Zhou Shaojin suppressed the strange feeling in his heart and followed Nanny Shi forward. A little girl dressed like a maid, wearing a scarlet boa with green scallion sprouts on the edges, came to greet him with a smile: "Nanny Shi, you're back!"
She knelt down and saluted to Old Lady Guan and Zhou Shaojin: "Old An! Second Miss!"
Zhou Shaojin didn't know her. He saw that she was no more than fourteen or fifteen years old, with almond eyes and rosy cheeks, and her eyes were moving with a smile. She was beautiful and charming, very outstanding, and he couldn't help but take a few more glances at her.
Mrs. Guan was obviously very familiar with the girl. She smiled and said, "Pearl, I haven't seen you for a while. You have become more beautiful."
"I don't deserve the compliment from Old Lady An." The maidservant called Pearl said with a smile, "The old lady was waiting for the second young lady, but she didn't expect Old Lady An to come as well..."
Before she could finish her sentence, another maid came over.
She was wearing a plain light blue silk boa, about seventeen or eighteen years old, with a long face, willow-shaped eyebrows, and her black hair was tied up in a bun, with a gold hairpin inlaid with hibiscus stone and apricot blossoms. She had a gentle smile and dignified manners, and had nothing in common with Pearl.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but ponder in his heart.
I wonder what the other maids in Madam Guo’s room look like
"Mr. An!" She bowed to Mrs. Guan and said, "Our old lady didn't expect you to come here in person. Please forgive me for my impoliteness."
"So it's Biyu!" Old Madam Guan laughed a few times and said, "I came here uninvited. What does it have to do with you, old lady? Get up quickly. No need to be so polite."
The maid named Biyu stood up with a smile and said, "Mr. An, our old lady would like you to go to the hall to serve tea first."
Old Madam Guan nodded and said to Zhou Shaojin, "This is Miss Biyu who is beside the old lady. You will have to trouble her in the future."
Zhou Shaojin smiled and called her "Miss Jade".
A strange color flashed in Biyu's eyes. She quickly knelt down and saluted, saying, "Second Miss, you are too kind to me."
Her tone was very humble, which made Zhou Shaojin feel good about her.
The group continued to move forward.
At the end of the corridor is a two-story building with five rooms. The walls are white, the windows and doors are bright red, and covered with light yellow gauze. There is a grape rack in front of the door, and two large blue and white porcelain jars on the left and right, with water lilies on one side and koi on the other. It is very grand and exquisite.
A maid in a lilac bodice with a green bud edge appeared to help them open the curtain.
Only then did Zhou Shaojin notice that Mrs. Guo had replaced the curtains with bamboo ones.
There are purple spots on the slightly yellowed bamboo curtain, which looks like an old Xiangfei bamboo curtain, and the corners are decorated with two emerald lions the size of a baby's fist rolling embroidered balls!
The green jade is full of water, and the exquisite carvings are lifelike. Not only the naivety of the lion is clearly visible, but also the Baoxianghua pattern on the hydrangea in the lion's arms can be seen clearly.
Zhou Shaojin was shocked.
In her previous life, the first year she married into the Lin family, it was her mother-in-law’s birthday. She had made a special trip to Yong Fu Sheng, the largest silver shop in the capital, to order a pendant for her mother-in-law. She spent most of the day picking and choosing, and finally chose a piece of jade the size of this lion bead embroidery. The water content was not as good as this one, and she spent nearly two hundred taels of silver...
Everyone says that the third branch is rich, but no one has ever seen a branch as grand as the first branch.
No wonder everyone would consciously or unconsciously lower their voices when speaking in front of Mrs. Guo.
Zhenzhu opened the curtain in front, and Zhou Shaojin followed Old Lady Guan into the hall.
But before everyone had settled down, Mrs. Guo came in from the back of the hall, supported by a maid wearing a plain lilac dress with colorful buds.
