Prequel to the Red Chamber: I Am the Second Wife

The next morning, the alarm clock with the function of human flesh woke up Wang Duoduo, no, it woke up Wang Duoduo, the second daughter of the Wang family, Wang Zili.It’s good to have someone to serve you. Wang Zili put on his clothes, combed his hair and washed his face, brushing his teeth with an ancient toothpaste with a salty medicinal taste in his mouth. It’s really happy to have toothpaste and toothbrush, but the thought of toothbrush bristles are made of pig bristles Yes, Wang Zili's small oil injection is still a little psychologically disturbed.

"Girl" Ming Qian handed over a small kiln teacup filled with warm water, Wang Zili took it and rinsed his mouth, wiped his mouth with a towel, and let Ming Qian help her sit down and comb her hair.This body is already 14 years old, and the head has long been grown up, but the hair is not long yet, and it just reaches a little above the waistline.If you want to comb it into a very complicated bun, you can't rely on your original hair alone. Fortunately, she is still a little girl and doesn't need to wear a gorgeous bun.Wang Zili looked at himself in the mirror: "Just comb it casually. I don't want to feel heavy with those things. My neck hurt last night." Yesterday, I went out with the old lady to go to the incense and watch the theater. They are all dressed up to go out, looking at his mother's complicated and gorgeous hair bun and the set of jewelry inlaid with golden silk inlaid with eight treasures overlapping on the terrace above, Wang Zili feels that the weight of the silk and golden phoenix on his head is not comparable to that of her mother There is a fragment of a hairpin on the head.Not to mention the old lady, the blue and emerald ruby ​​bun, that sour, don't mention it.Because my aunt is a widow, she doesn't need to over-decorate, and the refreshing jade hairpin and silver thread are much more comfortable to watch as distractions.

If so, she went home at night and took off the jewelry on her head. She still had a sore neck for a while, holding her toes and thinking about what happened to the muscles on the shoulders and necks of the old lady and Mrs. Tang.If she continued to dress up as she did yesterday, Wang Zili felt that she would have suffered from frozen shoulder and cervical spondylosis before she turned 30.

"Yesterday, the girl was going out, so naturally she had to dress up grandly. Although the old lady and our wives don't like too bright things, the girl's identity should not be too out of the ordinary. The gardenias given by the old Zhu Ma in the garden today are good. I'll make a lily bun for the girl, and put gardenias in it, it's sweet and refreshing, okay?" Ming Qian was dexterous, took the comb and began to comb Wang Zili's hair.Since he had nothing to do, Wang Zili opened the dowry in front of the mirror and looked at the private room of this body.Wow, what a rich and beautiful woman, Wang Zili admired in his heart the shiny things inside when a drawer was opened.All kinds of gold hairpins, distractions, phoenix hairpins and hair combs, but compared to Mrs. Tang's gold jewelry decorated with dragon and phoenix patterns and Shou characters, these patterns in front of Wang Zili's eyes are more relaxed and cheerful, and they all bloom in four seasons look.

Making a face at a pair of gold-studded ruby ​​earrings that looked very important, Wang Zili opened the lower layer again, emerald jade hairpins, white jade hairpins, pearl beads and tourmaline bracelets, etc., the colors were much more refreshing. "Although the weather is getting hotter, girl, I can't persuade you to change into jade until Lixia. Let's take this gold hairpin today." Mingqian had already combed her hair, and she saw Wang Zili picking and choosing in the dowry, thinking that it was a girl I'm choosing jewelry.

It turns out that jewelry has to change according to the seasons, Wang Zili couldn't help but sigh that people in the past lived exquisitely, and she was like a turtle.But wasn't my aunt wearing a jadeite hairpin yesterday? "The weather is so hot, why do I remember that my aunt used the emerald hairpin yesterday?" As a widow, my aunt's life must not be as easy and comfortable as Wang Zili's mother. Could it be that she has lost even a decent piece of gold jewelry?

