In April of the eighth year of Ningwu, it was a good time for spring flowers to bloom, but my father and his people took a carriage and rushed to the capital for the funeral.
There are not many people in this line of work, my father had no intention of taking me with me, it was only after three aunts carefully begged for it several times. After my father agreed, she secretly rejoiced for a few days, and the night before going out, she came to my room and said: "Listen well, the master is willing to take you this time because he intends to let the fourth brother show his face at my house. Our family in Beijing is no better than this one, so fourth brother must be smarter." Third aunt mentioned everything one by one without mentioning the dead Wu Niang.
At the end of the third aunt's speech, she took out the juanzi and wiped away her tears. I wanted to comfort her, but I saw her eyes were ruthless, and she gritted her teeth and said, "Remember what my aunt said, if the fourth brother can stay in the Shen family in Beijing, Even if you are a slave, don't come back to me...!"
I always knew that Third Aunt was unwilling, she was confined in the back house all her life, and her life was like walking on thin ice. She has held this bad breath in her heart for more than ten years.
On the way, I sat in the same car with several servants. After all, I am born of a lowly concubine, I can’t be regarded as a serious master, and I can’t even talk about how expensive my body is, but I don’t know if I went out for the first time, and I was dizzy and vomited many times along the way, and I couldn’t eat much. . Fortunately, the capital city is said to be far away, but it is not too far away. The journey is non-stop, and it takes less than ten days to arrive.
"Hey, get up and have a look!" These servants also returned to Shangjing at the same time, so they felt very fresh. Enduring the discomfort, I got up and took a look outside. The city of Beijing is extremely prosperous, far beyond the reach of Bianzhou. There are many people with braids and high hats on the streets. of strangers.
I remembered what my master said, now my Dazheng country is in full swing, with Xiadan in the west, Wa kingdom in the east, and tribute from all sides, all respect the Dazheng. In the entire Dazheng, the most noble and powerful families gathered here. Over the years, my father tried every means to return to Shangjing, but he had no choice but to deal with it.
The carriage gradually moved away from the crowded and noisy market, and the curtains were replaced by high-walled and wealthy doors. After traveling for another half an hour, the carriage stopped. When I came out of the compartment, I saw two tall vermilion gates, and two lions and beasts in front of the gates, which were extremely majestic, but the white silk was hung high on the wooden beams, and the lanterns swayed when the wind blew, and it was desolate and silent. A middle-aged man in charge opened the door, and my father and elder brother greeted him. Seeing my father cupping his hands, not knowing what to talk about, the steward looked a little dignified, and then ordered the servants in the mansion to lead me in.
I kept in mind what San Yiniang said, I never took a second look or said a word, but the Shen residence really opened my eyes. My Kaiyang Shen family is considered a wealthy family in Bianzhou, but now that I come to the Shen family in the middle of Beijing, I know it's just a small thing. This compound of Shen's mansion is not only rockery and beautiful water, Qionglouyuyu, even the maid who leads the way has bright eyes and bright teeth.
She arranged me in the guest room, and said before she went: "I will stay here for a few days, if you need anything, just tell me, don't wander around by yourself, if you run into some master, it will be hard to explain."
I looked at this guest room, reached out to touch the cups on the table, and thought to myself, it turns out that Fifth Sister has stayed in such a place all these years.
At night, my father called me and my elder brother: "Five Niang's funeral has been arranged, and the funeral will be held in two days."
The elder brother interjected: "So urgent?" My father gave him a gouging look, and the elder brother immediately fell silent. "The two of you are in peace these two days. Don't cause trouble. Don't go out if you have nothing to do. When the time comes, you will not know anyone in the mansion. You will only show yourselves when you go out." My father told us one or two, but I knew , What he said was mainly to his elder brother.
After talking about some things to pay attention to during the funeral, my father let me go out, leaving only my elder brother. I gently closed the door, not walking away in a hurry.
"Tomorrow morning, you and I will go to visit the old lady's wife. I have informed Ziju to let him stay in the academy without coming over." Ziju is my second elder brother, who is currently studying at Chongshan Academy in Jinyang, and the provincial examination is coming soon. , my dad didn't want him to be distracted.
