[Red Mansions] The big maid struggles daily

The imperial court has already dispatched troops, and has also dispatched [-] soldiers from the Fengtai camp that defended the capital. The Daqing court, from the princes to the common people, understands that this war is by no means a trivial matter. Obviously, the Holy One and the imperial court have revealed that It is necessary for the horse to step on Annan's momentum.However, the important event of the country and the dynasty is at the southernmost border. As the soldiers will leave Beijing, in addition to the camp in the suburbs of Beijing busy recruiting new recruits and training the soldiers, the capital is once again a scene of prosperity with singing and dancing.

"Father. Are you looking for me?" Zhu Xiu lightly blessed Zhan Da and smiled.

Ever since Zhandong left Beijing, Zhan Dazu could not rest on his pillow for half a month, but Qiu Guanshi asked his wife to tell him quietly, and Zhu Xiu sent someone to bring soothing incense, and at least he gradually recovered.

"Dongzi's daughter-in-law, the fleet of my uncle and master sent a letter from the south, saying that soldiers from all walks of life of the imperial court are meeting in Jiangling County. Take a look." As he spoke, he tapped a letter on the small table.

Aunt Gao behind Zhanda smiled gently, and hurriedly held the page of the letter to Zhu Xiu, Zhu Xiu hurriedly nodded her head, unfolded it and began to read it immediately.

After a while, Fang heaved a sigh of relief, and said with a smile: "This is a good thing. I read a few books by the uncle a while ago. Although there are no local books in Annan, there are Baiyue Fengtuji and county chronicles. I don't know, this Annan Near Baiyue, it is full of low mountains and jungles, and it is extremely hot and humid. The vegetation and beasts rot very quickly in that place, so it is most suitable for poisonous miasma. Although Annan is barbaric, it actually has few soldiers. The most difficult thing is actually It is the local landform, climate and poisonous insect miasma. The imperial court dispatched soldiers from all over the country, and those in Baiyue and southern Yunnan can get used to it, but our soldiers in the north can hardly adapt to the local water and soil. The letter said that the army will be repaired in Jiangling, and then go to Baiyue Yue, this means that none of the generals in the army have any radical desire to seek merit, and they also mobilized medical craftsmen and medicinal materials along the road. It can be seen that the imperial court is cautious and seeks to win safely..." In this case, the more you seek stability, the soldiers everywhere The more time you have to adapt to the local area, the greater the chance of survival.

In the battle with Annan, the soldiers who died on the battlefield can still be said to have died well, but it would be too wronged if they were folded in due to water and soil before the battle.However, from ancient times to the present, the number of soldiers who died due to the local terrain and climate was much more than those who died in battle.This time Daqing used troops, the coach and the generals under his command obviously knew the evil and were quite cautious.Knowing this, Zhu Xiu felt much more relieved, as long as the head coach didn't rush forward, and didn't take his life to open forests and fill mountains, Zhan Dong would be safer if he had those medicines on him.

Zhan Da laughed loudly: "Okay! Since the court is doing this, I'm afraid it will take a year and a half. Dongzi daughter-in-law, you don't have to worry about it too much, you can live your life as you want, and you are free. How long would you like to go back to your in-laws' house?" Just go back in the next day! In addition, there are 11 people in the family just following Dongzi’s son this time. Although there is help in their family and family, the mansion still needs to take care of them. It’s okay to stay for ten days and half a month.”

This is a serious matter, Zhu Xiu hastily agreed.

After returning to the main room, Chunliu said: "Grandma's little day this month has been delayed for a long time, why don't you tell others?"

After all, the wife died young, although there are two aunts in the old man's house, after the old man left, the old man and the daughter-in-law still had to avoid suspicion.Although every day Zhu Xiu asked the nanny and the youngest child in the house to go to the front yard to greet the master, but this month, including today, they only saw each other twice.Chunliu's intention was, of course, to take advantage of the time just now to report back the letter that she seemed to be pregnant, on the one hand to make the master happy, and on the other hand to avoid embarrassment.

