Before Chu Tao arrived at the General's Mansion, the palace had already conveyed Jiang Chu Tao's intention to enter the palace to accompany him. When the eunuch in the palace came to deliver the will, Liu was sitting and listening to the subordinates report the accounts, and Chu Ju and Chu Ying sat on the side to learn to keep accounts. Liu Shi was also startled, his eyelids jumped twice "suddenly", and he hurriedly paid attention to Chu Ju's eyes, only to see Chu Ju's face gradually turned from incredible to angry, his nose wrinkled twice, and he shook the abacus in his hand, swept the account book on the table, and smashed a few wolf sticks dipped in ink and the account book on the ground together, rolling in a mess, and tears fell with it.

Liu rewarded the eunuch with a handful of gold leaves, and sent someone to invite him down to drink tea. Liu pretended not to see Chu Ju's reaction, and Chu Ying didn't say a word, burying her head in the accounts and making calculations. Mama Gu, who was powerful next to Liu, and a few girls cleaned up the things that had been ruined by the first orange without a sound.

Qin Han's wife, the housekeeper in Zhuangzi, stood aside, today is the time to pay rent in autumn, several housekeepers from Zhuangzi and the bookkeeper from the restaurant have arrived, dozens of people are standing with their hands down, Qin Han's family looked at Liu's face, and said tentatively: "Second grandmother...... Let's not pay this rent for the time being. ”

Liu sat on the Nanmu chair, knocked on the back of the chair with one hand, and said with a normal expression: "Report, why don't you report." The harvest on this Zhuangzi is not as good as a day, and the silver handed over is less and less year by year, and the ancestors can still hand over a 3,000 taels of cash silver a year, and in my hands, counting the three new restaurants that have been newly invested this year, the carbon meter and Bing Jing in the house, can make up a 2,000 taels of silver! I'd like to hear if the silver has grown on its own and gone away! ”

The Qin Han family nodded and said: "Hey, grandma, you are young, you don't know about this cropper, this summer is just dry and hot, and it doesn't rain, it is the time when the crops are thirsty for water, and they all rely on the croppers to carry water one by one, and that's it!" The ground was cracked into pieces! Our crops are miserable! ”

Liu sneered: "Don't take the helper farmer here to cover up the dirt!" Last year, for the ancestors to accumulate blessings, I rented 30% of the rent, this year the book is so bleak, what do I, the head of the family, take to support this big family? If I hadn't worked hard to collect the rent for me, and I just relied on you black-hearted guys to collect rent for me, would we drink the northwest wind? Listen, all of you, if you really can't collect it, don't take seven or eight cents of the loan interest and force the farmer to death—be careful of selling your sons and daughters, and lose your life! If you receive the money and lend it in your own hands, I will find out and beat you to death! ”

Liu's is not confused, some rent-collecting mothers-in-law in Zhuangzi are so rich that they secretly take the rent to lend, and they are bold! Last year, several domestic servants of a Zhuangzi in the Guogong family did not pay all the rent, so they borrowed eight cents from the land rent, and then they couldn't afford to pay it back, forcing a domestic farmer to sell their daughter, and the daughter hanged herself in the Zhuangzi, and it is said that the Zhuangzi is still haunted. The Liu family didn't want to get into this kind of bad luck, and they also strictly guarded the people of their own Zhuangzi.

Qin Hanjia's face was cold in a cold sweat, and he still smiled boldly: "I can't do this kind of thing." The second grandmother is kind-hearted, and the people in the crops are worried about you! I don't want to bring some fresh crops from the field to honor you! While painstakingly sending a large basket to Liu's face, it contained some cucumbers, loofahs, beans, corn cobs, sweet potatoes, eggplants and other vegetables.

Liu Shi turned his attention to Chu Ju, Chu Ju was twitching on the side, and his eyes were swollen like peaches, but his mother was asking the account, she didn't dare to make a mistake at this time, so she could only follow Chu Ying to turn over the account book together.

Liu said: "Every day in and out of the house, I have to go through it from me, big and small things one after another, this daughter-in-law and mother, I can't get a day of rest." I wish I could find a virtuous and capable daughter-in-law to help me, but I am not blessed to have no children in my life, and I don't say that I am worried about my mother when I give birth to a girl, but only add blockages everywhere. Chu Ju knew that Liu's words were said to himself, and he was ashamed and embarrassed, but he was aggrieved and sad in his heart, and he almost cried.

Liu said tiredly: "You go back first, and check the account books carefully." There are still important things in the house today, and Zhuangzi is far away, and it is inconvenient to walk when it gets dark, so I will not leave you to eat, and you can buy wine and drink it yourself. The people thanked them for their kindness, took their rewards, and left.

Liu got up and walked to Chu Ju and Chu Ying's side, and casually flipped through the accounts they kept, all the accounts were in, Chu Ying wrote them with a red pen, and they wrote with a black pen when they came out, one by one at a glance, Chu Ju remembered that there was no order at all. Liu said: "I should go and serve your ancestors for dinner, and you two will sum up the bill and send it to my room in the evening." Now that it's getting dark early, you light a few more candles and hurt your eyes carefully. ”

Chu Tao entered the house and changed her clothes, first went to meet Jiang's mother, and then sent the letter from Concubine Zhen to her uncle in the name of asking for peace, and finally went to meet her father and mother. Jiang Liangzheng said to Chu Tao: "You are also thirteen years old this year, and it is not a bad thing to go to the palace to learn some rules." ”

Chu Tao said: "Concubine Zhen said the same thing. ”

Liu couldn't help it, and hugged Chu Tao in his arms and said: "I can't think of letting Chu Tao accompany me to study, how can I give up such a small doll for my mother." "Although Chu Tao is a little naughty, after all, she is still a pink-carved doll, and she listens to her elders at home, filial piety to her parents, she is really a beloved child, and she can't come home for several months when she reads, which makes Liu how reluctant.

