cloud temple phoenix hairpin

Chapter 18

Chapter 15

"Sister Ruan?"

Seeing that she was a little dazed, Xie Jingzhu called out softly.

Ming Yu came back to her senses, said oh, and hurriedly dismissed her thoughts just now.It's just a bystander who can't hit one place with eight poles, so why should she think about it.

Ming Yu went downstairs with the first few people, and at the same time ordered someone to inform Mrs. Jiang and Mrs. Xie.After a while, I saw Gu Xiang coming over and said with a smile: "Mrs. Xie's family told me to send a message to the two girls, saying that she will be escorted by your brother, so she won't go with her at ease. My wife and I are having a good time, call the girls Be careful yourself, go early and return early. Mr. Xie is now waiting by the carriage outside the south gate."

A group of people were surrounded by girls and servants to the south gate. Jiang Shi had ordered someone to prepare a large carriage specially. Inside, there were complete tea shelves and books, which was very comfortable. Mammy.Ming Yu vaguely recognized this nanny, surnamed Ding, who was a capable person next to the old matriarch of the Hou's mansion, and had not had much contact with her before.

The girls who went with them sat in the two cars behind.The two Mingyu sisters also took a car by themselves, and after everything was settled, the housekeeper Liu who was about to accompany him yelled, the driver waved his whip, and a row of cars drove slowly towards Yiyuan under the guard of the servants.

Just now, Gu Xiang said that Xie Zuiqiao was waiting at the south gate, but when Ming Yu came out, he didn't see a strange man beside him, so he probably avoided it again.Along the way, Ming Yu sat firmly in the carriage, but Ming Pei was a little absent-minded, and from time to time quietly lifted the curtains covering the windows to look around.Ming Yu vaguely guessed that she probably wanted to see what Mr. Xie's family looked like.The third time I saw her open the window curtain and put her head closer, she coughed heavily, Ming Pei was startled, turned around and saw Ming Yu was staring at her with a frown, smiled mischievously, and finally sat up straight and stopped. wait and see.

In less than two quarters of an hour, Yiyuan arrived.The people in front of the gate have been cleared away, and there are two rows of servants who have been arranged to welcome them.The sisters from the Xie family and Pei Wenying were each helped out of the carriage, and Ming Yu took a few ladies inside. When they arrived at the tall rockery used as a screen wall, they suddenly heard Steward Liu's voice faintly behind them. Beside the gate dozens of steps away, Steward Liu was talking to someone.The man only saw a figure from the back, black hair tied with a jade belt, holding the rein of the horse, standing tall, the big black cloak he was wearing was full of wind, and the corners of his robe fluttered.

But at a glance, Mingyu already guessed that this young man should be Xie Jingzhu's elder brother Xie Zuiqiao, so he didn't look much, turned around and turned around the rockery, then went in the direction of Congzhen Pavilion.

At this time of early winter, what you see is not as lush as in midsummer, but when you look from a distance, your sight is much wider than when the vegetation is flourishing.Pavilions are stacked with buildings, and curved corridors are connected by flying bridges. At one step, the green lotus chrysanthemums are blooming beautifully, but at the next step, golden leaves are rustling in the wind; There are snow-white swans crossing their necks wandering under the bottom of the water, which is very interesting to see along the way.

On the first and second floors of the Congzhen Museum, there are hundreds of cabinets with no less than ten thousand volumes, which are arranged in different categories and racks. There are a collection of classics and history, poems and Fu, pictures of Tiangong, agriculture and medicine, all kinds of rare books handed down from ancient times, and even Sanskrit classics.Because of the flourishing of Buddhism, even the current Empress Dowager devotes herself to worshiping the Buddha, so there is constant communication between the Jokhang Kingdom and the Western Regions. Now, there is a person who returned from a tour of the Western Regions in the hall, and is dedicated to translating the Buddhist scriptures brought back. Ming Yu I also learned some Sanskrit in the past.

Xie Mingrou was not very interested in books, but just wandered around to read them. Pei Wenying lingered for a long time and picked out a lot of books. She reluctantly stopped until Nanny Ding came to remind her.Ming Yu took a look at the books she picked out, they were very scattered, there were poems, notes and picture books, so she asked the girl to pack them up and take them away, but Nanny Ding stopped the girl and said with a smile: "Let the old slave come . " As he spoke, he put a book by himself into the book basket next to him.Pei Wenying stood on the side with a cold face, a little dissatisfied in her expression, but she didn't say anything.

