The carriage was covered with a thick deerskin blanket, a soft couch had already been packed, a small case was built in the carriage, and three red plum blossoms were stuck in an exquisite white jade vase. The silver frost charcoal basin is placed in the corner, and the interior of the car is warmer than spring.
As soon as Chu Yu got into the car, she fell asleep on the couch, and didn't wake up until the car drove to the door of Hou's mansion. Qiuyue looked at the tiredness on her grandfather's face deeply frowning, and couldn't bear to wake him up for a moment.
But it's not a problem to just sleep in the car all the time, Qiuyue had no choice but to call softly: "Second Master, Second Master?"
After calling more than a dozen times, Chu Yu opened his eyes chaotically, and said with a confused and sleepy face, "Why..."
Qiuyue knew that her grandfather had always been a light sleeper, and she was extremely tired to be able to sleep like this. She handed over a hot towel handkerchief full of distress: "Second Lord, I'm home."
Chu Yu took the towel and put it on his face, covered it vigorously, and then let go of it after a while and handed it back. His face, which was originally so pale and bloodless, was covered with a veil soaked in hot water, and it turned a little rosy.
Qiuyue put the fox fur cloak on Chu Yu and tied it carefully.
Chu Yu was just about to stand up with support, but who knew that he just woke up because his body was weak, and his hands could not support his already heavy body, and he fell off the soft couch when he was halfway up, slipping and sitting. on the ground.
"Second master!" Qiuyue was so frightened by the fall that she almost lost her wits, she hurriedly grabbed Chu Yu's cuff, and supported him tremblingly.
Chu Yu only felt his body sink first, and after a short period of blankness, a piercing pain exploded from the bottom of his abdomen, coming menacingly.
"Second Master, how are you?" Qiuyue's face paled in shock, but she saw that Chu Yu had already bit her lips tightly in pain, and bent down while clutching Gao Long's abdomen.
Chu Yu lowered her head and clenched the robe around her waist with one hand, unable to speak for a long time due to the pain. The palms moved to the bottom of the abdomen, and the originally soft stomach began to harden intermittently, which made him feel a little nervous, followed by the tightness in the abdomen, and the child in the stomach tossed and tossed like frightened.
Qiuyue, a girl, couldn't help Chu Yu, so she turned around to call for someone, but Chu Yu grabbed her by the sleeve.
"Second Master! I'm going to call someone right now!" As soon as Qiuyue finished speaking, Chu Yu waved her hand, as if she had breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's okay, I just fell for a while, I'll rest for a while..." Chu Yu frowned, endured the scalp-numbing pain in her stomach, and took a long time to take a long breath.
Qiuyue wiped off the sweat on Chu Yu's forehead with a handkerchief, still worried: "Second Lord, how can you hold on to this matter? You have to send someone to see the doctor quickly, or ask someone to hand over a sign to invite the imperial doctor." It is appropriate to come to the mansion."
Chu Yu regained his strength, but felt that the pain that made people almost lose their composure just now gradually disappeared. Holding Qiuyue's hand and holding her stomach, she slowly got up and said, "It's okay for now, if you don't feel relieved, you can just follow me." That's what you said." Regarding the matter of the child, he didn't dare to make too much of it, it's better to be more cautious.
The attendant arranged the scorpion, stretched out his hand steadily to help Chu Yu get out of the car. Chu Yu supported his belly with one hand, and clung to the attendant's arm with the other. The carriage was not too high, but the bulging belly just covered the sight of his feet, which made him feel that it was very difficult for him to get on and off the carriage for the first time.
"Second Master, be careful." Qiuyue reminded softly at the side, watching Chu Yu stepping on the little cockroach by instinct, her knees almost touching her stomach when she bent over, her brows furrowed from time to time, but The appearance of her thin lips refusing to lose her composure in front of others made her feel sore and uncomfortable.
If it weren't for being dragged down by the mischievous little guy in his belly, how could Second Master Chu have shown weakness like this.
