The mother of the prefectural magistrate celebrated her birthday, and there was an endless stream of people who came to congratulate her. Yi Xihu is the leader of Centennial County, and those who usually want to please him are even more blatant gifts at this time.

Gifts, there are always dealings, but people can't stand the fact that they always give valuables! Lin looked at the gift list presented below, those expensive calligraphy and paintings, jewelry and jade, etc., she was stunned in her heart, for fear that the other party would give you some problem to solve one day, that was really a trick for others.

Yi Xihu himself is very calm, to be exact, treacherous! He comforted his wife and said: "Anyway, you received the things, and I am the one who can do things, as long as I pretend to be stupid and don't do anything, no one can say anything!" Of course, if you don't violate the principle, I will do it! ”

At that time, when Yi Xiangxiang heard this, she also asked: "Then what if they sue you for looting the people's fat and people's ointment at that time?" ”

"What are you afraid of! Things are all sent in the happy day, what they want to send where we can stand, are the initiative to give, where we scavenge! Old lady Yi touched her gray beard on the side and smiled proudly!

Yes, a nest is greedy for money!

The autumn sun is warm and warm, making people very lazy. After a short time, the male guests all gathered in the outer courtyard, and Mrs. Yi and Yi Xihu took Yi Tangquan, a new member of the family, to entertain in the outer courtyard; The female dependents are all in the inner courtyard, after all, it is a banquet, not that the meals of relatives can be done through the screen, and men and women are still particular about defense.

In the corner of the flower hall, there are all kinds of chrysanthemums of various samples, gathered together in three or two pots, and the purple and red ones are very beautiful; On the long table are small snacks, crystal clear, and people can't help but want to take a bite.

"The concubine said hello to the old lady, and I wish the old lady a blessing like the East China Sea Shoubi Nanshan!" It was Jiang Shi, the wife of Liu Yuanwai's family, who was wearing a gold silk and eight treasures beaded bun on her head and a long skirt of crimson brocade...... Well...... Looks very ...... The pearl is round and jade, and the body is plump.

Jiang is the busiest woman Yi Xiangxiang has ever seen in this world, the Li Dynasty does not regard thinness as beauty, but Jiang is really too plump.

"Mrs. Liu is polite, please take a seat!" Mo responded with a smile, and Lin, who was in charge of entertaining the guests, immediately personally introduced Mrs. Liu into the seat; The banquet seats are all fixed, and who should be in what position is also arranged.

Lin is wearing an emerald cigarette shirt today, and the vertical skirt is quite amorous, if you want to say that there are so many ladies on the scene, who has the best appearance and temperament, it must belong to her with a face like congealed cream.

Among the girls, the most outstanding must be Yi Ruonan, the pink begonia smoke soft gauze makes her face more and more pink, very beautiful; She has gone to the county girls' school, and in just a few days, she has gained a number of fans and friends, and she is talking to her new partner at this time, a group of little girls gathered together, full of youth, which reminded Yi Xiangxiang of her high school days.

"Your sister is amazing, since she went to class, there hasn't been a day since she wasn't praised by her husband!" Yi Xiangxiang was sitting in the corner watching the beautiful girls in the room, and a crisp children's voice sounded in her ears, obviously it was a child's voice, but the tone was like an adult.

"You can't walk still? I don't know if people are scary, they're scared to death! Yi Xiangxiang was taken aback, and angrily reprimanded the person, if she knew martial arts, she would definitely have jumped up and given Liu Fangfei a palm.

The little girl who scared Yi Xiangxiang was named Liu Fangfei, the second daughter of Liu Yuanwai's family, and one of Yi Xiangxiang's few playmates.

Liu Fangfei was not angry, sat down on another chair, reached out and broke a banana, threw it into Yi Xiangxiang's arms with a light throw, and motioned for her to peel it! The latter was very disdainful of her action of "bullying the weak": "You don't have your own hands, right?" ”

"Eh, my hands are too precious!" Liu Fangfei said and stretched out her hand to appreciate herself.

Miaoqin, who was standing beside her, wanted to reach for the banana, but was blocked by Yi Xiangxiang. Liu Fangfei herself also brought a maid, she just took pleasure in calling her! Yi Xiangxiang slowly peeled off the banana peel, and then ...... Ate it yourself.

Liu Fangfei had already guessed the result, she knew that if Yi Xiangxiang could be at her mercy, it would not be Yi Xiangxiang. She knew that this little girl was not very old, her score was still very detailed, and her mind was as deep as the sea.

