Chapter 4 Chapter Four
For Xie Shunhui, the eighteenth year of Wanli was an unusual year.
During the Chinese New Year, the prefect of Huizhou invited him and a dozen gentry to come to the mansion for a drink. When the wine was mixed, everyone had to whisper a few messages from the capital to each other: the emperor has not been in court for a while, and he said that he is not healthy. Good government is maintained by word of mouth. It is said that on the first day of the Lunar New Year, he told the cabinet that it would be difficult for him to even stand up. I heard that Orchids from Persia in the capital have become popular recently. That’s right, General Qi dedicated them to Zhang Juzheng. If there is a Persian orchid dancing at the banquet of the dignitaries in the capital, it will be a real ostentation... After the magistrate has finished inviting, everyone naturally has to return the table, and they are all still waiting for Xie Shunhui to do it Who was invited to Dong's banquet and what kind of music to sing? Xie Shunhui's taste in this place is well-known. I heard that the magistrate likes to drink the northern persimmon wine he brought, so he immediately asked someone to carry a few jars to send it to him. Go... He originally thought that he would spend the entire first month like this, but after the Lantern Festival, he was summoned to the Tang family's mansion by a letter from Hui Niang—he didn't expect to live like this for a hundred days. When I left, it was almost early summer.These 100 days have been really lively. I thought it was just a few days for a teenage son to be a husband, but in the end I chose a coffin for the student's father, wrote an obituary, sent a funeral, and helped find a way to rescue him. Killed the widow.Then, thanks to Rexiao, he caught up with the students and worshiped heaven and earth with gongs and drums.It's like listening to an opera under the stage, and with a few cups of tea, I watched half of other people's lives unscathed.
But for Xie Shunhui, the more unexpected situations like this happen in life, the more he feels like a fish in water with the wind under his armpits.On the way back home, although the scenery along the way of Dama was pleasant, in the end, he was still a little lonely.The boy sent by the Tang family to escort him was left behind by him, and he called out to him one after another: "Mr. Xie, don't worry, it's still early—" If it wasn't for the boy's horse carrying a whole set of his He didn't bother to slow down and wait for the new book he had just asked a friend to get, the six-volume "Li's Burning Books".Anyway, going home is not so difficult, before Mr. Tang's visit, I still have Li Zhi's book at hand - then, in a few months, at least before winter, I must find a way to visit Tang's house again - at this moment He really missed the woman who supported each other while the house was crumbling, the widow of the Tang family who became a mother-in-law at the age of seventeen, the elder brother with a beautiful face but a lonely soul, and his The distant cousin Hui Niang.
They only played together when they were young, and his mother insisted on this when she was still alive, so he could only regard the face of a little girl who appeared in his childhood in the depths of his memory as Huiniang's.That year, when Huiniang's father brought all the family members to the capital, the whole family talked about it for a long time.Since then, Hui Niang has become the daughter of a third-rank family in the capital. He believes that it is precisely because of this that his mother repeatedly emphasized that they did play together when they were young.His horse seemed to be tired, and the hoofbeats slowed down and were no longer light. He stared at the field of long-lived fruits not far away. Red, there is a kind of joy in pieces.It was the summer of the year when Hui Niang went to the capital, he knew what the longevity fruit looked like in the field.I remember this little thing clearly.
It has been more than ten years since Huiniang left.In his hometown, he followed all the laws like crops, grew up, married a wife, and had children; one day he heard the news of her distress.Huiniang's father was beheaded, some of the women in the family committed suicide, and those who didn't committed suicide were sold, either as slaves or to the teaching workshop.People in my hometown spread the word with a nose and eyes, saying that they talked about Jiaofang and Kabuki, and they became fans at all.This also helped Xie Shunhui. When he failed, his mother seemed to be relieved: "Forget it, do you still remember Mother Hui's father, so what if he passed the exam? It's ugly. It's better to stay at home and have peace." Later, he completely stopped thinking about the exam and concentrated on being his wild crane.Listening to opera, playing the flute, drawing pictures, collecting all kinds of rare books, wandering around, making friends with a group of idlers who are as busy as he is... Everyone knows that he is good at writing, so he also went to the county government to work as a knife and pen official for his family The tenants in my friend's house and the surrounding businesses wrote complaints, and the county magistrate there was looking forward to encountering the complaint written by Xie Shunhui all day long.His wife's face became increasingly ugly.She really wanted to be a woman who urged her husband to get ahead, but unfortunately, she married a dead wood by mistake.She would often hide in the room and cry when he was planning his next outing. She was obviously crying for him, but she insisted on pretending to be crying secretly.Just wait for him to ask, and then you can persuade him with all your heart and soul to know how to make progress and continue to take the exam. There is nothing wrong with being elegant, but you shouldn't waste your time on entertainment. It's not that she is greedy for a husband and wife Rong, but others will think that she doesn't know how to help her husband Jun Xiao with righteousness, and will bear the notoriety of being unvirtuous...
Later, he finally learned to be good. When she sat there and cried with confidence, he turned a blind eye.Gradually, he didn't go home often, but he gained a lot of fame among the Goulan restaurants.He thought that in a few years, she would see clearly that he would never take the imperial examination again, and just accept his fate—but he didn't expect that women are like plants, even if they give up, it's only a matter of winter.Knowing that the hopeless expectation must be revived at a certain sunny moment, this expectation immediately turned into despair on her face, tormenting him, just like the morning dew must disappear under the sun.It is true that she no longer mentioned the imperial examination, but she found other reasons to shed tears, bit by bit: for example, he didn't care so much about his son's homework, for example, her natal cousin was successful under Xie Shunhui's guidance. She was admitted to the student body, which made her feel that the time flies... even when he drank the soju bought in the north alone in the study-she firmly believed that the soju was poisonous, and how could her husband be so obsessed with such inferior people? taste, so from then on, in front of her, he only drank Yangzhou Snow Fermented Rice Wine or Nurhong.He married her when he was sixteen years old, and it has been almost twenty years. She can click on any detail of their life together, and she can accurately point to acupuncture points, reminding him of his failure and lack of business.This is also a skill that makes Xie Shunhui amazed.It’s not that no one has persuaded him to take a concubine, and he refuses—women are all the same, even a woman who doesn’t expect him to get ahead must have some kind of desire for him in other things that he can never satisfy. hope.Between him and their hopes, there is always a foot between the road and the devil - no matter what, he is a heartless person.
Twelve years ago, Hui Niang came back.She followed Tang Jian from Xiuning, a benefactor who redeemed her, back to Huizhou.For Hui Niang, it was already the best solution.It's just that no one expected that she could return to her hometown so nonchalantly.At first, Tang Jian did not take her back to the Tang family's mansion, but placed her in a secluded courtyard in Xiuning City, and later she was going to entertain some old friends in this other courtyard.Xie Shunhui's uncle had passed the provincial examination in the same year as Tang Jian, so his uncle also received Tang Jian's post on a clear autumn day - he went with his uncle, he just wanted to know if Hui Niang seemed to be doing well.
