[Red Mansions] The big maid struggles daily

Daiyu now has her father to rely on, and although she lives in her maternal grandfather's house, all the things she uses and consumes are provided by her own family, besides, there are often Nanny Chen and Nanny Zhu who explain and teach her, and the big girls are also gentle and considerate, Mei Shou Yuan is self-contained, and she is not uncomfortable.Therefore, I still cherish and pity the flowers, and have a delicate mind, but I have lost the melancholy thoughts of feeling sorry for the flowers and hurting myself, and feeling sorry for myself.

Emotionally open, coupled with the careful care of everyone, it is far from the melancholy and sickness in the book.It's just that no matter how much it helps, Daiyu is still as thin as a weak willow Fufeng, with beautiful flowers shining in the water, and her graceful demeanor is very incomparable.

Mother Zhu waited as long as she was in good health, she would be Amitabha.Seeing this, Zhu Xiu sighed even more, Sister Lin was born with such a charming appearance.

Daiyu was weak in the womb and had to be taken care of all the year round, so the doctor of the Lin family specially instructed her to persuade the girl to move around more often.When Zhu Xiu hit the owner of the crabapple fruit, she had planned to pull her to pick it together, and the reasons were ready-made: "One is because of your filial piety, Mr. Lin must be very fond of making it by yourself; second, we are not If the tree is to be bald, only those that grow into a nest will be picked according to the amount, and the girl will come by herself, wouldn't it be more desirable to take care of the tree?"

Xingyue, Taoyue, Guiyue, and Juyue also thought it was interesting, and they all came up to persuade them, but Daiyu had no choice but to agree.

Aunts Zhu and Chen looked interesting and didn't stop her. Instead, Aunt Chen said, "Ask them to open the warehouse. I remember there are still a few small bamboo baskets I bought earlier, so I'll give them to the girls. stop."

After a while, everyone shared an exquisite small flower basket on the lintel, a bamboo basket hanging on the waist that was only slightly larger than a wine gourd, and a small silver scissors with short blades.

Zhu Xiu tried the small scissors, it was light and delicate, and she was not afraid that these delicate girls would get tired of holding them and hurt themselves.

Xingyue and Juyue were busy hanging the small and delicate bamboo basket on Daiyu's waist first, these are also young girls, there is no one who doesn't like to play, everyone is chattering, very excited.Zhu Xiu is the only one here who is serious about the fruit.

Seeing the little silver scissors, Ju Yue asked with a smile, "We use this? Why don't we use the bamboo scissors from the greenhouse?"

There is a small garden in the backyard of Meishouyuan. Behind the small garden, there are five Qingsha. The Qingsha is next to the bamboo forest, which is very good for escaping the summer heat.Seeing that it was not needed for the time being, Nanny Chen sent out two rooms and moved some delicate flowers into it.Because of the high and low layout inside, it is very interesting. There are also sets of tables and stools dug out of tree roots. Not only Daiyu often reads there with books, but even the big girls like to do needlework there.

Mother Chen smiled and said: "Sure enough, she has never done rough work! The delicate flowers like orchids in the greenhouse can't withstand the ordinary gold primers, so they have to use the bamboo scissors, so that they can be preserved for a longer time. .The bamboo scissors are also cut and scraped from bamboo slices after all. How can they hinge the stem of the fruit? It takes only two strokes to chop the blade.”

While talking, everything has been tidied up.It's sunny outside, so you don't need to wear a hood, just put on a short cloak.

Looking closely at this crabapple tree, there is not just one, but several trees growing together, separated like petals, and I don't know if the bottom is born from the same old root.The branches under the crabapple tree are not tall at all, and the crabapple fruit, which looks like a small lantern, is shorter than a few girls when pressed down, which is just right for picking.

The girls each carried their own flower baskets, and Daiyu said: "You are not allowed to hang the baskets on the tree. After a while, the fruit will be filled and the branches will be crushed."

Mother Zhu had already asked someone to bring out a low table and put it under the tree. She said with a smile, "Put them all here. Everyone should look for their own basket. Whoever picks the least will be fined not to drink fruit wine."

They all said, "This is a good way." Only Daiyu laughed and said, "Do you still think it's not enough? I can't see this tree tomorrow."

Ju Yue covered her mouth and snickered: "The girl must not be able to drink fruit wine. I can rest assured that there is a girl."

