CHAPTER XV

The main courtyard where the Duchess of Dingguo lives is called Qingcang Courtyard, naturally it is the largest courtyard in the Dingguo Mansion, it can be said that there are mountains and rivers, the watchtower painting pavilion is located in the meantime, the mountain is chiseled into the pond, the pavilion is erected, the bamboo is planted, it is like a fairyland, after the Jiuqu Water Corridor, over the lake pavilion, into the garden where the guests gather, the garden is verdant, the strange flowers are splendid, the colors are colorful, the sound of fine music is noisy, the fragrant wind is floating, a peaceful and rich scene.

No matter where in the garden, you can hear the sound of the flute, and it is said that the musician of today's birthday banquet is the musician of the imperial court, and his shot is extraordinary.

Many ladies and daughters, famous ladies are standing in the pavilion to listen to music and music, laughing and talking to themselves, the maids in the garden are wearing madder dresses, and the guests are serving tea and water, and they are well organized.

Yan Zhaohua had already taken off his hat outside the Qingcang Courtyard, and walked into the courtyard of the ladies with Dye Xiang and Qingzhu, her excellent appearance immediately attracted the attention of many ladies and ladies for her, some held a fan, covered their lips and asked, and some were next to each other, doubting and inquiring, such a scene, Qingzhu and Dye Xiangrao had already been prepared, or were scared to the point that their legs were weak, if it weren't for looking at their young lady's firm back, they would probably be frightened by these inquiring eyes and fled.

Everyone was puzzled, when this Qingling woman was, Yan Zhaohua had already walked not far outside the main hall, and a grandmother sang: "Meet the eldest lady of Changning Houfu." ”

Only then did everyone understand, not to blame them for being clumsy, only to blame Yan Zhaohua for coming over at this time, and the temperament was not quite the same as before, and I was not sure if it was her before, so I had many doubts, but after knowing her identity, the doubts in everyone's hearts did not decrease but increased, Miss Changning Houfu, that is the granddaughter of the Duchess of Dingguo, Mrs. Changning Hou came to help yesterday, and the second lady also came with her a long time ago, but why is this eldest lady so angry, and she didn't come over until this time? It's too ignorant.

Dye Xiang and Qingzhu glanced at each other, and secretly gritted their teeth to feel wronged for their own young lady, but this situation could not be refuted.

After the singing, there were two teams of four maids came out to greet her, Yan Zhaohua followed in, and immediately felt a simple wind blowing in his face, for no reason, Yan Zhaohua was encouraged in her heart, and her grandmother's voice and smile still remained in her mind.

After a huge red sandalwood carved large interstitial, red sandalwood is rare, such a large overall is even rarer, standing in front of the door, calm and fragrant, but also evoked the memory in Yan Zhaohua's mind, a moment of mixed feelings, after two outer halls, finally entered the inner hall, the hall is also very lively, into the eyes are full of beautiful clothes, into the ears are full of talk and laughter, one of them is very familiar with Yan Zhaohua, naturally is Xie's.

After the maid sang Yan Zhaohua inside, the lively atmosphere in the room rested slightly, Yan Zhaohua came to the main seat placed in the center without squinting, and kowtowed respectfully: "Zhaohua visited his grandmother, congratulated his grandmother on her blessings such as the East China Sea, and her longevity is better than Nanshan." ”

I heard a strong voice immediately from the Lord's seat: "Okay, well, get up quickly, come to my grandmother, let me have a good look." ”

Yan Zhaohua stood up at this time, raised his head and looked at the noble lady sitting on the lord, Yan Zhaohua only felt that her grandmother was still the same as she remembered, rich and powerful, shrewd and sophisticated, when the Xie family was undefeated, she was the wife of the house, and after the Xie family was defeated, she could also hold up the lintel, and she was a legendary figure.

Liu Shi wears a brocade cardigan with gold and dark filigree, a huge night pearl inlaid on the forehead, the hair is all behind the head, a jade hosta is decorated, the ears are with auspicious and rich gemstones, the placket is hung with a peacock green jade bead chain, there is a warm jade plate under the bead chain, there are three golden rings on the hand, the wrist is empty, only wearing a pair of silver silk double buckle bracelets that seem to be quite old, this bracelet Yan Zhaohua knows, it is said that it is a relic left to her by her grandmother's mother, My grandmother died early, and after this bracelet was passed down, my grandmother wore half of it, even if the Xie family was later harmed by the eunuch of the Gong family, and the family wealth was scattered, my grandmother also kept this bracelet well.

There are a few little girls of the same age as her sitting next to Liu's side, on the right is Yan Zhaoning, wearing a pomegranate red embroidered moon pleated skirt, the whole person is like a flame that attracts people's attention, I don't know what she thinks of at the moment, she is staring at her with a pair of eyes, as if smiling, there is also a little lady wearing a lotus blue dress next to her, holding a silk Luo palace fan with a thorn wood chrysanthemum in her hand, covering half of her face, delicate and lovely; On the left side of the Liu family is a girl wearing a long skirt embroidered with purple satin lilies, Yan Zhaohua vaguely has some impression of her, it is the eldest lady of the Dingguo Mansion Xie Xinrou, and there are two other little ladies standing beside her who are also looking at her with curious eyes, both of them are twelve or thirteen years old and dressed up in a refined manner.

