When greeting each other the next day, brother and sister Chang Feng and Mo Lan were indeed 'recovered'. Wang took the two brothers to greet them, asking them what the illness was, and then asking how they were. Chang Feng was okay.
, but Mo Lan blushed with embarrassment. After everyone bowed to the old lady in order, the Chang Feng brother and sister both apologized to the old lady.
"I'm sorry for the old lady. We didn't have any illness at all. We just slept a little cold the night before yesterday. When I woke up early yesterday, I felt light-headed and light-headed. It didn't matter at all, but I thought that the old lady was fine just now. If I got over the illness,
But what should I do? Since my third brother lives close to me, Aunt Lin was afraid that her illness would be transmitted to him, so she even detained him."
Mo Lan said in a low voice, her face was haggard and her body was delicate, she seemed to be really ill. Chang Feng's fair little face was a little embarrassed, and she continued: "I don't know what happened, but when I got up early yesterday morning, my sister...
I'm not allowed to go out even if I'm sick, so I've made my grandma worry so much, so don't blame me, old lady."
As she said this, she bowed repeatedly. Ming Lan looked on and felt that it was not fake. Old Mrs. Sheng looked at Chang Feng, who looked panic-stricken. Her expression softened and she said warmly: "Brother Feng is almost ten years old. It's time for him to have his own house and apartment."
Being a servant makes it easier to study. I don’t have to spend all day with women and children, which delays my homework. Your eldest brother plans to take the child exam next year and is currently studying hard. He doesn’t even see a wife or a sister. Although in a family like ours
It's enough to donate a student, but it's not as good as getting good grades. You also have to make progress. In the future, whether you can honor your ancestors or become independent and support your family, it all depends on your own destiny."
The old lady's words were not only meant for Chang Feng, but also for Aunt Lin. They were truly spoken from the bottom of her heart. Chang Feng immediately stood upright and respectfully bowed to the old lady; Wang over there listened.
When the old lady mentioned Changbai, her eyebrows lit up with joy and her pride could not be concealed. Changbai still looked taciturn and did not even raise his eyebrows.
The old lady pulled Chang Feng and said a few more words, but still ignored Mo Lan. Her little face slowly turned red, and she was at a loss what to do with embarrassment. Only then did Old Madam Sheng look at her and said slowly: "Mo Lan
The girl got cold this time, probably because she suffered a cold when she was paying filial piety in front of me a few days ago. It's freezing cold, and you are weak, so naturally you can't bear it."
Mo Lan agreed with tears in her eyes. She raised her little face and looked at the old lady with tears in her eyes. She felt pitiful and aggrieved, and said: "I can't serve the old lady. After all, I am not lucky. I have been feeling uncomfortable these past few days.
It's my granddaughter's fault that she's caught in the wind and cold. She's thinking too much, please punish the old lady." After saying that, she knelt down in front of the kang, her little body swaying and trembling, and the maids and women in the room couldn't bear to look at her.
Old Mrs. Sheng looked at her for a while, then asked Cuiping to help her up, pull her in front of her, and said gently: "Girl Mo, I didn't ask you to come here. You don't have to take it to heart. It's just that my wife has too many things to do and children around her."
, I asked her to look at one so that she can feel more at ease. As a little girl, you must not think too much, as it will affect your health. You should take care of her more, and in the future you will have to learn the rules and etiquette of women.
You have to suffer, that’s what I said to your sixth sister as well.”
Mo Lan's tears rolled in her eyes but did not fall. She nodded and snuggled up to the old lady. Seeing this, Hua Lan went over to comfort her gently. Wang turned around to look at Ru Lan and couldn't help but sigh. Ru Lan
She was tapping her shoes impatiently and looking outside eagerly; then she turned to look at Minglan and found that she was just looking down at her feet blankly, and felt that her daughter was fine too.
After everyone went back, the grandfather and grandson continued to have breakfast by themselves. Today's breakfast included fresh roe deer meat and minced meat porridge made from glutinous rice. Minglan had never eaten this kind of meat before and found it very fragrant. She couldn't help but eat an extra bowl. Look at the little girl.
The girl puffed up her cheeks and ate deliciously, and the old lady couldn't help but eat more. Fang's mother on the side was also happy to see it. Minglan thought that eating requires atmosphere, and she was picking rice grains in front of a sick person.
Lin Daiyu, even Bajie would lose her appetite.
