That night, Minglan was sleeping very uneasy, half asleep and half awake, and always felt a look at him. He opened his eyes in a daze, but saw Gu Tingye leaning slightly and staring halfway beside him. Minglan was very sleepy and said vaguely, "Why aren't you sleeping yet?" After a while, Gu Tingye said lightly: "You sleep well, you're exhausted these days."

The tone was filled with deep pity and pain, and a faint apology.

The girl's slender eyelashes suddenly trembled.

She is indeed very tired.

It is very tiring to manage a huge mansion, and it is very tiring to treat people. Beware of others' calculations all day long. You have to spend three times in your heart to say something, and you have to think about it seven or eight times before you dare to do it. You are afraid of picky people, afraid of criticism, and even more afraid of being caught and hurting your feet and causing trouble for him. If this continues, she can fly directly into the asylum.

A long time ago, she made a vow in front of the Buddha that she would work hard to survive.

Every day, no matter how busy she is, she has to take time to rest, appreciate flowers, read, play chess, draw, and be the "Back to the Mountain Series" needle and thread that she secretly enjoys. Facing the clear lake and mountains, she recites Buddhist scriptures over and over again, those charming poems, the vast mountains and rivers of the sea and the sky, happily like the breeze blowing across the ridge, by the strange soothing power.

Smiling, praying, looking for the Buddha's mercy, only wishing peace and joy, and hearts are like a mirror.

Everyone knows that she is blessed - but at least, this man knows her fatigue and hardship.

Minglan leaned over and twisted into his arms like a little local dog. In the cold early summer night, it seemed that only the embrace of the man beside him was warm.

After breakfast, the three of Koxiangyuan came to pay their respects as usual.

Qiu Niang's eyes were swollen like big walnuts. It was obvious that she cried all night and looked listless. Hongxiao still smiled and said, as if she didn't know what was going on. As for Sister Rong, she was very delicious and delicious every day, and she looked a little white, but she still only uttered words or phrases in her mouth.

Minglan talked to them cordially, each with three proactive tone, and let them play the rest. Ms. Hongxiao usually takes the lead. However, today, Minglan said a few more words.

"Madam Chang is coming this afternoon, and then I will ask Hua's mother to bring Sister Rong over."

Qiu Niang's lips moved and she didn't say anything. Sister Rong also raised her head with a lowered look. Hongxiao looked surprised: "Madam Chang is coming. I used to hear the master talk about this nanny; now I live in the capital, so I can come and go." Her tone was very excited.

Minglan glanced at her, raised the teacup, and said lightly: "The master has instructed me that Madam Chang had taken care of Sister Rong, so she asked Sister Rong to come out to meet the Madam."

Qiu Niang's face became increasingly ugly. Sister Rong lowered her little head and thought, as if she had remembered something. Hongxiao's eyes stuttered slightly, and she immediately changed the topic with a smile on her face. Minglan let her play freely for five minutes and then served tea to see her off.

After the man left, Minglan looked up at the carved beams of the house painted and wrapped in brocade, dazed and dazed; if he wanted to say that Madam Chang was also a strange person.

After she died of her newborn daughter, she went to Bai's house to be a wet nurse. She was very careful and proper. Old Lady Bai suggested accepting the Chang couple. Unexpectedly, Grandma Chang would rather give less benefits than refuse to follow. As Old Lady Bai became more and more prosperous, Grandma Chang was highly valued for her loyalty and her family gradually improved. When Mrs. Bai got married, many servants rushed to go to the Marquis's house to enjoy the happiness, but she did not go with her, but went back to her hometown to run her own small family.

After Gu Tingye rose straight up, Madam Chang still did not rush to rely on her, but was determined to continue to be a free ordinary citizen. Even when Chengyuan was first established, she came to Gu Tingye's request to help rectify the matter for a while. After Mr. Gongsun arrived from the south, she returned to her home.

Even when she came to the door this time, she explained that it was only in the afternoon.

This matter is very interesting. In ancient times, most people went to other people's houses to visit in the morning. Minglan secretly guessed Madam Chang's consideration: First, it was because she came to the door in the afternoon, and the possibility of meeting Gu Tingye was higher; second, if she came in the morning, the host would definitely keep guests for dinner.

No matter how decent Madam Chang is, she has been a nanny in the Bai family and has always been half a servant. Therefore, she refuses to serve the table with the master's family. But if she really wants her to clearly say the meaning of "the servant does not share the table with the master", she seems to be unwilling to be self-deprecating, so she simply comes in the afternoon.