Zhu Xiu touched her lower abdomen with her palm, she didn't expect this little guy to come so early.According to her original thought, it would be just two or three years later, but she didn't expect it to come at this moment.Fortunately, Uncle Muma took good care of her and took good care of her. Now that her frame has grown, she can endure hard work even if it is unavoidable.It's just that it would be difficult for those who had hoped to gain height all of a sudden.

"The days are still a little shallow, and the doctor is ambiguous when he says it. It's a big deal to make the family happy." Although Zhu Xiu said so, she was [-] to [-]% sure that she had guessed it, and she was silently calculating. He stopped, and said: "Just wait a few more days. If you haven't passed your menstruation next time, please ask the doctor."

Chunliu hurriedly agreed, and said with a smile: "I invited the doctor, and it happened that our wife was invited to accompany the girl for a while. It's like this in other houses. Besides, the girl's sister didn't go back to live in the moon."

Zhu Xiu shook her head, the situation in her house is different from other houses, if her mother-in-law is there, mother-in-law can come to accompany her for a while.But in the situation of Zhan's family, the plums in the melon fields were so exhausted that Mu Ma was talked about.

"You're confused again. What's your name?" Qiugui scolded Chunliu, and said with a smile, "Our uncle misses grandma too, and he appointed us to take us home for a while, otherwise we can't rest assured. I'm afraid the master here is also afraid of us. Grandma is young and ignorant, I wish our wife would take care of her."

Zhu Xiu listened to the bickering between the two maids in the spring, feeling drowsy in a leisurely way.

After lunch, I finally took a nap, and after waking up, I listened to the replies of the managers in the mansion.Because the team has been set up, although it is still in the running-in period, the rules and procedures are settled, and the board of directors will be much smoother and simpler.It's not a festival, every morning and afternoon are two quarters of an hour, enough for Zhuxiu to finish.

"Bring up my embroidery frame." Zhu Xiu turned over the account books of the past ten days, and saw that there were no mistakes or big pleats, so she ordered them to be put away, and ordered the embroidery frame to be brought up.

Chunliu Qiugui waved their hands quickly, "Grandma, let's rest for a while. You are now... not tired."

Zhu Xiu shook her head, where are you tired?

Just as he was about to speak, he only heard the reply from the second wife outside: "Grandma Xu's family sent someone to deliver the post."

Zhu Xiu hurriedly called to come in.

The one who came in was an acquaintance, Zhu Xiu had met Xu's sister-in-law before, and knew that this nanny was Xu's sister-in-law, so she hurriedly gave up her seat.

The grandma gave way again and again, sat down on the twig, and said with a smile, "Our grandma will hold a peony flower party next month, so I'm here to invite Grandma Zhan."

Zhu Xiuyin said with a smile: "I heard that my sister-in-law raises good flowers, and there is a peony garden at home. Even if my sister-in-law doesn't invite me, I have to lick my face to see it." gone?"

"Originally, it was planned to be on the sixth day, but the fourth day is the holy day of Manjusri Bodhisattva, and the eighth day is the Buddha Bathing Festival. In the past few days, many acquainted wives and grandmas will go out to worship Buddha. Our grandma thought about it and decided on it. The second day of junior high school."

"On the second day of the new year? This is the first peony appreciation this year. I begged my sister-in-law's Qiaoer, and I'm full of eyes. Mommy came here in person, but what's the point here, or does sister-in-law have something to ask?"

The nanny smiled and said, "No wonder Grandma always praises Grandma Zhan for being the most clever at home, but I want to tell you for some reason."

"This flower party and tea party are common in every family, and the people invited are probably the grandmas of the men's colleagues and friends from outside. Our grandma is going to use you to make a good face. I haven't seen a character like the grandma for several years. Such a handsome man."

