Biography of Concubine Shujia

Chapter 30

In the twelfth lunar month of the seventh year of Xijia, Lu Mansion.

"Miss Eight is at home? The old lady sent a servant to send a message to Miss Eight."

Hongliu, who was standing under the corridor, saw the person coming, and greeted him with a smile, and said affectionately, "Sister Huobi, my lady is writing in the room, please wait a moment, I will inform her right away."

Huobi nodded, and said to Hongliu, "It should be, my sister is here." The little maid beside Hongliu handed her a small stove to warm her hands, Hongliu nodded to her, and went in to find her own lady.

After a while, the big maid, Lvyi, personally opened the curtain and came out to welcome the tortoiseshell, and said, "Little Hongliu, when she saw my sister coming, she didn't say welcome her, you come in first, and let her blow the air under the cold wind. ” Leaning to let the tortoiseshell enter the room, he said softly, “My young lady is writing, please come with me.”

When the maidservant in green clothes opened the curtain to welcome the tortoise shell next to the old lady, a gust of cold air came in through the gap in the curtain, and the person who was writing shook his hand, destroying a piece of writing.

She looked up at the person who came, and nodded to the tortoise shell, only to see that her face was rosy, and she saluted to herself with a happy face.He said crisply, "Miss Eight is well, Miss Biao is here, and now in the old lady's room, the old lady specially sent a maidservant to inform you."

Lu Ba Niang put down the lake pen in her hand, "Let's say that the red plum blossoms are blooming these few days, and my cousin will come to the house anyway." Then she stood up, and said to Hongliu who was waiting for her, "Take my peacock plume I found the cloak, and I will give it to my cousin to wear it to enjoy the snow."

He got up and walked forward, walked a few steps, and said to the tortoise shell standing where he was, "Please sit down and rest for a while, I will make it easier for my sister to go to grandma's place later." The young lady spoke to welcome the tortoiseshell to take her seat.Lu Ba Niang saw that the green clothes were smart, so she stayed with the green clothes and brought the red willows to the inner room to change.

The tortoise shell was sitting on the small twig and waiting, and the green clothes had already served hot tea on the small table.After the tortoise had a bowl of tea, Miss Ba came out of the inner room wearing a fox fur cloak, she hurriedly put down the tea bowl and went up to meet her.

"I told my sister to wait for a long time, let's go to grandma's." Ba Niang said to Huobi, and Huobi agreed.Ba Niang headed out of the house, Hongliu stayed behind to watch the house, and Lvyi followed behind with a few maidservants, and the group walked quickly to the upper room.

When passing through the garden, Ba Niang stopped in her tracks, and said to the little maid beside her, "Go and pick some red plums, and give them to my cousin later." Seeing Ba Niang's actions, the tortoise stepped forward to persuade, " Eighth Miss, it's cool, you better stop standing here, and this servant will help you watch them fold plum blossoms."

Lu Ba Niang smiled at her, and said, "My sister will go back to grandma first, I'll be there after I fold the plum blossoms." Naturally, the tortoise shell was silent.

For a moment no one spoke, only waiting for Zhemei's little maid to come back.Before the little maid came back, she waited for the person Ba Niang was talking about, and saw a group of maids walking towards this side followed by a woman in green clothes.

"My eighth cousin made me wait a long time, and my grandmother told me to come and find you." The visitor smiled at Ba Niang, "My cousin is so excited, I'm picking plums and enjoying the snow, my sisters are still waiting for you, let's go."

"I know you are greedy for the plum blossoms in our family, so I have someone fold them up and send them to you. I didn't expect you to be ungrateful, and you came here to blame me. I am really kind enough to be a donkey." Ba Niang said to The woman is upset.

"Shi Niang apologized to Ba Niang, thank you for caring about me. Grandmother is really anxious." As she spoke, she stepped forward to pull Ba Niang's sleeve, Ba Niang looked at the little girl who folded plum blossoms, and said with a smile, " Let Miss Biao take it for herself, it was originally for her."

The woman had no choice but to go forward to take the plum blossoms, and the group continued to walk towards the upper room.

The north was blowing, and I vaguely heard the woman whispering to Ba Niang, "This year, I said I asked my cousin to go to my mother's Zhuangzi to play with me. I didn't want my mother to have a little brother. Now the house is in a mess. I also sneaked out. , Cousin, don't worry."

