In the early morning, Mu Ang, who was accustomed to getting up early, opened his eyes, and after not sleeping for a long time, his eye sockets still had the dark blue after last night's spring supper. Yin and yang are intertwined, and the spirit is good.

He turned over and sat up, rubbed his eyes, Hongwen on the side was facing outward, still sleeping soundly, hugging the peach-colored Luo quilt, revealing two snow-white arms, lying with one hand on his cheek, and one hand on the quilt.

Because of last night's absurdity, half of the bandeau on his chest faded, just revealing a pair of slippery and fragrant greasy breasts, just enough to hold in one hand.

At this moment, the sleeping Hongwen is like a begonia with rain and a peony with smoke. Getting this beauty made Mu Ang feel very satisfied, and remembered what she said last night, thinking to himself, how can such a delicate and transparent person not be pityd?

After thinking about it for a while with a smile, Mu Ang couldn't bear to wake up Hongwen, got down gently, got dressed, and saw that Xilan had already gotten up through the screen window, sitting on a chair outside, draped in a small coat obliquely, and put on shoes there, the blue-green bandeau looked like a horse Pingchuan.

Mu Ang was inconvenient to go out, coughed, Xilan knew that the old man was up, and hurriedly put on the embroidered shoes, covered the small clothes with a red face, put on the small shirt again, and ran over to open the door with buttons.

As if he didn't want the old man to be uninterested in himself, he didn't even look at it, Xilan sighed in her heart, and ran out again to bring hot water in, and waited for him to wash his face.

Creak! Vaguely heard the door of the main room next door open, Mu Ang wiped his face, and walked through the ear door to his wife's room.

It's very lively here, the mothers-in-law are sweeping the floor under the hall, the maids are busy grooming and dressing up, and the little girls send in hot and cold water from time to time, and everyone goes in and out. Du Qianqian was also freshening up in the room, and when she saw her husband coming in, she asked with a smile: "Yo! It's early today. ”

Mu Ang's face turned red and said, "I suddenly remembered something last night, and I didn't have to sleep well all night, so I wanted to come over and discuss with you."

"What's the matter?" Du Qianqian asked, she naturally wouldn't break the cyan in her husband's eyes.

Mu Ang walked to the window and sat down, and said that he was worried that Aunt Shen would not be in charge for the first time and that he was afraid of being ridiculed by the subordinates, but he did not say that this was from Hongwen's opinion.

"My husband is thoughtful, but I missed the inspection for a while."

Du Qianqian nodded, "However, I entrusted her with family affairs, so it is not good to replace her immediately, and there is no suitable candidate." Yes, Hongwen has been with me for many years, and she is quite clever in her work, so it is better to ask her to help her aunt, do you say?"

This is in Mu Ang's arms, and he easily achieved his goal, and he couldn't help but secretly rejoice in his heart, and said: "Except for Hongwen, there is no one else who can help her."

"That's it." Du Qianqian immediately called the girl to call the housekeeper Mu Fu in.

Soon, Mu Fu walked into the living room, greeted the old lady, and stood aside with his hands down.

Du Qianqian said slowly: "I have instructed you the day before yesterday that everything in the house will go back to Aunt Ming Shen to handle everything in the future." But I thought about it, if she is stumped by something else, and you are in a hurry to reply, and you encounter something that cannot be delayed, will you not be delayed? So I plan to ask Hongwen to help, and if you have something in the future, you can either report it to Aunt Shen, or go back to Aunt Hong. Aunt Shen is still in charge of affairs, and you will inform them as soon as you go down. ”

"Yes!" Mu Fu glanced at the old man, and said in his heart, could it be that Hongwen blew the wind on the pillow?

Mu Fu retreated, Mu Ang got up and said, "I'll go over and say something."

At that moment, he entered Aunt Shen's room and said that his wife had sent Hongwen to help you with housework. Aunt Shen is in a nervous mood, she has hardly managed the house over the years, and she is afraid that she will do something wrong and be laughed at up and down.

