[Red Mansions] The big maid struggles daily

May is an evil month, which is unfavorable for marriage.Even though Zhan Da wanted to hurry up and marry his daughter-in-law into the house earlier, to see if he would dare to eat and live in the camp without a home, he would not take the unlucky risk of being called an official in May The matchmaker came to the door.

Who knows that there are those who don't pay attention.Concubine Xiande sent eunuch Xia out on the last day of April, rewarding 120 taels of silver, and asked Rongguo Mansion to hold a three-day safe offering at Qingxu Temple from the first to the third day of the lunar new year.The Dragon Boat Festival ceremony was rewarded again, and there were different opinions in the Rongguo Mansion, all saying that the ceremony of the empress was incomprehensible.If it is said that the empress loves the younger brother she has personally raised, she can give back the most things she rewards.However, Miss Baosheng's ceremony includes a string of red musk beads that are the same as Master Bao's. Miss Yun does not have this string of beads, but she also has the same hibiscus mat that other sisters do not have.The servants all wondered whether the empress wanted to have both the beauty of the second master Bao?

There is also Daiyu's etiquette. Although there is nothing the same as Baoyu, the things are more expensive than his, only a little lighter than Jia Zheng, Mrs. Wang, and Aunt Xue.What's even more strange is that Miss Lin's teaching mother, the daughter of Mother Zhu, and the niece of Cheng Huang's businessman also won the award, and they are exactly the same as the three girls in the Rong Mansion. Although they only have fans and counting beads, it is amazing .

The gifts given by Concubine Jia were sent to Rongguo Mansion together, and Nanny Zhu took what was given to Zhu Xiu. Mother Jia was overjoyed, and ordered repeatedly to fetch Zhu Xiu into the mansion, but Nanny Zhu said a few words. blocked back.

When we went back to Luo Cuiwu, Grandma Zhu was still very annoyed, and said to Grandma Chen: "Since the eldest girl in this mansion became a concubine on the Dragon Boat Festival last year, the old lady has become more casual. I didn't even look at the ceremony."

Nanny Chen smirked, which clearly meant that the virtuous concubine was conferred on the poisonous day, and the Rong Mansion had no choice but to treat this evil month as an auspicious one, "Your mouth is getting more and more poisonous." As for me, besides, the girl's body and bones are getting healthier and healthier. The weather is so hot this year that even a bowl of soup is useless. You can stay at home for two days. It's okay to come back after Duanyang. I'm afraid I'm thinking about you. .”

I just said that last year the virtuous concubine was promoted to the Dragon Boat Festival, and on May [-]th this year, something new happened: the virtuous concubine Jia Yuanchun was promoted to the imperial concubine on the Dragon Boat Festival, the title remained unchanged, and the proper title should be the virtuous imperial concubine.Jia Zheng entered the court to thank the emperor, and Jia's mother and other family members also put on make-up to express their gratitude, but it happened that today and the queen were serving the emperor and the empress dowager for the Duanyang Festival, so they had no time to kowtow outside the palace gate.

Even Nanny Lai murmured to her daughter-in-law: "Why is it Dragon Boat Festival again? If it is a happy event for Jin Guifei, it is true. In addition to the queen empress, there are our empresses and Wu Guifei in the palace. It's just such a big event. Why don't you choose a good day?"

Lai everyone told her mother-in-law what she heard from Lai Da and Lai Shangrong: "Who says it's not true? It is said that auspicious days and auspicious days are the most important thing in royal affairs, even if the palace is repaired, it is a good day to be counted by the Qin Tianjian. Really. It’s really hard to understand.”

One time is considered a coincidence, but it's nothing to pick a poisonous moon and a poisonous day every time.This time, the entire Rongguo Mansion is not as triumphant and joyful as it was when the concubine was conferred last year. It is rare that Mother Jia did not invite relatives to hold a big feast, only Aunt Xue went to Mrs. Wang for a long time. stand up.

No matter how the two prefectures of Rongning and Ningxia watched and sang operas in Qingxu, and Jia Mu took Baochai and Xiangyun to watch operas, Luocuiwuli was always as calm as ever.

