The morning fog of winter diffuses a thick chill. Chill the earth. In the early morning, people came in and out of the corner gate of Jiafu one after another, slowly regaining their vitality.

Jia Huan tried to go out of the house to study at the corner gate of Jia Yuyuan on the east side of Jiafu, but was stopped by Zhou Rui, the steward sent by Mrs. Wang, and the news spread throughout Jiafu within a few days.

Some people applauded and applauded, and people were very happy. Sister Rufeng; Some people wept and complained about their wife's partiality; Some people were upset and scolded in private, Zhou Rui was just a steward, a servant of Jiafu, and he dared to let people beat Jia Huan;

Some people sympathize, do you say that it is easy for Brother Huan'er to read a book? Someone ignores it, what are Jia Huan and me doing? It's a shame that someone sighed. Some people have palpitations, how great is the authority of the wife? Do not provoke her.

Some people are depressed; Some people were sad and indignant, and months of hard work were ruined; Someone laughed, but it was just a conversation...

Time is in the corner. After several carriages came and went, several carriages arrived at Ningguo Mansion from Jiafu. You Shi and Qin Keqing invited Jia Mu, Mrs. Xing, Mrs. Wang, Wang Xifeng and others to come to Huifang Garden to enjoy the plum blossoms.

The cold plum blossoms in the Huifang Garden bloom outstandingly, one by one, one by one, into a forest, and bloom in the cold wind. There are red plums, white plums, green plums, palace pink plums, and wax plums. Beauty Plum. Colorful.

Tea first and then wine, and at noon, Qin Keqing led Jia Baoyu to her house to rest, and turned back to the warm pavilion to talk to Wang Xifeng privately. The four maids who left Jia Baoyu: Meiren, Qianxue, Musk Yue, and Qiuwen waited under the eaves of the porch, watching the cats and dogs fight.

In the warm pavilion, Wang Xifeng wore a gorgeous cotton jacket, sat at the table with a smile and drank tea, and Ping'er, Feng'er and other maids were waiting around him. Through the long corridor, you can see that in a hall in the distance, Jia Mu and Mrs. Wang are talking and laughing.

When Wang Xifeng saw Qin Keqing coming in, he smiled at the maids and said, "You all go down, I'll talk to her about yourself." "Wait for the maid and mother-in-law in the house to retreat. Wang Xifeng affectionately took Qin Keqing's hand and chatted.

After chatting for a while, Qin Keqing asked softly: "Auntie, a few days ago, I went to invite Aunt Zhen to come over to enjoy the plums, and I happened to meet Uncle Huansan." He said he wanted to go out to study, but he did? I seem to hear some wind..."

Wang Xifeng laughed loudly, very excited, and said with a smile: "Giggles, if you don't ask me, I also plan to talk to you." In this matter, Huan Laosan went to ask the master for permission first. The master is a person who likes to read, and I heard that Lin Juren, the master of the third child, said a lot of good things to him in front of the master. It seems to say that if we want to produce scholars in our house, we must start with Jia Huan first.

Huan Laosan is a smart person, and when he saw his wife, he didn't mention the matter of the old man's favor. Instead, he directly begged his wife to let him go out of the house to study. Mrs. Who, she had already seen his face clearly, and she didn't ask him at all: What does the master mean, and directly disagrees with him going out of the house to study.

The old lady asked yesterday. His wife said that he was too young and was afraid that he would not take good care of himself. When I'm older, I'll go to the academy. Besides, how can a decent person like us not be able to afford a tutor? ”

Qin Keqing understood in his heart, and said in his mouth: "This is also the meaning of loving him." ”

Wang Xifeng's pair of Danfeng eyes aimed at Qin Keqing's gentle face, and said with a smile: "You are sloppy in front of me." I don't believe you don't understand. The wife just wants to crush him. This year, the third Huan Lao is too presumptuous! Scold this and scold that. You also saw it with your own eyes. I don't even dare to mess with him again.

According to me, there are many ways for my wife to manipulate him. It's a shame that the kid understands the world, if he took the master's meaning a few days ago and pressed his wife directly. Hey..., if my wife is angry, now he's afraid he's going to lie in bed for a few months. ”

It is only natural for a mother to educate a "naughty" son.

