Chapter I

In the late spring of March, the sunset melts gold, and the wisps of color have just receded from the sideburns and hairpins, and the lanterns are like stars and rains, and they can't wait to enter the heavy door.

The door of the seven-foot-high Limu Mansion was wide open, and the golden glow overflowed the treadway outside, and Aunt Cao stood in the light and shadow of the lowest layer, waiting for the people in the carriage to come, and the gauze lamp in her hand immediately greeted her, "Second lady, slow down." ”

Wen Shuse stood on his heels, people were still confused, and the carriage of three hours was about to shake away.

After standing still for a while, he looked up, bent a crescent moon, and hung on the branch of the banyan tree in the gate of the mansion, and was robbed of the brilliance by a dim red lantern in front of the gate.

Xise was shocked, and finally recovered some of her spirits, Wen Shuse raised her feet and stepped into the threshold, and asked Aunt Cao, "Grandmother is okay?" ”

Aunt Cao smiled and led her up to the corridor, "The old lady would be relieved if she knew that the second lady was so concerned." ”

Seven in and seven out of the house, blue bricks and tiles, a total of more than 100 rooms. A few days ago, a rain fell, and the brick walls were washed spotless, carved beams and painted buildings, and the more you went inside, the more exquisite they became. Dark lacquered beams and columns, the roof is suspended with clouds and hanging fish, the beams are suspended with carved bucket arches, and the grass is decorated. Because the house is going to do a happy event tomorrow, not only the door, but also all over the courtyard are decorated, the stone pier bridge railing is paved with big red satin flowers, and the red auspicious lanterns surround the corridor, one after another, the night breeze sways gently, stretches and undulates, comparable to the galaxy in the night sky.

The two happy events held in the house before, Wen Shuse was not there, I had never seen such a lively, my pace walked slowly, passing by the West Wing, I stopped completely, looked at the sea of lights in front of me, and asked excitedly, "What about the bride, are they all packed?" ”

Aunt Cao, who was walking in front of her, turned her head, and the dim red gauze light shrouded the girl in front of her, like a hibiscus draped in a layer of sunset, delicate and beautiful.

The three ladies of the Wen family are not bad, but the second lady is the most outstanding, and it is no wonder that the old lady is worried every day.

Aunt Cao reluctantly urged, "The old lady is waiting for the second lady, let's go over first." ”

The main house of the house sits on the north and faces south, and the position is inward.

Aunt Cao walked faster and faster, and Wen Shuse had no choice but to follow, and the crimson skirt flew with her steps, bypassing the layers of doorways, and finally arrived in front of the main house.

The translucent mullioned door was not closed, and two doors were opened, and a thin layer of roller blinds was received at the bottom, and the lights were bright like a silver moon overflowing, spilling into the courtyard.

Mrs. Wen likes to worship Buddha on weekdays, the door of the hole is facing the hall, the center of the hall is dedicated to a statue of Guanyin, the perennial incense is continuous, a few wisps of green smoke are blown by the night outside the door, scattered on the face of Guanyin, this holy face kneeled on the futon a month ago, looked up for a whole hour, and is no longer familiar.

Taking a deep breath, his waist straightened, and he lifted the hem of his skirt lightly.

There is no solid wall in the inner room, only a screen partition with more than one person high, stepping into the door, I heard the voice of the eldest lady inside, "It's not that sixty-four units are missing, but the etiquette book was clearly written before, and the furnishings and fine and soft systems are a total of one hundred and twenty-eight lifts, which have already been publicized, and the people of Zhongzhou are well-known, and now the things are suddenly halved, and I am afraid that it is not just the face of the eldest lady, and our Wen family Ming'er is afraid that it will become the laughing stock of the whole Zhongzhou......"

Old Madam Wen's voice was quite peaceful, "My Wen family's ladies are all treasures, not to mention one hundred and twenty-eight dowries, a thousand lifts of her are also worth it, but my old wife has limited ability and no ability, and she can only give sixty-four lifts." ”

The eldest lady didn't believe this, "The sixty-four dowry that the second master came back a little bit later arrived at the house two months ago, and the people below saw it, and all of them were carried into her yard......"

