After 14 left, I was soon approaching the delivery period, and I had labor pains from time to time. Ah Xing stayed by my couch day and night, and everything in the house was still handed over to the side Fujin to deal with. The mother-in-law, the imperial doctor, and the medical woman who delivered the baby had all moved into the house to prevent me from giving birth in the middle of the night. Minqiu Lao Dao, the upper and lower strips in the courtyard are properly arranged, and the girls perform their duties without any chaos. One day, I seemed to have a fetal movement, so I was busy boiling warm water to bathe and change clothes, and by the way, I washed my hair. Confinement in the Qing Dynasty was a big deal, you couldn't blow the wind, you couldn't go out, you couldn't lift heavy objects, let alone take a bath and wash your hair. The thought of not being able to take a shower for thirty days makes me feel disgusted with myself.

It's the beginning of spring, and the begonia flowers under the eaves are blooming, scattered and red. Minqiu folded a few branches and placed them in the house, the wind was still quiet, and the sandalwood was engraved with a few large ones, like a scroll of elegant paintings that slowly stretched. I sat crooked in a wicker chair with a thick embroidered mattress underneath, and I was not unpleasant. Min Qiu stood behind me to wipe my hair, and there were two other girls next to him, one holding a towel as thin as light gauze, and the other holding a vermilion lacquer plate. ”

I said lazily: "This matter can be clarified with the side Fu Jin." ”

Min Qiu paused, and Fang said softly: "The slave and maid also know that this should be the case, but... Fang Fujin didn't seem to take it to heart, and the slave remembered that the master liked the spring bamboo shoot ham soup he ate last year, so he asked Lao Li Zi to go to the big kitchen to get it, but he didn't get it, and the people in the big kitchen only said that the things were left in the corner and let them break. This is not worth a few dollars, and there are places where there are many things that can not be managed, and the slave and maid feel that it is a pity. "I haven't been in charge of things for a long time, let alone the firewood, rice, oil and salt in the kitchen, and the hundreds of people in the house, who eat half a watermelon a day in the summer, and I have to eat thousands of taels of silver.

I pondered for a moment and said, "Go back and tell Ah Xing about this, and let her watch it." He said: "It's time to make the clothes in the spring in the house, why don't you see you changing into new clothes?" Min Qiu said: "The slave maid ordered someone to go to the front yard to ask several times, and Lord Lin, who was in charge, would say that the weather was still cold and there was no need to change it, and then said that the person who purchased it had not returned to Beijing yet, and I was not good to always ask." ”

In the Baylor Mansion, the stewards of the front yard and the back yard are separated, and the front yard is in charge of the retainers who were given by Kangxi to the fourteenth, all of whom have official positions and receive the imperial court. Theoretically, I am in charge of the backyard, and of course the accounts of the outer yard are also for me to see, but they have their own rules, and I am inconvenient to meddle in many things.

Minqiu is my dowry girl, the first-class girl in the backyard, if she feels embarrassed, let alone the people next to her. I straightened up, glanced at Min Qiu, and said, "You can ask later, and if they continue to shirk, you will tell me again." Min Qiu's face turned gloomy and said, "Yes, master." "Though they are slaves and maidservants, they must also be properly dressed and covered with old clothes, so that those who are outside may see it, and they will lose the dignity of Baylor.

The front and back yards were guarded by guards and eunuchs, with gardens, fences, and promenades in between. Minqiu didn't dare to leave for too long, and walked quickly to the house where the adults were in charge. The minions guarding the door in the house all knew Minqiu, so they didn't even look at the sign, they opened the door directly, and gave Minqiu a smile and saluted from afar. Minqiu never makes enemies with people casually, she is always polite, even if she is the lowest sweeping girl, she is also soft-spoken.

Walking to the office of the compound, there were guards guarding the gate, Min Qiu didn't think much about it, and when he saw that the door was open, he went directly inside. The step was only halfway over, but it was blocked by a burly man, who shouted, "Whoever is coming, quickly exit." ”

Min Qiu said with a twist: "I'm Min Qiu, and I'm looking for Lord Lin if I have something." ”

The burly man said with a cold face: "Where is the brand?" Min Qiu smiled: "Do I want a brand too?" The big man still had a straight face, glared at her with slanted eyes, and said, "I don't care who you are, you are not allowed to enter without a brand." ”

In the mansion, no guard dared to be so fierce to Minqiu, and even Fourteen treated her very kindly.

Minqiu was displeased, but the rules were rules, so he took off the purse from his waist and touched it with his hand, but it was empty. She thought about it for a while, and remembered that she had changed her clothes yesterday, and even her purse, because she hardly needed a brand, and she hadn't thought about it carefully. She laughed, "Oops, I forgot to take it." I'm sorry for you to get a word inside..."

