Jiangning, Qingliang Temple, Abbot's Room.

Between square inches, black and white, it has received the endgame. Huikong laughed loudly and put down the white son in his hand: "Master Cao Shi is like a broken bamboo and unstoppable, and the old man admits defeat." ”

Sitting cross-legged on the other side of the chess game was Cao Yin, who was wearing a green cloth jacket. He also said "haha" twice and said: "The old monk is well-behaved, but it will be difficult to win another game against you in the future!" ”

Huikong clasped his hands together: "Amitabha, Master Cao's itinerary has been decided?" ”

Cao Yin smiled while putting away the chess pieces: "The successor was originally in Jiangnan, but this time he didn't have to wait long. Today, Cao is here to say goodbye to the great monk. It has been decided to go north on October 18, and I am afraid that I will not have time to come to the great monk to play chess before then. ”

Huikong glanced at the remaining half of the chess game on the chessboard, and said, "Master Cao Shi is now confident and refreshing. This mountain is high and the water is long, and I hope that the Buddha will bless the Lord Cao Shi to be at ease and not lose his heart. In the end, his expression was much more solemn, revealing a bit of a solemn Buddha statue.

Cao Yin also restrained his smile, stretched out his legs to the ground, and folded his hands and said, "Thank you to the great monk Jiyan!" ”

There is no banquet in the world that will not be dispersed, although the two of them say that one is outside the square and the other is inside, over the years, they can be regarded as half of the best friends.

Rao is the most transparent Huikong, and he can't help but look a little embarrassed today, and personally sent Cao Yin out of the mountain gate. Cao Yin is already a person who will be Jiazi, and the two of them are afraid that there will be no time for each other to meet.

Walking to the mountain gate, Cao Yin turned around, looked at the cigarette in the distance, and waved his hand at Huikong.

Huikong clasped his hands together, proclaimed the Buddha's name, and watched Cao Yin go away.

When Cao Yin came out of Qingliang Temple and returned to the weaving house, it was already dusk. He didn't go back to the inner courtyard directly, but went to the flower courtyard on East Road.

Although it is already winter, the temperature in Jiangning is still very warm, and the trees in the garden of the weaving mansion are still full of greenery.

Cao Yin stood under the tree, reached out and touched the rough trunk, thinking about the bits and pieces of living here for more than 20 years, and his heart also felt a little touched.

Originally, I really thought that I was going to die here, and if I could withdraw like this, it could be regarded as a good death. Accumulating blessings for his children and grandchildren is the biggest thought in his heart now.

It's really not good to accept the old, and the pride and ambition of the past have been exhausted. is the four words "loyal to the monarch and patriotic", and it is not as heavy as in the past.

It's finally time to go back to Beijing.

The private property in this house has already been packed up, and now it is waiting to leave. If the weather on the road is good, you will be able to reach Beijing in mid to late November.

Cao Yin has already written to his son, and now he is finally going to be reunited.

Because the garden was too big, Cao Yin walked for a while and became a little tired. Seeing that it was dark, he did not stay long, but stretched out his arms vigorously and walked out of the garden.

At the gate of the garden, there was already someone waiting, it was Liu Heng.

Seeing Cao Yin come out, he stepped forward and bowed his head and said, "Master! ”

"Qiguan, are you waiting for the old man?" Cao Yin asked.

"Yes, sir, the villain heard from the chief steward that the old lady has set a ......date for going north," said this, but he hesitated a little, and said: "The villain is a floating person, he has to be protected by the uncle, and he has to be taken in by the master. It's just that the villain escaped from Beijing, and if he enters Beijing with the old man and his wife, he can't say that he will cause trouble for the old man and the uncle. If the old man lifts up the villain, the villain would rather go to abundance and be a servant of the tomb. ”

Liu Heng's grievances with Prince Jian's mansion were not hidden from Cao Yin, and Cao Yin also knew about it. How to place Liu Heng, he also thought twice.

He is not a pedantic person who only looks at his background, and he will not be contemptuous of the play. The two have been together for two years and have sorted out a lot of tunes, which can be regarded as half a year-old friend.

Hearing Liu Heng say this, Cao Yin touched his beard and muttered: "You are honest and duty, and it is a good thing that you don't want to cause trouble, but with your talent, how can you be a servant?" The old man has an uncle in Suzhou, he is also a lover of silk and bamboo, the old man wants to recommend you to his house as an errand, are you willing? ”

Liu Heng asked himself to guard the tomb, but he was really helpless.

