The entire Hou Mansion was rolling their eyes.
Zhu Ping'an returned to his guest room as if nothing had happened. He washed up, laid out pen, ink, paper and inkstone, opened an ancient scroll, sat at his desk and started reading slowly.
As evening arrived, the sky slowly turned dark and hazy, like a splash-ink painting, and the earth began to fall into a deep sleep.
However, the fifth lady's yard in the backyard of the Hou Mansion was indeed brightly lit, with maids coming and going constantly. Under the guidance of Baozi's little maid and two old ladies, the maids who kept coming and going rearranged the courtyard in an orderly manner. The potted plants were replaced, the dressing table was replaced, the bedding, etc. were all replaced.
The sixth lady of the Hou Mansion had already washed herself and was about to go to sleep, but she was attracted by the movement in the fifth sister's courtyard next door, so she sent her personal maid to inquire about it. The little maid came back soon and reported all the news she had heard to Miss Six.
"The fifth lady disliked the rough material of the quilt, so she asked someone to replace it with a silk quilt."
"The fifth lady said that the style of the dressing table was too old and looked unsightly, so she had someone make a new one and send it over."
"The fifth lady said that the spices burning in the room smelled impure, so she had the incense burner and the spices replaced."
...
In Li Shu's yard, the little maid Baozi and the two old ladies directed the maids in the yard to work back and forth and rearranged the yard. Although the workload was heavy, it did not take much time. The reason is that there are a lot of little maids and old ladies who come here to do their bidding. It's very simple. Because Li Shu is generous, any little maid or old lady who comes here to move things as ordered will be rewarded with one or two silver coins.
Everyone can receive one tael of silver. Even the second-class maid in the Hou Mansion receives about this amount of money per month. The average little girl receives less than this amount. .
Therefore, the maids and old ladies from other courtyards actively came to Miss Fifth to listen to her orders.
So much so that a certain lady lost her temper because of the lack of manpower in the room.
"Miss, why should we give them free money? You are the master of this house. It is only natural to order them around."
Baozi's little maid Hua'er waited for the maids and old ladies in the yard to receive the rewards, and then left happily, pouting her little mouth in pain and complaining to her own lady.
"It is taken beforehand. It must be given beforehand."
Li Shu lazily leaned on the embroidered couch, with a pair of watery eyes dark and bright, and said lightly with the corners of her lips slightly raised.
When Baozi's little maid heard this, her face wrinkled up and she couldn't understand what her young lady meant. But it feels so profound.
In the dead of night, the noisy Hou Mansion returned to calm. Everyone except those on night watch had fallen asleep. It's just that the lights are still on somewhere in the guest room, and it can be vaguely seen from the silhouette of the window that someone in the room is still holding on to the book.
The next day, Zhu Pingan got up and washed as usual. After washing, he studied ink and practiced calligraphy. After writing two large characters, I heard the sound of the Hou Mansion gradually waking up, and the servants and maids began to be busy again. Wait for the masters to get up and wash themselves.
After Zhu Pingan finished practicing calligraphy, reading in the morning, and even writing a policy essay, a boy came over with this food box to deliver breakfast to Zhu Pingan. Although it was a little late, the quality of the food was very high. Even my pseudo-aunt, who was not taken seriously by the Hou family, had two meat and two vegetarian dishes for breakfast.
Not long after breakfast, another boy came over to report.
"The teacher in the Hou Mansion who teaches Young Master Yan Gong had something to do at home yesterday, so he asked for a day off today. Young Master Yan Zhou was originally supposed to teach his younger brother Yan Gong. But yesterday Young Master Yan Zhou caught a cold when he got up at night, and the old lady was thinking Mr. Zhu passed the examination at a young age, so he considered asking Mr. Zhu to urge Master Yan Gong to study hard today. I don’t need to worry about it, just urge Master Yan Gong to study hard and read. I hope you will not refuse."
