Red Mansions Become Baochai

But she couldn't sit still anymore, and the kitten was like a baby cat hugging Mrs. Xue's arms, asking Mrs. Xue to let her go for a stroll in the yard.

Mrs. Xue quickly put down her needle and thread, and said with a smile: "My son, he started to make trouble just after recovering from his illness. How good it is to be pricked by a needle." She looked outside and said, "The sun is fine today. Walking around with you, sitting on the kang at home all day, I also have some bone aches."

The servant girl prepared two soft chairs in just a moment, but Baochai didn't appreciate it.She shook her head and said, "I don't want to sit here. It's interesting to walk all the way by myself." Mrs. Xue straightened Baochai's skirt and said, "It's up to you, just don't be able to walk for a while, and call the girls and women to hug you."

Baochai agreed, cheered, and jumped out of the courtyard like a deer.Mrs. Xue's nanny hurriedly followed, and the maidservant still lifted the soft chair and followed behind.

The Xue family occupies a place among the four major families in Jinling, so this ancestral house is certainly not small.Although it is not as big as the Grand View Garden, the family-sacrificing villa of the noble concubine Yuanchun in Dream of the Red Chamber, it covers an area of ​​nearly six acres, which is also a medium-sized garden.

In ancient China, a garden was a mansion gate, the epitome of a family.This is no different from the Grand View Garden. The ups and downs of the garden reflect the ups and downs of the family.But at this moment Baochai is like a bird out of the cage, and such heavy thoughts are just like a small dark cloud in the sky, which will pass by and disappear after a while.

Although Fairy Jing Huan stuffed the previous memories into Baochai's mind, she always felt like a movie she had seen, not real enough.Walking in her own yard now, Baochai is not much better than Grandma Liu visiting the Grand View Garden, excited and curious at the same time.While looking around with dilated eyes, he listened to Zhao Fu's family's detailed explanation, just as he listened to the tour guide's explanation.

This is not surprising, those who can live in a house with a back garden in a modern city are wealthy and powerful people.Ordinary people work hard for half their lives, but in exchange for a dwelling of about [-] square meters.Even if it lives in the first class of Tomson, it is just a bigger and better box.

Baochai's grandfather, Mr. Xue, made friends with Mr. Tang, a man who was good at gardening in Yangzhou in his early years. He planned and built this mansion in Xue's mansion.When the project in the park was completed, the relatives of Guo Kai, the former minister of rites, came to visit and stayed for three days. On the instrument door.Because of this, Xue's mansion was named Jianyuan.

In the early years when Baochai's grandfather Xue Gong was alive, because he loved to collect books very much, he built a two-story hill building in his home, and collected all kinds of books and collected them here.In addition to studying, he also enjoyed farming, and planted many famous flowers and herbs in the courtyard.

The courtyard is full of flowers in spring, summer and autumn. There are often famous people in Jinling City who gather in this garden.Or talking about poetry and papers, or drinking wine and enjoying flowers, singing to each other, laughter, and melodious silk strings are very lively.

In addition to the collection of books and rare flowers and trees loved by literati, the most commendable thing is the five huge Taihu stones placed in the center of the courtyard.On the yellow, white or gray stones, green vines and vines are intertwined and climbing everywhere. Even in winter, the branches and leaves are green, the flowers are fragrant, and the clusters of fruits are lovely and fragrant.This scene seems to be similar to the Hengwu Garden where Baochai lived in the Grand View Garden of A Dream of Red Mansions.Because of these five strange stones, Jinling people like to call this yard Wufeng Garden.

Although the courtyard in winter is a bit bleak, under the reflection of the red sun in the morning, the tranquility is softened.Pavilions, towers and pavilions, mountains, trees, flowers and stones have all been dyed with golden light, which warms the hearts of those who see it.

Baochai followed Mrs. Xue out of the Mingtang Hall where she lived, saw the Wufeng Stone, and went to the lake to feed the red carp once.There is a pavilion called Fenxi Pavilion in the middle of the lake, with bamboo bridges built on both sides.There are two small wooden buildings on the high ground on the other side of the lake, which is the small mountain building.It was built here for the collection of books in the building after many considerations. One is that it is closer to the lake for fire prevention.The second is not afraid of moisture on the high ground.

There are twelve small courtyards in the entire Xue residence. Grandfather must have hoped that the descendants of the Xue family would have many descendants, and the courtyard would be full.It's a pity that the current generation of the Xue family has only a small number of descendants. There are only eight people in total, and the two sons only gave birth to a pair of children.

Baochai bypassed her grandfather's favorite fishing nunnery, wanting to watch the crane dance by the lake, but upon closer inspection, the white crane's wings were all tied up with thread.Presumably it was because he was afraid that the white cranes would fly away.

Feeling disappointed, suddenly Mrs. Xue's little maid Tonggui ran over panting and said, "Mrs. Biao, Mrs. Biao in Huai'an has brought Master Biao home."

Mrs. Xue hurriedly took Baochai to sit on the soft chair and told her to go back quickly.Then I asked Tonggui: "But I sent someone to ride a horse, did you invite me home?" Something big?

