At the beginning of the day, the whole house was busy. As last year, the gods were worshipped, then the two spears offered to the ancestors in the ancestral hall, and then the dumplings were eaten throughout the house. On the master's table are dumplings with six dishes, two soups and two fillings. On the table of the next person are dumplings with four dishes and two soups and meat filling.

After the meal, the ancient housekeeper is responsible for the New Year's reward on the side of the men in the house, and the mother Su is responsible for the New Year's reward on the side of the women and children in the house. On the grange, Qingshu arranged it in advance, and it was sent by Steward Wu, so she didn't have to go on a special trip like last year.

Qing Shu had nothing to do, so he went back to his house after the reunion dinner. After a while, Qingyang and Hao came over to greet her. She said two auspicious words, and took out a pair of ring-shaped jade pendants decorated with colored threads, one for Qingyang's belt and the other for Hao's belt. This pair of jade pendants, she was originally going to give them to Zhou Boyan and Qingyang, but then she thought about it. Qingyang and Hao had to send the same thing, otherwise Hao would be too careful, so she changed her mind.

After getting the jade pendant, Qingyang grinned, took out his purse embroidered with bamboo, took a pair of golden peanuts and a pair of small goldfish from it, and put them in Qingshu's palm, "This is a New Year's gift for my sister." ”

Qing Shu was moved, kissed him on the cheek, and smiled and bent his eyebrows, "Sister accepted it, Xiaoyang is so good to my sister." She thought to herself: her brother is already nine years old, and it is estimated that he will not give her a kiss in the near future. What a pity!

Hao hid his hands behind his back, biting his lip, not having the courage to take out the gifts he had prepared.

Qingyang went to pull him, "Brother Hao, quickly take out your gift, my sister will like it." ”

Hao glanced at Qing Shu, but saw that Qing Shu was looking at him with a smile, so he mustered up the courage to take his hand in front of him, carefully put something into Qing Shu's palm, and said in a small voice, "For my sister, yes, it's Hao's baby." Uncle Luo said that this was brought by Hao since he was a child. ”

It was a longevity lock made of pure gold, and it was a longevity lock of two unicorns with different postures standing on the clouds. The size is the size of a child's palm, but the shape of the unicorn is lifelike, and it looks like it is from the hands of a famous artist. The unicorn represents dignity and auspiciousness, and not everyone can wear unicorn jewelry.

Qing Shu took the longevity lock in his hand, turned it over and looked at the back, and the word "Hao" caught his eye. Sure enough, it is something that Hao has worn since he was a child. It's just that I don't know if this longevity lock was originally prepared by the eldest princess or Yelu Haozhen. However, after so many years, Hao has traveled between countries, but this item has not been lost, and no one has robbed it, I am afraid that Du Luo and the others have put a lot of effort into it. She smiled and asked, "This is the treasure left to you by your father, can you give it away?" ”

Hao stretched out his hand and touched the longevity lock that Qing Shu held in his hand, "Uncle Luo said, this is a gift from Daddy Zhou, not from Daddy Zhou." He was a little embarrassed, pursed his lips and smiled, "Hao's name was also taken by Daddy Zhou." ”

Qing Shu was stunned, "Daddy Zhou? "Who is this talking about?

"Uncle Luo said that Hao has two fathers, one is Father Zhou and the other is Father Gu." As he spoke, the whole person leaned on Qing Shu, "Daddy Gu is the father of my sister and Xiaoyang's younger brother." ”

Qingyang and Qingshu glanced at each other, and then Qingyang asked, "Then, what about Daddy Zhou?" ”

Haoxiao's eyes narrowed into a slit, "Daddy Zhou is Daddy Zhou, Hao hasn't seen it, but Hao knows that Daddy Zhou is very powerful, as powerful as Daddy Gu." ”

Qingyang was about to ask, but Qingshu shook his head to stop him. She glanced at the longevity lock in her hand again, saw that it was not worn to the neck, and asked, "Why hasn't my sister seen you wear it?" ”

Hao Yan asked, "Is it going to be worn around the neck?" "Isn't it supposed to be hidden? Wear it around your neck, won't it make people see it?

Qing Shu listened, and his heart was mixed, "Wait a minute." She pushed Hao away, took out her cloth bag with all kinds of brocade threads, picked out the soft and strong threads of five colors, and braided a colored rope. She tied the rope to both ends of the longevity lock string, and beckoned Hao to step forward.

Under the curious gaze of Hao and Qingyang, she unbuttoned Hao's coat and the neckline of her cotton coat, and hung the longevity lock on Hao's neck. She felt that the colored rope was a little long, and adjusted it.

