Walking into the Red Mansion starts from the maid

On the way back to Qiu Shuangzhai after dinner, Tanchun Fanfu smacked Sister Feng's words and asked, "What do they mean?"

Qiu Shuangzhai is quite close to the Xiaoxiang Pavilion of Yihong Courtyard. The maids from several places often gather together to pass the time, either sewing or embroidering. They also know a lot of gossip among their masters by going back and forth to serve as bookkeepers.

Now when Tanchun asked about it, he reported the gossip he had heard in a low voice, "There are rumors in the house that something happened to the second mistress and the second master Bao, and Aunt Zhao is everywhere here. There is another person in the Grand View Garden ahead. Searching and taking people, the wife must have known it in her heart, but she has not come up with the charter, which is why the masters secretly left their hearts..."

"That's nonsense!" Tan Chun turned his head angrily, and kept silent with a look of regret on his face.

She shouldn't say these unfounded words to the girl rashly. After all, the wife is the aunt of her girl. Such a plan to alienate people's hearts, even if it is based on the painstaking efforts of the elders towards the younger ones, is still embarrassing.

"Please forgive me, girl."

Tanchun took the account book from the waiter's hand and flipped it over randomly. The scraping sound of the paper was just like her confused heart.

"What else did you hear?" Tanchun asked. After saying that, he remembered the time when he searched for the maids in the Grand View Garden, and said, "We'll talk about it when we get back."

Daiyu kept a country woman in the yard to nurse herself back to health, but she had already been looked down upon by the servants several times.In addition, his wife acquiesced in Baochai's decision to be her daughter-in-law, and Daiyu had not been seen in the house for a long time after vomiting blood.

After returning to Qiu Shuangzhai, Tan Chun pinched his eyebrows and said for a long time: "As for the attack, the wife said it should be done according to the maid's rules, so we will do it according to the rules. As for the old lady, let Baoyu speak for herself. "

But Xi Ren felt resentful and pained immediately after receiving the twelve taels of condolence money sent from the government. He also asked his brother Hua Zifang to damage it again, and he got fever at night.

Shi Xiangyun was benevolent and knew that it was a time of mother's filial piety in her family. He was afraid that she would be too busy to leave, so he casually pointed out a five or six-year-old Mao Yatou who went to Hua's house with some decoction on her back, saying that she was taking care of Xi Ren.

Actually.

It wasn't clear who would take care of whom. Seeing the little girl sleeping on her back next to her, Xiren simply turned his eyes away, not feeling bothered if he couldn't see her.

She used to be a stubborn person. She would serve whomever the old lady asked her to serve wholeheartedly.

When did your mood change?
Did he see Baoyu beaten to a pulp by his master?Was it because after seeing Baoyu asking his wife to reprimand Uncle Zhu that he was not as good as Zhu, he was so frightened that he could not even sleep at night for fear of displeasure for his mother?Or will he carefully take care of the frostbite on Baoyu's hands when he sees her?Xiren herself couldn't tell when she wanted to stay by Baoyu's side.

Now she was lying on the dusty earthen kang. The mattress on top was the same one that her mother had been lying on a few days ago. When she struggled to breathe through her blocked nostrils, she seemed to still have the smell of her mother.

"After all, someone like the deputy young lady has been kicked out for so long, and she still has ten taels of silver to burn. Tsk tsk, it's so rare." Hua Zifang's surprised voice sounded from next door, and Xi Ren heard it. , the sudden tears disappeared into the bun.

The Hua family's house is not big. There is a large courtyard on the edge of the city that is neither new nor old, with only five rooms.

Miss Shi Da was a hard-working girl and could not find a maid to help her. Neither the master nor the servant of Datong Shop looked down on her, so they simply asked her to go home every now and then.

In the small courtyard of the Hua family, five people usually crowded together, and quarrels would break out from time to time.Now that the mother is gone, the sister-in-law has returned to her parents' house and has never come back. It is actually deserted and empty, which is disturbing.

Hua's father took a long sip from his water pipe and spat: "Okay, you should save some money. Seeing how funny she is every day, I thought I could fly to the branches again. Looking at that pheasant-like appearance now, The rich lady is not even as good as the toes of the previous one!"

Since Xiren left Baoyu, the life of the Hua family has become very difficult.Now the picky look is as if the princes and grandsons are like cabbage, all over the street, and it is up to the flower family to choose!
"Ahem, I heard that she..." Hua Zifang smiled evilly and said, "Dad, just put this money in my hand first, and I'll go look for a way to see if I can see the treasure." Second Master, my Hua Zifang’s sister, could it be that he wants it and throws it away when he wants?”

The noisy sounds gradually became blurred, and some crazy thoughts came into my mind, but more of them felt depressed.

