Lady Zhao

Chapter 110

Once the summer solstice is over, it becomes a little hot to wear long gowns. A new batch of summer clothes has been made in the mansion, and the colors of the ladies' clothes have become pretty. Especially Zhao Wenwan, who can attract a lot of attention as soon as she appears, has become a natural figure in the duke's mansion. With a scene, it is no wonder that since the age of Ji, the ladies who have visited the mansion have followed one after another.

At the beginning of the hour, the sky is bright, the birds are chirping outside the attic, and the breeze is gentle, adding a bit of coolness.Mrs. Zhao got up early in the morning, and her right eyelid twitched violently. She twirled the Buddhist beads and walked to the three-foot-square Buddhist altar. She carefully offered three Canaan incense sticks and put them in a small three-legged clay gold incense burner in front of the altar. inside.

Amidst the curl of cigarettes, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva is watching all living beings with a loving and compassionate expression.

Mrs. Leng came to pay her respects as usual, and after sitting for a while, she heard someone report that the eldest lady had come, so she was not in a hurry to enter the house, but instead invited the old lady to the garden. The latter always followed Zhao Wenwan and wanted to see her too. After tossing about something, she walked out leaning on the sapphire-carved dove staff that she could never leave since her illness.

In the garden, a stone table is covered with a plain tablecloth, a large bowl of shredded chicken, scallops and millet porridge is steaming, a bamboo cage draws steamed buns filled with crab powder, and a plate of fried fish cakes that are browned on both sides. Herring and grass carp are used as raw materials. The meat of these two kinds of fish is tender and delicious. After the fish meat is chopped into a paste, it is made into a paste with raw powder and seasoning to make fish cakes.

The fried fish cakes should be cooked properly, and hot and cold have their own flavors. It not only retains the deliciousness of the fish, but also has a smooth and smooth texture that fish doesn't have. Zhao Wenwan has been thinking about it all the time. Ask Bailing to make it and bring it over to give grandma a taste.

After setting out the food, Zhao Wenwan put two or three jasmines in a glass bottle that bloomed brightly. Against the plain tablecloth, the fragrance of the flowers was light and elegant, and it was particularly sentimental.

"You can make so many flower heads after a meal." Mrs. Zhao said angrily when she saw it, then looked at the ones on the table, smiled and said, "It's quite appetizing."

Zhao Wenwan caught a glimpse of Mrs. Leng coming out together, greeted her well one after another, invited her to a seat, and sat on her grandmother's left side. "It's easy to lose your appetite when it's hot. The whole thing is to make you eat more."

"Wen Wan is still the most caring, even my aunt has followed suit." Leng took the second bowl from Zhao Wenwan and said with a smile, "It smells so good."

The old lady couldn't help thinking of something, she frowned and asked, "Why haven't you seen girl Xi these few days, I heard that she doesn't have a good appetite."

Leng sighed, "Recently Wenxi has kept herself in the room and refused to come out, and she doesn't want to see anyone!"

The old lady asked anxiously, "Why?"

Leng said honestly: "I don't know where there are rumors that there is a girl from Hualou who looks like us Wenxi by seven or eight points. I am afraid that Wenxi feels that such rumors have tarnished his reputation, so naturally he is not happy. .I have sent someone to seal the news."

"What kind of nonsense is this?"

Zhao Wenwan also persuaded: "Grandmother, don't worry too much. After dinner, my aunt and I will go to see my sister again."

"Alright."

Zhao Wenwan brought up a happy topic again, "What kind of trouble did the angel cause you when you were there yesterday?"

"Heavenly Immortal..." Mrs. Zhao was diverted from the topic, and she smiled happily when she talked about Immortal.

The three of them talked like this for a while, and then they finished their meal, and before they knew it, the big bowl of porridge had run out.Leng held the handkerchief and wiped the corner of her mouth, "Your fourth uncle is busy, so he usually saves this meal, but today I was overwhelmed."

"Whatever Auntie likes to eat, just tell the cook, whether it's southern or northern, Chef Tang can make it." Zhao Wenwan opened his mouth with a faint smile, his eyes flashed, hiding some deep meaning, " I heard from the people below that my aunt has to be a vegetarian for a certain period of time every year, even in the past few days, Chef Tang is also a master at making vegetarian meals."

