cloud temple phoenix hairpin

Chapter 15

Chapter 12

Ming Yu remembered that when Mrs. Xie celebrated this birthday in the previous life, Jiang's mood was depressed because her husband was given an extra concubine by herself for no reason. He just ordered the housekeeper to send a congratulatory gift.It's different now, her cheeks are rosy, she looks very energetic, her body is four or five months old, her lower abdomen is slightly swollen, it's early winter, and she can't see it if she wears thicker clothes.So on this day, the head housekeeper Liu Shenghe arranged a large soft sedan chair, Ming Yu and Ming Pei sat with her on the left and right, the servants guarded the road from front to back, left and back, and a group of people went up to the magistrate's mansion at the south gate.

The Jiang family left early, and the other guests had not yet arrived.When they arrived at Xie's house at the south gate, Mrs. Xie personally welcomed Mrs. Jiang in, supported her and walked slowly to the flower hall for guests, complaining with a smile on her face: "Didn't you send a special person to the house a few days ago to say, Sister, you are very heavy now, you just need to take care of yourself at home, and in this busy day, how can I have to work for you to come here in person?"

Jiang said with a smile: "I'm not a muddy person. Everything is fine now, and it's boring to be bored at home every day. It's easy to have my sister come to have fun on this festive day, so I naturally want to come." .

Ming Yu brought Ming Pei to Mrs. Xie, met the ceremony properly, and offered a congratulatory speech with a smile on her face: "Congratulations to my aunt and queen mother for a long life, the stars are shining and precious."

Mrs. Xie smiled happily, looked at Ming Yu, nodded and praised: "I haven't seen you for a while, Yu girl has seen the signs of being more stable, standing out is much better than that crazy girl in my family."

When Jiang heard her daughter was praised, she was also happy, but said: "Where. The girls in your family are really grand, how can my Ayu compare."

The two were polite, Jiang smiled and said: "I know that my sister came back from Jinjing, and I wanted to come over a few months ago, but there are many miscellaneous things at home, so it's finally quieter and come here now."

Jinjing is the imperial capital of the Jokhang Kingdom. Mrs. Xie had gone there a few months ago, only because she heard that the general's wife in the general's residence had passed away due to illness, so she rushed to the funeral and helped take care of some things.

Mrs. Xie sighed and said: "My aunt is also unlucky. She has always been in poor health. When I wrote a letter a few years ago, she only said that she was ill again. Although I did not go there by myself, I sent people to deliver various supplements. , I thought that Chunnuan would get better, so I let go of this illness. I really think that things are impermanent..." As he spoke, he took out a handkerchief and pressed the corners of his eyes.

Mrs. Jiang did not expect that her unintentional words would arouse Mrs. Xie's sadness, so she hastily persuaded: "Everything is determined by fate, sister, don't be sad. It's only my fault. It makes you sad to mention this on a happy day. "

Mrs. Xie took a deep breath, turned her sorrow into joy and said, "That's right, let's not mention it. Fortunately, my nephew Zuiqiao is very competitive. He was selected as the emperor's bodyguard at the age of sixteen. After this incident, I can see that although he is young, he is extremely stable and capable. He has a bit of the style of the old man of my Xie family. Just half a month ago, I helped the spirit all the way to the south and put his mother in the ancestral land. Only a few days ago I've been busy with a lot of things..."

As Mrs. Xie was speaking, she raised her head and saw the two Mingyu sisters standing beside her, then she remembered and said, "Look, I only talk to your mother and forget about both of you. Mingrou knows that you are coming over today, I'm waiting. It just so happens that Jing Zhu from Dafang's family and Miss Pei from the third room of Jingyonghou's mansion also came together, and now they are staying at my house, you two got to know each other in the past, let's play together."

"Miss Pei from Jingyonghou Mansion?"

The Jiang family knew about Xie Jingzhu from the General's Mansion in Beijing, but it was the first time she heard about the Marquis' Mansion in Beijing from Mrs. Xie's mouth, so she asked casually.

