The Concubine's Survival Manual

Chapter 210

Everyone arrived today, and even Pingguo Duke Xu Heng was admitted to Xiao Cuijin—the last time he entered Leshan Residence was seven or eight days ago, when the brothers discussed eating barbecue.

Mrs. Pingguo came here, so Mrs. Tai naturally couldn't take it lightly, she also entered the small flower hall earlier than usual, and Mrs. Pingguo talked about the happy event between relatives.

"It's the [-]th birthday at the end of September. You really are an old man. Last time I saw him at someone's house, he was still in good spirits..."

Seeing Qiniangzi and his wife coming in, Mrs. Tai stopped talking and smiled kindly at the two young people. "Feng Jia is here."

Everyone in the room looked at Xu Fengjia, the lady beside her.

The fifth young lady and the fifth young master arrived early, and they all sat in their old seats.The fifth young lady seemed to be in a bad mood, and there was a trace of inexplicable resentment between her brows. Hearing Mrs. Tai's words, she gave her a wink, and quickly complained, turning her head twisted back.

So contrived!
Seven Lady couldn't help applauding from the bottom of her heart.

She has practiced for so many years, but in fact, she is just getting started in acting, and it is fine to pretend the general superficial emotions. More often, she uses the superficial calm to cover up the deep emotions in her heart.

The Fifth Young Madam is different. When it comes to acting, it can be said that it is the top of the Seven Emotions, and they are all devoted to it.Just by looking at her expression, if Qin Niangzi didn't know what to do, she might think that she had been wronged so much, but it was inconvenient to speak for herself, let alone how much she felt aggrieved.

It's a pity, how could a ruthless person like the fifth young lady feel wronged for herself so easily.

Seventh Lady calmly said hello to Mrs. Tai and Ping Guogong, and sat down beside Xu Fengjia.

Duke Ping glanced at Mrs. Fifth Young Master, then at Mrs. Tai, then lowered his head to drink his tea, and did not speak for a while.

As for Mrs. Tai, her eyes were flickering, and she didn't know what was lost. She looked at Qin Niangzi sometimes, and then at Fourth Young Madam, and smiled after a while, "Speaking of which, Yu Qian will be home in a day or two, right?"

The fourth young lady's face immediately beamed with joy, "Isn't that right? I sent a letter yesterday, saying that it's tonight if it's faster, and it's tonight if it's slower tomorrow at noon, then I'll definitely be home."

Mrs. Tai looked at Qin Niangzi, "It's rare for Yu Qian to come back, and the concubine has a happy event in the palace. This year's Mid-Autumn Festival will be held. The sixth granddaughter-in-law has a look. If it's convenient, it's better to ask the Spring Festival troupe to come in and sing!" "

"I'll send someone out to ask about it when I turn back." Qin Niangzi hurriedly replied with a smile, "If you haven't been booked by another house, we will set up a table in the Liushang Pavilion, and we will have a drink in the Wangyue Pavilion. From top to bottom, I really can't hear you. Say, you can see clearly, what does grandma think?"

Mrs. Tai nodded with a smile and said nothing, Duke Ping remembered asking Xu Fengjia again, "When are you going to pick up your mother?"

It was the young master who answered, "Mr. Zhong said that my mother is most afraid of not being able to sleep because of this illness. When I went back to Xiaotangshan last time, my mother said that she would not come back to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, so as not to let everyone make a fuss about the moon and make a fuss too late. If she left Sleepy, the spirit that I had cultivated so easily has become sluggish again."

Duke Ping's eyes flashed, he nodded, and did not speak.

Only then did Qinniang realize Madam Xu's profound meaning: She said she wanted to live in Xiaotangshan if she said she wanted to hide and relax, otherwise at this moment, she would definitely be involuntarily involved in the vortex of housework .

She gently tugged on Xu Fengjia's sleeve, and Xu Fengjia smiled, "It's nothing, our family is like this, isn't it celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival every day? It's not as small as a small family. You can't eat much good food all year round, so you value it so much." Solar terms. When the fourth brother comes back, we will go to Zhuangzi to stay with mother for a few days, and it will be the same."