She came out from behind the screen gracefully and greeted Tang Jian's old friends.Bright eyes and bright teeth, eyebrows tucked into the temples - someone should remind her that this habit of thrushing eyebrows is probably only in the teaching workshop, and it's okay to live in another courtyard at the moment. I'm afraid the old lady of the Tang family will have something to say.Of course, this is not something he can say.He was completely unable to connect the face of the little girl in his memory with her in front of him. He only saw a woman with a delicate dress and a reserved manner. There was a kind of majestic beauty on her face. Many things have been run over fiercely from her eyes.He didn't intend to recognize her, but her eyes lit up, and she blurted out: "Fifth brother."——It seems that his mother really wasn't lying.Not long after that meeting, she followed Tang Jian back to the mansion, paid homage to the old lady and his wife, and formally entered the door.It is not known whether the eyebrows have left the conversation.In the past twelve years, all the relatives in his hometown avoided him, only he went to Tang's house to see Hui Niang several times. He didn't want people to think that this woman had lost her mother's family—seeing that the decorations on Hui Niang's body became more and more plain. , but his expression became more and more comfortable, especially after he gradually took on the responsibility of housekeeper, his strategic and decisive manner was probably learned in the teaching workshop, which often made him snicker.The Tang family can be counted in several nearby counties, but this branch of Tang Jian's family is really not rich. It is incomparable with the original Huiniang's natal family and the current Xie family, but fortunately, Tang Jian's Jinshi is considered the whole family The scholarly fragrance and foundation of the family, the clan stipulates that the few wealthy branches that are mainly engaged in business must pay a dividend to their family every year.Although Tang Jian's temperament was somewhat mediocre, but he knew how to treat others generously, so Xie Shunhui also felt relieved.
Everyone knows why Tang Jian left the capital.That set of rhetoric that he contracted a serious disease in a remote and wild place can only fool his servant at best.Men in Huizhou, even if they don't enter the officialdom, mostly travel around to do business, and their businesses are open all over the world. After seeing the real world a lot, they understand that no matter how magnificent and magnificent the scene is, they can't escape the small truths of human relations in the world.When Tang Jian first entered the Hanlin Academy, he was a fledgling, and had to rely on the support of people with deep roots in the government and the opposition.If the person who supported him capsized in the gutter, Tang Jian would naturally not get any good results.At that time, the court was ruled by Yuanfu Zhang Juzheng. It is said that Tang Jian's mentor had offended the Prime Minister of the State over some tax matter. After several years of wrestling secretly, he was finally defeated.Immediately afterwards, Tang Jian was sent to the northern border as a county magistrate. Knowing that he was powerless, he resigned and returned home under the pretext of recovering from illness. ——Even if the speculations of the people around are exaggerated, the facts generally follow this spectrum, and the mistakes cannot go too far.Xie Shunhui knew that he didn't want to continue the examination for fame, not because he was really lazy by nature, but because of fear.
This was something his wife could not possibly understand.
No, it's not that he doesn't think that men's affairs don't need to be explained to women - except for the fact that they are pregnant in October and give birth, he doesn't think there is any real difference between men and women.The world is big, but there is only one man, the emperor.The civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty prostrated themselves at the feet of the emperor, not all of them looked like wives.It is said that it is for the sake of the country, and it cannot be said that it is all false——Do all your best to win the trust and reliance of the emperor, and tremblingly prove his loyalty and courage. I have already written all these battles in the book, as if I really tried my best to perform with the emperor. As long as I sing the danjiao next to the emperor, the country will be stable from now on, and it will become a thousand-year-old turtle. Carrying the stele in front of the grave.Anyway, on that stele, all the inscriptions are full of seriousness. They will not write about the fact that they were bloody and bloody when their trousers were taken off in public in the court hall.To be able to become a man's courtier in front of the emperor, there may be so few two or three people in thousands of years, but it is impossible for Xie Shunhui.These words, not only cannot be told to his wife, but also to no one, they can only rot in the stomach, God knows.There is only heaven and earth, and it doesn't matter who owns the country.There is great beauty in the world, and I can't think of pursuing such an insignificant matter.
The gate of his house finally floated on the other side of the gravel road, and the boy who carried the books for him said in a reluctant tone: "Mr. Xie must come to our house often. I really feel that Mr. Xie has gone away. There's nothing interesting in the house." This group of glib kids are really likable, so he naturally rewarded him happily, letting him buy wine and eat on the way back.
Back at his home, he has been sleeping in the study on the second floor.The advantage of the study is that the maid who comes in to pour tea and water will tell his wife that he is reading a book—every maid around him is his wife's eyes and ears.He could imagine that she would curl her lips after hearing this, and said, "It's just reading those useless idle books, and I don't delve into any serious knowledge." But an illiterate woman always has something like "books". Some instinctive awe.At least she knew that when he was reading, she didn't cry.
When I was at home, I often received letters from Hui Niang.Hui Niang always needs someone from outside the Tang family to chat with her, not to mention, they have now become an alliance.Huiniang's handwriting wasn't good, but she talked about things with lively sentences, and she was interested in every detail: Yunqiao gave birth to a brother at the end of June, whose baby name was Angelica, God blessed the Tang family finally had another son, but this The poor posthumous son has no chance to see his father in this life; Master Chuan's bride has a really weird temper, and she doesn't get along well with everyone in the house. Taught; the medicinal wine he made for the old lady last time was indeed effective. The old lady has been quieter recently. If you get any useful folk remedies in the future, please remember to write to her; before he left, he mentioned that Mr. Tang wrote "The Story of the Purple Hairpin", finally remembered that she had indeed seen it before, but there was another play called "The Story of the Purple Xiao", she confused the two so she couldn't remember for a while, if Mr. Tang wrote anything else in the future I want to tell her; Madam's health is not good recently, which is worrying, but the girl Lianqiao has been considerate in serving her. It is right to transfer her to Madam's room... Several long letters mentioned Ling Yang, but There is only this short sentence "poor".
He understood, and Niang Hui didn't know what to say when Ling Yang was mentioned.
Seeing her for the first time, he felt that this lady had come down from Wang Jiangning's Qijue. "Suddenly I saw the color of willows on the street, repenting to teach my husband and son-in-law to look for a marquis." She is that kind of young woman, and the innocence on her face flutters past like a butterfly, even though she is about to become a widow, even if there is something in her eyes It was all sadness and fear—she herself was still the color of willows on the street, an irresistible light.At that moment, he actually thought in his heart: Although Tang Jian said he was frustrated in the officialdom, but in the matter of "women", he had all the glory.In this world, what is more enviable than marrying a woman who "repents and seeks a husband and son-in-law"?