"Miss, why did you forget that the second wife is not in good health and has a chronic illness of ventilation. The doctor Li from the capital came over a few years ago and specially asked him to check the second wife's pulse. The doctor said it was wind-heat internal movement, and it was called Biyu's." Jewelry, and told the diet to be light and not to be angry. The old lady felt sorry for the second wife and found some jade hairpins and rhino horn cups for her. The girl thought it was hot, but the old lady and the wife haven’t talked yet. How can we The reason is to do it first. The girl is too hot, so she can put on a beaded flower." Mingqian picked up a little phoenix hairpin worn with millet beads and tied her hair.

After the rain made the bed himself, he came over with the clothes: "The old lady has passed the meal, girl, hurry up." Putting on the coat, Wang Zili took the rain and walked to the room, the house in the south and the house in the north. It is different, the courtyard is deep, the porch is elegant, although it is less spacious and bright, it is more poetic and picturesque.Walking through the hall through the moon gate is the living room of the main house.Today's atmosphere is different from yesterday's. The girls and women serving outside are all holding their breaths and not daring to vent their breath. There are two unfamiliar servants standing at the door with their hands down. Seeing Wang Zili coming, they all lowered their heads. He didn't dare to look at her.

Entering the main hall, there was indeed one more person.Sitting above the old lady was a capable old man with pale beard and hair. Not to mention, that was Wang Zili's grandfather, the current Hangzhou Weaver, old comrade Wang Changchun.Although Wang Changchun looks old, Wang Changchun does not have the fatigued look of old people at all. His eyes are shining brightly. He wears a dark blue crane cloak and black satin court boots under his feet. Daogu is a bit of a peerless expert.The old man's back was straight, he was holding a teacup, and when he saw the little granddaughter who came in, he was immediately happy: "Oh, the second girl hasn't grown up in a few days, I thought it was the big girl who came in. Girl, come and see the good things. "Wang Zili saw that the people in the room were full of surprise expressions, so he knew that Wang Zili's little friend must be very fond of the old lady.She immediately bounced up and said yesterday: "Greetings to grandpa, what kind of good thing is it?"

The old lady next to her snorted and muttered: "The older I get, the more I'm a child, and I'm even pulling my granddaughter around." The old man was not angry when he heard his wife's complaints. Instead, he made a face at his granddaughter and touched it from his sleeve A few inches long cylindrical object showed off to Wang Zili and said: "This is a good thing, it is fun to look at under the sun. It came from Hongmao country over the sea, don't pay attention to them, let's play ours, so If you don’t show them the good things, you’ll starve them to death!” The old couple bickered, Wang Zili smiled and took the things from the old man’s hand, his stomach was full of suffocated laughter, this old couple really loves each other, but you Show affection in front of the children and grandchildren, don't be too nasty, okay?

After thanking his grandfather for the gift, Wang Zili took the kaleidoscope and played with it. In fact, this thing Wang Zili is not very rare, it just brought back fond memories of his childhood.Wang Ziteng and Wang Ziji next to him looked at his sister greedily. Wang Ziteng coughed with strength, winked at his sister, and was very interested in the novelty in Wang Zili's hand.

It is very important to have a good relationship between brothers and sisters. Wang Zili first expressed his joy to his grandfather and his love for the new toy, so he and his two brothers studied the standing kaleidoscope together.The old man over there said to the eldest daughter-in-law: "Since it is the will of the gods and Buddhas, we can't disobey it. When Zi Teng grows up, you, as a mother, can worry about his marrying a wife. The betrothal gift is naturally according to the ancestors According to the rules, the new house is where Ziteng lives now. As for discussing the marriage over there, they come to measure the size and make furniture. I can tell you that it doesn’t take much trouble. We are an official family, and the emperor’s will is thousands of miles. Shui is going to take office. Who will stay in one place for a lifetime." Listening to the old man's words, the old lady stared closely at her husband, her eyes full of worry.

