Soon after Zhao Jia's family arrived in the old lady's courtyard, the Li family got a letter, although the concubine's feelings were only faint, but the face was still passable, and after cleaning up, he came to the backyard with a few concubines and maids.

The old lady saw the few concubines following behind the Li family, thought of something, and asked Zhao Jia's family: "I remember a few days ago that I said that there are treasure butterflies in your courtyard, and now it's been a few months?" ”

Baodie is Cao Quan's concubine, who was originally the girl in Zhaojia's room, and was supported as a concubine after she became pregnant.

Zhao Jia's didn't twist the acid and take the vinegar like in the past, but replied with a smile: "It's been eight months, the yard has been arranged, the midwife and the nurse have also been found, and the ancestor is waiting to hold his grandson with confidence!" ”

When the old lady and the Li family saw that the Zhaojia family was so generous, they both felt puzzled. Mrs. Zhang, who was standing behind Zhao Jia's family, stepped forward and said with a smile on her face: "I still want to say hello to my ancestors, our wife has it again!" ”

The old lady looked at Zhao Jia's with a little more concern on her face: "When will it be found out, you have to be careful in the first few months, this is not fun!" ”

Li was beside him and hurriedly said hello. Zhao Jiashi thanked him, and then replied to the old lady's words: "I only found out this morning, and I came here to report the good news to the old ancestor without looking back." It's been two and a half months, no wonder I haven't tasted lately, and I like to eat sour, I thought it was because of the hot weather, but there was! There was a bit of pride in his words, and the frustration of the concubine's pregnancy also disappeared. has given birth to a concubine and two sons-in-law, and is pregnant with another in her belly, even if she has children, she can't shake her status at all, but she can be virtuous. Thinking about this, how could she not be surprised.

After hearing this, the old lady nodded with a smile: "'Sour and hot girl', it's a good sign, I will definitely be able to give birth to a big fat boy!" As he spoke, he looked at his eldest daughter-in-law, Li, with a little more deep meaning in his eyes.

Although Li laughed with him, his hands and feet were cold. After Cao Yan was born, her stomach never moved again, and the husband and wife were not in a hurry to have children and daughters. It's just that the old lady sees that the people in the long room are thin, and Cao Yan doesn't have a brother to accompany him, so whenever he hears that there is a happy event in the second room, he has to give Zhang Luo a concubine to his eldest son. It seems that soon, this new aunt will accept it again.

Zhao Jia's family knew the reason, and he was happy to see Li's jokes, only teasing the stuffy people, and coaxing the old lady with a happy face.

Not to mention the gossip of the ladies in the backyard, Cao Yin of the front office finished his official business, but did not return to the inner house, and his face was a little more melancholy. Zhuang Chang, the chief staff member of the mansion, has been with him for many years, and he has not hidden everything, so he opened his mouth and asked, "My lord, why are you troubled?" ”

Cao Yin saw that there was no one else in the study, glanced at Zhuang Chang, and said: "There are no outsiders, what kind of 'adult' is Brother Tianxing, but I have wronged you, I have already been promoted to the fifth grade, but I just can't publicize it, and I even have to greet the eighth-grade petty official!" ”

"Tianxing" is the word of Zhuang Chang, in addition to being the chief staff of the Weaving Mansion on the surface, he also has a secret identity, that is, the senator of the Jiangnan Tongzheng Division, and the official position of Zheng Wupin. Cao Yin is also, in addition to the official of the Jiangning Weaving Mansion on the surface, he is also the chief official of the General Political Department, and he is the third product.

The Jiangnan General Political Department is a department under the personal jurisdiction of Emperor Kangxi, which was originally established to better control the political situation in Jiangnan, and can be regarded as the eyes and ears of the imperial court here. In the early days, the anti-Qing forces that mainly focused on and suppressed the people, but in recent years, when the anti-Qing forces have weakened, the scope of attention of the General Administration Department has been broader, from the private affairs of officials to the livelihood of the people, all of which are summarized on a regular basis and presented to the emperor in the form of secret folds. Because of its secret surname, this yamen is not known to outsiders except for the emperor and a few important ministers in the study, and the upper and lower officials in its department are also hidden and scattered all over the south of the Yangtze River.

Zhuang Chang heard Cao Yin's words, stroked his beard, and said with a smile: "Brother Dongting is impetuous, and it is rare to even say such a complaint!" Speaking of this, he paused and said: "Let the old man guess, is it for the eldest son!" ”

Cao Yin sighed and nodded: "It's just for this evil obstacle, I'm already seven years old, and the old lady is still protecting me like this, and I've only been in school for a few days, so wasted time, how can people not worry!" ”

Zhuang Chang pondered for a moment: "Brother Dongting is in a hurry, the eldest prince is the eldest grandson of the house, and it is normal for Mrs. Tai to be biased." With the affection between the Long Live Lord and the Cao family, if there is no accident, this weaving mansion will still fall on the head of the eldest prince in the future, and there is no need to care too much about fame. ”

Cao Yin shook his head: "Even so, you can't treat it sloppily." It's okay to be young now, and if you are older and want to go to Beijing on an errand, if you become a gentleman who doesn't learn and doesn't know how to do it, I'm afraid that you won't be able to keep this dignity in two lifetimes! ”

After all, it was a family affair of the Cao Mansion, Zhuang Chang didn't say much, and said some news about the capital, and Fang dispersed.