Mrs. Zhao also nodded when she heard the words, and said, "It's really nothing to say." Then she glanced at Mrs. Leng, "I didn't expect you to have this habit at a young age. I thought it was just me, an old woman, but for the sake of my family. ?”

"...Mmm." Here, Leng seemed to be thinking of someone, and she couldn't hide the dimness in her eyes, and answered in a low voice.

The old lady guessed that it was because of her mother that she was about to comfort her when she heard the message from the servants that the Elder Master asked to see her, so she stopped the topic and asked someone to come in.

"Mother." Zhao Hongsheng entered the Chuihua Gate, and was slightly taken aback when he saw the scene in Yuan'er, as if he didn't expect anyone to be there.

Leng Shi and Zhao Wenwan got up to greet the elder, who nodded in response, looked at the old lady, showing hesitant to speak.

"Mother, let's go to the Jinglian Garden first." Leng took the lead in resigning, and Zhao Wenwan followed, leaving space for the mother and son.

Zhao Hongsheng watched Zhao Wenwan's leaving back, with a trace of hesitation in his eyes, and after he waved away the rest of the people, he hesitated and said, "Mother, I want you to meet someone today."

Zhao Wenwan, who came out of Mingxu Garden, followed behind Leng Shi, distracted, and almost bumped into the person who stopped abruptly, "Auntie?"

Leng's expression was indescribably weird at the moment, as if she had forgotten to cover up for a sudden blow, Zhao Wenwan who was standing beside her could see clearly, following her line of sight, she saw a man in plain clothes The woman, with a beautiful face, seems to be only younger than Leng's age.

"You—" the hoarse voice pulled back Leng's thoughts, and suddenly realized that he had lost his composure, and recovered his normal color in an instant, and said in a quiet tone, "The girl really looks like an old friend."

After saying that, she turned her gaze to Zhao Wenwan, without missing the inquiry in her eyes, she narrowed her eyes and said as if explaining, "Wen Wan probably doesn't remember, but her appearance is very similar to your mother, I almost thought..."

Zhao Wenwan raised her eyebrows in surprise when she heard the words, and looked at the woman again, like Shen?The woman looked more and more awkward under the scrutiny of the two, but soon someone rescued her, and the girl who came out of Mingxu Garden came to ask for someone, and the woman slightly blessed her body and passed her two.

Zhao Wenwan, who was wondering what Zhao Hongsheng wanted to do, suddenly saw the moment when he was wronged, and Leng's suddenly vicious eyes fixed on the woman with undisguised hatred.

The Leng family, the Shen family, or the Shen family... what happened back then?
The woman who entered Mingxu Garden with the servant girl stood in front of the old lady after a while, and beside her was Zhao Hongsheng who rarely showed a trace of excitement.

"Old Madam, Master." The woman blessed her body with respect to etiquette, and spoke weakly.

Mrs. Zhao has been watching since she entered the door, she is indeed carved out of a mold, but this temperament is not good, compared with the lady Shen, she seems too weak, but it is different after all.

"Mother, the eunuch is alone and helpless, and she was almost insulted singing in the restaurant. If the son happened to be there, I am afraid that the fragrance will disappear." Zhao Hongsheng recalled the scene in the restaurant, and felt proud and arrogant for the woman. She lost her temper, and later saw her face under the veil by chance, and brought her back regardless of the eyes of her colleagues.

"The son wants to keep him, and asks his mother to make it happen." Zhao Hongsheng said word for word, with great insistence.

Mrs. Zhao taught him that the firmness in her tone was startling, and he also knew from the bottom of his heart that the Shen family had always occupied half of Zhao Hongsheng's heart. Looking at this woman now, it might be because of empathy...Facing the pleading in Zhao Hongsheng's eyes, the objection The words choked in his throat, and he couldn't move up or down, which was quite uncomfortable.

"Old lady, the girl has no unreasonable thoughts. I thank the old man for saving me, and I'm sorry for bothering you." The woman bit her lip, explained quickly as if she was afraid of causing trouble, and then hurriedly wanted to leave .

"No, if you leave like this, those people will definitely trouble you again." Zhao Hongsheng took a big step forward, stopped the person, looked at the old lady earnestly, knelt down solemnly and said, "Mother, My son has never begged you for anything, only this time."

