This article is an exclusive and original manuscript of Shi Shi Shishi. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.
Author: Qian Zun Zuo Hai, also known as Xiaoyu Sizhu
Series: Walking with Qi Jiguang
"She..." the young man explained the whole story in detail, and said with a smile, "Xiao Xianggong Yu, my mistress advises you not to engage in the southern goods trade, but instead to learn our ' Yangzhou Slim Horse ' business, but you refuse to do it, otherwise, in the future, your future business will be ruined." It’s time to pick one or two concubines. "
" Huh. "Yu Xiaoxiang responded with an indifferent smile, "I don't want to do business that is harmful to nature. He immediately calmed down and said: "Send me to the guest room quickly. I will escort this batch of Anxi tea produced in Chongshan to your family. Although the journey is not high and dangerous, it is also bumpy and tiring." I'm really tired. "
" Ha! The boy curled his lips and said with a sneer: "It sounds like you don't make any money from my family!" "
Mr. Yu Xiaoxiangong remained silent and left.
"Are you tired? Not only am I tired, but I'm so hungry that my chest touches my back!" Shen Ansheng cursed angrily, his legs and feet suddenly became weak, his strength was exhausted, and his body fell down dejectedly, hugging his knees and crying. Less than a quarter of an hour later, she fell into a daze again and fell into a nightmare.
The next morning, before the frost and dew, Sanqiao sneaked in and woke up Shen Ansheng through the hole in the window screen. He took out a peach and two pieces of snowflake cake from his arms. He stood on tiptoes and handed it to Shen Ansheng with difficulty: "Sister, eat it quickly!"
Shen Ansheng's eyes lit up, he thanked her hurriedly, and while devouring his food, he muttered, "Sanqiao, where did these come from? It's so cold, how can fresh peaches grow?"
Sanqiao told her that she and other girls lived not far from this small hut. In this huge garden, except for the kitchen, most people like to go to bed late and get up late. This morning, Sanqiao still got up early according to the habit he had developed in his hometown in the countryside, went out to get some fresh air, and stood in the "preparation lane" in a daze. A young man stopped her and called himself "Yu, Zhiyan", a merchant who stayed here last night. Yu Zhiyan gave the food to Sanqiao, showed her the way, and taught her to bring it to Shen Ansheng to satisfy her hunger and quench her thirst.
"However, he never told me why fresh peaches can be grown in winter?" Sanqiao's eyelashes flickered, drawing two question marks, "He asked me to tell you that when the mistress here sends someone to ask again, no matter what you feel in your heart, you must pretend to be obedient, and you can hope to jump out of the fire pit." She finished speaking hastily, and left in a hurry, just in case someone else witnessed and reported.
Shen Ansheng raised his sleeves to wipe the food residue and oil and water from the corner of his mouth, and couldn't help but wonder: "Yu Zhiyan - who is Mr. Yu? I always feel that he has something to do with brother Qi and sister-in-law Qi..."
In any case, Ansheng accepted the advice of Yu Zhiyan and Sanqiao. That night, the mistress of the garden sent her servant over to question her. She only scolded the mistress in her heart using the common sayings she had learned from hearsay: "You damn bitch!" On the outside, she restrained her arrogance and bowed her head in submission.
Under the instruction of the hostess of the garden, Shen Ansheng moved to the residence of a "second-class girl" and learned literacy, writing, calculation, cooking, housekeeping and accounting, business and other courses. He also learned to play a few simple pipa chords. The courses that "first-class girls" such as Chen Sanqiao studied were more "elegant", covering everything from music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry and singing, but they did not need to train in "vulgar" skills such as cooking and business. There are also some "third-class girls" in the garden who focus on studying household subjects such as weaving, sewing and tailoring, and cooking.
