West of Jinling City, Gaoxi Street, Xue Mansion.

"Zhu Lou dreamed last night, and tonight the water country sings. Dark clouds...... The island clouds are steaming the sea, and the sea is ...... Ocean...... The sea ......"

In front of the mountain rocks where the plough ox was lying on its side, a girl in palace clothes sat on a low table, and chanted 'the sea' a few times in her mouth, and her beautiful eyebrows and eyes were wrinkled and tightened.

Suddenly, she threw herself forward, fell down on the low table in a dejected manner, and shouted in her mouth: "No, no!" I have been bored at home all day, but how can I still have any poetic feelings? If I continue like this, I will definitely be disliked when I marry my husband in the future. ”

complained in his mouth, the big watery eyes, but he crossed the white wrist and secretly aimed at the opposite pavilion, looking forward to the starry eyes, but how could he be half depressed and troubled?

The two little maids who were playing with pen and ink next to her, in order to be able to go out to enjoy the mountains and rivers, did not hesitate to use her future husband as a raft, and they didn't even feel that they could hide their mouths and laugh.

Even a few servant women in the pavilion couldn't help but laugh at each other.

Only on a leisurely chair in the middle, a certain graceful woman lowered her eyebrows and did not respond, as if she had already fallen asleep.

"Mother is really asleep?"

After waiting for a long time and still no response, the girl pursed her lips, sat up helplessly and straightened up again, twisted a large pen like a rafter, stirred it into the inkstone, and splashed ink on the white paper with her wrist, and in an instant, she wrote a five-character quatrain.

The brush was carefully turned upside down, handed to the maid holding the pen to wash, and the girl 'heroically' lifted the poem to the old high, first blew a few breaths of the atmosphere, and then shook her head and recited: "Last night Zhu Lou dreamed, tonight the water country chanted."

The island clouds steam the sea, and the lan air connects the jungle.

The moon has no present and ancient, and the love is shallow and deep.

Hannan Spring Calendar, why don't you care? ”

After reading it, the girl put the paper on the table again, brushed the non-existent beard on her chin, and sighed in an old-fashioned voice: "Alas, this poem is very atmospheric and well-intentioned, but it is a pity that it is lost in coarseness, and it cannot be called both form and spirit - according to the old man's opinion, the poet must still owe some experience, if he can enjoy the lake and mountains, the sea and the sky, there will be some achievements in the future!" ”

Before she finished speaking, the two little maids next to her couldn't straighten up with a smile.

While the girl was pretending to be appreciating, she peeked into the pavilion, but saw that her mother was still lying on the free chair, and there was no feedback at all.

"Could it be that you're really asleep?"

The girl's little face fell, she flattened her mouth playfully, got up and left the low table, and went to the side of the winding water stream sullenly.

Wrap the shark on a big stone, sit on the side and take off his shoes and socks, and dip his bare feet into the stream with two fresh lotus roots.

It's close to the Mid-Autumn Festival, although the heat has not subsided, but it can't be compared to the midsummer season.

Therefore, she couldn't help but tremble slightly when she was agitated by the cold water, but she refused to pull her bare feet out of it, but gritted her silver teeth and stretched her legs inside, stirring the two white feet in the stream like Nezha.

After a while, the girl gradually adapted to the temperature of the water, closed her beautiful eyes comfortably, leaned back slightly, and raised the pair of pleasing proudness on her chest.

I don't know how long it took, the girl was at a loss, wandering her soul between heaven and earth, and suddenly heard a scolding from behind her: "You crazy girl, when are you still playing in the water here, and you are not afraid of the wind and cold!" ”

Hearing this scolding, the girl flattened her ruddy little mouth again, made a splash with her feet as if she was angry, and said angrily: "Who let my brother only care about playing in the mountains and rivers, but left me and my mother at home and ignored it!" ”

As she spoke, she turned around and rolled her eyes, but suddenly found that the little maid who was originally holding the inkstone had replaced it with a bowl of steaming ginger soup.

"Yikes!"

The girl jumped up and pouted in protest: "Mother is really pretending to be asleep!" ”

Seeing her sister jumping away like this, Xue Zhen shook her head helplessly, and went straight to the pavilion to greet her mother:

"Mother, do you feel more relaxed today?"

The woman had already sat up straight from the leisure chair, her bloodless face was full of love, and she shook her head with a smile: "How many years of old problems, there is nothing to be loose or unhappy. ”

As she spoke, she raised her hand and waved her sleeves, and the servants in the pavilion all retreated obediently.

When only the mother and son were left in the pavilion, Xue Zhen lowered his voice and said angrily: "That Wang Ren only gave his son a few perfunctory words, and then sent his son away, obviously he never put our family in his eyes, and he was even more unwilling to stand up for our family!" ”

The Wang Ren in his mouth is the son of Wang Ziteng, the capital of the nine provinces, and the brother of Wang Xifeng, the second grandmother of Rongguo Mansion.

At the beginning of the year, he went from the capital to Jiangnan, and temporarily served as an assistant and manager under his father's account.

And the Xue family has recently caused some entanglements in business, and if they want to turn to Wang Ziteng for help, they naturally have to go through Wang Ren's way.

Originally, Xue Pan had already packed his bags and was about to go south to Ningbo Mansion to visit Wang Ren, but before he could leave, he got the news first, saying that Wang Ren had arrived in Jinling.

