He Ningxin saw that Zheng E was a little cramped, pursed her lips and smiled, and said! It's okay to give up, so she followed Zheng E to her inner boudoir to change out of the big sweater.

The two took off their coats, wearing only cotton shirts and skirts, which were much more neat.

He Ningxin and Zheng E returned to the warm pavilion together and sat on the Luohan bed.

On the small kang table of the Luohan bed, there were two plates of dim sum made inside, both of which He Ningxin had ordered to be sent to each courtyard. Zheng E obviously kept it and didn't eat it, so she used it for guests.

He Ningxin stretched out her hand and twisted a piece from the dim sum plate, put it in her mouth and tasted it a little, then put it in the small plate in front of her, and asked Zheng E with a smile: "Are you from Shouchang Mansion in the southwest?" Zheng E nodded hurriedly and said with a smile: "Brother Jian came to our southwest Shouchang Mansion to serve in the army, and he only got acquainted with my father. He Ningxin smiled and continued to ask, "Then do you have any other relatives at home?" 1

Zheng E was obviously stunned for a moment, and the smile on her face froze a little.

But looking at He Ningxin's face carefully, she smiled as usual, not impatient, nor eager, as if she really asked casually.

Zheng E lowered her head, unconsciously rearranged the dim sum in the dim sum plate with her two hands, and then looked up at He Ningxin and said with a smile: "I also have a cousin who is married in Shouchang Mansion in the southwest.

He Ningxin was not allowed to ask again, and he said it like pouring beans from a bamboo tube.

"My cousin is the daughter of my great uncle. My sister-in-law knows that our family is a military family and has been in the army for generations. My eldest uncle was unlucky, he was young and just got married, and he disappeared on a battlefield against the Qiang people, leaving behind the orphans and widows in the family. My eldest aunt was not in good health, so she soon followed my eldest uncle. Only my lobby sister was left with a daughter, who lived with my father and my mother. …

My lobby sister is ten years older than me, and when she followed my father, my father had just become married, and my mother didn't have me! Speaking of the past, Zheng E had a smile on the corner of her mouth, her eyes were a little confused, and her voice trembled slightly when she saw a colorful gold and silver silk hanging down in the corner of the warm pavilion, and her voice trembled slightly.

He Ningxin asked these words with some regret and hurriedly interrupted: "It's the sister-in-law who is not good, and I asked about my sister's sadness...... Zheng E came back to her senses, shook her head with a smile, and said, "Sister-in-law is too polite." I'm fine. They are all my family, and I will remember them for the rest of my life. It can't be that because they're gone, I won't even mention it, right? "It's very broad-minded.

He Ningxin secretly appreciated a little more in her heart, and said, "It's my sister-in-law." It's great for my sister to do that.

Zheng E pursed her lips and smiled, and said heartily: "I have learned a lot of rules from Sister Lu over the years, but Sister Lu is a person who doesn't like to talk, I look forward to someone coming to talk." … In my bones, I am still the wild girl in Shouchang Mansion in the southwest, unlike Sister Lu, who is the real girl in the family, and she is completely different from me. He Ningxin smiled: "You two have your own good, but Sister Lu is indeed a little taciturn." "Not only is he silent, but he also looks like he always has something on his mind.

Zheng E put her left hand on the kang table, held her cheeks, looked at He Ningxin's side, and said in a low voice: "Sister-in-law also sees it?" … I have been with Sister Lu for so many years, although I know that she is sincere to me, but I always feel that she has something on her mind, and I have thought about helping her, but she never says anything. He Ningxin said it casually. She hasn't been with Lu Zhenxian for a long time, and when she is there on weekdays, Lu Zhenxian talks a little more than usual, and she has a lot of eyebrows and eyes, and she can take care of people. With her, anyone has a feeling of spring breeze. … didn't see that Lu Zhenxian had something on her mind.

It's just that since Zheng E said so, she naturally has her reasons. She has been with Lu Zhenxian for the longest time and is sincere to others, and it is not surprising that Lu Zhenxian revealed some things in front of her.

He Ningxin was thinking that she would have to go to see Lu Zhenxian when she was free in the next few days, and when she raised her eyes, she saw Zheng E's red and fluttering face on the other side, which was soft and a little hard, and couldn't help but reach over and twist Zheng E's little face.

Zheng E was taken aback and forgot to stop He Ningxin's hand, and was pinched by her in a daze.

He Ningxin was amused by Zheng E's overwhelmed appearance, covering her mouth and laughing so much that her shoulders shook.