After dinner, the old lady asked Minglan to take off her shoes and get on the kang again. This time she gave Minglan a red booklet and asked her to lay down on the kang table and draw red, write each character and recognize each one. While writing, the old lady gently guided her.
, it didn’t take long for Mrs. Sheng to discover that Minglan had a very good memory and could remember more than a dozen words in a morning. Although she was small and weak, and most of her words were crooked, her strokes were quite orderly, and her strokes were horizontal.
, it will naturally tilt to the left first, and then steadily move to the right.
At this point, Mrs. Sheng became interested. She was afraid that asking Minglan to practice calligraphy all day long would make the child's home boring, so she took out a poetry collection, picked out a few catchy short poems, and read them to her sentence by sentence.
Minglan listened, and the first poem was the famous "Goose". While reading it, she explained the meaning of the words in the poem. Minglan was a little embarrassed, but she still pretended to read along. After following it twice, she would "memorize" it.
Old Mrs. Sheng fell in love with the little girl more and more. She held the little girl in her arms and gave her a kiss. The old lady was quite talented when she was young, so she took care of Aunt Lin. Minglan's hair was messy when she was hugged, and she blushed and her heart beat.
, but King Luo Bin could compose poems at the age of seven, so it should be normal for her to memorize poems at the age of six.
"Ming Ya'er, do you know the meaning of this poem?" The wrinkles on Mrs. Sheng's face seemed to have relaxed.
"The granddaughter knew the words after the grandmother said it;... Once upon a time, there were three geese. They bent their necks and sang to the sky. Their white feathers floated on the owl-colored water, and their red goose paws stirred the clear water." Minglan said loudly.
replied.
"Do you like this poem?" The old lady smiled broadly.
"I like it. There are both colors and sounds in this poem. Even people who have never seen geese seem to have seen the three big white geese." Minglan tried her best to explain in the language of children.
Mrs. Sheng pointed at Minglan and said with a smile: "Okay, okay, three geese...yes, those three stupid geese!"
After two days together, Mrs. Sheng felt that this little granddaughter who was arrogant in words was really a wonderful person. She was not as eloquent as Hua Lan, nor as knowledgeable as Mo Lan. She looked dull.
There is an indescribable interest in it. The childlike words she speaks are not wrong at first glance. She is also very serious and has a serious face, but it always makes people want to laugh.
After a whole morning of mental and physical work, Mrs. Sheng had a big appetite at noon and took advantage of her happiness to eat an extra bowl of rice. In order to show her sincerity to the new boss that she was willing to gain more meat, Minglan also struggled to eat a whole bowl.
For rice, the plate of oily and smooth braised pork with rock sugar and red meat looked so good that the grandfather and grandson worked together to scoop it up. Fang’s mother was dumbfounded when she saw it, and secretly ordered Cuiping to prepare a double portion of pickled tangerine peel for digestion.
Plum-brewed Divine Comedy Tea.
After lunch, the grandfather and grandson sat on a pair of large ebony wood chiseled armchairs by the window to rest, intending to eat before taking a nap. At this time, winter was coming to an end, the ice and snow were melting, and the sunshine was warm at noon.
Feeling happy, Minglan was warmed by the sun, curled up like a fluffy kitten on the brocade cotton chair cover, she had a full lunch, the child was red and tender, and Mrs. Sheng slowly narrowed her eyes as she watched.
The little granddaughter suddenly asked: "...Ming'er, do you think your fourth sister is really sick?"
This question is a bit mysterious.
Minglan was already drowsy. After hearing this question, she tried to open her eyes wider. She looked a little confused and said incoherently: "No...I don't know. I originally thought that the fourth sister was angry and embarrassed, so she pretended to be sick."
If you are willing to come - every time the master comes to check on the fifth sister's homework, she pretends to be sick; but when I saw the fourth sister this morning, I felt that she was really sick."
After hearing this truth, the old lady smiled slightly, looked into her big bright eyes, gathered the broken hair on her head, touched the round little hair on her head, and said: "What if your fourth sister is really pretending?"
?Should we punish her?"
Minglan leaned against her grandmother's warm palm, shook her head, stretched out a pair of small white jade paws, grabbed the old lady's sleeves, and said softly: "You can't come to the old lady. Even if the fourth sister is not sick, she is feeling sick in her heart."
If you feel uncomfortable, there must be something inappropriate, and it doesn't count as pretending to be sick. My eldest sister escorted me to play shuttlecock every day, so I was really pretending to be sick."
