in spring

Chapter 165 Let's wait for the next spring

Qiuyu's marriage was decided quickly.On the second day after her daughter returned to the Hou's Mansion, Mother Lu went to the old lady to ask for grace, officially obtained permission to marry her daughter, and could start preparing the dowry.

There was a wooden steward and a husband and wife who got married, and they had to get through the door before New Year's Eve, so Lu and Lu's family saved a lot of red tape. Among the six ceremonies, the three ceremonies of Nacai, Wenming and Najib were almost completed in one day. .Less than half a month later, Lu Renyi led a large group of people to send a generous dowry.Qiuyu also handed over the errands in her hands, kowtowed to thank the old lady, wife and the hostesses in the Hou's mansion, and took over her servant's documents from his wife An Shi, and left the Hou's mansion to go home to be married.

Chunying hoped to be able to help, and sent her sister to marry in person. However, before she had time to make a request to Miss Biao, she was thrown a bucket of cold water.

In order for Miss Cousin Huo Yi to move into the new courtyard before winter, the old lady specially asked her wife to speed up the renovation of the small courtyard. As a result, at the end of September, everything inside and outside the small courtyard was properly arranged. Aunt and all the maids moved in.

This is a small courtyard located at the left rear of the old lady's courtyard. It is not big, a little smaller than the Wanxiang Pavilion, about half the size of the Huanhua Pavilion.The courtyard faces south, and there are three upper rooms in the middle, which were originally Buddhist halls. Now, except for the middle one, which is reserved for enshrining the spiritual tablet, the left side has become a small Buddhist hall and scripture copying room, and the right side is the residence of Aunt Qing.The west wing is Huo Yi's room, the east wing is the study, and the maids live in their own side rooms, and there are several rooms in the backyard for the women.

The old lady was afraid that her granddaughter would not be enough to handle her, so she arranged for her another four wives, four daughters-in-law, and several little maids, all of which were treated in the same way as the eldest granddaughter was treated before she got married, because she was afraid that the granddaughter would not be able to eat in the cold weather. For fresh and hot meals, she also asked someone to clean up a small kitchen at the back of the yard, and all the meat and vegetables were provided, all of which were deducted from her share.

Under such a solemn matter, how could Chunying, as Miss Biao's maid, stay out of it?I had no choice but to work with Linglong, Nanqi and the others to clean the room and put things back together, while packing my luggage, and by the way, I also had to teach the new girl and woman... Everyone was so busy that no one could be idle Come down, let alone ask for leave.

The only thing Chunying can do is to do some needlework, clothes, shoes and socks, sachets, quilts before the lights are turned off at night... and then ask acquaintances to take them home.After finally waiting for everyone to settle down, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and was about to test her words in front of Aunt Qing, but at this time Miss Biao caught a cold due to accidental wind and fell ill again.

The old lady was so distressed that she repeatedly urged Master Hou to invite the imperial doctor, and ordered the maids to take good care of her. She even sent the two maids, Emerald and Pearl, to serve her. Everyone surrounded Huo Yi as if they were serving national treasures. Turn, no one dares to be lazy, how dare Chunying mention the word "leave"?
In such a situation, it seems that it is a sin to mention Qiuyu's marriage.As Huo Yi's maid, all she was expected to do was to work quietly with worry on her face, keep an eye on the changes in her master's condition, and rejoice that Huo Yi ate half a bowl of bird's nest porridge or two mouthfuls of ginseng soup Crying, spitting out a mouthful of concoction for Huo Yi and sobbing behind others...

Chunying was very depressed.She suspects that if this continues, within two years, her acting skills will be able to compete for the Oscar statuette.

Pearl and Amber would bring her news of Qiuyu from time to time. She knew that her sister had already prepared the wedding dress and the wedding date was set, which would be on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.My father, mother, and brother bought new outfits for the wedding, and of course, made one for her too.Every day, the mother urged the three carpenter shops to rush to make the furniture for her daughter's dowry. At the same time, she was looking for people everywhere to find out what kind of dowry was the most decent. The other two half-person-high wooden boxes were filled with new clothes for the four seasons for Qiuyu to wear after her marriage. This was not enough, and Lu's mother also spent money to buy several from the shop run by her father and other silk shops. A piece of silk.