When Zhou Shaojin saw that the maid was about the same age as Biyu, but had long eyebrows, fine eyes, skin as fair as snow, and a gentle temperament, she was another kind of beauty. He couldn't help but admire her in his heart.
This old lady Guo is really interesting.
She is a cold person and her residence is solemn, but the maids around her are all charming, like spring orchids and autumn chrysanthemums, each with their own praiseworthy qualities.
Meanwhile, Madam Yuan had already started chatting with Old Madam Zhuang: "… I didn't expect you to come. Don't leave at noon, stay here for lunch."
"Okay!" Old Lady Guan smiled as if she was very familiar with Old Lady Guo. "I ate honey-glazed pigeon at your place last time. I still remember it. Today is a good time to try it again."
"Don't worry!" Mrs. Guo said with a smile, "Today we not only have honey-glazed pigeon, but also your favorite crispy lamb chops and hot and sour soup."
After hearing this, Biyu seemed to want to say something but stopped herself.
Mrs. Guan smiled and said to her, "We have finally met each other, so don't worry about it. If Mrs. Jing blames you later, just say I wanted to eat it!"
It was almost summer, honey pigeon was a sweet food, lamb chops were smelly, and hot and sour soup had a strong smell. Even the fourth wife would not easily prepare these three dishes for Grandma Guan, let alone the eldest wife.
Since she can take care of Old Madam Guo's diet, she must be a top-notch maid in Hanbi Mountain House.
Biyu smiled and helped them sit down.
Zhou Shaojin was worried about lunch.
I don’t know if I will meet Yuan who comes to serve my mother-in-law with meals
A maid wearing a plain purple bodice brought a few little servants to serve them tea and snacks.
The maid had thick eyebrows and big eyes. She smiled before she spoke. She looked lively and smart. She was also an outstanding person.
Zhou Shaojin had seen Zhenzhu, Biyu and the maid in lilac clothes, so he was not surprised and was less curious.
After the two old ladies finished speaking, she stepped forward to greet Mrs. Guo.
Mrs. Guo looked at her and gave her a kind smile.
Zhou Shaojin didn't know how he had won Madam Guo's favor, so he could only stand there and smile reservedly.
Mrs. Guo asked her, "What scriptures do you usually read?"
People who do not understand Buddhism usually choose to read "The Sutra of the Past Vows of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva", and then follow the Zen master they trust or choose to read "The Sutra of Infinite Life Buddha", "The Sutra of Amitabha Buddha", "The Chapter on the Vows of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva" and other sutras. Only when they have a more advanced understanding of Buddhist principles will they read the "Sutras". Only when they understand the "Lankavada Sutra" can they read the "Lotus Sutra" and "Diamond Sutra".
Considering his actual situation, Zhou Shaojin said cautiously: "I usually like to read the Amitabha Sutra."
Madam Guo nodded slightly and said to Madam Guan, "I have already copied a copy of the Diamond Sutra for the Buddha's Birthday and presented it to the Bodhisattva. Let the second young lady help me copy the Lengyan Sutra!" Then she said to Zhou Shaojin, "If you have any questions, you can ask me."
The Lengyan Sutra consists of ten parts and is very long…
Zhou Shaojin was sweating in his heart, but he said "yes" respectfully and gently.
Afterwards, Mrs. Guo personally took her to the place where the scriptures were copied—a two-square-meter Buddhist temple next to the Taihu stone rockery in the back garden of Hanbi Mountain House.
The Buddhist hall is surrounded by painted glazed windows, rosewood beams and pillars, a gilded thousand-armed statue of Guanyin, incense sticks as thick as a child's arm, and a plate for offering fresh fruits that is seven or eight inches long. Compared with Old Lady Guan's small Buddhist hall, this place looks more like a side hall of a popular temple.
Perhaps because of his insecurity, Zhou Shaojin prefers his grandmother's small Buddhist temple.
