Came to Qingzhou for more than 20 days, the first ten days were good, two or three rains poured down, and in the next few days, the torrential rain seemed to be pouring down, how could not be stopped, and the rain curtain under the eaves outside the Qingliang Pavilion was never broken.

Yingning lives by guarding several poetry books and chess scores every day, and has long lost the mind to watch the rain, and the poetry books and chess books have come and gone several times. It rains in the mountains, the mountain roads are muddy, let alone going up the mountain, even if you go out of the door, your skirt will be soaked. The rain came urgently, and it rained for five or six days in a row, and Yingning didn't see the sun shining left and right, lying on the concubine couch, and grabbed the "Anecdotes" that she bought secretly from Ben Yunqing to start the time.

Zitang looked at the rain and was a little worried: "I'm afraid it's not good if the rain continues like this." "The crops outside are waterlogged, and the newly grown seedlings are soaked in the rain, and if it rains like this, I am afraid that the seedlings will not survive this summer. It is difficult for people to sew drought and waterlogged crops, and a livelihood that depends on the sky and eats will have nothing when it rains so much.

At noon, the rain was a little smaller, and Yingning didn't care whether her clothes were dirty or not, she was going to go to her mother's place, and she didn't go out for many days, not only was she panicked, but she also thought about her mother.

"The girl brought a robe and was careful of the rain." Zitang put on a thin robe for the seventh sister and picked out a large oil-paper umbrella. As soon as she opened her umbrella when she went out, she stepped into the stagnant water. The shoes and socks were soaked, and the skirt was also drenched in the rain, sticking to the mud, and the whole person felt uncomfortable.

"Seventh sister, be careful, don't let the puddle wet your shoes." Zitang held up an umbrella and helped the seventh sister to carefully avoid the puddles all the way, and was stunned that the embroidered shoes were still half wet.

After walking slowly like this for a quarter of an hour, I finally met Mrs. Ji's Xiaofeng Hall. The mother-in-law guarding the door outside is holding an umbrella and sweeping the stagnant water in front of the hall. Seeing the seventh girl coming over with two girls, she hurriedly put down the broom and reported inside.

The seventh sister entered the porch, took off her thick robe, and shook the drops of water on the hem of her skirt before entering her mother's inner room. Mrs. Ji was lying on the couch to recuperate, and Yin Hong was kneeling on the side and knocking on her back. Yang didn't expect the seventh sister to come over on a rainy day, sat up, and ordered his subordinates to cook a bowl of ginger soup.

"Mother's body is still neat?"

Mrs. Ji listened to the seventh sister's glutinous question, her tone was a little worried, her heart was warm, and she took her daughter's hand and let her sit beside her, "It's an old problem, my back is sore on a rainy day, and it's not in the way if I lie still, why did you come here." "Since this little daughter has been smart and obedient, it is strange that her daughter is her mother's intimate little jacket. When they were four or five years old, they went to school, and when they were ten, they left the inner court. Although the brother is also filial, after all, the boy is coarse, how can there be a girl who is delicate and caring.

The seventh sister threw herself into her mother's arms and rubbed her cheeks.

"It's all big girls, why are you still coquettish."

"I haven't seen my mother for many days, and I think about it tightly."

"Hao Ning'er, is it raining heavily?"

"It's a lot smaller, it's raining day by day, but it's boring, and it makes my mother uncomfortable, so I go to do a deputy waist support, and my mother won't hurt when she wears it."

Mrs. Ji served ginger soup": It's been rainy these days, don't hurt your eyes, let the people below do these things, why bother. Drink this soup quickly, so as to save the cold. ”

"I must have done my mother's waist guard myself, which is different from what others do." Ying Ning took a sip of ginger soup, which was sweet and a little spicy, and smacked her lips.

Yan Yan came in and reported that the daughter-in-law of the king's steward had something to see and was waiting outside. When the summer resort was empty, the king steward was in charge of the entry and exit of the villa outside, and the concierge of those guys was also under his control, his daughter-in-law took care of the affairs of the inner courtyard, the maids and daughters-in-law listened to her, and the eldest girl of their family also had an errand in the kitchen.

