in spring

Chapter 173 Newcomer

Chunying took a careful look at An Shi, seeing a smile on the corner of her mouth, but her eyes were cold, she couldn't help thinking: According to the ancient rules, it is necessary to be a concubine when filling a house in front of the tablet of the first wife. ?The relatives of Mrs. Fan's first wife came, no wonder An's expression was so unnatural.

I only heard the second young lady Yijun continue happily: "She is the only daughter of my uncle's family. She is half a year older than me. She once came to Beijing once when she was a child. Unfortunately, she never came again after that. Her family is now I live in Jinan. I heard that it was for the emperor's draft, and I came to Beijing to apply for it!"

Chunying was secretly taken aback, wondering if there were ministers' daughters participating in the draft in the Ming Dynasty?How did she remember that all the girls participating in the draft at this time were ordinary girls?For example, like Rouge, after being drafted into the palace, she was given to the prince, and then sent to the Hou's mansion, where she became a maid in disguise, and might become the third young master's concubine in the future.Rouge is the daughter of an ordinary wealthy family, so she probably can barely accept such a result, but the Fan family... whose daughter is qualified to be the wife of the Marquis of the Qing Dynasty, how can they bear this kind of thing?
But... the emperor must not be confused, and dismiss the noble girl as Xiaojiabiyu, right?
At this moment, Huo Yi also asked in surprise, "A draft? I heard that the Fan family is a famous family. This..." She found it difficult to speak. She took good care of her, and she was very grateful.The queen's mother's family background is not obvious, if a noble daughter enters the palace as a concubine, I'm afraid the situation in the main palace will become difficult.After the queen gave birth to two healthy princes one after another, the emperor let go of the suggestions of the ministers about the draft. He should not accept the daughter of the Fan family as his concubine, right?
An shi smiled lightly when she heard the words, and said: "I heard that there are dozens of official daughters participating in this year's draft. It is said that it is a draft, but in fact... everyone knows it well. I am afraid that few of your daughters will be selected. You know The emperor has a deep affection for the empress, isn't he worried that the empress will be wronged? A girl with a higher family status is useless no matter how good-looking she is. I am afraid that she will be married to a meritorious general or the son of a meritorious official? I hope the niece of the Fan family can find a good family."

Thinking of this, she felt a little sour in her heart.If the empress hadn't had a great-grandfather who was a famous official, her father's and grandparents' family backgrounds were no higher than the fifth rank, and she was not much better than her An family, but she could sit in the middle palace and be the mother of the world, but what about her?He can only submit to the Qing Guohou's mansion to fill in the house. Even if he has the only son, he will still be a short wife.If Fan's daughter, who is about to enter Beijing, is as proud as her mother and puts on airs in front of her, she can only knock down her front teeth and swallow her blood!In the eyes of mother-in-law and husband, the Fan family and the An family have never been equal!Even Yijun, the concubine raised by the girl, would call Fan Shiren "uncle" in a snobby way!Who is her uncle? !

The sourness in her words overflowed a little bit, few girls present could hear it, and the eldest young mistress Jing looked at her somewhat unexpectedly, but how could all this be hidden from the old lady?The old lady stared at her daughter-in-law with some dissatisfaction: "Why are you saying these things in front of their sisters?"

Anshi's face froze, and he lowered his head in silence.

Mrs. Jing laughed and said, "I don't know what else uncle said in the letter? Apart from the cousin, is there anyone else with me? The cousin is young and travels far away alone. Even with the care of our family, the Fan family is too relieved." A little bit."

Chunying thought to herself that the young lady of the rich family would definitely not go on the road alone, the maid, the mother-in-law, the Ding driver... what is there to worry about in the Fan family?
However, the old lady seemed quite satisfied with Mrs. Jing's words of concern, and it was rare for her to reply with a pleasant face: "She didn't come alone, and her uncle was with her, but her uncle came to Beijing on business. I went to the north and couldn't take care of my niece and daughter, so I wanted to ask our family to take care of her. I have already asked Zhang Er to write back. They are all close relatives, so why be polite? His family doesn't have a decent house in Beijing, so we simply let her Wouldn't it be better for the child to live in our house with sisters than to be alone at home?"