When it came to Mrs. Xu's illness, Mrs. Tai and Ping Guogong didn't have much to say. Mrs. Tai also said, "This is a lucky daughter-in-law. Several granddaughters-in-law can afford housework, so she has time to recuperate. Morning After a few years, don’t you want to take care of me when you are sick? It’s fine if you don’t come back, just rest in Xiaotangshan.”

There was a hidden needle in these words, Xu Fengjia's eyes narrowed, and she was about to speak.Seventh Lady hurriedly smiled and said, "I don't know what fourth brother likes to eat or what he doesn't like to eat, so it's not easy to arrange for the buyers to deliver food. Fourth sister-in-law thought of some rare dishes, so she told me and asked Peng Hu's The purchases come in and sent over——Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, Yu Ning Yutai, and the younger sisters, don’t blame me for being partial!”

Everyone immediately laughed, and Yu Ning said, "Don't blame my sister-in-law for being biased. When the time comes, I'll go to the Shendu Hall after dinner. I don't think the fourth brother and the fourth sister-in-law are ashamed to drive me away!"

The fourth young lady laughed so that the pearl hairpin on her head shook wildly, reflecting the sun, a series of halos shivered, "I love hanging out with your fourth brother so much, so tomorrow your fourth brother will go back to the northwest, so I will take you there." , telling you to eat with him every day!"

Yu Ning shrank his head, didn't dare to speak again, and made a look of fear, and everyone laughed——Among the Xu family's children, Yu Ning and Yu Tai didn't like martial arts, and they were most afraid of being beaten. It touches some talent in reading.

The Fourth Young Madam snorted triumphantly, but when she was about to speak, it was Yu Ping who pointed at her and said with a smile, "Fourth Brother is coming back, our sister-in-law will be as radiant as if she had taken a panacea!"

There was another burst of laughter in the house, and everyone sat for a while before getting up and dispersing.Mrs. Tai got up and entered the clean room. Seventh Lady asked Xu Fengjia to go first. She took a step back on purpose, pulled the maid beside Mrs. Tai and asked carefully, "Does grandma still like to eat the dishes of Chunhualou? Which one do you like to listen to..." After a long time, the people all dispersed, Mrs. Tai came out of the clean room, and then she suddenly realized, and said goodbye to Mrs. Tai.

"There are many things at home, so Xiao Qi will go back to Mingde Hall first."

Mrs. Tai's eyes flickered, watching Qin Niangzi take a few steps, she suddenly smiled and said, "Sixth granddaughter-in-law, take a step slower."

Qin Niangzi took out her pocket watch from her bosom and glanced at it, then turned around and looked at Madam Tai inquiringly, and asked, "Is there anything grandma can't order?"

Mrs. Tai thought for a moment, then smiled and touched Qin Niangzi's shoulder, and said, "Sit down."

It actually allowed Seventh Lady to get an unprecedented honor—letting her sit next to Mrs. Tai on the imperial concubine's couch.

Neither of them made a sound for a moment, watching the maids quickly clear away the dishes, reset the chairs and stools, and then file out of the small flower hall, leaving only a few confidantes of Mrs. Tai for company, Mrs. Tai cleared her throat , asked Seventh Lady in a low voice. "Have you heard the recent gossip in the mansion?"

Sure enough, it was for those few gossips.

Qin Niangzi raised her eyebrows, and without much effort, she made a face of embarrassment. She lowered her head, avoiding Mrs. Tai's eyes, and muttered. "The servants are really not very strict with their mouths... well, in fact, it's just something that has no shadow, and it got out somehow. This kind of thing is the worst thing to say. The only way is to investigate carefully, but... ..."

But the Fifth Young Madam herself, I'm afraid she can't help but investigate.

Mrs. Tai became a little anxious for a while, and her tone became a little more kind in a flash of thought. "You are also a housekeeper now, and you know a lot of things. You can't do whatever your family wants to do..."