Hao looked down at the longevity lock hanging around his neck, "Sister, this is your baby." ”

Qing Shu put the longevity lock into his cotton clothes, got the neckline for him, and said with a smile, "You can give other treasures to my sister, this is not good." This is the baby given to you by Daddy Zhou, who named you, you have to keep it all the time, and you are not allowed to give it away. She sighed that her father and mother didn't give him a name, but it was Daddy Zhou, who didn't know his identity, who named him, and specially put a long-life lock for him to make people worse.

Hao touched the longevity lock on his neck through his clothes, and smiled and showed his little tiger teeth, "I also have a little goldfish, shall I give the little goldfish to my sister?" ”

"Good! You and your brother are the same, give your sister a little goldfish! Qing Shu looked happy.

Hao hurriedly found his purse.

Qingyang pointed to his left sleeve, "Here, here, you put it here." ”

Hao took out his purse, took out four small goldfish and put them in Qing Shu's palm, "There are no golden peanuts, only small goldfish." ”

Qing Shu put it away with a precious face, "Oops! It's good to have a younger brother, and you can receive beautiful little goldfish during the New Year. As he spoke, he leaned over and kissed Hao on the cheek, "Thank you, Brother Hao." ”

Xiaoyu suddenly pushed open the door, hurriedly said, "Mother Su is here", closed the door and went out to greet her.

Qing Shu quickly instructed Qingyang and Hao to sit on the chairs, swept the things that might cause Su's mother to nag into the kang cabinet three or two times, and then sat on the edge of the kang with a dignified straight back, his hands naturally flat on his knees, and he posed with a decent and low eyebrows.

Qingyang was very obedient, seeing that Qing Shu forgot to hold a handkerchief in his hand, he rushed over in a few steps, took a handkerchief from the kang table and stuffed it into Qing Shu's hand, and then rushed back to the chair to sit.

The timing was just right, and Su's mother came in. Mother Su entered the door, her eyes turned on Qing Shu, and then nodded unconsciously, came over to greet Qing Shu, and then greeted the two young masters who were sitting next to her.

Qing Shu smiled, carefully followed the girl's training of smiling without showing teeth and acting elegantly, and asked Su's mother in a delicate voice if it was okay.

Su's mother was very happy, reported some affairs in the house, nodded with satisfaction to Qing Shu, and finally instructed Qing Shu not to move needles, scissors and other things from today to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and then left satisfied.

As soon as Su's mother left with her front foot, Qingshu's back foot fell to the kang without any image at all, and the straight road was dangerous. Playing the delicate lady of a big family, she can almost kill her. Recently, Su's mother has been more keen to make her a young lady who fully meets the standards of this era. Therefore, Su's mother has to surprise check it every now and then.

Qingshu sent a "spy" to inquire about the reason for Su's mother's urgent targeting. Only then did I know that the reason was her age. It's the New Year, she is a sixteen-year-old girl, if she doesn't want to keep filial piety, it's a good age to discuss relatives. She can't resist Su's mother's kindness clearly, so she can only play this kind of trick. Fortunately, the younger brother and the girls around her knew that they had to cover for her.

"Mother Su, why are you back again?" Xiaojuan stood in the courtyard and said loudly. It's a reminder to the people in the room to be prepared.

Qing Shu was excited, quickly stroked his hair, stroked his skirt twice, and silently asked his younger brother if there was anything wrong.

Qingyang and Hao rushed over left and right. Hao picked up the handkerchief that fell to the ground and stuffed it back into Qing Shu's hand, and Qing Yang knelt on the edge of the kang and straightened the hairpin on Qing Shu's head. After that, the two quickly ran back to their chairs and sat down.

Mother Su came in with a smile on her face, and saw that the young lady was still a dignified young lady, and the beauty in her heart, "Miss, it's time for you to take the young masters to the front, this New Year's greeting is coming soon." The melons, fruits and other things for hospitality have been put on the table by the old slave. ”

Qing Shujiao said drippingly, "It's over, Mother Su is going to be busy." ”

As soon as Su's mother left, Qing Shu breathed a sigh of relief and grimaced at her two younger brothers. The three of them tidied up a little, and then went to the front.

The main hall in front of you is not open. The east and west halls were sprinkled and swept early in the morning, and the snacks and fruits for entertaining the guests were put on the table, and the room was warm. The east hall is ready to be used by Zhou Boyan. The west hall is used by the ancient mansion itself to entertain guests.

Qing Shu didn't have much time to sit down in the west hall, and Cheng Niangzi came over with her two daughters and one son.

Cheng Niangzi came to visit the door on the first day of last year, and she brought gifts. This winter, I relied on the ancient mansion to earn more than a dozen taels of silver, and I won't come empty-handed. She carried a basket of oranges herself, let the eldest daughter carry a basket of hazelnuts, and the younger daughter carried a burden in her hand. The baggage was opened, and inside were a pair of satin shoes made for Qingshu, Qingyang, and Hao, as well as a light purple satin material that could be used for three clothes.

