in spring

Chapter 21

When it was the day to choose the girl servant, Chunying got up early to wash and wash, changed into a white cloth shirt and pea-green skirt, and tied the double maids on her arms with red-haired ropes. She was neatly dressed.

She had already inquired that the second young lady of the Hou's mansion liked girls who were well-groomed and smart-talking. Thinking about it, she was not too bad, so she should still have a chance.Mother also said about the taboo roads in the Hou Mansion, and practiced etiquette several times.Although kneeling before people is a depressing thing, as long as you don't care about it, it's fine.The hotel where she practiced at the beginning had a Japanese restaurant. No matter how famous the guests were or how ostentatious they were, wouldn't they still have to eat on their knees when they got there?She just treats those people as tableware.

After dressing up, she took a few photos of her mother's bronze mirror, guessing that there was nothing wrong with it, then closed the mirror case and sighed secretly.

In fact, she didn't really care if she was selected or not.In the past, she was willing to enter the mansion because her family was not well off and she wanted to help her family, but now that the family's financial situation has improved, she is still willing to enter, but she does not want to go against her parents' wishes.

Over the past few months, sometimes she thought of her real parents in the middle of the night, and she also expected that after waking up, she would return to the small room that belonged to her, but when she woke up in the morning, she saw the roof again Only then did she realize that it was just a fantasy.She couldn't help but secretly cried twice, and then doubled her kindness to her current parents. Looking at them, it was as if she had seen the real parents.

Lu's mother babbled and reminded her to pay attention: "The place where candidates are selected is a courtyard. Once you go in, you can stand where you are told. Someone will tell you what to do. Just be obedient. Keep your eyebrows down and don't move around. Look around, speak clearly when you answer, don't speak too loudly, and don't speak too softly..."

"Got it, mother! You have said it a hundred and eighty times!" Chunying smiled and packed the two handkerchiefs she embroidered recently into a small bag, took it with her, and asked, "Mother, did you really send something to me yesterday?" Miss Guan?"

"Of course I will." Lu's mother said, "I gave you a full load of white rice, half a fan of pigs, two purses and a pair of red gold bracelets. She has already agreed, as long as you pass the first test, she will naturally arrange it." Yes." Then he lowered his voice, "I specifically confessed that if the second young lady already has someone there, don't make things difficult for her, just send you to the eldest young lady's side, I heard that there will also be a little girl there." Seeing Chunying's surprised face, she blinked and said with a smile: "Your father doesn't know about this, so don't let it slip."

After thinking about it, Chunying understood her mother's intentions, and hugged her happily.

At this time, Lu Yougui pushed the door anxiously and came in: "Why don't you leave? Hurry up! I'm ready to start tapping!"

Lu's mother jumped up when she heard the words: "What?! Has it already started? Hurry up! Chun'er, let's go now, remember not to be afraid, there is Aunt Xu in charge today, others dare not play tricks."

Chunying hurriedly agreed, and hurried out the door with a small bag.

As soon as he went out, he saw sister Feng Lian from the neighbor's house also stepped out of the door.She dressed up very brightly today, a pink floral dress added a bit of beauty, she wore delicate silk flowers on her hair, and her face was also painted with powder. When she looked up and saw Chunying, she was stunned for a while, and then she was embarrassed stood there without speaking.

Chunying smiled and nodded at her: "Morning, are you going out too?"

"Ah... yes..." Sister Lian didn't know what to say, she lowered her head and grabbed the corner of the sweat towel, a little awkward.

Chunying didn't have time to chat with her, so she walked directly towards the gate of the courtyard, and suddenly the window of the west wing of the main room to the north opened with a bang, which startled her, it turned out to be Liu Xi'er.

Liu Xi'er's hair was still a little messy, she was wearing a thin little coat, she seemed to have just woken up, she ignored Chunying, just stared at Sister Lian with a pair of eyes, and asked: "You came to make up with me yesterday, and asked me to borrow clothes And fat powder, just for this?!"

Sister Lian bit her lip and said nothing, Xi'er sneered: "Okay, okay, go to the mansion and enjoy yourself, don't ask me again if you have anything to do!" After saying that, she closed the window with a snap, and no more sound was heard.Sister Lian's eyes were red and she sobbed softly.

Chun Ying hesitated for a moment, then turned and left.

The place where the maidservants are selected is in a yard not far from the back door of the Hou Mansion.It takes five or six minutes to walk from the back street to the back door.Chunying almost trotted there.When they arrived at the door, there were already 6 to 40 people waiting, and among them more than a dozen were young servants who should be selected. Their parents and elders kept telling them, and when they heard Chunying's footsteps, several people looked up. Come.

Chunying lowered her head slightly, and trotted in the door. A woman who had been waiting there scolded: "Why is it so late? Why don't you go in soon?!" She shrank her head and entered the yard, and there were already twenty or thirty little girls inside. Waiting in line, the daughters-in-law in charge in front of me are checking the roster, and they have already ordered to the second row. She quietly lined up in the last row. After a while, Sister Feng Lian also arrived.

After the roll call and the roster, the lady in charge began to lecture.Chunying recognized that the lecturer was Aunt Xu whom she had met once. Among the people beside her, there was also Aunt Guan who Lu's mother had secretly entrusted to her.She quickly lowered her head, acting obediently according to the posture she had practiced at home.

After Mrs. Xu had spoken, she began to ask people to come up to her one by one to ask questions.Chunying listened to her questions mainly about her age, parents' names, and what kind of work she would do. There was nothing difficult to answer, and she was a little relieved.

