The maid of the red house

It is easy to pass the time of wealth and honor, but it is difficult to stay in the youthful years. In the blink of an eye, summer is over and autumn is beginning, everywhere is green, thin and red, with a slight coolness.

Under Qian's screen window, Xueyan leaned over her desk and wrote vigorously. She still had a beautiful face and body, but she was a little more muscular than before. Daiyu was a peerless talented woman. She didn't have any talent, so she could only work harder. After hard work, this calligraphy is naturally a thousand miles away.

Daiyu looked at the picturesque shadows outside the window, a stream of clouds passing across the blue sky like meteors, she sighed and looked at the black silhouette of the swallows gradually going away, and said sullenly: "All the swallows have gone south, but I am here alone , I don’t know how misty and rainy Jiangnan is.” As he spoke, his eyes turned red, and he missed his hometown very much.

Everyone knew that she was sad when she saw the flowers falling, she shed tears when she watched the spring, and she was sensitive and delicate, so they couldn't persuade her deeply. They were afraid that she would be even more sad after being persuaded, so they all looked at Xueyan and signaled her to divert Daiyu's attention quickly.

Xueyan is smart and reads a lot of books, and she often picks up the things in the book, and when she talks about it, she can talk from the south of the sky to the north of the earth, which almost leaves Daiyu no time to care about others. She only cares about arguing with herself, so everyone assigns this heavy responsibility to her. gave her.

"Swallows are returning to the south, and next year they will come to find a girl to announce the spring. Although the girl can't go home, the swallows can bring news about our hometown. The girl doesn't think it's joyful, so why do you think it's sad?" Xueyan put down her pen and wrote The writing paper was sent to Daiyu, and she said with a smile: "I have finished my homework today, girl, can there be any disadvantages? I can change it."

"I made a mistake. It's just that once the swallows are gone, our house is not as lively as before. I feel empty." Daiyu looked away from the window, looked at the writing paper and said, "I see that this word is more lively than it was two days ago." You have made progress. You have no talent in poetry, but you like to read books, you can memorize a lot, and you are quite talented in calligraphy. If you practice calligraphy well, you'd better write better than anyone in the house, and read books better than anyone else in the house. There are many other people, but our family doesn't have many other things, only books." Thinking of Baochai's words, she felt angry.

Xueyan smiled unconsciously when he heard it, after all, he was still a child with a very high spirit.

Since Baochai said that, Daiyu has been more dedicated to teaching Xueyan.

In terms of poetic talent, Daiyu and Baochai can be said to be equally divided, but Baochai has read a lot of books, no matter what the origin of the story is, he can always read it according to the scriptures, such as hot and cold wine, such as parasitic grass, such as Buddhist verses, and Xichun’s poems List of painting utensils and so on, but when it comes to spirituality and wisdom, Daiyu is superior, so Daiyu deliberately made her hide thousands of volumes of books.

Seeing Daiyu staring and pursing her lips with a serious but increasingly cute expression, Zijuan couldn't help laughing and said: "Why bother, girl, Xueyan's reading is for our own enjoyment, and it's not for others, so it's hard for a girl to study , Is it to overwhelm everyone?"

Daiyu also laughed when she said that, but she felt that she was stingy, so she put the matter aside.

Rongguo Mansion is now building gardens, up to Mrs. Jia Muwang, down to mothers-in-law and maids. No one cares about Daiyu teaching Xueyan to read and write. Xueyan is happy and learns from Daiyu in the morning. After learning the Three-Character Classic, Hundred Surnames, and Thousand-Character Classics, she began to learn the Four Books and Five Classics. In order to teach her well, Daiyu kept annotating on the books with her own hand. The Four Books and Five Classics, which I hate the most, gradually come and go.

Xueyan saw that her actions were effective, so she continued to work hard. When she was doing needlework in the afternoon, she said that she was not doing well, and that she was not as spiritual as Daiyu, so she begged Daiyu to give her advice. Yu went out for a walk together, early or late, or to Li Wan's courtyard, or to Sanchun's house, these places were far away, and walking back and forth was considered exercise. It is even more difficult to pass the garden that has been demolished.

