On the first seven days of the funeral, the whole family went out of the city. There is a nunnery in the western suburbs of the Earl's Court, called "Shuiyue Nunnery", and the owner of the nunnery is said to have some relationship with the house, and Fang Ning once lived here for a period of time.

The old lady's coffin was temporarily parked in the nunnery, and when the hour came, it was carried to the open space for cremation. After a burst of mourning and weeping, the ceremony ended, some hurried back to the city, some stayed to take care of the aftermath, and the ladies were welcomed to the nunnery for a short rest, and after eating fast at noon, they could go back to the house.

Shuning was in the same room as her sisters, and the two sisters-in-law were also together, but because she had to help her mother-in-law Nala take care of affairs, she couldn't rest and rest.

Fang Ning was very familiar with this place, she knew every nun, and even took out the tea set in the cabinet by herself to make tea for the sisters. Shu Ning looked at her actions and felt that she was more comfortable here than at home.

Wan Ning still looked listless, sniffing from time to time. Yuan Ning sat bored, occasionally flipping through the Buddhist scriptures at hand, and when she saw Wan Ning's appearance, she pursed her lips disdainfully.

Seeing Fang Ning coming over with tea, Shuning hurriedly got up and said, "Big sister, sit down, let's just pour it down and drink it ourselves." Fang Ning smiled faintly: "I'm used to living here, I'm very familiar with every grass and tree, and I can be regarded as half a master." There are few people here, and our maid ring did not follow, if you wait for someone to wait, I am afraid that no one will come to die of thirst. She put the tea in Shuning's hand and brought another cup to Wanning.

Wanning was stunned, and said unenergetically: "Let it go, I don't want to drink it." Shu Ning and Yuan Ning looked over at the same time, but Fang Ning put the cup in her hand absently and walked to the futon at the other end of the room and sat down. Recite the scriptures.

After a while, perhaps finally feeling thirsty, Wan Ning picked up the cup and took a sip. "What kind of tea is this?" Why is it so astringent? ”

Shuning said: "It's not as good as at home, what does it matter if the tea is worse?" A place for monks. Naturally, there will be nothing too good. Wan Ning frowned and put the teacup aside.

Yuan Ning couldn't get used to it, and said, "Second sister, now that the old lady has passed away, no one spoils you anymore." I advise you to be more restrained. Wan Ning said unhappily: "When is it now, you still only think about these things." Yuan Ning raised her eyebrows: "Do you know what time it is now, and are you still picky about other people's tea?" Wan Ning argued: "I'm just saying it casually, and I don't mean it." It's you, who spend all day trying to pick on my thorns. ”

Yuan Ning sneered and put the teacup in her hand on the table: "My sister is also kind, don't you don't know the hearts of good people." No matter how much you pretend to be, you can't fool my eyes, so I advise you to be more restrained. Don't be so frivolous! Do you think you're still the same lady you used to be? The old lady is gone, and the uncle and aunt will not indulge you so much. ”

She saw a gloomy look on Wan Ning's face, and her heart was happy: "What a pity." Originally, the fifth elder brother looked at you differently. The Queen Mother also spoils you. You also have two big backers. It's a pity that you don't know what to do, and you are cold and rude to the fifth elder brother. It hurts people's hearts. Even the Queen Mother feels sorry for her grandson, and she doesn't spoil you so much. Such a big event happened in our family, and I didn't see the Queen Mother or the Fifth Elder Brother come to see you, it seems that you have long fallen out of favor. She gloated, and the more she talked, the happier she became: "What's the use of how well-behaved and filial you were a few days ago?" The old lady didn't listen to you, and drove away her nephew or the mages. If it weren't for you and this face, I'm afraid that her old man wouldn't have taken you seriously a long time ago. ”

Wan Ning's face turned pale with anger: "What nonsense are you talking about?" How could the old lady not hurt me? It's clear that you're jealous. Besides, the Queen Mother and the Fifth Elder Brother are both worshipping the Buddha in Wutai Mountain, so it's normal that they didn't come to our house! After she finished speaking, she regretted it a little and hurriedly shut up.

Yuan Ning smiled: "It turns out that you care about it too." However, it's useless for you to care, when the Queen Mother returns to the palace, there will naturally be other girls to please her, and when you finish your filial piety, who else will remember you? You don't even care about the fifth elder brother, and in the future draft, I don't know who will get it. ”

Wan Ning bit her lip: "I have my own ideas, I don't need you to worry about it!" ”

Yuan Ning raised her chin and said, "Okay, my sister will wait and see." ”

Her voice was a little louder, attracting the attention of the people outside the door. Shu Ning glanced at the whispering of a few little nuns outside the door, and then spoke: "Fourth sister, the old lady's ritual has just ended, you should be careful when you speak, so that people can hear, what's the point?" ”

Yuan Ning sat down when she heard Yan'an and said, "Third Sister Xie has reminded me, my sister will give you face today, so stop it." Speaking of which, among the sisters, you are the only one who looks like a sister, although you are a wise self-preservation, I think you are more pleasing to the eye. ”

Shuning couldn't laugh or cry, so she had to say, "That's really thanks to the fourth sister for lifting up." Then he bowed his head and ate his tea.

