In the spring light of the south of the Yangtze River between butterflies and peaches and plums, Gu Shou stepped into the Dew Xiang Garden.

The servants and maids who shuttled back and forth, when they saw that the second young master was back, they all stopped to salute.

Gu Shouqian, as in the past, showed them a kind smile.

Outside the "Biyi Hall" on the west side of the garden, on the rockery, the third grandmother Li is sitting in the pavilion with the two concubines of the third room, enjoying the flowers and eating the fruits, watching the third young master Gu Shouyun and his two younger sisters paint.

Everyone condescended, and saw the long figure with fluttering sleeves, appearing outside the flower garden and by the water pavilion, and finally stopped in front of the embroidery in the courtyard of Miao Atai.

Gu Shouyun, the third young master with a paintbrush in his hand, looked back and praised his mother Li: "The second brother is really like a person in a painting, and his behavior is fairy. ”

A trace of disdain flashed in Li's eyes, and he snorted softly in his nose: "Yes, the grandson of our Gu family, his appearance and demeanor are first-class, and the young grandmother who married in is even more powerful than the queen mother." Quan Songjiang didn't know that the queen mother who went down to earth cleaned the door for our Gu family. ”

Gu Shouqian was Gu Shouqian's follower when he was a child, and his brother was very affectionate. Gu Shouqian and his wife are both good at Danqing, and Gu Shouqian, who also likes calligraphy and painting, has benefited a lot from his brother and sister-in-law.

At this time, Gu Shouyun heard the sarcasm in his mother's tone, and knew that what she said was Han Ximeng's past when he exposed the crimes of the Dafang Shen family.

The aunt next to her saw that the mother and son were about to quarrel, and hurriedly diverted the topic, pretending to be strange: "Hey, why didn't the second young grandmother come with the second young master today?" You see, isn't the second young master and Ah Tai appreciating embroidery? ”

Li raised his eyebrows: "The second young grandmother of the fairy is very busy, just like her maid who is now calling the wind and rain, doing things everywhere, unlike us, we are all people who sit in the deep house." ”

"No, Mom," Ah Ling, the little sister who was helping her brother polish the paint, said seriously, "My brother and sister-in-law scolded each other. ”

Songjiang dialect "quarrel and scold", which means quarrel and quarrel.

When Li and his two aunts heard this, they immediately came to their senses, and they were more excited than seeing the handsome Ling Zisheng appear when they watched the play.

They were about to inquire about the reason, but Gu Shouyun frowned and asked his ten-year-old sister, "How do you know?" ”

"Mrs. Zhou from Wen Zheyuan, I accompanied my second aunt to see the apricot blossoms the day before yesterday, and I heard what Mrs. Zhou and the people in the family said."

The second aunt in Ah Ling's mouth is Gu Shouqian's mother. Han Ximeng, a gentle mother-in-law, lived in Wenzheyuan with the Gu couple, but often went back to Luxiang Garden to ask Miao Ruiyun for peace.

"Mrs. Zhou can be sent back to the countryside, and the servants and maids who chew the master's gossip are those who have been with the second aunt for decades, so it is better not to use them." Gu Shouyun didn't wait for Li's questioning, so he intercepted his sister's words.

He said lightly: "Ah Ling, you are a beautiful lady, don't be dyed with the pickled smell of the women in the market." Come, I will teach you a method of painting mountains and rocks, which was also taught to me by Brother Ah Qian: soak garcinia cambogia water in light ink and gently moisten the brush......"

Li was quite unhappy to see her son protect her cousin like this, but she was a daughter-in-law of a family who had entered middle age and was not loved by her mother-in-law and husband, and the only thing she could count on in this life was her son.

……

"Ah Qian, you can take this "Battle of Minhai" to Jishan Society."

Outside the Rongcui Mountain House in Luxiang Garden, Miao Ruiyun let her eldest girl take bamboo incense and spread out the embroidered paintings of the Ming Heliu Luowan Naval Battle for Gu Shouqian to see.

Jishan Society, is a charitable group formed by the daughters of the Songjiang gentry in recent years, learning from the Wuxi Donglin School Gao Panlong's Philanthropic Association, often administering medicine, helping students, burying exposed bones, adopting abandoned babies, and building shacks for homeless beggars.