When he was lighting the lamp, he had just finished reading Madam Hui's latest letter. This letter was very short, maybe it was interrupted by the housekeeper after writing it for a while, and he didn't have the mood to continue writing, so he hurriedly finished it and dragged someone out.It’s just that the newly added little brother Dang Gui is really cute and cute, he doesn’t cry much at night, he seems to know that it’s not easy to take care of him, and he knows how to make things easier for others since he was born.The most worrying thing is still the madam, the doctor is always afraid that she will have a miscarriage and tells her to stay in bed as much as possible, so she just lies in the quilt all day like a silk man, as if she is silent and hardly speaks, the doctor said again It's melancholy that's constricting my energy and blood, and I really don't know what to do.
It is estimated that the entrusted messenger was delayed this time. Looking at the date of signing the payment, it was delayed for more than 20 days from Xiuning to She County.
His bookboy came in quietly, Xie Shunhui didn't call him, but he never blamed him for this.It could be heard that the sound of light footsteps stopped beside the screen inlaid with mother-of-pearl.Without turning his head, he said with a smile: "Hue Yun, you are getting more and more out of shape, you look like a cat."
"The name Hoe Yun was given by Mr. I'm afraid it won't be used in the future." The voice was faint, and he turned his head suddenly in shock, and Hoe Yun stood in the shadows with a lamp.The child had always been thin, and the light made his fair face dark, but made his lips more red.
"What do you mean?" He waved at him, "Come closer."
"Mr. has been away for more than a hundred days, and he didn't take me with him. I'm afraid he won't need to hoe the clouds." He put the lamp on the kang table, and sat down on the couch on his own initiative.
"Don't always say these childish things." He frowned, and put the pen on the dragon tail inkstone that has been passed down for many generations, "I went to my cousin's house to help, and there was a funeral in the middle. Orphans and widows in the next room are so desolate, wouldn't it be a nuisance to others with you, there is no reason for that."
"I'm here to say goodbye to my husband." Hoe Yun looked at him faintly, "These days when my husband is away, my wife wants to send me away. I also understand that it's not a day or two that my wife doesn't like me. Mr. The wife kicked me out. It was I who kowtowed and begged in every possible way, saying that I only wanted to wait for the husband to come back and say goodbye to the husband, so that the wife would agree. Last night, the wife said again that it has been a while since the husband came home. If I don’t Just send someone to tie me up when I leave..." Two lines of tears finally hung on Ji Yun's delicate face, and as soon as his body slipped, he knelt down from the couch to the ground logically, "It's my good fortune to serve Mr. .I just hope that Mr. Hue Yun will remember him, even if we don’t see each other again in this life, he will always pray for him wherever he goes, and ask Bodhisattva to bless him in safety and health.”
He threw the lid of the teacup on the table heavily, and the lid was shaken so that it spun, and a corner flew off, as if his soul was gone.Hoe Yun stretched out his hand and wiped his face: "Sir, don't act like this. If someone hears it and hears it in the wife's ears, then Hoe Yun deserves to die. Don't worry about me, sir. The wife has given me trouble." , I wrote a letter to my family saying that I was going to leave by myself.”
He sighed heavily, walked up to Hue Yun, knelt down and said, "Get up."
Hoe Yun smiled with red eyes: "Sir, you squatted like this, and I fell up, what did you say?" Smiling and laughing, sadness came from it, and he kowtowed deeply, teardrops dripped round on the floor Two watermarks, "Hee Yun never left Mr., after leaving this door, the word 'Hue Yun' will no longer be called by anyone."
He stood up and walked to the window, not daring to look at the hoe cloud lying there.He was deeply disgusted with scenes like this. When he saw the round marks on the ground made by Hue Yun's tears, he couldn't bear to step on them for some reason, but he also felt something similar to dirty Dirty and uncomfortable.He heard that Hoe Yun had got up, and he was arranging the clothes on his body, and the sound of the fabric shaking was muffled.He asked, "What are your plans when you go home?"
"I'm going to Mingzhou. My uncle is doing the timber business there. There was not enough manpower. I happened to go there to be an apprentice. My parents wanted me to marry my uncle's daughter, who is my cousin." His voice became lower and lower. , but Xie Shunhui heard clearly.
"It's a good thing." He turned around, and Hoe Yun smiled at him flusteredly, with a little sadness in his eyes, "You are smart, you can learn everything well... remember to live a good life. When you leave--I won't see you off Yes, you know me, I don't like to see you off."
"I can't give it away." Hoe Yun smiled, "I took the seal that Mr. engraved for me before, and I will always keep it with me, so don't let it go."
He didn't look back until he went out. Hearing the creaking of the stairs, his heart was full of misery.It's okay to leave, it's really clean to leave.Even if it wasn't his wife who did it, after all, Ji Yun wanted to go home to marry a wife and have children, and get rid of the fairy spirit on his body amidst the fireworks in the world.Everyone has to leave him and dig his own grave by himself, leaving him as a lonely ghost.He suddenly turned around, took a few quick steps and suddenly pulled the door open. The opening and closing of the door brought a little wind, which seemed to make his wife outside the door tottering.She had no time to dodge the embarrassment on her face, so she could only say "Oh", exaggerating her fright.
He asked quietly: "Come in if you want, what are you doing eavesdropping?"
After being punctured, she simply said calmly: "He Yun, is it good to say goodbye to you? That child's father came to us a few days ago and said he would take him back to learn how to do business. That child is smart-follow you to grow up." The Japanese family is running around like crazy, so it's better to let him go to learn serious crafts. Since you are not here, I will let him go back. We can't delay other people's future for our own comfort. Do you think this is the reason? I Originally, I wanted to send a servant girl to ask you, should I have dinner with me, or should you eat it in the study by yourself, but my cat disappeared again, so I sent her to find the cat and ask you by myself."
He smiled, nodded, and said very gently, "Go out."
After many years of husband and wife, there is still some tacit understanding.She looked at him without changing her face, and the almond eyes that were delicate and innocent when she was a girl are now calm, she smiled and said: "Understood, I will eat it in the study. I will ask Yinchai to bring it to you." She turned around slowly, She is used to the calmness of "adults don't care about villains".
He sat back at the table dejectedly, he wanted to write back to Madam Hui, he wanted to tell Madam Hui that he was willing to go to Tang's house to drink the full moon wine made by his younger brother Angelica, if he was filial piety, it would not be appropriate to make a big deal of it, and his gift during the full moon would be too big. He will definitely come—he even hoped that something would happen in the Tang family, which would make Huiniang recruit him again with great urgency.Isn't it crazy?He smiled wryly.
As long as you can stay away from her, you can go anywhere.
Ling Yang's daughter's baby name was "Sister Wei", which was given by Hui Niang because there were scattered raindrops in the sky on the day she was born.It is not clear whether the child was fighting for her own strength, or the Bodhisattva helped them quietly again—she failed to stay in Ling Yang's belly for ten months, and was born in a hurry before the twelfth lunar month.In this way, it coincided with the falsely claimed conception month. "What a sensible lady." Looking at the wrinkled little face in the swaddling baby, the housekeeper said to herself proudly—none of these women would have thought that the question that made them shudder and restless would be easily accepted by her. The kid figured it out on his own.This girl named Wei has been cherished by everyone in this way, and it seems to be more precious than brother Danggui.
