Yutai Bi

Chapter 39 etc.

"Third lady, think about it quickly. I think if this stance is delayed, I'm afraid the slaves won't even be able to get out of the inner courtyard." Baicao said anxiously.

Cen Sanniang thought and thought, and finally sighed: "You go to Master Nine and tell him that the purse he gave on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival was torn away by someone sent by Fang Jiuniang. The Seventh Young Master of the Fang family promised to get the purse back, and promised Invite us to dinner to make amends, but there has been no news. Ask Master Ninth to help. It’s just that it’s not good for the elders to know about it, so let him keep quiet.”

Baicao was stunned when he heard this: "Didn't you ask Young Master Ninth to bring the letter and things to Uncle Liu?"

Cen Sanniang quickly interrupted her: "You follow what I said, and tell the ninth master verbatim. When the ninth master asks about the situation that day, you tell him the truth. Remember, you must tell the ninth master verbatim. Master Ninth, listen."

"Your maidservant knows." Although Baicao didn't understand what Cen Sanniang was up to, she remembered what Cen Sanniang said, picked up her skirt and ran away.

Cen Sanniang sighed.She was not fully sure that she could meet Fang Ming.He was even less sure of convincing Fang Ming to be his ally.But she can't help it.She thought of the assassin's famous stab that Kong Qing took out when she gave some green hairpins, and she knew in her heart that the assassin's wife's mediator was inseparable from that person, so she couldn't help gushing out a wave of hatred: "I have no grievances or enmities with you. , you will ruin my life. Are you afraid that I will pretend to follow you and stab you to death with a knife? Crazy!"

Cursing and scolding, she took a few deep breaths, hid her hatred in her heart, waved her round fan and walked slowly through the Moon Cave Gate, into Old Madam Cen's yard.

The girl raised the bamboo curtain, and bursts of laughter came from inside.

"Why is my cousin so happy? San Niang greets you." Cen San Niang went in, saw Liu Niang and Qi Niang surrounded by the old lady, chatting and laughing, and stepped forward to congratulate her.

"Come here and have a rest. Go and bring Sanniang a bowl of sour plum soup." The old lady Cen was wearing a long-sleeved dress of fragrant cloud gauze, with a loving face.

Cen Sanniang stepped forward and sat next to the bamboo couch.

The old lady Cen said with a smile: "You three sisters will live together in the future, and my yard is also lively."

Liuniang and Qiniang were so excited that they forgot their hostility towards Cen Sanniang for a while: "Grandmother, after summer, we will live in the waterside pavilion too, okay?"

Old Madam Cen tapped Liuniang lightly with her fan: "Silly girl, after summer, the waterside pavilion is too humid to live in."

Liu Niang's beautiful eyes widened, she was very pitiful: "Liu Niang wants to live with grandma."

Qiniang also said coquettishly, "Qiniang also doesn't want to leave grandma."

The old lady Cen was full of joy: "Okay, okay, when the weather gets cold, grandma will clean up the green gauze cabinet for you to live in."

Cen Sanniang secretly heaved a sigh of relief.At least on the surface, the old lady took care of three juniors at the same time.Although it was inconvenient for her to live in Shuixie, she still had time before she was forced into a desperate situation. "It's good to live in the back garden. Sanniang can collect the dew on the flowers and leaves every morning to make tea for my cousin. I heard that there is no root water to make tea, and the tea tastes very frivolous."

When talking about Old Madam Cen's preferences, she said with a smile: "Sanniang is filial, and grandma will be lucky in the future!"

It was meant as a joke, but Liu Niang felt uncomfortable again, why didn't she think of collecting flower dew?She bumped into Qiniang quietly.

Qiniang understood it cleverly, and smiled wickedly: "Grandmother, when Sanniang and Liuniang get married, Qiniang can still collect flower dew and sencha for you."

Qiniang is young, it is not convenient for Liuniang to say these words, but she can say them very naturally.

The old lady Cen sighed sadly, and said following Qiniang's words: "The girls are not allowed to stay. The third wife and the sixth lady are both thirteen, and they are engaged, so I can only keep you two or three years longer."

Cen Sanniang reacted quickly, and buried her head in the old lady's lap: "Without my cousin, Sanniang would not be where she is today. Sanniang doesn't want to get engaged so early, and she doesn't want to get married. The cousin will stay with Sanniang for a few more years, so that Sanniang will not be married so early. My mother is also doing my filial piety to serve you..."

No one could see whether she was really crying, but could only hear her voice choked with sadness.

At this moment, Mrs. Cen hesitated: "Good boy, my cousin can't bear you..."

She patted Cen Sanniang's thin back with her hand, feeling helpless in her heart.

At this moment, Liu Niang interrupted and said, "Grandmother, don't be sad. Liu Niang will not leave you either!"

The old lady Cen came back to her senses almost instantly.Sanniang is a few months older than Liuniang, if Sanniang's marriage is not settled, Liuniang will be delayed.The governor's wife came to protect the matchmaker, and Mrs. Fan added another 1 taels of dowry.