This old man abides by the rules of level, but is also very proud. [Ye*] [*]

About two minutes later, Minglan woke up from a nap and washed her face. While she was dressing up, someone came outside to report that Madam Chang's family of four had arrived. Minglan immediately asked Xiao Cuixiu to go to Kouxiangyuan to teach Sister Rong. After dressing herself, she went to the small flower hall to wait. Not long after, Liao Yong's family led people into the hall.

I saw an old woman with gray hair, wearing a dark green and patternless brocade wool inlaid with two fingers wide black velvet edges, and a wrinkled face, and she was silent and smiling. Behind her, a woman in her forties, wearing a thin satin dark patterned jacket with red rust and red rust, and behind her was a pair of children. The girl wearing a small, yellow-embroidered jacket with flowers all over the ground was about fifteen or sixteen years old. The boy beside her looked at the light-colored little Confucian robe that was only in her early 10 years old.

Minglan looks very familiar with this outfit. The young man Changdong at home is also used to this, but the embroidery is much better.

Minglan slowly stood up and smiled and stepped forward to Madam Chang to bless her: "Madam is here, I have been waiting for it for a long time. I don't know how many times the master mentioned Madam."

Madam Chang turned slightly, avoided Minglan's greeting, and bent her knees, gave Minglan a serious blessing, and said Duansu: "My wife has met her wife."

While speaking, she was also looking at Minglan. She saw that the young lady in front of her was just Shaoling, wearing a gauze jacket with light purple cloud patterns and a lotus-shaped bracelet with a haircut on her head. She simply wore a Ruyi hairpin with a white jade lotus head with a mutton fat. She was like the dewdrops that had just condensed in the morning, bright and bright, and she couldn't be square. While talking and laughing, her attitude and gentleness were elegant, her eyes were kind and clear, and her temperament was noble.

As soon as they met, Madam Chang couldn't help but nodded secretly.

She turned slightly and pointed to the person behind her and said, "This is my daughter-in-law, my maiden name is Hu." The middle-aged woman lowered her head and stepped forward to salute Minglan. Minglan smiled and returned the salute half: "Hello Sister Chang."

"Hello, Madam." Chang Hu raised her head slightly. She was quite pretty, but her skin was slightly dark, and she always drooped the corners of her mouth, looking bitter. She opened her mouth and pleased her, and said with a smile on her face, "I have long been thinking about coming to see her wife. Everyone said that the wife was born by a fairy. I didn't believe it at first. When I saw her today, oh, how could the Queen Mother be willing to come to the mortal world!"

As soon as Minglan saw Chang Hu's outfit, she couldn't help but tilt the corners of her mouth. People with dark skin dared to wear dark red. She was really brave enough. After hearing this, she couldn't help but burst out: "Sister Chang is so funny! Please sit down quickly."

But Chang Hu was not in a hurry to sit down, so he glanced at his mother-in-law and saw Madam Chang pointing at the two children behind him: "This is my granddaughter Chang Yan, this is Sun Changnian; Yan, Nian, hasn't seen him yet."

The siblings immediately stepped forward and bowed to salute one on the left and one on the right. Minglan could receive the gift safely this time. When the siblings came to raise their heads, Minglan couldn't help but be stunned.

The two brothers and sisters are quite similar, both have slightly dark skin and beautiful eyebrows, but their temperaments are very different. Chang Yan is just an ordinary little girl. Because she lived in the countryside of Beijing for about a few years, she also has a bit of rural style. However, she is always a scholarly and honest person, speaking clearly and behaves generously, without any restraint from seeing wealth in the first time of the Ping family.

Everyone sat down and talked, and even the Chang family siblings called him to sit down.

It seemed that the three mothers of Chang Hu had come back for the first time. After sitting down, they couldn't help but look around at the decorations in the hall, especially Chang Hu, who saw that the decorations in the hall were quiet and elegant, and the nobleness was extremely elegant.

A white jade bottle of mutton fat, which was about the height of the ruler, was clean and flawless. It was simply placed in a treasure rack. Two carved red sandalwood chairs were dark and bright in color. She kept rubbing the lower chair with her hands and constantly praised: "Madam, this is such a good place. I actually felt like I was in the fairy palace; Oh, look at the bonsai... Uh, maybe it was made of jade, and there was this cold felt mat, what kind of bamboo weaving is... "

The woman's words and deeds were like a market atmosphere, and she was not very popular. Madam Chang frowned slightly, looked at her daughter-in-law, and refused to speak. When she looked at Minglan again, she did not show any disdain, but she did not deliberately please herself. She just smiled and joked, as if Chang Hu's words were indeed very interesting.