Now that I heard that my wife sent Hongwen to help me, I was immediately full of joy and said happily: "Mrs. Zhenzhen is very considerate of the slave family, I am worried that I can't afford this burden, it is rare to have a sister to share some for me, it is very good." My sister is a skilled hand, and she is younger than me, so she is the most suitable. ”

Mu Ang smiled: "You really think so? Aren't you afraid that people will share your power?"

"How could I think that?" Aunt Shen felt inexplicable, "Actually, I wanted to talk to my wife yesterday, but I was afraid that my wife would misunderstand and promoted me, so I had to be lazy." Thankfully, my wife was kind enough to send her, and now I was able to relax half of my body. ”

"Good." Mu Ang saw that she didn't have the slightest suspicion, smiled with satisfaction, and turned around and went to the study.

Here, Mu Fu informed the housekeeper of the house in advance, and he came out to the concierge and asked the little maid to inform all the men to gather. When everyone arrived, he explained to them what Mrs. Shicai had instructed.

Suddenly, a steward said: "Fu Bo, this errand is not easy to do now, Mrs. has entrusted Grandma Shen to take over, we are really happy in our hearts, Grandma Shen treats people very well, and can be sympathetic, so don't embarrass us." But why did you suddenly send a new aunt to help you today? So which end of the day should we go back? I think that when she was at home before, she often helped with things, but her wife didn't say anything, but she was difficult to handle, and all kinds of critical accusations were the most hearty. ”

"Yes." Another servant shouted: "Every time we go in, if there is a small mistake, if we don't go to her first to register, she will have to make the six countries uneasy, and Mrs. Bisheng will believe her words." Now my wife ordered her to help Grandma Shen, and asked me to say that it was clear that she would decide what she said. Grandma Shen is kind, can she still refute her face? Although Mrs. has commanded, it is still under the exclusive authority of Grandma Shen, so do you say that we should go back to Grandma Shen first, or go back to her first? Isn't this life hard for our big guys?"

"Yes, yes."

The family members talked about it one after another, thinking that Hongwen would have to be reprimanded even if she encountered anything unpleasant in the Xu Mansion, how could she not stop working hard when she returned to the Mu Wangfu? Of course, this is also her confidence, the double henchmen of Mrs. and Miss.

As the saying goes, the king of Hades is good at seeing that little ghosts are difficult to deal with, and the people of the Mu family regard Hongwen as a difficult little ghost.

In the face of the dissatisfaction of the big guy, the housekeeper Mu Fu didn't take it seriously, as the old man of the Mu family, Mrs. Tai's henchman, he has followed Mu Ang since he was a child, and he is senior and old. No matter how tricky Hongwen is, he doesn't dare to do anything to him, who has something to do in the past, he will go in and talk about it.

He just wanted to say don't worry about Yunyun, don't you still have me? Unexpectedly, as soon as he spoke, a mother-in-law came over and said, "Butler Fu, there is a word from inside, telling you to go up."

"Okay."

Mu Fu promised that he must now lead by example, immediately obey the call of the upstart family, and said: "You guys disperse first, and I'll explain to you later." After saying that, he left in a hurry.

In the mountains behind the Xu family, Xu Yu, who had nothing to do, accompanied Mu Lingxia out again, and walked about half a mile away. Because it is too close to the palace, there are almost no people in this area, except for a few villas built by the Xu Mansion back then.

Xu Yu took Ling Xia to a hillside, where there were green trees on three sides, and the dense branches and leaves of ancient vines were intertwined, as if there were three green walls, and there were no gaps at all.

Only one side is two or three feet wide, and it has been artificially built, and the path leading to Guò can be drilled into.

"Interesting."

Mu Lingxia walked in first like a child, and after walking for a while, he found that the hillside was located in the northwest, diagonally to the southeast, and there was a small mountain peak.