"Madam, the maidservant's family said that today's vegetables and fruits are estimated to not be able to go up the mountain. The vegetables in the heavy rain were all soaked, and they had to be transported from outside, and they couldn't come for a while. The daughter-in-law of the Wang family kowtowed and said.

When it rains one after another, the most feared thing is to run out of food. Fortunately, there is enough grain in the village, and there are herring fish in the tank on weekdays, chickens and ducks in the kitchen backyard, a vegetable field, and some bamboo shoots and dried vegetables, which can also solve the emergency.

"Eat whatever you have, but the old lady's green vegetables can't be broken, the old lady doesn't eat meat, and it's not easy to do without green vegetables."

"I can pick some vegetables grown in the village these days, but there is no fresh fruit."

"It's okay, there is a reason for it, no wonder you." The daughter-in-law of the Wang family swallowed the leader's reward and respectfully retreated.

After inviting An back to Qingliangyuan, Yingning asked Zitang to turn out the soft leather material, cotton wool needlework, and prepare to protect her waist.

Although the sisters have also learned some needlework since they were young, they only married into a big family to be the housewife, how can these sewing and mending work be used in person, and Mrs. Ji is not forced, she will do it, and she doesn't want to do it well. Yingning Qinqi is good at calligraphy and painting, but he is not good at needlework.

"This embroidery is a hundred times more difficult than painting chess, but why are you so good at embroidery but you can't, change Ming'er to learn Go, but I can only find my sisters to play. The fifth sister and the sixth sister are also not successful in chess, but the second sister has no heart to play with me, and always deals with me. ”

"Seventh sister can go around the slave maid, the slave and maid look at the needlework and feel kind, and look at the chessboard and feel that the head is big, which of these elegant things can be learned by our girls." Zitang compared the quantity and size with his hand, and cut the material with scissors.

took the cut material, and Ying Ning took a pen to trace the pattern carefully. Although she is not very good at needlework, she is familiar with drawing patterns and drawing, and she can sketch well with a pen. After hooking the pattern, you have to pick the color of the silk thread, and Zitang helps to sort out the silk thread on the side.

"The girl leaned closer to the window, and the bright hall outside would not hurt her eyes. It was a gray day, and in another hour or two it was time to light the lights. ”

"Zitang, you said that if this rain keeps falling, it will be flooded." Ying Ning took a silver fingerguard and put it on, picked a germanium line and prepared to start.

"The maidservant has never seen such a long period of heavy rain when she grows so big, and if there is a heavy flood, many people will be killed and injured. The flood was not good, but it was the plague that was afraid, and it was not one or two who died at that time. When the maid was a child, there was a great drought and a locust plague, and all the roadsides were starved to death, and some families did not have a single one left. Zitang said and thought of his dead brother and father.

Ying Ning was speechless for a while, there will be locust plague after the great drought, and there will be plague after the flood. Thinking that God is a respectable person, there is a god three feet above his head, in case God loses his temper one day, ordinary mortals can't escape, so strange that the old lady recites scriptures and prays to the Buddha every day for the safety of her family.

Sitting and sewing and embroidering like this, the day passed.

For lunch on the second day, a fresh dish was served in the kitchen.

"Is this a bamboo shoot? It's refreshing to eat. Ying Ning took a sip, her eyes narrowed, and she thought it was delicious.

"It looks like bamboo shoots, but I've never seen bamboo shoots like this." Zitang doesn't know either.

"I called the mother-in-law in the back kitchen and asked, and I found out that she was still waiting outside." Qingqing turned around and called Mrs. Wang.

"Seven girls, this is bamboo shoots. There is no such thing on weekdays, and it is all because of this strong wind and rain that this delicious taste. There is a lack of vegetables in the villa, and the guys are picking up these bamboo shoots on the back mountain. ”

"Picked up? Can bamboo shoots still fall from the sky?" Blue said in amazement.