He can only play and sing since he was a child, and he can't make a living, and if he leaves the house, he will be a useless waste. It's just that I miss the great kindness of the Cao family and don't want to bring trouble to the Cao family, so I want to be a grave keeper.

Since Cao Yin was worried about him and had already found a place for him, he could only be grateful and bowed down to thank Cao Yin.

However, thinking of his nominal wife, the Xu family, Liu Heng said again: "Master, the Xu family is just a false name, and now that she is waiting for the young master here, don't let her wander with the child." The little one is willing to offer a letter of resignation, whether it is an errand by his wife's side in the future, or whether his wife is the master of the marriage, it is all the grace of the old lady. ”

Cao Yin said: "A false name is also a name, this is your own relationship, you asked the Xu family." She's still young, and it's nothing if she wants to go one step further. If she really wants to do that, you can ask your wife to make the decision. ”

"Yes, the little one has been noted!" Liu Heng complied.

It was getting late, Cao Yin said a few words to him, and then went back to Kaiyang Courtyard.

The lamp was already in the house, and Li did not see her husband come back, and was about to ask someone to come forward to inquire. Seeing Cao Yin coming in, the Li family and Tianyou both greeted him.

"The old man just hit the mountain and came down? The concubine was still worried about closing the city gate! Li asked with a smile.

Cao Yin had already bent down, hugged Tianyou in his arms, pinched his little face, and replied: "It's been back for a while, wandering around the garden." I've lived there for more than 20 years, and I think about moving, and there is something wrong in my heart. ”

Li instructed the maid to bring hot water, personally threw a towel, and waited for Cao Yin to clean his face.

Hearing the reluctance in Cao Yin's words, Li also said: "Yes, the concubine body has also been wandering around the courtyards in the past two days. After living for half a lifetime, I didn't feel anything, I was going to leave, but I was a little reluctant. Fortunately, there are sons and daughters-in-law in Beijing, and half of them are worried, and their reluctance is a little lighter. Otherwise, I don't know how uncomfortable it would be. ”

Cao Yin put Tianyou down, took the towel, wiped his face, and said: "The tree is dead, the person is alive, and the young man persuaded me a lot in the early years, but I didn't take it to heart at first." Now I am reluctant to give up, but my heart is much more relaxed. Later, when you get to the capital, I'll take you out for a walk. You have been in the south since you were a child, and every time you enter Beijing, you are in a hurry. To tell the truth, in addition to the colder weather in winter and the windier wind in spring, it is also interesting to say that the north side is over. What temple fairs and incense fairs are not available in Jiangning. Let your daughter-in-law accompany you and join in the fun. ”

When Li heard Cao Yin's words, he added a smile to his face, and said, "Look at what the old man said, whose old woman took her daughter-in-law to wander around all day?" As long as you can guard your son and daughter-in-law, and watch your grandchildren, you will have nothing else to ask for as a concubine! ”

Cao Yin put down the towel, nodded, and said, "The two eldest nephews are about to get married, and when the time comes, the two younger ones will also marry their own sons, and I can be considered to be able to explain to the second brother." In the future, I don't want to do anything, just want my children and grandchildren to be safe......"

* Beijing, Caojia East Mansion, the main house of the inner courtyard.

Ming'er was fourteen, and he made a decision to Fucha's house, so Cao Hao and Chu Yu came here after dinner. Cao Song, Cao Shuo, and Cao Xiang were also here.

"Goose Cage", "Wine Sea", "Fish Pond" and so on have all been prepared, only the Ruyi box is a piece, and Zhaojia's has not yet made up his mind.

The decision to go to Fucha's house is Ming, and the decision to go to Shilang's house is the 24th of this month. All kinds of dowry gifts are in duplicate, but it is also worry-free.

In addition to the "goose cage" and "wine sea", which need to be prepared, others such as "silk ruler", "gold and silver jewelry", as well as the acacia quilt, the inside and the surface of the mattress and the cotton contained in it, are all prepared by Zhaojia's many years ago.

As early as when Cao Song was in her teens, she and Cao Quan were talking about when they would marry a daughter-in-law. When there are any good satin materials at home, they deliberately keep them, and think about hiring them for their sons.