As soon as he got out of the car, Chu Yu couldn't help being startled. Not long after the New Year's Eve, the gates of the mansion have been replaced with new couplets, door gods and peach charms, which look completely new from top to bottom. The gate, Yimen, hall, and Nuan Pavilion are all lined with red silk plaques, and Qiansha lanterns are lined up, which is quite festive.
If Chu Yu hadn't asked himself, no one in the Hou family would have dared to make trouble under his nose, and he would really suspect that Qin Zheng was about to get married.
Meng Hanyi followed Qin Zheng all the way from Suzhou to Beijing. At that time, Chu Yu was worrying about the state affairs and his elder brother. He was so busy that Qin Zheng was allowed to go. But I don't know what this family has been turned upside down these days.
Seeing Chu Yu's suspicious expression, Qiuyue reminded from the side, "Second Lord, today is the old lady's birthday."
Only then did Chu Yu remember, and turned to look at the chief steward welcoming him, and asked, "Are you coming this year according to the regulations of previous years?"
The chief steward of the Hou Mansion nodded and said: "Second Master, don't worry, everything will be done according to the old rules, only increasing and not decreasing. The seventy-two seats will be served by the old royal chefs who used to be in and out of the palace. The noon show is as usual. It's Qingliyuan's troupe, if it wasn't for Erye's face, it would be really hard to hire Qingliyuan's opera troupe, and their value has been getting higher and higher in recent years. "
Chu Yu pinched the center of his brows, suppressed his tiredness, and said, "It's nothing more than a lively scene. Later, prepare more golden melon seeds to reward the servants in the mansion, so that everyone will be happy, so don't be wronged." who."
"Yes, Second Master Zhou Quan." The chief steward paused for a moment, then asked cautiously: "Second Master, do you want to go to Songshou Garden?"
The old lady Sun's birthday banquet was held in Songshou Garden in previous years.
Chu Yu was a little hesitant. According to the usual practice, if he went, it would only cause Sun Shi to make trouble for no reason. Therefore, in previous years, he always stopped at a random stop in the past, just going through the motions. He has never been short of what he should do, so why bother making everyone unhappy.
"Go and have a look." Chu Yu stretched out his hands to support his lower back, only to feel that his chest and abdomen were extremely stuffy, and his right eyelid suddenly jumped a few times. He raised his hand to press the eyelid, and walked towards Songshou Garden.
Pines and cypresses are planted in the garden, and the cabinets in the warming hall are all made of glazed blue bricks and white jade railings. On both sides, famous flowers and grasses are bound with gold, silk and silver bells. The maids and servants in the Hou's Mansion were wearing brand-new jackets, and all of them had ruddy complexions, showing a happy and prosperous scene.
I didn't enter the warm pavilion, but I heard the sound of laughter.
The ebony Eight Immortals table was not big, and it was just right for a few people to sit around. Although it didn't look ostentatious, it was as harmonious as an ordinary family banquet. Mrs. Sun looks really good now, with a ruddy complexion and an obvious smile in her eyes, like an old lady in an ordinary wealthy family, with a pampered and rich attitude.
Sitting next to Mrs. Sun is Qin Yao, the eldest lady of the Qin family. The little girl is just as old as a flower. She has a silk brocade skirt, flowery yellow Huasheng, pearls, hairpins and jade bracelets. Qin Yao was whispering something in Sun's ear, which made Sun smile continuously.
Qin Zheng sat on Sun's left, next to Meng Hanyi.
Thinking about it, Meng Hanyi had a pretty good life. Looking at his features like jade, his complexion was flawless, and he was dressed in a gown embroidered with mountains and rivers. He was completely gone from the poverty he had in Qingyi and light clothes in the south of the Yangtze River. He seemed to have a bright moonlight Light, not dazzling but also eye-catching.
Meng Hanyi lightly folded his sleeves with his left hand, and personally served Qin Zheng with vegetables. Su held a jade chopstick, and when they smiled and whispered, their foreheads seemed to be touching together. It was rare that Qin Zheng tidied himself up neatly, but he was quite undisguisedly handsome. At first glance, he really thought he was some serious upstart. Zhen'er was held in Qin Zheng's arms, and she was playing with her soft little finger around a strand of silk on the butterfly sleeve with her head down.