I remember that in the past, in Baoyu's room, she was in charge of everything from valuables to monthly meals. Whether it was flowers or rewards, Baoyu was always in charge of her and never cared about it.

Now it is just a cloud of smoke, fleeting and gone.

"How about it? In the past, you said that my life was cheap. I just said that you had better stay on top of the clouds, otherwise you will be ten times and a hundred times cheaper than me when you fall! What do you mean by that? A fallen phoenix chicken is not as good as me." Liu Cui, the person's sister-in-law, said gloatingly.

As soon as she heard that the Jia family came to give them pension, she came back again.

He saw the attacker lying on the bed in confusion, chewing the dregs of medicine in the medicine bag.

She cursed, scooped up a ladle of rainwater from under the eaves, threw the medicine into the iron pot and started cooking it carelessly. She carelessly threw a fire into the stove and was too busy to laugh at herself. A rather annoying sister-in-law.

"The tide is really turning, where is your young master?"

Her little girl is not very good-looking, she is just thin and slender, and she usually speaks in a polite and weak manner. After being trained by Ren Yazi, she has become somewhat reserved and romantic like an official lady.

But these are illusions.

Liu Cui knew in her heart that this sister-in-law, who was born as a woman, had been ridden by others countless times. She still had no explanation, and now she was still waiting beside a big girl.

These wealthy families are really shameless, even more shameless than poor families like them.

"Everyone in the family says you have a great future, and you send me some rags from time to time. Oops, your mother takes you so seriously. Your brother also says you have good fortune. If you become your aunt in the future, you will be the best among people." Liu Cuipi smiles but doesn't smile.

"It's just that your mother is soft-tempered. If it were me, my girl would be so dishonest before she got married, I would have slapped her! I originally tolerated you with good intentions, and I also expected you to promote your brother, but now Well, the original business has been ruined by that Mingyan bitch."

Speaking of these family members, Liu Cui gritted her teeth with hatred and couldn't help but cursed: "Useless thing, a man can only cry when he is bullied, and your innocent body has been blinded in vain!"

The attacker was nestled on the earthen bed, and the dirty words from the market fell on her body like needles. She was thin and thin, with her empty sleeves hanging on her body, like yellow leaves curling in autumn, exuding a sense of willfulness. The loneliness that has not yet fallen.

"Hey, please don't die at home. Your brother hasn't given birth to a child yet. What's going on with the continuous deaths?" Liu Cui simply and roughly scooped up the Chinese medicine soup that had just boiled in a pottery bowl with the medicine residue. , thumped heavily on the table, waiting for the attacker to lean forward as if he were laughing.

She was very thirsty. From last night to now, she drank a bowl of cold water for seven or eight hours. She asked the little girl to get water, but no one in the Hua family paid attention to her.

He didn't tell her where the fire was, nor how to burn the wood stove.

Xiren had no choice but to tell her to go to the well to get some cold water. Unexpectedly, the little girl couldn't do it well. Half of her clothes were wet and she almost fell into the well. a while.

Now that I think about it, as her cheap sister-in-law said, retribution will come quickly enough if you fall from the clouds.The world is huge, and there is no 'home' that she, Hua Xiren, can go to. Now that her mother is gone, she has no roots at all, so she doesn't care what Liu Cui says.

Liu Cuipi was smiling but not smiling. She talked and scolded her for a long time, but she didn't see her sister-in-law reply at all. She felt that it was boring. After watching for a while, she left.

Xi was so thirsty and exhausted from the fever that he almost threw the medicinal soup on the ground.In addition, her throat was dry and itchy, and she couldn't say a word when she opened her mouth. She couldn't even wake up the little girl.

Just when he was worried, he saw Hua Zifang come in and asked her bluntly: "You have also seen this situation now. Do you have any tokens of Master Bao on you? I am tired of working hard, so I will help you run errands to deliver them."

"Hey, sister, it's not what I said to you. Look, how can you live this life? You should go back. Our family is still the same as before. You are the outsider and I am the inside. This life is easy. " Seeing that Xiren was silent, Hua Zifang touched her nose and seemed to find something. She stepped forward and handed the decoction into her hand.

He said seductively: "Don't blame your sister-in-law, she was just talking angrily. A maid from a wealthy family, like you, can win over men and bribe their buyers. No, then Mingyan even invited me for tea in private. It shows that he is thinking of you."

As he spoke, he did not treat Xi Ren as an outsider, and said many obscene words, and taught her step by step how to win over Jia Baoyu again. His words were mean for the first time.

Xiren was greatly amused, humiliated and tired. He downed the half-cold decoction in one gulp and said hoarsely with all his strength: "Why, without me in this family, you and your father can't even be the backbone of the family?"