Zhu Xiu knew in her heart that Xu's sister-in-law had intentions, and she brought herself into the circle of the military officer's family at Zhan Dong's level.

I heard the nanny say again: "Hurry up tomorrow, grandma is familiar with it, so we have to hold several gatherings like this. Therefore, what our grandma means is, please go there earlier, you are so smart, I am afraid that you will not be able to get along with me if you are so smart." When you get back, you’ll know how to deal with it.”

"My sister-in-law thinks about me in everything, but I feel ashamed."

Chun Liuzao personally brought the good tea and said with a smile, "Mom moistens the mouth."

Mammy felt that she had a lot of face, and her smile became brighter.

Zhu Xiu thought about the banquets in the Rongguo Mansion in the past. They were all family banquets, and outsiders were rarely invited. She didn't understand the rules, so she asked: "I know my sister-in-law must have thought about it for me, but I just want to ask a question about it." Madam, for such a gathering, what is the point of view on the presents brought by the grandmas attending the meeting?"

The nanny said in her heart that the young lady married by the Zhan family is really smart, so there is no need to waste words here, she thought of it by herself.Yin laughed and said: "That's exactly what I said. Because they are all familiar with each other, there is no need to make expensive gifts. Grandmas, if it is a flower festival, pick two pots of flowers from the garden at home and take them away. Everyone It’s fine if you share the same reward; if it’s a tea party, you can pick up a few fresh tea fruits, or snacks on the side. If you are very close to the host’s family, several families discuss inviting a troupe of opera or storytellers. First of all, there is room for everyone to have fun, you just need to make an agreement with the host first..."

After chatting for a while, Zhu Xiu had a new job to do. Seeing that the flower fair was less than five or six days away, the clothes, hairpins, and makeup needed to be considered when going out.She has never participated in such a small meeting, so naturally she doesn't know how other people dress up. For the first time, she should be more solemn and conspicuous, but she can't overwhelm the host's limelight.

Mother Qiu and a few maids rummaged through boxes and cabinets, arranging clothes all over the bed and couch, and they became more and more dazzled.

After all, Mama Qiu had a lot of experience, so she picked out a brocade gown inlaid with flowers and begonia red, and said with a smile: "This one is good, wear an autumn-colored horse-face skirt under it, the color grandma can hold back, and it's bright and beautiful , it’s not the big red and big black, but it’s very suitable.”

Chunliu thought about it, and quickly found a seven-panel gold embroidered phoenix and peony autumn-colored horse-face skirt from the box, and said with a smile, "How about this one?"

Mother Qiu looked it over and said with a smile: "Okay! The gown is bright in color, with less lace decorations, and the lower skirt is more solemn and delicate. It's just right, not bad."

Zhu Xiu let them toss about, thought for a while, and said to Qiu's mother: "I heard what the master said during the day. This time, 11 members of the family will go south with the army. I have the list here, but each family is specific. How about it, I still need to inquire about it. If anyone in the family knows, you might as well ask them to tell you, no matter tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, you can tell me."

Qiu's mother hurriedly responded.

At night, when they were resting, Zhu Xiu quietly said to Chunliu: "I'm going to be a guest on the second day of junior high school, but I checked my pulse first. The first day of junior high school is too urgent, so please go on the [-]th day." Also give the mansion a stable time, Another point is that although it is for viewing flowers, it is inevitable that someone will persuade you to drink at the banquet. After the pulse is diagnosed, I can shirk it.

But for a few days, Zhan Da only felt that his old heart was like riding a crazy horse with a kick. Sometimes he was worried and sleepless, and sometimes he was overjoyed.

With eyes as wide as copper bells, Zhan Da looked straight at Qiu Guanshi: "What did you say? Say it again!"

Qiu Guanshi smiled all over his face, and bowed again and again: "Congratulations, master, you are of this age, but you are going to be promoted!" When he was awarded a gift from the court before, it stands to reason that his master should be called the old man. The uncle and grandma who are the masters should be the master and wife, especially the grandma, who has become Mrs. Zhan, and outsiders should call her Mrs. Zhan.Master Pian didn't want to, and while coveting the grandchildren of his brother's family, he didn't want to change his name, and only said that he would do it when he became a serious grandfather.