Qin Keqing chuckled coquettishly, "How can I be sloppy..."

Wang Xifeng ignored Qin Keqing's argument and said slightly mockingly: "It's ridiculous that Huan Laosan thinks he is smart, and he wants to leave from the side door of the eldest master unexpectedly." But I didn't know that my wife's yard was much closer. At the intersection of North Street, Zhou Rui was blocked. Ha ha. ”

"And what about him now?"

"Of course, I honestly studied at home behind closed doors. Haha, someone stared at him specifically. He couldn't run if he wanted to. ”

Qin Keqing hesitated and said, "This... Isn't it a little... The meaning of ill-treating..."

Wang Xifeng pursed his lips and laughed, "Harsh? How so? Mrs. obviously cares about him! Whose mother is willing to let her 8-year-old son go to the academy to live and study?

Didn't my wife also say that she would invite a tutor when spring begins? In the cold winter, how can there be a good teacher in the capital? Of course, Huan Laosan's desire to be motivated is good. He also lost his temper and wanted to escape from the house. But as an elder, can children mess around? didn't punish him, but his wife was kind-hearted. ”

This is really reasonable.

As a result, after Qin Keqing listened, he had nothing to say.

Wang Xifeng smiled and took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, "Huan Laosan is self-inflicted." This breath of relief came out of my heart. Don't talk about him. Your second uncle Lian has not been at home every day since he got this honeycomb coal, I..."

Next, it's the secret words in the boudoir.

Qin Keqing is single-minded. While chatting with Wang Xifeng, he sighed about what happened to Jia Huan.

She thought about Jia Huan's abrupt reminder that day in her heart many times. When I went to greet my father-in-law (Jia Zhen) and mother-in-law (You Shi) last night, her father-in-law saw her eyes shining. When she came back, she understood Jia Huan's words again:

You have to be careful of Brother Zhen, (I) have good intentions, don't have any accidents.

It was in return for her kind reminder. He's such a caring person. If she hadn't witnessed the whole incident of "Talented and Beautiful Woman", she wouldn't have thought of going to this place. After all, Jia Huan is only an eight or nine-year-old child.

Qin Keqing felt some pity for Jia Huan in his heart: blame the pitiful; was originally from a poor background, and she was like Aunt Zhao; Now that I have the ability, I want to take a progressive path, but I have to get stuck with my mother-in-law.

Alas...

Qin Keqing sighed faintly in his heart. The wind was raging outside the window.

…

…

Jia Huan didn't know what was going on in Dongfu. After lunch, he was silently flipping through his four-book notes in the room.

His baggage and luggage were searched by Mrs. Wang, and the next day she asked the two little servants to return them to him. The clothes, supplies, and books that Qingwen and Ruyi helped him sort out were turned over in a mess and piled up like garbage.

The plan that Jia Huan wrote after coming to Jiafu was not included in his luggage. He was going to study in the dormitory of the college, and these intimate plans were naturally safer to stay at home. This allowed him to escape.

And the silver ticket, the silver, he put it close to him, but there was no loss.

Ruyi squatted on the ground, flattened his mouth, and packed his luggage for Jia Huan, while cleaning up, his heart was sour, uncomfortable, and he was in tears. She bothered to wash and fold her clothes, but in the end she still had to shake them apart and stain them.

The beautiful little girl's eyes were red and swollen like peaches, she raised her head and whimpered: "Third master, what else are you packing?" My wife won't let you go out to study. ”

Jia Huan put down the book, walked in front of Ruyi, squatted down, and gently wiped away her tears, "Ruyi, it's going to snow." ”

…

…

In the evening, after dinner, Mrs. Xing's car followed Jia Mu and Mrs. Wang back from Dongfu.

After about half an hour, a maid came to report, "Madam, the third master of Huan sent Qingwen to speak." ”

"Let her in!" Mrs. Xing was slightly surprised and looked out of the black room.

…

…

In the year of Gengxu, November 16, the winter solstice.

