Spring is warm and fragrant

Chapter 12 Punishment of Diao Slaves
Ning'an Hall.

After Lu Mingyu hurried away with the scroll in his arms, Nanny Lan, who had been guarding the outside for a long time, quietly walked to the door of the inner room, opened a curtain, and saw Mrs. Zhu sitting at the desk facing her, slightly lowering her head to look at the painting in her hand. . A 40-year-old woman has a fair and delicate face, with light makeup and light makeup, soft and gentle. Before, her shoulders trembled from crying, but now her eyes are faintly red, and the corners of her mouth are turned up, as if immersed in some beautiful memories.

Sister Lan could guess what Mrs. Zhu was thinking at a glance.

The happiest memory of this village girl from the countryside is the time when she met the master. When she first came to Ning'an Hall to serve, the husband and wife were still in harmony. Needlework, or go to the yard to enjoy the flowers and tease the dog, and more often sit alone in front of the window, holding his chin and smiling.

Smiling happily and sweetly, just like this time.

After watching in silence for a moment, Sister Lan coughed lightly.

Mrs. Zhu raised her head and met Shanglan's playful gaze. She quickly rolled up the scroll and explained awkwardly: "A Nuan drew a picture, and it looks pretty good to me."

Sister Lan was not curious about the contents of the painting, and said comfortingly after a few steps: "The fourth girl is still good at coaxing people. I knew that the old slave would also draw a picture. Why bother to persuade her so dry that it doesn't work at all. ?”

The Zhu family is getting old, but his skin is still very thin, he lowers his head, blushing and obediently making fun of others.

"Okay, it's fine if you're happy, and you don't have to cry about anything. The master likes you so much, he won't really do that." After teasing a few words, Nanny Lan helped Mrs. Zhu up, and pointed to the vanity mirror, "Come on , this old servant will dress you up again, and the dinner will be served in a while, so don’t let the little maids see it.”

Mrs. Zhu nodded and sat down. Seeing that Nanny Lan was going to take the box of rouge that would make her face look whiter after she applied it, Mrs. Zhu looked at herself in the mirror and sighed softly: "Forget it, I will dress up like this from now on. Well, don't worry about it, Ah Nuan is right, I have a background like this, no matter how rich I dress up, others will know my background, and if I keep it as it is, I can still be praised for returning to basics, besides, I look pleasing to the eye."

She just wanted Lan Momo to help her cover the red eye circles. At such an age, it must be a joke for the servant girl to see that she cried.

Sister Lan paused, her eyes met Zhu's in the mirror, Zhu didn't dodge guilty of rejecting her like before, but smiled at her, as if she had made up her mind.Turning a few turns in her head, Sister Lan did not hide her surprise, "Fourth Miss is young, and she still knows what it means to return to basics?"

Zhu Shi showed a particularly proud smile, "Yes, Ah Nuan is as smart as her parents."

She grew up in the countryside and had never read a book. After coming to Beijing, she has more leisure time, so she learns a little every day, and finally knows a few idioms.It's the turn of a pair of children. The daughter is like her. It is a bit difficult to study, but the female star is transparent, gentle and gentle. She is very popular among ladies. The son is much more powerful, smarter than her husband, and he was selected as a scholar at the age of 11... …

It's a pity that his son's life is not good. Not long after passing the exam, he went out with a few sons and brothers, and accidentally fell down the hillside. He was fine in other places and broke his eyes.

Thinking of the sad things, the smile on the corner of Zhu's mouth retracted, and he lowered his eyes to comfort himself, "Ah Nuan is smart, if he is a kid, he will be able to take the exam for a scholar in a few years..."

Sister Lan tactfully combed Mrs. Zhu's hair first, and when Mrs. Zhu got over the sadness, she smiled and said: "Old lady, Miss Si's words make sense at first, but she is a child after all, and she doesn't understand There are twists and turns between adults. If you are the head wife of a seventh-rank official, you should wear light makeup. When you go out as a guest, people with higher status than you will praise you for your duty, but you are Mrs. Shangshu, majestic After so many years, it suddenly became calm. Those wives who love to talk about others must think that the master has neglected you, which is why you have lost the confidence to show off your power. Old lady, once there are such rumors, not only will you be looked down upon, I'm afraid that the fourth lady will also be looked down upon by the girls in the neighboring houses, hey, it would be great if the third wife was born to the old concubine, then you can relax with the third wife supporting the fourth girl."

When Mrs. Zhu heard this, the scene of her husband scolding her coldly in the morning suddenly came to mind.

That's right, she has already been neglected by her husband, and she has no face. If she loses face, how can she support her granddaughter in the future?
Looking at the mirror again, Zhu frowned, bit her lip, and as she wavered every time before, she quickly became firm under the reminder of Lan Nanny, "Then..."