"I don't know much," Minglan recalled hard, "It looks like bamboo in the river. The towering big bamboo is cut into pieces, and only picks the thinnest and toughest pieces inside, then draws it into the thickness of a long bamboo stick, and polish it over and over with thick round white stones. I'm afraid it will be ground thousands of times, and ground it into the thin bamboo wire, and then weave it." The felt mats made in this way will be as soft as cotton sable.

Chang Hu took a breath of cold air, his eyes looked envious, and shouted: "My ancestor Huang Tian, ​​how much effort does this take! How precious should it be? The strange thing is that it is so slippery when you touch it like this. Oh, our common people have used this blessing..."

Minglan couldn't be modest. In ancient times, it was not a commodity society. Sometimes even if you have money, you can't buy things, because in the imperial society, the best quality products were made by imperial tribute, and were made by craftsmen in the palace. ~

Since summer gradually approaches, Minglan has been rewarding many of the summer items that are constantly rewarded in the palace. For example, Minglan has never seen them before. For example, this bamboo silk cold felt mat. If it weren't for the fear that the bamboo products would become moldy if they were left for a long time, Minglan would want to hide their things in the warehouse.

Madam Chang's brows were knotted, and she turned around and glanced at her daughter-in-law, successfully stopped Chang Hu's chatter. Minglan was nothing. After a few words, she turned to Madam Chang and said, "...I heard that Madam lives in Maoer Hutong now, and I don't know how to live in the house? Is the way in and out convenient?"

The wrinkles on Madam Chang's face softened: "Thanks to Brother Ye, the house is very good. There are two courtyards and two entrances in front and back. Not to mention the four orphans and widows, even if Brother wants to have a wife and have children in the future, it will be enough to live in. The neighbors on both sides are also good families with rules. There are roads in front and behind the alleys, and it is easy to come and go regardless of carriages or sedans."

"That's good, the master and I are relieved..."

Minglan picked up a bright fruit from the celadon plate and smiled and was about to continue talking. Unexpectedly, Chang Hu interrupted again: "It's not all good. The location is a little bit off and the place is a little deserted. If you want to buy some ink books for Brother Nian or add some new clothes for Yan, you have to catch up with the road for half a day, if you can..."

"Stop." Madam Chang's face began to look ugly, and she slapped the teacup on the table, "What nonsense are you talking about!"

Chang Hu immediately shut up. Minglan looked over curiously. Although she closed her mouth, she had no intention of being embarrassed. She seemed to be thick-skinned and thick-skinned. She was used to being scolded by her mother-in-law and was not afraid of being put on public face. She even started eating some pistachios as if nothing had happened.

After glaring at her daughter-in-law, Madam Chang turned to Minglan and said, "Madam, don't be polite. We have troubled Brother Ye. Oh... My wife is not afraid of embarrassing, so she said it." She sighed and said in a low tone, "It's all my incompetent children! I couldn't study, but I went to learn to do business. It was not enough to compensate the family. I was beaten half to death, and it was going to harm my family. Then I licked my old face and dragged the family to the capital. Who knew that my big girl had disappeared more than ten years ago. She saw that she was at the end of her life. It was because Brother Ye! She helped us build fields and houses so that she could live to this day."

As soon as these words were said, Minglan couldn't hide her surprise.

She was not surprised by what Madam Chang said, but Madam Chang would be so blunt and expose her family's shame.

Gu Tingye never mentioned any of these things to Minglan, but Minglan had already guessed them.

In ancient times, it was important to defend the land and business. The leaves returned to their roots and did not leave their hometowns. If Madam Chang lived well in Haining, how could she suddenly move to the capital with her family? She had been cut off from contact with the old owner for nearly ten years, and it might not have been a sudden outbreak of loyalty. It seems that the Chang family did not have a business plan to go to Beijing to take the exam or open a branch.

Then, there is only one conclusion: the Chang family can't stay in their hometown anymore, so they came to join the old owner's house.

Although Minglan has been married, although she has a lot of confusion in her heart, Yanhong's death, Manniang's ins and outs, and another child, if Gu Tingye voluntarily said, she would listen, but she never asked anything on her own. Even if a couple hides some secrets in their hearts, it is not convenient to say it in person, and Gu Tingye obviously has no intention of mentioning it.

It has been almost ten years since Madam Chang came to Beijing, and she must know all the inside story. She is the breakthrough point, so since a long time ago, Minglan has deliberately figured out Madam Chang's character.

So, what kind of person is she?

The author has something to say:

There is another chapter tonight, so everyone can wait.

After reading "The Founding of the Party", I wrote a review after reading it. I was interested in children's shoes. I turned left when I went out and turned in the "like a thorn in my throat".

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Recently, many readers don’t understand why maids always want to be married and concubines.