"This bamboo shoot did not grow in the soil, but fell from the sky. The bamboo grows tall, and the buds on the tip of the bamboo are naturally invisible and untouchable on weekdays, and when the summer is blowing strong winds and heavy rain, the tender bamboo tips are knocked off by the wind and rain. You can pick up a basket in the morning with a basket. Hsinchu sprouts are bitter and slightly astringent, blanched in salted water, soaked in water for half a day, and then fried with pork, the bite is crisp and refreshing, and the entrance is fragrant. ”

"It is thanks to the heavy rain of the past few days that there is such a new and ingenious food."

"It's good if the girl likes it, and if you eat in some countryside, I'm afraid that the girl won't be used to it. The wife ate it and said yes, so she ordered the kitchen to bring it to the girl. ”

When Mrs. Wang received the reward and retreated, the seventh sister picked up a chopstick and tasted it, and ate most of the bowl of rice with the tip of this bamboo shoot.

It rained and stopped for another three or four days. Mrs. Ji passed the word that no matter if the rain doesn't rain again, she will leave for the capital tomorrow.

Ying Ning didn't expect to be in such a hurry, and she didn't know what was going on.

When the fifth sister and the sixth sister received the news, they were still learning to play flowers in Aunt Qian's house. Aunt Qian has a good hand, and she wants the fifth sister to learn when she has time, and the embroidery needle and thread cannot be left behind for a day.

Although the housemother of the Ji family is open-minded, she will not wronged the two sisters who are born in the future, but after all, the concubine is the concubine, and the daughter-in-law of the big family has to choose it, and the fifth sister of the family will not be comparable with the second sister and the seventh sister in the future.

"Why did you leave in such a hurry, but my wife told me the reason?" Aunt Qian put down the flower pick needle and asked the maid who came.

"Back to my aunt, my wife didn't say anything, but told my aunt and sisters to pack their luggage tonight and leave tomorrow."

"Okay, I see, you can go back to your wife."

"Auntie, what happened?" The fifth sister was puzzled.

"I don't know, it stands to reason that I have to stay for half a month, my wife is not reckless, there is an old lady over there, how can I just leave, something big must have happened."

The fifth and sixth sisters immediately quit their aunts and returned to the house. Fortunately, there are not many things when I come, and I pick the necessary ones to bring, and I can take care of them in two hours at most.

At this moment, the maids of Qingliang Pavilion are busy.

When I came, there were five people in the same month, and I came and went for two or three days, and at this moment, there were only four people, including the janitor. Hongqing hurriedly went to the fifth girl and the sixth girl to ask for a maid. Fortunately, you don't have to pick anything on the return trip, just pack it all into the box.

Qing Qing was tidying up the study, and the utensils on the table were carefully wiped in the box; Zitang first packed up the jewelry box, leaving only the ones to be used tomorrow, and then sorted out the clothes of the seventh sister, and the two little girls followed the mother-in-law to carry the ornaments in the room, Zitang had to tell them to be careful from time to time.

Ying Ning had nothing to do and helped pack up the incense-making utensils. A box of fragrant dew and a box of fragrant cakes are what she has nothing to do in the past few days. In addition to reading and painting, this is the only way to relieve boredom. Mother often has trouble sleeping, so she specially turned a lot of incense-making books, Yuebai is a good incense-making person, and taught Yingning a lot of incense-making methods. This time, Yuebai couldn't follow, and Yingning pondered by herself to take rosin, arborvitae leaves, dogwood, and honey to make soothing incense, and the effect was not bad.

The pestle, utensils, oven, and silver incense board were put directly into the box, and the fragrant cake and fragrant dew were wrapped in a soft cloth. There is a pair of waist guards for the mother in the cloth on the side, just made yesterday, and it is not time to send it, the mother likes bamboo, embroidered with a bush of rich bamboo, and the gold thread is finely hooked, and the stitches are finely sewn, so the fingers are pierced with a lot of blood droplets. Ying Ning thought that she would have to send it to Xiaofeng Hall before going out tomorrow.

