Zeng Yingxiu is very energetic, but after she is exhausted, she is often extremely tired. She falls asleep before the actors on the stage come on stage. Lishu had no choice but to say to the nuns who followed the Zeng family: "Send her to my room to sleep."
The nuns who came with the Zeng family were so grateful that they had no choice but to carry Zeng Yingxiu to the west room of Xishun Hall. When they came in, there was a golden rattan and red lacquered bamboo curtain hanging at the door, and a square of nanmu inlaid with mother-of-pearl clouds was placed in the main hall. On the table with thin legs and teeth, there is a cloisonne three-legged elephant trunk incense burner on the table. The remaining smoke curls up and the aroma is pleasant.
After bypassing the main hall, there turned out to be a cubicle made of carved wooden boards with a long life and a long life. There was a desk inside, and a copper enamel inlaid sapphire flower basket was placed in the upper left corner for decoration. The four treasures of the study were placed in the middle and right, and a stack of The paper is on top, and next to it are two bald brushes.
Continuing to walk north, the curtains have already been tied up, and this is the inner room.
The wives of the Zeng family had seen wealth and wealth, but they didn't expect that the interior was so well-organized. A lot of ingenuity was put into it. A gold-plated screen with magnolia parrots blocked the embroidery bed. There was a round table in front of the screen, and a round table next to it. There are four pictures of Qingluan peonies carved with red sandalwood embroidery. Although the inner room is not big, it has everything you need, including a small dressing table and a beauty couch. There are also two little girls serving here who immediately bring tea and water in an orderly manner.
When Li Shu saw them putting Zeng Yingxiu on her bed, she couldn't help but lead them out first and said: "I asked Sister Shuizhi to bring hot water to wipe your girl's sweat, so that she could sleep here for a while, you mothers. It’s easy to get out, or go and visit our garden, and tell your wife to just worry about it.”
The mothers really felt that she was considerate and thanked her profusely, so they quietly walked out.
Lishu came to the outside room. Tingxue and Siyu were her confidants. When they saw no one around except Yingxiu who was asleep inside, they wanted to talk about what happened today, but Lishu reached out to stop them.
"We'll talk about this at night. Don't mention it for now. Since we have told grandma, leave it to grandma no matter how she handles it." Lishu didn't have any clue about the guqin being cut off. Instead, she was afraid of alerting the enemy, so she might as well pretend not to care. If you know, you might be able to catch the murderer.
After all, her mother is not with her now, and her grandmother is not facing her. If she is really open and close, she doesn't know what she will do.
What she was thinking about now was another thing. She guessed that Lijia might want to marry Fu Minglun. It was obvious that Lijia had been staying with the Fu family today and completely ignored the Zeng family. Judging from her often thoughtful character, , possibly intentionally.
Mrs. Liu took her and talked a lot with Mrs. Zeng, and Mrs. Zeng looked at her with a look.
Li Shu did not want to marry the Zeng family. Although she said she was not afraid of anyone, she had always been extremely proud. Mrs. Zeng San was a snobbery at first glance, pointing to the height of this mountain. She had seen many such people in her previous life, and that was correct, but such people were not to be interacted with. They only wanted to make things better, but who in the world had a smooth life?
The Third Madam Zeng was usually so strict with the Fourth Young Master Zeng that she even moved her nieces away. This was all because she had too high expectations for her son. If such a person were to be paired with the daughter of the Prime Minister, the princess would think that he was being too high-spirited. It's best to stay away.
But how to give up?
This is difficult. When adults discuss their children's marriage, most children don't even know.
Just like in the previous life, whether it was with Zheng Hao or with Yu Maozhong, the marriage was finalized by his father, and he only found out after it was decided.
It would be better if her mother was here. After all, her mother would listen to her, but her grandmother wouldn't care about her life or death. She had to find a way.
I happened to go out of the room and saw my aunt. Although this aunt was close to her parents' family, she had a lot of things going on at home and couldn't return to her parents' home. If Mrs. Liu hadn't celebrated her birthday, she wouldn't be able to come.
"Aunt, why are you here? Didn't you go to the theater?" Lishu smiled and came forward to say hello.
The aunt was also surprised when she saw Li Shu: "I just saw Li Jia and the girls going to the garden together with the girls from the Fu family. Why didn't you go?"
