The maid of the red house

Hearing that Julien was working in the Daming Palace, Xueyan was startled. No wonder she found in Jiamu's room that Jiamu and Sister Feng next to him were very polite to him. She loves hospitality.

When she was studying with Daiyu, she knew that the Daming Palace was the place where the emperor handled political affairs, and the Shangyang Palace was the residence of the Supreme Emperor.

Chang'an City, Daming Palace, and Shangyang Palace are all names from the Tang Dynasty. After all, the Dream of Red Mansions is half ancient and half modern, and has no roots to test. And feet, especially the eating habits and dressing customs in the capital, are very similar to the capital in the early Qing Dynasty.

In the original book, the eunuch who beat gongs and drums and sat in a big sedan chair to pay homage to Qin Keqing was Dai Quan in the Daming Palace. He was truly powerful and powerful, and he could easily find Jia Rong a fifth-rank captain of the Dragon Guard. Unexpectedly, Yu Liansheng To be able to work as an errand in Daming Palace, even if it is the lowest eunuch who sweeps and sweeps, but with the word Daming Palace, when he leaves the palace, he is the master that everyone is vying to curry favor with.

Seeing the shock on Xueyan's face, Yu Liansheng was rather humble, and said with a smile: "I'm just a little eunuch who sweeps the house, not some noble master, even Yueyin is filial to my superiors, and I don't have much money to save. It’s just that I’m looking forward to the palace outside, so I’m only giving a little bit of face. The eunuchs enter the palace, mostly because their families are poor and have no money to pay for them, so the errands are good or bad. It’s just luck. I rely on the money you send, It took more than a dozen court eunuchs up and down before they were assigned to the Daming Palace."

Xueyan smiled and said: "If Eldest Brother has no skills, it is not Eldest Brother's job. Eldest Brother must remember to be cautious in every step in the palace and pay attention to everything." .

Xueyan didn't expect Yu Liansheng to be powerful, but only thought that there was someone serving in the palace, so there was another way.

Now that Yu Liansheng has such a starting point, and he himself is very clever and flexible, as long as he continues to work in an orderly manner, his future prospects will not be too bad.

Yu Liansheng sighed: "Only after I entered the palace did I realize that although life was hard in the past, I didn't need to worry too much about it. But I am doing well now if I seek benevolence. I haven't seen you for so long. I don't know how my sister is doing now?" He suffered a lot of unimaginable hardships in the palace, and he was cautious in his words, and he did not dare to say that life in the palace was difficult.

Xueyan was quite emotional when she heard this, and said: "I live as before, our girl has always treated me like a sister."

Although Daiyu often said that she did not treat herself as well as Zijuan did, Xueyan felt that she brought her from the Lin family, and only because she did not treat herself as well as Zijuan did she feel intimacy and become a family.

"It's my sister's blessing to have a good master." Yu Liansheng smiled, with a look of reassurance on his face. He didn't dare to divulge the affairs of the palace. He felt that he had nothing to say when he suddenly remembered something. , took out a satin bag from her bosom, opened it carefully, and pushed it to Xueyan, "Sister Xueyan, this is for you."

"What is this?" Xueyan asked curiously, and when she received it in her hand, she saw that it was a string of eighteen red agate bracelets. Seventeen beads are made of agate, and the other is a red coral bead, which is a bit of a fly in the ointment.

A little more shyness appeared on Yu Liansheng's face, and he said, "I specially left it for my sister. When I was a servant in the palace, I once picked up a piece of jade from a crack in a flowerpot by sweeping the snow. I don't know whose it belonged to. I handed it over to the superior, and my younger sister also knew that even if it was a wealthy family, I had to hand in everything I picked up, not to mention that the palace dared not be private. I didn't want it to be the jade pendant that the saint left behind while enjoying flowers that day, so I handed it to Dai Director, the saint asked me afterwards, and Director Dai told the truth, and the saint rewarded me with such a string of eighteen sons."

Xueyan hastily declined and said, "Since it was a gift from the sage, elder brother can keep it for himself."

Although she liked jewelry very much, she did not refuse when Daiyu gave it to her, but it was Julien's, and she felt that she was not rewarded for nothing.Besides, if it was rewarded by a saint, it would be more decent for Julien himself to wear it in the palace.

