The Flower Festival is approaching, and the Song Mansion's garden has already had some spring in its air. Last night, there was a breeze and a light rain, which moistened everything silently. The new leaves in the Song Mansion's garden are green, and the flower trees have sprouted many tender new buds and flower buds.
Cassandra Shi sat on a low stool by the window. Milk was steaming in the pot, emitting bursts of mist and a faint milky aroma.
Xier was picking vegetable leaves by the door and telling Lila in vivid detail what happened when the master returned home yesterday.
"Yesterday, the master returned home after dark. Although he looked a little tired, he looked energetic. Jinzhou is more than 500 miles away from Taiyuan. The master traveled day and night to get back, but he didn't look tired at all."
Lila stood by the stove and listened to her quietly. At the end, she smiled and agreed: "I heard that the master of the family has been practicing martial arts since he was young. At the age of fifteen, he followed Duke Song to fight everywhere. At the age of twenty-two, he inherited the position of Jiedushi. In the past few years, he has made great military achievements. Naturally, he is not comparable to ordinary military generals."
Cassandra Shi heard every word of their conversation. As soon as the words fell, Lila turned her head to look at Cassandra Shi and asked her curiously, "Did Madam Yang go to the second gate to see the master yesterday evening?"
Cassandra Shi had no interest in the appearance and temperament of the patriarch, and only said indifferently: "I was a little tired yesterday, and I went back to my room after dinner. I haven't seen him before."
Because she was an honored guest of the Song Mansion, Cassandra Shi's residence was not in the same place as the maids and servants in the mansion. Evelyn Madam specially placed her in the spacious and bright west courtyard. When Ethan Song returned home, there was quite a commotion outside, but Cassandra Shi did not care and just stayed in her bed and stayed awake.
Cassandra Shi was originally a native of the South. She had parents who were together in a free love relationship, good sisters who she could talk to about anything, and a considerate childhood boyfriend. She had spent 24 years of a plain and warm life in modern times. After her soul inexplicably entered this body, she found it difficult to accept the completely unfamiliar living environment around her.
But, when you are under someone else's roof, you have to bow your head.
She was afraid of being seen as a monster that could steal people's souls, so she had to suppress her uneasiness and fear of suddenly arriving in another world. She remained silent for a long time before she raised her hand and stroked the fine cloth that wrapped the wound on her forehead. She slowly said that she had probably hit her brain and could not remember many things from the past.
The old woman sent by Mrs. Xue to visit the patient frowned slightly after hearing what she said by the bed, thinking that she might have hit her head and forgotten everything.
The old woman did not want to stay any longer, so after comforting her with a few words in a gentle voice, she went back to Cuizhuju to report to Evelyn Madam.
Mrs. Xue was a kind-hearted person. After hearing this, she lowered her head, stroked her forehead, and whispered, "How pitiful!" She then ordered someone to invite a doctor who was good at this disease to come to her house to see her.
The doctor went to Cassandra Shi's room, carefully examined the injury on her forehead, and asked her a lot of questions. Cassandra Shi answered them one by one. The doctor stopped talking and wrote out a prescription.
Although Cassandra Shi had been drinking bitter medicine for more than a month, she was not Yang Chuyin after all, so she could not remember anything. She only learned about Yang Chuyin's life experience from other people bit by bit.
The original body of Yang Chuyin depended on his elder brother Yang Yan for survival. Three years ago, Yang Yan joined the Hedong Army. It was not until last year that he was appreciated by Ethan Song's younger brother Gabriel Song and promoted to the rank of captain under the sixth rank. However, in a battle five months ago, Yang Yan died under the enemy's knife in order to save Gabriel Song.
Gabriel Song was a grateful man. With tears in his eyes, he ordered people to bury Yang Yan's body properly. After much inquiry, he found Yang Yan's original body, Yang Chuyin. He went to Wenshui County personally to bring her to the Song Mansion, and moved Yang Yan's grave next to his mother's tomb.
Yang Chuyin was used to living in Wenshui County and wanted to refuse, but Gabriel Song was not the kind of person who gave up easily. He persuaded her after several attempts, citing the unstable situation and Yang Yan's personal entrustment before he died. She first went to pay homage to Yang Yan's tomb and kowtowed before she agreed to follow him to Taiyuan.
Because she was her grandson's savior, she was also beautiful, and her pair of watery peach eyes touched Mrs. Xue's heart, so Mrs. Xue treated Yang Chuyin very warmly. The maids and old women in the mansion saw that Gabriel Song and the lady treated her very kindly, so they naturally did not dare to treat her lightly, and would respectfully call her "Madam Yang" whenever they saw her.
