in spring

Chapter 260
Chunying lived peacefully in the East Mansion every day, listening to the little girls gossip about the Hou Mansion, it was like watching a play.Suddenly one day, I saw that Mrs. Zhuo had gone to the Hou's mansion for a while, and when he got home, he came to the second old lady. They were talking in a low voice in the room.

Qiuyan came over with tea and called her in a low voice: "Sister Chunying, how about you bring me tea in? I...I want to relieve myself..." Chunying hurriedly took the tea tray: "If you really don't feel well, please Going home after vacation, let your godmother find a doctor to come and see her? Your body is important, so don’t try to be brave.” Qiuyan blushed and nodded.

Chunying held the tea and walked to the door, seeing that the second old lady and the second wife were not around, worried that they were discussing important matters, so she stood outside the threshold, waiting for the summons, and vaguely heard the second wife Zhuo Shi saying: "... Specially invite a daughter-in-law...although my family...the master is in the north...there is no one in the court...it is convenient...make friends..." My heart moved: Could it be that Master Hou invited the second wife to be a housekeeper?
After the second old lady listened, she straightened up, and after a long time, she sighed: "In that case, you can go, the important thing is, but what to do at home? How can you take care of it by yourself? Isn't Brother Jing and his daughter-in-law just so tired and sick?" gone?"

Thinking of this, Zhuo was also a little embarrassed.Because they have been away for many years, apart from their close relatives and a few family friends in Beijing, there are very few people they have good friends with.Her natal brother is an official in Sichuan, and her mother-in-law's natal family is in Kaifeng, neither of which can help.After returning to Beijing, the Hou's mansion was grounded because of the mistress An Shi, and the aunt was getting old, so there was no one to help introduce her.However, her husband is an official in the frontier, and he needs someone from the court to help him speak. The role of the Hou Mansion is limited, and there are many family friends who have no real power. If she can't break the deadlock and help her husband, it will be too dereliction of duty.It is a rare opportunity now that she can take advantage of the opportunity of helping the Hou's house with housework, intervene in the relationship between the Hou's mansion and the upstart high-ranking officials in the court, and get acquainted with the family members of these families.As long as you take the first step, you don't have to go through the Hou's mansion in the future.She really didn't want to give up such a good opportunity.

However, the mother-in-law's concerns are also justified. There are so many things at home, how can I take care of them?

"You have to think of a way to get the best of both worlds. You can't leave your own home just to take care of other people's affairs, right?" The old lady looked up and saw Chun Ying, beckoned her to come over, and took a cup of tea from her hand , "You think about a charter first."

Picking up another cup, Zhuo's expression was somewhat troubled: "It's a must... my daughter-in-law has worked hard for two months, right? As long as you get through the beginning, it's not difficult to get out later, not to mention Brother Jing's daughter-in-law will always get better On that day, it would be easier if they could urge their family to find a marriage for Brother You."

Chunying listened for a while, guessed a little bit, and said boldly: "Old lady, madam, this servant has an idea, I don't know if I should say it or not?"

Zhuo Shi glanced at her and said nothing.The second old lady asked, "What idea?"

Chunying smiled and said: "Miss Si is not young anymore, should she learn how to be a housekeeper?" She didn't say any more.

The second old lady suddenly realized, but Zhuo Shi looked at Chun Ying with some surprise eyes: "So...you thought of her?"

Otherwise who?Chunying was puzzled. 12 years old is not too young in ancient times, and you will be able to get married in two years. The daughter of a wealthy family should learn to be a housekeeper at this age, right?When Huo Yi first came to the capital, she was around this age. She managed the Huo family's housework in an orderly manner. Apart from being not very good at dealing with the world, she was also considered a shrewd person.In the past two months, Chunying has been able to see Fourth Miss Yajun almost every day, and feels that she has a calm personality and a bit of knowledge, and she is a daughter of the first wife.

The second old lady thought about it carefully, and thought it was a good idea: "In the past, I always thought that Yajun was still a child, but when I think about it carefully, she is also thirteen, and she is almost at the age of leaving the court. The people in her own room are her own. She is restrained in size, I looked at it coldly, but she still looks a little bit. People like us should give girls a chance to practice early. She is your daughter, what do you think?"

How can Zhuo refuse?Instead, I felt pleasantly surprised, but also worried: "I'm afraid that she is young, has no experience, and will make a mess of the family."

