Chunying stood aside, bowing her head respectfully and listening to the command. Next to her stood a girl about her age. Looking at the eye, although she seemed to be equally calm on the surface, the performance of blinking from time to time at that time betrayed her nervousness.

On the main seat sat the second wife Zhuo, in her thirties, not beautiful, but the temperament is very dignified and gentle, thin long eyebrows, a touch of fat powder, snow-white skin, no wrinkles on the forehead, a green silk coiled into a simple bun, wrapped in black silk cloth, and two jasper hairpins, except for a pair of jade bead earrings and a green jade bracelet, there is no other decoration. As she drank tea, she casually flicked the lid of the tea bowl, revealing her slender fingers, and the nails on her head were not painted with dancôme, but they were obviously carefully cared for.

Aunt Xu sat on the pedal, reported the affairs of the house to the Zhuo family one by one, and explained the newly arranged several girls and daughters-in-law who were waiting close and the little maid who the fourth young master went out to summon, and then pointed to Chunying. said: "This is for the old lady, called Chunying, who is older and understands the rules, so it's okay to call in the house." He pointed to Chunying's side again, "This one was bought by a man, her real name is Sister Liang, the former owner was a prefect, and she was sold because the owner was bad." I see that she has a good temperament, and she has also returned her duty, and she has taught some rules, and I want my wife to take a closer look. There are also two younger ones, who were originally called by the tea room and needlework room in Xifuli, who are just doing rough work to call back, and are now waiting outside the door. Do you want to call your wife and see? ”

Zhuo Shi casually swept the eyes of Chunying and Sister Liang, and said lightly: "Since it is the person chosen by my mother, it is naturally good, just take it directly to see the old lady, and ask me what to do?" ”

Aunt Xu smiled: "I'm not afraid of Mrs. jokes, I'm dizzy, I may not see carefully, besides, the old lady has lived in the south for a few years, maybe her preferences are a little different, I am also worried that the person I picked is not in line with the old lady's wishes, so I specially came to ask Mrs. to show me." ”

Zhuo Shi smiled: "Mom is also polite to me now." That's it. In that case, I asked a few questions. Called Chunying to step forward: "What's the surname?" Whose daughter is it? Where were you waiting before? Chunying answered honestly, this kind of thing can't be hidden, it's better to take the initiative to say it, and you can get a good reputation for confession.

As soon as Zhuo heard that she was the eldest girl who had waited for Miss Huo Jiabiao, he said, "So it's her?" After she got married, she went south with her husband to take up her post, passing by us, and came to visit her, but I went out of the city with my lord to fast, and I couldn't see her, and when we came back, she left again. But the old lady kept her for one night, and I heard that we had a good conversation. It's just that since you have waited for the young lady, with such qualifications, and at such an age, why do you still come to our house to find an errand? ”

Chunying hesitated, she wanted to tell the truth directly, so as to show her innocence, but does this situation count as saying bad things about her previous employer? She wasn't sure if this lady would have the same thoughts as the HR director of a modern company. Do you want to do this as a taboo?

Fortunately, Aunt Xu was very eye-catching, and whispered next to the second wife, as if she had told the ins and outs of the matter. Zhuo Shi frowned slightly, and there was a hint of mockery in his eyes. The big girl standing behind her seemed to hear a few words, covered her mouth and whispered to her, "That one looked fine in the past, why is he so out of tune?" Zhuo glanced back at her, and she smiled busily, still standing behind her.

Chunying secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and was thinking about whether to show that she had no dissatisfaction with her past employer? In any case, the old and new employers are a family after all.

In the midst of distress, there was a sudden commotion outside the door. Zhuo's brows furrowed, and Aunt Xu had already opened her mouth to ask: "Who is making noise outside?!" ”

The voice outside was quieter, and a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl walked in, and curtsied back, "Back to Mrs., it's the narcissus girl who wants to see Mrs. ”

Zhuo Shi said lightly: "Let her in." Aunt Xu sat back on her pedal, a little impatient, and the big girl laughed even more. Chunying couldn't help but wonder, who is this?

It was a beauty who came in, and she also brought a girl. This beauty has willow eyebrows, slender phoenix eyes, cherry mouth, thin face and slight cheeks, the corners of her eyes are slightly charming, and there is no gold and silver hairpin ring on her head, only a half-opened peach blossom is obliquely inserted. In early spring and February, the weather was still very cold, but she wore a dress made of silk, pink and purple. Tied with a green scarf, he walked in with a gust of fragrant wind, and Tingting blessed Zhuo's family: "I've seen my wife......" The voice was as weak as if she hadn't eaten for three days.