Ming Yu had an epiphany.Knowing that Jingyonghou's mansion has strict rules, even though Pei Wenying was released to leave the capital, there is still a foster mother by his side at all times.This Nanny Ding must have been afraid that Pei Wenying might not read the book properly, so she pretended to clean it up and checked each one by herself first. Could it be that Pei Wenying would have a displeased face.

Nanny Ding looked at them all, and saw that there was nothing inappropriate, so she put them all in, and said with a smile: "It's packed, let Yingli carry it." Immediately, a girl in purple came to take it.

Pei Wenying sneered and said, "Nurse Ding is very careful, why don't you read it to me one by one when I go back, wouldn't it be more thorough."

Nanny Ding was ridiculed, but her expression was as usual, she just smiled and said: "The girl is away, it's no better than at home. Since the old matriarch ordered the old slave to take care of the girl, the old slave naturally dare not let you down, please be safe in everything."

Pei Wenying snorted, and headed out first.Xie Mingrou and Xie Jingzhu looked at each other, and then at Mingyu.Ming Yu smiled slightly, and the group of people left Congzhen Pavilion, and went out according to the old way, and when they arrived at the big rockery facing the door, Nurse Ding bowed slightly to Ming Yu, and said with a smile: "I'm really bothering you today." Miss. The girls have been here for some time, so it's time to go back. When I came out just now, the old slave had already mentioned to Mrs. Xie's family that he would not go back to the girl's house. He just asked Mr. Xie to escort him back. Girl, please stop .”

Ming Yu knew that Nanny Ding had Mrs. Wang by her side, and she was afraid that even Mrs. Xie would give her a little bit, so she naturally didn't say much, and agreed with a smile, said goodbye to Xie Mingrou, and watched her and others be killed Nanny Ding and a group of maids boarded the carriage parked outside the gate, and they didn't let out a long breath until the carriage passed away.

"Sister, this Nanny Ding is just a servant, and she dared to be so rude to Miss Pei, but Miss Pei actually endured it. If it were me, I would have exploded earlier."

On the way back to Rongyin Hall when the two got into the carriage, Ming Pei tutted.

Ming Yu glanced at her, and sighed inwardly again.

She has experienced all kinds of misery in her previous life, and now in her heart, she regards her closest relatives very seriously.Although Ming Pei is not her younger sister, she is also her father's daughter, so naturally she will no longer just draw a line with her to seek peace as before.I know that she is a bit impetuous and superficial, and because of this temper in the previous life, she caused some troubles several times, which almost brought down her family's reputation.I wanted to persuade him slowly.Now that I think about it, it may not be all useful to treat her with such a temperament blindly. When she is still young, proper discipline is also necessary.Seeing that Nanny Ding happened to be mentioned today, he said, "You act like Miss Pei because you are afraid of Nanny Ding? Nanny Ding's status is indeed far inferior to Miss Pei, but the person behind her is the Hou family." Mrs. Madam, this kind of family is the most respectful of rules, and no matter how noble Miss Pei is, she will never dare to go against the rules." After a pause, she said seriously, "Speaking of rules, grandma made a point in front of me a few days ago, Tell me to take you with me. Although our family is not as good as theirs, we must have the rules. A few days ago, I took care of household chores and didn't take care of you. From tomorrow, you and I Practice calligraphy for an hour a day. Practicing calligraphy slowly will help you calm down and get rid of impetuousness."

"Where am I impetuous? I still remember the truth you taught me last time."

Ming Pei muttered, looking a little unhappy.

Ming Yu frowned slightly, and when she spoke again, her tone became a little harsh.

"When you came to the carriage, you looked out of the window several times, thinking that I don't know what you are thinking? If a girl spies on a strange man like this, if someone catches her eyes, she will only say that the girl from our family lacks rules. , even parents are ridiculed."

Ming Pei's face flushed slightly, and she defended in a low voice: "I haven't seen a high school student in Beijing, so I'm curious..."

