in spring

Chapter 148 Bright Claw
Zhou Nian wiped away the tears on his face, and blushed slightly: "I'm sorry... this time... I lost my composure."

Chunying smiled and shook her head, feeling that Zhou Nian is closer to her now, she is no longer the ancient young master who always puts on a gentle air and never seems to have negative emotions. She averted her eyes winkingly at the appearance and skirts, and pretended to look at the furnishings in the room.

Although it has an elegant and simple style, this room is actually better than the previous Zhumeng Villa. Not only the surrounding walls have been newly painted, but the furniture decoration is also complete.The middle one is the main room, which is used for meeting guests. It is separated by a large bookshelf on the left, and it can be seen that there is a study inside.On the right is the bedroom. On the large kang, there are quilts folded in a mess, and a few robes are draped randomly on top of it. On the ground beside the kang, there is a wooden basin. Chunying recognizes that it is the size of a laundry tub.

She was slightly taken aback, looked away, and found that the bookshelves and desks were clean, but there was a lot of dust on the floor, and there were even spider webs on the ceiling in the corner.

Zhou Nian noticed her scrutinizing gaze, and seemed even more embarrassed: "Cough...don't take offense, I...I'm not very good at cleaning the house, this...is really rude..."

Chunying couldn't help laughing: "Master Nian, why did you say such things to me? How can you do such things? Could it be that Sanqing lives so close, and didn't come to help you?" She asked, and walked from behind the door I found a broom and came out, cleaned up the cobwebs first, and then started sweeping the floor.

Zhou Nian hurriedly stopped her: "No, no, Sanqing asked for help, but I also declined. Now he is responsible for guarding the garden, and he has to regularly clean up the leaves in the lake in the garden, and he lives in the garden, coming in and out. If it's too much trouble, I might as well do it myself."

Chunying looked at him strangely: "Why? His hut is right next to the corner gate. The corner gate is only a few steps away from you. Compared with before, it is not far away. Besides, this gate is rarely used by people. , what kind of trouble is this?

Zhou Nian smiled faintly: "I only realized how lucky I am when I traveled far away! I was demoted to be an official slave, but I still firmly remember my previous noble status, without any self-knowledge, and I justifiably ordered Sanqing... In fact, he is just the son of a former tenant of our family. I accidentally saved his life, and he gave up his life to protect him and never left him. He is really my good friend! It is too much for me to treat him as a slave. Now I have your suggestion, Master Hou and Brother You have won this honorable status for me, and I should do my best to repay it. Since I have become a slave, I have to behave like a slave, so that no one will find out The strange situation has harmed Lord Hou's family."

Chunying thought for a while, then said with a smile: "That makes sense. In fact, these jobs are really not difficult, but I can't imagine you can do them. It seems that you are not used to it?"

Zhou Nian raised his sleeves and covered his face: "Don't be joking, I used to do some light work when I lived in Zhumeng Mountain, but it was the first time for me to do laundry and clean... In fact, I am much better now than I was at the beginning. At least the bookshelves and desks are fairly clean."

Chunying snickered, and suddenly thought: "Then what should you do when you eat? When I entered the yard just now, I didn't seem to see the kitchen?"

"Usually I work as an errand in the study outside, and eat with the boys there, and only come back here at night." Zhou Nian felt more at ease, "I specifically told Sanqing not to do anything for me, let me try it myself, Now that I have come back to the Hou Mansion openly and aboveboard, even for the safety of Lord Hou and Brother You, I have to do my best to prevent others from seeing my flaws."

He raised his head and looked at Chunying: "When I first made this request, no matter whether it was Lord Hou, Brother You or Sanqing, they all strongly opposed it, but they couldn't hold me back, so they reluctantly agreed. But in the study outside, Lord Hou still pointed A servant helped me, and Brother You even made excuses from time to time to let me eat more nourishing food. When I was not at home, Sanqing would quietly come to work for me. I just told you, I was still worried You will also object, and now you can breathe a sigh of relief."

