"Drink a bowl of ginseng tea first, and then eat a few cakes." Tao Zhan put the tea bowl and jade plate on her husband's table, smiled with a soft voice, and advised him.

Liu Jing put down his pen, picked up the tea bowl and took a sip, picked up a piece of snow-white cake, looked at it, tasted it carefully, it felt loose, soft, sweet and delicious. He said in surprise: "What kind of cake is this? I have never eaten it before."

"This is the jade cake from Baozhizhai, Yedu. It was not available in Chang'an before. It was opened last fall. A small cake costs ten yuan. It is hard to afford it for ordinary people."

"Isn't this plate one or fifty dollars?"

Tao Zhan smiled slightly and said, "Our family bought it twice in total. The first time I tried it for the children. This time it was because you went home. If the dignified Prince of Han had never eaten the jade cake, then I, the princess, will be stabbed by someone again."

Liu Jing tasted a piece and said with a smile: "It's okay. You don't have to suffer yourself like this. As long as you are appropriately thrifty and simple, I think that's fine. After all, if you are in a high position, if you demand your harshness, the officials below will be in a difficult situation."

"If you can say this, I will feel more at ease."

Tao Zhan smiled slightly, lowered his head, and after a while she whispered: "I have always followed your requirements. The whole family must wear cloth clothes, try to be simple and simple, and be thrifty. But later I found that many ladies avoid me, or when they come to see me, they deliberately changed into very worn clothes. On the surface, they were simple, but they were wearing silk and satin inside, or the maid was wearing good satin, while the master was wearing old cloth clothes. This feeling made me feel very uncomfortable, and felt very hypocritical, and even a silent protest to me. I have not had a good life for more than a year."

Liu Jing understood his wife's feelings and pursuing beauty is human nature, but the officialdom also emphasizes the upward and downward effect. Tao Zhan's simplicity will naturally attract many people's resistance and dissatisfaction, which he can fully understand.

Liu Jing held his wife's hand and said softly: "No need to work so hard. Everyone knows that Liu Jing is one of the most powerful people in the world. If his wife and children only wear cloth skirts and hairpins, I am afraid I will become Wang Mang's second. In fact, it's better to let it go."

Liu Jing picked up another piece of cake and tasted it gently, and smiled and said, "For example, the children must like this cake, so they buy it for them, but they must be eaten and they are not allowed to waste it. For example, silk skirts, women should have them, and my wife should have them, but they can't have a few pieces of cake, and there are decorations. Which woman doesn't have a few pieces of jewelry that she likes, and my wife should be the same, but she can't fill the room. This is frugality, do you understand?"

Tao Zhan nodded. She understood what her husband meant. Liu Jing smiled and said, "Chang'an has indeed changed a lot. I will go out for a walk later, otherwise I will not know this capital."

Tao Zhan put away the tea bowl and walked out of the house. When she reached the door, she hesitated for a moment and turned around and said, "Husband, please go and see Shangxiang if you have time."

When Liu Jing came back last night, he also found that Sun Shangxiang was a little abnormal. There was an indescribable sadness in her smile, which made him feel moved. He was going to find her tonight.

"What's wrong with her?"

Tao Zhan sighed, "She received a quick letter from Jiangdong a few days ago and was silent. She rarely saw her smile again, and we don't know what happened."

Liu Jing nodded, "I understand."

.........

In the room, Sun Shangxiang was listlessly packing the clothes that had just dried. Although her husband came back from a year away, she couldn't be happy. She kept repeating the request from her brother in the letter in her mind. Jiangdong was about to perish, and only she could save Jiangdong and save the Sun family's foundation.

These words were like big rocks, pressing heavily on her heart, depriving her of smile, depriving her of happiness, and suppressing her so much that she couldn't breathe.

She longs to escape from here and all these troubles, but she has nowhere to escape. She even hopes that her husband will never come back so that she will no longer have to face such choices that make it difficult for her to speak.

"You seem unhappy." Suddenly, the voice of your husband Liu Jing came from behind.

Sun Shangxiang was startled and turned around quickly. She saw Liu Jing leaning against the door, holding her hands in front of her chest, looking at her with a smile.

"You should say something when you come in, which scared me." Sun Shangxiang didn't dare to look at her husband, folded her clothes and said in a low voice.

Liu Jing walked forward slowly, walked to Sun Shangxiang, reached out and gently raised her jaw, stared at her for a while and smiled, "I'm back, it seems you don't welcome me, may you have a new love again?" As soon as Liu Jing said that, he knew that he was wrong and he shouldn't have made such a joke.

"What are you talking nonsense"

Sun Shangxiang pushed her husband's hand away and said coldly: "Do you think I am an unfamiliar woman?"

"I'm just kidding because in half the time, many soldiers were joking, and they were afraid that he would be a father again after he returned home."

"It may be possible for others, but who do you think dares to touch your woman?"

Sun Shangxiang threw her clothes onto the bed, gritted her teeth and said hatefully: "I hope you don't joke with me again in the future, and never say such things again, otherwise I can't kill you, and I will kill myself."

Liu Jing hugged her in his arms, stroked her face, and whispered: "I actually just want to see how angry you are. I'm back to Princess Shangxiang back then. I still owe you two arrows, do you still remember?"

Sun Shangxiang gently stroked her husband's hand. Although it was a bit rough, it was warm and generous, which made her feel a kind of support. The displeasure in her heart disappeared without a trace in an instant. She suddenly realized that her husband was actually deliberately making her angry and covering up her uneasiness. She was no longer the silly princess she used to be, and she was as delicate as her mind.

"I'm really happy, very happy when you come back safely," Sun Shangxiang whispered.

Liu Jing nodded, "I want to go to Chang'an, please go with me."

"Okay, I'll change my clothes."

Sun Shangxiang quickly walked into the inner room. After a moment, she put on a red long skirt and smiled and said, "This long skirt is made of silk, you won't let me change it to a cloth skirt."

"It's so good, I like it very much."

Sun Shangxiang burst into laughter, "You are like this, it seems like we are meeting for the first time, let's go."

She took her husband's arm and walked out of the yard with joy.

.........

Liu Jing's carriage slowly drove on Ping'an Street. This was an important road that was east-west. This road led directly to Weiyang Palace outside the city. Liu Jing had passed by almost every day before, but he had not seen it for more than a year. He felt the obvious changes on both sides of the road.

It turned out that the dilapidated houses disappeared and turned into newly built houses. There were many shops near the West City, one by one, most of which were renovated and filled with various goods from north to south.

"Is it a big change?" Sun Shangxiang asked with a smile while sitting opposite her husband.

Liu Jing nodded, "I can't believe that the changes have changed so rapidly in just one year."
Chapter completed!