Zhuo Shi was very polite: "No courtesy, I don't know what is the matter with the narcissus girl coming here?" ”

The narcissus girl looked sad and stopped talking, but Aunt Xu looked away with disdain, but the girl who came in with the narcissus stepped forward and replied: "Madam, the housekeeper in the house sent two little girls over, saying that they were for our young lady, but those two little girls are too stupid and don't understand anything!" Our young lady is a coquette, where have we been wronged like this? Please take those two men away, and only ask the people we have brought in to wait, and if you are short of manpower, you will call for them. We don't have to worry about the arrangement of the house, so let's buy someone to call it ourselves. ”

Chunying was dumbfounded when she heard this, who is this? Sounds like a guest? But how can there be such an unkind guest in the world?!

Zhuo Shi smiled and didn't say anything, and the girl behind her reprimanded: "It's so unruly!" Why don't you even know what to call it?! You Narcissus girl was given to our master as a concubine by the general, and now the master is not at home, and when the master comes back, he will show the old lady. Give your girl a promotion, so that you can call your aunt, and now you only call the girl, where is the young lady? No jokes! Furthermore, who in the family did not rely on his wife to assign people to wait? Are you still in the general's mansion, there are generals who are spoiled, only treat yourself as a petite, and do whatever you want? Don't take the wife in charge of the house? ”

Aunt Xu saw that the girl was flushed with anger, and she also smiled contemptuously: "The girls sent over are all born from the family, and they can't be more honest." is also diligent in doing things, where did you wronged the girl? The male servant and the rough daughter-in-law were in the outer court, and as for the man...... Our family is not a small family outside, anyone who is not a small person can come in! ”

"Okay, what's the matter!" Zhuo Shi reprimanded the two of them lightly, sat upright, and smiled at the narcissus girl, "Since the assigned manpower is not to your liking, I will ask someone to send two more girls when I go back." In the future, don't say anything about your house, our family and the like, you have already entered the door of our house, why are you still so foreign? Tired along the way, right? Your girl is also ignorant, a little thing, and you have to say it in person? Go back and rest. He also called the girl who was guarding the door: "Wanfu, why don't you go out with the narcissus girl?" ”

The Wanfu girl immediately walked up with a smile, and dragged the person away half-pulled and half-dragged, and the girl who was so angry that the narcissus stomped her feet, glared at Zhuo Shi fiercely, and followed out the door. Zhuo's didn't care, and only ordered Aunt Xu: "Go back, you will send two more family girls over, you have to be smarter." Those two people in the outer courtyard, you tell people to keep an eye on them, if there is any bad behavior, just get rid of it. "Aunt Xu is busy.

The girl standing behind Zhuo Shi seemed to be a little dissatisfied: "Mrs. is too wide, right?" How many days has it been since the master came? All day long! Her girl is even more unruly! For Aunt Xi, she went north with the master, but she didn't call her, and she didn't even pay attention to his wife, what a child! Aunt Xi was personally trained by the old lady, where can she be compared to someone like her? It's just a thing, and the lord didn't say what to do with it, so the wife simply sent it away, wouldn't it be better than telling other people's families to know in the future, and laughing at us? ”

Zhuo Shi said lightly: "Feng Ming, now that you have returned to Beijing, you can't mess around like this anymore." The girl shut her mouth shut.

Zhuo Shi returned to the topic, and looked at Chunying again: "I know everything about you, it's just ...... You are not young anymore, if you want to make your family better, why not just find a good family to marry? and no longer have to come in and make a living as a waiter. ”

Chun Ying could hear it clearly. There is an aunt Xi who is "personally trained" by the old lady, it turns out that the second old lady will also give the girl to her son as a concubine, in order to prevent extraneous branches, she replied: "Back to the wife, the slave maid's family has already set up a family affair for the slave and maid, but the other party has something to go to the field, and it will take three years to return, so the slave and maid want to take advantage of this time to come in and be a few years old." ”

Zhuo never imagined that Chunying actually had a family, but considering her age, it was not surprising. Jiuru, the eldest girl next to her daughter, has had a family since she was a child, and she should get married after returning to Beijing this time, but Chunying is not young, and she has set a family affair, so she can only wait for a few years, which is inevitably a little chicken.

Seeing this, Aunt Xu whispered: "Madam, I remember that several girls in the old lady's house, except for the mandarin duck who was married in office, and the magpie who was given to the master, the rest of the parrots and snow cranes have reached the age of matching, right?" ”

Zhuo Shi nodded slightly: "You are right, after all, it is not as comprehensive as the house outside, and there are few people waiting, and there is nowhere to find the right person to go for a while, this girl can wait for three or two years, and when she wants to go out, the newly transferred girl can also be called." I also felt that Chunying was set by someone, and I didn't think I would have any restless thoughts, so I could use it with confidence, so I added a smile: "Which one are you promitting?" It would be better if it was our family. ”

Chunying bowed her head and said, "It's a family in Qingrundian Town, Jingnan, and the family is doing some small business." He is now out of the house to sell goods. ”