After all, Daiyu was young and didn't understand these twists and turns, so she inadvertently walked away from Baoyu, and she didn't realize it. After walking around every day, she was sweating and took a bath, and her appetite gradually increased. Five of the meals were skipped.

Seeing that Daiyu was too busy to worry about spring and autumn, and she was in good spirits, Zijuan secretly chanted Buddha and secretly supported Xueyan.

Xueyan tidied up the book case and asked, "It's the Mid-Autumn Festival, can we send our Mid-Autumn Festival gifts? Second Mistress Lian is so busy now, if the girl doesn't remind me, I'm afraid Second Mistress Lian will forget about it." gone."

Human relations are all paid for a living. The Rongguo Mansion can't wait to break a penny into two halves. Daiyu doesn't mention it. They are happy to pretend to forget it. After all, what they get now is not the entire property of the Lin family, but half, and they are a little tight. Seeing them spend the Lin family's money in the sea, Xueyan's heart aches for Daiyu.

Everyone saw the money when it was put into the warehouse, how could anyone with discerning eyes not know when it was moved out?

Although there are some things, mainly the dowry items of several generations of Lin family mistresses including Jia Min, furniture, dowry and antiques, which have been stored in Jiamu's room and have not been moved by Jiamu's protection until now, but there are five rooms in the upper room of Jiamu's main courtyard. , I have five or sixty years of stair in my warehouse, how many things can I put in the remaining space?It would be nice to have one-twelfth of the entire family property.

Xueyan knew that Daiyu herself understood it very well, even though she didn't say it, she shed tears several times behind her back.

It's not that Daiyu's heart aches, she lives in Rongguo Mansion, they can use a little bit, but suddenly they almost use it all without saying a word, why do they take her in their hearts?She knows better than anyone that the family property left by her father is her last resort.

Therefore, when she heard Xueyan's question, Daiyu was stunned, and replied: "Three days ago, I went to find Lian's second sister-in-law in person, and I think I have already sent it." She is not an ignorant girl, and Xueyan and others are often around her , and his father's dying instructions, he attached great importance to his family's past, so before Xue Yan reminded him, he first went to Sister Feng to discuss the gift, and she personally drew up the gift list.

Xueyan said: "I think it's the most important word. Did you give it away, or didn't you give it away?"

Before she could finish speaking, Zijuan stood up and said, "I'll go and find out." Don't worry, she will inquire.

Daiyu, Xueyan and the others waited for half a day before they saw Zijuan come back. Seeing that her complexion was not good, Daiyu and Xueyan thumped in their hearts. , There is no movement in the mansion, the Mid-Autumn Festival gift is only given to family friends in this mansion, not our girl's family, and I have not ordered anyone to prepare it!"

He was so angry that he burst into tears, and said: "Weird Taoists say that people leave tea to cool off, so the master's worries are not true? We haven't spent all our money yet, so let's abuse us first! I'm going to ask the old lady to make the decision. go!"

Daiyu hurriedly stopped, and said: "What's the use of you going? It's useless to trouble grandma. Say something that we don't like to hear, but what can we say? They are busy with their mother's big wedding now. , how can we care about our trivial matters? It makes people think that we are ignorant, and we are adding chaos to the mansion at this time."

Although Jia Mu is still the ancestor of the pagoda, Mrs. Wang has a daughter who has been named a noble concubine, and her status in the mansion has gradually increased. Jia Mu has lost control of many things, and there is nothing to do with her.

Mother Jia loves Daiyu very much, so Daiyu is not considerate of Mother Jia.

Where does Zicuckoo know that what she said is the truth?Can't help holding Daiyu, sobbing: "Why is the girl so miserable!"

"There are only three days left before the Mid-Autumn Festival. It's important to give gifts first. It's not too late to talk about the situation." Xueyan stepped forward to persuade, but said to Zijuan: "I remember that Miss Ping and her sister grew up together in Lian's second grandmother's room. You might as well go to her and give me a few reminders, if I remember correctly, in a month or two, our girl's promise will be delivered."

As soon as these words came out, Daiyu and Zijuan's eyes lit up.