Cao Song in the backyard was not comfortable, Cao Song was a six-year-old child after all, and after a while, he began to be naughty, chasing the white crane in the pond. The white cranes have been domesticated, and their wings have been trimmed, so they can't fly, so they can only run around to avoid this little ancestor.

Cao Song smiled "haha", the placket under his knees was wet, and he didn't care about it at all, seeing that Cao Yan was not moving next to him, he sprinkled water on him again. Cao Yan couldn't dodge it and was drenched.

Cao Yan saw that Cao Song was having fun, so he didn't care, he didn't want a gust of wind to blow, so he stuck his wet clothes on his body and sneezed heavily.

Cao Yan was extremely depressed, it seems that not to mention the future fortune of the Cao family, taking care of the body is the most important thing, otherwise this little body may pass one day.

The tortoiseshell happened to come out of the room, and when she saw it, she hurriedly stepped forward, squatted down, and wiped the water splashed on Cao Yan's face with a handkerchief, her face was full of worry: "Little ancestor, it's just better, what should I do if I catch a cold again?" ”

Mrs. Zhang, who followed Zhao Jia's family, came out to find Cao Song, and when she saw Cao Song covered in water, she hurriedly went over and took him out of the pool. After another show, several maids came out and took away the wet clothes of the two brothers. Cao Song didn't bring a change of clothes, he wore Cao Song's, which was tight and tight, and it was a lot smaller.

After tossing for a while, it was time for dinner. The old lady came because of the grandchildren of Xifu, and specially asked the kitchen to add dishes. The round dinner table is placed in the west room, and according to everyone's rules, the daughter-in-law is not allowed to serve it. The old lady sat in the north, with Cao Ying and Cao Yan's two granddaughters on her left hand and Cao Yan on her right hand, and Cao Song and Cao Song's two grandsons on her right hand. Cao Shuo was young, and he was fed by the nurse who sat on the small bench next to him.

As described in the Dream of Red Mansions, after everyone was seated, the maids carried a copper basin with a diameter of about one foot, which contained clear water.

Cao Yan came here for a few days, and the rules of eating were also familiar, although he felt that it was cumbersome, he could only follow the local customs. After washing his hands, he wiped it with a silk handkerchief.

The cold dishes on the table have been arranged, a total of eight plates, packed in small five-inch plates: salted elbow flowers, pine flower tripe, cordyceps chicken, rabbit breast, assorted tofu, pickled melon shreds, mixed powder skin, red oil bamboo shoots. After everyone sat down and washed their hands, the hot dishes began to come up, also eight plates, seven inches of plates, three fresh shark fins, bergamot sea cucumber, steamed white fish, fried crabs, stuffed duck with Jiang rice, braised lotus seeds in sugar, roasted lilies, and fried loofahs. Then, there are four bowls, boiled soft-shelled turtle, mushroom duck, winter melon chicken wings, and cabbage in broth. Then there are two soups, duck blood soup and three fresh meatball soup. Finally, there are four small dim sums, lotus seed cake, bean paste roll, pea yellow, and golden silk siu mai.

The old lady eats rouge rice, and everyone else is a bowl of japonica rice.

Because of the consideration that Zhaojia's family had a body, after arranging the dishes and chopsticks, the old lady asked her to rest in the east house, and the Li family took Cao Yin's two concubines, Feng and Qian, to cook for everyone.

Cao Yan drank the lotus root noodles not long ago, and he was not hungry, so he ate half a bowl of rice with shredded pickled melons and bamboo shoots, and slowly drank half a bowl of duck blood soup. The maids served half a bowl of juhua tea, which was used to rinse the mouth. The water from the mouthwash was spit into the delicate small spittoon held by another maid. Then, according to each person's preference, different teas were served. The old lady is Pu'er tea, the two are young ladies are jasmine tea, and the two little sons are Biluochun.

The dishes on the table were removed, and most of them only moved one or two chopsticks. The old lady pointed out a few more complementary dishes and asked someone to send them to Baodie in Xifu.

Cao Yan saw that Cao Song was full and began to doze off, so he pulled him to the Cui Pavilion and fell down. Cao Ying and Cao Yan also followed, sitting on a small stool next to the bed and talking to the two brothers. When the old lady saw that their brothers and sisters were close, she was overjoyed and asked someone to wash the melons, fruits, pears and peaches and send them over.

