Chapter 7 7

One afternoon, when the weather was warm, Shuying had breakfast, talked a few words with her mother, and returned to her room. Feeling a little tired, she took a novel and lay down on the bed.She managed to read two or three pages of the book, but her eyelids gradually became heavy. She unknowingly let go of her hand, and soon fell into a deep sleep. "Second Miss, Second Miss." Shuying dreamed that she and her cousin Qin were listening to Wan'er's speech on the Huxin Pavilion in the garden, and when she heard someone calling her, she answered vaguely, her eyes still closed.She hadn't woken up yet, but then a giggle woke her up.She opened her eyes in surprise: a thin girl in a bamboo shirt was smiling at her with her lips pursed.

"Second Miss sleeps really well! She doesn't even cover her with a bed, and she gets sick when she sees Liang," Qixia said with a smile. "It doesn't matter, the weather is so warm, how can you catch a cold?" Shuying stretched her waist and sat up.She asked, "What's the matter? Is there a visitor?" "Yes, the old lady outside the Zhou family is here. Second Miss, our wife invites you to come over," Qixia replied. "Then Miss Hui and Miss Yun are also here?" Shuying asked in surprise. "Of course. There are two uncles and wives, and young master Mei. The room is full of guests and it's very lively," Qixia replied cheerfully.

"Okay, let me change clothes and go," Shuying stood up, went to open the cabinet door, and took out a light green lake crepe shirt from inside.She asked Qixia again: "Where is the third wife?" "The third wife took Cuihuan just now. I will invite her first, and I will invite you later. Second miss, hurry up," Qixia urged excitedly . "Do you think I can go to see guests like this? Why don't you give me a basin of face water, and go after I clean up." Shuying said, she took her clothes and walked to the back room, and Qixia followed her. In the back room, I took the washbasin and went out to wash my face.

Shuying washed her face, put on some powder, brushed off her hair, changed her clothes, and went out with Qixia. They walked to the upper left window and heard noisy voices coming from the room.Shuying was a little timid suddenly, and stopped hesitantly.But Qixia stepped up the stone steps first, and walked inside in two or three steps.Shuying had no choice but to follow her in. Zhou's room was full of people, and everyone was talking and laughing.As soon as Shuying stepped over the threshold, she saw several people standing up, and her eyes were almost dazzled by the colorful clothes.She heard a voice called "Second Sister", it was Shuhua's voice.She hurried over with a smile.

She had seen all the guests in the room before, and the four years of separation would not make her completely forget those faces.She greeted Mrs. Zhou first, and then the two uncles and wives, and then paid respects to two cousins ​​and a cousin, and sat down on a square stool next to her mother, Mrs. Zhang. Zhou and Zhang continued to accompany the guests to speak.Shuying took advantage of this moment to secretly look at those guests.Mrs. Zhou's hair has turned gray, her yellow and thin face is still the same as before, and her slightly flattened mouth speaks energetically.My uncle's wife, Mrs. Chen, has a square face and is a plump, middle-aged woman who wears a light gray tufted satin jacket and a red skirt.The second uncle's wife, Mrs. Xu, is younger, with a short stature and a round face. She wears a light blue jacket with piping and a green skirt.Because she was a widow, she didn't wear pink powder on her cheeks.The one with a melon-shaped face, phoenix eyes and willow eyebrows, slender figure, snake waist, wearing a jade-colored lake crepe short jacket with a piping edge and a pink skirt is Miss Hui.The younger one was Miss Yun, and her clothes were exactly the same as Hui's.She and Loh are still about the same height.A round face with even makeup and powder has a very innocent expression.She loves to laugh, and when she laughs, two ridiculous dimples appear on her cheeks.Hui wore an oval bun hanging from the back of her head, but Yun wore a big loose braid.There is also a young master Mei, a little older than Jueying, with a long face and bloodless face, wearing a blue satin mandarin jacket that doesn't fit well, and an apricot yellow bouquet of flowers.He sat in a corner well-behaved, put his hands on his knees, lowered his head, lowered his eyes, and neither talked nor looked at others.

Seeing Master Mei's expression, Shuying smiled.She turned her eyes away to look at Hui again.Hui was listening attentively to Mrs. Zhou's speech, with a smile on the corner of her mouth, but a dignified expression on her face, her brows were slightly frowned, and there was a thread of sadness in the corners of her eyes.Shuying suddenly remembered what Mrs. Zhou had told her, and she even thought about the fate of this young girl. She felt a little uncomfortable, and unconsciously stared at this beautiful face in a daze. "Hui'er, don't you talk to your second and third cousins? You miss you so much when you don't see each other. When you meet, you don't talk to me, and I'm embarrassed!" Mrs. Zhou suddenly smiled at Hui. Say.