Yu Liansheng shook his head, and said solemnly: "Sister, if it weren't for you these two years, how could I be where I am today? Although it was a reward from a saint, it may not be able to stay in the palace. It's not that I haven't received rewards, but it's a pity It was taken away by the superiors before I got it, and it was a little bit of my heart to keep such a skewer and hand it over to my sister."

After repeated persuasion by him, Xueyan had no choice but to accept it. When Juliensheng saw this, his face softened.

After playing with the agate bracelet for a while, Xueyan suddenly said: "Why is there a missing piece in this bracelet? It doesn't match the agate bead, but the coral bead instead? Could it be that No. 18 agate beads that are the same can't be found in the palace?" Come?"

Yu Liansheng smiled and said, "An egg costs a penny outside the palace. How much is an egg in your palace?"

Xueyan suddenly remembered the books about the prices of the Qing Dynasty's House of Internal Affairs, and the story about the emperor's patch of several thousand taels of silver, and nodded unconsciously: "You can't buy an egg for ten cents in this mansion, so the palace is naturally more expensive." Yes, if you have a conscience, it’s about a few taels of silver. If you don’t have a conscience, you can report it for 50 taels. I understand, I think the saint wants to match an agate bead, but the price is too expensive, so I use coral. Are the beads added?"

Yu Liansheng praised: "Sure enough, my sister is still clever, that's why."

Xueyan shook her head and sighed.

Sure enough, they are a group of moths of the country. It seems that the emperor should know more about the value of people's lives.

Yu Liansheng didn't talk too much about this topic, took a piece of pastry, and suddenly said: "I'm in the palace, and I met Xiaobao."

Xueyan was taken aback, not knowing who Xiaobao was, and it took her a while to remember that it was the little eunuch who stole her purse back then, and hurriedly said: "Have you met him? Where is he working? He entered the palace earlier than you, If you want to have a deeper foundation, have you ever bullied you?"

The words spurted out, and the meaning of worry was obvious.

A trace of sarcasm flashed in Yu Liansheng's eyes, and he said softly: "Although I am only the eunuch at the bottom, I am a member of the Daming Palace. Director Dai doesn't care about us, but he doesn't allow other people's subordinates to bully us. I asked After that, he is now working under Chief Xia, the eunuch of the Six Palaces, and when he leaves the palace several times, he goes to the natal families of those empresses to ask for money, and your family is among them!"

Xueyan said angrily: "What is our house? This is our girl's grandmother's house, not our Lin's house. I have heard that father-in-laws often come to ask for bribes in the palace, but I didn't expect him to be one of them. I have never seen him. noodle."

Eunuchs who gain power in the palace extort bribes from the harem concubines' natal families, which has become a trend in the contemporary era and is very hateful.

"Xiao Bao came to ask for money, he must be looking for your housekeeper grandma, how can you see him?" When Wang Bao spread the word and asked for bribes for Xia Shouzhong, he even benefited from it, Yu Liansheng smiled, but he didn't have the slightest envy. Want to climb up, don't want to get notorious, although it is common to ask for bribes outside the palace, but if one day loses power, people will definitely be thrown into trouble.

Xueyan smiled lightly and said, "Little Baogui forgets things so much, I'm afraid I won't recognize him even if we meet."

Wang Bao has a cold nature, he can even betray Yu Liansheng who rescued him and took him in without any scruples, let alone Xueyan, who was a passer-by and knew about his poor and humble days.Therefore, she was willing to make friends with Yu Liansheng, but she was unwilling to have anything to do with Wang Bao.

Of course, it is better to offend a gentleman than to offend a villain. If we really meet, Xueyan can't offend him.

Yu Liansheng also smiled when he heard this.

After sitting down for a while and chatting some domestic gossip, Yu Liansheng suggested that it was time to go back. He said goodbye to Daiyu first, and then to Jiamu, who asked a few more questions with a smile, and ordered Xueyan to send it out in person.

Sister Feng winked at Ping'er, and Ping'er quietly gave Xueyan a hand.

Xue Yan only felt that there was a heavy purse in her hand, and seeing Ping'er's expression, she nodded slightly.

Sending Julien to the door, Xueyan handed over the purse and said with a smile, "This is tea money from the old lady and grandma to the elder brother." A golden key.Traveling through these years, apart from the improvement of calligraphy, that is, the skill of weighing gold and silver has improved a lot, and there is no need to use zizi.

