The three of them came to the canal together, first grabbed a handful of soil to wipe off the greasy hands, and then washed their hands in the clear water from the canal. Leyao was still young, so naturally his mother would do it for him. Xue Shuiwu held her little hand while helping her While washing his hands, he was talking softly.
"Let's talk about drinking tea. There are also many rules. Different occasions and different places have different particularities. For example, when eating with guests, tea is often served, and the tea cannot be filled. Only fill 70% of the water, and don't fill it up to the edge."
This Xue Shuiwu is really a good mother, she never forgets to educate her daughter when she catches the opportunity, probably because she wants to educate her daughter to be a real lady of the family, just now she mentioned tea, so she educated her daughter on the tea ceremony. Ye Xiaotian feels that fortunately this little girl is still young and her innocent nature is still there, otherwise it would be boring to behave like a little adult.
However, Ye Xiaotian didn't know much about the details of the tea ceremony, so he listened to it with relish and benefited a lot: "When drinking tea, if there are tea leaves floating on the water, drink it with a bowl lid instead of a tea lid It is impolite to write a few words or blow a few words.
Also, take small sips of tea, and don't drink it up no matter how thirsty you are. If you want to refill after drinking a cup of tea, just lift the bowl lid and lean it against the tray, the host will know that you need to refill, but don’t open your mouth to ask for it, because when they refill for you, they will bow to thank you.
If you are the host, you must turn your body sideways when refilling water for guests, hold the lid of the pot with your hand, and keep the spout away from the guests, which means cursing. If you are serving tea to someone, don't turn around immediately after serving the tea, but take three steps back before turning around, otherwise it is disrespectful. "
Ye Xiaotian hangs out with a group of court officials in the prison of the Ministry of Justice every day, and understands many and complicated things, but those court officials are criminals, and they are absolutely not interested in teaching him the tea ceremony. heart.
Xue Shuiwu rubbed her daughter's hands with fine soil, and said, "Okay, wash it yourself."
Le Yao squatted beside the water with her little butt pouted, washing her little hands with a splash. Xue Shuiwu continued to exhort while washing her hands: "If you go to visit someone who is more dignified than you instead of a banquet, the tea they bring Just don't drink it, it's just for show. Unless the host raises his hand to "treat you", the waiter will shout "see off" when someone brings a cup, which is called "see off tea."
Ye Xiaotian couldn't help laughing and said: "I didn't expect you to know so many things. Did you learn this after entering the Yang Mansion?"
Xue Shuiwu was silent for a moment, then quietly said: "The father of the slave family was originally the head of the Ministry of Rites and Rituals."
Ye Xiaotian was taken aback, and lost his voice: "You are actually a queen? How is it possible..."
Xue Shuiwu's face was gloomy, and he said quietly: "How can you be a small person, right? My father is in charge of ceremony, military ceremony, academic affairs, and imperial examination in the Rites and Cleaning Department. Once, there was a fraud in the imperial examination room. Anger, the relevant people were all punished regardless of whether they were involved or not, and even the lightest family property was confiscated, and my family was in ruins... "
Ye Xiaotian was stunned, and said in his heart: "This time I really took advantage of it! Not only did I get a beautiful woman who is as beautiful as a flower, but she also comes from such a noble background. This is the daughter of the head of the Ministry of Rites. It's just... Luo, it's not so miserable that I become a concubine, among them... "
Ye Xiaotian asked tentatively: "Now that you are free, why don't you go home?"
Xue Shuiwu said lightly: "Because in my father and brother's heart, I am already dead."
Ye Xiaotian looked at her in astonishment, Xue Shuiwu raised his head, looked at the bright stars all over the sky, and said sadly: "My family is also from a scholarly family, a family of poetry and etiquette. Wouldn't it be polite to spread the word? So, when I decided to sell myself to bury my mother, my family... considered me dead."
Ye Xiaotian said in surprise: "Sell yourself to bury your mother?"
Xue Shuiwu lowered her head and washed her hands, and said softly: "At that time, the court was investigating my father's case. My mother was seriously ill, and the family didn't have time to go to the hospital for treatment, so she died. An accident happened, so I was eager to return to my hometown. I didn’t even want to take care of my mother’s queen. I wanted to bury it in a bundle of straw mats. I’m a weak woman, what can I do? So... But my father and brother thought I sold myself to be buried Mother, ruined Xue's family style, and kicked me out of the house from now on... "
A few crystal clear teardrops fell into the gurgling water without sound or trace.
Ye Xiaotian was surprised and angry when he heard this: "What a cold family this is, and what a filial daughter! Hearing these words, Shui Wu's mother seems to be the concubine of the head of the Ministry of Rites, so she is treated like this. Say yes It's a pitiful experience for a noble girl from a famous family."
Ye Xiaotian was originally worried that since Shui Wu had such a family background, it would be difficult for him to match her, not to mention that she was as beautiful as a flower. The unfair treatment he encountered caused anger in his heart.
Ye Xiaotian said angrily: "This is unreasonable! What kind of nonsense scholarly family and poetic heirloom is this! You are extremely filial to Lingtang, such a good daughter is the glory of your Xue family, and they will be regarded as a shame by them, such a wolf-hearted, ruthless Unrighteous bastard family members, you just ignore them."
Le Yao washed his hands, and when his mother was talking, he felt the slight sadness in her words, and leaned against her in a sensible way. At this moment, seeing Ye Xiaotian was furious, he couldn't help but tightened his grip on his mother in fear. clothes.
