Maid of a wealthy family

Chapter 28
Lan Horn also laughed, shook his head and said, "No! It's not like that. Listen to me, the moon and the sun are two brothers and sisters. The sun is a brother, and the moon is a sister. They always come and go together, very affectionate. One day, the older brother said to his younger sister, "Sister, let's compete to see who can run faster." The younger sister was a bit naughty, so she agreed after hearing what the sun said. So, the two siblings raced together. The elder brother was the eldest, Let the younger sister run first. In this way, the sun chased the moon. The moon was very smart, and deliberately wanted to play a joke on his brother. After running, he ran to Dongshan and hid. The sun didn't know, so he kept his head down and just chased. I chased after dark and arrived in the west. Seeing that I hadn’t caught up with my sister, I looked back and saw that my sister was still smiling at him in the eastern sky! The sun was angry, and I thought, if you want to be naughty, I will be ashamed You. Thinking about it, the sun jumped into the sea at the foot of the west mountain to take a bath. The younger sister saw that her brother was angry, so she realized that she should not play tricks on the sun, so she hurried after him. Seeing the moon chasing him, the sun got up and ran, Forgot to put on clothes. The moon chased to the west, and the sun rose from the east again. The moon looked up and saw that the sun was naked, and his face was flushed with shame. The sun didn't know that he was not wearing clothes, so he uttered a thousand words The golden light made the moon unable to open its eyes. The moon was ashamed and angry, and her face turned from red to white. Because she was afraid that her brother would shame her, she had no choice but to run to the sky and hide. At night, she came out embarrassingly... ..."

Before Chrysanthemum finished listening, she laughed happily.Her face also turned red, and her eyes shone with the lively and cheerful light of a girl.

When Lan Hongen saw it, he hurriedly asked, "What are you laughing at?"

Chrysanthemum stopped smiling, but the red glow on her face has not faded.She said in her heart: "Master knows so much, there seems to be nothing in the world that he doesn't know!" Thinking of this, she suddenly wanted to test Kaolan Hongen, so she said mischievously: "Master, you know so much! There are a few words, I wonder if you can write them well?"

Lan Hongen said: "What character can't the master write?"

Chrysanthemum said: "Master, don't exaggerate! This character is not easy to write. In the past, there was a master who had a lot of ink in his belly and could not write easily. One day, he made a bet with the long-term worker, and the long-term worker said: "Master, your handwriting Well, let's make a bet, if I say a few words, if you write them down, I won't take this year's living wages. If you can't write them down, you can double my wages." The master heard it , just say: 'OK!You say it. ’ Changgong just said a few words, but the master really hasn’t written them yet!
Lan Hongen said: "What are some words? If you tell me, I won't believe that I can't write them."

Chrysanthemum said: "Okay, master, listen." After finishing, he read a few jingles in dialect and dialect seriously:

"Bang Lun Pa La Da Tiao Gu,

Chattering and chattering into the house.

Kong Long Kong Long pounded into rice,
Gulikulu is cooked! "

After Lan Hongen listened, he tilted his head and thought for a while, then suddenly stared at Chrysanthemum and asked, "What? Bang Lun Pala? Which Lun?"

Chrysanthemum laughed "puchi" and said, "Master, you ask me? I'm going to test you!"

Lan Hongen blushed when he heard this.He stood up and walked in the pavilion, thinking about what Chrysanthemum said.After a long while, I said to Chrysanthemum in embarrassment: "Chrysanthemum, what are these words?" out."

Chrysanthemum clapped her hands and shouted: "How about it, pass the exam!"

Lan Horn said, "Yes, Chrysanthemum, I lost."

Chrysanthemum said again: "Okay, I will test you again! Do you know why cows eat grass?"

Lan Horn replied without hesitation: "Cows eat grass when they are hungry."

