When I returned to the Jin Mansion, I encountered the servants of the mansion sending ice to the courtyards of the masters.
In previous years in Fu's house, Fu Ming could only get a little ice on the hottest days of the year. Jin Fu used ice earlier and used it generously.
Fu Ming asked Xian Lan and the others to take out a bucket of ice shaved from Fang Man Ting and put it in the small study. Others, let them move to the lower house.
Qianlan asked, "Young master, what are you doing in our house? Put it next to your bed. It will be cooler to sleep at night."
Fu Ming smiled and said, "I'm not afraid of heat. Besides, my house is not hot either. Your house is different. It is exposed to light in the afternoon and not very ventilated. After a long time, it still looks like a steamer at night?"
"But this is for the master."
"Yes, I am the master. I can use it as I say. Okay, let's move."
Fu Ming's tone was firm, and Qian Lan knew his temperament. Although she was still in a dilemma, she was more moved by a mix of sweet and sour. She greeted a little girl and moved ice with her.
After they left, Fu Ming asked Lu Feixian's first wife, Mrs. Zhou, if she had a younger sister. Before and after marrying into the Jin Mansion, Lu Fei secretly inquired about a lot of things about the Jin Mansion, so that her son would not suffer losses due to unknown circumstances.
She thought about it for a while and replied, "There are three brothers and sisters born to my first wife and my mother. First my wife is the eldest sister, and there is a younger brother and a younger sister. Master Zhou is about eighteen or nine years old this year, and Miss Zhou is slightly younger. Well, it should be fourteen."
Fu Ming nodded. Lu Fei asked: "Why did you suddenly ask this?"
Fu Ming said: "Nothing, just ask casually."
"Oh." Lu Fei smiled, "You may be able to see these two in a short while, I heard that they are both young masters and young ladies with good looks!"
"yes?"
"Yeah. In half a month, it will be the first lady's memorial day. Every year, the Zhou family will come to worship."
…
If it was as Lu Fei said, when the lotus flowers in the house were in full bloom, the Zhou family would send someone to pay their respects to the first lady. The person who came was the same mother and younger brother of the Zhou family. At least from the outside, both of them are good-looking and well-mannered, which is really likeable.
After the two followed Jin Yi and Zhaoyan to the ancestral hall to worship their eldest sister, Zhou Yuqing, a girl from the Zhou family, was led by Renlan to the old lady's house with Zhaoyan, while Zhou Chengyan, Zhou's younger brother, was led by Jin Yi and Fu Ming. entertain.
This is the first time that Fu Ming has met a foreigner as Jin Yi's husband-in-law. It's not that Jin Yi really recognized Fu Ming's identity, it's just to show respect to the Zhou family.
The three sat in the main hall drinking tea. Grapes, melons and lychees swarmed in the crushed ice, exuding a hint of coolness and fragrance.
Jin Yi and Zhou Chengyan exchanged a few words and then had nothing to say. Seeing the solemn scene, Fu Ming squeezed a lychee and said with a smile: "When a concubine of Hongchen laughed, no one knew that it was a lychee. In the Tang Dynasty, in order to eat How many people travel day and night to serve fresh lychees. Now that the water transport in Kyoto is developed, and the preservation of vegetables and fruits is well done, let alone people like us, ordinary people can buy a few lychees at the market for a few dollars. Try it out."
Zhou Chengyan responded and said: "Exactly. I went to the street the other day and found that not only fresh rivers, but also seafood can be seen everywhere. There are also various fruits from the south, and some overseas novelties. Among the paintings and calligraphy left over from previous dynasties, they are all grand scenes that have never been seen before.”
The two of you went from the bustling market to the local customs, and there is still a tendency to continue to diverge. Jin Yi casually made a few words and realized that if he was not there, they should be able to speak more freely, so he excused himself and let Fu leave. Ming Haosheng entertains Zhou Chengyan.
After Jin Yi left, Zhou Chengyan took a sip of tea and took a long breath.
Fu Ming smiled and said, "Chengyan is afraid of his brother-in-law?"
