At this time, the mother-in-law carried two large wooden barrels, squeezed in from behind the maiden, and placed the wooden barrels on the desk, which was steaming hot and white.

Zi Ning was very curious, and thought to herself: "Is this to bathe the maid, what is the wooden bucket doing on the desk?" Another maid brought five soup bowls on a tray and held them high in front of the maids.

Qing Mama said indifferently: "According to the rules of the scholar clan, all the maidens who are close to the adults must first drink the 'Broken Soup', and then paint a portrait and present it to the adults. After drinking this bowl of decoction, I cut off the idea of giving birth in the future, so that I can serve by the side of adults. ”

As she spoke, she scooped the soup from the bucket with a wooden spoon and filled five soup bowls.

The status of the concubine is low, and the scholar clan in order to protect the noble bloodline of the descendants, so they set the rule of "breaking off the soup", and the concubine is not allowed to conceive and give birth.

The women were stunned, looked at each other, and all showed frightened looks, and couldn't help but take a few steps back, and no one dared to pick up the soup bowl and drink it.

Zi Ning stood behind the women, standing on tiptoe to look at the wooden barrel, only to see that the dark brown medicinal soup in the barrel was filled with layers of heat, like hell refining oil, which was daunting.

Qing Mama ordered the maid to hold the soup bowl in front of the high-grade and middle-grade maids, raised her sleeves and said: "Several girls are sensible, and if they want to be favored, the rules of this scholar clan cannot be messed up." This severed soup is a great supplement, and the girls drink it to build muscle and nourish blood, except that they can't give birth, nothing else is hindered. ”

The four of them glanced at each other, lowered their heads, and were silent, all of them unusually pale.

After a while, Xia Wan stepped forward and bowed to Ying Ying, and said to Qing Mama: "Please give me a bowl of broken soup, Xia Wan is willing to paint a portrait first." ”

Qing Mama showed an approving gaze, nodded slightly, and the maid immediately brought her a bowl of medicinal soup, Xia Wan blew the hot air slightly, and brought it to her mouth calmly, with a sad smile on the corner of her mouth.

"Xia Wan, don't drink it!" Zi Ning couldn't help but scream, Xia Wan turned her head calmly, glanced at Zi Ning deeply, and showed a complicated smile, but she didn't hesitate in her hand, picked up the soup bowl, raised her head and drank the medicinal soup.

After drinking the medicinal soup in a blink of an eye, Xia Wan handed the empty bowl to the maid, wiped the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief, walked to a painter, and sat down on the couch like a tuft of soft grass.

The long-bearded old painter nodded, squinted and said, "It's good to be casual girl, this painter will definitely do his best to paint a portrait of the girl, Master Su will definitely like it when he sees it." As he spoke, he ordered someone to spread out the drawing paper and concentrate on drawing at Xia Wan.

Seeing Xia Wan so resolute, Shi Tao bit her pale lip hard, walked up to the maid who served the soup, and said, "It's just a bowl of broken soup, what's there to be afraid of!" picked up the soup bowl and drank it in a few sips. Then the corners of his mouth hooked up a smug smile, and he walked over to the other painter and sat down.

When the women saw that the two of them had drunk the decoction, their eyes were fixed on the frost goose and the manzhu, Zi Ning pushed the crowd away and squeezed in, wanting to step forward to stop it, but suddenly heard the frost goose muttering to herself: "Drinking this decoction in one gulp, it will be a lot less trouble." ”

Zi Ning hurriedly walked up to her, stretched out her hand to stop her, and said anxiously: "Don't drink it, you will regret it in the future." Green Ring also squeezed in front of him, nodded again and again, raised his hand to pull the sleeve of Frost Goose, and persuaded: "If a woman can't give birth to children, she will have no chance of coming out in her life." ”

Shuangyan had taught the people of the Tang Mansion several times and helped Zining and them to break the siege, which made Luhuan have a good impression of her.

Although Zi Ning felt that Frost Goose was very mysterious, she knew that she was a good person and didn't want her to be ruined by the severed soup. So he persuaded each other softly: "Don't you even want your own children and descendants in order to get close to Master Su?"

Frost Goose raised her eyes indifferently and looked at her, as if looking at a stupid and ignorant idiot, laughed coldly, and said desolately: "I have had no parents since I was a child, and I have suffered a lot over the years. I often wonder why they gave birth to me, and because they gave birth to me, they have caused me to suffer all my life! Drink this bowl of medicine today, and all misfortune will end with me!"

As he spoke, he turned around and shook off the hand of the green ring, picked up the soup bowl, raised his neck to drink it clean, put the empty bowl into the tray with a "pop", turned his head and sat down in front of the painter, and didn't look at Zining and them again.

Zi Ning's heart was like freezing, cold to the bottom. Manzhu stepped forward slowly, picked up the medicinal soup with a little timidity, his hand trembled slightly, and said faintly: "Zi Ning, in fact, whether you drink this soup or not, it is the same ending, why do you have to do this?"

Don't look at Zi Ning's eyes full of tears, Manzhu lowered her head and pursed her lips slightly, the smile on her face was a little far-fetched, and said: "After drinking this bowl of soup, I have the opportunity to get close to adults." What's more, I originally had nothing, and I exchanged everything for the favor of adults. Zining, you say, isn't it worth it?"

Manzhu turned around quietly and drank the medicinal soup in small sips. Zi Ning's eyes closed, she lowered her head deeply, hot tears rolled down her face, her fists clenched together, and her heart was full of resentment and helplessness.

Seeing that they drank the severed soup, Mama Qing nodded and said with satisfaction: "That's right, being able to get the favor of Master Su is a blessing that has been cultivated for several lifetimes." If you don't even have the opportunity to paint a portrait, and you want to serve Master Su closely, you can dream of it!"

