On the night when Du Qiutong first entered the door, before the third watch, the west chamber suddenly caught fire.

Mrs. Tan was lively for a while during the day today, and now she is a little tired, so she has already washed up and laid down. Old, not very good energy, often tired and sleepy but feel less dreams, lying in bed for a long time, just fell asleep, thin sleepiness was noisy outside to be noisy, only to hear the outside shouting "fire extinguish, fire extinguishment".

"Mrs. Zhu! Mrs. Zhu! Mrs. Tan screamed a few times in panic, and Mrs. Zhu hurried over and said, "Don't panic, old lady, it's the west chamber that is on fire, although the fire is fierce, but fortunately it was found early, and now it has been extinguished, only two bed curtains have been burned, and the old lady doesn't need to be afraid." ”

"The West Chamber is on fire?" Mrs. Tan repeated incredulously.

Zhu Pozi said: "Yes, it was originally good, but suddenly it caught fire." ”

Mrs. Tan asked anxiously: "The West Chamber is Aunt Du's residence, today is the day when Aunt Du enters the door, and the aragonite must be in Aunt Du's room...... Mrs. Zhu, how is Wenshi? Has it affected aragonite? No, I'm going to see my son! Mrs. Tan said as she was about to go down to the ground to find shoes.

Mrs. Zhu hurriedly stopped and persuaded: "Don't worry, old lady, not long after the fire started, the master ran out with Aunt Du and a few maids from the West Chamber." It's a big night, it's cold outside, don't go out the old lady, make such a big noise, the master will definitely come over and explain to you, just wait. ”

As soon as Mrs. Tan heard this, her heart gradually relaxed, and she sat on the bed with her chest stroking, and while she was covered by Mrs. Zhu, she sighed suspiciously: "Okay, why is the West Chamber on fire?" ”

Mrs. Zhu said while draping the quilt on Mrs. Tan: "Who said it wasn't." It stands to reason that there was a little snow just a few days ago, and the weather is not dry, so it is not easy to catch fire at all. ”

Mrs. Tan was suddenly taken aback, and said to Mrs. Zhu in a deep voice: "You say...... Could it be like the Taoist priest said, aragonite is the golden life in the sand, Aunt Du is the fire life in the sky, and Aunt Du was born with aragonite, so this Aunt Du entered the door the first night, and she set the house on fire and shocked the aragonite......"

Mrs. Zhu groaned and said, "What about this...... It was the wife who suddenly said that she wanted to invite the Taoist priest to come and give the master and Aunt Du the eight characters, and the Taoist priest was also found by the wife from outside, so the words of Aunt Du and Aunt Du from the mouth of the Taoist priest are not credulous......"

Mrs. Tan hesitated and said, "Didn't I think the same way before, but now this is happening...... Maybe what the Taoist priest said was true? ”

Mrs. Zhu thought for a moment and said, "Old lady, when we wait for the master to come over, ask what happened to the fire, and then think about it." ”

As he spoke, the curtain was opened, but it was not Tan Wenshi who came, but Xue Qianqian.

Xue Qianqian didn't whitewash, obviously she was already resting, only wearing a thick red phoenix pattern cloak over her middle coat, and hurried to the old lady's bed as soon as she came in.

Xue Qianqian said affectionately: "The old lady is scared, right? Don't worry, old lady, I watched the fire be extinguished from beginning to end, and I assured the old lady that there was no spark left, and the old lady should not be afraid. Xue Qianqian's implication was that she worked hard to fight fires, which was an invitation to merit.

Old Lady Tan glanced at Xue Qianqian suspiciously, and asked tentatively, "Tell me, what's going on?" What the hell started the fire? ”

Xue Qianqian sighed and said, "It's all to blame for the maid named Jinfeng brought by Aunt Du, after she gave Aunt Du the lamp, she only closed the window and didn't tie the bolt, as soon as the window was blown by the wind, the wind poured in from outside the window, blowing the bed curtain onto the candle flame, and the bed curtain caught fire." ”

"The curtain on fire? Were Wenshi and Aunt Du in bed at the time? Isn't that burning aragonite? Mrs. Tan asked anxiously.

Xue Qianqian paused, obviously she didn't expect her mother-in-law to ask about her husband and concubine's room in front of her, but Xue Qianqian only paused for a moment, and then said proudly: "No, the master was still wearing clothes at the time, and he ran out immediately, and not a single hair was burned." Du Qiutong didn't even taste it on the wedding night, and Xue Qianqian was happy when she talked about it.

