Huaxi Chronicle

East Garden, South Court.

This chunky figure is a girl who looks like two or three years old.

After the girl picked up the ball, she hugged it tightly in her arms, then raised her head and looked at Yan Cong'an timidly.

A chubby face with reddish cheeks, shy but bright eyes.With a double bun on her hair, she looks very pleasing, but the clothes on her body are made of ordinary cotton, the collar and front are a little white, the sleeves are not as far as the wrists, and they are a bit short, it should be an old piece. Clothes.

She looked at Yan Cong'an for a moment, then tilted her head slightly, and called out, "Third Aunt."

Yan Cong'an was a little surprised when he heard the words, such a young child was able to identify her accurately without uttering words so clearly.But the girl's "third aunt" reminded her of who the girl was.

The second wife, Yan Guangde, had two sons. The youngest son, Yan Hongwen, was the boy who played chess with Yan Congle on the day of the family banquet. The eldest son, Yan Hongbo, was the same age as Yan Cong'an, only a few months younger.

Yan Hongbo got married quite early, had a wife and a concubine, died of illness last year, leaving behind a son and a daughter.The son is four years old this year, born to his first wife, and the daughter is young, only two years old this year, born to a concubine, but the concubine died of a dystocia.

This girl should be Yan Hongbo's concubine daughter.Looking at the clothes on this body, it should be caused by neglect.

Yan Cong'an had never seen this niece before, but she recognized herself, which immediately made her doubtful.

Just at this moment, a petite figure ran towards them quickly.

The visitor was about 20 years old, dressed like a servant girl.She looked anxious, and when she saw Yan Cong'an, she was even more surprised, and hurriedly bowed and said: "The young lady is young, if she bumps into the third lady, I hope that the third lady will not punish her, I am willing to take it on her behalf. "

Seeing her terrified appearance, Yan Cong'an couldn't bear it, and said slowly: "It's nothing, but this little girl is really smart, she can recognize me."

The maid didn't see the displeasure on Yan Cong'an's face, and saw that she praised the little lady for being smart, so she was relieved and calmed down, saying: "Although the little lady is young, she is indeed born smart. A few days ago, I Playing with her in the courtyard, I saw San Niangzi from a distance, so I identified her once, never thought she could remember it."

The corners of the maidservant's eyes were slightly raised, her face was full of pride, she didn't seem to be lying.

"Are you a nanny?" Yan Cong'an continued to ask.

The maid shook her head and said: "The servant is Aunt Li's dowry maid, named Chunlai. The little lady has been weaned this year, and now I will take care of the little lady."

The Aunt Li that Chunlai mentioned was Yan Hongbo's concubine who died of dystocia.Yan Cong'an was a little surprised when she heard that the child had been weaned at the age of two.

The descendants of the Yan family usually have to be nursed by the nanny until they are three years old before weaning. It seems that this niece whose parents died is really not taken seriously.

However, this is a matter in his courtyard, Yan Cong'an has no right and will not interfere.

When Chun came to see Yan Cong'an, he didn't speak any more words, but said goodbye: "The servants are too disturbing, so I won't delay the third lady any more." Seeing Yan Cong'an nodding his head in agreement, he leaned over, picked up the little lady and left.

at the same time.

West of the city, Xun's family.

Xun Feibai had packed up the baggage that he was going to bring when he went out tomorrow, and was explaining the chores at home to Lin Zhu.

She picked up the copper money on the table, handed it to Lin Zhu, and said: "Here is Yiguan money. I will go to Binzhou here, and it will take at least one and a half months, and at most it will return in February. You can take this money as the master. Be too thrifty. Do you still remember the jade ring that I packed the dowry with you two days ago?"

Lin Zhu nodded and said, "I remember."

Lin Zhu had some impressions of Yuhuan that Xun Feibai mentioned.That person was a few years older than himself, and also much taller.He has a milder personality and speaks slowly, making him an easy-going person.

"Tomorrow she will come to be your companion, and she will be responsible for the daily meals for you and the two nurses in the room on the east side. You take the money I gave you just now, and buy some food on weekdays. Remember to share with those people Let’s share together, don’t eat alone, it’s a joke. During these days when I’m not around, you still need to rely on them to take care of you, do you know?”

Of course Lin Zhu knew the truth, so he replied: "I know, sister, don't worry."

Seeing her answer, Xun Feibai thought for a while, and then said: "If you have trouble, you can ask Mrs. Wang next door for help. I mentioned it to her yesterday, if you can't solve it, you can go to the guarding brother, and he will look for it." People send letters to me, don't act recklessly, can you write it down?"

Seeing Xun Feibai's babbling like this, Lin Zhu's heart warmed, and he replied with a smile, "I know, I'm not a three-year-old child, sister, don't worry too much. On the contrary, sister is going out, so be careful and take good care of yourself." My own body." After thinking for a while, he joked: "However, my sister is traveling with the third lady this time, and the third lady will definitely not treat my sister badly."

Xun Feibai heard the words, raised his hand and knocked on her forehead, pretending to be angry and said: "It's really hard wings, dare to make fun of me!"

Lin Zhu stretched out his hand and rubbed his forehead, but didn't say another word, and was about to go to the courtyard to cook.As soon as he reached the door, he was stopped by Xun Feibai: "By the way, there is one more thing. In the wooden box under the bed in my room, there is still money for you to use in case of emergency."

