First Concubine

Chapter 4 Storm in Water Mansion (4)

As soon as Shui Lingqing opened her mouth, Shui Lingyu pinched her wrist tightly, signaling her to be silent. Looking at Shui Lingyue's silent expression, the eldest lady had actually guessed that she was the culprit. Whether they pointed out or not, Shui Lingyue could not escape the eldest lady's anger, but Shui Lingqing told the truth, but she was invisibly offended. Shui Lingyue.

A flash of coldness flashed across Qin Fangyi's eyes, and she turned to ask Xiang Shui Linglong: "Did your fourth sister push it?"

"This is what I saw." Shui Linglong is not afraid of offending Shui Lingyue. There are some people who will let you go if you don't provoke her. Shui Lingyue, a cannon, has often given her troubles in her previous life.

Shui Lingyue trembled all over and hesitated: "I...I...I didn't mean to...I...I slipped on the sole of my foot, fell, and...accidentally hit the second sister. In fact, if the eldest sister hadn't suddenly If I squat down to pick up something, I won’t hit the second sister! You know, the one in front of me is the eldest sister!”

 At the end of the story, she felt a little more confident, feeling that Shui Linglong had avoided it on purpose.

Shui Linglong blinked her bright eyes in confusion: "Fourth sister, you mean you were originally going to hit me, but you accidentally bumped into the second sister, is that true?"

"I..." Shui Lingyue took a breath, "You bitch, don't talk nonsense!"

"Bitch girl? Who taught you this? You are all the daughters of Shangshu Mansion, how can you distinguish between noble and humble? Now you dare to insult the eldest sister in front of me. I really don't know how you bully other sisters behind your back. "!" Qin Fangyi glared at Shui Lingyue with hatred, useless thing! She is the legitimate mother, and the concubine's moral character is deficient. If word spreads, isn't it because her teachings are incompetent?

Shui Lingxi sobbed and cried so much that Qin Fangyi felt heartbroken. She looked solemn and said sternly: "It is a woman's virtue to be quiet and leisurely, and to behave with shame. Don't talk nonsense and be overbearing, choose your words." , stop at the right time, for the sake of women. Did I hire a female teacher to teach you for nothing? Look at what you have learned about women's ethics and women's words. Tonight, you go to the ancestral hall and kneel down to copy the "Women's Commandments". "When you copy it and understand it, when will you come out again!"

What? Let her kneel in the ancestral hall in such a cold weather? Are you still copying "Female Commandments"?

"Mother! Mother, I really didn't mean it! Mother--" Shui Lingyue said and was about to kneel down to Qin Fangyi, but Poetry and Painting did not give her this chance. The two stepped forward to hold her up, without saying a word. He was dragged out of Changlexuan mercilessly.

Shui Lingxi was injured. Qin Fangyi was still in the mood to eat. After sending her concubine daughters back to the courtyard, she immediately sent people to the palace to invite an imperial doctor to come over and treat Shui Lingxi.

Out of the gate of Changlexuan, Shui Linglong stopped Shui Lingqing, took the lavender moiré brocade from Mother Zhong’s hand and handed it to her: “I looked around and thought this color is more suitable for you.”

Shui Lingqing's little face turned red and she timidly refused: "I...I have two, which are enough to wear."

Shui Linglong pointed to the dark red Five Blessings and Longevity satin in Fu'er's hand, and said with a smile: "This satin looks good on Aunt Feng."

Shui Lingqing's face turned redder. The dark red satin was indeed chosen for Aunt Feng. Aunt Feng was a concubine and lived a relatively poor life. She hadn't made new clothes for a long time.

 “What a filial child.” Qing’er looks so much like her! Even the fate of her previous life was similar. In her previous life, Shui Lingqing was married by the eldest lady to a sixty-year-old official to fill a house. Under the persecution of her concubines, she had three miscarriages, and finally suffered a mental breakdown and set herself on fire. In this life, with her rebirth, will her fate change? Shui Linglong reached out her hand and touched Shui Lingqing's face, "Mother prepared separate materials for me. I have some to wear, so you don't have to be polite to me."

 Sister’s hands are so cool and comfortable, like my mother’s hands. Shui Lingqing wanted to refuse, but she couldn't say it. She just said with a smile on her face, "Thank you, big sister!"

After Shui Lingqing and Fu'er left, Zhong's mother asked doubtfully: "Miss, when did Qin Fangyi prepare separate ingredients for you?"