Chu Tao wrung her fingers sadly, smelling the familiar smell in her mother's arms, her expression was also a little trance, tears rolled in her eyes for a long time, her teeth were sour, and her voice had a trace of bitterness: "Mother, it's just a companion, and it's not that I can't see it again." Or—or the child makes a mistake and asks Princess Xile to send me back." ”

Liu hurriedly said: "No! Don't have this kind of thought, you must be careful when you enter the palace, just accompany Princess Xile every day, and the most important thing is to keep safe. ”

Jiang Liangzheng asked, "What can Concubine Zhen tell you?" ”

"The mother said that Concubine Zhen Niangniang also said it, and told me not to mess with other princes." Hatsu Tao said.

Liu's hugging Chu Tao tighter, one bite at a time, crying so much that his liver and intestines were broken, Jiang Liangzheng couldn't bear to say: "Don't cry, it's not that you won't come back." You hold the child so tightly that she can't breathe. ”

The strength on Liu's arm loosened a little, held Chu Tao's face with both hands, rubbed it a few times, and said, "There are some things I want to say to my daughter alone, you can avoid them." Jiang Liangzheng had to avoid it when he heard this.

Liu said: "You go to accompany the study, it is indispensable to deal with a few princes, although you are young, but there are some things that should be understood, men and women have to be taboo when they get along, and they must not be trivial-" She looked at Chu Tao's stunned appearance, her voice was lowered a little, and said: "Usually pretend to be stupid, if there is a prince who tells you something inconsequential, you don't care, except for class, you can't have contact in private, if you play together, everyone must be present, remember?" He took out the menstrual belt prepared in advance, and added: "You also have to prepare this, my mother told you last time, don't be afraid if you come to menstruation, just tell the girl next to you." The things you bring must be carefully selected, don't be too trivial but look stingy at home, pick some generous and decent objects to bring. If you lack anything or have something important, send someone to send a letter back, and if you feel wronged, tell your mother. ”

Chu Taotou leaned on Liu's arm, full of reluctance, listening to her mother's caring instructions, her nose was sore, and she couldn't listen to her mother's words, she only felt that a big stone was pressed on her chest, and she was uncomfortable. Chu Tao ate something indiscriminately at her mother's and went back to her peach orchard.

It is said that this Chu Ju and Chu Ying have been on the account for a long time, they are dizzy, and they don't dare to eat a bite of dinner, they are so hungry that their chests are close to their backs, and they think about the things that Tao entered the palace to read at first, and he was so angry that he rushed into the peach orchard after handing over the account book. Chu Tao had just taken off her makeup, and had been walking in the palace for a day, her legs and feet were sore, and she just wanted to take a hot bath to relieve her fatigue, when she saw the unkind Chu Ju killed.

As soon as Chu Ju came over, she shook Chu Tao's ear scraper, and the ear pendant of Chu Tao's cloisonne fell off, and she said angrily: "Shameless!" I usually see you silent, but I didn't expect to do this kind of thing behind my back! You're pretending! You pretend to be a pig and eat a tiger! Hatsu Sakura and I have been preparing for entering the palace for so long, it's good for you to even grab the position of your own sister! Do you go to read with you? You can't read all the words and still have to read along? You go and embarrass the Jiang family! ”

Five palm prints instantly appeared on Chu Tao's fair face, and this slap made her ears buzz. Chu Tao got up and pushed Chu Ju violently, Chu Ju didn't expect her to dare to push herself, she didn't stand firm and sat on the ground, looking at Chu Tao incredulously: "You're crazy!" You mad dog! ”

Chu Tao took off another pendant from his ear, smashed it on Chu Ju's face with a bang, and said, "I think you're crazy!" I don't want to go to the companion reading! Without my parents by my side, I have to accompany the princess with a cautious heart every day, so I don't want to! Sister Sakura went to the draft because the nobles of the family wanted to choose a show girl of the right age, and she had to go. You want to read with you, who knows what you have in mind. ”

Chu Tang's face was red and white for a while, he got up from the ground, and wanted to pull Chu Tao's hair, Chu Tao picked up a jewel hairpin on the table, pointed the tip to Chu Tang, and said: "Although you are the oldest, you can let you and Sister Sakura do everything from childhood to adulthood, hold you, and now you will lose your temper with me and Sister Sakura whenever you have a disappointment, I want to ask you why." ”

Chu Ju saw that Chu Tao was angry, and moved out of Chu Sakura to exclude himself, and he didn't feel that he had done anything wrong, but hated Chu Sakura in his heart to buy people's hearts everywhere, thinking of his own sister doing this to himself, there were ten thousand grievances hidden in those tears: "I am your own sister, how can you be towards that slut of Chu Sakura?" ”

Hatsu Tao shook her head and said, "Five or six years ago, when my grandfather was alive, I praised the name 'Hatsu Sakura' by the way, and you cried and cried to change the name with Sister Hatsu Sakura, which turned the world upside down. What did Sakura say? She said it doesn't matter what the name is, as long as you like it, change it. Later, my grandfather got angry and said that you were messing around, so you stopped, do you remember? ”

"That's what she's willing to give me!" Hatsuju shouted.

Chu Tao said: "You are! I'm too lazy to tell you! Bigotry! You get out! I'm going to bed! While speaking, he pushed Chu Ju out, and then plugged the door, Chu Tao touched the hot finger marks on his face, and cried on the bed.