The Sanchun sisters lived in the mansion behind Mrs. Wang, and felt very dark, but they often came to read, paint, play the piano and write with Daiyu.Grandma Chen and Grandma Zhu set aside an hour every two days to teach some housekeepers and directors. The mistress of the house may not have to do everything personally, but she has to be ignorant of mundane affairs. It's no big deal that Poem Hop is alive.Daiyu Bingxue is smart, and now she is in charge of Luo Cuiwu's general affairs, she doesn't talk much about these mundane matters on weekdays, Luo Cuiwu has never had any problems, but the Sanchun sisters have benefited from each other, and each has their own understanding.

"This is Miss Lin's kindness. Miss Ying is older than you. The Rong Mansion only cares about these few girls, not to mention teaching them. They are probably deliberately discarded and raised. People who are good at chess are good at planning. Pity this girl." Ying girl, she knows everything in her heart, but she can only pretend to be stupid, if there is not a powerful Second Mistress Lian who takes care of her tricky nanny girl, then the girl will not know what kind of bullying she will be." That's what Grandma Zhu told Zhu Xiu when she came home.

He also searched the dowry embroidered by his daughter, who knew that he couldn't find the job, but turned out a pile of "plans", on which not only the small block letters of his own daughter, but also her uncle's dog-like comments.Only then did Grandma Zhu know that in less than two months, the nephew and uncle started the cosmetics business again, and Grandma Zhu was so angry that she carried an unembroidered wedding dress and ruthlessly treated the two incomprehensible The uncle and niece talked about it for a long time, and they didn't stop until they were both dizzy.

When she got up the next day, Mammy Zhu rummaged through the box and found a few five-drug purses embroidered by her daughters in the past. While hanging the four corners of the bed curtain, she complained: "The more you get into the eyes of the money, the more you get into the eyes of the money. None."

Chunliu Qiugui also shrank her neck, and her own girl took them two to make rouge cream, which was very interesting, but she forgot the rules of Duanyang.

Zhu Xiu didn't dare to catch her mother's eyes, so she honestly did whatever she asked her to do. She wore a five-poison hairpin inlaid with pearls on her head, a golden toad on her ear, and a colorless silk thread wrapped around her wrist. Even the clothes are embroidered with patterns of the five poisons, and there are gourds of various colors cut from colored paper, which are pasted upside down on the doors and windows, meaning to pour out poisonous gas.

All of a sudden, the girl came to invite Mammy Zhu: "Master said that I have something to discuss, please go over and discuss it."

After Mammy Zhu went out, Zhu Xiu asked: "Have we turned over the rouge to dry? Don't tell the sun to go in and dry it." While talking, he went to the wing room in the backyard to have a look.

The courtyard where Zhu Xiu lives is very spacious. Not only is there a row of south-facing main houses, but also two mansions on the east and west sides, and a wing room at the back of the main house. This small courtyard can be regarded as covering the entire four-entry mansion. Xiao Er in the house entered.

The front one is bright, the two are dark, and the two ears are dark. The east ear room is used as a bathroom and clean room, and the west ear room is a small warehouse for common makeup cages and suitcases.The bright room is the living room, and the second room next to the east side room is the bedroom, which is divided into the inside and the outside by the green gauze cabinet, Zhu Xiu lives in the green gauze cabinet; outside the green gauze cabinet is a couch, where Chunliu Qiugui sleeps at night , there is also a round table with embroidered stools, and a moon landing cover made into the style of a bogu shelf, with all kinds of ornaments on it in a patchwork order.The second room on the other side is used as an embroidery room for the study. There are not only large cases and bookshelves, but also an embroidery frame near the window. There are few other leisurely furnishings. It is more obvious that this place is spacious and bright. Zhu embroidery is not here to write at the desk these days To write and paint is to play with makeup in the back room.

The east-west width of the rear wing room is the same as that of the main room, but the depth and height of the room are smaller than those of the front room. The space is huge, and it is only divided into three rooms.Zhu Xiu simply regards this place as a workshop: one side is used as a raw material warehouse, the other side is used as a finished product warehouse, and a place for processing and purchasing in between.This place is only used for her own tinkering or teaching, and all the goods in the supply shop are shipped from the workshop outside the city. The workshop is on a small farm owned by Uncle Cheng. This farm was originally given to his sister and niece by Uncle Cheng. I bought it together when I bought Zhuangzi. The raw materials of Zhujiazhuangzi can be delivered to the workshop in only two quarters of an hour, which is very convenient.