Mrs. Tang listened to her father-in-law's words, and her heart suddenly became suspended. Hangzhou manufacturing is an idle job. The old man is old. The emperor only uses the old man for the sake of his past achievements.His old man will not move the place easily, and it is the husband who wants to move the place. Is Wang Dingqian going to be promoted?Mrs. Tang looked at her father-in-law anxiously, but unfortunately due to her status, she couldn't ask directly, so she could only agree: "It's my daughter-in-law who wrote it down. The daughter-in-law and Ziteng's father were thinking about how to get along with Zhang's Marriage proposal, although Zhang's family is not as prominent as ours, but we can't be negligent if we want to marry a son and daughter. The matchmaker needs to invite someone with status. I have already prepared the dowry. Please ask my father to see if there is any inappropriateness. Yes, if there is something inappropriate, please ask father to point it out to us."

As Mrs. Tang said, she took the list from the girl and handed it to the first-class girl next to the old lady. The girl took the tray and delivered it to the old man respectfully.The old man twisted his beard and examined it carefully for a while: "This list is still in tune, just replace the pair of mutton fat jade geese. I remember a pair of colorful mandarin ducks and carved lacquer boxes. Which one should I replace with white jade geese? The Zhang family is a student. My family, it's a pity that my ancestors didn't accumulate much money, and Zhang Shicheng was also an incorruptible person who refused to give up his hands. You only think about your own face, and you should also think about the difficulties of other people's families. You don't seem like a big deal to wild geese, but the Zhang family But it's difficult to deal with. Their family is worried that their daughter will be underestimated, so they will definitely do their best, but his family still has two daughters who are going out, so he wants to buy the same dowry for the three girls?"

Mrs. Tang stood up and listened carefully to the old man's lecture with her head bowed. She continued to say yes, but the second wife next to her was a little disappointed. Without support, Ziji's marriage will be even more difficult in the future.When her son got married, she naturally had to show some respect for herself. If there were no good things to support the scene, wouldn't her face be ugly.

"You guys have a lot of things to do, go on down. Don't you talk enough in the yamen? It's rare for you to rest at home for a day, so you can have a quiet meal." The old lady didn't seem to like Wang Ziteng's marriage very much. Waving to the two daughters-in-law, Mrs. Tang and Ziji's mother both stood up, but they still didn't dare to leave immediately. They helped the maids arrange the table and waited for the food to be served before leaving.

When the adults were discussing Wang Ziteng's marriage, Wang Ziqian's younger brothers and sisters covered their mouths and watched him secretly making fun of him. After all, Wang Ziteng was young and thin-skinned. Zhang Lian was about to slip away.It's a pity that the elders didn't dare to leave casually in Wang Ziteng. He seemed to be covered with caterpillars all over his body. Winking at his younger brother, Ziji who was busy at the side echoing his brother's words, had to follow him to school.The little tricks of the two brothers have long been noticed by the old man, who knows that the old man stared at him: "Oh, what a shock? You two brats dare to play tricks in front of me. Going to school is nonsense! You don’t have to go to school today.” The old man looked at the three granddaughters and said, “Girls don’t have to go, any good girls will become fools when they study! Look how lively the second girl is, and now she’s become a boring gourd What's the fun in a dead home?"

The old lady next to her was not happy, and she said to the old man with disgust: "Master, let's go out after eating, don't the children still play and wander all day when they don't go to school? The girls are illiterate, how will they manage the house in the husband's house?" Director? Although their girls don’t want to be butchers for officials, don’t they mean that their grandchildren spend their whole lives wandering around. You should hurry up and go to school after dinner, and ask the boys who follow you to take care of them carefully. Although studying is important, you can’t be exhausted body."

