But it was said that the male hosts of Shangshu Mansion were fighting chess, gambling and drinking, and had fun. Seeing that it was late at night, Huang Nian, who was watching chess here, couldn't bear to yawn one by one. Huang Xing looked at him and smiled: "You haven't ended up, you're still the youngest, why can't you stay up more than us?"

Huang Nian smiled: "I'm not good at this, I can't calculate it just by looking at it, isn't it difficult?" It's better to switch to chess, I'm afraid it's better." ”

Zhang Wangdao: "In this case, tomorrow I will play chess with your eldest brother and you." ”

When Huang Nian heard this, he cried out bitterly in his heart: Although he is not proficient in Go and is good at elephant play, how can he not know that Zhang Wang is the master of this way? That is, Huang Xing, if he really talks about chess strength, Go should also give chess a step ahead. So he regretted it very much, but he didn't dare to talk back, which ruined Zhang Wang's interest, so he could only smile bitterly: "I also want to ask my cousin and the eldest brother to be merciful." ”

Huang Xing glared at him and said: "Before you have a child, first call for mercy, where did the soft bones come from? Don't stand here and be shocked, go back to sleep - don't think about giving birth to a new excuse tomorrow, saying that you didn't rest well at night, your spirit is not good, and you will go down to a mess, I will let you pass!"

The crowd laughed. Huang Nian said goodbye to his brothers and returned to his own courtyard. Entering the door, the Chai family in the house still did not stop, was holding a pile of words under the lamp to see, seeing Huang Nian, busy putting it aside, smiling and getting up to greet him. Huang Nian sat down on the couch, swept his eyes, and asked, "Is it Sheng'er's post?"

Chai smiled: "Yes." There are also four girls and Wei Wei's. You also know that Wei Wei usually only falls in love with her third brother, and would rather follow her into the workshop, planing wood, pulling saws, and weighing a thousand pounds with a pen. Who would have thought that as soon as this sister of the Lin family came, it would be just a matter of face to face and two sentences, and she actually grinded out seven or eight words last night! I chose a few good ones and sent them to me. You also take a look and review the reviews. ”

Huang Nian was also surprised when he heard it. Huang Wei is the firstborn daughter of him and Chai's two, smart and clever, poetry and writing are not forgotten, and they have always been pampered, but children are lively and curious by nature, and they are not willing to study hard in serious learning, and their favorite is those strange skills and tricks, and they are not very obvious when they were five or six years old, but their father-in-law died of illness three years ago, and their eldest brother was ordered to patrol the south to supervise the construction of sea pond fortifications, and their own family also followed back to their ancestral home in Nanjing, and since then the brothers and sisters of the three rooms live together, this Huang Wei, As soon as the yellow elephant met, he fell in love, and Huang Wei followed the yellow elephant in the unworking workshop every day. The two of them are cousins and sisters-in-law, and their appearance is six or seven points old, and as time goes by, even their expressions become more and more similar - the adults in the direct sect family from Mrs. Zhang are funny, and they can't help but favor and take care of them, and Huang Wei is happy to indulge in his temperament. Fortunately, in addition to the Huang family's tutor, in addition to women's reading and history, how much should they know about female red knitting, learning some piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, which can be regarded as stabilizing Huang Wei's chaste and graceful shell when she was in front of outsiders. However, knowing the daughter Mo Ruo's father, Huang Nian no longer knows that it is more difficult for her to be more patient in these, and she is afraid that the little girl has strange thoughts when she makes such a move at this moment. So he asked Chai, "This day has come out of the west." Wei Wei is actually willing to practice calligraphy by herself! Did you ask her why?"

Chai pursed his lips and smiled: "Why didn't you ask? It's just that where is she willing to be honest?" But even if she didn't say it, her thoughts were on her face - it wasn't because her Lin family's sister suddenly came, but because she was so gentle, so elegant. The little girl herself also knew that she was usually not in shape, and she was not good again, so she hurriedly cleaned up her appearance, for fear of embarrassing our family!"