Mrs. Tan put her mind at ease, thought for a while, and said with some hesitation: "If there is a fire because the bed curtain is burning, I have often heard that there will be something...... Mrs. Tan immediately vented her dissatisfaction with Xue Qianqian: "You too, you usually think of yourself as the wife of the house, why didn't you take care of the backyard and cause such a disaster?!" ”

Xue Qianqian's face showed displeasure, and she retorted: "It was Aunt Du's West Chamber, and it was Aunt Du's dowry maid who didn't close the window. ”

Old Lady Tan said with an afterthought: "If you warn the West Chamber in advance and ask them to be careful and be careful with the candles, won't you be able to avoid this fire?" How did you do this main room?! You're such a useless daughter-in-law! ”

Xue Qianqian suddenly became even more displeased, and said in a somewhat cold tone: "She just entered the door today, if I call her over to wake up like this, I will inevitably be told that I will use the style of the main room to suppress her, wouldn't I have a bad reputation for being jealous." ”

Mrs. Tan said: "You are the main room, and it is natural to suppress your aunt, who dares to say that you are jealous?" You will go to the West Chamber tomorrow and get out the dowry maid next to her who caused this incident! Add her a proper maid. ”

Xue Qianqian was stunned for a moment, and deliberately said, "That's Aunt Du's dowry maid...... If I kick out her dowry maid, won't it be tantamount to giving her a horse? ”

Mrs. Tan patted the bed and said, "I'm just asking you to give her a dismount!" You have to make her understand that this is what happens when you discipline your subordinates badly! ”

Xue Qianqian lowered her head and smiled secretly, and said, "Yes, the daughter-in-law listens to her mother-in-law." ”

Tan Wenshi and Du Qiutong simply cleaned up the ashes on their bodies, and came over to the old lady to report their safety.

Mrs. Tan looked at it carefully for a long time, and saw that there was really nothing wrong with Tan Wenshi, so her heart finally landed.

Old Mrs. Tan turned her head to look at Du Qiutong and scolded unhappily: "How did you discipline the maids around you?" The first day you enter the door, you get into trouble! ”

Because he had just been smoked by the fire, Du Qiutong's voice was still a little hoarse, and because he ran away in a hurry, his clothes were thin and he looked very embarrassed. Du Qiutong lowered his head, owed a debt, and said softly: "It's me who is not strict in disciplining people, which makes my master frightened." ”

Xue Qianqian stood up at this time and persuaded the old lady in the most virtuous and gentle tone: "Don't be angry, old lady, although Aunt Du didn't serve the good master, Aunt Du definitely didn't mean to." Besides, Aunt Du was hit by fire on her wedding night, and she must have been frightened. ”

Du Qiutong was stunned for a moment, then still lowered his head, owed Xue Qianqian, and whispered: "Thank you for your understanding." ”

Seeing Du Qiutong so low eyebrows, Xue Qianqian smiled even more proudly, and said to the old lady and Tan Wenshi: "Master must be tired after tossing this together." The west chamber is burning, and there is a burning smell, and now I am afraid that I can't rest there. Lord, go to my place and rest tonight. ”

Tan Wenshi was stunned: "This ......" As soon as Xue Qianqian's words came out, Old Lady Tan and Tan Wenshi were empty. Xue Qianqian's words are reasonable, but today is Du Qiutong's first day of entering the door, if Tan Wenshi does not stay in Du Qiutong's house, it is equivalent to slapping Du Qiutong in the face.

Unexpectedly, Du Qiutong stood up and said deeply to Tan Wenshi: "It's because my housekeeper is not strict, so my master is frightened." Mrs. is right, you need to rest early, and the smell of the West Chamber is pungent at the moment, for the sake of your own sake, please go to Mrs.'s room to rest. ”

Since Du Qiutong said so, Tan Wenshi also agreed, Xue Qianqian was happy now, and suddenly happily grabbed Tan Wenshi's arm, and snatched Tan Wenshi from Du Qiutong in front of Du Qiutong with a swagger on Du Qiutong's wedding night.

After Tan Wenshi was pulled away by Xue Qianqian, Mrs. Tan looked at Du Qiutong who was left, and the more she looked at it, the more angry she became, and she scolded Du Qiutong a few times angrily before letting Du Qiutong leave in disgust, and then rested by herself.

The grizzled Du Qiutong walked out of the old lady's yard, only to feel that it was cold and incomparable.

As soon as the fire caught fire, she hurriedly ran out with Tan Wenshi, and she didn't even have time to put on a thick coat.

