Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 272 Laba

Different from the snow dance in Shandong, although it is cold here in Jiangning, it is not as cold as in the north.It's just that the weather is often foggy and humid.Although the wind is not strong, you can't wear less clothes, otherwise you will easily get chilblains.

Outside the weaving mansion, Cao Yuan came out wearing a small navy blue woolen dress.His son-in-law, Zheng Hu, came back from Guangzhou with the new year's goods from the house.

Seeing his father-in-law coming out to welcome him, Zheng Hu hurriedly got off his horse and saluted Cao Yuan: "Tiger pays his respects to father!"

Cao Yuan waved his hand to wake him up, looked at the convoy behind, and asked, "How many mothers are Yun'er?"

Just as he was asking, he saw a young woman alighting from a green woolen carriage behind her, holding a boy with a thick head and a thick head in her hand. It was Cao Yuan's daughter, Cao Shi.

Mrs. Cao bowed down to salute her father, and said to her son, "How did you teach me on the road, why don't you kowtow to grandpa!"

The little boy was already chubby, wearing a thick jacket, like a small ball of meat, he knelt down on the ground, and said in a childlike voice, "Kang'er please greet grandpa!"

Cao Yuan hurriedly leaned over and picked up his grandson. Seeing that he was not afraid of life, he was very happy in his heart. He rubbed the little guy's head twice before letting go, and said to his daughter: "The little one didn't say in a letter that he was born last summer. a second child?"

Mrs. Cao replied: "Tai'er is sleeping in **'s arms, afraid of sweating, the wind blows, and she doesn't let her get out of the car!"

Cao Yuan nodded, and said: "Since I got the letter you want to come back, your mother has been nagging, go home quickly! Clean up, come over with your mother to say hello to your wife, and wait for me and my uncle to put the new year's goods here into the warehouse." , let's talk at home!"

Mrs. Cao agreed, got into the carriage again, and went to the back street.Although Cao Yuan was only in his 40s, his father Cao Fu was an old man in Zhizaofu. In the second year of Kangxi, he followed Cao Yong's grandfather Cao Xi to Jiangning, and he was very respectable in the Cao family.At first he lived in the mansion, but later when Cao Fu had more children, the mansion gave the old butler a house with three entrances in the back street.

On Cao Fu's side, except for the eldest son who took over the post of old housekeeper and worked in the Jiangning Mansion, the second son Cao Fang was by Cao Yong's side in Yizhou, and there was an uncle who was the head steward of the West Mansion.

Among the servants of Cao's family, including the people from Cao Wu's house in the capital, Cao Fu's side is the most respectable.

Logically speaking, the daughter of the big steward of the Cao family was used even if she was assigned to a small official, but Zheng Hu was a high-ranking one.But Cao Yuan saw that the young master Cao Yong treated the Zheng brothers and sisters very kindly, and he had no objection to the marriage arranged by the mansion at the beginning.

Sure enough, within a few years, Zheng Hu became a citizen, donated the money to become a student supervisor, and helped Wei Xin go to Guangzhou to make a living.

After greeting the accountant boy to count the New Year's goods according to the booklet, Cao Yuan remembered something and asked, "Tiger, have you made up your mind over at the Bihe Building, and now something has changed again!"

After Yang Mingchang died, Cao Yuan once wrote to Zheng Hu, asking him how to deal with the Bihe Building.Logically speaking, he is the direct son of Yang Mingchang, even if the Yang family didn't recognize him in the early years, but if the officials bring a lawsuit, he is a matter of the blood of the Yang family, so it cannot be faked.It's only been more than 20 years, and many people still remember the fact that Yang Mingchang was the son-in-law of the Zheng family.

Although he didn't have much affection for his father Yang Mingchang, Zheng Hu still asked: "Father, what's the matter? Did the Bai family swallow the Bihe Building directly, or did the two brothers of the Bai family get into trouble due to unequal distribution of accounts?"

Cao Yuan laughed and said: "The Bai family desperately hoped that 'Yang Wanwan' would die soon. Who would have thought that Bai Er, who has always been lecherous and confused, would become shrewd. Last month, he found a little boy from somewhere, saying that he was Yang Wanwan's nephew. The son that was born, the husband and wife tightly held the property of the Yang family, so that the guys in the Bai family who were waiting to share the money stared blankly and stole the guy twice!"