She felt a little strange in her heart, although Yuan Ning often sneered at Wan Ning in the past, she had never been so arrogant as she was today, and her parents' actions were becoming more and more strange, as if they were a little fearless, what made them have such a solid foundation?

After a while, the little nuns in the nunnery came and invited them to fast. Shuning saw the owner of the nunnery for the first time in the main hall and was a little surprised. This teacher was about fifty or sixty years old, and her face was dignified and soft, and it could be seen that she must have been a beauty when she was young. Her demeanor is elegant, her bearing is graceful, and several other concubines such as the Nala clan are respectful to each other, and she is neither humble nor arrogant, which makes people feel good.

The other two companions were in their sixties, and the younger was nearly fifty, both of whom were good-looking and well-behaved, but they were a little withdrawn, and they only hurriedly exchanged a few words of greetings before going back to the meditation room.

Shuning was a little suspicious, not knowing what the origin of these teachers was, and on the way back, she asked her mother in the carriage. Tong said: "I can't tell my mother about this, some people say that they are the concubines of the old lady when he was young, and some people say that they are cousins of the old lady's mother's family, but they are not sure." I heard that the old lady had issued a gag order, not to talk about their origins, but to allocate some money and food every month. This matter is related to the selfishness of the older generation, so it's better for your children's family to ignore it. ”

Shuning responded, and hid the doubt in her heart.

The following days passed peacefully, and the Tong family was busy helping the Nala family to tidy up the housework. Although I am a little busy, my heart is much more relaxed than before. I don't know if I think that the relationship between the big house and the third room is getting better and better. Although the fourth room has a bit of ignorance of the world, the three of them still get along well. Only the second room is often avoided. When Suo Xue Luo saw someone, he didn't have a good face, and Nala didn't care about her.

One afternoon, after Shuning took a nap, he remembered that he had promised Xianning a few days ago to make pastries for him to eat. But it was delayed because of the old lady's business, so let's do it first while I'm free.

It's so hot, just make a horseshoe cake. Shuning found water chestnut flour, took water and reconciled it, and soaked some red beans in the latest chapter of the Dream Reincarnation, and added some red beans to it, and put it in a bowl and put it in a pot to steam. I was waiting, but I heard a quarrel outside, and listened carefully. But it was that Cuilian and Xiao Liu's girl who quarreled, and Shuning couldn't help frowning. I'm the dividing line that transforms the perspective

Cuilian was very unhappy in her heart. The day after the old lady passed away, she packed her luggage and moved to Huaiyuan. Because she cried and shouted that she did not dare to disobey the old lady's wishes. Tong left her with a smile on his face, but he said that he was busy. "Temporarily" arranged for her to live in the same room with other Yahuan. Wait for a few days to make another arrangement.

The rough maid who was in the same room with her had to get up early every day to clean the yard. but at night she snorted so loudly that no one would share her room. Cuilian was going to guard the spirit during the day, but she couldn't sleep well at night, so she held back the fire in her belly and went to the second sister-in-law to ask for a room transfer, but the second sister-in-law said: "How can you take care of these little things now?" Don't you see that your wife is so busy that she is about to fall ill? You have only just been promoted from the second-class girl's position, and you have only been working hard for a few months, and you have become delicate? Wait a few more days. ”

Cuilian had to swallow her anger, but after a few days, she felt that something was wrong. Not to mention waiting by Zhang Bao's side now, she didn't even have a turn to do errands in Tong's house, and after the old lady went out of the funeral, she could only do some chores, which was too much worse than she originally expected. tried every means to behave in front of Zhang Bao, but there were always people who hindered her, and finally had the opportunity to get along with Zhang Bao alone, but he just poured a cup of tea and was supported by him.

Even so, Cuilian can barely bear it, after all, there are several seniors with the prefix "Cui" who have tried their best to earn a name, and this is the time to test her ability. But what made her heart angry was that none of the people in this courtyard regarded her as an aunt, and Xiao Liu's status showed no signs of wavering. She didn't understand, this Aunt Liu, who had married someone and had a son, didn't know what kind of good luck she had to climb to the third master. Obviously, the third master doesn't love her, and he has been here for so many days, and he hasn't seen him spend the night in her room. Why does everyone still respect her so much? On a hot day, I worked outside under the sun for a long time, and I didn't even have a cup of tea when I went back to the house.

