The Kangping Life of Mrs. Xing in Honglou

Xing Yue just recuperates behind closed doors, and lives a very leisurely and comfortable life. The maids in the courtyard know Madam Xing's bitter nature best, and they dare not play around and make trouble these days, so as to save themselves from bad luck. good.In addition, Xing Yue asked Hong Ling to block everyone from going out, and those concubines and aunts disappeared, and even Aunt Song who was clearly worried about his wife but actually wanted to see a joke was also blocked from going out, which made her feel a lot less lazy.

Being persuaded by two girls, Hongling and Cuiliu, she was locked up in the house for seven or eight days. On a sunny, warm and windless day, Xing Yue finally went out of the room and sat down on the pomegranate table in the courtyard with the help of the maid. under the tree.It is well known that Yuanchun likes pomegranate flowers. In fact, Mrs. Xing, who had been childless for many years, also loved it very much, just because the pomegranate symbolizes the auspicious meaning of many children and many blessings.

After sitting down here, Xing Yue looked at the small courtyard. This courtyard was just entering the courtyard. It was not a formal courtyard. There were five main rooms, three rooms in the east wing, two rooms in the south wing, and the west wing and the south side were Chaoshou verandahs. It's not small, but it's more exquisite. Most of the west side of the courtyard is decorated with a rockery with a height of half a person. Along the rockery, there is a cobbled path leading to the gate. There is a pine tree growing in the south of the east wing. Stone tables and chairs, next to the main room is a thriving pomegranate tree, facing the window of Mrs. Xing's living room.Exiting the gate in the northwest corner is the courtyard of the great master Jia She, and now the gate is closed because the master is recovering from illness.

Three main rooms and two side rooms, the center is the living room, the east side is Mrs. Xing’s bedroom, the west side is the study room, the east side room should be used as a warehouse, the west side room is used as a side room, and the three rooms in the east side room are used as the residences of maids. Full of it.

It is now May, and the pomegranate flower is showing its red head as big as a soybean. It is very cute against the green leaves. The mottled sunlight shines on Xing Yue's face through the branches and leaves, which is very comfortable.

Xing Yue couldn't help sighing in his heart, this is a good place, since then every afternoon Xing Yue will sit under the pomegranate flowers and take a nap, watching the pomegranate flowers from just showing their heads to blooming like fire.

One day, when Xing Yue was about to get up and go back to the room, the old lady sent someone to invite her over. Xing Yue sent someone to reply, and since she went back to the room, she asked the girls to dress up, wearing a royal blue jacket and a blue skirt, Combing a simple lady's hair bun, put on a few jewelry and got on the cart, heading towards the old lady's yard.

Xing Yue was thinking all the way how to deal with everyone. The day after tomorrow is Jia Lian's big wedding day, and tomorrow is the day when the woman will give the dowry. As a stepmother, she has to take care of it tomorrow. Calling her over at this time is nothing more than an order That's all.

Shaking her hands vigorously to cheer herself up, Xing Yue got out of the car, entered the old lady's courtyard, and greeted Shi Taijun according to Mrs. Xing's memory. Stand up, sit down."

"Thank you, old lady." Xing Yue sat on the second seat under the old lady's left hand as she said, and when she was seated, Xing Yue asked: "Old lady, you asked someone to call your daughter-in-law over, but what should you tell your daughter-in-law to do?" ?”

"The day after tomorrow is Lian'er's big day. I'm calling everyone here today to see if there's anything wrong. You two are Lian'er. You are Lian'er. You can give it to a serious father and mother. Listen carefully, old man." Second daughter-in-law, you are responsible for this matter, tell everyone." The old lady said majesticly.

"Yes, old lady, thank you for your trust. You have entrusted me to take care of such a big matter as Lianer's marriage. If there are any omissions, please ask the old lady to teach you. The most important thing right now is the dowry display tomorrow and the wedding the day after tomorrow. Yes, Lian'er's wedding room, I went to see it in person today, and it's all set up, just waiting for Sister Feng to send the dowry tomorrow, the wedding hall is in the main hall of Rongxi Hall, and it's also set up properly now, everything for the wedding banquet is ready Prepare well, if there is anything inappropriate, please let the old lady show it." Mrs. Wang talked about the old lady, but kept her mouth shut, completely ignoring the respectable old lady of Rongguo Mansion.