"Oh, that's it. The third girl from the Zeng family was playing with me. Aren't you tired from playing together? She fell asleep, so I asked her to come to my place." Li Shu explained.
After all, the aunt is closer to the Fu family, especially since Fu's father and brother are so capable. Anyone who knows the inside story knows that the little Fu family only has the character "Fu" in his surname, and the rest has nothing to do with the Fu family. This person was not worth entrusting, Li Shu only explained.
It's just that she wants to make sure that her relationship with the Zeng family has been settled, so she just needs to observe her.
Yes, let’s confirm this first.
"It turns out that you have such a good relationship with Madam Zeng San." The lady smiled.
Li Shu nodded: "That's fine, aunt. Last time you didn't come, the Zeng family invited some chefs from Suzhou to come over and made dozens of dishes. I even brought them back to my grandmother to taste. Grandma said we It turns out that there is one chef each from Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, is that true?"
Mrs. Liu nodded proudly: "That's natural. You are still young. Back then, more people in our family came to deliver door-to-door packages every day than there are now who come to celebrate birthdays. Who wouldn't be respectful to your grandfather and our Liu family? .”
"Are they as respectful as everyone is to my grandmother and the others now?" Li Shu was curious.
Mrs. Liu's mouth turned down: "The Fu family used to be no better than our family."
"What about the Zeng family? Auntie, have you been to the Zeng family? I heard from Yingxiu that all the stones in their house were specially transported from Taihu Lake. They also built a small bridge at their house, and there were crystal lanterns tied to the stone railings. It is also decorated with bells, and when the wind blows, it looks like snow waves and silver dragons. I am really envious of it. It would be great if our family also had those." Li Shu was envious.
Mrs. Liu poked her forehead: "You are worthless, there is nothing to envy. The eldest son of the Zeng family is more than ten years older than your father. If your father is ten years old, he may be better."
"Hey, aunt, how can I compare to my uncle? Yutang Jinmen, as a close minister of the emperor in the future, will definitely join the cabinet as the first assistant." Li Shu flattered.
Of course my aunt likes to hear this. You must know that there are many people who study history in the Hanlin Academy all their lives. Those who can become generals or prime ministers are among the best. It's just that many people can't stand the poverty of the Hanlin Academy, but just like a dragon diving into the bottom of the water, if the storm comes, it will rise.
But she was still a little reserved: "I didn't expect you, a little girl, to know a lot." Seeing Lishu stop, she said again: "Why, don't you go to the theater with me?"
"I won't go. In the morning, my grandmother and Mrs. Zeng praised me so much that I felt embarrassed. And Mrs. Zeng, who was always serious before, smiled at me in the morning. I was a little flattered. I was most afraid of those adults hugging me. Stay with me, I'll leave first." Lishu looked grateful but not sensitive.
Mrs. Liu laughed when she heard this: "You silly girl, you are still afraid of her, but you don't know that in the future..."
Li Shu smiled silly on the surface, but felt cold in her heart.
night falls
Mrs. Liu asked someone to bring several bowls of sobering soup to the old man. After a while, Mother Wei came back and was replying: "Aunt Hua took the sobering soup and was taking care of him there."
"Well, she is a careful person." Mrs. Liu hated concubines when she was young. Now that she is older, she also feels that concubines are pitied. Aunt Hua is only eighteen years old and was changed hands five or six times before she came to the Liu family. In the age of Huaxin, he served an old man, Mrs. Liu. Because she was finally not transferred out by the Liu family, she was grateful.
Mother Wei smiled and said: "Yes, go back to my servant, Aunt Hua is very grateful to the old lady."
"Thank you. Since she has entered my house, she is a member of our family. The old lady is only fifty years old. If she can give birth to a son and a half, I will let them go out together in the future, and she will have A reliance."
Mother Wei said, "Old lady, please be kind."
Seeing that Wei's mother was hesitant to speak, Mrs. Liu said: "Have you gone to the eldest lady to ask? Have you found out? She is a lady in charge, and she is usually very violent, so she can't find out such a trivial matter."
Mother Wei said: "The eldest lady said that there are too many people walking there today, and some of them are guests. It's hard to ask. Maybe it's some ignorant naughty person."
