Gu Xiyan and Duan Niang followed Liu Er into the yard, the yard was square, there were a few or two towering laurel trees in the middle, and the wall was the corridor of copying hands, wrapping the two laurel trees in the middle, and walked through the corridor of copying hands, it was a moon cave door, and the door was paved with goose hatching stones, which had been stepped on smoothly and smoothly. Go on the road of the goose incubation stone and go inside, inside is a small garden of flowers and trees, colorful and full of flowers, fragrant and colorful. On the opposite side of the garden, there is an N-shaped building, there are five rooms in the main house, and there are three rooms in the left and right wings, all of which are pink walls and red paint, green windows and white gauze, and there is a row of birdcages hanging under the eaves of the main house.

Under the birdcage, there were three middle-aged women dressed in red and green, a little girl who was not much older than Liu Er, and the four of them looked curiously when they saw Gu Xiyan and them coming in.

Liu Er walked down the steps of the main house and said, "Madam, the second girl is back to greet you!" ”

The bamboo curtain of the main house was immediately lifted, and a dignified woman in her thirties walked out, her face full of smiles: "Come in, come in, Madame has been waiting for a long time!" ”

Gu Xiyan knew that the people who could serve in this courtyard could be regarded as Mrs. Gu's close attendants, and when she heard the woman say this, she smiled very politely and nodded at the woman.

Duan Niang took two steps forward and walked in front of Gu Xiyan: "I am Aunt Duan next to the second girl, my sister is very raw, I don't know what to call it!" ”

The woman replied, "My husband's surname is Song, Aunt Duan is not polite, just call me a plum branch." ”

Gu Xiyan thought of the words of Mama Li when she entered the hospital just now, and thought: "Could this person be the Mama Song they said in their mouths", and paid more attention to it. Duan Niang is also a thoughtful person, and at this time she has the same idea as Gu Xiyan, she hurriedly took a few steps forward and shook Song Meizhi's hand, and said very enthusiastically: "Mama, don't say that, if you don't dislike it, how about I call Mama a sister?" ”

Song Meizhi said with a smile: "My sister is an old person next to Mrs. Tai, and she was trained by Mrs. Lian herself, I was afraid that my sister would hate me, who knew that when I saw it today, my sister was such an easy-going and generous person, but it seemed that I had a small belly." After speaking, Song Meizhi personally picked up the curtain and waited for them to enter the door.

Entering the door, it was a hall room, the mahogany incense case Taishi chair was a few short couches, the blue floor, the pink and white walls, the colors were bright and atmospheric, Song Meizhi led them into the red lacquer door on the left side of the hall. As soon as he entered the door, Gu Xiyan saw a woman sitting on the arhat couch with mountain-shaped rosewood inlaid mica stone smiling at him. The woman looked like she was about twenty-five or six years old, with black and plump hair, a radiant light, fair and delicate skin, very ordinary eyebrows and eyes, and a very soft smile.

Gu Xiyan guessed that she might be Mrs. Gu.

Sure enough, someone on the side immediately placed a mat in front of the woman's couch, and Gu Xiyan immediately knelt on the mat and shouted "Mother".

Mrs. Gu's smile stiffened slightly, as if she was stunned by her "mother" shout, and only after a while did she say, "Second girl, second girl, please get up quickly." ”

The handmaid who had an organic spirit immediately stepped forward to pull Gu Xiyan up, sat her down with an embroidered pier, and served tea.

Duan Niang also went on to kowtow to Mrs. Gu.

Mama Song personally pulled Duan Niang up, and the maid next to her took the embroidered pier and waited for her to sit down under Gu Xiyan's head and serve refreshments.

Mrs. Gu asked Gu Xiyan in a cordial manner: "I heard Deacon Ding say that the girl occasionally felt unwell on the road. ”

Don't blame many people!

