Minghui didn't go directly to the small courtyard, she went to Feng'er Lane.

It was not yet the time of the 10th day of customs clearance, and the outside of Feng'er Lane was empty, unlike the last time I came, there were no waiting guests.

Minghui was about to take a look inside the alley, a few steps away, a mule cart stopped, a mother-in-law helped a woman in her thirties to get off the mule cart, the mother-in-law saw Minghui, whispered a few words to the woman, and walked over.

"Little sister, let me ask, is there a fortune-telling lady around here?" The mother-in-law's official dialect with a slight Wu accent made Minghui a little surprised, and she couldn't help but look at the woman.

The woman is very beautiful, it is the kind of beauty that is durable, it is not eye-catching at first glance, but under closer inspection, the skin is like snow, gentle as jade, although it is not a young Ai, but it has a unique charm.

Minghui bent the corners of her mouth, Aunt Liu's name is really loud, the master and servant want to come from other places.

"Coincidentally, I also came to take a look, and I don't know if Aunt Liu is out of the customs."

"Out of customs?" The mother-in-law obviously didn't know about Aunt Liu's ten-day retreat.

"Well, I heard that Aunt Liu is in retreat, but I don't know when I will leave the customs, and my wife asked me to come and have a look." Minghui is dressed as a maid from a big family, and there is childishness between her eyebrows, and she looks like a little maid who often comes out to run errands.

The mother-in-law frowned and muttered: "It is said that Aunt Liu will go out every day, rain or shine, it seems that these rumors are not true." ”

The woman was also a little helpless, lightly opened her lips, and said softly: "Since you are here, then go and inquire again, if you are out of the customs, it is the best, if you are still in retreat, you can only have no chance." ”

The voice is gentle and soft, and it is also an official dialect with Wu Yin.

Minghui hurriedly pointed to the house at the end of the alley and said enthusiastically: "Aunt Liu lives there." ”

When the mother-in-law heard this, she said to the woman, "Wait a minute, madam, the old slave will go and ask." ”

Minghui hurriedly said, "I'll go too." ”

As he spoke, he followed his mother-in-law into the alley.

The door was closed, but it was not locked, and Minghui looked at the wall, but did not see the shadow of the black cat.

The mother-in-law knocked on the door, but did not hear any movement, and the mother-in-law whispered, "Is it inconvenient to come out and open the door after retreating?" ”

Minghui said: "Aunt Liu has a little apprentice, and the little apprentice is quite clever." ”

When the mother-in-law heard this, she knocked a few more times, but still no one answered the door, Minghui said with a smile: "Maybe the little apprentice went out and was not at home, I will go back and tell my wife to come back tomorrow." ”

Speaking of this, Minghui said to her mother-in-law: "Auntie, will you come back tomorrow?" ”

The mother-in-law sighed: "We are just passing through Baoding, and we will leave early tomorrow morning." ”

"Oh, that's a coincidence." Seeing that her mother-in-law still wanted to continue knocking on the door, Minghui said goodbye and left in a hurry.

After walking the alley, I saw that the woman was still standing in place, her willow eyebrows frowned slightly, as if she was slightly sad.

The woman's hair is like a cloud, only a quaint style hosta, the hairpin head of the hosta is not the common plum blossom or young bird, but the bamboo branch, this is the bamboo branch hairpin, the woman does not use much, most of the men are using.

Minghui bowed slightly to the woman, and walked away quickly.

She had been here a few times, and she was familiar with the streets and alleys of the neighborhood, and she walked to the T-shaped street.

On the side of the T-shaped street, there is a stall selling donkey meat, and the stall is set up by a pair of grandchildren, the grandfather has a white beard, and when he grins, he is missing a front tooth.

The granddaughter is only eight or nine years old, with a round face, a round little body, and a missing front tooth.

Minghui walked over, and the little granddaughter greeted with a smile: "Sister, try my family's donkey meat, it's delicious." ”

Minghui said: "Okay, I want ten pieces of meat, and then ten fire blanks, not meat." ”

The little granddaughter immediately turned around and shouted loudly: "Grandpa, ten people with meat, ten blanks don't want meat!" ”

"Okay!"

Taking advantage of the old man's time to make a fire, Minghui asked her little granddaughter: "Aunt Liu of Feng'er Lane, didn't you come out of the stall today?" ”

"Retreat," the little granddaughter grinned, "I listened to Adu, and I don't know what retreat is." ”

"Hey, you know a lot of people, even Adu?" Minghui admired her face.

The little granddaughter was very proud: "Of course I know, Adu has money, so he came to buy my donkey meat to eat." ”

"Did you buy it today?" Minghui asked.

"Bought it, bought five, in the past, Adu's money was only enough to buy one, but now she is so rich, she has to buy five every day." The little granddaughter said.