Ling Yang couldn't figure out why it was the same delivery, Yunqiao only took less than two hours, and then leaned on the pillow with a little tiredness and drank the brown sugar ginger water—smiling calmly, and glanced at the nanny's arms My little brother, a weak person like a white rabbit, has the demeanor of a general in an instant.But half a year later, when it was Ling Yang's turn, it became a catastrophe that closed the door of hell.
She obviously thought that the severe pain had split her in two, and that the other half of her body was being manipulated arbitrarily in the hands of the midwife. Adhering to her, it turned into pain and continued to cut the remaining half of her body into two parts——cutting like this, I am afraid that only the head will be left in the end, only the head is left panting, how can people still be alive—— ——The lights in the room turned into a strange gray at this moment, she felt herself soft and boneless, and then she heard a burst of crying, the pain still existed, but it was no longer violent, as if she intended to coexist peacefully with her blood, There was silence.She heard the midwife say in a panic: "Quick, hot water, bring me some more cloth, it will be a disaster if you can't stop the bleeding." She let herself go to sleep desperately, anyway, what is urgent is "blood ", not herself.
Everyone said that Madam Hui was lucky enough to survive this hurdle—that night, Hui Niang came out of the delivery room with a pale face to burn incense, not caring about the blood splattered on the skirt, and her hands were shaking all the time. A large piece of incense ash fell on the back of his hand——Ling Yang heard people repeat these details countless times, and reluctantly raised the corners of his mouth when he heard the wonderful parts——Sister Wei is four or five months old, and Ling Yang’s Her face was still pale, and when she hit the light, her ears were transparent, her eyes were lazy, and she had to lie in bed for a day after three or two days in the ground, and she never recovered. She also wondered that all the ginseng soup had been drunk where it goes.When Hui Niang was burning incense in fear, Yun Qiao carried Miss Wei into her room.A baby in swaddle was sleeping next to Dang Gui, revealing Ms. Wei's tiny face, which further made Dang Gui a heroic boy.Premature babies are weak, and the crying of sister Li in the middle of the night will naturally wake up Angelica, one after another, almost killing everyone in Yunqiao's house: Yunqiao herself, plus Chanjuan, and another who used to do rough work The little maid and the nurses of the two children can't compete with these two little people who sang together in the long night... Chanjuan once begged Yunqiao half-jokingly, could Yunqiao come forward and ask Hui Niang to make an exception, They are allowed to add another girl to help in the room, because originally sister Wei should also be taken care of by the lady's roommate.She was spat back by Yunqiao: "Look how precious you are, go home and ask your mother, how many people brought you up when you were a child——If you think it's hard work, wake me up a few times at night, anyway, I didn't So Jingui, I was originally the girl in the master's room." But Chanjuan was so frightened that he never dared to mention "adding people".
In spring, my brother and sister-in-law went to Tang's house to see Ling Yang once.It was the end of March, but Ling Yang was still holding the hand stove in his arms.The sister-in-law sat opposite her on the couch across a small table, and the elder brother sat on the chair opposite the couch - but after more than a year, the elder brother's brows were inexplicably aging, while the sister-in-law still had that plump look. Shrewd look.They all looked at her with faint fear in their eyes, which made Ling Yang inexplicably satisfied.She knew that they couldn't admit that they were a little afraid of her, and they couldn't even tell what they were afraid of, because she had gone through life and death, and finally secured the position of "Madam"; because she was a widow, this position was even more indestructible .
"Father's cough, but it happened again?" She looked sideways at her sister-in-law's face, she didn't know if she deliberately asked this question in a calm tone, "I sent someone to send it to you the other day. I don’t know if my sister-in-law has boiled it for my father.”
"It's hard for the girl to think about it." The sister-in-law hastily apologized, "Father has been taking it for a long time, and the old man said that they are all high-quality medicinal materials, thanks to the girl."
"Come on, sister-in-law is joking again. There is no master in our house now, so what kind of blessings are there, but there is only a more decent empty frame left in the past. Let's make it a day." Ling Yang didn't agree. Knowing how these words flowed out of her mouth skillfully, she herself was surprised, but she couldn't help feeling relieved, "I don't know what medicinal materials are good or bad, but there are still a few well-informed and rich Relative, this tonic was given by Uncle Jiu in the clan. They all pity me as a widow, and they are happy to think of me when I have something good that is not too expensive."
"Where did the girl go..." The sister-in-law was a little embarrassed, "Master left early, but everyone in the house respects the girl, and it's rare that the clan is also generous and considerate. I have to say that it is the blessing of the Bodhisattva, and the girl must do her best." Think, take care of yourself, you see it has been four months since you gave birth to your sister, and you are still sick, not only your brother and I feel distressed, I am afraid that my mother will not live in peace watching it in the sky." Say " After the word "mother", tears fell accurately.While wiping her tears, Lian Qiao silently refilled her sister-in-law's teacup, and she leaned over to thank her in a hurry, so she didn't bother to continue crying.
"What's Tiniang doing, she's very nice." Ling Yang's tone was dark.There was a sudden burst of wailing from a corner of the back hall, Ling Yang looked at his brother's hesitant eyes, and smiled lightly: "It's okay, it's Hui Niang's daughter who is binding her feet these days, an eight-year-old child, It's too late to stop pestering her, the master loved her in the past and always said that it would be too late to pester her later."
"Eight years old is too late." The sister-in-law sighed, and looked at her elder brother who was still silent. "I'm afraid the bones have grown hard. No wonder the child suffers. It's a pity."
"Did Chunmei cry like this when her feet were bound? I don't remember. Listening to her crying day and night these days, I felt in my heart that our Chunmei is still cute." Ling Yang bit her lip, and finally With a look that made her sister-in-law feel familiar, "Why don't you bring Chunmei here, our master usually likes Chunmei very much, and always says she is smart." She knew that she kept deliberately mentioning "" "Master", it is more convenient if the master is gone, she can mention him freely whenever she needs, and no one can say anything.
"I haven't had time to tell the girl yet," said the sister-in-law with a smile, "Chunmei is living in the girl's original embroidery building. She will be sent out of the cabinet in two or three years."
"Who did you give it to? Why didn't you tell me earlier."
"Don't worry, he is a good family." My brother said abruptly. "Exactly." The sister-in-law drowned her brother's voice in her own voice with ease, "That family's surname is Chen, and it's in Chizhou, but it's a bit far away. His family's business is more than ten times bigger than ours. People know Our family has a girl who is married to a Jinshi, and she is still guarding her posthumous child. She respects her like something, and immediately asks a matchmaker to come up to propose marriage. The marriage of Chunmei is also thanks to you, girl."
