That night, Minglan slept very restlessly, half asleep and half awake. She always felt a gaze looking at her. She opened her eyes in confusion, only to see Gu Tingye leaning slightly sideways, half leaning over her and staring at her; Minglan was extremely sleepy.
Gu Tingye said vaguely, "Why aren't you sleeping yet?" After a while, Gu Tingye said softly: "Go to sleep well, I'm exhausted these days."
The tone was full of deep pity and affection, as well as a hint of apology.
The girl's long eyelashes trembled suddenly.
She is indeed very tired.
Managing a huge mansion is tiring, socializing, giving gifts, and dealing with people is tiring, and being wary of other people's schemes all the time is even tiring. You have to think about a sentence three times before you dare to say it, and you have to think about something seven or eight times before you dare to do it. You are afraid of being picky.
She was afraid of being accused, and even more afraid of being caught by someone's sore leg and causing trouble for her. If she continued like this, she could fly directly to the lunatic asylum.
A long time ago, she made a vow in front of Buddha that she would work hard to live well.
Every day, no matter how busy she is, she has to take time to rest, enjoy flowers, read, play chess, draw, do her secretly enjoyable "Back to Mountain Series" needlework, and recite silently over and over again in front of the clear lakes and mountains.
The Buddhist scriptures, those charming poems, and the descriptions of mountains and rivers with vast seas and sky, are as pleasant as the breeze blowing over the mountain ridges, with their strange soothing power.
Smiling, praying, hoping that the Buddha will show mercy, I only wish for peace and joy, and my heart is like a mirror.
Everyone knows that she is blessed - but at least this man knows her fatigue and hardship.
Minglan leaned forward crookedly and wriggled her way into his arms like a little country dog. In the cold early summer night, it seemed that only the embrace of the man next to her was warm.
After breakfast, three people from Kouxiang Garden came to say hello as usual.
Qiuniang's eyes were swollen like big walnuts. It was obvious that she had been crying all night and her expression was depressed. However, Hongxiao still spoke with a smile, as if she had no idea what was going on. As for Sister Rong, she was eating and drinking well every day.
After all, it looks a bit fairer now, but it still only talks about words or phrases.
Minglan had a cordial conversation with them. Each of them had three active sentences each, and they let them play the rest. Usually Ms. Hongxiao took the leading role, but today, Minglan said a few more words.
"Mother Chang is coming this afternoon, so I'll ask Mother Hua to bring Sister Rong over."
Qiuniang's lips moved but she didn't speak. Sister Rong also raised her lowered head. Hongxiao had a face of surprise: "Aunt Chang is coming. I used to hear the master talk about this grandma; now she lives in
I can come and go frequently in the capital." He said in a very expectant tone.
Minglan glanced at her, raised the tea cup, and said calmly: "The master has told me that Grandma Chang has taken care of Sister Rong, so I asked Sister Rong to come out to see Grandma."
Qiuniang's face became more and more ugly. Sister Rong lowered her head to think, as if she had remembered something. Hongxiao's eyes froze for a moment, then she immediately changed the subject with a smile on her face. Minglan let her play freely for five minutes, then
Serve tea to see off guests.
After the people left, Minglan looked up at the carved and brocaded beams of the house, and was in a daze; this Grandma Chang was also a strange person.
She went to work as a nanny for the Bai family after her newborn daughter died in infancy, and she was very considerate. Old Mrs. Bai proposed to take in the Chang family couple. Unexpectedly, Aunt Chang would rather lose some benefits than politely refuse. As Old Mrs. Bai grew older,
As she became more and more prosperous, Grandma Chang was highly valued for her loyalty and hard work, and her family gradually improved. When Mrs. Bai got married, many servants rushed to follow her to the Hou Mansion to "enjoy the blessings", but she did not follow.
Go back to your hometown and run your own small family.
After Gu Tingye rose to prominence, Grandma Chang still did not rush to join her, but was determined to continue to be a free commoner. Even when Chengyuan was first established, at Gu Tingye's request, she came to the house to help rectify it.
After Mr. Gongsun arrived from the south, she returned to her home.