Chunying said with a smile: "It's not a heavy job. Master Nian occasionally exercises, which is also good for your body. I think they are too used to protecting you, for fear that you will be wronged. But..." She turned her head and looked around: " You don't have to be too stubborn, fetching water and washing clothes, even the servants in the Hou's mansion, not everyone does it by themselves. You can learn to clean the room and take care of yourself, and that's enough. You know how to cook and sew clothes, right? There seems to be no well in this courtyard, and you have to get water from other sources. Let Sanqing handle these. Young Master Nian’s energy should be spent on rehabilitating his family, not working hard to get old. Go away to fetch water."

"You girl..." Zhou Nian couldn't laugh or cry after hearing this, and sighed, "Forget it, I don't dare to eat the food I cook or wear the clothes I sew... Your words are also reasonable, so please ask Sanqing to carry water for me Right. The water well is in the first yard at the entrance of the alley, although it’s not far away, I brought a bucket back, but only less than half of it is usable, and Sanqing has to follow all the way, which makes her face very long.”

Chunying imagined that scene, and she also found it funny: "Anyway, he followed all the way, so let's just ask him to go and save time to do other things. By the way, Master Nian, you live here and work in the study outside. Then do you go back and forth every day? Where do you go?!"

"Naturally, I came out from the second gate." Zhou Nian said with a smile, "I walked openly this time. If I wanted to be lively, I walked around the street from the front gate. If I wanted to be quiet, I walked through the back street. I always get up early and go in." Mansion, I came back after dark, today I heard Brother You said you would come, so I asked for leave to stay at home."

Chunying was a little worried: "Then... won't Grand Master Liang embarrass you?" It is said that it is a back street, but in fact outsiders can still come in. It is quite far from other courtyards where people live. In case something happens, there is nowhere to hide go.

Zhou Nian said: "Don't be afraid, Sanqing is nearby, and you can't hide any movement from him. Besides, Mr. Liang won't take it seriously for a mere Zhou Nian. The only thing he has to worry about is Lord Hou." He looked out the door Looking at the sky: "It's getting late, I heard that you have to go back before the time application? I'm afraid it's past the end time."

Chunying saw that it was indeed so, hurriedly picked up the burden, and said: "Then I will go first, and I will definitely come to see you when I have time! Master Nian..." She paused, "You have to take care, three meals a day must be Don't forget to go to bed early at night. Take everything into consideration, and remember that the day of redress is getting closer, isn't it?"

Zhou Nian returned her a smile.

This smile put Chunying in a good mood, even dissipating most of the depression caused by her parents' failure, she continued to work in the Wanxiang House in a very law-abiding manner, learned the rules of the Huo family from Linglong, and spent her free time with ten Er, Sang'er and Nanqi were doing needlework together, occasionally curry favor with Aunt Qing, and thought of two soups to suggest for the auntie to try, and naturally got rewards a few times. No more entanglement.

It's just that the aunt's illness is sometimes good and sometimes bad, and it has improved a bit. After entering May, because the roses in the courtyard were blooming, she accompanied the old lady to appreciate it once. She started to have a fever that night. She took medicine and had a fever. After retiring, I couldn't sleep well or eat well, so I could only rely on half a bowl of porridge oil and half a bowl of ginseng soup to support me every day.

Miss Huo's eyes were red from crying, and Aunt Qing's temper became irritable. A little girl bumped into her, and she kicked down all the trees in the yard in a rage.Ms. Huo couldn't say anything about her, so in order to avoid the ruined tree from being an obstacle to the view, she had to order someone to cut down the two tuberose plants. When she went to pay her respects to the old lady, she apologized to her grandmother. Naturally, it was a trivial matter.

Maybe it's because the new doctor has great medical skills, and my aunt gradually recovered, with blood on her face, and she could eat a bowl of porridge every meal, and her waking hours gradually increased, and she could even chat and laugh with her mother up.The whole family of the Hou's Mansion was celebrating, and the old lady was so happy that she repeatedly said that she would reward everyone in the Wanxiang Pavilion.Huo Yi took the opportunity to ask her grandmother that she wanted to go back to the Huo family's old house to take care of the housework, and then take a look at her brother whom she hadn't seen for a long time.