Lu Ba Niang chuckled nonchalantly, "It's no big deal, but it's worth it when you come here to apologize. There will be opportunities in the future. Since you escaped secretly, I won't keep you here today. You bring the plum blossoms with you." Go back, find a bottle to keep it, and let's enjoy the plum blossoms together."

"Okay, Ten Niang thanked my cousin first." The wind accidentally blew the woman's words away.

On March [-]th of the eighth year of Xijia, Chen Mansion.

"Sixth young master, the front, the old master is looking for you, our family has come from the palace, and I want you to go quickly." The young man ran up out of breath, and said to Chen Song.

"Father, in the palace, could it be..." Leaving the panting boy behind, Chen Song ran to the front yard. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind along the way, and he was most worried about that person.

Time seemed to be frozen on that immature face that moved his heart.There was the one who talked to the horse when they first met, the one who stood smiling at the plum blossom with a bottle of courage in her hand, the one who rode with her sisters at home, and the one who told the sky that the only company with her was the cloud she……

What were you doing at those times?At that time, I kept calm and helped him choose horses, and left in a hurry after being discovered by the fourth aunt.At that time, I foolishly stood in the dark with a bottle of courage in my hand, watching her carefully enter Du's mansion through the corner gate, not daring to ask her to present the plum blossoms I personally folded.At that time, I could only watch the sky with her for the last time, and told her that I had to leave first.

When he ran to the front yard, his father was already greeting the father-in-law who had come from the palace. When he saw him, he gave him a nonchalant glance.He was in a mess, but he suddenly settled down. No matter what the news is, it has nothing to do with her, right?Since it's not her, it doesn't matter who it is.

"Mr. Chen's young master is really different. Your Majesty and the master have given you grace. Lord Chen and Mr. Ling will accept the order." The father-in-law said with a smile, and as the imperial edict in his hand was shaken, the whole family knelt down, and Chen Song was The father pulled and knelt beside him, and after listening to the order soberly and confusedly, it really meant marriage.

Well, since it's not you, it doesn't matter who it is.

With this in mind, he stepped forward to accept the decree representing grace, bowed his head to thank him, and watched his father present the silver bill to the official who announced the decree, and invited him in for tea.

He just followed, holding the imperial decree and watching, watching, until his father came back to his senses, and smiled at his father-in-law, "This child is not happy and stupid, father-in-law, don't blame him." The father-in-law congratulated him, "Mr. Chen Great joy, maybe in the future our family will have to ask for a wedding wine for the master."

The father personally sent the father-in-law out of the mansion, and the mother sent someone to invite him. Thinking of his mother's compassionate eyes, he said to the nurse next to his mother,

"I'm a little tired today, I'll go say hello to my mother tomorrow."

After finishing speaking, regardless of the obstruction of the mother's mother, she went back to her own yard.

The wind in March is not cold, but he feels uncomfortable in his heart.The catkins fluttered in the wind, like the snow that was flying that day, when he stood in the snow and waited for her to return, she never turned her head to look at him from the beginning to the end, and let the red plums in his hand be stained with snow, and only looked at him. To the plum blossom in her own hand.

He didn't know each other, and his mother asked him to tell him the identity of the new bride, and also warned him not to sink easily in the future.

But what does it matter, what he thought at that time was just from the beginning to the end, who is Xiao Li hating?Heart word has become ashes.

In March of the ninth year of Xijia, Chen Mansion.

Lu Ba Niang waited until the lights came on, and said to the green clothes beside him, "He won't come, rest, don't wait."

Lu Yi forced a smile and said, "Miss, my uncle must have been delayed by something, otherwise, we will leave the door open for my uncle..."

The words that Lvyi hadn't finished speaking were automatically silenced under the calm gaze of her young lady.She quickly turned off the lights and closed the door, and left quietly.Miss is not used to being served by maids at night, they usually stay in the servant's own room at night.

Lu Yi lay on her own bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

Her young lady has been in the mansion for almost half a year, but my uncle stayed in the new house for three days when he was newly married, and he never took the initiative to get close to her young lady after that.My son-in-law Chen Song often came home late at Daying, so he used the excuse of his busy schedule not to step into Miss's room easily.The young lady looked like she was used to being alone every night, which made Lu Yi secretly feel distressed.

Occasionally, during the day, I would see the young lady and the uncle loving each other in front of people, but who would know that the two of them have nothing to do with each other behind the scenes at night?Even if they knew, the servants would not dare to talk nonsense. The eldest lady runs the family very strictly. If she pretends not to know and not to intervene, no one would dare to intervene.

It's just hard for Miss, life is hard.Husband and wife are like this, when will the lady make it to the end?

