The next day it was still dark outside, and Yan Yan woke up.
Since she was five years old, she began to practice martial arts for an hour and a half every day from nine o'clock. The servants of Ningxiang Pavilion are also aware of the habit of the three girls, so they lit the lamp early to prepare hot water for breakfast for Yan Yan's use.
When Yan Yan was just practicing martial arts, there was a small martial arts field in the mansion. Two years ago, she was instigated by her mother to seal it up, so Yan Yan changed her martial arts field to the small courtyard behind Ningxiang Pavilion. The area is not large, but it is my own place, no one can control it when the door is closed.
The first is warm-up running, then the horse step and the plum blossom pile, and then there is a set of basic boxing and whipping practice. It was just an hour and a half after the set was finished, and the eastern side of the sky had already turned white.
Yan Yan was wearing a red dress with narrow sleeves, her wrists and leggings, and a pair of pony boots with a red face and a white bottom. Her cheeks were crimson, her eyes were bright, and the hair that fell down was wet with sweat on her face. Even so, she didn't even catch a breath.
Seeing that Yan Yan stopped, Madam Hui took a cotton kerchief and walked forward.
"Three girls, wipe off your sweat first, your whip practice is getting better and better."
"It's still not as powerful as Aunt Hui. I don't know when it will be like Aunt Hui."
Yan Yan has seen Hui Niang's martial arts, not to mention that the whip makes the moving clouds and flowing water awe-inspiring, the light power of the peak makes people coveted, but it is a pity that Yan Yan and Hui Niang have practiced for five years, that is, climbing trees. Just be agile, you can't do the same thing as Hui Niang's jumping over the wall and being admitted to the hospital.
Madam Hui pursed her lips and put the handkerchief on the tray beside her, and said, "Young lady, you have a noble status. It's useless to practice martial arts. It's good to learn something superficial. Madam Hui's kung fu is not suitable for you."
"why?"
In the past, every time Yan Yan asked this question, Madam Hui would not say it, but today she pondered for a while and said, "Niang Hui's kung fu is the kung fu of killing people."
"kill?"
Madam Hui nodded, her eyes calm.
The word 'killing' made Hui Niang say it very indifferently, as if it was not a big deal. It was only at this time that this middle-aged woman, who had shrunk her sharp edges and her unremarkable appearance, showed that something special, and changed the low-key and inconspicuous in Weiyuan Hou's mansion.
Hearing what Madam Hui said, Yan Yan was only surprised, but not surprised, because she still knew a little about Madam Hui's identity.
Hui Niang is not an ordinary person, let's put it this way, Hui Niang is a person in the world, and she and her husband were well-known experts in the world in the early years. When it comes to 'Mandarin Duck Shuangsha', it can't be said that everyone knows it, but it can be regarded as a famous one. .
Of course, this is also a name in the world of rivers and lakes. When outsiders see the so-called rivers and lakes, they are just a group of inferior people who lick their blood and eat their food.
They have very good martial arts, some of them are bandits, some of them form their own gangs, and some of them work for the rich. In the early years, Madam Hui and her husband worked for a big salt owl and were treated as guests.
It has always been a big business for those who do illicit salt, and there are not a few people who are jealous in secret and want to share a cup. No matter how good the kung fu is, the two fists are no match for the four hands, so from the government's point of view, when these people are mentioned, they will only be dismissive.
Once, Yuanyang Shuangsha was trying to exclude dissidents for the master, but the big Yanxiao did not investigate, and the person he killed had a big background in the government. Yuanyang Shuangsha was hunted down by the government in various ways, and Yan Xiao threw the two out as scapegoats in order to protect himself, and secretly sent people to chase and kill them.
The mandarin ducks fled in a hurry. In order to protect his pregnant wife, Hui Niang's husband was killed by someone sent by Yan Xiao to hunt him down in order to protect his pregnant wife. Hui Niang also suffered a miscarriage and was seriously injured. At a critical juncture, Madam Hui was rescued, and the person who rescued her was a family general under the Duke of Zhenguo in the early years, and a local commander of the guard.
This commander originally came to track down that Yan Xiao, and by chance, she rescued Madam Hui, who lost her son and husband at the time, and all her thoughts were lost. She cut off her revenge, told everything she knew about the Yan Xiao, and promised that once she helped her avenge her, she would never quit.
As I said earlier, the people in the government disdain these people who go to the rivers and lakes.
Here we will talk about Yan Yan's martial arts practice when she was five years old. After all, she is a girl. It is always inconvenient to ask a male teacher to teach. It is rare for women to practice martial arts these days, let alone such a thing, so this matter was arranged by Duke Zhen Guo.
So Madam Hui went to Duke Zhen Guo through the commander, and after various tests and observations, she came to Yan Yan again.
Yan Yan didn't know Hui Niang's life experience together at first, or she had developed feelings after living together for a long time, and Hui Niang told her little by little.
For Hui Niang, there is nothing to worry about in the world, and the only thought left is to repay her kindness. Coming to Yan Yan's side, life has undergone earth-shaking changes. People are emotional animals, especially Yan Yan was a little baby at that time. After getting along for the past five years, the little girl has grown up, and Hui Niang has long since been concerned about it. Yan Yan takes pain as her own daughter.
From her point of view, the third girl is everyone's young lady. The women in the gate of the mansion do not need any martial arts at all, and they all have entourages when they walk. So in the past few years, she only taught Yan Yan the basics of kung fu, and then she went soft whip all the way. If there is an accident, it is more than self-preservation, but it is not necessary to go deeper.
