The gossip outside became more and more confusing, but it did not affect the Hu family's feelings in the slightest.

Checking business all day long, Hu Jiuling is the person in the family who knows the rumors the most. When inspecting the silk village, from time to time I could hear the whispers of the people and men who bought cloth outside the counter, most of them were expressing their envy and jealousy for Ah Yao to worship the two of them as teachers at the same time, of course, there were a few people who did not mention how pitiful the Shen family girl was in front of the owner, and the words were full of their unforgiving.

When I first heard Hu Jiuling, he was angry, and others said that he was fine, and that his daughter was poking his lungs.

Immediately, he rolled up his sleeves and prepared to fight with the person with a broken mouth, and the battle was 800 rounds first.

Fortunately, Hu Guishang, who followed him, still had three points of sanity, he stopped his master, rolled up his sleeves and went into battle in person. has followed his master for most of his life, and has never married without children and daughters, he has long regarded Hu Yao, who he watched growing up, as his daughter. The old man was busy with business, and he used to go south and north to the north and south, and he personally picked local specialties and brought them back to the house to coax A-Yao. And every time he sees Ah Yao smile like a flower after receiving boxes of gadgets, his whole heart will also brighten.

With such a deep feeling, how could he allow the younger generation to slander Ah Yao. Last time in front of the mansion, he secretly arranged for his family to blend in with the crowd and argue with reason, and by the way, he muddy the water. This time in person, he was majestic and high-spirited, and his chin was raised.

"Unforgiving? Our girls have to worship the names of Master Kukai and Mo Daru at the same time, and fight with these unsightly people, and lose their share! ”

The two masters are all famous all over the world, talented and virtuous people, and they will be used for a lifetime if they worship any of them. Now all of a sudden, A-Yao has become a cloud in the sky, and she needs to fight with the mud under her feet?

With just one sentence, he was speechless.

Hu Jiuling behind the curtain also has a clear understanding, the Hu family has a big business, as the person at the helm, he needs to compete with a few confused people in the market, blushing and thick-necked? Just like Hu Gui said, lose your share.

The Hu family has been based in Qingcheng for a hundred years, and can become an imperial businessman, adhering to nothing more than the word "conscience". Genuine, good with people, honest management, excellence, not to earn more and earn less, but to be worthy of the heart. It is this purity and steadfastness that has allowed the Hu family to survive storms again and again, and has developed into today's behemoth after a hundred years.

It's just a little gossip, something that doesn't exist, why should he go out in person.

If you don't go into battle in person, it doesn't mean that Hu Jiuling is a soft persimmon. He doesn't care if he can't hear how the Shen family wants to stir up the wind and rain, but as long as he hears it, everyone who works in the Hu family must explain it clearly.

Inevitably the next person was stupid and misspoken, he set the reason for the rebuttal as short as possible, and finally adopted Hu Gui's original words.

So a few days before the Shangsi Festival, walking on the streets of Qingcheng, I often saw such a scene.

"The girl of the Shen family has really been wronged, after all, everyone has watched it all these years. The Hu family made such a big fuss, and they couldn't help but be a little reluctant. The young man who was instigated by the Shen family and secretly admired Shen Moci was so emotional.

"Don't give up, what is the identity of our girl now? Fight with these unsightly people, do you lose your share? The Hu family's subordinates looked disdainful and said sarcastically with an idiot's look.

There are many industries under the name of the Hu family, from planting mulberry and raising silkworms, to raw silk, cooked silk, weaving, printing and dyeing, selling, and even there are several ready-to-wear shops. Not to mention covering the entire Qingcheng, at least half of the Qingcheng.

These people spoke in unison, and it didn't take long for them to fight, "Fight with people who don't look good? Lose it or not! This short sentence has already taken root in the hearts of the people.

Almost everyone has this understanding: Now is different from the past, with such a prestigious two masters, the identity of the Hu family girl is also precious. People have everything, so why bother with inconspicuous people.

Of course, there are also a few people who feel that the Hu family's move is too arrogant. If the benefits are exhausted, they will be hyped up and killed, which is too ruthless and unkind, and the family will deceive the world and steal their reputation. Jealousy sprouted, and they consciously followed in the footsteps of the Shen family, spreading rumors that were unfavorable to the Hu family. The fierceness of the rhetoric is extreme, as if there is a deep hatred with the Hu family across the sea of blood.