Xun Feibai thought so thoughtfully, Lin Zhu was very moved.The corners of her eyes were red, her voice was muffled, and she replied, "Yes." Then she lifted her foot and walked out.

The two had just finished their lunch when someone knocked on the gate of Xun's house.Xun Feibai got up and opened the door, there was a person standing outside the door.The man was wearing a dark gown, and his complexion was not very good.When he saw Xun Feibai, he said, "Feibai."

Xun Feibai raised his eyebrows and eyes when he saw the person coming, and said, "Jiaze, when did you come back? I thought that when I arrived in Binzhou tomorrow, I would just go and look for you. I didn't think you would go back first." She After speaking, he welcomed Cui Jiaze into the courtyard.

Cui Jiaze went to Binzhou to pick up his mother back to Huaxi County a few days ago.Xun Feibai thought he would not meet this person before he left, but he found him today.She led him to the stone table and poured him tea.

Seeing his uneasy expression, Xun Feibai thought he had encountered a difficult situation, and asked, "Why do you have such an expression, but something is wrong at home?"

Cui Jiaze calmed down, but his face was still a little serious: "It's not that there is something wrong with my family. I just arrived at home today, and I heard from Xiao Mu that you and Mrs. Yan San are engaged. Is this serious?"

"That's true."

Although this answer was already expected, Cui Jiaze couldn't help but said: "I mentioned to you the identity of Mrs. Yan San at Laoshanchang's home that day. She has such a family background, not to mention you, even me , and dare not agree easily. I don't mean that you are not worthy of her, but that for a person like her, how complicated the family is, how can you be so intelligent, how could you not think of it?"

The worry on Cui Jiaze's face was too obvious, Xun Feibai smiled knowingly, and explained: "There are some things between me and her that I can't talk to you about. I have thought about what you said. The engagement is my responsibility." To mention it first is also to think twice before acting, not on impulse."

Cui Jiaze knew that Xun Feibai was the most stable of his classmates in terms of temperament, and there was no room for change in what this person believed.But he was still worried: "You will end this year, and with your talent, you will definitely be on the list. Even if you don't fall in love with Xiao Mu, it is not difficult to find a lady from a big family to be your wife. Or wait until next year's autumn, you will be able to win the toad palace. If you want to find an ordinary lady from an official family, it is not impossible. I know you are not a money-grubbing and lustful person, how can you be so foolish and make a marriage?"

The more Cui Jiaze talked, the more anxious he became, Xun Feibai hurriedly spoke up to comfort him: "Jiaze, everything is settled now, and I can't push back the marriage and be that unrighteous person. What you said to me, I will I will definitely pay attention, I am not a three-year-old child, so don't worry too much."

Cui Jiaze saw that her expression was firm, and that the matter had reached such a point that there was really no way to change it.He sighed deeply again, and reminded: "Miss Yan San's grandparents' family affairs, I don't know anything about it, so let's not talk about it."

"But the Yan family is really a place of mischief now. After the parents of Mrs. Yan San went away, the Yan family stopped for a few years, but in the past two years, there has been an undercurrent between the eldest house and the fourth house. You come and go, The infighting never stops.”

"I'm afraid that Miss Yan San came back to Yan's house at this critical juncture. She didn't want to stand by and watch. I'm afraid she didn't want to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight and reap the benefits of the fisherman. Taking a step back, even if her return was not intentional For example, in the current situation, it may not be easy if you want to be alone and not be affected. Now that you are engaged to her, I am afraid that the battle of the Yan family will also affect you, how can you protect yourself?"

Xun Feibai knew about the complicated internal affairs of the big family, but he never thought that it would be so complicated.Originally, the marriage was settled hastily, and Yan Cong'an never mentioned the family matters to her.

Hearing Cui Jiaze mention it at this time, there was no fear in my heart, but a bit of pity.It turns out that even though Yan Cong'an is like Yan Cong'an, although he is beautiful on the surface, everything is not going well in private.

Xun Feibai had never personally experienced family struggles, so he couldn't imagine what would happen in the future.But still as she said just now, the matter has come to this point, and there is no way to turn back, so I have to take one step at a time.

She thought for a while, and then said to Cui Jiaze: "I have decided to get married with Cong'an. We will be a family after we get married. No matter what happens, we must bear it together. I have written down everything you said, and we will make a decision in the future." Will pay more attention."

Xun Feibai looked determined.

The deal was done, and Cui Jiaze felt that it would be useless to say any more, so he got up to say goodbye and leave.

The two walked to the door, and Xun Feibai asked about Cui Jiamu's recent situation. Cui Jiaze smiled bitterly and said, "The only thing in the world that can't be forced is love. She just can't think about it for a while, and it will be better after a while."

Xun Feibai looked at him apologetically, Cui Jiaze patted her on the shoulder, then turned and left.

Xun Feibai looked at his leaving back, and said silently: Thank you.

To her, Cui Jiaze is both a brother and a friend, and in the past at the academy, the two were the best friends.Today Cui Jiaze came here specially to say those words to her, although there was some blame, but there was concern everywhere in the words, deep love and deep responsibility, such a simple truth Xun Feibai knew, so he was very grateful at this moment.

What a blessing to have friends as friends.