Chapter 2 two

On Sunday morning Juemin went to the garden with a book.He walked into the outer door and saw Juexin and Shuhua walking in front, followed by Cuihuan, the maidservant of the third bedroom.He called out, "Third Sister." Shuhua stopped immediately, turned around and asked, "What's the matter?" Juexin only looked back, then continued walking forward.Cuihuan also followed him into the inner gate of the garden. Juemin smiled and said to Shuhua, "You are so early today." Shuhua burst out laughing.She said: "Second brother, don't make fun of me. It's past nine o'clock, and you still say it's early?"

"It's past nine o'clock? Isn't elder brother going to grandma's place? Why are you still going to the garden now?" "You don't know? Something happened in the garden..." Shuhua had just said a few words when she suddenly saw a person running out of it.This is her cousin Jueying.He was sweating from running and his hair was disheveled.She called out loudly: "Fourth brother!" But he ignored her and still ran towards the outer door. Juemin took a big step, stretched out his strong hand and grabbed Jueying's shoulder.He straightened his face and asked, "Third sister called you, why didn't you say anything?"

Jueying couldn't break free from Juemin's hand, so she stopped and said with a smile, "I didn't hear it." "Bah," Shuhua spat at him. "You're not deaf, why can't you hear? Tell you, don't be arrogant. You've been too unruly recently. I'll tell third dad to hit you later." "Third sister, I really didn't hear it. I don't dare to do this next time. Don't tell dad, okay?" Jueying said to Shuhua with a sly expression on her face as if apologizing. "Let me ask you, where are you from? What is the third father doing?" Shuhua asked proudly when she saw Jueying softened.

"Gao Zhong stole the calligraphy and paintings in the water pavilion," Jueying said flirtatiously.He glanced sideways at Juemin again, and said sarcastically, "Second brother, don't hold me back, okay? Your old brother really doesn't bother you." He rolled his eyes at Juemin. Juemin let go of his hand in displeasure, and Jueying immediately turned around, jumped up, and was three or four steps away from them.They stared at him in amazement.He jumped again and reached the gate outside the garden.He made a face at them, showing his tongue and pulling it back.He proudly said to them: "I'm not afraid, you just tell Dad. What rules! Who in our mansion is responsible for the rules? No wonder my aunt can't get used to it. No one is in charge of me. Third sister, please understand , you will not be from the Gao family anyway."

"Fourth brother, what are you talking about? Watch me tear your mouth off!" Shuhua shouted angrily. "Third Sister, I'll just blame you! Please tear it up. I just think it's troublesome to have one more mouth," Jueying said with a smile on her face. "Okay, let's go see the third dad!" Shuhua said threateningly. "Just go! Am I still afraid? Dad won't beat me. Dad knows that beating and scolding won't change my temper, but he likes me instead," Jueying said challengingly.He saw Shuhua standing still, instead walking down the stone steps, he used words to provoke her: "Go, go quickly! Anyone who doesn't go is not considered a person!"

Shuhua blushed with anger, raised her eyebrows and scolded: "How shameless! I must take you away today. If the third father doesn't beat you, I will beat you myself. I will ask the second brother to help me." She said , and walked towards Jueying.Jueying saw that Shuhua was really coming, and was about to walk in front of him.He suddenly chuckled, turned around and ran away, without even turning his head, he ran out of the garden gate and disappeared. "Second brother, look, there is such a shameless person! Third dad doesn't give him a good beating. What is there to like about him?" Shuhua said to Juemin angrily and with a smile.

"It's useless to beat him. His education is like this. The third father doesn't allow him to go to school and let him fool around at home all day. He said he was studying in the study. When did he sit in the study! The second sister left Afterwards, the third father really liked him a little bit. This made it worse. A good young man was ruined like this," Juemin said with emotion. "Second brother, who wants to listen to your long-winded speech! You didn't scold him for me just now. The third father doesn't like the second sister, but likes him. He is really blind! It's so mad! I want to beat the fourth brother. It’s only reconciled,” Shuhua complained to Juemin.

"Let's go. Talk more about what he is doing! You'll be happy if you hit him, but it's the elder brother's fault. You have to know that the second younger sister is a daughter and the fourth younger brother is a son!" Juemin persuaded in a somewhat unpleasant tone. "You're not right, isn't a daughter a human?" Shuhua retorted angrily, and followed Juemin to the front.As she walked, she was thinking. After walking a few steps, she suddenly said distressedly: "Brother really shouldn't do it. Let him take care of everything. Dong also admits his mistakes, and Xi also pays tribute, and he also accepts things that have nothing to do with him." Acknowledge your mistake, making our every move inconvenient!"