Zheng Hu listened to these farces, and said: "Bihe Building has long been moved into an empty shell by the Bai family, what are they making trouble for? It's for the Yang family's pearl field, and in the next year or so, there should be pearls coming out!"

Cao Yuan nodded, and said: "Perhaps this is the reason. Be it the bead field or Fangzi, it is worth nothing in the eyes of others. It is nothing to put it in our house. It's just that the Bihe building is the property of the Yang family. If you brothers and sisters The two want to recognize their ancestors and return to their ancestors, this is a good opportunity!"

Zheng Hu shook his head and said: "Who cares about his surname? Is it possible to wear a filial piety for three years because of his surname? Once dead, a tiger will be a tiger in the future, whether it is the Yang family or the Bai family, it has nothing to do with it!"

There are many ethics in the world, Cao Yuan thought it was a pity for his son-in-law not to recognize his ancestor and return to his clan, so he paid more attention to the Yang family. Seeing that he is so open-minded, he nodded and did not persuade him any more.

In addition to delivering New Year's goods to Jiangning Mansion, Zheng Hu also went to Yizhou to deliver New Year's goods to Cao Yong.

*
Yizhou, Daotai Mansion, inner house.

After Cao Yong called for someone to carry him back to the inner courtyard, he felt melancholy in his heart.

It's not that he didn't see Mr. Zhuang's complicated expression, but he didn't know that he would worry so much about Liu Heng who had nothing to do with him and was of little use to him.There was really no way to harden his heart, there was only one purpose, and that was to give Liu Heng a way out.

Although he is not a saint, he is somewhat merciful in the end. Looking at the young man in his twenties, not to mention his appearance and body, he was not angry at all. I didn't think about drawing anything in return from him.

To him, being able to protect him is just a matter of life and death for Liu Heng.Even if Prince Jane's mansion found out later, Cao Yong didn't have much to worry about, but he just sent more money and walked around.

He sighed in his heart, thinking of Bao Yagege who married Horqin far away, if she wasn't Wangfu Gege, maybe Liu Heng would not be so missed.However, it's ridiculous to think about it now, maybe Liu Heng didn't know that there was once a little girl who was so infatuated with him.You know, when he was in the capital, his fame had grown enormously.

In the Warm Pavilion, Chu Yu was playing with several boxes of jewelry on the kang. When Cao Yong came back, she got up and spread the cushions on the kang, helped Cao Yong to sit down, and prepared a hand stove and a foot stove for Cao Yong. When the rear sits down.

Cao Yong took a box casually, opened it to look, it was full of silver jewellery, silver hairpins, silver pendants, silver bracelets, silver rings and so on.

Although the common people used silver as jewelry, but for the wealthy families, these plain white jewelry were only used for mourning.Although there are many styles and types of these jewelry, but looking at this box, they are just ordinary objects, not like Chu Yu's.

Chu Yu used all her dowry items, most of which were internally made; occasionally, those that were not internally made were bought by famous masters hired by the palace.

Cao Yong scanned with his eyes, and there were seven or eight boxes on the kang table. He asked, "Why are there so many? Is it for rewarding people?"

Chu Yu nodded, and replied: "Although this year the mansion is keeping filial piety, it's not good to be too clean next year. It would be nice to add some silver jewelry. It's just that the craftsmen here look mediocre. The one with two boxes looks crude now, but she can’t give it away, after all, she will wear it for a long time!” As he said, he picked up another few boxes and pushed them to Cao Yong’s eyes: “These sets are the first ones. Yu’s dowry was found out today, and I gave two sets to Tian’s sister and one set to Zijing’s sister, I’ll keep an eye on it, can you still make it?”

The household items of these women all look the same in Cao Yong's eyes, how can he tell the good from the bad?After looking at it twice, he said with a smile: "I don't know about this, if you look good, it's naturally good!"

Chu Yu smiled and said: "That's all right, except for the sisters of the Tian family and sister Zijing, those of the nanny, those of Yulong and Yuzhu, those of Xiyun and the others, and those of other women and girls. will be enough."

When Cao Yong heard her mentioning the jade spider, he remembered Cao Songlai's family letter that he had just read in the study.

After Mengyin came back, he had privately asked Chuyu and Zijing about the rumors back then, and he knew that Yuzhu was a bit inappropriate.Afraid of wronging her, Xun Yuqian and Yuchan carefully cross-examined. Although Yulong only said that it was her own fault, compared with what Yuchan said, it was obviously Yuzhi who deliberately led her to the capital while speaking. explain.