Later, the subordinates were fighting the fire, and the frightened Du Qiutong was standing aside. And Xue Qianqian shouted there and commanded his subordinates to put out the fire, but she didn't seem to notice that Du Qiutong, who was only wearing a middle coat and holding her arms, was about to freeze to death, so she kept drying Du Qiutong in the cold wind.

At this moment, Tan Wenshi was snatched away by Xue Qianqian again, and on the night of Du Qiutong's wedding, Du Qiutong could only walk alone to the West Chamber, which had just been burned.

The cold wind was howling in the winter night, Du Qiutong felt like she was being whipped by a whip, and her face hurt like the few slaps that Xue Qianqian had slapped her in public in the Gu Mansion.

When Du Qiutong finally braved the cold and returned to the West Chamber, the West Chamber's room was wet and cold, colder than the winter night outside. Du Qiutong asked the maid to wait for the dry quilt, sat on the bed and gathered the quilt, and asked the maid to make the stove.

Du Qiutong sat quietly on the bed, looking at the West Chamber, which had just been burned.

She felt that before she entered Tan's house, no one should have arranged this west chamber for her, because there were even traces of damage on the brick floor of the west chamber, revealing the soil at the bottom of the bricks. When the fire was just put out, there were water marks left and right, and the water stains formed a thin layer of ice in the corners.

The dirt that came out of the bricks was mixed with the water that had been poured in when the fire had just been put out, and it became dirty mud. When the people were busy putting out the fire, they went in and out of the house, and the dirty mud footprints they stepped on were scattered in a mess in the house.

Du Qiutong watched all this alone, tears flowed down uncontrollably, and she called: "Jin Feng." ”

Jin Feng, who was making the stove, answered, then walked to the bedside, lowered his head and asked cautiously, "What do you have to say?" ”

Du Qiutong stared at Jin Feng hatefully, and asked extremely resentfully: "What the hell is going on?" How can it catch fire? ”

Jin Feng was taken aback, and hurriedly knelt down, explaining helplessly: "Auntie, I'm ...... I've really bolted the window, really, I could swear with my life! But then, the nurse beside my wife suddenly called me out and asked me to go and get wine for my aunt, and when I came back, the fire was already burning......

Suddenly, with a "snap", Du Qiutong's slap fell on Jin Feng's face fiercely, just like the slaps that Xue Qianqian had slapped Du Qiutong in public in Gufu.

Jin Feng immediately bit her lip tightly, for fear of screaming in pain, and knelt beside Du Qiutong's bed with her head down, sobbing silently.

Early the next morning, as soon as Mrs. Tan woke up, Mrs. Zhu came to report: "The old lady is awake?" Report to the old lady, Aunt Du came over just after the fifth watch, and has been kneeling in the outhouse, waiting for the old lady to wake up. ”

The old lady was stunned: "What? She came over so early? What is she doing here? ”

Mrs. Zhu replied: "I said that I came to ask for sin." ”

Mrs. Tan asked Mrs. Zhu to bring Du Qiutong in, Du Qiutong, who had been kneeling for a long time, had some disadvantage in her legs and feet, and was helped by Jin Feng to walk in, and knelt down beside Mrs. Tan's bed, and said: "It was I who disciplined my subordinates improperly, so Jin Feng broke into trouble and disturbed the master and the old lady. ”

Du Qiutong held the deed of Jin Feng to Mrs. Tan with both hands, and said categorically: "This is the deed of this maid, I will hand it over to the old lady, please send it to the old lady!" Like this ignorant maid, the old lady drove her out and sold her, and I have no complaints! ”

Mrs. Tan was stunned, and said hesitantly: "This is your dowry maid, an unusual subordinate, I sent her, and there is no place for your face." ”

Du Qiutong looked at Mrs. Tan and said earnestly: "I don't discipline my subordinates well, and the old lady doesn't punish me, it's already a gift, as for this maid who caused trouble, if she doesn't punish her, how can she clean up the family style?" ”

At this moment, Xue Qianqian's voice came from the outhouse: "Aunt Du is inside?" Before the words fell, Xue Qianqian walked in, her hair was not decorated at all, obviously she had just gotten up, and hurried over after getting the letter.