"I heard that you snatched a girl from my second brother two days ago? What's the matter, what's so good about that girl, take it out for a walk! Liu Fangfei asked Yi Xiangxiang while eating bananas, without the appearance of a lady.

Pull it out for a walk, what I said, I bought an animal? Yi Xiangxiang thought so, and looked at Liu Fangfei with disgust: "I didn't plan to buy it, but your second brother was unlucky and happened to be bumped into by me at that time; I'm chasing ducks to the shelves, and I can't do it if I don't make a move! ”

Yi Xiangxiang was helpless, she was really helpless, it seemed to be easy for other women to save people, but she had to be on guard everywhere, but she was not looking for trouble!

"Tsk, boring, I thought there was something special about it, it was worth your shot. Then let's talk about your sister, what's the reason, you are not in the academy, her mouth is a poem, so much so that Liu Fangmei wants to find a ghostwriter. "Liu Fangmei is Liu Yuanwai's eldest daughter and Liu Fangfei's third sister, but although the two are sisters, they have always been at odds, in Liu Fangfei's own words, they must have been enemies in their last life.

There are not many others in the Li Dynasty, that is, there are many sour and rotten literati; There is nothing fun in usual entertainment, it is not a flower viewing party or a wine tasting party, and such an occasion is inseparable from a talent show. Not everyone has talent, painting and playing the piano have to be shown on the spot, then only poetry can cheat! Tomorrow the flower viewing party, prepare a few poems of flowers, tomorrow to taste wine, then find a few words of wine; As a result, the professional technology of ghostwriting was born.

"What? Want to find a ghostwriter too? Forget it, everyone knows what your level is, don't embarrass my sister! Yi Xiangxiang sneered.

Liu Fangfei rolled her eyes and Yi Xiangxiang: "Sister also?" Can you fix your boss-loving problem, I'm twice as big as you! Liu Fangfei is eight years old this year, but she is a little older than Yi Xiangxiang.

"I'm talking about mental age." Yi Xiangxiang seeks truth from facts.

"Okay, you're mature and sensible, don't change the subject!" Liu Fangfei looked at her sister Liu Fangmei who was not far away and stood with a group of girls, and she became more and more interested in the group of people on the other side.

Yi Xiangxiang slowly turned her eyes back to Yi Ruonan and said, "The eldest daughter of the second room, she just came from Kyoto, and I don't know much about her, but she seems to be a smart one. ”

"Not only smart, but also very showy!" Liu Fangfei pursed her lips and motioned to Yi Xiangxiang to look outside the door.

I don't know when a yaoqin has been erected in the open area in front of the flower hall, I saw Yi Ruonan walking up to Mrs. Yi's side and whispering a few words to her, Mo Shi listened and nodded with a smile.

Yi Xiangxiang and Liu Fangfei glanced at each other, and they both saw the banter in each other's eyes.

Yi Ruonan tidied up her clothes and said, "Thank you ladies for coming to your grandmother's birthday banquet, how about the little girl play a song for everyone before the banquet begins?" She stood slim in the crowd, radiant.

The ladies were naturally cheering, and only listened to Mrs. Liu say: "It is naturally an honor for everyone to listen to Miss Yi's piano sound, don't you say it, ladies?" Everyone responded one after another, and the scene was suddenly very enthusiastic.

"Your mother is scheming enough, just hold people up, if Yi Ruonan doesn't play well later, her face will be lost."

Yi Xiangxiang had already asked Miaoqin to take Liu Fangfei's maid to eat under an excuse, and now she was eight meters away from them, so the conversation between her and Liu Fangfei naturally had no chance to be spread.

Liu Fangfei shrugged indifferently: "Except for her children, who is she scheming!" ”

"How many of them are there? Oh? So you found evidence that you weren't Mrs. Liu? Yi Xiangxiang asked in surprise.

"Not yet." Liu Fangfei always felt that the Jiang family was not her mother, and she didn't know why she felt this way, her mother didn't treat her lightly, but compared to the eldest brother, second brother and third sister, she ignored it a lot. She told Yi Xiangxiang about this, so the latter asked again.

