Xianggui stomped her feet anxiously, hurriedly pulled her sleeve, and said, "We are all concubines, you still have to hide it." Besides, in a few days, Master Su will enter the mansion, and everyone here will be able to see it, is this a big secret? We only listened quietly and did not let my aunt know. ”

The girl's face hesitated, she did accompany the young lady to the Su Mansion, but she was just a little maid, following the carriage to get things, standing outside the door and waiting, never saw the appearance of Master Su. She just said that she had seen it, and she wanted to show off, but at the moment she didn't know how to lie.

When the women saw the look on her face, they guessed the truth and couldn't help but be a little disappointed. Xianggui looked at her for a long time, shook her sleeves heavily, and said dissatisfiedly: "It actually coaxed us, but it made me happy in vain." I'll just say, if you've seen Master Su, how can you keep hiding it and not telling it. ”

Seeing the disappointed look on her face, Zi Ning took a step forward, crossed her hands on her waist, showed an expression that seemed to be smiling, and said to Xianggui: "I know something about Master Su, can you listen to it?"

The eyes of the maidens of the Tang Mansion all looked at her, although the people of the two mansions had a troublesome time, but it was nothing more than pinching the fierce spirit, not a mortal enemy, and immediately a maiden came up and asked: "Do you really know about Lord Su's affairs, let's listen to it when you say it." ”

Zi Ning smiled at first, then raised her sleeves to cover her mouth, looked at Xiang Gui, and said seriously: "Master Su, I'm going to tell you, he ...... He's a man!" said that his sleeves trembled, and he grinned, Xianggui's face turned red, and he said angrily: "Ning'er, this little hoof, is making fun of me again." "Raise your hand to hit her.

The women originally listened to her with bated breath, but when they saw Zi Ning like this, they all blushed, glared at her fiercely, and complained: "The people in the palace are all tired like this!"

Zi Ning couldn't help laughing, and suddenly heard a maid say: "Shi Tao, a few days ago, you waited for the eldest prince to enter the palace, and you could see Master Su?" Sure enough, all the girls immediately turned their heads, and their eyes were all staring at Shi Tao.

Shi Tao half-lowered her head, the hot red marks on her face had not faded, frowned and groaned slightly, and said: "Lord Su happened to be feasting in the palace that day, I have seen it, but I have never said it, all for your sake." ”

Everyone was even more curious, and stepped forward to encourage her to speak out. The maid of the Tang Mansion grabbed Shi Tao's arm and pretended to be angry: "You know this, but you don't tell us about it, let's call it sisters in vain." ”

Shi Tao glanced at them sideways, the tassels of her hair dangled on her cheeks, and her complexion became more and more pale, and said, "It's not that I'm hiding it from you, but I don't know what to say." You just want to know the age of Master Su. Let me tell you the truth, Master Su has white hair and a white beard, and a face like a dried persimmon. How old you are, guess for yourself!"

The women were stunned, looked at each other, and immediately remained silent. The four of Zining glanced at each other, although they were surprised, but they were not disappointed.

Since Zi Ning entered the East Garden, she has been calmer than other concubines, and she has never had a good impression of Master Su, and she already has a sweetheart, so she has already lost her heart to compete for glory and victory. Seeing these women hanging their heads, I only feel ridiculous and pathetic.

Xianggui sat in front of the window, looked at the birds on the flower branches outside, sighed and said: "It's just an old man who is surrounded by a wind and candle, just spend a few days in peace, what kind of favor are you fighting for?

As soon as these words came out, the faces of the women became even more ugly. Shi Tao looked at Xianggui for a moment, turned her eyes to look at the pink dazzling flowers and trees outside the window, and said slowly: "This is not bad, the Great Jin Dynasty has the custom of burying a concubine with a daughter." The master passed away, and the concubine left too much, and there was nowhere to place it, so she pushed it into the tomb, sealed the broken dragon stone, and suffocated to death inside. What's so strange?"

