Evening Shaohua in the Red House

Li Wan was taken aback when he heard the words, and recalled the genealogy of the aristocratic families in the capital in his mind. Although the Jiang family of Shoushan Bofu was not among the four kings and eight princes, it was one of the best families in the capital.

The Jiang family has a simple population, with only two houses in total. The eldest house has only one son and one daughter, but the second house has two sons. The third wife is the second wife of the second house.

Different from the Jia family, the men of the Shoushanbo Mansion all served in the court. The eldest son of the eldest house was the servant of the household department, and the eldest daughter married the seventh prince as a concubine in April this year. It's real power.

In my memory, the Shoushan uncle's family is not close to Jia's family, but it's just superficial friendship. The two families don't have much contact with each other except for some necessary entertainment. Why did they suddenly send someone to pay their respects today?

Li Wan couldn't figure it out for a while, so he had to put it aside for the time being and order someone to invite someone in in the future.

Not long after, Xia Zhu brought in two women, about forty years old, very well dressed.

The two women invited Ann, Li Wan hurriedly called out, and ordered someone to bring a stool, and Dan Ju brought up two bowls of tea.

After the two thanked each other, they sat down obliquely, took a sip of tea, Fang smiled and said: "Our grandma brought the eldest girl to offer incense today. You may as well hear that my cousin and grandma are also doing good deeds here. The relatives haven't seen each other for many years, and they originally said that they would go to the temple in person. Come to say hello, but it's getting late, so I don't want to disturb you rashly, so I will send the servants to say hello, and send some fresh fruit snacks to my cousin."

The more Li Wan listened, the more confused he became. Hearing the tone of the other party, he was actually a relative of the original owner. After a quick recall in his mind, he finally remembered something. The original owner had heard his mother say that there was a cousin in her natal family. Although the other party was five or six years older than Li's mother , but they grew up together since they were young, and they got along very well in the boudoir. It was only later that they each left the court, the other married to Shandong, and Li's mother also married to Jinling.

She remembered that Li's mother mentioned that the cousin married a local scholar and official in Shandong. It is said that she is a descendant of Confucius disciple Yan Hui. .

Thinking of this, Li Wan understood in his heart, since the other party claimed to be his cousin, then the third grandma in Shoushanbo's mansion was probably the daughter of the aunt who married far away, although she had no memory of this cousin at all. He didn't show anything on his face, and said with a smile: "The relatives have not moved around for many years, and they are getting more and more distant. I rarely go out these few years.

In the capital. "

She remembered that Yan's family had been married into Shoushanbo's mansion for many years, so she should be much older than her.

The two hurriedly laughed and said: "It's no wonder my aunt, it's just a coincidence that our grandma was sent to southern Fujian with the third master in the past seven or eight years, and only returned to the capital in March.

In April, the eldest daughter of our family left the cabinet, and then our old lady was not feeling well, and the house was busy one after another, and I really had no time to go, and I never walked around with relatives. Today, our grandma also came to the Muni courtyard to pray for the old lady. Said that my cousin and grandma are also here. "

Li Wan said with a smile: "It's also a coincidence that we met here today. I should have gone to say hello, but it's getting late today, and I have to save my husband tomorrow morning. It's really inconvenient. Please both mothers go back." Say it for me, and say that you don’t dare to work for your cousin to come in person, and I will thank you in person when I arrange things properly tomorrow.”

After finishing speaking, she ordered Fuling to take two rulers and two purses to give to the two of them. Fortunately, Fuling was careful and had considered this kind of situation before, so all the things for this trip were well prepared.

The two hurriedly said that they didn't dare, thanked them, accepted the reward, and said: "Our grandma and eldest girl are resting in the east courtyard for the past few days, my cousin and grandma will come and sit if they are free."

Li Wan agreed, and after a few more words, the two of them took their leave.

Fu Ling delivered it to the gate of the courtyard in person, and smiled to Li Wan when she came back: "It's really a coincidence that things like this happen in the world. It's rare that once I came out, I met grandma's relative. Although this cousin grandma has never met before, she behaves very sincerely. Courtesy."

Li Wan was watching Danju Xiazhu pack up the things that Yan Shi sent, nodded and said: "This is also her kindness, after all, the relationship between our two families is very far away, it is rare that people still remember the relationship between relatives, we You can't be negligent, you can arrange a return gift in a while, and send it to the cousin of Yan's family tomorrow."

In addition to a few boxes of fresh fruits and vegetables, Yan's sent two horses with palace silk, two with palace satin, and two with silk silk. Xu heard that Li Wan was keeping his filial piety, and the colors and patterns were different. Very simple and elegant, quite attentive.

As the saying goes, courtesies are reciprocal, and the other party is so polite, she can't be too rude.

Fu Ling hurriedly agreed, and immediately ordered a return gift from the luggage she brought, and showed it to Li Wan personally before putting it away and sending it away tomorrow.

The next day, Li Wan got up early in the morning, ate a bowl of green rice porridge and two steamed buns with tofu skin, washed up, and changed into a white silk jacket and embroidered skirt that had been prepared earlier, with a white jade hairpin in her hair , hair only

There is a double-petaled chrysanthemum piled with white gauze, and there is no other ornament on the body.

When he came to the main hall of Muniyuan, Mrs. Huiming was already waiting in the hall. Li Wan brought the two volumes of scriptures he copied earlier to Mrs. Huiming, and said, "I'm sorry to trouble Mrs. Huiming."

Master Huiming clasped his palms together and recited the sound of Buddha, "Tanyue doesn't need to be too polite." After saying that, he took the scriptures with his own hands and put them in front of the Buddha's case to worship.