She draws out her voice.

There are two possibilities for the account under the Fifth Young Madam's hands. The first one is that she intentionally embezzled, so I won't talk about it. The second one is that she has no ability and was deceived by the people below, and she is still ignorant. However ignorant.

Although Mrs. Tai's words were reserved, but to Qin Niangzi's ears, it was no different from Huang Zhong Dalu.

She couldn't wait to admit that there was a problem with the account, and she directly set the whole tone on the second possibility: the fifth young lady was incompetent and was deceived by the people below.

So Mrs. Fifth is indeed using the public to seek personal gain and benefit herself, but the means are far from being as crude as she shows.

This fifth young lady is really courageous, even Mrs. Tai was tricked into this game by her, and she still thinks so hard about the fifth room.

Countless speculations surfaced in Qin Niangzi's heart: How did she make a profit, is it really usury?Why do you have to make up the bill so perfectly, but you still have to hide it from Mrs. Tai, making her worry about Wufang?
She blinked her eyes, then followed Mrs. Tai's words. "Actually, Xiaoqi didn't intend to pursue anything more. The family lived with one eye open and closed, and many things passed away. There is nothing more important than the harmony of the family..."

Mrs. Tai was obviously relieved.

For the first time, she showed a sincere smile to Qin Niangzi, and this smile came from her eyes.

"Good boy, if you think about it that way."

Madam Tai sighed again. "It's not easy for your fifth brother and his family. He grew up beside me. There are many things. My grandmother is old and her heart is very soft. I just look forward to seeing the whole family live in harmony. Together, we don’t want to pursue anything.”

She said these words with sincerity, and it seemed that she really came from the heart.

Qin Niangzi sneered in her heart, but she was also very sincere on her face. "Xiaoqi also thinks the same way. Famous families are most afraid of infighting. If you can get confused about some things, it's best to be confused."

#
Coming out of Mrs. Tai, Seventh Lady smiled all the way back to Mingde Hall.

The girls were very surprised, "Young Madam is happy today, she has been grinning all day long."

Even the mothers who are in charge can tell that Seventh Lady is in a good mood today, some bold ones like Li Geng's family and Lei Xianqing's family joked about Seventh Lady, "My son is going out on business, but Young Madam is smiling so happily , aren't you afraid that the son of the world will be promiscuous outside..."

Everyone laughed happily, and Qin Niangzi also laughed. "There is no cat in the world that doesn't steal. As long as Shizi doesn't come to me, I will follow him!"

"Young Madam is virtuous!" Everyone immediately scrambled to curry favor with Qin Niangzi, and Guo Fu's family went back and forth for a while, "The people in the Chunhe class have already scheduled to go to Yongning Bolin's house to sing in the mid-autumn festival, and they don't have time to spare. The Phoenix Yi is also good at singing, and they will go to the palace to sing once in September, and ask us if we want to try their articulation. The slaves don't dare to make decisions, and we will only know when we come back and ask the young lady."

Qin Niangzi said casually, "You just go in and listen until you can't finish it? Let the men outside who know how to play go with you, and come back after listening, if it's good, make a decision, if it's not good, ask the Qilin class, after all This time the distance is far away, so there is no need to worry about avoiding taboos."

Everyone laughed and said, "Then I'd rather invite the Qilin class. After all, it's an old class for many years and has a good reputation."

Guo Fu's family also said, "The servant will send someone first to ask the squad leader of Qilin class, and then reply to the young lady's words?"

"Okay," Seventh Lady smiled and waved her hands, "You are all fans of theater, I don't know much about theater, this matter is just at your mercy."

Everyone laughed more and more, and things went on again, so in less than an hour, Qin Niangzi made all the arrangements, and went back to Xici's room to drink tea and read books, and gossip with Lixia, Shangyuan and other maids.Then he called Xiao Huangpu to her and asked her family members of her birth in detail to relieve boredom.