Qingshu asked Xiaoyu to accept the gift, and took the three red seals prepared in advance and gave them to Cheng Niangzi's second daughter and one son. The three children got the seal red, and there was surprise on their faces.

When they were gossiping here, Ning Si brought his wife and children to pay New Year's greetings.

Ning Si thought that with their identity, it would probably be good to be able to meet the housekeeper. But there was a word from inside, and let his mother and child go in and sit. He was flattered, told his mother not to say the wrong thing, and warned his son to be honest and not to cause trouble. The gift he brought was two baskets of oranges and fifty pounds of pork. Oranges are a rare thing, or he asked Cheng Yaren to buy them from outside.

After these two families, Chen, the wife of Li Zheng of Xiaogujia Village, came with her youngest son Gu Zhesi. In addition to her own gifts, she also brought gifts from three other families, including Chen Qin's mother's family, Gu Erfeng's family, and the third grandfather's family.

The gift of the White Mansion was sent by a butler. Shi Wanjin's gift was sent by his eldest daughter-in-law with her child. The guests came and went, and Qingshu was attentive to them one by one. At this time, the housekeeper sent Lily of the Valley in and whispered a few words to her.

She listened calmly, and only replied with two words, "No." ”

When the guests in the side hall left, the ancient housekeeper sent someone to pass the word again. This time, she listened and asked Steward Gu to come in and speak, "What's the matter?" ”

Butler Gu let Xiao Yu and the others go out, and spoke in a low voice, "Master Fu drank too much last night, and he hasn't gotten up until now." Young Master Qingcheng, Young Master Qingjie and Young Master Qingyu rushed over here together, saying that they were here to pay New Year's greetings and ask for money. And Ma's side, it seems that Miss Li is going to be sent to sit down. "Because Qing Shu doesn't like it, now the people in the house call Gu Yunfu no longer the eldest master, but the old man Fu.

Gu Yunfu came to Kangxi Town, and Qing Shu knew that he would not live in peace, so he gave instructions to the leader of the beggar gang and kept an eye on Gu Yunfu and Ma, who parted ways. They should pay attention to any actions they make and who they see, and report the slightest abnormality immediately. Therefore, as soon as the two sides came to the ancient mansion, there were beggars who came to report the news.

Qingshu, "Didn't you say you couldn't see it?" You don't have to go out of your way to chase them, just close the door and ignore them. ”

"Miss, it's okay not to see the three young masters, but Miss Li's side, according to the old slave's opinion, it's more appropriate to see them."

"Huh?"

"It's an old thing. Although Master Fu is not good, when the general was alive, the relationship between Ma and his wife has always been good, and they are like sisters. At that time, regarding Miss Li's marriage, Mrs. seemed to have given Ma some promises. After the general went, Ma came to the mansion several times, and persuaded his wife to cheer up several times, but he was just ...... Alas! Don't mention these old things. Now Ma intends to let Miss Li get close to Miss, I am afraid that he came to meet Mrs. Promise. ”

Qing Shu was surprised, "There is such a thing? ”

"Yes, miss. Aside from Master Fu, Miss Li is your cousin, and although Ma is scheming, he is not a bad person. For the sake of Madame, if it is not a difficult matter, it is better for Miss Ma to help Miss Ma and Miss Li. In this way, when outsiders see it, they will praise Miss and the young master for caring about their flesh and blood, and they will no longer listen to the nonsense of Master Fu. He also decided to say these words to the young lady after considering all aspects. No matter what he does, his starting point is not for others, but for the reputation of the young lady and the young master. Although Master Fu is indeed a bastard, the young lady drove out without any face. It's easy to talk about it, and there is a lot of gossip outside.

After listening to this, Qing Shu pondered the words of the ancient steward for a while, and then thought of what the Ma clan had said to her before leaving that day, she nodded, "That's it, those three won't meet." If Miss Li is here, please come in. "Whether it's good or bad, whether it's worth helping, you have to be exposed to it, and you don't know until you understand it. She couldn't help but be curious, what kind of promise did her mother Gu Ye make that day, Ma Shi actually remembered it, and after Gu Ye's death, she actually found her, the daughter of Gu Ye, to ask for the promise of the day.

Seeing that the young lady had listened to his persuasion, the ancient housekeeper breathed a sigh of relief and went out to pass the word to the porter.

At this time, Qingyang came over from Zhou Boyan and quietly bit his ear with Qingshu, "Sister, Brother Yan said that he wanted to go to his sister's study to sit in half an hour." ”

Qing Shu understood that this was Zhou Boyan wanting to be alone with her. She hadn't forgotten what happened yesterday, so she took out the key to the study and put it in Qingyang's palm, "No, the key to my sister's study, send it to him." You tell him that my sister doesn't use the study these days, and when he wants to go and sit, he will go and sit at any time, and no one will stop him. "She wants to see, she doesn't go, see if he still goes to sit still?