Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 173 3.80 We sisters serve Brother Zhou together
Volume Three

3.80 We sisters serve Brother Zhou together
"Sister!" Zhao Yanling suddenly became anxious, "Did you give it to him?"

"That's not true." Zhao Qiying smiled faintly and didn't take it seriously. "It will be his sooner or later anyway. What's the point of being one day earlier and one day later? I just suddenly remembered that according to the practice of previous years, Wu Jinshi's conferment was at the end of May. It was early June, and it was August when he took office. He had mentioned at the beginning that he could recruit a few bodyguards to protect his family members when traveling, right?"

"Sister, I want to." Zhao Yanling suddenly understood what she meant, "This is a way, but you also know my father's temper. He has already given the wedding invitation to the Cai family. The relationship between the Zhao family and the Cai family is in the world. The news has already spread among the public, and if you are really like this, I am afraid it will be difficult for you to come home again in the future."

"Fool, have you forgotten that I wrote the wedding invitation?" Zhao Qiying couldn't help but laugh, "Although I have been 'married on the fingertips' since I was a child, according to the rules, these three matchmakers and six beauties are indispensable, and the wedding invitation It's not a marriage letter, so the name is naturally not mentioned in it, only the original agreement between the two families is mentioned, implying that the Cai family came to visit.

Don't forget, the young master of the Cai family has not yet started his apprenticeship. Didn't Mengjiao say when he came back that it would not be until the end of this year?I was no longer in the capital at that time. Besides, that girl Mengjiao first went to visit the Cai family, and then went to visit Master Cai’s master. Didn’t you see how she looked after she came back? Are you still aggrieved by having her take over? "

"But..." Zhao Yanling hesitated and said, "Hasn't the second sister always been in love with brother (Zheng) Qingshan? You also know what the second uncle means. He is just a disciple, raised as a son, and he fully supports the two of them. This is also good for the escort agency."

"It's just a little love from childhood. The two of them have not revealed it yet. Doesn't it already explain the problem? Besides, Qingshan grew up together, can you not tell what he is thinking? He only regards Mengjiao as his sister. How could he ever What kind of affection do you have?" Zhao Qiying said with a smile, "Although I have never met the young master of the Cai family, Mengjiao is not able to hide things. After she came back, she made it clear that she wanted me to let him out."

"Pfft -" Zhao Yanling couldn't help but laugh, "It's true for the second sister, how can there be a girl like her who is not reserved at all? It's not like I haven't seen the young master of the Cai family before, he is indeed worthy of the title. The last one is a talented person, but judging from the portrait that the second sister got from somewhere, I just hold it and look at it if there is nothing wrong. If I weren't afraid of being beaten by my father, I would probably have to hold it to sleep."

"Silly girl, you don't just judge people by their looks." While they were chatting and laughing, the two of them had already arrived at the door of the Escort Bureau. After handing the horses to the waiters to take away, she took Zhao Yanling back to the backyard of the Escort Bureau, "Nothing else first. Mention it, just say it”

"Sister, Yan Ling, are you back?" Before the two of them could return to the room and sit down, there was a loud voice outside the door, "Didn't you go to Zhou Jinshi's house? Why did you come back so late? But they were entertaining Went to the banquet - oh, where did you get the clothes? I remember you were not wearing this when you went out?"

"Second sister, you asked so many questions at once, which one do you want me to answer first?" Zhao Yanling looked helplessly at Zhao Mengjiao, who had rushed over and was playing with the sleeves to judge the fabric. "Brother Zhou is also a martial arts scholar. He is very talkative. This dress It was a gift from a girl in his house, saying it was not worth anything."

"You are in good luck." Zhao Mengjiao let go of her hands and said with envy, "I don't know which girl is so generous. This dress is made of Yun brocade. It looks much smoother than fine-woven cotton, but the wear is as different as clouds and mud. , the price is more than a hundred times, this set of clothes is probably enough for our sisters to spend on clothing in their lifetime."