Even when she came to the door this time, she made it clear that she would only come in the afternoon.
This is very interesting. In ancient times, most visits to other people's homes were in the morning. Minglan secretly speculated on Aunt Chang's considerations: firstly, if she came in the afternoon, she would be more likely to run into Gu Tingye; secondly, if she came in the morning, the host's house would be
Will definitely have guests over for dinner.
No matter how respectable Mammy Chang is, she has been a wet nurse for the Bai family, and she has lost the status of half a servant. Therefore, she refuses to go to the table to eat with the master, but if she is really required to tell this clearly,
She didn't want to belittle herself, so she simply came in the afternoon.
This old man is very hierarchical, but also very proud.【叶*】【*】
At around 2:20 p.m., Minglan woke up from her nap, washed her face, and was dressing up when someone came from outside to report that Grandma Chang and her family of four were here. Minglan immediately asked Xiao Cuixiu to go to Kouxiang Garden to teach Sister Rong.
After he was dressed properly, he 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 in front of me, wearing a dark green unlined brocade robe trimmed with two-finger-wide black velvet. She had a face full of wrinkles and was silent and smiling; followed by a forty-year-old woman.
The woman who arrived was wearing a rust-red thin satin long coat with dark patterns, followed by a pair of children. The girl in an apricot-yellow coat embroidered with flowers all over the place was about fifteen or sixteen years old. The boy on the side looked at her.
He is only in his early ten years, wearing a light-colored scholar's robe.
This outfit looks familiar to Minglan, as Changdong's younger brother in the family is also used to dressing like this, but the embroidery is much better.
Minglan stood up slowly, smiled and stepped forward to give Grandma Chang a blessing: "Grandma is here. I have been looking forward to it for a long time. I don't know how many times I have mentioned Grandma."
Grandma Chang turned slightly to avoid Minglan's greeting. At the same time, she bent her knees and gave Minglan a serious blessing ceremony. She said solemnly: "My wife has met Madam."
While she was talking, she was also looking at Minglan, and saw the young lady in front of her who was just in her prime. She was wearing a gauze jacket with a light purple cloud pattern and a lotus pattern. Her hair was tied up in a Japanese bun and a simple white jade hairpin.
The wish-fulfilling hairpin on the lotus head is like the first dewdrops in the morning. It is bright and bright, incomparable. Between the words and smiles, the attitude is gentle and elegant, the eyes are kind and clear, and the temperament is noble.
As soon as they met, Grandma Chang couldn't help but nodded secretly.
She turned slightly, pointed to the person behind her and said, "This is my daughter-in-law, her maiden name is Hu." The middle-aged woman lowered her head and stepped forward to curtsey to Minglan. Minglan smiled and returned the half salute: "Sister-in-law Chang.
good."
"Madam, I'm fine." Mrs. Chang Hu raised her head slightly. She was quite pretty, but her skin was slightly dark, and her mouth corners were always drooped, giving her a grimace. She opened her mouth to please her, with a smile on her face.
He said, "I have been thinking about coming to see Madam for a long time. They say that Madam was born under the care of a fairy. I didn't believe it at first. But when I saw her today, oh, how could the Queen Mother let Madam come to the mortal world?"
As soon as Minglan saw Mrs. Chang Hu's outfit, she couldn't help but twist her lips. A person with dark skin dared to wear dark red. She was really brave. After hearing this, she couldn't help but exclaimed: "Sister-in-law Chang."
It’s so interesting! Please take a seat.”
Mrs. Chang Hu was not in a hurry to sit down. She glanced at her mother-in-law and saw Granny Chang pointing at the two children at the back: "This is my granddaughter Chang Yan, and this is Sun Changnian; Yan, brother Nian, you are still not polite."
The two siblings immediately stepped forward, one from the left and the other from the right, to bow and salute. Minglan could accept the ceremony safely this time. When the siblings came and raised their heads, Minglan couldn't help but be startled.
The two siblings are quite similar, with slightly dark skin and delicate features, but very different temperaments. Chang Yan is just an ordinary Xiaojiabiyu, probably because she has lived in the countryside on the outskirts of Beijing in the past few years, she has a bit of a rural character.
