Luoyang Mansion

The spring breeze in February is like scissors, and the faces of people who are cut hurt hurt.

Xi Yunzhi stood at the tuyere and made a batch of fabrics that had just been bought in the house, regardless of the black hair being messy by the wind, she lay down on the carriage to keep accounts, and the second housekeeper came to call her in, saying that the old lady had summoned the ladies of each room and announced a big event.

Originally, at a party like this, the aunts and ladies in the house never brought her, although she was also the young lady of the Xi family, and she was still the eldest lady of the long house.

Her mother is not innocent, ten years ago was caught rape, the old lady was chastity archway, learned of this so angry that almost returned to the West, so that the family law Xi Yunzhi's biological mother was beaten to death, the younger brother who had just turned seven years old was also suspected of improper bloodline and sent away, missing, after the death of his mother, Xi Yunzhi's status in Xifu plummeted, although his father Xi Zheng (zhen) did not renew the string, but he drank all day long, and she became more and more common.

Before the age of nine, Xi Yunzhi's life was pampered, after the age of nine, although it is not said that heaven fell into hell, but how much will be detained by some villains, when the third aunt was in charge, she also had many times of education to help her, but within a few years, the third aunt suddenly saw through the red dust, went to Ciyun Temple to become a monk, the person in charge of the family became the fifth aunt, the fifth aunt since Xi Yunzhi was a child, she didn't like her, and now she is even more powerful, it is common to deduct food and clothing, and sometimes she will support people to bully her, counting the days of nine cold winters, She was asked to wear a single dress in the snow and wash the dishes, and the dishes had to be passed ten times in the cold water before she would stop, and the chilblains on her hands that year were not visible.

has been bullied silently for nearly two years, on Xi Yunzhi's twelfth birthday, she ran to the old lady's yard and knelt for three days and three nights with a shy face, not complaining, not crying, just hoping that the old lady would promise to let her help in the Xi family's shop.

The reason why Xi Yunzhi chose to help in the shop is because there is a fair reason not to be bullied in the house, and secondly, it is also selfish, the fifth aunt is very deductive about her food and clothing, if she is not self-reliant, maybe she will really become the first eldest lady in history to be starved to death.

She did more and learned more in the store, and when she encountered a thorny problem, she went to Tsz Yun Temple to find the third aunt for advice, and after a few years of exploration, she did have a small success in doing business, she thought to herself, and when she had the opportunity in the future, she would use the money she had saved in the past few years to open a store by herself, and even if she was kicked out of the house in the future, she would not sleep on the street and live independently.

The place where the old lady lives is in the easternmost part of the Xi Mansion, the courtyard is simple and atmospheric, the house is carved and painted, only a corner of the flower hall is full of precious red sandalwood, smeared with pine varnish, as soon as you walk into the courtyard, you can smell a thick sandalwood fragrance, the old lady believes in Buddhism, she always sees the Buddha beads in her hands on weekdays, and must fast and bathe on the fifteenth day of the first month, and worship the Buddha sincerely.

Xi Yunzhi was summoned, and she was worried, and the second housekeeper saw that her cuffs were stained with some dust, and hinted left and right that she should go into the house to change her clothes, because the old lady didn't like to see the ladies in the house dress and behave casually, Xi Yunzhi thanked the second manager for his kindness, but he only washed his hands, and did not go back to change his clothes, so he went with the clumsy green shirt that only the girls in the market wear.

She knew very well in her heart that in this family, no one wanted to see her glamorous dress, and since they didn't want to see it, she didn't bother to earn it for them to see, lest they look uncomfortable and difficult for themselves.

The two grandmothers who were guarding the door for the old lady to greet the ladies and ladies in each room heard the footsteps, smiled and squinted their eyes to greet them, but when they saw that the person who came was the most unfavored eldest lady, their faces were pulled down again, and they were not embarrassed or embarrassed to Xi Yunzhi perfunctory blessings, and said:

"Oh, it's Miss. Please come in, the old lady is almost here. "This eldest lady, they are really a little sorry for their name.

