Flowers in full bloom

Although she fell asleep late at night, Hua Lei woke up refreshed the next day. After half past the morning, Hua Lei got up, woke up Xiao Yuan, washed up, and went to Songheyuan of Old Madam Pei to pay her respects. Although Old Madam Pei said that there was no need to be so troublesome, when staying in someone else's house, one must have the consciousness of being a guest.

After they washed up, they went straight to Songhe Courtyard. When they arrived at Songhe Courtyard, the maids were just about to serve breakfast to Old Madam Pei. Old Madam Pei was a little surprised to see Hualei and her brother. After the two of them greeted each other, she directly pulled the brother and sister to sit down and have breakfast together. Hualei had no choice but to sit down and have breakfast with Old Madam Pei.

After breakfast, Xiao Yuan followed Qing Lu to the clan school. The clan school in the Marquis's Mansion started at 1:01 pm, which was about 7:15 in the morning in the previous life. They could just catch up here.

The girls' school started later, at 6:30 am, which was 8:30 am in her previous life. Hua Lei was very satisfied with this as it was about the same time as her previous working hours. It was still early, so Hua Lei was not in a hurry to go back to her own courtyard. Instead, she accompanied Madam Pei in the small garden of Songhe Courtyard to take a slow walk to digest the food. There were many trees planted in the small garden. As they walked slowly among the trees, there was a refreshing smell in the air.

Hualei couldn't help but take a deep breath and said to Mrs. Pei with a smile, "Grandma Pei, the air here has a very refreshing smell, it smells very good." Mrs. Pei smiled and patted Hualei's hand, "If you like, come and accompany me in the future."

Although there are many children and grandchildren in the Marquis' Mansion, they all have to go to the clan school and the girls' school, so they are very busy every day. In addition, Mrs. Pei's health is not very good every winter, so she wants to be quiet, so Mrs. Pei asks them not to come and pay respects every day. Only on the day of the ten-day rest will the children and grandchildren come to Mrs. Pei's courtyard, and on other days the granddaughter will occasionally come to pay respects in the afternoon. Hualei nodded, and Qingying came over and said that it was almost time to go to the girls' school.

Hualei said goodbye to Madam Pei and followed Qingying to the girls' school, which was located in the north of the mansion. The mansion was divided into three vertical lines and seven horizontal lines. Madam Pei's Songhe Courtyard was located in the fourth row of the middle road. In front was the outer courtyard of the mansion, the old marquis's outer study, etc.

The first row on the east side is the guest house, and the second row is Changfeng Garden, where the eldest son Pei Jingyang lives. Madam Han, a concubine, and several daughters of the eldest son live here. Pei Zhenzhu lives in one of the small courtyards. The third row on the east side, Changqing Garden, was originally inhabited by Mr. Pei San and his family, but Mr. Pei San is now in office with his wife and children, so Changqing Courtyard is now only inhabited by his concubine, a son and a daughter, and it is relatively quiet. The fourth row on the east side, Changchun Courtyard, is empty at this time, with no one living there.

Hualei's Qihua Courtyard is just behind Changchun Courtyard, an independent courtyard in the fifth row of the east road, and there are three or four such courtyards next to it. Behind it is part of the back garden of the Marquis's Mansion.

The wives and concubines of Master Pei Si lived in the fifth row behind Old Madam Pei in the middle road, Changleyuan. Behind Changleyuan was the vacant Changxi Garden. Behind Changxi Garden were several independent courtyards, where the clan school and the women's school were located. So it was very close to Qihuayuan where Hualei lived. It took less than 15 minutes to walk. And behind the clan school was the back garden of the Marquis' Mansion. The concubines of the old Marquis and several illegitimate sons all lived in the west road of the Marquis' Mansion, occupying three courtyards.