Zhao Hongsheng knew that the person in front of him was not Shen Shi, but he still couldn't tell the two apart, they were too similar, every frown and smile, every move, or he didn't want to separate the two, Huan Niang was Shen Shi, it was her Seeing that I was alone, I came to accompany myself.

The old lady's heart choked, and she couldn't say anything more at once, the hand holding the dove stick trembled slightly, and it took a long time to find her voice and said, "You... just do as you want, I can't control it."

Zhao Hongsheng kowtowed heavily, and when he raised his head again, his face couldn't hide his joy. "Huan Niang, I will protect you in the future and won't teach others to bully you again."

"Master..." With tears in her eyes, the woman called out in disbelief, restraining her emotion and staring at Elder Zhao affectionately.

Zhao Hongsheng stared at her, and through this person, he had a vague glimpse of Yi Ren's demeanor back then.

The woman was arranged in the side courtyard in the West Wing, and Mr. Zhao ordered people to take care of everything. He personally looked after her, obviously he was very concerned about her.But in the whole morning, rumors of the new aunt spread all over the mansion, some came secretly to inquire about it, and there were also quite a few people watching.

Zhao Wenwan listened to Baochan's report, and as expected, there was something she couldn't say, uh... probably still felt a little disgusted.What is that woman, a substitute?If you love someone, it should be irreplaceable, and if you can replace it, you don't have enough love, or even say that you don't have much respect for that woman.However, this is ancient times, Zhao Wenwan's emotions can only be tasted by himself, and there is nowhere to express them.

If Zhao Wenwan of the script was afraid that there would be another mess, but if it were her, she would feel that she is an irrelevant person.

This is also the mentality, but to teach some people who were waiting to see the eldest lady give up or drive people out of the house to be disappointed, the news was delivered to Xiangzhuyuan one by one, and even Zhao Hongsheng took Shen's jewelry from back then to send People talked about this in detail, but they didn't wait for Zhao Wenwan's reaction.

After all, he hadn't formally entered the house yet, so Zhao Hongsheng left after having dinner with Huan Niang.In the side courtyard, a lot of thoughtful arrangements were made in the originally vacant room. The woman sat in front of the dressing table, her small melon-seeded face was reflected in the diamond mirror set up, and after seeing no one left and right, she reached out and touched her hair bun. He held the hairpin in his hand.

The body of the hairpin is long and thin, and the thicker end is inlaid with the emerald hairpin head. The emerald green color is intertwined with thin gold flakes. The pearls hanging under it are round and lustrous, even in size, and they are more lustrous under the candlelight.

"It's so beautiful..." Huan Niang fondled the jade hairpin fondly, a glint of jade light reflected in her eyes.

Huan Niang lived in the side courtyard of Xiyuan for only three days, and the matter of taking concubines was put on the schedule, and an auspicious day was chosen to welcome people into the mansion through the corner gate of the back door.Huan Niang is wearing a peach pink embroidered makeup dress, which makes her complexion fairer, her willow eyebrows and almond eyes, with makeup and jewelry to match, it is even more amazing than when she first met.

As usual, the newcomer would serve tea to the eldest lady, but since Mrs. Ye closed the Buddhist hall and could not come out, the old lady took the main seat.Mother Yang took the tea from Huan Niang and handed it to the old lady. The latter sized her up for a long time, and took it when Zhao Hongsheng couldn't hold her breath. She sighed and said quietly, "I entered the Duke's mansion." The door, you must abide by the rules here. From now on, let’s have a good time.”

"Thank you, mother." A big rock in Zhao Hongsheng's heart fell to the ground, and he was a little embarrassed. His mother was old, and he was almost forced to act like this.

"Your maidservant would like to follow the old lady's instruction." Huan Niang responded respectfully, and secretly looked at Zhao Hongsheng, revealing a calm smile.

Mrs. Zhao watched, when the two were in deep love, it was useless for her to talk more, and she saved her words, she only sincerely hoped that she could live a better life in peace, that there would be less trouble in the house, and she would have less trouble Heart.

Mr. Zhao first sent Huan Niang to Peng Ning Yuan, his new residence, and then he was called away to deal with official business.Huan Niang went inside alone, looking at the warmly decorated new house, her eyes were full of joy, because she got up early in the morning to wash and put on makeup, now she yawned a little sleepily, and sat on the soft couch to rest.

After a while, a servant informed me that it was the elder who asked my aunt to go to the front hall.