The north side of the pavilion is facing the lotus pond in the back garden, the windows are open, and the grass green curtains are covered with cool breezes, and there is no summer heat.

Cao Yan half-leaned on the bed and looked at the two little girls sitting on the ground. Cao Ying was wearing a rose-red silk gown and a milky white vest, her surname was not as spicy as Zhao Jia's, with a bit of shyness of a southern girl, and her voice was soft and soft. Cao Yan is wearing a sky blue dress, taught by her father Cao Yin since she was a child, she knows everything about piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and is a talented girl. Although he is only ten years old, his speech and demeanor are already good, and he faintly shows everyone's demeanor.

It seems that the women of the Eight Banners are going to participate in the palace draft, and the Cao family is under the banner of Zhengbai, of course, it is no exception. I vaguely remember that Cao Yin had a daughter who married an iron hat king as a concubine, if there was no accident, it would be Cao Yan, but I don't know what Cao Ying's future will be. Thinking of this, Cao Yan was a little distracted, although he had a daughter who was the princess, but the Cao family still couldn't escape the fate of copying the family, and the prince seemed to have no real power. Otherwise, he, the prince's brother-in-law, has his back against the big tree to enjoy the shade, so he doesn't have to worry about the fate of the Cao family. Cao Ying's fate is completely unknown, and it is estimated that she will marry a husband who is the right person and be a virtuous wife like an ordinary daughter.

Cao Ying saw Cao Yan looking at her, thinking that he wanted to eat fruit, so she inserted a grape with a bamboo skewer and handed it over. Cao Yan took it and thanked him. Cao Ying just smiled and returned to her seat. Cao Yan didn't comply, put on a small face, and said angrily: "My brother is really rude, he pretended to be well-behaved in front of his grandmother, and he was so big behind his back that he didn't even call his sister, be careful to tell my father to teach you a lesson!" ”

was actually threatened by a child, Cao Yan rolled his eyes in his heart, and on the surface he still defended, but said that he didn't. Cao Yancheng teased him, how could he give up, and his sharp teeth were preaching. Cao Ying saw that their sister and brother were arguing interestingly, covering their mouths with a handkerchief, eating and laughing.

Suddenly, there was a "snap" sound from the old lady's house, as if it was the sound of a cup falling to the ground. There was silence outside, and the children in the inner room noticed that something was wrong and stopped making noise. Then, it was the old lady who raised her voice and said: "It's so decided, go back and clean up the house, Ming'er will ask someone to send it over, good things come in pairs, save you from arranging my wife's partiality!" ”

After a while, Mrs. Zhang came over with a few maids from Dongfu and asked Cao Ying and Cao Song to go out. Cao Song rubbed his eyes and followed Mrs. Zhang out. Cao Ying and Cao Yan glanced at each other, and walked out with low eyebrows. Cao Yan also got up and followed behind the two little girls.

Zhao Jia's family saluted and said goodbye, and after the two sisters and brothers came out, they told the nurse to pick up Cao Shuo and go home. The fragments of the teacup on the ground had been cleaned up, and only the water stains were left to prove that the sound just heard was real. Although Zhao Jiashi lowered her head, Cao Yan saw her shoulders move slightly, and half of her face was pale.

What happened to Cao Yan was full of curiosity, obviously there was a good atmosphere after eating, how could it be like this in only two quarters of an hour. Thinking of these, I looked at the old lady carefully, and she was not shocked, and her joy and anger were invisible; Looking at Li again, although his face was flat, his eyes were quite complicated, and he seemed to be a little mocking and a little tired.

After Zhao Jia's family left with the children, the old lady first sent Cao Yan back, and then explained a few words to the Li family, and prepared two sets of dowries for Liuli and Jade. The glass was sent to the front yard, the jade was sent to the West Mansion, and each person was transferred to two third-class maids to follow. Li Shi responded calmly and took people down to prepare.

The old lady was crooked on the soft couch, not knowing what she was thinking. Cao Yan sat on the edge of the kang and helped her beat her legs. In fact, he was very surprised in his heart, it seemed that the old lady gave the big girl Liuli and Jade around her to Cao Yin and Cao Quan brothers as concubines. No wonder Zhaojia's face is so ugly, unlike Li's virtuousness, she has always covered the sky with one hand in her own house, although she has an aunt Baodie, but it is her maid who helped her up for the sake of looking good. It is estimated that she is also regretting, if there is no such naked show, it is estimated that there will be no such unexpected "happy event".

Cao Yan didn't know whether to envy his cheap father, a forty-three-year-old man, who wanted to take a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl as a concubine, and the old cow ate tender grass. Thinking of the Li family's expression, Cao Yan was a little distressed, after all, she was the biological mother who was connected with the blood and bones of this small body. The daughter's surname is Gaojie, the relationship between mother and daughter is weak, the son is taken by the mother-in-law, the husband has a lot of affairs, and there are two or three beautiful concubines.