"Naughty? I think her daughter is the most naughty." Mrs. Liu said angrily.
Mother Wei's neck shrank and she didn't know what to say.
Mrs. Liu said: "I know what the eldest daughter-in-law is thinking. Her own daughter is not up to par, and she always compares herself to Li Shu. Or maybe she knows about the affairs between me and the Zeng family. She loses her temper, and Li Zhen does something bad." Go. But isn’t it because I didn’t choose her daughter? I hope she can be on the high stage.”
She was obviously very angry when she said this, but Mother Wei felt that it was not a big deal. The fifth girl was still young, and the sisters above her were so outstanding. They were better than her in everything. How could she not feel a lot of pressure? .
But in terms of conditions, the fifth girl is the eldest daughter of the eldest family, her father is also the governor, and she even has a bright future. Her mother comes from the Prime Minister's family, she has a large dowry, and she is an only child. She is really better than the fourth girl in comparison.
Unless the family background is very different, then personal conditions are also important. The third girl, Lishu, lives up to her name and has a beautiful appearance. I am afraid she will be a first-class beauty when she grows up. In addition to her outstanding appearance, no one can fault her in her studies or work. She is even favored by her mother and brothers.
But these words are not something Wei’s mother can judge.
Therefore, she only asked how to deal with it: "Then..."
"There is no need to mention this matter again. When you go to Lin Ji's family, tell her man to find someone to repair Lishu's guqin as soon as possible. Speaking of which, this guqin is really priceless." Mrs. Liu could only do this. .
Mother Wei thought to herself, if it weren't for the sake of the adopted children of the eldest family, how could she tolerate it now?
After Mrs. Liu's birthday passed, the female school allowed them to rest for a few more days, just in time for Lishu to pay her respects. After that, she slept like crazy, but one day, the guqin was delivered.
When Mother Hu saw Li Shu playing the piano, she couldn't help but said, "Is it really impossible to find out who is here?"
Li Shu shook her head: "Since neither the old lady nor the eldest lady can be found out, where should I go to find out? Do I have the manpower? Will others listen to me? If my mother is here, it will be okay for her to take care of the house. I am a little girl." If the child asks too many questions, what will the aunt and the old lady think of me?"
"Sister said yes, but who do you think it is?" Mother Hu asked.
Li Shu really didn't know. She could guess that it was someone from her family, but she wasn't sure who it was.
But she knew very well when to defend and when to attack, so Li Shu said: "As the saying goes, this person who breaks my strings must not want me to be in the limelight. Then as long as I am in the limelight in the future, who doesn't like it the most? That's not the case." Have you met Tuqiongdagger?"
Hu's mother praised: "Sister, I really understand things."
Li Shu put on her bed shoes and got out of bed: "I've been sleeping all day, and I have to get up to practice calligraphy. Mr. Qiu said whether you were lazy or not, you all focused on this word."
"You are so hardworking."
"We girls just don't like to show off. There won't be any day when the lights aren't on at three and the chickens are on at five."
"You also know that the lights are on at three o'clock and the chickens are on at five o'clock?"
"I heard what the girl said."
…
After Lishu finished writing, she read the homework assigned by her husband again and stretched. She felt that she was really not the gifted type. She could only be regarded as a little gifted and belonged to Yehu Zen.
It’s really admirable how other people who really have a photographic memory and are really proficient in learning do it!
After finishing the "Three", "Hundred" and "Thousand" in the Mongolian School, Mr. Gong began to teach the Four Books, namely "Great Learning", "The Doctrine of the Mean", "The Analects of Confucius", "Mencius", "Confucius' Family Sayings", and "The Classic of Filial Piety". From this point on, many people can no longer keep up.
This is easy for older children like Lijia and Zhong Yunran to accept, but for the younger Lirou and Lizhen, it seems a bit too much.
However, Li Shu liked Mr. Gong's profound knowledge very much. She listened very carefully. After listening, the classmates would go to the veranda outside the school to have tea and chat. It was rare for everyone to take a break at this time.
Compared with Lishu who had to work hard, Lijia was much better. She had already read "The University" when she was in Jiujiang. She might as well spend more time on Acupuncture Nvhong. After all, she would have to go to her grandfather's house in two days. She planned to give some needlework to her eldest cousin, who had just given birth to a baby and should embroider something auspicious, but it was a bit complicated.