Zijuan stopped crying indiscriminately, first she was overjoyed, then she was sad, and said: "Although I grew up with Heping's children, I am not as good as Yuanyang and Xiren and her in terms of affection. They are the same person. It's the same with Qianxue, Siqi, Shishu, Ruhua, Cuilu, etc. I'm afraid it will be a bad thing for the girl if she goes there."

Xueyan immediately understood that Zijuan was given to Daiyu by Jiamu's second-class maid, Yuanyang and Xiren were first-class, and Jiamu and Baoyu's deacon maids, Ping'er was on the same level as them, and people like Zijuan They are slightly inferior, so although they grew up in one place, it is not like the ten or so of them in the original book said that they have nothing to say.

In the original book, only Ping'er, Xiren, and Yuanyang are the only ones who talk about everything. No one else has this kind of blessing.After all, even Sister Feng can tell Xiren the secret of giving interest, and Yuanyang dares to secretly steal things for Sister Jialian as a pawn. Their friendship is not so good.

When Daiyu heard this, she thought for a long time in her heart, and said to Xueyan: "Zicuckoo is here after all, it's not good to go there. You are different from Zijuan. You go there yourself and say that I asked you. I don't know if we Have you prepared something for the family to give away? If the family doesn’t have enough money, please ask Lian’s second sister-in-law to put it first, and then make it up to her when Zhuangzi’s future is delivered in October.”

Xueyan agreed, changed her clothes and went to Sister Feng's courtyard.

But she didn't follow what Daiyu said, and greeted Sister Feng first. Sister Feng just came out of Mrs. Wang's room, and when she saw her, she stood still, with an indescribable power on her face, and said with a smile: "You Why are you free?"

Xueyan smiled and said: "Second Grandma's words made me feel ashamed, so why can't I come to say hello to Second Grandma?"

Sister Feng smiled, lifted her feet into the room, and said, "Pour tea for Xueyan quickly, and I'll enjoy it for a while!" She ordered Xueyan to sit down and asked why she came.

Xueyan knows that she is straightforward and likes people who do things quickly, and Kuang also knows that when she was young, she had to have many things to and from her, so she smiled and said: "Nowadays, the house is busy with mother-in-law's family visits, and the old ladies are very busy. It's not that there is grandma Zhang Luo in the house, I'm afraid there won't be such an orderly scene, and it's because grandma is capable and hardworking that we dare to make trouble for grandma."

Hearing her compliment, Sister Feng smiled even wider, and Ping'er stood aside and couldn't help but glance at Xueyan.

Xueyan seemed unaware, and continued: "Second Master Lian must have mentioned to grandma that our master left a few Zhuangzi for the girl, and ordered Zhuangtou to send his breath into the mansion every September and October. Now our girl lives in the house. Here, of course, it has to be delivered here, and it will be delivered in about October, and then the second master Lao Lian and grandma will take care of it."

This is at least a few thousand taels of income, how can Sister Feng not like it?With a smile all over his face, he said, "What did you say, child? Since it was entrusted by my aunt, Second Master Lian and I will naturally not ignore it. Don't worry, she will handle this matter smoothly."

Xueyan thanked her again and again, and said: "Since this is the case, our girl can rest assured."

As he spoke, he smiled and said: "Our girl said that the mansion is busy building a garden, and every plant and tree is costly. There is no reason for the mansion to pay us to take care of human relations. Therefore, when the future comes, except For those who are filial to the old lady, the old lady, the rest of the annual gifts for each family will come from here, and the previous few gifts will be included in it, so you don’t need to spend a penny on the house. Although our girl has never met the empress The golden face, but the nature of flesh and blood, I am willing to do my best, but our girl is too young to do anything, so I can only do my best not to make trouble for the house."

In addition to the Dragon Boat Festival last time, in the past few months, two family members had weddings and weddings, and Daiyu gave them gifts. Those were all prepared by Sister Feng beforehand. Human relations are not just as simple as rituals, so Xueyan has this explain.

Sister Feng suddenly raised her eyebrows, and looked at the young girl in front of her carefully. She saw her plain face facing the sky, which could not hide her beautiful beauty, wearing clothes that were old and not old. She is full of romance, and there is a kind of depth in her clear eyes that I can't see through. I can't help but praise in my heart, what a shrewd and powerful girl!

Xueyan let her look at her with a smile on his face.