When saying goodbye, my sister-in-law would inevitably cry again, Ling Yang didn't cry with her, but said softly: "When I feel better, I'll embroider some clothes for Chunmei and bring them to you. I promised you early in the morning."
In fact, she really wanted to tell her sister-in-law that the babu bed that her father and brother made for her was very good, but unfortunately the bed board under the mattress was stained by blood during childbirth, which could not be wiped off no matter what, and she would find someone to repaint it.She also wants to tell them that they don't need to see her in the future—it's not that she doesn't miss them, but she really doesn't want to see them anymore.However, she couldn't say anything.
She didn't really want to go to Yunqiao's room to see sister Wei, but it was even more unspeakable.
Compared with sister Wei, she would rather go and see the third girl.
Although she has mostly been lying on the bed recently, she can also feel that the number of times that Niang Hui came to her room is obviously less. Not only that, Niang Hui is not as meticulous about the ups and downs of the family as she usually is. stare.It was Hui Niang who was exhausted both physically and mentally by the third girl.The Tang family usually said that Miss San was a very weird child, not good at words, but she had a good heart.Right now, footbinding has just reached the time of "test tightness", and before the real day of suffering comes, they are already crying day and night, and they don't feel tired if they don't sleep all day and night. Hold her down.Every three days, the foot binding strips have to be removed, and the feet must be carefully washed. When binding them again, the front soles of the feet must be pressed an inch more toward the soles of the feet—that would definitely be a disaster for the entire mansion. My mother-in-law has changed three times, and each of them has been scratched by her little hands like crazy, with blood all over her face and neck. The latest one is even worse. The young lady finally resigned to her fate, who knew that when she lowered her head and touched her toes with her hand, she was smashed by a teacup that the third girl picked up from behind without warning, and when she came back to her senses, she was already in pieces on the ground. Beads of blood dripped from the forehead.Afterwards, while supporting her own bandaged forehead, the woman scolded others angrily and suppressed her voice in the servant room: "I have helped many girls bind their feet for more than 20 years, but I have never seen such a thing. What is it? Binding someone's feet, or taming a wild donkey?" Hui Niang was trembling with anger, and ordered someone to lock the door of the third girl's room, and take away all sharp or fragile things like scissors and plates.Seeing that Niang Hui was really angry, everyone commented: "It's true that one thing falls under another. Aunt Hui, who is usually so uncompromising, has finally met her nemesis."