Shui Linglong touched the jewelry box and said calmly: "How can such expensive jewelry not match some outstanding materials? Look, new materials will be sent to Lingxiang Courtyard soon."

  Why is Qin Fangyi so kind to the lady? Mother Zhong scratched her head: "I don't understand, this slave. Since the materials are sent later, why are the jewelry sent first? Could it be that...Qin Fangyi is deliberately provoking the fourth lady's jealousy towards you?"

"It's true that I provoked Shui Lingyue to be jealous of me, and it's true that she sincerely gave me jewelry." Shui Linglong's eyes were as cold as Youyue's, with a hint of ridicule, "Let's talk about Shui Lingyue. On the surface, Qin Fangyi wanted to use Shui Lingyue to beat me, but in fact, she was trying to provoke Shui Lingyue to make a mistake. What she really wanted to torture was Aunt Zhou's heart. "

 “Huh?” Mother Zhong was stunned.

Shui Linglong smiled indifferently: "Last night, my father stayed in Aunt Zhou's yard."

 Mama Zhong suddenly realized that this was so! "Miss, why did you give the fabric to the fifth lady? Are you feeling sympathy for the fifth lady?"

Compassion? She had long since lost her heart in reviving her life. Her biggest wish in this life is to take back everything that belongs to Dong Jiaxue and trample Qin Fangyi and Shui Lingxi under her feet!

As lunch time approached, Shiqing indeed sent a piece of fine satin. It was a piece of sky blue Sichuan brocade and a piece of translucent single yarn. Although there were no complicated patterns and colors, the workmanship and quality were far from those seen in Changlexuan this morning. The materials are comparable. In addition, there are two pieces of fine cotton cloth, which can be used as lining and middle coat.

 Coming with him was a tailor who made clothes for the ladies in the house. The tailor measured Shui Linglong and cut some corresponding fabric before leaving with Shiqing.

As soon as they left, Ah Rong, the maid next to Aunt Feng, arrived.

Aunt Feng was originally the eldest lady's dowry maid, with a delicate appearance and a gentle personality. Although dowry maids were usually given to the master for marriage, Aunt Feng was an honest and honest person who only knew how to do things and never deliberately aroused Shui Hangge's anger. Note that Qin Fangyi also gave up her plans in that regard. It was not until the young and beautiful Aunt Zhou married into the Shangshu Mansion as a concubine that Qin Fangyi became aware of the crisis, and then she married Aunt Feng to Shui Hangge.

Aunt Zhou was able to give birth to a child because she was smart and prevented Qin Fangyi's plot; Aunt Feng was able to give birth to a child because she was honest and gained Qin Fangyi's trust. Shui Linglong felt that honest people may not be brainless people.

In the outer room, Huahong and Liulu were tying their knots and preparing to give Shui Linglong a hand warmer. Zhifan went to the public school to receive dinner, while Ye Mao was collecting the soles of his shoes. Mother Zhong was mending Shui Linglong's worn-out underwear. When several people saw Ah Rong, they all temporarily stopped what they were doing and said hello to her: "Ah Rong is here."

Ah Rong smiled and nodded, and saluted Shui Linglong: "My slave Ah Rong, please send my regards to the eldest lady. Wish you all the best."

 “No need to be too polite.” Shui Linglong said in a gentle and authentic manner.

Ah Rong stood up as told and looked at Huahong with a smile: "Huahong, is your mother's illness getting better? I planned to visit, but two maids left Aunt Feng's place, and I was a little busy."

Huahong smiled happily and said, "It's much better. Thank you Miss Ah Rong for thinking about me."

Except for Zhi Fan, these maids were all children of the family in the mansion, but Ah Rong greeted Hua Hong alone. Shui Linglong couldn't help but glance at Hua Hong, and then she blinked her quiet eyes and asked with a smile: "What's the matter with Aunt Feng sending you here?"

Ah Rong presented a purple embroidered bird purse with both hands and said, "Aunt Feng has sewed a purse for each lady. Please accept it with your approval."

Aunt Feng was probably grateful for sending the ingredients to Shui Lingqing, but she didn't want to overdo it and Qin Fangyi would be suspicious of her, so she gave it to everyone so that it wouldn't look out of place. Shui Linglong took it and said with a slight smile: "I like it very much. Thank you Aunt Feng. Mother Zhong, please send Miss Ah Rong out."

 “Okay!” Mother Zhong bit off the thread, put away the embroidery needle, and then got up and sent Ah Rong out of the yard.

