Lady Zhao

Chapter 41

There are a lot of guests, noisy and complicated, and all the female family members gathered together. I saw that the layout of Dingguo Duke's Mansion is thick, stable and dignified.The tea bowls, saucers, and cups on the table are all pink and white official kiln hibiscus jade porcelain, which is clean and refreshing, and it is very suitable for the occasion in autumn.

The maids carrying the dishes were all wearing blue and white skirts and jackets with white backgrounds and belts of different colors. When they came in and out to serve the dishes, their steps were light and steady. .

After looking around, all the female relatives praised Zhao Wenwan secretly, thinking that Zhao Wenwan came from the Dingguo mansion after all, and the rules of family management are quite strict. She is young and alone in such a big house. One person, but also clean the inside and outside.

Afterwards, the palace also awarded rewards, two luminous pearls tribute from the South China Sea, plump and huge, round and clear, a set of twelve zodiac signs carved in ivory and jade, lifelike in shape, moist in body, both are rare treasures, which is enough to show the empress dowager's respect for old man Zhao The attention of people and descendants.

After receiving the reward, Zhao Wenwan arranged for the father-in-law who came from the palace to stay for dinner. The courteous manners made all the guests happy.

Mrs. Fang, who had a crush on Zhao Wenwan before, was even more satisfied. Seeing that she was not as bad as the rumors said, she questioned the rumors in the market.Mrs. Xipinghou was sitting next to her, and she could see her pretty look in her eyes. Thinking of the one in her family who was even less enlightened, she suddenly felt a little suffocated.

The pearl is dusty, once it is wiped away, it will inevitably attract others to covet it, so should she do something?
Unlike other people who are happy to eat, Zhao Wenxi, as today's protagonist, has become a decoration. Although she tried her best to blend in, she was mostly perfunctory. in the eyes.

On the contrary, Zhao Wenwan was like a fish in water. He was an actor, and he could watch people order food, and because of the sufficient preparation in advance, he was able to manage the entertainment with ease.After the meal, everyone was invited to Lanxuan to watch a play. The famous actors in the capital were invited, and the actors were naturally ladies from aristocratic families. The love dramas that the noble ladies in Beijing love to watch, "The Peony Pavilion" and "The Story of the West Chamber".

Zhao Wenwan was caught by Mrs. Xipinghou, and sat beside her to watch the show. She noticed that the eyes from the other side were frequently cast with curiosity. read.Zhao Wenwan was a little embarrassed by the look, and after asking her aunt in a low voice, she guessed that she was unwilling to answer, it was the wife of General Fang's mansion, and suddenly thought of the vicious female partner's loyal dog assisting Fang Zimo, so she returned a letter to Mrs Fang big smile.

On the importance of mother-in-law and kindness to family harmony...

In the two rows at the back right, Zhao Wenxuan and Du Ruotong were sitting together peeling nut shells, but their eyes were not on the stage, but they were muttering together.Zhao Wenwan caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye, and his eyes shifted to Zhao Wenxi, who was not far away after the two stayed for a while. Seeing the latter scratching his neck and arms from time to time, his eyes dimmed a bit.

Zhao Wenwan made an excuse to leave the table, and when he came back, he was next to the old lady, stretched out his hand to grab his arm, bit his lip as if trying to resist the pain, and said to the old lady in a low voice, "Grandmother, I feel something is wrong."

Mrs. Zhao looked at her slightly raised sleeves and saw the red scratches, she quickly stopped her from scratching, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I don't know, it started to itch all of a sudden, grandma, Wen Wan felt itchy all over, it was really uncomfortable." Zhao Wenwan said with a bitter face, but in fact it was all fake, the red mark on her arm was scratched out by herself , is originally a physique that is prone to leaving traces, but after grabbing two handfuls, it became popular like this.

Mrs. Zhao was not in the mood to watch the show when she heard the words. She suspected that she had eaten something bad, but everyone present was fine. She glanced over and saw Zhao Wenxi, who was in a similar situation to Zhao Wenwan, with small red dots faintly visible on her neck. , someone invited Zhao Wenxi out immediately, leaving Mama Yang to watch, and hurriedly took the two of them back to Mingxu Garden.