"Sister, you don't get rewarded for your merits." Yu Liansheng declined, because he had nothing to do with the Rongguo Mansion.

But Xueyan smiled and said, "If the elder brother doesn't accept it, they will feel worried." No wonder all the eunuchs in the palace came to ask for bribes. Get two 30 taels of silver.

Yu Liansheng didn't know what to think of, so he accepted it and walked away.

He has one day off a month. He just entered the palace last year and didn't dare to take a break. He often took over the shift for someone else. This year was the first time he left the palace. After he returned, he canceled his leave so that he could continue working tomorrow. He didn't want to be assigned immediately On an errand, I went to pick up the fallen flowers in the plum blossom bonsai under the eaves of the main hall of the Daming Palace. Now that the weather is warm, the plum blossoms that bloomed in February are gradually withering.

Juliensheng was clever in his hands and feet, and he didn't refute. He hurriedly changed his clothes and took a cloth pocket to pick up the fallen flowers.

This is a very meticulous job, and you have to pick out the fallen flowers from the soil in the flowerpot one by one. Looking at the more and more petals in the cloth pocket, Yu Liansheng suddenly remembered that when he talked to Xueyan today, Xueyan smiled. Their girls often put fallen flowers in silk bags and bury them in the soil. What they do is a romantic and elegant thing, and they shake their heads and smile unconsciously.

Seeing that the sky was getting dark, Yu Liansheng was so tired that he could hardly straighten his waist, and was about to change his cloth bag to pick flowers again, when he heard footsteps and a whip falling, he immediately knelt down solemnly, Head on the ground.

The sound of footsteps approaching, a pair of dragon boots and countless boots behind him passed by, and Julien didn't dare to breathe.

The owner of the dragon boots suddenly stopped, glanced at the little eunuch kneeling beside him, and asked Dai Quan, "Is this the little eunuch who picked up the jade pendant? I heard that he left the palace today?"

Hearing these words, Yu Liansheng was taken aback. He was just an insignificant little eunuch. It could be said that he could be found everywhere in the palace. The sage was busy with every day, and he had never seen him before. How could he know him?Even when he was rewarded with a red agate eighteen-son bracelet, Dai Quan sent someone to send it, and it was not given in person.

Before he finished thinking, he heard Dai Quan respectfully say: "If you go back to the master, it is Yu Liansheng who picked up the jade pendant of the master. He is meticulous in his work and sincere. Today he really asked for leave and left the palace." For this master, Dai Quan has always been extremely admired. He not only remembers important national events, but he also remembers every palace eunuch around him, and he also remembers those who were in front of the Supreme Emperor, just like Yu Liansheng in front of him, because other saints have seen it, but the only one who has not It was him who passed by, so I recognized him at a glance.

If outsiders knew about it, they might think that the saint was not doing his job properly, but Dai Quan knew that this was the means of the saint. Even the little eunuch and the maid of honor, who were rough envoys, could be called by their names. Would those people not be moved?Can you not be loyal to the saint?At the beginning, it was only by these little eunuchs and maids who delivered the news that the saint was able to resolve the crisis after crisis and finally ascend to the throne of God.

The sage laughed and said, "Come to me, I have a few words to ask."

Dai Quan agreed, glared at Yu Liansheng, and said, "The master has already spoken, so I still don't follow up." After speaking, he helped the saint to walk into the side hall, and Yu Liansheng scrambled to his feet. Follow respectfully, I don't know what the future holds.

The current emperor is called Changgan, and he is only in his twenties this year. Yes, he is two years younger than the virtuous concubine Yuanchun. After sitting down, he looked at Yu Liansheng who was kneeling on the ground waiting for questioning with a smile, and said: " You left the palace today, where did you go? What did you do?"

Hearing such a question, Yu Liansheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but he didn't know why the sage was so curious about the outside world. After pondering for a while, he could only answer: "Master, I went to the Rongguo Mansion to visit the old man who helped me in the past." The villain's sister." He didn't know Emperor Changgan's thoughts and methods, so he didn't dare to say anything else.

Hearing the word Rongguo Mansion, Emperor Changqian raised his brows and asked with a wider smile, "Rongguo Mansion?"

