Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 110 Chapter 3.17 Today is New Year’s Eve. Is the palace judge here?

Volume Three

3.17 Today's New Year's Eve, is the palace judge here?

On New Year's Eve, setting off firecrackers, eating dumplings, and staying up all night are Chinese festival traditions that have existed for thousands of years, and have been passed down to - well, modern firecrackers are gone, and there is an increasingly unpleasant Spring Festival Gala, but In any case, this New Year custom has been completely implanted in the bone marrow of the Chinese people, and I am afraid it will not change forever.

"Master, it's so boring!" After a sumptuous but lackluster New Year's Eve dinner, Qingwen curled up in her master's arms and looked at him, who was also bored and flipping through a new novel, and couldn't bear it. He stopped and said, "Originally, the people Sister Dongfang said she wanted to come with were all that princess, but she even stopped her subordinates from going home for the New Year. It's simply..."

"Okay, I have other reasons." Thinking of Princess Yongchang, who was full of servants inside and outside the princess palace, and only Dongfang Bing could speak, Zhou Yang could also understand her considerations, but understanding was still understanding. It would be nonsense to say that there is no resentment at all. After all, no matter how difficult it is for outsiders, can it be more important than celebrating the New Year yourself?

This also reminded him of Dongfang Bing's daily work. According to the rules of the Zhou Dynasty, each month is generally divided into thirty days. The last day of each tenth day is for officials to rest. Dongfang Bing serves as a guard for thousands of households and princesses. As the commander of the palace guards, he should naturally enjoy it, but between "should" and "fact", it is difficult to completely equate it no matter which era. Anyway, Dongfang Bing has never known what Xiu Mu is except for "reward".

"Master, why don't we go out for a walk?" Qingwen thought for a moment, her eyes lit up, and she pointed at the fireworks all over the capital and said, "We have finished setting off the fireworks we bought this year, but look at how beautiful it is outside? Why don't you go out?"

"Yeah, you've finished it all!" Zhou Yang threw down the meaningless novel in his hand and gave the girl a slap on the head speechlessly. He didn't know why she, a girl, likes to set off fireworks so much, "That's what I'm going to do. The fireworks that were enough for the entire Lantern Festival were set off by you, a prodigal, in one day!"

"During the New Year's Fair, I said that I wanted to buy more, and it's not the young master." The girl who was not afraid of death dared to mutter, and then she immediately cowered in front of her young master's raised palm, "The slave is wrong, young master, we might as well go out Well, I heard there is no curfew for three days in a row, how nice are you watching the fireworks outside?"

"Okay, let's go!" Zhou Yang, who was also bored, couldn't bear it anymore. He estimated that the time was just after Xu Shi. He put down the maid and got up and said, "There doesn't need to be many people, just the two of us riding out. Anyway, it's time There are a lot of people on the street, and the carriage probably won’t be able to get away.”

"Yeah!" Qingwen nodded vigorously excitedly.

After a while, the fast horse carried a pair of masters and servants out of the yard. Qingwen naturally sat in front of the saddle, snuggled in the arms of her young master, and went to the street to lead the horse for a stroll. Just as she expected, there were people everywhere on the street. There was a large flow of people, but there wasn't much "nightlife" in this era. The main purpose of everyone was to wander around the major mansions and watch the fireworks going off.

Rongning Street, Gonghou Street, Zijin Street, Hanlin Street, Guanmao Hutong, Zhongguan Hutong, Xiaohuazhi Alley, Chengtianmen, etc., most of the inner city was filled with the cheerful sound of horse hooves and Qingwen's laughter. As he was about to pass, he heard the call of the watchman in a blink of an eye. He knew that it was already past midnight, and Zhou Yang was taking the girl who still hadn't had enough fun home.

"Young master, look, the fireworks in Rongguo Mansion haven't stopped yet!" Finally, when the two of them were not far from home, Qingwen tried her best to play for a while longer, and she found the best target. , "It's not what Grandma Li and Sister Suyun are doing. Are they just watching the fireworks in the yard out of boredom?"

"Huh?" Zhou Yang stopped the horse with a thought. At this time, the two of them were at the entrance of the alley on the west side of Rongguo Mansion. He looked around at the sparse flow of people, and then looked at the expressions of boredom. Girl, he hesitated for a moment, turned his horse's head, went straight into the alley, and walked to the side of the West Corner Gate.

"Master, what are you doing?" This time it was Qingwen's turn to be frightened. Of course she knew where Li Wan's master and servant went when they went out, "This is Rongguo Mansion, a family owned by two duchess."

Zhou Yang ignored the girl and gently patted her on the head to shut her up. Then he jumped off the horse with Qingwen in his arms. He looked around a few times before tying the fast horse to the tying stone at the door. He lifted the maid and put it on the At the top of the wall, he climbed over the wall and picked her up. Fortunately, the slaves on duty were lazy during the Chinese New Year, so there was no movement near the door.

"Master!" A moment later, when Su Yun was surprised to see Zhou Yang at the door, Qingwen was so frightened that she fell into her master's arms, "Why are you here?"

"Your walls can't stop thoughtful people." He released Qingwen with a smile and gestured for her to come in. Zhou Yang hugged Suyun and kissed her gently before taking her in. "Today is New Year's Eve, the Palace Judge Are you there?"

"Yes!" Suyun nodded vigorously, thought for a moment and added, "Uncle Xiaolan has been coaxed to sleep by grandma. Seeing that Sister Suyue was fine, she also went back to the room to sleep." "Well, little The child is growing, so he really shouldn't stay up late." Zhou Yang understood what the maid meant, smiled, lowered his head and rewarded him with a long kiss, then looked up at Li Wan who came out with the same surprise on his face and said, "Why, I remember Your house likes ostentation the most, but the old lady’s courtyard is still lively, don’t you want to play?”