He has a Nomura style, but he has always been upright and upright, speaks clearly, and behaves gracefully, without any of the restraints that the Taira brothers had when they first encountered wealth.
Everyone sat down to talk, even the young ladies and younger brothers of the Chang family sat down.
It seemed that it was the first time for Mrs. Chang Hu and her mother to come back. After they sat down, they couldn't help but look around at the furnishings in the hall, especially Mrs. Chang Hu. They saw that the furnishings in the hall were quiet and elegant, but noble and elegant.
A foot-high white jade vase with mutton fat was clean and flawless. It was simply placed in a treasure rack. There were two carved rosewood chairs. The wood was dark in color but bright in luster. She couldn't help but rub the seats under the seats with her hands.
, kept praising: "Madam, this is such a nice place, I actually feel like I'm in a fairy mansion; oh my, looking at the bonsai... um, it's probably made of jade, and this mat, what kind of bamboo is this?
ah……"
The woman's words and deeds had an aura of well-being, which was not very popular on the stage. Grandma Chang frowned slightly and glanced at her daughter-in-law, but she couldn't bear to speak. When she looked at Minglan again, she didn't show any disdain or impatience.
But he didn't go out of his way to please himself, he just smiled and joked, as if Chang Hu's words were indeed interesting.
"I don't know very well." Minglan tried hard to recall, "It seems to be bamboo in Sichuan. The towering moso bamboo is cut into pieces. Only the thinnest and toughest pieces are selected, and then they are cut into long bamboo sticks.
Thick and thin round white stones are polished over and over again, perhaps thousands of times, until they are as thin as bamboo silk and then woven." Only then will the felt mat woven in this way be as soft and white as cotton satin.
Mrs. Chang Hu took a breath of cold air, with a look of envy in her eyes, and exclaimed: "My Huangtian ancestors, how much effort does this take! How much money does it cost? It's strange that the two pieces are so slippery to the touch, oh, we ordinary people
My family has used this blessing..."
This Minglan cannot be humble. Ancient times were not a commodity society, and sometimes you could not buy things even if you had money. This is because in an imperial society, the really best high-quality products were paid tribute and were made by craftsmen in specialized workshops of the palace. ~
Since summer has come, the palace has been constantly giving out items for summer vacation, many of which Minglan has never seen before, such as this bamboo silk mat. If it weren't for the fear that bamboo products will become moldy if left for a long time, Minglan would even want to buy them.
Hide it in the warehouse.
Grandma Chang's brows were knotted. She turned around and glanced at her daughter-in-law, successfully stopping Chang Hu's chatter. Minglan didn't care. After a few words, she turned to speak to Grandma Chang: "... I heard that
Grandma now lives in Mao'er Hutong. I wonder if the house is suitable for living there? Is it convenient to get in and out?"
The wrinkles on Grandma Chang's face softened: "Thanks to Brother Ye, the house is very good, with two courtyards in front and two entrances. Not to mention the four of us orphans and widows, even my brother will ask for a wife to have children in the future.
It’s enough for a woman to live in. The neighbors on both sides are also well-behaved and good people. There are roads leading to the front and back of the alley, so it’s 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, smiled and was about to continue talking, but Chang Hu intervened again: "It's not all good, the location is a bit off, and the place is a bit deserted.
If you want to buy some pen and ink books for Brother Nian, or buy some new clothes for Yan, you have to travel for a long time. If you can..."
"Shut up." Grandma Chang's face started to look ugly, and she slammed the teacup on the table, "What nonsense are you talking about!"
Mrs. Chang Hu immediately fell silent. Minglan looked over curiously and saw that although she closed her mouth, she didn't mean to be embarrassed. She seemed to be thick-skinned and rough-faced. She was used to being scolded by her mother-in-law, so she didn't show much concern.
He was afraid of being humiliated in public; yet he ate some pistachios as if nothing had happened.