Yu Liansheng nodded and said, "It's Rongguo Mansion."

After hearing this, Dai Quan couldn't help but looked at Yu Liansheng in surprise, he really didn't realize that this little eunuch had something to do with the Rongguo Mansion.But if he has something to do with Rongguo Mansion, how can he not know Dai Quan's dignity in Ning Rongguo Mansion?Relying on the Rongguo Mansion, then he can't just be a little eunuch who cleans and let the eunuchs who are higher in rank exploit him.

Emperor Changgan smiled and said: "I remember that you are from Hejian Mansion. There are four brothers and sisters in your family. Could it be that one of them is in Rongguo Mansion?"

Yu Liansheng shook his head quickly, and said truthfully: "Master, I don't have any brothers and sisters in the capital. When I was short of food and clothing, I didn't get any mercy from my family. I had nowhere to go that day. I almost starved to death. I lived in Rongguo Mansion." A little servant girl who was working in the palace met by chance and gave the villain winter clothes and money so that the villain would have the opportunity to work as a servant in the palace, so the villain went to visit her first after leaving the palace."

Yu Liansheng was really grateful for Xueyan's many times of helping and helping. Although Xueyan said that he had something to ask for, Yu Liansheng didn't think there was anything in him worthy of her covet, even if he wanted to make his mark in the palace. , It will take ten or eight years.

Therefore, when talking about snow geese, Yu Liansheng's face revealed a trace of warmth.

It is easy to add icing on the cake, but few give charcoal in the snow.

In particular, Daiyu Xueyan and the two of them didn't look down on him at all just because he was an eunuch.

However, Yu Liansheng was also horrified by what Emperor Changqian said. He was just an obscure little eunuch, and a high-ranking saint would know his origin and parents and family. How meticulous is this!

Emperor Changqian suddenly smiled, and said to Dai Quan: "I didn't expect there are kind people in Rongguo Mansion."

Dai Quan hurriedly said: "Not only did the master not think of it, but the villain also didn't think of it."

Yu Liansheng was very puzzled when he heard it. He remembered that the eunuchs in the palace said that Dai Quan had a lot of contacts with Ning Rongguo's mansion, so why didn't it sound like that?And listening to the meaning of the saint, it seems that he doesn't take it seriously for the Rongguo Mansion, but there is a lady in their mansion!

He was full of doubts, and he didn't dare to show anything on his face. He wanted to say that Xue Yan was just a maid of a relative's family in the Rongguo Mansion, but he didn't dare to speak.

Emperor Changqian asked again: "When you went to Rongguo Mansion, who else did you meet besides your sister?"

Yu Liansheng replied: "The villain met the old lady of the Rongguo Mansion, the housekeeper's grandmother, and Miss Lin, the master of the villain's younger sister. I haven't seen any other villains, so I came back after saying a few words."

After thinking for a while, he said again: "Before coming, the housekeeper's grandma rewarded the villain with a purse, which contained a golden locket."

Emperor Changqian suddenly realized, and said, "Isn't that sister of yours from the Rongguo Mansion?" He heard Yu Liansheng say that the person he saw was his sister, so he changed his words along with Yu Liansheng, and his thoughts were evident.

Yu Liansheng didn't dare to lie, and said, "Yes, the villain's younger sister is a girl from a relative's family in the Rongguo Mansion, and now lives in the Rongguo Mansion."

After hearing this, Emperor Changqian waved him down.

When he left, Emperor Changqian looked at Dai Quan and said, "My surname is Lin? Could it be that orphan from Lin Ruhai's family? I remember that after Lin Hai died, there were no cigarettes to carry on, and none of his family's property went into the national treasury. "

Dai Quan accompanied him with a smile and said, "How can you hide the things in the world from the master's holy eyes?"

Emperor Changqian sneered, and said, "Since I haven't handed it over, it should all fall into the pocket of the Rongguo Mansion. No wonder their two mansions spent money like water to build such a grand view garden that gathers the spirit of the world! This forest sea Having been an official for a lifetime, he has accumulated several lifetimes of family business, but he has no son to inherit, but only a daughter, which is cheap for the Rongguo Mansion, and dares to swallow the money handed over to the treasury! It is ridiculous that he is still the old sage's confidant and important minister Well, I didn’t get a single bit of extra grace until I died!”