The two of them whispered in the room, and my father couldn't help sighing during the conversation.
The wife of the old lady of the Shen family is a scorpion, and she gave birth to several uncles of our family. Today, the head of the Shen family, Taichang Shiqing, is the eldest grandson, who is also my uncle. In today's aristocratic families, the order of succession is based on Wei first, followed by concubines. The Shen family has reached my father's generation. Except for my uncle and seventh uncle, there is not a single wedge in the family, and the fifth sister is the only one in the family today. butt.
After Fifth Sister left, my father turned white on one side of his head, and he seemed to have aged ten years overnight.
At this time, I heard the elder brother's voice: "Father, tell me, this fifth younger sister is so well-behaved, why did she suddenly fall ill and die?"
I couldn't help listening with my ears close to the door, but my father didn't say much except for lamenting.
That night, I should have been extremely tired, but instead I tossed and turned in bed all night, thinking about what my elder brother said for a while, Wu Niang for a while, and the pot man I saw in my elder brother’s yard that day...
During the two days in the Shen Mansion, I stayed in the guest room most of the time, not daring to move around casually, and only occasionally went to the corridor to get some fresh air. Sometimes, I would see a few maidservants passing by from a distance, all of them are clever and charming, and seeing the carved beams and painted buildings in front of them, the Shen Mansion is still like this, one can't help but guess, what kind of house is it like for Li Qinxu to thank the four families? Immortal treasure land.
Two days passed in a blink of an eye, and I opened my eyes at four o'clock. When I got up, I found that my whole body was sweaty, my palms were red and hot, and I felt a little swaying when I walked. These days, my heart is restless, and I often wake up at night without talking. When I wake up, my clothes are always soaked. Today is the day for Fifth Sister's funeral, so don't delay. After I tidied up, I went to the front hall early.
Even though it was a funeral, only the front hall and the gate of Shen's residence were hung with white silk. At the funeral, the old lady and madam were not seen, other than my father, there were only a few uncles from the Shen family. Because the younger generation passed away, the child died before the parents and elders, and it was considered unfilial. According to the clan rules, funerals should not be taken seriously.
I stood in the row of Shen's concubine, at the very back, almost leaning against the door. I looked at the other end from a distance, and saw a coffin in the front hall. The coffin was not big, much smaller than I thought. Speaking of which, Wu Niang will be married in less than three months. Although she and I were born in the same year, the same month, and the same day, we have never met each other in our lives.
Because Wu Niang has been adopted by Shen's eldest family, she is above our concubines in terms of seniority, and according to the custom, our concubine's children must kneel and worship. I suppressed the discomfort, lowered my head and followed the people in front of me, not wanting to get confused and almost bump into someone else.
The man was just coming in through the front door, and I swayed and got caught by the arm before I fell sideways.
"Be careful." The voice came from above me, like a breeze in my ears. I looked up and saw a young man. He looks very handsome, wearing a yellow shirt, looks like the son of a rich family. Seeing that I was in a daze, he smiled, bringing me back to my senses, quickly withdrew my arm from his hand, bowed my head and thanked him.
The young man in the yellow shirt went straight to the front, and seemed to look back at me once in a while. I was afraid that I would be reckless and offend the nobleman, so I raised my eyes secretly, and saw several uncles hand in hand with the man, and then I heard a cousin whispered: "That is the person sent by Xu."
This reminds me that Wu Niang can be regarded as Xu's unmarried daughter-in-law, and now she is gone. Even if she died of illness, the Shen family didn't take good care of her. The Xu family is one of the four families. I heard that Concubine Xu Guifei just gave birth to a prince, and she is still a wee one. Maybe he will be the future heir apparent. No wonder uncle and the others are so polite to this person.
Unexpectedly, the young man in yellow shirt is already a housekeeper of the Xu residence. I don't know what he talked with the uncle and the others. I just feel like there is a fire burning from the arms to the body bit by bit, and the buttocks are even fainter. It was a little wet, and it seemed like water was flowing out when it started. Suddenly, someone pushed me, and I trembled, and I passed out like this.