I couldn't understand it, so I found a piece of article by Mr. Zhang Taozhi. I thought it was good. I will reprint it to you now:

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Being a "miss wife"--the highest ideal of a maid from the Jia family Zhang Taozhi

"Miss wife" problem

There are many women in the Red Mansion society. The Grand View Garden is basically a country of daughters. These women can basically be divided into two categories, one is the master, that is, the wife, grandma and the lady; the other is the servant, that is, the maid and the housekeeper. In addition to these two types of people, there are also some people between the master and the maid. This type of person is like maids. When Jia Mu and the ladies reunite, the ladies sit with Jia Mu, and even the daughters they gave birth to sit, they have to stand. They are also like the master. In normal times, when they go to the lady and grandma, they will be treated politely. Who are these women? They are the protagonists of the "miss wife" issue to be discussed in this chapter - the mistress, or the little wife and aunt.

Why are there so many "miss women" in the Red Mansion Society, or the little wives, how they become mistresses, what fate they will be after becoming mistresses, etc., are the issues to be discussed in this chapter.

1. Become a "miss wife"--the highest ideal of a maid from the Jia family

There are many maids in the Jia family, and every male and female hostess has maids to serve. The higher the status, the more maids there are. The maids in Baoyu's house have an enhanced class.

There are two sources of these maids: one is the daughter born in the family, that is, the daughter born to a slave in the Jia family; the other is the girl bought from outside. They were young when they entered the mansion as maids. Qingwen was only ten years old when she went to Jia Mu and the other maids were about this age when they entered the mansion. Strictly speaking, they were all child laborers.

What would a ten-year-old child do? Don’t underestimate these girls. Due to their poor family background, these girls had to help adults work when they were very young. They grew up in the Red Mansion Society, and had contacted many people and had seen many things. They developed the ability to observe words and face emotions and deal with society at a very young age.

The servant girl does not accept all the girls. When choosing maids, the Jia family picked and picked. Only the most beautiful, capable, smartest and obedient girls could enter the house. When they entered the house, they had a salary, that is, "monthly money". The young lady Tanchun's monthly money was two taels of silver per month. Her big girls, such as the one who was in charge of the business, had one tael of silver per month. The little girls below had less money, but the least had a few pounds of money. This was a big income for the poor.

It has a considerable income, easy work, good living benefits, a beautiful working environment, what an ideal job, it would be great if you could do your best for the rest of your life!

But no. The maids entered the mansion at the age of ten, and at most they could not work until they were seventeen or eighteen years old. Why? Because the girls were old and had to get married. The girls at the time were about to get married at the age of sixteen. If they were still young and old, they would be older girls. If they were still 25 years old, they would be old girls, and most people would not care about it.

He had to get married at the age of sixteen or seventeen. After getting married, he naturally had to leave the Jia family and could no longer be a girl.

If the prospects after marriage are good, or even more useful than being a maid in the Jia family, getting married is a good thing. But since you are from a poor family and have a low status, the maids cannot marry into a wealthy family. Being able to marry a well-off family is the biggest joy. Baoyu's eldest maid Xiren was very satisfied when she finally married Jiang Yuhan. Jiang Yuhan is a play, and his identity cannot be compared with Jia Baoyu. Jia Baoyu is already a juren, and Jiang Yuhan is just a play. According to the law at that time, the play must not be taken into the imperial examination, and even you can't participate in the play even if you have not been a play. Violators will be beheaded, and even the examiner will be implicated.

Jiang Yuhan has a humble status, but she has earned a family business, so food and clothing are no longer a problem, and Xiren is very satisfied.

Xiren bought maids from outside. When they grew up, they could choose a son-in-law by their family. Those "children of families", that is, daughters of slaves, are not so lucky. There are many maids and servants in the Jia family. These servants are usually born by slaves, and they also come to serve in the mansion at about ten years old. Their main job is to follow the male owner outside, or feed horses, plant flowers, and sweep the floor in the mansion. In short, it is a bit of a rough job. There are not many people in the image books of these servants, but the actual number is not small. There are probably hundreds of people. The servants also have to grow up and become servants. They also have to get married. Where are the objects? The objects are those "children of families".

Such stories have appeared many times in the book. The housekeeper reported that more than 20 servants had grown into their twenties and became great servants. He asked the master to send maids who were at the age of marriage to them.

This is a very terrible thing. In the Jia Mansion, the maids served directly in front of the Lord. What the Lord eats, what they eat, and their living benefits are very high. They often learn a lot of knowledge from the Lord. Especially those big girls, such as Xiren, Qingwen, Qiuwen, Musk Yue, Shushu, Cui Lu, Ying'er, Zijuan and others are simply "deputy ladies". Those ordinary servants and mothers don't even take them into their eyes.