Loh responded with a smile.She turned her face away, her eyes fell on Shuying's eyes, they met Shuying's eyes, and they smiled at each other.Shuhua was talking to Yun, but also shut up, looking at everyone in surprise. "It's the same with our second daughter," Mrs. Zhang said with a smile.She turned her head to Shuying again and said, "Cousin Hui and Cousin Yun are visitors from afar. If you are the host, you won't have a good heart-to-heart talk with them, but just sit here in a daze like a dumb person!" "Yes, but Mom is right too." It's too much. I just sat down and listened to Grandma Zhou's speech, so I haven't had time to speak yet!" Shuying argued with a smile.

"Miss Hui, Miss Yun, you are welcome. Your sisters have not seen each other for several years. Now feel free to talk about your private affairs, and we will not disturb you. You are not outsiders here..." Zhou said gently and kindly Tell the two sisters Hui and Yun.Before she finished speaking, she heard someone talking outside the window, and then Mrs. Zhang reported: "The fourth wife, the fifth wife is here." There was a commotion in the room immediately, and everyone stood up. The tall Wang and Mrs. The short Shen Shi walked into the room in neat and clean clothes.Shuzhen timidly followed behind.The host and guest greeted each other and gave up their seats. After a while, everyone sat down humbly.Mrs. Zhang poured two cups of tea for Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Shen and brought them up, and then she carried a pot to add water to the guests' tea bowls.

Everyone just sat down and talked about two or three polite words.Mrs. Zhou asked the guests to remove their skirts. Mrs. Zhang, Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Shen all agreed, and the guests all removed their skirts.Qixia folded the skirts one by one, stacked them together, and placed them solemnly on the bed. The guests sat down again, less restrained than before.Mrs. Zhou asked Qixia and Cuihuan to bring hookahs to fill the guests.Mrs. Zhou and Mrs. Second Uncle both smoke.They stopped to talk to their masters after every pipe they had smoked.What they talked about was nothing more than life in other states and counties; what they liked to hear was the various changes in the provincial capital in the past four years and the situation of ordinary relatives.

Later, Mrs. Zhou mentioned Juexin by chance, and the old lady Zhou praised: "He can do things better than his uncle. We are all indebted to him this time. Cleaning up the house, buying furniture, and all the arrangements are all done by him. Really. It's hard for him." Before the old lady could finish her sentence, she suddenly noticed that Cuihuan brought the cigarette bag to her mouth, and at the same time raised the paper twister, ready to blow it on, so she stopped talking, turned her head slightly, and stretched out her hand to hold the cigarette bag. Putting the mouthpiece of the pipe in his mouth, he smoked a bag of cigarettes, and then told Cuihuan, "Don't pretend." Mrs. Zhang saw that Mrs. Zhou had finished smoking, and said with a smile: "The young master loves to do things since he came. Our relatives If there is anything at home, I always ask him for help. He is more enthusiastic about doing things for others than for himself." "It's really rare," the second uncle and wife agreed.Seeing that Mrs. Zhou had stopped smoking, she also dismissed Qixia who was filling her with cigarettes.

"That's good, but he's not as energetic as before. I think he's a little too tired on weekdays," Mrs. Zhou pondered for a while, and then said concerned, "He looks older than before." "Yes." Well, the young master is indeed older than before. He should also take care of himself in the future," said the uncle and wife in the tone of Mrs. Zhou.Then she said to Mrs. Zhou: "Sister, you can persuade him to be less tired." "I have also persuaded him several times. But he always said that he would feel better if he was busy. Actually, he didn't It’s a serious illness, but he’s not mentally strong. He didn’t notice anything before; since the young mistress passed away last year, he’s always been listless and doesn’t smile often. He’s gotten better recently,” Zhou said with a melancholy tone. replied. Mrs. Zhou noticed that Zhou's voice had changed a little. She didn't want to continue talking like this, so she changed her tone and said, "It's no wonder he, they were such a happy couple. But after all, young people are different. He will forget about it in two or three years. Haier is young and needs to be taken care of and disciplined. At that time, he will renew the string just for Haier." "What the mother said is," Mrs. Zhang Modestly echoed. "But elder brother said he would never