The old man was quick with his hands and feet, and the twenty donkey meat was wrapped in oiled paper and put into the basket brought by Minghui, who carried the basket and went to the alley.

Wang Zhenren cultivates Quanzhen and is a vegetarian all year round, but Cui Niangzi eats meat.

Minghui didn't enter the door, she went to the fat aunt's house first, took out five donkey meat and burned it to the fat aunt: "It's still hot, fat aunt try it." ”

The fat aunt saw it not too late, and smiled with crooked eyebrows: "You girl is really sensible, your relatives are also very good, I just lived here, that's your cousin, ouch, I speak Swenwen, I look like a big family." ”

Minghui knew that the cousin that the fat aunt was talking about was Cui Niangzi, so she smiled and said, "Fat aunt, you really have a vision, my cousin is really from a big family." ”

The fat aunt asked again: "I heard her say that she also has two sons, and your cousin uncle is a businessman, and he will come to Baoding Mansion in the future?" ”

Minghui really didn't know what Cui Niangzi said, and when she saw the fat aunt asking, she said, "Yes, her two sons look exactly the same." ”

The fat aunt's eyes lit up, and she was still in and out of the door with Minghui, but at this time, she simply pulled Minghui into her yard and said, "I'll tell you something, it stands to reason, I should talk to your cousin, but she just moved in, and I don't know her well, so I'll talk to you first, and then you go and discuss with your cousin." ”

Minghui was a little confused, is the fat aunt going to tell Wang Ping and Wang An about the matchmaker?

"What's the matter?" Minghui asked.

The fat aunt pointed to her yard: "Look, my yard is not bad." ”

Minghui nodded blankly: "Not bad, not bad." ”

"Your small courtyard was originally a cross-courtyard, very small, if your cousin and two sons come over, they can't live in it, you see me here, there are six wings in the east and west, all of which can live in people, and there are stove rooms, and there is a back cover behind the hall, which can also live in people." The fat aunt said.

Minghui asked, "Are you going to rent out this yard too?" Are you moving to a new home? ”

The fat aunt looked around thoughtfully, and it was clear that there was no one else in the courtyard, but the fat aunt still lowered her voice: "I'll tell you, my boy and I are going to the capital." ”

"Beijing? Is your son-in-law going to take the imperial examination? Minghui was puzzled.

"That's not it, alas, anyway, it's not a secret in the future, I'll tell you, my old woman, a few years ago found a little man who was more than ten years younger than her, and raised the man with the silver left by her husband, and she couldn't give birth to a child, I felt sorry for the man, so I had to change my child's father's surname, my child's father was only twelve years old at the time, and refused to change, ran from the capital to Baoding Mansion, as an apprentice as a buddy, and endured all the hardships, and now, the little man of the old woman, hiding that she gave birth to a child outside, Now that the old woman is old, she doesn't even have anyone to serve around, and she doesn't want the family wealth to fall into the hands of the outer room after death, so she asks people to inquire about the whereabouts of my child's father. ”

Minghui smiled, I see.

"Are you going?"

"Fools don't go, of course I have to go, I told my nephews, they escorted our family to Beijing, that little man and his private child, if they dare to have bad intentions, they will be beaten and sent to the official, by the way, you don't know, Zhenyuan Dart Bureau is my mother's house, this courtyard, together with the place you rented, is all my dowry, I am not afraid......"

Minghui came out of the fat aunt's house, and when she saw Cui Niangzi, she said: "Aunt Cui, Miss also said that she wants Uncle Haiquan and Wang Ping Wang An to live together, how good it is that the fat aunt's family is going to the capital, you think it is better to rent all the other houses in her house except for the main house, and show her the house by the way, you say yes." ”

Cui Niangzi looked at Minghui and said, "It's not too late, you haven't been here for long since you came to Baoding Mansion, and you have grown better than before." ”

Minghui stuck out her tongue secretly, she still had to find an opportunity to reveal her disguise to the master and Cui Niangzi, otherwise they would see through it sooner or later, but what should I say, I can't say that I learned it in a dream.

Worried that Wang Zhenren would see through it, Minghui put down the donkey meat fire and the three portraits, and said that she couldn't delay outside for too long, so she hurried back to the house.

When I returned to the house, I saw that Bu Chi was according to her instructions, and was grinding the ginseng, lychee bark, pine nut kernel, sandalwood, fragrant aconite, licorice, and cloves one by one.

Minghui washed her face, changed her homely clothes, took two coins for the first few kinds of powder, and one penny for each of the last two, mixed them with Chazi juice, and put them into the porcelain altar, worried that she couldn't remember, and hung a small wooden sign on the jar, on which the word Wensi was written, and buried it in the shade.