In the front yard, Uncle Cheng showed Mammy Zhu the account book of the newly opened cosmetics shop, looked at the elder sister's face and said, "I know how expensive the shops in this city are, let alone the shops on Gulou Street. , but our makeup shop has only been open for a month, and there are these profits. I estimate that by the end of the year, the capital of the shop will be fully recovered. Embroidery is talented, and the flowers and plants in her farm are also very good. Her makeup is better than that of a master craftsman who has been in this industry for more than ten years. Since she has this ability, we should not confine her in the room, let her sit idle, and follow the rules. locked..."

Uncle Cheng knew that his elder sister wanted her niece to live a smooth life like a husband and a child, a life she couldn't live.It's just that Uncle Cheng felt that being stuck in the back house and only looking at the little world inside the Hanging Flower Gate every day could wipe out the aura of the niece.

Grandma Zhu pondered for a while, then Uncle Cheng took out another deed and a land deed and said, "The Miaofeng Mountain, a hundred miles west of the city, has undulating terrain and uneven terrain. Alright. I ordered someone to set up a Zhuangzi of [-] mu. This Zhuangzi used to be a flower farm, and the previous dynasty paid tribute to flowers, but the descendants didn’t know how to take care of them. No, it’s just that the owner sells it expensively, so I’ve been asked to buy it until now. Let’s give half of her own [-]% profit to my sister. My sister just keeps it for the child’s filial piety. I will take this The Huazhuang is for the children, she is very good at taking care of it, and in the future the future of the Zhuangzi can also be used as raw materials..." The second-floor shop at the entrance of Gulou West Street was used as a powder shop, which was originally used by Uncle Cheng to accompany his niece Only when their nephew and uncle made the deed, Zhu Xiu never wanted the deed.Uncle Cheng also knew that it was a long-term plan, this shop was better in the Cheng family than under the name of Xiuxiu, so Uncle Cheng took great pains to set up this flower farm.

Grandma Zhu understood what he meant when she looked at the flower farm. Although the Taoist temples of the Duofo Temple on Mount Miaofeng and the flower farms at the bottom of the peak are called Zhuangzi, they have actually built houses and can be used as other courtyards.Rich and noble families in the capital went to Miaofeng Mountain to pray to gods and worship Buddha, and often stayed in other courtyards for half a month. Her uncle was afraid that she would be arrested, so he tried to get her out of the ban.The Hua Zhuangzi in Miaofeng Mountain is only a little bit better than the Wenquan Zhuangzi. After spending so much effort, I'm afraid that I and the Zhan family have too much control.

The uncle was full of good intentions, even Zhu Mama couldn't help it, so he had to say: "Come on, come on! You are my own uncle, and I am not that stepmother. I don't want to stick to her. It's just that in the south there has been a practice of binding girls' feet. There is a custom, and there are even rich families who say that girls with non-small feet cannot be welcomed as the main wife, I am afraid..." Even in Duzhong, it was heard that Wu Guifei's younger sister had bound feet, and it was the Wu family who sent someone to find a good hand from Suzhou and Hangzhou. The bow shoes worn by his girls are less than three inches in size.

Nanny Zhu and Uncle Cheng both have some knowledge, so they naturally know that these little feet are not just a matter of a pair of golden lotuses for girls: in the last years of the previous dynasty, Emperor Shang was very fond of the three-inch golden lotus. Girls began to bind their feet, and those women who could not bind their feet for some reason were in an extremely difficult situation, and it was more common to demote wives with big feet into concubines and slaves.Mother Zhu was afraid that the old things would happen again, so she would rather ask her daughter to follow the rules than to be caught out of the way. Even if the Zhan family is good, she is afraid that the tide will not be able to hold back, and it will be a mistake for Xiu Xiu to do something at that time .

Hearing this, Uncle Cheng said angrily: "What small feet and big feet, those salt merchants made it up again! Eldest sister, don't worry, today's sage, this evil wind can't blow up!"

The old drama of the three-inch golden lotus was played out to make the emperor agree with them. This foot-binding is just the first move. It seems insignificant and the method is soft, but in fact it can't hide the sense of coercion.Once the emperor does not notice and acquiesces to this matter, the situation in the south of the Yangtze River will change.You must know that the high-ranking concubines in the palace all have big feet, and women with bound feet can get the so-called "three inch golden lotus".The salt merchants sent their daughters into the palace, which was like a signal of "reconciliation" with the Holy Master. Lin Ruhai and several important ministers were coming to an end in the past few years in Jiangnan, and the plight of the salt merchants suddenly collapsed from above.