continue," Shuhua interrupted suddenly. "Third Sister," Shuying called out warningly from the side. She wanted to stop Shuhua from finishing her sentence, but it was already too late. Mrs. Zhou glanced at Shuhua reproachfully, and everyone turned their eyes to Shuhua in surprise.Shuhua also understood that what she said was presumptuous, so she turned her head away and remained silent. "That's just a sentence. He's not a stubborn person either. I think he'll renew his strings once he's full of filial piety," Zhou quickly concealed. She knew Juexin's temperament, and he wouldn't do anything strange in the future. things to come.At this point she is very relieved. "This is the truth," Mrs. Zhou nodded approvingly. "Actually, the young master understands very well. I talked to him about Hui'er the day before yesterday, and he spoke more clearly than his uncle. His uncle is simply a bully, and everything about Hui'er was created by his uncle. In my temper I would never..." At this point her voice began to change.Mrs. Zhou was aware of this, and when she saw Hui blushing and drooping her head in shame and embarrassment, she couldn't bear it, so she hurriedly interrupted Mrs. Zhou's words: "Why do you still mention this matter? The rice has already been cooked, so the eldest brother decided on this marriage, naturally for the sake of Hui'er's lifelong happiness." "Yes, the marriage is all predestined. There will be no mistakes. The mother You can rest assured," Shen continued with an apologetic smile. "What is there to worry about now? The eldest daughter said it well just now: the raw rice has been cooked into cooked rice. I have no other good solution. I only hope that Hui'er will marry and live a good life," the old lady Zhou smiled wryly. say. Hui was even more embarrassed by the sneaky looks from everyone (including maids and maids), and tried her best to pretend that she didn't hear those words. She lowered her head and looked at her knees. He fiddled with the corners of his clothes slightly with both hands.Later, she had no choice but to sit there upright, like a bride.Seeing this, her cousin Yun felt a little uneasy, but she had no choice but to pretend not to hear, and talked to sisters Shuhua and Shuying in a low voice. Shuying saw all this in her eyes, and her heart was seized by sympathy.She put her mouth to her mother's ear and whispered a few words.Mrs. Zhang nodded while being obedient, then turned her head and said to Hui with a smile: "Miss Hui, Miss Yun, your second cousin invited you to play in the garden. Your cousins ​​must have a lot of private things to say after being separated for several years. Hearing these words, Hui raised her head to look at Mrs. Zhang, but met Shuying who was looking towards her. She answered Mrs. Zhang with a smile, "Yes, we often miss our second cousin in Waizhou County. Cousin..." "Grandma, let's go to the garden with cousins ​​Hui and Yun, okay? They haven't been here for four years, and they must like to visit the garden," Shuhua said without waiting for Hui to finish speaking. Standing up in Mrs. Zhang's tone, she begged Mrs. Zhou like a spoiled child. "That's exactly what I mean. Miss San, please take your two cousins. You young people should play with young people. You are too restrained when you are with us old people." Mrs. Zhou The wife replied with great interest, and then she told her two granddaughters: "Hui'er, Yuner, you two play well with your cousins. But don't bother them too much." "We know, "Yun pursed her lips and smiled slightly, "Grandmother, we are not children, we will not quarrel." Everyone laughed when they heard this sentence.Mrs. Zhang hurriedly said, "The mother is too polite. They should play with their cousins. How can it be troublesome?" "Okay, second girl, you can take your third and fourth sisters and accompany you two." Cousin, let's go to the garden. You can have fun today, we won't disturb you," Zhou said to Shuying. Shuying responded and stood up with a smile.Shuhua was even happier, leaving her seat with a happy face, and invitingly said to Hui and Yun, "Cousin Hui, Cousin Yun, let's go." Yun stood up immediately, Hui hesitated, and stood up too. "Take Cuihuan and tell her to bring some tea and snacks," Mrs. Zhang said to Shuying. "That's even better," Shuying replied with a smile.She was about to leave when she heard someone talking loudly under the window. It was Juexin's voice.She stopped and waited for him. "Brother is back," Shuhua said to herself, and the sisters sat down again. Juexin took Haichen's hand and walked into the room. He bowed to several guests, and asked Haichen to do the same, and then stood in front of Lian Er's cabinet, talking to the guests. The old lady Zhou was very happy