Colorful

Chapter 1 Living in the Shen Mansion (1)
Jingxing is one of the roads from Jindi to Beijing. There are many teahouses along the way, which are specially provided for passing business travelers to drink water and feed horses.

In the early morning of this day, before the dewdrops were scattered on the leaves, a team of carriages approached the teahouse of Sanbao's house.

Sanbao rushed up to meet them, led the horses for the guests, diligently wiped the dust off the bench, brought out a stack of thick cups that had been chipped a lot due to long-term use, and poured hot yellow tea soup.

"What are you doing, be careful." The burly guest scolded Sanbao impatiently. Sanbao looked down and found that the tea soup had overflowed. He hurriedly lowered his head to apologize, and wiped the tea off the table swiftly.

And the woman who made Sanbao so dumbstruck that she didn't even notice the tea overflowed raised her eyebrows and stared at him, and said to him: "Fill this pot with water, it will be boiling hot."

"Okay." With a big grin, Sanbao took the brass thin-necked pot-bellied pot with Baoxiang flower cover from Yuqianer's hand, and after weighing it in his hand, he knew that it was double-layered. Such a pot was very troublesome to make , How can ordinary small households afford it.

Having poured tea and filled water for passing business travelers in this teahouse all the year round, Sanbao has seen many exquisite pots, and this one is definitely used by the richest family members.

After a while, Sanbao handed back the copper pot filled with scalding water to Yu Qian'er: "Miss, you take it, it's heavy enough."

"Who are you calling Miss?" Yu Qian'er gave Sanbao a sideways glance, "Put it on the table."

Sanbao was so brittle that he almost couldn't hold the copper pot steadily, so he quickly put it on the table, and then saw Yuqian'er took out a handkerchief and wiped the outside of the copper pot carefully, and then put the pot in the middle again. a carriage.

Really particular!Such an obviously disgusting action did not arouse any bitterness or resentment in Sambo's heart. It was not the first time he had encountered such disgust, so he was still smiling foolishly.Growing up so big, it was the first time I saw such a beautiful little lady. How could Sanbao not be crazy? I don’t know which girl she is from. She dared to use such a beautiful girl. The future son-in-law will be blessed. thinking.

"Come back to your senses, little fool."

Sanbao was awakened by someone, and just as he turned his head, he received a bunch of copper coins thrown over him. After counting them, he looked at the passers-by. Those who got on their horses got on their horses, and those who drove their carts were ready to set off.

Sanbao weighed the money in his hand, thinking that it was really generous, but he didn't know where he came from.Although Sanbao has never been out of the house, he has seen quite a few people who run the welcoming and sending business. The guards of this team of horses and horses are burly and sturdy, and they behave very well. Therefore, Sanbao determined that this must be an official family from the west.

Yu Qian'er put the copper pot on the carriage and put it down, raised her hand and beat her own arm. Sitting in the carriage for the past few days, her bones and skeletons were about to fall apart. Looking at her girl, she still seemed to be in the garden at home , leaning gracefully on the lead pillow—in a daze.

She had to maintain a beautiful posture even in a daze, which made Yu Qian'er sigh: "Girl, no one will see anyway, so just lie down for a while."

Ji Cheng ignored Yu Qian'er's words: "The hot water is back, mix it with water and wash my face."

Yu Qian'er and Liu Ye'er waited on Ji Cheng to wash his face and comb his hair, and Ji Cheng also used some peach blossom rouge to cover up the tiredness caused by the overnight journey.

Although Yu Qian'er has been serving her daughter since she was ten years old, she still can't understand her girl's habit of not forgetting to hold her hand everywhere.This whole day, even the carriage hardly gets off. What is the meaning of the smearing, and who is it for?

Yu Qian'er naturally didn't understand her daughter's difficulties, and Ji Cheng didn't expect her to understand.The most taboo thing about this person is the two appearances of the front and the back, and a single negligence can make people see the truth clearly.If she was a girl from the Zanying family, it would be fine even if she was looser, but she is not, even if there are gold mountains and silver mountains in the family, and tens of thousands of acres of fertile land, once people see her loose side, they will take her upbringing If she talks about character, she will never want to marry into a family with the old surname in her life.

Liu Ye'er is two years older than Yu Qian'er, and she can understand her daughter's thoughts better. Seeing a ray of worry hidden in Ji Cheng's eyebrows, she comforted her: "Young lady will definitely get what she wants, my aunt's appearance is not as good as Where's the girl?"

