Love of Friends in the Red Chamber

That was the time when the cherry trees in the garden bore the first fruits. On that day, the snow geese went to the garden early in the morning, picked fresh cherries with dew, and brought them in in crystal cups. Early in the morning, I brought my eldest son, who was nicknamed Yi'er, to come over to play with him. Yi'er was not yet ten years old, and when he was naughty, he ate cherries and stood in the yard, using a slingshot to shoot the cherry pits away. Hit the bird on that tree.He was very skilled, although he was only a cherry pit, but he shot down two sparrows one after another. Zicuckoo found him a bird cage, and he put the sparrows in the cage flutteringly for fun.

Dong Yao was afraid that Daiyu would think he was a mess, so she drove him to play in the garden. The pig was eager to make a sound, and immediately ran away, and several maids and nannies hurried to follow.Here Daiyu asks why Qi'er has a future. Qi'er is Dong Yao's eldest daughter, who is only six years old this year.Dong Yao said with a smile: "Yesterday I said I would bring her to play, she was so happy, but in the middle of the night, she developed a fever, burning like a small charcoal stove, and I didn't give her any medicine, just I used an ice pack to lower the temperature, and the fever subsided this morning, so I sent her to the wife's room to lie down and give birth for two days before going out."

Daiyu laughed and said, "It's strange, I have prepared something good for her, so my sister-in-law will take it back." Then she called Biye, brought out a small mother-of-pearl cloud pattern box, and opened it. , there are two necklaces, one large and one small, and the pendants are all gold inlaid with coral, but the small one uses seven pink baby face coral beads, and the big one uses five extremely bright chicken blood red coral beads , not big, but it is exquisitely designed, up and down, very cute.Dong Yao couldn't put it down when she held it in her hand, and said it looked good.

Daiyu smiled and said: "This is specially designed for families with daughters. Mother and daughter have the same style. Now that I am free, I often draw a picture and let the people in the silver building do it. Originally, I brought it myself. Just for fun, who would have thought that the shopkeeper of the silver building said that the market was so good that they all needed to be customized, so I made the business big at home, and even Bi Ye helped." Dong Yao laughed and said, "I'm actually a genius. I know, if I had heard about it earlier, I would definitely go and have a look." Daiyu was happy to hear that, so she took out the blueprint of a ring that she had recently made, and asked Dong Yao to appreciate it.The two were talking happily when the daughter-in-law of the second door came in to report: "The eldest grandma of the Sun family is here."

When Daiyu heard this, she knew it was Yingchun, so she couldn't help laughing and said, "It's really a rare visitor."But Yingchun came in, holding a veil in his hand, coughing lightly while holding his mouth.When she came to her eyes, Daiyu realized that Yingchun's left cheek was blue and purple, and her eyes were red and swollen like peaches.Can't help asking in surprise: "Second Sister, what's wrong?" Dong Yao has a clear understanding of the world, seeing the tragic scene of Yingchun through the glass window in the warm pavilion, she knew that Sun Shaozu must have acted violently again, and wanted to avoid it After thinking about it, Daiyu has a kind heart and a soft face, while Yingchun went out like this regardless of the scars on his face. He must have something to ask for, so he sat down again for fear of embarrassing Daiyu, intending to listen to what Yingchun had to say and act on his own .

Before Yingchun could say anything, she burst into tears again, but when she saw Dong Yao was still present, she held back her tears and said that she accidentally touched the window lattice, so Daiyu ordered Zijuan to fetch the imperial borneol When the Xiaohen ointment came, I personally applied it on Yingchun before giving up my seat and tea.Seeing that Dong Yao was sitting steadily, Yingchun didn't intend to say goodbye, so she just said, "I'm here today to thank my sister for the ivory-inlaid jade narcissus bonsai."

Hearing Yingchun's words, the two servant girls Zijuan and Biye who were serving next to her widened their eyes. It turned out that Yingchun came last month and wanted to borrow a jade bonsai that Daiyu put on the desk. The bonsai was made by the Gongzhong Construction Office. The base is a sapphire chrysanthemum petal pot, and the four corners are carved into the shape of a double-leaf chrysanthemum. Gold lines are outlined on the emerald-carved bottom material as veins.The basin is dotted with jagged lake stone rockery carved from lapis lazuli, and two narcissus plants are scattered among the rocks. Ivory is the rhizome, Hetian jade is the petal, and topaz is the stamen, which is extremely delicate.

At that time, Yingchun said that Sun Shaozu wanted to invite distinguished guests and wanted to borrow elegant things as decorations. Daiyu had always been indifferent to foreign things, although she was not willing to borrow the things she loved in the inner room, especially not like Sun Shaozu. For the sake of Yingchun's face, the ordinary people agreed.At that time, Yingchun said that he could return in three to five days, but once he left, he would have nothing to do.Daiyu would not go to ask for it, and she had already forgotten about it. Just thinking about the bonsai that was placed at Sun Shaozu's banquet, she would not use it again, so she had saved Yingchun and gave it away if she liked it. She meant, but she didn't expect Yingchun to say such a sentence today, so she was startled.

