A Thousand Hills

Chapter 10

After Xie Bai's flower-exploring banquet ended, Xie Moru's life returned to calm, but Xie's servants were enthusiastically caught up in rounds of gossip about Xie Bai's marriage. Today they say that Li's daughter is good, and tomorrow they will say Miss Zhang's family is so good that even the always quiet Rhododendron Courtyard can hear a few winds.

One day, when Xie Moru was resting, Madam Zhang brought a newly made red bean cake and whispered to Xie Moru, "I heard from Mrs. Xu in the big kitchen outside that my wife fell in love with a girl from the Ning family. Girl, tell me about this." Son..." Madam Zhang couldn't continue talking, but there was deep worry in her eyes.

Xie Moru laughed when he heard this nonsense, turned over a page of the book and said, "Don't listen to nonsense, there is nothing wrong with it."

"Really, Mrs. Xu has a good sense of what she said. I heard that these days the house is full of belongings for engagement." Now Auntie Ning is helping Mrs. Xie to manage the house. The offerings have never been less than a tiny bit, but Nanny Zhang doesn't have the slightest affection for Aunt Ning.She is mainly worried about her eldest daughter.

Xie Moru said indifferently, "Second uncle is a dignified Xinke Tanhua, so it's not that he can't marry a wife, or that his family is the only one left with a daughter in the imperial capital? Marriage is good for two surnames. My father has a surname Ning here. Wouldn’t it be a waste to ask my second uncle to marry someone surnamed Ning?” Not only is it a waste of high-quality resources like Xie Baixie’s second uncle, but even a girl from the Ning family is not such a waste.I really don't know what these servants are spreading indiscriminately.

Nanny Zhang felt that what the eldest girl said was reasonable, so she let go of half of her heart and said softly, "Anyone is fine, as long as it's not that one."

Xie Moru smiled slightly, what is the relationship between the Zhang family and the Li family, it is really a marriage between the Xie Ning family, and it is not her who is embarrassing.

The master and the servant were talking, Su Lan from Songbaiyuan came to deliver things, the mother-in-law respectfully led Su Lan in, Zhang Nanny knew that Su Lan was the first-class girl in front of Mrs. Xie, she hurriedly got up to greet her, She smiled and said, "Miss Su Lan, why come here when you have time, but you have something to do?"

Su Lan motioned to the two little maids following to bring the things in their hands forward, and said with a smile, "Just now our imperial concubine and the eunuchs rewarded some fresh fruits, because they are fresh fruits from the south, which are quite rare. Ma'am Divide things up, these two baskets are for the eldest girl."

Xie Moru saw that there was a small basket of cherries and a small basket of red bayberries, all of which were fresh and pleasant, and said with a smile, "Sister Lao Sulan will come this way. Tonight, I will thank my wife for my reward. I will see you tomorrow morning." Come over and thank you." The little girl from the Rhododendron Courtyard picked up the fruit, and Wisteria called the two little girls who followed Su Lan to play.Jingwei moved a bamboo chair and said with a smile, "Sister Su Lan rarely comes over, so she also sits down and drinks a cup of tea."

Xie Moru nodded slightly, Su Lan Fang sat down, Jing Wei brought tea, Su Lan got up to take the tea, and said with a smile, "I dare to trouble you."

Jingwei smiled, "Could it be that I went to your place, but you didn't have any tea for me."

Su Lan smiled, "Girl is kind, let's not be rude."

Jingwei continued to pick up the half-wrapped embroidery thread, and smiled, "Sister Sulan came here specially to deliver something, if she didn't even have a cup of tea, it would be rude."

Xie Moru said, "Your Majesty has rewarded you with something, it seems that my wife will enter the palace tomorrow to thank you."

Su Lan smiled, "Yes, my wife will be ready to go out at four o'clock tomorrow, the eldest girl will be there earlier, just in time to see off my wife."

Because there is a noble concubine's daughter in the palace, Mrs. Xie is a person who often enters the palace, and the process of entering the palace is cumbersome. She has to go out at four o'clock, and she and Xie Shangshu went to court for an hour.In the past, when Mrs. Xie entered the palace, she would order her not to go to pay her respects. Xie Moru was a sincere person, so she would not go there. I heard that Aunt Xie Moyou often went to see Mrs. Xie out.Now that Su Lan said this, Xie Moru couldn't say no, so he said, "That's fine."

Su Lan is actually kind-hearted, she is a smart person, she can become Mrs. Xie's chief maid, needless to say IQ, she is also quite mellow, she is not bullied and flattered just because of the embarrassment in front of Mrs. Xie. He often takes care of those little girls, and occasionally, if someone makes a mistake, he will intercede and say good things for others, so he is very popular in the mansion.Su Lan feels that Mrs. Xie and Xie Moru are always indifferent. When Mrs. Xie mentions Xie Moru, she sighs. Su Lan thinks, the eldest girl is not as soft-tempered as the second girl, if she can be more courteous in front of the wife This one, dear grandparents, can always relax a little bit, so there are more retorts, it can be seen that Xie Moru doesn't argue about his happiness and anger, and Su Lan feels a little uncertain.