As he spoke, when he heard the movement outside, he turned his head to see Wen Shuse behind Aunt Cao, and his heart that had been tormented for several days and nights finally fell to the ground, "It's back." ”

I am not sure if my grandmother is still angry, Wen Shuse didn't dare to raise her head when she came in, she saluted her superiors first, and whispered, "Grandmother." ”

Old Madam Wen's gaze had already fallen on her.

Two three-story lotus lamps illuminated the hall like a white sun, and the little lady in front of her was still the white and tender girl before, and there was no missing piece of meat.

Old Madam Wen's expression softened, "Sit down." ”

Compared with a month ago, the tone was obviously much gentler, Wen Shuse secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and looked up to see that not only the eldest lady in the house, but also the bride-to-be Wen Suning, and the uncle in the Eastern Capital were also there.

Tomorrow is the eldest lady's wedding, and Uncle Wen, as a father, should rush back.

Wen Shuse has long heard of the excitement of the Eastern Capital, half a year ago when the uncle went to the Eastern Capital to take office, he was already envious, and now when he sees people, the previous tension is gone, and he asked enthusiastically, "When did the eldest uncle arrive at home?" ”

Uncle Wen pulled the corners of his mouth that had been stiff for a long time, and smiled gently at her, "Evening." ”

Aunt Cao went to the side and moved a high stool for her to see, Wen Shuse sat down while continuing to ask Uncle Wen, "Is the moon over there in the eastern capital really rounder than that in Zhongzhou?" ”

It's just nonsense from the folk, Uncle Wen shook his head with a smile, "It's not like that, it's lively." ”

Wen Shuse wanted to ask what kind of lively method again, but was stopped by the old lady's cough, retracted his head in time, sat upright on the high stool, and his eyes happened to collide with the bride opposite.

In terms of appearance, Wen Shu, the second lady of the Wen family, is impeccable, even better than her Wen Suning.

Especially when talking to her father, the cheerfulness on her face was pure and dazzling, even she was stunned, but she couldn't say it, Wen Suning just didn't like it.

The Wen family is now on an uphill road, whether it is the court or the back house, there are countless difficulties and risks, and she can't understand why she can still do this carefree appearance.

The moment her eyes met, the eldest lady was expressionless and looked away lightly.

Wen Shuse was not surprised, nor annoyed, but probed her carefully, the Wen family was still the first time to marry a girl, and they had never seen the bride, so they wanted to take a second look.

The time has passed, and there are still a few hours before the Xie family is about to pick up people, and the eldest lady on the side has no time to chatter, leaning towards her, and asking bluntly, "Shuse, the second master brought back sixty-four to carry things after the year?" ”

Wen Shuse remembered and nodded, "Yes." ”

The eldest lady was overjoyed, "Thank God, but my aunt died in a hurry, it was your sister's dowry, where was it shelved, you tell your aunt, I will let people carry it quickly." ”

Wen Shuse froze.

Seeing that she didn't speak, the eldest lady inexplicably had a bit of a bad omen, and asked cautiously, "What's wrong?" But Wen Shuse spit out, "It's gone." ”

The eldest lady's heart sank suddenly, and she didn't quite understand, "No, it's gone?" ”

Wen Shuse recalled, "Last time my grandmother celebrated her birthday, my aunt said that my grandmother was afraid of heat in summer, so she vacated a few wings in the courtyard of the big banyan tree in the west courtyard, and sent someone to me to ask for furniture and ornaments, and I asked them to carry them over. ”

The eldest lady was dumbfounded, it was true that the old lady had a birthday, because she wanted to show filial piety, but she didn't let her fill the eldest lady's dowry.

It's just a summer yard, buy some ornaments in the market and come back, can you use it to put on the golden silk nanmu?