The drama is at its climax right now, no one cares about this corner, except for Zhao Wenxuan and Du Ruotong who have been keeping an eye on the movement, the latter wants to follow but is afraid of arousing suspicion, so Du Ruotong whispered something in her ear After getting her nod, he also sneaked out of the table.

In Mingxu Garden, Doctor Yuan hurried over with a medicine box on his back. He first took the pulse of Zhao Wenxi, who looked more serious. The latter had little red rashes on his face, neck and arms. The strange thing is scary, the more you scratch, the more you scratch.

Zhao Wenwan's hand was held by the old lady, and she was afraid that she would repeat Zhao Wenxi's mistakes, so she said distressedly, "Why is it so good, did you eat something wrong?"

Lvyun stared at her young lady's flowery and jade-like face and became this miserable look. Thinking about what the third lady said last night, she always felt that the young lady had something to do with the young lady, but at the moment Zhao Wenwan was also caught in the trick, but who knows if she deliberately cleared up the suspicion, so she whispered along with the old lady's words, "Miss has been well fed these days, it must be something like this after just one meal. poisonous!"

As soon as these words came out, the room fell silent.Mother Feng, who was temporarily recalled by the old lady and assigned to Zhao Wenxi, coughed twice, and reprimanded her, "It's not proper to be a first-class maid and still shout like this!"

Mother Feng is considered an old man in the mansion, and has been collecting rent for the Dingguo Mansion with Zhuangzi, who is in charge of her husband's family in a place in the south of the Yangtze River.

Luyun was originally a careless third-class little girl, but by chance, He Jingyuan sent her to serve Zhao Wenxi. Afterwards, Zhao Wenxi refused to change her servants, so Luyun was exceptionally promoted to be a first-class maid. Don't get up.Speaking today, it can be seen.

Zhao Wenwan glanced at Lu Yun, who shrank back in fear, as if she was a cannibal, Zhao Wenwan smiled and said, "Today's food is fine, there are two people in the kitchen. Supervised by a steward, not even a fly can fly in, let alone someone who wants to tamper with it."

"On the way..." Lu Yun retorted weakly.

"You mean that I must be going to kill Sister Wenxi?" Zhao Wenwan's tone suddenly hardened, and a pair of apricot eyes coldly glanced at Luyun, obviously angry.

Mrs. Zhao's eyes turned cold, and she looked at the little girl with an unfriendly look. Not long after Wenxi arrived in the mansion, the people around her dared to sow discord in such a way. After a long time, the sisters will definitely be divorced. How can such a brainless girl Can stay!

"Doctor Yuan, tell me what's going on?" Mrs. Zhao rubbed her brows and asked.

"Going back to the old lady, there are indeed signs of poisoning." As soon as Doctor Yuan finished speaking, there was a slight clicking sound outside, causing the people in the room to stop suddenly.

Mother Feng rushed out immediately, and arrested the person who was eavesdropping outside. Zhao Wenwan took a look and was a little stunned. Isn't this person Du Ruotong who was watching a play next to Zhao Wenxuan? Shrunkenly wishing he could get himself together.

"Which room are you from, what are you doing sneakily outside?" Zhao Wenwan asked first.

The latter trembled again after hearing this, and said in a voice as thin as a mosquito, "I... slave... slave is in... madam's room, old lady... left the table suddenly, and specially ordered... slave to come and have a look. "

Zhao Wenwan was not in a hurry to expose her identity, squinting her eyes and flashed her light, and said in a calm tone, "Which master taught you to sneak and eavesdrop, there are no rules at all, you take Mama Feng to the firewood room to let her Li Guanshi will teach it well, and after he has taught it, he will have a long memory and then put it back."

Seeing that the old lady didn't have any objections, Mother Feng agreed.

"You..." Du Ruotong suddenly raised his head and glared at Zhao Wenwan, meeting her eyes full of complacency, and immediately understood that she was waiting for him on purpose, but the current situation couldn't reveal her identity, and she bit her mouth. silver teeth.

After being interrupted by such an interruption, Zhao Wenwan got back to the topic, and then asked Dr. Yuan, "Why did you get poisoned? Why is it just me and Sister Xi?"

