Nothing can stop the pace of time.

Whether this world is peaceful and prosperous, war and famine, family reunion, displacement and starvation, time will not stop the pace of hurrying forward.

The footsteps of the first year of the Zhengxi of the Dongliang Kingdom came to an end in the annals, and when the bell rang in the early morning, the officials on duty in the Taishi Institute would write the record of "the second year of the Zhengxi" on time in the duty book.

The ancestor worship ceremony of the Liu family in Lingzhou Mansion ended, and everyone left the ancestral hall and returned to their respective homes.

Liu Dingmao led the upper and lower men, and the male servants of the mansion, all gathered in the front hall, the banquet was complete, and he was busy for a year, just waiting for this meal to treat himself.

This year, there are only men, and there is a lack of female dependents, compared with previous years, it seems that there is a lack of some fat powder fragrance and the liveliness of the ring, but everyone soon felt the relaxation and freedom without female dependents, and they all knew that Master Liu was easy-going, so the people were not afraid, and soon drank and made trouble.

Behind the front hall, in the nameless courtyard where the second aunt lives, the lights are brilliant and bright.

The maids and servants served the food like water, and there were four tables in the house, each filled with delicacies.

There are also some inferior mothers-in-law's banquets that really have no place to place, so they can only be placed in the maid's room.

The dumb aunt entered the door with Qian'er, and the banquet was already on the table, waiting for the banquet to begin.

Everyone sat down according to the respect of the eldest and youngest, the second aunt and the fifth aunt and the sixth aunt sat at one table, the seventh aunt and the eighth aunt and the ninth aunt sat at one table, and the remaining close maids and powerful servants sat at two tables, and no one sat at the top table, and the six embroidered stools were all empty.

The dumb aunt walked around the crowd for half a circle, her eyes swept over everyone's faces, she looked at everyone, and everyone looked at her.

She wore a muddy shirt, her hair hung loosely down the back of her head, she didn't have any jewelry, and even a few lumps of mud stuck to her sideburns.

She didn't seem to notice her embarrassed appearance, and she didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

"Brother Wan's daughter-in-law has lost weight, and she is probably tired these days. This kid is also too sincere, he takes everyone's affairs in the house to heart, he is busy all day long, and he Chinese New Year's Eve not stop tonight, saying that he will take people to cut trees in the back garden......" The fifth aunt said quietly.

Liu Shen beside her had been holding a strained face, but when she heard this, she suddenly sneered, and the fifth aunt was so frightened that she hurriedly gouged out her daughter with her eyes and signaled her not to do much.

Liu Shen snorted coldly, but fortunately he didn't make a sound.

The dumb aunt walked to the side of the ninth aunt, reached out and touched Bao Ge'er's little face, pulled up Liu Xue, who was playing with Bao Ge'er, and then went to the eighth aunt's side and took Liu Lian's little hand, staring at the vacant main table, "The main table is six seats, please take a seat for six aunts, my sisters and I are juniors, let's sit down at the first table." ”

This broke the rules of previous years. In previous years, the eldest wife Chen and her maids and servants occupied a table, and other aunts and wives each occupied a table in order.

Liu Xue suddenly raised her head: "Little sister-in-law, is this good? I remember that in the past, they used to sit separately, and the eldest lady and aunts had never eaten together at the same table." ”

The dumb aunt let go of the child and walked over to support the second aunt, "The eldest lady is gone now, the eldest aunt died too early, according to the order of the eldest and youngest, now the eldest in our house is the second aunt, so tonight's banquet is naturally the second aunt sitting at the table." Second aunt, the state has national laws, the family has family rules, we live a big family, only up and down the inner family there are dozens of people, if there is no experienced elder in front of the guidance and care, I am not sure. Second aunt, you have to give your daughter-in-law this thin noodles. ”

The second aunt didn't seem to expect things to come so suddenly.

She slowly pulled out her arm from her dumb aunt's hand, sat upright and did not move, and smiled lightly: "Brother Wan's daughter-in-law, I know that what you are thinking about in your heart is the life of the Liu family, the stability of the Liu family, and the good days of dozens of people up and down the Liu family. However, my useless aunt wife, first, has no heirs, second, I have never participated in the short-term affairs of the parents, and third, I am not in good health, and I have been clean and used to it all these years, so I ......" glanced at the empty seat waiting for me to sit, "Since the eldest lady is gone, the seat of the main table and the main seat will be empty." ”

The dumb aunt was stunned.

The second aunt is too cringe?

The seventh aunt glanced at the eighth aunt and muttered quietly: "What does this mean? Brother Wan's daughter-in-law wants to promote the second aunt? But the second aunt doesn't appreciate it?"

