in spring

Chapter 254 The Women of the Second Household
Chunying stood aside, bowing her head respectfully and waiting for orders.Standing next to her was a girl of about the same age, looking at Yan Sheng, although she seemed equally calm on the surface, her nervousness was revealed by her blinking from time to time.

Sitting on the front seat is the second wife Zhuo Shi, who is in her 30s. Her appearance is not beautiful, but her temperament is very dignified and gentle. She has long thin eyebrows, light makeup, snow-white skin, no wrinkles on her forehead, and her head is coiled with black hair. Simple bun, wrapped in a black silk handkerchief, and two jasper hairpins inserted, except for a pair of jade bead earrings and a sapphire bracelet, there is no other decoration.While drinking tea, she casually flipped the lid of the tea bowl, revealing her slender fingers. The nails on them were not painted with Danko, but they were obviously carefully cared for.

Aunt Xu sat on the footrest and reported the affairs of the mansion to Mrs. Zhuo one by one, and explained the newly arranged maids and daughter-in-laws and the young servants of the fourth young master, then pointed to Chunying and said: "This is for the old lady. It's called Chunying. She's older and understands the rules. It's okay to order around the house." She pointed to Chunying's side again, "This one was bought by a child. Here, her real name is Sister Liang. The former owner was a magistrate. She was sold because the owner did something bad. I think she looks good and has a good temperament. There are also two younger ones who used to be servants of the teahouse and sewing workshop in the West Mansion. They were just doing menial work, but now they are waiting outside the door. Madam, would you like to call me over to have a look?"

Zhuo Shi casually glanced at Chunying and Sister Liang, and said calmly: "Since the person chosen by my mother is naturally good, I just take it to see the old lady, and asked me what to do?"

Aunt Xu smiled and said: "I'm not afraid of my wife's jokes. I'm old and my eyesight is dim, so I may not be able to see carefully. Besides, the old lady has lived in the south for several years, so maybe her preferences are different. I was also worried that the person I would choose would not suit the old lady's liking, so I came here to invite you." Madam's instructions."

Zhuo smiled: "Mom is being polite to me now. Well, since that's the case, I'll ask a few words." Called Chunying to come forward: "What's your surname? Which family's daughter is it? Where did you serve before?" Chunying Ying answered honestly, this kind of thing can't be hidden from others, it's better to take the initiative to tell it, and you can get a good reputation for being frank.

When Zhuo heard that she was the eldest girl who had served Miss Huo's Biao, she said, "So it's her? After she got married, she went to the south with her husband and went to work with her husband. She passed by our place, and she came to visit us specially. It's just that I went out of the city with the master to fast We went, but we couldn't see her. When we came back, she left again. The old lady stayed with her for one night, and I heard that we had a good chat. But since you have served the lady before, with your qualifications, you are so Young, why do you still come to our mansion to look for errands?"

Chunying was a little hesitant. She wanted to tell the truth directly to show her innocence. However, does this count as speaking ill of her former employer?She was not sure, would this lady have the same thoughts as the personnel director of a modern enterprise, and regard this behavior as a taboo?
Fortunately, Mrs. Xu had a good look, and whispered next to the second wife, as if she had told the whole story.Zhuo frowned slightly, with a hint of mockery in his eyes.The big girl standing behind her seemed to have heard a few words, covered her mouth with a snicker and whispered to her: "That one looks fine in the past, why is he so out of tune?" Zhuo glanced back at her, she Busy put away the smile, still standing behind.

Chunying secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and was thinking about whether to express that she had no dissatisfaction with her past employer?After all, the old and new employers are a family after all.

While he was in distress, there was a sudden commotion outside the door.Zhuo frowned, and Aunt Xu asked, "Who is making noise outside?!"

The voice outside became quieter, a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl came in, bent her knees and replied, "Go back to Madam, it is Miss Narcissus who wants to see Madam."

Zhuo said lightly: "Let her come in." Aunt Xu sat back on the footrest, a little impatient, and the big girl even laughed out loud.Chunying couldn't help being curious, who is here?
It was a beauty who came in, and she brought a girl with her.This beauty has willow-leaf eyebrows, slender phoenix eyes, cherry mouth, thin face and slightly cheeks, and the corners of the raised eyes are a bit charming. There is no gold or silver hairpin on her head, and only a half-bloomed peach blossom is inserted obliquely.The weather in early spring and February was obviously still very cold, but she was wearing a silk dress, pink and purple, tied with a verdant green scarf, and walked in with a gust of fragrant wind, curling up and giving Zhuo a blessing : "I've seen my wife..." The voice was as weak as if I hadn't eaten for three days.

Zhuo Shi was very polite: "Excuse me, I don't know what's the matter with Miss Narcissus coming here now?"