After all, Biye was young and quick-spoken, and said: "Grandma Sun, didn't you borrow that bonsai that day?" Daiyu glanced at her, and Zijuan hurriedly pulled Biye out.Yingchun bowed her head in embarrassment, and Daiyu smiled and said, "Second sister, you are being polite, but it's just a plaything. If you like it, you can keep it for fun. Why bother to say thank you?" Knowing that Yingchun's situation is really pitiful, he smiled softly and said, "Grandma Sun doesn't have to shy away from me. If you have something to say, it's okay. My girl and I are originally one. I will help Grandma Sun to speak for her." She was usually amiable, but if Madam Yipin Gaoming's money was displayed, she would be very dignified.

However, Yingchun was honest and couldn't understand Dong's words, and she was bullied by Sun Shaozu to the point of being helpless, so she couldn't care less about face, so she said directly: "Our uncle said that the bonsai last time was really cute, please show it to me." He also has a lot of face when drinking, but some superiors of his military department also took a look at it, so he gave it away to others. Today he sent me to ask about it, but there are other things, our master said he is still useful..."

In this way, even if Daiyu and Dong Yao are good-tempered people, they couldn't help being angry.However, it wasn't Yingchun that Daiyu was angry with. She knew Yingchun's character was cowardly, but she never caused trouble to others.Thinking that Yingchun was innocent but lonely, Daiyu couldn't help but feel sad for the death of a rabbit and a fox. In a flash, Daiyu made up her mind. She gently pulled the sleeve of Dong Yao who was about to speak, and Dong Yao He swallowed back the words on his lips.Daiyu then called Zijuan and said, "Go to the storeroom and bring the 'Nine Layers of Spring' cloisonné enamel bonsai and the 'Chengcha Immortal' tourmaline burnt blue bonsai." After a lot of words, I promised to go, and after a while, I brought two gold-plated copper rosewood boxes with chiseled flowers.

Daiyu and the others looked at the "nine layers of spring scenery" first, and saw that the walls of the basin were paved with lake blue glaze and gold silk enamel porcelain, and the four corners were like flower patterns. The leaves of the emerald tree are made of top-quality jade such as tourmaline, hibiscus, and topaz, and flowers and plants made of agate of various colors are dotted under the tree, implying a bright and prosperous spring.

Look at the "Chengcha Immortal" again. The bonsai is made of natural agarwood wood carvings in the shape of a building boat. An ivory-carved old man sits on the building boat. He looks peaceful, with white hair and long beard. There is a sunflower-style white jade plate on top, containing agate tourmaline grapes, behind is the enamel beauty dendrobium, with large ivory chrysanthemums inserted, and the whole body of the building is wrapped with vines made of gold thread, and white jade gourds and burnt blue enamel leaves hang from the vines. Delicate and cute.

Even though Dong Yao had seen so many rare and rare treasures, she was also stunned—these two bonsai are just playthings, but they are priceless.Daiyu smiled lightly and said, "The last time she entered the palace to pay her respects to the Queen Mother, the Queen Mother gave it to her. She said it was a gift for the Longevity Day given to the Queen Mother by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. I think there are still six in the Queen Mother's treasury, so I will give it to you." The three of me also hurt me."

However, Yingchun didn't care about being obedient at all, she was frightened by Sun Shaozu, as long as she could temporarily avoid that person's torment, how could she care that this thing came from the palace, so she should not be given or received at will?At the moment, I didn't dare to waste any more time, so I just let the woman who came with me come in, wrapped the box with a bundle, and then took my leave.Daiyu knew her suffering, so she didn't keep her, but sent her outside the second gate. When she watched her get into the car, she took the opportunity to whisper, "Second sister, you'd rather wait for a while, but what request does that person make?" You promise first, don't let him rub you again, I will find a way..." Yingchun opened her eyes wide and looked at Daiyu, and finally starlight flashed in her ashen eyes, and she watched with tears shining Daiyu finally couldn't help crying in a low voice: "Sister Lin, help me..." She didn't dare to say anything more, and got into the car with tears in her eyes. Daiyu didn't speak, just nodded silently, watching Taking Yingchun's car to go far away, I stood there thinking for a long time in a daze.

It wasn't until Zijuan came over to persuade: "Grandma, go back, stand here carefully and your legs are sore." Daiyu bit her lip, turned around and went in, she had already made up her mind in the blink of an eye: so many sisters have suffered Unfortunately, there is nothing he can do, this time he must rescue Yingchun, a miserable woman.

When Daiyu came back, she saw Dong Yao standing under the eaves and looking at her with a smile, and asked her, "Sister, have you made up your mind?" Daiyu nodded and said, "Sister-in-law, I'll go with you today. I have something to discuss with big brother when big brother comes down to court." Dong Yao nodded and said: "Really, I think that Sun Shaozu is too domineering, he didn't even look at it, dare to openly ask for the imperial things? It really is a I don’t know how high or low—oh, he’s still your relative after all, I shouldn’t have said bad things about him.” Then he covered his mouth and laughed.

Daiyu laughed angrily, and said: "That's right, such a ignorant thing, my second elder sister is the daughter of a duke, who came from a noble family, and it's really unbearable to be humiliated by him like this. But it's hard to punish him." It’s still Fei hesitating—I don’t want to hurt the jade bottle just to beat a mouse.”

Dong Yao said: "Let's discuss it with our family. Even if we say we're afraid of rats, we can't get rid of that bad thing. With the rest of us, can't we come up with a solution?"