New Year's Day, new year, new year.
Before dawn, the firecrackers in the Duke's Mansion were set off, one after another, the crackling was earth-shattering. Song Jianing was woken up by the sound, but she didn't have any air of getting up. She lay lazily on the bed, listening to the ups and downs in the house. Listening and listening, Song Jianing became in a trance, remembering her previous life, the first day of the new year when she was eleven years old.
At that time, my mother was already lingering on the sick bed, and her body was thin. Although it was Chinese New Year, there was not a trace of old age in the family. The mother's room smelled of bitter medicine as always. She was ignorant, she only knew how sad she was and didn't know how to comfort her, and then she watched her mother lose weight day by day, and in autumn, Xiang Xiaoyu died.
The grief of losing his mother suddenly surfaced in his heart, Song Jianing's vision was blurred, and the pitch-black sleeping tent seemed to have become an unreal net, making everything in the past year become illusory. Has she really been reborn, and has her life changed with her mother? Could it be that after she choked to death, she entered the underworld, and it was just a dream to go to Beijing with her mother
Song Jianing suddenly panicked, she was afraid that these were all fake, she couldn't wait to see her mother, to make sure her mother was really well!
"Jiu'er!" Song Jianing opened the tent and called, his voice anxious.
It was Shuang'er who was watching the night last night, because it was the first day of the first lunar month, and the servants all got up half an hour earlier than usual. Hearing the master's summons, Shuang'er, who had just finished cleaning the table, immediately pushed the door with a lantern. The soft light dispelled the darkness that filled the room, and also dispelled the panic in Song Jianing's heart. She stared at Shuang'er in a daze, and finally her reason suppressed her anxiety, and ordered Shuang'er, "Go and see if Madam is up."
"What's wrong with the girl?" Shuang'er asked nervously, seeing that her expression was wrong.
Song Jianing forced a smile: "It's okay, I had a nightmare, and suddenly I miss my mother."
Shuang'er was suspicious and persuaded Song Jianing to lie down again. She carried the lantern to Huanyueju. The gatekeeper had already opened the courtyard door and greeted her with a smile. Shuang’er came all the way to the upper room, and saw Qiuyue and Caiwei standing under the eaves of the porch from a distance. 's little girl.
Shuang'er was a little strange, just when she was about to step forward and Cai Wei was about to come up to ask questions, just as the sound of firecrackers all over the Guogong's mansion fell at the same time, there was an uncontrollable sound from the landlord's window. Sobbing, like a young warbler flying and suddenly falling from the air, helpless and pleading, hearing the three maids all their legs go weak.
"Is something wrong??" Cai Wei asked embarrassedly, secretly hoping that Shuang'er hadn't heard.
Shuang'er pretended that she didn't hear it, and smiled: "Today, the four girls woke up early, and asked me to come and see if Madam is up."
Caiwei looked at the window, thought about it, and said, "Wait for another quarter of an hour." It's been half an hour, although there is a longer time, but on the first day of the new year, I believe that the grandfather knows what he is.
Shuang'er blushed and left with a heartbeat. The cold wind blew for a while and returned to Song Jianing's side. Shuang'er had regained her usual composure and said softly, "Miss, Madam hasn't woken up yet, please wait another quarter of an hour."
Song Jianing nodded, and lay back on the quilt, worrying about gains and losses. Guessing that it was almost over, he immediately got up to wash, and when he was dressed, he quickly went to find his mother. Huanyueju, Lin Shi remembered, but his legs didn't obey him, and he shivered when he moved. Guo Boyan smiled and told her to lie down for a while. He got out of bed to clean up, walked out of the main room, and bumped into his little daughter. The big red lantern was hung high on the eaves of the corridor, and the little girl came over in a plum red cloak, her palm-sized face very much like Lin's.
Guo Boyan smiled and stood at the door with his hands behind his back, waiting.
"Father is up, my daughter wishes my father a healthy New Year and all the best." Song Jianing took a few steps and greeted the New Year obediently.
Guo Boyan looked at his daughter in front of him, his demeanor and his eyes were no longer dodging, and he was no longer in a state of timidity when he first entered the mansion. He was in a good mood, touched his daughter's head, and said happily: "Okay, let's go and say New Year's greetings to your mother first. , your brother and sister will come in a while, and give you a red seal together for your father."
Song Jianing smiled and nodded.
Watching his stepfather leave, Song Jianing turned around and ran inside, pulling open the curtains of the inner room to go around the screen, and saw his mother sitting beside the bed in a water-red t-shirt, just about to put on a robe. Mother's long black and lustrous hair fell on her shoulders, and her pale face in memory was now as rosy as a peony, her almond-shaped eyes were full of coquettishness.
"An An?" The daughter, who likes to sleep late, ran over early in the morning and stared at her blankly. Lin Shi was so confused, she called while dressing.
Song Jianing returned to her senses, and then looked at her mother who was more nourished than she expected. Song Jianing threw herself into her mother's arms with satisfaction and hugged her tightly: "Mother, I dreamed of you last night, I miss you so much."
Lin Shi was stunned, then lowered her head and kissed her precious daughter, who she loved Jiao, heavily: "It's a coincidence, my mother also dreamed of An An." She dreamed that her daughter first ate oranges, she asked the maid to take the oranges, and the daughter did not know what to do. Which turned out a red pomegranate, hugged it in his arms and ate it, and a pair of chubby hands were covered with juice.
Song Jianing raised her head, the girls looked at me and I looked at you, each thinking about his own dream, but they all laughed.
Lai watched her mother wash her face and comb her hair, Song Jianing's heart completely settled down, the past life and this life are really different.