The Cen family is different from the Fang family in that their annual income comes from a large piece of land in their hands.Although the second child and the third child were officials, most of the court's salaries were replaced by silk and corn instead of silver.The government is clear and bright, and there is not much money in hand, and it depends on the money sent by the public to cope with the situation.The fourth son has adopted a son, and he will be able to rely on the property of the fourth house in the future, but now he is an idler who only knows how to play with birds in a cage.There are many juniors in the family, and the age of marriage and marriage has gradually reached in the past few years, and the cash gap that needs to be paid by the public will become larger and larger.

The bride price of 5 taels is not the daughter of the same family.For the third room of the Cen family, it was indeed a deal that did not lose money.

Mrs. Fan's plan is clear to Mrs. Cen.No matter how capable Mrs. Fan is, she is only a woman.Fan Yushu was weak and stammered, so he had to form an marriage relationship with a wealthy family to preserve the Fan family's property.Mrs. Fan also understood that if she wanted to marry Cen Liuniang and Fang Jiuniang's Wang family girl, she would never want to, so she stared at Cen Sanniang to death.

The old lady Cen sighed secretly, it was Cen Sanniang's fate.Although Fan Yushu was not good at this marriage, the Fan family was rich after all, so it was better than marrying into a small family and suffering from poverty.She withdrew her hand and said sadly: "You two silly children, no matter how much I feel sorry for you, I can't delay you."

Cen Sanniang completely understood.Thinking of the assassin's wife's mediator, I felt sad for a moment, and couldn't help but really shed tears.A heart seemed to be frozen in an instant, cold and hard.She raised her head and smiled lightly: "It's Sanniang's fault, she made my grandma sad. Grandmother, I want to go and see how the new house is being cleaned up."

"Grandmother, we also want to go and have a look." Liu Niang and Qiniang became happy again thinking about moving to a new house.

"I'm tired too, you three sisters go together." Mrs. Cen let the three of them go.

After a while, Tian's mother came back and told her: "Old lady, everything is packed."

As he spoke, he stepped forward and told in a low voice about the move for Cen Sanniang.

The old lady Cen sighed softly and said, "If I had other choices, I would not accept the marriage of the Fan family."

Tian's mother flattered: "The old lady really loves the third lady."

"Wait a little longer. Don't worry. Even if I agree, it's the Fan family begging... The Cen family has lived in Longzhou City for a hundred years, and the girls in the family are very precious." The old lady Cen wants money, and she wants to save face.

After leaving the courtyard where Mrs. Cen lived, and walking along the Jiuqu back profile, there is a two-story water pavilion.The left and right wings downstairs were allocated to Liuniang and Qiniang, and the upstairs was given to Cen Sanniang.

Liu Niang was a little annoyed.Qiniang pulled her and whispered, "Grandmother is asking us to keep an eye on her."

"Really? How do you know?" Liu Niang felt awkward thinking that Cen Sanniang occupied the first floor by herself.

"The stairs are in the middle, and she has to go through our room when going downstairs. Mother Tian arranged it, isn't it grandma's intention?" Qiniang pouted proudly.

"That's your wild guess too." Liu Niang half-believed.

Qiniang whispered: "Grandmother didn't mention it at breakfast. In the morning, the governor's wife came to protect Sanniang, and after lunch, she asked Tian's mother to tidy up the water pavilion and let us move here. Don't you think it's strange?"

When Qiniang said this, Liuniang really felt strange: "Yeah, this is a good thing, she has no reason to hide it from us when we have breakfast with grandma."

"Isn't it? You didn't see that Sanniang was really sad and crying just now. Who wants to marry that stuttering son of the Fan family? Grandma was afraid that she would be overwhelmed, so she asked her to move to Shuixie. We both know what's going on upstairs. .Listen...you can hear it louder."

Liu Niang raised her head, and the voices of Mrs. Xu and Cen Sanniang could be faintly heard above her head, although she could hear them clearly.Dissatisfied, she twisted the veil into twists: "It's really annoying! There are still two years left before the hairpin, is it possible that we will be quarreled by her downstairs for two years?"

Qiniang gave her a blank look, and was frustrated to find that Liuniang looked so good-looking even when she was angry.In the future, Liu Niang must marry better than herself, right?She immediately had no interest in caring about Cen Sanniang: "What's the rush? The marriage is booked, what can she do? After a while, she'll think about it on her own, and grandma won't talk to her anymore."

The stairs outside were suddenly trampled.Liu Niang stood up abruptly: "Are there any rules? Which woman from a rich family walks with noise?"

Just as Baicao went upstairs, she stepped down with one foot, and when she heard Liu Niang's scolding, she stuck out her tongue, gently put down the other foot, and made a strange face towards the downstairs.

"Hush!" Cen Sanniang raised a finger and said softly, "It's really not soundproof. Be careful when you walk and speak from now on."

Baicao nodded, with excited eyes, and said in a low voice: "It's done! The Ninth Young Master said that he must get his purse back, so he took Ah Fu to find the Seventh Young Master of the Fang family. Third lady, what shall we do next?"

"Wait."

Cen Sanniang walked outside the house, sat on the side of the beauty and looked at the scenery, her voice suddenly raised, "Baicao, the garden is so beautiful from here!"

The waterside pavilion is facing the lake, surrounded by lush greenery, with a wider view and more pleasant scenery than the small courtyard where I lived before. Baicao understood it and cheered happily: "Living here is like living in a painting. Take a quick look, San Niangzi, here I can see the sunset! Trees and courtyard walls can’t block it.”

(End of this chapter)