There are quite a few little girls who came here today, and there are a few girls in front of them who are pretty and know how to work, and they are also articulate. They were all called by Aunt Xu to stand beside them. They must have been selected, and their faces were full of joy. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law next to each other are also secretly discussing which one will be sent to which master.Chunying heard that Sister Lian next to her was breathing more and more, and seemed a little restless.

When the sun rose to the sky, it was finally Chunying's turn.

After Aunt Xu asked three basic questions, she sized Chunying up a few times and smiled slightly: "I seem to have seen this girl somewhere... she looks familiar." Chunying knew it, and her expression became more docile.

Mrs. Guan on the side smiled and said: "I heard that this girl is good at needlework and she is also very clever. I think Second Miss will like it?" But another daughter-in-law interrupted with a smile: "Ms. Guan, the girl at Second Miss's place is no longer Less, besides, isn't this Lu Chun'er a famous idiot? She just said a few words, and you can see that she is smart?" The two looked at each other, and Chunying seemed to hear the flash of lightning He blinked, only staring at a small piece of moss on the ground in front of him, pretending that he didn't hear anything.

Aunt Xu cleared her throat, and seeing that the daughter-in-law and Aunt Guan had both shut up, she asked Chunying calmly, "You know how to do embroidery? Did you bring any work?"

"Yes." Chun Ying hurriedly opened the small bag she was carrying, and showed her the veil she embroidered.Aunt Xu rolled her eyes, was noncommittal, and returned it to her.

Just then the daughter-in-law smiled again and said: "Ms. Xu, it happens that the sewing room is also recruiting people. If this child..." "She is too young to be a sewing room at her age!" Aunt Guan interrupted her. , "Miss, there should be a few more female celebrities in the room." The daughter-in-law squinted at her with a half-smile: "Then why not send it to the third lady? In the second lady's room... there are six people here." ...there is only one over there..."

The two exchanged eyeballs a few more times.Mrs. Guan probably couldn't resist because she was too old, so she had to hold back her anger and change her words: "In my opinion, her needlework is no better than others. Since the second lady already has someone there, why don't I send it to the elder sister?" Young Mistress, there isn’t a single one at Elder Mistress’s place!”

The daughter-in-law was stunned for a moment, thinking about it, she thought it was nothing, but in vain she followed Mrs. Guan's wishes, and she was not convinced, so she said, "You have to ask your wife about it. We don't dare to arbitrarily ask about matters in the eldest and young master's house." It’s up to the wife to make the decision, don’t you think so? Guan-da-mother—” Guan aunt immediately sullen.

"Okay!" Aunt Xu stopped the two of them, looked at Chunying, and said, "If that's the case, I'll send it to the big..." Before she finished speaking, someone interrupted: "Yo——what are you doing?" What about it?" Then came a gust of fragrant wind, and Chun Ying peeked out of the corner of her eye, and saw that it was a woman in her twenties, dressed in bright makeup and pink, wearing a water-red satin bijia, quite attractive.Behind her was a middle-aged woman in her thirties and 20s. She was dressed in extraordinary clothes, but she was quite low-key, and she could be seen as a housekeeper.When Aunt Xu saw her, she bowed her head slightly and saluted, and the other party also returned the salute.

The woman in water red didn't seem to see it, she pulled Aunt Guan and smiled as soon as she came over, "Who is Auntie angry with? Under the sun, the more noisy the more angry, why bother?"

Aunt Guan slanted her mouth, pulled her hands away, and said: "It's just because of where a little girl should be sent, just to talk to the Lu family, who is arguing with someone?"

"But why do I feel that the anger of the two of you is unusual?" The woman turned her head to look at Chun Ying with a chuckle, "Is this the little girl? She is pretty, but why can't I see that she is worthy of the two of you quarreling? "

Chunying murmured secretly, how could this be for her?It's just for face.She finally understands that Mrs. Guan took the girl from the Cui family to see her wife last time, she must belong to the wife, but today she seems to have sent several people into the second lady's room, maybe some people are not used to it, right?
Sure enough, the daughter-in-law of the Lu family said with a smile: "I didn't quarrel, and besides, this girl already has a place to go, which is in the house of the young lady."

The woman's complexion changed, and she slowly smiled: "What's going on? Didn't you choose the girl of the ladies and the servant of the young masters? When will there be more people in the eldest and young master's room? Our second young master... ...But I have never heard of it, and I want to add people!"

The Lu family still smiled and said, "Is the Second Young Master still missing someone? The Eldest Young Mistress has just entered the mansion and is about to be ordered around. This girl is good at sewing, so the two ladies plan to send her to the Eldest Young Mistress."

Aunt Xu frowned when she heard the words, and sure enough, the woman lowered her face: "Our young master just said yesterday that we need to add a needleworker! Now, there are not many sisters in the house who can work!" She She gave Chunying a sideways look, then turned around and said to the middle-aged woman with a smile, "Mother Wang, look... why don't you call this girl to us?"

Chunying's eyes widened, and she couldn't help but look up at her.

Who did she provoke, why did this person find her?She is not interested in serving the legendary perverted Second Young Master!
But what made her heart tremble was that the middle-aged woman actually said to Aunt Xu: "Sister and sister, this girl..."

(My poor little Chun'er, I shed tears of sympathy for her... Sorry for being late today.)
(End of this chapter)