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly saw the door curtain raised, and a tall and burly figure walked in.

Zhu's words stuck in her throat, and she looked at her husband in disbelief.

She was sitting, no matter how shocked she was, her whole body was stiff, and she was still sitting firmly, but Nanny Lan only felt a bone-chilling chill from the soles of her feet to her spine, and then straight to her heart.Her hand holding the eyebrow pencil was trembling, when did the master come?How much has the master heard?
Seeing that Lu Zhan was getting closer and closer, Mother Lan's frightened soul hadn't come back yet, but years of instinct drove her to put down her eyebrow pencil steadily, and immediately saluted the man, "Master."

After being reminded, Mrs. Zhu stood up in a panic, ignoring her long hair that was still loose, and walked around the chair to prepare for the ceremony.

Lu Zhan glanced over her reddened eye circles, and stepped forward to hold her hand in time, his voice was far gentler than usual, "I said earlier, you don't need to pay attention to these polite manners in front of me."

Zhu Shi may not be able to understand the thoughts hidden under her husband's stern face, but after so many years of husband and wife, she can guess his mood based on the changes in Lu Zhan's voice.Isn't he angry when he speaks so softly?But it was still so cold in the morning, she didn't do anything, why did he change?
Zhu couldn't figure it out, she mustered up the courage to raise her head, and looked at her husband uneasily.

The timid look in his eyes has hardly changed over the years.

Except for the death of his parents when he was young, and the fact that his son was blind and painful and he was helpless, Lu Zhan had never shed tears in his life, but at this moment, looking at his wife's beautiful but no longer youthful face, Lu Zhan couldn't control his eyes Pantothenic acid. For 20 years, he always thought that she had changed, and always blamed her for not listening to her advice. Today he realized that it was because he didn't do well enough that he wasted 20 years in a daze. In the past 20 years, he and Zhu's could have Live better.

"Go down." Lu Zhan said calmly, glancing at Nanny Lan who was fixed over there from the corner of the eye, with a trace of tenderness that was due to Zhu Shi remaining in his words.

The voice came into my ears, and Nanny Lan breathed a sigh of relief.She, like Aunt Zhou, was originally a servant girl by the master's side. After the death of Mrs. Yuan, the master took Aunt Zhou into the house, and she continued to be a maid. Soon after Mrs. Zhu came in, the master arranged her to serve the rich and powerful family. Known Zhu.So Sister Lan is very familiar with the temper of the master. The master is so calm, he must not have heard her persuasion to Mrs. Zhu just now.

Bowing, Nanny Lan bowed her head and backed out.

After the people left, there were only two husband and wife left in the room. Zhu Shi raised her eyes quietly, but her husband was still looking at her with that strange and frightening look.Zhu felt uncomfortable, and subconsciously wanted to distance herself, but just as she moved, her hands were clenched, "Did you tell Ah Nuan about our past?"

Lu Zhan held his wife's hand with one hand, and held up a scroll with the other.

Zhu's guilt was inexplicable, and she lowered her head to explain, "A Nuan asked me what the house in my hometown was like, and I told her, and as I was talking, I just..."

The granddaughter is young and has a lot of questions. After asking about the house, she asked her grandfather when she met her. She spoke quickly and said everything without knowing it.

Lu Zhan could imagine how the grandparents and grandsons got along, he smiled, let go of his wife, opened the scroll and spread it on the table, and praised sincerely: "Ah Nuan is very talented, just listening to you can draw so similarly. "The granddaughter is only seven years old. Given time, she may not lose to her talented son in painting.

The topic was easy enough, and Zhu's body relaxed, because her husband was so pleasant, she also forgot the reprimand for the time being, took out two paintings from the painting tube, and showed him, "No, when Ah Nuan painted for the first time, Ask me if I am right in one painting, I changed a few places, the second time it was slightly better, Ah Nuan was afraid that you would not like it, so I drew a third one, and I was worried that being late would make Ah Yun and the others wait."

After seeing the two paintings, Lu Zhan couldn't help laughing. He liked the cuteness of the little granddaughter, and he was also pleased with the heart that the little granddaughter poured into this gift.

He looked down at the painting, and seeing him smiling, Zhu's eyes couldn't help becoming obsessed.

Her husband is almost fifty, but she always feels that the older he is, the better he looks, and it's good to be old. He's always as young as his twenties, so how could he still like her?Not to mention three or four times a month, maybe not even once?

Mrs. Zhu is a very easy to satisfy person. As long as her husband treats her well, she will forget the previous unhappiness. Besides, compared with other men, her husband treats her very well, and he rarely comes to her side. There are not many old aunts there.

Lu Zhan sensed his wife's gaze, and when he looked over, he met his wife's hastily avoiding face.

