[Red Mansions] The big maid struggles daily

Last year's Qixi Festival, Jia Yuanchun, the granddaughter of the Rongguo Mansion, took a maidservant with her qin, and drove into the imperial city from Di'an Gate at night. She waited until dawn and Shenwu Gate opened before entering the palace gate through the side gate.

After entering the palace, there was no news of Jia Yuanchun, but within a few months, the 'forgetful' masters and servants of the Rongguo Mansion no one mentioned this illustrious young lady again.Even Jia's mother only sighed during the Chinese New Year and then threw her hands away.

It's the Duanyang Festival again, and the Rongguo Mansion, regardless of master or slave, has Puai hairpin gates and tiger talismans on their arms.Jia Mu treated the banquet and the whole family enjoyed the afternoon.

Because Xifeng was pregnant in the chrysanthemum month of last year, and now the month is old, she seldom made jokes in front of Mrs. Jia's wife. Without this pistachio, Jia's mother was not very interested, so she left early Everyone went to rest.

Mrs. Wang supported the girl's hand, and when she went out, she saw Baoyu and Shi Xiangyun on the small couch in the side room behind the bead curtain, head to head, chattering something, Shi Xiangyun leaned on Baoyu's shoulder and laughed, leaning back and forth, side by side. While laughing, he patted Baoyu's arm with his hand.

"This girl Yun has been here for two years?" Mrs. Wang lowered her eyelashes and asked casually.

Zhou Rui's family peeked at her expression, since the master added Aunt Liu, the wife has become more and more reticent, often eating fast and praying to Buddha, she looks like a withered and rotten tree on the outside, but she is becoming more and more unpredictable on the inside.

"No, I picked it up in the twelfth lunar month of the previous year. The old lady took pity on her who lost her father and mother, so she didn't ask Shihou's family to pick it up." Zhou Rui's family replied cautiously, "But Shihou's family only came to pick it up once, and after that it will be picked up." It's like forgetting this niece."

Mrs. Wang smiled sarcastically, that's a hot potato, besides, who wants to have such an outsider in the family.That is to say, the old lady, it's all right for her not to shy away from it, and she even asked her Baoyu to play with this girl who was so hard-nosed to marry her all day long.

Mrs. Wang went back to Rongxi Hall and sat down in the ear room, when Jin Chuan'er came in holding a tray of five poisonous embroidered pouches of various colors.Zhou Rui's family offered tea to Mrs. Wang in person. Seeing Mrs. Wang picking out four sachets with her fingertips, she and Jin Chuan'er tied the sachets embroidered with patterns of scorpions, centipedes, poisonous snakes, toads, and spiders to the back of the bed curtain. on the four corners.

Another colorful cloud came forward holding a black lacquer painted golden pomegranate flower box. Mrs. Wang saw that it was just some five poisonous cakes and dumplings wrapped in reed leaves, and she became more and more boring, "All these things, give it to the girls to eat." Forget it." After a pause, he continued, "I'll pack a bag for your sister-in-law Zhou and take it home, it's better than buying from outside."

Zhou Rui's family hurriedly came over to thank him, and jokingly said: "Thank you for the reward, my wife. My kid is thinking of eating this. The ones bought outside are not as good as the ones in the house."

Mrs. Wang said lazily, "It's just meringue rose pancakes. He printed some patterns of spiders and toads on the bottom, as if it didn't taste like the original, but it's just ordinary things."

Zhou Rui's family followed Mrs. Wang's expression, seeing that she was uncomfortable, how could they dare to joke.

Zhou Rui's family was about to leave, but Mrs. Wang suddenly said, "Stop, Jin Chuan brought me a letter from Jinling."

Jin Chuan'er hurriedly went into the small drawer of the dowry in the inner room and took out the letter. Zhou Rui's family took it and unfolded it to Mrs. Wang.

Mrs. Wang finished reading the letter, pondered for a long time, and suddenly said: "I heard Feng'er's gossip a while ago, and then I learned that Mrs. Lin's aunt wrote a letter to the old lady the year before, saying that when she was useless, the old lady wanted to send a letter to the old lady. The daughter of the Lin family took care of her. Aunt Lin got better later on, so she put this aside... What do you say?"

