On the early morning of the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, the little maid Haihua woke up and saw the bright light indoors. She thought she had overslept, so she hurriedly dressed and went to bed. When she opened the window, she saw that Xiaoxiyuan was already a snow-white world. It had snowed heavily overnight and had accumulated a thick layer of snow. Layer, I couldn't help shouting in surprise: "It's snowing, little lady, it's snowing - short hoe, lazy boy, get up quickly."
The short hoe in the same room was woken up and rubbed his eyes: "Is it snowing? No wonder it's so cold."
Hairpin Flower opened the curtain and walked into the inner room of the Nuan Pavilion, only to see Lu Weirui, wearing a small dress and a skirt, walking to the long window, pushing open half of the carved window, her eyes narrowed like crescent moons, pure and beautiful The melon-shaped face showed a rare smile and said: "It's snowing as expected. Fortunately, I moved two pots of 'Patchouli Suxin' and 'Phnom Penh Mulan' into the greenhouse last night, otherwise they would have frozen!"
The hairpin flower was startled, and she quickly found a snow-white lamb fur and put it on Lu Weirui, complaining: "The little lady is only worried about whether the flowers will freeze, but she doesn't care whether she will freeze." She hugged Lu Weirui. Return to the big plain bed and serve her to put on her dress.
The short hoe led two servant girls in, placed two brightly lit braziers in front of the bed, and took away the two braziers that had turned to ashes from last night's charcoal fire.
After washing up, Lu Weirui wore a mourning bun and a silk belt, and was dressed in plain white. She went to say hello to her father first.
Lu Na was thirty-nine years old. Because his beloved son died young, Lu Na was devastated. His hair turned gray early, and he aged ten years in just a hundred days. He resigned from his post and wandered in the garden every day, planting trees in Meiling. , the rest of the time was spent in the study writing mourning notes, sending love calligraphy, and coping with the pain of losing a son.
When Lu Weirui came to Heming Courtyard, Lu Na was standing on the porch with his hands behind his hands, watching two servants clearing the snow. When he saw his daughter, his thin face showed a faint smile: "Rui'er, did you not slip while walking on the snowy road?"
Lu Weirui said, "No, my daughter is walking steadily." She walked to the foot of the steps and saluted, "Good morning, dad. Are you going to climb Meiling today?"
Lu Na looked at his beloved daughter's slightly less beautiful face, and felt extremely fond in his heart. His immortality was gone, and he, Lu Na, only had this daughter. His daughter liked to travel around mountains and rivers, and admire flowers and trees, but in the past six months, she had been the daughter of her brother. Ill, Zhi Ming didn't go anywhere. He stayed at Huating and said, "Ruier, do you want to go to Meiling to see the plum blossoms? Both red and white plums should be in bloom. Daddy will accompany you to see them -"
Zhang Wenwan, the wife of Lu Naxuxian, came out of the room and said: "It's cold and snowy, and the snow on Meiling must be knee-deep. When climbing, the socks and shoes will be wet. What should I do if I get sick?" When saying this, Zhang Wenwan frowned slightly. , with deep worries in his eyes, he looked at Lu Weirui, who was dressed in plain white and had a pretty face.
Lu Na was frightened when he heard the word "sick" and nodded: "Then go another day, or ask the servants to clear the snow on the mountain road -"
Lu Weirui responded well, bowed to Zhang Wenwan again, had breakfast with her father and Aunt Zhang, and then said goodbye and returned to Xiaoxiyuan.
Zhang Wenwan said: "Weirui, let the short hoe stay. I want the short hoe to help me do something."
Lu Weirui was short-lived and left Haosheng to serve her. She took Hairpin Hua and two servants back to Xiaoxiyuan.
Lu Na went to the study and was stunned by the calligraphy left by Lu Changsheng. Zhang Wenwan called the short hoe to the small hall and ordered the maids and servants around him to leave first——
Short hoe saw this posture, and his heart was pounding. He glanced at his wife Zhang Wenwan and saw that her face was frosty. He knew something was wrong. He forced himself to calm down and asked with a smile: "What did the madam tell the maid to do?" "
Zhang Wenwan said coldly: "Kneel down."
Short hoe's knees weakened, and he knelt on the banquet, thinking to himself: "Madam must have found out about the young lady and Mr. Chen. What's worse, will Madam beat me to death?"