The current head of Jishan Society is served by Dong Qichang's daughter-in-law Yin.

Every year, in the spring and autumn, the Yin family has to borrow the field of social studies to hold a charity bazaar, asking all the celebrities in the society to donate by themselves, or to find someone to donate, and to donate calligraphy and painting treasures and the like to send them to the charity sale, and then buy them by the gentlemen who sell the face of the Dong family, and the silver taels are put into the account of the Jishan Society.

Gu Shouqian was a close disciple of Dong Qichang teaching Danqing skills, and when Gu and Han stood up when Dong's house was besieged, Yin took it for granted that Han Ximeng should be closer to him.

No, she said three or four times, and Han Ximeng politely refused to join the Jishan Society. This time to raise good goods for charity sales, Yin's asked her husband Dong Zu to come forward and ask Gu Shouqian for a picture of Han Ximeng's latest embroidery painting, which is best to highlight the righteousness of the family and country.

Gu Shouqian returned to the mansion and conveyed it to his wife in an ordinary tone.

However, Han Ximeng was unexpectedly tough, ridiculing the Yin family, every time he traveled, the sedan curtains had to use different patterns of lake silk or Hangjin, and when he appeared in front of Songjiang celebrities, the hairpin ring on the cloud sideburns was only more gorgeous and exquisite than the lady in the palace. In this case, why didn't the so-called "people with beautiful hearts and good hearts lack money" head of the Jishan Society, not pay for it himself to buy another painstaking work embroidered with a needle and a thread, but to force donations?

Isn't that generosity?

Moreover, in the past three years, I have not seen the Jishan Society led by the Yin family, and those who have newly repaired the Ze Leak Hospital and the Nursery School have not even distributed decoction during the spring plague, even if the money raised has not fallen into the Yin family's private purse, this head of the society is at least incompetent.

Gu Shouqian listened, but he was also stunned. After all, he is Dong Qichang's protégé, and he often has dealings with Dong Zu on weekdays, so he accuses his wife of cherishing embroidery, why should he be mean to the daughters of the Dong family, so careful, it is not because of Zheng Haizhu's merchant habits.

Angered by the last sentence, Han Meng asked her husband what qualifications he had to look down on businessmen, and women like Zheng Haizhu and Yao's who worked hard to run schools and enlighten themselves were examples of those who cultivated virtue and did good.

With such a verbal argument, the couple fought for the first time three years after marriage. In the end, Gu Shouqian simply thought that his wife was led by a friend to see the world outside of Nanzhili, and she no longer looked down on the scholars and celebrities in Songjiang, including his husband, who had no fame and was obsessed with painting.

Han Ximeng cried in the face of her husband who walked away with her sleeves and her mother-in-law Lu who rushed to comfort her. Zheng Haizhu saw Han Ximeng's swollen eyelids at Chongming Pier that day, which was because of this.

At this moment, Gu Shouqian took Miao Ruiyun's "Battle of the Fujian Sea Chart" and said softly: "Thank you, Tai." ”

Gu Shouqian's expression of gratitude did not seem alienated, but Miao Ruiyun could see at a glance that he was still a little apprehensive.

"Ah Qian, don't blame your mother for coming to talk to me about this. She has a dough-like temperament of herself, and she has never blushed with anyone in her life, and she is so frightened to see that the two of you suddenly quarrel like that. ”

Gu Shouqian nodded: "I have to thank my mother, otherwise how would Mrs. know and help me save the emergency." Dong Gong is my mentor, how can I not give the face of the Yin family. ”

The corners of Miao Ruiyun's mouth slid a meaningful look: "But Ah Qian, Xi Meng is also good, the daughter-in-law of the Dong family is vain and pretentious, and the daughter-in-law of the Xu Hanlin family, it is a world of difference." Xi Meng has always been close to the daughter-in-law of the Xu family and the grandmother of the Huang family, and it is not unusual for him to look down on the Yin family. ”

Gu Shouqian lowered his eyes: "Auntie, I know." ”

Miao Ruiyun's eyes narrowed, and he asked his grandson kindly: "When will Ximeng go to Chongming?" ”

"It's been seven or eight days."