Mrs. Tan said: "Aunt Du came over when she was just five watches, and she probably didn't sleep before touching it, and she has been kneeling in the outhouse to ask for guilt." After speaking, Mrs. Tan looked at Du Qiutong, who was weak and pale, and said with a soft heart: "Don't kneel, get up and talk." ”

Du Qiutong refused to get up, but kowtowed to Mrs. Tan and Xue Qianqian in turn, and Xue Qianqian was stunned by such a big gift. Du Qiutong looked at Mrs. Tan and said sincerely: "This maid will ask the old lady to leave." I'm young and immature, and I'm not thoughtful, and I can only rely on the old lady to be tolerant in the future. ”

The old lady nodded again and again, looked at Xue Qianqian, signaled the deed in Du Qiutong's hand, and said: "Aunt Du handed over the deed of the trouble-making maid, you are the wife of the house, and this maid will be handed over to you." ”

When Xue Qianqian heard this, she immediately smiled and said, "Didn't the old lady have plans last night?" Everything is up to the old lady, and the daughter-in-law is a junior, so she will naturally do everything according to the old lady's instructions. ”

"Okay, well, since you all want me to be the master, then let me be the master." Old Madam Tan smiled very happily and said, "In this way, this troublesome maid will be sent out, and from now on, she will never be allowed to enter the door of Tan's mansion again!" ”

Mrs. Tan waved her hand again and beckoned Mrs. Zhu: "You personally go and pick two capable maids for Aunt Du to serve." ”

Xue Qianqian's face changed, and she rushed out: "Didn't the old lady say last night that I should choose a maid for Aunt Du, how could I trouble Mrs. Zhu to ...... it herself?"

Before Xue Qianqian's words fell, Du Qiutong had already kowtowed to Mrs. Tan firmly, and said happily: "Thank you for the old lady's mercy." With the maid appointed by the old lady by her side, last night's incident will not happen a second time. ”

Xue Qianqian still wanted to say: "But ......" The nurse who had been standing behind Xue Qianqian suddenly said: "That's fine." Aunt Du was frightened last night, and she didn't close her eyes all night, so she must be so tired that she should get up and use some things, and then go to rest. It's time for the old lady to have breakfast, too. ”

After the nurse finished speaking happily, she glanced back at Xue Qianqian, and after Xue Qianqian got the nurse's eyes, she gave up indignantly, and followed the nurse's words: "Yes, the old lady should also have breakfast." ”

While asking Mrs. Zhu to help Du Qiutong, who was weak, to rest, she turned her face and asked Xue Qianqian: "Where is the aragonite?" You've cleaned it up yourself, but why didn't you wait for aragonite to get up? Now go and call the aragonite and let him have breakfast. ”

Xue Qianqian gritted her teeth and said, "The master hasn't gotten up yet, I'll go and call the master." With that, he turned his face and came out of the old lady's room.

As soon as the nurse caught up from behind, Xue Qianqian said unhappily: "Why didn't you let me finish my words just now, the old lady obviously asked me to assign a maid to the cheap maid last night, but today I suddenly changed the hexagram and asked the Zhu Pozi to assign it, so how can I move the people in the cheap maid's house in the future?" ”

"Madam, you should ......be quiet first," the nurse persuaded in a low voice: "In that scene just now, if you mention this matter to the old lady again, it will only make the old lady unhappy." That cheap maid made a bitter trick, and the old lady took pity, if you collided with the old lady now, wouldn't you push the old lady to the side of the cheap maid. ”

Xue Qianqian sighed resentfully and said, "I also understand this truth, I just can't swallow this breath!" That is really good at pretending, and on the first day she entered the door, she bluffed the old lady into a smile. The old lady is shallow-eyed, and she was so happy that she couldn't find the north when she was stammered by the, I think the old lady likes the now! ”

The nurse sighed and said, "That is indeed pretending. Last night was her wedding night, and Mrs. took her father away in front of her, and the didn't know how to hate us in her heart, but instead of being unhappy, she said according to Mrs. Will. I guess that the old lady and the master must think she is sensible now. ”

Xue Qianqian was anxious: "Everyone is rare and, so what should I do?" Xue Qianqian couldn't help but scolded angrily: "Why is such a cheap maid!" How could there be such a shameless person as her in the world! is so good at acting, and knows how to lower her eyebrows and be pleasing to the eye than prostitutes! Seduced the master several times, it is even more shameless than a prostitute! ”

"Okay, okay, madam......" the nurse reassured in a loud voice, "don't be angry first, madam." If the wife has an awkward quarrel with the old lady or the master, and loses the heart of the old lady and the master, then the cheap maid will succeed. ”

Xue Qianqian couldn't believe it: "Do I have to be like that in the future, throw away my face, and flatter the old lady and the master?" ”

The nurse sighed helplessly, hung her head and did not answer, the right is a tacit acquiescence.