Du Qi, from Zhou Rui's family, pretended to be surprised and said, "Oh, one girl Yun is not enough, and another Miss Lin is not enough? In addition, the second and third girls from our mansion, the fourth girl from Dongfu, and the old lady How much do you need to raise in front of you to be happy?"

Mrs. Wang said annoyedly: "Second Miss, Third Miss, and Fourth Miss are fine, they are all girls of my own family. The old lady raised her in front of her, and she will be nice when she comes out of the cabinet in the future. It's just that the girl from a relative's family, the old lady doesn't understand others. The flesh and blood are inseparable, and they have to come to support... Besides, they share the same yard with Baoyu, Baoyu's temperament is not liked by the master, and if he hangs around with these difficult little girls all day long, it will be even more unbearable."

Zhou Rui's family laughed and said: "Second master is still young, he has always been the most sensible and good-natured, Madam, don't worry."

Mrs. Wang shook her head, "Baoyu usually has a bad temper. In front of Miss Yun, he has dropped that life-like jade more than once. I know all of this. The more you restrain him, the more mischievous you will be. It is not for my life to get sick again. Therefore, I thought, it would be better to find a serious and reasonable girl to guide and persuade him, I'm afraid it would be better."

Zhou Rui's family's understanding was misunderstood. They thought Mrs. Wang was talking about letting Baoyu live in the house, so they were surprised. This second master is only eight years old, so it's a bit early.

Fortunately, before he could answer, Mrs. Wang said again: "Baoyu, his uncle of the Xue family, has been gone for a few years. Pan'er has a rough temper and can't do anything. Thanks to his sister, she is rare to be knowledgeable and reasonable. The inner gang Watching her mother take care of the housework, go outside to persuade and support her elder brother, she is really a good child who cannot be picked out of a hundred. I just thought, how old is Baoyu when she is older, and it will be difficult for the Xue family and his uncle to go, If you don’t pick them up, you won’t kill two birds with one stone.”

Zhou Rui's family hurriedly laughed and said: "I often hear about this aunt's house, saying that his house has a 'good harvest and a lot of snow'. It is not uncommon for this gold and silver to become dung in the eyes of his family."

Mrs. Wang and You Rongyan, she wanted to take her younger sister's family to Beijing, although she had the idea of ​​taking care of their family, but the most important thing was not in it.For one thing, it was Baoyu who became more and more intimate with that girl Yun. Baoyu was nine or ten years old, and Mrs. Wang was afraid that she would make a scandal about her childhood sweetheart. Seeing the two disgusts, how can I bear it; secondly, the Xue family is rich, since they sent Yuanchun into the palace last year, Mrs. Wang has been seriously injured. Therefore, it is no problem to think about the money.

As for what she said about ordering Xue Baochai to persuade and guide Baoyu, she was naturally telling the truth: Shi Xiangyun is used to talking and laughing to attract Baoyu's liking, but he is not outstanding in appearance.As for those words such as marriage, engagement, marriage, etc., it is too early to say this.

Zhou Rui's family's self-consciousness grasped Mrs. Wang's thoughts, and asked with a smile: "But my wife loves that cousin girl very much, and wants to hire our second master?"

Hearing this, Mrs. Wang unexpectedly turned her face down, and said coldly: "I just said that Baoyu was still young, and she said this again! I just asked my relative's sister to teach him, and these words come out!"

Zhou Rui's family hurriedly knelt down and slapped her face, and said with an apologetic smile: "The servant is getting more and more stupid, isn't it? Our second master is lucky, and the eldest girl will have a bright future in the future, even the young lady of the prince's family will hire her."

Mrs. Wang just gave up, and when Zhou Rui's family mentioned Yuanchun, she became more anxious, put down the letter from Jinling, and immediately wrote a sincere invitation.

Half a month later, Aunt Xue received a letter from Jingzhong. Seeing the sincere words in the letter, she was also moved.Xue Pan really failed to live up to expectations. During the dragon boat race at Duanyang, he broke the head of the young son of the prefect of Jinling. The family sent their daughter to the palace. They only thought that Jia Yuanchun was announced to the palace because of virtue. Besides, the procurement business delegated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs was not as lucrative as before. idea.