Chrysanthemum exclaimed excitedly again: "No, no! Listen to me telling you a story too. Very early on, there was no grass growing on the ground, only trees and crops, so the peasants at that time were easy to play. Very. One day, the grass fairy beside the Jade Emperor was playful and threw handfuls of grass seeds in the sky to the ground for fun. As a result, he threw all the grass seeds in the sky. Since then, the ground has grown There were a lot of weeds, and the farmers couldn't finish pulling them, and they were so tired that they shouted to the sky. One day, the Jade Emperor surveyed the sky, and heard the screams of the farmers. He stretched his neck and looked down, and saw the farmers on the ground pulling grass. , Everyone sweated a lot, and it was a shame. Emperor Yugui asked the fairy Guancao beside him: 'Why are there so many grasses growing on the ground?'”

Fairy Guancao said, "I thought it was fun, so I scattered the grass seeds on the ground."

When the Jade Emperor heard this, he was furious and said, "Who told you to scatter the grass seeds for fun? It made the farmers so hard! Then you go down to earth and help the farmers finish gnawing the grass and then go back to the sky! That's it, Fairy Guancao So it went down to earth and became a cow, grazing on the ground every day. But there was too much grass, and it couldn’t finish it, so it couldn’t go back to the sky.”

After hearing this, Lan Hongen deliberately looked very excited and said, "Oh, that's right! Chrysanthemum also knows a lot."

Chrysanthemum blushed and said embarrassedly: "Master, I'm talking nonsense." After speaking, she ran away.

Back in the room, Chrysanthemum felt extremely happy this morning.She stayed with the master for such a long time and talked to him so much.The master told her so many new things, and the master even praised her.She also passed the master's exam. Thinking about it, all this is really interesting.The master really deserves to be a person who has been to a university. He is knowledgeable in books and etiquette. Not only is he knowledgeable, but he also thinks highly of her as a servant, like a relative!She suddenly remembered what his wife had said to her not long ago, and she believed even more in her original judgment: Even if his wife had that kind of thought, the master would definitely not do that kind of thing!Look at the master in front of you. He is so knowledgeable, virtuous, and respectful of servants. How could he agree to do such a thing?Yes, my lord won't!Thinking of this, this inexperienced, kind, and simple peasant girl not only completely lifted her guard against Lan Mansion from the heart, but also faintly raised a feeling of saying no to Lan Mansion from the bottom of her heart. out of gratitude.Going downstairs to eat at noon, and in the garden in the afternoon and the next day, Chrysanthemum's heart was always filled with this kind of hazy gratitude.All of a sudden, she felt that her walking steps became lighter, her body became lighter, and even her tone of voice seemed to become cheerful and lively.Looking at the scenery in the garden, it seems to be much more beautiful than when I first came here.

However, how did the kind girl know that she had been unknowingly caught by an invisible net cast by Lanfu.

After lunch the next day, Chrysanthemum was looking forward to the early sunset of the sun above her head, so that she could go out to "walk the moon" with the old lady and wife. She remembered that night in previous years, when she was with her little sisters, How happy how happy.They all put on the best clothes, dressed up beautifully, and then invited three, five, ten or eight together to dance and sing on the grass under the moonlight.Last year, they came to Liujiangchang Street together, and saw incense cases, fruits on display, incense candles burning on both sides of the street, and people who looked at the moon and worshiped everywhere.On the street, like a fair, there are girls and daughter-in-laws who come to "step on the moon".One of them is prettier than the other.Of course, the most eye-catching ones are those well-dressed, elegant and virtuous ladies and wives and wives. They followed the crowded crowd, looked at the market and watched the "sky lantern release", and then invited them to the nunnery Burned incense.Until late at night, the streets were still crowded with singing and piano sounds intertwined.They were thinking about the farm work for the next day, so they had to leave reluctantly.Despite this, Chrysanthemum still feels that this is the freest and happiest day of her year.On a normal night, if she took a step away, she would be severely reprimanded by her father.But tonight, no matter how late you go back, your parents won't restrain you.Chrysanthemum thought, if all of them were like this, how interesting life would be!