Although Shen Ansheng received second-class training, the hostess of the garden was not completely at ease with her. She deliberately put her in a separate book in terms of material life. She only provided food and clothing according to third-class standards. She also cut down on her meals from time to time, and took away and soaked her clothes without warning. They would even force her to stay in a small room for a night because of some unnecessary and ridiculous trivial matters, subjecting her to a lack of meals, uncertainty about whether she was warm or cold, and bad luck, in an attempt to erase her freedom-loving, evil-hating nature, and transform her into a docile slave who obeys orders only and obeys the wind.Shen Ansheng naturally could not figure out the sinister intentions of the garden mistress. It was just based on his nature. He silently recited the enlightenment nursery rhyme taught by his parents, "Before you want sweetness, bitterness, relief before labor; you must be able to bend down before you can jump high." He kept in mind the reminders of Yu Zhiyan and Chen Sanqiao, and always said nothing, pretending to accept the situation.
She reciprocated love for Sanqiao, taking advantage of the cooking class to secretly store the dishes and pastries she made and give them to Sanqiao to taste in private. And when she was hungry, San Qiao would secretly hide some food to help her if there was a safe and reliable opportunity. A pair of little sisters who met by chance depended on each other, and the winter of Jiajing24 (AD 1545) melted silently and became part of Like a Past.
But Shen Ansheng's longing for his relatives is increasing day by day. When practicing calligraphy, the feeling of longing for family will suddenly wet the lines without warning; when learning to cook "milk porridge", this hot emotion will drip into the bowl; even when learning to make "oven-roasted chicken", longing will break through unexpectedly and add some salty and bitter seasoning to the chicken... "Mother, uncle, brother," Shen Ansheng watched the wild geese returning to the north and asked him to carry them with him. When calling for help, he did not forget to call his omnipotent friends in his mind, "Brother Qi, sister-in-law Qi, follow the traces of the flying geese to find me..."
At this time, Qi Jiguang and Wang Pu had a clear understanding of each other. They raised their heads almost at the same time, looking at the formation of wild geese flying high in the distance, and then lowered their gaze to exert pressure on Xue Axiu, who was standing beside him with his head bowed. Qi Jiguang was about to speak, but Wang Pu had already spoken: "Before I brought you to Yangzhou, my husband said something. Do you remember it? In the 22nd year of Jiajing in the countryside of Zhapu, my husband saved you not to teach you how to traffic people in the future."
Have you fallen this far? Once upon a time, wasn't the slave's family a family with abundant warehouses and sufficient resources for their children to study and progress? I am fortunate enough to have read several volumes of books, and I also know etiquette, justice, integrity and shame ..."
Last winter in October, it was discovered that Shen Ansheng was missing. The Qi family immediately assisted Meng Yuying and Meng Xuezeng to visit the guests who came in and out of the Qi house that day, collected clues, and traced the root cause of Xue Axiu's head. Axiu's conscience was still intact, and because she was a first-time offender, she was inexperienced and mentally fragile. She couldn't stand the hard and soft tactics of Meng Yuying, Meng Xuezeng, and Qi Jiguang. They took turns using emotion, reason, and inducement to benefit her. They promised not to send her to the Yamen for justice, and her defenses finally collapsed.
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu The first was that he was attacked from both sides and was unable to do anything. He was so confused that he was deceived and took risks..." Xue Axiu cried bitterly and truthfully confessed the story of his crime and the whereabouts of Shen Ansheng, and led the way for Meng Yuying, Qi Jiguang and others to Yangzhou.
Wang Pu used the "Lake Cocoon" donated by Meng Yuying to quickly make a bright and beautiful costume, and dressed Qi Jiguang, who always dressed simply, as a rich man. He and Nuan Xue pretended to be maids, and servants Ding Xige, Meng Yuying, Meng Xuezeng and others also acted as followers. Arriving at the destination, everyone acted according to Qi Jiguang's arrangements. Meng Yuying and Meng Xuezeng took care of Xue Axiu and stayed at an inconspicuous place by the Slender West Lake to provide support; Qi Jiguang, on the pretext of purchasing a concubine, led Xi Ge and Nuanxue into the garden in a swaggering manner with Wang Pu.