Daiyu put her lintel basket on the table, thought for a while, then took off her purse with the pattern of crows, blue clouds and cranes from her waist, and hung it gently on the basket handle.Others saw that Xingyue and Juyue also took off their purses and hung them up, and Taoyue picked a silk flower from her temples and put it on the basket.Du Guiyue was mischievous, untied the palace sash tied around her waist, and wrapped it thinly on the handle, with the tassels hanging down, it was really pretty.

Zhu Xiu just laughed: "You all marked it, but it's cheaper for me. I only put this basket here like this, now you say it's inconspicuous... You can look at it later, why make a note, the one with the most must be mine .”

After all, each of them chose their favorite branches and began to pick them.

Grandma Zhu and Nanny Chen looked at him, and found that this person had a different temperament, even in picking fruit.

Daiyu is delicate and ingenious, although she picks slowly, the crabapple branches she has picked are the most beautiful, and the remaining small red fruits are dense and dense, hanging pretty on the branches.

Xingyue is stable, and the fruits left by the branches that have been picked are neat and tidy, like a soldier receiving a review; Taoyue is also steady, with quick hands and feet, she picks seriously, but she often recovers after picking a bunch of bald fruits. So on that branch, either one nest received light, or one nest did not move. At first glance, it seemed that there were tumors on the branch.

Juyue is brisk and patient, except for Daiyu, the branches she cut are beautiful.As for Guiyue, she has read books and has her own ingenuity. She thinks that the red fruits hanging from the branches are the most beautiful, so she leaves the fruits on the branches uncut, and cuts off the clusters that don’t look good...

When I looked at Zhu Xiu again, this girl hid the farthest, but her basket was already half full, she cut it... "This child is really here to pick the fruit, I'm afraid he forgot something else." Mother Chen suppressed a smile road.

Grandma Zhu also laughed: "It's a good thing she didn't press one place, or else she would be naked, what would be left?"

Of course Zhuxiu is not only in one place, she not only gathers around the tree, but also hooks down the taller branches, asks Xueyan and Jiuqiu to help her, so that she can pick...

When Amber came to find it, she saw a few beautiful girls walking gracefully among the branches and leaves clustered with red fruits, and she couldn't help blurting out: "What a picture of a 'fairy picking fruit'!"

Daiyu's forehead was already sweating slightly, Zhu Mama hurriedly said: "Enough is enough, enough of this, let's all go back and rest for a while. Xingyue, Taoyue, don't tell the girl to catch the wind, help the girl quickly Go in."

Hu Po sat down in the living room, still feeling unfulfilled, and said with a smile: "You guys are living so elegantly, picking every fruit is like a painting. I just saw it, and I thought that this is what Mrs. The scene of seven fairies picking flat peaches? It's really hard to take your eyes off."

Nanny Chen laughed from the outside and said, "Miss and Xingyue are fairy daughters, but Xiu girl is not, she is the Sun Dasheng who stole peaches!" After saying that, she went into the small hall, and the women in the back took out the fruit baskets. carry up.

Seeing that the baskets here were seven or eight points full or full, Xingyue said: "Did she pick these too? The embroidery girl is serious. When we were joking, she didn't have time to answer."

Before Grandma Chen could speak, another basket was brought up behind her. Half of the crabapple fruit in it had been piled up. Grandma Chen pouted, "We have to count this half of the basket."

There was a silence in the hall, and Fudu roared with laughter.

Zhu Xiu said: "I'll work hard to pick as many as possible." As she spoke, she asked Madam Zhu to rub her wrists, which made everyone laugh again.

After Amber ate tea, Zhu Xiu asked, "Why are you here? Did the old lady have something to say to the girl, or came to see me?"

Hu Poyin laughed and said, "I completely forgot about the business. It turned out that Ms. Shi Da came, and the old lady asked Ms. Lin to come over and talk."

Hearing this, Daiyu said, "Go." After that, she went into the inner room to change clothes.

Mother Chen asked: "Ms. Shi went home since the beginning of the year, and she hasn't seen her for more than half a year. Did the old lady think hard and send someone to pick her up?"

Hu Po shook her head and laughed: "Second Master Bao often calls to pick them up, but Shi Hou's family invites a female teacher to teach the girls, so Miss Yun always has time to come. For unknown reasons this time, Shi Hou's family sent Miss Yun here. "

After a while, Daiyu changed her clothes and came out holding Xingyue's hand.Zhu Xiu said: "I will go back with the girl first. Let people wash these crabapple fruits, drain the water, and dry them in the shade on the bamboo mat."

