Chu Jinyao came late. She lived far away and was not as convenient as other girls. By the time she came, the Rongning Hall was already full of people.
The old lady was wearing a dark red woven gold armor, with a peony forehead on her head, and sat upright on the Arhat bed. Seeing that people were almost here, she cleared her throat and smiled kindly: "As soon as your aunt came home, she told the princess about our family. The ancestors of the palace were very happy when they heard it, and even the princess was very happy. I also like the girls in our family. Your aunt sent a message back, and after a few days, the princess officially posted a message to invite us in Changxing Houfu as a guest. The person she sent back to deliver the letter has already arrived, and it is estimated that in a few days, the princess’s invitation The post was delivered."
The girls immediately cheered in a low voice, and the seventh girl threw herself into the arms of the old lady and said, "That's great, I haven't been to the palace yet!"
Seventh girl is young and not yet old enough to be taken out by her mother, so she is very keen to go out. The other girls are older than the seventh girl, but they seldom go out. When they heard that they could go out for a while, they still went to the Huailing County Prince’s Mansion. The girls excitedly squeezed their handkerchiefs and couldn’t wait to make friends. The sisters discussed.
Mrs. Chu also smiled and watched them make trouble, but did not scold them for paying attention to the rules. Nowadays, the world is particularly harsh on women. Most girls are locked in the back house from birth. The farthest distance they can walk is Ermen. Except for Shangyuan Festival and March 3rd, they rarely go out during the year. Now they suddenly learned that they could go out to the banquet or go to the royal palace of the wealthy Huailing County in Taiyuan, no matter how serious the girl was, it was hard to be excited.
Madam Chu waited for the excitement of the girls to pass before she said, "It is no trivial matter to be a guest at the Prince's Mansion this time. You usually seldom go out, and since you go out, you must be able to hold the table. Mrs. Zhao..."
Zhao shi stepped forward and replied, "Daughter-in-law is here."
"Have the girls made their clothes this season?"
"The girls in our family have four sets of clothes per season, which have been distributed."
"It's already posted..." Mrs. Chu thought for a while, then said, "It's rare for them to go out for a walk, so let's make them new clothes. I'll ask the daughter-in-law of the Li family to come in in a while, and you can choose whatever material you like. , After picking, all the money will come out of me. There is still a face, I remember that the last time I made a new head face was during the New Year. Do you still have enough jewelry now?"
The juniors are all human beings. After hearing this, they naturally said in unison: "Grandmother, we have worn our head and face several times. Please our ancestors feel sorry for us!"
The girls acted coquettishly, and several of the maidservants who had a good face also said, "The old lady is the most generous. Under the names of several girls, what do you want?"
Mrs. Chu was coaxed into laughter, and said, "You puny monkeys! Well, let the people from Zhenbao Pavilion come in, and you can choose what you like. I'm too old to dress up, but it's you all. A few young girls, it is the time when the green onion is bright, and it cannot be neglected."
Yan Shi flattered Mrs. Chu: "Mother, I don't recognize what you said. You are still very young. When the people from my parents' family came, they whispered to me, if I didn't know that our Hou's mansion was at that time. Lao Fengjun, I almost thought you and I were the same generation!"
These words are so blatant that even in order to please her mother-in-law, Zhao shi can't say such words. But Yan Shi can, so it is not surprising that Yan Shi is the most honorable among the three daughters-in-law. Mrs. Chu hit Yan's head with her finger: "You, no matter how big or small, you can say such words, so you're not afraid of the jokes of the younger generation!"
Yan said, "Mother, I'm wronged! I'm telling the truth!"
The seventh girl hugged Old Madam Chu's arms, and said, "My mother is right, the ancestors are still young and healthy!"
Mammy Gu and the others smiled. Chu Jinxian sat beside Old Madam Chu and smiled faintly. Standing in the hall, Chu Jinyao did not have the same witty words as the other sisters, and kept saying flattering things, but just smiled in response to the situation.
