The system asked me to chase his wife

Xia Mang was very nervous. She was still worried about this matter until Qiao Yuandong returned home two days later.

After being busy for a few days, Qiao Yuandong could finally take a break. She hadn't seen Xia Mang for a long time, so she asked her to come.

When Xia Mang saw Qiao Yuandong, she was sitting by the window reading as usual.

The snowy scene outside the window remains, setting off Qiao Yuandong's graceful and tranquil figure.

"Ma'am, you're looking for me?"

Qiao Yuandong looked up at her for a while, then suddenly smiled and said, "You have gained some weight."

Xia Mang touched the soft flesh on her cheek worriedly, wondering whether she should lose weight.
Qiao Yuandong then said, "That's good. It looks very pleasing. Go and light the charcoal fire for me. It's especially cold today because of the melting snow."

Xia Mang took the fire poker as instructed and dug the red charcoal out of the ashes.

During this time, Xia Mang stole a glance at Qiao Yuandong several times and saw that she was just sitting there reading a book, with a normal expression no different from usual.

Xia Mang thought that she called her here to talk about the ridiculous things that happened to her when she was drunk that night, but she didn't mention it at all, as if nothing had happened.

Xia Mang was a little nervous about Qiao Yuandong's reaction.

So far, she has been completely certain that Qiao Yuandong is interested in her, but as to what extent, she has no idea.

In short, with Qiao Yuandong's status and means, it would be easy for her to get whoever she likes.

However, the situation is just the opposite. Qiao Yuandong is like someone who is secretly in love, so pure!
I'm going to die, I'm just interested in my heart, not my body!

Xia Mang felt deeply guilty about this discovery.

How virtuous and capable she is!
I imagine myself as an unknown office worker in modern times, working from 8 to 9 every day and often being exploited by my boss.

We have been struggling just to survive, so when have we ever hoped for a beautiful love?

Unexpectedly, she was transported to ancient times by accident and actually met him!

It was fate that made Xia Mang determined to go back, and this relationship would probably be let down.
The whole first month of the lunar year seems to be very busy. After welcoming the Kitchen God, it is the fifth day of the lunar calendar. After Human Day, it is Grain Day. After that, we have to offer sacrifices to the God of Heaven and pray for blessings.

The most lively festival is the Lantern Festival on the 15th day. On this day, all the people in the city seem to be crowded into the streets, and the streets and alleys are filled with people and lights.

It’s just that Qiao Yuandong doesn’t like going to crowded places, so Xia Mang followed He Lan and the others out of the house to watch the excitement, and finally came back with a small lotus lantern.

She held up the lotus lantern to Qiao Yuandong as if he were presenting a treasure, and Qiao Yuandong asked someone to hang the lantern under the eaves.

The lotus lantern looked cheap and crude compared to the multi-treasure colored glass lantern next to it, but Qiao Yuandong still said against his conscience that the lantern was pretty.

Xia Mang received recognition from Qiao Yuandong, and felt that he had a good vision and the lights he chose were so outstanding!
The two stood in the corridor, looking up at the lanterns for a while. Xia Mang suddenly heard Qiao Yuandong say, "When the snow melts, I'll take you to the farm."

Xia Mang didn't understand why Qiao Yuandong suddenly brought up this matter, and asked, "Why did you take me to the village?"

Qiao Yuandong turned around and glanced at her obscurely, with a hint of smile between his eyebrows: "You will know when you go there."

So Xia Mang was kept in suspense for several days by Qiao Yuandong's nonsensical words.

In February, the old lady's birthday was celebrated with great fanfare. The old lady is eighty-three years old this year, and she is still in good spirits, which is a very rare thing.

On the day of the old lady's birthday, even the palace sent birthday gifts, which even had the four big characters "松鹤长春" written by the emperor himself. This could be said to be the most honorable one!
After finishing all the big and small things, spring came in a blink of an eye. When the branches turned green, Qiao Yuandong finally proposed to go to the farm.

When the lady asked her what she was going to do, Qiao Yuandong gave a reason without changing her expression.

She said that because of the snowstorm in winter, she wanted to go and check on the situation in the farm. If the farmers were having a hard time, she could reduce some taxes.

Since she suffered a stroke, the old lady began to believe in Buddhism. She expressed great approval of Qiao Yuandong's decision.

"This is a great thing to do to accumulate virtue and do good deeds. Those farmers all rely on people like us to survive. If we give them some leniency during years of disaster, they will also be better off."

