On the day of the Midyear Festival, there was a noise in the Pingyang Hou Mansion before dawn. The eldest aunt, Zhu, commanded the domestic slaves to set up the offering table, three animals and incense burners in the ancestral hall.

Rumeng still got up and bathed as usual, changed into plain clothes after breakfast, combed his bun, and only used two head ropes with pearls on them. Plain and dignified, and does not look petty.

At this time, there was a crying sound from the South Courtyard, which sounded like a bead, whimpering and saying something.

In the Dongjingtai Hutong where Rumeng lives, from south to north, there are the eldest daughter Ruyan, the third lady Ruzhu and the fourth lady Rumeng. After the eldest sister got married, the small courtyard was always empty, and it was only used for rest when she returned to Ningning. And Ruzhu and Rumeng's small courtyard are only separated by a wall.

"Ping'er, why is it so noisy in the south courtyard?"

"Miss Hui, how does the slave sound like Miss Three?"

"Alas, let's go, follow me to see, the elders are busy with the autumn festival today, and they can't take care of the backyard, so don't have an accident."

Out of the courtyard door, the left hand is not far from the courtyard gate of Ruzhu Courtyard, before stepping in, I listened to the noise and crying, Rumeng stepped up a few steps, walked to the room, only to see a mess, Ruzhu sat on the ground and covered his arms and cried.

Opposite her stood a young girl, about the same size as her, wearing a pink dress and pink dress. The girl's face is a little yellowish, and there is a small mole on the left corner of her mouth, but it is not ugly, and it is quite morbid and beautiful. I am afraid that if you sit on the ground like a pearl, it must be the maiden's doing.

"Third sister, close the voice, the grandmothers are busy worshipping their ancestors, don't collide"

As he spoke, he went over and helped Ruzhu with his own hands.

"Which sister is this, didn't you find a complaint?"

The girl in front of her was very relaxed, as if she were in her boudoir, crusading against the intruder.

"You don't want to talk nonsense, I haven't left since you came to my yard and said you wanted to have breakfast together."

Ruzhu said aggrievedly.

"Third sister, what kind of trouble are you doing, why do you still cry if you just use breakfast?"

It is like a dream that is very incomprehensible.

"Cousin Danzhu came to my yard early in the morning and said that she hadn't seen her for a year, and wanted to have breakfast together. After eating, he said that he wanted to see my wardrobe makeup box. I bought it with my own private money in the Makeup Pavilion, thinking that I would wear it next year. My cousin insisted that she loved it very much, and took it away, but I refused, and she even broke my hand with a walk."

After Ruzhu explained, Rumeng probably knew who this girl was.

This is Bi Danzhu, the eldest granddaughter of the fourth aunt's grandmother, who is as old as Zhu for more than half a year. The fourth aunt and grandmother ignored the opposition of their great-grandfather and married a small commander of the Terracotta Division, Bijie. At the age of thirty-nine, he was widowed, and his son was brought up, and his son was still a champion in the Toad Palace, so he went to another county to serve as a county leader, and took his mother, wife and daughter to the county. The great-grandfather cherished his daughter, and then handed over a few acres of fiefdom in the county to his daughter to manage, so that their orphans and widows could have something to rely on.

If you dream and can't be provoked, the fourth aunt and grandmother were very spicy when they were young, daring to love and hate, and their mouths were unforgiving. It seems to be a bit more circuitous.

"If you dream of seeing cousin Danzhu, it is better to change to other jewelry, this step is very important to the third sister"

"Wasn't the third sister the best with me when she was a child? You also said that our names all have a bead character, the most caused, didn't you share some good things with me in the past, why are you so stingy today?"

Nabi Danzhu didn't pay attention to Rumeng, and only inquired about Ruzhu. And Ruzhu just kept crying, as if what she should have said had already been said.

sighed lightly in the dream, in the past, only he was robbed, but now it is feng shui in turn. I had no choice but to change the number of ways

"Cousin, the color of this step is not for you, and it is too small. My cousin will go with me to my sister's yard, my sister has a lot of polished pearl powder, which can whiten and grow skin when applied to the face, if my cousin likes it, I can give it to you."

"Really? The fourth sister is really generous, then I'll go with you to take a look, and your steps will be returned to you."

Bi Danzhu's eyes lit up, and he suddenly became happy again, and threw the pair of steps into Ruzhu's arms in disgust.

"What are you waiting for, fourth sister, hurry up, grandmother should look for me at noon"

After that, Bi Danzhu walked out like a dream, his hands were quite strong, and his life hurt.

Rumeng thought that this episode would pass quietly. Bi Danzhu sat with her for a long time, asked Ping'er to serve her with pearl powder, and looted many rare things before leaving.

Shen Shi is coming, and the people of Pingyang Houfu are gathered in the ancestral hall, and the men of the Liu family are in the hall, and the third uncle takes his uncle Liu Yi, father Liu Chang and all the juniors.

The old lady Liu Zhu took the ladies of the big room and the second room to stand in the courtyard of the ancestral hall to worship. The whole process is tedious and lengthy, and it goes on until the unitary time.

was eating the ancestor worship meal, and saw the second sister Rutong look at the table when no one was paying attention, and squeezed her eyes towards Rumeng. If she dreamed, she must have gone back to be lazy, but she was negligent for a while and buried a grudge with Bi Danzhu.

On the second day of the autumn festival, Granny Yan came to the door after having breakfast in Rumeng, saying that the old lady had something to ask. If I dreamed that she had a serious expression, she didn't dare to delay, so she hurriedly put on a gown and went to the upper room.

"Grandmother Ann"

"Have you ever had breakfast when I called you over so early?"