For the latter kind of people, Hu Jiuling, who wanted to understand, just laughed it off. When he saw Shen Jinshan, who was about to scratch the bald hairs on the top of his head at the door of the Shen family in the silk village, his smile was joyful.

"Shen Jinshan, if you scratch it again, the top of your head will really become a golden mountain."

"Hu Laojiu, you are a nine-tailed old fox."

After taunting his rival, admiring his angry look, Hu Jiuling hurried home refreshed.

Originally, he was worried that his brother and sister would be close to the water, and the little marquis would take his family Ayao away. But after the first morning of teaching, A-Yao's gritted teeth made him completely relieved.

Yu Guang caught a glimpse of the Treasure Pavilion next to him, and his mind moved and he turned in. Pick out some delicate knick-knacks for A-Yao, and put them on the table when she reads, so that she can think of his father; and the Song family, she seems to have figured out a little more these days, and uncharacteristically did not intercede with her mother's family. In fact, the Hu and Song families are like this, and the most difficult thing to do is to be sandwiched in the middle, and bring something to make her happy.

Choosing daily gifts for the whole family in the Treasure Pavilion, imagining their joyful expressions when they received them, the corners of Hu Jiuling's lips rose slightly, and a few folds appeared on his face.

There are two flowers, one on each branch. In the quiet and elegant backyard of Hufu, in the open study on the first floor of Fuqu Pavilion, with her elbows propped on the bookcase, A-Yao bit the pen and stared at the dark square pastry in the plate of golden peony chrysanthemum petals in front of her.

"How is it walnut cake every day."

Qingshuang, who was standing beside her, looked cautiously at the young man in Xuanyi opposite, she still remembered the young man's threat after the belly pocket incident. Appearing in front of her like a ghost, he looked arrogant, "Don't say anything to anyone about this matter, otherwise your sister's matter can't be held up by Shen Moci." ”

After being separated for many years, she finally found her sister, and she had to cast a mouse trap when it came to her relatives. Besides, she didn't hurt the girl, she just pretended not to know, and her conscience was not so uneasy.

Even so, now in the face of teenagers, she is still subconsciously nervous. Even if he was very "kind" to the girl, she could not forget the grim look on his face when he took out the gold medal that day, and the arrogance when he threatened her afterwards.

"Yes......"

"I commanded you to go down first."

Seeing Ah Yao nodding, Qingshuang was like being amnestied, taking fast and undisordered steps, and quickly retreated in an instant. Gently closing the door and taking a deep breath of fresh air, her whole heart was pounding.

The young man is also patient with his own girl, and for other people in the mansion, he has always been above the top, cold and abnormal, and his murderous intent is so crazy that people dare not come out.

"Why don't you replace my red bean cloud cake with walnut cake?"

Accustomed to the cold face of the young man, A-Yao is not afraid at all. Pouting slightly, she asked slightly angrily. It's just that her voice is soft and glutinous, and she is a small person, and her slightly angry expression looks more like coquettishness.

This girl is really getting more and more coquettish.

Feeling useful, Lu Jingyuan patiently explained: "Walnuts replenish the brain." ”

This is a walnut paid tribute to Ouchi, and the nourishing effect is not to be said. He had been wondering why so many supplements from the capital were added in the eight hundred miles of the capital, not only did this girl not grow meat, but her complexion did not improve in the slightest. On the first day of teaching her, he understood everything when he got closer.

She eats everything carefully, one small bite at a time, eating and stopping, most pastries can only eat half a piece, and even the favorite she has been whispering about when she was kidnapped in her previous life - red bean cloud cake, she will eat a piece of it when she is in the sky.

Eat so little, dragon liver and phoenix marrow can't grow meat. In the humble courtyard on the outskirts of Beijing in her previous life, she could snort and drink such a large bowl of pimple soup in a coarse pot of pimple soup. The eating habits of cows are very different from today's cat-like behavior.