When Huang Nian heard this, he understood everything, and immediately beat his legs and laughed, "How do you say this?" I've always been worried that she is strange and eccentric, but now that I look at it, I still understand the reason, the general situation, and the basic joints of the world! ”

Chai Shi couldn't help but laugh, and while handing him the teacup, he said, "Who said it wasn't? Brother Xiang has his cousin there, and now Wei Wei also has a Sister Lin." And you don't know yet, tonight I can see what a real brother and sister are—I have seen how Xiang'er usually treats the boy, and I have seen it at home, but today, after dinner, you grandfathers went out to play chess, and we gossiped with my mother in the hall, and her sisters gathered in front of me to talk and laugh. At that time, I didn't know what Miss Lin said to her, so she suddenly asked someone to bring a zither in and played a "Fishing Boat Singing Night" on the spot...... Usually even we and even the old lady rarely listen to it, but I am willing to play it for her, and I actually play it very well, and I can't hear the slightest jerky, and I heard the maid who said that she had quietly practiced it last night. Look at it, don't you understand it anymore? I wanted to chant Buddha to Miss Lin at that time. ”

Huang Nian was stunned when he heard this: this Huang Wei is quite talented in the guzheng, but the child has no qualification, every time he is lazy to practice, he must play in front of Mrs. Zhang during the New Year's Festival, and his own parents rarely listen to her fuqu - it can be seen that this time it is really a big benefit. The mouth said: "'I have a guest, drums and pianos.'" This is also the style of the ancients. He picked out Huang Wei's from the pile of paper, and then he glanced at it twice, and couldn't help laughing on the spot, and said: "This song is a short song, and it will be familiar if you play it twice, but it's a pity that this word can't be picked up by holding Buddha's feet temporarily! You see that her 'sea' character and this 'inscription' character are all written horizontally and lie down." ”

Chai Shi hurriedly leaned over to look at the words he was referring to, and when he saw it, he also burst out laughing. Huang Nian became more and more interested, and simply spread out several of Huang Wei's calligraphy exercises one by one to take a closer look. Chai Shi was busy dipping the pen in ink and handing it to him, but he finished the circle for a while. Huang Nianfang said with a smile: "It's rare that her own mind has turned around, and she is willing to practice, so there is no need to say much about it." You only told her that the writing was not bad, and I liked it very much, and I would send some of my homework from time to time in the future. ”

Chai Shi responded, and said with a smile: "Hearing this, you will know who protected this girl." ”

Huang Nian said: "She is the youngest in the family, and she is a girl's family, if you don't protect her, who will you protect?" Although just look at this word...... It's really worse than her brother, but if she really works hard for a few months, maybe she has talent at it?"

Chai Shi heard him dream, laughed, and didn't say more, but instead pointed out to him Huang Sheng's homework, and said: "If you want to say Sheng'er, in the end, she is young and her pen power is insufficient, but fortunately, she has a good grasp of the shelf." In the past two or three months, I have worked more hard than before, and the benefits are especially obvious - you look at this article, these words with many strokes are clear and fair, elastic and decent, and they are no longer the same as the previous 'ink pig'. ”

Huang Nian suddenly smiled and said: "The face body is plump and fuller than the side side, but the inside is the most skeleton, dignified and respectful, generous and stable, which is the right way to be a man." Otherwise, the family and grandfather's house will not all specify it to learn Chinese characters. After practicing seven or eight points, I will learn Ou, Liu, Erwang, Wei Bei and the like. While speaking, he also drew in a circle on Huang Sheng's homework. After finishing the painting, I took the skullcap again, but I just picked it up and paused. Next to him, Chai Shi hurriedly said: "The four girls have been following her second sister Mrs. Linwei recently. I asked the master of the school, and the text was explained one by one. A few days ago, my mother saw Sister Rong's "Jishou and Nan Ti", and she was full of praise, saying that she had already obtained the will of the hairpin. ”

Huang Nian nodded and said, "The second nephew has always been talented here. After reading a few more words from Huang Qian, he looked at them twice, his brows furrowed, and he asked Chai: "This is written by the four girls in the past two days? It is one thing for her sisters to be good, but the two are not mentioned in terms of age, and their understanding and foundation are different. Thinking about it, he said, "That's it, I'll tell her myself." Chai Shi answered.