When Ling Yang was standing at the door of the third girl, he happened to meet Hui Niang standing in the middle of the room holding a cane, her willow eyebrows stood erect, and her face was sallow.The third girl was wearing a pale pink jacket and skirt, without the bijia on the outside, sitting huddled in a corner of the room, no matter how frightened Hui Niang was, she refused to stand up.
Hui Niang's rattan swished across the stool, as if it had taken a cold.The third girl's small shoulders twitched faintly following the sound, but her lips were still tightly pressed, so tight that the corners of her mouth were bent. "Stand up for me." Hui Niang said, "If you play dead there again, I will slap you on your lap next time." , Even the look of raising eyebrows and glaring is carved out of the same mold, "It's not like I haven't endured it." "You think I want to do this? I told you the truth and you just don't listen. You don't stand up and walk now, okay?" It's easy to wrap it up, but it grows hard again, which girl can't go through this, why can't you alone?" "The girls outside who are farming don't need it." "You want to piss me off!" Hui The mother walked over as she spoke, and saw the rattan fall down, but it still clung to the window lattice next to the third girl. "You just strangle me to death!" The little round face of the third girl under the two buns suddenly had a murderous look.蕙娘惊愕地安静片刻，丢了藤条，一巴掌打在她脸颊上：“你在跟谁说话？你当你真的是那些缺家少教的野丫头？”“我就是缺家少教！老爷死了，我爹死了，他看不见了你们就合着伙儿来欺负我。”言毕，嘹亮地大哭起来。蕙娘声音发颤地回头吩咐她的丫鬟紫藤：“愣着看什么，给我把藤条拾起来，我今儿个非得，我非得……”
令秧轻轻地推了一下门，弄出一尾悠悠的“吱嘎”声。“夫人来了。”紫藤欠了欠身子。蕙娘厉声冲着屋角喝道：“见了夫人也不言语一声么，紫藤，着几个人来把她给我架起来再绑到外面柱子上去。”紫藤为难地看了令秧一眼，连翘此时已经敏捷地走过去将藤条拾了起来，令秧柔软地拉着蕙娘笑道：“好了，这是唱哪出？要演'拷红'也得是我来打，且轮不到你，再说咱们三姑娘怎么说也得是莺莺呢，你是气糊涂了，演错了本子。”
蕙娘神色凄然地笑笑：“夫人早晚也得经历这一遭，我只盼着溦姐儿懂事，知道体恤娘的辛酸。这几日，我真想抹了脖子去见老爷，至于这个遭瘟的孽障就拜托夫人替我打死，反正我下不了手，我看不见的时候倒也干净。”说着，眼眶红了。
“越说越不像话了。”令秧暗暗给紫藤递了个眼色，“要死也得是我先死，我才不活着掺和你们的官司。”紫藤上来搀住了蕙娘的胳膊，令秧看似随口道，“去跟厨房说，煮点银耳汤来给蕙姨娘去火。你平日里也该小心提醒蕙姨娘，多歇歇，这么多要她操心的事情，你们再不周到，不是招她生气么？”紫藤答应着，心里却暗暗惊异，印象中，夫人从不曾如此像个“夫人”。
蕙娘和紫藤已经走到天井里，屋内的人还听得见蕙娘恨恨地说：“今天晚上谁也不许给她饭吃。”
三姑娘见屋里剩下的是令秧和连翘，便也不再哭，兀自将腿抱得更紧，下巴搁在膝盖上，就像是一个瓷娃娃的脑袋从一团衣裳后面露出来。令秧蹲下来，犹豫地在她肩上拍了拍，见她不闪躲，便放了心，抬手替她擦净了泪痕。“你别怪你娘。”令秧认真地看着她的大眼睛，“你娘那么辛苦，你整天这么哭，她其实是心疼才恼火的。”
三姑娘困惑地看着令秧：“夫人，你是说——溦姐儿夜里哭闹的时候，你也要去打她不成？”连翘在她们身后，“扑哧”笑出了声。
“那怎么能是一码事儿呢。”令秧脸红了一下，“溦姐儿还是小娃娃，可是三姑娘你已经长大了啊。你都要开始缠足，紧跟着，就是许人家；再然后，就是备嫁妆，日子过得快着呢，说话就出阁了。”
“我疼。下地走路的时候，只要踩下去，我能听见脚上的骨头响，我害怕。”
“我绝不诓你，不会疼一辈子的，熬过了这一年多，就不疼了。到那个时候，你就知道好看，你想想啊，走起路来，裙子底下像有两朵花儿，轻轻盈盈的，旁人远远地看见三姑娘走过来了，像是踩着水波纹漂来的，你说是不是？要是你不肯缠，等过些年个子再长高些，这么标致的一张小脸儿，裙子底下却踩着两片柴火，可不是糟蹋了？”
“会像花儿一样？”三姑娘歪着脑袋，“可是前几日，那个有龅牙的蔡婆子说，过些日子她们要拿碎瓷片裹在布带子里缠在我脚上，我一边走路，就得一边流血。她说流血的时候还在笑，牙都是黄的，我就想着，我先让她流点血算了。”
“那些婆子的话如何信得？她们嘴里哪儿吐得出象牙？”令秧抓着三姑娘的双臂，“来，站起来。”两个人的腿都有些发麻，各自颤颤巍巍还偏偏相互扶着，险些就要脸对脸地栽倒下去，连翘即刻从旁边扶了一把。
“你来看这个。”令秧小心翼翼地将裙裾往上抬了一寸，因着守孝，绣花鞋的颜色也自然不宜鲜艳，藕荷色的鞋面配了雪青色的云头，同时勒着雪青色的边，鞋面上隐隐用银丝线绣出来的暗花，都是她自己的手艺，“这鞋子好不好看？等你缠到'裹弯'的时候，我绣双更好看的送你，好不好？你自己挑颜色和花样。”
“两双，行不行？”三姑娘此时只要一站起来，双脚上传过来的痛就像绳索一样企图把她拽倒在地面上，她牙缝里吸着气，晃悠悠地伸出两根稚嫩的手指在令秧面前，像只小木偶。
令秧笑了：“三双，一言为定。”
这时候连翘清了清嗓子道：“夫人，川少奶奶来了。”
川少奶奶不紧不慢地跨过门槛，令秧才看清她身边并没有跟着丫鬟。她将手里一个小小的漆盒放在桌上，拘谨地行了个礼：“夫人身子可好些了没有？”
