Maid of a wealthy family

Chapter 5 Futon Kneeling (1)
Chu Jiamao and Lan Hongen also laughed.

At this moment, the old lady and Ning came back.Lan Hongen immediately called Ning Shi over to see the two schoolmates.As soon as Mrs. Ning went out after saluting, Cao Yuru smiled and said to Lan Hongen: "Brother Lan, I didn't expect Mrs. Zun to be so beautiful and gracious, no wonder Brother Lan would not let her eyes go, and she would stay calm in her arms!"

Chu Jiamao also made a joke: "Yes, I was dazzled just now."

After hearing this, Lan Hongen said with a smile: "How could the two gentlemen say it so beautifully? Mostly, when a man sees a woman, he is someone else's woman, isn't he?"

After hearing this, Cao Yuru and Chu Jiamao burst out laughing, but did not answer.

At this moment, Xi Juan suddenly picked up a copper teapot and walked over gracefully.When Cao Yuru and Chu Jiamao saw it, they immediately stopped laughing and scanned Xi Juan.

When Lan Hongen saw it, his eyes lit up, as if he had just discovered this maid in the mansion.But he still frowned, and said unhappily, "Who told you to come?"

Xi Juan blushed, but answered without a word: "I'll help Wang Ma to make tea for the master." Then, regardless of whether the master was happy or not, she lifted the copper pot and continued to serve Lan Hongen, Cao Yuru, and Chu Jiamao. Tea, and smiled at Lan Hongen again, with an obvious flattering and flattering expression in the smile, and then turned and walked out.

When Cao Yuru saw it, he hurriedly called Xi Juan to stop, and took out two rewards from his pocket and handed it over.Xi Juan took the money, saluted Cao Yuru again, and left.

Cao Yuru waited for Xijuan to go far away, then looked away and said, "Brother Lan, you are so beautiful here."

Lan Hongen waved his hands and said: "The servant girl is nothing to worry about!" After finishing speaking, he suddenly remembered the idle book he was reading just now, and said again: "My dear brother, what is going on with this scholar?"

After hearing the nonsensical words, the two officials asked back at the same time: "What's going on?"

Lan Hongen said: "I just read a casual article by Jushi Pu. It said that there was a scholar named Ning Caichen who often told people that he was not greedy for sex. This year, I went to Jinhua to catch the exam. There was no one else, so I lived in a deserted wild temple. At night, just about to fall asleep, a young woman came to the bed. This woman was extremely beautiful, and shyly said to Ning Caichen, "Good night, beautiful night, you Alone, I would like to spend tonight with you, for the sake of Xiuyan!' But Ning Caichen was unmoved when he heard this, and said seriously: "You leave quickly! People's words are awesome, I am a person who reads How can you disregard morality and shame?" The woman did not leave after hearing this, and said: "Wild temples in the wilderness, those who are ignorant at night, don't worry!" Ning Caichen continued to drive the woman away with a serious face. The woman was still hesitating Refusing to leave. Ning Caichen said: 'If you don't leave, I will scream!' The woman bowed her head and left..."

Speaking of this, Cao Yuru and Chu Jiamao suddenly laughed.Cao Yuru said, "Brother Lan, isn't this just about you?"

Chu Jiamao also said: "Only Brother Lan in the world can be such a tough man."

Lan Horn said: "Don't be kidding, listen to me."

Cao Yusheng was concerned about the ending, and said, "Yes, what happened afterwards?"

Lan Hongen said: "I thought Mr. Ning would not be tempted and would not be greedy for sex all his life. Who would have thought that he would marry that fox fairy woman as a concubine, and he and his eldest wife would each have a son, and both of them would become officials." '

Cao Yuru let out an "oh" and said, "So that's how it is."

Lan Horn said: "I said this person, especially a scholar, how can there be conflicts?"

Cao Yuru said: "Brother Lan is a firm-willed, honest and self-respecting person. You probably don't know it. This matter of eating and drinking men and women is a big desire. How many people in Dapeng's world can stand up to indecent assault?" Don’t look, don’t listen to injustice, don’t act inappropriate? How can scholars be an exception? It’s just that scholars value face more.”

After Lan Hongen heard this, he felt uneasy, and felt suddenly enlightened. He couldn't say anything for a while, so he fell silent.

At this time, Chu Jiamao suddenly remembered something, and shouted: "Hey, Brother Lan, the whole city is talking about your big incense candle, why are you making such a big incense candle?"

When Lan Hongen heard this, his complexion immediately darkened, and he unconsciously turned his head up and sighed.

Cao Yuru hurriedly asked, "Brother Lan, what else is on your mind that you won't tell us?"

After a long while, Lan Hongen said slowly: "The two brothers are newcomers, and they don't know the difficulties of brother Yu. Brother Yu has been married for many years and has no children under his knees. This is very anxious for my mother and Jianjing. Tomorrow night is Qixi Festival. Begging for a child in front of the empress. To show my sincerity, I specially ordered a large incense candle in the 'Fumantang'."

