in spring

Chapter 34 Mid-Autumn Night

The Mid-Autumn Festival will come soon.

This is Chunying's first festival after entering the mansion. Originally, Shi'er and the others said that there will be rewards from the master's house, and there will be a midnight snack that night, and those who are not on duty can even play for a long time. Chunying was thinking , You can take this opportunity to find the eldest sister Qiuyu.

Ever since she entered the mansion, Qing'er has been watching her closely, and she hasn't even left the gate yet.In addition, on the fourteenth day, Erfang's family suddenly arrived early, and the Hou's mansion was in a hurry, and it was difficult to settle them down.Shouldn't you have some free time now?

Unexpectedly, this thought came to her, and she was told that she would be responsible for guarding the tea stove at night to ensure that the third young master could have hot tea when he came back from the dinner.As soon as Rong'er who came to deliver the message finished speaking, Chunying caught a glimpse of Qing'er at the door of the room in the opposite corridor, stepping on the threshold and sneering.She knew in her heart that the other party was playing tricks, so she gritted her teeth and gave Qing'er a hard look.

The tea stove is located in the tea room on the side of the waist room. In a small room of seven or eight square meters, there are several large cabinets against the wall, some for cups and plates, and some for tea collection.This is a tea room exclusively for the owner, and the little girls and mother-in-law don't come here unless they are working.The stove was placed in the center of the room, and there were three or two small stools beside it. Chunying sat on one of them, and saw a tall and strong maid brought a big brass pot over, put it on the stove, and said: " The water from Yuquan Mountain has already been filled inside, and it is ready for the third young master to make tea at night, sister Qing'er said, let you take care of it, don't let it be less, or you will steal it!" After finishing speaking, he left.

Chunying stared at the big pot, and saw that the water was so full that it was almost coming out of the spout. Once it boiled, how could it not leak?This is clearly framed!She asked herself that she only had a quarrel with Qing'er once, and she has been obedient these few days, but she didn't expect that the other party would make more progress!
The anger in her heart rose up, she looked up and saw Qing'er looking at herself under the tree in the corner of the courtyard outside, and the corners of her mouth were raised proudly, she stood up abruptly, and was about to rush over to question her.Unexpectedly, in a flash before his eyes, someone has rushed into the tea room.Chunying fixed her eyes and saw that it was Cui Manru, she couldn't help being stunned.

Manru opened the lid of the pot and looked in, then found another ordinary-sized brass teapot from the cabinet, then lifted the big pot with difficulty, and poured water into the small pot.Chunying was taken aback: "What are you going to do?" Qing'er who had rushed into the room knocked him aside.

Qing'er asked angrily: "What are you going to do?! You are against me on purpose, aren't you?!" Glancing at Chunying, he sneered and said, "I see, you really belong to the same group! God deliberately pretended to be born, but in fact he was just acting!"

Chunying was angry and funny: "Acting? Showing you? You think highly of yourself, don't you?" Does this girl know who she is?

"Chun'er, don't be rude." Manru scolded softly, "You are still inferior to her in terms of status. How can you use such a tone when talking to a sister who is higher than yourself? Even if you are talking to someone who is on the same level as you Little girl, you should be more polite." She put down the teapot, smiled and said to Qing'er: "So I was negligent and didn't tell you clearly. The water is only for the old lady, Lord Hou, madam and the third young master. It can only be used by a master, and it would be a pity if it was wasted? I only make a few cups of strong tea at night, so I don’t need so much water. Be careful that sister Mei Xiang will say you’re a prodigal if she finds out.” She put the small pot of water on the stove. Fang: "This pot is enough. In fact, the big copper pot is usually left for nothing. Who has the strength to lift it? You see Xiang'er is so strong, and it takes a lot of effort to lift it. If the third young master comes back at night, let's work together Bringing such a big pot of water to him, I'm afraid he'd laugh so hard before the tea is brewed!"