"You don't know that it's called 'swallowing doctrine'. My elder brother said that our house can live a peaceful life because of his 'swallowing doctrine'," Juemin said ironically. "What do you mean by 'bowing doctrine'? I don't understand. It's better to say kowtowing to everyone," Shuhua said unconvinced, regardless of whether Juemin said something ironic or positive. "I don't rely on him to kowtow to live. He just causes me trouble. He bows his head in front of anyone. No matter what he says, he agrees. This time, he should take care of my cousin's affairs.

"He is indispensable every time. But most of my affairs he dare not help," Juemin interjected. "Your business? Why didn't he dare to help?" Shuhua asked in surprise. "It's about me and Qin," Juemin said with a little anxiety.But he immediately changed his tone and added: "But if he doesn't help, I'm not afraid." "This time he will definitely help. Big Brother also likes Sister Qin very much, and we all like Sister Qin," Shuhua said without thinking.Seeing that Juemin was silent, she suddenly thought of something, and said, "But the fourth and fifth aunts are not very happy with Sister Qin, and the third father may not be happy with her either."

"Needless to say. Fourth Aunt and the others will not be happy with anything we do. Third Dad can't understand young people of our generation who don't read ancient books," Juemin suddenly became angry when he said this.His anxiety gradually dissipated.He felt that he had the strength to fight those people, and he believed that he would win. They walked into Merlin and were walking towards the lake.Suddenly their eyes lit up, the sun hiding in the clouds showed its face, and many bright ideas appeared on the ground immediately.The leaves shaded them from the sun.All they heard was birds chirping in the trees. "Let them not get used to it!" Shuhua said angrily, "the more they hate me, the more I want to make them hate it. I hate that kind of person the most, gossip behind others' backs all day long, I dare not say it face to face. I just say whatever comes to mind.” "Isn't that the fourth sister? What is she doing here?" Seeing his cousin Shuzhen standing alone by the lake, Juemin interrupted Shuhua and said in surprise. "It's her, I'll call her," Shuhua said.She left Juemin behind and hurried to the front.She walked to the lakeside and called out quickly: "Fourth sister." Shuzhen looked back, called out affectionately: "Sister San," and immediately walked to Shuhua's side.She called again in a mournful voice: "Third Sister." The words were blocked in her throat.Her small body seemed to be full of a thousand words, waiting for a chance to pour them out.But she couldn't speak, and could only hug Shuhua tightly. Juemin caught up.Seeing this, he frowned silently. "Fourth sister, what's the matter? Why are you so sad?" Shuhua asked sympathetically. "Mom quarreled with Dad the night before yesterday because of the 'Monday' incident, and Dad left in a fit of anger and didn't come back for two nights..." Shuzhen said sobbing. "Then, is Fifth Aunt going to take it out on you?" Juemin interjected and asked, knowing that it was the same thing again. "Mom scolded me until midnight last night," Shuzhen replied crying. "Calling you? You didn't offend her!" Shuhua said unfairly. "Mom blamed me for not being a man. She said that I brought her father's anger to her," Shuzhen said honestly. "It's not your fault! Why didn't she give birth to a little brother like Xi'er? She shouldn't always bully her daughter! Since she wants you to vent her anger in the future, why doesn't she let you study for a few more years? It's really unreasonable!" Shuhua said angrily. "Third sister, I really don't understand why I should live this kind of life alone? Tell me, why should I suffer alone?" Shuzhen cried sadly. "Fourth sister, don't be so sad, there is always a solution in the future," Shuhua couldn't answer Shuzhen's question, she could only comfort Shuzhen with such words. Juemin looked at Shuzhen silently.He turned his eyes away from Shuzhen's body again, and looked at the lake in front of him.The water is very bright, there are blue sky, white clouds and red sun in the water.There is a vast world in the water.He couldn't help thinking painfully: Why is there still so much pain?Why can't they find peace today after making so many sacrifices?Shuhua's voice interrupted his train of thought. "I really hate, hate that I was not born in ancient times! I can open up a new world with a gun and a knife. I must protect you well," Shuhua said through gritted teeth. This naive thought made Juemin smile slightly.This is the influence of old novels, "Shi Gong An", "Sanmen Street", Yan Zixiao, Zhang Guilan, Chu Yun, and many ideal characters, these are all shadows on the clouds, and they will not live in such a world. in the world.She is dreaming.Such a young girl pinned her hopes on vague dreams.When he thought about it this way, he felt that there was no reason to be ridiculous.He felt even more uncomfortable.He said pityingly: "This is wishful thinking, what's the use?" "Don't you have another good idea?" Shuhua asked angrily. "You don't know that roads are made by people," Juemin said suggestively. "This is also empty talk," Shuhua snapped. "How can you help Fourth Sister?" She kept her eyes on his face and asked forcefully. Juemin was at a loss for words.But without embarrassment, he said after a moment: "We can take our time." "Fourth sister, don't be sad, you can take your time to figure out everything," Shuhua comforted Shuzhen with such words. "Wipe your tears dry, let's go to the water pavilion." "Go now, I'm afraid the matter will be over long ago, and everyone will be gone," Juemin said. "It's all gone, it's good for us to go and sit around," Shuhua said stubbornly. "Second Brother, will Sister Qin come tomorrow?" Shuzhen had stopped crying, was wiping her eyes, and spoke with a little sadness. "If you ask her to come, she will come," Juemin replied. "We don't have such a big face!" Shuhua pouted.Then she laughed again to herself. "Since the second sister left, sister Qin has come less often. She used to come to live every Saturday. It's the second brother's fault." "Why do you blame me? What does it have to do with me?" Juemin argued. "You go to her place every day, so she won't come," Shuhua said. "This is wrong again, where do I go every day?" Juemin continued to argue. "You don't go to sister Qin, why do you go out every night?" Shuhua asked him unrelentingly. "Oh!" Juemin spat out the word and fell silent. "Let's see what you have to say!" Shuhua asked her brother triumphantly.She doesn't know his mind. Before Juemin could speak, Shuhua went on to say, "Today you must invite Sister Qin to us. Otherwise, we will punish you." "Punish me? That's strange. What are you punishing me for?" Juemin asked. "Punish you for not seeing sister Qin for a month," Shuhua said. "I don't see her, but what if she wants to see me?" Juemin said with a smile. "Second brother, you are so shy! You say such things before the bride enters the house! No wonder people say you have a thick skin!" Shuhua sarcastically said with a smile. Shuzhen tugged on Shuhua's sleeve and said to Shuhua in a low voice: "Don't talk about the bride, Sister Qin will be upset when she hears it." Shuhua disapprovingly replied loudly: "Tell me what's important. Sister Qin won't be so petty. She's going to be our second sister-in-law, why not be the bride?" "Okay, you have the ability, you can tell her face to face tomorrow," Juemin urged her. "Just say it, see if I dare!" Shuhua said unconvinced. "Don't tell me, sister Qin won't come when she hears about it," Shuzhen interrupted again in a low voice. "Fourth sister, you are so honest! With second brother here, why are you afraid that she won't come?" Shuhua said with a smile. Juemin didn't speak yet.Shuzhen squished her mouth at the side, begging with an unhappy expression: "Sister, you always say such things, please..." Shuhua turned to look at Shuzhen, she saw Shuzhen's loneliness and helplessness Her expression softened.She lovingly said to Shuzhen: "I won't talk anymore. Fourth sister, let's go somewhere else." Shuzhen agreed.She just moved, but she asked Juemin solemnly: "Second brother, sister Qin must come tomorrow?" Juemin looked at her in surprise.He immediately understood her mood, and replied straightforwardly: "She will definitely come. She also wants to see you very much." "Fourth sister is too lonely. Sister Qin, let's have a good time. Tomorrow I will simply ask my mother to invite cousin Yun," Shuhua said emotionally. "Third Sister, hurry up, hurry up," Shuzhen said happily. "I don't need to worry, I promise you will invite me. Let's go to the Water Pavilion first. I forgot, I was going to the Water Pavilion to watch the fun," Shuhua said, and she took Shuzhen's hand, The two sisters walked affectionately along the lakeside to the water pavilion. Juemin followed behind them, looking at the surrounding scenery while thinking about other things. The three of them turned into a rockery.The rockery is covered with moss and saxifrage, looking from a distance, it seems to be covered with a green felt.There is a short vermilion railing beside it.When they walked into the railing, they heard the crisp sound of water.Later they walked to the stream, the stream was very clear, the sand, stones, leaves, and water surface lines were clearly visible.A small bridge led them across the other bank.There is a dark green rockery in front of you, and the budding peonies in the flowerbed are dotted among the lush green leaves.They went further, and a larger gray-white rockery stopped them.They walked through the rockery and walked into a grove near the lake. "The weather is really nice today," Shuhua suddenly praised happily. "Actually, the weather is good in the past, but you get up late, so you don't feel it when you are locked in the house," Juemin joked behind. "Second brother, why are you only against me?" Shuhua turned her head to look at Juemin and said with a smile. "I don't want to listen to you