An's face turned pale, and he forced a smile to answer "Yes".

Yijun was the happiest, and took Huo Yi's hand and said, "Cousin, another sister is here, and now we'll have more fun! I met Cousin Fan when I was young, and she's easy to get along with! Let me tell you, even though I'm I often lose to you in chess, but she loses to me every time..." The old lady couldn't help laughing and said: "You are playing tricks, right? Monkey, be careful that your cousin Xiru's chess skills will increase, and you will be at the bottom !" Yijun ran over and grabbed Grandma's hand and acted coquettishly: "The old lady's words are really sad! But I'm not afraid! Even if I really lose, there is still Cousin Huo! If even Cousin Huo loses, then... ..." She frowned in some annoyance, and suddenly smiled and put her head on her hips, "Then I'll bring third brother here! I don't believe that there are still people who can fight against third brother's twisted thoughts!"

This made everyone present burst out laughing, even Huo Yi and Xi Jun couldn't help laughing, Chun Ying stood behind and snickered, thinking that Miss Er's thick skin is pretty cute, but Miss Fan Jiabiao is miserable.

There wasn't much smile on An's face, she just twitched the corners of her mouth, and scolded: "Yijun! How many times have I said it, my daughter's house should not always be bluffing, your words must be gentle, and your actions must be quiet! You see Xi Jun is more gentle? Come back and sit down!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the atmosphere in the room became a little awkward, Yijun blushed, although she was not convinced, she still endured and returned to her seat.Both Jingshi and Xijun lowered their heads and did not dare to make a sound. Huo Yi calmly picked up the tea bowl and carefully looked at the blue and white pattern on the cover bowl.

The old lady is a little angry. She has been out of business for a few years, but it doesn't mean that her daughter-in-law can challenge her authority!She straightened her face and said seriously: "Okay, let's stop here for the gossip, let's deal with the business first. Daughter-in-law, since Xiru came to Beijing to live in our house, you have to clean up the yard and come out, she must They brought a lot of people, but you should also be prepared for the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the rough envoy and the servants who go out with you, and you can't neglect your relatives."

Anshi bit her lip, and answered "Yes" obediently, rolled her eyes, and said, "It's just that there are not many empty courtyards in the mansion, and most of them are a bit old. The draft is just around the corner, so I'm afraid it's too late to renovate. Besides, for the entertainment It seems too much for a guest to renovate a yard specially. The most beautiful and clean yard in the mansion is the Wanxiang Pavilion, but..." She didn't continue, she just looked at Huo Yi.

Huo Yi put down the tea bowl, said with a faint smile, "If Auntie is worried about Yi'er, there's no need for it. Yi'er has only lived in the Wanxiang House for a few months, and she already has another place to live. How can she care? I've never heard of any The principle is that whoever stays with relatives for a few days is not allowed to live in the same room. If Auntie finds it inconvenient, Yi'er can also go home temporarily."

The old lady was about to reject her granddaughter's proposal immediately, but she immediately thought that since she wanted to bring her little grandson and granddaughter together, it would be difficult for her to keep her granddaughter at home. hesitated for a moment.

However, An's heart was shaken for a moment, and she quickly gave up on this tempting proposal. She hadn't fully accepted this daughter-in-law candidate yet.So she said with a smile, "Why is this? Since Yi'er doesn't mind, I'll arrange for Xiru to stay in the Wanxiang Pavilion." Seeing that the old lady's face was not very good-looking, she hurriedly added: "It's for the draft after all, the imperial decree We don't know the future of the child until the day is over, if it is a noble person, it will be the good luck of Wanxiang House, I think my aunt is in the spirit of heaven, so she won't care." This dispelled the old lady's objection.

