The Nuating Pavilion in the Song Dynasty is a high pavilion with an earth dragon inside and large windows on all sides, inlaid with glazed glass.
At this time, in the warm pavilion, there was only a faint fragrance of tea, and delicate dots were placed on the table. The teacups were covered with thick cushions, making it soft and warm to sit on.
Under the pavilion, a small piece of wintersweet was planted. The plum branches were covered with snow. The plum blossoms bloomed proudly on the branches, and the cool plum fragrance hit the tip of the nose.
In the small plum forest, Su Xiao and Song Ying each held a small flower basket and picked up petals under the tree. They were talking and laughing, and they became familiar with each other faster than anyone else.
Su Liu was happy to see that Su Xiao had a best friend of his own. Although Song Ying was delicate and savage, she was pure and kind-hearted. Su Xiao had a good relationship with her, both good and bad.
"Ying'er, come up and have some hot tea, keep it cold carefully." Cao Qing'er leaned out half her body and called.
Su Liu glanced at her and felt that Cao Qing'er was too deliberate and deliberately wanted to please Song Ying, but Song Ying was indifferent to her, which was a bit interesting.
"I'm not cold." Song Ying replied impatiently, and even pulled Su Xiao away a little further.
"She is your cousin, don't you like her?" Su Xiao picked up the tender plum blossom petals that fell on the snow and put them in the bamboo basket, saying, "I think she is very good to you."
"Tch!" Song Ying sneered lightly and said, "She wants to please me just because she wants to marry my second brother."
"Huh?" Su Xiao looked at her, marrying Mr. Song?
(Note: Song Fei ranks third in the Hou family, but in Song Ying's heart, he is the second brother)
"Otherwise, when you see my second brother, those eyes make you want to be glued to my second brother." Song Ying curled her lips and said, "I'm used to showing off. If my mother hadn't said she was pitiful, I wouldn't have wanted to be friends with her."
.”
Su Xiao glanced at her, frowned, and then said: "Then Mrs. Song wants to ask her to be Mr. Song's wife?"
"I don't even know, and my mother didn't tell me, why are you asking? Do you also miss my second sister-in-law?" Song Ying looked at her.
"Bah!" Su Xiao said twice, "How is this possible?"
"Hey, my second brother is not good enough for you anymore?" Song Ying puffed up her cheeks and her eyes widened.
"It's because I'm not good enough for him, right?" Seeing her temper, Su Xiao rolled her eyes and said, "I think Mr. Song and Sister Mingzhu are in love with each other."
"That merchant girl?" Song Ying looked back at the pavilion and said, "It's beautiful, and it's pleasing to the eye, but it's a pity that she's from a poor background."
Su Xiao's face darkened and she said: "What's wrong with the merchant girl? Sister Mingzhu is proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and is also knowledgeable in writing. She is much better than some people, at least better than your cousin. If you look down on her as a merchant's daughter, then I still
Those who grew up in the country are even more vulgar."
Seeing Su getting angry, Song Ying pouted and said, "I didn't say anything to her."
"In short, I think Mr. Song and Sister Mingzhu are a pair of gods made in heaven." Su Xiao said this and ran away.
"Hey, why are you running? Just stand here." Seeing Su Xiao running away without saying a word, Song Ying was so angry that she threw the basket and stamped her feet. Seeing that Su Xiao didn't seem to notice, she bit her lip and chased after her.
The two little maids waiting on the side looked at each other and saw shock in each other's eyes.
In the warm pavilion, Su Liu and the other two chatted incessantly. Cao Qing'er revealed her closeness to Song Fei and the others intentionally or unintentionally. She watched Cao Mingzhu's gorgeous face getting whiter and whiter, and her eyes becoming more proud.
"Don't look at how gentle my second cousin is. In fact, he was the most naughty when he was a child. I remember that for a while, he put a bug on my shoulder. It scared me so much that I cried. He tried his best to coax me.
alright."
"Another time, we were playing hide-and-seek, and ended up hiding in a dark room and falling asleep. It was autumn at that time, and the weather was very cold. It almost scared my cousin. My body is thin and the bones are all the fault of that time.
"
Blah blah blah.
Su Liu yawned boredly and said to Cao Mingzhu: "Sister, I think these wintersweet flowers are blooming very well. How about we go down and break two of them and send them to Mrs. Song?"
Cao Mingzhu was stunned: "Isn't this bad?" But Su Liu blinked at her and said clearly: "It's boring to sit in this warm pavilion for a long time. It would be nice to go for a walk."
Cao Qing'er was talking enthusiastically, but unexpectedly, Su Liu interrupted her and stood up, saying, "I'll go with my two sisters."
"Miss Cao, your body is thin, so it's better not to get cold. We'll come back as soon as we break." Su Liu hurriedly stopped her, then took Cao Mingzhu's hand and walked down quickly.
When Cao Qing'er saw that the two of them really left her behind, she couldn't help biting her lip.
Under the wintersweet, Cao Mingzhu pulled down a wintersweet, held it close, and smelled the cool plum fragrance.
"I have no intention of struggling for spring, but once the flowers are jealous, they fall into mud and grind into dust. Only the fragrance remains the same." Su Liu twisted a plum branch and recited a poem about plum blossoms, and said: "Sister, you are upset."
Cao Mingzhu turned around and showed a wry smile: "You have also seen that Mrs. Song does not particularly like me. That girl Qing'er has been close to him since she was a child. I..."
