concubine leisurely

Chapter 4

At the end of Xu Dynasty, the main house of Meng Mansion.

In the middle is a golden nanmu three-screen inlaid marble arhat bed, on which a middle-aged lady is reclining, and a little girl who has just grown her hair is gently hammering her legs at the foot of the couch.

On the sandalwood table in the corner of the room is a bronze tripod-style incense burner, quietly exhaling fragrant cigarettes, which makes people feel calm.

A little girl outside reported, "Mother Liu is here."

The middle-aged lady, Zhong Shi, the second wife of the Meng family, looked a little tired. Hearing the little girl's report, she rallied and sat up, and told the little girl who hammered her legs to go out and let Madam Liu come in.

A fair-skinned servant woman walked in. She was in her 40s, with a shrewd face and a capable body. She was the daughter of Zhong's nanny.

Zhong raised her hand to stop Mother Liu from saluting, and pointed to the chair next to her, "Ayu, sit down and talk."

Mother Liu was not too polite, she sat down on the chair, took a teapot and poured tea, took a few sips, and then began to report to work, "Master's study has been tidied up; Aunt Huang's yard follows Aunt Ding's example The courtyard of the fifth girl has also been tidied up according to the example of the third girl and the fourth girl; today I have seen all of them, and there is everything that should be there; Stay overnight at the inn with the master, and you will be home at noon tomorrow."

Mrs. Zhong nodded and said, "You've done a good job." Thinking of her husband and son coming back together tomorrow, her brows and eyes were full of joy, and she smiled, "I haven't seen you three for a while, and the master saw two sons, maybe why? I'm happy."

Mother Liu hurriedly joked, "Yes, who doesn't know that our master loves the two young masters the most."

Zhong smiled lightly, "There are only these two biological sons, and I don't care about them." Zhengyu, who was adopted by the third wife, was not even mentioned.

Zhong was doted on by her mother and elder sisters since she was a child, and she was spoiled and spoiled. When she was a girl, she was naive and innocent, and she didn't know much about the world. After she got married, her parents-in-law lived in Tai'an, and the young couple lived in Beijing. On weekdays, there were no parents-in-law to control them, and no sister-in-law to chatter. Most of the servants in charge are the sons of the Hou's family, so they are easy to handle, and they live a very comfortable life. It was not until Meng Ben died of illness suddenly that there was a disturbance of adoption, and she began to have troubles.

However, there is still a strong natal family and Mrs. Ji'an Hou who protects the shortcoming. Mrs. Meng and Mrs. Hu are forcing her to adopt the second son. Just like her own grandson, she is very attentive in raising her grandson; Mrs. Meng pushed Ding Ling over. Mrs. Ji'an Hou Tai was worried that her youngest daughter had never experienced disputes between wives and concubines. In the end, a nanny who came out of the palace was invited to serve as an instructor and counselor to her daughter. If she could teach her experience in house fighting, she would teach her, and if she couldn't teach her, she would help her to protect her daughter. Mrs. Hu left her hometown in Tai'an to support Ding Ling in the capital. The Mrs. Zhong was restrained everywhere. Mrs. Ji'an Houtai first chose Du Qing, who was handsome and honest, and then bought the stunning and weak yellow girl from outside. Xin, with these two women, three-on-one becomes three-on-three, and the Zhong family will not be defeated.

Meng Lai's officials said that he was not big, he was not small, and he was not considered a figure in the capital. The Chen family in Qingzhou, which the eldest girl of the Meng family chose for the first marriage negotiation, was considered to be the right family; after her fiancé died of illness, she would choose a son-in-law According to Miss Meng's family status, she is not a good match for Changxing Hou Shizi.Although the Marquis of Changxing was not the most powerful one in the capital, the current Marquis of Changxing was in poor health and could not practice martial arts since he was a child. After all, he was a meritorious service in the founding of the country. The previous Marquis of Changxing had great prestige in the army, and there were many talents in the clan. There were quite a few clansmen who served in the Dudufu of the Five Armies, the Bingma Division of the Five Cities, and the Six Departments. It is also a family with luxuriant branches and deep roots. Compared with the two, the Meng family is obviously weaker; moreover, the prince of Changxing Marquis has a loyal temperament, is brave in fighting, and has a legacy of his ancestors. He is a promising figure and is perfectly worthy of These famous ladies in the capital.

Mrs. Changxing Marquis was originally the daughter of Marquis Ji'an for her son, but Marquis Ji'an's only daughter was the fourth master of the Korean government.Later, for some unknown reason, she came to the door to personally ask Miss Meng to marry her.

Mother Liu looked at Mrs. Zhong. Although his wife is middle-aged and the mother of four children, she still looks ignorant of the world. She is better than when she was a girl, but she is limited. If you didn't say it, forget it, the wife is lucky, there is a wife, and everything is decided by someone.

Mrs. Tai will be strong all her life. The eldest son Zhong Yuan, the second son Zhong Heng, and the eldest daughter Zhong Li have been strict in discipline since childhood. Zhong Yuan and Zhong Heng served in the army as high-level officials. Manage housework, take care of uncles and sisters-in-law, take care of clansmen, and socialize with princes and wives.But when it came to the young girl Zhong Zhen, she doted on her deeply and developed a naive temperament.

When the little girl grows up and doesn't know much about the world, Mrs. Tai also regrets it a bit. She deeply feels that she is too spoiled, but her temperament has been formed and it is difficult to change it. She has to carefully choose a husband and son-in-law. , Meng Lai, who has a bright official career, and generously accompanied him. Zhong Zhen's dowry list back then was three long pages long. Mrs. Ji Anhou, her eyes twitched a few times when she saw the dowry list. It was true that she loved her sister-in-law, and it was true that she loved Yin Zi.

