriage. Yuan Yi took out the envelope from his arms, and a thin piece of paper slipped out. Yuan Yi was immediately delighted. Could it be that Hong Shilang did not want to meet them in order to avoid suspicion, but privately wrote to Shu Xin to instruct the two of them how to help?

Who would have thought that on that page of paper were written three big characters: "Divorce Letter".

Yuan Yi and Ming Qi didn't expect this to happen. They were confused about the situation for a moment and sat aside, both lost in thought.

The carriage was heading back. The news from the palace had not yet spread. People infected with the plague could be seen everywhere on the roadside. Yuan Yi's heart sank. He turned to Ming Qi and asked, "What do you think about this?"

Mingqi came back to his senses and shook his head silently: "I'm afraid the situation is far from as simple as we thought."

Yuan Yi was a little absent-minded, and whispered: "I also feel something is wrong this time. I have been to Hongze's governor's mansion in Yongningwei. The family was penniless and had simple meals. Hongze's salary was all used to accommodate the wounded and sick and to make medicine for the army. At that time, I thought that all the Earl's mansions were like this, but look at the Earl's mansion, I'm afraid it's more magnificent than our Tingyu Tower!"