Su Lan couldn't see Xie Moru's joy and anger, but Xie Moru could see what Su Lan was thinking, and said lightly, "I know my sister's kindness."

Su Lan hurriedly said, "This servant also said that casually. In fact, the wife asked the servant to tell the eldest girl that there is no need to go to pay her respects tomorrow morning. But the servant thought that in the past, the second girl would have passed earlier..."

Xie Moru smiled, Su Lan was telling the truth, she had never been there before, but Su Lan said so, it would be bad if she didn't go.Anyway, it was just getting up a little earlier, so she wouldn't miss breakfast, so she didn't mind, but instead asked, "Has the second uncle been appointed an official?"

Su Lan didn't expect Xie Moru to ask this suddenly, and said without thinking, "Second Master has already been awarded an official, and he is a seventh-rank Hanlin editor."

Xie Moru couldn't help looking at the lark hanging on the corridor, and said, "This is the lark that my second uncle gave me."

There are no clever birds in Mrs. Xie's yard, but Su Lan still showed great interest, "I heard that Lark has a clever mouth."

Xie Moru got up, took Su Lan to see Bai Ling, Su Lan said a few words, Songbaiyuan couldn't do without her, so she left.

Nanny Zhang personally sent Su Lan out, turned around and saw Xie Moru pouring water for Bai Ling, and said with a smile, "Our second master is really capable, this is the seventh-rank official master."

The seventh grade is not a high-grade rank, and it is even a small official in the imperial capital. It is a common practice in the imperial court for new subjects to enter the Hanlin to teach the Hanlin to edit.

Xie Moru sighed inaudibly.

For a while, Jingwei washed the cherries and red bayberries and presented them, Xie Moru said, "Have you sent them to my mother?"

Jingwei said, "Nurse Zhang is going to deliver it."

Xie Moru said, "Pick out two good dishes and send them to Mr. Ji. These two kinds of fruits can't be kept for a long time. You can share the rest."

Jingwei smiled and said, "There is nothing wrong with the things that are rewarded in the palace. The servants look at this head as if they have been measured with a ruler." People say that the eldest girl of her family is not easy to get along with, and in Jing From Wei's point of view, Xie Moru is not difficult to serve, Xie Moru is not bad-tempered, has no bad habits, never treats his servants harshly, and is quite generous.Things that are rewarded by the palace like this, in a word, they are called maidservants.It is said that the jobs in the Dujuan Courtyard are not rich, but in terms of food and clothing, these maidservants are no worse than those in other courtyards. It seems that even the big girls in the Peony Courtyard can't touch a half of these fresh fruits.There is no other way, in the Peony Court, apart from the uncle, Aunt Ning, there is a girl and three young masters, two baskets of fresh fruit, the masters just taste it, and there is nothing left for the servants.On the contrary, things in their Rhododendron Courtyard have always been unclear.Jingwei also found it strange that the uncle did not come to Dujuanyuan for a year, and the master and wife had no preference for her daughters, but they liked the lively second girl more, not to mention that Aunt Ning took care of most of the affairs in the mansion. , It is said that the Rhododendron Courtyard is losing power, but there are things, as many as there are in the Pine and Cypress Courtyard, there are as many Rhododendron Courtyards, which have always been more than the Peony Courtyard.Many people praised Aunt Ning's virtuousness because of this, but Jingwei thought, after all, the wife has the final say on matters in the house.How the cuckoo courtyard is enshrined is naturally a rule set by the wife, whether it is more or less, it has nothing to do with Aunt Ning.

After thinking wildly for a while, Jingwei would watch the little girl hand out two plates of fruit and deliver them to Mr. Ji herself.

Jingwei came back and said, "When the servant girl came to Mr. Ji's courtyard, she saw the second girl with her maid and two baskets of fruit. It looks like she is going out."

Xie Moru nodded to show he understood.

Jingwei said, "Girl, do you think the second girl is going to the third old lady?"

"Probably so." Xie Moru pinched a cherry and put it in his mouth. The tribute was indeed good, not only looked good, but also tasted top-notch.

On the second day, Xie Moru got up earlier, and the morning was still cold in late spring. Zhang Nanny found out a thick material cloak for Xie Moru to wear in advance, and ordered Ziteng to carry the lantern, and asked Jingwei to help the girl. Hei, don't fall.

Xie Moru smiled, "In the past, she would wake up soon, so don't worry, mammy."

"That's true too." Zhang Nanny looked at her girl lovingly, it really mattered how she looked at her, "Mommy is getting old, and she always needs to tell her a few words before she can rest assured."

