The moonlight was like water, gently shining on this sheep intestine path, and also shining on the mother and daughter, reflecting the shadows of two staggering and walking, one tall and one short.

Three days ago, Yao Hei'er, her three daughters, and the youngest daughter's nurse, Mama Lu, were pulled to the village at the foot of the mountain by a luxurious silver-topped beaded vermilion wheeler.

In the carriage, Mama Lu kept shedding tears, and the five-year-old eldest daughter Du Qiong and the three-year-old second daughter Du Pei, like two frightened kittens, tremblingly curled up beside Yao Heier. Only the youngest daughter Du Jiu, who was not yet one year old, was asleep sweetly in the crook of Mama Lu's arms, with a smile on her face, as if she was having a beautiful dream.

Yao Hei'er had a straight back, sat upright, and had an expressionless face, just like she used to wait for her family to come and greet her, tell her about family matters, and wait for her to deal with them.

At that moment, she thought that her tears had been shed a few days ago.

Although there was a curtain to cover it, she could still feel how proud the man in front of her, who was riding a tall horse and urging the vehicle to go quickly.

The path in the village was in disrepair and extremely uneven, and the car was bumpy from time to time. The bodies of several people in the car shook back and forth with the bumps. The conscientious Mama Lu hugged the third lady in her arms tightly, and tried her best to give her a sense of stability and let her sleep more sweetly.

The car didn't know how long it took, and finally stopped in front of a house with gray tiles and white walls. The man violently lifted the curtain and shouted impatiently, "Quick! Fast! Fast! Get out! ”

Yao Hei'er bent down obediently, got out of the carriage, and when she was about to get off, she hesitated, and under the car, there was no stool for getting off the bus that had been set up as usual, and there were no mothers-in-law or daughters-in-law waiting to help her. She's never gotten out of the car like this and jumped straight down? Will it fall?

Don't jump?

The man next to him became even more impatient: "What are you rubbing?" Who are you? ”

Who are you? Yes, she is no longer the lady of the Great General's family, let alone the wife of the General Shenwu.

Yao Hei'er gritted her teeth and jumped directly from the car. Although she clung to the handlebars, she still shook her body, almost fell, and her feet were squatted heavily, and she felt a faint pain. She didn't care about this, turned to the car and smiled: "Qiong'er, Pei'er, come, my mother will take you out of the car." ”

The two frightened kittens got out of the carriage tremblingly, and with tears in their eyes, timidly glanced at the burly man, the man they had once called "Daddy". The man turned his head and looked at the end of the village.

Only the mother's face is still the same loving smile as usual, and there are warm hands stretched out.

After the two children got off the car, Mama Lu barely held back her tears, and also got out of the carriage, first handed the third lady in swaddling clothes to Yao Hei'er, and then jumped out of the car very gracefully, just like Yao Hei'er.

A few slaves behind the car moved a few boxes and cages down and carried them into the yard, and were about to send them to the house, when the man urged: "You hurry up, just leave them in the yard, it's getting late, let's go back quickly, there are many things!" ”

The servants made a loud noise, clang, clang, and then threw the boxes in the middle of the courtyard. As the box hit the ground, a faint layer of dust rose on the ground, hovering around the box for a moment, and landed on the box without hesitation.

A few people clapped their hands, walked out of the yard, remounted their horses, and were about to leave with their whips raised. The man seemed to remember something again, grabbed a blanket from his horse, and threw it through the courtyard wall, making a dull sound of landing.

The sadness, despair, and humiliation endured in the past few days reached a peak at this moment. Yao Hei'er's face turned pale with anger, she took three steps and made two steps, walked over and grabbed the blanket, and wanted to throw it out again. But the pampered life since she was a child has created a delicate one that she can't lift in her hands or pick up on her shoulders, and she grabbed it, but she couldn't grab the blanket; He lifted it with both hands again, and the blanket only moved slightly, and then he raised his head, and through the courtyard wall, he could already see the people, and the empty car, rumbling away.