"Back to my grandmother, I used it in my dreams, and I was practicing calligraphy when I came"

Rumeng squinted and saw Rutong kneeling on the ground, as well as the eldest aunt who greeted her angrily, and replied cautiously.

"I want to ask you for something, yesterday I heard that Danzhu from your fourth aunt's grandmother went to Dongjingtai Hutong, stayed for a while, and took a lot of things before leaving, did she fight for those things or did you give them?"

Rumeng's expression was slightly surprised, and her grandmother mentioned Dongjingtai Hutong, it seemed that she knew that Bi Danzhu had been to the third sister and her own courtyard, that is, what had happened, and the grandmother knew very well, but now she came to ask, she must have wanted to give the fourth aunt and grandmother a face and solve the matter. What happened, why did the second sister and the eldest aunt go to the upper room?

"You just have to answer truthfully. Your second sister went to the guest room last night and threw your cousin Danzhu's clothes and utensils into the lotus pond, no matter what the truth is, her punishment is indispensable."

Rumeng was surprised when she heard it, the second sister didn't eat the ancestor worship meal yesterday, and left halfway, it was for this.

Grandmother saw that Rumeng looked at Rutong from time to time, and she didn't answer for a long time, and she was a little annoyed. The fourth aunt and grandmother came to the room angrily in the morning to complain, saying that although she married into the Liu family, she was still an elder, so why did she never have any affection? The old lady said that she would be severely punished, and she persuaded her to go back to the guest room.

"Look at what she has done, do you still want to make up nonsense to deceive me?"

"If you don't dare to dream, go back to your grandmother, those objects are given to your cousin by my granddaughter when she sees her cousin's favorites"

"Fourth sister, don't be afraid of them, this is our own house, what do you want to reward who can't help others, but I haven't seen the reason for coming to people's mansions as guests, and robbing them clearly"

"If Tong Xiu wants to talk nonsense, you still don't repent in front of your grandmother, it seems that you are becoming more and more unreasonable, where have I disciplined you on weekdays, you think you are the market shrew"

The more the aunt spoke, the more angry she became, and finally she began to sob.

"Okay, the four girls have already made it clear that those objects are given to the cousin girl, so your mistakes will be real, it stands to reason that how to punish you is your mother's business, but you are too much nonsense this time."

The old lady was also annoyed for a while, but it was not easy to meddle in the issue of her niece's godson, so she thought about it and added a sentence

"On the first day of the new year, I went to Xiangyun Temple to worship, your mother and daughter stayed at home, the autumn festival was also busy, and I didn't have time to rest, and I didn't have to accompany me, the fourth aunt and grandmother still had to live for a while, saying that they wanted to go to Xiangyun Temple together, just with me"

"Yes, mother, daughter-in-law knows"

The eldest aunt knew that the old lady was punishing them by grounding, but she didn't dare to put her emotions on her face.

"If you want me to say that Rutong and Lu have been together for nearly a year, the marriage should have been planned earlier, and you should also mention it to the boss during this time."

"Grandmother, Tong'er is wrong, you don't want to drive Tong'er out"

When the second sister heard about the marriage, she couldn't stop crying anymore.

"What nonsense, your big sister is also married at your age. Grandmother wants to drive you out of the house, and set up the rules early, so that you will not be unpopular in your husband's house in the future, go, go back with your mother."

The eldest aunt also felt that the old lady's thoughts were very reasonable, and after thanking her, she and Rutong returned to the West Courtyard.

"The temper of the second girl is still quite similar to your fourth aunt's, she doesn't look back, and she is very straight. Grandmother knows that you are delicate, and you are calm among these granddaughters, and she will persuade them not to be impulsive in the future."

"The granddaughter saved, but the grandmother Lao bothered"

"I know you can't get close to me. You have a steady temperament and a smart mind, so you don't need me to elaborate, you should understand the truth of sharing honor and disgrace, and I hope you will be less indifferent to the Pingyang Hou Mansion in the future. ”

Rumeng was surprised to find that even though she had nearly 40 years of experience, she was still seen through by her grandmother at a glance.

It seems that the stolen forty years are just a struggle for survival trapped in the inner courtyard of the deep house, and all I can see when I raise my eyes is a piece of sky the size of a palm. Why did she never think about getting out of the cage and living a new life in style? That day of melancholy and depression may not be the only ending!

The day of the first day of junior high is coming soon, and Rumeng has been thinking about various ways to escape for a few days, and even thought of making herself sick and missing the encounter with the Fang family's mother and son. But after careful consideration, I felt that it was not safe. Thinking that the third sister still won the eyes of the old grandmother by chance, she knew that everything would not be bypassed because of avoidance, only step by step.

In the end, he got on the carriage to worship, because the second sister was still angry, and deliberately turned his head not to look at her when he saw her off early in the morning.

On a dewy autumn morning, a group of horse-drawn carriages galloped on the official road on the outskirts of the city. Like a dream, the body is warmed in the morning light of the newborn, and the heart gradually feels warm.

The carriage stopped at this time, and Ruzhu stood aggrieved outside the car

"Fourth sister, I want to share a ride with you"

He had a handkerchief in his hand, and he looked very uneasy.

Rumeng was helpless, sighed and said

"Ping'er, you go to the carriage in front and sit in it, and help the third sister up"

After hearing this, Ruzhu's smile hung on her face again, and she jumped into the carriage without waiting for Ping'er to help.

In order to catch up with my grandmother's car, I was moving much faster than before, and I heard only the sound of horses' hooves outside the car, accompanied by shouting

"I'm tired of the car in front of me, it's convenient"