"Mama Lao came out to greet me." Xi Yunzhi respectfully returned the salute to them, and then walked into the flower hall where the cigarettes were scattered with his head down.

The Xi family has been scholarly for generations, and the ancestors have produced many civil officials, the pinnacle is the late Xi old lady's bachelor from the second grade of the Hanlin Academy, the Xi family has been officials for decades, and it is not like the traditional family to claim to be noble, and has always been in business, so the family has accumulated a lot of savings, so that after the death of the old lady, although no one in the Xi family entered the court again, the reputation of the scholarly family was passed out.

This generation of the Xi family, only Xi Yunzhi's father Xi Zheng and her fifth uncle Xi Qing are famous, her father passed the Gongshi examination in the Baojin years, the original situation was very good, and he had to participate in the palace examination, but because of the ugly things such as his wife going out of the wall, he fell into the abyss, and since then he has been in a slump.

Xi Yunzhi sat at the bottom, took a sip of hot tea, and waited quietly, but saw bursts of laughter like silver bells coming from outside the door, and when the heavy rosewood door was pushed open, several girls with pink makeup entered hand in hand, talking and laughing, as if blowing into the spring delicate flowers in the hall, and the silent space suddenly came to life.

The second-room sister Xi Yunchun, the fourth-room sister Xi Yunxiu, the fifth-room sister Xi Yunzheng and the third-room sister Xi Yuntong, they are the four most outstanding daughters of the Xi family, and they are also the most loved by the old lady.

Xi Yunchun is delicate, her facial features are extremely gorgeous, and she can always wear a glamorous crown and a beautiful posture no matter what she wears; Xi Yun is beautiful and elegant, gentle and moving; Although Xi Yuntong is the daughter of the third room, she is the youngest, innocent, and when she smiles, she bends her eyes like a blessing doll painted that year; But if the three of them are beautiful, then ...... Xi Yunzheng's national color and fragrance are really stunning, so beautiful that they are not stained with dust, as if the ladies in the painting are as pure and refined, and a smile can touch people's hearts.

"Sister Yunzhi, why are you sitting here at the door? Hurry up and get in, don't bother your sisters. ”

Among the four, Yun Zheng would not even look at her, let alone speak to her, only Xi Yuntong was willing to say a few polite words every time she saw her, her innocent little face always had a kind smile, and she was very kind to everyone in the house.

Xi Yunzhi smiled lightly and shook his head: "Sisters, go in quickly, I just turned back from outside, and my body is covered with dust, but don't let the old lady dislike it." ”

Xi Yuntong wanted to say something more, but was stopped by Xi Yunxiu, and didn't know what to say in her ear, so Xi Yuntong followed several sisters with a red face.

Vaguely, Xi Yunzhi heard Xi Yunchun saying, "What if she is a sister-in-law?" is obviously not virtuous, but he still has a cheeky face and does not leave, which is just a laughing stock. What do you do to her? ”

“……”

Most of the other people in the hall heard Xi Yunchun's words, some pursed their lips and smiled, and some covered their mouths with handkerchiefs and smiled, which made Xi Yunzhi receive a lot of attention, only to see her nose and eyes, and she looked at her calmly, like the mean words she heard just now, not her, but someone else who had nothing to do with her.

After the age of nine, she heard this kind of talk a lot, and every sentence was more lethal than this one, and if she had to annoy every sentence, then she really wouldn't live.

When the girls sat down, there was a sound in the inner hall, and the old lady was supported by the second and fifth aunts and walked in, and more than a dozen girls stood up and saluted the old lady, and Xi Yunzhi also followed the wind behind her.

"Get up." Mrs. Xi waved her sleeves, her posture was graceful, and she sat on the top:

"I don't have long to live, you've all grown up, and it's only been a few years since you were able to appear in front of me. If I don't take care of you well, I'll just leave, but I don't feel at ease. ”

After the old lady finished saying this, the second aunt, who still had charm, took over:

"Bah, Ancestor, you are not afraid of scaring us to death when you say this, what can't you leave, Ancestor is a blessed person who lives a long life."

