Zi Ning stretched out her arms left and right, raised her long and wide sleeves, and thought: "What is this, can you fry vegetables in these long-sleeved clothes!" sighed secretly, the ancients really didn't think it was troublesome, and they had three layers inside and three layers outside, with these jewelry and palace silk, and they were dressed in a clanging sound. Dressing up like this every day, not to mention wasting precious time, it is still like a Christmas tree full of bells!

Seeing that Zi Ning was dressed up, Lu Huan took her hand, looked in front of the mirror, and was just about to go out, when she heard a rush and chaotic footsteps in the courtyard outside the house, mixed with all kinds of human noise.

A group of little maids who had just tied their hair ran in from outside the yard, shouting loudly: "Zining, Green Ring, hurry up and take a look, Mama has ordered your booklet!"

The noise was mixed with the crying of children, Zi Ning couldn't understand what was clicked on the booklet, and turned her head to look at the green ring in confusion, and saw that she was also full of confusion.

The little maid said that the grandmother is the old woman in charge of the courtyards, who has been serving in the palace for a long time, knows a lot of rules, and has some power, and disciplines the inferior little maids very strictly.

Luhuan exclaimed: "Is the grandmother from the dining room here?" It must be annoying us, and we won't go to the dining room to serve for half a day." The grandmother in the dining room asked her to find Zining to go to the dining room on an errand, and the two of them delayed for a long time, afraid that the grandmother couldn't wait, so she came to the big courtyard to reprimand them in person.

Hurriedly lifted the curtain, and Green Ring ran out to see what was going on. Zi Ning was also a little flustered, after she woke up, it was still like a dream, everything around her was unfamiliar, if she saw the grandmothers and maids who used to get along in the dining room, I don't know what kind of feeling it was, which made her a little uneasy.

Thinking like this, I felt even more nervous and timid, my hands and feet couldn't help but tremble, and I wanted to turn around and go back to the couch, avoid these people, and never go out to see them.

The voice of the green ring came from outside the house: "Ning'er, come out and see, it's not our grandmother in the dining room!" Zi Ning heard her call, and when she stopped, she hesitated, thinking: "You can't hide without seeing anyone for the rest of your life, you have to step out of this step." As long as she walks out of this room, Zi Ning will really be reborn! If she can see her benefactor again, she will have a new future. ”

Close your eyes and take two deep breaths, clench your fists in your sleeves, and silently say in your heart: "Zining, be brave, go out!" Then he opened his eyes, lifted the corner of his skirt with one hand, pushed open the door with the other, "creaked", stepped on the threshold, and stepped out at once.

Suddenly there was a light in front of her, the sun shone on her, all kinds of lively voices in her ears became louder, and her nose smelled the fragrance of flowers and plants mixed with the smell of the fields emitted by earthy poultry. Children under the eaves are running around, and a few chicks in the yard are cooing and flapping their wings in pursuit.

Zi Ning suddenly felt a new force pouring out of her body, couldn't help but take two deep breaths, turned her head to look around, and saw many unfamiliar servants gathered in the courtyard, talking about something in groups. She felt extremely new to everything in front of her, and when she looked up at the clear blue and cloudless sky, she felt an irrepressible excitement in her heart.

This is her new life, full of exciting unknowns.

Luhuan turned his head and took her hand, pointed to the door of the compound, and exclaimed, "Ning'er, look at those people, what's going on?" There were dozens of girls behind him, all dressed as fifteen or sixteen-year-old maids, huddled together in fear, all looking panicked.

As soon as these people stepped into the courtyard gate, the two fat women cleaned the stone benches under the apricot trees in the courtyard and invited a grandmother with her hair in a bun to sit down. Behind the mama stood a woman with a yellow paper book in her hand, and she raised her eyes to scan the houses around the courtyard. Seeing a group of dirty children chasing each other with chickens and ducks, he raised his sleeves in disgust and covered his mouth and nose, frowning deeply.

These people came to the large courtyard, and immediately attracted a group of idle slaves, who stood outside and laughed and watched the excitement. All of them widened their eyes, stretched their necks, looked in very curiously, and talked nonsense: "These grandmothers have never seen them." ”

Someone answered: "Dressed so neatly and decently, and the formation is also big, I think it is the grandmothers in the inner courtyard of the house." ”

"I recognize the grandmother who flipped through the book, it is Mrs. Chen, who is in charge of the maid roster in our foreign house. ”

"Oh, even the roster has been turned over, aren't you going to sell the girls?"

Everyone guessed and wondered. Lu Huan was secretly surprised, stood beside Zi Ning, and whispered: "They all have identity grandmothers, who have served their masters in the inner mansion for a long time, and never come to our compound." I don't know what happened today, and I was tired of this group of grandmothers rushing over. "I thought that the grandmother of the inner house suddenly came to the place where the servants lived, and if it wasn't for something big in the dirty place, they would never step further.

Zi Ning was shocked in her heart and shook her head in confusion, but intuition is not a good thing.

In the middle of the courtyard is a tall and luxuriant apricot tree, three apricot trees are connected together, the flowers and leaves are overlapping all over the place, and a large number of pink and white petals fall on the ground, trampled by the footsteps of everyone.

In the east and west rows of houses lived a maid waiting outside the second door, at this time everyone was disturbed by the noise, every household pushed open the doors and windows, and the people in the house probed their heads to see what was going on.