Taking advantage of Mrs. Wang's speaking time, Xing Yue looked at the crowd, and now sat the five masters of the Rongguo Mansion, the old lady, Jia She, his wife, Jia Zheng, and Mrs. Wang.Mrs. Shi is kind-hearted, wearing dark purple clothes, and wearing a lot of jewelry on her head. She has enjoyed the glory and wealth all her life, and has not been wasted by the years. Flower, it is completely impossible to tell that it is an old lady in her 60s. Looking at it from a distance, she secretly praised her for being a wealthy old lady. It is still the memory of Mrs. Xing's colleagues in the Red Chamber. This old lady is a shrewd and ruthless character. She is the old lord of the entire Rongguo Mansion.

Xing Yue and Jia She were sitting under the left hand of the old lady, and Jia Zheng and Mrs. Wang were sitting under the right hand of the old lady. From Xing Yue's angle, Jia Zheng and Mrs. Wang were right in front of them. Face, with an upright face, casual smile, this Mrs. Wang's appearance is not divided into outstanding, even if she is of average appearance, with a bodhisattva on her face, she is actually a greedy and jealous person behind her back. How come there are only two sons and daughters, and only when they are forty years old do they have sons and daughters.

"Second daughter-in-law, have you prepared all the gifts for the governments?" The old lady was also a powerful figure when she was young, a master housekeeper.

"If you meet the old lady, everything has been prepared."

"How many tables have been prepared for the banquet? Which cook did you hire?" The cooks in this mansion can handle ordinary banquets, but some famous chefs should be invited to cook the banquet of [-] tables.

"180 tables were prepared for the banquet, and the big kitchen in the mansion was too busy, so I invited the cook from Ning mansion to come over to help, and it was written that it was borrowed from a good friend. The kitchen cleaning work was sent to all the women and maids in the mansion to help. The day after tomorrow They are all high-ranking officials and nobles, so the entrance should be finely crafted." Mrs. Wang said with certainty.

"How much money have you prepared for the reward?" Mrs. Shi asked.

"I have exchanged 500 taels of copper coins, and 2000 taels of gold and silver coins that I have previously struck up. Now they have been packaged and will only be distributed on the right day." Thinking of spending so much money for the children of the big house Mrs. Wang feels distressed when it comes to getting married. Fortunately, it is her niece who entered the door here.

"Boss, do you think there is anything wrong with it?" The old lady turned her head and asked Jia Amnesty.

"If you go back to the old lady, the son will be fine." Jia She knew that the Wang family had been enriching their own pockets and had embezzled a lot, but it was a happy event for the son-in-law, so he endured it.

"Boss daughter-in-law, tell me?"

"Old lady, my daughter-in-law doesn't live up to expectations, and she hasn't left her illness for more than a month. At that time, I will trouble my second sibling to take care of it. The second sibling is housekeeper all the year round, and they are from a wealthy family. They must take care of everything properly, so that they won't lose the dignity of the mansion. One, now that Lian'er is getting married to celebrate, do you want to serve porridge outside the mansion, accumulate merit for Lian'er, and give birth to a precious son early? The servants in the mansion rewarded them, and released them after paying off the deed of sale, so as to benefit the descendants. If anyone can be recognized as a leader, that would be a respectable man in the mansion." Most of the servants in Rongguo Mansion are family-born, and they can't lose their tails, so they will bully the weak and fear the hard. Yes, it would be better to take the opportunity to release some.

"What you said is right, my second daughter-in-law, let the slaves go to the temple outside the city to serve porridge these few days, which slaves should be more vigilant, if something happens, the old woman will be the first to spare him, and wait for Lianer's marriage After that, let a group of slaves go out, which means that the slaves have served in the mansion for so many years, and they don’t need to take any ransom money.” The old lady also knew that she would not be in charge of the house for a while, the second daughter-in-law is greedy for money, the housekeeper He is not a good hand either, he looks shrewd, but in reality he is often fooled by the servants below, and he takes the opportunity to release a batch of them to save trouble.

"Old lady, the younger siblings are busy these days, so let the daughter-in-law do the porridge, and don't need money from the palace. I can still pay the money for the daughter-in-law. This is my mother's tribute to Lian'er." A lot of heart." The servants of the Rongguo Mansion can't believe it, if they are asked to serve porridge, they will probably use some moldy brown rice to fool them, and Xing Yue will not like to see people's lives.

Mrs. Wang was worrying about the extra affairs. Mrs. Xing's words were in line with her mind, so she didn't say anything, and waited for the old lady to make the decision: "If the eldest daughter-in-law has a heart, I will do as you say." The old lady thought for a while I agreed, the eldest daughter-in-law has no children, and she has to rely on Lian'er and his wife for a living when she gets old.

"Okay, you're all gone, old couple, you stay, I have something to say." The old lady left Jia She and his wife behind.

