Red Mansion Soldiers

Chapter 262 Peony with clear water

The clear water garden is a peony garden.

Counting from the time peonies entered poetry in the Book of Songs, Chinese people have known each other for more than 2,600 years.

During the Qin and Han Dynasties, peony was recorded in the "Shen Nong's Materia Medica" as a medicinal plant, and peony entered pharmacology. The image of peony has also appeared in Gu Kaizhi's famous painting Luo Shen Fu.

Before the Qianliang Dynasty, during the Yu Dynasty, Yu Gaozong established a land of two hundred miles in Luoyang as Xiyuan. This was the first time that peonies were artificially cultivated and entered the royal garden. During the reign of Emperor Zhongzong of Yu, peony cultivation began to flourish.

By the time of Qianliang and this dynasty, there were already many varieties of peonies cultivated by Chinese people.

"Yao Huang, Wei Zi, Ou Bi, and Zhao Fen are commonly known as the four famous peonies. "Vase History" also mentioned the four famous peonies, which refer to Huanglouzi, Green Butterfly, Watermelon Flesh, and Dancing Green Peony. There are not many people who know. After research, Huang Louzi is Yao Huang, and the green butterfly is Oubi. As for the watermelon flesh and the dancing green cat, I can't find them."

When Shui Che, who loves flowers, mentioned the two famous species that he couldn't find no matter how much he asked for them, he sighed and felt very regretful.

Collecting famous species is really expensive. Nearly half of the money in his garden is spent on flowers. But who has the energy to raise famous species is short of money?

I also spent a lot of energy to let the other party know that I was not a simple arty martial artist, but a person who truly loved and understood flowers. This impressed them, and then I obtained some famous peonies.

Shaking his head, Shui Che regained his mood: "But even if there are no watermelon pulp and dancing green thorns, my garden full of peonies is not inferior to them!"

After saying that, Shui Che turned around and began to show off the famous species he had collected with his old brothers.

Although the flowering period of peonies is from April to May every year, how could Shui Che, who is already a famous expert in the elite circle, not extend their flowering period?

They had been carefully tended in the ice cellar for a long time. After calculating the time for the completion of the garden, Shui Che slowly began to transplant them into the garden.

Imperial Concubine Cui, Hu Hong, First Case Red, Coral Terrace, Imperial Black Jade, Smoke Cage Purple, Gejin Purple, Jade White, Yingluo Pearl, Luminous White, Caozhou Red, Carmine Red, Spring Red Delicate, Pink Crown , Lu Fen, Chicken Feet Red, Spring Willow, Green Curtain Hidden Jade, Green Fragrance Ball, Purple Blue Kui, Drooping Blue

Being in a sea of ​​flowers, even this group of generals who didn't care much about fancy things couldn't help but lose their minds, and their minds were completely immersed in this sea of ​​flowers.

In the small pavilion in the distance, the children brought by the brothers were playing and playing. The wives were also talking and laughing in another open space. They would glance at the children from time to time, worrying that something would happen to them.

As for the great defense between men and women.

There is no such thing as the people here are either old relatives, brothers-in-law, brothers in life or death, family friends, or brothers-in-law. In addition, the generals do not have as much restraint as the civil servants, so the defense between men and women is in name only. .

Moreover, there must be no one snitching, right?

Wu Bing followed the team at the end of the queue, only looking at the peonies carefully.

He heard what Shui Che said just now. These peonies alone cost more than 150,000 taels of silver.

Although the Wu family has gained momentum in recent years and has accumulated a large amount of land and wealth in just a few years, the concept of money that he cultivated for more than thirty years in his first half of his life still deeply affected him. He took out one thousand five hundred taels. Flowers can make him feel distressed for a long time, and 150,000 taels can cut his flesh with a dull knife!

At the same time, he also saw that Shui Che no longer loved the peonies, it was called fanaticism. If he hurt any of the peonies, Shui Che would really dare to fight against him, hoping that his concubine's daughter would pull them. It’s too late to deflect!

Regret, why did I come here when my brain got hot?

Wu Bing sighed softly, feeling restless. He felt that something must happen today, either to him or to his wife.

. . . . . .

While the men were visiting the garden, the ladies were sitting together chatting about their parents' affairs, exchanging gossip and parenting experiences.

A touch of the upper and lower lips, and the person mentioned will be ruined without knowing it.

"Ah, really? Marquis Cheng's eldest son is really not his, isn't he?" Li Wan's eyes widened and he looked in shock at the Shuilou clan who was telling him the civil and military gossip of the DPRK.