Dr. Yuan seemed to be reminded by Zhao Wenwan, and quickly asked, "According to the time of the onset, it should have happened yesterday. Missy, do you have any impression of what contact with Missy [-] yesterday, so I have a clue."

Hearing this, Zhao Wenwan thought for a while, as if muttering to herself, "I didn't see Sister Xi yesterday, but Wen Xuan... sent me a bone-bone incense, and Sister Xi also gave it to me."

"Can I borrow the old man to have a look?"

Zhao Wenwan asked Bao Chan to fetch it. Doctor Yuan held the incense and studied it for a long time, then pulled out a yellowed prescription. Well, the second lady is weak, and the one medicine in the prescription prescribed by the old man conflicts with the one in this fragrance, which makes the second lady's condition more serious, and the eldest lady's condition is milder."

In the end, he still mumbled in a puzzled manner, "It's strange, the second lady is a perfumer, so it's impossible not to know that the conflict of these two flavors can cause people to be allergic."

At the door, Zhao Wenxuan, who hadn't returned for a long time because of Du Ruotong's absence, came to find him. Hearing these words, she froze when she met several pairs of eyes that swept across the room.

"Wenxuan, come here!" Old Mrs. Zhao called out sternly, her always kind eyes couldn't help but feel a little chilled.

Zhao Wenxuan couldn't stand the crowd staring at her like this, she lowered her head, her eyes rolled quickly, and she slowly approached, although she panicked, she was brought up by Aunt Xia after all, thinking of her mother's usual teachings, she quickly turned cold Thoughts.They don't have direct evidence, they are still ambiguous conjectures. The more they stand upright and call for grievances at this time, as long as they bite to death and don't admit it, they won't cause much trouble, so they howled and shouted, " Grandmother, I was wronged."

Standing beside the old lady, Zhao Wenwan looked at her coldly, with a hint of sarcasm in her eyes, but she had learned the essence of my aunt. The way she cried and shouted for injustice was really exactly the same as Aunt Xia's, but all those present today were people with a clear heart , but look how long Zhao Wenxuan can struggle?If you dare to die, you must bear the consequences for your own death.

Zhao Wenxuan felt that the first howl was not strong enough, so she opened her mouth again. Before she could howl the second time, the words were choked in her throat and suppressed.

A sharp soprano's voice came from outside, and the accessories on her body jingled, everyone knew who it was even after hearing the voice, except for Sanfang, who was afraid of chaos. "Mother, why did you and Xi'er leave the banquet? But what went wrong?"

Zhao Wenxuan's nerves skipped a beat, and she suddenly felt a headache. This third aunt likes to participate in the excitement, but Zhao Wenwan looked at the third room with a slight smile on her lips, and it came at the right time.

Mrs. Xu hurried in, grabbing the corner of her skirt, frowned and went straight to the soft couch where Zhao Wenxi was lying when she saw the scene in the room. In addition to the dense red rash, there are still a few streaks of blood on the small face, obviously scratched out by herself, and the appearance is very "tragic". .

"Xi'er..." Seeing that face, Mrs. Xu hugged the person beside her heartily, her whole face was wrinkled together, she was really distressed at this moment, if such a charming face really ruined her appearance , but there is nothing useful, so he was also angry, "What's wrong with Xi'er? How did you become a doctor, do you still want to stay in the Duke's Mansion?"

She vented her anger indiscriminately, Doctor Yuan couldn't get in her mouth and turned her head away helplessly, Zhao Wenwan stood up in time to rescue Doctor Yuan, and told Mrs. Xu what happened just now, her words were calm and impartial, Doctor Yuan voted Grateful eyes, sighed, and went to check on Zhao Wenxi's condition.

After hearing this, Mrs. Xu immediately turned cold and glared at Zhao Wenxuan angrily. She stroked her sleeves, as if jumping out to strangle him to death, "Damn girl, you dare to do such vicious things to bully our Xi'er." Yes Zhao Wenwan, who has the same allergy, just ignored it.

"I'm wronged, grandma, I didn't." Zhao Wenxuan hurriedly shouted to the old lady.

