Chapter 427 Neglect
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Ying Bao and A Niang put on light clothes and took a group of palace maids and maids to watch the lanterns.
Wei Xiuxiu held her daughter in her arms and walked among the crowd with everyone.
She and her daughter Wenzhu were well fed and well clothed at Jiang's house. Their health quickly recovered and they looked much younger.
"Auntie, you look good!" Wen Zhu put his arm around Wei Xiuxiu's neck and pointed to the lanterns on the roadside with one hand.
Wei Xiuxiu smiled and nodded: "Whichever one you like, mother will buy you one."
The county boss and Anren were very accommodating and even gave her an extra red envelope during the Chinese New Year, totaling ten taels, saying it was New Year's money for Wenzhu.
Wei Xiuxiu plans to buy a rabbit lantern for her daughter to make her happy.
Wenzhu retracted his hand and whispered: "If you don't want to buy it, let's save the money and provide for my mother-in-law in the future."
Wei Xiuxiu kissed her daughter's face and said, "It's still early for grandma to take care of herself in old age. The lanterns are not expensive. If Zhu likes them, buy one. You can light it up at night."
Wenzhu nodded and looked carefully to both sides.
Various colored lanterns are hung under the eaves of the shops on both sides, emitting warm light, including glazed palace lanterns, lotus lanterns, revolving lanterns, white elephant lanterns and crab lanterns.
There are also toad lanterns, official puppet lanterns, carp lanterns, crane lanterns, peacock lanterns, mandarin duck lanterns, cow lanterns, and sheep lanterns, which can be described as diverse.
In front of merchants' shops, a long string of crab lanterns and square-hole money lanterns are hung, which means that wealth will come from all directions and control the world.
Yingbao and Aniang walked and looked at each other, and finally stopped in front of their own shop.
It cost her more than 2,000 taels of silver to buy this three-storey shop with two floors above. Now it is run by her second cousin, who temporarily sells potted plants for all seasons.
In spring and summer, when the price of potted plants dropped, I asked my second cousin to set aside a room to sell specialties from Qinchuan County.
Or it would be good to open a rouge powder shop, and then the second concubine Yanru can take care of it.
Yanru can make rouge powder, which means she is very experienced in this area and it should not be difficult to make it.
With my own backing, I understand that those old rouge powder shops would not dare to make small moves in private.
"Third Aunt, Ying Bao, you go upstairs, I'm ready."
Jiang Quan stood at the door and said with a smile: "Some people from the tour will come over later, so we can sit upstairs to watch."
Ying Bao nodded and took A Niang and the maids up to the second floor.
The second floor is quite spacious, with tables and chairs placed near the window for easy sitting and watching.
The second cousin also asked the servant to make almond tea and lit many lamps to illuminate the upstairs.
There are also more than a dozen lanterns hanging under the eaves of the corridor downstairs, as well as a dozen pieces of colorful silk. On the colorful silk, there are yellow paper strips with riddles written on them for people who come to watch the lanterns to guess. Those who guess the correct answer can receive corresponding prizes.
The reward given by Ying Bao was very generous. She said to the palace maids and maids beside her: "You also have to guess, and the one who guesses correctly will receive the prize."
Among these prizes, the lowest prize is three colored candy balls, followed by five colored candy balls, then ten candies, a silk flower, a lantern, etc. The best first prize is a pair of silver bead flowers. Worth five taels of silver.
These rewards are all written on a large piece of red paper and posted at the door of the store to attract customers.
When the palace maids and maidservants saw that the county master asked them to play, they couldn't help but cheer. After a few blessings, they ran downstairs and laughed and watched the lantern riddles.
Mu Dan and Mei Xiang did not go down, but stayed quietly beside the county leader.
Under the supervision of Ying Bao, Xinghua and Pearl Amber can recognize a lot of words and can barely understand the riddles on the lantern riddles. However, there are only two literate people in the palace, and the rest can just watch the fun.
But regardless of whether they are literate or not, this group of flower-like girls stood under the lanterns at the door of the store, and they saw a beautiful scenery, which quickly attracted many young people to gather around them.
Jiang Quan asked a few servants to watch over him and not allow anyone to take advantage of his maid.
Wei Xiuxiu also held her daughter to guess lantern riddles, and she got several of them right, but they were all candies.
Wenzhu happily took off the yellow note that Aniang had guessed and handed it to the servant responsible for distributing the reward.
This servant was an official slave named Xiong Shan. He was about thirty years old and was a healthy servant assigned to Jiang Jie by the imperial court.
"Uncle Xiong, my mother-in-law has guessed correctly again. The answer is Lixia, do you think it is correct?" Wen Zhu smiled at Xiong Shan with his eyes bent.
Xiong Shan took it and checked the answer.
When Dayu became king (beating one day), the answer was indeed the beginning of summer.
"Yes, I'll give you a prize right now." Xiong Shan counted out five candies and gave them to Wenzhu.
Wenzhu was so happy that she stuffed all the candies into her little bag.
"Auntie, my bag can no longer hold it." Wenzhu said while nestling in Wei Xiuxiu's arms.
Wei Xiuxiu hugged her daughter and smiled: "Then let's stop guessing and go buy lanterns."
"OK."
Xiong Shan looked up at the mother and daughter, and suddenly said: "I happen to have a rabbit lantern here, give it to you."
As he spoke, he took out a small colored rabbit lantern from behind, which was just right for a child as big as Wenzhu to carry.
Wenzhu cheered and took it happily: "It looks good, thank you Uncle Xiong."
Wei Xiuxiu felt a little sorry and asked, "How much does the lantern cost?"
Xiong Shan: "I gave it to Wen Zhu for free."
"How embarrassing."
"It's not worth it for children to play with. You even made clothes for me." Xiong Shan raised his eyes and looked at Wei Xiuxiu: "Xiuxiu, it's not easy for you to take care of your children. If you have any difficulties in the future, just tell me. If you can help, I will definitely help you.”
Wei Xiuxiu blushed and nodded slightly.
Suddenly, there was a commotion on the street, and the sound of gongs and drums was heard.
A group of shirtless men held dragon lanterns and kept waving them. From a distance, the lantern dragons seemed to be alive, swimming with teeth and claws.
Behind the swimming dragon held by more than a dozen people, dozens more people held various koi lanterns, dancing and singing as they walked: "The jade mirror of the first month shines on the emperor's stage, heroic songs and drums rush to celebrate, the carp and golden dragon come down to earth, It will prolong your life for thousands of years."
The dragon dance team was followed by many dancers and musicians, and some people dressed up as various characters, such as Zhong Kui, Xiang Liu, the God of Wealth, the Goddess, etc., dancing as they walked.
These processions would walk twice around the Duanmen on the other side of the imperial city and perform for the emperor and his concubines in the Xuande Tower.
Yingbao waited for the dragon dance team to pass by before she and Aniang came downstairs.
When she passed by Xiong Shan, she glanced at him.
This man has a serious face and a strong body, which matches Wei Xiuxiu.
Alas, I have neglected the life-long affairs of the servants and maids at home.
Especially the four maids assigned to him by the emperor and Jiang Jie's two servants are quite old.
Just like Mei Xiang, she must be 19 this year, Lan Xiang is also 18 or 19, so she should have gotten married long ago.
But what kind of family should I find for them to match them?
Palace maids are not like slaves. They are all good citizens. When they get older, if the master is willing, he can let them go home directly.
But Yingbao couldn't just let them go, because they were sent by the emperor, and maybe they were the emperor's spies.
Otherwise, go back and ask Mei Xiang if they want to get married.
If they have that intention, I can help them find a son-in-law.