Daiyu ordered Guiyue to get a new palace sash, wrapped it around a small basket in the shape of lotus petals, and cut some fresh flowers from the greenhouse for decoration, which contained red crabapple fruits, which was really unique and interesting.

Ling Zijuan held it, and the group went to Rongqing hall.

When Daiyu came to Jiamu's place, she saw that Shi Xiangyun had lost some weight, but she still laughed and said that when she saw her, she hurriedly asked her friend to see her.

Daiyu showed the basket of crabapple fruit to Mother Jia herself, and said with a smile, "I don't dare to use the fresh fruit from that crabapple tree in the courtyard. Let the old lady smoke the house."

I was so happy that Mother Jia looked at it once, and asked Yuanyang to put it on the big table under the window of the Nuan Pavilion, where it was fragrant and beautiful.

Hu Po hurriedly said: "Miss Lin picked it herself." As she spoke, she vividly talked about the picture of the fairy picking fruit.

Just as Jia Baoyu was nearby, I could hear him stomping his wrists and feet, complaining that he was not allowed to go over.

This somewhat stole Shi Xiangyun's limelight.Zhu Xiu looked at her, but saw that she was not as she used to be. It turned out that she would say some acid words at this time, but now she just holds the tea, turns her face and smiles to talk to Xiren.

During this time, Xiren often came forward with Jia Baoyu, and when Zhu Xiu saw her, they would greet her and say a few polite words, as if nothing had happened before.I just heard from Hu Po that there are quite a few people in Jia Baoyu's room who don't accept her control. Qingwen has always been by her side, but that's not counted among them. Assaulted.

After a while, Sanchun also came, and Shi Xiangyun asked, "Why don't you see Sister Bao?"

Jia Mu laughed and said, "I just sent someone to invite her, but Mrs. Xue took her out early in the morning. See you tomorrow."

Seeing that Daiyu didn't pay much attention to her, Jia Baoyu felt a little gloomy. Taking advantage of people not paying attention, Jia Baoyu hurriedly said in a low voice, "Are you really angry again? Even if you are angry, don't bring it out in front of the old lady. You don't either." Wouldn't it be better to just sit here and chat and laugh with others for a while than to wonder?" After that, he pushed him up and sent him to sit down in front of Jia Mu.

In the evening, the servants came to ask about Shi Xiangyun's house.

Mother Jia pondered for a while and said, "Tell Yun girl to stay with her sister Lin for one night, and then clean up her room tomorrow and make another arrangement."

The Tai Sui that blocked the door of Meishouyuan is really abominable, sister Lin can't see it, and now she has to pay for another sister Yun, Jia Baoyu immediately refused, saying: "Good ancestor, I still move out and lie on the big bed outside the green yarn cabinet It's safe for Sister Yun to live in the Bisha closet as before. Sister Lin is weak and sick, so why bother her."

When Zhu Xiu heard this, she just sneered in her heart, is it good or not, I have never used your family to ask a doctor to extend the medicine, where did this frailty come from.

Mother Jia thought about it and said, "Forget it. It's just that you are not allowed to disturb your sister Yun at night, so you can sleep outside. If you disturb your sister in the middle of the night like when I was a child, I will tell you to beat you!"

Yuanyang waited for Jiamu to sleep, and went to Zhuxiu's room to talk, "Just now when I came out, I heard Cuilu crying with attackers outside. It turned out that Miss Yun couldn't come, she was detained to learn needlework. What kind of lady, actually Not a gentleman who teaches reading and writing, but a embroiderer..."

"What do you say? The old lady and the second master Bao often send people to deliver things to Miss Yun. How dare their stepwife neglect Miss Yun?"

Yuanyang sighed: "Not only Miss Yun herself, but also the two concubine daughters left by Mrs. Shi and the concubine daughters of Shihou, all learned together. The step-wife over there said that this needlework is for the girls. Duty, the old lady can't control others to raise her own girl."

Zhu Xiu thought about it, and said: "That's the reason, then why are you willing to send Miss Yun here this time? Do you want to stay for a few days, or stay here permanently?"