Dai Quan didn't dare to speak. He made good friends with the Ningrong State Mansion and went to pay homage to Qin Keqing. He did everything according to the order. He grew up with the confidants of the saints, and knew that the saints looked at them very much. There is also a reason for the concubine. The two houses of Rongning and Ningxia are in danger. Dai Quan can't wait to avoid them, but he doesn't really want to be nice to them.

According to the law, Lin Hai has no heirs, and part of his family property should be handed over to the state treasury. Unexpectedly, the Jia family would be so greedy and embezzle all of it.

Lin Hai is the emperor's confidant, a second-rank official, and his death will never be ignored today.

Emperor Changgan pondered for a moment, and then said: "Sure enough, it's really generous. This little eunuch can get a bag of gold pegs just for visiting the old man. If he comes to ask for bribes, he may get more?"

Speaking of this, Emperor Changqian hated in his heart. He said that wealth was hidden from the people, but in fact it was hidden from officials. Two silver coins, not all of them have been checked yet.Now the national treasury is empty, but the officials are very rich. Didn't all the money fall into their hands?

Fortunately, in the past two years, the concubines in the harem visited relatives, and the royal merchants under his family made a lot of money, and all of them went into his private treasury, so Fang felt a little calm.

Dai Quan said: "Probably because I heard that Yu Liansheng was working in the Daming Palace, so I gave it."

After all, it was Dai Quan who understood the minds of the people in Ning Rongguo Mansion better than Emperor Changqian. He didn't think that Yu Liansheng, a young eunuch, was worthy of the Rongguo Mansion's flattery. It must be because of the three characters of Daming Palace.Hearing what he said, Emperor Changqian said: "You are free tomorrow, and you often go to their mansion. In addition, you go to find out if all the property of the Lin family has fallen into the hands of the Rongguo Mansion, so that I can feel it in my heart." There are numbers."

But Dai Quan knew that his eunuchs often went out of the palace, and he knew a lot of news outside, and Dai Quan was in charge of inquiring about news for Emperor Changqian, so he hurriedly said with a smile: "The Lin family's family property is small. I know a little bit, I heard that when Mrs. Lin came back from the funeral, there were indeed several big ships coming back together, but their family didn't tell them, but a little girl broke the news on the pier. Little thought, Rongguo Mansion The money embezzled here must not be hidden from Miss Lin's family."

After a pause, he continued: "However, in the eyes of the Rongguo Mansion, I'm afraid they still think Miss Lin doesn't know."

Emperor Changgan wondered: "Why?"

Dai Quan said with a smile: "The big families in the capital probably know a little bit, and they can also estimate how much the Lin family has. After all, the accumulation of four or five generations in more than 100 years, it's just that although everyone knows it well, they don't mind their own business, so they never open their mouths. Speaking of it. Besides, Miss Lin is too young, and she only knows about the sorrows of the spring and autumn. The funeral and the family business are all handled by Jia Lian of the Rongguo Mansion. How can she know how many things are in the house? Also, they have never I have taught Miss to be a housekeeper, so after misappropriating it, I think I can hide it from Miss Lin."

Emperor Changgan became interested and asked, "Since that's the case, how did you say you couldn't hide Lin Hai's daughter?"

Dai Quan replied: "Unless Ms. Lin is really stupid and ignorant, how can she not know how many things she has at home? I heard that Ms. Lin is extremely intelligent by nature. It must have been confessed by Mrs. Lin before she died. At the beginning, the little girl made it known to almost everyone. The girl knew it, let alone the young lady? The Rongguo Mansion embezzled her family property, and Miss Lin didn't say a word, but because she was a girl, Powerless to object, can only pretend not to know."

I don't know if Miss Lin is too smart, or Lin Ruhai's explanation. In short, Dai Quan can imagine that if she shows a little bit of knowing that the Rongguo Mansion embezzled her family property, the Rongguo Mansion will definitely not allow her to live. Yes, just because that family property has benefited almost up and down, there is no reason to spit out the fat that I ate.She was a little girl with no one to depend on, and the only way she could go on living was if she didn't know.

Dai Quan grew up in the deep palace since he was a child, and climbed to his current position after suffering countless hardships. His ability to read people's minds is first-rate, and he can almost guess the truth from ordinary clues. Still strong.