On the side of the green clothes, she was worried about her young lady, but her young lady did not know about it.

Lu Ba Niang never thought that she would be accused of marrying the Chen family.Life after marriage was difficult, but the Chen family did not treat her badly.Every day when I wait for a certain time, I go to sleep and never think about anything else.

Only tonight, for some reason, she couldn't sleep.Hearing some slight noises outside the door, he simply got up and put on his cloak, and left the door alone.

As soon as he went out, he met Chen Song's lonely eyes in the cold night.In his hand he somehow held a few solitary plum blossoms.Lu Baniang's heart trembled, as if she had touched the secret thought in the heart of her husband who had always been indifferent to her.

She smiled faintly, and said to Chen Song, "I didn't expect my husband to come back at night, it's getting late, why don't you arrange it earlier, and I will leave."

After walking a few steps, thinking of something, he turned his head and said to Chen Song, "Send a word to my husband, although the plum blossom has a good character, it needs courage to live, otherwise it is a sin if it is broken." Don't pay attention to Chen Song behind him Look, got up and entered the door.

Chen Song was wondering if his wife saw something wrong, when he saw the disappearing wife reappeared.In her hand, she held a gall bottle she had just found, and handed it to him.After he caught it in a daze, he withdrew his hand.Then Chen Song saw his wife cover the door, and shut the sixth young master out of the door.

The sixth young master looked at the vase his wife handed him. It was a vase with a long neck and a big belly, which looked like a hanging gall.There are faint lines on the vase, which feel inexplicably familiar.

It suddenly occurred to him that this gall bottle seemed to come from the same place as the gall bottle he saw in the snowy night.Thinking of his wife's natal family, he couldn't help but smile, she was indeed a smart woman.Forget it, those thoughts were seen through by the person next to the pillow, and even pointed out by the beautiful wife, when will I stay awake again?
Put the plum blossoms into the gall bottle and put them outside the door, he got up and went to the study, let's continue to sleep in the study tonight.

The next day, the maids saw the red plums outside the room and came to ask Madam. Amidst the inquiries of the maids, Madam said calmly, "Put the red plum bottle under the window. Remember to open a gap for it, too. The delicate plum blossoms cannot survive."

That night, Chen Song went home early and entered Ba Niang's room.

He saw the red plums under the window, smiled bitterly, and said to Ba Niang, "Ma'am, why bother?"

The slight evening breeze blows through the gaps in the windows, gently blowing the plum blossoms in the vase, the plum blossoms swaying slightly, carrying a different style in the wind.

"My husband, you know that my love for this plum blossom is the same as my husband's." Lu Ba Niang still smiled at Chen Song,
"It's just that the plum blossom is not my destiny, so why let her good intentions go wrong?"

Chen Song looked at his wife for a long time, and finally said, "I understand Madam's painstaking efforts."

That night Chen Song rested in Lu Ba Niang's room.

After nearly 20 years, until his death, he never touched any woman other than his wife.Chen Song died on the battlefield in southern Xinjiang. After his death, his wife arranged for him.What was put into his coffin was the gall bottle she had used for many years. The children asked their mother in confusion, but Lu Ba Niang only said that it was something she and Chen Song wanted to protect.

Another 13 years later, Ba Niang passed away due to illness. Before she left, she left a last word to her children, saying that she would also put the same gallbladder in the coffin.She also said that it was only then that she could use her courage to meet her old friend with their father.

She gave birth to three sons and two daughters for Chen Song all her life, and the youngest daughter even married into the Du Mansion and became the daughter-in-law of the imperial concubine's younger brother.Her funeral was very solemn, and the two main branches of the Du family and the Lu family came to worship respectively.Even the imperial concubine Yuan Shujia, who was already the empress dowager in the deep palace, was very sad when she heard the news of her passing away, and sent her youngest son, the tenth prince, to express her condolences instead.

When the tenth prince came, he was holding a gall vase with plum blossoms in his hand. No one knew why the noble concubine in the deep palace gave red plum blossoms at the cousin's funeral.Only Lu Ba Niang's children vaguely guessed that the old man was probably the late emperor's imperial concubine, the old man whom his father and mother cared about all their lives.

I still remember that girl looking for plums in the snow when I was young; I still remember that man delivered plums to people on a street corner on a snowy night; Gall vase; I still remember that year, when the snow suddenly turned over the catkins in the incense pavilion, and the breeze blew the plums in the gall vase

(End of this chapter)