Chunying laughed beside her and said: "My wife is too worried. Miss Si is so smart, and she has been fascinated by watching his wife's butler every day. As the saying goes, I have never eaten pork, and I have seen pigs run. Miss Si just didn't If you have the opportunity to try it, if you really want to manage it, it will definitely not be bad! Besides, the old lady is still here, and if there is an old lady sitting in the battle, if Miss Fourth doesn't understand anything, just ask grandma, and she will know."

Zhuo smiled embarrassedly: "Look at me, I forgot my mother in a moment of impatience. With my mother taking care of me, what could she do wrong?"

But the second old lady said: "Don't count on me, I am looking forward to enjoying the blessings of my children and grandchildren, let Yajun let go and give it a try." The more she thought about it, the more she felt that it was reasonable to do so, if she reminded her everywhere, her granddaughter might not be able to learn something.

Zhuo was a little hesitant, Chunying hurriedly said: "Does Madam want to go to the West Mansion every day? Or come back in half a day?"

Zhuo was relieved by her reminder.Even if my daughter encounters something that cannot be resolved when she is housekeeper, just send someone to tell herself through the house wall.Thinking of this, Zhuo looked up at Chunying.I thought that this girl would take the opportunity to mention the "big girl's assistant" when she heard about the affairs of the West Mansion, but she didn't expect her to mention her own youngest daughter.It seems that she was too strict with her in the past, but in fact this child is quite honest...

Chunying was a little scared by her, carefully recalling what she said just now, she didn't find any mistakes, and she even flattered her and the second old lady, could this cause dissatisfaction?

Chunying was depressed. She searched among the big girls she was familiar with, and identified a few recognized loyal servants, such as her own old sister, Mei Xiang, Shao Yao, etc., and imitated them in everything, thinking that even if she couldn't imitate them Perfect, at least there are seven or eight points like it, don't these hostesses just like girls like this?Why did she hit a wall when she started learning?It seems that good girl is really a technical job...

Not to mention Chunying's broken thoughts, the two hostesses of the East Mansion quickly summoned the Fourth Miss Yajun, asked her wishes, and took a few simple housework questions, and they unanimously decided to let She has been trying to be a housekeeper for a month.Of course, it was just the most basic household affairs, and those important matters still had to be reported to Mrs. Zhuo, and the second old lady also hinted that she would help with human relations.

So, the next day, Mrs. Zhuo started to go to the Hou Mansion every day to act as an agent for government affairs. After breakfast in the morning, he took a car to pass the mansion at 6:45 a.m., and was busy until lunch and then cooking business, then go back home.Whenever someone posts a message to the Hou's mansion to entertain guests and set up a banquet, she will tell the Hou Ye that she will attend on behalf of her sister-in-law. In less than half a month, she has become familiar with Beijing and China. I also met a few good friends by the way.

Only then did An ask his younger siblings for advice, and put it into practice. When he was satisfied, he was suddenly tricked by his eldest daughter-in-law to get out of his shell. It was Zhuo who stole his face.Mrs. Liang also made irresponsible remarks from time to time, saying that her aunt was the housekeeper.Zhuo Shi listened to the gossip that Feng Ming had inquired about, sneered a few times, went to the old lady of the Hou Mansion to talk for half an hour, and then recruited the second miss Yijun and the third miss Xijun as assistants.With these two serious ladies here, the two big girls don't have to "serve" in front of them every day.

She patiently taught her two nieces housekeeping tips, and even used her own daughter as an example. Whenever she could bring the ladies to attend, she packed them up and brought them with dignity.Xijun has always been a cowardly person who pushes and takes a step, so he doesn't notice anything, but Yijun is very grateful for Auntie's actions.Born as a concubine, she was already inferior to others. She was able to get to know the family members of a few high-ranking families. Showing off in front of them would be very helpful for her to get married in the future. In the past, the aunt was partial and would not let her see others Now she seized the opportunity to earn a good reputation for herself like her brother.She has been a guest at other people's homes a few times, and she has learned a lot, so she restrained her previous reckless temperament a little bit, and imitated the demeanor of Miss Qianjin.The old lady saw that her second granddaughter, whom she had loved since childhood, was becoming more and more like a lady, and even the younger granddaughter was not so shy, and she was very satisfied with her niece and daughter-in-law.

Seeing that she knew more people, Mrs. Zhuo slowly handed over some of the housework of the Hou Mansion to Yijun and Xijun to try to take care of it. After a long time, she didn't need the assistance of the big girls.Hou Ye heard that, and he didn't have any objection, but felt that he was too careless to forget his daughter when he was considering the choice of housekeeper.However, he didn't intend to hand over all the housework to his daughters, he just asked his younger siblings to help out and pay attention to which family's daughter has both virtue and ability, which can match his son.