anymore." She covered her ears and stepped forward. Juemin smiled and stopped talking, when they were about to walk out of the woods.Keming's angry curses came from the water pavilion. "Why is the third father still cursing?" Juemin said in surprise. They walked out of the woods and saw several people standing on the steps in front of the water pavilion and under the trees.The gardener Lao Wang, Keming's footman Wende, Yang's nurse with Shufang, the maidservant Qian'er of the fourth bedroom, Cuihuan of the third bedroom maidservant, and Shuhua's cousins ​​Jueying and Juequn are all here. "Second brother, third sister," Juequn called out to them.Jueying stopped by and said, "Don't talk." But when he saw them approaching, he said triumphantly, "You are late. But it's not too late, there are still tricks to see." Juemin strode up the steps.Shuhua and Shuzhen also walked up the stone steps. "Fourth sister," Jueying called out from behind. Shuhua and Shuzhen stopped at the same time.When they turned around, Shuhua asked, "What's the matter?" "I advise Fourth Sister not to go in at best. Otherwise, you'll be bored and don't blame me," Jueying said coquettishly, making a face. "Ignore him, Fourth Sister, let's go our way," Shuhua said annoyedly. "Okay, it's up to you to listen or not, don't blame me for not talking later," Jueying sneered. Sister Shuhua entered the water pavilion and saw that everyone was in the room on the right, so they went there too. Keming sat on the kang bed, pressing the kang table with one hand, and pressing his knee with the other, his face was pale, and he was panting wearily.The young Gao Zhong stood in the corner with his head down.Su Fu, whose hair was mostly gray, stood in front of Keming.Juexin sat next to him on a rosewood armchair.Juemin sat next to him.Kean sat on a chair by the window.Ke'an's second son, Jueshi, stood by the door, his small eyes looked at Keming and Gao Zhong in turn. The only sounds in the room were Keming's panting and Ke'an's soft coughing. When Sister Shuhua came into the room, everyone turned to look at them, but no one spoke to them.There is a serious expression on every face. "Where are you telling the truth? You are clearly farting!" Keming suddenly asked Gao Zhong loudly. "Back to the third master, the younger one is telling the truth. If there is any falsehood, let the third master punish you," Gao Zhong raised his head and replied anxiously. "You know it's impossible, do you know it's against the law?" Keming asked, patting the kang. "The young one doesn't know. The young one did nothing wrong. The fifth master ordered the young one to do it," Gao Zhong replied timidly. "I asked you so early, why didn't you say it?" Ke'an interrupted and asked. "Fifth Master doesn't allow young people to talk about it," Gao Zhong said evasively. "Send it to the Tang family, and you sent it too?" Keming asked. "The fifth master asked the younger one to deliver it," Gao Zhong replied respectfully. "Do you know how much it sold for?" Keming asked. "I heard that it cost more than 30 yuan, and I gave five yuan to Mr. Tang," Gao Zhong replied. Shuzhen's face suddenly changed.She said to Shuhua in a low voice: "Sister San, let's go out." Shuhua knew her mood, so she walked away with her without saying anything. Seeing them coming out, Jueying asked triumphantly, "How is it? I shouldn't have lied to you." He smiled. Shuhua's face was pale and Shuzhen was about to cry, but they ignored him and walked towards the lawn. The conversation in the water pavilion continued. "Third brother, there is no doubt. The fifth brother must have sold it. Just send Gao Zhong to the police station," Ke An suggested. Before Keming opened his mouth, Juexin felt that Gao Zhong had been wronged, so he interjected next to him, "He didn't take the things, so there's no need to send him to the police station." Ke'an gave Juexin an unhappy look, but didn't say anything.Keming thought for a while, and then said, "Wait until the fifth brother comes back and asks him. The fifth brother is really not good-for-nothing. He even steals and sells things worth twenty or thirty yuan." He paused and said anxiously to himself: "Why hasn't Yuan Cheng come back yet?" "He probably couldn't find the fifth younger brother," Ke'an explained. "Fifth brother probably hid. How can he face others after doing such a thing? It's really obscene!" Keming scolded angrily. Just at this moment, Keding walked in with a smile on his face.Yuan Cheng, the servant of Dafang, followed behind him. "Third brother, what do you want from me?" He asked frankly. Keming ignored him with a straight face.He sat down on a chair next to Ke'an as if nothing had happened.Seeing Keding so calm, Gao Zhong had a smile on his face. "Fifth brother, where did the official script slip written by Jin Dongxin go?" Ke'an asked unhappily. "It turned out to be a question from Jin Dongxin. I sold it, and a friend liked it and bought it from me," Keding replied without any difficulty. "Sold it? Who wants you to sell it?" Keming suppressed his anger