Xie Moru smiled, "I'm going out now, Mammy, let's take a rest."

"I'm in good spirits in the morning and I'm not tired. The wisteria in our courtyard is in bloom. It's just in time to take advantage of the morning and the flowers are clean. Pick some to make porridge." As he spoke, he finally sent Xie Moru out.

Xie Moru is the first time to see Mrs. Xie out early in the morning. Mrs. Xie and Mr. Xie are having dinner. Xie Song, Xie Bai, Xie Moyou, Xie Zhi, Xie Lan and Xie Yu are sitting next to each other. They are all children and grandchildren, and Xie Moyou A few people are not very old, so they sat around a table, very happy.

Mrs. Xie heard the maid's report, and said with a smile, "Why are you here? Didn't I ask Su Lan to say that I don't need to come over to say hello?"

How should I answer this? I can’t say that I came here to show off my face, and I can’t say that I was too lazy to come here before...Of course, if Xie Moru has the temperament of Xie Moyou, he would just smile if he said coquettishly that he came here to eat breakfast with his grandmother passed.It's just that Xie Moru really doesn't have such a temperament, and she can't say such pleasant words, she said, "I went to bed early last night, and woke up early this morning, I thought, my wife always has to go out at four o'clock, Since I know that my wife is at home, I should come over to say hello." Saying that, he said hello politely.

This kind of words, only Xie Moru can say.Fortunately, someone smoothed things over for her, Xie Bai smiled and asked, "Could it be, did you have breakfast?"

Xie Moru said, "I use it late for breakfast, so I'll use it when I go back."

Mrs. Xie probably choked on Xie Moru just now, she said lightly, "I have nothing to do here, it's so cold in the morning, now that I've said hello, you can go back. You have to go to school later."

Xie Bo hurriedly said, "Everyone is here, let's eat together."

Xie Moru thought about it, and felt that he should not have come this morning.She has never come before, but this sudden arrival is surprising, not to mention inappropriate, and it makes people think that she has some special purpose.The table was already full, and it was obviously not right to add her to the original happy eating atmosphere.Xie Moru said earnestly, "Second Uncle, I didn't say I was using breakfast late. I didn't mean to put it off politely. I was really late. When I came out, Mammy was already preparing breakfast for me. I'll be back now." Fushen, turned around and left.

Xie Moru felt that sitting down would disturb the dining atmosphere of Mrs. Xie and others, so she wisely left, but she didn't expect that after she left, the dining atmosphere would get even worse.Xie Shangshu stopped eating with two chopsticks, and the rest of the people couldn't eat any more. After rinsing their mouths and drinking tea, they served those who should enter the palace and those who should go up.

Xie Moru hurried back, when she returned to Dujuan Courtyard, Madam Zhang helped her take off the cloak, and asked, "Madam is gone?"

"The wife said it was cold in the morning, so I asked for peace and called me back." Xie Moru took a sip of tea, asked someone to hang the lark on the porch, and then went for a walk in the garden to exercise.

Xie Moru has never been taken care of by people when taking walks, the sky still has a hint of darkness at night, with a deep blue, and the morning breeze is full of the coolness of lotus and grass, which is very comfortable.Xie Moru closed his eyes slightly, feeling the tranquility of the morning.

Nanny Zhang asked Jingwei carefully about the greetings of her eldest daughter in the room. Jingwei almost burst into tears, her eyes were slightly red, "The girl went a little early, and the wife hasn't finished her meal yet, so let our girl invite you." Ann, I asked the girl to come back. The uncle, the second master, and the second daughter, the young master Zhi, the young master Lan, and the young master Yu all ate at the wife's place, and the wife didn't even have a word to spare for the meal. It was the second master who made a few words for the girl, and the girl came back. "

Nanny Zhang sighed deeply, and didn't know what to say, but she felt very sorry for her eldest daughter.

Xie Moru didn't know that he had given Mammy Zhang a lot of heartache. He ate wisteria porridge in the morning, and asked Nanny Zhang to fry wisteria fish at noon, and pick flowers to make some wisteria pancakes tomorrow.He ordered a lot of things in a long-winded manner, and when the time came, Xie Moru took Jingwei Wisteria to Huazhang Hall for class.Hua Zhangtang met Xie Moyou, Xie Moyou comforted her, "Big sister, don't be angry."

Xie Moru was puzzled, "Why am I angry?"

Xie Moyou's beautiful eyes were full of apology, "We didn't know that big sister would go there in the morning, otherwise we would have to wait for big sister to arrive before eating."

Xie Moru took a deep look at Xie Moyou, smiled and said nothing.Xie Moyou wanted to say something more, but Xie Moru turned around to flip through the scrolls, Mr. Ji also arrived, Xie Moyou couldn't say anything more, so he had to give up.

(End of this chapter)