"Second sister, are you sure?" Zhao Yanling and Zhao Qiying's expressions froze at the same time. After looking at each other, Zhao Qiying spoke again, "These clothes were given by Sister Qingwen in Brother Zhou's house, but she didn't mention it. It’s so valuable, are you wrong?”

"I'm not one of you. Besides practicing martial arts, one is helping dad with the housekeeping. The other wants to sleep with his sword in his arms all day long. Two such big people still need me to help them with their clothes. How many clothing stores have they visited during the selection process? ?" Zhao Mengjiao said angrily, "Have you forgotten that in the middle of last month, the escort agency took over the business of Yan's family, the left minister of the household department?

That time, their wife took a pair of young ladies to the Pudu Temple in the east of the city to burn incense and fulfill their vows. The two young ladies and I were in a carriage. The two ladies were wearing the same fabrics you are wearing today; according to the eldest lady of the Yan family He said that apart from sending this cloth to the nobles in the palace, there was not much left over from the annual production. They only had it because they were rewarded by the Queen. "

"How is that possible?" Zhao Yanling said stupidly, "It's just a piece of pure-colored clothing. Sister Qingwen didn't say anything when she gave it to me."

"You guys only know how to practice martial arts, and you don't learn anything from your daughter's family." Zhao Mengjiao said angrily, "Pure color? Please touch it carefully and see if the surface of this material is very textured? It is just made of gold thread. It's dyed in the same color, and it's just a dark pattern on the fine fabric. You really can't see it if you don't look carefully.

Come out, shine it with the sun, and use the reflection - um, do you see it?Yan Ling's piece uses a peacock and peony pattern. This kind of embroidery can only be made by Jinling Weaving House. How is this possible for the eldest sister's piece?Is it actually the pattern of hundreds of birds facing the phoenix?This is only possible for royal women, and you can’t get it even if you don’t have any status! "

"Is that so?" Zhao Qiying and Zhao Yanling looked at each other stupidly, and it took a long time before they spoke, "It makes sense. Dongfang Qianhu is a close confidant of His Highness Yongchang. Everyone in the capital knows this. If he can do things well one day, There are rewards even if you receive them.”

"Dongfang Qianhu? Is that Dongfang Qianhu who is known as the 'No. 1 female guard in Ouchi'? My eldest sister, what have you experienced?" Zhao Mengjiao was immediately stunned, "And that Zhou Jinshi, he didn't Is he just a martial arts scholar? How could that be?"

"Oh, second sister!" Zhao Yanling quickly held her down and introduced various situations in detail. Then she looked at the completely dumbfounded Zhao Mengjiao and said, "It's good that you know these things. Don't go out and talk nonsense, otherwise you will anger the noble man. , you don’t have to talk anymore!”

After watching Zhao Mengjiao, who was shaking when she walked and felt like she had stepped on cotton under her feet, out the door, Zhao Qiying and Zhao Yanling sat opposite each other and were speechless for a long time. However, they both touched the brocade clothes on their bodies from time to time, and their eyes and expressions kept changing. "Yan Ling, do you understand now?" After a long time, Zhao Qiying stood up gently, hugged Zhao Yanling and sat on the edge of the bed together, caressing her sister's hair and said, "This is probably the so-called 'world of difference', right? Such a precious thing Clothes, the little maid in Brother Zhou's house dared to give them away casually.

We sisters are not people who are dazzled by wealth, but if we have seen such a life, how can we feel at ease in this world?When we went to Brother Zhou's house this morning, we changed into the best clothes. Now those things may have been thrown into a corner by sister Qingwen, right? "

"Sister, is it possible that in fact, Sister Qingwen doesn't know you at all?" Zhao Yanling asked carefully, but she didn't know that she had already grasped the truth, "I just went to Dongfang Qianhu to pick up clothes and see if these two sets go with us. The clothes at that time were about the same, so you just picked up the top number?"