Li Wan knelt in front of the Buddha and worshiped devoutly. Mrs. Huiming also brought several respected old nuns in the courtyard to chant sutras for Jia Zhu.

It was not until an hour later that the ceremony ended.

Li Wan thanked Mrs. Huiming solemnly, and lit a long burning lamp in another hall to pray for the real Li Wan to be saved.

After taking care of everything, it was almost noon, Li Wan returned to the courtyard, wrote a post and sent it to his mother-in-law. After lunch, he rested for a while before freshening up and changing clothes, ordering Fu Ling and others to bring presents. to the East Court.

Yan had already brought her daughter and maidservants to wait at the gate of the courtyard. When she saw several maidservants from a distance surrounded by a beautiful woman in plain clothes, she knew it was the cousin of the Li family. She hurriedly greeted her and said with a smile: "My sister is finally here, I've been waiting."

Li Wanfu made a salute and said, "I really dare not be my cousin labor waiting here."

Yan stopped in a hurry, grabbed her hand, and said with a smile: "They are all from my own family, why bother to be so outsiders."

While talking, she looked carefully, and saw that she was wearing a blue cross-collared jacket, a white skirt underneath, a ring pendant around her waist, and a pair of emerald bracelets on her wrists, which were transparent and flawless, with rich greenery , the skin on the wrist is as fair as the snow, and I can't help but admire in my heart. I heard the mother-in-law say that this cousin was born very well, and it is true when I saw it today. What is even more rare is this whole body. The noble and humble women I have seen are not as good as many.

When she was looking at her, Li Wan was also looking at her. Although Yan Shi had already given birth to a pair of children, she was still in her prime, with phoenix eyes and sharp lips, extremely handsome.

I saw her dark hair tied in a lily bun, a red gold silk-drawn phoenix in the middle, four bright jewel knots in her mouth, a crimson peach with ruby ​​makeup on her right, a gold-encrusted pearl lantern pendant on her ear, and a golden pearl pendant on her body. A gold-woven official green silk jacket, covered with a light red bijia; tied with a colorful goose-yellow brocade skirt, reflecting high-soled flower shoes, and looking at her words and deeds, her temperament is sharp and generous, not inferior to Sister Feng.

After the two met, Yan beckoned to a very beautiful little girl next to her, and said with a smile to Li Wan: "My kid is studying at school, so I didn't bring it with me. This is my girl, little girl." Name Ying

Snow. "

Jiang Yingxue was about seven or eight years old. She was wearing a water-red flowered jacket and a white embroidered iris cotton skirt. Although she was young, she had exquisite eyebrows and eyes, like Xiaolu lotus. After her mother ordered, she went forward to greet Li Wanfu, and said crisply, "Yingxue greets my cousin."

Li Wan hurriedly said, "Your niece doesn't need to be too polite."

He took Jiang Yingxue's hand and asked a few words, knowing that she had finished studying the Four Books and knew how to play piano and chess, and saw that although she was young, her speech and behavior were very good, and she was better than Jia Jia Sanchun, so she turned her head to face Yan Shi laughed and said: "My niece really deserves to be cultivated by my sister. She is so outstanding at such a young age. If she is a man, maybe she will earn a champion for her sister."

Yan's heart was proud when she heard the words, but she said humbly: "The kid is messing around, I dare not be my sister to praise like that."

While talking, Fuling has already presented the table gifts, which are two gold and jade rings, a string of fragrant beads on the wrist, and two ruler heads.

Yesterday Li Wan knew that the Yan family had brought her daughter, so he had already ordered Fu Ling to pack a table present from his luggage.

Li Wan said with a smile: "The first meeting was too simple."

The Jiang family and Jiang Yingxue hurriedly expressed their thanks and ordered the servant girl to accept it.

Everyone walked towards the courtyard while talking, Yan Shi had earlier ordered someone to prepare tea and fruit snacks under the osmanthus tree in the courtyard, and said with a smile: "I know that my sister is fasting to be a vegetarian now, these are vegetarian dishes made by my servants, On the contrary, this tea is brought back from southern Fujian, my sister will try it to see if it suits my taste."

Li Wan thanked him, took a closer look at the teacup, and saw that the tea soup was dark in color, golden in color, rich in aroma, and had a faint fragrance of orchids, so he knew what to expect, took the tea lid off the powdered tea and drank it After taking a sip, the taste was mellow and the tip of the tongue was slightly sweet, so he smiled and said, "Sure enough, it is a good tea, with a strong fragrance and elegant orchid fragrance, but Anxi Tieguanyin?"

Yan Shi was slightly startled, and wondered: "This tea is only popular in southern Fujian, but few people eat it in Beijing, how does my sister recognize it?"

As soon as Li Wan said it, he regretted it. Fujian Tieguanyin began in the Yongzheng period, and was passed on to Yang Kai in the Qianlong period. Although this world is not the Qing Dynasty in the previous life, some histories are very similar. Tieguanyin at this time is only a part of a very small minority. Everyone knows that she lost her words when she didn't notice it for a while, and said with a smile in her mind: "I've heard people say it before, and I wrote it down because of the strange taste. I don't want to taste it today with my sister's blessing."

Although Yan was a little puzzled, she didn't ask any further questions, and said with a smile, "It's nothing, since my sister likes it, I'll take some back soon."

Li Wan thanked her, and said with a smile: "Then I missed my sister's good things."

Seeing her frank speech, Yan Shi liked her even more if she liked it without any pretentiousness, so she liked her even more.