令秧凝视着这个面若桃李却总是没有笑容的“儿媳妇”，一恍神，一句“你来做什么”差点脱口而出——她心里暗笑自己不成体统，嘴上说：“好些，等天气再暖和点儿，就能四处走动了。我也有日子没看见哥儿，他身子可好？”
“他最近整日忙着读书，谢先生前些日子托人带了一包袱的书给他，我也不晓得是什么。他看着倒是入迷，又带了书信给回去，说要邀谢先生来咱们家住几日聊学问呢。”其实川少奶奶知道，那几卷哥儿看得如痴如醉的书，不过是白朴的《唐明皇秋夜梧桐雨》或是《苏小小月夜钱塘梦》之类的元杂剧，川少奶奶是识字的，只不过她没让任何人知道这点，包括她的夫君。
“这么说，谢先生又要来咱们家了。真是缘分，谢先生如今倒真成了哥儿的先生。”令秧其实费了些力气，才让自己的神色尽量显得若无其事——也不知川少奶奶知不知道，她的池州口音在休宁人的耳朵里，总是显得土气。下人们都常在厨房里偷偷地学舌笑她——自然，哥儿讨厌川少奶奶，否则这些下人们也不敢如此猖狂。
三姑娘歪歪扭扭地走过来，实在受不了大人之间无聊的对白，走路的样子滑稽得令人心疼，小手在川少奶奶的玉佩上扯了一把，委屈地仰着脸。
川少奶奶整个人顿时融化了一样，嘴角还没扬起，眼神就笑了：“嫂子给你带了马蹄糕来，刚刚出锅的。”
“我娘不让我吃。”三姑娘抱住了川少奶奶的腰，脸也埋了进去。
川少奶奶不声不响地，驾轻就熟地把小女孩搂在怀里，甚至轻轻阖上了眼睛。这是令秧无论如何也做不出的举动。不知道究竟是从什么时候起，她们二人变得这么亲厚的。
令秧有些心酸，她自己刚嫁进来的时候，身边怎么说也还有云巧；如今，川少奶奶却只有个三姑娘。
当天晚上，蕙娘命人将三姑娘阁楼上的闺房挂了锁，还将一楼通上去的楼梯门也关了锁上，又将老夫人房中的婆子抽调了两个来，命她们好生看着，不准任何人送吃的上去。众人见蕙姨娘是真动了气，也只能遵命。令秧想要过去劝解，却被连翘拦住了。连翘柔声道：“夫人是心疼三姑娘没错，可是满院子的人看着，难保有人觉得夫人是在借着管教三姑娘这个由头，想杀杀蕙姨娘的威风，那多没意思呢。”令秧瞪大了眼睛：“你发烧了不成，好端端地说起哪家的胡话来了？”连翘微笑：“夫人别嫌我多嘴，那起好事的人哪个不是无风都要掀起浪的。按理说，眼下府里主母本来就是夫人，老爷房里的儿女无论嫡庶，怎么管教都是夫人说了算的。可偏偏三姑娘是蕙姨娘亲生的，夫人现在过去说话，旁人自然要看蕙姨娘的好戏，蕙姨娘若是不听，他们觉得夫人在府里只是个摆设；蕙姨娘若是这次看了夫人的面子，那往后的日子可就难说了——蕙姨娘管着家已经这么多年，什么事情宽了什么事情严了，难免有人记恨。他们会想着老爷去了一年多，夫人终究要动手牵制住蕙姨娘，到时候万一有人跑来在夫人面前邀功，告状……夫人可就不得安生了，还会坏了跟蕙姨娘的情分，夫人说是不是呢？”
令秧愣了半晌，直到她确信已经弄懂了连翘的意思。她看着连翘，像是吃东西被噎着了一样，拍拍胸口：“连翘，你最知道，我心里哪儿装得下这么多？”连翘浇着多宝格上的一瓶杜鹃，没有回头：“夫人若真是心里装得下这么多的人，连翘就该把嘴巴用蜡封上，一句不会多讲。我知道夫人的心思不在这儿，但是该提防的总得提防些。夫人跟蕙姨娘如此亲厚，原本再难得也没有了……”她住了口，突然笑笑，“已经太聒噪了，夫人莫要怪罪。不过夫人放心，蕙姨娘最是舍不得三姑娘了——嘴上说着宁愿三姑娘饿死了省心，川少奶奶送去的那几盒马蹄糕，她可没让人收走。紫藤背地里告诉我了，有那些马蹄糕，三姑娘撑个一两天，不会有什么闪失的。”
令秧也跟着笑了，她不清楚对于别人，承认自己的丫鬟比自己聪明，是不是一件很困难的事——不过对她而言，这没什么不好意思的。她只是盯着那瓶杜鹃道：“我记得谢先生好像说过，这种'映山红'不好摆在屋里的。”“那我这就去换。”连翘抱起花瓶往门口走。“算了，开得怪好的，等这瓶谢了，再换别的。”令秧又叫住了连翘，“我也不懂，谢先生跟蕙娘说，杜鹃摆在屋里案几上没有什么不妥，只是除了映山红。”“是有什么不好的意思不成？犯了忌讳？”连翘平日里最害怕的事，似乎就是犯了谁的忌讳。“那倒没有——只是说映山红最该种在假山旁边，若是用映山红装点屋子，就俗了。”“不是忌讳就好。”连翘笑道，“横竖咱们府里本来就没有假山，这谢先生真是个怪人，夫人可见过这样的客，住了几天，倒指点起主人家怎么装饰屋子了呢。”“人家是咱们少爷的先生，有什么指点不得的。”令秧叹了口气，“怎么园里放得，屋里就放不得呢，我瞧着不俗啊，是我不懂吧，若是老爷在，能给我讲讲究竟怎么就算是俗的。”她突然又觉得没意思起来，垂下眼帘，抚了抚桌巾上的穗子，悄声道，“明儿个记得跟管园子的婆子说一声，往后就别往咱们屋里送映山红了，不用提俗不俗的话，就说我一个寡妇，房里的花儿也不宜太鲜艳。”连翘连声称是：“还是夫人思虑得周全。”
其实，令秧不愿意告诉别人屋里摆映山红太俗，并不是因为怕人背后笑她的狷介或者假充风雅，她只是不想让别人知道，她非常在意谢先生说过什么。
近几日，府里的人倒是不常提三姑娘被锁起来的事情，因为众人的心思都在十几天后，“立夏”那日唐氏宗族的祭祖上——虽然既非正月，也非立春，可这次祭祖的排场委实了得，要搭起台子连唱三日三夜的目连戏，演足全五本。做东的是十一公府上，十一公的儿子在京城点了工部都水清吏司主事，如此大事自然要告慰祖宗。令秧不晓得这个“都水清吏司主事”究竟主些什么事，只是听说，这个主事是正六品，换言之——唐氏一门里终于出了一个比她家老爷官职还高的人。族里所有预备着考功名的男孩以及男人们都像是顷刻间有了底气，各个满面红光，觉得康庄大道好像也并没有多遥远——虽然女人们实在无法理解这个逻辑。蕙娘只是长叹一声，苦笑道：“该打点给十一公家的贺礼了，这笔开销还不知道年下能否补上。”
人逢喜事，十一公不仅精神爽朗，品味也跟着挑剔起来，嫌弃自家养的班子不好，唐璞家的班子更是上不得台面。然后打听到，谢先生素来懂戏，且熟识徽州六县的班子，便硬是把川少爷召去自家府里吃了顿酒，拉着唐璞作陪，席间再三要川少爷帮忙给谢先生带信儿，务必把最好的目连戏班子请来。这对谢舜珲来说倒真的易如反掌——十年来，目连戏红遍了徽州，大大小小的班子演来演去，都循着同一个本子，《新编目连救母劝善戏文》，这劝善戏文的作者郑之珍，偏偏是谢舜珲的好友。十一公连声说那就定要亲自写了帖子邀谢舜珲来休宁。川少爷聪明地加了一句，谢先生的朋友里还有一位姓汤的先生，也是懂戏的，还在京城礼部任职。十一公果然喜出望外，说以后还拜托谢先生把他的朋友介绍给自家儿子认识，大家都在京城为官有个照应岂不更美，如此看来谢先生真是咱们唐氏一族的贵客。川少爷便顺水推舟地跟十一公说，去年有谢先生在，他的学问文章的长进都更快些；十一公也顺水推舟道，那自然更该常请谢先生过来指点指点，你父亲不在了，功课对你来说比别人更为要紧——就这样，蕙娘又开始忙着收拾谢舜珲住过的屋子，唐家大宅里的下人们也跟着热火朝天起来——谁能不欢迎谢先生这样的客人呢，又没架子，出手打赏的时候还那么大方。
一般来说，令秧一年里有两次出门的机会——一次是正月十五，另一次便是清明给老爷上坟的时候。例外也是有的，若是像这回一样，遇上祭祖的典礼盛大，再加上天气适宜，她也可以跟着所有女眷一起去听目连戏——反正目连戏是讲孝道劝人向善的，即使是孀妇，出来听听也不算逾礼。戏台通常搭在离祠堂不远的旷野里，方便四邻八乡的人在底下聚集。戏台左右侧各搭起来一串棚屋，是专门给东家，以及东家的贵宾们看戏的地方。最末端那两间棚屋离戏台最远，有二十来丈，棚屋上开着的窗子也最小——那里头便是女眷们，尤其是像令秧这样最需要避讳着外人的女眷。这里视线狭窄也是没办法的事——旷野里有多少双眼睛盯着，只要能听清戏台上唱什么，便也知足了。