and asked sharply. "I sold it myself," Kedin replied briskly, looking around with his wandering eyes. "Our Gao family doesn't have such a rule! We have already shared the calligraphy and paintings that Dad collected so hard. There are only a dozen or so pieces left. These are souvenirs. You can't just take them out and sell them!" Ke Ming shot Looking at Kang, he cursed a few times. "Now that it's sold, what else can I do?" Keding tried his best to hide his panic and said in a nonchalant manner. "Jin Dongxin's paper money is in the public account, you can't sell it alone, you should pay it back," Ke'an also said with a straight face. "I also have a share of the things in the public account," Keding argued cheekily. "You only have one copy, and we and Mingxuan have a total of four copies! You have to pay for it!" Ke'an said sharply.His face suddenly turned black. Keding made an angry look, stood up and wanted to leave. "Are you going to pay or not?" Ke An suddenly stood up and patted the table and said loudly. Keding was a little panicked, but he tried his best to pretend he wasn't afraid, and replied, "Then I'll give you twenty yuan. Everyone gets five yuan, and they don't suffer a loss." Ke An nodded in satisfaction, sat down, and rubbed his mustache with his hand, his black and yellow face was washed out by a smile. "Then it's all right, I'm leaving," Keding felt relieved and stood up, saying to Ke'an. "Stop!" Keming suddenly shouted sternly.Keding really stopped.He looked at Keming in astonishment. "Who wants your money? Give me the things back," Keming ordered. Keding was silent, Keming's words were completely unexpected to him. "There are several things I didn't care about you, and I'm used to pampering you," Keming continued to reprimand Keding. "Don't think that I'm afraid of you. I told you, if you don't take it back, I will give you a good lesson in front of Dad's tablet. This time I can't indulge you anymore!" Keding is still silent, his face is gradually changing.He looked a little flustered. "Fifth brother, do you hear me? Are you going to get the things back? ... I don't have the energy to tell you more. Let's go to the main room!" Keming made up his mind and stood up with a very serious expression.He got off the step stool and walked towards Keding. "I'll get it, and I'll get it back," Keding said timidly. "I ask you to get it back today, do you hear me?" Keming still ordered with a straight face. "Yes, I'll just bring it back for you," said Kedinglian Lane, without showing the slightest shame on his face.He saw that Keming and Ke'an still had no smiles on their faces, and there were many contemptuous eyes on him in the room. He didn't want to stay here any longer, and planned to take this opportunity to slip away, so he said, "I'm going to do it right now." Go get it." He had noticed Gao Zhong standing dejectedly in the corner of the room, so he called out, "Gao Zhong, go and tell the big class to prepare the sedan chair, I want to go out." Gao Zhong quickly answered "Yes", and immediately slipped out of the room and went outside. "I 'dismissed' Gao Zhong," Ke Ming said. "Then why bother? I don't have any other followers," Keding said with a smile. "Third brother, since the calligraphy and paintings are brought back, I don't think there is any need to 'dismiss' Gao Zhong, and the fifth brother has no other servants," Ke An changed his attitude at this time and pleaded on behalf of Gao Zhong according to Ke Ding's intention. Keming was very unhappy, but seeing that Keding had completely surrendered today, he felt that he had gained face, and he was very tired now, and he didn't want to spend any more energy, so he sighed and said, "Okay, you guys go. I think rest for a bit." Keding couldn't wait for this sentence, so he slipped out immediately.Ke An also stood up and walked out leisurely.Jue Shi ran out with his father.Yuan Cheng and Su Fu also walked out silently with their hands down.Only Keming, Juexin, and Juemin were left in the room.Keming gasped for breath at first, then suddenly coughed. "Third Dad, you are too tired, go back to the house and lie down," Juexin said sympathetically. Keming coughed a few times, spit out two mouthfuls of phlegm, and stopped coughing.He looked at Juexin, his two eyeballs moved slowly, and after a while he said out of breath, "I will die of anger if I don't die of illness!" "Third Dad, how do you say that?" Juexin stood up and said painfully. "This year my health is also failing, I know it myself," Keming said sadly. "Mingxuan, the hope of the Gao family rests on you....They are finished....I just hope they don't embarrass grandpa....Mingxuan, it's all up to you now." "I'll just do my best," Juexin suddenly volunteered, as if he was willing to put all the responsibilities on his shoulders alone. Juemin, who hadn't spoken for a long time, was looking at Keming with pity.Hearing Keming and Juexin's question and answer, he felt very uncomfortable, but he didn't express any dissatisfaction, and just walked out of the water pavilion silently.