When it comes to the offer, how can I refuse it? Besides, I have already eaten two meals from others, so how can I refuse it?
Besides, it’s just to urge me to read the book. It doesn't affect your reading.
So, Zhu Ping'an packed up a few books and followed the boy to Li Yangong's study in the Marquis Mansion. While walking on the road, Zhu Ping'an was still wondering who the young master Li Yangong was talking about. Could it be that naughty boy?
After arriving at the destination, Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but laugh when he looked at the provocative little chubby face in the study room. This damn Li Yangong was really such a naughty kid.
"Why are you here, you country bumpkin? I've already read a page of the book myself."
This naughty kid seems to have known that Zhu Pingan was coming for a long time. He was not surprised at all when he saw Zhu Pingan. He spoke provocatively when he opened his mouth and opened his mouth like a bumpkin. He closed his mouth and disliked Zhu Pingan for coming too late.
This naughty child should be the type of devil in the Hou family. It can be seen from the figure of the boy who led Zhu Pingan to the study and left in a hurry. He escaped so fast. He must have been spoiled by this naughty child. .
In the study room, only the naughty boy and Zhu Ping'an were left.
Zhu Pingan turned a blind eye to the naughty boy's provocation and walked into the study with a faint smile. There are only two seats in the study room, facing each other, one is where the naughty child is doing, and the other is slightly higher opposite the naughty child. This is the position of the teacher.
Zhu Pingan walked to the seat opposite and pretended to sit down.
The naughty kid opposite looked at Zhu Pingan and was about to sit down. His fat face couldn't help but grin. But the next second, Zhu Pingan stopped sitting down with a slight smile, then turned around and took down the two nails placed on the seat.
Seeing this, the naughty kid made a long frustrated sound.
Then, the frustrated voices of naughty children started one after another. The bugs caught in the scrolls, the ink spilled on the table, the glue on the brush holder...all were resolved by Zhu Ping'an one by one. .
The naughty boy looked at Zhu Ping'an who was sitting opposite and reading seriously, gritting his teeth, with a fat face like a bulldog, as if he was always looking for an opportunity to take revenge.
Not long after, a boy came over and reported that the eldest master of the Hou Mansion would be back at noon, and he would check the homework assigned to the naughty child ten days ago when he came back at noon.
The boy's words frightened the naughty child to death. His father was very strict. He had been playing around these days and had long forgotten about his homework in Java. The teacher couldn't control him, so he didn't even do the homework assigned ten days ago.
"Although the turtle lives a long life..."
Therefore, after the boy left, the naughty boy did not bother to trouble Zhu Ping'an. He picked up the scroll, shook his head with a fat face, and started to memorize it with bitterness and hatred.
Oh, Cao Cao's "The Turtle Sushou".
Looking at the naughty child who was so bitter and resentful, shaking his head and shaking his head to endorse the words, Zhu Pingan suddenly raised the corners of his lips. When the naughty child had just memorized "The Turtle is Longevity", Zhu Pingan continued the little fat man's voice and started to recite it, his voice was clear. , articulation is clear, catchy and rhythmic.
"Although the divine turtle is thin, it still has some meat. Let's stew the soup first, and then eat the meat...!"
Then, the naughty kid who had just memorized the beginning became confused and could not remember what the original text was. His fat face was about to collapse.
So, the naughty boy started over, "Although the turtle has a long life..."
"Although the turtle is thin, it still has some meat. Let's stew the soup first, and then eat the meat...!" Zhu Pingan hooked up the corners of his lips again.
Do this three times.
When the naughty child endorsed the book again, he said, "Although the turtle is thin, it still has some meat. Let's stew the soup first, and then eat the meat..."!
Hearing this, Zhu Pingan nodded with satisfaction and looked at the naughty boy with encouraging eyes.
Then the naughty child went on the thin road of the turtle, stewing soup and chewing meat, and couldn't hold it back. (To be continued.)