Soon, Zhi Fan came back with his lunch. Compared to last night’s vegetarian meal, there were three or two pieces of meat in today’s soup. Shui Linglong ate to her full, and then asked the maids to bring the food down to eat, while she took Mother Zhong, who had also eaten, out for a walk to eat.

Shui Lingxi's injury indeed caused an uproar in the mansion. The servants in the mansion all looked solemn and went about their duties, not even daring to talk or laugh.

Shui Hangge rushed to Changlexuan immediately after going to court. He even put down the banquet with his colleagues in the evening and stayed in Qin Fangyi's yard to accompany Shui Lingxi.

Aunt Zhou ran over to plead for Shui Lingyue, but was slapped hard by Shui Hange. For the next whole month, Shui Hangge didn't set foot in Aunt Zhou's yard. Of course, this is a story for another time.

After Shui Linglong returned to the yard, she picked out some white steamed buns and put them in a cabinet near the stove. Seven days later, penicillium grew on the steamed buns. Shui Linglong ground rice into juice, mixed it with boiled taro juice as a culture medium, put penicillium into it and cultured it for seven days, then filtered it with cotton filter, and then added rapeseed oil. The water under the oil is the real Medicinal. But it is not pure enough yet, so you have to stir it with black charcoal, clean it with soda water on the pot lid, add vinegar and boiled seaweed water, and filter it again to get penicillium medicine of average purity.

After the work was completed, Shui Linglong took penicillium medicine to Fushouyuan. The old lady was leaning on the bedside, looking haggard and her old eyes were cloudy, which was a bit worse than last time. The old lady did not expect that Shui Linglong would come to see her again after half a month. After being slightly surprised, she smiled weakly: "Sit down."

"Grandma, I once met a doctor in Zhuangzi. He taught me a prescription for treating tuberculosis. However, some people are allergic to this medicine and need to test it in the skin, just like this." Shui Linglong said, I took a homemade metal syringe and gave myself a skin test first.

Since she dared to try the medicine herself, the old lady naturally believed that it was non-toxic. Anyway, the imperial doctor had already sentenced her to death. Treating a dead horse as a living horse would also satisfy the child's filial piety. The old lady nodded, Shui Linglong walked to her side and tried the medicine on her using the same method.

A quarter of an hour later, the old lady's arm showed no abnormality. Shui Linglong couldn't help but smile with joy: "Grandma, please temporarily stop the medicine prescribed by the imperial doctor and try the medicine I gave you for three days. If there is improvement, Let's continue taking it. If it doesn't work, how about we switch back to the imperial doctor's medicine?"

The old lady touched her arm and nodded perfunctorily, not believing that her method would work.

From Fushou Yuan to Lingxiang Yuan, you pass by an orange orchard, a plum orchard, and a pavilion surrounded by clear water. The cold winter sun slants on your body, without adding any warmth, it makes you unable to open your eyes.

From a distance, Shui Linglong heard the cheerful laughter, which was as mellow as fine wine. The listener could feel a hint of sweetness and temptation in his heart. Shui Linglong followed the sound and saw two men playing chess in the pavilion. Wearing blue clothes, wheat-colored skin, resolute and handsome features, it is the current prince Yunli; wearing purple brocade clothes, fair complexion, and enchanting peach blossom eyes, it is Leng Yixuan, the son of the Leng family, who just made people's hearts flutter. The laughter came from Leng Yixuan's mouth. Yunli's great-grandmother, Queen Xiangning, was from the Leng family. Strictly speaking, Leng Yixuan and Yunli were related. But in his previous life, Leng Yixuan did not participate in any imperial power struggle after inheriting the position of head of the family. Yunli tried to win him over but failed.

Beside them, there is Shuiling River, which is combing through the clouds and skimming the moon.

Leng Yixuan narrowed his eyes and smiled: "Your Highness, this chess game has trapped me for three years. If you can crack it, I will give you ten Mermaid Tears."

 The so-called sharks have the head of a human and the tail of a fish. They are beautiful and good at singing. They weave water into silk ribbons and shed tears into beads. Of course, this is just a legend. Mermaid Tears are actually pearls with very fine texture.

Yunli pursed his thin lips slightly, with a troubled look on his face: "This chess game... is a bit weird."

Leng Yixuan looked at Shui Lingxi and said in the usual tone: "Second Miss, you might as well give it a try. If you can crack it, the Mermaid Tears will be yours."

 (End of this chapter)