But An Shi had another thought in her heart: she was inferior to the Fan family, if the Fan family's daughter was really selected into the palace, wouldn't she just have to suffer?Since the other party wanted to live in, she had to think of a way, and not let the Fan family have a chance to climb high!
Everyone chatted and laughed for a while, when Hu Po came to announce dinner, they all moved to the side hall for dinner. After the meal, everyone dispersed, but the old lady ordered her daughter-in-law An Shi to stay, and said: "Just now I suddenly remembered something. , I want to ask you. Didn’t Zhang’er say that he would bring Brother Chang back? Why hasn’t there been any movement for a few days? Didn’t you say something?”

An's heart was startled, and she hurriedly said: "The old lady is aware, Master Hou said, this matter is not urgent, the Liang family has been evading us for a few years, and let his family be anxious for a few days, so as to suppress the new daughter-in-law. prestige."

The old lady nodded slowly: "That's all, it's just that the person should be brought back sooner, and the marriage should be discussed slowly. According to the person sent, Brother Chang has changed now, and the villager is poor, so tell him to come back sooner." It’s fine to come back and make up for it. You can send someone there tomorrow. Also, Brother Chang’s house should be refurbished. The place where you want to build a new house must not be too shabby. The two maids who followed to the village, and the woman who stayed to look at the house, also need to add some more, lest the newcomer enter the door, and it doesn’t look like it! Just follow Jing’er’s example, pick the right one! Are you Aunt, be more considerate in handling things, don't make people see the joke!"

An Shi didn't dare to disobey, so she hurriedly suppressed the unwillingness in her heart, and complied one by one.

She thought the matter was over, and was about to leave, but she heard her mother-in-law ask: "I remember that Brother Chang was served by Nan Qi in the past, and now she has followed Yi'er, that's all, but why should I?" I've heard people say that your family has promised their daughter several times, but you have beaten them back? What are you doing? That girl is almost twenty, and she won't marry again, so she will make people laugh at our Li family for being mean!"

An secretly scolded the Wang family for being troublesome, and hurriedly said: "That's not the case. The old lady misunderstood. The daughter-in-law saw that Nanqi people are careful and good at serving, so she wanted to keep Yi'er married. Then Or, she is the direct granddaughter of Mr. Wang, and her mother gave birth to a few children, and she was the only one who lived. If she married off indiscriminately, the daughter-in-law would really be worried, so she wanted to find a good marriage for her in the mansion. But there are really not many young men who are worthy of Nanqi, and my wife is currently picking someone, so I think it won't take too long."

The old lady frowned and said, "I've already given it to Yi'er, so why are you so careless?! She can marry outside, it's our family's honor to reward Lao Wang, what are you doing in it?!"

An's excuse in a low voice: "The daughter-in-law is also afraid that Yi'er's family has a thin skin, and she will be embarrassed to deal with these things, so she is kind enough to help her..."

"Yi'er can't deal with these things, and there's Qingyu!" The old lady was a little impatient, "It's because of your carelessness that the Huo family can't arrange things for Nanqi! It's nothing to take back things that have already been given away. ?! If you have free time, you should prepare for brother Chang's wedding!"

Anshi bit her lip, bowed her head in response, but her eyes shone with unwillingness.

The conversation that took place in the old lady's room was not leaked, and neither Miss Li nor Miss Huo knew anything about it, but it had another impact on Chunying and other maids.

Five days later, the selection of a new group of maidservants began. Although Huo Yi did not participate, the old lady ordered the housekeeper to send six newcomers over.After discussing with Aunt Qing, Huo Yi handed them over to Nan Qi and Chun Ying, ordering them to arrange their work, board and lodging.

Nan Qi has always been a little absent-minded recently, his face is turning blue, and he has no enthusiasm for this work.Chunying watched, so she had no choice but to take over the work, and it was the first time to pick a leader and lead a newcomer.

Looking at the six little girls between the ages of eleven and 14 in front of her, Chunying tried her best to suppress the tension in her heart and squeezed out a friendly smile.

(End of this chapter)