The Narcissus girl looked sad and hesitated to speak, so Aunt Xu looked away disdainfully, but the girl who followed Narcissus came forward and replied: "Madam, the housekeeper sent two little girls over just now." , said that they were ordered by our lady, but those two little girls are too stupid to understand anything! Our lady is a spoiled guest, how could she have been wronged like this? Please take those two away and let us take them with you It’s good for people to come in and wait for them. If there is a shortage of manpower, we will call people to come. We don’t bother the family to arrange it, and we can buy people to handle it.”

Chun Ying was dumbfounded, who is this?Sound like a guest?But how can there be such a rude guest in the world? !

Zhuo smiled and did not say a word, the girl behind her scolded: "It's so unruly! Why don't you even know the name?! You Narcissus girl was given to our master as concubine Ji by the general, and now the master is not at home. , When the master comes back, tell the old lady that you can only call your aunt if you give your girls promotion points. Now you can only call you a girl. Where is the lady from? You don’t have to make people laugh! Besides, who is not in the family? Do you let your wife assign staff to serve you? Do you still think you are in the general's mansion, where you are favored by the general, and you only treat yourself as a spoiled guest, and you can do whatever you want? Don't you think of the wife in charge?"

When Aunt Xu saw that girl flushed with anger, she also smiled contemptuously: "The girls sent over are all born at home, and they can't be more honest and hardworking. How can I wrong the girl? The daughter-in-law of the manservant and rough envoy The sons are all servants in the outer courtyard, as for adding people... Our family is not a small family outside, and any dubious people can come in!"

"Okay, what's the big deal!" Mrs. Zhuo reprimanded the two of them indifferently, sat on the table, and smiled at the Narcissus girl, "Since the assigned manpower is not to your liking, I will ask someone to send two more people later. Go to a girl. Don't say anything about your house or our house in the future. You have already entered our house, why are you still so heretic? Are you tired all the way? Your girl is also ignorant Yes, I want you to talk about a small matter in person? Go back and rest." He also called the girl guarding the door: "Wanfu, why don't you help the Narcissus girl out?"

The Wanfu girl immediately came up with a smile, dragged the man away half-pull, half-drag, the Narcissus girl stomped her feet in anger, gave Zhuo a hard look, and followed out the door.Mrs. Zhuo didn't care, and just ordered Aunt Xu: "You can send two more maids from the house later, be smarter. The two people in the outer courtyard should be watched carefully. If they do bad things, they should be kicked out. "Ms. Xu quickly agreed.

The girl standing behind Zhuo seemed a little dissatisfied: "My wife is too lenient, isn't it? How long has the master been here? She doesn't stop all day long! Her girl is even more unruly! For Aunt Xi The master went north, but he didn't call her, and he didn't even pay attention to his wife, what kind of thing! Aunt Xi was trained by the old lady herself, how could a dude like her compare? The master didn't say what to do with it, the wife simply dismissed it, wouldn't it be better to let others know about it in the future and make fun of us?"

Zhuo said indifferently: "Feng Ming, since you're back in Beijing, you can't mess around like this anymore." The girl shut her mouth in embarrassment.

Zhuo returned to the topic and looked at Chunying again: "I know everything about you, but...you are not young anymore, if you want to make your family live better, why not just find a good man to marry? You don't have to. Then come in and make a living as a servant."

Only now did Chunying hear clearly that there was an Aunt Xi who was "personally trained" by an old lady. It turned out that this second old lady would also give her daughter to her son as a concubine. I have already arranged a marriage with the servant, but the other party has something to go to other places, and it will take three years to return, so the servant wants to take advantage of this time to come in and be a few years away."

Zhuo Shiwan never imagined that Chunying already had someone else, but considering her age, it's not surprising.Jiu Ru, the big girl next to her daughter, has a family since she was a child, and she should get married after returning to Beijing this time, but Chunying is not young, and she has an engagement, so she can only serve for a few years, which is a bit tasteless.

When Aunt Xu saw this, she whispered: "Madam, I remember the girls in the old lady's house. Except for the mandarin ducks who were married in office and the magpies given to the master, the rest of the parrots and snow cranes have all arrived at the mating place." Are you old?"

Mrs. Zhuo nodded slightly: "You're right. After all, being outside is not as comprehensive as in the mansion, and there are few people waiting on her. There is nowhere to find someone she likes. This girl can wait for three or two years at least. When she wants to go out, the newly transferred girl will be able to handle her." She also felt that Chunying was a fixed family, so she would not feel restless, so she could use it at ease, so she added a smile: " Which one did you promise? It would be even better if it belonged to our family. "

Chunying lowered her head and said, "It's a family in Qingrundian Township in the south of Jing. They run some small businesses. Now he's gone out to sell goods."