So Huang Nian asked the Chai family what their relatives had done at night. The Chai family said that it was just because the Hong family and Lin Daiyu were at home, and Mrs. Zhang kept the girls to talk together. Then for Huang Wei to make an accident, Mrs. Zhang was happy, and agreed to invite a fine music group to perform the music in addition to the original troupe the day after tomorrow; Chai said: "The first master is still worried, saying that the Huang and Lin families have pimples more or less, and they are afraid that their mother's heart is not good." But now, this kind of affection and affection alone has never been there. Although I am young, I have few times in front of me, and this is the first time I have been in the door for ten years. ”

Huang Nian smiled: "You look at your mother too narrowly. It's all the affairs of the previous generation, what does it have to do with Lin Yatou? Not to mention that it is the niece and granddaughter of the in-law, and the broken bones are connected to the tendons. How can I not like her mother when she gave birth to her again? Even when I see it today, I feel sorry that Sheng'er is too young, otherwise if I beg her to come, I will be at ease in my life. ”

Chai Shi smiled: "Master's idea is late." Or Sheng'er was born late. Otherwise, who would want to miss such a good thing? It's just that I think Uncle Lin's idea has been correct, and he will hand over the girl to his sister-in-law to bring it, and this is the proof. ”

Huang Nian nodded and said, "It can be seen that marriage in the world still depends on heaven." In the past few years, I have also looked big in front of us, and my character, talent, and temperament are all counted, and I have already thought about it in my heart. But firstly, I felt that the four girls were still young, and secondly, there were a number of nieces and nephews in the second room above, and the age was more comparable than ours, so I endured it a few times and didn't mention it. I don't want Cousin Lin to make such a decision. After next year's spring, my grandmother's house will be double happy. ”

Chai said: "This is a really good thing. Especially when I saw the appearance of the eldest sister-in-law and Lin Yatou, I sat separately in the room, and the eyes of the sister-in-law were also about to slip to Lin's niece and nephew at every three or five times, and I felt at ease when I saw her smile freely - where is the uncle and niece, and the mother and son are just like that. It makes me look funny and can't help but rejoice for them. Because he asked: "Speaking of which, the third brother in our family is the same age as Lin Yatou." I remember the last time Uncle Lin came, you said that Uncle Lin was also very fond of his brother. Why did you choose to go back later? The eldest brother and sister-in-law, are you really not a little tempted? It is not because you are good with the cousin and sister-in-law of the Zhang family that you let it go?"

Speaking of this, before Huang Nian could answer, Chai suddenly laughed and said: "Oh, as soon as these words came out, I felt that in fact, it may really be like this - the friendship between the two brothers is not to mention, but our sister-in-law and sister-in-law looked at the eldest sister-in-law, yesterday and today, it is clear that the two of them did not deliberately come together to speak, and they greeted each other, and I and the second sister-in-law looked the same, but it taught people to think that only the two of her are the most tacit understanding, every move, With a mouth and an eyebrow, it was as if they had discussed it early in the morning. I didn't know that a concubine could be so good. Although she is close to her grandmother's family and has a lot of contacts, how can she live in Changzhou, Nanjing, and the capital in a few miles? I felt envious and ashamed - it was always because I was young and ignorant that I didn't do so. ”

Huang Nian smiled: "You just love to think too much." What does this have to do with your age? In terms of old age, have you ever seen your second sister-in-law be treated like this by your sister-in-law? It's all the fate of people, who made the eldest sister-in-law and the eldest cousin have the same birthdays on the same year, the same month, and the same day? And when you go out of the cabinet and enter your husband's house in the same year, you can't rejoice your grandfather and grandmother -- isn't this kind of kinship the reason you envy and can't envy?"

When Chai Shi heard this, she was stunned: she had other things in mind, but Huang Nian's mention was the most reasonable. Then I heard Huang Nian say again: "Then it's the same temperament and taste." You haven't seen the sister-in-law of the year, that's really fun-loving, and not sticking to conventions, all kinds of fresh and interesting. It's just that at that time, my mother was always sick, my sister and I were young, and the eldest brother was always tight, and only when the eldest cousin and cousin came to be a guest could they be happy. There is another one, there have been a lot of things in the family in those years, one after another, all of which are pressed on the eldest sister-in-law alone - I also saved my mind later, at that time, if it weren't for the eldest cousin's constant comforting help, I was afraid that most of her would fall if she couldn't hold on. ”

He said these words very smoothly, but when Chai listened to them, his heart was already turbulent: You must know that Mrs. Wang was from a noble background, and she recognized the second in Jinling City, and I am afraid that no one dares to recognize the first; although the Huang family is a family of poets, it fell into a trough for some reason more than 20 years ago, and it is far from being prominent today. Mrs. Zhang is also a first-class generous and kind mother-in-law, and the children she has raised are all knowledgeable and courteous, and they can get along with each other with ease. Chai really couldn't think of anything that happened to Mrs. Wang in the two or three years since she first got married, so that she couldn't support it. After combing through his stomach repeatedly, Fang asked: "Didn't the old man say that the eldest sister of the long house is gone?"