Madam Guo pointed to the large desk with curly grass and a chair with a rattan-yellow ramie cushion under the window on the east side of the Buddhist hall and said, "That's for you to copy sutras. If you feel uncomfortable, we can move to another place."
Zhou Shaojin originally thought that she would just make do with it even if it was not good, but she thought about how she had made do with everything in her previous life, and she did not receive any praise from her elders, but only suffered herself. Besides, she had to copy the "Yan Leng Sutra", which would take at least half a year.
She immediately changed her mind, thought about it, walked forward and opened the window.
Outside, there was a huge locust tree that was taller than the eaves and as thick as a man's embrace. Its canopy was like an umbrella, covering the roof of the wing room and filling the room with a rich green. Looking far away, there was a reflection of half of the lake, with the faintly visible pointed lotus leaves.
Zhou Shaojin could imagine what a cool scene it was here in the summer.
Looking at the desk again, the Hui ink, Duan inkstone, and Xuan paper are all fine products.
She liked it very much and smiled, "This is good."
Madam Guo watched her push the window, smiled and nodded, pointed to the maid in the lilac bodice and said to Zhou Shaojin: "Her name is Feicui. If you have any problems in the future, just tell her."
Upon hearing this, Feicui stepped forward and saluted Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin said something like "I will have to trouble you again in the future", and Feicui said "I dare not". Madam Guo pointed to the one wearing a purple vest and told Zhou Shaojin that her name was "Manju". Manju had to greet Zhou Shaojin, and they talked for a while. Zhou Shaojin even recognized all four maids around Madam Guo.
According to Madam Guo, Zhou Shaojin was only asked to come here today to get familiar with the environment, and the official copying of scriptures would begin after the eighth day of the fourth lunar month. She said, "The Buddha's Bathing Festival is in two or three days anyway, so there's no need to waste time. You can't delay your studies either. Go to Jing'an Zhai for class in the morning, and come to my place to copy scriptures after lunch." She also said, "If the weather is already hot, come over for lunch, and I'll have someone prepare an inner room for her."
Zhou Shaojin originally planned to spend another hour and a half every night to quickly copy the scriptures, and had no intention of staying in Hanbi Mountain House for long. When she was about to refuse, Mrs. Guan smiled and said, "That's great, it won't worry me."
She had no choice but to swallow the words that were about to come out of her mouth.
Madam Guo and Madam Guan started talking about the Buddha Bathing Festival: "My nephew Yi's wife said that Shi'er's wife is pregnant and needs to stay at home to take care of the baby, so only her mother-in-law is going with us. My nephew Lu's wife stayed at home in the third room, saying that the second room needs help, and my third brother's wife brought the girl Jia to go with us. How many people are going from your side? I can make arrangements on my side as well!"
This was a confusing statement, and Zhou Shaojin finally understood it after sorting it out.
The nephew's wife of Yi refers to the wife of the second wife, Yi Da, who is Cheng Shi's mother. And the daughter-in-law of Shi'er refers to Cheng Shi's wife Zheng.
She married into the Cheng family five years ago and gave birth to the eldest son Cheng Geng three years ago. He is also the first child among the great-grandchildren of the Cheng family, and a boy at that.
In her previous life, Zheng was pregnant with a son, born in September when she was eating crabs. The second wife's ancestor was so happy that he gave Zheng a piece of land as a private property.
Presumably, the second house did not want to offend the first house, but could not swallow this humiliation, so it had to use this as an excuse to keep Mrs. Yi, who was in charge of the household affairs, at home.
The third house was the same as before, not offending either side - Cheng Ji and her grandmother Li followed Madam Guo to the temple, while Cheng Ji's mother Jiang stayed at home because she was afraid that the second house would ask for help.
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Sisters, there are many characters and they are all very important and there is no way to reduce them. It is easier to know who is who if you read one chapter a day. Otherwise, you will get confused if you read them all in one go.
~~~~(>_