At this time, Lin Ruhai was sitting in the case, with an unclear expression, and softly asked the old aunt who was kneeling on the ground: "What did you say?"

This old aunt is the daughter of Lin Ruhai's nanny. When Mrs. Lin was there, she personally promoted her to become an aunt, and she has some affection for Lin Ruhai.Because she is a few years older than Lin Ruhai, and also his nanny, everyone in the family calls her Old Aunt.After Jia Min's death, Daiyu went to Beijing, and no one was in charge of Lin Ruhai's back house, so Lin Ruhai brought the aunt back from the old house in Gusu, and took care of the inner house temporarily.The inner house of the Lin family was almost vacant, and the old aunt did not take care of many affairs, but it was just some etiquette for the family members of the subordinate salt merchants who couldn't get around it.

At this time, when men become officials, especially when they are sent out to serve as officials, most of them leave their wives to serve their parents at home, and they take their aunts and concubines with them. It's just a gift for the four seasons and eight festivals.It's really not polite for the old aunt of the Lin family to take care of some affairs.

The old aunt on the ground was wearing a brocade trousers and a sandalwood embroidered floor-length skirt, she looked younger than Lin Ruhai, she said tearfully, "Master also heard the saying that 'big feet don't come in', why don't you come in?" The eldest girl is planning, and she should make a decision early. I asked people to find out that there is a skilled nun who can fix bones and bind feet in Yangzhou. It can be neat, beautiful and small. Our eldest girl has lost her mother. If the master does not plan for her, who else will plan for her? Please send someone to invite this mother with a post, or send her to Beijing or Bring our girl back..."

Lin Ruhai looked at her deeply, and said, "Get up. Although Yu'er has lost her mother, you have thought of her carefully."

The old aunt wiped the corners of her eyes with a ropa, and smiled through her tears: "The big girl is born with a small frame, even though she is a little older, with the mother's skillful hands, she may be able to get a three-inch golden lotus. I am ready I bought a few pairs of extremely exquisite bow shoes, and the big girl will definitely look good in them!"

Lin Ruhai ordered his follower: "Go and invite that nanny."

The long follower looked at the sun outside, understood, and ordered two or three women who had gone out to invite the foot-binding mother with great fanfare.The old aunt didn't say where the nanny was staying, but the mother-in-law of the Lin family came to find her after asking a few words.

In Lin Ruhai's study room, the old aunt was overjoyed and said with a smile: "It should be so, it should be so! In the land of Yangzhou, which girl can have the style of a big girl, isn't it just relying on a pair of small feet, when we girls get entangled, they You're not even worthy of picking up a big girl's shoes!"

After all, she is an ignorant and stupid woman with a left-sided personality, and she reveals a bit of vulgarity in a few words.

Lin Ruhai let her flatter her in every possible way, just closed his eyes and rested his mind, but he never kicked her out of the study.The old aunt is very happy, the study has already been stepped on, and she has a kindness with the eldest girl, maybe the locked main room can be extravagant.

At that moment, the woman with bound feet invited her to the ear room of the side courtyard, and her long follower came in and whispered in Lin Ruhai's ear.

Lin Ruhai casually glanced at the red treasure and red gold jewelry on the old aunt's head, but said indifferently: "The material of this brocade is still unique, I sent someone to find some good ones for the eldest girl..."

The old aunt thought it was true: "Exactly, this nanny will also be sent there together and it will be over."

Before the words fell, Lin Ruhai said again: "Please try your hand, that woman first."

The old aunt just wanted to praise the master for being considerate of the eldest girl, so she asked Chang Sui to wave her hand, and a few strong nuns came in to support her, and then she went out. When she was about to shout, her mouth was already gagged.

That day, the woman who bound her feet tremblingly bound the feet of an old aunt who was half a hundred years old, and the pain of cracking bones made the old aunt shiver in the whole street.

The old aunt had a high fever in the middle of the night, and she went away with hatred before dawn.

Lin Ruhai sent the pleading paper to Governor Liangjiang's desk, suing the foot-binding mother for murdering people, enumerating the disadvantages of foot-binding.This foot-binding nun was originally arranged by someone with ulterior motives. Such an insignificant person has involved a series of wealthy businessmen.

The wind and rain in the south of the Yangtze River are more urgent, and even Duzhong has heard of it for a while.Quite a few people shook their heads and chanted Xin Jiaxuan's words: "The light yellow bow-shaped shoes are small, and the waist and limbs are afraid of being blown down by the wind."