Xue Qianqian went back to her room angrily, and Tan Wenshi had already gotten up and washed.

Seeing Xue Qianqian coming in, Tan Wenshi said, "I heard that you went to my mother's side, and I was about to go over to look for you." ”

Xue Qianqian's heart was immediately angry, but because of the advice of the nurse just now, she didn't lose her temper directly, but just said a little angrily: "You don't want to go to me, but you want to find your delicate and weak Aunt Du." I couldn't accompany her last night, I'm afraid you've been thinking about her in your heart, I'm afraid she's not happy. ”

Tan Wenshi smiled calmly and said, "Look at what you said, yesterday was the first day she entered the door, and I didn't stay with her at night, didn't she say anything?" Don't worry, she is very sensible, even if she is unhappy, she will not lose any temper. ”

Xue Qianqian's eyes widened when she landed, and she looked at Tan Wenshi with bulging eyes, but she couldn't speak for a long time.

The nurse's voice seemed to be still in her ears, and sure enough, everyone thought that the cheap maid was sensible, and everyone was rare about the cheap maid, even Tan Wenshi, who used to speak sweetly to herself, when she spoke now, she obviously treated the cheap maid more than herself.

Xue Qianqian's heart turned back and forth, and in the end she didn't dare to lose her temper, but turned her face away slightly, and her eyes were red.

Tan Wenshi didn't react to Xue Qianqian's abnormality, dressed neatly by himself, and then seemed to be considerate and left a sentence, "You haven't dressed up yet?" You freshen up slowly, I'll go and say hello to my mother first", and then walked out.

As soon as he walked out of Xue Qianqian's room, Tan Wenshi sneered to himself.

It was the first time to see Xue Qianqian's appearance of enduring grievances and being low, Tan Wenshi's heart began to feel happy. Xue Qianqian showed off her martial arts on weekdays, and Tan Wenshi was in the way of using Deputy Lieutenant Xue's connections, so she could only endure the hatred in her heart. Today, I finally saw Xue Qianqian's eyes red once, and Tan Wenshi just wanted to applaud.

Tan Wenshi secretly rejoiced, and thought that it was really a smart decision to let Du Qiutong enter the door early.

Sending Zi'er to Gu's Academy was regarded as fulfilling a wish of Ningxia Qing, and then Ningxia Qing began to prepare for going to Liuyang County.

She mainly wanted to see if she could buy some cheap cage tobacco yarn from Liuyang County, and go to see the silkworm farm by the way.

When she heard that she was going to Liuyang County to enter the cage of smoke yarn, the old lady was just silent and did not speak, Zi'er was writing and painting on the side, and Cao's face changed and changed, and she didn't say anything after all.

Since Ning Yongda passed away and Ningxia Qing was in charge, the big and small things in this family have gradually become Ning Ningqing's idea. As long as it was something that Ning Xia Qing proposed, the old lady did not support it, and although Cao had many worries, he was warned by the old lady not to drag Ning Ning Qing back.

And when she heard that she was going to Liuyang County to enter the cage of tobacco yarn, Dong Zizhen was very surprised, and asked repeatedly: "The ...... in charge Do you really want to feed the yarn now?! ”

Ning Xia Qing nodded, Dong Zizhen was stunned for a while, and said, "What do you think about the boss...... The profit of the yarn is thin, and the cage smoke yarn is not the top yarn material, how do you like this material? ”

Ningxia Qing took out the prepared rhetoric: "The price of yarn fell last summer, seeing that the profit of yarn has become thinner, many shops no longer sell yarn, and they will no longer buy after selling out the inventory in the shop, so there are many workshops that cannot find buyers for yarn, and those workshops are now clearing the warehouse at a low price, so we are cheap to buy at this time." ”

Ning Ningqing said in a flat tone: "Since many shops don't sell yarn anymore, if only one of us has yarn, how can we not make money?" ”

"Even so......" Dong Zizhen pulled the abacus and account book, and said worriedly: "The master, it's only the first month of the month, no one has come to buy yarn at all, and we can't sell it even if we enter the cage of smoke, and during this time, we have to give the second master shares money, and we also have to give Gu Master dividends, and there is not much silver flowing in the account." At this time, the silver is smashed into the cage smoke yarn......"

Dong Zizhen, who was puzzled by Ning Ningqing's decision, spread his hands and said, "...... Where is this? ”