Liwan also wanted to go to Fu's house, which was also her maternal grandfather's house. There were not many daughters in the Fu family. Every time they went there, several aunts would entertain them together, which was quite lively.
Therefore, Lishu found more and more that the people around her either didn't come in the morning or in the afternoon, and often asked for leave. Of course Mrs. Fu kindly asked her to go to Fu's house, so Li Shu naturally resisted.
She was never absent or late, and she was very positive every time, even if she was the only one in the room.
Zeng Yingdan was quietly talking to Lirou: "Your third sister works too hard, and she doesn't have to take the top prize? I have never heard of a woman taking the top prize."
Li Rou agreed very much with this: "Now that my grandma leaves her alone in a carriage, she also feels that she is working too hard. Our girl's family should do more needlework as the eldest sister said."
"That's right, in the embroidery workshop under my mother's name, a piece of high-quality embroidery is worth dozens of taels of silver." Zeng Yingdan had a headache just reading books. When she used to teach elementary school, she could still read as much as she could. Now she is learning the more difficult Four Books. She can't read them at all and can't even recognize all the words.
She is naturally interested in making money and is very proficient in doing business. Otherwise, she is really like chewing wax.
Lirou smiled and said, "That's right. You also have your own strengths. You can tell how good you are at abacus. You know how to read a ledger at such a young age. Who is better than you?"
While the two were talking, they saw the maid next to Mrs. Zeng coming over and asking them to use some snacks together. Li Rou quickly got up and prepared to go there.
Today, both Lijia and Liwan went to Fu's house, and the rest of the people were preparing to go there. Lishu said, "I won't go there. I'm not very familiar with this place. You can apologize to Mrs. Zeng San for me."
Lu Jingyi advised: "Let's go?"
"I really won't go. It doesn't matter if I am missing."
Everyone saw how determined she was and knew that she looked gentle and had a very kind face, but no one could change her will on what she had made up her mind.
Everyone went out one after another. Li Zhen looked at Liu Su who was following Li Rou. Liu Su smiled and said nothing.
It was about half an hour when they came back. Zeng Yingxiu had never been scheming, so she sat down and said to Li Shu, "Third Aunt asked you why you didn't come? I said you were studying hard."
"What kind of effort are you using? I'm just too lazy to move. I will make amends to your third aunt in the future." Li Shu yawned, looking very tired.
Zeng Yingxiu waved her hand: "My third aunt doesn't usually let us go. I'm afraid we won't have the chance in the future."
Li Shu nodded, even if she wanted her parents to make the decision, she only wanted her mother to make the decision. She doesn't like Mrs. Zeng San, and she doesn't like people she doesn't like, no matter how high they are or how prominent their status is.
Judging from Zhong Yunran's case, Confucianism has always said that relatives should hide from each other. Zhong Yunran only dared to ask them, and did not dare to ask Mrs. Zeng San at all. She was her biological aunt, which is enough to see that Mrs. Zeng San As a human being.
Fortunately, it was her mother's birthday and she went to Beijing to send a New Year's gift. Lishu begged Mrs. Tai and also wrote a letter and sent it to her. She also gave some clothes and jackets that she asked Mother Hu to make for her younger brother Shurui. Go over and express your feelings.
She wrote down the things she encountered and her guesses in the letter. Xiao Fu was very helpful. The Tai Madam also wrote a letter to Liu Chengxu about Li Shu's marriage. Liu Chengxu and Xiao Fu discussed it and decided not to use it.
Of course, Liu Chengxu's answer was very subtle. He said that he understood the Tai Fu's desire to be on good terms with her natal family. He was also very close to the three cousins of the Zeng family, and he also hoped to get along well with Qin and Jin and build a relationship between the two families. However, Lishu had been fond of poetry and books since she was a child, and had a rebellious personality. The Zeng family's ancestral precept for women was that they should be virtuous and gentle, which might not be in line with her. Otherwise, getting married is just like making enemies.
Mrs. Liu thought it was a good marriage, but she was a little surprised by what her son said. But it was not unreasonable to think about it. Li Shu was raised in front of her, and she knew clearly that this girl worked harder than Shu Jing and Shu Yi who were taking the scientific examination. She was very able to endure hardship and was not an ordinary person.