Zhuo nodded: "That's okay." He turned to Sister Liang again and asked a few questions, and Sister Liang answered carefully, but still nervous. Zhuo didn't say he was satisfied, nor did he say he was dissatisfied, and called a few rough girls into the house to look at each other, and after a while, he said: "Chunying and Sister Liang will follow me to see the old lady, and Mother Xu will take the others to find Brother Parrot, let her take her to work, try it in the old lady's courtyard for two days first, and then change it if it is not good." ”

After saying that, Zhuo stood up, ordered Fengming to help get dressed, straightened his waist and liver, and walked towards the courtyard of Sanjin. Chunying hurriedly followed, Sister Liang's feet were a little soft and crooked, she hurriedly reached out to help her, and held the other party's elbow and walked forward a few steps slowly, and waited until Sister Liang stood firm before letting go of her hand, and got a grateful look. Feng Ming turned around and saw it, and deliberately glanced at Chun Ying a few times.

The second old lady Guan lived in the third courtyard on the main road, because she had just arrived, the yard was full of luggage, and the girl shuttled around. Zhuo Shi looked at it and ordered Aunt Xu and Feng Ming to stay and help, and brought Chunying and Sister Liang into the house.

The second old lady was resting on the couch, and when she heard that her daughter-in-law had brought the girl who called her, she said, "You have the idea, and I have enough people here." It's no different from being at home outside, so why bother putting on that show? ”

Zhuo Shi hurriedly smiled: "Although my mother saves trouble, it's just that my relatives are here, and it doesn't look like it." For those ordinary people, there are more than four girls in the family, why should the mother be polite to her son and daughter-in-law? Besides, Brother Parrot, didn't their family already tell them about their family? When they go out, what will happen to the mother? Naturally, there will be more people. A good life for our mothers is the blessing of our younger generations. ”

The second old lady rubbed her forehead: "I forgot about it." I'm old and have a bad memory, so maybe they're all complaining about me in their hearts. The girl who was working on the mallet next to her raised her little face and smiled: "The old lady has wronged us by saying this, we can't wait for the old lady here for a lifetime, and we are afraid that the old lady will think we are stupid." The second old lady smiled: "Nonsense, how can there be a reason why a girl will not marry when she is older?" Then he asked his daughter-in-law, "Are those two people you brought?" ”

Before Sister Liang moved, Chun Ying stepped forward to greet her first cleverly: "Kowtow to the old lady." Slave Chunying, may the old lady live a long life and all the best. Sister Liang hurriedly bowed down.

The old lady smiled: "Look at the cleverness, which child is it?" ”

Zhuo Shi pointed to Chunying and said: "That good sister was bought from outside, and this Chunying is the daughter of the old Lu family." Does the mother remember the niece and daughter of the Huo family? When she lived in the West Mansion, this girl was waiting in the house. ”

"Oh?" The second old lady seemed to remember something, "Surname Lu?" Lu Chunying? You were originally waiting for your brother, right? Can cook? ”

Chunying was very surprised: "Yes, the slave maid has been a rough maid in the third young master's courtyard for more than half a year, and then she went home due to illness and raised her for a year. ”

"That's it." The second old lady said with a smile, "When Sister Yi came to see me, she mentioned her days in Beijing, saying that a girl sent by Xifu to wait was very good, and she usually didn't flatter, but when she saw that there was something wrong with her, she often persuaded her." She always said that she was ignorant at the time and didn't take the girl's words to heart, but when she remembered it later, she realized that everything was for her good. On the day she left Beijing, the only person she had served was this girl who quietly ran to see her off. Since your name is Chunying, you think it's this girl? But how did you come to our house again? ”

Chunying never thought that Miss Huo Jiabiao had said good things about herself in front of the second old lady, and she was full of emotion for a while, and was about to answer, but Zhuo Shi opened her mouth first: "Since her nephew's daughter is married, this girl has no errands, and it is not reasonable to be idle at home. Since her mother thinks she is good, she is just right to recuperate, and when she gets married in the future, she will also be more decent. ”

The second old lady smiled and nodded: "This is very true." Sister Yi gave me a lot of good medicine, and her son-in-law recommended a good doctor. Since this child is her girl, I will take care of it for two years, and I should repay Sister Yi's love. ”

Zhuo Shi hurriedly called Chunying: "The old lady left you, don't you want to thank you?" Chunying didn't expect that she would pass the test so easily, and she was still thankful for being busy, and she was relieved.

Although the situation in Dongfu is also quite complicated, the wife in charge seems to be quite able to suppress the scene, and the two generations of housewives are good to her, so she must not be sad in the future, right?

It's just that with the ups and downs, going round and round, she has started her career as a maid again, will she be able to do everything well in the future?

(End of Volume V).