"That's not true!" Shuilou enjoyed Li Wan's expression very much, and his vanity was greatly satisfied. "It is said, it is said that Cheng Hou went to Yulin to work as an errand soon after his wedding.

Within a few days of leaving, the warmth in the bed had not dissipated, and someone moved in again. "After saying that, Shui Loushi did not continue talking, but picked up the tea cup and gently smelled the fragrance of the tea.

The ladies who had been aroused by the desire to gossip couldn't bear it any longer, and they quickly started complimenting each other.

Although Shuilou is a gossip and quite vain, after all, he is a close acquaintance of the whole family. The wives of many families, including his own, have even grown up together. How can he not know what she likes to hear?

In just a few words, Shui Loushi was made to laugh so hard that her flower branches trembled, and even the steps in her hair began to sway.

"Okay, okay, then I will talk about it today and open your eyes to everyone!" Shuilou, whose face was flushed by the compliment, waved his sleeves and his eyes suddenly became sharp.

"Hehe, everyone knows that my sister and I have not dealt with the Liu family since she was a child. When Marquis Cheng married the Liu family, I didn't even go!" Shuilou raised his head very proudly.

"Then what?" Liu Yun's wife Liu Zhang asked.

"So, my sister, I know exactly what kind of temper this little bitch has! She has a carefree temper to begin with, and she has seen the little bitch and her groom having sex with each other several times!" Shuilou said matter-of-factly.

"Ah? The groom?" Li Wan was a little surprised, "Ms. Liu is also a noble daughter of a noble family, with a strict upbringing. How did she meet the groom?"

"That's natural. The groom who drove her carriage at the beginning was of course an old man in the family who was hired according to the rules. But after all, people are getting older, and a slight accident may kill them. This was the case with Liu's earliest groom. It is said that I went out to drink, and when I was going home, it was raining heavily. My feet slipped and I couldn’t stand firm, so I fell into the ditch and drowned!"

"Ah? Amitabha, Bodhisattva bless you." As soon as they heard that the deceased was dead, many ladies quickly clasped their hands and chanted Buddha verses.

Li Wan, who had no inhibitions and had been influenced by Jia Hui for a long time, just felt a little regretful, but he didn't do anything unnecessary: ​​"Then the Liu family changed people?"

"Isn't that right? The groom has several sons, and the older ones all have their own jobs to do, so I chose the groom's younger son to take over his father's job."

What follows is some old-fashioned stuff about falling in love with each other.

Liu, who was in the rebellious period of youth, had always looked down upon the husband her father had chosen for her. At that time, Cheng was just emerging and had an official title of thousands of households.

However, due to her status, how could she have the opportunity to contact other men besides her father and brother? The only one was an old man with gray hair.

However, it just so happened that the old groom passed away and the young groom came.

Unlike his weather-beaten father and his rough-and-tumble, honest brothers, this groom may have had a genetic mutation, or his mother made a mistake, and was born very handsome, as if he had a pretty face. Liu, who met such a beautiful woman for the first time, was finally aroused by the beauty, which had been suppressed for more than ten years, and began to frequently contact and seduce the young groom with gold and silver.

The young groom was also full of blood, and he felt deeply pained by the fate of his family becoming slaves. When he saw the eldest lady of his master's family seducing him with her charming eyes, the young groom felt happy in his heart, thinking that he also enjoyed the eldest lady. Chance? So I accepted it half-heartedly.

However, Mrs. Liu still had some sense of restraint. She just watched the stars and the moon and fell in love with her little groom, and did not go any further. Until someone Cheng made great contributions by participating in Jia Hui's Northern Expedition, she successfully traveled a hundred miles west of Xilinhot. Twenty miles away, he intercepted and killed Huitai Ji of the Ordos tribe and returned to the west. He was awarded a title for his meritorious service. Liu married Marquis Cheng.

"After all, her body is broken, and Cheng Hou has also taken office, so Mrs. Liu can completely let go! She took the groom who had added her to her dowry in advance and took her to bed, and they were in love until Mrs. Liu started I kept feeling nauseous and then it stopped!”

"Tsk, tsk. Morning sickness, it must have been two or three months ago. If this wasn't the little groom's, who would believe it?" Ms. Liu Zhang said with emotion.

"That's the reason. Marquis Cheng left her voluntarily less than ten days after they got married, but this little groom ate, lived, and slept with her for several months." Shui Loushi nodded, " Everyone knows that although Marquis Cheng is a marquis, his background is relatively low and he doesn’t even have parents or relatives, so who will look after her house?"

Cheng suffered a locust plague when he was a child. The villagers listened to the goddess's words and wanted to sacrifice a boy and a girl to the locust god. After much selection, they chose the young Cheng's brother and sister.