Luhuan's expression suddenly became frightened, and he blushed and said, "If the concubine is favored, maybe she doesn't have to be buried with her." ”

Xianggui showed a sneer on her face, her eyes turned to her, and she said quietly: "The more favored you are, the more the master likes it, and it will inevitably accompany the funeral, and no one can escape." If you are young and favored, you will live with your master and fly for a lifetime, and you will be buried with him when you are old, and you will die unjustly. The most lamentable thing is that in the twenty-eighth year, he was buried with the white-haired old man, and he didn't even taste the taste of being favored, so he became a living sacrifice in a daze. ”

Green Ring shook his head again and again, and said in a panic: "Don't say it." That being the case, aren't we, the ladies, dead......? There must be no such thing. ”

Seeing that she was so scared, Shi Tao lowered her head and flicked a string of gold chuns on her wrist and stopped talking. When the women heard that Master Su was an old man with white hair and white beard, they were all like a thunderbolt from the sky, with different expressions on their faces, and there was silence in the hall for a while.

At this time, a messenger came in and shouted, "Girls, come with me, walk faster, Aunt Ligu and the grandmothers in the palace are waiting!"

The women silently went out from behind the screen, followed the mother-in-law who was passing the word, and went all the way to the courtyard of the grand four-entry mansion owner.

The East Garden entered the mansion four times, and the beams and eaves of the house were repainted and repaired, and the furniture was placed, which showed a magnificent style. The doors and windows of the main hall and the hall are all made of rosewood, and two rows of carved screens in the shape of 10,000 characters are erected, and various new yarn curtains and beaded curtains are hung, which is luxurious and elegant.

When the women came to the courtyard in front of the main hall, they turned their heads to look around, and when they saw that it was the place where Master Su lived, they were all curious. There are three couch chairs on the stone steps in front of the main hall house, and Mama Zhu in the palace sits in the middle to drink tea, Ligu sits on the couch chair on the left, and the old Mama Qing sits on the right. Behind the three of them stood a row of mothers-in-law, and the waiting maids stood around the sides, all standing solemnly and quietly, without a sound.

Zhu Mama put down the delicate celadon tea cup, raised her hand to fold the wide sleeves of the Fu character, and said: "Since the girl from the two mansions has come, the old body will be ordered to be tested." The girl in the palace has passed the test, Aunt Li, don't worry. After turning his head and talking to Ligu, he raised his hand, and the two mothers-in-law behind him came out of the queue and said expressionlessly: "The girls lined up and went into the house one by one to check their bodies." ”

All the women were stunned, looking at each other in horror, I don't know what to do, Luhuan had just cried in the morning, her eyes were still a little red and swollen, she raised her hand to pull her slightly messy broken hair, pulled Zi Ning's sleeve tightly, and asked in a low voice: "Ning'er, do we really want a physical examination?"

Zi Ning nodded, "Eighty percent can't hide." His face was a little embarrassed, and when he saw the serious expressions of the two mothers-in-law, he thought: "They are from the palace, so it's good, the physical examination is fairer, and you don't have to worry about Aunt Li's back." ”

When Aunt Li saw her mother-in-law bring her daughter into the inner hall, she hurriedly wiped the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief, turned her head and said with a smile: "I wish Mama, you have been working so hard, and you don't have to test them one by one." These girls are carefully selected, the two outsiders or can't keep them one by one, the two selected by the inner government are the best, and the few who look like the Tang Mansion are not necessary. In the future, he will be favored in front of Master Su, if he says that he has been examined, his face will not look good. ”

Zhu Mama picked up the teacup, looked at the hot and undulating flowers and leaves in the cup, squeezed the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, and said slowly: "Aunt Ligu is too worried, they are all selected to give gifts, what kind of face-saving things to talk about." It's hard to say whether they will be favored in the future, if there is a little mistake and it is not understood, Lord Su's face will not be good-looking. ”

Aunt Li smiled, didn't dare to say anything more, twisted her body on the couch chair a few times, picked up the teacup handed by the maid, slowly lowered her head, and lifted the heat with the lid of the teacup. His eyebrows furrowed, and he didn't know what to do.