"Can Ayan learn?"
Madam Hui frowned slightly, "Why does the third girl want to learn this? It's of no use to you."
There was a hint of depression in Yan Yan's brows, "Look at me, I can't learn anything, and female workers can't, not to mention those chess, chess, calligraphy and painting that nurture temperament, people must be proficient in one thing, if you like it, you must learn the best. Can't people ask me in the future, what are you proficient in, and I turn around and reflect on it and it's all wrong?!"
At the end, she smiled casually, showing that she thought about it and made a decision.
"It's going to be hard work."
"Ayan is not afraid of suffering."
This lady Hui also agrees. There are very few girls, especially girls from wealthy families, who can practice martial arts in winter, three nines, summer in three days and four days, like the three girls.
"Madame may be reluctant."
In fact, when did Shen Yiyao want to? She has always been reluctant to Yan Yan to practice martial arts, she feels that she does not look like a lady, and the reason why Yan Yan has been studying for five years is that she was supported by Duke Zhen two years earlier. Nian is Yan Yan learning without telling the truth. Shen Yiyao had taught and scolded them, but they were all useless, so she could only open one eye and close one eye.
"Then from tomorrow, Madam Hui will teach the three girls."
Hui Niang agreed very readily, but in the end, people who practice martial arts are obsessed with finding a good apprentice. As a female, the three girls have good aptitude and perseverance, and learning her kung fu will naturally achieve twice the result with half the effort. If she changed her identity, Madam Hui had already accepted this apprentice, and she would not hesitate until now. Now that the third girl wants to learn by herself, she will naturally not be hypocritical.
"Then it's settled. I'll go to bathe and change clothes first, and I'll go to Rong'an Hall to greet me later."
…
Yan Yan went to take a bath and changed into a water-red pear-embroidered shirt and a moon-white cloudy silk skirt. Mei Xiang and Mei Xue served her to comb her hair, and the other wiped her face with magnolia balm. Yan Yan is still young, so naturally she doesn't need to apply grease or powder, she just needs to rub some balsam that moisturizes the skin.
Mei Xiang combed Yan Yan a double flat bun and inserted a pair of small fringed hairpins with red gold and agate flowers. Mei Xiang wanted to insert another butterfly hairpin, but Yan Yan stopped her. She has never liked to carry these burdens, and it is enough to have one or two embellishments.
Mei Xue sighed a pity, saying that the girl had so many jewelry, she always didn't wear it, it was a pity that it was put in the jewelry box.
Yan Yan really has a lot of jewelry, not to mention the divisions in the mansion, Shen Yiyao prepared for her daughter, and she couldn't wear it just from the township's mansion. Yan Yan has a very large jewelry box, made of small red sandalwood, with a total of five layers up and down.
After finishing packing, Yan Yan took Mei Xiang and Mei Xue out. In the past, every time she went to ask for safety, Yan Yan would go to Jinseyuan to be with Shen Yiyao first, but today she was hesitant.
After thinking and thinking, she still went to Jinseyuan, but when she arrived, she learned that her mother had already gone to Rong'an Hall first.
Yan Yan's eyes flashed, and she turned around and went to Rong'an Hall again.
As the main courtyard where Weiyuan Hou and his wife lived in the past dynasties, Rong'an Hall is naturally unusual. There are five main rooms with five frames, three side rooms on each side, two double wing rooms on the left and right, and the front and rear embrace the building.
In the past, Rong'an Hall was not called Rong'an Hall. It was named after the occupants of Weiyuan Hou in successive dynasties, but no matter what it was called, it had a name called 'Main Courtyard'.
Daxi architecture pays attention to neutrality and stability, especially the mansions of wealthy people. Each mansion has a central axis, from the front yard of the mansion, which is the outer yard, to the inner yard (back yard). The special meaning or important buildings represented are all built on the central axis. For example, the Zhongzheng Hall of the daily office director of Weiyuanhou in the front yard, and the Rong'an Hall in the backyard, not only take the meaning of being upright and upright, but also have the meaning of uprightness and middleness.
It stands to reason that Yan Ting and Shen Yiyao should live in the main courtyard, where the current Weiyuanhou couple lived. However, the former Weiyuan Hou passed away, and the wife of Weiyuan Hou was widowed, and now Weiyuan Hou Yan Ting is extremely filial, and could not bear her mother to leave the place where she lived with her father for many years. A new courtyard was built, named 'Jinse', and lived with Mrs. Shen, the current Mrs. Weiyuan Hou's wife. This place is still inhabited by the old Mrs.
In today's situation, it is not uncommon. After all, filial piety is the priority, but many elders would not be so 'ignorant'. This principle is like the Fengqi Palace that represents the empress's meaning. The Queen Mother will only live in the Cining Palace, and will not dominate the Queen's Fengqi Palace. It is not only a residence, but also represents the meaning of status and standing upright, and it also represents a recognition of your elders.
When Yan Yan began to understand these common senses, she felt strange when she saw this 'Rong An Tang'. In the past two years, in addition to the strangeness in her heart, she also felt a bit more sarcastic.
Look at a person, don't listen to what they say, but watch what they do...
This sentence was listened to by Yan Yan next to him when Duke Zhen Guo taught Shen Qi in his spare time, so he wrote it down.
Gradually, the more she looked at it, the more she felt that the meaning contained in it was more complicated. This is where the complex understanding of human nature begins.