Madam Chu was so coaxed that she couldn't close her mouth, and said, "You all have more clever mouths than that oriole! I still think I don't know what you guys want to do, it's not my idea of a private house! Okay, Our house is so lively that we don’t have to call the people from the Treasure Court to come in. All you three daughters-in-law should leave, bring your own girls, and go out to the street to pick up some headwear that suits your heart. No matter how much you spend, it’s all from me. on the account."
Ouch, when Yan Shi heard this, his eyes were almost squeezed out of laughter. Chu Jinyao also felt happy watching this scene.
The Rongning Hall was peaceful and happy, Chu Jinmiao smiled reluctantly, watched for a while, and quietly backed out.
She was still grounded in name, but in the face of such a big event, she would also come to the old lady. If no one talks about it, everyone turns a blind eye, and the grounding is over.
If it was before, Chu Jinmiao would be the most active among the sisters. She is the direct daughter of the long house, the biological daughter of the Marquis of Changxing, and is far more noble than the girls in the second and third houses. There were only two direct daughters in the long house, Chu Jinxian was dignified and dignified, and would not say such flattering words, and as a young daughter, Chu Jinmiao was the most qualified person to act like a spoiled child in front of her grandmother and attract everyone's attention. Unfortunately, the arrival of Chu Jinyao brought all this to an abrupt end.
What's more, since the last incident, Chu Jinmiao always felt a little uncomfortable seeing the old lady. As soon as she saw Mrs. Chu, Chu Jinmiao remembered the fact that she had failed to frame the fraud. She couldn't tell whether she was afraid or avoided it. Even when the sisters were coquettish and coquettish, Chu Jinmiao seldom spoke.
Chu Jinmiao avoided the crowd and walked out by herself. She stood on the Chaoshou veranda in the Hou Mansion, looking up at the tile-blue sky. The laughter of the girls from the Chu family kept coming from behind, Chu Jinmiao listened, stretched out her hand uncontrollably, and tightened the cloak on her body.
Once, she also belonged to these laughter, but now, the grandmother inside is not her grandmother, the sister is no longer her sister, she can no longer stand up, quarreling with the girls in Changxing Houfu, right The servants of the Hou Mansion gave orders. What's more, the grandmother also played a gap with her. And all of this is because of Chu Jinyao.
Chu Jinmiao thought uncontrollably, why did Chu Jinyao come back? She is the one who grew up here. The title of Miss Houfu, the relatives and sisters of the Chu family, were originally hers! Now suddenly a Chu Jinyao appeared, and she said that her thirteen years were all wrong, how could Chu Jinmiao accept it willingly
Chu Jinmiao stood for a while, unable to stand the continuous laughter in the room, and left with a gloomy face. After all, since the Chu family no longer accepts her, then she is not uncommon! She is already thirteen, and she will be able to talk to her soon. She will find herself a decent and noble husband's family, marry in a beautiful and beautiful way, and live her own life well, and then let the people of the Chu family hold their stomachs and regret it. Go!
In the Rongning Hall, the grandparents and grandchildren were joking for a long time. A maid looked around and said, "Where's the fourth girl? She was still here just now."
The atmosphere in the room stagnated for a while, and the old lady's smile gradually subsided, and she counted the beads in her hands and did not speak. Chu Jinxian sat beside the old lady, as if she hadn't heard that the second girl was an invisible person as always, and the third girl rolled her eyes and snorted strangely. Chu Jinyao's position is very sensitive. She had already found out that Chu Jinmiao was gone, but she didn't say anything. Now that she asks it out in public, she won't talk to her. In the end, the sixth girl, who was still in the third room, said, "It's a little hot in the house. The fourth sister may have gone outside to breathe."
Zhao Shi said anxiously: "She is not in good health, and it is easy to breathe in crowded places. Mother, should I go out and find her?"
The old lady said lightly: "Since she went out to breathe, let her take it easy. She will come back by herself in a while."