Huan Niang opened her eyes, happened to catch a glimpse of her tired face in the mirror, she responded, and then sat on the dressing table to touch up the rouge before getting up and Shi Shiran asked someone to lead the way.

In the Lingyun hall, Mr. Zhao took off his wedding clothes, and was only wearing a slightly extravagant silk robe with dark purple and fanciful patterns. He looked at the middle-aged man sitting not far away with a slightly gloomy expression.

"Today is a good day for Mr. Zhao. Mr. Shen sent a small congratulatory gift, and I hope you can accept it."

"You're welcome." Zhao Hongsheng replied in a cold voice without lifting his eyelids, "Master Shen has a lot of business, so why bother staying here." His tone was unceremonious and meant to chase away guests.

"I'm ashamed to say that you and I are in-laws. Back then, my uncle was confused and made the two families so divided. I wanted to fix it, but I never had the chance." , as the years get older, the wild spirit is hidden, and the dealings with others appear gentle and elegant.However, there are still some unknown things in this gentleness, which makes people dislike it, or it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a treachery hidden in a smile.

Zhao Hongsheng snorted softly, noncommittal about his hypocrisy, it was just what this person said when he came, so he had to keep him here.

"Master Zhao was saving the beauty at Tianxin Restaurant. Quan Zi happened to pass by and saw it. Besides saying Mr. Zhao was brave, he also mentioned that the woman's appearance was very similar to his deceased aunt. When I was taken to check it out, I was told that the woman had been arrested by Zhao. The master took it away. After I mentioned it to my family, I realized that my uncle had a romantic debt when he was away, and that woman was most likely his uncle's wandering away... Zhenniang?" Shen Pingdao said, just as he caught a glimpse of the woman who came in through the threshold. The teacup fell to the ground in shock, as if it was unbelievable.

Huan Niang was frightened by this movement, she flinched and stood beside Zhao Hongsheng two quick steps, and slightly blessed her body in the direction of Shen Pingdao, which was regarded as a salute.

"There are really two people who are so similar in the world. She was born, born to be like my sister..." Shen Pingdao swallowed the rest of the words, and regained a bit of stability. Wrong, the uncle said that the child had a mole on the end of his eyebrows, and the midwife at the time said that he was very happy, and he would be a lucky person in the future."

Huan Niang seemed to understand now, she half tucked behind Zhao Hongsheng, her eyes were downcast, she seemed depressed.

On the contrary, Zhao Hongsheng stared at Shen Pingdao and sneered, "In the past 20 years, I depended on my mother for life, but after my mother died of illness, I was lonely. What kind of blessing is this?"

Shen Pingdao showed a bit of embarrassment when he heard the words, and quickly restrained himself, and made a solemn gesture, "It is indeed a scandal in the Shen family, but this... girl is indeed related to the Shen family, so it's fine if you didn't know it before. Now that I know it, the Shen family will definitely give it the identity it deserves, and we can't let the blood of the Shen family flow outside forever."

Zhao Hongsheng held Huan Niang's cold and weak hand, and his thoughts were complicated for a while.

"The Duke of Dingguo's mansion is honorable. Although the girl is a concubine of the Shen family, she sounds better than the ordinary orphan girl. In the future, the Shen family can rely on her." Shen Pingdao said straight to the point.

Huan Niang held Mr. Zhao's hand back, her apricot eyes glistened slightly, and she followed his appearance with a look of confusion, she said in a low voice, "Master, Huan Niang is used to being alone, don't worry about it."
Zhao Hongsheng became more and more sympathetic, and because of Shen Pingdao's words, he felt a little bit worried. If it is for Huan Niang, the Shen family is not without merit...

After a long time, he patted the back of Huan Niang's hand comfortingly, and said with a sigh of relief: "This is the Shen family's compensation for you for these years."

Huan Niang choked up and called Master, and for a moment when she lowered her eyes, she confronted Shen Pingdao who was smiling, and even lowered her head.

The news of the Shen family's confession reached the old lady's ears in a short while, and the old lady frowned after listening to it, she just said that the master should have his own sense of propriety, and asked Mama Yang to choose some happy wives and maids to send to Pengning Garden , confessed and knocked a lot.

Naturally, Shen Pingdao knew that Zhao Hongsheng would not keep him for dinner, so he offered his farewell tactfully, and Zhao Hongsheng sent him off in the spirit of a housekeeper, obviously not letting go of his grudge.