Ji Cheng looked at Liu Ye'er sideways, after all, she was a little short-sighted, her aunt's "Adventures" was not only because of her looks, she also had to meet the right person.

For this woman, talent, beauty, and luck are indispensable, and there are not many good stories like her aunt for thousands of years. "You are as lucky as your aunt in the world?"

What happened to Aunt Ji Cheng can indeed be called a legend.When her aunt was a child, the Ji family was nothing more than ordinary Shanxi merchants. During the Flower Festival, Ji Cheng's aunt pretended to be a flower god and wandered the streets.

Originally, based on Ji Lan's family background, at most she could enter Qi State's mansion as a concubine, but Ji Lan refused to be beaten to death, and the third master Shen was willing to go on a hunger strike in front of his parents, and finally welcomed Ji Lan as his wife. A good story has made countless women from humble backgrounds envy.

Liu Ye'er was silent when she heard this, and Yu Qian'er said quickly: "I think a girl's blessing must be greater than that of an aunt. No matter who marries a girl, it is a blessing made in a previous life." Her girl is basically made of gold. "I don't believe there are people in this world who don't love money."

"Yuqian!" Liu Ye'er yelled, this girl is too careless, isn't this saying that her girl only has money?
Ji Cheng waved her hand, naturally she would not be angry with Yu Qian'er's blunt words: "You are ignorant, there are many people in this world who both want to use money and hate money."

Now Yu Qian'er stopped talking, and her girl said that some people think money and copper are stinky, so it must be someone who thinks money and copper are stinky.She has always regarded Ji Cheng's words as her standard.

The wheels twitched, and they slowly drove into Tongque Street in Kyoto. Two Zhumen families on this street occupied most of the street, and the owners of the two families had the same surname——Shen.

There are three households in Duke Qi's Shen family. Although the old lady of the Shen family is still alive, the three households have been separated.The eldest master of the Shen family, Shen Zhuo, is a princess who inherited the title of Duke of Qi. The second master, Shen Xiu, was conferred the title of Uncle Zhongyi because of his meritorious service in saving his family back then. Uncle Zhongyi can open a mansion alone, and he can also accept filial piety in front of Mrs. Shen.

Mrs. Shen is also an enlightened person, so she took advantage of this incident to separate the family. The eldest and the second have titles, so it's not easy to be under the same roof, which would lead to discord.

As for the most ineffective third master—Shen Ying, he has now found a position as a doctor in the Ministry of War, and the house was bought for him by Mrs. Shen with her own money. It is also on Tongque Street, but the door faces the side alley. Open, can not stand shoulder to shoulder with the two brothers.

The Ji family's carriage turned into Tiemao Alley, entered Third Master Shen's house through the corner gate, and immediately a young man greeted him and led the horse: "Master Biao, the master has not returned to the mansion at the Yamen, Madam asked you and Miss Biao to go first." Let's meet in the inner courtyard."

Ji Yuan nodded, and got off the horse, Ji Cheng still sat in the carriage until the carriage reached the Chuhua Gate, and then the girl and woman waited on him to get off the carriage and enter the second gate.

The mother-in-law who came to welcome Ji Cheng was a bit surprised, she didn't belong to Shen Wanli's family who was in charge of Ji Lan's mother when she came here a few years ago, the woman in front of her claimed her surname was Cui.

Liu Ye'er stepped forward and called Mama Cui affectionately, and gave her a purse: "Mom looks a little strange, she only came to serve my aunt in the past two years?"

Cui's mother weighed the weight of the purse, and said with a smile: "How can this old slave have such a blessing, that is, to take care of the tea room for Madam in the front."

Yu Qian'er next to her hardly froze when she heard this, but Ji Cheng still had a warm smile on her face.

The woman in charge of the tea room is also the one who entertains strangers at home.The female family members who are a little closer come to visit, as long as Ji Lan has a plan in his heart, he should send his mother-in-law to meet him.She has been the third Mrs. Shen for more than ten years, so it is impossible for her to not even understand this bit of sophistication.

Ji Cheng knew perfectly well that her aunt was playing tricks on her in a different way. Isn't this just a person who hates money?
It's just that Ji Cheng has a request from her aunt, if she wants to stay in the capital and enter the circle of ladies in the capital, she still has to rely on Ji Lan's recommendation, so even if it's embarrassing, she can only bear it.And Ji Lan probably also pinpointed Ji Cheng's weakness.

