in spring

Chapter 209
After sighing for a long time, Lord Hou thought about it carefully again, and felt that his previous thoughts were too pessimistic, and maybe the matter hadn't reached such a serious point.

He thinks that he is not conspicuous among the royalist faction. Although he is almost at odds with Liang Taishi, but because he does not hold real power, in the eyes of the courtiers, he is just a member of a relatively high family background among the loyal courtiers. He is a low-key, very respectful servant, has no evil deeds, and has never been arrogant because of the emperor's favor. He is also the father-in-law of King Jing, who is favored by the emperor. Even if the emperor wants to suppress the power of important officials, it is not his turn. The beauty gave Prince Jing's mansion probably just a warning, and would not do anything to the Hou's mansion. As long as he is loyal and cautious enough, the whole family will be able to keep their wealth and safety for a long time.

Thinking of this, Lord Hou heaved a sigh of relief, but then he turned his head and remembered another thing that gave him a headache—the second son, Li Chang, was about to marry the daughter-in-law.After this marriage is completed, the Li and Liang families will officially become married, and they will inevitably be dragged down by the Liang family in the future.The emperor warned the Li family before the wedding, maybe he was implying something?

It is difficult to be a courtier, but it is even more difficult to be a loyal minister!Back then when the son of the Li family provoked the youngest daughter of the Liang family, although that stinky brat did it himself, it could be regarded as an indirect share of the emperor's worries, and the emperor personally decreed the marriage.After getting married this time, I also asked the emperor what he wanted in advance. The Qing Guohou's mansion is only following the order, so why is the emperor dissatisfied? !Could it be...

Hou Ye thought of the absurd words said by his youngest son before, and couldn't help feeling panicked. Could it be that the daughter of the Liang family wanted to use the name of the Hou Mansion to make trouble, and the emperor would ignore his family's feats for generations and his decades of loyalty, Blame the Hou Mansion? !
Lord Hou was not calm anymore. After a whole night of troubles, with a pair of panda eyes, he made up his mind to kill all the reasons that might be used as a reason to attack in the cradle. Clansmen, no Li family's children are allowed to do evil in the name of the royal relatives outside and ruin the Li family's reputation.

The Li family has always been very strict in controlling their children, so after seven or eight days of investigation, only two teenagers were found to have quarreled with others, so they took a few classmates to fight with them; Using the signboard of the Li family, he ran amok in the countryside and kicked a dog to death; then the concubine of the fourth house took his wife and children home to visit his aunt, but was neglected by his servants.Since the matter was not serious, the patriarch just called the person involved to scold him, and then warned him not to commit the crime again, and the matter was over.

Hou Ye's three sons listened to their father's instruction and reacted differently.The eldest son, Li Jing, agreed with his mouth and didn't take it to heart at all. How often has he been arrogant?This kind of thing has nothing to do with him; the second son, Li Chang, is busy with his marriage, and his father's words come in from one ear to the other, and the only feeling is that his plan to go out with friends before marriage has been blocked, and he feels very unhappy; From the recent events, I can deduce my father's thinking a little bit. I think he is thinking too much. The emperor bestowed beauties, and there are more than a dozen families who received the rewards. Among them is the Ke Palace, and the mistresses of the families are all called the Queen Mother. After all, Prince Jing's mansion just received the same treatment, isn't my father worrying too much?

On the contrary, the old lady had personally experienced the turmoil in the late emperor's time, so she had some knowledge, and when she saw her son's actions, she discussed with her son and daughter-in-law with a nonchalant face, thinking of Shimi and sesame oil money in the major temples in Beijing, and then put the name of the Hou's mansion everywhere. Zhuangzi's land rent was reduced by [-]%, which is regarded as accumulating virtue.Master Hou readily agreed, An Shi didn't say anything, turned his back and his face sank.

Seeing that the opportunity was rare, Huo Yi mentioned in front of his grandmother that most of the maids and women in his small courtyard were not allowed to bring dowry, except for a few "gifted by the elders" who had to be returned to the old master, the rest might as well let a few people go. Going out is also an act of kindness.The old lady agreed very much when she heard the words, and she also planned to release some older servants in the mansion, and then a few prominent stewards, and those who had young sons who were not on errands, were also merciful.