This year's "Treading the Moon", although the little sisters are not around, but with the old lady and wife, Chrysanthemum thinks it will be more interesting.They are all people of status, knowledgeable about books and etiquette, and will not be as crazy as those little sisters.Moreover, Chrysanthemum feels that in this garden, she has become a closed bird.She is eager to go to the blue sky, soar to the top of her heart, and breathe fresh air.Therefore, she just felt that the time passed too slowly, as if the day was very long.

After finally looking forward to the sun sinking down on the top of the west mountain, Chrysanthemum's anticipation eased a little.She hurried upstairs and began to dress herself.

Now, she has learned to dress herself up.Not only did she get used to wearing tight satin clothes, but she also learned to apply a thin layer of makeup on her face and draw shallow eyebrows.Every time she dressed up like this and went downstairs, the old lady would put her arms around her and praise her, saying that she was the person in the painting, and the master couldn't help but look at her a few times, with surprise in his eyes. shine.Even the wife, although her tone is not as enthusiastic as the old lady's, she still has to echo the old lady's compliments.All these made her feel proud and proud.Habits have become natural, and she no longer explores the deep meaning and mysteries inside. She just feels that since the wife, wife, and master like her like this, she should be like this.Otherwise, I still seem to be wronged by others.

Chrysanthemum was sitting in front of the dressing table, her seductive face was immediately reflected in the crystal mirror.She looked at this youthful face, and naturally felt so happy and satisfied.Those two deep pool-like pupils smiled, as if there were infinite mysterious brilliance and words gushing out.The straight and small nose, the bright and crescent-like eyebrows, the charming lips, and the round shoulders hidden under the cheongsam, all of these look so cute.She smiled happily, opened the powder box and was about to apply rouge on her face, but suddenly saw a few hairs on her forehead that were very eye-catching.She looked at it for a while, put down the powder box, and stretched out her pointed fingers to twist the few hairs.She felt that the first half of the night could not be sloppy.In front of her eyes appeared the costumes of those famous ladies, noble ladies, and rich wives she saw on the street last year.Although she is not a noble lady, she is going out with the famous old lady and wife of the Lan Mansion with a radius of hundreds of miles. She cannot let the old lady and his wife lose face.More importantly, Chrysanthemum thinks of those little sisters in her hometown, who may come to Liujiangchang Street again tonight.She wants to surprise them and make them admire her beauty.Twisting her fine hairs brought her a faint pain, but like all women in the world, she loves beauty, and her psychology overwhelms the momentary physical unhappiness.After twisting her fine hair, she picked up the powder box again, first poured a thin layer of foundation powder on her face, kneaded it evenly with her hands, then picked up the rouge box, and lightly applied it from the center of her cheeks to the back of her ears. After applying a layer of rouge, a blush from shallow to deep appeared on the whole face, and she used her fingers to touch it up lightly, so that the rouge could be applied more evenly.The natural blush of the girl and the blush of rouge blend together, and it is difficult to distinguish which is the gift of nature and which is the result of artificial decoration.After applying the rouge, she picked up the eyebrow pencil again, and skillfully drew along the originally curved eyebrows, and the shadow of the eyebrows became deeper and thicker.After finishing all this, Chrysanthemum got up, put on a purple-red cheongsam, and hurried downstairs.

At this time, the sun had already set, and a round moon was suspended in the sky.The last rays of the sun made the moon pale.The garden is quiet, and everything seems to be falling asleep.

Chrysanthemum came out and saw that the old lady and his wife were not in the garden.Only the master was alone in the Tongming Pavilion, cutting a large watermelon into small petals, and then assembling them into the shape of a lotus flower.The watermelon was ripe, and in the hazy night, it seemed to be dripping with blood.Chrysanthemum walked over and was about to ask the old lady and wife, but Lan Hongen raised his head first, looked at Chrysanthemum in a daze, and was speechless for a moment in shock.Chrysanthemum saw that Lan Hongen's hands were covered with melon juice, as if soaked in blood.Lan Hongen looked at Chrysanthemum embarrassedly, smiled slightly, and asked, "Master, where is the old madam?"