In fact, not only Liu Fangfei herself, but Yi Xiangxiang also had doubts about Liu Fangfei's life experience. First, Liu Fangfei is too different from Mrs. Liu in appearance and shape, Yi Xiangxiang is a modern soul, she has taken biology classes and understands genetics, she thinks it is impossible for the mother and daughter to have nothing in common. The second is that Liu Fangfei is too much like an adult, at the beginning, she also tested her with modern object words such as "airplane" and "TV", suspecting that she was also a traverser, but Liu Fangfei knew nothing about these; It can be seen that Liu Fangfei is a real child, but she has a depth that she shouldn't have at this age, which can only say that her psychology has forced her to grow up since she was a child; This kind of growth is completely different from Yi Xiangxiang's own concept of having a soul in her twenties, and she was forced out by some external objects.

Yi Xiangxiang still remembers that time when she went to the Centennial Temple with her grandmother to worship the Buddha, and on the way back, she met Liu Fangfei, who ran away from home and was lost alone in the suburbs, and she was stunned at that time! Which young lady can leave home and come to this point? Do all the maids and women around me eat dry rice? is like Yi Xiangxiang herself, when did she go out and didn't have a lot of maids and entourage? So after excluding everything, the remaining one, even if it is impossible, is the truth, that is, Mrs. Liu may not want to go to Liu Fangfei, and the guess is that Liu Fangfei may not be Mrs. Liu's own daughter, but now they are not capable of finding evidence.

Yi Xiangxiang is treated like a child in front of adults, because her body is indeed it; But she can't play with real children, so she is always a little lonely. Liu Fangfei's different characteristics from ordinary children attracted Yi Xiangxiang's attention and made them friends.

This topic is very heavy, and it is not a suitable topic for them to talk about now, and the two will no longer talk about it, and concentrate on enjoying Yi Ruonan's piano music.

The girl sat outside the flower hall, the sunlight shining on her dress and hairpin ring refracted the aperture, which looked very dusty and elegant; A song of mountain water poured in Yi Ruonan's fingertips, and in a moment, he received countless praises, and even the guests in the outer courtyard stopped talking after hearing the sound of the piano, and they all quieted down to listen and appreciate.

It was also from this day that Yi Ruonan, the second room of the Yi family, began to officially enter the social circle of celebrities and ladies in the century-old county, and even later in Tongzhou, there were many people who came to see the beauty; Of course, that's all for later.

At this time, in Ci'an Hall, no matter how many people like Yi Ruonan, there are at least two people who disagree, that is, Yi Xiangxiang and Liu Fangfei. At the end of the song, Liu Fangfei teased: "But it's noisy enough, it seems that you, the real lady, are useless!" ”

"What ability do I have, can I not have points myself? Besides, it's not a master, she is also one of the owners of this Yi Mansion. Yi Xiangxiang said helplessly.

"Oh? What's going on? Liu Fangfei was puzzled.

"And the house, otherwise where will you get a big house and a second room? In the future, you won't call me Miss, the future Miss will be the one who just played the piano! Yi Xiangxiang said and pointed at Yi Ruonan.

"What else is going on? Why are there no rumors in the market? "Liu Fangfei's mother, Mrs. Liu, is a member of the century-old county gossip circle, which lady in this county has no real power, which girl is too arrogant, which young master is good at Longyang, she is clear, Liu Fangfei can listen to her to some extent.

"I haven't had time to pass it on yet...... Yi Xiangxiang didn't finish speaking, but she heard that the Lin family over there introduced the ladies of the second room to everyone, and invited everyone to go again during the merger ceremony to have a lively meal. Mrs. Liu also said very enthusiastically that she would definitely come and drink all the wine in Yifu. When Yi Xiangxiang heard this, she turned her head and continued: "Look, it has to spread right now." ”

"And how many teeth do you have?" Liu Fangfei no longer cared about anything else, and looked at Yi Xiangxiang with a gleam in her eyes.

"Eighth, eighth! You're satisfied! Yi Xiangxiang said viciously.

The reason why Liu Fangfei asked about the tooth order was because she said on a whim that she wanted to marry Jin Lan with Yi Xiangxiang, but Yi Xiangxiang couldn't call this sister, so she said that it should be calculated according to the order of the family; She is the second in the Yi family, but Liu Fangfei is the fourth in line, so Liu Fangfei has to call her sister. Liu Fangfei naturally refused, obviously she was bigger! So the righteous knot Jin Lan failed! Now that Liu Fangfei has caught the opportunity in the dental sequence, she will naturally not let go of laughing at Yi Xiangxiang.

So at the birthday banquet, I saw a little girl in yellow chasing another little girl in yellow running all over the yard, and the girl who was running shouted "Little Eight Little Eight ......"