Mu Lingxia went up the stone steps with great interest, and Xu Yu hurriedly followed, carefully protecting her.

Passing through a fence made of small branches, there is a small flower garden in front of you, where cockscombs, anchovies, red cinnamon, and crape myrtles are blooming brilliantly.

The edge of the flower garden is facing a small cliff, surrounded by a one-person high railing, there is an antique green pine trellis, and an antique small pavilion.

The front is a white stone gate, two green wooden doors, and dense creepers grow on the courtyard wall. Through the gap, you can see a stone table and stone bench in the courtyard, and there are several pots of chrysanthemums on the table, which are clean and very elegant.

Looking down, there is a hill grassland in the near front, a lake in the distance, and in the white mist, there are shadows of tall buildings and towers, which is the periphery of the Forbidden City.

Mu Lingxia was overjoyed at first sight here, and even said that it was really a good place. Xu Yu said with a smile: "Naturally, it is a good place, and when I chose this place back then, I took a lot of effort. It's a pity that my dad prefers his farm. ”

"I also like farming." Mu Lingxia laughed when she thought of those flowery cows and windmills full of pastoral style.

While the two were talking, suddenly a puppy rushed out from behind the tree, barking and running away like an arrow. Ling Xia screamed in fright, and hurriedly hid behind Xu Yu.

Xu Yu was about to yell at the dog, when the green door opened, and a beardless man came out and drank the dog.

The man walked over and said with a smile on his face, "Yo! The second son is here. ”

Xu Yu looked at him in surprise, vaguely familiar, then thought about it, and asked, "Why is Gonggong Li here?"

"The second son never cares about idle things, so naturally he doesn't know." This Gonggong Li smiled, "My Royal Highness likes it here very much, and I rented it a few years ago." It's really rented, and I don't dare to bully the civilians. ”

As he spoke, his eyes glanced at Mu Lingxia from time to time, and saw that she and Second Young Master Xu were standing side by side, the girl's dress was dressed and smiling, thinking that it was the daughter of the Xu Mansion, so she took a step forward and asked Ling Xia for another peace.

"Father-in-law doesn't need to be polite." Mu Lingxia nodded lightly, whether it was misunderstood or not, there was no need to explain.

Gonggong Li said: "The two princesses are here, the little slave will give you a reply."

Xu Yu said: "You just say I'm here to play, and I will go up the mountain to see the house."

Gonggong Li went with a smile, and Xu Yu pulled Ling Xia to the pavilion and sat down. Soon, Princess Qingdu and Princess Qinghe both walked out and walked to the pavilion.

After Mu Lingxia returned to Beijing, he had entered the palace to see the two princesses, and Xu Yu was naturally very familiar, so both sides seemed very casual.

Xu Yu smiled: "I didn't expect you to live here, don't blame those who don't know."

The two princesses are the daughters of the first emperor Zhu Gaochi, that is, Zhu Mingzhi's sister, because they both promised someone, so they have rarely met Xu Yu in the past two years, and they will soon get married.

Since they met by chance, Xu Yu didn't plan to avoid it in his heart, and with Ling Xia present, the two princesses didn't seem to care.

Princess Qingdu said, "Since you're here, please go in and have a look."

In this way, Mu Lingxia followed them into the door, and on the second floor of the stairs facing them, there was a house surrounded by Song Dynasty style on three sides, and the walls were crawling with vines. The stone walls on both sides of the stone steps were also covered with green moss.

Mu Lingxia said softly: "I love this kind of old house the most, which is the so-called joy of forest springs."

The small courtyard is surrounded by two cloisters, along the stone cracks under the railing, planted some saxifrage, and a few charming and moving large-leaved begonias, one side of the begonia leaf stone door opened.

There is a semi-enclosed verandah in the door, leading to another courtyard, and to the north is a two-story embroidery building.