The old lady naturally agreed, but reminded her not to delay too long.On the contrary, An's expression was a little strange. After visiting her sick sister-in-law at night, she went to her niece's room, looked at the suitcase on the floor, and persuaded with a smile: "Oh, look at this posture, do you want to go back to live for a long time? Isn't my aunt more The matter, your mother is still sick now, I'm afraid I will feel bad if I can't see you."

Huo Yi put the book in his hand back into the cabinet, bowed down and bowed down, and waited for An's to excuse him, then said calmly: "It's just a few items that are not needed, and they would take up space here, so Yi'er thought, send them away." It’s fine to go back to the old house. This time I’m going home to visit my younger brother and take care of the housework. It won’t take a few days. If my mother wants to see me, she can send someone to call me back at any time.”

An Shi sighed, sat down and said, "It's hard for you to take care of your mother and younger brother and take care of the housework at such a young age. I remember that after your father's funeral last year, you also fell ill. ? Later, I had to wait for sickness, and I had to rush on the road again. When I entered Beijing, I didn’t see you idle. Is your health okay? You are still young, so don’t let your health suffer, otherwise it will be difficult in the future.”

Huo Yi hesitated in his heart, and really didn't understand the aunt's intentions, so he could only follow her words and wished him a blessing: "Thank you aunt for your mercy, Yi'er is fine."

An Shi helped her up with a look of pity, then gently took her to the bedside and sat down, stroked her temples affectionately, and said softly: "Yi'er, Auntie knows that you grew up in Nanjing long ago, and you have never been a child before. I have never met my grandmother, uncle and aunt's family, but there are many letters between the two families every year. You should know that we are close relatives. If you have any difficulties, you can tell us. Uncle and aunt will definitely take care of it for you. , don't be polite to us!"

Huo Yi's heart moved, and she lowered her head: "Yi'er knows."

There was a look of satisfaction in An's eyes, and he continued to gently persuade her: "You are young, you have lost your father, and your mother is still sick, and you serve your mother's soup every day. We adults feel distressed when we look at it. This time your mother is seriously ill, you are already very tired after staying with your mother's hospital bed for a few days, and you have to rush back to the old house tomorrow, and hurry back after doing the housework, how can your body take it? Throw away all the housework and ask the housekeeper to take care of it. You can stay here and serve your mother. If you are worried, ask your uncle to send a reliable person to watch over it. If there is anything wrong with the servants of the Huo family Be obedient, slave bullying the master, just tell your uncle and aunt, and your uncle and aunt will definitely make the decision for you, drive those bastard slaves away, and replace them with good ones!"

Huo Yi lowered her head: "Thank you aunt for your kindness, it's just...the purpose of going back to the old house this time is to visit my younger brother and say hello to my aunt. Besides, it's to see how the housekeeper is renovating the old house. And whether to perform their own duties. It's just a matter of knowing what to do. It's not a tiring thing. Yi'er is young, and her mother can't be too tired, so she just barely learns how to be a housekeeper. I want to ask my uncle and aunt for advice."

An Shi heard that, although she was not very satisfied, it was still passable, but Huo Yi's previous attitude was a little too tough, which made her a little uneasy.After exchanging a few more pleasantries, and asking a lot of words of concern, she got up and left, stopped outside the door to think for a while, and then made up her mind.

When Huo Yi returned to the old house, Chunying was on the entourage list, and she was the only one among the maids sent by the Hou Mansion, so she was busy packing her luggage and preparing to stay at Huo's house.Shi'er was helping or making trouble, and kept telling Chunying to tell her everything she saw when she came back.

Ten'er talked so excitedly that even Sonny's heart was moved, and she shared a share, which gave Chunying a headache. Just when she was hesitating to think of a reason to shut up Shi'er, she suddenly heard a loud noise from outside. yelling, followed by a commotion.

The three of Chunying hurriedly probed to see what was going on, but they saw Linglong sitting under the steps of the main room, stroking her ankle, her face full of pain.Aunt Qing was instructing the little girl to help her up, and hurriedly explained to Miss Huo who rushed over after hearing the sound: "Miss, Linglong has lost her leg!"

(End of this chapter)