"Father and mother have always been lenient to us and sisters, and we are the only ones who can't relax. When I go back, I will tell my mother to visit a good teacher to teach you some rules slowly." Seeing Ming Pei raised his eyes in surprise, as if Still wanting to argue, he waved his hands, "It's settled like this. You will know that this is for your own good in the future."

Ming Pei knew that this elder sister's words at home now carry a lot of weight. Seeing her resolute attitude, she knew that there was no room for change. Although she was a little reluctant, she had no choice but to agree.

When Ming Yu returned to Rongyin Hall, Jiang Shi had just sent Mrs. Xie away, so she briefly mentioned to Jiang Shi about the time when several people went to Congzhen Hall, and only said that everything was fine.At the end, he said: "Mother, Ming Pei is growing up now. I want to ask someone to find a teacher to come over and teach her some rules. How do you think?"

Jiang looked at her in surprise, and said: "Pei girl is also smart, but her temper is a little loose, and I was not good at discipline in the past. It's no wonder that you are thoughtful. It's good to learn more rules." Shen Yin He paused and said with a smile, "I have to trouble Mrs. Xie. Tomorrow I will write a book and send it to someone, and ask her to find out if there is anyone who came out of the former palace."

Ming Yu smiled and said, "I think so too. It would be best if there are old people who come out of the palace."

On the second day, the Jiang family really asked someone to send a letter to Xie's residence. After Mrs. Xie read it, she immediately replied and agreed.For a while after that, Ming Yu continued to help with the housework, and she never forgot to take time to supervise Ming Pei's calligraphy practice every day. The days passed quickly, and it was the end of November in a blink of an eye, and Jiang's body was five or six months old. Get bigger every day.Today I received a letter from Ruan Hong Tianming, saying that the business in Wuzhou is over. Because it is almost the end of the year, I went to the nearby Mengzhou on the way, and I will be back in half a month. After that, she will not go out again, and will definitely accompany Jiang at home until she gives birth.

After Ruan Hongtian had been away for several months, Jiang missed her husband a little bit, so when he received the letter, he was naturally happy, and sent someone to send a message to Suixi Garden, and he took the letter and read it again and again.Ming Yu was also happy to be by the side.It's just that my heart is always in a trance, and I vaguely feel that something is going to happen at home, but I can't remember it for a while.In addition, it was almost the end of the year, and there were more things to do in Rongyintang. This person was found, and another person came over. Every day was so busy that it was like a spinning top, and it was slowly let go.

A few days later, Mingyu woke up early in the morning and saw Chunyuan come in. She took a Mrs. Tang and covered her feet with her hands, and took out a red thick satin silver sable made last year from a ten-drawer chest. Putting on a coat, he smiled and said: "The weather was suddenly cold a few days ago, and I thought that this year it might snow earlier than in previous years. When I got up today, I was so cold that it was really snowing outside. There are so many footprints on the ground. The old man has to go to Meifeng in Xiling Mountain to paint plums every year, and this year may be early..."

Ming Yu was startled, put on some clothes, went to the window and opened the pane, and saw that overnight, the gray tiled roofs near and far were covered with white, and there were still fine flakes of snow floating in the air, and a gust of cold wind blew in front of her. Come on, I couldn't help but fight a cold war.

"Miss is freezing carefully." Chunyuan hurried over to close the window pane, turned her head and saw Ming Yu standing still, her eyes were a little dull, she was startled, and hurriedly pushed her gently, "What's the matter, miss?"

Ming Yu came back to her senses, and finally remembered the incident that had troubled her for a few days ago.