Chu Yu leaned against the hanging flower gate and watched for a while. The chief manager and Qiuyue looked a little ugly, but they didn't dare to make a sound. Chu Yu suddenly felt disinterested in everything. With this thought, he couldn't help feeling more and more tired in his heart. He just wanted to leave and find a clean place to sleep. .
But everything was not going well, and it was rare that Second Master Chu was too lazy to argue with others for the first time, but he couldn't get his way.
"Daddy!"
Zhen'er was the first to see Chu Yu. Qin Zheng felt that the girl who was sitting obediently on her lap suddenly broke away from him, jumped down and ran towards the door.
Chu Yu suddenly woke up, and couldn't help but tremble, thinking that he was really crazy just now, and Zhen'er is still here, how could he leave his daughter to others to grind.
With some difficulty, he bent down and hugged Zhen'er who was rushing towards him. Qiuyue watched from the side, frightened, and quickly reached out to support Chu Yu, saying, "Second Master, be careful."
Chu Yu looked down, and saw that Zhen'er's eyes were red, and the anger in her heart was so intense that she couldn't suppress it. He raised his eyes and glanced coldly at the family in front of the Eight Immortals table, and the room was instantly filled with cold wind, blowing away all the warmth.
"Daddy, I really miss you." The little girl grabbed Chu Yu's hand tightly, wishing to express all the grievances in her heart.
Chu Yu raised her hand and touched Zhen'er's small face: "Today is grandma's birthday, Zhen'er is obedient, don't shed tears."
Zhen'er nodded, trying hard to hold back the teardrops rolling in her eyes.
Qiuyue reached out and hugged Zhen'er to her side, took out a handkerchief and wiped the scattered tears from the corners of her eyes, and coaxed softly: "Girl, don't do this, it makes people feel distressed."
Sun's face was unhappy and said: "What's wrong with this? She was fine just now, who wronged this girl? Now, people think that we are blaming her for selling delicious food in front of people."
The girl is also five years old, which should be the age for remembering things, Chu Yu didn't want to really feel this, and when she heard this, her eyes turned cold.
Qiuyue said knowingly: "The second master brought a lot of good things for the girl in the lobby, let's go and have a look together."
Although Zhen'er was somewhat unwilling to leave her father's side, she could also feel that her father did not want her to be here at this time, so she could only follow Qiuyue away step by step.
With the absence of a junior, the atmosphere in the Snapper looks more and more stormy.
Meng Hanyi got up and said with a smile: "Since the second master is here, sit down. The old lady told me a few days ago that she missed the porridge and side dishes in her hometown, so I decided to resign from the master chef who was in charge of the spoon, and made some simple dishes by myself. It's a common meal. If the second master doesn't dislike it, why not try it? Come and add some bowls and chopsticks to the second master."
The corners of Chu Yu's lips curled up slightly, Meng Hanyi acted like the head of the family at this time, but he became a visitor.
Mrs. Sun said from the side: "It's better to be thoughtful in cold clothes. I see people who are half buried in the earth. I can't afford the seventy-two seats of palace banquets. I can't afford this blessing, and I don't belong to a family like others. Coming from a noble family, you have to look like that. I just look at these everyday meals very well."
Qin Yao chimed in: "Mother is interested in brother Meng's dedication to cooking, which is unmatched by others."
Sun glanced at Chu Yu, and said dissatisfiedly: "If you don't enter the house for ten days and a half months, if you come in, you put on a cold face and don't know who to show it to, and if you don't serve your in-laws, you don't even have a meal. You can eat with peace of mind. I don't know in what life our old Qin family owed you, a sick girl, and now we have to add a little debt collector... "
"Mother!" Qin Zheng abruptly interrupted Sun's words.
When Qin Yao heard this, she gave up, and immediately said: "What did my brother call, what did mother say wrong? It's only these days when Brother Meng came back, the mansion is considered to have a home. Originally, Brother Meng was the only one in my heart. , isn’t it just right now! This is the Qin family, not the Chu family, why can’t you even tell the truth?”
Meng Hanyi frowned slightly, and said in a low voice, "Yao'er, don't say that..."