Compared with the two, he was even more distressed, at that time, if he had made up his mind earlier, ignored her wishes and brought her back to the Hou Mansion, this stupid girl would not have suffered so much, let alone gone so early.

distress and remorse, he will definitely see her in prison in this life. She's so stupid, she needs to eat some walnuts to replenish her brain.

"You eat more."

Looking at the walnut cake handed to her, A-Yao finally reacted, "You...... Are you calling me stupid? ”

"Well, but it doesn't matter, you can always make up for it by eating more."

…… What kind of person is this! The hand on the table clenched into a fist, and A-Yao frowned, "You...... Not. ”

A piece of walnut cake gagged her mouth.

"Shh

Song Shi, who was standing outside the door, stopped Qingshuang who was about to make a sound, handed the tonic soup in his hand to the latter, and silently looked at her Shi Shiran and walked away, with a comfortable smile on his face.

Ayao's marriage has always been a stone in her heart, and she is the only one in the Hu family, and Wanguan's wealth is not entirely good for her. Previously, she liked her nephew because the two families were close and knew the roots. But the farce of Yang's mother and daughter completely chilled her heart. If A-Yao really marries in the future, they have hostages, and they can't do whatever they want.

Master Kukai's apprentice is not bad, he has good looks and learning, but he is from a ...... background It's just too high.

Regardless of whether it can be done in the end or not, with the status of senior brother and sister, if Ayao has such a high-powered brother, she will finally have something to rely on for the rest of her life.

Thinking like this, Song's steps are getting lighter and lighter, but she doesn't know that her bowl of tonic soup can be regarded as a miserable pit.

The walnut cake was stuffed directly into her mouth, and Ah Yao couldn't struggle, so she could only take a bite in desperation. After chewing two bites at will, she swallowed it angrily, and of course she choked.

"Cough, cough, cough~"

Just when she couldn't stop coughing, Lu Jingyuan planned to silently put away the walnut cake and feed it another day, Qingshuang sent the tonic soup in a timely manner. The soup cup opened the room full of fragrance, and couldn't hold back the gluttonous worms in her stomach, Ah Yao quickly drank two sips.

The walnut cake stuck in his throat was rushed down, the coughing stopped, and the hand holding the walnut cake on the other side reached out again.

Under his threatening gaze, Ah Yao forcibly ate a whole piece.

Eating and drinking, her belly bulged, bathed in the bright spring light, holding the brush, she kept nodding, the ink on the tip of the pen rubbed on her face, and she brushed it on both sides of the person, just to make up a pair of mustaches.

The clear sound of reading stopped, Lu Jingyuan sorted out the book, spread the rice paper on the bookcase on his side, and the tip of the pen fell on the rice paper with a little thick ink. In a moment, a portrait of a daughter was sketched on the originally white and flawless rice paper. The appearance of the person in the painting is not overwhelming, but the facial features are extremely pleasing. The eyelids are closed, the bright apricot eyes show a deep sleepiness, the small nose is wrinkled, and the two mustaches on the cherry lips can't help but make people smile.

After the ink was dry, he rolled up the rice paper, went up to the second floor and put it in the cage he had brought, and placed it in the carved box at the bottom along with the holy decree.

In addition to walnuts in the pastries fed by Lu Jingyuan, there are also nourishing things such as ejiao and wolfberry, and the ingredients are full of stamina, and A-Yao slept very soundly this night.

I didn't have a dream all night, and when I woke up the next day, it was the Shangsi Festival.

The Shangsi Festival has a tradition of "purifying and removing provocations". On the top of March, above the two waters of Qin and Wei, the soul is renewed, and the blue grass is ominous. That is to say, people bathe on the riverside, wash their bodies with bluegrass, drive away evil spirits and ward off disasters, and bless good fortune and longevity.

Outside the door of the Hu family's mansion is 123, when the ancestors of the Hu family built a house, they led 123 living water into the mansion and led to various courtyards. Hu Jiuling's generation even introduced geothermal energy from the north, laying copper pipes under the living water to be used indoors, not to mention that the house is warm in winter, and there are "hot springs" available at any time when bathing.