Can't even find it? Mrs. Zhao was anxious not to, but did not dare to disobey Mrs. Chu, so she could only reluctantly bow her head and say, "Yes."
Yan squinted at Zhao, and smiled secretly.
Sure enough, after another three or four days, Princess Huailing's post was sent to the Marquis of Changxing. The palace's adoration posts are expensive and stylish, and even embossed patterns with gold foil around them. Yan Shi sighed with the invitation: "As expected of the palace, it is a big deal. It's just a post that is used and thrown away, and it's even decorated with real gold! Oh, it's really... "
Zhao felt that Yan was ashamed, so he turned his face away and stopped looking at it. A few of them were dressed newly today, and they all gathered at the old lady's place. When everyone came together, they went to the street together. After listening to Yan's words, the other girls felt that Yan's family was a little bit arrogant, but they all knew in their hearts that there was a gap between the palace of the Prince of Huailing and the Marquis of Changxing in these seemingly insignificant details. The Marquis of Changxing sent invitations to guests, how could it be willing to emboss with gold foil, but the palace of Huailing didn't care at all. Even the splurge of the Marquis of Changxing has no such qualifications. These gold and silver decorations can only be used by the royal family.
When everyone was gathered, Chu Jinyao was led by her mother to greet the old lady. After getting the old lady's permission, she boarded the carriage accompanied by her brother and drove slowly down the street.
This is the first time that Chu Jinyao has come to the market. She used to live in Su's house and was not qualified to go to the county town with her father to go to the market. Later, she was taken away by the Marquis of Changxing and took a carriage all the way back to the Marquis of Changxing, without having time to see what Taiyuan City was like. Now that she finally came out, she was so excited all the way that she could hardly hold back the curtain and looked out.
But Chu Jinyao didn't dare. She and Chu Jinxian were in the same carriage, while Zhao's and Chu Jinmiao were in another carriage. Chu Jinxian was still sitting dignifiedly in the rickety carriage. Even if Chu Jinxian didn't look in her direction, Chu Jinyao knew that Chu Jinxian would not let her do something shameful like lifting the curtain. .
Chu Jinxian could see that Chu Jinyao couldn't sit still with excitement, but in fact, she didn't need to watch, Chu Jinyao had already shown it. Helpless and sad, Chu Jinxian said to Chu Jinyao in a low voice, "There are many people on the street, and it's inappropriate to be seen by others. When you get to the Treasure Pavilion, you can look at it generously."
Chu Jinyao was stunned for a while, before realizing that Chu Jinxian was comforting her, Chu Jinyao said flattered, "I understand, thank you eldest sister."
Chu Jinxian's words were true. The horse carriage in Hou Mansion walked for a while and turned a corner. Sure enough, the noise outside the car curtain was far away. Even the road surface was much smoother, and the carriage no longer bumped up and down. Chu Jinyao waited patiently for a while, and heard the carriage knock on the ground. After a while, a maid's voice sounded outside the carriage: "Eldest girl, fifth girl, the treasure pavilion is here, the servant will help you down."
Chu Jinxian left first, Chu Jinyao was supported by the maid, and slowly stepped off the carriage. In fact, Chu Jinyao was used to activities since she was a child. The distance from the carriage to the ground, she could land with a single jump. But in front of so many people, she couldn't do such a thing.
After Chu Jinyao landed, she immediately turned her head to look at the street. This street is all selling splendid, gold, jade, and coming and going, either rich or expensive, and carriages of officials or nobles can be seen everywhere. Chu Jinyao's eyes widened, she had never seen such a broad and magnificent shopping street! It is many times more imposing than the county seat in the mouth of Su's father, Su Sheng.
Seeing Chu Jinyao's appearance, Qin Yi couldn't help but whisper, "It's just an ordinary street, what about it? If you really like it, you should go to the commercial street in the capital."
Chu Jinyao's eyes were sparkling, and she quietly asked Qin Yi, "Is the capital bigger than Taiyuan?"
Qin Yi smiled softly: "It's just Taiyuan, naturally it can't be compared with the capital."
