swear not to be concubine

Chapter 3

It is windy in winter, even though the windows on all four walls are closed tightly, there is still wind leaking in through the gaps, and the candlelight is swaying from side to side, almost extinguished.

Mrs. Jian and Jian Qing hadn't arrived yet, so Jian Yan picked a rose chair and sat down.

Through the black lacquered mother-of-pearl eight-panel landscape folding screen on the side, a dozen or so monks are sitting cross-legged on the ground in the outer hall, all with solemn expressions.

Jian Yan's nominal father in this life, Jian Yongchang, spent his life searching for flowers and willows every day, and fell ill at the beginning of the year.Although countless doctors were invited, and the ginseng and bird's nests were filled as if free of money, in the end he kicked his legs and walked the road of Huangquan.And counting it, today is a hundred days after his death, Mrs. Jian had already invited a monk from the Longxing Nunnery outside the city to perform rituals for him.

Before Mrs. Jian arrived, it was hard for the monks in the hall to start doing things on their own.

Jian Yan was not in a hurry, she sat on the rose chair, put her hands on the small heater, looked at the white cloth ball hanging in front of her, and stared intently in a daze.

After a while, she heard the sound of snow creaking and trampling outside, and at the same time, Siyue, who had been watching the wind from the porch outside, walked in quickly, and whispered to her: "Girl, the wife and the young master are here."

Jian Yan put the small stove sleeves on her knees into the sleeves, then got up and stood up.

Here she just stood up, when the quilted door curtain was lifted, Mrs. Jian and Jian Qing walked in with their heads bowed.

Mrs. Jian was born with a diamond-shaped face, with protruding cheekbones, concave cheeks, narrow forehead, and pointed chin. She looks very mean, which really makes people feel uneasy.

But Jian Yan still took two steps forward, bent down to salute, and called her mother respectfully.

Mrs. Jian didn't even look at her, but just snorted lightly from her nose as a promise.

On the other hand, Jian Qing smiled and asked, "When did my sister come?"

"It's only been a while." Jian Yan replied with a smile, then turned slightly to look at Bai Wei who was standing aside.

Bai Wei understood, and immediately took a step forward, raising the black lacquer and gold tray with both hands.

The tray was covered with a piece of lotus-blue silk cloth, and Jian Yan stretched out her hand to lift it, and then took something from the tray, but it was a pair of autumn-green knee pads - a bunch of golden chrysanthemums were embroidered on the knee pads, and the side There are two lines of poems embroidered in black lowercase letters, "Who is the master of Shaohua in autumn, and the leader of Qunfang is the chrysanthemum."Hands over.

"Last time, I heard from Shen's mother that my mother's legs and feet were not good, and she was very afraid of the cold in winter. After hearing this, my daughter was very worried. She wanted to serve her every day, but she was afraid of disturbing her cleanliness." So I made this pair of knee pads, and my mother wears them on weekdays, so they can resist some cold, which can be regarded as a little bit of filial piety for my daughter."

It's just that Mrs. Jane didn't reach out to pick her up.She just folded her hands in her sleeves and looked at Jian Yan expressionlessly.

With a faint smile on Jian Yan's face, she lowered her head slightly, holding the pair of knee pads in plain white hands, with a very respectful attitude.No matter how Mrs. Jane sized her up like lightning, the gentle smile on her face remained unchanged.

But in fact, the most unsightly thing about Mrs. Jane is the gentle smile on her face.

Before Mrs. Jian left the cabinet, there was a concubine sister in the family.Speaking of her concubine sister, she was born just like Jian Yan, soft and weak, very delicate and delicate.She also has a good temper, like dough, always speaks in a soft voice, and the elders in the family love her very much, surpassing her as the eldest daughter.Later, when her family was in decline, she married a businessman, but her concubine sister married to the Xu family in Xianghe.

This Xianghe Xu family is an old family in Tongzhou. Their ancestors were elders of the pavilion, and their father and son were three scholars, which is extremely honorable.Although the Xu family was not as prosperous as it used to be when her concubine sister married, but I heard that the Xu family now has a fourth-rank Honglu Temple Minister, and a third-rank right servant of the Ministry of Rites. The son went up.One concubine, one concubine, but in the end her concubine sister married better than her concubine daughter. Every time Mrs. Jian thinks about it, she always feels that there is a cloudy breath in her heart, and she can't swallow it or spit it out. uncomfortable.

But Jian Yan looked just like her concubine sister, elegant and clear, like a delicate flower in the rain, when people saw her, even if she talked loudly, she was afraid that she would be frightened.

But Mrs. Jian also knows that weak and pitiful people like her concubine and Jian Yan will arouse men's desire to protect, so since Jian Yan was seven years old, she has been controlling her diet, just to let her It looks lighter and weaker.

