Taohuaxi

Chapter 11 It’s only half a moment of spring night
The bright moon and the dark cage cover the gauze.

The soft red curtain stirred the panic and tenderness on the couch.

The man next to him has a warm breath.

Familiar and unfamiliar.

I closed my eyes gently.

Now that you are married to him, conjugal etiquette is indispensable.Although it was faster than I expected, I had no reason to refuse him.The rich words and sentences I read in the boudoir flowed through my ears like water, coating my heart with scarlet color.

He fumbled and unbuttoned the buckle on my chest——

There was an urgent knock on the door.

"Second Master! Second Master!"

A woman's voice.

Not He Hua, nor Xiaoyin.

Cheng Huaishi paused for a moment, thought for a moment, then stood up, dusted his clothes flat, and opened the door.I also got up from the bed, reached out my hand and touched my face, trying my best to calm down.At present, dinner has not yet passed, and it is not known whether the old lady will order someone to call her.

The door opened, and standing in front of him was a strange woman, wearing a double bun, wearing a white velvet flower, and dressed as a maid.

In the past few days since I came here, I have never seen her in the mansion. I think she is not from the Cheng mansion.However, she seemed to be very familiar with Cheng Huaishi.

"Second Master," she cried: "Our lady was taken away by a group of people half an hour ago! She asked Ronger not to tell you. But Ronger was really worried. Second Master, you are the most enthusiastic person, except for you , who else in Yangzhou city can save the young lady..."

It turned out to be the maid of Xun Mansion.

Something happened to Miss Xun and she came to Cheng Huaishi for help.

This kind of thing has happened more than once or twice.

As a result, the maid entered the Cheng Mansion and came to the west courtyard to knock on the door.

The charming look on Cheng Huaishi's face faded, and he frowned: "I don't know if it's the people from Dongchang, or the rabble under the former prefect Liu... He is really a rat for attacking a weak woman over and over again!"

I glanced at the girl, then at Cheng Huaishi, and said, "Since Miss Xun is in trouble, please go ahead."

Cheng Huaishi shook my hand, with a look of shame on his face: "I really can't bear to frighten my wife anymore -"

The maid became anxious and sobbed: "If the second master is unreliable, what can the young lady do? When the master was still alive, he often praised the second master as a clear leader among scholars and a rare loyal person. Even if the second master does not care about the young lady, he will not Don’t you care about the teacher-student friendship with me anymore..."

He Hua came over, leaned over and said, "Second Master, the old lady has told you not to go out again in the past few days. You can study peacefully in the house and wait for the coming spring."

Cheng Huai was in a dilemma.

I said softly: "Go ahead. I'll find a way to explain it to my mother. You've been working on Lord Xun's affairs for so long, and if you just let go of it now, I think you won't be able to bear it."

He nodded: "Madam, she is sensible, understands righteousness, and is grateful for her husband."

After saying that, he followed the maid away like a gust of wind.

I stood under the eaves, watching his back disappear into the night.

Xiaoyin said: "Young lady is so good-natured, and the people in the Xun family are too ignorant. How long do you think they will burden my uncle! What do you mean there is no reliable person except my uncle? My uncle is not the son-in-law of the Xun family..."

I ordered her to be careful what she said.

She pouted and closed her mouth.

This girl Xiaoyin is dedicated to me, but she can't hold her breath.

I sighed and said, "Xiaoyin, the second master and I are husband and wife. We should know him, understand him, and trust him."

He Hua silently put on my jacket and said, "The food has been passed around from the kitchen. Second Young Madam, please go to the North Courtyard to have a meal."

North courtyard.

Various dishes are placed on the table.

The old lady sat in the middle, the young master and his wife sat on her right side, and Qingshi sat on her left side.

Seeing me coming in, the old lady smiled and said: "Sang Yu, where is Huai'er? I just asked the servant to call you. I also thought that you and your wife would finally be reunited, so I asked you to talk more."

I walked to the seat next to Qingshi and sat down and said, "Back to mother, the second master has come back after a big adventure, and his classmates' friends must call him to get together. He asked me to apologize to my mother, and I can't spend time with her tonight. It’s time to eat.”

After hearing this, the eldest young master Cang Shi seemed to have an outlet for his anger that had no place to put down: "The three friends that the second brother has made outside are really chaotic. This time, such a big thing happened in Yangzhou Mansion I don’t know what kind of trouble it will cause in the future!”

Qingshi was not angry and said: "Brother, don't say that. If the second sister-in-law hadn't recognized Mr. Feng, you might have lost your official position. If you say that the second brother harmed you, could it be that your second brother did it for you?" Isn’t it possible? Did my second brother withdraw those cavalry troops for you?"

The eldest mistress wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and said, "We are in this mansion now, but what can we say? Even my sister-in-law fell in the wind like this."

The old lady slapped the table.

Everyone was silent.

At the dinner table, everyone finished the meal dully with their own thoughts.