"Isn't that right, I never mentioned it to you before. The wife in the third room of the Hou's mansion and my aunt who has gone to me are the sisters of the direct relatives. They also feel pity for this niece. They are afraid that Jingzhu will be sad, so they let their daughter go. Come to accompany her for a few days, the two cousins ​​can be regarded as a company together. If you say that the people who come out of this Hou's mansion are different, even the maids and nuns who accompanied her are as grand as those who come out of our ordinary people in Jiangzhou. miss..."

Mrs. Xie and Jiang Shi were talking, but Ming Yu, who was about to retreat, stopped and her face changed slightly.

Jingyonghou's Mansion... these four words that she never wants to hear anything related to it in this life, but now they suddenly popped out from Mrs. Xie's mouth, like a wooden fish stick, hitting her heart instantly There was a burst of boredom.

"Girl, please go this way."

The girl from Xie's mansion who led the way saw her stop and reminded her softly.

Seeing her mother and Madam Xie looking over, Ming Yu hurriedly picked up her mood and followed the girl to the back hall, but along the way, her thoughts were a little wandering.

Pei Wenying, the daughter of the third room in Jingyonghou's mansion, her sister-in-law in her previous life..., should be only eight years old now.

In the previous life, Ming Yu and this sister-in-law lived together for more than a year before she got married.Xu Shi was taught a lot of rules since childhood, Pei Wenying was quiet and restrained, a little aloof, and the two of them didn't have much contact at first, but after they got to know each other gradually, they admired Ming Yu's talent very much, and often came to discuss poetry and poetry together , I have a great feeling of seeing each other late, and it can be regarded as a touch of warmth and light for Ming Yu in those dark days in the Hou Mansion.It's a pity that the good times didn't last long. In the second year, she was decided by the old lady of the Hou's mansion to marry a well-connected son of a high-ranking family. The beauty was unlucky, and the next year when she gave birth to a child, she encountered dystocia, and the unborn baby died together. Yu Yu was only 17 years old at the time.When the news came, Mingyu mourned for a long time. How could she have thought that after more than a year, she would follow in her footsteps and be crushed into mud?

The person from the previous life who thought he would never get involved in this life, now suddenly appeared in front of him like this...

The past life is already an old dream, just an old dream.

Ming Yu said this to herself.

Xie Mingrou was waiting eagerly on the porch, when she saw Ming Yu coming, she immediately went up to greet her, warmly put her arms around her and said with a smile: "Sister is here. I haven't seen you for several months, it's strange."

Ming Rou is Mrs. Xie's direct daughter, who is two months younger than Ming Yu. Because of their mother's friendship, they have often been together in recent years.She has a straightforward personality, and Ming Yu has always gotten along well with her, and they can be regarded as handkerchief acquaintances.

Ming Yu smiled, answered a few words, and followed her into the room with Ming Pei.After settling his mind, he looked up and saw that there were already two other girls inside, younger than himself, similar to Ming Pei.One was thin, with a pale face, big black eyes, and a pointed chin. He was wearing an ivory white coat with a few silvery-white cloud patterns embroidered on the collar and cuffs. It's Xie Jingzhu, the lady from the general's mansion.

After Mingyu married into Jinjing in her previous life, she lived in seclusion most of the time, so although the General's Mansion and the Hou's Mansion were related, she didn't know the people there very well, she just heard some news occasionally, let alone Xie Jingzhu. Contacts are almost strangers.Pei Wenying was different. Looking intently, she saw that she was wearing a light yellow jacket and skirt, her bangs were tied neatly on her forehead, and a golden and exquisite wreath was hung on her neck, which reflected her skin like creamy fat, and her eyes were shining brightly.At this time, his lips were slightly pursed, and although he was still young, there was already a bit of arrogance in his brows.

This expression, as her elder brother and her husband Pei Taizhi in the previous life, really seemed to be printed in the same mold.

Ming Yu sighed secretly, but there was a smile on his face, followed Xie Mingrou to stand still, and listened to her introduce herself and Ming Pei to the two ladies from Jianghou's Gate who came from Beijing.

"She is the elder sister of the Ruan family that I often mentioned to you in the past few days. Wenying, the poems you read very much a few days ago were written by the elder sister of the Ruan family when she was in the Lingzhou Poetry Club. She is a well-known talented woman in the south of the Yangtze River, and she happened to be here today, so everyone can ask for advice."