"Every time I say a word, you have thousands of sentences waiting for me. I see that Zi Teng and Zi Ji are not the materials for the imperial examination. There is no grass growing on the grave of our ancestors! Both of you are reading now. What book, tell me about it!" Mr. Wang glared, and Wang Ziteng almost choked on his throat when he took a mouthful of food. He hurriedly said, "I have finished reading the four books, sir is talking about Lao Tzu." The old man snorted: "Do you know all the characters in the mansion newspaper? Do you understand what it says?" Wang Ziteng nodded foolishly, and Zi Ji next to him continued: "We are still learning to compose poems and pairs from my husband. The poems and battles are neat and not bad."

"That's fine! Our family was born in the army, and you all have to be born in the army. From now on, when you become an official, what matters is not how much ink you have in your stomach, but whether you can recite poems with a single mouth. Those who are stupid in reading, Those who can hang around in the officialdom for a long time, do not understand the mysteries of the world, it is useless even if you are admitted to the number one scholar. From today on, you will study for half a day and follow me for half a day, learning the advances and retreats in the officialdom and the rules. Let me tell you, this is ten years of study I can't learn it either." Mr. Wang stroked his beard with a smile, and told his grandson.

Wang Zili was very surprised when he heard what his grandfather said. She didn't expect Mr. Wang to be such an open-minded person.Old man Wang has led soldiers in battle for half his life and has been through life and death. He has long seen through the hearts of lovers in the world. Old man Wang took Wang Ziteng and Wang Ziji brothers hand in hand to teach them the official rules and unspoken rules. Decades of experience in the world.How can the abstract theories in books have the appeal and vividness of vivid example teaching?

Although the old lady was very dissatisfied with her husband's casualness, but what he said was true, she could only keep silent as a tacit consent.But in a blink of an eye, she saw three granddaughters. The old lady wanted to save face, and said to the girls' nanny: "Girls can't run around like kids, you should keep a close eye on them, needlework and so on It's time to learn, although people like us don't need to do it ourselves, but we can't do everything, so as to save ourselves from being controlled by others when we go to the in-law's house. By the way, the eldest girl and the second girl should follow the eldest wife to learn how to be a housekeeper. Call the girl We do one piece of needlework every month, I want to see it. Don’t fool me!” You still need to do needlework!The three sisters listened to their grandmother's words and exchanged depressed eyes. They now have to study with their husband for half a day every day, do needlework, and study housekeeping with their mother. Isn't it more tiring than being a scholar?The atmosphere on the girls' side suddenly became gloomy, but on the side of the Wang Ziteng brothers, they heard that they didn't have to go to school all day, and the two brothers were all smiling, and they didn't have to be shut up in the house anymore to read and write boring articles.

The old man seemed to want to play against his wife on purpose. The old man immediately jumped out and looked at his granddaughter with distress: "They don't need to study anymore. I don't know about sewing, but I don't like their husband. He is a tried and tested man." Sour scholar, full of pedantic smell! Tell the children about female biographies, three obediences and four virtues, and the girls in our family will not be fools after teaching them. If you really feel sorry for them, why don't you bring them yourself? Follow them, learn from housekeepers and directors, take care of people and treat things. Save yourself a fool, and be treated as a fool when you get married in the future."

The old lady lost her appetite completely, her face twitched slightly, and she put down her chopsticks heavily: "Girls don't have to study from today, and you don't have to teach the rules anymore, just go play!"

The wife was angry, and the old man made an exaggeratedly frightened face, and made a face to his grandchildren who were about to run away in trouble: "You don't care, I care! You follow me to the yamen to learn how to answer. Girls are at home, my name is Mr. Cheng I'll teach you how to do it!" Saying this, Mr. Wang stood up, made an angry expression, and walked away with his hands behind his back.As soon as the old man left the table, the breakfast was over, and the girls brought mouthwash.

Holding the teacup, Wang Zili looked at his sister curiously, and asked in a low voice, "Are we still going to school today?"

"Of course you don't need to listen to Mr. Zhou's harsh words. Mr. Cheng is a capable person. You can't be distracted and fool things around after school." Wang Ziqian put the cup on the tray held by the girl, stretched out his hand and squeezed it. A handful of her face.