Qiao Yuandong agreed and organized his men to prepare for departure.

Rongzhu still had to stay in the mansion to support the family. Qiao Yuandong also left He Huan for her as an assistant, and finally brought He Lan and Xia Mang with her.

In addition to the two head maids, there were also two servants, a cook and four servants to serve.

The group traveled by carriage or on horseback, and it only took them half a day to get from the capital to the farm.

Most of the farms of the Duke's Mansion are in Fengkang County, which is closest to the capital. The farms and estates that were included in the dowry that Qiao Yuandong brought when she married into the Duke's Mansion were also in Fengkang County.

These were specially selected by Mrs. Qiao for the convenience of her daughter, and some of them were even bought from others at a high price.

These farms are very close to the farms of the Duke's Mansion, and together they cover an area of ​​more than a hundred hectares.

The manager of the farm had received news the day before that the Duchess's wife was coming to inspect the farm, so he cleaned up the farm early, waiting for his master to come and live there.

This was the first time Xia Mang had seen the pastoral scenery outside the capital since he traveled through time, and everything he saw was somewhat novel.

There are few mountains in the north, and there are endless plains everywhere. In addition to the fields, many houses are gathered together to form many villages.

On the way to the farm, Xia Mang could still see the villagers working in the fields from the carriage. When the villagers saw the people from the Duke's Mansion, they looked at them curiously.

There was even a group of half-grown children running over on the road to watch. If it weren't for the scolding from the village head and the watchful eyes of the servants, Xia Mang was sure that these children would have come up to touch the wheels of the cart.

This unexpected liveliness made Xia Mang feel very at home.

Led by the village head, the group quickly entered the village.

The farm where Qiao Yuandong and his group rested was not the simple adobe house in the village, but a two-courtyard house with high walls and green tiles, and the eaves and pillars were decorated with patterns.

There are two side rooms on the east and west sides of the yard, which seem to be used for storing things.

Although the entire manor is not as big as the mansions in the capital, it can be seen that it is obviously a house prepared for the masters of the mansion.

After entering the farm, the two maids and the farm steward checked the house inside and out, and confirmed that there was nothing wrong. Xia Mang and He Lan put away the boxes and baskets they brought. Because they didn't know how many days Qiao Yuandong would stay in the farm, the two of them prepared enough things.

After putting everything away, the sun had already set and lights were lit everywhere. Xia Mang and He Lan accompanied Qiao Yuandong to have dinner in the farmhouse.

It was getting dark, so it was impossible to inspect the farm. Qiao Yuandong was very tired after a hard day's work, so he went to bed early.

Early the next morning, several nearby village heads received a notice from the manager and gathered in the village to await Qiao Yuandong's orders.

Qiao Yuandong met these people while sitting in the main room. In front of her was a screen with flowers and birds to block the view of the village heads. At this moment, she was looking through the account books presented by the steward.

The person in charge of all the farms was personally appointed by the Lady Dowager. Xiang Quan's family had been servants in the Duke's Mansion for generations and were very loyal to it.

The account book he gave was very detailed, and the amounts in and out basically matched. Qiao Yuandong read it from beginning to end, but did not find anything wrong.

Afterwards, he followed the routine and asked several village heads about last year’s harvest and this year’s market conditions.

These village heads were all peasants and knew farm work very well. At first, they were a little nervous when facing Qiao Yuandong.

When they heard Qiao Yuandong asking about their professional fields, they all felt relieved.

An old man with the darkest face and the deepest wrinkles was the first to speak: "There was too much snow in the winter, and the ground was frozen hard. Nothing can be planted. It will be better in the spring."

The old village heads reported in a flurry, and Xia Mang, who was listening, made a general summary: this year's harvest was not very good, and the yield might not be as good as in previous years.

Qiao Yuandong waited for them to finish speaking and expressed that he understood. Manager Xiang waved his hand and let them leave.

"Madam, the person you asked me to find is being housed in Guanhe Village next door. Do you want to see him now?"

After Qiao Yuandong heard this, Xia Mang clearly saw her looking in her direction.

"Bring the person over here." After Qiao Yuandong retracted his gaze, he instructed Manager Xiang.

Manager Xiang took the order and went. Within half an hour, the person he mentioned was brought here.

Xia Mang stretched his neck curiously and looked outside. It turned out to be a woman in her forties. The woman was wearing a gray coarse cloth dress and a square scarf on her head.