When the news came out, the people in the mansion reacted differently, some were happy, some were envious, some were panicked, some were jealous, some were grateful, and some were secretly distressed. Well, once you go out, what do you live on?
Among the people who are troubled, of course Chunying is not included, she is very happy that her dream has come true.The big bosses of the Hou Mansion have all spoken, and the list has come down, so what else does she have to worry about?All you need is to serve the last few months safely and steadily, and when Huo Yi gets married, everything will be fine!

Shi'er and other four or five girls also confirmed where they would go in a few months, and they were very satisfied; Xing Hong and the others were not able to be transferred to the young master's yard, and felt extremely disappointed, but thought that they could stay in the mansion. It's better than being let out, so they stopped; Nuanyu naturally went back to the old lady's house, and Sang'er also went back to the main courtyard, but to Chunying's surprise, Yinhuan and Xiaolianhua also chose the same as her. out of the house.Yinhuan can also be said to be because she has always thought highly of herself and is unwilling to be inferior to others. How could the honest little Lianhua have such an idea?

Chunying inquired in private, and found out that Little Lianhua's mother's natal brother opened a small restaurant in the You'anmen area. She discussed with her mother and planned to help out after leaving the mansion. The cooking skills learned here can be used.

Only then did Chunying know that there was only one widowed mother in Xiao Lianhua's family. Her father was just an ordinary domestic servant, and her mother was from another family's maid. Her family background was always bad, but she never mentioned it before anyone. No one knows.Instead of complaining about it, she said with a smile: "My sister taught me to cook. I cook for my mother when I go home. My mother said it was delicious. From now on, I will help cook in my uncle's shop and earn money. My mother will be able to live a good life! Thank you sister for teaching me so many things!"

Chunying felt a little ashamed, took Xiao Lianhua's hand, and after a long time, she could say a few words of encouragement. Before leaving, she found that Xiao Lianhua was still wearing her spring maid uniform, which was half worn out, so she went back to her room to wash her clothes. He took out a few half-new clothes that he didn't wear much, and put on a newly made green silk waistcoat, and gave them to Xiao Lianhua together.The latter wanted to decline, so she said: "You go out, you may not be able to see again in the future, just take it as a thought, anyway, these are clothes I don't wear, if you don't want them, I will give them to others." Thinking about it, I thought it was a good thing, saving the money for making new clothes, and I could still buy cloth for my mother to make new clothes, so I smiled and thanked and accepted it.

Chunying wanted everything to come true and was in a good mood, so she took Shi'er to help Aunt Qing prepare Huo Yi's dowry.Needlework to be done, clothes to be cut for the four seasons, rouge and gouache to be purchased, gold and silver jewelry to be made, as well as various daily necessities, antique calligraphy and paintings for dowry, farm houses, etc. There are still many things to be busy. , The Huo family moved up and down.Huo Yi himself, on the other hand, went to the old lady every day to receive private training courses for the new daughter-in-law and future mistress. Shi often came to listen.I don't know if it was because she knew that the eldest grandson's family was about to move out, the old lady felt a little bit sad, and she paid more attention to Jing's teaching, and imparted several family management experience.

Chun Ying occasionally came over with Huo Yi, and listening to the old lady's examples of the affairs of the big family and the methods of managing the family, it opened her eyes.

It seems that the position is different, and the way of thinking is really different.When you are the master, you naturally hope that the servants in your family will be as obedient as possible and as loyal as possible. You can’t be bribed because of small profits, and you can’t miss the master’s errand because of personal reasons. Personal love is even more unacceptable!Good servants and servants should be honest, but smart and capable, tight-lipped, quiet, know how to joke and please the master when he is in a bad mood, and know how to take the initiative to share his worries when the master is upset, have no ambitions, work hard, and always think of the master... Old lady He also cited Aunt Qing as an example, and said reluctantly: "She is pretty good, but there are people who are better than her. The girls I used to marry as dowry were all loyal and loyal. I made the decision myself and married them. The sons and daughters have all entered the mansion to serve, and the future descendants will all be loyal servants, such people are the most reliable. It's a pity for Qingxia."

Chun Ying silently lowered her head when she heard the voices of agreement from the master and maids around her.She thought that she had grown into a good maid in the past few years, but sure enough... she was still far away... Fortunately, she no longer needed to be such a good maid.

The days are busy and full, entering August.The wedding of the second young master Li Jing finally started.