Only then did Lan Hongen come back to his senses, and said with a smile, "Oh, Chrysanthemum, I'm sorry, the old lady and wife have already gone out..."

"What?" Chrysanthemum cried out without waiting for him to finish.

Lan Hongen's eyes still stayed on the chrysanthemum, and explained: "It's like this, Mrs. Xiao from the Xiao Mansion in Liujiangchang sent someone to pick up the old lady and the wife to enjoy the moon. The old lady wanted to take you there, but If you don’t think about it well, you will only go with your wife. The old lady said that she will take you out to play later.”

After hearing this, Chrysanthemum fell from the peak of hope.She sighed involuntarily and lowered her head.

Lan Hongen looked at it and said concernedly: "Chrysanthemum, what's the matter with you, what's the matter if you don't go to the moon? Come, help me tidy up, we will worship the moon at home."

After hearing this, Chrysanthemum was disheartened.The old lady and his wife left, Wang Ma lived next to the "Zhizu Pavilion", and there were only her and the master in the garden.The girl's instinctive defense and shyness flashed across her mind at this moment.She wanted to go away, but she was afraid that the master would scold her, so she stood in embarrassment, not knowing what to do.

When Lan Hongen saw it, he smiled again, took a round plate, and said kindly to Chrysanthemum: "Come on, Chrysanthemum, pick the watermelon petals into the plate."

Chrysanthemum wanted to say "no", but she didn't have the courage to say it.After hesitating for a while, he followed Lan Hongen's instructions and picked up watermelon slices from the plate.Then, according to Lan Hongen's previous arrangement, he arranged the melon petals in the shape of a lotus flower.

After picking, Lan Hongen looked at the chrysanthemum and praised: "Well, yes, the chrysanthemum is ingenious." Then, he put the melon plate on the altar beside him, picked up a towel from the table, handed it to the chrysanthemum and said: "Wipe your hands."

Chrysanthemum blushed, took the towel and wiped her hands, then returned the towel to Lan Hongen.Looking sideways at the altar table, besides the Douxiang that Lan Hongen had made yesterday, there was also a large moon cake with a diameter of more than a foot, which was also placed on a large plate. The image of a standing jade rabbit was printed on the surface of the cake. There is also a piece of moonlight paper with a round moon painted on it, and the patterns of palaces, osmanthus trees, and jade rabbits smashing medicine in the middle of the moon are vivid.

Seeing that there was nothing else to do, Chrysanthemum was about to turn around and leave, but at this moment Lan Hongen suddenly looked at Chrysanthemum and asked, "Chrysanthemum, you know why the offerings for the Mid-Autumn Festival are made in a circle?"

Chrysanthemum shook her head.

Lan Hongen said: "It means reunion!" After finishing speaking, he looked up at the sky, and hurriedly said to Chrysanthemum: "Chrysanthemum, look at the moon rising, how round and bright it is! Sit down, wait for me When the 'Douxiang' is lit, you can worship the moon and ask Chang'e to bless you!"

After hearing this, Chrysanthemum hurriedly looked up at the sky, and saw a bright and clean full moon hanging like a millstone on the top of the sweet-scented osmanthus tree in the garden.The moon is so big and round, looking down on the earth serenely, solemnly, and kindly.The whole garden is covered with its silvery brilliance.The area around Tongming Pavilion where they were located was also bright, and the lotus pond next to it reflected the brilliance of the moonlight, rippling silently there.

Chrysanthemum was immediately fascinated by the strange scene in front of her.In the past, she "stepped on the moon" with her little sister, just for fun, and never looked at the moon so carefully.Now, she is in this picturesque realm, and she just feels that the moonlight under her feet has become a group of auspicious clouds in the legend, which is holding her to fly to the sky.But the jade rabbit, which is clear and picturesque in the middle of the moon, seems to be smiling mischievously at her!

(End of this chapter)