After glaring at her daughter-in-law, Grandma Chang turned to Minglan and said, "Ma'am, please don't be polite. We have already troubled Brother Ye countless times. Alas... My wife is not afraid of embarrassment, so she just said it." She sighed.
, in a low tone, "They're all my incompetent son! He couldn't study, but he went to learn how to do business. He was tricked by others. Not only was the family completely compensated, he was also beaten half to death, and it was about to harm his family. I
Then I licked my old face and dragged my whole family to the capital. Who knew that my eldest daughter had died more than ten years ago, and we were at the end of our rope. Thanks to Brother Youye! He helped us buy fields and houses.
Only then can I survive until now.”
As soon as these words came out, Minglan couldn't hide her surprise.
She was not surprised by what Aunt Chang said, but that Aunt Chang would speak out and expose her family scandal.
Gu Tingye never mentioned these matters to Minglan, but Minglan had already figured it out.
In ancient times, the emphasis was on keeping one's homeland and keeping one's business, returning to one's roots when the leaves fall, and not leaving one's hometown. If Grandma Chang was living a good life in Haining, why would she suddenly move her family to the capital? I have lost contact with my old master's family for nearly ten years.
It may not be a sudden burst of loyalty; it seems that the Chang family has no plans to go to Beijing to study for the exam, or to open a branch in business.
Then, there is only one conclusion: the Chang family can no longer stay in their hometown and have come to seek refuge with their old master.
Ever since they got married, although Minglan had many puzzles in her heart, including Yan Hong's death, Manniang's background, and the other child, if Gu Tingye volunteered, she would listen, but she had never taken the initiative to ask anything. Even as a couple,
Some of the secrets hidden in his heart were difficult to express in person, but Gu Tingye obviously had no intention of mentioning them.
Aunt Chang has been in Beijing for almost ten years, and she must know all the inside information. She is the breakthrough point, so from a long time ago, Minglan has been deliberately trying to figure out Aunt Chang's character and actions.
So, what kind of person is she?
The author has something to say:
There is another chapter tonight, if you can wait, just wait.
After watching "The Great Cause of the Founding of the Party", I wrote a review. If I was somewhat interested, I went out and turned left, and I found myself inside "Like a Catch in the Throat".
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Recently, many readers don't understand why maids always think about having a married woman or a concubine.
I didn’t understand, so I found an article by Mr. Zhang Taozhi. I thought it was good, so I’m reprinting it for everyone:
Being a "second wife"--the highest ideal of a maid in the Jia family Zhang Taozhi
"Second wife" problem
There are many women in the Red Mansion society, and Grand View Garden, the performance platform for The Story of Red Mansions, is basically a country of girls. These women can basically be divided into two categories, one is the master, that is, the wife, grandma and young lady; the other is the servant, that is, the maid and the housekeeper.
Women. In addition to these two types of people, there are some people who are between masters and maidservants. These people are like maidservants. When Jiamu and the ladies are reunited, the ladies all sit with Jiamu, and even they
The daughters who were born are also sitting, but they all have to stand. They are like the Lord. Normally, when they go to the young ladies and grandmothers, they will be treated politely. Who are these women? They are the ones that this chapter will focus on.
The protagonist of the "second wife" issue discussed is the second wife, or the younger wife or aunt.
Why there are so many "second wives", or concubines, in the Red Mansion society, how they become second wives, what their fate is after becoming second wives, etc., are the issues to be discussed in this chapter.
1. Being a "second wife" - the highest ideal of a maid in the Jia family
There are many maids in the Jia Mansion, and every male and female master has a maid to serve him. The higher the status of the master, the more maids there are. There is an intensive class for the maids in Baoyu House.
There are two sources of these maids: one is a daughter born at home, that is, a daughter born to a servant of Jia's family; the other is a girl bought from outside. They were relatively young when they entered the house as maids. Qingwen came to Jia's mother
She was only ten years old when she became a maid, and the other maids were about the same age when they entered the house. Strictly speaking, they were all child laborers.
What can a ten-year-old child do? Don’t underestimate these girls. Due to their poor family background, these girls have to help the adults with work when they are very young. Growing up in the red mansion society, they come into contact with many people and see many things.