"If this is true, wouldn't it further confirm Brother Zhou's wealth?" Zhao Qiying said with a wry smile, "The appearance of Dongfang Qianhu has also given us a lot of insights today. In addition to sighing that there is such a strange woman in the world, What else can you think about? At first, I just thought she was extraordinary, but now that I think about it, the official uniform she wears is probably the same, right?"

"Sister, what do you mean?" Zhao Yanling asked stupidly.

"Silly girl, have you forgotten what you said at noon?" Zhao Yanling gently hugged her sister and said with a smile, "If we had such support when we practiced martial arts, why would we need to suffer so much in vain? How far can Brother Zhou go? , I dare not say it, but don’t forget that he has already decided to be the eldest daughter of the Xue family in Jinling.

Now it seems that Qianhu from the East can be willing to be a concubine and maidservant, regardless of the difference in status. How can a 'Wu Jinshi' explain it?If I were to enter the Zhou family's gate, it would be difficult for me to raise my head even if I didn't talk about Brother Zhou, let alone the girl from the Xue family who I haven't seen yet, and just talk about one person from a thousand households in the east. "

"Sister." Zhao Yanling's cheeks turned red, and she had vaguely guessed what her sister meant.

"Our sisters haven't been to Big Brother Zhou's house a few times these days, but how can Big Sister fail to see your girl's thoughts?" Zhao Qiying's words made Zhao Yanling's cheeks turn red, "I was not sensible at first, so I just Pretending not to see it, now that I understand so much, what is there that I still don’t understand?
Instead of waiting for the Zhou family to be alone in the future, why not take you there with me, and we sisters will serve Brother Zhou together. How about never being separated again in this life?You have also seen his temperament. Even Qingwen, a girl, dares to quarrel with him. I guess he must be someone who loves others. You and I will not feel wronged together. "

"Sister, are you really not?" Zhao Yanling hesitated for a moment, but decided to ask, "Give it to Brother Zhou?"

"Although I haven't completely given it to him, it's not much different." Zhao Qiying's cheeks turned red and she looked at her sister and said, "You don't need to be anxious or nervous. I just mentioned that it's still early for Brother Zhou to be appointed and take office anyway. There is plenty of time. Think about it slowly, I might as well take advantage of these days to visit Brother Zhou more often, and you here."

"I'll go too!" Zhao Yanling said what she was thinking at once, and then bowed her head shyly in the smiling eyes of her eldest sister, "You are the eldest sister, you can do whatever you say. Anyway, I don't want to be separated from my eldest sister, so it just so happens that I can still It fulfilled the second sister’s wish.”

"Also, I know your girl's temperament, and you can't always hide your thoughts, but this time, you must not show it." Zhao Qiying gently knocked on her sister who was obviously a little unstable, "Brother Zhou won't Because we sisters no longer go to the yard to pick up people, and besides, this is beyond our control.

He wants us to serve together willingly, but it takes more than just a few words. If we simply give it to him, will we be looked down upon by him in the future?Anyway, we are still young and have plenty of time, so let him take his time. I'm afraid I won't be able to bear it anymore, so don't do it so quickly."

"Sister!" Zhao Yanling threw herself into Zhao Qiying's arms shyly, twisting around in disapproval.

At the same time, Zhou’s courtyard.

"Going to Jinling?" Zhou Yang looked at Xue Biao strangely, who came to the door only in the late afternoon, and asked with a smile, "Why, what's the matter?"

"Most of what Brother Zhou told me at the beginning has been completed on the island. When I left, I told you to watch it, but since I left Jinling, I have only seen the shopkeeper who is shaking his hands." Xue Biao smiled. He said, "Besides, my aunt is still here, so you should come and sit in here, right?"

"That's okay!" Zhou Yang smiled and nodded.

(End of this chapter)