The Housekeeper's Daughter-in-law of the Red House

Wang Xifeng was still very familiar with the masters of Jia's house. After Wang Ziteng's family came to Beijing, she came to Jia's house to play from time to time. She was very familiar with both Jia's mother and the eldest family.But with Wang Xifeng's temperament, she naturally looked down on Mingzhu. Fortunately, although Wang Xifeng was upset, she didn't do it secretly, because she saw Mrs. Wang's gloomy eyes, and Mrs. Wang hated Mingzhu more than her.

Not only because of the slap in the face this time, but also because Mingzhu's name collided with Jia Zhu's name.

There was a taboo system in ancient times, just like "Lin Hongyu" in the original book collided with "Jia Baoyu" and "Lin Daiyu" and changed its name to "Lin Xiaohong".However, there are rules and reason in everything, for example, if the name of an older servant next to the elder conflicts with the little master, he won the favor of the elder, and he does not need to change his name.

But this is not the case for Mingzhu. Mingzhu's surname is Zhao, and she was born as a daughter of Jia's family. The so-called family daughter is the next generation born of the combination of a servant and a maid. Many maids in Jia's family have such a background, such as mandarin ducks.

Mingzhu was not originally called Mingzhu, but when she went to serve Jia Zheng, Jia Zheng gave this name on a whim, which made Mrs. Wang very unhappy for a while.Mrs. Wang couldn't hate Jia Zheng, she could only hate Mingzhu.

Of course, this is also one of the key topics that Jia She laughed at Jia Zheng's second brother is worthy of being a literati! 'Hehe, no real literati would give such a name that slaps their wives and children on their faces.

Every time Jia She laughed at Jia Zheng, Jia Zheng felt unhappy for a while, and became more and more disgusted with Mrs. Wang and Jia Zhu. If Mrs. Wang hadn't revealed it at that time, Jia She would not have been caught by Jia She to laugh at him.But Jia Zheng didn't think about it either, if he hadn't insisted on changing Mingzhu's name, and then twisted to prevent Mingzhu from changing her name back, Jia Amnesty wouldn't have had the chance to laugh at him.

It can only be said that self-inflicted crimes cannot live.

Wang Xifeng has a bright appearance and is good at talking, so she was quickly liked by everyone in the Jia family, including Mrs. Zhang, who has always been not very fond of the second room.But this also put pressure on Mrs. Zhang, and Jia Lian had to look after her. If the daughter-in-law was not as good as Wang Xifeng, wouldn't she be overwhelmed by the second wife again?

Mrs. Zhang, who has suffered a lot, said that this is absolutely not possible, so Mrs. Zhang took the opportunity of the Chinese New Year to visit relatives and friends, and conveyed her meaning: the eldest son of the Rongguo Mansion is going to see his wife, and if the conditions are qualified, hurry up Come, don't wait.

Thanks to the name of the old man Zhang Daru, plus Jia Lian's status as the eldest son of the Rongguo Mansion's chief concubine, plus attending some talented gatherings from time to time, he has a little ink in his stomach and looks handsome, so Jia Lian's market is very popular now, compared to Jia before Zhu is much better. Of course, Jia Zhu's market was also good back then, but Mrs. Wang held her back.

Just as Mrs. Wang wanted Jia Zhu and Jia Baoyu to marry a daughter-in-law who had the same heart and mind as her, Mrs. Zhang also had such a plan, but she had better reasons than Mrs. Wang. Jia Lian was going to take the imperial examination in the future and married a scholar. The girls in the family like to make contacts that are beneficial to the imperial examination and future official positions.

It was very straightforward, but it was extremely reasonable, and Mother Jia couldn't find any words to refute.After all, it was Jia Daishan who set the rule for future generations that it is best to marry a girl from a scholarly family. Even if Jia Daishan is dead now, Jia's mother would not dare to jump out to refute this statement openly.

As a result, Jiamu and Mrs. Wang's idea of ​​sharing a share in Jia Lian's marriage was completely ruined, because they were not familiar with the circle of literati, and whether it was Jiamu or Mrs. Wang who had more contact with the meritorious family.

Not long after Wang Xifeng got married, it was the twelfth lunar month, and she began to prepare for the New Year.Mrs. Wang has a high EQ, and she knows what kind of temperament Wang Xifeng is. In addition, she has been in charge of the family for several years after the separation. The so-called not being in charge of the family does not know how expensive it is. how much.

Mrs. Wang's IQ is not high, but she is not a fool. Seeing the harvest getting worse year by year, she also mutters in her heart, but the housekeeper's methods are not enough.It just so happens that Wang Xifeng likes to show off her talents, so I leave it to her to deal with the offending and dealing with others.So Mrs. Wang directly told her to let her observe Mrs. Zhang and how she handles the housekeeping during the Chinese New Year, and let Wang Xifeng be the housekeeper after the Chinese New Year.

Wang Xifeng was naturally overjoyed when she heard the words. Although Mrs. Wang is her aunt, don't forget that Mrs. Wang's daughter-in-law may have her as a daughter-in-law. When Jia Baoyu grows up, someone will fight for power and profit with her.If they don't take advantage of their age advantage to make more money, they may still suffer when they split up in the future.

Everyone has their own calculations, and Wang Xifeng doesn't care about it, but Wang Xifeng, who loves to make money, and the blackened Jia Zhu are a perfect match.