However, Ji Cheng followed her elder brother Ji Yuan into the courtyard where the main house of Shen's house was located. She followed her father once more than three years ago and stayed for two days. Looking at the courtyard now, it seems to be more simple than before.If Ji Cheng hadn't known in his heart how much money the Ji family would give her aunt every year, she might have thought that the life of the third wife of the Shen family would soon be unbearable.

Sitting in the main hall, Ji Lan met Ji Yuan and Ji Cheng. When the brothers and sisters stepped through the door, even the room seemed to be much brighter, making people squint their eyes.

Ji Yuan led Ji Cheng and saluted Ji Lan: "Aunt."

Ji Lan smiled and said, "You are Brother Yuan, right? I haven't seen you for so many years, my aunt almost doesn't recognize you."

Ji Yuan has a serious temper, and he just smiled when he heard this.

"Your father's letter has already mentioned your affairs, and I asked the third master to inquire about the academy's affairs. There should be no problem. You can stay here at ease." Ji Lan looked at it like Zhilan Yushu with satisfaction. of Ji Yuan.

"Thank you, aunt, aren't my cousins ​​here?" Ji Yuan asked.

Ji Lan's two sons are now sixteen and eight years old. The eldest son, Shen Jing, has entered Dongshan Academy. Ji Yuan and Shen Jing have been friends for a long time, and they really want to get close to each other and learn about literature and art.

"There are a lot of guests these days, and they all went to serve the old lady." Ji Lan laughed.

Ji Yuan nodded.

After talking with Ji Yuan, Ji Lan looked at Ji Cheng in a blink of an eye. Although there is no ugly person in the Ji family, this person in front of him has brought the Ji family's beauty to the peak, saying that she is not bad in Zhong Tiandi. , if the family background is better, I am afraid that the saints in the palace can do it.

"This is Ah Cheng, isn't it? When we met three years ago, I was still a baby, but now I've grown into a big girl, a woman with eighteen changes, you can compare to all the empresses in the palace with your appearance." Ji Lan said with a smile .Three years ago, Ji Cheng still had a bit of baby fat on his face, with the cuteness of a little girl, but now that he has twitches, he is already about the same height as Ji Lan.

"Aunt." Ji Cheng saluted Ji Lan again.

Ji Lan frowned slightly when she heard Ji Cheng's voice, and couldn't help but think of her natal sister-in-law——Ji Cheng's mother.A bean curd Xi Shi who can't stand on the stage has a very beautiful face, but she talks coquettishly, and she seems to be acting coquettish and coquettish to everyone.

If it were the Ji family today, it would definitely not let that kind of woman in, but at that time the business of the Ji family had just started, and her brother liked her so much that he was fascinated. You can only marry that kind of thing.

Now Ji Cheng has inherited her mother's voice, it's as sticky as if dipped in bee sugar, and he doesn't know who he wants to provoke.

Ji Cheng was keenly aware of Ji Lan's dislike. In fact, she had already felt it three years ago. At that time, her father planned to keep her in Beijing, and educate her in Shen's mansion for a period of time. He could also be looked up to a few times, but Ji Lan didn't pick up on that. Ji Cheng was young and arrogant, so naturally he didn't want to force him to stay.

It's a pity that the world is tricky, and no matter how high the heart is, it can't be hardened.

Ji Lan left Ji Cheng aside, and talked affectionately with Ji Yuan for a while, and then asked the little girl to lead him to live in a well-packed wing in the outer courtyard, and let him visit his uncle when he came back.

Ji Cheng, who stayed behind, silently followed Ji Lan into the Dongci Room - Ji Lan's daily living place, which was as simple as the house of a widow who had been widowed for decades.

Ji Cheng knew what Ji Lan was thinking about, that is, she didn't want others to think that she was a businesswoman, so she was always frugal and frugal, and no one could associate her with the nouveau riche.

It's just that this would be too much, Ji Cheng secretly shook his head.

Ji Lan sat down on the couch by the south window, Ji Cheng naturally didn't dare to sit in front of her, so he chose the first row of rose chairs under Ji Lan to sit on.