When Cao Yuru heard this, he also sighed, and said, "So that's the case, no wonder Brother Lan is depressed!"

Chu Jiamao also added compassionately: "Oh! This is the unfairness of God! How can a person like Brother Lan not have children? The people in the bamboo fence hut have a big litter all their lives, like a sow giving birth to piglets. .”

Lan Hongen looked up to the sky and sighed again, and said even more sadly: "It's God's will!"

Seeing this, Cao Yuru thought for a while and said, "Brother Lan, don't be sad! Having a son and a daughter is sometimes just like a person's success in his career, and there are also times when he is a late bloomer. Tomorrow night, people can beg for wealth, longevity, and children. Brother Yu came here for the first time, and wanted to have fun with the people, so he ordered to release river lanterns along the river to help people enjoy themselves. Brother Lan can wait for me in the mansion at midnight tomorrow night..."

Lan Hongen hurriedly interrupted Cao Yuru's words, and asked in puzzlement, "I don't know what you can teach me?"

Cao Yuru said: "Brother, you don't need to ask too much, you will know when the time comes."

After Lan Hongen heard this, he stopped asking.The three chatted for a while, Cao Yuru and Chu Jiamao got up to say goodbye.Lan Hongen stayed for a while, Cao Yuru and Chu Jiamao said that they were inconvenient to stay for a long time due to official duties.Lan Horn had no choice but to send them to the door and bid farewell.

After Lan Hongen returned to the "Ouhe Garden", he felt a little unhappy, as if he had lost something, and was a little disturbed.Thinking about it carefully, it turned out that it was because Cao Yuru invited him out of the mountain.To be honest, although he, Lan Hongen, kept plowing and studying the family heirlooms, he was not so noble as to be an official.It is also a matter of glory for the ancestors to think about the power in the officialdom, or to swagger through the market, or to show off in the Tao, making everyone's eyes hot.It's just that Lan Hongen is interested in that mere instruction?This Cao Yuru is too contemptuous of others!It was just out of sympathy that he couldn't explain it clearly.But Lan Hongen still felt an indescribable feeling in his heart because of his refusal.After a long time, I stepped back and thought that all the people in this world are for fame and fortune.Thinking that I am already a squire, my family is rich, and I have enjoyed all the glory and wealth in this world, so what is there to be dissatisfied with?If you refuse, you refuse, what's wrong with it?Wouldn't it be nice to be free and free like this.Thinking of this, Lan Hongen's heart suddenly brightened again, and he casually recited two lines of ancient poems:

"Ji Kang resigned as an official because he was lazy.

Zhang Han is not homesick for autumn. "

While reading, he shook his head and went into the house.

In the afternoon of the next day, according to the old lady's instructions, Lan Hongen ordered his servants to carry the three sticks of incense and two pairs of large candles to the statue of the empress in the main hall of the Guanyinping Empress Temple and set them up. Jiji's clay dolls were tied to the empress with red strings.Considering that there will be a lot of people burning incense and paper that night, the original small incense burner must not be enough. After setting up the big incense candle, Lan Hongen asked the big housekeeper to take people to the Wanshou Temple in Liujiangchang to enshrine the incense burner that was celebrated during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. The big tripod and incense burner made by Zhengjing were borrowed.The tripod is one foot high, and the furnace is eight feet high.The butler immediately took the servants to go.Unexpectedly, when he came to Wanshou Temple, the elder in charge was moved by the sincerity of the beggar in Lan Mansion, and he ordered eighteen monks, who were as strong as a cow, to take the ancient clock with a height of more than ten feet and a diameter of two feet in the temple. Dapan was carried to Guanyinping Niangniang Temple together.After a while, these four huge objects were lifted up amidst the sound of "darkness" from the crowd, which caused another burst of cheers from the onlookers.The bell was too heavy to be hung on the beam of the Niangniang Temple, so all the monks and the servants of the Lan Mansion worked together to hang it on a big banyan tree with whirling leaves and iron branches on the left side of the empty courtyard outside the hall. Then put the pan, tripod, and furnace in the appropriate positions.After everything was tidied up, Lan Hongen hurried back to the mansion to report to the old lady and Ning.