The two frightened little girls like cats, as if they remembered something, turned around and ran out of the yard crying, chasing after the car, shouting at the top of their voices: "Dad! Father! ”

The man's horse, which seemed to slow down a bit, soon galloped up, and the horse's hooves stepped out of a puff of smoke and dust, and choked and cried as he chased the two girls who had passed by, coughing and coughing. In the end, he cried and collapsed on the potholed dirt road.

Yao Hei'er looked around, the courtyard was empty, only the east corner, and there was a stove made of adobe with a black iron pot on it.

Walking into the room, only a large kang was built at the root of the west wall, and in the middle of the house was a wooden table painted with black lacquer, surrounded by several bamboo chairs with blue color, a pottery basin, and a wooden basin stand.

The sunlight in the middle of the afternoon shines obliquely into the room through the window lattice, and the few simple pieces of furniture in the room are even more abrupt.

Mama Lu wiped her tears, handed the third lady to the eldest lady, and together with Yao Hei'er, it took a lot of effort to carry and drag a few boxes and cages left in the yard to the house. The futon inside was taken out and laid out on the kang.

The apricot red brocade bedding embroidered with the pattern of flowers and riches exudes an elegant and luxurious light, which is very incompatible with this simple house.

The second young lady Pei'er came over with a face full of grievances and shouted, "Mother, I'm hungry." Her little face, which had just cried, had a few black marks crawling. It's the result of tears and dust.

Yao Hei'er flipped her arm, beat her almost tired waist, tried to squeeze out a faint smile, and squeezed the child's somewhat scattered sideburns behind her ears, and said softly: "Good boy, don't worry about this, we have the snacks we brought, and wait for my mother to bring them to you to eat." ”

But in which box is the snack in? Yao Hei'er couldn't remember for a while, the master and servant could only turn a few boxes upside down, and only then did they find a red carved lacquered snack box in the corner of one box. In the dim sum box are several delicate pastries, including peony-patterned dough fruit, osmanthus roll crisp tea cake, osmanthus chestnut cake, and mung bean and date paste filling.

This box of dim sum has become a meal for five masters and servants for a day.

After eating the snack, Pei'er pursed her lips again and said aggrievedly: "Mother, I'm thirsty." ”

Mama Lu hurriedly put the third miss Jiu'er on the paved kang, and said with a smile: "Second miss, wait for me to pour you tea." ”

But what about tea?

Yao Heier and Mama Lu searched together, only to find that there was a water tank in the corner behind the door of the house. Mama Lu hurriedly walked over and lifted the wooden lid on the cylinder, which was empty.

Where do I get water? And what should I use to get water? Twenty-five-year-old Yao Heier encountered such a problem for the first time.

Mama Lu folded her hands helplessly and said, "Madam, it's all my dereliction of duty, I'll go to someone else's house to ask and see where there is a well." ”

That being said, where is the bucket? Even if they had buckets, who of them would carry water? And where are the teacups? And where is the tea? Even if there are no teacups, where are the dishes? And how do you make a fire? Yao Heier has never done such a thing, and Mama Lu has not done it either.

Mama Lu is actually very young, two years younger than Yao Hei'er. It's only because she is the wet nurse of the third young lady Jiu'er that she is called Mama.

Mama Lu is actually not surnamed Lu, her maiden name is Zhong, and she has a very nice name called Cuiling.

Once, Yao Heier was the daughter of Yao Dian's family, the general who protected the country, and Zhong Cuiling was the girl she grew up with. Later, Yao Heier married Du Xin, the general of Shenwu, and Zhong Cuiling became her dowry girl.

In the Du family, Zhong Cuiling was assigned to a servant named Lu Chang and gave birth to a son named Lu Tai. This Lu Tai is a few months older than the third Miss Jiu'er. Yao Hei'er also ordered Cuiling to be Jiu'er's wet nurse. Cuiling became Mama Lu.

On the way here, Mama Lu was crying in the carriage, not only for the expulsion of Yao Heier's mother and daughter, but also for the separation of herself from her son. Will she ever see her son again?