Not to mention that the two of them were guests here, Mu Fu walked outside Aunt Shen's room, and many housekeeping women gathered around, going in one by one.

The little girl said through the curtain, "Grandma, the big housekeeper has arrived."

I heard Aunt Shen inside say: "A letter came from Shandong just now, the grandmother of the second room gave birth to a daughter in the middle of this month, and the old lady was very happy, and she was not worried about whether the grandmother's body could be healthy, so she wanted to send someone to Shandong for a trip." The wife said that she told you to go, and you should leave the things on your body to others for the time being, and go to the tent to receive thirty taels of silver, as a coil, as well as letters and gifts, etc., and when you come in and receive them in the evening, you will leave early in the morning, and you will be limited to twenty days. ”

The eldest young grandmother in the second room, that is, the wife of Mu Bin, the eldest son of the head of the family, Mu Bin, is currently the general of a thousand households in Dezhou Mansion, Shandong. Having the opportunity to visit the future Grandpa Guo was naturally a good thing for Mu Fu, so he readily agreed.

Aunt Shen said again: "The master also explained, your nephew Mu Ming, who is still honest, asked him to come in and look at the garden over there." The monthly fee is developed according to the inner house people, etc., and he is told to move the bed to the garden tonight and go to sleep. This is the grace of the lord to you, and it is much better to make him an internal errand than to have a meal outside. As long as he is cautious in everything in the future, the lord will promote him.

Remember, the most important thing is that the maids of each aunt go to the garden every morning to pick flowers, and he and those girls are not allowed to rap their mouths. If you commit this, you will be kicked out immediately, and the heavy one will be sent to the official to be brought to justice, and even your face will not look good, so you must tell him well when you go down. ”

"Yes, I see." Mu Fu nodded again and again, and seeing that his aunt had nothing to say, Fang retreated.

After coming out, he immediately called his nephew to his side and told the old man that he had sent a deacon in the garden.

This Mu Ming is Mu Fu's nephew, his father died in Yunnan in the war, his mother died early, and he was taken over by Mu Fu to raise him. A few years ago, Mu Fu managed the fields in Zhejiang, and took the fourteen-year-old Mu Ming to the countryside to ask for rent.

After Mu Fu returned to Beijing, he took over the position of the chief housekeeper and begged Mu Ang to arrange an errand for his nephew. Because Mu Ming was still young, Mu Ang temporarily asked him to study with Mu Fu, and in his free time, Mu Fu asked his nephew to do things in the study.

Mu Ming is seventeen years old this year, and he is no longer suitable for being a small servant, Mu Ang likes his delicate and clever very much. King Mu's Mansion is different from the mansions of the major countries, and some of the internal eunuchs transferred from the palace in the family are called internal chasers.

Today, there are not many internal supervisors, but the habit of internal errands has been preserved. In fact, normal people also have internal differences, such as guarding the gate of the inner house, the back door in the garden, doing some heavy work, etc., after all, it is not safe to use women, and it is inconvenient for adult men, so they often arrange honest boys.

Being able to be an internal errand shows that this person is deeply trusted by the head of the family, just like the close ministers of the Son of Heaven, if there are no accidents in the future, it is very bright.

Mu Ang had already intended to promote Mu Ming, but he was afraid that this little fresh meat would be confused, and the woman in the inner house near the water was a little unclear, so he asked him to follow Mu Fu to learn the rules.

Mu Ming has been doing it for more than a year, Mu Ang observes his silent work on weekdays, cleaning the study yard every day, sometimes coming in to deliver tea and water, very diligent and honest. I've never seen him yelling at people, ganging up, talking and laughing.

happened to order Mu Fu to go to Shandong today, so I thought of Mu Ming, the original family member was sick again, so I asked him to come in to make up for the vacancy.

asked someone to inform Aunt Shen, and added Mu Ming's name to the roster of the deacons and subordinates. (To be continued......)