Chu Jinyao let out a low admiration, Taiyuan opened her eyes, and the capital is more vast and magnificent than Taiyuan, what kind of scene is that? Chu Jinyao thought about it for a while, and finally said in frustration, "It's a pity that I didn't have the chance to see the capital, so I can only think about it in my dreams."
"How come?" Qin Yi said, "If you want to go, it's not easy?"
Chu Jinyao shook his head gently: "I am a girl's house, and I can't even go out the door on weekdays, let alone go to the capital? Even if I get married, I don't want to go to such a far place. No matter how good the capital is, it has nothing to do with me. Relationship, my home is in Taiyuan, I don't want to be too far from my parents."
Qin Yi was silent this time, and he realized once again that he was different from Chu Jinyao.
"Girl!" Camellia's voice sounded from behind, she carried her skirt, hurried down the steps, walked to Chu Jinyao's side, and complained in batches, "Girl why are you hiding here alone? I thought you I went in with the four girls, but they told me to find a good meal, and the eldest girl complained! Why are you always running around alone!"
Having said this, Qin Yi sank his face and almost scolded the servant girl for being rude. Dare to talk to Chu Jinyao like this, who gave her the courage? Chu Jinyao vaguely felt that Qin Yi was a little irritable. She gently put her hand on the jade pendant and said to Shan Cha, "I see. Is the eldest sister waiting for me inside?"
"Yes." Shan Cha was scolded by Chu Jinxian, and she felt angry and wanted to say more, but she saw that Chu Jinyao passed her and went straight in.
Shan Cha was directly ignored by Chu Jinyao, and she became more and more annoyed, but she knew her identity anyway. There were so many masters in the store, and any one could crush her to death with one hand. make trouble. Shan Cha had no choice but to hold back his anger, followed behind Chu Jinyao with a pouted mouth, and walked into the store in despair.
Chu Jinxian waited at the door, and when she saw Chu Jinyao came in across the threshold, she breathed a sigh of relief and frowned, "What's going on with these maids around you, so many of them are following you, and they can even follow you with them. leave?"
"Big sister, stop talking." Chu Jinyao gently pulled Chu Jinxian's hand and said, "It's rare for our sisters to go out together, so don't be angry about these things. I will discipline them when I go back. ."
Chu Jinxian looked at the camellia with her eyes fluttering, and then looked at the grandmother Sun who followed Zhao and Chu Jinmiao step by step. She still didn't understand Chu Jinyao's difficulties. But she couldn't help Chu Jinyao settle everything. The way to survive in the back house could only be slowly explored by Chu Jinyao.
Chu Jinxian sighed and said no more. After seeing her, Chu Jinyao sighed secretly in her heart, this is her relative, Chu Jinxian couldn't find her, the first sentence she met asked her if she was okay, and the second sentence was to reprimand her maid for fault. If it were the Zhao family, he would only frown and say, "Why are you running around again? What kind of formality is this?"
Looking at her, Zhao shi seemed to have always had a strong prejudice. Zhao hopes that her daughter will be a decent lady as soon as she appears, no matter what happens to her daughter. Chu Jinyao sighed, perhaps, what the Zhao family needs is Chu Jinmiao who is weak, articulate, and needs the Zhao family very much, not her biological daughter who came back halfway.
Chu Jinxian is already engaged, but she can't go out anymore, but Chu Jinxian forcefully asked to go with her. Chu Jinxian looked at the backs of Zhao Shi and Chu Jinmiao's affectionate back, and she thought that she had guessed correctly, Zhao only had Chu Jinmiao in her eyes, and she didn't remember that she still had a daughter to take care of. Chu Jinyao came back like this. After a long time, the Zhao family still refused to adapt to the new state. If Chu Jinxian didn't come today, the other girls would have their mothers to look at the jewelry, and Chu Jinyao herself would be left behind, and she might be embarrassed.
Even Chu Jinxian developed a kind of hatred for Zhao's family.