to see Haichen, she just looked at him with a smile on her face, while holding his hand and asking questions.Hechen replied generously, which made her even happier.She gave him two or three candied dates from the plate on the table.He looked back at his father first, saw his father nodding with a smile, and then took the candied dates into his hand.He also said thank you.The old lady Zhou asked again: "How old are you?" "Six years old," Haichen replied, and at the same time he compared the number with his fingers.In fact, he has only passed six years, but his real age is only four and a half years old. "So good. Does he go to school?" The second uncle and wife looked at Haichen enviously, and asked Juexin with a lonely smile on her lips. "I haven't gone to school yet. I teach him to recognize a few words every day. He is still smart and knows a lot," Juexin replied. "Daddy taught me how to read every day. Daddy said that my handwriting is easy to move around. Grandma, if you don't believe me, test me, okay?" Haichen was very happy when he heard his father praise him in front of people, so he pulled Zhou The old lady said proudly. "Hai'er, be obedient, don't pester grandma," Juexin hurriedly instructed. Mrs. Zhou turned her head to look behind, pointed to a word on a pair of couplets behind her and asked, "Okay, I'll test you with a word. What's that word?" "Yun," Hai Chen blurted out, raising his head. out the word.He shook his head triumphantly, and then added: "The clouds are rising in the sky." "Sure enough, we can move home." Old lady Zhou bowed her head, stroking Haichen's cheek affectionately, and said in praise. "If you test me again, if you test me again, I'll recognize you," Haichen became even more proud, and begged Mrs. Zhou's hand. "Hai'er, that's enough. Don't make trouble here. Ask Qixia to take you out to find Mrs. He," Juexin stopped beside her. Haichen immediately looked back at Juexin, agreed, and let go of Mrs. Zhou's hand, but still stood in front of Mrs. Zhou, looking at the couplet, reading the words on it in a low voice as if talking to himself.Seeing his behavior, Mrs. Zhou liked him even more, and took his hand to question again. "Mom, I've already called people to get ready: there are two tables of cards in the water pavilion. The tea is also ready. Shall we go now?" Juexin said to Zhou when he remembered something. "You came back just now, how did you know that grandma and the others are here?" Zhou asked in surprise. "Mom forgot, didn't it be agreed the day before yesterday? That's why I came back early today. I got out of the sedan chair and went to the garden to tell the people to get everything ready before I came in. I know there must be more people at the table." Not enough, so I set up two tables," Juexin replied. Shen was getting impatient waiting for the game of cards. There were too many people in the room, and it was boring, and the conversation was monotonous.She wished someone would bring up the game of cards. At this time, she heard that Juexin had already set up the card table, and she couldn't help but praise happily: "Young master is really thoughtful." Two tables," Mrs. Wang also likes to play mahjong on weekdays, and now she said with great interest when she heard that she was going to play cards. Juexin frowned slightly, but immediately smiled again and said, "I'm not going to fight today, I'd better invite Cousin Hui to do it." As he spoke, he turned his eyes to look at Hui. Hui, Yun and Sister Shuying talked in a low voice in a corner, and they didn't pay attention to what the elders were talking about.They talked very happily. When Hui heard Juexin's words, she turned her head and smiled faintly at Juexin, and declined and said, "I'm not good at playing cards, big cousin. I'd like you to play." There is a kind of sadness that seems shallow and deep.There was also a pleading tone in her voice.His heart skipped a beat, as if he had been hit.He was taken aback at first, but then he understood.He readily agreed: "Okay, then let me play." "That's good. You can play cards with me. I don't like playing mahjong very much. Hui'er hasn't seen her cousins ​​for several years. She You should also talk to them," Mrs. Zhou just let Haichen go (Hechen was eating candied dates and walked up to his second uncle and wife, because she beckoned him to go. She only has one daughter, so she likes boys very much ), and said the above words to Juexin.She said to Hui again: "Hui'er, you talked about going to the garden at first, why are you still muttering here?" He ordered a few words.Cuihuan said nothing, just nodded.She sneaked away while everyone was not paying attention.Shuhua looked at Shuying and smiled happily.Shuzhen knew that Shuying sent