After listening to Dai Quan's analysis, Emperor Changqian nodded and smiled and said, "Lin Hai is good at everything, but he hasn't cultivated a good relative who is upright and capable, and I don't know what will happen to his only flesh and blood in the future."

Dai Quan said: "It's not too bad, after all, the Sang family is quite close to Miss Lin now."

When mentioning the Sang family, Emperor Changqian's expression changed slightly, and he said, "Is it Sang Long's family? Yes, I remember that Sang Long is Lin Hai's cousin?"

Dai Quan nodded and said: "The master has a good memory, yes, Marshal Sang is Lord Lin's cousin. I heard that years ago, the Sang family sent someone to give Miss Lin a gift. Not only that, but also went to the housekeeper grandma Congratulations, I will take Ms. Lin's house for a drink after the next year. I have never walked around before, but after Mr. Lin went there, I became intimate. My little guess is that Mr. Lin entrusted Marshal Sang or something."

There are only four to five hundred powerful families in the capital, and a lot of news cannot be concealed from others. Usually, if there is any trouble in this family, it will be known immediately, not to mention that the Sang family is a group of top military generals. , how many people pay attention to it.

That is to say, the Rongguo Mansion thought that they could hide it from others, and everyone knew the clinker.

Emperor Changgan nodded and remained silent.

He already had a plan in mind, to let Sang Long return to Beijing two years later, and send his eldest grandson Sang Qing to guard Shanhaiguan. If he was entrusted by Lin Ruhai, within a few years, because of Miss Lin, there must be a relationship with Rongguo Mansion. Some contradictions.

Compared with Rongguo Mansion, he values ​​the Sang family with promising descendants more.

Emperor Changqian had long been displeased with many aristocratic families. They were deeply rooted in the capital, filled their pockets, disregarded the laws of the country, and acted like a domineering force. They almost became the masters of half of the imperial court, and many official positions could be easily given to their own disciples. People who are old or come to the door to ingratiate themselves, do not know how many descendants of aristocratic families are unworthy, occupying official positions and salaries for nothing, and they are really rotten from the very beginning. How can the imperial court support such a group of waste? Instead of supporting such people, it is better to promote them. Children from poor families are used by him.

He wanted to do something, but the Supreme Emperor was very nostalgic and too merciful, intervening in the government several times and refused to let go of power, so he could only endure it for the time being, and when the Supreme Emperor left, he would immediately strike.

Except for Dai Quan, no one knew what Emperor Changqian was thinking, and neither did Yu Liansheng. Although he was lucky enough to meet the holy face, he was not promoted. The eunuch who had bullied him didn't dare to exploit him anymore, instead he made friends with him, and his life in the palace suddenly became much easier, which was a pleasant surprise.

Yu Liansheng didn't get any benefits, but Xue Yan got real benefits.

After sending Yu Liansheng away, Xueyan came to answer, and Jia's mother asked Yu Liansheng's life experience, and how she knew her.

As for how she and Yu Liansheng met, Xueyan had discussed with Yu Liansheng long ago. They were both poor and humble people, and they were not afraid of people knowing. A winter coat cost a few taels of silver, and he didn't say that he and Daiyu gave him gold and silver carpentry jewelry so that he could manage things in the palace.

Jia Mu laughed and said, "It's true that kindness is rewarded with goodness. People often say that there must be celebrations in a family of good deeds. You used to help him, so he thought of your kindness and came to visit you when he left the palace. A good boy who knows how to repay his kindness."

Xueyan pursed her lips and smiled, of course, Yu Liansheng is one of her connections!

However, she really has a good relationship with Yu Liansheng now.

Mother Jia naturally thought of the benefits of having people in the Daming Palace. Although Yu Liansheng was just a young eunuch, who would know whether he would be able to rise up in the future?Can you usually hear a few words of news?It's just that it's hard to say it clearly at this time, but thinking of the friendship between Yu Liansheng and Xueyan, he said: "My good boy, you serve your girls with all your heart, and I can see that."

As he spoke, he said to Yuanyang, "Give something to the snow geese."

Yuanyang smiled and agreed, went for half a day, and indeed brought a pair of Shuanglong Xizhu and shrimp whiskers bracelets that had been prepared.