"What are you talking about?" Hua Zifang became so angry that she almost jumped.

But he was still greedy for the wealth and honor he had gained when he followed Jia Baoyu, so he suppressed his anger and said carelessly, "Wait, wait", and turned around and went out.

Ten taels of silver might be a lot of money to ordinary people, but Xi Ren had also experienced wealth and grace, so in the eyes of his masters, ten taels of silver was nothing.

The year before last, the second grandma could give 20 taels to a poor relative in Qiufeng with a wave of her hand. Baoyu could buy a piece of ink for 70 taels that could not be used twice a year. Even Qingwen, with her little hoof, could get 15 taels of monthly silver in a month. .

Twelve.

Ah.

The wife actually hated her so much.

When he was using her, he would give her one son at a time, but when he was not using her, he wouldn't even give her the dignity of breaking up. No wonder the sons one by one were either unable to keep or were useless.

So what if there is a daughter of a noble concubine?The imperial concubine is a member of the Tian family. A fool like Mrs. Wang will lose everything sooner or later.

"Sister Xiren..."

Xiren was full of curses and called out to his tender sister to pull him back. He saw the little girl looking at him timidly, as if she had something to hide.

"What's wrong?" Xiren asked angrily. I really don't know if Miss Shi is stupid or doesn't understand. Who can such a young girl serve? It's not enough to cause trouble.

The little girl was squirming, her face turned red, and she said cautiously: "I want to be respectful."

"...Go." Xiren sighed, lay down with his clothes on, and stopped paying attention to anyone.

It's March in spring, and the flowers and willows in the Grand View Garden are red and green, and large clusters of hibiscus are blooming beautifully.

But admiring flowers, willows and spring is the elegant pleasure of the masters. Mingyan carried the instructions on his body and received three taels of silver. However, Baoyu spent more time sleeping and less time waking up, so he had no way to ask for help and was full of resentment.

"Quick, quick, quick! Put this sand in. This is our first time doing this. I don't know if it can be done. We need to get a few more." Yunzhu urged Xiao Hong all the way, holding the clam shell with one hand and using the other hand. The skewer made a small opening in the clam meat, and the two of them worked together to put the sand in.

Xiaohong hasn't spoken yet, but Mingyan, who is guarding the waterside, is disdainful, "Is this possible? I heard that the clam shells that produce pearls are valuable, so you still choose the big ones. Later, Butler Lin..."

Maybe her original intention was to curry favor with Xiaohong, the housekeeper's daughter, but Mingyan had something on her mind, and her words were filled with a certain yin and yang that made people feel uncomfortable.

Yunzhu rarely talks, perhaps because she listens more and speaks less, so she is particularly sensitive to the emotions of others. Seeing Mingyan depressed, she whispered: "It doesn't matter, I also contributed the money, the losses are mine." .”

Fifty taels of silver pearl clams, nearly a thousand in quantity, wasn't enough for her to conduct several experiments?

Xiaohong, who was originally jealous, saw Yunzhu say this, and suddenly felt that she was a villain, and almost said, "Don't waste anymore." Fortunately, fortunately.

So he turned to question Mingyan: "What's wrong with you today? Are you so angry? Who recruited you?"

"Well, the third girl said earlier that the days are long and it's tiring to go to the garden all day long. She wants to form a poetry club. Our second master loves this kind of excitement the most. Sister Xiaohong, what do you think our second master is? When can I go out?" Mingyan said, leaning closer to Xiaohong's side, as if she was in a good relationship.

Xiaohong coughed lightly and told Mingyan to stand still and not be ungraceful.Yunzhu laughed innocently as she hugged the clam shell, thinking that Jia Yun was so charming, which made the girl pay attention to her reputation.

"How do I know? But the monk said that at most 49 to [-] days, everything will be fine." Xiao Hongxin said, it doesn't matter if everything is fine or not, now I just eat and sleep at the same time every day. Pretty good too.

How much effort will people save?

Mingyan watched the two men tossing the clam shells for a while, then went out of the yard with sullen eyebrows. Seeing Hua Zifang standing outside, he threw three taels of silver to Hua Zifang like a hot potato.

He whispered: "Don't come here. Second Master Bao is ill now. How can he have the time to take care of these things?"

Seeing Hua Zifang nodding and bending to defend, he said vaguely: "I know that Sister Xiren is unhappy, but what can be done? Our wife is the one who speaks the truth. What's more, the master also agrees to this matter."

Mingyan has always been articulate, but now that Xiren has lost power, how can he still have the patience to deal with Hua Zifang?I rolled my eyes and saw Li Gui walking over with a young boy.

"It's your dear brother. What kind of wind brought you here? Is Grandma Li feeling well now?"

With that said, he left the flowers aside to dry and went to talk to Li Gui.