someone to invite cousin Qin, and she also showed satisfaction on her face. Seeing Juexin's facial expression and hearing his words, Loh felt that he was being considerate of her, and she was a little grateful.This gratitude made her think of other things and see other visions, so the stubborn and ruthless father, the weak and uninitiated mother, and the bad-tempered future husband all rushed into her heart, and she felt a burst of sadness. When he hurriedly held back, tears were already in the corners of his eyes.She immediately coughed and buried her head down. Juexin was the first to see this situation, and his sorrow was aroused, but instead he put on a smile and said to Hui: "Cousin Hui, if you don't play cards, please go first." He urged Shuying again: " Second sister, hurry up, what are you doing sitting in the house?" "Brother, you still want to rush me?" Shuying said with a smile. "We were already leaving, and we sat down again when we saw you coming back. It's your fault!" She said and stood up. "You don't need to go first now. Let's go all the way," Zhang then said to Shuying.She immediately turned her face to the old lady Zhou and bowed: "Mother-in-law please. Uncle and wife, second uncle and wife please. Sister-in-law please." Everyone stood up, and the room was full of heads moving.Everyone is still humble.It was inconvenient for Shuying and the others to leave first, so they had to wait to go to the garden together.Cuihuan walked in from the outside, slipped to Shuying's side, whispered a few words, but no one noticed them except Shuhua. "Second aunt, wait for me to take him." Juexin felt sorry when he saw that the second uncle and wife were still holding Haichen in her hand, and bowed his head to answer Haichen's question, so he went and said the above words to the second uncle and wife , and brought Haichen back to his side. Everyone filed out of the room, turned into the aisle and walked towards the garden gate.Naturally, Mrs. Zhou walked in the front, and Qixia supported her.The first uncle's wife and the second uncle's wife followed, followed by the wives of the Gao family, and then Hui, Yun, and Shuying sisters.Cuihuan followed Shuzhen, and behind her were Qian'er, Chunlan, Mrs. Zhang, Mrs. He, and Mrs. Tang, the third-bedroom maid.Juexin took Haichen by the hand and walked at the end with his cousin Mei.This young master Mei is sixteen years old this year, but he has no masculinity at all. When he was in the room earlier, he sat cowering in a corner alone, neither speaking nor moving, making others forget his existence.At this time, he and Juexin were walking together, and they didn't talk much on the way.Only when Juexin asked him questions did he answer briefly.Most of what Juexin asked was about his life and study plans in other counties.When he was in Waizhou County, his father hired a teacher in his fifties to discipline him.When he returned to the provincial capital, his father would not let him go to school, and would probably ask him to set up a library at Gao's house. "What do you mean? Don't you want to go to school?" Juexin asked. "I have no objection, I think father's proposition is probably not wrong," Master Mei replied in a low voice indifferently. Juexin stared at him in surprise, and thought unhappily: ——Why is there another person like this?At least I am not so cowardly in thought!He said, "Don't you think about it carefully? It's very common for men to go to school to study now. What's the use of just reading the Four Books and Five Classics at home?" At this time they walked into the winding corridor.Hearing Juexin's words, Young Master Mei raised his head and glanced at him secretly, but immediately buried his head down again, and said in a voice that seemed helpless: "You don't know Dad's temper. He heard someone talk about it." I have a headache in school. He is more stubborn than anyone else, I should do what he told me, and I can’t say no. His temper is like this. Not to mention that mother is afraid of him, even mother-in-law can’t resist him.” This voice Weakly entering Juexin's ears, it unexpectedly caused a big turmoil in Juexin's heart.He no longer turned his head to look at Young Master Mei, but Young Master Mei's bloodless face still clearly appeared in front of his eyes.He felt that he knew this kind of person, and he could see clearly the fate of this kind of person.A mixture of horror and pity seized him.This true confession opened the curtain of tragedy for him, and made him see the miserable and lonely life of this young man.And he saw his own face again in this young man. "My sister's marriage is also decided by my father alone. Neither mother nor mother is willing. It is also my idea to go back to the provincial capital to