The bracelet is woven into two dragons with extremely thin gold wires. The heads of the dragons are twisted and connected to form a ring shape. A very round pearl is woven in the mouth of the two dragons and can rotate flexibly. This is the kind of shrimp whisker bracelet that Pinger lost in the original book. The gold thread looks like shrimp whiskers. Xueyan also has a pair. It was given by Daiyu, and she has never worn it out.

Jia Mu said: "Gold is nothing more than heavy, but beads are not bad, so they can be worn."

Xueyan has a lot of savings now, and there is a box of gold and a few boxes of jewelry given by Lin Ruhai hidden in mustard seeds. She does not pay as much attention to gold and silver as before, but since Jia Mu gave it, she will not refuse it, so she has to kowtow thank you.

She doesn't like kowtowing, so she won't be disappointed if she doesn't get a reward, because she doesn't have to kowtow.

Going back to the room, she showed Daiyu the shrimp whiskers bracelet and the red agate bead string Yu Liansheng had given her. Daiyu turned the beads on the bracelet twice and said, "Put that string away and don't wear it. I don't know how many people there are." I have worn it. You just hold the bracelet that your grandmother gave you. It’s not a good thing. It’s just that you have to know something in your heart. Don’t bother your father-in-law because of something. A person like him, in the palace It's not easy, how can I resist asking outsiders one by two, carefully arousing the taboo of the superiors."

It seems that when Daiyu saw the reward, she understood Jia Mu's idea.

Xueyan smiled helplessly, and said: "When I knew Eldest Brother, I already said that when Eldest Brother is successful, he will protect me. What do other things have to do with me? Why would I disturb Eldest Brother's future because of those things? Girl, just rest assured. .”

Seeing that she was transparent, Daiyu was relieved. After all, she was older than everyone since she was a child, and she knew the taboos in the palace better than Xueyan. But Daiyu doesn't want people around her to get involved.

Nothing happened on the second day, but on the third day Xueyan remembered what Zijuan had brought, so she went to find everyone Lai.

Master Lai worked in the mansion every day, and the house he bought was behind Rongguo Mansion, so Xueyan didn't go to Lai's house, but went to find Master Lai, who said he would be free in the afternoon.After lunch, Xueyan took two little maids and two wives to look for her, and Mrs. Lai also brought a few wives. They walked through the Grand View Garden, went out the back door, and headed for Xiaohuazhi Alley.

It is a small courtyard with two entrances, gray tiles and white walls, five main rooms in the back, and three side rooms in the east and west. There is a pomegranate tree in the courtyard, fish tanks and stone tables under the tree. There is also a wisteria in the corner. There are flower halls, stables and so on in front.

Entering the house, the room is quite elegantly furnished, all pine furniture is unpainted, exuding a faint scent of pine, and there are bonsai in each room, or plum, or orchid, or bamboo, or chrysanthemum, Some are about to wither, some are budding, some are still green and lovely, and some have not sprouted new branches, making the room even more fragrant, and all the curtains and curtains are complete.

Xueyan looked at it and sighed: "This house is so well tidied up, I can only buy it if I have the honor of my mother's family."

Everyone Lai laughed and said: "The house has been tidied up very well, and it can be rented out at any time. Since you have seen it, I will ask the housekeeper to take care of it tomorrow. When I get the money, I will give it to you when I enter the mansion."

Xueyan thanked her again and again, so she didn't need to bother at all.

After seeing the house, when I went back, I walked to the back street of Rongguo Mansion, and suddenly saw a crowd of people at the back door, bustling with people.

Everyone Lai frowned, asked his daughter-in-law to ask, and came back and said: "It's Zhou Rui's family who caused the matter. He bought his land by force, and only paid him five taels of silver per mu for the best quality land. There is only one old man in that family." The mother is at home, the son is away, Zhou Rui and Lizheng Village Chief bought it for some reason, and now the son has come to the door."

After hearing everyone's words, Lai said, "What's the matter? It's just a few taels of silver, and it's worth their family's forced buying and selling? Zhou Rui is in charge of the spring and autumn rent, and is he still short of money? How stingy. "

Xue Yanyuan looked at the excitement at the back door curiously. Hearing this, he sighed: "It's not easy for farmers. They live on a few mu of land all year round. One mu of land may not be enough to earn enough food for a year. Farmers are the most protective The land is gone, it’s not that almost no one is willing to sell the land when there is no other way out, Zhou Ruihu Labala forced to buy the land from others and offered a cheap price, isn’t it cutting off the hearts of others?”

