Deng Yingniang is the eldest daughter in the family, and there are two younger brothers and sisters below.

The two younger brothers are older and now attend private schools in the county town. Two younger sisters, one is seven years old and the other is a toddler.

Her mother accidentally injured herself when she gave birth to her last child, and since then she has been weak and sick for many years, and she always needs to drink medicine to survive.

Her father is a local county magistrate, and he is very busy every day, although he feels sorry for his wife, he has no time to take care of the family. At this time, Deng Yingniang, who was the eldest daughter, took the initiative to stand up.

Every day she is the earliest person in the family, to arrange the family's breakfast, after her father went out, sent her two younger brothers to private school, she also rushed home to boil medicine for her mother, clean the house, and take care of her two younger sisters.

Originally, when her mother was well, she had to do some work to supplement the family, but after her mother was not well, she and her father were unwilling to let her mother go out to work anymore.

However, without this salary to supplement the family, it is quite difficult to support the family's expenses and the pen, ink, paper and inkstone of his younger brothers by relying on his father's income as a county magistrate.

Deng Yingniang had no choice but to stay at home to take care of her mother and two younger sisters while trying to find a way out.

The relationship between the Deng family and the left and right neighbors is good, there is an embroidery girl living next door to her house, before her mother was not sick and weak, Deng Yingniang will follow the embroidery as long as she has free time to practice embroidery, Deng Yingniang is already talented, plus a long time of practice, the embroidery is more sophisticated.

After Xiuniang knew the recent situation in Deng Yingniang's family, she gave Deng Yingniang a trick. In the early years, the embroidery girl was an autocratic embroidery in a cloth village in Beijing, and her eyes were not as good as before when she was old, and she was naturally no better than those young embroiderers, so she was dismissed by the owner. When she returned home, she couldn't be idle at home, and a pair of hands that were accustomed to delicate work couldn't do anything else, so she could only embroider some handkerchiefs and sell them on consignment in the cloth shop in the county, so that she could get some money.

She has been doing it for a few years, and she has a fixed way, and every month she will receive some plain handkerchiefs from the cloth shop, embroidered with some simple and auspicious patterns, or patterns of flowers, birds, fish and insects, and they all sell well. Deng Yingniang's embroidery was taught by her, and it was definitely better than the blue, so she proposed to let Deng Yingniang join.

Deng Yingniang discussed it with her mother and readily agreed.

A few days ago, the owner of the cloth shop who had been consigning Deng Yingniang's embroidered handkerchief wanted to go back to his hometown to care for the elderly because of his advanced age, so he gave the entire shop to a couple from the imperial capital, and I heard that the couple also had their own cloth shop in Beijing.

Deng Yingniang was originally worried that she was a person from the imperial capital, and she was used to seeing good things, so she wouldn't look down on the handkerchief she embroidered.

Fortunately, one day, the embroidery girl next door came to pass the word, saying that the shopkeeper and his wife had said that they would still accept their handkerchiefs, but the shopkeeper's requirements for handkerchiefs had been improved, so he wanted to meet Deng Yingniang.

Deng Yingniang agreed and followed Xiuniang to meet the shopkeeper.

The one who wants to see her is the proprietress who is a middle-aged woman with a middle and upper appearance.

The proprietress praised her a lot, and pulled her to ask many people. Deng Yingniang was pulled by her in a daze, and what did she answer.

Before leaving, the proprietress said that she really liked her, and forced a cyan burlap to her, saying that it was for her to meet her. How Deng Yingniang was willing to accept it, she naturally wanted to refuse, and the embroidery girl pulled her and whispered about the origin of the boss.

It turned out that the proprietress was originally a bride-in-waiting maid of a high-ranking family in the imperial capital, and now she has the grace of her master, and the family has taken off her slavery and lived outside.

The proprietress insisted on giving her the cloth, but Deng Yingniang had to accept it. Although this burlap is cheap, the material is real, and the younger brothers and sisters in the family have worn the old clothes for several years, and they use this material to make new clothes for the younger brothers and sisters. Deng Yingniang only thought in her heart, and then embroidered a few more handkerchiefs for the proprietress according to the number.

Deng Yingniang, who had just walked into the house with a sackcloth, pushed open her mother's door, and the two younger sisters pounced on her with cheers when they saw the material in her hand.

"Yingniang, where did you get the material in your hand?"

"The cloth shop has a new owner, and the materials left by the previous boss are willing to sell them to me at a discount." Deng Yingniang handed the material to her mother and leaned over to pick up her little sister. "My younger brothers and sisters haven't made new clothes for almost two years, and I see that this burlap is cheap and the color is stain-resistant, and I want to buy it back to make clothes for my younger brother and sister."

Due to the lack of financial resources, the children in the family have not made new clothes for many years. In the past, the clothes of the eldest children were changed to the younger ones for the children to wear, and Deng Yingniang changed the clothes that her mother did not wear.

"But no matter how cheap this fabric is, you will have to embroider a lot of handkerchiefs to change it. I know you have a lot of things to do during the day, and you go to the embroidery mother's house next door at night to borrow light and embroider. It's just that you're a young girl, I'm just afraid that I'll burn your eyes, so how will you live in the future?"

"Mother, it's okay. But a few more handkerchiefs, I embroider quickly, and I will be able to make up for them in a few days. The younger brothers are now older, and they are studying in a private school, so it's not good to wear old clothes. Deng Yingniang hugged her little sister and touched her eldest sister's somewhat withered yellow hair.