The eighth aunt pretended not to hear, just looked down at her rough hands, and smeared the white jade paste given by the dumb aunt last night, and it became much softer and more delicate overnight.

Aunt Jiu suddenly chuckled: "Second sister, if you are asked to sit, you can sit down, you are the most qualified of our sisters, since Brother Wan and his daughter-in-law have arranged it so painstakingly, why do you have to let the child not come to the stage?"

The second aunt was still hesitating.

"Isn't it just a seat, just sit down, what's there to argue about?" the fifth aunt muttered softly.

The sixth aunt lowered her head and chuckled: "You really can't see clearly? No wonder everyone said that the fifth sister was a confused person, and she was really confused." ”

The fifth aunt didn't hear clearly, "Sister, what did you say?"

Liu Shen next to her almost died of anger when she heard this, she couldn't bear it anymore, and suddenly sneered: "Look at her appearance, is she dressed to attend a night banquet? It looks like a peasant woman who has just returned from working in the fields! What did she think of our family? Is it the tenant house of that small family? This is the Liu Mansion of a high-ranking family! She came so casually, how can she have a little bit of the prestige that a lady in charge of the family should have? I really can't figure out why my father would hand over the power of the family to her!"

The fifth aunt hurriedly went to block her daughter's mouth, Liu Chen was not afraid, stood up, and announced loudly: "In the past year, this night banquet was in the hall, and a large family was lively drinking and eating to observe the New Year, lively, and reunited, so that there was a taste of the New Year! How can you change the old customs this year? Where to eat Chinese New Year's Eve dinner is not good, but come to such a dilapidated and old small courtyard, that's it, and the clothes are not neat and disheveled, who is this for? Is it to let everyone see how tired and busy you are, how hard you work? Hmph, others are afraid of you, I am not afraid! When will it be your turn to criticize the elders and sisters in our house, as a child daughter-in-law from a small tenant's house?"

"Shen'er!" the fifth aunt sat down with her daughter.

The second aunt stood up, walked to the main table, and looked at everyone with blazing eyes, "Originally, I wanted to hide in this dilapidated courtyard and continue to live a pure life where I don't care about the world, but just now this scene, everyone saw it, the eldest lady has only been away for a few days, and our Miss Liu Shen has forgotten to respect the elders and children, regardless of her biological mother's face, and mocked the eldest sister-in-law in public." If I don't stand up and help manage it, I'm afraid that even more ridiculous things will happen in this house in the future. ”

As she spoke, she slowly sat down and sat down in the empty seat.

Aunt Jiu followed first and sat next to her. Aunt Eight also came to sit. The seventh aunt, the sixth aunt, and the fifth aunt saw that the overall situation of everyone had been decided, so they came over and filled the table.

The dumb aunt looked at herself, and then at everyone, picked up the wine cup in her hand, and suddenly smeared a layer of frost on her face that had been smiling lightly, and her voice was cold to the bone: "Yes, I am a little girl from a poor tenant's family, and I have lived a hungry and cold day for half a year since I was a child. I'm a child daughter-in-law, according to some people's thoughts, I should be my own child daughter-in-law, sprinkle and sweep the female red every day, sew and wash the pulp, serve my husband and parents-in-law, and then if there is a daughter who is unhappy, she can also come to beat me at any time and scold me to relieve my anger.

But what have I done, I actually eat the meal of the child daughter-in-law, the heart of the lady in charge, and even the heart of the master. If nothing else, let's take what happened just now, in order to attend tonight's feast, every one of you women dressed up and cleaned up early, and then came here to sit and eat calmly, and then set up bridges to watch the excitement with a sneer?

As she spoke, she lifted the hem of her shirt, "My dress is covered in mud. Do any of you know what kind of mud this is? Why is it on my dress? Do I play with mud, or do I climb the wall and rub it against other men?"

She actually said such a thing!

The room fell silent.

Liu Shen was coldly criticized by the second aunt, she was angry and frightened, and she was full of thoughts about how to go back, but the dumb aunt's eyes were already staring at her, "My Miss Liu Shen, you are Miss Qianjin, your ten fingers don't touch the spring water, and you can stretch out your hands when you come to eat." You're naturally qualified to mock me. ”

Suddenly looked up, "The mud on my dress is not the loess that plasters the walls, nor the clay of the clay kneaders, but the red clay that came out of digging a well in the backyard, which is mixed with gravel and salt, as well as shredded hair." Aren't you curious, why is it so complicated?"