hold a wedding. My sister cried secretly for several nights because of this matter," Juexin Before answering, Master Mei continued as if talking to himself.He had hardly opened his mouth in the room before, and now he said this.The voice was still very low, without an angry tone.It's just a cry of hopelessness. People walked slowly in front, voices were noisy, and clothes of various colors were shaking.Haichen couldn't bear the boring conversation between the two, so he raised his face and begged Juexin, "Father, I will go to the front to answer, and then let go." went to the front. "I really envy the children. They are so happy and carefree!" Master Mei looked at Haichen's back disappearing into the crowd, and said to himself full of longing.But he immediately added another sentence in a low voice: "I am hopeless in this life." These two words were like a bucket of cold water poured on Juexin's head, extinguishing all the lingering fire in his heart at once.He gave Young Master Mei a painful look, that thin head and that bloodless face looked even paler and thinner now.Even the skin of the lips is dry and yellowish.That set of loose gowns didn't fit well on Young Master Mei's thin body, his hands were covered by long sleeves, and a thin head swayed slightly on top of the mandarin jacket.All this makes this sixteen-year-old youth look like a puppet in a puppet show.This image can make people laugh, but Juexin was moved to the point of tears.He couldn't help but persuaded sadly: "Cousin Mei, how can you say such a thing! You are only sixteen years old this year. Why do you have such a state of mind like mine! I don't think your health is very good. Do you have any ailments? You should also be more optimistic. You will have a long life in the future, so you can’t compare with me.” “Oh,” Master Mei sighed first, and then replied, “I haven’t been sick for the past two or three years. Medicine. But taking medicine is not very effective. I am still taking pills. In fact, I don’t seem to have any serious illness. But I often cough and feel short of breath. Sometimes I can’t breathe after walking a few more steps. I don’t have energy. Dad always blames me for not taking good care of my body. I don’t know how to take care of myself.” “You still said that there is no serious illness!” Juexin said in horror. He spit it out from the bloodless mouth of Young Master Mei, and he felt that they were so real again, and it was terribly real.Sympathy made him forget himself, and he continued with concern: "I think your illness should be treated properly. There are good doctors in the provincial capital. I think it's best to seek western medicine." "Western medicine?" Master Mei shook his head and said , as if hearing something unpleasant. "Father hates western medicine the most. I don't think western medicine can cure internal diseases. Father said, I will invite one or two Chinese medicine practitioners to come to see me in a few days." Juexin pondered for a while.He was dissatisfied with Master Mei's answer, but he did not argue.He knew that it was useless to argue, because more than ten years of strict family education had left such a deep impact on the young man's body and mind.Juexin understands this better than anyone else.And he has had this experience himself.The trauma of his past was brought up again.His heart was aching slightly.He quickly calmed himself down.He forced a faint smile to his lips.He comforted Young Master Mei and said, "Uncle told you to take good care of your body, which is indeed reasonable. You should be more optimistic, and don't work too hard..." Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly heard someone shouting in front of him, "Brother, Brother." This is the voice of Shuhua and Shuying. At this time, Juexin and Master Mei were walking on the small path in the bamboo forest.The call came from the side of the stream.They were there waiting for him.He responded and hurried forward.The old ladies of Zhou had already crossed the wooden bridge and walked forward.The maids followed suit.Staying by the stream were the three sisters Shuying, Shuhua and Shuzhen, and two guests Hui and Yun.Cuihuan stood on the bridge, leaning over and using a bamboo branch to stir something in the water.Haichen took Shuying's hand, and leaned on the railing to watch. "Brother, come quickly!" Shuhua urged loudly. "What is it?" Juexin asked in surprise. "Cousin Hui's jewelry fell into the water," Shuhua said anxiously. "How did it fall into the water?" Juexin frowned slightly and asked doubtfully.He turned his eyes to look at Hui, she was standing at the end of the bridge, blushing half anxiously and half shyly without speaking, but secretly shot her eyes and glanced at him. Juexin