Zhang Wenwan asked: "Do you know the crime of using a short hoe?"
The short hoe was not scared out of his mind, and said: "My servant serves the little lady Wei Rui on the orders of the master and his wife. I am loyal and single-minded. I don't know what crime you have committed?"
Zhang Wenwan heard this little maid speak so rudely, and somehow he became less angry, and said: "You are quite courageous, and you dare to say that you are loyal. Let me ask you, how did Weirui go to Qiantang in June?
One thing?"
The short hoe was afraid of the incident last month when Miss Wei Rui of the Tang Dynasty went to pay filial piety for Chen's mother, Li. But he was not afraid of what happened in June. He said, "Didn't I report this matter to the head of the house and my wife a long time ago?"
, I went to Mingsheng Lake to see the plum blossoms, and I met Chen Langjun and Chen Langjun’s sister-in-law by chance, nothing else.”
Zhang Wenwan thought to himself: "Meet by chance? You must have rushed to meet her!" However, it was not convenient to say this in front of the servants, so he asked again: "Chen Cao's mother passed away, and the head of the family sent someone to express condolences. What are you going to do with her?"
Short hoe said: "In reply to Madam, because last time the young lady was in Qiantang, she received great care from Chen Langjun's mother. When she learned that she had died of illness, she asked the young lady to go and pay her last respects on her behalf. Madam knew that Young Lady Wei Rui was very important to her.
Emotional."
Zhang Wenwan is a daughter of the Zhang family with the four surnames of Gu, Lu, Zhu and Zhang in Wu County. She is a good lady. After marrying Lu Na, she lived an elegant and leisurely life. She did not know those spicy housekeeping methods. She asked from the short hoe.
Nothing happened, and she didn't expect to force a confession. Besides, it was just a rumor. The steward of Wu County's Lu Mansion quietly informed her, but she didn't dare to let Lu Na know about it, lest Lu Na would be upset.
Zhang Wenwan thought for a while and said: "You need to know, short hoe, that if there is anything that tarnishes the reputation of the Lu family, like you and Hairpin Hua, two personal maids, they will be killed with a stick, or sold out at the worst. Please tell me clearly."
"
I was sweating coldly in my short hoe vest, and I was as silent as a cicada.
…
Lu Weirui returned to Xiaoxi Garden and looked at the flowers and trees in the garden wrapped in silver. She took out the "Mountain Dwelling and Snow Scenery" painted by Chen Caozhi to look at it. She was so lost in thought that she suddenly reported that his wife had arrived and hurriedly got up to greet her.
Mrs. Lu Zhang Wenwan came to Xiaoxiyuan with a group of maids. She followed Zhang Wenwan with a short face and an earthy face. When she saw Lu Weirui, she winked hurriedly.
Lu Weirui's heart skipped a beat when she saw the short hoe like that. She smiled sweetly and said, "Aunt Zhang is here. Didn't the short hoe do a good job? I'll punish her later."
Zhang Wenwan looked at Lu Weirui's pure and beautiful appearance and couldn't bear to accuse her, so he asked: "Weirui, what are you doing, painting?" He looked at the painting on the small table under the window.
Lu Weirui said generously: "When I saw the snow scene in the garden, I thought of this painting by Chen Langjun of Qian Tang Dynasty, so I took it out to look at it."
Zhang Wenwan stood in front of the case and looked at "Snow Scenery in the Mountains" for a while, then looked at Lu Weirui, who smiled at each other, her eyes were clear and innocent.
Zhang Wenwan waved the others to leave, but Lu Weirui remained calm. What should come will always come. In order to be with Chen Langjun, she had already thought about all kinds of difficulties, and when she went to Qiantang in June,
Ding's sister-in-law talked with her for half the night, but she didn't panic.
Zhang Wenwan and Lu Weirui were sitting on their knees across the table. Spread out on the table was Chen Caozhi's "Mountain Dwelling with Snow Scenery". Zhang Wenwan said: "Weirui, there are rumors circulating in the county that you have an affair with Chen Caozhi.
This will harm the reputation of my Lu family——"
Lu Weirui's jade-white face slowly turned red, but her voice was calm and she said, "Then what do Daddy and Aunt Zhang think of this rumor?"