The boy from the Treasure Pavilion saw two beautiful girls standing arm in arm in the hall, one as gentle as the moon and the other as bright as the morning sun, and had already run over to say hello: "Two girls, what are you going to see? "
Of course, the guy knows that these are the distinguished guests of Changxing Hou's mansion. Looking at the appearance and clothes of the two, most of them are young ladies in the Hou's mansion. Although I don't know why the two of them stood up alone, it doesn't matter, it's enough to know that these two are big customers!
Chu Jinxian put away her thoughts and stopped looking at these bad things. She dragged Chu Jinyao inside and said, "You don't have many pieces of jewelry. Take this opportunity to buy all of them together." Then she turned her head and instructed the man lightly: " Go and take out all the heads and faces of your family, whether it's hairpins, double-strand hairpins, or step shakes, take them out, and let's see for ourselves."
When the guy heard this, his heart blossomed, and he immediately replied, "Hey, that's it."
The guy had the intention to please the big customers, brought some exquisite jewelry over, and introduced them one by one. Chu Jinxian was very calm. She picked up the headgear in the box and looked at it. After asking two more questions, she said, "Wrap these up."
Chu Jinyao broke out in a cold sweat when she heard it: "Sister, how can I use so much, it's not good for us..."
Their movement here alarmed Yan Shi. When Yan Shi saw that there were many boxes piled up in front of Chu Jinyao and Chu Jinxian, there were several boxes that Chu Jinxian had just wrapped. Yan Shi immediately quit: "Why can you two take so much?"
Although Mrs. Chu told them to choose as much as they wanted, they couldn't take it seriously. The female relatives tacitly chose one of the larger hairpins and two of the smaller ones. Anyway, the approximate amount of money is that much. If it exceeds too much, and you want to take the opportunity to buy a few more pieces, then pay for your own private house.
Yan shi looked at Chu Jinxian and Chu Jinyao and couldn't get angry at each other. Isn't it too much for the two of them? It's all the old lady who spends money, why can they take so much
Chu Jinyao secretly pulled Chu Jinxian's sleeve, Chu Jinxian pressed Chu Jinyao's hand, glanced at Yan's indifferently, and said, "Second aunt, don't worry, these are what I gave to fifth sister, from my name Get down."
Yan Shi was speechless, she looked at a gold hairpin, a pair of gold hairpins, and a pair of silver beads and filigree in front of Chu Jinyao, and said strangely, "The eldest girl is indeed the old lady's. I have a good heart, and my net worth is really enviable.”
Chu Jinxian ignored Yan's, but said to Chu Jinyao, "I pick what I like, don't worry about anything else."
Chu Jinyao held back for a while, and then said in a low voice, "Thank you, sister." She was grateful for Chu Jinxian's kindness, but also saddened that she was stretched thin.
The movement here inevitably alarmed other people, and naturally many people heard Chu Jinxian's words. They are envious, jealous, but helpless. Chu Jinxian was so blue-eyed by the old lady that she had always been the best in food and clothing. The dowry on the bright side was 6,000 taels, and the old lady didn't know how much she would subsidize in private. Chu Jinxian is very confident. If she has the heart to spend money to buy happiness for Chu Jinyao, then she really doesn't care about this amount of money.
Zhao Shi also heard Chu Jinxian's words, she was a little embarrassed, and brought Chu Jinmiao closer and said, "I forgot that Jinyao still lacks jewelry, since it came out today, let's do it together. "
The Zhao family planned her to pay for it. She was still a mother, how could she let the eldest daughter pay for it? She glanced at the things on the table and frowned: "You have to buy all of these together? You need to change the overcoat as a guest, but the face is not good. If you wear a new head and face, it will be a joke."
"Fangzheng will have a long time in the future, so don't worry about what to prepare for her." Chu Jinxian said lightly, and said to the man, "Put these away."
In front of so many people, Mrs. Zhao couldn't say anything more, she said, "You are still a girl, keep your dowry by your side, I'll settle this."