戏要在第一日日落时分开场，整整一个白天全是“祭台”。听说这一回的祭台好排场，“跳五猖”就翻出来好多的花样——“五猖”本就是五个专门驱鬼的邪神，本以为就照老样子上来跳一套竹马傩舞的招式，戏台上的鬼就算除尽了。可到底是谢先生请来的祁门班子，武生的功夫的确了得——连走索蹿火这些杂耍都糅了进来，一整日，唐家宅院里格外安静——因为人数骤然减少。小厮和婆子还有做粗活的小丫鬟们都跑去看热闹。去不成的人眼巴巴地等着看过的回来绘声绘色地描述：这一次扮天尊神的行头如何气派，戏台上如何竖起来色彩缤纷的纸人儿代表鬼，跳猖的又是如何干净利落地走完悬在台上的绳索，再一个漂亮的腾空筋斗，稳稳落地的时候，已经是一手拿剑，另一手里骄傲地拎着纸鬼的首级……讲到这里，就有小丫鬟“哎呀”一声惊呼，捂住眼睛，好像斩鬼的血已经飞溅到脸上。管家娘子不得不三番五次地过来呵斥：“该干什么干什么去，青天白日的不干活儿在这里闲扯淡，主子家养着你们这起没脸的就为了舍粥还愿不成……”就像驱散一群又一群的鸟雀。到后来终于一多半人都没了影，管家娘子也只能丢开手随他们去。旷野依然是那个旷野，戏台就像是凭空从地缝里生出来，锣鼓敲着“蓬头”的拍子，戏台是个生来衰老沉默的婴孩，只能让锣鼓代它哭。
三姑娘的哭叫又清亮地从阁楼上刺下来：“我要去看戏，凭什么不让我去看戏？我到老爷坟前跟我爹告状去，我叫老爷接我一块儿走！”——“禁食”的惩罚进行了两日一夜之后，她原本已经安静了许多。但是虽然可以吃饭了，蕙姨娘却一直没允许她出屋子。管家娘子一面顿足，一面长叹：“又是哪个挨千刀的告诉她要搭台子唱戏了……阿弥陀佛，这小祖宗早晚有一天要了整家人的命，菩萨开开眼吧，就当是保佑蕙姨娘……”
傍晚时分，令秧和蕙娘各自带了丫头上了马车，管家娘子掀开帘子向她们道：“川少奶奶说她身子不舒服，就留下跟三姑娘做伴了。”蕙娘暗暗皱了皱眉，也没说什么。令秧淡然道：“不去便不去吧，车里就我们几个倒也宽敞。”她们的马车“粼粼”地压过了石子路，令秧隐约看到油菜花田的上空，仍旧飞着她童年时候的纸鸢。马车停在她们的棚屋后面，管家娘子从车夫身边跳下来，麻利地招呼着小厮们开道，喝退那些拥上来想要摸摸马鬃的顽童们。棚屋里自然只摆着几条简陋长凳和一张小几。刚刚坐定，还没来得及跟族中另外几家的女眷道万福，十一公家的两个婆子便抬了满满一担染红的鸡蛋前后脚进来——戏台上罗卜出生那刻，戏台下都要“抢红”，她们每人都提前拿了一两个，算是“抢”到了彩头。
其实台上讲什么故事，大家都一清二楚。因为目连戏本就只是为了一个故事存在的。罗卜有个修佛升天的父亲，却还有一个作恶堕入地狱的母亲。罗卜往西天面见佛祖，求佛祖宽恕母亲。释迦牟尼准许他入佛门，又给了他“大目犍连”这个名字。他手执着佛祖赐的锡杖和盂兰经，在地狱历经磨难艰辛，终于将母亲救出。令秧其实不大明白，明明在一片嘈杂声中，未必听得清每句唱词，为何这满屋子的女人，总是能在剧情到了悲伤处，跟着掉下准确的眼泪。为何她们都做得到，刘氏惊恐堕入地狱的时候嬉笑着说“活该”，可是见她化身为狗忍受折磨的时候，又都哀切起来，主子和身边伺候茶水的丫鬟相对拭泪，就好像只要受了苦难，谁都可以被原谅。戏台上的故事浸泡在晚霞里，就好像是被落日不小心遗忘在人间的。既然遗忘在人间，便由人间众人随意把玩。这些看戏的人们，所有人都不计前嫌，所有人都同仇敌忾，所有人都同病相怜，只是，没人会真的跟这出戏相依为命。
Night fell.舞龙舞狮的队伍从后台直接到了台底下。台上却还是自顾自地悲情寻亲。令秧不记得自己上一次看到旷野里的灯火是什么时候了。远远地，只觉得那条无数的红灯笼扎起来的大龙看起来不像在跳舞，像是在挣扎。她担心，自己不跟着大家哭一下是不是不大好。能有什么事情让她真的想哭呢——除非，除非，有朝一日她堕入地狱里受酷刑，前来搭救她的人——是老爷。这念头并没有让她眼眶温热，却让她的心变成了一口钟，“当”的一声，余音绕梁，震得耳朵边直响。戏台上，恰恰观音菩萨出来了，不紧不慢地开始念白。念白完了，还须得被抬着下来绕场走一圈。欢呼声响彻夜色，他巡视着所有或者敬畏或者猥亵的眼神，他经过了一地的果壳一地的狼藉，脸上却宁静无波，托着玉净瓶，浮现在乡野粗糙的灯火中。
管家娘子神情严肃地进来，径直走向她和蕙娘。她们立刻心照不宣地拢成一个小圈，管家娘子在她二人耳朵边清晰有力地说：“家里来人说，三姑娘砸坏了阁楼的窗子，钻了出来，现在整个人悬在二楼的栏杆上，说若是没人带她看戏她就真的跳下去。”蕙姨娘顷刻间握紧了拳头，咬牙切齿地低声道：“这孽障。”“真的摔下去可怎么得了？”令秧尽力压着自己的嗓音——尽管没什么人注意她们。
“夫人莫慌，小厮们已经架了梯子上去拿她。”管家娘子哭笑不得地摇摇头，“蕙姨娘不然跟着我回去看看？我们到了家再让马车回来接夫人……”“你安生坐着看戏。”令秧的手掌盖在了蕙娘的手腕上，“让我回去。她这种性子，你打她骂她都没有用。哥儿媳妇说好跟她做伴的，有她一个大人在，倒由着小孩子闹出这种过场——你不好责备她，我可以。”蕙娘犹疑片刻，管家娘子在身旁附和道：“夫人说得没错。”“那就只好辛苦夫人了。”蕙娘微笑的神情略带凄然。
令秧带着连翘急匆匆地跨进中堂，就见到川少奶奶的陪嫁丫鬟如意从后面出来。“听说惊动了夫人，川少奶奶命我出来候着。三姑娘现在已经回房去了，一点儿没伤着。我们少奶奶答应三姑娘，明儿个求夫人和蕙姨娘准她去看戏，原本都说得好好的，谁承想我们少奶奶刚回房去打算歇着，三姑娘就砸了窗子……”令秧甜美地冷笑道：“你倒真是忠心。不过，以后最好还是别一口一个'我们少奶奶'，这个家的少奶奶不是只有一个么，我竟不知道谁是'我们'。”如意满面通红，立刻低头不敢言语了。令秧用力地将披风解下来，其实她的手指也在微微发颤，只好强令它们做些动作——连翘在一旁暗暗地递了个眼色给她，以示鼓励。
她没想到，三姑娘已经换了睡觉时候的月白袄裤，躺在川少奶奶和哥儿的床上。川少奶奶坐在床头，对三姑娘的奶娘道：“你回去吧，这儿有我看着，我保证她今晚安生睡觉。”奶娘迟疑着离去的时候，猝不及防地在屏风旁边看到令秧。令秧将食指放置唇边，示意她噤声。奶娘便如释重负地下去了。川少奶奶揉了揉三姑娘的头发，笃定地说：“我跟你说好了，明儿个我一定想办法把你弄去看戏，但是你不能再作怪。”“到底什么时候，缠脚才算缠完啊？”三姑娘的声音里有种静静的委屈，听起来不像白天里那么可恶。“早得很呢，不过你若是不肯忍，就更难熬。我知道你现在痛得睡不着——我陪着你呢。”“那往后，哥哥不在家的时候，我能来这儿跟你一起睡么。”“好呀。”“你不会走吧？”“我能去哪儿啊。”川少奶奶笑了。
“我不知道，我以前也不认得你啊，你嫁给哥哥以后才认得——要是有一天，你突然又走了，我可怎么办？”
“就算真有那一天，你早就长大了，你的脚也早就缠好不再疼了。”
“你给我讲个故事吧。”
“我就给你讲现在外面演的那出戏，好不好？我从前在家的时候，我娘还有我姐妹们都说，听我讲戏有时候比真看还有意思。”
令秧很想问问川少奶奶，哥儿眼下是不是经常不回家。可是她想了想，还是没进去，转身离开了。她想起自己的披风估计是落在了中堂里，不过，连翘此刻应该是在厨房看着老夫人的药，她也不想再着人去麻烦连翘跑这一趟。
夜还不算深，可是足够安静。还有一个