Qing'er's face turned red and white, but she couldn't say anything.Manru smiled slightly, and raised her hand to greet Chunying: "Chun'er, come here, I will teach you how to do it, you should learn how to do it too." Chunying hesitated for a moment, then walked over as she said.

Manru took out a small porcelain jar from another cabinet, opened the lid, and revealed the tea leaves inside: "This is the tea that the third young master is used to drinking. When the water in the pot boils, you can put two teaspoons in it." She said. Another small silver spoon was brought out, which Chunying reckoned was a bit bigger than a coffee spoon.Manru continued: "Put the tea leaves in, and watch the water soak the tea leaves, then turn down the charcoal fire and let it simmer slowly until it's very simmering. There will be fireworks in the front yard at night, you are here It can also be seen that after the fireworks are over, you will raise the charcoal fire and boil the tea again. When the third young master comes back, he will be ready to drink." She put all these things on a tray next to her, and Tell Chunying: "Be careful, don't knock things, use more light when doing things, and always think well for the master."

Chunying gave her a complicated look, then nodded silently, turned around and picked up the tongs to stir the charcoal fire in the stove to make it burn hotter.Manru's eyes dimmed, and when she raised her head to look at Qing'er, she had already recovered her smile: "Qing'er, is there anything you haven't explained clearly when you look at me?"

Qing'er gritted her teeth and flicked the handkerchief, walked away.Manru gradually stopped laughing, looked down at Chunying, and said after a long while: "I know you still hate me, but... this yard is not a place where you can get angry, so you should bear with it. That girl Qing'er Although it's hateful, it's not in charge after all. If she does too much, someone will stop her. She can only preach a few words at most, but she can't beat her two sisters, Mei Xiang and Lan Xiang. You just avoid her, what's the matter important?"

"Didn't I avoid it enough?!" Chunying said angrily, "What did I offend her? She made me angry when she came here! I think she regarded me as your accomplice! Obviously you offended her She, however, implicated me!"

Manru bit her lip, bowed her head and walked out.Chunying sat where she was, the more she thought about it, the more angry she became.When Xiang'er, the strong girl who brought the water earlier, came in to take the big pot away, seeing her expression, she didn't dare to ask her what was wrong.

The number of people in Huanhuaxuan gradually decreased, and the maids who were not on duty all ran to receive the rewards, or went to the garden to look at the lanterns, while the maids on duty saw that everyone was absent, and quietly left their posts, intending to occupy them. A good location to watch the fireworks.

Chunying sat in the tea room, pushed aside a few pieces of charcoal, and saw the silence outside, as if she was the only one left in Quanhuanhuaxuan, so she couldn't help sighing.

It was dark, and the wind was blowing in bursts, making people feel chills.Chunying moved the small bench to the side of the stove, and warmed her hands with the heat from the teapot, wondering if she should go back to her room and get a waistcoat to put on.

In the distance, there were many women laughing indistinctly. Chunying looked out through the window and saw the bright lights on the other side of the garden. She guessed that the maids in the mansion would have gone to the garden if they were free. The sound of gongs, drums, and shengxiao came from the direction of the courtyard, probably the beginning of the play.

It's so lively outside, but she can only stay in this small room alone, guarding a pot of tea. No matter how you think about it, she feels extremely desolate. The moon is so round in the sky, and there is no fruit. Anyway, she wants moon cakes.

Chunying froze suddenly, remembering that at this time last year, she was still at home in modern times, after dinner with her parents, she was planning to go out to find Zhang Xiaomei, and invite a few old classmates to sing karaoke together, her mother wanted her Staying to accompany me to watch the TV show, she felt bored and refused, so my mother had to give in, and asked her to take a few small mooncakes bought from the supermarket, saying that mooncakes are always eaten on Mid-Autumn Festival night. .

What happened to the mooncakes back then?She remembered that it seemed to be thrown in the karaoke hall, and she didn't eat a bite.Looking back now, she really regrets it. She knew that it was the last Mid-Autumn Festival with her parents, and she would not go out no matter what... Could it be that God punished her because she didn’t eat mooncakes that symbolized reunion at that time? , did you throw her into this world?