He developed the ability to observe words and emotions and cope with society at an early age.
The servant girls are not all accepted according to the order. When the Jia Mansion selects the maids, they pick and choose again. Only the most beautiful, most capable, smartest and most obedient girls can enter the mansion. If you enter the mansion, you will get a salary, that is, "
"Monthly money". Miss Tanchun's monthly money is two taels of silver per month. Her older girls, such as the waiters in charge, are paid one tael of silver per month. The little girls below have less money, but the smallest ones have
A few pennies. This is a big income for poor people.
It has considerable income, easy work, good living conditions, and a beautiful working environment. What an ideal job. It would be great if I could work for a lifetime!
But it doesn't work. The maids entered the house at the age of ten, and they could no longer work until they were seventeen or eighteen. Why? Because the girls got older and had to get married. At that time, girls had to get married at the age of sixteen.
If you are not married, you are already an older young woman. If you are still waiting to be married at the age of twenty-five, you are an old girl, and most people will not care about her.
You will get married when you are sixteen or seventeen years old. Once you get married, you will naturally have to leave the Jia family and you can no longer be a girl.
If the prospects after marriage are good, it is even more useful than being a maid in the Jia family, and marrying is a good thing. But since they are born in a poor family and have a humble status, it is impossible for a maid to marry into a wealthy family. The biggest advantage is to marry into a well-off family.
It's a happy event. Baoyu's eldest girl, Xiren, finally married Jiang Yuhan and was very satisfied. Jiang Yuhan was a show, and her identity could not be compared with Jia Baoyu. Jia Baoyu was already a civil servant, and Jiang Yuhan was just a show. According to the law at that time, a show
You must not take part in the imperial examination, even if you have already stopped taking part. Violators will be beheaded, and even the examiners will be implicated.
Jiang Yuhan had a humble status, but he had already earned a share of the family business, and food and clothing were no longer a problem. Xiren was very satisfied.
Xiren is a maid bought from outside, and when she grows up, she can let her family help her choose a husband. Those "daughters born at home", that is, the daughters of slaves, are not so lucky. There are many maids in the Jia family, and there are also many servants.
These boys are usually the sons of slaves, and they enter the government service when they are about ten years old. Their main job is to follow the male master outside, or feed the horses in the house, plant flowers, sweep the floor, in short, some menial tasks. These
There are not many young servants in the book, but the actual number is not small. It is estimated that there are hundreds of people. The young servants will also grow up and become older servants. They also want to start a family. Where are the targets? The targets are those "family students"
daughter".
This storyline appears many times in the book. The housekeeper reported that more than twenty young servants had grown up to be in their twenties and had become grown-ups. He asked the Lord to send out maids who had reached the age of marriage to allocate them.
This is a very scary thing. In the Jia Mansion, the maids serve directly in front of the Lord. They eat whatever the Lord eats. They have high living standards and often learn a lot of knowledge from the Lord. Especially the older girls,
Ru Xiren, Qingwen, Qiuwen, Sheyue, Daishu, Cuixian, Ying'er, Zicuckoo and others are simply "vice young ladies", and those ordinary young men are not taken into consideration by my mother-in-law at all.
But suddenly, they have to be released to be married to "little ones" and become wives for those "little ones" who are covered in dirt and smell of horse manure. For these maids, this is simply a disaster.
Needless to say, these "little" people are from poor families. What's even more frightening is that these "little" people grow up at the bottom of the society and have many bad habits, such as drinking, fighting, bullying their wives, and so on. Being a wife to them? What's the point for those "little" people?
It is simply unimaginable for a maid who grew up in the presence of the Lord.
"Petition" is not the exclusive domain of little girls, and "vice young ladies" are not immune. The Jia family never takes into account the merits of "vice young ladies" and all those who deserve it are given out. Yuanyang is Jia's mother's favorite, and she is
The first maid in the Red Mansion was almost "assigned" out. Only considering that Jia Mu couldn't live without Yuanyang, she made an exception and stayed.