The weather was not good, and a light rain began to fall. The servant of the hostess of the garden held a large red silk umbrella and accompanied her attentively all the way. When Qi Jiguang saw the umbrella, he felt more likely to win, and looked at Wang Pu and smiled.
The hostess of the garden, who has experienced a lot and has developed a pair of rich and wealthy snobs, did not come forward to receive him at first, but looked at Qi Jiguang's style through the pores of the lacquered pine, bamboo and plum screen. She saw that his eyes were bright, majestic, and graceful. He was by no means a nouveau riche with limited knowledge or an ignorant dandy. She immediately went out to negotiate with him in person.
Qi Jiguangxu had a lot of talk with her, and finally, in a roundabout way, he said that he was tired of the girls of the right age that he had already raised, and wanted to choose a childish girl under the age of twelve. The hostess had seen countless people, and was not surprised by the various and strange habits of men in the world. She smiled knowingly and ordered the servants: "Bring all the first-class girls for the young master to choose."
Qi Jiguang patiently pretended to be careful and carefully selected the girls present. It's a pity that the daughter of the Bai family fell into this devil's cave due to fate and bad luck. It's a pity that although I have the feeling of being hungry and drowning, I can only sit back and watch them being manipulated! I only have the ambition to stabilize the country and save the people, but what I can do is limited..." However, there was no Shen Ansheng among the girls present, which was a big surprise to Qi Jiguang. He discussed privately with his wife Wang Pu and his aunt Zhang, and they all agreed that Shen Ansheng was a first-class beauty, and her beauty was no less beautiful than any of the girls present. Why was she not included?
Wang Pu looked at him, fearing that the hostess of the garden could see through his emotional fluctuations, he hurriedly made a condescending smile, and "asked" him for instructions: "The Madam asked me to remember to remind you that this time you must buy a maid who can help with housework and is easy to use; if You already have several embroidered pillows that look like weak willows in the wind, so you should not bring them home. I wonder what you think? "
" Uh..." Qi Jiguang felt goosebumps when he saw Wang Pu pretending to be a charming lady, which she would never do anyway. Fortunately, he was born with a kind of determination that was not alarmed by any change, so he kept his appearance and nodded, pretending to be careless, and said along the way: "I'm too lazy to waste words, you can ask them for me what their respective expertise is."
Wang Pu asked them one by one, and naturally none of them met the requirements. Qi Jiguang was neither impatient nor impatient, smiled politely, and said to the hostess of the garden: "All the girls in the house are extraordinary. If you follow my temperament, which one of them would not be a peerless beauty? It's just that my family has orders, and I dare not disobey them. Are there any other girls in the house to choose from?"
The hostess of the garden picked up the abacus beads in full swing, with a smile on her face and said in her heart: "This person is really good at talking!" After a while, she made up her mind and ordered the maid to send the second-class girl over.
A new group of girls entered Qi Jiguang and Wang Pu's vision. They recognized Shen Ansheng almost at the same time. Her qualifications are obviously higher than those of her peers. And An Sheng obviously recognized Qi Jiguang and his party, and his pair of clear and bright apricot eyes instantly released countless rays of surprise.
"Huh?" The hostess of the garden frowned slightly and glanced at Qi Jiguang and Wang Pu with sharp eyes.
"Sister Yinghui, you must understand our true meaning and never reveal our true identity..." Qi Jiguang's heart sank, but his face remained calm. While praying silently, he focused his gaze and gently pressed his upper eyelids down... ( If you want to know what happened next week, please watch the breakdown at the same time next week.)
Picture The film comes from the Internet
END
About the author: Qian Zunzuohai, also known as Xiaoyu Sizhu, graduated from Nanjing University, is a member of the Sichuan Provincial Writers Association, a financial practitioner, a lover of literature and history, a fan of reasoning, romance, and textual research. He loves "painting with words" and has published volumes 1-4 of the Tang Dynasty historical background novel "The Detective Princess".