Xue Pan was overjoyed and hurriedly prepared a generous gift to ask for a meeting.

Who knew that Wang Ren accepted the gift, but he didn't mention anything about helping, and only said some words without saying anything, and then came to serve tea to the guests.

"Ugh."

Seeing that her son was resentful and helpless, the woman sighed faintly: "Even if we are involved in some relatives, but we, orphans and widows, what do we use to make the Wang family look high?" ”

The mother and son looked at each other for a long time, and Xue Zhen said helplessly: "It seems that my son can only go to the capital once, so I ask my aunt to come forward and turn around." ”

"That's all there is to it."

The woman nodded, and then couldn't help but shake her head and said, "Originally, I saw that the eldest brother was not angry, but I didn't want to climb the door to be a good relative, and this business has also flourished again." ”

When Xue Zhen heard this, his face suddenly became strange, and he said categorically: "Then wait for a good relative, it's better not to do it!" ”

The 'aunt' and 'eldest brother' in the mouths of the two are not outsiders, but they are Aunt Xue and Xue Pan's mother and son - and the so-called 'good relatives' naturally refer to Wang Shangshu of the Ministry of Officials.

To say that the Xue family has been in the past few years, it is really unfavorable for the years, first Xue Pan's father died, and then his uncle [Xue Zhen's father] also died of an emergency.

As a result, the Xue family, which was originally second to none among the yellow merchants, was left with only orphans and widows.

Xue Pan's mother and son are quite good, after all, there are the Wang family and Rongguo Mansion to rely on.

And the situation on Xue Zhen's side is much worse.

Although he is not as stupid as his cousin, after all, he was shallow and lacked prestige when he was young.

Without further ado.

But said that the mother and son had made a plan to go to Beijing to ask Aunt Xue for help, Mrs. Xue hesitated for a while, and suddenly ordered: "Take your sister with you, and when the Mei family returns to Beijing next year, it will almost be time to get married—and let her follow your aunt to learn some rules in Beijing, restrain her temperament, and avoid being unbearable to the Mei family." ”

"This ......"

Xue Zhen was suddenly embarrassed.

Sister Xue Baoqin has followed her father since she was eight years old, and he is not worried that this girl will not be able to adapt to the bumps on the road.

But my mother has always had phlegm, and I don't know how long it will take for the brother and sister to leave, and there is no one to accompany them, but how to make it?

"Mother!"

At this moment, Xue Baoqin suddenly jumped out from behind a bush of oleanders, took a few steps to the front, put his head on Mrs. Xue's lap, and said coquettishly: "I won't go to the capital!" After my brother left, I happened to be a housekeeper and experienced experience, wouldn't it be a hundred times stronger than learning those dead rules. ”

"My son."

Mrs. Xue caressed the green silk on her head lovingly, shook her head and smiled bitterly: "Aren't you still making trouble going out to enjoy the mountains and rivers?" Now it's time to get your heart right......"

"It's not like I haven't been to the capital."

Xue Baoqin tilted his head and said with a smile: "Everywhere is abrupt, how can we have a good scenery in Jinling?" When it gets cooler, I will accompany my mother to live in Zhuangzi in the countryside for a few days, so that my mother can not only raise her body, but also play, wouldn't it be the best of both worlds? ”

Hearing that her mouth was full of thoughtful attachment, Mrs. Xue's eyes didn't feel a little hot and humid, she lowered her head and rubbed her chin on her forehead, and said softly: "My son, the Mei family will come back next year, I'm afraid it will be of great use—you followed your brother to the capital, and walked around with the Rongguo Mansion and the Wang family, and you can have more or less to rely on when you marry in the future." ”

Since the death of Xue Baoqin's father, the Mei family has had a repetition intention, and it is precisely because of this that Mrs. Xue thought of letting her daughter go to Beijing first and walk around with a few prominent relatives, so that the Mei family could have more scruples.

"I ......"

"Uncle, Steward Liu sent someone in!"

Xue Baoqin was still waiting to argue, but suddenly a mother-in-law outside greeted her from afar.

When Xue Zhen heard this, he hurriedly greeted: "What did Steward Liu inquire about?" Listen to me! ”

It turned out that after Wang Ren was deflated, he did not completely give up, and specially left the accompanying housekeeper to inquire about Wang Ren's purpose of coming to Jinling City to see if there was a chance to push the boat down the river.

The woman hurried a few steps to the front, and before she could finish the number of rituals, she listened to Xue Zhen's urging again, so she hurriedly said: "Steward Liu said that Wang Yanei left Ningbo Mansion this time to return to the capital. ”

Back to the capital?

Xue Zhen frowned, and said in surprise: "Since you want to go back to the capital, what are you doing in our Jinling?" ”

From Ningbo to the north of the capital, either take the sea route, or take the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, on the way will not pass by Jinling at all.

"Listening to Steward Liu, it seems that I want to wait for some General Sun, and then go north together."

"General Sun?!"

"General Sun?!"

Two exclamations blurted out at the same time, but it was Xue Baoqin who took the lead, got up from his mother's arms, and said happily: "Isn't it the Sun Shaozong General Sun who has been rumored to be a sword in Huguang recently?!" ”