Since it has been given to the old lady, it can't be lifted out again, the ornaments are gone, and there are dozens of soft ones, and I can barely fill it up by trying to find a way, "Move the rest out." ”

Wen Shuse's eyebrows frowned slightly, and he still shook his head, "It's all gone, when my sister-in-law returned to her parents' house last month, she said that there was no decent jewelry, so let people come to me to get it, I gave three boxes, and soon the second sister-in-law also came, and took three boxes, and then saved them from coming one by one, so I gave some to each house, and I didn't lack the rest, so I let Xiangyun take it and sell it." Seeing that the eldest lady's face slowly turned pale, Wen Shuse didn't dare to say any more, and muttered, "I only said that my father brought back the expenses to provide for me, and I didn't hear that it was the dowry of the eldest sister......"

Do you need to talk about this? Over the years, the Wen family's big house is responsible for maneuvering in the officialdom, and the second room is responsible for silver, and they have always cooperated very well.

The uncle has just been in the capital for half a year, he is an official and honest, and he doesn't want to take advantage of people and be criticized, not to mention two dowries for the whole Taiwan, even if he takes out the big house, I'm afraid he won't even be able to make up half of it.

The eldest lady had a tightness in her chest and was speechless.

Old Madam Wen asked the next words for her, "What about the silver that should be sold?" ”

Wen Shuse looked sideways at the old lady, did not respond directly, the corners of his lips showed a shallow smile, his eyes were shining, "Grandmother, the Zhuangzi outside the city occupies a good area, surrounded by mountains and water, the water that comes out of the pool is warm in winter and cool in summer, only the same, there are more mosquitoes, I deliberately let people open three miles of wasteland, cut down the weeds and trees near Zhuangzi, and bought a curtain to hang up, and when the weather is hot, my grandmother will go there to escape the heat, which is cooler than the western courtyard." ”

Her answer was not what she asked, and she said with high interest, but no one present was moved.

On the contrary, the eldest lady's face was even more ugly, and all she spent was the eldest lady's dowry.

Without waiting for the old lady to ask again, the eldest lady couldn't help it, and spoke first, "What about the cash that the second master brought back?" "It's still there.

Wen Shuse's gaze turned back and looked at the eldest lady, "I also went to Zhuangzi to find out that there are more stars there at night than in the city, and they are brighter." Unfortunately, the floor is too low, so I asked someone to build a five-storey viewing loft, with a wide view and excellent scenery......

Look, it's killing her. Let's just say, a trip to Zhuangzi is getting more and more tender.

'Loser girl', she really didn't wronged her.

The eldest lady's head was jumping and hurting for a while, and in a hurry, she didn't choose to speak, "I really don't know who raised a ...... like you" The loser didn't finish speaking, realized that he was speechless, and wanted to stop, but he had already made up for it.

Who else raised it, the second lady lost her mother when she was a child, and the old lady raised it herself.

Sure enough, Old Madam Wen's face slowly turned cold.

The horizontal and vertical words have been spoken, the eldest lady broke the jar and broke it, so she simply got up and knelt in front of the old lady, "Mother, the eldest lady is married to the Xie family, the deputy commander of Zhonghe, the future Langzi has a good demeanor, and he is from a Jinshi, although it is only a county order at the moment, as soon as the deadline expires next year, he will have to return to the capital to be an official, how can my Wen family make people look down on him at this time?" Zhong Qiao has just arrived in the court, has not yet gained a foothold, if there is someone behind him who can help, the road ahead will always be much easier, and when he finds a career path in the future, our family can move to the Eastern Capital, and it can be regarded as the glory of the ancestors. ”

The truth is this.

Old Madam Wen nodded and said, "Glory to the ancestors, gold and silver are indeed indispensable to pave the way, and you can't lose face and make people look down on you." After a pause, he turned his head and asked Wen Zhongqiao, the uncle of the Wen family, "What position is the boss now?" ”

Uncle Wen was stunned for a moment, although he didn't know why his mother asked knowingly, he still got up and said respectfully, "Back to my mother, the child is the waiter of the Ministry of Workers." ”

"Zheng Sipin, he is a promising." Old Madam Wen turned her head and asked Aunt Cao again, "What about the second master, why didn't you come back?" ”

Aunt Cao lowered her eyes and replied, "The second master said that it is almost the fishing moratorium, and he has to catch the last trip, and all the boats in his hand have gone to sea, and he has stayed in Fuzhou with the third prince for the time being, and will come back in two months." ”

Two brothers, one is an official to a squire, and the other is still fishing in the sea, the difference between cloud and mud.