Naturally, Shulan also heard the news. The servants all said that Mrs. Wang is pure and kind, and ordinary mothers-in-law, including Jia Mu, did not delegate power so happily.Only Shulan knew that Mrs. Wang seemed to have delegated the housekeeping power to Wang Xifeng, but in fact she was behind the scenes, but she just didn't handle the housework herself.For the housework of the second bedroom, Wang Xifeng was in charge of the small matters, but the big ones had to be returned to Mrs. Wang, and Mrs. Wang made the final decision.

But anyway, Wang Xifeng still has some power, such as letting an insignificant girl out, Wang Xifeng still has this right, generally speaking, it is much better than Mrs. Wang marrying into Jia's mansion back then.

***

"Why is Sister Lin here?" Jia Zhu was lying on the kang, and heard that someone had come to the big room, so she didn't mind reading with a book.

But when someone came in, he saw that he was a little more enthusiastic, and quickly asked the girl serving at the side to greet Shulan to keep warm, "Seeing that it is still snowing outside, sister Lin is not serving at the eldest lady's place, why come to me?" gone."

Wang Xifeng made a look at the side, and the girl at the side quickly asked Shulan to sit down by the stove, and poured her another cup of hot tea.

"My wife ordered someone to clean up the warehouse in the palace yesterday to see what was missing for the New Year, but she didn't want to pack up a big box of hand stoves. There is no detailed record in the palace's ledger and I don't know when they got it. Coincidentally Now that it’s cold and it’s useful, after my wife asked the old lady for instructions, she sent people to send the hand stoves to each room.” Shulan said with a smile, and finally said mischievously: “I managed to grab this one today. The matter, uncle and grandma have to give me a chance to curry favor."

Jia Zhu sat up straight and said with a smile: "Sister Lin is slapping me. I don't know how much convenience I got when my sister was with my wife. Now even if I have a wife, I don't dare to forget my sister."

Shulan rolled her eyes and said with a smile, "Master, don't make fun of me. Be careful that grandma is jealous and pulls my skin." After speaking, he asked the little girls behind him to pass the tray to Jia Zhu Wang Xifeng's room The girl in the house.

Standing by the side, Wang Xifeng glanced at the hand stoves in the tray calmly. There were copper flower patterns, cupronickel burnt blue ones, enamel colored flower butterfly patterns, cloisonné enamel and gilt cranes, and emerald carved patterns. , There are copper black lacquer and golden phoenix... There are more than a dozen large and small squares, and there are matching coats.

"I'm sorry, sister Lin, to deliver it in person in such a cold day, but sister Lin, don't make fun of me. Be careful, the old lady heard me and beat me up." The smile on Wang Xifeng's face remained the same, showing no embarrassment of being teased.

What Shulan was talking about was what happened before. It is the rule of Jia’s mansion that two house maids should be served before they get married. Jia Zhu’s place is no exception. It was brought up by the two maids who have served Jia Zhu since childhood. .Unexpectedly, Wang Xifeng came in and found a reason to send those two off to marry.

Although there are excuses, people with a discerning eye say they can't see the truth, but because Jia Zhu's health is really bad, Wang Xifeng was embarrassed when she just married in, so Jia Mu and Mrs. Wang didn't move, otherwise it would be left to other people. This is a manifestation of jealousy.

Even so, there are rumors among the servants of the Jia family that Grandma Zhu is jealous.

"The old lady has always loved you, look at the place where even the two wives have retreated since you married in, how can you be willing to beat you!" Shulan sighed deliberately, with a puzzled look on her face "I don't know what's so good about you. All the masters in the house say hello to you, especially the old lady, and the old lady is in a hurry with that person when someone says something bad about you."

Wang Xifeng was very useful and proud when she heard the words, she laughed and said: "I am good at any place, the old lady is really discerning."

"I'm really not ashamed." Shulan shamed Wang Xifeng a bit.

ashamed! ?

This word does not exist in Wang Xifeng's dictionary, she has always been thick-skinned.

"Okay, I won't quarrel with you. I have to go back to my wife. If you are really good, I will just wait and see." After drinking hot tea, Shulan got up, picked up her cloak, and prepared go outside.

Wang Xifeng hurriedly stopped her, "I've come here all the time, and I just ate a cup of hot tea and left. Isn't that a slap in the face? My sister is kind to the uncle, and we all remember it. It's hard to come, no matter what. Let's go after eating." After speaking, Wang Xifeng ordered the girls behind Shulan to go back to Mrs. Zhang and leave Shulan to eat at her place.

"This can't be allowed. There's no reason for the master to invite his servants to dinner." Shulan didn't dare to accept it. The jokes on her mouth were intimate, but if she really accepted Wang Xifeng's banquet, she would be treasonous. It's just an extra word, it's my wife's credit, besides, my wife has already rewarded me, so how can I accept it again." But she couldn't help Wang Xifeng's face, so she laughed and said: "If grandma loves me, she will give me a new wife Please reward me with two plates of fruit snacks, I'm so hungry."

Wang Xifeng's eyeballs rolled, and the smile on his face deepened, "Cheng Chengcheng, you asked for it by name, so why should I be stingy? Ping'er, An'er, hurry up and pick up two pieces of fruit, snacks and candied fruit that were delivered yesterday." Bring the box."

Shulan spat at her, "Who was generous enough to keep me for dinner just now, and now he is saying that I am rushing to the autumn wind, if you don't want to, just don't give it, why bother to ruin my reputation .”

"Good sister, it's all my fault. I have nothing to stop me from speaking, so you must be offended." Wang Xifeng hastily apologized.

Shulan gave her a blank look before leaving with the food box.When they arrived at Mrs. Zhang's courtyard, Shulan distributed one box to the maids who followed her to give away hand stoves, and distributed the other box to the people in Mrs. Zhang's courtyard.