When she first arrived at the Song Mansion, everyone in the mansion thought that Madam Yang was taciturn and could not be more dull. Until one rainy evening four months ago, she somehow fell down the stone steps and hit her head. She had a high fever for nearly three days. After waking up, she had forgotten all the people and events in the past, and her temperament also changed.
Except for Cassandra Shi, no one else in this world would know that she didn't suffer from cerebral contusion and rupture due to a hit on the head, but that she had a new core.
Although she has no worries about food and drink living in the Song Mansion, she is, after all, living under someone else's roof. At this moment, Evelyn Madam and Gabriel Song can still remember the kindness of her original brother and treat her well, but people's hearts are always fickle. After a long time, no one can say whether they can treat her as before. If that happens, wouldn't she be an eyesore and annoyed in the Song Mansion?
What's more, she has no relationship with the Song family, and she is not the real Yang Chuyin. She feels guilty for living a life of luxury by relying on someone else's identity.
Therefore, after careful consideration, Cassandra Shi decided to live in the Song Mansion for the time being. When she had free time, she would help the maids and old women in the mansion with things within her ability. When the situation in the north stabilized in the future, she would leave the Song Mansion and live a carefree life in Jinguan City.
The population of the Song family was not complicated compared to other aristocratic families. Mrs. Xue, who was nearly 70 years old, had two sons and one daughter. The only daughter, Song Weilan, married Lanling at the age of 16 and gave birth to two sons with her husband five years later.
Mrs. Xue's deceased eldest son, Song Lin, was both talented in civil and military affairs. He had risen to the second rank of Hedong Jiedushi when he was in his early thirties. He married the daughter of the Zhen family when he was still young and had three sons and one daughter over the years: the eldest son died young. The second son, Ethan Song, was very gifted. He had studied the Art of War since childhood. He was proficient in riding and shooting and had amazing arm strength when he was young. Later, he was invincible on the battlefield. He was much better than his father, but his marriage was not very smooth. He is still unmarried at the age of twenty-six; the third son, Samuel Song, married the eldest daughter of a family of old friends before he was even twenty. The couple loved each other very much. They have no Concub!nes and have one son; the eldest daughter, Song Qingyin, was a famous talented woman in Taiyuan. She married and moved to Lanling eight years ago. A few years ago, she went to Chang'an with her husband to take up the post and has not returned home for three years.
Her second son, Song Ming, was very different from his elder brother Song Lin. He had neglected his studies since he was young, and spent his time drinking, having fun, and engaging in cockfighting and dog-racing with others. After he came of age, he became even more lustful and stupid. Because he had no official position, he already had three beautiful Concub!nes before he got married, not to mention the maids and pimps he had abused.
Although Song Ming was a playboy, he had only one son and one daughter. The fourth son was born to his Concub!ne, Wang, and was only twelve years old now; the second daughter was born to his wife, Gao, and she just came of age last February. Her name was Clara Song. She had a face as fair as a peach and skin as white as porcelain. She was lively and charming, and she was quite favored by Old Madam Song.
This Song Er Niang is quite fond of sweets. Ever since Cassandra Shi went to the kitchen, she has loved the cakes made by Cassandra Shi the most. Yesterday evening, when Ethan Song returned home, he saw Clara Song and casually said, "Er Niang's face looks rounder than when I left home a few months ago." After hearing this, Clara Song immediately frowned slightly and bit his lower lip in grievance, looking obviously unhappy.
Seeing this, Evelyn Madam, who was standing beside him, patted Ethan Song's arm in a pretentious manner and said in a reproachful tone, "Why did you invite Second Mother to do this for no reason? You don't behave like a brother. After dinner, take a shower and change clothes quickly, and go to burn incense for your grandfather and father-in-law."
It was originally a joke, but Clara Song seemed to have taken his words to heart. This morning, he looked at himself in the gold-backed bronze mirror for a long time in a depressed manner. Finally, in the afternoon, he asked the maid beside him to go to the kitchen to ask for a small bowl of double-skin cheese.
"That's a pity. I heard from Cui'er in the needlework room that the master is more than 6 feet 4 (one foot in the Tang Dynasty was about 30.7 cm), with a golden and jade-like appearance and extraordinary bravery. Looking across the whole of Taiyuan, there is no other man with the master's character, appearance and stature. Now that the master has returned home, Madam Yang will eventually meet him."
Lila's words interrupted Cassandra Shi's thoughts, and she just came back to her senses and hummed nonchalantly. At this time, the milk in the steamer had already been steamed, and Cassandra Shi took out the small cup and let it cool down.
Liu Ao's voice was heard from outside the door, and then the curtain was drawn open. Song Qing and Sophie Yin, the second-class maid in the room, walked in with a smile on their faces, and tilted their heads slightly back to listen to what Liu Ao was saying.
When they entered the kitchen, Aunt Liu stopped talking and went to the side to see how Xier was picking the vegetables.