But suddenly, they were released to be "little" and wanted to be wives for those "little" who were covered in soil and smell of horse feces. This was a catastrophe for these maids. Needless to say, these "little" are poor in their families. The more terrible "little" grew up at the bottom of society and had many bad habits, such as alcoholism, fighting, bullying wives, and everything was fine. For them, they were wives? This was simply unimaginable for those maids who grew up in front of the Lord.

"Parting with a little girl" is not the patent of the little girls, and "deputy lady" was not spared. The Jia family never thought about the credit of the "deputy lady", and all those who should be matched were sent out. Yuanyang was a celebrity of Jia Mu and the number one maid in the Red Chamber, but he was almost "provided" out. It was only because Jia Mu couldn't live without Yuanyang that she made an exception and stayed there.

Since the maids were pulled out in batches to "match the little ones", they were all exempted from the links of the matchmaking proposal. The maids were in a team, and the "little ones" stood back to back, and then turned back. The "little ones" pulled the maids opposite and left, and the match was successful. This was like pulling animals to the market to breed, which was a great insult to the girls' psychology and personality.

The maids of the Jia family were picky and picky, so they were all very beautiful. But the "little" were dedicated to entering the house with great strength, and they did not consider their appearance, so most of them were vulgar and ugly. The marriage made in this way could not be said to be the word "happiness", and there were only the pain and humiliation of the girls.

The maids have only one way to avoid such a fate, that is, to move closer to the Lord and strive to become mistresses.

There are two ways to become a mistress, one is "collective enrollment" and the other is "extraordinary promotion".

"Collective enrollment" is a regular way for maids to become mistresses. When the husband in the Jia family got married, the number of maids had to be adjusted, but several of the main "deputy ladies" of this husband had to stay and continue to serve the husband. Since the husband was married, these "deputy ladies" became mistresses, and the husband could have sex with them at will and had children. After Jia Baoyu and Baochai got married, Xiren, Qiuwen, and Musk Yue, these "stupid" girls naturally became Baoyu's mistresses.

The same is true for the maids of the ladies in the Jia family. When the ladies got married, the "deputy ladies" of the ladies had to be dowed, and naturally became the "second wives" of the new son-in-law. When Sister Feng married from the Wang family to the Jia family, four "deputy ladies" were dowed, and the other three were gone, leaving only Ping'er. When Tanchun, the third girl of the Jia family got married, she turned out to be dowed with her with Tanchun's deputy ladies and the little girl. The book says that Tanchun later returned to the capital to visit relatives in the Jia family, leaving a gap so that the maids who went there would be reminiscing with the old friends.

It would be different if the "extraordinary promotion" is the same. When the men in the Jia family liked that girl, they would take her over and promote her to a mistress. The few little girls in front of Jia She and Jia Zhen were all ten years old at the time. Jia Zhen was already forty and Jia She was also over sixty years old. These little girls were obviously not the girls who came with Mrs. Xing and You Shi, nor were they the deputy girls who served in front of Jia She and Jia Zhen. Obviously, if they were the former deputy girls of the male and female protagonists, they should be in their thirties and fifties. These little girls were later attracted by Jia She and Jia Zhen and promoted them to a mistress.

The process of promoting the girl is very simple. As long as the master takes a fancy to the girl, he will call her parents or brothers and sister-in-law, give them some money, and then carry the girl away in a sedan chair. Jia She took a fancy to Yuanyang, so he called Yuanyang's brother and sister-in-law, preparing to give them some money to promote Yuanyang, but it was not achieved because Jia Mu opposed the matter.

Among the two methods of "collective enrollment" and "extraordinary promotion", maids are most welcome to "collective enrollment". First, when "collective enrollment", the humanistic environment has not changed. The person who follows is still the old master or lady who is following, and the person who serves around them is still the original girl and the old girl. If he is included by his own young master, the living environment has not even changed. Of course, living in a familiar humanistic environment and living environment will be better. Second, when "collective enrollment", the young master is still very young and romantic, and he is the king of the maids. Even if he is included by "son-in-law", the "son-in-law" is all a man in red. Sexual partners are corresponding to their age, and maids will feel much more comfortable whether it is visual, psychological or physical.

"Extraordinary promotion" is not very popular among maids. When men want to promote maids, they are either old or even a lot of white beards; or even young, they have no mercy on their faces. The typical example of the former is Jia She, and the typical example of the latter is Xue Pan. The former is too weak and the latter is too strong, and they are very poor in terms of visual, psychological or physiological feelings.
Chapter completed!