Chu Jinxian pushed Zhao Shi's hand and said, "Mother, I will be leaving the cabinet soon, and Jin Yao has just returned. My sister can't spend much time with her, so I can only make up for these foreign things. It's my heart, if my mother wants to make amends, that's another story."
Hearing this, Chu Jinyao raised her eyebrows secretly, and suddenly felt that her eldest sister was also a powerful person. Sure enough, after hearing this, Mrs Zhao couldn't get over his face, so he had to say, "Okay, I won't snatch it from you. I just saw a set of gemstone heads that are pretty good, and it happens that Jinyao doesn't have gemstone jewelry, so I'll give her this. Set it up."
Chu Jinxian said so, it is impossible for the Zhao family to stop Chu Jinxian, but it is not good to say nothing. Can she be compared to her eldest daughter Chu Jinxian? Of course not, she could only buy another set of more expensive pressure scenes for Chu Jinyao.
Chu Jinmiao was shocked when she heard that she wanted to buy gems. She doesn't even have a few pieces of gemstone jewelry, which she has accumulated over the years, so she can't make up a set! Why did Chu Jinyao get a whole set of gem heads
Chu Jinmiao looked at Chu Jinyao with a very bad look. Chu Jinyao felt that it was a fool not to take advantage of it, so she lowered her head and did not speak, letting Chu Jinxian and Zhao arrange. Chu Jinmiao stared at Chu Jinyao to no avail, the more she thought about it, the more angry she became, so she reached out to pull on Zhao's sleeve: "Mother..."
Even Mrs. Hou couldn't have bought two sets of gems at once. Chu Jinmiao did this in front of everyone, who could not understand Chu Jinmiao's meaning, Zhao Shi was a little embarrassed, it was the first time that Chu Jinmiao only cared about herself and was not well-behaved at all. This thought was fleeting, and Mrs. Zhao looked at Chu Jinmiao's pitiful eyes, she couldn't bear it, and said, "I saw a pair of golden butterfly hair combs just now. If you like it, take it together."
Chu Jinmiao was not happy in her heart, it was too much to have a hair comb and a set of jeweled heads! But in front of so many people, Chu Jinmiao could only reluctantly say, "Thank you, mother."
In the end, Chu Jinyao watched with great emotion when he saw the large and small bags being moved to his car. It feels good to be rich, but these are all the money from my sister and mother. When will she be able to have her own income
After thinking about it, Chu Jinyao decided not to make trouble with herself. Her entire net worth is only half a piece of brocade and thirty taels of silver. She had planned for a long time for two or two months, but she didn't save it at all.
She felt wordless sadness.
Although there are some small episodes in this trip, the female relatives have bought their favorite jewelry, and they are all happy. Chu Jinyao went out with the flow of people. When Zhao and Yan went out, they met the official wife of Beppu, and they were holding hands and talking intimately. Chu Jinyao stood bored among the sisters, listening to the adults' greetings. She glanced at random, and found that there was a new Jinxiu cloth shop next to the Treasure Pavilion.
Chu Jinyao's mind immediately became active.
She is quite good at needlework. If she has the opportunity to open a shop, I am afraid that the most suitable one is the Jinxiu shop. Chu Jinyao didn't know that she had no chance to own a brocade shop, but she really wanted to inquire about it in advance, so as to understand the market situation.
Thinking of this, Chu Jinyao quietly left the team and walked towards the next door. She had just walked down the steps when she heard Qin Yi ask, "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to talk to the guy in this shop..." Before she finished speaking, she saw a group of majestic cavalry soldiers appearing at the end of the long street. They were sitting on tall horses, their faces were grim, and they galloped towards this side at a high speed, and they appeared in a flash. in front of you. A little boy in a red silk robe was squatting on the side of the road and playing with stone beads. Suddenly, his stone beads shook and Gululu rolled out. The boy did not lift his head, and immediately ran after the beads.
Screams suddenly sounded on the street, and Chu Jinyao couldn't help shouting: "Be careful!"