Look at its juniors.

Dragons give birth to dragons, phoenixes give birth to phoenixes, the sons of mice will play holes in the ground, and several sons who have a promising career in the official career are all on the side of the big house.

And the second room ...... Only Bunjuse was present.

A month ago, she provoked the son of the Jing Wang family, and punished her to go outside the city, originally wanted to sharpen her temperament and make her suffer a little, but now look at her moisturizing appearance, can it have any effect?

In the future, it will only be a big house that will go to the Eastern Capital, and the second family is still a fisherman.

Sensing the abnormality in Old Madam Wen's tone, Uncle Wen's expression gradually changed.

Old Madam Wen's eyes fell on the Uncle Wen family again, with a smile on her face, but there was majesty in her eyes, and she asked him, "Boss thinks that as a mother, this bowl of water can be leveled?" ”

Before the big drink, the Wen family was still a big family.

The old man of the Wen family assisted the seven-year-old young emperor of the first dynasty to adulthood, the official to the left servant shot, full of scenery, but the good times did not last long, the emperor was still taken away by his uncle after all, after the change of ownership, the Wen family was once suppressed because of the relationship with the previous dynasty, the old man Wen died depressed, and then the Wen family's cooking for decades, all relied on the old lady to support alone, when it was difficult, the soup bowl of three meals a day was full of vegetable leaves, and the slightest oil star could not be seen, until King Jing served as the festival envoy here, recruited wise men, and greatly prospered trade, the Wen family was able to turn over, and slowly improved. But his vitality was also greatly damaged, and the two sons in the family could only send one to a private school.

Mrs. Wen chose the boss.

Even though he is a biological brother, this move is already biased in favor of the boss.

What's more, Uncle Wen is just an adopted son.

"Back then, I was afraid of bearing the caustic reputation of a stepmother, sending you to study, and then entering the official career, giving you more favorable conditions than my own son, although I also have the psychology of showing others, but I have never regretted it, since the day the master brought you back, you are the heir of my Wen family, as a mother, I should raise you, but your brother's family, he does not owe you, you should not count him into the bridge of the career, how much ability you have, how much ability I have, measure it yourself, don't expect the second room."

These words, like a slap in the face, slapped heavily on the face of the Wen family's uncle, the uncle's forehead was sweating, regardless of the presence of juniors, knelt down and kowtowed, "Mother, it's a child who is not filial." ”

Old Madam Wen continued, "I can't make up one hundred and twenty-eight today, and if the eldest lady feels that the sixty-four dowry is wronged, then she will not marry." ”

Before a few people could understand the meaning of her words, Old Madam Wen turned her eyes, looked at Wen Shuse, and suddenly called, "Immortals." ”

It is a small character of Wen Shuse, the same as 'Shuse', which means a fairy-like posture and a beautiful color.

The name was chosen by her mother, hoping that she would grow like a flower, and now she has fulfilled her wish, but unfortunately her mother is not so blessed to see.

When she was six years old, the second lady died of illness, leaving the three masters, the old lady was distressed, and she brought it to her and raised it in front of her, carefully cultivating according to the mold of everyone's ladies.

Too squeamish.

As far as her rat can't save the overnight food, not to mention the whole dowry, even if she is given a mountain of gold and silver, she also has the ability to make light.

The eldest daughter-in-law is right, the eldest son of the Xie family is known as virtuous and virtuous, and he does not seek glory and wealth, but only wants to have a husband who tolerates her in the future.

Old Madam Wen closed her eyes and said cross-heartedly, "You come to marry." ”