Yi Xiangxiang naturally still disdains such a game of you running and chasing me, but just now Liu Fangfei was depressed for a while, and she also felt it, so she tried her best to coax her friends.

The birthday banquet of the old lady of the Yi family was decent and lively, which can be described as a joy for the guests and hosts.

It wasn't until the lights had been blown out in each courtyard that Yi Xihu, who had finished handling official business, returned to the main room from the study and saw that Lin was still holding the account book in his hand; He walked over and picked up the account book and put it on the desk, and said to his wife, "Didn't you say that you don't have to wait for me, why don't you rest?" ”

"You haven't come back yet, where can I sleep." Lin looked at his husband and said, his hands had already begun to help Yi Xihu with his clothes.

Yi Xihu stopped Lin's movements: "The night is cold, I'll come by myself, you go and lie down first." He saw that Lin was wearing a middle coat and was afraid that she would catch a cold, so he was very considerate.

After a short time, Yi Xihu lay down beside Lin with his clothes wide and hugged the latter into his arms: "You've been busy all day today, are you tired?" As he spoke, he kissed his wife's forehead.

"There are maids and women who are busy, and I'm just a talker. Speaking of Ruonan today, I was very surprised, I didn't expect her piano skills to be so outstanding, I didn't know she had such a talent before. Lin raised his head and said to Yi Xihu.

"It's not like you haven't stayed in Kyoto, there are many talented young ladies from families, although Ruonan is my niece, but this kind of talent is only good in Kyoto, not good." Yi Xihu rubbed his little wife's hair and explained the reason to her.

"Eh, she's so high-profile, and she also wants to have a long face and a good reputation!"

When Yi Xihu heard this, he smiled: "What, envy?" ”

"I have nothing to envy, our fragrance is no worse than her. A while ago, I went to Xiangxiang's courtyard, originally because my husband said that she was not serious about practicing calligraphy recently, and I went to teach her a lesson, but I didn't want to hear her compose poems, do you know what poems she wrote? ”

"Oh? What poem? Yi Xihu asked very cooperatively.

It is a poem about chrysanthemums: flowers do not bloom and flowers are bushes, and independent sparse hedges are not endless. I'd rather die with incense on the branches, how could it have blown down in the north wind! Look at it, this is the case, who can be the enemy in Centennial County now? Even if you put it in Kyoto, there are only a handful. Lin propped himself up, full of complacency: "Don't look at me, although I always hate her with iron but not steel, I am training her not to learn embroidery and not care about the rules, well, the words are not good-looking." ”

"Well, this poem is really good, even Chuan'er can't make such a poem." This daughter of her is indeed very smart Yi Xihu knows, but she didn't expect to be so talented, so it can be seen that she is usually low-key.

Lin sighed when he heard this: "I don't want her to be so smart, you see that Chuan'er was not as sensible as she is now, but because of Xiangxiang's guidance all the way, she is now more and more stable." "In the history of the Li Dynasty, there was no shortage of prodigies with precocious wisdom, and there were many who wrote poems at the age of three and painted at the age of five! But those people have not yet been stifled before their achievements have been killed, and there is no good end, so the matter of her daughter Zaohui has always been a problem for her.

"Don't worry, don't you see Xiangxiang is quite low-key in front of outsiders? It can be seen that she also knows the severity. But if you're worried, why do you agree with her to open a restaurant? Yi Xihu knew what his wife was worried about, and comforted him, and then thought about the matter of the restaurant, and asked.

"Since she has talent, where do I really have a reason to detain her? You see that she usually doesn't have many playmates, only Fang Fei is the best, since she wants to find something to do, how can I stop it? The restaurant is actually operated by her, and it is in the name of Chuan'er, but outsiders will only think that it is us elders who are holding it, which is okay. Despite saying this, Lin still sighed. Mother Liu, the nurse, has always let her relax, but as a mother, where can she really not worry.

In the main courtyard of the big house, the husband and wife chattered and talked, but Yi Xiangxiang slept soundly in her own room. She didn't know that she was misunderstood by her mother as a poetry expert, because on the day she recited the poem on a whim, the Lin family did not step into the courtyard, but quietly left.

However, Yi Xiangxiang has always known her mother's worries, so in addition to her close family, she will not expose her unique side in front of outsiders, and even have reservations about the second room that has been combined into a family in the future. She understands the truth of her guilt, and because of this, she will never take the initiative to show Yi Ruonan today, unless one day, she really has the strength to protect herself and her family.

In ancient times, when the weak and the strong preyed, only those with strength had arrogant capital.