Ji Lan leaned on the pillow, quite relaxed. It can be said that she treats Ji Cheng as her own family, but it can also be said that she doesn't take Ji Cheng seriously, and doesn't even give him basic courtesy.

"Hey, I've been so busy preparing for the old lady's birthday these days, my old shoulder and neck problem has recurred again." Ji Lan raised her hand and rubbed her shoulder.

Ji Cheng stood up and walked to Ji Lan's side: "Let me rub it for my aunt."

"Look at your wrists are like Xiliu, do you have strength?" Ji Lan said with a smile.

"Auntie will know after trying it." Ji Cheng replied with a smile, put more strength into his hands, and kneaded Ji Lan's shoulders and neck.

Ji Lan narrowed her eyes comfortably: "That's right, I didn't expect you, Ah Cheng, to be able to serve others."

Even the girl who was serving Ji Lan next to her was a little surprised when she heard this, but Ji Cheng, the cousin, not only did not change her face, but even the movements of her hands remained smooth.Ji Lan slightly opened his eyes and glanced at her, thinking that this girl is very good, the city is so deep at such a young age.If it were another little girl, if she was insulted like a little girl, she would have turned her face long ago.

In fact, it's not that Ji Cheng's self-cultivation is in place, it's just that he has to be humble when he wants something from others.

The weak are not even qualified to express their emotions.

Ji Cheng comforted himself, after thinking about it, she took it as honoring her aunt, and there was nothing she couldn't bear.

After a long time, Ji Cheng was so tired that sweat began to break out on his forehead, and Ji Lan spoke again: "Your father wrote in a letter asking me to help you watch out for a marriage in the capital."

No matter how deep the city is, Ji Cheng is only a 15-year-old girl, and she still blushes when Ji Lan mentions her marriage in front of her face.

"You guys only see the good side of me. In fact, you don't know how difficult it is for a daughter-in-law from a family like us to do it in the mansion." Ji Lan sighed, "Everything I do these years is wrong, and everything I say is wrong. , Life is like boiling oil, it was even more difficult when there was no separation, and two children were lost in a row."

"Auntie is all for Ah Cheng's good, and Ah Cheng knows it." Ji Cheng let go of his hand, raised his skirt, walked up to Ji Lan and knelt down, "Aunt, it's not that Ah Cheng has a big heart and loves vanity. What happened two years ago, Auntie also We all know that Zhu Jijun, who is in his 40s, wants to take me as a concubine because of his son-in-law who is the county magistrate."

When she said this, Ji Cheng closed her eyes, the past humiliation was still fresh in her memory, and there were tears in her eyes: "Second brother argued with their family for my reputation, he was beaten all over his body, even his legs were bruised. I'm lame, and I'm not in good health yet, but I was accused of murdering my servant and sent to prison. If my aunt and uncle didn't help me, I'm afraid my second brother would be gone long ago, and even the Ji family might not be able to survive."

Ji Cheng's tears flowed down his cheeks drop by drop: "Ah Cheng doesn't want to bring misfortune to his parents because of this face anymore, but his parents dare not destroy his body, hair and skin lightly. Ah Cheng just wants to repay his parents for nurturing him over the past ten years."

Ji Cheng's eyes are big and bright. When he is not crying, his eyes are already shimmering and his brows are affectionate. When he is crying, he is like a peony with sadness, pear blossom with rain, misty, which makes people feel pity, and her water is like a branch in spring The delicate voice like a winter jasmine flower that is afraid of snow makes people's hearts soften more than half.

For a moment, Ji Lan was not sure whether this niece was really just trying to repay the kindness of her parents for her upbringing, or if she was lying to herself.May I ask which girl doesn't want to marry a noble family?
Ji Lan's face softened by half: "You get up and talk first." As soon as the words fell, the girl beside her had already stepped forward to help Ji Cheng up.

Ji Cheng wiped away his tears with a handkerchief, and his every move was so beautiful that the girl serving beside him was dazed and dazed.

Ji Lan waited for Ji Cheng to calm down before continuing to speak: "I know what happened two years ago, if you had kept your own place, how could you have caused such troubles?"

Ji Cheng's eyelids drooped, he clenched his fists on his knees, and looked at Ji Lan with wide eyes: "Auntie, it's the Huachao Festival that day, and I still wear a veiled hat on my head, so I wish Jijun even me He had never seen his face before, so he forced him to accept it, in order not to be angry that the Ji family took his business away."

(End of this chapter)