Zhan Da was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth, and ordered repeatedly: "Set off firecrackers, go, set off firecrackers!"

Hey, Grandpa still doesn't know where he is desperately killing the enemy, and what kind of firecrackers are being set off. Qiu Guanshi can only persuade him with a smile: "Although the doctor said that Grandma is strong and strong, but the days are still young, so it is not easy to alarm. That's right. Besides, we are the first to know that grandma is filial, sir, do you think we have to send someone to announce the good news to the wife and uncle?"

"Yes, yes, yes, yes!" Zhan Da was overjoyed: he knew that his boy's future was uncertain, and he married the girl. This girl has a good heart and is capable, and she takes care of the house properly; now she is so upbeat , I got pregnant just after entering the door, I really received the great kindness of my in-laws. "Prepare the car and prepare the gift, I will personally congratulate my in-laws!"

"Reward, everyone in the family will reward you with one month's money! Those who wait around your grandma will reward you for three months!"

The people standing below were all busy congratulating and thanking for the reward, Qiu Guanshi hurriedly took out the pair of cards and asked the accountant to go to Zhanda's private treasury to offer the reward.

Needless to say, Nanny Zhu and Uncle Cheng were pleasantly surprised, but in the blink of an eye, it was the day of Xu's Flower Festival.

According to the wishes of the elders, 1 people don't want Zhu Xiu to go out at this time. The circle of wives and grandmas is very complicated, and they can't refuse due to emotion and reason.

Grandma Zhu paid a lot of money to hire a well-known admission grandma, and she stayed by Zhu Xiu's side for the whole year, so she reluctantly let go.Uncle Cheng fell in love with him all night, and the next day he went to Zhan's house in person, and he and Zhan Da did not know what they had said. Anyway, it was agreed that Zhu Xiu would go out and come back on the second day of the first day, and that she would return to her mother's house to be taken care of by Nanny Zhu from the third day onwards until the baby was full. After three months, sit still and talk about something else.

Zhu Xiu heard the girl chattering in her ear, and knew that it was the elders who loved her, so she was heartbroken and had a headache.Thinking of how Mu Ma looked like she was facing a big enemy, she knew that the first few months would be difficult.I couldn't help touching my flat belly, and sighed secretly that my life was like a dream. I have experienced all the things I never thought about in my previous life. Little guy, why is it so unreal.

"You look pretty tight today, but your face is a little paler. You are still a newlywed, and you don't paint your nails or rouge. You look more and more like your sister-in-law and an old goblin." Sister-in-law Xu said Holding Zhu Xiu's hand, looking at it for a while, he smiled.

"However, your face is like a peach blossom. You don't need to apply rouge. It's just that your lips are light. I still have the lip balm you gave me. My sister-in-law will make up for you?"

Qiugui was behind, and said with a giggle: "Don't blame the eldest grandma, it turned out that our grandma has a body, and the nanny won't let her paint on her face."

Xu's sister-in-law said pleasantly: "As expected, ouch, why didn't you tell us?"

Zhu Xiu smiled and said, "The month is still light."

Miss Xu hurriedly moved to the inner room, "Forget it, you can rest, I will tell you when someone arrives later. Don't be afraid, I am here today."

Zhu Xiu couldn't help blushing, and said with a smile: "Why are you so delicate, didn't my sister-in-law say she would teach me first?"

Mrs. Xu just didn't agree, and said: "When can't you learn, besides, you are smart, and I can learn it if I tell you. You are obedient. Chunliuqiugui, help your grandma to rest for a while."

After leaving the small hall, Lady Xu let out a sigh of relief, and hurriedly said, "Send a proper person to tell the uncle that Brother Zhan has a descendant."