It was a rare opportunity for Little Huangpu to show her face in front of Qin Niangzi, so she was naturally flattered. While playing with the ends of her braids, she joked with Qin Niangzi, "Yes, the most promising person in the whole family is the second sister. It was also her luck. The most coincidental thing is that the palace attendant is gone, just when the wife came into the palace to talk, the empress dowager immediately fell in love with her head, so after a while, the second sister came into the palace to serve the empress dowager... Now the family has hundreds of acres of land! In the Tianjin area, although life is not rich, it is also extremely stable."

When mentioning her second sister, Little Huangpu couldn't hide the envy on her face.Even Li Xia and other maidservants couldn't help but look envious.

At that time, the maidservants of the family were mainly married to the servants of the family. This is not because the masters of the mansion are stingy, but ordinary good people. Few people are willing to marry slaves and maidservants. Reading will be restricted.And even if merchants are willing to marry everyone's maids, most of these little girls who have seen the world are unwilling to marry them.Like the little Huangpu Second Sister, who was released as a palace servant and rewarded as a good citizen, she was completely expelled from her nationality, and thus married into a good family, not one person in a hundred had such luck.It's no wonder that when it comes to her experience, everyone is envious.

Seeing it in her eyes, Qin Niangzi began to think about it, she smiled at Xiao Huangpu, but didn't say much.

It hasn't been three months since this girl entered the house, and she still needs to see her character.

Little Huangpu saw that Qi Niangzi didn't speak, but he hesitated to speak. After a long time, he blurted out and asked Qin Niangzi. "Young Madam, do you know... Now there are some gossips in the house..."

Qin Niangzi's expression changed, "What gossip? Tell me."

"It's about checking the accounts..." Xiao Huangpu muttered, "It was also from my third sister when I went home yesterday. It is said that the eldest young master and the eldest young wife talked about it, and they all said that they didn't know where the news came from." It was said that when checking the accounts, it was found that there was something wrong with the accounts of the kitchen purchase and the gold and silver warehouse. Behind the scenes, Xiao Luowen and the aunt of the accountant's family were vaguely involved. Behind, behind is..."

This rumor points directly at the fifth young lady's greed for ink. Although there is no clear evidence, the people's hearts are like this. Once a sentence is spread, the listener will naturally imagine a thousand sentences to explain it.Even if the old mother only mentioned a small rib when spreading the news, and did not explicitly mention Zhang Accountant's family, how can the connection between these two people be hidden from someone who is interested?If you think about it a little more, you will know who the rumor is really targeting.

Seventh Lady smiled, nodded and said, "Oh, I know about this."

Her attitude was natural, but Little Huangpu couldn't continue. She glanced at Qin Niangzi and continued timidly, "The third sister of the slave also said that the aunt of the Zhang family was so angry that she beat her chest when she heard about it. I swear to God that her accounts can stand cross-examination, and those who spread gossip deserve to be struck by lightning and die... and say, say..."

Seeing that Qin Niangzi was watching her waiting for the next sentence, Xiao Huangpu gritted his teeth and finally said, "You said that the young lady has not checked the tricks here, and she clearly intends to frame her..."

The room suddenly fell silent, and even Qin Niangzi didn't speak for a while, but her eyes widened slightly.

However, her surprise didn't last long, and it dissipated again.

"Fifth sister-in-law really knows how to climb up the pole." Seventh lady just made a casual comment and changed the topic. "Your third sister is now in the Zhishan Hall, but is she still decent? Why do I see the hair style on my sister-in-law's head? It's the same as it comes and goes, and it hasn't been renovated at all."

Little Huangpu immediately felt relieved, and chirped and croaked to defend Little Minjiang. "The third sister's hands are also clever! It's the young lady who has a weird temper. Usually, she doesn't pay attention to these things at all. That is, when she is about to go out to offer incense, she dresses up beautifully. She asks the third sister to comb her a little." A fashionable hairstyle—"

Suddenly there were scattered footsteps outside the house again, and Zhongyuan pushed the door in panting, shouting, "Young Madam, it's not good, Zhang Zhang's family has hanged himself—"

(End of this chapter)