Ming Lan actually sympathized with Mo Lan. I guess Aunt Lin often acted like this when she was favored. So when Mo Lan was rejected, Aunt Lin immediately reflexively gave the old lady a slap in the face. Unfortunately, she hit the muzzle this time.
You must know that Sheng Hong has made up his mind to rectify his family style since he was promoted to Dengzhou. He does like Aunt Lin and her children and is willing to promote them, but he prefers his own family and social status. The old lady just refused.
Mo Lan, Aunt Lin just asked her two children to pretend to be sick and not go to greet them. This was a show of respect for the old lady, and she also told the entire Sheng Mansion openly that her Aunt Lin had a tough back.
The old lady's immediate counterattack forced Sheng Hong to choose between doting on Aunt Lin and family integrity. Filial piety came first, and Sheng Hong chose the latter without hesitation. This is like buying stocks and not just looking at the company.
The operating status depends more on the national situation. The current situation in the Sheng Mansion is that Sheng Hong is willing to protect Aunt Lin, but Aunt Lin must abide by her duties as a concubine.
The old lady felt that this little granddaughter understood what was going on. She was a little surprised and asked gently: "Then where do you think your fourth sister went wrong?"
Minglan shook her little head and said in a dignified manner: "Whoever comes to the old lady's side is our filial piety and the old lady's pleasure. Fourth sister should not pretend to be sick just because her wish failed to make you worry.
.”
The old lady smiled with satisfaction, took Minglan over and sat on her knees, touched her little face and said: "My sixth girl, you said it well. You know, even here, the old lady can read and learn.
This time, the most important thing for us is to learn to be sensible; people live in this world, there are always things that are satisfactory and unsatisfactory. What is yours is yours. If it is not yours, don’t force it. Cherish blessings and let them happen. You can’t
The ends justify the means..."
When the old lady saw her little granddaughter's confused face, with an expression that didn't seem to understand, she felt that what she was saying was too profound, so she stopped talking and called Mother Cui to take Minglan into the pear blossom cupboard to take a nap.
In fact, Ming Lan understands that Mrs. Sheng is quite miserable. When she raised Aunt Lin, she originally wanted to raise a noble Lin Daiyu, but unexpectedly she raised a tough version of Sister You, who is very scheming and has strong fighting ability.
The Sheng Mansion has been turned upside down, and the reason for all this is the word 'greed'. This time she is raising a concubine. If she becomes arrogant just because she is by her side, she will have expectations that she shouldn't have.
, that would harm her, so the old lady is taking precautions here.
Lying on the warm kang, Minglan sighed. In fact, Mrs. Sheng didn't have to worry. From the day she accepted this identity, she had been thinking about her future. Obviously this was a very normal ancient world.
, there is a strict hierarchy, clear feudal rules, and no yy social environment. It is impossible for her to run away from home and become a chivalrous girl, nor can she start a business based on whims, and she dare not imagine going to the palace to make a living. The only thing she can do
Just run your own life well.
Human happiness is obtained through comparison. If everyone around you is miserable than you, you will feel very happy even if you eat glutinous rice. The reason why concubines are miserable is because the sisters who grew up together often have
In a better life, it is inevitable to feel unhappy when you see a sister who grew up with your father being better than you in every aspect.
But, what if we don’t compare with our legitimate daughter? Minglan supposes that she was born in a farmer’s family with insufficient food, or worse, in a slave’s family who couldn’t help her fate. Compared with these, she is already much better.
Her current life allows her to at least have enough food and clothing, and she has a relatively small amount of money; her father is not a bad person like Jia She who marries his daughter randomly, and her family is fairly well off.
The life trajectory of an ancient girl like her has already been written - she will grow up according to the standards of a concubine, marry a husband of comparable status, have children, and grow old; in addition to not being able to divorce, she will probably have to accept several "sisters" to divide her life.
Apart from her husband, there is not much difference from modern times. Sometimes, Minglan would think without hope: This is not bad.
If life doesn't go well and God insists on giving her a miserable life, huh, then she will have to lose her life and her head. If there is really no way out, she won't be polite; if she doesn't have a good life, she won't let her be treated badly.
Her life is easy. When the time comes, white knives go in and red knives come out. At worst, the fish will die and the net will be broken. Who is afraid of whom? She is a person who has been drowned by mudslides!
Thinking of this, Minglan's heart became clear, she stretched her belly and fell into a deep sleep.