There was a bowl of soup left but no one dared to drink it, and the inferior maids mostly knew that they were mediocre, even if they lined up the first round of portraits, they didn't grasp the favor of Lord Su, so they hesitated.

Among the women, Zi Ning had the most beautiful appearance, and everyone's eyes looked at her, thinking that if she drank it, she might be able to be favored by Master Su.

Zi Ning was full of anger, and he couldn't wait to pull Master Su over on the spot and carefully question him, why did he want to harm these women, and why did he let these poor women suffer heart-rending pain!

The girls were hesitating, and suddenly heard a loud voice shouting: "Please Mama reward me with this bowl of broken soup!" The women turned their heads in amazement and saw that the silver cicada was dressed neatly, wearing a light feather silk satin gauze dress, and walked up the steps and entered the door to give Mama Qing a deep salute.

"Why is she? such a shameless ......," muttered a slightly plump woman.

"Didn't she go to the kitchen to wash vegetables and move firewood, how dare she come to the front courtyard to show off?" Another girl with long eyes and thin eyebrows looked at the silver cicada unpleasantly, and deliberately raised her voice and said.

The little lady from the Tang Mansion glanced at her with disdain and sneered: "Look at her dress, I think she is a young lady, but in fact, it is not as good as a rough maid!"

The silver cicada didn't pay attention to what they said, and after saluting, she got up and said to Mama Qing: "The silver cicada doesn't seek favor, but only wants to be on an errand in the front courtyard, and for the sake of serving the county lord for many years, I ask Mama for mercy." "The silver cicada has lost her status as a maid, and she is only a rough maid, and according to the rules, she is not allowed to come to the front courtyard to serve.

Qing Mama's old eyes flashed, she frowned hesitantly, and said for a while: "Although there are maids around you, you also need a big girl who goes out to deliver letters. You have served the county lord before, and you have some insight and understand the rules, so since you have such a heart, you can drink this bowl of soup. Mama Ben arranged for you to be on an errand in the front courtyard, as for whether you can enter the eyes of Lord Su, and it depends on your own creation. ”

Silver Cicada's eyes suddenly lit up, revealing a happy expression, and she saluted Mama Qing and said, "Thank you Mama Yincicada for making it happen!"

As soon as the girls saw this scene, they understood that it was a play deliberately made by Mama Qing, and took the opportunity of Xianggui's illness and inability to paint a portrait, so that she gave this vacancy to Yincia and asked her to pull back a game.

Since then, the silver cicada has jumped from the rough maid in the backyard to the big maid in the front yard, although there is no status of a maid, but it is more free than a maid, and even can enter and exit the Qingshuang Garden at will.

Zi Ning saw the smile on the silver cicada's face, and her face was proud, and she thought: "She is already outstanding in appearance, and she is on par with Shitao, this time there is Mama Qing to help her, and she suddenly climbed to the front courtyard, if she is interested in attracting Master Su, I don't want the pervert to promote her and give her a good concubine or something." ”

When the maidens saw that the silver cicada had seized the first place, they all secretly regretted not falling, and suddenly heard Mama Qing say: "This broken soup, each girl has a bowl, you all drink it, save trouble in the future!" said that the mother-in-law put the soup in the bowl and ordered the ladies to drink it all.

When a few daughters cried out, they were reluctant to do so, but they were forced by the vicious mother-in-law to hold down their buns, pinch their noses and pour them down.

Seeing her daughter crying, Mama Qing frowned impatiently, and shouted, "I don't know what to do." If you come to Dongyuan to be a concubine, you should keep the rules of a concubine, and if you continue to make trouble like this, there are only two ways, either you will be killed or you will be thrown out to be a dirty slave prostitute!"

When the women heard this, they were all trembling with fright, endured their grief and grievances, silently picked up the soup and drank it, and those who struggled to resist a little were all pressed to the ground by the mothers-in-law, slapped a few times, and poured the bowl of soup and drank it.

Seeing that the situation was not right, Zi Ning had already secretly dragged Lu Huan and Yao Er back to hide, and the three of them had just walked out of the hall, when they suddenly heard a loud shout from Mama Qing: "Grab those three little hooves!"

Zi Ning shouted, "Run!" Lu Huan lifted her skirt and ran away, but Yao Er's hands and feet were weak, she just ran two steps, and fell heavily on the cobblestone ground, causing her forehead to be red and swollen, gritting her teeth and enduring the pain, unable to get up.

Turning her head and seeing her face turned pale, Zi Ning hurriedly turned around to help her, Yao Er cried and shouted: "Hurry up and run, what do you care about me!" Zi Ning gritted her teeth and picked her up, seeing a few mothers-in-law running over viciously, she thought: "Where can we escape, we can't escape from this time, unless we don't become a concubine, otherwise this bowl of broken soup must be drunk." ”

Luhuan had already run far away, and when he turned around, he saw the mother-in-law twisting Zi Ning and Yao Er's hands, and dragged them back, and couldn't help but exclaim: "Ning'er......" ran back with her skirt, crying as she ran: "Ning'er, you let Ning'er go, I'll drink that medicinal soup......"

Zi Ning's arm was twisted by her mother-in-law, and when she saw Luhuan crying and ran back, she shouted loudly: "Luhuan, you quickly escape from Dongyuan, find the eldest princess and Aunt Xu, and beg them to save you......" The voice fell, and she was slapped hard by a stout mother-in-law, and scolded: "Little slut, no matter who you find, you have to drink the broken soup!"

In the blink of an eye, the three of them were dragged back into the hall, and the mothers-in-law held them down and knelt in front of Mama Qing. Zi Ning struggled and writhed twice, feeling anxious, and secretly thought: "Even if I break free, one person can escape, but Luhuan and Yao'er cannot, what should I do?"

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