~
On the seventh day of the first day of the first day of the first lunar year, Mrs. Liu came to visit relatives with a pair of children. Mrs. Lin entertained her sister-in-law in her Huanyue Residence.
"Happy New Year, Auntie!" Song Jianing got the news, rushed back from Mrs. Tai, and greeted the New Year sweetly when she entered the door.
"Okay, the longer we grow up, the better we look." Mrs Liu took her niece's hand and looked at it carefully. The Lin family held a banquet a few years ago, and Song Jianing didn't go because the corners of his mouth were bubbling. Only Guo Boyan and his wife went. Therefore, today was the first time that the Liu family met her niece after the Lin family married into the Duke's Mansion. After not seeing her for a month, Mrs. Liu took a closer look at her niece and couldn't help but exclaimed, "As expected of the Duke's Mansion, look at An An, how long has it been? It's like a direct-born lady of the official family, she's really promising."
Song Jianing smiled shyly, broke away from her aunt, and went over to talk to her cousin.
When the children were talking about the children, Mrs Lin asked Mrs Liu curiously, "Why is my sister-in-law here today?"
Liu Shi looked at the little sister-in-law's Huanyueju again, and then whispered: "My sister is married well, and the grandfather treats you with sincerity and does not dislike us. To be honest, the grandfather is willing to come to our house for dinner. "Sister-in-law, I've already earned enough face, and the three of us won't come tomorrow, just let your eldest brother come over to gain knowledge."
She has self-knowledge, and the grandfather looks down on them, but the Guo family and friends are either rich or expensive, and those noble ladies will definitely disdain to sit at the table with her, a businessman's wife. At that time, she will be uncomfortable, the distinguished guests will not like it, and the sister-in-law will be difficult. She stayed at home, and the little sister-in-law didn't have to be affected by her when she was entertaining guests. The scenery was beautiful. Anyway, as long as the little sister-in-law had a good life, the Lin family would be blessed, and someone would open the door for the Lin family's business.
Compared with face, the Liu family valued benefits more.
Looking at the sister-in-law opposite, Lin sighed after a while: "It's a blessing for my brother to marry his sister-in-law." The sister-in-law may not be generous enough in small matters, but in serious matters, the sister-in-law is thoughtful in everything, and Lin sincerely invites the sister-in-law. She came to eat, but she had to admit that her sister-in-law did not come, which saved her some trouble.
"What a blessing, your sister is his biggest noble." Liu Shi said with a smile.
The sister-in-law talked very happily, and when Guo Boyan came back in the evening, Mrs. Lin mentioned this matter. Guo Boyan was surprised and silently compared Liu's and Aunt Tan. He scoffed, "What about a businessman's wife? Some officials' wives are not as good as a businessman." If Aunt Tan was half as virtuous as Liu's, he would not neglect the Tan family. Only let the son maintain kinship.
He despised Aunt Tan, but Aunt Tan was proud to be married to the Guo family, and brought their children to the door early on the sixth day of the sixth day. Lin was busy entertaining distinguished guests from various governments, and she didn't want to be polite when she had no time. Tingfang took the initiative to accompany her aunt. Seeing that her aunt was looking around frequently after she was seated, Tingfang asked in a low voice, "Who is my aunt looking for?"
Aunt Tan glanced around again, then leaned into her niece's ear and asked, "You didn't post to the Lin family?"
Tingfang really didn't know the inside story, so she looked around and said with uncertainty, "It probably hasn't arrived yet." My father has already visited the Lin family, so he shouldn't object.
But until the end of the banquet, Liu Shi did not show up.
Aunt Tan held back her anger because Guo Boyan was a guest at Lin's house. Today, she vented it all out, and consciously regained her face. After all, Guo Boyan invited her. When saying goodbye to Lin, Aunt Tan deliberately asked, "Why haven't I seen Aunt Jia Ning? I also want to ask her if there is any fresh material in her shop recently. Spring is coming soon, and I want to make some new clothes for Xiangyu."
The Jinxiufang of the Lin family is one of the best silk and satin villages in the capital.
Lin Shi said politely: "Madam likes it, I will send a message to my sister-in-law later and ask her to send two horses to the house."
Aunt Tan saw that she avoided the question that her family was not invited, and guessed that Lin was not feeling well, so she did not continue to fall into trouble, and left in a happy spring. Back at home, Aunt Tan couldn't help but said to the pair of children: "Grandpa Guo didn't invite the Lin family to a banquet, and it seems that he didn't walk around the Lin family as a serious relative."
Tan Xiangyu nodded.
Tan Wenli sneered and said sarcastically, "Who told my mother? I could see clearly in the front yard that my uncle arranged Lin Zhengdao at General Han's table, and a toast was given at the table. Those who didn't know it thought that Lin Zhengdao is a new official in Beijing."
These words were tantamount to a slap in the face of Aunt Tan, and she couldn't smile immediately.
She deliberately compared with the Lin family, but the Lin family didn't take Aunt Tan to heart. Recently, she was worrying about her menstrual affairs. Since her ex-husband passed away, she has been worrying too much, and her menstrual period has gradually become disordered. Sooner or later, it has been a full month since she married into the Guo family, and her menstrual period has not yet come. Is it a simple physical problem, or...
Lin's mood is complicated.
When she was at a loss, Concubine Shu in the palace sent someone to send a message, asking a family of daughters to enter the palace to admire the lanterns on the night of Shangyuan Festival.
Song Jianing resisted and pouted, "Mother, can I do it if I don't go?" Princess Duanhui hates her so much, why should she go to her house.
Lin nodded her daughter's forehead: "If you don't go, what if the lady misunderstands that you are still angry with the princess?"
Song Jianing sighed, dealing with nobles, really tired.