The eighth day of the third month of the 25th year of Qingde is the 60th birthday of Mrs. Shi Tai of the Marquis of Changxing Mansion in Beijing.

The entire Changxing Hou Mansion has been busy since half a month ago, and on this day, the mansion is full of lights, and there are laughter and laughter everywhere. After the luncheon, some of the ladies and wives of the various provinces went to play cards and some went to listen to the play, and the young grandmothers and ladies were led to the lotus courtyard for a lunch break, and the bustling Hou Mansion finally regained a moment of tranquility.

Shi Jinxiu, the fifth girl in the fourth room of the Changxing Hou Mansion, chose to be a maverick, only to see her wearing a hat and holding a fishing rod, hiding under the willow tree by the lotus pond in the house, looking at the lotus leaves that had just emerged from the pond, saying that she was fishing, but she was a little absent-minded.

The reason why she is sitting here today is because of a dream she had a few days ago.

In her dream, on the day of her grandmother's sixtieth birthday, Cai Xiang'er, the sixteen-year-old eldest lady of Zheng Guogong's Mansion, drowned in this lotus pond that was only waist-deep. Then the grandmother and the eldest aunt questioned the people who were on duty in the mansion that day, but no one knew how the eldest lady fell into the water.

Miss Cai's death became a headless public case.

Since then, the Zhengguo Mansion and the Changxing Marquis Mansion have become enemies, and the two families have gradually become a fire and water.

Sometimes, one glory may not be able to be both, but one loss can be both.

Because Shi Jinxiu's father was just a concubine, their four rooms had no status in the mansion at all, and the Zhengguo Mansion deliberately opposed the Changxing Hou Mansion, and many families in the capital also stood in line, making their lives in this room more and more difficult.

And she was deceived by her third aunt Lu and married the stupid nephew of the eldest aunt Li's mother's family, and she was not allowed to die well......

The dream was so long that it seemed to have finished her life for the rest of her life; That dream was also very real, so real that it seemed to have left an imprint in Shi Jinxiu's mind, making her a little unable to distinguish between dream and reality.

So much so that she has been awake for so many days, and she still feels that she is living a little messy.

After thinking about it for a while, she deliberately stayed by the pond today, wanting to see if what happened in her dream would really happen.

"Girl, I think we'd better go back!" Because there was just a rain yesterday, after the sunny day, not only the sun is particularly sunny, but also there are mosquito bites, the maid cuckoo took the empty fish basket and persuaded Shi Jinxiu, "You have been sitting here for most of the day, and you have not seen half a fish caught." ”

"Shh Shi Jinxiu made a silent gesture to the cuckoo, "I don't mean to be a drunkard!" ”

As soon as she finished speaking, she heard someone talking behind the bushes beside her.

"Sister Shan, how could you talk like that behind Sister Xiang'er's back just now? This is going to let her know, how sad it is! ”

Through the trees, Shi Jinxiu heard that it was the second cousin Shi Pearl admonishing the fourth cousin Shi Sango.

"Oh, what did I say?"

For his sister's admonition, Shi Coral was obviously a little unimpressed.

"Don't listen to what I said!" Shi Pearl was a little anxious, "We are all women who have not left the cabinet, how can you casually spread the word that Cai Xiang'er likes the second brother?" ”

"What's this! She already likes my second brother! Isn't this here to help her so that others don't covet my second brother? Shi Coral continued, "Sister, the second brother is the grandson of the saint today, she is good and smart, and she will inevitably always be remembered, if I don't help her, with Cai Xiang'er's fat appearance like a pig, how can the second brother look down on her?" ”

How can a stony coral talk like that? It's also so hurtful! Shi Jinxiu, who was hiding behind the bushes, frowned when he heard this.

"What do you say...... Who is fat and round in the soil? That's how you see me on weekdays, Sister Shan? Originally, it was just the two sisters of the Shi family whispering, but they didn't know where Cai Xiang'er ran out.

"Isn't it? Don't you usually look in the mirror by yourself? Thinking of the people who are no one around, the stone coral, which is always delicate on weekdays, began to choke Cai Xiang'er, "I'm doing this for your good!" Don't say it's my second brother, I'm afraid even the third brother in the fourth room will look down on you! ”

"That's it! Sister Shan! Don't say any more! Shi Pearl wanted to hold the stone coral who was arguing with Cai Xiang'er.

Cai Xiang'er, who has always regarded Stone Coral as a good friend, never expected the other party to look down on her like this, and the more she thought about it, the more angry she became, so she waved her hand to hit Stone Coral.

And Shi Coral also broke free from Shi Pearl's hand and scuffled with Cai Xiang'er.

"Auntie...... Girl, should we go and fight! "The cuckoo, who was hiding in the bushes and had never encountered such a thing, was a little panicked.

"Her sister can't persuade her, what's the use of us going?" Shi Jinxiu rolled her eyes at the cuckoo.

While the two were talking, they saw Shi Coral pushing Cai Xiang'er into the water with force, making a big splash.

Stone Pearl screamed, "Why did you push people into the water?" Don't hurry up and get people up! ”

I didn't think about it, but Shi Coral smiled: "What are you afraid of, the water here is only waist-deep, and you can't drown people at all!" It's better to leave her here and let her sober up alone! ”

After saying this, Shi Coral dragged the stone pearl that turned back one step at a time, and had no intention of pulling Cai Xiang'er ashore.

"Save ...... Help me...... Cough...... I don't know how to water...... cough cough......" Cai Xiang'er in the water became more and more nervous, and every call for help made her choke on a lot of water.

Could it be that this is the reason why Cai Xiang'er drowned in the dream?

"Cuckoo! Hurry up and save people! Without thinking too much, Shi Jinxiu hurriedly climbed out of the bushes, picked up his fishing rod and stretched it out to Cai Xiang'er.

Cai Xiang'er, who had been splashing in the water for a while, was already frightened, so she didn't dare to let go when she grabbed the fishing rod.

With the help of Du Juan, Shi Jinxiu and the two of them used a lot of strength to pull the trembling Cai Xiang'er ashore.

For a while, the three of them were mud and water, and none of their bodies were clean and neat.

Cai Xiang'er, who felt that she was almost dead, was like a frightened child, hugging Shi Jinxiu and crying bitterly.

She has been afraid of water since she was a child, and even when she takes a bath, she is only willing to let the maid scoop water and pour herself on herself. As soon as she fell into the water, she choked on several mouthfuls of water, the back of her head hurt like being pricked by a needle, she desperately tried to stand up, but who knew that the bottom of the pool was full of silt, and every time she stepped on it, it was like stepping into a boundless abyss, and she couldn't pull it out.

Looking at Cai Xiang'er, who was crying breathlessly in her arms, Shi Jinxiu's heart was relieved, it seems that what happened in the dream is not unchangeable.

When she was thinking about how to comfort Cai Xiang'er in her arms, she didn't think that Cai Xiang'er wiped the tears on her face, and said very stubbornly: "Shi Sango, a two-faced and three-faced person!" I'm going to find her theory! ”