"Song Fei is not so bad that he would push you to his mother even though there is someone who is happy. I think Qing'er is just adding trouble to you. If you are serious, you will lose.
"Su Liu said quietly.
No one is a fool as to what Cao Qing'er meant when she said those words. It was just to tell Cao Mingzhu that she and Song Fei were childhood sweethearts and they both wanted to get married.
Cao Mingzhu pursed her lips and said, "But you also saw that Mrs. Song..."
"I still say that, everything depends on Song Fei." Su Liu held her hand and said: "And I think the Song family may not be very satisfied with Cao Qing'er."
"How to say?"
"Others don't know, but Song Ying's reaction is all she knows. She doesn't like Cao Qing'er." Su Liu snorted, but did not reveal what flashed through Gao's eyes when Cao Mingzhu regarded himself as his master when he came out.
Disdainful.
After hearing this, Cao Mingzhu's gray eyes finally regained some brightness.
"That's right for you. Confidence is the most beautiful thing. Keep yourself straight and don't worry too much. Mrs. Song will always see the good in you." Su Liu said with a smile.
Cao Mingzhu nodded and took a deep breath. She should believe in Song Fei and she should work hard herself.
Not long after visiting the garden, Mrs. Song sent someone to invite a few people back for dinner. She didn't send Su Liu and the others away until noon.
Mrs. Song was leaning on the couch, with a flower-studded blanket around her waist. A little maid at her feet was holding a beauty mallet to help her beat her legs. She half-closed her eyes, not knowing whether she was really sleeping or pretending to be asleep.
The sound of footsteps came, and she opened her eyes slightly, but it was Mrs. Gao who came in. Mrs. Song smiled and called her over.
"All sent away?"
"Yes." Mrs. Gao took the little maid's beauty mallet and helped Mrs. Gao beat her legs.
"Ancestor, why do you need to do this? Rest now, you have worked hard all day, don't be tired." Mrs. Song winked at Aunt Tang beside her, who immediately took over Gao's beauty mallet.
.
Gao didn't hesitate, she felt a little tired, so she sat aside.
"how do you feel?"
Mrs. Gao blinked and knew that Mrs. Song was asking about Su Liu and the others.
"When I look at Miss Su, she doesn't look like a child from the countryside. She is even more generous than the concubines in our family. That little Su has caught the eye of our Yinger. I heard that the two of them were in the plum blossom forest.
There was a little dispute, and Ying'er gave in." Gao said with a smile.
"Is there anything else?" Mrs. Song became interested and raised her body slightly.
Mrs. Gao nodded and succinctly explained what the maid had reported. Mrs. Song smiled and said: "Then these two girls really hit it off. Ying'er has such a temper that she really needs someone to treat her. She's thirteen."
Now, you are still ignorant."
"Anyway, her mother and several brothers are supporting her." Mrs. Gao pursed her lips and smiled.
Mrs. Song also showed a smile and said: "This woman is most comfortable when she is a daughter. It is different when she is married. She is the governor, so I feel more at ease. That Su Xiao is also the same age, so she is more sensible."
Already."
"Mom, there's no comparison at all. Little Su and the others grew up in bitter water, while we Ying'er grew up in a honey pot. They all say that children from poor families have already become masters. There's no comparison." Mrs. Gao obviously felt that
My sister-in-law is not fair.
"Don't spoil her, you still have to learn what you need to learn." Mrs. Song patted her hand and asked casually, "Where's that Cao Mingzhu?"
Mrs. Gao glanced at Mrs. Song and said: "Speaking of which, Miss Cao is bad because of her birth. Although her manners and etiquette are not comparable to those of our family, they are not bad. Isn't it said that she is a talented woman? I heard that Qin
He is good at chess, calligraphy and painting."
"That's just for fun. It's a pity that there's no elder in the family to teach you." Mrs. Song touched her fingertips and said, "Go and bring me the embroidered screen that Miss Cao sent up."
Naturally, Aunt Tang knew that she was being called, so she stopped and went to get it herself. Mrs. Gao said again, "Mom, I heard that this huge house of the Cao family is also owned by Miss Cao."
"Oh?" Mrs. Song raised her eyebrows and said, "Does she still have this ability?"
"No, Cui Huan and the others heard from their conversation with those maids that Miss Cao started to be the head of the family at the age of ten. This is really amazing!"
Mrs. Song sighed, was silent for a moment, and said: "They say that a child without a mother is just a piece of grass. This is because she was forced to do so, and it is also difficult for her."
Aunt Tang quickly brought the embroidery sent by Cao Mingzhu and asked the little maid to help open it. She exclaimed: "Ah, it is double-sided embroidery."
Mrs. Song sat up straight, took it and looked at it repeatedly. She nodded and said, "What a promising embroidery job, you can actually embroider on both sides."
Mrs. Gao also sighed in admiration and said: "Mom, this embroidery work is really good. Look at the butterfly. It looks like a real butterfly. Placing it in the room is like looking at flowers in the garden."
Mrs. Song also smiled and nodded. What Cao Mingzhu gave was a double embroidered screen with hundreds of flowers. The colors were even and lifelike, and the butterflies fluttering on the flowers were as real and lifelike.
"Go, take it to Jinxiu Square and inlay it." Mrs. Song ordered.
Mr. Gao breathed a sigh of relief and said to himself, "Second Uncle, I can only help you so much. Whether you can succeed or not depends on you."