"Hehe, this granddaughter-in-law, Ah Tai likes it. had an awkward quarrel with her husband, not because she was so angry that she went back to her parents' house, but because she went to learn art with great dignity. ”

Gu Shouqian sat down on the chair next to the embroidery and said in a muffled voice: "The Zheng family, in Ah Meng's opinion, is only afraid that it is closer than her mother's family." ”

Miao Ruiyun said angrily: "Hey, you dignified man, how can you eat a woman's vinegar." Azhu is a well-trained person, and his heart is also pure, and he is one or two years older than you, and now he has been rewarded by the imperial court. What's the matter, she is the eldest sister of the two of you, you are just a showman, don't you still suffer a loss? ”

Gu Shouqian was silent for a moment, and said: "What Mrs. Tai taught is that the grandson is narrow. In fact, this time, Miss Azhu should not know about the disagreement between me and Xi Meng, and thought that she was looking for interesting folk weaving skills, so she sent someone to invite Xi Meng and Fan Poyu to take a look. ”

Miao Ruiyun looked like a peacemaker, clapped his hands and said: "That's right, Mrs. Ah thinks that Miss Zheng is a good coincidence when she comes, lest you just finish arguing and live in a courtyard, and you look at each other with disgust." Xi Meng went to Chongming to distract himself, and came back and said that maybe he would pay you back. As for you, don't be idle these days, draw some embroidery patterns for her. ”

Gu Shouqian talked for a while with the grandmother in front of him, who was not related by blood but was quite considerate of the younger generation, and felt relieved, so he echoed his grandmother and said: "Ah Tai reminded me that Xi Meng has finished embroidering the naval battle map, and he has a lot of experience in the use of needles and colors for artillery fire, and he also wants to embroider the daily scene of Miss Zheng's firearms workshop." ”

Miao Ruiyun smiled: "Then you go to the firearms shop and take a look." When Yuesheng came to play the piano to me, he said that Master Sun and Master Li were imitating a new cannon recently, and they hoped that they would not blow up like last time. ”

"Ah Tai," Gu Shouqian's interest rose, "Sun Erwei really doesn't want to take the road of the imperial examination, and he has some writing skills in his hands, if I throw myself under Master Sun and study firearms together, I don't know if our Gu family patriarch will allow it." ”

Miao Ruiyun pondered quietly for a while, then raised his head and said, "Children and grandchildren have their own children and grandchildren, and children and grandchildren have their own children and grandchildren." Ah Tai supports you and will go and talk to the Gu family patriarch for you. ”

A few days later, in front of the Songjiang Firearms Workshop in Shanghai County, Gu Shouqian stepped out of the carriage first, and waited for the coachman to put the stepping stool before carefully helping Miao Ruiyun down.

Wang Yuesheng was already waiting at the door, and stepped forward and said: "Master Sun was just about to come out with me to greet Mrs. Sun, and the craftsman came to report, the compatibility of copper, iron and tin seems to be wrong, and the master is in a hurry to see it." ”

Miao Ruiyun raised his hand: "How can you delay Master Sun's business, let's go, you take us to see the heavy arquebus field that Miss Zheng said." ”

After everyone entered, the two slender men who were recruited by Zheng Haizhu to be the guards of the house, according to the rules set by Zheng Haizhu and Sun Yuanhua, closed the door of the firearms field strictly.

In the small boat by the river not far away, Tong Xiyu turned his head sideways and looked at Han Xiying.

The half of the face that had not been burned suddenly became cloudy.

Then he put on a strange smile, as if the sun suddenly broke through the clouds in the shadows.

The spies from the north spent more than a month renting a house in Songjiang, pretending to be merchants from Shandong to collect silk yarn and silk, and slowly made themselves look flawless.

Today, Tong Xiyu and Han Xiying chartered a small fairy boat to swim the river, and came to the vicinity of the firearms factory to pretend to rest and wait for an opportunity to investigate.

Han Xiying didn't expect that after staying for a short time, she met Gu Shouqian.

Tong Xiyu glanced at the boatman who was dozing off by the rocking oar, and said close to Han Xiying's ear: "Your brother-in-law, it is really a pretty man who looks like Pan An." If this time it happens, get him back to Hetuala, and you will become a mandarin duck, how about it? ”

Han Xiying said: "Thank you for the master's distress for the slave." ”