Dahan was not merciful at all, and said coldly: "No one is allowed to enter without a brand!" ”

Minqiu wanted to come and go as quickly as possible, worried that I would dare to give birth while she was away. She was very anxious and said angrily, "I'm going to go in today!" With that, he flashed the big man and walked inside. Unexpectedly, a white light flashed in front of him, and this reckless man actually pulled out a big knife and put it on Minqiu's neck. Minqiu was frightened, her legs trembled, but her face was calm, and she shouted, "What are you doing? ”

Dahan still said the same thing, saying: "No one is allowed to enter without a brand." After speaking, he withdrew his blade and stood straight in front of Minqiu to block the way. In the distance, a anxious eunuch came running in a gray manner and said, "You... What are you doing? This is Aunt Minqiu, you don't want to die, don't you? The eunuch lowered the guard's head by two heads, and bowed his knees, standing in front of the big man looked more and more obscene. The big man didn't look at anyone, his eyes looked straight ahead, and said, "She doesn't have a brand." ”

The eunuch said sharply: "This is Aunt Minqiu, the aunt in charge of Fujin..." He nodded at Minqiu and flattered, "Aunt Minqiu, what's the matter with you?" ”

Min Qiu was still angry, glared at the big man fiercely, and then said angrily: "I'll talk to Lord Lin about something." ”

The eunuch smiled: "Lord Lin is in the account room, the little one will lead you over." The big man didn't seem to be afraid at all, and he didn't take anyone in his eyes, he turned sideways to make way out, still with a black and stinky face, and his eyes drifted infinitely into the distance. Entering the account room, Lord Lin was sitting cross-legged on the kang drinking tea, leisurely and indifferent, very comfortable.

When he saw Minqiu coming in, he only raised his head and asked knowingly, "Is there something wrong?" ”

Min Qiu bent his knees and said, "Fu Jin asked me to ask when I would give new clothes to the people in the courtyard." ”

When Lord Lin heard the word "Fujin", his expression was awe-inspiring, and his tone was much kinder, if this matter really came to me, he himself would not have good fruit to eat. He said: "The county lord will get married next month, and there are many places to use silver..." After a pause, he said: "We don't want to embarrass adults, it's just that Fujin is born, the county lord is married, and people will inevitably come and go in the house. Lin Daren clasped his fingers on the kang table and said, "You wait for two more days." ”

Min Qiu chased after him and said, "My lord, do you have a secret? It's better to put it directly, even if you let the slaves and maids wait, whether it is two days, half a day, or an hour, there must be a reason. ”

Lord Lin has no reason, it is nothing more than that during this period of time, the county supervisor of the mansion for a while, and the Fujin official family for a while, the accounts were messed up, so he became ill-intentioned, and first withdrew the silver money on the spring shirts of the slaves and maids and released the debt. The moneylender said that he would return the principal with interest within two months, but he didn't want to drag it left and right after that, so he almost didn't tear his face and fight. His face was full of wrinkles, and he put on an official posture: "If you wait for two days, you can wait for two days, where is the nonsense?" It's just a girl, so she dares to show off her might! And there are no rules! "Minqiu has seen a big scene, and she can speak calmly in front of Concubine De.

She sneered and said, "In this case, I, a girl, can only truthfully present the blessings." After finishing speaking, she turned around and walked out, Lord Lin was so angry that his eyebrows and beard stood up, and he shouted: "If you dare to say it, don't think about having a good life in the mansion in the future!" He was still cursing behind his back, and even a person with a good temper like Minqiu trembled with anger.

When he left the courtyard of the office, the burly sweat was still standing at the door with a blank face. Minqiu's eyes were red from being scolded, and she just wanted to leave quickly, she took three steps and two steps, and she didn't even pay attention to the threshold of tripping, and fell straight out. She couldn't help but sigh, her hands instinctively propped up on the ground, her knees were half-kneeling, and the silk flowers on her temples had also fallen. She rebounded and stood up on the threshold, not caring about the abrasion on her knee, and hurriedly looked around, seeing that no one had bumped into her gaffe, she sighed.

She patted the dust off her skirt and was about to leave, but someone behind her spoke: "Your silk flower." ”

Min Qiu touched her sideburns, and sure enough, it was gone, and when she looked back, the big man had moved to the side of the door at some point, holding her silk flower in his hand. He looked at her knees and asked, "Are you alright?" Min Qiu snatched the silk flower from his hand and said, "Don't bother with it." With that, he walked on crutches. She first went back to her room to change her clothes, re-evened her face, brushed her hair in a bun, and then went to the Fujin house. The courtyard was silent, and the girls and mothers-in-law were silent when they even walked. There were two girls standing under the corridor of the warm pavilion, and Min Qiu whispered to one of the girls, "What is the master doing?" Can there be Xuan Food? ”

The girl bent her knees and said, "The master is a little uncomfortable and is lying on the couch." The imperial doctor said to let the master eat first, but the master had no appetite, and the slave and maid had no idea. Min Qiu nodded, lifted the curtain and entered the flower hall, then turned to the bedroom, walked to the couch to say goodbye, and said, "Master, it's time for dinner." "I was tired and sleepy, and the guy in my stomach, who didn't know whether it was a girl or a boy, kicked and kicked, and there was no stability, which really made my heart burn, so I said, "I can't eat." ”

Minqiu Haosheng persuaded and said, "You should eat some, otherwise it will be a big deal if you don't have the strength during production." The slave maid asked the kitchen to make a fresh and tender pea sprout egg soup, which was refreshing and not greasy, what did the master think? ”