The Red Mansion is so charming

Chapter 59

It was only then that Mrs. Lu remembered that there was another important matter to discuss with her daughter: "If you don't tell me, I almost forgot that the family in the alley was named Qi, and Grandpa Qi followed Taizu to make a small post-writing ceremony. , specializing in the management of documents, Taizu did not forget him when he divided the four kings and eight princes, so he gave him the part of the Taimiao that is repaired every year. I heard from your father that the Qi family has not passed 30 to [-] years by relying on this item alone. I saved up my family fortune. It’s a pity that after the old master left, they were not as good as the previous generation, and they were all officials who were bought with money. It was very easy to have a brother who loved reading, but he disappeared in the middle of the night last night.”

Remembering Mrs. Qi's heartbroken look this morning, Mrs. Lu couldn't help but sympathize and said: "Mrs. Qi only has such a biological son. I don't believe the government's rhetoric at all. I only think that my son was killed by someone else. Mr. Qi didn't know where I heard about you." Dad was a master criminal when he was in Wu County, so I had to take him to see what happened, no, he hasn’t come back yet! You pack up a plain suit at night, and go to pay homage with me tomorrow morning. The neighbors also want to Know the ladies and wives."

Xiuyan remembered that when she went to Beijing, she was wearing a very plain snow-wave satin gown. When Zhang Yi’s cousin went into the mountains, he hunted down a rare white fox. Her mother used that fur to make a vest for herself, because she was afraid that she would grow taller in the future. , so deliberately made it bigger, it doesn't matter if it is covered.Only shoes are hard to find, I'm afraid it will take some brains.

"Our daughter is back?"

Xiuyan smiled and hurriedly went out to meet Xing Zhong.Xing Zhong handed over the heavy cloak to his daughter, looked at Xiuyan carefully, and finally nodded in satisfaction: "It's okay, the Jia family didn't treat my daughter badly, your mother can't sleep at all these two days, and I'm just worried that you are here Rongguo Mansion can't eat well and sleep well."

Xiuyan laughed angrily and said, "It's not that my parents don't know, am I the kind of person who can suffer? If it wasn't for the fear that you would worry about Zhengde going to school again, I would really like to stay with Sister Lin for a few more days in Rongguo Mansion. Yes Oh, just now, mom said that dad went to Qi's house to help, but what happened?"

Xing Zhong smiled wryly and shook his head: "I don't blame Mrs. Qi for being too thoughtful. The child is only sixteen. He used to have no pain or itching, but suddenly disappeared. Which mother doesn't think wildly? I heard from the little book boy who served me that the Qi family The young master read halfway through the book last night, suddenly yelled that his heart ached, fell to the ground and passed away after a while, and the Qi family didn't even have time to ask for a doctor. I asked the book boy carefully, the young master of the Qi family never eats supper when he reads at night, I only drank half a bowl of tea."

Xing Zhong asked the little Shutong a few words because of Mr. Qi's face, but the little Shutong didn't know Xing Zhong's identity, so he was so frightened that he could speak incoherently, thinking that he was going to be escorted to the government.But it was because of the messiness in the words that Xing Zhong made a strange discovery.

"The little book boy said that the tea that the young master of the Qi family drank was given by his sister-in-law. Is the elder sister-in-law a bit particular about giving things to the uncle?" Xing Zhong asked his daughter what she meant.

Xiuyan lowered her head and pondered: "I see that Wang Xifeng always gives Jia Baoyu food, and there is no lack of things like tea leaves. But I heard from my mother just now that Mrs. Qi only gave birth to a son-in-law. Could it be that this sister-in-law is the first wife of a brother born to a concubine?"

Once the dispute between the concubine and the concubine is involved, there is reason to suspect that the young master of the Qi family was murdered.

Xing Zhong nodded: "When you two go to Qi's house tomorrow, you secretly inquire about what is going on between the sons of Qi's family. Today I saw several adults in the alley were present, so it can be seen that this old man Qi is not As ignorant as they say."

Fengwei Hutong can't be said to be one of the most prosperous places in the capital, but most of the people who live here are officials and half-jobs.If the Qi family is really down and out, there is no need for all the gentlemen from the Ministry of Punishment to go there.There are many shady scenes in his official career, and Xing Zhong finally adapted to the ancient life, so he naturally wanted to gain a firm foothold in the capital as soon as possible.

Xing Zhong is honest and honest, but his brain is not slow, on the contrary, he still has some great wisdom.He deeply understands that the communication between wives is often an important factor in making men's decisions.

Lu Shi and Xing Zhong have been husband and wife for more than [-] years together, so is there any reason why she doesn't know what her husband thinks?Lu Shi smiled and said, "Don't worry, Xiuyan and I know what to do."

In the evening, the family of four had dinner, and Xiuyan watched Zhengde recite the homework left over from the past two days before returning to the yard.Meilian and Miying were complaining: "Mother Xu is getting more and more blinded by things. Girl, look, this shelf is covered with ashes, and I don't know how to burn the kang sooner."

It's no wonder that when Xiuyan came in, there was a hint of cool air, not as warm as Zhengde's study.Xiuyan smiled helplessly, Mama Xu was the first servant the Xing family bought to work, and at that time Zhuaner was serving Xiuyan, Mama Xu would do some rough work, and when Meilian and Miying came in, Mama Xu Just do things like sweep the yard, water the flowers and feed the birds, and don't need her to go into the house to clean up.

This time when they came to Beijing, Mrs. Lu originally wanted to leave Mama Xu to live in Wu County for the elderly, but Mrs. Xu was not willing. She had no children, and she was afraid that the Xing family would take root in the capital in the future, and Mrs. Lu would sell her because she thought she was old.