Although he noticed that he was restless, he was Cao Song's roommate after all, so he had to ask Cao Song how to deal with it.

It was mentioned in Cao Song's letter today that although she is his girl, she is also Cao's girl, and her brother and sister-in-law are the ones who discipline her.If there are any ignorant ones, just ask someone to pick them up, and you don't have to worry about them.

Cao Yong told Chu Yu what Cao Song meant. After hearing this, Chu Yu frowned slightly, and said, "Second brother is also cruel-hearted. Did he have a fight with him?"

Although Cao Yong didn't have the intention to pity the fragrance and cherish the jade, he also knew that Yuzhu and Yulong were different from other girls in the mansion, because they were only their own size and had no relatives.

Thinking of what happened to Cao Yi, apart from Sai Shitu's fault, those two girls were somewhat at fault.Cao Yong's dislike for the jade spider increased a bit, and he said to Chu Yu: "If you want to keep her, don't forget to find an old lady to teach her the rules. If she is really naughty, I will send her away! Otherwise, From now on, being around my second brother will make the family house unsafe!"

Seeing that he was not happy, Chu Yu also thought that something happened to Cao Yi in the capital, and it was caused by the girl next to her. She sighed and said, "Looking at the two Aunts Qiu, they are very polite, and Yulong is also very responsible. This Yulong Zhu Suri doesn't show the mountains and doesn't show the water, who would think that he is so ignorant!"

Cao Yong said: "Don't wrong her! If she really made a mistake unintentionally, it's just a lesson; if she has a wrong heart, she will end up harming others and herself, and staying with my second brother is also a disaster!"

Chu Yu replied: "Well, knowing that the forehead is kind, Chu Yu will ask carefully before making a decision!"

*
In the west courtyard, in the wing room, in the jade spider room.

These days, Yuzhu is already panicking. Although Yuqin comforts her, the gossip about Jueluo Mansion is not her business, so there is no need to worry, but looking at Yuchan's smug eyes, she knows that she is afraid that she will be doomed .

Cao Song was not in Yizhou, and the Princess and Zijing treated her only indifferently, presumably they wanted to give up themselves to protect Yuqin in order to maintain the family law.Thinking of this, Yu Spider was really regretful and afraid.I am so confused, I know that the Cao family is the strictest in governing the family, and the most taboo about the affairs of the servants, why are they so troublesome?I can't get any benefit, I'm afraid I will take my own life in it.

The princess' grandma didn't speak, she was afraid she wanted to ask the second master what he meant.But he is not the second master's heart, he usually respects his brother and sister-in-law, not to mention pleading for her, he is afraid that he will blame her severely.

Thinking of it this way, Yu Spider felt a little lucky that the second master was not here. She still remembered clearly how she dealt with Fangcha in the capital in the early years.

It's the big maid next to the young lady, and the second master has no taboo when he gets angry, let alone the ones in his own room?I'm afraid that if he gets down with a board, he will be killed directly.

She kept thinking about it, thinking of a way to survive, but she couldn't think of it.Until today, when she heard that Jiang Ning was coming, she knew there was no time to delay.

After closing the door, looking at the bucket of ice-cold water on the ground, and at the fading charcoal basin in the room, the jade spider gritted its teeth vigorously, and removed the cotton-padded jacket, jacket and bellyband on its body, revealing a naked body. His body was wiped with a towel dampened with cold water.

When the cold water touched her body, she shivered suddenly, and tears came out.Trembling, she didn't make a sound, and wiped her body with cold water over and over again, like a dead leaf fluttering in the cold wind, she looked very pitiful.

It wasn't until her body became hotter and hotter that she sneezed several times that Jade Spider withdrew her hands, dried her body, and found a rag to clean the ground.Afterwards, she put on her coat and looked carefully at the mirror. Except for a little redness on her face, there was nothing unusual, so she pushed the door and went out, and brought the bucket back to the small kitchen here.

Back in the house, Yu Spider's head was a little heavy, and her body was also a little soft, only feeling hot and cold.

She shivered a few times, only feeling shivering, looked at the warm kang, endured it, sat on the chair in front of the dressing table, lay down on the table, and didn't want to move anymore.

In a daze, I don't know how long it took before I heard someone push the door and come in, followed by Yulong's exclamation: "Sister Spider..."

*****
(End of this chapter)