Lu Zhan smiled wryly, took his wife's hand, and walked towards the bed.

Zhu's heart was pounding, looking at the canopy bed in front of him, his eyes were like water.What does he want to do, it's not dark yet.

"Sit down, let's talk."

Lu Zhan sat down first, patted the seat next to him, and signaled his wife to sit down too.

Mrs. Zhu was glad to be disappointed again, so she sat obediently, lowered her head, as if she would listen to what her husband said.

Lu Zhan squeezed her hand and looked at the window.She likes him, he knows it, so except for the occasional compliment she couldn't help but at night, she didn't say any sweet words at other times, because it was unnecessary, anyway, she would be by his side no matter what he did, and because he was not born with sweet words people.

but now……

Lu Zhan pursed his lips, turned his head slightly to the other side, and his voice was almost inaudible: "We have been arguing for more than 20 years about your dressing, and today I will say it again, you look the best when you are dressed like this. I like it the most, as long as you persevere, from today onwards, I will come to your side every night, unless the court is busy, rain or shine."

Zhu shi raised her head in embarrassment, unable to believe her ears.

Lu Zhan took a deep breath, turned around, and asked her, "Agreed?"

Mrs. Zhu not only agreed, she cried in surprise, and flung herself into her husband's arms, "You mean what you say?"

Lu Zhan smiled, put his arms around people and coaxed: "You have a lot to say, but you can't dress yourself up in an ugly way. I know you are afraid of being laughed at, but those who wear good clothes and expensive jewelry are decent enough, you don't need to slap your face. Scribble. I will treat you better in the future, others will only envy you when they hear about it, and will never misunderstand that I neglect you. "

The implication is that he heard the words of Mrs. Zhu and Sister Lan.

Husband promised to come to her every day, Zhu Shi was so happy that she was dizzy, she didn't think about it so much, she nodded while crying, "Okay, I'll listen to you, then don't go to Aunt Zhou's place anymore... ..." The person fell into the honey pot, his head was sticky and couldn't move anymore, and he couldn't help venting the grievance in his heart.

Lu Zhan stroked her hair, and finally told her the truth, "Except for the first time, I didn't touch her all night afterward. I made you angry on purpose, otherwise you won't change it back."

Zhu Shi was stunned, she didn't believe the man's smiling eyes, "If you don't touch her, then you guys..."

Lu Zhan showed exhaustion on his face, let go of her and lay down on the back, with one hand on his forehead, "I used to do this to annoy you, but these past few years, I have a headache after a lot of things, so I asked her to pinch it for me..."

"I can pinch too!" Zhu Shi was not happy, and hurriedly climbed onto the bed, stretched out his hand and pinched Lu Zhan twice, "Is this comfortable?"

A gentle and gentle little woman, she is so simple-minded that she is so stupid, she is not angry at his neglect, but instead wholeheartedly pleases him.

With the movements of Zhu's hands, her long black and lustrous hair fell down, and brushed across Lu Zhan's face, sultry.Lu Zhan closed his eyes, grabbed Zhu's wrist and turned to the side, and he followed closely behind.The accident happened so suddenly, Zhu Shi let out an "Ouch", realizing what her husband was going to do, Zhu Shi was ashamed and happy, covering her clothes shyly, "Wait, wait until the evening?"

Lu Zhan didn't say anything, but answered her with actions.

It was getting dark outside the window, as black as thick ink.

Zhu's breathing was long, and she was sleeping soundly in the brocade quilt, her cheeks were flushed, as if she had received the nectar and jade dew from the heavenly palace, making her look much younger.

Lu Zhan watched quietly for a while, then slowly lifted the quilt and covered the gauze curtain.After getting dressed, Lu Zhan took one more look at his tired and sleeping wife in the tent, and walked lightly towards the door.The inner room was pitch black, but the lights outside had been turned on, and the light was bright. The man suddenly pulled out the curtain and came out, his face sinking like water, like the king of Hades just waking up.

Sister Lan and the maids were waiting in the yard. When they heard something going on inside, Sister Lan winked at the maids, signaling them to cheer up and be ready to serve the masters at any time.As soon as she looked away, there was a tall and straight figure at the door, standing there motionless, Lan Nanny glanced quickly, but didn't see anything, so she stepped forward and asked, "Master, do you want to prepare meals?"

"Let's talk about it when my wife wakes up."

Lu Zhan's tone was light, they were all old, but his wife's face was tender, and Lu Zhan couldn't call "old lady".

Sister Lan nodded, "The old servant asks the kitchen to warm up first."

Faced with such thoughtfulness, Lu Zhan just smiled coldly, stepped out of the door with long legs, and said without looking back: "You follow me."

When Sister Lan heard this, her legs went limp and she almost fell.

(End of this chapter)