The bluestone floor in the courtyard was spotless from last night's rain, revealing a refreshing smell of washing.

The mother-in-law took the register in her hand and recognized her face one by one, and then ordered her to go to the house for a physical examination. The women stood on the eaves steps and waited in line, when they heard the mother-in-law shouting, "Next!" A woman came out with a red face, and then another woman went in.

When they arrived in Zining, they couldn't help but get nervous, pulled their clothes tight, and their eyes showed a hint of panic. Xianggui didn't care, pulled the broken hair from the sideburns, and said: "What are you afraid of, we won't be thieves, and our hearts are not empty! I'll go in first, you guys are waiting outside!" raised his hand and lifted the curtain of the door, raised his head and went in.

Zi Ning likes Xiang Gui's temperament the most, turned around and grabbed the green ring and the manbeads, and said with a smile: "Let's listen to Sister Xiang Gui's words, don't be ashamed, those are grandmothers from the palace, and they won't harm us for no reason." ”

Green Huan's face turned pale, he bit his lip and sighed in a low voice, and said quietly for a while: "What's the difference between this and selling, but it's because of the hard life of our people, and the ladies of the scholar clan are married, can we also let the mother-in-law check their bodies?"

Seeing her like this, Zi Ning hurriedly wiped her tears with a handkerchief, and said softly: "Whether you choose a wife or sell it, you always have to fight for yourself." I don't believe in hard work, we just need to live happily together. ”

Manzhu, who had been silent, suddenly said: "Even if it is a young lady of the Shi clan, it is not necessarily blessed. If you marry and accept the words of the matchmaker from your parents, how do you know that they will not suffer from life?"

As he was talking, Xianggui smiled and opened the door curtain and came out, saying, "Who do you say has a hard life? Don't be afraid, the grandmother in the palace treats people and is not fierce at all." ”

After Zi Ning finished her examination, the mother-in-law in the palace pulled her out, frowned and said, "This girl is covered in scars, and she doesn't have any good skin and flesh, can she be a maid for Master Su?"

Zhu Mama glanced at Zi Ning coldly, and said: "I look good, I have a scar, and I don't have to serve the adults closely, just send them to the backyard to live." ”

When all the girls in the Tang Mansion saw that Zi Ning was sent away by Mama Zhu, they were all secretly happy, Shi Tao glanced at her proudly, thinking that to get rid of Zi Ning such an eyesore, and the other women were not opponents.

Yincia also felt relieved, and couldn't help but say: "A rough cooking girl, climbed into the East Garden to be a maid, do you still expect to be on an equal footing with us, and go to live in the backyard, but Mama has pity on you." ”

Seeing her fall into the well like this, Zi Ning's face turned red and retorted: "I have scars on my body, and I can't get in the way of you! You haven't let Mama have a body examination, who knows if you have a scar birthmark on your body, maybe you have a fox smell, so you used these flowers to cover it up, and it makes people have a headache!"

Silver Cicada's face turned pale with anger, and he pointed at her and said, "You...... You slut......" Zi Ning craned her neck and walked past her head-on, deliberately slamming her shoulder.

The silver cicada was about to attack, and suddenly heard the mother-in-law say: "This silver cicada has not been examined." ”

As soon as she heard her mother-in-law call her name, the silver cicada trembled, walked over with a red face, and saluted the mother-in-law: "The slave is the silver cicada, just because her body is inconvenient these days, so she ......"

Zhu Mama, who was sitting on the couch chair, raised her head, looked her up and down, and said without a trace of expression: "There is nothing inconvenient, take her in for a test!" The two mothers-in-law agreed and forced the silver cicada into the house. ————