Zhou Chengyan sneered and said, "Some. I used to come to play in this mansion when my sister was still there. I was young, and when I was naughty, I was tamed by my brother-in-law." Then, he pretended to be Jin Yi He said a few tame words, which made Fu Ming and himself can't help laughing.
Fu Ming restrained his smile, but his brows were still stretched: "In this way, it is indeed excusable."
Zhou Chengyan said: "Actually, my brother-in-law treats my sister and us very well, but he is too stern. I admire my brother-in-law very much, but I am not very willing to stay with him. Brother Ming, you and him It's very different, in the future, when I come to Jin Mansion, I don't have to face the cold face alone, that's great!"
Fu Ming shook his head with a smile, half funny, half helpless, and said in front of his brother-in-law that his brother-in-law, this younger brother, was really frank and unrestrained.
Seeing Fu Ming's friendly face, Zhou Chengyan changed his mind and said, "Brother Ming, how about I go to your place for lunch today? Let's eat together."
"Why?"
"I used to eat in my brother-in-law's courtyard. But every year on this day, my brother-in-law would go to the place where my sister lived for a while and a half. After returning, I was not in a good mood. I didn't know what to eat during the whole meal. If my brother-in-law likes me to be with me, then it doesn’t matter if I don’t eat well. But I always feel that my brother-in-law actually wants to be alone. Besides, Ming-ge, you don’t want to eat in such a silent and oppressive environment, right?”
Fu Mingdao: "Then let me ask someone first. Your brother-in-law is in the courtyard where the former wife used to live? Is it okay to send someone to disturb him?"
"That's fine. Brother-in-law doesn't take anger at others. My sister's place isn't a forbidden place after she's passed away. You can go there."
That being the case, Fu Ming asked Lu Fei to go.
Before that, someone arrived one step ahead of Lu Fei.
Zhou Yuqing was sitting in the old lady's house. During the period, on the pretext that he wanted to visit the place where his sister lived, he came here with his personal maid. Outside the courtyard, she sent her maid away and entered the courtyard alone.
Jin Yi is really here. He is reading a volume of "Heart Sutra" embroidered by Zhou Shi before his death under the shade of greenery in the courtyard:
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, practiced deep prajnaparamita. Seeing that the five aggregates are empty, save all suffering...
Zhou Shi once said that Jin practiced martial arts since he was a child, and he had an upright spirit, but he was inevitably too tough. He supported his sick body before he was alive, embroidered this volume of "Heart Sutra" for him, and urged him to always recite it in his heart. So, every year today, Jin Yi will read the Heart Sutra silently here to wash his mind.
Today, Jin Yi is not dressed in dark colors like in the past, but white clothes and plain shoes. The greenness in the court seems to have stained his clothes without fine dust and the fingertips that touch the ink characters.
"Brother-in-law is still thinking of my elder sister like this. If my elder sister has a spirit in the sky, she can also smile." A soft and gentle voice came.
Jin Yi raised his head and found that it was Zhou Yuqing, so he got up and gave in. Zhou Qingqing shook his head, refused to sit, and just stood and looked at the courtyard, smiling like weeping, "Brother-in-law let me keep this courtyard as it was in the past. Xiaoqing still remembers that when he was a child, brother-in-law danced swords here for his sister and his sister. What I see is like yesterday."
Jin Yi replied: "The years are fleeting, and the years are fleeting. You have grown up."
Zhou Qingqing said: "Yes, I'm an adult. My brother-in-law has been guarding for my sister for three years, and it was during these three years that Xiaoqing grew up."
Jin Yi had nothing to answer, but Zhou Yuqing was not reconciled, and said clearly: "When my sister was dying, how did you entrust your brother-in-law?"
Jin Yi said in surprise: "You know?"
Zhou Yanqing said, "How could I not know? Because that's what I asked my sister for!"
"you… "
"So, these years, I thought my brother-in-law was waiting for me... When I grow up. But, who knows, three years later, you will marry someone else."
Jin Yi was silent for a moment, and then replied, "I'm sorry for her because of the entrustment of Sirou."
