Chapter 276: People fight for a breath, but it's just for the skin

The Du family has a shallow foundation in Beijing, and Du Zhen was only a civil official who had just been out of office, so the house he was given was naturally not as magnificent as those princes' mansions. Since almost all the subordinates used are servants brought out from their hometown in eastern Zhejiang, even if Du Zhen is in prison now, the family is not chaotic, coming and going is busy with their own affairs, and they rarely discuss it in private.

The midsummer in Beijing has always been dry and hot, and the Du family does not have ice cellars like the rich and noble, so naturally they cannot place ice basins everywhere to cool off. Fortunately, a lot of bamboo is planted around Qiu's main house, and there is still some shade. Du Juan was in charge of the account room personally, and calculated the amount every day for Sister-in-law Lin, who was in charge of buying vegetables, to bring some melons and fruits, but it was the Qiu family alone, and the others were able to save money. Rao is like this, and Qiu Shi gradually saw it, and called Du Juan to him in the afternoon of this day.

"Wan'er, although there is no news from your father since he was imprisoned, even if he is here, our family does not count on his money. On this hot day, don't be too frugal and save yourself, our family hasn't reached that point yet. ”

Du Juan sat close to Qiu's family, and then said with a smile: "Mother, they all say that we will open up sources and reduce expenditures, aren't I throttling expenses first?" From thrift to luxury, from luxury to thrift, our family can not be compared with those rich and noble, and the monthly expenses must be calculated carefully. I went to visit the two Lord Shen first, although they both said that their lives were fine, but they had to keep the money in case they didn't have to? No one in this family has ever complained of suffering, if I feel bitter, wouldn't it be a joke? ”

"First of all, your father has been gone for ten years, and you have suffered a lot from being tired, and this time you are frightened." Qiu Shi couldn't help but hold Du Juan in his arms, his nose was sour and he almost burst into tears, "You accompanied the Meng family girl through the most difficult hurdle before, who would have thought that it would be our family's turn so soon?" There is also the Yuan Festival, and the good one was actually sent by the emperor to Qingzhou to kill people. Such a small young man has to carry such a big ...... Alas, what iniquity! ”

Du Juan let his mother hold him, reluctant to move away, but he didn't hear Qiu's emotions clearly for a while. At this time, there was only Shuangping, the girl who was waiting for Qiu's family, and she couldn't help but turn her head to wipe her tears when she saw this scene. Just when there was an endless melancholy in the room, Xiao Wu broke in.

"Madam, Miss, Zhang's Mansion sent someone to deliver peaches...... Uh, I'll go out and ask them to wait a little bit......"

Seeing that Xiao Wu was going out in a ghostly manner, Du Juan sat up straight and stopped her angrily: "People specially sent things over, how can there be any reason for them to wait, go and invite them in!" Shuangping, go to the back room to get a comb and a bronze mirror! ”

Qiu Shi heard that Zhang Fu sent someone to deliver things, but she was also taken aback, and when Shuangping took a tool, she hurriedly combed Du Juan's scattered sideburns, and pulled out a jade-inlaid blonde hairpin and inserted it on her daughter's head. Without waiting for Du Juan to object, she smiled and said: "Now that the Zhang family is the old lady in charge, the person who sent it may be somewhat decent." It doesn't matter if you don't use gold and jade at home, but others can't help but look shabby. Alright, let's get ready to meet the guests. ”

As Qiu said, the two daughters-in-law who came to deliver the peaches were the two daughters-in-law personally ordered by the Gu family, both of whom were servants of the Zhang family. Because it was the old lady's order, the two of them were careful in their every move after entering the Du Mansion, and quietly looked at the situation here. Seeing that the people everywhere were in good order, and they were still in good spirits when they treated people, they couldn't help but wonder in their hearts - the life and death of the master of the house were uncertain, and it was really rare for this family to be able to be so chaotic.

When they entered the main room, the two daughters-in-law saw a dignified woman sitting in the middle, and hurriedly stepped forward and bent their knees to say hello. After getting up, the elder Lin saw a twenty-eight-year-old girl standing next to him. Although it is a homely dense-colored yarn shirt and a close-colored skirt, only a golden hairpin can be vaguely seen on the head, and there is no jewelry on the hands and neck, but it exudes a noble bearing. Knowing that this was the Miss Du family, she looked at it twice, and then she took her attention.

"This is the thin-skinned and sweet Jiangnan peach that has just been rewarded in the palace today, and the old lady ordered to send a basket over for Mrs. Du and Miss Du to taste. The old lady also said that now that the third young master is not in Beijing, the family should take more care of the house. In case there will inevitably be negligence in the middle of the day, please also ask Mrs. Du and Miss Du Haihan. ”

Hearing that it was a reward from the palace, Qiu Shi was slightly stunned, and vaguely understood the meaning of the old ancestor of the Zhang family, and couldn't help but be extremely happy. After all, her husband's imprisonment home is tantamount to half the sky falling, even if she does not show anything, but in the final analysis, she is still hesitant. After all, the Zhang family is a relative of the British government, and now that she has such an expression, it is tantamount to giving her a reassurance.

Du Zhen should be safe now, as long as he knows this, it is enough.