Zheng E came back to her senses at this time, and she had a childlike attack, forgetting what Lu Zhenxian often told her, she pounced from the opposite side with her teeth and claws, and made a mess with He Ningxin on the Luohan bed.

The sound of the two frolicking reached the outhouse. Fu Feng and Fu Liu guarded a small copper brazier in the outhouse, gossiping with Zheng E's eldest maid Zhu'er.

Hearing that the house was in chaos, a few maids were a little anxious, and quickly got up and walked to the front of the heavy leather curtain of the warm pavilion, slightly opened the corner of the curtain, and looked inside, but saw that it was the two masters who were playing, so they put their minds at ease, gently lowered the door curtain, and went back to the position just now to gossip.

He Ningxin and Zheng E both caught a glimpse of the figures of several maids, and they hurriedly stopped frolicking and sat up from the Luohan bed.

He Ningxin got up and straightened her clothes, and the bun on her head was a little loose again.

When Zheng E saw it, she hurriedly went to the inner room to get her own makeup box and put it on the kang table to prop it up.

He Ningxin looked at the mirror on the makeup box and straightened her hair, but she still couldn't hold it tightly.

Zheng E smiled and said, "I'll help my sister-in-law pull a bun."

As he spoke, he stood behind He Ningxin, picked up the jade comb, and quickly pulled He Ningxin's hair up.

After pulling her nose in a bun, Zheng E sat back on the Luohan bed, stretched out her hands behind her head, flipped her hands over, and pulled herself into a double-ringed bun with great familiarity.

While Zheng E was pulling her bun, He Ningxin glanced into her makeup box, but only saw a few copper hairpins inside, and couldn't help but wonder, dragged her makeup box over to take a closer look, and asked curiously: "Isn't there a proportion of clothes and jewelry in this house every year?" "Everyone generally has such rules, even the subordinates, let alone the master?

Zheng E's face turned red, knowing that she was careless again, so she hurriedly put the pair of jasper on her hand,

The bracelet, the grape leaf millet bead earrings on the ears showed He Ningxin, and said with a smile: "Of course, I wear them all on my body." He pulled out the phoenix head-turned double clamp silk hollow silver hairpin inserted on his head and placed it on the kang table.

Seeing Zheng E's embarrassed appearance, He Ningxin suddenly realized that she was rude, and hurriedly pushed the makeup box over with a smile, and said, "It's the sister-in-law who didn't let my sister be wronged." Zheng E hurriedly carried the makeup box back to the back room, came out and smiled at He Ningxin: "It's no wonder that I'm scared of my sister-in-law today." Then he raised his voice and shouted to the big girl outside: "Zhu'er, go and bring the lotus seed soup again!" She looked back at He Ningxin and said, "Sister-in-law try the lotus seed soup made by my sister to see if it suits the taste." He Ningxin said these words for a long time, and she was also a little hungry and said, "Then I'll wait and see." "The big girl outside got up and responded, and said to Fufeng and Fuliu! l The two sisters sat by themselves for a while, and I went to bring lotus seed soup over to taste it for my wife and sisters. Fuliu waved his hand and said, "Go quickly, go quickly!" Zhu'er smiled and saluted and went out. When Zhu'er went out, Fufeng and Fuliutou touched their heads next to each other, and spoke in a low voice.

Inside the house, He Ningxin also talked to Zheng E about coming to Shouchang Mansion in the southwest.

"How shameful is your cousin doing now," He Ningxin asked again.

No matter how sluggish Zheng E was, she also realized that He Ningxin's topic tonight had been revolving around her cousin.

He Ningxin's hand slowly grossed on the edge of the dim sum plate in front of her, looking at Zheng E's expression, her eyes seemed to be full of thoughts, and it seemed to be empty, making it difficult to figure out.

Zheng E glanced at He Ningxin quickly, lowered her head, folded her ten fingers around, and was silent for a while before she said softly: "My lobby sister is a hard-working person. She has no father and mother since she was a child, and grew up with her uncle and aunt, that is, my father and my mother. Later, when I was sixteen years old, I got married, and the first few years were fine. She gave birth to a son in the first year and a daughter in the second year, but in the third year, we had malaria, and my eldest brother-in-law became ill and died, and after another year, my sister-in-law's parents-in-law followed. There is only one family left, only their orphans and widows. He Ningxin had heard Jian Feiyang say it lightly before, knowing that this Zheng Jiao girl lost her husband soon after she got married, and then she lost her father-in-law and mother-in-law, so she raised her two children by herself.

"It's not easy for a widow with two children." He Ningxin couldn't help but sigh.