At the end, the old lady said: "The eldest young master of the Qin family sent a message to a servant, saying that he was congratulating Huai'er on his safe return and that he would serve a drink at the house tomorrow. The Qin family has always had some friendship with us. This was his kindness and I couldn't say no. . Let’s go together tomorrow.”

"Yes." Everyone answered in unison.

The old lady called me and said, "Sang Yu, although it is said that a wife is guided by her husband, you should also persuade Huai'er to be more careful. A wise wife is a wise wife and her husband is less likely to cause trouble."

I lowered my head quickly: "That's what my mother said."

After the banquet was over, I walked to the corridor. I remembered that I had left the handkerchief, so I went back to get it, but I heard the voice of Mrs. Zhao next to the old lady.

"Old Madam, someone from the Zhu family in Dongchang Mansion has written, saying that they want to borrow a sum of money." The old madam remained silent.

Mrs. Zhao added: "I originally thought that the second master was gone and couldn't find a suitable match for a while, so the old lady married her. Now that the second master is back, I look around and see who the girl from the small family is. It’s a bit off. The Zhu family didn’t even send a single straw as a gift. The girl was newly married, and she didn’t even ask her daughter and son-in-law how she was doing. She just borrowed money. It’s really outrageous. Are you marrying a girl or selling a girl? "

I was extremely embarrassed.

I never imagined that my father could be so confused.

How can I open this mouth?
All I heard was the old lady said: "Give it as much as you want."

I had no intention of taking the veil, so I returned to the west courtyard in a daze.

When I got to the room and closed the door, the tears fell.

The boat ride was thrilling and I had to go through all kinds of difficulties to get to Yangzhou. I didn't dare to make a mistake at my husband's house. My father never asked me about my life or death.Now, after finally settling down, this is how he came to the world.

But what do people in my husband’s family think of me?

After sitting there for a long time, still unable to let go, he called Xiaoyin and handed her this month's silver: "Go to the ferry tomorrow and ask someone to bring the money back to Zhu's house. Tell them that if there is any difficulty in the future, don't worry. I have to mention it to the old lady. I still have to be a human being in this house."

Xiaoyin's eyes turned red: "The Zhu family has the ancestral flower brewing recipe, how can it be so difficult to find here? I just want to squeeze some oil and water from the young lady to make myself fatter!"

I waved my hand to signal her not to mention it again.

Stepmother Lin Yue is full of tricks.

But my father is my father after all. As he gets older, I can’t bear to ignore him.

Random thoughts always make me feel sad for a while.

When Cheng Huai came back at midnight, he asked He Hua to turn off the lights.

I got on the bed and tossed and turned.

Cheng Huaishi wondered if it was a safe night?

Who was Miss Xun taken away by?
Feng Gao has returned to Beijing.Besides, he promised me that the matter would be settled.Don't go back on your word.

The pillow is cold and the quilt is cool.

At the fourth watch, I heard some noise and thought it was Cheng Huaishi coming back. I sat up and realized it was the wind.

It's five o'clock in the morning and I have a short sleep.

In a daze, it felt like sitting on a boat, with Cheng Huaishi at the helm.A strong wind blew, and I fell into the water and was submerged by the cold water. I shouted desperately: "Huaishi! Huaishi!"

When I woke up, there were still tears in the corners of my eyes.

Wu Bi was already waiting outside the door.

"Second Young Mistress, we made an appointment the day before yesterday to settle the account at Guangling Huiming Teahouse. We'll go and settle it today."

I remembered this incident.

The accounts passed through my hands should be corrected by me.

Huiming Teahouse, located at the foot of Guanyin Mountain in Guangling, is the Cheng family's biggest patron.

After washing up, I left Xiaoyin in the house, took Hehua with me, followed Wu Bi out of the house, got on the carriage, and went to Guanyin Mountain.

After checking the accounts, it was already noon.

The shopkeeper of Huiming Tea House happily settled the money.

I thanked him and hurried back here.

Although the weather is cold, there is still an endless stream of pilgrims coming to Guanyin Mountain.

He Hua said: "Second Young Madam, would you like to go to the top of the mountain and burn incense?"

I shook my head: "If there is something in your destiny, it will always be there. If there is nothing in your destiny, it is useless to ask gods and Buddhas. Everyone prays to Bodhisattva, how can Bodhisattva take care of it? It is better to save Bodhisattva's worries."

Wu Bi smiled and said, "The second young lady is a very sober person."

As soon as he finished speaking, the carriage passed through a dense forest, and several people suddenly jumped out of the bushes and surrounded the carriage.

Those people were all hunky-backed, with black scarves covering their faces.

Wu Bi quickly led a few boys to fight with them.

Hehua said nothing, pulled me and ran away.

The thorns scratched my arm and blood trickled down.

I vaguely saw a figure wearing a blue robe leaping over.

The kites in the mountains are calling.

I'm worried about whether the banknotes collected today can be saved.

The old lady trusted me and asked me to take care of Cheng's business. If something happened, how could I face her?

Two masked men came after me. He Hua pushed me and stood in front of me.

My feet staggered.

A man rolled me down the hillside in his arms...

(End of this chapter)