She bowed slightly, and when she saw that the two daughters-in-law were rushing to the side and did not dare to accept the salute, she ordered someone to bring a small pestle and invite the two to sit down, and talked for a long time. Seeing that the two often asked Du Juan a few words, she couldn't help but have some reverie, and when they got up to say goodbye, she spoke again:

"Thank you for the old lady so worried, Juan'er and I are also juniors, and we should have visited us after returning to Beijing, but I have always been afraid of making trouble for your mansion by casually, so I have never made the trip. Today, the old lady asked you to send things first, and we really don't want to go. Now the weather is too hot, often dizzy, I asked Wan'er to make some mint incense a few days ago, and it can also be refreshing to use in summer, so I ask you to take it back and give it to the old lady. ”

Lin had just said a few words to Du Juan, and felt that this daughter was clever and generous, very extraordinary, and seeing that Qiu's conversation was elegant and kind, she felt more and more in her heart that Gu's sending him this time must be for Zhang Yue's marriage, and she hurriedly agreed at this time. Out of the house, there was a little girl who brought a box of mint incense, and the other gave a bag of delicate embroidery. When they got to the car outside, she and another daughter-in-law opened the bag to take a look, but they saw two small silver bills for rewarding people, and they couldn't help but smile at each other.

Here, the two daughters-in-law of Zhangfu came home from Dufu, and over there, Mrs. Lu and Zhang Qing's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law faced a clay carved wood-like Meng Xian. No matter what the two said, Meng Xian didn't react at all, and Zhang Qing, who had a dry mouth, had to leave him to take care of Meng Min, who had just woken up. Seeing that the bright and generous daughter in the past was now haggard, she couldn't help but feel distressed and sad, and took the person in her arms.

"Sister-in-law......"

When she just saw Mrs. Wu smiling and leaving, Meng Min's eyes were dark and she fainted, and when she woke up, she felt a clenching pain in her heart. She subconsciously grabbed Zhang Qing's clothes and kept sobbing, but she never let go. It wasn't until Zhang Qing patted her shoulder and back vigorously and signaled her to cry when she should cry, that she gradually let go of her voice.

At this moment, she didn't even know if she was crying about her mother or herself!

Just as she was crying in the dark, she suddenly heard a quarrel outside. Despite her grief, she staggered and sat up straight due to years of habit, took out a handkerchief and wiped her tears, and forced herself to get up and go out. Zhang Qing couldn't persuade him, so he had to support him, and when he got to the hall, the two saw Meng Xian glaring angrily at Mrs. Lu.

"I, Meng Xian, thought I was proud, and this miscalculation knocked me back to my original form! I thought I would see the light of day so easily, but I saw Madame swallowing her last breath in front of me! Brother and sister, you came back in time, but when you needed help from the Baoding Hou Mansion again and again, where were you? In the days I was imprisoned, my family was first kicked out of the Yamen of Shandong Dusi, then my wife was seriously ill, and then countless people fell into the ground...... On weekdays, colleagues who have good friendships have made turtles with shrunken heads, and Baoding Hou, who is a brother, only pleaded for intercession once and then did not come forward, this is a brother? ”

Meng Min couldn't help but be shocked when he heard his father speak so ruthlessly, and hurriedly took two steps forward and said, "Daddy, after my mother and I returned to Beijing, my second aunt often asked my sister-in-law to come to visit, and she helped our family a lot ......before and after."

"Shut up!" encountered great changes one after another, Meng Xian could no longer be happy and angry at this time, and yelled at his daughter, "Your mother is dead, you are still thinking about their benefits, do you also regret not being born into your second aunt's belly, or be your Baoding Hou Qianjin!" Your mother has always regarded you as her own daughter, and I think she has hurt you for so many years! ”

was scolded by her father all of a sudden, Meng Min couldn't help but be ashamed, angry and shocked, if it weren't for Zhang Qing next to her holding her arm, she wouldn't be able to stand. And although Mrs. Lu was angry in her heart, she thought that Meng Xian had just experienced the pain of losing his wife, and she didn't want to worry about him in general, so she had to take a deep breath.

"If the eldest brother wants to blame me and the master for not being deciful, I don't want to explain anything, but if you want to blame the four girls, it will be too unkind! In the past few months, she has taken care of her sister-in-law and the whole family on the other, and she has to take care of the burden in the family alone. For your business and sister-in-law's illness, she even made embroidery for people in Qingzhou in exchange for money, and took her mother out to seek medical treatment in the middle of the night. My sister-in-law has passed away now, and the saddest thing is not you, it's her! When the sister-in-law left, she waited for you to come back, but when the sister-in-law left, she didn't even have time to see her get married! ”

Meng Xian has no concubines under his knees, and he has always had great expectations for Meng Min, the eldest daughter of the concubine, and he just sprinkled his anger on her head in a hurry. However, Mrs. Lu's words made him lose face, especially the last sentence of the glorious wedding touched the hidden pain in his heart.

Just because of the concubine, the hereditary title has nothing to do with him; Just because the emperor protected his shortcomings, his painstaking plan was not only in vain, but also lost all his old capital; Because of the indifference of those colleagues, friends and relatives, now when he comes back, he is facing the death of his wife...... Even the daughter's marriage has to be delayed for three years due to filial piety!

Glaring at Mrs. Lu fiercely, he said word by word: "Thank you brother and sister for your concern, even if Mrs. goes underground, I will definitely let her see Minmin marry beautifully, and I will let her marry better than anyone else!" ”