Zheng E nodded violently and said, "Sister-in-law is right!" My mother often said this back then, but fortunately, their family left her a tea shop and a few fields and industries, and my father was a petty official at that time, so it was not a problem to protect their family. He Ningxin smiled: "This is the road to the sky." As long as she does her duty, she will pull the two children to adulthood, and she will enjoy endless blessings in the future. Zheng E loves to listen to these words very much, and can't help but get a little closer to this sister-in-law, and said with a slight shout: "If my mother is still alive, I will definitely be able to be a confidant with my sister-in-law." … You speak exactly the same thing! He Ningxin patted Zheng E's hand with pity and said, "As the saying goes, the eldest sister-in-law is like a mother. Although I am not older than you, because you call me a sister-in-law, I will protect you with all my heart. When Zheng E heard this, her eyes were a little moist, and she hurriedly wiped her tears with a handkerchief, and said in disguise: "What's the matter today, soot keeps falling from this lampshade" He Ningxin pursed her lips and smiled, and did not expose her.

Zheng E was silent for a while, and said in a low voice: "There is one more thing, sister-in-law should also know."

As he spoke, he looked up at He Ningxin's eyes, and plucked up the courage to say, "One year, when Brother Jian was in our Shouchang Mansion, he also had malaria. He Ningxin let out a low cry. Malaria is a disease that can only be cured with cinchona.

However, the golden cinchoa of the Great Qi Dynasty was particularly scarce, and the only few taels of production every year were paid tribute to the palace. People on the outside want a penny of cinchona, not only to ruin the family, but also to risk losing their heads.

Although she knew that Jian Feiyang should have survived, He Ningxin's heart still rose to her throat.

"Come on, how did Feiyang get better?" He Ningxin asked anxiously.

Seeing that He Ningxin's calm face was a little anxious, Zheng E hurriedly comforted: "Sister-in-law, don't worry.

Brother Jane is blessed with a great life, so naturally he is fine. … It's just that at that time," she glanced at He Ningxin again.

He Ningxin felt a little uneasy in her heart, so she didn't speak, but just motioned to Zheng E with her eyes to continue.

Zheng E thought about it and said with some sadness: "At that time, my little brother was also infected with malaria. My dad is running an errand outside, I'm still young, and my mother can take care of this end, but she can't take care of that end.

When she found out that Brother Jian also had malaria, she was very anxious, but she couldn't leave me and my little brother and take care of Brother Jane alone. As he spoke, he glanced at He Ningxin apologetically.

Although He Ningxin was worried, she still persuaded her: "You don't have to worry about not going. It's all impossible, your younger brother" suddenly remembered that Zheng E obviously had no brothers and sisters.

Zheng E lowered her eyes and said, "My little brother, I didn't have that time." My mother couldn't stand it, and her body collapsed, so she didn't survive for a few years, and she went with her. He Ningxin stretched out her hand and patted Zheng E comfortingly.

Zheng E took a deep breath, looked at He Ningxin and said, "That time, my mother couldn't take care of Brother Jian. But malaria is a disease that has to be served. … So, therefore, my lobby sister took the initiative to take Brother Jian to her house and take care of it personally" After saying this, she looked at He Ningxin in a daze.

He Ningxin's heart returned to its original place, and she hurriedly got up and clasped her hands together, and recited "Amitabha Buddha" in the direction of the west to thank the Bodhisattva for her protection.

Zheng E saw that He Ningxin's face did not change, but looked relieved, and a big stone in her heart finally fell to the ground, and smiled at He Ningxin: "Sister-in-law is only worshipping the Bodhisattva now, and it is too late." He Ningxin turned around and sat back on the Luohan bed, and said with a smile: "I'm cramming Buddha feet temporarily, it's never too late." The two talked and laughed for a while, and He Ningxin scolded Jian Xiyang again, and said: "Such a life-saving benefactor, he is okay and put it aside, I really don't know how he can pull this face." When Zheng E heard this, she tilted her head and thought about it, and said, "Sister-in-law, I don't blame the eldest brother for this.

The eldest brother regained the title, and before we moved to the capital together, the eldest brother took me back to Shouchang Mansion to repair my father's grave, and by the way, I asked my lobby sister if I wanted to come with me. … My lobby sister refused, saying that she was not related to us and was unwilling to send someone under the fence. "It's a backbone." He Ningxin smiled and praised a few points.

Zheng E also smiled, "Isn't it?" "I said that since Brother Jian accepted me as a righteous sister, then my cousin is naturally also Brother Jian's cousin, how can it be called a non-parent? In the end, these words offended my lobby sister. When we were leaving, she didn't come to see us off, but just sent someone a bag of good Pu'er tea. “………，………，………，……………