Mrs. Zhuo nodded: "That's all right." Turning to Sister Liang again, she asked a few questions. Sister Liang answered carefully, but she was still very nervous.Mrs. Zhuo didn't say she was satisfied or dissatisfied, and called a few rough maids into the room to see each other, and after a while said: "Chunying, sister Liang, follow me to see the old lady, and mother Xu takes others to find parrots. Brother, let her take it to work, try it in the old lady's courtyard for two days, if it doesn't work, change it."

After saying that, Zhuo Shi stood up, ordered Feng Ming to help him straighten his clothes, straightened his back, and walked towards Sanjin's yard.Chunying hurriedly followed, but Sister Liang's feet were a little weak and crooked, she hurriedly stretched out her hand to support her, and then walked forward a few steps slowly holding the other's elbow. Grateful eyes.Feng Ming turned his head and saw it, so he specially took a few glances at Chun Ying.

The second old lady, Mrs. Guan, lives in the courtyard on the third entrance of Zhenglu. Because she just arrived, the courtyard is full of luggage, and girls and women shuttle around.Seeing that it didn't look the same, Zhuo ordered Aunt Xu and Feng Ming to stay and help, and brought Chun Ying and Sister Liang into the house.

The second old lady was resting on the couch. When she heard that her daughter-in-law had brought her a maid, she said, "You make up your mind. I have enough people here. It's no different outside and at home. Why bother?" Do you have to put on that show?"

Zhuo hurriedly laughed and said: "Although the mother saves trouble, it's just that the relatives have come, and it doesn't look like it. Those ordinary people, the old mother in the family has more than four maids, why should the mother be polite to her son and daughter-in-law? Besides, Brother Parrot and his family Haven't you already made a marriage agreement with them? When they go out, what will mother do? Naturally, there will be more people. Mother's life is safe, and it is our blessing as juniors."

The second old lady rubbed her forehead: "I forgot about it. I'm old and have a bad memory, and they might be blaming me in their hearts." The girl next to her who was hammering her feet raised her face and said with a smile: "The old lady's words have wronged us. We wish we could stay here and serve the old lady for the rest of our lives, and we are afraid that the old lady will think we are clumsy." The second old lady laughed and said, "Nonsense, there is no reason for a girl not to marry when she grows up." ?” Then he asked his daughter-in-law: “Are those two people you brought?”

Before Sister Liang moved, Chunying cleverly stepped forward to pay her respects: "Kowtow to the old lady. Slave Chunying, I wish the old lady a long life and all the best." Sister Liang hurriedly bowed down.

The old lady smiled and said: "It looks clever, which family's child is it?"

Zhuo pointed to Chunying and said: "That good sister was bought from outside, and this Chunying is the daughter of Lao Lu's family. Does mother remember the Huo family's niece? When she lived in the West Mansion, this girl was Waiting in the house."

"Oh?" The second old lady seemed to think of something, "Surname Lu? Lu Chunying? You were originally serving Brother You, right? Can you cook?"

Chunying was very surprised: "Yes, the slave girl worked as a rough envoy in the third young master's courtyard for more than half a year, and then went home to take care of her for a year due to illness. When Miss Biao came, she was selected to serve her."

"That's it." The second old lady smiled, "When Sister Yi came to see me, she mentioned her life in Beijing, and said that there was a girl sent by the West Mansion to wait on her who was very nice, and she was usually not flattering, but she was helpful when she met her." Inappropriate, often persuading. She always said that she was ignorant at the time and didn't take that girl's words to heart. Later, when she thought about it, she realized that those words were for her own good. On the day she left Beijing, the people she had served , and only this girl quietly ran to see her off. Since your name is Chunying, you must be this girl? But why did you come to our house again?"

Chunying never thought that Miss Huo Jiabiao once said good things about herself in front of the second old lady, and she was deeply moved for a while, and when she was about to answer, Zhuo first opened her mouth: "Since my niece is married, this girl Then there was no errand, and it didn't make sense to be idle at home all the time. It happened that Mother Xu wanted to find someone to take care of her, so she called her and gave her mother orders. Isn't it a good time? Since my mother thought she was good, it was time to take care of her and wait for her to get married in the future At the same time, it is also more decent."

The second old lady smiled and nodded: "That's very true. Sister Yi gave me a lot of good medicine, and her son-in-law recommended a good doctor. During the winter last year, I had a bad leg. Thanks to the doctor and the medicine, It will be easier. Since this child is her girl, I will take care of her for two years, as a repayment of sister Yi's love."

Zhuo hurriedly called Chunying: "The old lady left you, why don't you thank me soon?" Chunying didn't expect that she passed the test so easily, so she still thanked her in a hurry, and she was relieved.

Although the situation in the East Mansion is quite complicated, the head wife seems to be able to control the situation, and the two generations of mistresses have treated her well, so the future will not be difficult, right?
However, after ups and downs, going round and round, she started her maid career again, will everything go well in the future?
(End of the fifth volume)
(End of this chapter)