"Huh, it's very crowded here now. With three girls, Second Grandma Lian and the only master in the house, how can there be room for outsiders?" Li Wan smiled and said nothing, but Su Yun couldn't help but Complained, "I don't know what kind of tutor it is. The twelve-thirteen-year-old man still lives with the girls, and the grandma who married in didn't shy away from it."

"Okay!" Li Wan interrupted the maid's complaint with a smile, turned to look at Qingwen and said, "My sister is tired at midnight, why not go to the west wing to rest first? I will ask Suyun to send some fruits and snacks later. The toiletries are here, and after the Lantern Festival on the 15th, how about I give you a set of nine-link rings?"

Li Wan's courtyard is very simple, with three main rooms plus a side room on the left and right, two wing rooms on the east and west, and finally an inverted room next to the door. The main room is naturally the master and servant of Li Wan, the east wing is Jia Lan's bedroom and study, and the west wing is Jia Lan's bedroom and study. Suyun, who has the title of aunt, lives in the wing room, and each of the two rooms has a rough wife. The west wing is nominally Suyun's room. In fact, they live together in the east master bedroom, and the east wing is considered to be Suyun's room. wash room.

"Go!" After sending away the reluctant Qingwen, watching Su Yun send her there, Zhou Yang took Li Wan and went directly back to the bedroom, leaning on the bed with her in his arms and said with a smile, "Why, you don't want to Do you want to fight again? I know that the official heir in your house is Jia Lian, but the actual person in power is the second room, and Lan'er is the eldest grandson of the second room."

"What's there to argue about?" Li Wan hit him angrily, rolled his eyes and said, "Let's not talk about the phoenix egg - pfft, thank you for coming up with such a name - that phoenix egg belongs to the old lady. My dearest child, even if I want to fight for it, I have to get past the master and his wife first.

Not to mention that the master doesn't care about things on weekdays, most of the wife's thoughts are on the phoenix egg, and the remaining half is given to the eldest sister in the palace, where is there a place for Lan'er?Fighting or not fighting, what difference does the result make?It's just an attempt to annoy people, so why bother? "

"Alright, if I have a chance in the future, I will definitely not treat you two badly." Zhou Yang made a promise with a smile, "With the current state of the mansion, I don't know what will happen in the future, let alone anything else, Your Second Mistress Lian is not an easy person. She can watch the Rongguo Mansion fall on the head of that phoenix egg? If so, what will she and Jia Lian do?"

"That's right." Li Wan nodded lightly and changed into a comfortable position in Zhou Yang's arms, "I wonder if it's because he went out to see the world and didn't pay attention to the situation in the house. Everyone is like a frog in a well with no knowledge. My eyes are only focused on what is in front of me, but I don’t know what the Rongguo Mansion has become outside."

Because of Zhou Yang's reason here, Li Wan has obviously undergone a huge change, because in the original book until the beginning of the plot, she is still staring at the Rongguo Mansion with all her heart, and almost exhausted all means to fight for the interests of her mother and child, so that many people Criticism, like the "New Year's Eve Vigil" in front of her, she will never quit halfway.

"What else can I do? It's just that no one cares after I leave the gate." Zhou Yang smiled and told the story about the last time he went to the Duke's Mansion of Qi for a party, the Chen family invited Jia Zhen but ignored Jia Lian, "Now There are no names in this mansion. Except for Jia Zheng, a sixth-grade chief executive, there are no actual positions. Don’t blame others for looking down on them. After all, what does a mere sixth-grade person mean in this capital?"

"The zeal of a gentleman will be beheaded in five lifetimes." Hearing Zhou Yang directly calling his father-in-law's name, Li Wan glared at him angrily, but still had no choice but to admit the reality, "Lan'er's father was also raped many times by my father back then. With guidance, I turned my energy to career, but I didn’t expect to be an unlucky person. Not long after passing the provincial examination, the government regarded the study and career as a scourge, and no one except the master dared to mention it.”

"You Phoenix Egg has a good reputation outside." Zhou Yang remembered the praise of Jia's family in the original work, and laughed and joked, "What kind of eight-year-old can write poems and is a child prodigy? Your family must have ruined it for this." A lot of thought, right? Why, this guy can’t read well?”

"You have to study before I can tell you." Suyun, who happened to be carrying a basin in his hand, said disdainfully, "This young man in his twelfth and thirteenth years has not even been to school for a few days. He has no reputation as a student. It has been two years since I even understood the Analects of Confucius, and I still keep yelling about things like 'lucky beetles' and 'idiots' all day long. Except for the master, no one in the house is supervising me. It's really..."

"As long as you talk too much, if he doesn't want to go, he just doesn't go, who can control it?" Li Wan interrupted her with a smile, "Okay, put the things down, and you go to prepare—forget it, and Just bring over your own set, Ziyang, this is what I use for daily grooming. Suyun will bring hers over later, if you don't mind it."

"Okay!" Zhou Yang smiled and grabbed Su Yun who was about to go out. He walked a few more steps and closed the door. "It's impossible for me to spend the night here. I will definitely leave in the middle of the night. Otherwise, there is someone What if you two are still alive? I think there will be many opportunities to spend the night in the future, why didn't I come here just for you? The water basin is just here, it will be needed in a while! "

Master and servant Li Wan naturally understood what he meant. Their cheeks turned red after looking at each other, but they still allowed him to push him down together.

(End of this chapter)