Sophie Yin walked over slowly and asked Cassandra Shi with a smile: "Madam Yang, is your double-skin pastry ready?"
Cassandra Shi added candied red beans and raisins to the cream, and smiled at her: "You came at the right time. It has just cooled down and solidified into a cream. It is delicious now."
Sophie Yin had a face as white as a silver basin and eyebrows as green as willows. When she smiled, she had two shallow dimples, and she looked pretty and refined. Because she often went to the kitchen and was a straightforward person, she became familiar with Cassandra Shi and became good friends with her.
"Mrs. Yang is a distinguished guest of our mansion. Since you have nothing to do today, please cook for us yourself."
Shi Yan glanced out the window, covered the small cup with a lid and put it in the food box, then smiled and said, "You are always good at coaxing people. Go back quickly and don't keep the young lady waiting for too long. I'll come and talk to you tomorrow when I have time."
Sophie Yin took the food box, lowered his voice and said a few jokes to her, then left.
Cuizhuju.
Evelyn Madam and Ethan Song sat on either side of the Luohan bed. On the carved rosewood bed table was a blue and white incense burner with twined branches, and on the white porcelain silver-flowered tray were seasonal fresh fruits.
"In the past, your father failed to capture Jinzhou after a long siege, and later lost his life in Yingzhou. Erlang has conquered Jinzhou this time. If your father knew about this, he would definitely be proud of you." While speaking, Mrs. Xue thought of her eldest son who died young, and her eyes became slightly red.
Ethan Song lowered his eyes slightly when he heard that, a hint of melancholy appeared in his eyes. He silently picked up the teacup and took two sips to moisten his throat.
Mrs. Xue secretly regretted mentioning his Ye Ye when she saw this, so she changed the subject: "I vaguely remember that your deputy general Wei Gabriel Song lost his wife three years ago and only has one daughter. Has he remarried now?"
Ethan Song said two words calmly: "Not yet."
Mrs. Xue thought for a moment, lowered her head and sighed softly, saying, "He is a loyal man." After saying that, she glanced at the teacup in his hand and said, "This Junshan Yinzhen is an old tea from the year before last. Do you like it?"
Junshan Yinzhen tea is produced on a small island on Dongting Lake, and its production is very limited. In addition, the relationship between Ethan Song and the governor of Hunan has become increasingly tense in the past two years, so it is not easy to get. Therefore, since last year, Ethan Song has changed his regular tea to Mengding Mountain tea from Shu.
Ethan Song said, "Very good. I think there is not much left here, so you can just ask someone to make some ordinary tea for your grandson next time."
The grandfather and grandson chatted for a while, then Ethan Song said goodbye and left. Old Madam Song sent Huanzhu to invite Cassandra Shi over.
Huanzhu had just left Cuizhu Hall when she saw a lot of dark clouds gathered in the sky. She quickened her pace feeling uneasy, but she was still soaked by the rain.
"It's raining outside, why don't you hold an umbrella? Look, you're all wet. It's chilly in early spring, so you'd better be careful not to catch a cold." Aunt Liu, who was near the door, said as she went to get a clean towel.
Huanzhu took the towel and wiped her hair. After thanking the man, she looked at Shi Yan and said in a gentle voice, "I just went to your yard to look for you, but I couldn't find you. I guessed you couldn't sit still and helped in the kitchen. Now that I see you here, it shows that my guess is right. Madam sent me here to invite you to Cuizhu Residence."
Shi Yan nodded in agreement. Seeing her wet black hair, he said with concern, "Miss Huanzhu, you have been caught in the rain. Dry your hair and clothes and drink a bowl of ginger soup to warm yourself up before going back. If you catch a cold, how can you serve the Madam? I will go to Cuizhu Hall now and explain this to the Madam when I see her. I think it should be fine."
Upon hearing this, Lila smiled and agreed with a few words, and took out a piece of ginger from the vegetable basket. Huanzhu thought what she said made sense, and after thanking everyone in the kitchen, she sat down on a low stool beside the stove to keep warm and wipe her hair.
Raindrops hit the banana leaves beside the wall, making a dripping sound. Cassandra Shi opened the bamboo-frame oil-paper umbrella with a lotus painted on it, walked down the steps, out of the yard and walked towards Cuizhuju.
Cassandra Shi turned through the screen door and entered the garden. The whole garden was filled with lush green, red and purple, and the shadows of flowers and willows. Her white silk heavy shoes splashed water on the stone slabs, and the edge of her skirt and embroidered shoes were stained with mud. As soon as she raised her head, she saw a tall and burly man standing in a pavilion beside a stone bridge not far away. He was wearing a dark round-necked long gown with cloud patterns. Cassandra Shi glanced sideways and found that the man seemed to be looking at her.
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