"It's all my fault, you are living like this in my womb. If your father hadn't married me back then, he would have been able to marry a woman who was the right person for him, and he wouldn't have to be suppressed all his life and could only be a county magistrate. ”

"Mother is talking nonsense again, you are our mother, if there is no mother, how can we be father's children." Deng Yingniang saw her mother crying, got up and stuffed her little sister directly into her mother's arms. "My father didn't like what my mother said."

Deng Yingniang's mother hurriedly picked up her little daughter.

"Mother, don't think too much, it's not good for your body." Deng Yingniang looked at the sky outside, counting that her father and two younger brothers were almost home. "Mother looks at my sisters, and I'll make dinner."

A few days later, when Deng Yingniang went out to buy vegetables, she vaguely felt that someone was following her, but every time she turned around, she couldn't see any strange people.

Deng Yingniang deliberately walked into a remote alley, turned around and hid in a dark corner, and sure enough, it only took a while, and a figure entered the alley.

Because of her beautiful appearance, Deng Yingniang was also harassed by some ruffians at first. However, she was born weak, but her temperament was not soft, and she worked with her mother when she was a child, and she had a lot of strength in her hands, so that none of those who tried to take advantage of her got any benefit.

Seeing that the figure was getting closer and closer, Deng Yingniang slowly leaned over and put down the vegetable basket in her hand, and casually picked up a wooden stick in the corner to make a posture. When the figure was about to walk up to her, she took a deep breath, picked up the stick, raised her foot, and swung it out.

"It's you?!" After waiting for Deng Yingniang to turn around and see the person who came, she exclaimed, it was too late to put away the wooden stick she swung out.

Fortunately, the person who came did not stand in place stupidly and was beaten, but he was still a little late in dodging, and the wooden stick in Deng Yingniang's hand still hit him firmly on the shoulder.

No one expected Deng Yingniang's hand strength to be so strong, and suddenly there was a dull pain in his shoulder, and he couldn't bear to hold his shoulder and squat.

"Hey." Seeing this, Deng Yingniang hurriedly threw the wooden stick in her hand and stepped forward to inquire about the situation of the visitor. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

"Tell me about you, why are you sneaking behind me if you have nothing to do?" Deng Yingniang helped him stand up. "Fortunately, you're not that stupid and you know how to let go, what if I break your head?"

"Just now you were walking on the road, I remembered your words and didn't dare to talk to you." The man looked up, and it turned out to be the dead grandson of the eldest princess of Yongshou, Liu Changjun. "When I saw you enter the alley and disappear again, I chased after you worriedly."

"In our small county, I know even the ruffians and hooligans, how can anything happen?" Deng Yingniang looked at him and said ruthlessly. "If you remember me, you shouldn't come to me again. As I said, my family background is not worthy of you. When I rescued you from the mountain, I just saw that there was no one in front of me, and I was afraid that your injuries would worsen and break your legs, not because I wanted you to repay me for anything. ”

"I know you're not that kind of person, but I don't want to repay you with my marriage." Liu Changjun looked at Deng Yingniang in a daze and said. "I am truly pleased with you, and I have already mentioned you to my mother."

"What?!" Deng Yingniang was taken aback.

In fact, Deng Yingniang still doesn't know Liu Changjun's true identity, she hasn't entered the imperial capital a few times since she was a child, and she doesn't even know where the gate of the Yongshou Eldest Princess's Mansion is open.

Just looking at Liu Changjun's outstanding appearance and conversation, it was somewhat similar to his mother's father's appearance when he was young, just thinking that he was a high-ranking disciple of an unknown family in the imperial capital.

Although Deng Yingniang did not go to private school like her younger brothers, she also followed her father to read and read when she was a child, and knew what Qi Dafei was.

If it weren't for my father's insistence on marrying my mother, I wouldn't have been a county magistrate for so many years, with no ability but never a chance to be promoted. But fortunately, my father has a generous heart and never feels that life is bad.

"I'm not lying to you, my mother's family background was also lower than my father's, but my parents never valued the family, and they still allowed my father and mother to marry. After my mother came in, my grandmother treated her very well. Liu Changjun looked at Deng Yingniang's suspicious face, and hurriedly explained. I told my mother about your father's official position, and she said that as long as you are good, it is enough. Grandmother and father went to her and said that at present, most of my grandmother has already responded, but my father is not in the imperial capital, and it will take some time to reply to the letter. ”

"I don't believe it." Deng Yingniang leaned over and picked up the vegetable basket that had just been put down, and missed Liu Changjun. "I'm still the same, I'm not worthy of you, don't come to me again."

Deng Yingniang said this, and without waiting for Liu Changjun to speak, she left quickly without looking back.

As a result, on the morning of the second day, the Deng family was gathering for breakfast.

The courtyard door was suddenly slammed.

"Who are you?" Deng Yingniang's father, Deng Kang, stepped forward and opened the far door, and saw a neatly dressed mother-in-law standing outside his door.

There was also a gorgeous carriage parked not far away, even though Deng Kang had been away from the circle of the imperial capital's magnates for many years, he still recognized at a glance that the sign on the carriage was from the mansion of the eldest princess of Yongshou.

"Deng Xiancheng, we are the servants of the eldest princess of Yongshou." The woman had a round face, and said to Deng Kang very kindly. "The eldest princess of Yongshou heard that you have raised your eldest daughter very well, and the eldest princess has always liked to take care of such a young girl, so she specially ordered the slave maid to invite Miss Deng to come over the house to accompany the eldest princess to talk."