Lai everyone said: "You go in first, don't stand here, pay attention to outsiders who have seen it, and I will do the rest!"

Zhou Rui is Mrs. Wang's accompanying room, and his dignity in the mansion is second only to that of Mr. Lai. Xueyan knew that she couldn't intervene, so she didn't want to talk too much, so she took the little girl and mother-in-law to the back door from the crowd. Seeing Wang Zhong's helpless expression, he turned his head and smiled at him, as if to comfort him, and walked in.

After she went in, she didn't know that her smile almost stunned the young man who came to ask for justice.

Back in Jiamu's Courtyard, when Xueyan replied to Daiyu, she couldn't help showing a little bit of excitement, and Daiyu said: "Your godmother will take care of these things, so I think you can give them justice. Let's not talk about it, I will wait a while." After dinner, you bring a few people with lanterns, and accompany me to look at the plum blossoms outside Changcui Nunnery for a while, and the digestion is almost gone, so go back to sleep."

Looking for plum blossoms on a cold night is an elegant thing, not to mention that after February, the plum blossoms will all wither, and Daiyu would not miss it at this time.

Xueyan laughed and said, "What can you see at night? It's still through the wall."

Daiyu said angrily, "It's enough to look for the plums and smell the fragrance, so don't talk too much."

After searching for plums in February, and looking into March, the Xu family of the Sang family came to pick her up for a few days and met Sang Qing.

Sang is an old man, but he is a junior, so he can't tell Daiyu anything, just let her live in his own house and so on.

Soon, Xu ordered the second daughter of the family to post a post and invited many young ladies from famous families to play chess in the flower hall, or enjoy flowers, or fight grass, or recite poems, or paint.

Daiyu loves it very much and has a lot of fun.

Mrs. Xu was worried that no one in the Jia family would take Daiyu out, and that Daiyu would not be able to be a host in Rongguo Mansion. The old acquaintances used to enjoy flowers and eat wine, and when they socialized with the female relatives of various families, they always asked Daiyu and her daughter to come out to meet each other.

The elderly female relatives of each family know that it is difficult to find a teacher, and seeing that there are two beside Daiyu, they all attach great importance to it.

After several months of teaching by Nanny Rong and Nanny Zhang, Daiyu has made a further improvement in etiquette, and her words and deeds can be called perfect. Ruo Liu, but she has the body of a Jiangnan person, but her complexion and spirit are very good. I know that she is not the melancholy and sick body that everyone says, but I can see some congenital deficiencies. After a few years of recuperation, she will be like ordinary people. .

Xueyan and Nanny Rong looked at each other and smiled, they had long wanted to change the outside world's impression of Daiyu.When Daiyu was being conditioned by Xueyan with dietary therapy, she was growing up, so after a little conditioning, she could immediately see that she had improved a lot.

In the eyes of the female relatives, Daiyu is like this.

Among those young ladies, Daiyu is intelligent by nature, young and warm-hearted, not a frivolous and vulgar hairpin, her talent is equal to hers in the Rongguo Mansion, but there are few other people who can match her. Most of the young ladies are from a family of military officers who are on good terms with the Sang family, and have a forthright temperament. Eight out of ten of them have good friends with her, and they all said to invite her to be a guest in the post.

After all, it is civil and military affairs, the Xu family can invite, except Zhang Huishi's second lady Zhang Hui, the rest are not civil servants.

According to their seniority, both Sang Wan and Sang Yuan have to call Daiyu their aunts. However, some of those old friends have been married to the Sang family. They are relatives, relatives have relatives, friends have friends, so there are high and low seniority. It's just that they are about the same age, they can stick together, and they don't care about their seniority.

If so, among the ladies Daiyu knew, some called her sisters, and some called her aunts. After many calculations, Daiyu was either their peers or their elders, and most of them were the latter. No one can be the elder of Daiyu.

Daiyu was quite depressed, so she told Xueyan privately.

Xueyan laughed and sighed again, and said: "The master only got girls when he was in his [-]s, even those young girls who are in the same class as the family, girls are more senior than most of them.