Xue Shuiwu glanced at Ye Xiaotian gratefully, and said in a low voice: "Let's go back." After saying that, he took his daughter's hand and staggered away.
Ye Xiaotian looked at her gait, frowned and said, "What happened to your feet?"
Xue Shuiwu said: "It's nothing, I was just traveling during the day, and a few blood bubbles came out under my feet."
Ye Xiaotian hurriedly stood up and said, "Why didn't you say it earlier, if you don't deal with it today, how can you still walk tomorrow."
Xue Shuiwu said: "It's nothing, I'll be fine."
Ye Xiaotian rushed over quickly, and said arrogantly: "What are you supporting, this can also be supported?" After speaking, he bent down, hugged Xue Shuiwu's legs, and hugged her horizontally.
Xue Shuiwu screamed and was hugged horizontally by Ye Xiaotian. She was startled and ashamed, but she couldn't struggle. Being hugged by Ye Xiaotian, she closed her eyes in shame.
"So light and soft body..." Ye Xiaotian thought to himself, but there was no abnormal expression on his face. Le Yao trotted behind Ye Xiaotian, yelling: "My brother is biased, and I'm so tired, why don't you hug him."
Ye Xiaotian carried Xue Shuiwu into the temple and put her on the kang, and took off her shoes without any explanation, Xue Shuiwu hurriedly withdrew her feet and shouted shyly, "What are you doing?"
Ye Xiaotian said: "The blood bubble needs to be burst, otherwise you won't be able to walk tomorrow."
Xue Shuiwu said: "I will do it myself."
Ye Xiaotian said: "How can you take care of yourself? If you are in a hurry, don't be reserved."
Xue Shuiwu looked embarrassed, and stammered: "After a day's journey, I... I haven't washed my feet yet."
Ye Xiaotian said with a smile: "If the feet are fragrant, they won't stink in a day."
Xue Shuiwu heard his teasing, so she blushed and stopped talking.
Ye Xiaotian removed her shoes for her, took off the patched white socks, revealing a pair of delicate and beautiful feet, Xue Shuiwu's toes curled up nervously like shy petals, and her soft ankles were as gentle and smooth as jade, Ye Xiaotian couldn't help but feel a burst of excitement. The urge to touch and caress.
"cough!"
Ye Xiaotian's throat tightened, he...but this was the first time he touched a woman's feet, such a beautiful pair of jade feet. He coughed unnaturally, and quickly covered up his nervousness with a question: "It's strange, you are so natural, I thought you must have bound feet."
Xue Shuiwu's exquisite and small feet were held in his hands, and she felt hot all over her body. She was so ashamed that her thighs tensed up nervously, and she stammered, "Well, because... because my father is very close to me. When I was young, I wanted to send me into the palace, so... "
Only then did Ye Xiaotian suddenly realize, and thought: "Shui Wu's father is not only cold-natured, ruthless, but also an official fan."
At this time in the Ming Dynasty, foot binding has become a relatively common thing. Generally speaking, there are four kinds of people who do not bind their feet. It is some poor families who need women to do heavy physical work like men.
Not only did the women of the imperial family of the Ming Dynasty and the families of noble relatives not bind their feet, but also women who recruited maids and concubines in the palace did not need to bind their feet. I have to let go, because I am still young, and I have time to take care of it.
Master Xue wanted to send his daughter to the palace, so naturally he wouldn't be targeting the maid, so his purpose was obvious.
Ye Xiaotian secretly scolded Mr. Xue for being shameless, so he found a harder grass tip, gently picked Xue Shuiwu's blood bubbles, and then gently helped her put on her socks. From the beginning to the end, Xue Shuiwu was at his mercy, not daring to move, but letting a man play with his feet like this, he couldn't help but feel a strange feeling in his heart.
After Shui Wu finished putting on her socks, she breathed a sigh of relief, and Ye Xiaotian seemed to also heave a sigh of relief, and said with a smile: "Okay, then there won't be any scars left, or it won't be pretty."
When Ye Xiaotian picked blood bubbles for Xue Shuiwu, Le Yao kept watching with wide eyes. Hearing Ye Xiaotian's words, Le Yao said, "Brother, is Yaoyao beautiful?"
"Well… "
Ye Xiaotian pretended to think about it, and said: "Generally speaking, girls who were beautiful when they were young will become ugly when they grow up, because the outline is already very beautiful when they were young, and there is no room for stretching. The little girl who looked ugly when she was young will be as beautiful as a fairy when she grows up. Do you think you are beautiful now?"
Le Yao tilted her head, carefully analyzing Ye Xiaotian's words, which were obviously difficult for a child of her age to understand.
After a long time, she turned to Xue Shuiwu and asked seriously: "Is what brother said true?"
Xue Shuiwu nodded while suppressing a smile, and teased her: "Yes, people are like this. They were beautiful when they were young, but they are not beautiful when they grow up. Does Yaoyao think she is beautiful now?"
The little person immediately frowned, with a thoughtful look that made people laugh. She weighed the pros and cons between being beautiful when she was a child and being beautiful when she grew up, and she came to a decisive conclusion: "Yaoyao is not beautiful. , Yaoyao is ugly!"
After she finished speaking, she was still very worried, and told Xue Shuiwu and Ye Xiaotian worriedly: "You must remember that Yaoyao is very ugly now."