Since the maids are brought out in batches to "match the young ones", all the steps of matchmaking and marriage proposals are eliminated. The maids form a team, and the "young ladies" form a team, stand back to back, and then turn around and say "young ladies"
"They took the maid opposite and left, and the match was successful. This is like taking an animal to the market for breeding. It is a great insult to the girls' psychology and personality.
The maids of Jia's house were carefully selected before entering the house, so they were all beautiful. But the "little ones" only selected the strong ones to enter the house, regardless of appearance, so most of them were vulgar and ugly. In this way, they were paired
The word "happiness" cannot be said about the marriage at all. There is only pain and humiliation for the girls.
The only way for maids to avoid such a fate is to get closer to the Lord and strive to become mistresses.
There are two ways to become a mistress, one is "collective recruitment" and the other is "unusual promotion".
"Group recruitment" is a common way for maids to become mistresses. When the father-in-law in Jia's family gets married, the number of maids has to be adjusted, but several of the father-in-law's main "deputies" have to stay and continue to serve the family.
Because the father-in-law is married, these "vice ladies" also become mistresses. The father-in-law can have sexual relations with them at will and can have children. After Jia Baoyu and Baochai got married, Xiren, Qiuwen, and Sheyue were
A "clumsy" girl who naturally became Baoyu's mistress is an example.
The same goes for the maids of the ladies in Jia's family. When the ladies get married, the ladies' "second-in-laws" all have to be married off, and naturally become the "second wives" of the new uncle. When Sister Feng marries from the Wang family to the Jia family,
There were four "vice-young ladies" who came to dowry, but the other three were gone, leaving only Ping'er. When Tanchun, the third girl of Jia's family, got married, the deputy-lady who was originally accompanied by Tanchun, including the book and the little girl, were all dowed by her mother-in-law.
.The book writes that after Tanchun returned to the capital to visit relatives in the Jia Mansion, he left a period of time so that the maids who followed him could catch up with their old friends.
"Exceptional promotion" was different. When the men in Jia's family took a fancy to that girl, they would recruit her and promote her to the rank of mistress. The several mistresses in front of Jia She and the mistresses in front of Jia Zhen were all
She is ten years old. Jia Zhen is already forty years old, and Jia She is over sixty years old. These mistresses are obviously not the girls who came with Mrs.
Obviously, if they were the original deputy ladies of the hero and heroine, they would be in their thirties or fifties. These mistresses were later seen by Jia She and Jia Zhen one by one.
She was promoted to the position of mistress through exceptional circumstances.
The process of special promotion is very simple. As long as the master likes the girl, he will call her parents or brother and sister-in-law, give them a sum of money, and then use a small sedan to carry the girl away. Jia She likes it
Yuanyang called Yuanyang's brother and sister-in-law and planned to give them a sum of money to promote Yuanyang. However, it was not possible because Jia's mother objected to the matter.
Among the two methods of "collective recruitment" and "exceptional promotion", maids welcome "collective recruitment" the most. First, during "collective recruitment", the humanistic environment has not changed, and the master who follows him is still the young master or young lady who followed him before.
The people serving around you are still the same old maids. If you are recruited by your own master, even the living environment will not change. Of course, it will be better to live in a familiar humanistic environment and living environment. The second is "collective recruitment"
At that time, the young master was still very young and romantic, and he was the King Charming in the hearts of the maids. Even if he was taken in by the "aunt", the "aunt" was still a man in red. The sexual partners corresponded to his own age, and the maids were both visual and psychological.
Feelings or physical sensations will be much more comfortable.
"Exceptional promotion" is not very popular with maids. When men want to promote maids out of the norm, they may be old and even have a lot of white beards; or they may be young but have no sympathy for her. A typical example of the former is Jia Jia
Sorry, a typical example of the latter is Xue Pan. The former is too weak, the latter is too strong, and their visual, psychological or physical feelings are very poor.
For these reasons, the young and romantic unmarried father-in-law in Jia's family is the most sought after by the maids. Especially the "Phoenix" like Jia Baoyu is the star that the maids want to get close to day and night. Jia Huan is described in such a wretched way, and also