Mrs. Zhao felt that it was really noisy, so she stopped Xu Shi, she seemed very patient, her words were still cold, "You said you were wronged, now tell grandma where you are wronged?"

Zhao Wenxuan pursed the corners of her lips tightly, and a few tears came out of her eyes very quickly, "Grandmother, Wenxuan's intentions are kind, the incense is extremely difficult to make, and it took a month of hard work, and finally it came out quickly." , I just want to give the best incense to my sisters, but I never thought that my eldest sister and second sister would be allergic to it. You can't blame Wenxuan on grandmother's matter just because you favor the two first-born sisters. "

Mrs. Zhao let out a snort, "They are all my precious granddaughters, the palms and backs of which are full of flesh. Did you just blame grandma for being harsh on you?"

"Wen Xuan, what nonsense did you say to grandma? I am a concubine, but the sisters in the Duke's mansion are equal, how can there be a concubine? Besides, has the mansion ever reduced your food and clothing expenses, and deducted your monthly payment from Wenxiang Garden? According to the etiquette and ancestral system, there are some things you should share with me and my two brothers. My sisters are different, but my grandmother treats them equally, and specially ordered my mother to make the distribution standards of your garden the same as ours, and your words made not only my grandmother feel chilled, but even me, as the elder sister, felt chilled."

When Zhao Wenxuan heard that she had said the wrong thing, she panicked and quickly knelt on the ground, "Grandmother, I said the wrong thing, Wenxuan just felt wronged for a while, and she didn't feel angry, so she said what she said. I hope grandma won't take it to heart."

"Go ahead and talk about what happened just now!" The old lady didn't want to pay any attention to it.

"I really haven't read the second sister's prescription, so how would I know which medicine is compatible with Tuoguxiang?"

"My sister has been mixing fragrances for many years, how could she be so imprecise. If you haven't read the prescription, you should also explain the fragrance to the person who uses it, and ask if there is any conflict?"

Zhao Wenxuan hurriedly defended, but ignored it, "I asked my second sister at the time, and she said there was no collision, so..."
She secretly glanced at Zhao Wenxi, who was lying on a soft couch not far away, half dead, how could she hear what she said at this moment, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhao Wenwan chuckled, "There is nothing wrong with what my sister said. Before I fell into the water and fell ill, my sister sent a box of lily incense. It was supposed to soothe the nerves and help me sleep. I used it to give me a headache. Is it because my sister is not good at learning and tuned in?" Can't smell the heat?"

Zhao Wenxuan became anxious all of a sudden. Zhao Wenwan used to beg for this incense because it was easy to beg for. At that time, she was puzzled. The lily incense she gave earlier was spiced, but she said it was good, but now Zhao Wenwan's words are inconsistent. , Confused, she had a feeling that Zhao Wenwan deliberately humiliated herself, and suddenly forgot that she did it by herself.That's right, this time she didn't tamper with the incense, and she would feel unwell when it clashed with the medicine. Zhao Wenxuan smiled secretly at the corner of her mouth, as if grabbing a straw, and retorted sonorously.

"As my sister said, I have been blending fragrances for many years, why did I make a mistake? I would like to ask my sister a little bit. Doctor Yuan said that the second sister's rash was caused by the medicine she took, but you didn't take it, eldest sister. , why is there a rash on the arm, does this mean that you and the second sister did not know what to get the rash?"

The more Zhao Wenxuan talked, the more she didn't know how to restrain herself, "Or maybe you look at the second sister like this, elder sister, and feel that it's weird that you don't have an illness... just... who doesn't know that Master Yuan has a lot of contacts with you, and it is possible if you do something. , You must have done it, and you still have to frame me." Zhao Wenxuan threw all the dirty water on Zhao Wenwan in a fit of anger.

"Third Sister, why don't you talk nonsense without proof?"

"Then tell me, why did you also have a rash? The second sister is so serious, but the eldest sister is still alive and well standing here with me." Zhao Wenxuan felt that Zhao Wenwan's flaw was caught by her, so she clung to it. put.

Zhao Wenwan didn't explain aloud, and immediately looked at her grandmother with an aggrieved expression.