Originally, as a servant, one should not wear silk or satin, but there are many servants of high-ranking families in Beijing, no one is serious, and there are many people who wear good materials in private. In the face of the officials, everyone will still restrain themselves a little and give the national law a little face.Now that Qiuyu has lost her slave status, she has officially married out of the mansion to become a commoner, and her husband's family is a small landlord, so she can naturally wear silk openly.Mother Lu was very proud of this, she wished the whole world would know about it, and asked her husband to write a note to the youngest daughter, asking her if she knew any other southern silk merchants?

Chunying doubted whether the family had enough money to support such a large expenditure, but her father just reassured her in the letter. She thought of her father's character and dared not do anything prohibited. It is indeed a lot of income, except for the money for father's errands, there is no big expenditure, so I am a little relieved.

But when the whole family is happily preparing for her sister's wedding, she is actually trapped in the house, unable to do anything, which is really uncomfortable.She had carefully sniffed Aunt Qing's words, but the other party only hinted that she put the patient first, and let her go to work, so she could only find time to do needlework and quietly send her home while she was bored with her work.

Finally, Miss Biao gradually recovered. Although her body was weak, she still needed rest.But she had been recuperating until the twelfth lunar month, and she couldn't get out of bed.On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Chunying finally saw the young lady who was leaning on the bed and eating gruel, and the coral who had been ordered by the old lady to "serve them well and not neglect". I gave up, and no longer expected to have the opportunity to see Qiuyu get married with my own eyes.

Is there anything more frustrating than having finally won my sister's freedom, but not being able to watch her go on another life path?

While sighing, Chunying fanned the fire on the stove, boiled a tonic for Miss Biao, and secretly prayed to God in her heart that Miss Biao would get better soon!They can't even sleep well at night now!

I don't know if God heard her prayers, but Miss Biao actually recovered rapidly within the next five days, and by the day before the eve of the year, she had fully recovered.Master Huo Er - who has just been promoted to the editor of the Seventh Rank Hanlin Academy - personally wrote the post, and sent his wife Zhang as a representative to come to the Hou Mansion to pick up his niece and daughter to go home for the New Year.

Although the old lady was reluctant, Master Huo Er was the cousin's uncle after all, and had the name of offering sacrifices to the ancestors. She could only nod her head and let her granddaughter go back.Huo Yi was worried that bringing too many people would make his uncle unhappy, so he only brought along the girl and woman brought from the Huo family, and Aunt Qing had a little maid from the Marquis's mansion beside her, and the group of eight followed. Zhang left.Before leaving, Aunt Qing specially reminded Huo Yi to order that those who stay behind during the Chinese New Year can take turns to go home to celebrate the New Year.

All the maids, mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law were all overjoyed, so they elected representatives to report to their wives on the same day, and got permission to take two days off in turn, two people at a time, decided by lottery.Chunying was lucky enough to get two days on the 25th and 26th of the twelfth lunar month, so she immediately packed her things and waited for that day to come.

It's hard to describe how it feels to be home again.Chunying looked at the walls where the red paper-cuts had not been torn off, the red paper pasted on the teapots, and half of the cabinets in the room, and realized clearly that Qiuyu had already married.

She sat by the bed, feeling a little dazed.

Qiuyu got married out of her nationality, what will she do next?There has been no news from Zhou Nian, but his father seems to be getting more and more attention, his face is flushed, and the expression between his brows is more calm and calm. The shop should be in good condition, right?The Lu family's divorce was the result of taking care of Xishan Zhuangzi for decades, and happened to meet the second master's family returning to Beijing, so they got good luck. My father is only starting to work now. I don't know how many years I will have to wait if I rely on him to fight for it. She can't wait...

So, besides waiting for Zhou Nian to stand up, she has nothing else to do?
Chunying was lying on the quilt in a daze, and suddenly heard her mother yelling outside: "What are you doing in the house?! Come out and help! I want to make more baskets of auspicious fruits. Your brother-in-law will come tomorrow morning." Take us to your sister's house for fruit tea!"