Mrs. Sun didn't even have the intention to point fingers at Sang and scold Huai, and said bluntly: "While my old bones are still there, choosing a date is worse than bumping into the sun. Let's settle the marriage today and choose a good day for Han Yi to enter the house. It's better to be a good one as soon as possible. The old Qin family spreads its branches and leaves, so as not to be worn out by others."
"Mother, what nonsense are you talking about!" Qin Zheng's mind buzzed, and he subconsciously looked at Chu Yu.
Chu Yu just stood there, like a bystander, indifferently watching the big show in front of you, where you sing and we come on stage, I just feel that it is a waste to invite the troupe from Qingliyuan, and the troupe at home is better than those outside. Much more exciting.
Compared with the arrogant and arrogant Chu Yu, of course, the gentle and careless Meng Hanyi was more liked by Sun. People in the world say that marrying a daughter high and marrying a daughter-in-law low, the Chu family is too high-ranking. The Sun family has never been able to raise their heads in front of Chu Yu, but Meng Hanyi is completely different. He has no branches to rely on, so he can only cling to the Qin family This crooked neck tree.
As for Qin Yao, Chu Yu never allowed her to have too much contact with the noble girls of Shangjing. First, her temperament is too easy to offend others. Second, she is arrogant and her eyes are high above her head. If she is allowed to When the noble ladies come and go, they will inevitably become more and more unwilling to look down at the road under their feet. Chu Yu's original intention was to sharpen Qin Yao's mind, and then consider marrying a good family for her. It doesn't necessarily need to be so prosperous, just enough for her to live comfortably for the rest of her life.
It's just that Qin Yao refused to accept such thoughts. Meng Hanyi would indulge her in socializing with noble ladies, and would personally give her a pair of gorgeous emerald green hair with his own pocket, so that she could also show off among the many noble ladies. She only said that if she could tell her elder brother to divorce his wife and marry another, then he would have a better life in the future.
It is rare for this pair of mother and daughter to use the shrewdness of half a lifetime to this day.
Chu Yu's brain hurt from the yelling, she stretched out her hand to support the chair beside her, and sat down on her own, feeling the dull pain in her stomach one after another. He could only grit his teeth and refused to groan out in pain, but such a long silence only fueled Sun's arrogance.
"Since you are too busy to take care of your family, you don't need to intervene in the family, including all the income of the Hou Mansion." Sun said.
Qin Yao's face was filled with uncontrollable joy, it seemed that she had been thinking about it for a long time, and she opened her mouth and said, "Dad kept a lot of shops and villages back then! He kept a clear account, if someone tampered with it, You can see it at a glance.”
Sun immediately made a decision: "Yao'er is right, the Qin family can't be handed over to people who don't have the same heart, and how the income has been over the years, let's take a closer look today!"
Chu Yu raised his eyes and looked at the Qin family in front of him, but there was no disturbance in his heart.
The chief steward blushed with shame, and said to Chu Yu, "Second Lord, this..."
Chu Yu looked away, staring at a smear of banana green outside the window in a daze, and said slowly: "Open the warehouse and get all the annual accounts for the past six years."
The table was lifted up, the incense candles were lit, the accounts of the Hou Mansion were lined up, and a jade abacus was placed in the center.
Chu Yu opened the account book with one hand, put on the abacus with the other, and slowly raised his eyes to meet him: "Yu married into the Hou's mansion and was with the gentleman's wife for six years. In these six years, she has never spent the evening with me, never asked me The porridge is warm. What do you think I am greedy for the Qin family? Gold or silver mines?"
He lowered his eyes and laughed softly, resisting the tight cramps in his stomach, twisted the ledger with his fingertips, and read aloud: "In the 21st year of Changwu, after the old Hou Ye left, except for this town in the north. There are five other shops in the Hou's mansion, two of which are for rice and grain, and three for silk and satin. The old management is 782 silver, and the new collection is 351 silver. The word is more than two hundred and twenty silver, and this is the third year of deficit. There are also ten hectares of fertile land and five Zhuangzi. At that time, there was a locust plague for three years. In addition to the payment to the tenants and the payment of the year, the remaining grain was one hundred dendrobium. There are only two hundred and forty-one silver left for making silver."