Zhuo agreed, but she was more focused on finding a daughter-in-law for her son and finding a good family for her daughter.Not long after, news came from the north that the two armies were at war.Although it was only a small-scale conflict, it was also a rare war in recent years.The second master, Li Yan, had credit for this process, but at the same time, other generals had credit and demerit. The court and the central government argued over who deserved more credit and who should be held accountable for their mistakes, arguing non-stop.So Zhuo became even busier—busy doing things around to secure the rear for her husband.

When the Zhuo family took care of the housework in the Hou's mansion and was busy with her husband's safety, Chunying was not idle either.Because the fourth lady is temporarily in charge of the housework, the second old lady will sit behind the scenes, and the affairs in the Songyi Courtyard will be taken care of by them.Among them, because Qiuyan had a bad stomach, and for some reason became more and more ill, she had to ask for leave and go back to her natal family to recuperate. No one took care of the external liaison, gift giving and receiving, shopping and other things that were originally in charge of her. , As a result, Bailing took over the shopping errand because he had a cousin who was engaged in purchasing, and Cui Ling took over the fat job of preparing and giving gifts, but still spread the word that this hard work fell to Chunying.

Chunying didn't complain.In fact, if she were to be in front of the master's house all day long to please and serve her, she would rather run around outside.Besides, she doesn't need to run errands in general, only important things require her to run in person. Unless it is a very urgent matter, otherwise, under normal circumstances, she can leisurely stroll to the destination.The scenery in spring is just right, the flowers are red and the willows are green, and it is more comfortable to look at the eyes. Isn't it better than copying Buddhist scriptures in the house?
She can also take the opportunity to establish good relations with the aunts and aunts in the mansion, chatting with each other and helping with small things. In this way, when they are asked to send messages, they will be much happier.

Lijiazhuang uploaded a letter, and my parents tidied up the yard, planted vegetables, raised chickens, and planted grapes, so happy.Although my father took the position of foreman and deputy head of the village, and he was busy with the farming, but the Zeng family was stimulated by the promotion of Zhao Laosan and almost took away all the work, so the father was very upset. laid back.My old mother took the younger brother Xiaohu and raised him with delicious food and drink. The kid ran all over the mountains and fields with the children in the village, almost going crazy.

When Chunying read the letter and saw this, she felt a little jealous.That brat, Xiaohu, can't even read well. He only cares about playing every day, but his mother still spoils him!
"Sister Chunying!" A little girl's call came from a distance, Chunying hurriedly put away the letter, and turned to meet her: "What's the matter?"

"Sister, Miss Si passed you on, saying that there is something urgent."

Chunying was puzzled, Fourth Miss had something difficult, why did she look for her?Without thinking too much, he hurriedly followed the little girl to the main courtyard to go to the room.These days, Miss Fourth is doing housework here.

The fourth young lady, Yajun, was holding a post, frowning tightly, when she saw Chunying coming in, she hurriedly got up to greet her: "Sister came just in time." She winked at the people around her, and all the maids retreated, Chunying Even more puzzled: "What's wrong?"

Yajun quietly handed over the post, and when Chunying saw the words "Ke Wang's Mansion" written on it, she was startled: "How could they send the post?!"

Yajun said: "Sister also knows about them. This is the princess of the Wangfu who invited me to attend the spring outing on the Shangsi Festival. I didn't know what to do. I asked my grandmother, and my grandmother said, I want to ask my mother. Now the palace The person is waiting outside, I want to give an answer as soon as possible. Good sister, you go to the Hou's mansion for me, and tell mother about this, just don't let others know. "

Chunying knew that the matter was of great importance, so she hurriedly responded and walked out immediately.Between Dong Mansion and Hou Mansion, if the masters visit each other, they will naturally have to take the main road, but between the servants, they can pass through the corner gate and the narrow road.Chunying knew the way very well, and it took less than 5 minutes to arrive at the garden of the Hou Mansion. She was going to find her second wife, Mrs. Zhuo, but was blocked by a group of people not far from the gate of the garden.

More than a dozen women were divided into two groups and confronted each other. Aunt Hua stood in front of one side with her arms akimbo, while the other side embraced Cui Manru, who was bluish. step.

Chunying didn't know what they were arguing about, but they blocked the aisle, which gave her a headache.She had no choice but to interrupt their quarrel: "Two... Aunt Hua, and Miss Cui, mothers, can you please make way?"

(End of this chapter)