"No." Tears welled up in Zhou Yanqing's eyes, "Brother-in-law's burden is clearly... clearly..." The word "I" was finally swallowed, she sighed, and said, "I know, brother-in-law is also involuntarily."
However, Jin Yi stopped speaking, and picked up the Heart Sutra again to read silently.
Zhou Yuqing looked at him, and after a while, he asked tentatively, "Brother-in-law, do you know that the lady you cherish in your heart, my sister, has been insulted by others?"
Jin Yi raised his head, "Why did you say this?"
Zhou Yuqing explained a few things about the last time he met Fu Ming when he went out, and said: "When he heard me mentioning my sister, he looked unhappy. Short, what else can I say, and then walk away. Brother-in-law, I know that you are not happy when you marry him. But no matter what, since he has married you, he should respect her sister, but he treats her like that. Contempt. I only see new people laughing, where can I hear old people cry. If my sister has a spirit in heaven and knows about this, she will be sad and cry."
Jin Yi rubbed his brows and said, "I already know about this. There is no ice here, and the heat is unbearable. You'd better go back to the old lady as soon as possible. If you come out alone, everyone will be worried."
Zhou Yuqing was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "Then I'll go first, brother-in-law, take care of yourself." After speaking, he slowly walked to the gate of the courtyard, turned around, and found that Jin Yi was facing him, so he left with a sad expression. go.
"Come out." Jin Yi said.
Lu Fei, who was hiding behind the rockery, walked out with trembling footsteps when she heard the words, knelt down and said: "Master, this servant did not intend to eavesdrop. The servant came to pass the word and listened to it inadvertently, and the servant wanted to avoid suspicion. Come on."
Jin Yi didn't believe what she said, but he didn't intend to pursue it. He just said, "Get up and talk to me. What are you doing to me?"
"Master Zhou wants to have lunch in Fangmanting, so the son asked the servants to come and ask if it's okay?"
Jin Yidao: "Chengyan can be wherever he wants. You go to our courtyard, and let the chef bring some of the ingredients prepared for him to you. Cook a few more dishes at noon."
Lu Fei breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly replied "yes", and then retired.
When Lu Fei and Jin Yi's cook brought a lot of ingredients and returned to Fangmanting, Fu Ming and Zhou Chengyan had already arrived. Fu Ming was playing a tune for Zhou Chengyan to listen to. Zhou Chengyan was so fascinated by it that he clapped his hands on his knees and hummed along.
After the meal, Zhaoyan came over from the old lady and met his uncle, and it was a lively affair again.
Zhou Chengyan and Fu Ming got along quite well, and they agreed to reunite at another day before saying goodbye.
After the Zhou brothers and sisters left the Jin residence, Lu Fei found an opportunity to tell Fu Ming what she had heard in the past. After Fu Ming heard this, he just nodded, but didn't say much.
Xiang Wan, Jin used to pick up Zhaoyan, and before leaving, he asked Fu Ming alone, "Did you meet Miss Zhou when you went out a few days ago?"
Fu Ming replied yes.
"Are you at odds with her?"
"I won't take the child's angry words seriously."
"She mentioned Sirou." Jin Yi explained, "Sirou is the madam's boudoir name."
Fu Ming nodded, "She did say the first lady, but I didn't respond." The deceased is dead. If someone else wants to use it as a gunner, it's fine if he doesn't accept the move. This is the respect he gives.
Hearing Fu Ming's answer, Jin Yi didn't know whether to believe it or not, but he didn't ask any more questions, and called Zhaoyan to his side, took his hand and left.
"Young master, don't explain a few words? It's better to repeat what you said to that day with that Miss Zhou, so as to be more convincing." Although Qian Lan didn't know what happened, she unconditionally trusted her son. Now I'm very worried for him.
However, Fu Ming shook his head with an indifferent expression, "What's the benefit of talking more? Besides, whether he believes it or not depends not on what I said, but on how he views me and Miss Zhou."
For this matter, Fu Ming didn't take it to heart. He just thought of what Lu Fei said about the entrustment of the first lady, and then he thought about occupying the magpie's nest by himself. Will he return it one day, or will he occupy it like this for the rest of his life. Are you on