"Boss, boss daughter-in-law, you are going to marry your daughter-in-law soon, set an example for your son and daughter-in-law, boss, those yingyingyanyans in your room, I feel bad when I see them, they are noisy all day long , Every moment stops, you discipline and discipline well, and the eldest daughter-in-law, you also show the airs of a serious wife, some slaves think that serving the men for a few days will be lawless, kick their noses and faces, and sell them out if they make a fuss. You can't let your daughter-in-law come in and watch jokes." The old lady paid the most attention to face, and gave a lesson to the eldest couple who were not pleasing to the eye.

"The son (daughter-in-law) would like to follow the old lady's teaching." The two hurriedly got up and knelt down on the ground to apologize.

"Okay, this is also a day of rejoicing, boss, boss, everything about Lian'er's marriage is taken care of by the second daughter-in-law, Lian'er is your child, you can't just leave it alone, go to Xitang to marry Lian'er Turn around the house, and those servants in Yexing have lost face in the mansion by cheating." The old lady was very angry when she saw the two people who didn't care about everything, this Xing family really couldn't help Ah Dou.

Xing Yue followed Jia Amnesty silently out of Jia's mother's place. Facing this husband, Xing Yue was a little flustered and didn't know how to deal with it, so she followed behind with her head down.

"Master, since you are at the old lady's place, don't go back, how about going to see the second girl?" Xing Yue looked at Jia She's junior and said in a low voice.

Jia Amnesty's original anger dissipated almost half a month later, and after being scolded by the old lady just now, his anger came up again, and he planned to visit Rongxi Hall, but at this time Xing Yue opened his mouth and used the second girl as a cover to delay During the inspection schedule, Jia Amnesty's anger exploded. Suspicions were still in Jia's mother's courtyard. He suppressed his temper, turned around, and looked at Xing Yue fiercely with a sullen face, looking at Xing Yue's innocent face. , Qi's face was a little distorted.

That's all, for the sake of Lian'er's big wedding, he nodded in agreement, turned around and went to Yingchun's room, there was not a doorkeeper in Yingchun's room, the two of them entered the room, and there were only two young girls who were seven or eight years old. The girl was guarding, and the rest of the big maids and nurses were not there. A four or five-year-old girl crawled down from the bed in a daze, and one accidentally fell off the bed. The two maids rushed to rescue them. In a panic, As a result, the three fell into a ball.

Xing Yue joined Cui Liu and hurriedly pulled them up to check if Yingchun was injured. When the two maids saw the old lady coming, they knelt down and trembled in fright. Jia She's face was even darker than before.

"Master, you go to the outside room to rest first, I will tidy up girl Ying." "Madam, look." Just now Xing Yue asked the two little girls, Cui Liu was changing clothes for Yingchun, and saw that some pieces of Yingchun's waist were obviously pinched Xing Yue was immediately furious with bruises and bruises on his face. Who was this cruel to attack a five or six-year-old child?

"Why are there only two of you little girls serving, where are the nanny and the other girls?" After tidying up Yingchun, Mrs. Xing took her out of the inner room, greeted Jia Amnesty, and looked at the two little girls kneeling on the ground. the girl asked.

"Nurse Li went to her house, and the other elder sisters were seconded by the second wife to help elsewhere." The two little girls replied honestly.

"Girl Yingying's grandma has gone to her house, but what happened at home?" Xing Yue knew that Yingchun's grandma was out of tune. Seeing that Yingchun had no one to make decisions, slaves bullied the master, and stole property, she was not a Well, she must have done the pinch marks on Yingchun's waist.

The two little girls shook their heads in fright to express their ignorance.

"Then tell me, who dared to pinch the bruise on the waist of the second girl?" The two little girls were too frightened to speak.

"Don't talk, Cui Liu, go and tell the second wife what happened in the second girl's room, and sell all the wives and girls who serve the second girl." Xing Yue said without thinking.

"Thank you, Madam, the servants said that Nanny Li often beat and scolded the girl because she was the nanny of the girl, and often went home on weekdays. She didn't care about the girl, and even stole Miss Mo's monthly money, and the valuables of the girl were also stolen by Li Nanny. Mama pawned a lot out of it secretly." A little girl said boldly, and the other little girl was so worthless that she cried in fright.

"Girl Ying, is what they said true?" Xing Yue asked Yingchun, "Don't be afraid, your father made the decision for you today and sold out all those who bullied you."

Yingchun didn't speak, Xing Yue asked: "Does your nanny often beat and scold you?"

After a long time, Yingchun looked at Jia She, then at Yingchun, and nodded slowly.