This flower show, because of Mrs. Xu, Zhu Xiu was very relaxed.Because Zhandong got married late, the small group of grandmothers who are close to the Xu family and the Zhan family are a few years older than Zhu Xiu. Hearing that Xu's sister-in-law kept the wine for her, and knowing the reason, they all taught their own The experience of raising fetuses and children has risen.

They were very friendly and chatting, and Zhu Xiu actually integrated into the family members quite smoothly.

Xu's sister-in-law was secretly relieved, she was holding half a heart, not for other reasons, but because Zhu Xiu could write and read, and she looked better.The acquaintances of the family members, because they are all low-rank military officers, and many of them are from small family backgrounds, they are not vulgar at best, as for knowledgeable and reasonable, they are not related; moreover, they are straightforward and will not beat around the bush Well, with Zhu Xiu's appearance and red make-up, it must be out of character.Mrs. Xu is a girl from Ju family. She was newly married back then, and it took a lot of effort to integrate into these people.Back then, at the beginning, people said she couldn't get in the conversation, and she said people were confused, and she was extremely embarrassed. Fortunately, she was led by her mother-in-law, so she barely blended in.Xu's sister-in-law has shown the patience of her mother-in-law to guide her. Who knows that the Zhan family siblings are so smart, and they don't seem obtrusive for the first time.

After chatting for a while, Mrs. Xu invited everyone to go to the garden pavilion to enjoy the flowers.

Several generations of military officers from the Xu family now live in a five-entry mansion. Because it is not located in the busy street, it occupies a large area. The garden imitates the style of Jiangnan, with pavilions, pavilions, corridors and sills.

A sister-in-law said with a smile: "This was built by craftsmen from the south to welcome our sister-in-law Xu. I heard from my mother-in-law that because the last two generations of the Xu family had no daughters, the garden built by their fathers was bare. They are all school envoys. At that time, the Xu family entertained guests, but there were never such flower parties and tea parties, and there was no scene to see. I can only invite two small operas every now and then, so go ahead and listen to it.”

Everyone who was talking about it laughed, and when they arrived at an octagonal pavilion with a winding corridor, there were a few more richly dressed women facing them. The sister-in-law who had been joking earlier introduced the identities of the people opposite to Zhu Xiu in a low voice.

Zhu Xiu Yingying stood there, only responding with a smile.

The two phases said a few words of warmth and coldness, and sat down in the pavilion in twos and threes. Zhu Xiu was looking at a double-petalled Zhao powder under the pavilion, and suddenly heard a woman say: "The one in red is the newly married wife of the Zhan family? Little daughter-in-law, Come and ask your sister-in-law to take a look."

Zhu Xiu raised her eyebrows lightly, and turned her face, she was one of the few people she saw just now. The woman was also wearing a red dress, a magenta thong that was deeper than peach pink, bright enough, but this The woman's appearance is ordinary, she can't hold back her lust, she looks like a foil.

"you are?"

"Hey, this one is the third grandma of the sixth room of Deng's family. You don't know him. I said Deng San, count the number of people here who don't belong to your sister-in-law. Why don't you stand up and tell us to take a look. ?”

"Hey, from Deng San's family, why are you here today? Sister-in-law Xu even invited you? I didn't make enough trouble at Yao's last time, so I have to mess up the Xu family's flower festival as well?"

"That's right! Don't bully our Dongzi's daughter-in-law who is young. Your Deng San, you have to call Dongzi "brother" when you see Dongzi, so I am ashamed to take it here!" Just as she was talking, Mrs. Xu came in and looked at Grandma Deng San with a smile that was not a smile. .

That Grandma Deng San lowered her head unhappily, and remained silent.

Zhu Xiu looked at them coldly, these women who were all dressed to show off their wealth might not be very popular, the others hugged each other and talked on the sidelines.Only Grandma Deng San, who somehow offended her, used herself as a raft.