Speaking of this, Yuanyang had a look of disapproval: "I don't know what to think, I only sent two very old women here, and they couldn't speak clearly. Putting down Miss Yun, she fled and seemed to go back. The old lady I sent someone to ask at Shihou's mansion, only to find out that Master Shihou was on a foreign business trip, and the mansion was in a hurry, so the stepwife sent out all the girls with one stroke. Miss Yun sent us here, and the two daughters They were sent to their grandfather's house, and the rest of them were sent to another hospital along with their mother..."

Hearing this, Zhu Xiu knew that this stepwife was planning to follow her ex-wife, but... "If Master Shihou doesn't come back for a few years, can't these girls go home?"

Yuanyang sneered and said, "It's not that Master Shi has been reassigned as a high-ranking official from other provinces, he just returned in half a year. That step-wife made such a noise when she was born, and the old lady was so angry that she was still talking about it when she was going to sleep."

It is difficult for Zhu Xiu to answer this question. This stepwife still has nothing under her knees, so it is understandable to want a biological child, but this is a bit embarrassing.

-

In the main courtyard, Mrs. Wang also held a deep breath, and Zhou Rui's family servants stood aside, not daring to say a word: I don't know what the step-wife thought, but she believed what the Taoist woman said, saying it was a few girls If she was born, she would have no children; if these girls were at home, even if they were pregnant, they would only have daughters but not sons.

"If she doesn't give birth for a day, can't we raise her for her!"

The members of Zhou Rui's family hurriedly stepped forward to give her comfort, and said carefully: "I heard that the Taoist woman is very effective, and Shihou also wants to have a son, so..."

Co-authoring this foreign job is just a pretext, no wonder no matter how much I inquire, I don't know what kind of errand I ordered.Mrs. Wang beat her chest and said angrily: "It's hard to send this plague star away. Baoyu has only grown in the past six months, and she's here again!"

As soon as he said that, Jin Chuan'er came in and said, "The old lady still puts Miss Yun in the green gauze cupboard, and Second Master Bao sleeps on the bed outside."

Mrs. Wang was even more furious, and waved the cover seeds from Zhou Rui's family's hands, splashing Jin Chuan'er's skirt.

After a long while, Mrs. Wang said: "Where is Feng girl? There are so many empty houses in the mansion, where can't they be accommodated? How old is Baoyu, do you still want to squeeze in with your sisters?"

Zhou Rui's family was helpless, and replied in a low voice: "At the moment when my uncle and wife sent people to invite my wife, Xifu also came to invite my second mistress... When the Shi family sent people here, they were not here..." Jin Chuan'er also said: "When In the evening, before the house was cleared out, the old lady told me to move in first."

Mrs. Wang remembered what her natal sister-in-law said today, and suddenly asked, "Is my aunt not here today? I heard in a daze that I took Bao girl out?"

Zhou Rui's family hurriedly said: "I went out early in the morning. When my wife came back, my concubine and Miss Bao hadn't come back either. I just don't know if I will come back now."

Mrs. Wang pinched her brows and said, "Forget it, we'll talk about it tomorrow." Only then did Zhou Rui's family and Jin Chuaner heave a sigh of relief, and hurriedly helped Mrs. Wang wash and wash up, without mentioning it.

This Mrs. Wang fell asleep holding her stomach full of anger, and Aunt Xue over there was also very uncomfortable, and she hugged Xue Baochai again to wipe her tears from her sad eyes.

"The Ministry of Internal Affairs is too concerned about people ordering dishes now, what kind of errand did they ask our family to take!" Aunt Xue said with a yellow face and swollen eyes.

Every October, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will assign errands to various imperial merchant families.Some aristocratic families have been doing one job for many years, and this assignment is just a formality; some are unhappy, and they often change jobs.Errands change, one is not familiar with it, and the other is that no one wants to take it if they are not lucrative.

When Xue's father was there, Xue's family worked in spices and timber for many years, and the oil and water were extremely rich.In the past few years, the situation has been bad, and several of them have been snatched away by other families, but it's not like this year, and they even got an errand of "entering the palace flower"!

As soon as Aunt Xue thought about it, she felt sad and cried: "In these imperial merchant families, the one with the highest status is the one who receives the money in the palace treasury. When your father was still there, our family was also the first here! It's only been a few years since people go to tea, not to mention the internal money, and even the errands are getting worse and worse!"