Gu Xiyan immediately stood up and replied: "Thank you mother for your concern, the weather is too hot, I have rested for a few days, thanks to the careful care of Duan Niang and a few girls in the house, I am fine now." ”

Mrs. Gu nodded: "That's good, that's good!" You're welcome, sit down and talk. ”

Gu Xiyan looked very restrained and half sat on the embroidery pier: "My daughter is young and ignorant, and she hasn't asked her mother to say goodbye all these years, and her mother's health is fine!" ”

Mrs. Gu replied with a smile, "Okay", then looked at Duan Niang a few more times, and said, "Aunt Duan has worked hard to take care of the second girl in Shuzhou in the past few years. ”

Duan Niang also got up and replied: "Don't dare to be, taking care of the second girl is the duty of the slave maid, don't dare to be a lady to praise." ”

Mrs. Gu beckoned her to sit down with a smile again, but Song Meizhi on the side said in Mrs. Gu's ear in a voice that was cautious and just enough for Gu Xiyan and them to hear: "Madam, it's not early, look at this ......"

Mrs. Gu raised her chin lightly, and said with a smile: "You have also worked hard all the way, set the meal, eat at my place and go back to rest and rest, and wait for the master to meet your father and daughter again tomorrow." ”

Gu Xiyan said respectfully: "But it's up to my mother's arrangement." ”

It's talking about dinner, but in fact it only refers to Gu Xiyan and Mrs. Gu, Duan Niang is not qualified to eat at the table, the place to eat is on the square table in the middle of this room, Mrs. Gu sits on the chief, Gu Xiyan sits on her right, and there is only a little girl serving dishes waiting on the side, with beautiful eyebrows and beautiful eyes, very flexible hands and feet, about fifteen or sixteen years old, called Ye'er. The dish is very simple, a pork belly roasted lettuce, a stir-fried cabbage, a stir-fried water chestnut, a bowl of egg skin vermicelli and lean pork three fresh soup, and a bowl of white rice, which tastes like the roadside stall that Gu Xiyan eats.

She got motion sickness in the afternoon, and because she was a little nervous to see Xiao Gu Xiyan's family, she had no appetite at all, and she couldn't eat it after barely eating a few bites, but it was Mrs. Gu who ate with relish. Seeing that Gu Xiyan only ate a few bites, he smiled slightly, and didn't say anything, which made Gu Xiyan very embarrassed, and explained: "I, I'm a little sicksick!" ”

Mrs. Gu nodded with a smile and said, "Then don't be reluctant, I'll ask Ye'er to send you some sour plum soup when you go back, and prepare a few more sesame cakes for you to spend the night." ”

Gu Xiyan hurriedly thanked Mrs. Gu.

After dinner, Mrs. Gu personally sent Gu Xiyan out, and Mama Song carried a lantern to send Gu Xiyan and Duanniang back to Beyuan, where they lived.

Beyuan is not far from the Shouyuan where Mrs. Gu lives, and when you go out, turn right onto a tree-lined path, and you will arrive at it less than twenty meters. Two small red lacquer doors, a fan-shaped black plaque on the lintel, with two upright gilt small characters "Beyuan" written in Lishu, the door is half-hidden, the fire candles inside are bright, a noise.

Pushing the door in, there is a small single courtyard. In the middle of the courtyard, the three large rooms each have a small ear room, and the three floors of the steps are full of two big trees, with branches and leaves, like an umbrella covering the roof, and the two wings on the left and right are all red lacquer floor columns, bluestone slabs, red lacquer lattice windows are covered with white summer cloth, and they are clean and tidy.

The big red lanterns hanging under the eaves are all lit, the courtyard is bright, the boxes in the hall of the main house are all open, and Hengyue is taking Mo Ju a few things out.

Duan Niang sighed and asked, "Sister Song, don't take it to heart, I just want to ask, it turns out that the girl has been living in Jingxiu Garden, why did she suddenly change to Beyuan?" ”

Mama Song smiled and said: "My sister doesn't know, four years ago, Aunt Cui Baoyi of Jiangnan County came to Beijing to open a girls' school, and took a fancy to Jingheyuan, where the concubine lived, and invited the Marquis Fang to come forward and tell the master, and the lord was in the way, so he agreed." Aunt Cui's women's school has been booming in Beijing in the past two years, and she wants to expand the garden further, Jingxiu Garden is just next to Jinghe Garden, and the two families were originally the same yard, and Mrs. Rubbing for more than half a year, Mrs. really had no choice, so she had to rent Jingxiu Garden to Aunt Cui. The second girl wants to come back, and Mrs. also muttered in her heart for a long time, but she signed a five-year contract with Aunt Cui, and it is not easy to pick people up before it expires, so she has to be wronged and wronged by the second girl. ”