Suddenly raised his hand, and pointed a finger straight at Liu Shen's eyes: "If it weren't so complicated, you could still sit here and eat Chinese New Year's Eve dinner steadily? If it weren't for me, it would be impossible for this mansion to celebrate the festival so peacefully tonight! If—do you know what the situation is out there now? Moro's hundreds of thousands of troops are attacking our Dongliang country, and the war is raging and full of war. You are all ladies in the depths of the boudoir, and you live a good life without leaving the door, but do you know how many people die outside every day? Do you know what the refugees eat, drink, wear, and rely on to keep out the cold?"

"I don't know, do I? It's hard to imagine, yes? Well, you don't know about it, because it has nothing to do with you for the time being! But there is an imminent danger that affects the lives of everyone in this house. ”

What?

Everyone looked at each other.

Naturally, everyone heard more or less about the war outside. Didn't the lord also be invited by the government every day to discuss the matter of resisting the enemy, and he was forced to donate a lot of silver.

But how can it be said that it is an imminent danger, and it is relevant to everyone?

Isn't it just a matter of spending some silver, the silver is donated, and Liufu is still living a stable life behind closed doors. It's still okay with everyone. And I heard that now the war has spread in the direction of Qingzhou Mansion, in this house, except for the dead third aunt who is from Qingzhou Mansion, and the eldest wife's sister is married in Qingzhou Mansion, the rest of the relatives and relatives of the rest of the people are not living in Qingzhou Mansion, so everyone feels that they are still safe for the time being.

The dumb aunt simply didn't go around the bend, "I took the men to sew up the dilapidated and collapsed walls of Liufu everywhere, there are six gaps in total, and one of them even collapsed to be half a person's height." Not to mention those habitual bandits who are accustomed to climbing walls, climbing over walls, flying eaves, and walking on walls, even ordinary men can climb up with a little step on a ladder. There are also a few big trees in the backyard, the branches are connected to the wall, or they are cut down early, which is the best ladder to climb over the wall and enter the house. Try to ask my Miss Qianjin, if these potential safety hazards are not removed, can you sleep at night? Can you still eat this Chinese New Year's Eve? I heard that those gangsters like to take advantage of the chaos the most, most like to rob some rich families, climb in in the middle of the night, kill people, set fires, rummage through boxes and cabinets and sweep away all valuables, and the most favorite, is the rape ** girl!"

"Ahh

"Don't talk about it!"

"It's scary!"

"The front street was robbed on the eve of Yu's house!"

A few aunts and wives are still holding shelves, and the maids and servants are in chaos.

The dumb aunt rolled her eyes at Liu Shen fiercely: "In troubled times, no one's safety is guaranteed." Whether it's a poor woman from a small family or a young lady of you, who is caught by those wine-lustful people, they can enjoy it as a dish!"

"Why are you staring at me, can you all be spared?" Liu Shen was forced to hurry, crying and shouting.

The dumb girl finally had a smile on her face, "No one is immune!" So I took people to mend the walls and cut down the trees overnight, and I was busy until the lights were lit, so I came to this feast in disheveled clothes and mud. That's why our daughter can't get used to it. But do you know that the eldest lady has not discovered these hidden dangers in the years she has been in charge of the family, and I have not found them in the past few days. The person who discovered this hidden danger was the second aunt, and it was after she reminded me that I knew that I had made such a big mistake. ”

It turned out that she found out?

Everyone brushed to see the second aunt.

The second aunt stood up and smiled, "I am a seriously ill person in my old home, and I have been bedridden all the year round, so I am idle, and I have time to pay more attention to these small issues that you rarely pay attention to, and it is common for you to be too busy to find out." ”

Everyone could hear that she was humble.

"So, tonight this stool must be sat by the second aunt, and I will have to trouble the second aunt too much for the housekeeping in the future. If you feel unconvinced, put it forward now, as long as your reasons are appropriate, as long as you can come up with a more clever way to govern the family, my surname Tian will discuss with you how to govern the family. ”

No one answered.

Liu Shen is a girl's family after all, and she only looks at the dumb aunt unpleasantly, and if she really wants her to take care of the house, she doesn't have the ability.

Several aunts and wives have been used to being bullied in the hands of the eldest wife all these years, and now as long as they can eat comfortably and conceive a son, their hearts will be temporarily satisfied.

The dumb aunt looked at the audience, and knew in her heart that the overall situation of tonight's scene had been decided, she immediately relaxed, and held up the wine cup, "I respect everyone, I have worked hard for a year, and I thank you for everyone-"

Before the words were finished, Qian'er ran in and shouted, "Oh no, someone from outside has come in." ”

"Ah, what are you talking about, there are really bad people who are worried about our house?"

The table was full of cups and cups.