Yan Zhaohua came to Liu's side, Xie Xinrou took the initiative to move a position to the side and let Yan Zhaohua sit down, Liu took Yan Zhaohua's hand, his eyes lingered on her face, and he was reluctant to leave.

Yan Zhaoning hooked Liu's arm on the side and said, "Why didn't my grandmother care about Ning'er when she saw her eldest sister?" ”

Liu turned around and patted the back of Yan Zhaoning's hand, and said kindly: "What's the matter?" You girl has sharp teeth and a sharp mouth, and you don't have any rules, go, go over there and get a fruit for your big sister to eat. ”

After saying this to Yan Zhaoning, Liu Shi turned around, continued to look at Yan Zhaohua, and asked, "I haven't seen you for a few days, how are you doing?" I heard that you are not feeling well, but now you are getting better? ”

Two questions in a row really moved Yan Zhaohua, he couldn't help his ruddy eyes, nodded, and said softly: "It's not a big deal, but my grandmother misses it." ”

Liu's hearing that Yan Zhaohua talked extraordinary, with a dignified temperament, especially this face, more and more like Sister Wei back then, thinking of his daughter who died early, Liu's eyes were also red, Yan Zhaohua held Liu's hand, Liu looked up at her, blinked, and held back the tears that were about to burst.

"It's okay that Sister Hua doesn't come, but when she comes, it makes her mother uncomfortable." Xie Shi stepped forward kindly, with a kind expression and a gentle tone, and said in her proud sweet voice: "I know that my mother misses Sister Hua'er, I wanted to come over early yesterday to help, Sister Ning is still young and ignorant, she got up late, Sister Hua is recovering from a serious illness and is not in good spirits, so I asked them to come over early today, just to ask my mother to see her more." ”

Xie Shi's words sounded like he was arguing for Yan Zhaohua, but the actual meaning of the people present would not understand, however, how many such words Xie Shi had said in the dark over the years, everyone was no longer surprised, these words were broken and said, that is, she called the two of them before going out yesterday, but the two little ladies of Changning Houfu, Yan Zhaoning is young, not sensible, and sleepy, but no longer sensible, she also took a carriage in the afternoon and rushed over, but Yan Zhaohua, she was sick a month ago, Xiao Fenghan is not in good spirits, but it is an allusion that Yan Zhaohua is even more ignorant than the young Yan Zhaoning, and as we all know, Yan Zhaohua is still the granddaughter of the Liu family.

Yan Zhaohua didn't speak, only moved the corners of his lips, and lowered his big watery eyes slightly, naturally he looked like a wronged little white rabbit, I have to say that such a silent counterattack is much better than any competing words.

Xie originally wanted to use these words to let Yan Zhaohua argue with her for a few words, and she was not sensible and contradicted her mother's name, but Yan Zhaohua was not fooled, but she seemed to be aggressive, Xie was angry, and glanced at Yan Zhaoning, Yan Zhaoning personally walked over with a plate of osmanthus cake, and said to Yan Zhaohua cutely:

"Don't talk about this, big sister comes to eat some snacks, the snacks in my grandmother's room are the best and most delicious, I have to eat a lot every time I come back."

She has a sweet voice, and she is a little beauty, and she has a passionate charm when she speaks, which alleviates a lot of Xie's embarrassment, but people who know the way can't help but praise this little beauty, because she knows how to use people's hearts at such a young age, judge the situation, and think like this, and when she grows up, you can see what a powerful role she is.

It stands to reason that Yan Zhaohua is the granddaughter of her relatives, she is always separated by a layer, but she is more familiar than Yan Zhaohua, if Yan Zhaohua's psychological quality is worse, where will she not have a feeling of inferiority. Several ladies looked at each other, drinking tea and covering their lips, all sitting and waiting to watch this small theater of internal fighting between the Xie and Yan families.

Yan Zhaohua was generous, took the pastry in Yan Zhaoning's hand and said, "Second sister Xie, grandmother Xie." The tone was respectful and peaceful, and there was no annoyance and anger that a concubine should have after hearing these words, but seemed to be used to it, and her attitude of not being arrogant or impatient made many ladies look at this girl who had no sense of zài before.

Compared with the aggressiveness of Xie's mother and daughter, highlighting status, the gentleness and generosity of the eldest lady of the Yan family are even more distressing, isn't it?

Seeing that Yan Zhaohua bowed his head and was silent, Liu sighed in his heart, even if it was his own granddaughter, if she couldn't stand up by herself, no matter how much assistance others gave, it would be in vain, looking at the current situation, this granddaughter's life in the Yan family is not very easy.

Liu quietly took the ginseng tea handed by the grandmother on the side, took a sip, and did not intend to participate in them at this time, but after hearing that Zhao Ning died down for a while, the leading voice sounded again:

"By the way, by the way, what rare treasure did the eldest sister bring to her grandmother today as a birthday gift? We've already given away all our things, and now it's time for the big sister, so let's take it out and let us all open our eyes. Jiao Han turned to Liu and said, "Grandmother, do you think this is good?" I've heard that my eldest sister has found a lot of good things behind my back in order to give you a birthday, and all of them are better than the ones I gave me. ”