Returning to Ouheyin, I saw the old lady, Ning's family and Wang Ma were busy in the colored building of Tongming Pavilion.I saw a short table in the middle of the color building, and among the offering plates on the table, there was a big watermelon on display.On top of the watermelon, gold hairpins, silver hairpins, seven-hole needles, etc. for women are inserted.Now, the three women are carefully cross-connecting these golden hairpins and silver hairpins with seven-hole needles with five-color threads, and they are connected into a colorful strand in a short while.At this time, Ning brought a small plate from the side. There were only a few apples displayed on the small plate, and they were gently placed on the colored strands. Put a little face powder on the apple.After all this was arranged, the three women breathed a sigh of relief.When Lan Hongen looked at it, beads of sweat had already formed on the tip of Ning's nose, her face was flushed red, very delicate and charming.But while doing all that, there was still a melancholy and worried look in his eyes that didn't know whether it was a blessing or a curse.Seeing the seriousness and persistence of the woman, Lan Hongen sighed softly, hurried over to tell the old lady and Ning that the Niangniang Temple was ready, and told the elders of Wanshou Temple to borrow the bell, chime tripod, and furnace. Say it again.

After hearing this, the old lady immediately cheered up, took Ning's hand and was about to leave.

Ning looked at Lan Hongen, and then at the sky.The setting sun in the sky is setting, and the sunset glow is burning all over the sky, and it also makes the flowers in the lotus pond redder.Ning said with some reluctance: "Mother, it's still early! I want to make a fortune while the sun is still shining."

After hearing this, the old lady seemed to be unable to justify not letting Ning's family make a fortune - this Qixi Festival was originally called "Qiqiao Festival", "Women's Festival" and "Xiangqiao Fair".The daughters or wives of poor families in the countryside still have to put a sewing box in front of the Weaver Girl to beg for cleverness. What's more, a rich family like them used to recruit the female family members of the mansion to Tongming Pavilion every year to beg for cleverness from the Cowherd and Weaver Girl. Woolen cloth!The old lady thought for a while, and said: "Begging for children is a big deal, but begging for cleverness is a small thing, so let's make it simpler, just throw a small needle!"

After hearing this, Ning became happy, and quickly said: "Okay." After speaking, she immediately ordered Wang Ma to fetch water and needles.

After a while, Wang Ma came to the pavilion with a bowl of water and an embroidery needle.Ning immediately went over to pick up the water bowl and put it on the corridor where the setting sun was shining. The clear water in the bowl was reddened by the clouds.Then, Ning took a few steps back, and Wang Ma handed over the embroidery needle.Ning took the embroidery needle, lifted it up, and looked at the bowl with breathless breath.Here Lan Hongen, the old lady, and Wang Ma bent down, put their heads together, and looked at the water in the bowl expectantly.After a while, Ning suddenly threw the embroidery needle in her hand over.

The embroidery needle just fell into the bowl.

Ning hurried over and stared nervously at the bottom of the bowl.I saw a round of sunset at the bottom of the bowl shaking gently, spreading out slowly, like a lotus flower blooming, shaking continuously.The swaying water pattern is as thick as a plan at first, then as thin as a silk thread, and finally stops slowly. An embroidery needle lies on the bottom of the bowl, stirring up a round of sunset.The four of them were silent for a while, and Wang Ma called out first: "My wife is so lucky!"

The old lady also said: "My son is clever, God knows."

After hearing this, Ning's face was full of joy.Looking back at Lan Horn, Lan Horn was smiling kindly at her.Only then did Ning take the old lady's hand and left contentedly.

When I arrived at the Niangniang Temple, I saw women begging for children and holding clay dolls gathered on the steps in front of the temple and in the empty ground.Among these women, there are daughter-in-laws from rich families who ride in big sedan chairs and wear silk; there are also barefoot, disheveled women from poor and small families, and some are about to marry into their in-laws' families and come with good hopes big girl.The elders of Wanshou Temple not only lent the big bell, giant pan, high tripod and wide furnace, but also took the initiative to bring ritual instruments and musical instruments to cheer up. Often seeing Mrs. Lan and his wife coming, the elder monk pulled the bumper hanging from the branch of the banyan tree. The pole hit the big clock.There was only a loud bang, the long toll of the Hong Zhong, and the reverberation of the mountains and rivers, which lasted for a long time.Dao Shi bowed open the vermilion gate again, and welcomed Mrs. Lan and his wife into the temple fair.At this time, the sky was getting late, the night was dark, the haze on the Lanjia River was faint, and the distant mountains were full of mist.The old lady and Mrs. Ning stood outside the main hall with solemn and pious expressions.After a while, a aunt was holding a bamboo pole nearly two feet long, on which a torch soaked in tung oil was lit.The nun walked into the temple, held up a bamboo pole, and lit three sticks of incense one foot seven feet high and the same thickness as the girth of the rafters, and a pair of large candles as thick as a bucket.Immediately, I saw cigarette chains around the temple and candle flames soaring into the sky.The flames shone on the golden bodies of the empress and all the bodhisattvas, dazzling and dazzling.Not only that, the temple is built next to the river, with many rocks behind it, lush trees, sparkling river water in front of the temple, green purple bamboos and hibiscus lined up all around.When the big joss stick was lit, it not only illuminated the Bodhisattvas in the temple, but also illuminated half of the river and the sky above.

(End of this chapter)