Sister-in-law Xu pulled Zhu Xiu up and placed her among the few sisters-in-laws she had known just now. She was busy ordering the girl to serve fruit and good tea before leaving in a hurry.

"There are a lot of people here today, besides us juniors, there are also some wives from the previous generation. Has sister-in-law Xu brought you to meet?" asked the rather witty sister-in-law.

Zhu Xiu nodded, sister-in-law Xu went to greet the elders in person, she specially brought Zhu Xiu with her, she had seen them all.

"That's right. Who told our father not to live up to his expectations and not be able to get into the door of Mr. Zhan. Those who can get in are all very successful, and they are both commanders and bosses. No wonder Xu's sister-in-law has to curry favor. It's a pity. ..." Seeing that Zhu Xiu didn't make a sound just now, Third Grandma Deng thought that she was a soft guy to handle, so she spoke in a weird way.

Zhu Xiu raised her long eyebrows, and without waiting for her to say what she regretted, she said directly: "Grandma Deng, please be careful. Just now I visited Aunt Deng with Sister-in-law Xu, if you said something that I don't like to hear I have to make a complaint. I’m a newcomer, so I’m not sensible, and Auntie Deng just asked my sisters-in-law to let me go.” The complaint was justified.

The smooth-talking Mrs. Lu next to Zhu Xiu seemed to know Zhu Xiu just now. She took a closer look and laughed and said, "Sure enough, it's our temper. You should call those barking and biting dogs, I know it's great!"

Zhu Xiu thought to herself, isn't it a dog, a dog can't spit out ivory, so she knew that she wanted to curse Zhan Dong.

Mrs. Lu is worthy of being a Lu, she pointed at Third Grandma Deng's nose and said, "You came here only because of the honor of Deng's big house, don't give up your face! Besides, you have such a talkative talk!" Kung fu, it’s better to take care of Deng San, who is not happy here, but you! If you talk too much nonsense, don’t be afraid of ostomy! No matter how new it is, the brothers and sisters of the Zhan family are now pregnant. Just leave it to yourself. Let me hear those lies again, and beat you up!"

The annoyed Grandma Deng's face was ashen, Mrs. Lu sat down and said to Zhu Xiu: "Don't pay attention to her! We all know that Mr. Deng Ji and your brother Zhan are good. Now Mr. Deng has been promoted to the chief executive of Fengtai Daying. I heard that he said it again. She is jealous of a high-ranking marriage. You don't know, Mrs. Deng who came here today is the eldest wife of the family. She has been childless for many years. Who knew that Mrs. Deng was pregnant, and she was born as Deng Ji. The sixth room was Deng San, and their sixth room was also interesting. They all thought it was Deng Ji who took Deng San's position. From now on, whenever Deng Ji's boy is promising, he will gossip non-stop. But now that it has grown up, it is like mud. Deng Ji's boy has recognized his two brothers, and he is more capable. Let them see it. I hate it even more. Especially this member of Deng San's family, who is like sticking to the big house, because of her messing up and ruining her reputation, Deng Ji has not yet married a wife..."

Zhu Xiu also knew about Deng Ji, not only did he know, but also saw him. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "Which one are you talking about? Our master has gone out, and I am getting more and more confused about this news."

Sister-in-law Lu thought for a while, then smiled and said: "Which is a concubine from a noble family. I heard that she is not very proud at home, but she is kind and gentle. Mrs. Deng is very satisfied. Because her family doesn't value her very much, the Deng family It's not ostentatious, as long as An Ansheng brings his daughter-in-law in, everything will be fine."

"Hey, yes, it seems that the surname is Jia, maybe it's a side branch of the duke's mansion."

"Surname Jia?" The concubine, unhappy, kind-hearted, the more Zhu Xiu thought about it, the more she felt like the girl she knew, who was from a high school, and was also a Duke's mansion, and there was nothing else except Ning Rong's second mansion, and besides, in the side branch, Zhu Xiu had never heard of a concubine of the right age.