Outrageous! She is obviously the same as her (she thinks), and she is also given by the old lady herself, and she is more noble than the surname Liu, why should she go to serve her?! The most hateful thing is that she looks virtuous all day long, knowing that she is a newcomer to the third master, and she has no temper at all, won't she be jealous?

Cuilian turned around with such a thought in her heart, and her stomach was filled with anger, and she deliberately did not send the soup, and waited for Xiao Liu's maid ring to urge, and she also said something sarcastic with a gun and a stick. That girl is an honest person like her master, she can't compare to Cuilian's fast mouth, she can't compete with her, and she almost cries out in anger.

When Shu Ning walked out of the small kitchen, she happened to hear Cuilian intentionally or unintentionally saying to Xiao Liu's room, "...... I advise my aunt and grandmother to move a little, don't think that you are a serious lady, just like me, why do you ask me to wait for you, I advise you to be more understanding, and see who your aunt and grandmother are......"

When she saw Shuning coming out, she stopped her mouth and said with a smile: "Yo, why is the third girl in the kitchen?" If you want something to eat, you just tell the people below to do it, how to do it yourself? No, it tarnishes your identity. ”

Shu Ning said lightly: "It turns out that you still know what identity is?" What are you yelling at here? What you said to your master? ”

Cuilian's face changed slightly: "Why did the third girl say that?" A concubine ......" "She is the second aunt who is married to the door, she is not the master, are you?" ”

Cuilian's face turned red, and her mouth trembled for a long time before she said, "I'm the person next to the old lady." Shuning glanced at her: "Just because you are the one who has waited for the old lady, I am so tolerant of you, if other people say such things to my aunt and grandmother, my mother will go out first without saying a word." So I advise you, don't think that your aunt and grandmother are kind and easy to bully, and just talking nonsense here, it really insults the old lady's reputation. ”

She turned around and walked back to the kitchen, and by the way, she greeted the girl, "Come in and get the soup." Leaving Cuilian alone, her face was red and white for a while, and she had to endure the strange gazes of people passing by.

Later, Shuning told Tong about this, and said, "This woman is so annoying, Eniang, when can we let her go?" Tong smiled faintly and said, "Silly child, the old lady kindly sent someone to serve us, how can we go against her old man's will?" But you have done a good job today, the old lady has always followed the rules of etiquette, and she attaches great importance to the difference between master and servant. If the person she trained in her hands violates the rules set by her old man before his death, of course we must teach it well. ”

Shuning blinked and smiled knowingly.

In the days that followed, Cuilian became more and more sad. In the past, the food and clothing were not bad, but now the quantity and quality are much worse. The meals eaten are only one dish and one soup, and there are many vegetarians and less meat. The monthly money she just received is actually the same as a little girl such as Fan Guan, and even a new girl like Frangipani has received more silver than her. She was not convinced, and followed the theory of the Lin family on Thursday, who was in charge of the monthly money, but was refuted by the other party: "The booklet in the house records that you are a second-class girl, and the monthly money is this number, and Su Xin is already a big girl in front of the girl, so she naturally receives more than you." ”

Cuilian was speechless by her, she was originally in the old lady's room, just a full-time sprinkler girl, because a few big girls with people, transferred away, were picked up, the old lady was uncalled, seeing that she was still likable, she was promoted, and the monthly money had risen early, but on the booklet in the house, for some reason, the original record was still maintained. She thought it didn't matter, but she suffered a loss at this time.

She felt very aggrieved and wanted to find an opportunity to cry to Zhang Bao and seduce her by the way, but Zhang Bao asked her to find Tong seriously. Tong Shi was very good at talking, and immediately spent one or two pieces of silver from his monthly money to add it to her. But even so, it's just the amount of the big girl's monthly money, and she's the future aunt.

She complained about this to Tong, but Tong said in surprise: "What do you say? The old lady clearly said that she was transferred here to wait for us, and she didn't say that she wanted you to be a concubine? Cuilian had a cold face at the time: "The third lady is confused, what did the old lady do when she transferred me over?" There is no shortage of girls in your courtyard, so naturally I want the master to take me in. ”

Tong Shi made a straight face: "Your words are confused, it was only a hundred days after the old lord passed away, and our family was still keeping filial piety, how could the old lady ask her son to take a concubine?" She is the most polite old man, would she still do such a thing that violates the etiquette law? It's obvious that you have ill intentions, so you borrowed the old lady's name, and if it spreads, others will think that the old lady doesn't follow the etiquette law! ”

Cuilian was stunned and couldn't say anything.