Coincidentally, Cheng's mother was bought by Cheng's father as his wife when she fled from other places. Her natal family could not be said to be prosperous, it could only be said to be better than nothing, so naturally they could not help this small family.

Father Cheng is just a dull farmer who only knows how to farm and knows no other skills. He is a transparent old man in the village and is quite weak.

After hearing this decision from the village, how could Father Cheng and Mother Cheng agree? He packed up Xinruan and ran away with his brother and sister overnight, but was unexpectedly captured by the well-prepared tribesmen.

Cheng's father and Cheng's mother were beaten to death on the spot. His sister also hit the back of her head on a stone and fell to the ground twitching. She died soon after. Only Cheng, who often went to the mountains and into the water and had extremely dexterous bones, fled the village. beggar.

Finally, after wandering for several years, he arrived in Yulin Town, where he entered the local auxiliary barracks and became a top soldier. Only then did he start his own journey to becoming a knight.

After he was knighted, no, even when he was a member of the Qianhu household, someone from the Cheng family who went to Yulin for business recognized him and brought the news back to the clan.

His tribesmen once shamelessly tried to let him go home, but Cheng Hou used tricks and died in a local gang fight in Yulin.

I heard that my hometown was also hit by a disaster. A group of bandits fifty miles away slaughtered the village and the entire village was razed to the ground.

"At first, Marquis Cheng was very happy when he had a child, so he asked the Holy Father for the grace to return to Beijing and serve in the Houjun Governor's Mansion, so that he could accompany his son to grow up. But as soon as he saw his eldest son, Cheng Hou became suspicious!" Shuilou Shi was talking about flying eyebrows and high spirits!

"Ah, what are you suspicious about?" Mrs. Liu Zhang said complimentary.

"What suspicion? Of course this scoundrel doesn't look like me!

When we went to attend the wedding, everyone saw Cheng Hou, right? Think about it, Cheng Hou has beautiful thick eyebrows and big eyes, but what about the child? "

"Hey, that kid seems to have red eyes, right? I didn't take a close look at the eyebrows," Li Wan said with some uncertainty.

"Yes, it's Danfeng! Marquis Cheng said the same thing, but Mrs. Liu also said that she was following her mother, and that Marquis Cheng suspected her and wanted to take his son to jump into the well, so Marquis Cheng had no choice but to believe it.

Since then, Mrs. Liu has kept the young groom well hidden and bought him a courtyard near the Cheng Mansion. She has never allowed him to come and go freely. She just asks someone to leave in a sedan chair when she misses him. Carrying into the house through the back door, the two of them were gentle enough.

Until a few days ago, Cheng Hou happened to pass by the back door of his house and happened to see a small sedan coming out of the back door. "

How could a sedan with no markings make a marquis who came to kill him suspicious? Cheng Hou naturally sent people to follow and investigate. Sure enough, the existence of the young groom was exposed in front of Cheng Hou.

"Marquis Cheng was furious when his own soldiers said that this man looked very much like the eldest son of the Cheng family! Now the Cheng family was turned upside down. All the dowries brought by Mrs. Liu were kidnapped by the Cheng family's soldiers. On the wooden donkey, surrounded by a pile of firewood, walking around with a torch, and burning anyone who didn't say anything!

The people brought by the Liu family were all used to being arrogant, and they regarded Marquis Cheng's accommodation to the Liu family as henpecking and honesty. How could they say so?

Marquis Cheng no longer indulged them. He lit several people's fires without saying a word. He even pressed down on Mrs. Liu with his own hands and pulled out her eyelids so that she could watch her dowry being burned alive. "Shuilou Shi looked around at the ladies around him with a sinister look on his face, obviously he had already finished telling the story.

The ladies all knew the rest of the story, so how had Liu, a housewife from the back house, ever seen this? When the burnt aroma from the barbecue wafted into Liu's nose, Liu was so frightened that she urinated on the spot. The bile was spit out!

Then the truth came out, and the Cheng family became a big joke to the whole world during this period.

The ladies who ate a big melon were so happy that they hurriedly handed the fruit to Shui Loushi, the star of the day, to eat. The ladies who were familiar with each other also gathered together in twos and threes to discuss what happened in the Cheng family. .

Li Wan was also satisfied, and he happily discussed it with Mrs. Niu's family, Mrs. Shi's family, and Mrs. Liu's family.

Just when the ladies were saying that their mouths were dry and they felt a little tired from sitting down, and they wanted to stand up and drink some water, and then went to look at the peonies, a voice that sounded careless and quite aggressive came from behind.

"Mrs. Jia, don't leave yet, don't leave yet!"

(End of this chapter)