The fifth aunt covered her lips with a handkerchief and smiled, her shrewd eyes subconsciously looked for the annoying figure among the flower-like girls, Xi Yunzhi did not dodge, with a harmless smile on the corner of her mouth, let her look at it and stare at it.

"Recently, there have been many happy events in the house, Yun Chun, Yun Xiu and Yun Zheng have also reached the age of marriage, the female is not in the middle, stay and stay to stay and become an enemy, no, a few days ago I was worried about how to find a good family for you, and now it is here, three girls are coming to me."

The old lady beckoned to the third girl, Xi Yuntong was innocent, and wanted to lean over to look, but was pulled by the fifth aunt and nodded her forehead, so she sat back embarrassed.

The old lady's personal grandmother lined up the three big red wedding cards, and the old lady pointed kindly and said:

"The Beijing government has a general judgment, but it is the sixth grade, I just took office the year before last, this family is the same as our Xi family, the generation is scholarly, it must be a good one, Yunchun, come and have a look."

Xi Yunchun's face was full of crimson, but he also knew how to be polite, and blessed the old lady shyly and timidly: "Yunchun doesn't go, the old lady is ashamed." ”

Her move was quiet and decent, which caused the aunts and sisters present to laugh, and some of them were bold and pushed her behind her back, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.

Xi Yunzhi finally knew the purpose of the old lady gathering all the ladies in the house today, this was to set up a mother-in-law's house for the three top ladies of the Xi family.

Lowered his head and looked at his somewhat rough hands, carrying the brand of a slut's daughter on his back, virtue is destined, and he will marry in the future, so he will have to succumb to the pawn of the peddler.

"Yunxiu girl is very good, Zhao Zhizhou has mentioned to me many times that he wants you to be his eldest daughter-in-law, Zhao Zhizhou is your grandfather's student back then, thinking of the teacher's kindness, this son must also be a good one."

Yun Xiu pursed her lips and smiled: "It's all up to the old lady to decide." ”

There was another burst of teasing and teasing, seeing that the old lady picked up the last red envelope, everyone also consciously quieted down, everyone knew that Xi Yunzheng was the best in the Xi family, whether it was appearance or talent, they were all superior, Yunchun and Yunxiu were already extraordinary, and they didn't know what kind of rich and accessible people should be for Yunzheng, and they were looking forward to it.

"This seal, but the cloud kite girl fought for it by herself." The old lady looked at Xi Yunzheng and smiled a little mysteriously, but she confused Xi Yunzheng, covered her lips with a handkerchief and groaned, and her eyes were full of romance.

"It's no wonder that the old body didn't watch it, but fate is something that you can watch if you want to. Three months ago, the Yunzheng girl accompanied me to Yangzhou, this girl has a wild temperament, and she actually hid from me and took her maid to the street to play. ”

Under the eagerness of everyone, the old lady stuffed the red seal into Xi Yunzheng's arms and explained:

"Lord Zhang, the left governor of the Inspectorate, went to Yangzhou three months ago on a business trip, and bumped into this girl, so that the prefect almost turned Yangzhou City over, and then found our family. Although the cloud zite is nonsense, it is also a beautiful talk. ”

After the old lady finished speaking, everyone was shocked, even Xi Yunzhi was quite surprised, the left governor of the Inspectorate was a three-grade Beijing official, Yunchun and Yunxiu married to the Xi Mansion is also a good match, compared with the relatives of the left governor of the Imperial History of the Metropolitan Inspectorate, it is a small thing, the imperial envoy will pick Xi Yunzheng, and it will never be as the old lady said.

After the announcement of the event, seeing that the sisters and aunts were all congratulating the three girls who were about to be happy, Xi Yunzhi just wanted to join in the excitement and couldn't squeeze in, so she thought about leaving early, but she didn't forget to say goodbye to the old lady and the aunts, she did these etiquettes, others may not care, but if she doesn't do it, there will be another charge of 'disrespecting the elders and having no virtue' on her back.

One by one, they were about to retire, but they heard the old lady suddenly say:

"Yunzhi, you come in with me, I have something to say to you." After speaking, the fifth aunt personally supported him into the inner hall.