Before getting into the carriage, Shen Pingdao's personal attendant who had been following Shen Pingdao said angrily, "Master, why do you come in person, and suffer this idleness!"

Shen Pingdao glanced over the door plaque of Duke Dingguo's mansion, a smile slipped from the corner of his mouth, he turned his head and snorted coldly at the attendant, "What do you know?" After saying that, he got into the carriage, his mood was not affected at all, let People drive away.

I thought it was two abandoned children, but I didn't expect that there would be a day to turn around.Zhao Yuanli, who is married to Princess Yongping, and Zhao Wenwan, who is favored by the Sixth Prince, these two siblings... are really unexpected!Since it is the blood of the Shen family, how can it only be cheap for Ding Guogong's mansion.

The night was getting darker, and the dark and gloomy clouds were heavily oppressing the sky over Kyoto, and there was a hint of dullness in the air, like the prelude to a storm.

Xiaoxuan's window was closed, occasionally a gust of wind blew, and the curtains shook slightly. The person on the bed seemed to be dreaming, with a smile on his mouth.A little moonlight reflected a dark figure on the bed curtain gradually approaching and elongating.

The outstretched hand was white and slender, resting on the edge of the thin quilt covered by Xia Tian, ​​pulled it up slightly with a slight force, until it reached the mouth and nose of the person lying on the bed, and covered it suddenly.

The sleeping person gradually frowned because of his shortness of breath, but he didn't wake up, his face turned a little paler, and his chest heaved slightly.

"Go to hell, bitch!" By the bed, Leng pressed the two corners of the quilt firmly, her usually gentle face was full of coldness at this moment, and a fierce light suddenly appeared in her eyes.

After that, it became clearer and clearer because of the woman's arrival. The painful memories she wanted to forget the most made her expression gradually distort. The moment she fell into it, she slightly loosened her grip, and the person who was almost breathless also got a little bit of pain because of this. vitality.

"Zhenniang, it's also tea, why the taste of what you make is so different from mine, no wonder they all like to drink what you make so much." In the courtyard, two girls sat facing each other, each with an exquisite tea tray and a tea set. Everything is available, and the freshly brewed hot tea has a curly aroma, enveloping the picture.

"It's because you are impatient, you won't be like me after a while." The eldest daughter of the Shen family, Shen Zhenniang, laughed at Yan Yan, and her gestures were all coquettish.

The woman sitting across from her couldn't help staring at her, and sighed from the bottom of her heart, "Zhen Niang is so pretty, I don't know who will be so lucky to marry you in the future."

It was so embarrassing to suddenly teach people to mention lifelong events, Shen Zhenniang blushed, and said sister, don't make fun of me, and the two girls laughed together.Or, she is the only one who laughs and has no rules. Zhenniang will never let herself lose her temper, even when there is no one around.

In the past five years, her relationship with Zhenniang has become more and more deep, as close as sisters, the two often play together, and that day... the unsightly images suddenly rushed into my mind, stabbing my head with noise and pain, I don't want to think about it, But I was forced to relive the scene of that day over and over again.The shadows that have been unable to get rid of all these years are like a shadow, Leng's head is supported by the memory, and the warm color fades away, and the eyes turn into a thicker black color, and they are fixed on the woman who did not know when she pulled down the quilt on the bed.

Huan Niang, now she should be called Shen Huan Niang.His eyes flicked bit by bit, and with the help of the faint moonlight, he gradually got a clearer look. The woman who had removed her make-up looked only two or three points similar, but she didn't even have the slightest charm.The gray mist in the eyes faded, and a little clarity was restored.

She is not Zhenniang, there is another person in the family who is very similar to Shen's back then, with the same limelight, and the same... viciousness.

The door of Peng Ningyuan was carefully opened a gap, then Bi Rong tiptoed in and squeezed in, looked at the woman on the bed who had fainted from the medicine, wondered in her heart why Mrs Leng didn't make a move, and cautiously signaled to her master that time was running out.

Leng glanced at the woman, got up and led her away quietly.On the way there, the little maid on duty rushed to Pengning Garden with her stomach in her hands, muttering in her mouth that she shouldn't be greedy, and hoped that the auntie didn't wake up, but she didn't find that there was still something in the dark. The two hid with bated breath.

(End of this chapter)