Grandfather Jiang Kui has only one daughter of the Jiang family under his knees, and now she is over [-] years old and lives alone in the ancestral house in Mengcheng, which is adjacent to Jiangzhou.Ruan Hongtian and the Jiang family were afraid that he would be alone a few years ago, and they often mentioned that they wanted to bring him to Jiangzhou to grow old together, but he was quite weird, and he didn't want to live with his daughter and son-in-law.Mingyu often went to live in Mengcheng a few years ago, learned painting from him, and had a deep relationship with his grandfather. Jiang Kui also loved this granddaughter very much, and often praised her for her paintings. contented.In the previous life, there was a bad news in the days before the year.The reason is an accident.It turned out that the snow fell early this year, and the plum blossoms on the Meifeng of Mengcheng Xiling Mountain bloomed earlier. Jiang Kui was invited by Monk Yin, the abbot of Hanqing Temple in the mountain, to live temporarily in Huaxuemei.On the way back from Tanmei, the snow on the mountain road was thick, and his feet slipped for a while, and the servants beside him couldn't pull him in time, so he fell into the ditch, severely injured and bleeding.When he was about to be sent for medical treatment, the mountain road out of the mountain was surrounded by snow, so he was delayed, and when he came out of the mountain the next day, it was already too late, and he passed away suddenly.The news came that it was the middle of the twelfth lunar month, and it was a trivial matter that Rongyin Hall had no intention of celebrating the new year because of this unexpected funeral. Jiang was so sad that after returning from the funeral, his body was a little unstable, and he was bedridden for more than a month before he recovered. , the situation was extremely dangerous at that time, thinking about it now, I still feel a little scared.

Although it was freezing cold, Mingyu's back suddenly broke out in a layer of cold sweat. Without thinking about what to say, she hurriedly dressed and washed and went to Jiang's place, cursing herself inwardly for being so confused, such a big deal I didn't think of it early.

When Ming Yu passed by, Jiang Shi had just got up, silver charcoal was covered in the banana-leaf three-legged brazier in the room, and the girl was bringing breakfast to her room, Jiang Shi hurriedly asked for another pair of bowls and chopsticks.

"It's freezing outside, why don't you sleep a little longer? Just come over and have some hot porridge together to warm up your body."

Sitting across from Jiang, Mingyu saw a small pot of steaming jade grits, a plate of magnolia slices, a plate of ham rolled with sliced ​​fish with spiced silk, and a drawer of emerald ghost hair with a green skirt on the table.

"You're so tired these days, your chin is sharp. This ghostly hairy skin is mixed with mung bean flour, rolled out extremely thin, and the filling is also your favorite shrimp and fragrant rice, poured with fresh juice boiled with duck shoots, The taste is not bad. I was just about to ask someone to send some to you and Ming Pei’s house, it’s best if you come here by yourself, eat it while it’s hot.”

Jiang took one and put it in Mingyu's bowl.

Ming Yu took a bite, the skin was thin, the filling was delicious, and the juice was overflowing, but she still had no appetite, but after eating two, she put down her chopsticks, looked at Jiang and said, "Mother, I haven't been to my grandfather's house for a long time, I have some I miss my grandfather, I want to visit him today."

Jiang didn't expect her to mention this suddenly, and she was a little surprised: "It's almost the end of the year, and your grandfather's house is going to visit. I prepared the New Year's ceremony myself a few days ago, and I was just waiting for your father to come back. After that, ask him to go there. You can either wait a few more days and go with him after your father comes back."

Ming Yu shook her head hastily: "Mother, I suddenly dreamed of my grandfather last night. He said he missed me very much and had something to say. When I woke up, it seemed as if it was real. That's why I came here early in the morning to report."

Jiang recalled that the last time he communicated with his father was half a year ago.Although his body has always been in good health, it is only an elderly person who encounters this sudden cold weather, which is extremely variable, and there may be changes.Seeing her daughter's serious words again, she felt a little apprehensive, hesitated and said, "It's okay to let you take a look, but it's just snowing today..."

"Mother, if you hurry up now, you will arrive in the evening. The snow is not too heavy here, just put on more horses, and it will not be a problem. I can rest assured after seeing my grandfather."

Ming Yu hurriedly said.

Jiang shi pondered for a moment, but he couldn't worry about his old father after all, and finally sighed: "You child, I'm a little hypocritical after being told by you, I wish I could go and have a look right away. Forget it, ask Butler Liu to take you there, be more picky A few family members followed, and brought the New Year's gift along the way. After seeing your grandfather, tell me that everything is fine, and after your father comes back from outside, he will go to visit his old man in person."

Ming Yu let out a sigh of relief when she saw Jiang Shi let go, and stood up hastily.Jiang Shi didn't want to have breakfast anymore, so he asked someone to invite Liu Shenghe, and explained in detail.Liu Shenghe heard that he was going to send the eldest girl to the old man of Mengcheng, although he was a little surprised, he hurriedly agreed: "Madam, don't worry, I will definitely send the girl to the old lady early, and then come back early."

(End of this chapter)