The Winter Solstice Festival arose in the Zhou Dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Song dynasties, and is still used today. Kangxi's "Wanping County Chronicles": "On the winter solstice in November, hundreds of officials congratulate each other, retire to worship their ancestors, and worship each other with thorns, such as New Year's Day ceremonies. ”

Wealthy families, literati, and scholars in the cold winter invite each other to feast and drink, or recite poems and paintings to spend time. It is called "cold club", "cold club", "warm cold club" and so on. Every year on the winter solstice day of Jiafu, Jia's mother will hold a cold party, "sit down and drink and laugh".

Snow. In the afternoon, the sky and the earth are one color.

In the flower hall of Jia's mother's upper room, everyone in Jia's mansion gathered. The felt curtain is extracted from the ground, and the animal charcoal furnace is warm as spring, and the fragrance is overflowing. Cooking in the south and burning in the north, mixed with the former Chen. The battle thumbs are flying, and the chips are staggered. Laughter and excitement flowed.

In the distance, a thin figure walked from the corridor, wearing a cloak. When he got closer, the little maid in the warm pavilion saw clearly that it was someone who came, and hurriedly came out to stop him, "Third master, the ancestor ordered..."

Jia Huan waved his hand and interrupted the little girl's words, "I know." Please go back to the old lady. Jia Huan wanted to go out of the house to study, so he asked the old lady for permission. ”

As he spoke, he knelt on the cold bluestone floor in the main hall facing Jia's mother's upper room. Snow in the sky. It's biting cold.

The little maid was a little dumbfounded, "Third Master..."Third Master's determination is too great? Hurriedly went to the big girl to report. It was not her turn to pass the word to Jia's mother.

Jia Huan knelt down for less than a cup of tea, and saw the attacker and Jade, the two big maids in Jia's mother's room, coming. At this time, a little snow had fallen on Jia Huan's shoulders.

"Third master, what are you doing here?" Jade and Qingwen became friends, and stepped forward to help Jia Huan shoot the snow, "Hurry up, it's cold on the ground." ”

Jia Huan refused Jade to help him up, "Get up, my heart to read is insincere." Please Sister Jade to help me spread the word: Jia Huan wants to go out of the house to study, please ask the old lady for permission. ”

Wearing a light pink jacket inside, a crimson tooth-pinching vest outside, a slender figure, a good appearance, a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl, standing under the eaves of the porch, looking at Jia Huan kneeling in the middle of the courtyard, her heart was inexplicable, and she sighed lightly.

She couldn't figure out Jia Huan's intentions. Kneeling like this, it is sincere, and I want to move the old lady? It's naïve! It's just that she and Mandarin Duck have long been convinced of Jia Huan in their hearts. He shouldn't be so stupid, right?

Jade looked at Jia Huan in embarrassment, and then looked at the attacker.

She was just one of the eight big maids in the ancestor's house, and there were several people lined up in front of her. Even the attacker who came back was higher than her. The third master is not liked by the old lady. She didn't dare to pass on this.

The attacker thought for a while and said, "I'll go and tell the mandarin duck." She didn't have the idea of risking Jia Huan. It's just that in the end, I want to tell the mandarin duck to know. It's up to her to decide.

The attacker quietly walked quickly to the outside of the flower hall. It's very noisy inside. The attacker waited for a while, took the warm spring wine from a little maid, and entered the flower hall.

I saw that Jia Mu, Mrs. Xing, Mrs. Wang, Wang Xifeng, Li Kun, Aunt Xue, Baoyu, Lin Daiyu, Xue Baochai, Ying, Tan, Xi and others were all there. Everyone has a wine table, either sitting or half-reclining.

The attacker put the wine away and quietly said in the mandarin duck's ear: "Mandarin duck, the third master of the ring is here." Kneel in the yard. Tell us to speak. said: Jia Huan wants to go out of the house to study, please ask the old lady for permission. ”

The mandarin duck nodded slightly, signaling that she understood. After the attacker retreated, the mandarin duck smiled and helped Jia Mu go through three rounds of drinking orders, and then retreated with a smile, walked out of the flower hall, and went to the main courtyard in front to check.