The morning breeze blew, and the bluestone steps were covered with yellow-green date flowers. The small flowers were like grains of rice, but upon closer inspection, they had all the stamens and petals, delicate and cute.
A little girl of fourteen or fifteen years old was sitting on the steps. Her face was as rosy as the morning glow, and her eyes were as bright as stars. Her good-looking complexion could only be compared to fresh lotuses after the rain, or fresh peaches exposed after the rain.
The little girl looked up at the jujube tree, sighed and whispered, "We won't be able to eat the jujubes this year."
At this time, a little maid in a green skirt and coat came over and said to the little girl: "The lady is here as expected. Sister Lingdang's predictions couldn't be better!"
The little girl turned her face sideways with a sad look on her face: "Did my aunt ask me to come over?"
"It's time to eat," the little maid came over and helped her lady up: "The pasta is ready, but it won't taste good after a while."
The little girl was pulled out by the maid. Her steps were a little hesitant. She looked back at the jujube tree in the courtyard and reluctantly sniffed the vague aroma.
In the main room in the backyard, Mrs. Yu Hanying was telling two servants, an old one and a young one: "Mother Sang, Brother Nuan was brought up by you since she was a child. This time, you are the oldest one accompanying her to Beijing. Although I am her
My aunt, but she has been growing up in our family since she was one year old. My poor sister left early again, so she is just like my daughter. This time the Jiang family sent someone to pick her up, and I looked at those people and it seemed reasonable.
, I also asked about the reputation of the Meng family who has always been virtuous, but after all, it was through the belly. When you get there, you must keep everything in mind and don't let Brother Nuan suffer."
"Madam, don't worry, as long as my old lady is here, our girl will never be bullied!" Mother Sang said, patting her chest.
She is about fifty years old, with a strong and strong body, and she looks like a hard-working person who has been working hard all year round.
After Yu Hanying finished instructing Sang's mother, she said to the maid Lingdang: "Good boy, although you are young, you are the most stable. Brother Nuan, this child has a heart and a bit of a bad temper. You have to persuade her from the side and don't let her
A small loss leads to a big loss.”
The maid named Lingdang is about fifteen or sixteen years old. She has a single eyebrow and narrow eyes, and is calm and gentle.
She was born in the Yu family. She could not speak even when she was five years old, so her mother tied a bell on her body to make it easier to find her.
It was also because of this that her original nickname was dropped and everyone called her Lingdang.
"Ling Dang has taken note of Madam's instructions." Ling Ding's voice was soft and slow, as if she was never in a hurry.
"Madam, the Jiang family has prepared the car and been waiting outside the door for a while." Xiao Chun'er, Yu Hanying's maid, walked in and said.
"Has the girl finished eating?" Yu Hanying asked: "Don't let her go on the road hungry."
"I'm going back to my wife, I've already finished eating." Xiao Chun'er came from that way, so she naturally knew: "The eldest young master and the young master are both there, and they are reluctant to let the girl go. Everyone is trying to persuade her."
Yu Hanying sighed and stood up. Since his father, General Rongwei Yu Lie, died in Yanmen, his family returned to his hometown in Dengzhou from the capital.
There are only three sisters in their family and no brothers. The eldest sister married into the Lu family, and the second sister married into the Jiang family. She was the youngest, so she raised an orphan with no father or mother in her hometown.
At that time, the second sister was weak due to miscarriage, and her brother-in-law happened to be sent to Minzhou. The road to Minzhou was not only long, but also rugged. They were worried that the second sister would not be able to bear it, so they let her and their niece Jiang Nuan stay at her parents' home.
Less than two years later, the second sister died of illness, leaving only a daughter.
Guna
At that time, the eldest sister and her family were not around, so Yu Hanying took care of the orphaned girl, caring for her mother and doing her best.
Fortunately, her husband, Qu Maolin, was a sincere gentleman. Although he was a rough man, he was very filial and kind-hearted. The couple gave birth to two sons, but they always kept close to Jiang Nuan for food and drink.
Now Jiang Nuan's father has returned to the capital, and Jiang Nuan is already fifteen years old, reaching the age of marriage.
The Jiang family paid tribute several times, and this time they sent someone directly to pick him up.
No matter how reluctant Yu Hanying and his wife were, they had no choice but to let go.
After all, Jiang Nuan is a young lady from the Jiang family. Although her mother is gone, her biological father is still there. As an aunt, she can only take a step back.
Jiang Nuan is a really sweet child. She is never as squeamish as other girls. She is very filial to her elders and loves her two younger brothers very much.
So now that she is leaving, her two cousins are reluctant to leave her. They have been begging their parents not to let their sister go these days.
Yu Hanying and his wife talked a lot of truth, but they just couldn't listen and started crying and making trouble. Now they must have started making trouble again.
Sure enough, when Yu Hanying came to Jiang Nuan's house, she saw her two sons, Yu Dingguo and Yu Dingbang, one sitting on the packed luggage and the other blocking the door.
"You two are not allowed to mess around! If you don't obey me, your father will take action!" Yu Hanying is already the one with the best temper among the three sisters, but it is still scary when she gets angry.
"Don't let sister leave! Send away all the servants of the Jiang family!" Yu Dingguo jumped to his feet and said: "Sister is living well in our house, why should they come to rob us?!"
"What nonsense are you kidding! Your uncle is my sister's biological father, how can you call it a robbery?" Yu Hanying went up to pull her son away and asked the servants to carry the luggage out.
The younger son simply lay on the ground and rolled around, crying and shouting not to let his sister go.
At this time, Jiang Nuan also burst into tears and stepped forward to hug her little cousin.
This child has been close to her since he was a child. The two of them are almost ten years apart. When they could not walk, they always liked to be held by her.
"Good Dingbang, my sister can't bear to leave you." Jiang Nuan said while wiping her little cousin's tears: "When my sister arrives in the capital, I will buy a lot of interesting things to send back to you."
"I don't want fun, I don't want my sister to go to the capital. My dear sister, don't leave. When autumn comes, the two of us will shoot dates together." Yu Dingbang stretched out his little hand and wiped Jiang Nuan's tears. He knew that,
My sister likes to eat dates the most.
The jujube tree in the North Courtyard was planted by Jiang Nuan's grandfather, General Yu, and it has been almost forty years now.
But the Yu family takes good care of it, so even though it is an old tree, it still bears a lot of fruit every year.
Yu Hanying asked the servants of the family to take the two sons away by force. She took Jiang Nuan's hand and whispered: "You have to be more careful on the road. You can spend the money you have. If you don't have enough, write to me. Your father and the others will reply
Kyoya has been here for four or five years, and I wanted to take you there before, but your grandmother was seriously ill at that time, and I was afraid that you wouldn't be able to see her for the last time. After that, you decided to observe mourning for your grandmother for three years. Now that the period of mourning has expired, you will not go.