quickly strode up the wooden bridge, stood in front of the railing and looked down.He can't see anything.He asked one after another: "Where is it? Where is it?" "Young Master, here it is," Cuihuan said, using a bamboo branch to shake the stones below. Juexin's eyes followed the tip of the bamboo branch to see that the water below was very shallow, as clear as a piece of glass.Stones and leaves are placed on the stream bed as in a painting.Beside a large reddish pebble lay a blue bead flower obliquely. "Wait for me," Juexin volunteered, rolling up his sleeves, and snatched the bamboo branch from Cuihuan's hand.He went to pull the bead flower. He was not very strong when standing on the bridge, and the bamboo branch was not very accurate. A few times the bamboo branch touched the bead flower, but it only moved a little, moved a little, and lay down again.Sweat broke out on his brow.Everyone watched anxiously, but it was useless. "Father, it's Mistress San's fault, she dropped it. I want her to pay for Mistress Hui's things!" Haichen said while pulling Juexin's lapel. Shuhua didn't seem to hear it, and ignored it.She just stared at the stream in a daze.But Hui felt sorry, so she walked behind Juexin to dissuade him: "Big cousin, it's hard for you, if you can't get it up, don't do it. This little thing doesn't matter." Juexin relaxed his hand and let the bamboo branch fall into it. I got into the water, then turned around and said, "It's not difficult, I'll call a servant to do it." "I'll call Master Yuan," Cuihuan said.She got off the wooden bridge and was about to go out.But a man from the bamboo grove walked over gracefully, whistling.She unconsciously blurted out: "Second young master is here?" Then she stopped.She thought: The second young master may have a solution. Everyone turned their heads to look: it was indeed Juemin who came, but another figure suddenly turned from behind Juemin, and rushed to the front.This is Jueying. "What's the matter?" Jueying ran away angrily, blushing and asked loudly. "Who are you talking to? People of this age don't understand etiquette, and they don't even say hello when they see Cousin Hui and Cousin Yun!" Shuying complained. When Jueying heard this, she greeted his two cousins ​​with a smile.At this time, Juemin also came over and greeted the two sisters Hui and Yun. Shuhua told Juemin about Zhuhua.Juemin listened quietly.Jueying leaned over the railing, looked at the water and smiled, and said to herself: "I have a solution." "You have a solution? No one believes your words!" Shuhua sneered. "I don't want you to believe it! This matter has nothing to do with me," Jueying said proudly and even gloating. "It's easy," Juemin said with a smile.He turned his face and instructed Jueying solemnly: "Fourth brother, take off your shoes and socks and go down and pick them up!" This sentence made everyone's faces light up with joy. "I'm not going, the water is freezing," Jueying replied with her lips pursed deliberately.But the corners of his eyes and the smile on his cheeks still couldn't hide it. "Okay, if you don't go down, I'll go down!" Juemin said with a low face as if he had made up his mind, and bent down to untie his leather shoelaces. "I'm going down, I'm going down," Jueying hurriedly said.He was afraid that Juemin would go down first, so he hurried to the stream, took off his cloth shoes and socks, piled them on the ground, rolled up his trousers, and jumped into the water.The water was only up to his insteps.He walked to the side of the cobblestone in two or three steps, and bent down to pick up the bead flower.Standing in the water, he danced with the pearl flower with water in his right hand, and said triumphantly, "Look, what is this? You also have times to beg me." "Fourth brother!" Shuhua called out loudly, " Come up quickly!" Jueying smiled and ignored. "Fourth brother, come up quickly, put on your shoes and socks, so you don't catch a cold," Shuhua called with half concern and half anger. "Fourth dad, fourth dad, come up quickly!" Haichen clapped his little hands and called vigorously. "Take your time, why worry? Without me, you wouldn't even be able to find a fart!" Jueying said beamingly. "Shameless!" Shuhua gritted her teeth and scolded.She looked towards the bamboo grove, and suddenly said to herself solemnly: "The third dad is here." Jueying's expression changed immediately, and without asking whether it was true or not, she ran ashore, took out a handkerchief and wiped it. Feet, quickly put on shoes and socks.The bead flowers pinched in his hand were snatched by Shuhua.Shuhua wiped it clean and handed it back to Hui.Hui took it and smiled slightly, said "It's hard for you", and put it in the bun. "The third grandpa didn't