Huang Nian sighed and said, "This is also the most painful part of my eldest brother and sister-in-law's heart." is such a delicate and tender sister, but she only has a ten-day fate with our family. I haven't even taken a name yet, I can't rank the teeth, and the family tree can't be entered, the eldest sister-in-law cried to death, just wanting to ask for an offering, but I met someone like the fourth uncle who admits death, and the eldest brother can't help say more...... Later, my grandfather wrote a letter to intercede, and then moved to the Weifang Garden to be with the other unmarried and unmarried sisters in the clan, and my grandmother asked my eldest cousin and sister-in-law to come and take her to Changzhou to take care of her. The sister-in-law and the eldest cousin are closer than others, and this is also the most important reason - it's just that this kind of thing can't be touched again. ”

Chai Shi was concerned in his heart, nodded and said, "What the master said is right." Fortunately, good people have their own blessings, and the sister-in-law treats people with the most sincerity. Brother Xiang is promising, and Sister Bei is also generous and elegant. ”

Huang Nian said: "So it's good for you to have a number in your heart." Don't blush when you see her being close to her eldest cousin. It's always everyone's fate. When you're at home, they just have to be respectful and obedient. ”

Chai said: "Don't worry, sir, I can save it." ”

When Huang Nian heard this, he laughed, and when he saw that it was already late at night, he urged Chai to freshen up and rest. The two didn't say anything all night. On the second day, Chai waited for Huang Nian to get up, and sent him to the yamen—Huang Nian was now temporarily suspended in the prison hall of the Jiangning Criminal Department—and then went to Mrs. Zhang to greet him. Because Mrs. Zhang had instructions first, let Mrs. Wang concentrate on accompanying the Hong family and Daiyu, and the daily chores of the family were handed over to the Cui family and the Chai family to take care of. The Chai family has been married for many years, but he has not really experienced major events alone, and he can't help but beat the drum in his heart, lest there be something wrong. Therefore, after receiving the mission from Mrs. Zhang, the Chai family first assigned the personnel according to the old practice in the house, and then figured out how to add and transfer a few places by himself, and then recruited the old grandmother to discuss - it was Huang Nian's grandmother Liao Mama and her family. This old man Liao Fu is also real, how Chai asked, he answered, and some inappropriateness was also pointed out. Chai Shi corrected them one by one, and then instructed him to go everywhere to take care of the distribution again, but he left Mama Liao's lunch, and only said: "That's it outside." It's just how to connect with the inner courtyard, how to deal with the correspondence everywhere, and my mother needs to guide me. Mama Liao didn't excuse herself, so she ate with her in Chai's house, and answered the reply while eating, but the two were not wrong.

For a while, the Chai family led the conversation to Mrs. Wang and Hong's family, sighing that her two concubines were deeply affectionate, and it was difficult for others to reach them. Mama Liao will understand and say with a smile: "Mrs., this is looking hot." But the third master is right, this is everyone's fate, and they can't get it. The eldest lady is doing well now, and she has suffered all the hardships first. If you really want to talk about it, it's still the wife's case, there are three old men who are focused on it, and everything is stable and comfortable. ”

Chai Shi smiled: "The third master treats me well. But isn't the eldest lady also the eldest lady who is single-minded? Why did she suffer so much? I don't sound like my mother's words. ”

Mama Liao smiled: "My wife is young, and she has the same temper as the third master, I don't know if such a thing is really blessed." You can see that the eldest lady speaks comfortably now, but it was not like this when she first got married. In the end, Miss Count, she is the only girl in the family, and she is the youngest, she is really a golden and noble, and she is used to doing everything willfully. Although the old lady let her take charge of the house as soon as she got married, her family is different from ours in the end, and there are some things that are okay to do over there, but when you get here, you will be out of the grid - and the big lady will be very bad, no matter how annoying and difficult it is, every time she twists three times or twice, somehow she will deal with it all. It's just that in the end, it's hard work, and it's too tough for a woman, and it's strong enough in front of people, and this man will always be a little unhappy. ”

Chai Shi hurriedly asked, "This is just an ordinary man." But who is the eldest master, can't he get rid of the cliché?"