Due to Master Hou's order to keep a low profile, An's changed the plan and no longer added manpower to prepare and serve the banquet. He only temporarily transferred out the idle family members in the mansion, as well as the second-class maids or senior third-class maids in various courtyards to take charge of the banquet. The order of the banquet on the wedding day.As the second-class maid, Chunying was also selected.Although I was a little unhappy in my heart, but thinking that I was going to leave the house soon, there was no need to make extra troubles, so I obediently left the needle and thread in my hand and went to receive temporary training.

On the day of the wedding, the sedan chair of the Liang family was successfully carried to the Hou's mansion. A couple of newlyweds visited the hall and entered the bridal chamber. Everyone praised the talent and beauty of the man and the woman, and they went back to the banquet to eat and drink.

That night, the Hou Mansion held a banquet of [-] seats, and invited a big show, with the usual firecrackers and fireworks, the sound of gongs and drums, brightly lit lights, heavy traffic, and the guests came like clouds.Many of them didn't bring their posts, Hou Ye and An couldn't drive the smiling people out in front of serious guests, so they could only temporarily vacate a courtyard in front to receive these insignificant guests.Those people were not polite to their hosts, they ate and drank, and when they heard the opera singing not far away, they applauded loudly and indiscriminately.

Chunying was sitting on the mat for the female relatives in the inner courtyard, and could hear their cries from far away. She secretly glanced at An Shi, and found that her face was really ugly, so she quietly straightened her body, lowered her head even more, and tried her best to Be a low-key little girl, wait until someone sends a signal to her, then she will pass and deliver the food in a proper manner.

This job seems easy, but even standing up for an hour is exhausting.But the ladies who came to the banquet were all so gentle that they could drink a bowl of soup for a quarter of an hour.After finally seeing that most of the dishes on the table were cleared, and new dishes came up, Chunying hurriedly replaced the leftovers, and took the opportunity to remove the dishes, and hid in the corner to catch her breath.

She patted her legs lightly, still thinking about when the banquet would end, when she suddenly felt someone patting her shoulder from behind, she turned her head quickly, seeing that it was Shi'er, she breathed a sigh of relief, and scolded with a smile: "You little girl!" Hoof, what are you scaring me for?"

Shi'er smugly smiled and said, "What a girl, how dare you hide in the sidelines and be lazy?! You know, a good girl shouldn't delay making mistakes just because she feels tired!"

Chunying gave her a blank look, and smiled: "I'll rest for a while, and I'll go back, how about you?" Shi'er raised her eyebrows: "Sister Mei Xiang sent me to the kitchen to urge wild duck porridge. Even Feng Jun thinks the dishes are greasy, so he wants to eat something light to rinse his mouth."

Chunying was speechless, and sighed: "Then you go quickly, you can't miss the errand just because of selfishness."

Shi'er snickered and gave her a pinch before leaving. Chunying felt that her legs were getting better, so she planned to go back to the table, but heard a bang not far away, as if someone had broken the plate, and she was busy Walk over to see what's going on.

I saw a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl crying, standing in the same spot at a loss, looking at the overturned soup bowl on the ground, not knowing what to do, another tall and thin girl with her back to Chunying comforted: "It doesn't matter, I'll go to the kitchen to get another bowl, look carefully, is it burning? Ah! It's all red! You go back and apply the medicine, I'll take care of it for you here." "Is it okay? If the mothers ask..." "It doesn't matter, as long as you don't delay the errands ahead, how can the mothers tell who is who?"

The crying girl hesitated for a moment, whether it was because her hands were too painful, she gave a blessing to the thin and tall girl: "Then please sister, I will receive the reward tomorrow, I will definitely thank my sister." Then he turned and went to the inner courtyard.

Chunying stood not far away, frowned at the tall and thin girl, and decided that she had heard right this time, and this girl was Manru!How did she come in?And sneaked into the second young master's wedding banquet?How could the other girl overturn the soup bowl and burn her hand when she was so good?During the temporary training, this kind of work has been practiced, not to mention that the selected ones are not newbies, how could they make such a low-level mistake? !Did Manru do something else?

Seeing the girl getting far away, Manru took a big breath, let out a faint laugh secretly, turned her head, and met Chunying's face, her complexion changed immediately.

Chunying asked coldly: "What did you do to others?"

(Manru re-emerges in the rivers and lakes...)
(End of this chapter)