Xue Pan was tired of staying in Jinling long ago, and was about to go to the first-class prosperous capital for sightseeing. Hearing this letter, he was overjoyed, so he pestered his mother in every possible way, so as to teach his mother to agree.After Aunt Xue nodded her head, she immediately ordered the inside and outside to pack up and pack softly, wishing to set off tomorrow.

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After the new rain this day, the pink and white lotus flowers in the lotus pond stand tall and graceful, with scattered heights, and the water drops on the lotus leaves are crystal clear, which complements the lotus flowers.Zhu Xiu wore a straw hat and picked lotus pods by herself in a small boat.On the one hand, the lotus seeds with full fruits are cut, and on the other hand, the water drops on the lotus leaves are collected with bamboo tubes.

A few years ago, on a whim, she put water in fresh bamboo tubes and stored it in Cuihua's pouch.Unexpectedly, this unconstrained method gave a big surprise, the water stored in the bamboo tube can be nourished by the emerald sac, and the water is taken out, although it is not as magical as those spiritual springs and strange waters that can wash the essence and cut the marrow, but it will last for a long time. Taking it can also strengthen the body and bones, detoxify and beautify the skin.Originally, the better the water quality, the longer it is placed in the Cuihua bag, the stronger the effect will be.

The Qibai ointment made by Zhuxiu with nourished sweet well water is very effective; and the effect of the long-preserved Yuquan water is no worse than the lead powder sold outside. Women in this era like to use lead. Applying powder to the face is because the lead powder is applied, and the skin immediately looks tender and smooth, and it can be broken by blowing a bullet.

The only downside is that the bamboo tube that holds the water is placed in the emerald pouch. Over time, the water will gradually decrease. The earliest tube of water stored in Zhuxiu is now only half the height of the bamboo tube when it is opened.

This is enough for people to thank the ancestors of heaven and earth.If there is no defect, wouldn't it be that she saved a few tubes of water and took them out when she died, and the water would become a fine liquid, able to live to the bones of the dead, then she should be paranoid and frightened.

Zhu Xiu used the earliest batch of water to brew two tubes of medicinal wine, and asked someone to take it to Yangzhou. Later, there was a letter saying that after drinking this wine, Jia Min and his wife were in better health than in previous years. Knowing that she didn't want to show off, she secretly sent many gifts.This was already an unexpected joy, Zhu Xiu thought, people should not be too greedy, this kind of fate is already unimaginable, so be content.

At this moment, Zhu Xiu held the emerald green bamboo tube in one hand, and slightly tilted the lotus leaf with the other, and the dew and raindrops on it rolled down into the bamboo tube.When one tube is full, replace it with another bamboo tube.In the Cuihua pouch, there are ten compartments for bamboo tubes and bamboo tubes of water. These bamboo tubes are specially bought bamboo tubes, each of which is as wide as a palm and as long as a forearm.The year, month, where to collect, and what kind of water are engraved on the bamboo tube in small characters.

Nourishing water can be used for a long time to strengthen the body without any side effects, but water from different sources has different uses.For example, plum blossom snow, with the characteristics of plum blossoms, has the best effect on soothing the liver, neutralizing stagnation, and resolving stagnation, but collecting plum blossom snow is too cumbersome. .

The rainwater is good, making tea is also very good; as for the dew, Zhu Xiu is used to picking lotus leaves, which are easy to get in large quantities; The effects of the two are similar in relieving heat and annoyance, so the dew on the lotus leaves is the most suitable.

She was working hard to enrich her medicine storage reservoir, when she suddenly heard commotion on the shore, the maids in red and green running around excitedly, Qing Jin looked around and waved to her.

Zhu Xiu drove the boat to the shore, and Qing Jin said urgently: "Mrs. Xue's wife brought her brothers and sisters to Beijing with her family. She was getting off the car outside the door. The wife took the second grandmother to pick her up. You should go back to the upper courtyard soon. I'm afraid I have to visit the old lady later."

Zhu Xiu didn't care to tidy up the lotus pods, so she recruited a woman to send them to the pharmacy in the backyard of the main courtyard. Holding Qingjin's hand, she hurried ashore.Qingjin's place is also very busy, good tea and fruits have to be prepared, and they will go as soon as they are told.

Zhu Xiu ran towards Rongqingtang, counting with his fingers, why did Xue's family come to Beijing now?The time can't be right.