More than ten years have passed, and it is finally time for my son to marry his daughter-in-law. Zhaojia's heart is also full of ups and downs, and all the tastes are complete.

The wishful box is an important thing in the dowry.

In addition to the two things of "Tongshu Dragon and Phoenix Sticker" and "Gift Post", the first wedding ceremony is a wishful box.

The flag man made a big decision, and the most important thing is this "wishful box". Ruyi symbolizes auspiciousness, so it is indispensable in the dowry.

According to different family backgrounds, the Ruyi used is also different. Even if it is a home of ordinary people, it is necessary to use the Ruyi of Xiu rock and Jinchuan stone to count the full courtesy.

The house of the powerful uses the Ruyi of all jade; Inferior, with three inlaid emerald or agate, coral inlaid Ruyi.

Now, in front of Zhaojia's eyes, there are two ruyi. Although they are all all jade, one is white jade Ruyi, and the other is green jade Ruyi.

One is expensive, the other is transparent, they all look good, but their value is several times different.

Cao Song is the eldest son, and it stands to reason that he can pick up the daughter-in-law in this house. It's just that Jinghui is that life experience, and the second son is hired by his own niece, so Zhao Jia's heart is a little hesitant.

The two wishful boxes were placed on the side, and Zhao Jiashi touched the Ruyi on this side, and then looked at the one over there, and he was a little undecided.

Cao Xiang has been enrolled in school and is now studying in Guozijian; On Cao Shuo's side, Cao Hao also found someone at the Eight Banners Academy and said that he would be able to enroll in the first month of next year.

The brothers, sitting in their chairs, chatted without saying a word.

The man's family is careless, but Cao Hao is himself, and when he saw Zhao Jia's sitting on the kang and picking up Ruyi, he didn't think much about it. Because the two ruyi look like they are delicate objects on the surface, and there is not much difference between them.

Chu Yu sat on the other side of the kang table, but he could see the difference. The tail of the white jade Ruyi has the logo of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which is a gift from the emperor. Using this as a dowry is not only precious, but also decent.

If you don't suffer from widowhood and unevenness, if you give it to your eldest daughter-in-law, you have nothing to say.

After all, for a family that has passed by, the eldest daughter-in-law is the future hostess, and the dowry should naturally be heavy.

If Zhao Jia's family gave the white jade Ruyi to the Shilang Mansion to hire, the bias in his heart would be unobstructed. In that case, Jing Hui will be sad after entering the door.

Although the palms and backs of the hands are full of meat, Cao Song and Cao Shuo brothers are both descendants of the Zhaojia family, but the two daughters-in-law, one was chosen by herself, and the other was deceived, so it is not surprising that she is biased in her heart.

Zhao Jia's choice made Chu Yu a little surprised, she carefully groped for the two Ruyi, and put the white jade Ruyi in the Ruyi box, and the other one was wrapped in flannel, put it back in the original box, and shouted Green Ju to hold it down.

It seems that even if you don't like it in your heart, you know how to save some face for your eldest daughter-in-law.

Chu Yu couldn't help but sigh in his heart, Cao Song didn't know whether it was good or bad.

Now it seems that Zhaojia's surname is much softer, and if it goes on like this, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law will be able to get along more peacefully in the future.

When the clock rang, it was already eight o'clock in the evening.

Cao Hao and Chu Yu saw that it was not early, so they got up to say goodbye to Zhaojia and went home. Cao Song and the three of them saw their mother yawning, and they all came out with their brother and sister-in-law, and went back to their respective yards to settle without mentioning it.

After a busy day, Zhao Jia's is also a little tired and wants to rest early. She stretched out her hand and touched the kang head, but it was a little hot, so she said to Zilan and Lu Ju: "The kang tip is spread on the bed, and the front is panicked." ”

The two responded, and Lu Ju served Zhao Jiashi to put down his hair and go to bracelets, hairpins and other jewelry; Zilan knelt on the kang and spread the cover.

Zhao Jiashi was addicted to smoking, and touched the smoking pot from the kang table in his hand.

Lu Ju put the jewelry in the dresser, and when she saw Zhao Jia's taking the smoking pot, she hurriedly took the cigarette bag from the side, filled the tobacco, and took the fire sickle and lit it.

Zhao Jiashi took a puff of cigarette, but his face was a little gloomy, and he muttered: "A good white jade Ruyi, why did you knock it?" Tsk, what a good thing, what a pity......"

*

(To be continued)