The bed and futon have to sleep for another night, and the seventh sister is used to sleeping in this bed, so she must bring it back together, so she has to get up early tomorrow and clean it up. After a busy night's work, the house was empty, and it didn't look like a habit. Only the gauze on the bed was still hanging.

"The girl will be for the night, and rest early." Zitang put down the yarn for the seventh sister.

"Call me early tomorrow, and I'll have to give my mother a waist pad."

"Yes, tomorrow's girl can't sleep if she wants to, this futon yarn has to be packed and packed, and she can only sleep on the plank."

Ying Ning was happy to hear this, and quickly took off her clothes and hid under the covers, thinking that she would ask her mother tomorrow for clarification.

The next day, the rain was still falling.

Seeing that her mother's face was not good-looking, Ying Ning didn't dare to ask more, so she ordered Zitang Xuanqing to move the cage and get into the car by herself. Seeing the second sister coming up, she opened her mouth and just wanted to ask, but was interrupted by Yingxiu: "I don't know anything, but yesterday my father came to the letter, and my mother asked us to pack our things and set off." "Does it have something to do with my father? What could it be?

The old lady was helped out by Xingzhi, and she didn't seem to have slept well yesterday. "Mother is tired, daughter-in-law is not filial, yesterday son Yihuai sent a letter, saying that something happened to Yuncheng, and it is necessary for us to rush back to Beijing."

"Cloud City? But because of the heavy rain? "Old Madam Ji was already worried about this a few days ago. Mrs. Ji nodded, she didn't know the specific situation, so she didn't tell her sisters. Yuncheng is only three hundred miles away from Qingzhou, and there is a big flood, so if there is a plague, how can it spread here. Even if there is no plague, it is extremely dangerous for those displaced people to come. There are Janissaries and military aircraft battalions in Kyoto, and no matter how bad they are, there are patrols to defend the city, so it is naturally safer.

The old lady of the Yang family received a letter from Mrs. Ji, and sent Brother Yan and her daughter-in-law to see Mrs. Ji off early in the morning.

"My sister is so anxious to return, and I can't keep it anymore if it's urgent, but you bring those things with you, it's all my heart and the old lady's heart."

"On a rainy day, my sister-in-law called someone to come over to do something, so why bother to send it off in person." Mrs. Ji saw Mrs. Yang coming over and brought a few boxes of gifts, but she couldn't stop the rain even if she held an umbrella.

"It's all worthless, and there's your favorite pastry in it. Yuncheng flood, your brother can't leave, tell me to send you. ”

"Cloud City disaster, what is my brother going to do?" Mrs. Ji ordered the maid to take the gift and shake her sister-in-law's hand.

"As a magistrate, you should be in charge. In case the first-class people enter Qingzhou City, it will not be chaotic. ”

"Tell my brother to be careful, safety is important."

"Auntie, don't worry, although my eldest brother is not here, I am also a dignified man, and I will protect the whole family." Brother Yan said, glancing at the carriage behind Mrs. Ji, remembering that the seventh sister was coming.

I remember that my wife came to Qingzhou that year, the seventh sister was four or five years old, with a round face, pink face, big eyes, and a lovely person, and she was only seven or eight years old, and she took her cousin to see the fish. It was also raining that day, and I held an umbrella, in order to please this lovely little cousin, I threatened to go down to the pond to fish, and the maids around me were panicked, and I couldn't call it back. Who would have thought that in a blink of an eye, it would be so big, like a fairy, and the older it gets, the more reserved the daughter's family becomes. I don't know when I'll see you again.

"Good boy, if you have something to do in the future, you can write a letter to Kyoto."

"Today's farewell at least tomorrow years old, sister be careful on the road, and greet Master Ji on my behalf."

"Hey, let's go back, it's raining so hard that your clothes are wet." Mrs. Ji grabbed Mrs. Yang's hand and squeezed it, and reluctantly turned around and got into the carriage.

When Mrs. Ji got into the car, the convoy couldn't see the rear of the car, and the mother and son of the Yang family asked the coachman to go back.