The old lady in the satin dress sat firmly on the stone bench under the apricot tree, cleared her throat, and asked slowly: "Where are Zining and Green Ring?" Mrs. Chen, who was standing behind her and holding a yellow paper booklet, immediately stepped forward when she heard Mama's question, and said with a smile: "Mama Qing, you always raise your eyes, these two girls are it." Looking at Zi Ning and Lu Huan, the two were holding hands, standing at the door of the house in a daze.

Mama Qing glanced at them, nodded slightly, raised her hand to stroke her wrinkled forehead, and said, "Look at the booklet to see if it fits." ”

The yellow paper booklet was flipped up, and Mrs. Chen glanced at the record in the booklet and said: "Zi Ning is a slave who sells herself in the book, and now she is a rough maid who works as a handyman in the big dining room. is sixteen this year, and there is an old lady in the family. ”

Mama Qing asked, "Is the handiwork good?"

Mrs. Chen glanced at Zi Ning and smiled at Mama Qing: "This girl is clever, knows how to cook a few fancy meals, and has never been worthy of others, nor has she served her master closely." ”

Zi Ning panicked for a while, seeing that this situation was not a good thing. Looking at the girls standing behind the mothers-in-law, they were all gray-faced, pursed their mouths and lowered their heads, squeezing each other together, as if they were afraid of something.

Mrs. Chen paused for a while, flipped through the booklet again, and continued: "Green Ring Fifteen, both parents died, she has been a slave seller since she was a child, and now she is also a rough little maid in the big dining room. Her aunt is the mother-in-law who guards the door in the inner house, and she has no other relatives. ”

When Mrs. Chen spoke, Lu Huan quietly squeezed Zi Ning's hand, her voice trembled a little, and asked, "Ning'er, why did she read the roster, is it because I have no relatives, and she wants to sell me outside?" Zi Ning also had no idea, she had never experienced this situation before, and she couldn't say what her mother-in-law wanted to do.

But the matter has not yet been clarified, and he thinks that there is no need to scare himself, so he quietly comforts Green Ring and says, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid." They also read my name, so they shouldn't have betrayed us. ”

After hearing what Mrs. Chen said, Mama Qing shook her sagging old face full of wrinkles, squinted her eyes and looked at the two of them, and said slowly: "You two, take off your shoes and socks, and show me the soles of your feet." Immediately, two fat women stepped forward, moved two wooden piers, ordered Zi Ning and Lu Huan to sit down, and said, "Take off your shoes quickly and show Mama!"

Zi Ning and Lu Huan glanced at each other, they were very surprised, and suddenly their hands and feet were flustered, at a loss, thinking why did we take off our shoes, what did Mama want to look at?

Zi Ning felt that it was very inappropriate, what had become of taking off her shoes in front of so many people. couldn't help but ask: "What does Mama want to do, it's good to say it, hiding it from us like this makes people panic." "She has always been bold in speaking, and whether it is an occasion or not, she can say what she wants to say directly.

Na Qing Mama looked at her coldly, turned her head and asked Mrs. Chen, who was holding the yellow paper booklet, "The girls outside your two doors are all so unruly?"

Mrs. Chen was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly smiled: "Mama, don't blame, these girls are all rough, they don't restrain them from following the rules on weekdays, and now it's like this, wait for me to teach her a lesson." He raised his head hatefully, glanced at Zi Ning's face, and said to the two fat women: "Slap that little slut twice, you don't understand the rules like this, you deserve to be beaten hard!"

The two fat women twisted Zi Ning's arms one on the left and one on the right, and reprimanded: "Unruly little hooves, look at your mouth!"

Zi Ning hurriedly said, "Why are you beating people!" twisted her shoulders and struggled, pulling the old wounds on her body in pain, she bit her lip tightly, and refused to give in to anything.

A mother-in-law twisted her and scolded: "This little hoof, dare to pout." With a lot of force on his hand, Zi Ning broke out in a cold sweat because of the pain.

"You mothers-in-law, don't be reasonable, don't take our little maid in your eyes, you are used to beating and scolding and humiliating at will, and you will teach people indiscriminately. Zi Ning screamed loudly, her pretty face flushed.

Mama Qing's old face twitched twice, and she said in a cold voice: "The day before yesterday, there were no clothes and shoes in the county lord's house, and the minions found them in the firewood room. This grandmother wants to see the soles of your feet, precisely to find the thief who stole your clothes!"

Zi Ning was shocked when she heard this, and thought: "It's over, the clothes that I changed on a rainy day were found in the firewood room, if they found out that I had injuries on the soles of my feet, wouldn't it be impossible to escape death." "I thought I was lucky enough to escape, but I didn't expect that Frost Goose's plan still succeeded, and he stole into the county lord's room to steal clothes, and it was a capital crime to be caught.

was in a trance, the two mothers-in-law sat down according to her, took off the shoes and socks on both feet, stared at it, and was stunned, and a fat woman said sharply: "Tell grandma, this girl has a scar on the soles of her feet, which is newly left recently!"

Luhuan also took off her shoes and socks, and when she saw that Zi Ning was twisted by her mother-in-law, she hurriedly got up barefoot to stop her, and shouted: "It's not Ning'er, Ning'er didn't steal the county lord's clothes, she has an injury on her foot because she was beaten a few days ago, and the injury is very serious, Lin Niang hasn't woken up yet......"

She was bent on arguing for Zining, but Mama Qing didn't bother to listen to this, raised her eyelids, and said slowly: "Now I have found the main master, there were also thieves in the prince's study that day, and the female thief who happened to steal the clothes and the male thief who broke into the study were in a group, and even the clothes that were changed were wrapped together." Grandma Ben caught you, and the thief who broke into the study was caught!"