And she has no shortcomings at all. Not only is she good at reading, she is also a good actress, and is good at playing music, chess, calligraphy and painting. Although she often said that she was not good at arithmetic and was not as good as the fourth girl from the Zeng family, to be honest, this girl was really outstanding. But at the same time, it was difficult for her to compromise. When she heard that the third lady asked her to come over, she would not go unless she wanted to.
Such people are very high-spirited, and Mrs. Zeng San is actually arrogant and has eyes on the top of her head. Her son does not agree with this, and Mrs. Liu also feels ashamed of her old sister-in-law.
Fortunately, at the end of this year, Liu Chengzong, who had just served as governor for one year, was promoted again to the rank of commanding officer.
Mrs. Liu said that this matter was completely for the sake of her parents' family. She and Mrs. Zeng said: "Originally, I thought Lishu was also very suitable, but you want Lishen's father to be promoted to a commanding officer. How could I?" He only cares about himself and not his parents' family. If my eldest son hadn't been involved by his father back then, he would have been so favored by his superiors. Even now, the emperor has summoned him several times. What do you think of Li Zhen? "
Mrs. Zeng waved her hand and said, "To tell you the truth, our family went to Tzu Chi Temple this time. The abbot there told my fourth brother's fortune and said that he would have to get married when he is older. You also know this. , My third daughter-in-law also had a child before, and she believes this. I think if the children are destined to be destined, it will be settled in the future. What do you think, sister? "
Mrs. Liu had already felt guilty that her family had changed people several times, but now that Mrs. Zeng was acting like this, she had no choice but to agree. But Mrs. Zeng didn't say anything. After all, if Liu Chengxu returned to Beijing to be appointed as an official, it would not be impossible for him to get married when the official became bigger.
Although Li Zhen's affair with the Zeng family didn't work out, Li Zhen was a little frustrated, but she asked Liusu confusedly: "How did you know that the matter between the third sister and the Zeng family didn't work out?"
Since the last time she acted evilly and cut Lishu's piano strings, and was seen by Liusu, Liusu not only promised her to keep the secret, but also told her to guard against arrogance and impatience, saying that Lishu would definitely not get married with the Zeng family. , she also suppressed it, and finally listened to her mother and father talking yesterday. She heard everything while pretending to sleep.
Liusu thought to himself, isn't this simple? She served the fourth girl and roughly understood the real situation of the second room. The two ladies of the second room looked like a family, but in fact they were rivals.
Because Liusu wanted to find out about his second wife, he used his identity as a maid next to the old lady to make friends everywhere, especially with Furong Shaoyao, who was next to the eldest girl. These two people had lively personalities and were not as moralistic as the eldest girl.
Liusu especially made good friends with Furong, and even helped Furong's mother to show her face to the old lady, and found out that the eldest girl was planning to marry the genius of the Fu family. Therefore, based on her understanding of the third girl, this Although this girl is young, she is very energetic.
If the older girl doesn’t want someone, she can’t possibly want him. There is also a eldest girl looking for a young man like this to succeed. Maybe she also wants a stronger husband, so why does she like the fourth son of the Zeng family?
I don’t know how the third girl made the old lady change her mind, but Liusu felt that she had guessed correctly, and because of this, she gained Li Zhen’s trust.
Then she could take the next action, "Fifth girl, that's right, you know? I heard some news about you, saying that you are going to have a brother soon."
Li Zhen frowned: "Who is it?"
"Oh, it's Aunt Su's son who you saw fighting with the little girls that time. Oh, this is great. If Master Shujing adopts him, the girl will have an extra brother in the future. I think Aunt Su's life will definitely be better. It's much better." Liusu bit out the word "vindictive", indicating that Aunt Su was not decent.
Because she knew that this girl Li Zhen really cared about face. Last time she specially picked a little girl to eat Aunt Su's snacks, which made Aunt Su angry.
Although Liusu didn't learn any art of war, she knew that Aunt Su had reached this position through her sons. If none of her sons were successful, she would have nothing to rely on. She had nothing to rely on, so she couldn't protect her brother.
Li Zhen stamped her feet: "I don't want this killer to be my brother."
"My slave, there is a solution here." Liusu curled his lips. :,,