"Have you put away all the things that Manager Chen brought back?" Zhong asked.

Meng Lai returned to Beijing slowly by boat, but Chen Guanshi was sent to set off early with the eunuch money accumulated in Guangzhou over the years, and he had returned to Meng's house a few days ago.

Mother Liu replied with a smile on her face: "It's all put away. Oh, if you say that the master really loves the eldest girl, there are two big carts full of things just to add makeup to the eldest girl. I have carefully collected them." Well, the master gave you good things, and the eldest girl smiled when she saw it."

Zhong's smiling eyes crooked, "Yue'er's dowry list will be changed again." The richer the daughter's dowry, the more face she will have in her husband's house.

Miss Meng’s dowry list was first drawn up by Mrs. Meng, a thin page. Mrs. Zhong didn’t say a word, opened her small warehouse and added a long page to her daughter. The dowry sent by Cheng Guogong's mansion, Miss Meng's dowry is already very decent.Meng Lai had always been an official in the capital, and the Zhong family was used to Meng Lai's meager salary, so it was a surprise that her husband would have such a generous dowry back.

"The master gave the eldest girl a lot of precious materials, such as Japanese satin, feather gauze, Sichuan brocade, Qixia gauze, and soft smoke. If you want to talk about these, there are also excellent leathers, lynx, purple lamb, Fox fur, snow bear, these things from the north, it's hard to understand how the master found them in the south!" Mother Liu exclaimed.

"What's the matter, Wang Yishao's aunt's post, and Lumen Layman's coral pen holder picture are rare." Zhong smiled reservedly.A girl from a scholarly family must have elegant antique calligraphy and paintings in her dowry.

"Look at the carefulness of the master. He even prepared the purses for the big girl to show off. One hundred Cantonese embroidered purses, and the gold and silver nudes inside are all exquisite in the south." Mama Liu praised her sincerely. Father, not many can be so careful!
Mrs. Zhong suppressed her smile, and pondered for a moment, "Speaking of this, I just remembered that last year Brother Xuan came back from Guangzhou, and the things he brought back were unique and novel. Everyone liked it. The dragon and phoenix jacket for Yueer The dress is especially gorgeous, you didn’t look at the one in Sanfang, your eyes are green! Brother Xuan said it was done by the fifth girl, but I didn’t pay much attention to it. Looking at it this way, it’s the same as the one that Brother Xuan brought back last time. , but similar."

Mother Liu thought for a while, and asked tentatively, "Madam, do you think this purse was prepared by Miss Wu?"

"Not necessarily. But the master has always ignored trivial matters." Of course, Zhong knew her husband well.

"As for the five girls, Xiao Ai followed the big girl like a tail. The big girl also loved her and took care of her in everything." Liu's mother recalled.

"It's more than that. The fifth girl not only follows Yue'er, but also loves to follow the master. When she sees the master, she wants to hug her, but the master also likes her." Zhong couldn't help frowning.She didn't have any malice or good intentions towards the concubine Youran, she basically ignored her attitude, but her biological youngest daughter, Xinran, was only two months away from Youran, the same young girl, Meng Lai preferred to act coquettishly and love to cuddle The leisurely nature of the person still makes Zhong very uncomfortable.

"If you want to say that our eldest girl is really a girl who is educated and respected by the scholarly family, she is filial to the elders, friendly to the younger siblings, and is so kind to the younger sisters who are born in concubine." Liu's mother saw that Zhong's face was not good, and hurriedly praised the eldest girl.

Sure enough, Mrs. Zhong's complexion changed, and she laughed, "It's not that I'm bragging, you can't find a virtuous girl like my Yue'er in the entire capital, and there is nothing wrong with it." After laughing for a while, her complexion darkened again Come down, her darling daughter was actually forced by that old woman to watch over her family back then!Although he didn't succeed, and it's impossible to succeed, but how many troubles have arisen!She is really angry!Forget it, let the daughter get married first, and settle the account later!The husband has always been a filial son, and he was very concerned about this matter. When the husband comes back, he will make careful calculations, so that his daughter cannot suffer this grievance in vain!

"How is the old lady?" Zhong asked slowly.

"The old lady has already rested. The master will be back tomorrow, and the old lady must be happy." Liu's mother knew that her mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had always been at odds, so she replied cautiously.The pampered one always puts joy, anger, sorrow and joy on his face.But ma'am, no matter how you don't deal with your mother-in-law, you have to do enough superficial skills. This word of filial piety can crush people to death.

Zhong smiled sarcastically, happy?The mother-in-law is naturally happy, her son is coming back, the son who has been obedient to her is coming back, and the days of her domineering will follow.

"What happened to Sanfang?" Zhong asked.For the third wife, Mrs. Hu, she has always gritted her teeth with hatred. Without him, Mrs. Hu is the source of all her pain.

"Miss Yi from the third room still does needlework all day long, doesn't hang around and doesn't talk about right and wrong; Brother Yu studies hard; the third wife has also been quiet these few days." Mother Liu reported one by one.

"Keep an eye on the people in Sanfang. Before Yue'er leaves the pavilion, she won't be able to produce any monsters." Mrs. Zhong is always worried about Sanfang.No wonder, no matter how naive you are, you have to be wary if you suffer a lot.

"Don't worry, madam, I'll save it." Mother Liu solemnly agreed.The two talked about some trivial matters again, and Mother Liu helped Mrs. Zhong to sleep, and quietly retreated out.

The night in spring was a bit chilly, and Zhong didn't sleep well.

For Zhong Zhen, the greatest career in life is nothing more than marrying someone who truly loves each other and staying together for a lifetime.Her greatest career was destroyed by Sanfang, and she was full of resentment towards Sanfang.

(End of this chapter)