The corners of Zhao Wenxuan's mouth turned up even more, feeling that Zhao Wenwan was speechless, just when she was proud, but the old lady slapped the table and glared at her, Zhao Wenxuan froze immediately when she saw it.

Mrs. Zhao seemed to be really angry, "Your eldest sister often goes to Jinglianyuan to take care of Wenxi, and tastes medicine for her to test her temperature. Naturally, her body is also stained with that medicine. I don't know if you will suffer wronged grandmother, but you For wronging this girl Wen Wan, grandmother knows very well in her heart, how did you learn such bad thoughts at such a young age!"

"I...I...just talking." Zhao Wenxuan's words immediately lost all confidence, and her voice was listless.

Zhao Wenwan showed a hint of displeasure, "Just talking? If my sister is like this, can I also casually suspect that you just saw the prescription? It wasn't you, or maybe you sent someone to ask."

Zhao Wenxuan was eager to cover up the truth, so she couldn't help but raise her voice a lot, "Don't spout blood."

As soon as this remark came out, Mrs. Xu was indeed taken aback. She seemed to be lost in memory and thought of something. She quickly said to the old lady: "Mother, there is something that I almost forgot. This child Wenxi has suffered a lot outside. So I paid more attention and ran to Master Yuan. I once saw a maid who went to see Wenxi's prescriptions from Doctor Yuan's young apprentice. It looked like Wenxiangyuan. If you can call Wenxiangyuan I can recognize her maid at a glance."

The old lady nodded, and called a woman to Wenxiangyuan to call all the maids, and then called another one, and said: "Go and invite that little master!"

Zhao Wenxuan was startled, feeling that she had been forced to the cliff, but she still refused to let go of her mistake. After a while, all the maids in Wenxiangyuan filed into the room and lined up in a row. Bai's little maid immediately recognized her, "Mother is her."

The servant girl hurriedly knelt on the ground in fright, and when the little master came, she recognized the servant girl who was ordered to watch Zhao Wenxi's Fangzi at a glance, so she shrank even more in fright, "Miss ordered the servant girl to take a look, and said she wanted me to take a look at it." Remember the prescription clearly, come back and recite a copy, I don’t know what to do.”

Gritting her teeth, Xu rushed over, "Damn girl, what else do you have to say, didn't you say you didn't know the prescription?" Finally, she really stretched out her arms, rolled up her sleeves, and pushed hard on Zhao Wenxuan. With sharp eyes and quick hands, Mo hurriedly pulled the third-fang grandma away.

Zhao Wenxuan fell down on the board, wishing she could pass out, she couldn't argue with it.

Mrs. Zhao slammed the case again, and Zhao Wenxuan, who was shocked by the sound, shook like a sieve, "After today's confession banquet, I will call the master and your mother to decide how to punish you severely. I still can't control you if you kneel down and punish the Buddhist hall." .”

Zhao Wenxuan fell powerlessly on the stone slab, tears streaming down her cheeks, and begged for mercy, "Grandma, I was wrong, I was wrong, I was wrong."

It's just no one cares anymore.

Zhao Wenwan comforted her grandmother a few words, saying that she would go out to greet and see off the guests. The old lady was so distressed that she didn't want to, but Zhao Wenwan insisted that things should have a beginning and an end.

Coming to the front, most of the play had already been sung, and the guests had left one after another. Mrs. Xipinghou signaled Zhao Wenwan to see off Mrs. Fang, Zhao Wenwan did not refuse, and sent her to the entrance of the inner house politely, and the conversation on the way became more intimate.

After leaving the inner house, the servant led the way. The more Mrs. Fang looked at Zhao Wenwan, the more satisfied she was. Excitedly, at the door, she saw another servant carrying things into her carriage, the butler was busy directing, and there were other carriages in her family. After seeing the same thing, he couldn't help asking, "What's the meaning of this?"

The housekeeper bent down and said politely: "Madam, this is a return gift from the eldest lady to all the guests. It is not expensive, and I hope Madam will not dislike it."

As one of the guests, Mrs. Fang's affection for Zhao Wenwan has increased a lot in her heart. She is really a thoughtful child. Zimo's side...she will be beaten and beaten when she returns home, and she will take care of her.

(End of this chapter)