When the sound of footsteps came, Chunying woke up suddenly, and found that her face was cold, she quickly raised her sleeve to wipe it, and looked up to the door, it turned out to be Mei Xiang.

Mei Xiang held a box that was about a foot long, and walked in with some surprise: "Why are you crying? Are you homesick?" Chunying reluctantly recognized it with a smile, and she sat down with a smile: "You have to get used to it." , everyone is like this. But you are still young, if you really want to panic, you can grab more work to do it, and I will have an excuse to give you half a day off when you are free next time."

"Really?!" Chunying was a little surprised. The eldest sister, Qiuyu, would only go home for a few months. She thought she was the same.

Mei Xiang smiled and said: "Of course it's true, but the number of times can't be too many, you have to be diligent, then when I let you go on vacation, the other little sisters won't feel unfair." She put the box in her hand into Chunying's hand. Sai: "This is a snack rewarded by the superiors. I saw that you didn't go to pick it up, so I brought it back for you."

Chunying opened the box and saw two cakes and two small round cakes inside. She guessed that it was probably the current mooncakes, and there was also the words "Auspicious omen for Tian Ding in Shun'an" printed on it, which was a bit funny.

Mei Xiang said: "This should be served with tea. When the third young master comes back to sleep, I will take his tea and eat cakes with the others. Would you like to come too?"

Chunying paused, shook her head and said, "I'm not hungry, save this for me to eat tomorrow." Then he asked, "Everyone is going to watch the theater and watch lanterns, why is sister Mei Xiang still here?"

"Everyone has run away, what should we do here? There is lamp oil and wax everywhere." Mei Xiang picked up the lid of the teapot and looked at it, then pounded the stove with the tongs, "Besides me, you are the only one left in the courtyard. You are still young, how much do you know about the ins and outs? There are horizontal and vertical plays and lanterns every year, so it’s okay to miss a year.”

Chun Ying didn't ask any more questions when she heard the words. The two sat opposite each other. Mei Xiang asked her a few questions from time to time, such as who was in the family, how were her parents in good health, what did she usually like to do, who did she get along with, and who did she not get along with? Dealing with... Hearing the last question, Chunying was a little wary. Although she really wanted to sue Qing'er, she cautiously kept her mouth shut when she thought that Mei Xiang and Qing'er had known each other for a longer time.

Mei Xiang glanced at her, smiled slightly, and said: "You just came here, so naturally there are many places you are not used to, so just come to me if you have something to do. Lan Xiang and Qing'er have a bad temper recently, so don't mess with them." Chunying could only respond up.

Mei Xiang looked up and looked outside, and said: "It seems that there is a cold wind, the third young master is wearing thin clothes tonight, don't catch a cold, I have to send him some clothes." After finishing speaking, she went back to the backyard and took a pair of clothes. The cloak came out and was about to go out of the hospital, but found that the air was filled with moisture, and suspected that it was going to rain, so she hurriedly called Chunying loudly: "I want to send an umbrella and clothes to the front, please help me to light the lantern."

Chunying walked to the door, hesitantly said: "But the stove is still burning here..."

"Just for a while, it doesn't matter." Mei Xiang found two oil-paper umbrellas, "When you go to the aisle outside, if you meet someone, you can come back."

Chunying had no choice but to turn back and turn down the fire, then ran out to get a lantern, and sent Mei Xiang out of the courtyard gate. She was relieved when she saw many figures shaking at the garden gate in front of her.

Just turning a corner, the nearby lights were temporarily covered by flowers and trees, and suddenly there was a gust of cold wind, mixed with a few drizzles, and the coolness seeped into the clothes, causing Chunying and Mei Xiang to fight a cold war together.The flame in the lantern flickered, then went out, and the surroundings became dark, only the whistling of the wind remained.

At this time, a faint sigh came from nowhere, and it sounded like a man.Chun Ying and Mei Xiang suddenly felt creepy.

(Guess who this is? Ask for a pink ticket~~~)

(End of this chapter)