Xiuyan sighed: "Mother Xu is not easy, but she still has to do these things at an old age, you two little girls should take care of her, after a while my wife and I will ask Yaxing to send someone over, and I will let you take care of her from now on. "

Meilian and Miying looked at each other with surprise in their eyes, they were envious of big maids like Zijuan, Yuanyang and Shishu, but it was a pity that the girl was served by the two of them, not because the family couldn't afford someone, but because the girl Xijing I hate strangers intervening in my life.

Now the master is also a Beijing official, so the girl should be more decent.

Xiuyan didn't try to break the minds of the two little girls, she just asked them to find suitable clothes for tomorrow.Mio thought about it, and said with a smile: "Miss, forgot? On your birthday last year, Madam Bai gave you a pair of sheepskin boots with dark bat patterns. They are light brown. You don't think they fit, so you put them away and didn't wear them. The girl now Another year older, I'm afraid it would be appropriate."

Xiuyan vaguely remembered, but unless it was absolutely necessary, she seldom wore clothes given to her by others.Xiuyan was puzzled and asked, "You brought it from Wu county to the capital?"

Mi Ying smiled and said: "I saw that the leather is not bad, the girl is good at stepping on snow at home, so I brought it here." Her one-year-old sister, the two of them have served Xiuyan for several years, and they never had a quarrel.

This is precisely the reason why Xiuyan is unwilling to buy another girl.

After all, now that I am old, I can no longer use seven or eight-year-old girls to slowly train them, and thirteen or fourteen-year-old girls are heavy-hearted, Xiuyan is worried that she will not take care of herself, and will make Meilian and Miying wronged.

Sure enough, Meiying found the shoes that Xiuyan wanted to wear in a big mahogany box. Who knew that not only the size was just right, but also matched the snow wave satin robe perfectly. Meiying also found two pearls from the dowry box. into pearl flowers.

"It's the first time for a girl to meet those wives and wives. The clothes should not be too simple. These two flowers are pearls given by the ship tycoon and his wife. Before coming to Beijing, my wife asked someone to make them."

Xiuyan carefully touched the round pearls on it. These are rare South China Sea pearls with uniform size. Even in the dim light, these pearls are extraordinarily dazzling. What is the situation.

The three of them had a good night's sleep and packed up the next day. Xiuyan went to see Mrs. Lu first, and Mrs. Lu and Zhengde were having dinner. Seeing her daughter's elegant and refined appearance, she couldn't help laughing and said, "This fox fur vest is very big. Some of them seem to have been borrowed from someone."

Mrs. Lu called her confidant woman: "Bring the ferret vest I made for the girl." The woman soon brought a delicate and small cream-colored vest, although the color is not as fair as the one given by my cousin. , but the hair is short and smooth, which highlights Xiuyan's slender waist.

Xiuyan hurriedly put it on, turned around three times in front of Zhengde, Zhengde smiled and said: "This one is good, the one my sister wore just now looks like a bear, it is much worse than this one." To touch Xiuyan's waistcoat.

After listening to Zhengde's words, Xiuyan almost felt the pain on the soles of her feet, and couldn't help poking Zhengde's forehead angrily: "You little brat who doesn't know how to appreciate, hum!" The fox fur is a little longer, and it looks a little bulky when worn, but at least it won't be enough It's a bear!Besides, does this brat know what a bear is?

Zhengde withdrew his hand aggrievedly, and Lu smiled and said, "I'm messing with your sister again. Eat quickly. After we leave, you can study in mother's room and let Zhuan'er sit on the kang to do needlework for you. It's better than sitting in the study." Frozen inside."

Zhuan'er, who was serving at the side, was full of gratitude. The warmth in the study was warm, but she was sitting on the twig to work, and she was so stiff that she couldn't hold the needle and thread after a while. My wife saw it by chance, and she remembered it all in her heart .Zhuan'er even secretly thanked her parents in her heart for selling her into such a good family as the Xing family. The master is kind and the young master is sensitive. Now she only hopes to serve the young master and the girl for a long time.
The Qi family and the Xing family were separated by two or three households, and Fengwei Hutong was not a small alley on Suzhou East Street, it was only a few steps away, so Lu and her daughters each took two clean oil sedan chairs to go out.All kinds of cars and sedan chairs were parked in the alley, and the doorman of Qi's family heard that they were the daughters of Mrs. Xing's family, so they rushed inside to welcome them.

The second young mistress of the Qi family hurried over from the inner courtyard and helped Mrs. Lu get off the sedan chair: "Thank you Madam for coming to see our wife."

When Xing Zhong was the county magistrate, the imperial court gave Lu an imperial order, and the second young lady Qi couldn't find anything wrong with her name.However, Xiuyan who was standing aside felt strange about her excessive enthusiasm for Lu Shi.

"This is the young lady of the family? Such a handsome girl." Second Grandma Qi looked both surprised and happy, and did not let go of Xiuyan's hand.

Although it is well concealed, Xiuyan can still catch the flash of jealousy in the other party's eyes.

Lu smiled lightly and said, "Thanks to the second young lady's compliment. I'll bring her here to present Mrs. Qi as a present."

When mentioning her mother-in-law, Second Grandma Qi suddenly lost her joy, replaced by a sad expression on her face: "Our wife hasn't had any water or rice since yesterday, and the wives in the neighbor's house are all trying to persuade me. But who can say It doesn't work. Please come with me, Madam, maybe Madam can listen to you."

Second Grandma Qi turned her head back from time to time, led Lu Shi and Xiuyan around the second gate, and walked along the Qingshi path into Fusong Hall, the main house of the head mother.

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PS: Xiaohe is back from another place, and two more changes will be resumed tomorrow. Let me take a rest today. Thank you Xiaoguang and Apple 56 for the pink tickets, and thank you Zhu Laomi and Destiny for the PK tickets~~
(End of this chapter)