Mama Liao said: "The eldest lord is also a man, and the problem is not the same? But he can't bend it straight, he has too many ideas in his heart, and he is too rigid, which makes people dislike it again. Not to mention that at that time, because the old lady was sick, the eldest lady was all devoted to taking care of the housework, taking care of the whole family, and leaving the eldest lady aside; The eldest man was annoyed and asked, 'Do you want to marry a wife, or hire a housekeeper?' -- This is only the first half of the year. Later, the old lady went to the fairy, the old lady became sicker, and the third old man and Mrs. Luan Gu were getting older day by day. But she is still thinking about the duties of the eldest master, and Ding Wei will have to take a step forward in his recovery, and for this, she has run to her mother's side I don't know how many times - but she forgot to ask the eldest master first. As a result, the hard work did not come to an end, not to mention that it almost ruined the future of the eldest master, and attracted the scolding of both ends of the mother-in-law's family. It is easy to ensure that the baby is born at eight months, and it is even more delicate and neat than that of a full-term one...... Mrs., don't you know, how hard and strong the eldest lady was, she collapsed almost all of a sudden, standing in the courtyard, if there is no personal support, the wind can blow. This kind of suffering, even now when I talk about it, I feel that it is not easy for the eldest lady to cross over. ”

After hearing this, Chai finally understood and said, "I see. No wonder she is so close to her eldest cousin. Not only for the same birthday, but also for the future support. ”

Mama Liao said: "No, she has two birthdays on the same day, so this is fate first." Later, when something like that happened, the eldest man and the eldest lady were not happy to agree, and the old lady failed to mediate several times, and froze twice, and no one knew what to do. In the end, Changzhou came to break the situation and took the eldest lady to her grandmother's house. The eldest lord is filial, and he can't go against the will of the old lady over there. Again, at that time, Mrs. Wangda had just lost a brother, and her body was not yet good, so she took a boat and took the old lady's letter to Nanjing to pick it up; ”

When Chai Shi heard this, he was startled, covered his chest, his eyes were also wide, and he asked: "At that time, my cousin-in-law was actually ......" Mama Liao nodded and sighed: "So this heart alone is not comparable to ordinary people." Later, the old man blocked the eldest lord several times to persuade him to make peace, and the old lady over there spoke, and the eldest lord and the eldest lady reconciled, and slowly lived their lives again, and finally had the appearance they have today. So he looked at Chai, his voice became more and more gentle, and said, "So Mrs. is the best." Brother Nian has a soft temperament, and he is nostalgic for the old, so he can't get along better. As always, the wife is determined every day, and she doesn't have to worry too much about the chores and trivial things at home - after all, getting along with husband and wife is the first thing that matters. Deal with this, and the others won't be able to turn over the waves. ”

Hearing her sincerely, Chai Shi was moved, so he shook her hand and said, "Mom really cares for me, and can teach me to speak like this." I don't know how to thank you, my mother is just waiting for my filial piety. ”

Mama Liao hurriedly said: "Brother Nian just ate a mouthful of milk from me back then." Mrs. said this, the old woman really can't afford it. It's just that in the eyes of his family, he always looks at the lord and his wife. Hello, the whole family is fine. ”

Chai smiled: "Mom, don't say more. I've got a few here. As soon as he called the big girl into the house, she took two wrapped satin and two hairpins to Mama Liao, and said, "I turned the clothes cabinet into the box the day before yesterday, and the bottom of the box turned out." I don't think the style is new, and the color is old-fashioned, so I don't want it anymore. If the mother doesn't dislike it, take it back or make a cover, or cut the shoe. There are also these two hairpins, I feel bulky to wear, but my mother's hair is more and better, and it may be stable when plugged in. ”

Mama Liao hurriedly thanked the reward, took the things and went out slowly. Here, the Chai family changed their clothes, and ordered Liao Fu to come up again at dusk to report the progress of all preparations again, and not to disturb anything else, and then went to Mrs. Zhang's courtyard. When I saw it, Mrs. Zhang, Mrs. Wang, and Hong were all there, and they were watching Lin Daiyu and the ladies in Shangshu's Mansion surrounding a three-foot-wide oblate blue and white porcelain vat, and biting the groups of golden, red, and white goldfish in the tease jar with various newly folded flower branches. Chai Shi hurriedly stopped everyone from saluting, and said with a smile: "Just play with you." I met Mrs. Zhang, Mrs. Wang, and Hong's again, and then I sat down on the seat and watched everyone frolicking and laughing.