There are also many relatives of the Marquis Mansion living in a courtyard in the southwest corner of the Marquis Mansion. I heard that because there are so many relatives staying here, it is very crowded. Behind the west road is a very large martial arts training ground. I heard that the descendants of the Marquis Mansion usually practice martial arts here, and the guards of the Marquis Mansion also practice martial arts in the martial arts training ground.

So Hualei's residence is very quiet. The Changchun Garden in front is empty, and the back is the back garden of the Marquis' Mansion. There are several empty independent courtyards in the east, and the west is the place where the clan school and the girls' school are located. At this time, it takes about 25 minutes to walk from Songheyuan to the girls' school. When you arrive at the girls' school, the time is about the same. Following the direction pointed by Qingying, Hualei entered a teaching building on the far right.

There were more than a dozen tables in the teaching building, arranged in three rows. Eight or nine people were already sitting there, three of whom Hualei knew: Pei Zhenzhu from the eldest son's wife's house, Pei Feicui from the eldest son's wife's house, and Pei Linlang from the fourth son's wife's house. It was said that when the old marquis was young, he liked gold, silver, gemstones, and jade, so he named his grandsons with the word "玉" in their names, and even named his granddaughters after jade and gemstones.

There were a dazzling array of agates, pearls, jades, and corals. I heard that the daughters-in-law behind were all worried about whether their daughters would be named Emerald in the future. Hualei didn't recognize the other few people.

Zhenzhu saw Hualei and waved her hand, asking Hualei to sit next to her. Hualei walked over and sat down next to Zhenzhu. Zhenzhu came over and whispered, "I thought you would take a few days off before coming here, but I didn't expect you to come today.

"Hua Lei nodded and whispered, "Well, it's okay to stay in the yard alone, so you might as well come over." Zhenzhu nodded and wanted to say something else, but the female teacher walked into the room. The girls who were whispering couldn't help but stop talking and sat up straight.

The first class was an embroidery class. The teacher surnamed Shi asked everyone to express themselves freely and embroider a piece of work on a handkerchief. Now there is no fish in the flower bud river - catching shrimps (blind), embroidery, nothing.

Several girls took down their sewing baskets from the wooden rack at the back of the classroom and threaded the needles expertly. They watched as Pearl tilted her head slightly, her slender fingers flying up and down the embroidery frame. In less than half an hour, several green bamboos stood upright on the embroidery frame. Hualei once again looked at Zhenzhu with new eyes. She was surprised and envious when she recalled the first time she saw Zhenzhu riding a horse. She didn't expect that she could ride a horse so well and embroider so well.

Hualei was really amazed. She turned around to look at the others. There were flowers, birds, fish and insects. Pei Feicui hadn't finished yet, but she could see that she was embroidering lotus. A delicate pink lotus was shyly blooming on the upper half of the embroidery frame. There seemed to be a few dewdrops rolling on the green lotus leaves. It was really vivid and lifelike. Hualei was envious. She looked at her own hands and couldn't even hold a needle.

After more than half an hour, the embroidery class ended. The female teacher picked up the embroidery of several girls and commented on each one, pointing out the strengths of each work and the areas that needed improvement. She then rated Pei Feicui's pink lotus as the first place and awarded her a strand of silver-studded silk thread as a reward. The female teacher also knew that Hua Lei was here for the first time today, so she didn't make any requirements and ended the get out of class.

After a break of two cups of tea, the second piano lesson began. A new female teacher, surnamed Guo, was hired by the Marquis's Mansion at a high price. However, Hualei was confused again. The current Gong, Shang, Jiao, Zheng and Yu were just like frogs jumping on drums for Hualei - Budong (I don't understand).

In the class, everyone played a piece, some long and some short, except Hualei. Fortunately, the female teacher was very tolerant and did not make any demands on Hualei. I don't know if this is a rule of female education or if the two female teachers are kind. The piano class also lasted for more than half an hour. The teacher praised several female students who played very smoothly and then dismissed them. Hualei's first day of female education ended in a daze.