Xie Jingzhu's small face was slightly sad at first, but when Xie Mingrou said this, she opened her black and white eyes, looked at her curiously, and called "Sister Ruan", but Pei Wenying did not speak. , sitting still and not moving, just raised his eyes and looked at Mingyu a little.

Although Rongyintang is rich in the world, it has no fame and fame. In the eyes of officials and officials, its status is only slightly better than that of ordinary people.With Pei Wenying's background and her aloof personality, it was inevitable to have such an attitude towards the daughter of a wealthy businessman whom she met for the first time.Naturally, Ming Yu didn't care, but when she saw that Ming Pei was submissive in front of the two of them, she slightly pulled down her sleeves, motioned her to sit on an empty chair next to her, and then nodded slightly to the two girls. , said with a smile: "Don't believe Mingrou, she's putting money on my face. But it's all racked up and put together, and now I wish I could sell it all, and I can't bear to watch it anymore."

Xie Mingrou giggled and said, "Sister Ruan, what are you doing self-effacingly? If it's good, it's good. If it's not good, I won't say you're good even if I have a knife on my neck."

When Ming Yu and Xie Mingrou visited each other's home in the past, they had the habit of giving each other small gifts.When I came here today, I didn't know there were two more ladies, so I only prepared a purse.The purse was carefully selected by her from the ones she had made in the past. Two butterflies inlaid with five-color beads were embroidered on the turquoise satin. The pressed hairpin made of top-quality pink pearls is extremely delicate.Now seeing that there were three people and only one purse was prepared, he didn't take it out, let alone let the topic revolve around him, so he turned to Xie Jingzhu and asked how long she would stay here.Seeing that she said that because of her mother's illness, she would stay here with her elder brother for three years, the circles of her eyes turned red, and there was a burst of pity in her heart.Although this girl is a noble daughter in the general's mansion, it is really pitiful to lose her mother at such an age.

Xie Mingrou said with a smile: "I wish you could stay longer, and I would have more company. This Jiangzhou city is big, and there are all kinds of people and things. After you live for a long time, you will know that keeping them is not as boring as your Beijing. I will Knowing that there is a man in the north of the city, he is obviously a master, but he is extremely stingy. He likes to use fried beans for dinner every day. He went to the shops selling these beans in the whole city and bought them over and over again. He bought them one by one and counted them. I know that there is a shop that sells a few more beans for a penny than others, so I ask my slaves to go all the way to buy from that shop every day. Do you think it’s funny? Just last month, his family A row of more than a dozen shops by the river was caught in a fire, and he was so heartbroken that he wanted to jump into the river. This is really afraid that God will give you something..."

Xie Mingrou murmured, overjoyed.Xie Jingzhu had never heard such an anecdote before, and she was attracted by his attention, interjecting a few words from time to time, the sad look on her face gradually faded, even Pei Wenying, who had always had a small face beside her, was fascinated by it, and smiled. several times.

"Ask Sister Ruan to tell a story. She has read a lot of books and knows everything. The story is more interesting than mine."

Xie Mingrou finished telling the story about the fried beans, and then racked her brains to tell another local joke. Seeing Xie Jingzhu shouting and wanting to listen, she hurriedly pulled Ming Yu out. The place was very boring, so I told a few stories I read at home from a book of overseas customs in the collection of Zhenguan.

Although Xie Jingzhu and Pei Wenying were born in noble families, they also studied and practiced calligraphy with their husbands at home since they were young, but most of what they learned were the scriptures on filial piety and so on. Pei Wenying is a bit talented, but only read a few more poems That's all.Unlike Ming Yu, because Ruan's father doted on her and didn't restrict her, she developed a romantic and free personality in her previous life. In the ten years from literacy to before she got married, she was allowed to look through the books in the rare library. Ordinary people are above one class.She articulated clearly, her voice was pleasant, and she spoke so vividly that the little girls listened with gusto. Even the maids around her were reluctant to leave, and gradually gathered around and listened with pricked ears.

(End of this chapter)