Behind the woman was a boy about ten years old. The child looked a little thin, but seemed very smart.

When the two were brought to the farm by Manager Xiang, they were extremely panicked when they saw the high walls and spacious courtyard in front of them, and several servants in the courtyard who were eyeing them covetously.

When they passed a door, the woman refused to go in any further, and Manager Xiang had to force the two of them in.

By the time Manager Xiang dragged the man in front of Qiao Yuandong, a layer of sweat broke out on his forehead.

The woman stood in the hall trembling like a plague-stricken rail, while the child she was holding was looking around curiously.

Manager Xiang saluted Qiao Yuandong, turned around and looked at the woman and coughed sternly as a reminder. The woman then woke up as if from a dream and fell to her knees with a thud.

"Greetings, Madam! Greetings, Madam!" The woman was bent on the ground like a shrimp, and her head hit the bluestone floor with a bang. Xia Mang felt pain just hearing the noise.

"Madam, please stand up and talk." Qiao Yuandong spoke softly, but the woman seemed not to hear him and continued to kowtow.

If Manager Xiang hadn't reached out and pulled her back, the woman would have hit her head.

The woman who was pulled up stood in the hall holding the child, continuing to shake the child like sifting chaff.

Manager Xiang pointed at the two people and said to Qiao Yuandong, "Madam, this is Zhou, and this child is her son. His surname is Feng and his nickname is Tiezhu."

Qiao Yuandong nodded to show that he understood, "You go and get busy first."

Manager Xiang left as he was told. Xia Mang stood behind Qiao Yuandong and looked at the mother and son, wondering what the relationship between these two people was with Qiao Yuandong.

Suddenly, Qiao Yuandong turned to her and said, "Go meet your mother and younger brother."

Xia Mang: "!!!?"

I was on a business trip with my boss, how come I ended up meeting my relatives?!
Xia Mang looked at the mother and son in bewilderment, then looked at Qiao Yuandong, pointed at herself and said in disbelief: "My mother?"

Seeing the shock on her face, Qiao Yuandong was very satisfied with this surprise that he had prepared for a long time.

"Didn't you keep clamoring to see your mother that day? I specially ordered someone to check your birth certificate and sent people to find your family."

Qiao Yuandong explained slowly, "Your family also suffered a disaster last year. Now only your mother and younger brother are left. The mother and son have nowhere to go, so I will place them in this farm so that it will be convenient for them to take care of them. What do you think?"

Xia Mang opened her mouth for a long time and couldn't come back to her senses. She heard Xiang Xiukai's friendly reminder.

"That night when you were drunk, you held Dong Niang's hand and said you wanted to go back to see your mother. Your words were so sincere and touching!"
Xia Mang was shocked again when she heard this. Just because of her drunken nonsense, Qiao Yuandong went to great lengths to find her family?

Although the mother and son standing in the hall were just the original body's family members, Xia Mang still had to accept this favor.

She turned to look at Qiao Yuandong, met his earnest gaze, and said, "Madam, you are so thoughtful. I am so grateful!"

As soon as He Lan heard that these were Xia Mang's mother and younger brother, she took the initiative to pull the two of them to sit down, served Zhou a cup of tea, and grabbed a handful of fruit for the child to eat.

Qiao Yuandong smiled at Xia Mang and said, "Don't thank me yet. Go meet your family."

Xia Mang had no choice but to bite the bullet and walk up to Zhou's mother and son, calling them "mother" and "little brother".

When Zhou was called like that, she couldn't help but look at Xia Mang. After a long while, she still couldn't match the girl with red lips and white teeth in front of her with the girl in her impression.

She called out uncertainly, "Nell?"

Xia Mang had no feelings for this woman at all. Firstly, she was not her modern mother. Secondly, this mother sold her to someone else as a slave, so there was no way they had any deep feelings for each other.

Therefore, Xia Mang did not show any strong emotions about the recognition scene in front of him, and even asked the system in his mind: "Is this really my mother?"
Xiang Xiukai said calmly: "If you are asking about the original body's mother, the answer is yes. After the system scan, you two are related by blood."
Xia Mang was surprised: "The scan also has a paternity test function?"
Xiang Xiukai was proud: "Of course, so the host still needs to spend more points to upgrade the system and unlock more new functions!"
Xia Mang: "You wish!"
Xiang Xiukai:''
(End of this chapter)