Zhang Wenwan said: "Your father doesn't know about this yet. He has been too sad these days. I can't let him worry anymore, so I'll talk to you first. Wei Rui, don't hide anything you have on your mind from Aunt Zhang. Although Aunt Zhang is not
Your biological mother likes you very much. Aunt Zhang has never given birth to a child, but she loves you as her own daughter——"
Lu Weirui's eyes were filled with light, and she moved her knees to sit next to Zhang Wenwan and said: "Weirui knows that Aunt Zhang likes me. Aunt Zhang is like Wei Rui's mother. She just feels shy and can't say it out——"
Zhang Wenwan smiled slightly, took Lu Weirui's hand and said, "Well, we, mother and daughter, are close relatives. We talk about everything. Let me ask you, do you like Mr. Chen Cao from Qian Tang?"
Lu Weirui's face turned crimson and she shook her head and said: "Aunt Zhang knows that I love flowers and painting. Chen Langjun was in Wu County at that time. My father appreciated him and often came to my house. He also helped me save the chrysanthemum jade tablet, and
Lotus Petal Chunlan, I am very grateful to Mr. Chen, but that’s all. Wei Rui is young, so she doesn’t know what love between men and women is.”
Zhang Wenwan thought about that talented and elegant young man from a humble family, and thought to himself: "If Chen Caozhi were a descendant of Yu, Wei, Kong, and He in Kuaiji, he would be a good match for Wei Rui. It's a pity that he is just from a humble family. Even though he is extremely talented and has
What can I do? There is no way Wei Rui will marry him! In my opinion, Wei Rui should have a good impression of Chen Caozhi. Such a handsome and talented young man is deceiving himself when he says he has no good impression. Having a good impression does not necessarily mean he is selfish.
Love, but——"
Zhang Wenwan said: "But now there are so many rumors, which is really annoying."
Lu Weirui said: "Aunt Zhang, think about it. I stayed filial piety for my deceased brother and didn't leave the villa for half a year. Then Chen Langjun returned to Qiantang in April. Now his mother has died of illness and he has to serve as a mourner for three years. Where did this rumor come from?
Where are you getting up?"
Zhang Wenwan frowned and said: "Well, there must be people with ulterior motives who want to ruin the reputation of our Lu family. Your father has resigned from office and is at home. This is to prevent your father from coming back. I will have people trace the source of the rumors-"
What Mrs. Lu Zhang Wenwan wants is that when Lu Weirui's one-year period expires next August, she will marry someone from a high-ranking family, and the rumors will be self-defeating.
Lu Weirui said no more, feeling slightly sad in her heart.
…
At this moment, Chen Caozhi, six hundred miles away, was cleaning the snow in front of his mother's tomb. Laide was helping on the side. Ran Sheng had gone to the Jiuyao Mountain opposite with his bow and arrow early in the morning. At this time, he came back and said loudly: "
Young Master, come to Brother De to see that I have hunted a deer." He came up with a tusked deer, and hit the deer's neck with an arrow.
The Yamo deer meat tasted very delicious. Laide swallowed his saliva and said, "Take it back to Chenjiawu and marinate it first."
Ran Sheng clicked his lips twice, nodded and said: "Okay, let's marinate it first and eat it after serving the old mistress."
The days passed and it was New Year's Eve in a blink of an eye. Chen Caozhi would stay in the cemetery to spend this New Year's Eve night.
It was a cold day, and long icicles hung from the branches of the trees in Yuhuang Mountain. In the afternoon, it started to snow again. It was not heavy, but it was flying and curling, like countless gray-white butterflies flying.
Ran Sheng stood under the eaves of the thatched shed, looking in the direction of Chenjiawu and said unhappily: "It's already this time, and you still haven't sent us rice cakes——"
Laide said: "What's the hurry? It will be sent as soon as the snow settles."
Seeing that the sun was dimming and the snow was falling harder, Ran Sheng's young mind felt that it was so deserted to celebrate the New Year, but the young man continued to write and write——
Ran Sheng sighed and was about to go back to the hut to warm himself by the fire when he heard someone shouting from the bottom of the mountain: "Uncle Chou - Uncle Chou, we are here -"
"Uncle Ugly, I'm here too—"
The wind is strong and the snow is strong, this pure and beautiful child's voice is like the sound of nature.
Ran Sheng jumped up and shouted: "Miss Run'er is here, and here is Mr. Zongzhi."
Chen Caozhi immediately walked out and said: "Go and pick them up quickly. The mountain road is frozen. Don't let Run'er and the others fall."