Obviously, she wanted to transfer and teach someone like her concubine, but in the end, every time she saw Jian Yan, she would feel the breath in her heart become more depressed.So every day, if she can see Jian Yan, she will disappear, even if Jian Yan wants to go to her place to pay her respects, she will not let Shen's mother let her in, she just said that she likes to be quiet, and she will not ask for her greetings, so that she can live in peace every day. It is considered filial piety to her to follow the masters to learn those embroidery, piano, chess, calligraphy and painting.

So far, Jian Yan can see that Mrs. Jian actually doesn't like to see her, so she doesn't hang out in front of her very much on weekdays, so as not to obstruct her eyes, and if she is unhappy at that time, she will be even more unhappy when selling her. Soft hands, in the end it was her who was unlucky.

However, when it is time to offer courtship to please, it still has to be offered.For example, the pair of knee pads would not have cost her much trouble, but at least it would let Mrs. Jane know that she is a mother in her daughter's heart—even though Mrs. Jane does not have her daughter in her heart, Second, Mrs. Jane can also have a look at her embroidery work to show that she is obedient and obedient to learn what she ordered.

Sure enough, Mrs. Jian glanced at the pair of knee pads with her hands, and even though she didn't like Jian Yan in her heart, she still said: "Your embroidery is getting better and better."

After finishing speaking, he signaled to Shen's mother beside her to take the knee pads.

The gentle smile on Jian Yan's face remained unchanged, and she said softly: "Thank you mother for the compliment."

Jian Qing on the side glanced at the kneepad in Shen's mother's hand at this time, and then said with a smile: "Mother likes chrysanthemums the most, especially yellow chrysanthemums. The most notable ones. My sister's two lines of poems are also well written, and they just fit my mother's thoughts."

Jian Qing had a round face, the real face was like a full moon.Round eyes and nose, and round dimples on both cheeks, especially childish when she smiles, the whole person looks without a trace of edges and corners, which is extremely pleasing.

He loves Jian Yan as a younger sister very much, but he also knows that Mrs. Jian doesn't like Jian Yan, so whenever he has a free time, he will always praise Jian Yan in front of Mrs. Jian.For example, when it comes to knee pads, it's just a corner to tell Mrs. Jian that Jian Yan is very interested in her.

How could Mrs. Jane not know what her son was thinking?Then she gave him a sideways glance and said, "Look at you smiling all day long, what do you look like? You are 17 years old, and you are still childish when you speak and act, and you are not stable at all."

It's just that although she said these words in a reprimanding tone, the corners of her eyes and brows did not mean any reprimand, on the contrary, there was still a bit of a smile.

Who is close and who is distant, this can be distinguished at a glance.

Jian Yan didn't care either.Even though everyone in Jane's house thought she was Mrs. Jane's biological daughter, it was fine for her to know otherwise.Since there are no expectations, there will naturally be no disappointments.

Naturally, if she really had any expectations for Mrs. Jane, then she only hoped that Mrs. Jane would not give her to an old man as a concubine in the end, for the sake of being nice to her all these years.

——She still remembers overhearing Mrs. Jian talking to Mother Shen at that time. Mrs. Jian's original words were that they were not the poor family, they were only poor in power.If she just gave Jian Yan to be a concubine to an official of ordinary rank, it would be a waste of her thoughts and the money she spent on Jian Yan.

And among those high-ranking officials, which one will be young?At least forty or more.

Jian Yan lowered her head and lowered her eyes, keeping all her thoughts in her heart, and she didn't show the slightest bit.

The three of them sat down, and Mrs. Jian gave orders, and Mother Shen walked around the black lacquered folding screen and let the monks outside begin to chant scriptures and perform rituals.

Shen's mother was originally Mrs. Jane's dowry maid, but when she got older, she married a treasurer of Jane's family.It's just that her life was unlucky, and within two years of her marriage, the shopkeeper got a sudden illness and left with a kick of her legs.At that time, she did not have a son and a half daughter, so she simply went back to Jane's house to serve Mrs. Jane.Fortunately, Mrs. Jane has always regarded her as her confidant, and she is willing to talk to her about anything.

Amidst the humming of scriptures and the sound of cymbals, a little maid brought up a black lacquered and gold tray and served three cups of tea.

Jian Yan took the pastel plum pattern teacup, lifted the lid, brought it to her mouth, and took a sip of the tea inside.

The tea is Maofeng tea.The tea soup is clear and slightly yellow, and it is slightly bitter after the entrance, but after swallowing it, there is a slight sweetness on the tip of the tongue.

At this time, she heard Mrs. Jian who was sitting opposite her asking her: "I heard that you have worked hard on painting and calligraphy in the past two days?"

Jian Yan paused with the hand holding the teacup.

It's just that she got a calligraphy and painting two days ago, and she liked it very much, so she just copied it for two days, but Mrs. Jian knew about such trivial things.

Thinking about it, she is the bird in the cage, the fish in the pond, even if she goes to the toilet several times a day, she will report to Mrs. Jane, right?
How can there be dignity and freedom?
(End of this chapter)