come," Haichen looked at Jueying and said with a smile. "Coax the dog to jump," Shuhua laughed, and everyone laughed too. "Give the dog a jump," Jueying blushed angrily, and said mockingly. "Fourth brother, I'm a dog, so what are you?" Shuhua asked. "I am who I am!" Jueying replied proudly. "Third sister, how can you really be so reasonable! You got into trouble, and I ran into the water to pick it up, but instead of thanking me, you hurt people.Let's ask Big Brother for justice. ""I don't care about such nonsense," Juexin said, shaking his head and smiling. "Okay, I thank you. I treat you to a meal of stewed pork with bamboo shoots," Shuhua said mockingly.Everyone laughed again. "I won't eat it, you can eat it yourself, I know what you like the most," Jueying sneered back. "Third sister, you are so good! It's lucky that you have the patience to bicker with someone like him," Shuying felt angry and funny, and couldn't bear to dissuade Shuhua. "Where am I bickering with him? I'm teaching him a lesson!" Shuhua replied. "What a big tone!" Jueying was the first to chuckle.He went on to say: "I forgot. Second sister, third sister, I came to call you. Your husband is here and told you to go study." "Jian Yun is here? Why doesn't he come here?" New asked. "He knows there are female guests here, so he is embarrassed to come in. He is reading in your room," Jueying replied. "Reading? How come it's so early? It's disgusting. I just entered the garden and asked someone to read English before I even played!" Shuhua complained in a low voice as if talking to herself.Then she said to Shuying: "Second Sister, please take leave today." Without waiting for Shuying to answer, she told Jueying, "Go and tell Jianyun to invite him to come tomorrow. We have guests today." "I won't go, I am too embarrassed to ask for leave every day like this," Jueying deliberately said sarcastically. "Third cousin, you should go to study. Don't delay your homework just because you play with us," Hui said politely. “二表妹，三表妹，你们有事情尽管去做，不要管我们。我们还认得路。我们自己也会耍。我们在湖畔等你们来一起划船，”芸含笑地说。 “你们不要客气。我们哪儿说得上读书？不过请个先生来教教英文混混时候罢了。其实还是大哥他们出的主意，因为剑云找事情找不到，大哥才请他来教我们读英文，”淑华解释道。 淑英并不同意这个说法，她正要开口却被一个叫声打岔了。 “大少爷，大少爷！”从前面天井里送过来尖锐的叫声。 “你们看，汤嫂浩浩荡荡杀奔前来了，”觉英笑着低声说。众人连忙掉头去看。一个身材高大的女人在长满青苔的天井里艰难地移动着她的一双小脚，身子摇摇晃晃地走过来。她张着她的大嘴尖声叫道：“大少爷，请你去打牌。周外老太太她们都坐好了，就等你去。蕙小姐，大舅太太有事情，要你也去一趟。”“啊，”觉新猛省地说了一声，他现在记起了打牌的事情，连忙答道：“好，我就去。”他又掉头问蕙：“蕙表妹，你去吗？”蕙点了点头。他便和她一起匆匆地走过木桥往天井那边去了。汤嫂的摇晃的大影子跟在他们的后面。 “喂，你们到底读不读书？”觉英故意追问道。 “好，你不去，我也不敢劳动你，”淑华答道。她转过头去向翠环吩咐道：“翠环，你出去对陈先生说，我同二小姐今天有事情，告一天假，请他明天来罢。”翠环应了一个“是”字，正要往竹林那面走去。 “翠环，”觉民忽然唤住了她，“等我去。你还是在这儿服侍小姐她们罢。”“你去？”淑英疑惑地问道。 “我去约他到花园里头来耍。人家辛辛苦苦地特为跑来伺候你们小姐读书，你们随便就打发他回去。这种事情只有你们小姐家做得出来，”觉民对她们的这种行为不满意，就板起面孔讥笑地说。 “伺候我们读书？二哥，你不应该挖苦我们，”淑华听见觉民的话，生气地分辩道。 淑英不开口，羞惭地埋下头去。 “挖苦你们？二哥还算客气勒！你们读英文，读了半个月就告了一个星期的假。我看不如索性把先生辞了罢。人家每个月拿八块钱的束修，教你们这样的学生，也不好意思。我看你们读书也是白读，你们姑娘家读英文有什么用？横竖少不了你们的陪奁！其实你们再读一年半年的英文，也不见得就认清楚二十六个字母，”觉英看见他的两个姐姐受窘，心里很高兴。他平日常常因为逃学或者做别的顽皮的事情被她们嘲笑责骂，现在就趁这个机会来报复，他附和着觉民，而且更厉害地挖苦她们道。 “我没有跟你说话，哪个要你来岔嘴？姑娘家，好大的口气！有你说的！我问你，你怎么又不在书房里头读书？你出来做什么？”淑华红着脸噘着嘴赌气地说。 “我跟你们一样，向先生告了假，”觉英眨了眨眼睛笑答道。 觉民本来就要转身走了，听见觉英的那些话便又站住。他关心地看淑英的脸。淑英默默地站在桥上，倚着栏杆，低下头望溪水。她的脸通红，眉尖蹙着，眼角仿佛有泪花在发亮。他的心软了。他趁淑华跟觉英争辩的时候，走到淑英身边低声唤道：“二妹。”淑英不理他，连头也不动一下，就好像没有听见一般。他一点也不动气，依旧柔声地说下去：“我并不是故意挖苦你。我很同情你。我会帮忙你的。你不要介意我的话，好好地陪客人耍罢。”他说毕看见有一片树叶缠在她的头发上，便伸手去给她拔出来抛在地上。 淑英的肩头耸动了一下，过了半晌，她才用很轻的声音答道：“我晓得。你去罢。”她没有听见脚步声，知道他还没有走，又用同样低的声音问道：“你今天没有到姑妈那儿去过？”“没有。我下了课到报社去过一趟，”觉民低声回答。 “我们差人请琴姐去了，”淑英依旧不回过头，低声说。 “她一定来的，而且还可以住一天，正好明天放假，”觉民柔和地说，便走下桥头，一个人吹着口哨进了竹林中的羊肠小路。 这时觉英已经不跟淑华争辩了。他看见一只花蝴蝶在他头上飞过，舞着红黑斑点的黄翅膀，忽高忽低地飞到溪边黄色野花上面停住了，便轻脚轻手地跟着去捉它。他刚一伸手，蝴蝶又飞了起来。它就在他周围盘旋飞舞，时时停在野花上面，他总是捉不到。后来从天井里茅亭那面又飞来了一只更美丽的蝴蝶。海臣看得很起劲，就拉着翠环的手也跑到溪边去了。 “真没用！芸表姐，等我们去扑了它来，”淑华看见两只蝴蝶飞上飞下，迎风舞翅，很好看，便拉着站在她身旁的芸，过了桥往野花丛生的溪畔轻轻地跑去。到了那里她和芸都摸出手帕来，扑了几下，没有用，她们倒扑出汗来了。海臣高兴地嚷着跑来跑去。翠环便到桥头去跟淑英讲话。她们又扑了一阵，芸有点疲倦，就用手帕揩了揩汗，笑着拦阻淑华道：“三表妹，不要扑了，我们去找姐姐去。”淑华哪里肯依，她依旧起劲地扑着。一只蝴蝶掠过水面往对岸飞走了。另一只蝴蝶忽然在花丛中失了踪迹。溪水淙淙地流着。 “三姐，快，快！”觉英忽然叫道。这时矮胖的袁奶妈牵着觉人来了。觉人看见蝴蝶就挣脱袁奶妈的手，往前跑。袁奶妈在后面大声说：“七少爷，慢点！”那只黑红斑点的黄翅蝴蝶忽然从花丛中飞起来，正要飞过觉英的头上。淑华连忙把手帕一扬，然后往下一甩，凑巧打在蝴蝶身上，它跟着手帕落在溪边沙地上面。淑华刚要俯下身子去捉它，却被觉英手快抢了先，他捏住蝴蝶的翅膀把它拿起来。淑华伸手去抢，他闪开身子，拔步就往天井那面跑。 “四爸，四爸！给我看！我要看！”海臣着急地嚷着，便追上去。 “四哥，四哥，我要！”觉人从另一面追觉英。 翠环在桥头看见海臣追觉英，便慌忙地跟着跑去，一面叫道：“孙少爷，不要跑，看跌跤的。”“袁奶妈，你好生看着七少爷嘛！”淑英看见觉人一个人在跑，便提高声音提醒在后面慢慢走着的袁奶妈。 “我晓得，”袁奶妈不大高兴地回答了一句。 “四弟，你回来，我不抢你的！”淑华在后面大声说。 觉英不回答，一面跑，一面哈哈大笑。 “三表妹，让他拿去罢，一只蝴蝶，跟他争做什么！”芸含笑地拦阻淑华道。她们一面说话，一面沿着溪边向桥头走去。 “不过他太顽皮了。他没有一件事情不叫人生气！”淑华气愤地答道。 “你们的兄弟太顽皮。我们的那位又太不顽皮了。他在家里也是阴沉沉，不声不响的。我同姐姐都不大跟他讲话，”芸带了点感慨地说道。她忽然掉头往四周看，才觉察到枚少爷不知道在什么时候走开了。“三表妹，你看他在这儿的时候，我们大家都忘记了他这个人……”芸说到这里忽然听见前面啪嗒一声，接着站在桥头的淑英噗嗤笑了，她便住了嘴，连忙抬头一看。原来觉英踩滑了青苔，失了脚，直伸伸地扑在地上，手里捏的蝴蝶也飞走了。她们齐声笑起来。 “好！好！哪个喊你不给我？”觉人远远地站住，得意地拍手笑起来。 “阿弥陀佛，真是眼前报应，”淑华笑道。 觉英一声不响地爬起来，听见后面的笑声，很不好意思，头也不回地穿过茅亭转弯走了。 海臣还想跟去，就拉着翠环的手站在天井里，回过头来向淑英招手，一面着急地嚷道：“二孃孃，快点来，快点来，快点来，到前头去！”“二姐，我们走罢。到水阁找蕙表姐去，”淑华和芸手牵手地走到桥头，对淑英说。 淑英微微一笑，便走下了桥头。