Xue Baochai also felt very uncomfortable.In the past few years, every year, among the daughters of famous eunuchs and famous families, someone is selected as the princess and princess's school attendant, and it is a job of praise for talents.Aunt Xue saw that the matter of sending Xue Baochai into the palace had not yet been completed, and when she asked her brother Wang Ziteng and her sister, they all said to be waiting patiently, so Aunt Xue thought about it.

After the Double Ninth Festival, Xue Baochai often accompanied her mother to go out to visit, just to get rid of the old relationship, so that she could be selected to accompany the princess.Unexpectedly, after these days, what he heard was either excuses or perfunctory words, how could Xue Baochai not be discouraged.Especially today, the two of them waited for several hours before seeing the wife of that family. The young lady of her family still carried a gun with a stick while speaking, and Xue Baochai had to pretend that she couldn't hear it.

Aunt Xue dug out the box that Xue Pan brought back from the kang cabinet a few days ago, opened it, and found that it was just flowers from the pile of gauze.Aunt Xue burst into tears, and the more she looked at it, the more she became angry. She raised the box with both hands and threw it to the ground, cursing: "This son who doesn't live up to expectations! The foundation of our ancestors has been defeated by him!"

Xue Baochai didn't care about anyone else, so she looked at her hand and saw that it wasn't hurt, so she hurriedly persuaded her, "Mom, what are you doing? It's not my brother's fault... After all, our family doesn't have a strong backer. Uncle Guan Although my son is big, it has nothing to do with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Household Affairs, so I can't get involved in it. The same is true here at my aunt's house, but I don't know how the eldest sister is doing. If the eldest sister is in her early years, it will be better .”

Aunt Xue cried: "Since your father passed away, compradors, managers, and fellows from all provinces bullied your brother for being ignorant of the world, and they all abducted you. We lived with your aunt, so they didn't dare to make trouble. How many lives have been saved?" Days, such an errand has been assigned again! Those people don't take us seriously... My son, your brother can only mess around, I only rely on you, if you can be selected, with my son's talent, appearance and character, who Can you love... we got up again, but..."

After finishing speaking, she burst into tears again. That day, when Aunt Xue heard about the errand, her eyes turned black and she almost couldn't stand up.If it weren't for this faction, even if Aunt Xue and her natal sister-in-law were not on good terms, her elder brother was close after all, relying on her elder brother, she wouldn't be bumping around like headless chickens, and wanted to let Baochai choose her as soon as possible. Go up——Strictly speaking, this job is for next year. If Baochai can be selected and sent, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will let go of this girl's possible future in the future, or give it a replacement or assign another decent one. Errands.This is not without precedent, like the Zhen family, relying on the old lady of the Zhen family and Concubine Zhen, they now have Jiangning weaving in their hands.

Xue Baochai sighed, his uncle and aunt's house were always separated by one floor, and their leverage was limited. If they couldn't enter the palace, they could only find a high-ranking marriage for their brother and themselves, but this was also very rare.

Going down the kang and gently picked up all the silk flowers, Xue Baochai's heart was in a mess, just looking at the implicit disdainful attitude of the lady in the daytime, she knew that her status was very embarrassing, and she couldn't see it in her eyes.

Aunt Xue picked up a silk flower and said angrily, "Where would the nobles in the palace rarely wear such flowers?" The inlaid flowers, even if they are fresh patterns, how can they catch the eyes of the nobles.It's not eye-catching, where does the oil and water come from and make money?

Besides, the flowers in this yarn pile are different from Jinling velvet flowers.Jinling velvet flowers require experienced craftsmen, but this flower is not so complicated and exquisite, in the eyes of these nobles, it is even more useless.

Aunt Xue cried for a while, and suddenly said: "The eldest sister of your aunt's family is also very good-looking, besides, she is the young lady of the Duke's Mansion, and she didn't even splash a splash when she smashed into the palace. My son, let's just I'm afraid I'll find another way." Every time Aunt Xue asked about Yuan Chun, Mrs. Wang would be vague, and besides, her elder brother didn't have an accurate answer, so Aunt Xue had other thoughts in her mind.

Aunt Xue was shallow-minded, and she was used to discussing family matters with Baochai, so she whispered to each other at the moment.Xue Baochai's face was still flushed with tears, and she just lowered her head and fiddled with her clothes without speaking.

The ladies just rested indiscriminately in the middle of the night, and Xue Pan didn't return all night, so he didn't know where to go to have fun.