Chu Yu's fingers were flying, and the jade beads on the abacus made a crisp sound following his voice. His hands were extremely thin, as if a thin layer of snow-colored skin quietly wrapped the slender finger bones, and the blood vessels on the wrists With a faint blue color, it winds up to the arm...
Old Hou Ye is a hero. He once stood up and guarded the border for decades. But in terms of business, he is like a blind man, with a deficit every year, and when he dies, there will only be such a mess left. Zhuangzi is too poor to uncover the pot, and the shop loses nothing but a pair of underpants.
Later, Old Hou Ye was transferred back to Beijing to report on his duties and commanded the 14th Army of the North Gate. Where is it? Everyone knew well that it was the place where the son of the family was gilded, and a group of young soldiers were raised. The old Hou Ye had licked blood for too many years on the battlefield, and he was angry with him. On the first day he took office, he punished fifty-two members of the North Gate Army with 14 military orders, and offended the dignitaries of the Manchu Dynasty in Shangjing.
From then on, under Jinshang's instruction, the old Hou Ye became a knife, like cutting leeks, clearing up the filth in the court one after another. But in the end, what can be left for Qin Zheng? The hostility of the court and a clangingly poor Houfu.
Old Hou Ye's eyes were clouded with worry, and his temples turned white with worry, until that day when Chu Yu came to his door.
That day, Chu Yu came to the old Marquis with the youthful frivolity and heavy obsession, and said sonorously: "Looking at the whole court, those who can save the Hou's mansion, guard the Qin family, and protect Bai Luan , apart from me, Chu Yu, I have no other ears."
A promise is a thousand pieces of gold, and it will not change every year.
He wanted to pave the floor with gold powder for the Hou Mansion, carved the railings with white jade, and threw pearls and jujubes, and made Qin Zheng look noble and no one looked down upon him. He wants to hold the three-point scepter in the court, and one day he can establish a firm foundation and bring Qin Zheng to the court again, let him wear purple and gold ribbons and silver armor, and be the famous and incomparable general.
He once thought that it wouldn't take too long, if he tried his best for only ten years, all these thoughts could be realized.
He knew that this road was difficult to walk, and he had thought about all kinds of difficulties and dangers, but he never thought that the most difficult thing in the end would be Qin Zheng's indifferent eyes.
Chu Yu's eyes were a little blurry, his mind was empty, and the pain in his stomach made his fingertips tingle, but the hand that fiddled with the abacus was still like a butterfly wearing a flower, and it never stopped. The accounts were opened one by one...
"In the twenty-second year of Changwu, there were five shops and ten hectares of land. The old management was 540 silver, and the new collection was 990 silver, and 430 silver was expelled. At the end of the year, there were more than 1,100 silver .”
"In the 23rd year of Changwu, the number of shops has increased to seven, the land is 12 hectares, the old management is more than 1,100, and the surplus at the end of the year is 2,780 silver..."
"In the 24th year of Changwu, the number of shops increased to 16, the land was 30 hectares, the old management was more than 3,880 silver, and the surplus at the end of the year was 16,900 silver..."
"In the twenty-fifth year of Changwu, there were twelve Zhuangzi, thirty shops, three pawnshops, and one hundred hectares of land..."
"In the twenty-sixth year of Changwu, there were thirty-seven farms, sixty-two shops, seven pawnshops, three hundred hectares of land, and three hot spring villas..."
"In the twenty-seventh year of Changwu, there were fifty farms, seventy-nine shops, twelve pawnshops, five hundred hectares of land, five hot springs, and a surplus..."
A drop of tear fell on the jade bead, splashed to pieces, stuck to the fingertips, and dissipated the residual heat in a moment, leaving nothing but coldness.
The sound of the jade beads hitting each other stopped abruptly.
Chu Yu stared blankly at the tears dripping on her fingertips, as if waking up from a dream. He looked up, Qin Zheng was only three steps away from him, but mountains and seas were far away.
Chu Yu thought, he probably won't last ten years.