Taoyao Order

Chapter 8
The young man stopped his horse in front of the Chuihua Gate, dismounted, and handed the horse over to the boy who ran up behind to hold it.

Standing at the door of the hanging flower was a girl of fifteen or sixteen years old with a pretty face. She was holding a purple fox fur cloak embroidered with five blessings and longevity patterns in her hands. She walked forward with a smile and put the cloak on him. On the other hand, he said: "Uncle, is he back alone?"

Chu Ping nodded in agreement, took the cloak she put on, and pulled the collar forward: "Grandma is sick. I have to come back and see her. It's too cold. Grandma wants Brother Kuo and Yanran to stay for a few more days. .”

As he was about to walk in, Chu Ping suddenly heard a noise at the outer door. Chu Ping stopped, stood on the steps of the hanging flower door and looked outside, only to see a woman in red and green wearing red and green clothes and steward Bai. They were tearing and arguing about something.

Chu Ping frowned and suddenly saw a young girl coming out of the carriage parked next to Steward Bai, opening the curtain.

Her clothes are exquisite and gorgeous, her manners are elegant and charming, the sun shines through the newly melted snow water and reflects on her snow-white cheeks, two pieces of broken hair are scattered on her forehead, her eyebrows are picturesque, and there seems to be no makeup except for a little red cherry lips. Fendai's clean and clear appearance suddenly caught Chu Ping's eyes.

"Second Aunt, forget it, let's go back first. Since the old lady is still ill, we will come back to visit her when she gets better." Tao Yao stepped forward to persuade Shao.

However, Shao was so aroused by the butler's words that he was not willing to do anything.

When the maid next to Chu Ping saw that Chu Ping suddenly stopped leaving, she also stuck her head out and looked outside: "What are you looking at?"

Chu Ping frowned slightly: "I don't know what's going on, Qiuyue, go and ask."

The maid named Qiuyue responded and went out, but Chu Ping did not stop at the door and walked back to the inner courtyard.

The Chu family is a four-bedroom house. Since the family does not have many people, the old man and the old lady live in the main hall in the back yard. The Chu Ping brothers and sisters were supposed to live in the front yard with the old man and his wife, but the old lady likes grandchildren. , the three of them were allowed to live in the backyard with their grandmother.

Brothers and sisters Chu Ping were invited to stay at their maternal grandfather's house for a few days during the third Chinese New Year. Yesterday, when they heard that their grandmother was ill, Chu Ping rushed back first. Now the first thing he did was to pay his respects to the old lady of the Chu family.

Chu Ping walked through the corridor and entered the backyard from the front yard. The little maid opened the felt curtain in the main hall and asked Chu Ping to come in quickly to warm up by the fire: "The old lady is thinking about the uncle. You will be back soon."

There is a plaque hanging in the main hall, which reads "Jia Le Hall". The gilded charcoal cage in the room is burning smokeless charcoal, which makes the whole room feel warm.

Chu Ping casually took off the big cloak he was wearing and handed it to the maid Forsythia beside him: "Is the old lady feeling better?"

Forsythia said: "I just took the medicine and lay down. I feel much better already."

Chu Ping nodded and felt relieved. After his hands were no longer so cold, Chu Ping walked into the room and sat on the small stool beside the bed of the old lady of the Chu family: "Grandma, are you feeling better? ?”

When the old lady of the Chu family saw that Chu Ping was back, she was also happy. She stretched out her hand to take Chu Ping's hand: "Why are you so anxious to come back? If you don't stay at your grandmother's house for a few more days, it's rare for you to go back. It's so cold outside. , It’s not frozen.”

Chu Ping held the old lady's hand and said with a smile: "It's not cold. Look, my hand is still warm. But you, why did you catch the cold?"

The old lady felt that Chu Ping's hand was indeed warm, and she felt relieved: "Hey, I'm fine. It snowed yesterday. I haven't seen such heavy snow in many years. I went to the yard to enjoy the snow with your grandfather, and the wind blew. After a while, I felt a little sick, and the doctor said it was fine, just take two doses of medicine and it will be fine."

"You can enjoy the snow in the house by the stove and let them open the curtains. You don't have to go outside." Chu Ping advised, "When my parents left, they repeatedly asked me to take good care of you and my grandfather. , you see, it has only been a few days, I went out to play, and you fell ill. When dad comes back, why don't you punish me to kneel in the ancestral hall? Please take care of yourself, because you feel sorry for me. "

The old lady laughed so hard that she took Chu Ping's hand and patted it: "Don't be afraid, I won't let your father know. Our brother Ping is so sensible and filial, but your father, at such an old age, is in charge of the business." If we don't handle it well, we have to go to Panyu for the Chinese New Year, so we can't have a peaceful New Year with us."

Chu Ping comforted: "It's not easy to do business. Dad has worked hard to make money to support this family, so don't blame him." "Humph," the old lady didn't say anything more, but just asked again, "I heard that your second aunt My cousin is back? He won the imperial examination last year. You should spend more time with him and seek advice from him."

Chu Ping's eyes dimmed a little, and he just nodded in response: "Hey, I know, my third cousin originally planned to come with me to visit my grandmother, but I heard that my grandmother was sick, so I didn't dare to let him come over, for fear of disturbing my grandmother's recovery. , I have already made an agreement with him to hold a banquet at Tianxiang Tower the day after tomorrow and treat my cousin to a meal.

Your parents are not at home, and your grandma is sick, so you won't be allowed to come to the house to make trouble for you. When you feel better, you can invite your cousin to your house. "

The old lady nodded and said, "That's fine, brother Ping, don't be discouraged. If you study for another three years, you can always pass the exam."

The thorn in Chu Ping's heart seemed to have been fiddled with again, with a bitter smile on his face, and he only responded: "Yes. Grandma, you just took the medicine. Go to sleep for a while, you will be fine soon."

After Chu Ping put the old lady to sleep, he left the main hall and went to the east wing where he lived.

The snow crystals outside were dripping from the eaves. Chu Ping stood blankly in the room for a moment, then went into his room, picked up the book on the table and started reading, but the words on the book were a little different. Don't get into the eyes.

When I was 14 years old, I passed the examination as a scholar, and I was very high-spirited. It happened to be the year of the provincial examination that was held every three years. I took the examination hastily, lacked preparation, and failed.

Now, after three years of preparation, I took the exam again. My cousin passed the exam, but I failed again.

Chu Ping was shocked.

Before leaving, his mother Cao told him that if studying was too hard, he would stop studying. The family's huge family business still needed him to take over. Originally, something happened to the business in Panyu this time, so he planned to take Chu Ping with him. Going there together made him learn how to do business.

But Chu Ping was unwilling and wanted to try again.

Chu Ping reached for the teacup next to his table, but found that the teacup was empty.

Chu Ping called out: "Qiuyue, pour tea."

The house and courtyard were silent.

Chu Ping put down his book, stood up, and went to the round table in the hall to get the teapot and planned to pour water, but found that the teapot was also empty.

"Qiuyue, Qiuyue?" Chu Ping shouted twice more.

Suddenly, a little girl of twelve or thirteen years old, Xiaocui, ran in from outside: "Uncle, are you looking for Sister Qiuyue? She heard that you were coming back today and went to the second gate to greet you. She hasn't come back yet. Didn't you see her? Her?"

Chu Ping then remembered what happened at Chuihua Gate just now: "Oh, I asked her to go and find out. Why hasn't she come back for so long?"

Xiaocui's eyes widened with curiosity: "What did the uncle ask Sister Qiuyue to ask about?"

(End of this chapter)