Baochai saw that her mother was no longer smiling and looked worried, thinking that the Xue family should not owe anyone money.Before she could ask, Mrs. Xue said, "The niece of your grandmother He's family who came here today was raised in Xue's family since she was a child, and married to Gu's family in Huai'an 12 years ago. Your cousin's uncle is also an official, but why? Bad luck. When I was governor of Haizhou three years ago, Japanese pirates came to Haijiang, and the general who guarded the city fled with his soldiers. Your cousin died while defending the city with the people alone, leaving your aunt and your cousin behind Alone in the world. Although he has been ordered by the imperial court to commend him, what can orphans and widows do with him?"

He also told Baochai: "When you meet your cousin, your cousin, you must be obedient, don't laugh and laugh, there are no rules."

Baochai quickly straightened her face and nodded.It sounds like this cousin was lonely since she was a child, and her early experience is a bit like Shi Xiangyun and Lin Daiyu.I didn't expect that after getting married, I couldn't live a good life for a few years.

In ancient times, men could remarry after several wives died, such as Jia He, Jia Zhen, and Jia Rong.If there is no sequel, no matter how many concubines and maids there are in the backyard, they can still call themselves widowers with the cheek.However, women who marry into rich families have to abide by the three obediences and four virtues. After the death of their husbands, they become widows, and it is basically impossible to remarry.Even after being engaged, the future husband will be forced to watch over the widow if he does not pass through the door.Even if he had a son, he was just another Li Wan, widowed in youth, living a life of haggard wood and ashes.

Thinking of this, Baochai couldn't help but fight a cold war. In the future, he either won't marry, or if he wants to marry, he must never marry a short-lived one.

Mrs. Xue has just entered the main door with Baochai.Seeing a young beautiful woman pulling a boy to catch up, Yingying knelt down and said: "Shuqing brought her baby Yunzhen to see my cousin, please be safe."

Mrs. Xue hurriedly stepped forward and pulled her mother and son up: "Cousin, get up quickly, don't be too polite, you have an order on your body, I should see you."

The beautiful woman took Mrs. Xue's hand and said: "Cousin, Shu Qing is already a widow, what are you going to say? Today, I brought my child to my cousin and sister-in-law, so I should do the family rituals first."

Baochai saw that she was only 26 or [-] years old, she was wearing a blue-colored face jacket on her upper body, a moon-white thin skirt underneath, her hair was only pulled up in a simple bun, and a silver hairpin was inserted on her head, nothing else. jewelry.The appearance is very beautiful, and there is a touch of sadness hidden between the brows.The speech is very elegant, and inadvertently reveals a bookish atmosphere, which makes people forget the vulgarity.

Turning around to look at the boy again, he saw that he was wearing a blue bamboo robe with no other decorations.Looking at his stature, he seems to be younger than his elder brother, with sword eyebrows and star eyes, and a heroic look in his eyes.Even after traveling such a long distance with his mother to visit relatives, his face is neither overbearing nor humble, his manners are very good, and he looks extremely educated.

Mrs. Xue dragged the aunt of the He family onto the kang, crying and laughing at the same time, telling her divorce.Master Xue also arrived.

Everyone met again, and Xue Kefang arrived: "After taking care of my cousin's funeral that day, I will take your mother and son home, but you just refuse to agree. Before my mother passed away, let my two brothers take good care of my cousin's life." In the past three years, the family has sent several groups of people to pick them up, why do you still lie that the tribe treats your mother and child well? Shuqing, why are you so confused now, and you have been wronged, and you still want to help them hide it?"

Aunt He's face felt ashamed when she heard this, and said in tears: "After my husband passed away, I originally thought about taking my son back to my hometown in Huai'an to observe festivals for him, and just raising him to live a peaceful life. Who would have thought that we were orphans and widows? My mother has no one to rely on, and gradually began to plot my family business. I taught the family the shop and property on the surface, thinking that they should be satisfied. A few days ago, a distant relative of the He family came to pay homage to the dead husband. , I gave him some local products from Huai’an, and was met by some meddling people in the clan, saying that I would move the property of the Gu family back to my natal family, and even my ancestral house would be taken back to the clan. Cousin Mingjian, although I am The He family, but their parents and relatives are gone, since they were adopted by their aunt when they were eight years old, how could they do this?"

Xue Ke said angrily: "Who said you are unreliable? They have no shame and occupy the inheritance of orphans and widows. Why don't you send someone to report?"

The boy named Yunzhen suddenly stood up and said loudly: "Uncle, don't scold my mother. My mother endured it before, because she was afraid that others would laugh at my Gu family's unhealthy family style, be laughed at by outsiders, and degrade my father's reputation. Now the tribe is getting worse. , to force our mother and son to live in the family temple, my mother took me all the way to seek refuge with my cousins ​​and aunts."

Mrs. Xue felt sad when she heard that, she wiped away her tears, and pulled Yun Zhen onto the kang and hugged her in her arms, so as to comfort her.

Xue Ke sighed, walked over and patted Yun Zhen's head and said, "Good boy, I'm not scolding your mother, but I blame her for not bringing you home earlier."

He also ordered Mrs. Xue: "First send someone to take the servants they brought, and arrange them properly."

Mrs. Xue returned: "