There is such a pool behind Ayao embroidery building, the sky is bright, Qingshuang has taken people to clean up the geothermal heat, and the pool water has been replaced. By the time Yao got up, the clear pool water had already begun to steam. Sleepy-eyed let Qingshuang help her into the pool, unbuttoning the muslin tunic wrapped outside, surrounded by warm water, she moaned comfortably. Moaned.

After soaking, I changed my clothes, and when I arrived at the front yard, my father and mother were already waiting at the dinner table. Also at the dinner table were Master Kukai and Mo Daru, and then the young man in Xuanyi who had been teaching her for the past few days.

Ah Yao has always been a person who does not hold grudges, although she has been hit and despised by the teenager every day in the past few days, and she was even forced by him to eat her stomach round yesterday, but when she woke up, she still forgot about it. The little little brain, which is not very bright, will only remember that the boy went to the trouble of reading to her and explaining those esoteric texts. greeted a few people at the table one by one, and finally she also greeted the young man.

"Brother Jing, early. Why is your face so red, is it sick? ”

She felt that something was wrong just now, and when she greeted him, she looked at him, and saw a face about the same color as the black robe under his neck.

"No problem."

Lu Jingyuan's voice was a little stiff. When he was bathing this morning, he was quite interested in the living water of Fuqu Pavilion, and a fierce man plunged down against the current, and only touched a one-foot-wide hole at the end. The entrance to the cave is barricaded with barbed wire, and the space inside is very open. After trying it, he couldn't get it, and just as he was about to retreat, he suddenly saw a pair of jade feet stepping in, followed by white and tender calves, and the voice of the girl commanding the subordinates came from across the water.

This is the girl's calf? It didn't seem to be as thick as his arm.

The tender lotus-like calves swayed in the water, and he could see his blood gushing. Choking on a mouthful of water, he finally woke up a little, realized where he had dived, and quickly turned around.

But those delicate calves pierced into my heart like wedges and engraved in the depths of my heart. No matter how many times he washed cold water, he never calmed down.

"Is it really okay? Do you want to find Lang Zhong to take a look? ”

Ah Yao thought about yesterday's events, when the two of them were studying, they wore thin spring shirts for convenience, and they didn't feel cold when the floor was burning indoors. But yesterday she fell asleep while reading, so the boy gave her the only bed downstairs, and went to the pavilion outside the house to read with only a thin layer of spring shirt.

Was it cold at that time? Thinking of this, she was even more anxious, turned around and ordered Qingshuang to call the doctor.

"The art of the poor monk to understand the yellow."

Sensing that something was wrong with the little marquis, Master Kukai volunteered. As soon as the dead bark-like hand was on his wrist, he already knew it.

What is this sick cold? It's obviously a spring heart sprouting and blood is too vigorous! It seems that the little marquis has made good progress in the past few days, and he, as a master, can finally rest assured.

Secretly satisfied, he found a reason randomly, and only said that the Hu family's geothermal heat was well paved and the firepower was strong enough, so he smoked his face like this. This statement can be regarded as a compliment to the Hu family, even if Hu Jiuling is suspicious, he would not have thought that the people from the outer courtyard dived into the inner courtyard and just dived into the bath of Ayao Xiulou. After hearing the praise, he said a few words modestly, and then asked his subordinates to cloth vegetables.

Huaiyang cuisine is exquisite, and the Hu family uses it even more exquisitely, even if the little marquis who is used to seeing wealth and nobility can't find any fault. The food was in front, and the six people around the table ate very satisfied.

After you have eaten your fill, it is time for you to become a formal apprentice. Considering that it was the Shangsi Festival, the Song family simply moved the venue used for the ceremony out of the Hu family and set it next to the Jianhu Lake, where most of the people were purifying and bathing.

The carriage went west along the bluestone road on both sides of 123, the river bank became wider and wider, and the courtyards on both sides of the bank became more and more compact and dense after leaving the east of the city. At the end of the year, the houses suddenly became scarce and changed to an open wharf, where 123, which flows quietly all year round, flows into Jianhu Lake.

A high platform has already been set up on the pier, and under the high platform is a round table in the water, and to the east, there are neatly arranged boats on the water.

The sky had already dawned, and the round table and the ship were full of people.