The new home of my sister and brother-in-law is in Xique Hutong outside Chongwenmen. Opposite is the headline of the flower market. There are many shops selling silk flowers and fresh flowers. There are many people coming and going, many of whom are older girls and younger daughters-in-law.Wearing thick new clothes, Chunying hugged her younger brother Xiaohu who was dressed like a child of the god of wealth, and came here with her parents in the carriage of her brother-in-law Lu Renyi, and was attracted by the market almost immediately.

She used to come here with Hu Fei quite often, but at that time she never expected that Qiuyu would marry in this neighborhood.

Qiuyu was wearing the red dress of the new wife, with a few golden hairpins on her head, still shy, standing at the entrance of the alley and shouting: "Father, mother, sister, come here quickly! Let's go into the house and ask It's snowing, it's cold outside!"

Chunying carefully looked at her sister's complexion, seeing her brows and eyes were full of happiness, secretly happy in her heart, stretched out her hand to hold her and said: "Sister, you got married, but I couldn't send you off, I'm really sorry."

"Silly girl, what are you talking about? Of course, the master should be the most important thing." Qiuyu touched her head, hugged her younger brother from her mother's arms, talked all the way, and led the family into her home.

As Mu Niangzi said before, the front of the yard was partitioned to make a carriage and horse shop. Because the Chinese New Year was approaching, there were no guests, only two children sitting head to head in the yard playing games.Lu Renyi yelled, and one of them ran to the kitchen with a smile, calling his mother to boil water and prepare fruit tea.

The door leading to the backyard was open, and in the courtyard, the plum blossoms were in full bloom, a large area of ​​red and bright.Lu Renyi rubbed his hands and said with a smile: "Everyone says that the old plum at home has not been opened for several years. This year, seeing that I am going to marry a new wife, I rushed to congratulate me! A compound under my name lives in a The old monk, the dharma name is silent, it is very effective in fortune-telling, he specially congratulated me, saying that the plum blossom is a good omen, and there will be happy events at home next year!"

After hearing this, Mother Lu rejoiced: "Really? What kind of happy event will it be?" She couldn't help but glance at Qiuyu.Qiuyu blushed, stomped her feet and said, "Mother, what are you looking at!" Turning bad luck into good luck?"

Qiuyu bowed her head and carried her younger brother into the house. Chunying smiled secretly beside her. Mother Lu patted her and pulled her husband into the room.Chunying slowly followed behind, had fruit tea with them, and couldn't help asking to go out for a walk.She is quite familiar with the neighborhood, although Lu's mother complained a little, but Lu Yougui nodded.

Chunying didn't go far, just walked around in front of the chariot and horse shop, watching the bustling scene in the flower market from a distance, suddenly her head felt cold, snowflakes slowly scattered from the sky, fell into her palm, and melted in a blink of an eye For Shui Ying, she disappeared.

She blinked, a little melancholy: "It's snowing..."

"It's snowing!" An old voice suddenly came from the side. When Chunying turned around, she found that it was an old monk, wearing a gray cotton robe, very thin, but very energetic, with peaceful eyes, and sang to her. Here's a question: "Little benefactor, what are you worrying about? The snow is heavy, and next year's harvest will be good. Snow is a good thing."

Chunying smiled wryly: "Master, I know that auspicious snow is a sign of a good year, but...it's snowing, so I can't do many things..." She stared blankly at Snow Flower: "I don't seem to be able to do anything..."

The old monk smiled: "Why can't I do things? It's snowing now, and when the spring warms and the snow melts, isn't it time to do things? The inconvenience now is just a preparation for that time." He put on the bamboo hat and clasped his hands together. After singing "Amitabha", he strode forward.

Chun Ying was startled, looked up at Xue Hua, and suddenly smiled.

Well, can't do it now, but she can get ready and wait for spring.

(Don’t say anything, I’m going to face the wall!!!)

(End of this chapter)