Duan Niang was stunned when she heard this, and said, "Could it be that Liu Ting was also rented to someone, and I don't know who I rented it to?" ”

Mama Song said: "It's Aunt Qin Qing in Jiangnan." She specialized in teaching people silk strings, asked for an open place, and took the letter from Mrs. Madame's sister-in-law, and Mrs. had no way. However, it was said that it would only be rented for one year and moved in after one year. It expires in winter. ”

Duan Niang's face turned green when she heard this: "The dignified Hanlin Mansion is actually ......"

Mama Song was a little unhappy when she heard Duan Niang say this, and said: "My sister doesn't know that firewood, rice, oil and salt are expensive, and such a big Hanlin Mansion is not to use money." Don't you know, when our girl entered the door, she couldn't even pay a tael of silver in the tent, if it weren't for the girl who took the dowry to come out and call, the whole house would have to drink the autumn breeze! ”

Duan Niang is embarrassed, and it's hard to say anything.

I want Gu Xiyan to be troubled by vacating a house before crossing, and then look at this courtyard, it is surrounded by green belts, with a single courtyard, tall and spacious...... Gu Xiyan liked it at first sight, and he liked it very much, and he was very satisfied. She saw that the two of them were a little unpleasant for the sake of the house, so she hurriedly explained: "Mama Song, no, no, I think it's very good here, I like it a lot." I don't have to move anywhere, I'll live here in the future! ”

Mama Song was happy when she heard this, and said, "The second girl is really a crystal heart, and she is intimate and intimate in her work. Of course, her words were a bit exaggerated to flatter, and Gu Xiyan would not take it seriously.

comforted Mama Song, Gu Xiyan yawned at Duanniang: "Duanniang, my bones are about to be broken apart by the bumps of the carriage......"

When Mama Song heard this, she heard the sound and knew the elegance, and immediately took her leave.

Duanniang sighed: "I didn't expect the Gu family to ......"

Gu Xiyan Qi said: "How did we live when we were in Shuzhou? ”

Duan Niang let out a "hmm" and looked at Gu Xiyan puzzled.

Gu Xiyan explained: "Where does the living expenses come from? ”

"Living expenses?" Duan Niang groaned, "The girl is asking about the monthly case, right?" ”

Gu Xiyan nodded.

Duan Niang settled accounts with Gu Xiyan: "When I first went to Shuzhou, the lord gave five hundred taels, and the eldest girl secretly gave five hundred taels of silver tickets, a total of one thousand taels. On the way back to Shuzhou, I spent more than 100 taels. Later, when I came to Shuzhou, the lord gave two hundred taels a year, and the girl was small in the first few years, so she didn't have much money, and she saved a few. In the past few years, there have been a few more girls, and the girl has added some rouge gouache, and there is no savings. Now I have more than three hundred taels of silver in my hand. ”

Gu Xiyan asked: "How much is Shengjing's house!" ”

Duan Niang said: "It's only two or three hundred and two!" ”

Gu Xiyan was a little surprised, and blurted out: "It's so cheap!" ”

Duanniang said with a smile: "What kind of place is Shengjing, at the feet of the Son of Heaven, the really good place is the ancestral property, and you can't buy it with money." The location of the house out of Buzheng Fang is a little worse, and it is worth two or three hundred and twenty-one. ”

Gu Xiyan didn't understand what she said to her, so she didn't want to ask deeply, for fear of revealing her feet. He said, "Tell me, what can we do with our more than 1,300 taels of silver?" ”

Duanniang chuckled: "What can you do, the big stickers and small gangs, use the girl to marry out smoothly!" ”

At this time, Gu Xiyan was stunned.

Hengyue and the others had already found out that Duanniang was back, and they all stepped forward to say hello.

Gu Xiyan was indeed a little tired, she went to bed after a hasty freshening up, Hengyue and they were still packing up, Gu Xiyan instructed Mo Ju: "Call me up early in the morning, I have to go to my mother to say goodbye." ”