Concubine Survival Guide

Sitting in front of a few desks, Sheng Yan holds a brush in his hand, copying a picture of hibiscus.

This place is not his Lianxiang Residence, but a courtyard where Fourth Aunt lived in before she was alive. It was the house she lived in when she first married into Longfu.

Yan's mother and Yi's mother took a few glances outside the door, and a few drops of cold sweat could not help oozing from their foreheads.The ten young masters had no experience with them. Although they were diligent in paying their respects to the eldest lady, they never said much and were gentle and courteous to them.

Let Xing'er invite them here today, she thought she had something to ask for, but she didn't expect to be brought here.

What's the purpose of sitting here and painting instead of sitting with a good Lianxiang?

The two mothers hesitated at the door, feeling the cold mountain vines climbing up their backs, and couldn't help but glance at Xing'er next to them.Xing'er pretended not to watch too much, and said with a smile: "Please invite the two mothers in, the master has something to ask you."

Why is the tenth young master now acting like a master?Mama Yan was the first to disdain, she dragged Mama Yi into the room, gave a slight blessing, and raised her head.

Sheng Yan lowered his head and dipped in the ink, with a smile on his lips, but his voice was cool: "Mothers, did I wake you up?"

Mama Yan and Mama Yi were both taken aback, looking at each other in blank dismay, but the tenth young master is also the master after all, and the limelight has become more popular in recent years, so he had to be blessed again, "Greetings to the tenth young master!"

"Hmm..." Sheng Yan responded inaudibly, and he didn't let them get up for a long time. He was still drawing with his pen and said indifferently: "I invite you here today... Do you know what I am doing?"

"Please show me the tenth young master." Yan's mother straightened her back, thinking that he was just putting on airs of the young master to show his prestige.

Sheng Yan pursed her lips lightly, and outlined a flower stalk on the rice paper, neither spreading nor branching, and said unhurriedly: "Mama Yan has been with Da Furen for almost 20 years, since the day she entered the Dragon Mansion, Da Furen I put a lot of emphasis on you, and I rely on you to take care of everything for her... Speaking of which, Mama Yan has really contributed a lot and worked hard. But the master always has some hands that he can't personally intervene in. Mama Yan has also helped the eldest lady all these years I've had a lot to worry about..."

Yan's mother immediately heard that his words were only words, and there was a sound beyond the strings, her eyes were darkened, and she said: "It is naturally the duty of a servant to share the worries of the eldest lady."

"What a duty!" Sheng Yan hooked the corners of her mouth, raised her head and glanced at the two of them, put down the wolf hair in her hand, and said with a smile: "So, Da Furen must keep in mind the hard work of Mama Yan all these years. In your heart... Oh, yes, there is also Mother Yi, I only thought that Mother Yi was the mother who was in charge of Linglingxuan's foreign cabinet affairs, but in fact, you are also a celebrity in front of Da Furen."

Mother Yi's legs softened for a moment, so she could only reply anxiously: "Master Shi was joking, the slaves are indeed only in charge of the affairs of Linglingxuan's outer pavilion."

Sheng Yan covered herself with "huh", stood up from the table, seemed to be holding something in her hands, walked up to them, and said with a soft smile: "I think it's more than that, both of you are the confidantes of Da Furen. …Not only are you in charge of the internal affairs of Linglingxuan, but you are also very concerned about the servants in other rooms … Otherwise, why did you meet with Fifth Yiniang’s personal maid … in the abandoned garden late at night?”

Hearing this, Yan's mother's body trembled immediately, she bent her knees in a panic, managed to calm down, and replied: "Where did the ten young masters hear the gossip? What's wrong with a talkative girl and woman who chews her tongue!"

"Yes, yes, this kind of thing has never happened before." Mother Yi followed suit.

Sheng Yan raised her eyebrows with a smile, and casually talked about what she saw that night, "Oh? But when you threw that maidservant into the mouth of the well, what you said was very different from what you said today! What's the matter? ...Do you dare to lie to your master? You know...what crime is this?!"

Yan's mother didn't expect Sheng Yan to see that scene at all, she knelt down on the ground with a plop, bowed her head and said, "Master Ten, please forgive me, then that is... Mother Yi killed someone by mistake that day. For the sake of many years, I gave him an idea to throw the body into the well! The rest, the rest... I really don’t know anything!"

Mother Yi also knelt down on the ground, and replied anxiously: "Young Master Ten! This matter is said to be unintentional by the servant, and Xiaoni often comes to the mansion to visit the servant, although it is a visit, but every time Those who came to ask for money... Slaves, seeing how close they are to her at home, this servants would often give her money to spend. Who knows that she didn't know how to save money, so she used this slave as a money bag, and came to ask for it... That day, slave He didn’t want to give it to her, so he pushed her to the ground by wrong hand during the dispute, but unexpectedly, her head hit a rock and she died just like that!”

Oh, great, the brains of these two mothers are spinning fast, and the little abacus is crackling.

It's not impossible for Yi's mother to just admit her mistake and beg for mercy in front of the eldest lady if she killed someone by mistake.After all, the government doesn't want to meddle in such nosy affairs in the mansion of the aristocratic family, and just killed a maid by mistake. In the eyes of these officials, it is not at all commonplace.

But Sheng Yan didn't intend to let them fool around, so she suddenly raised her voice, and said slowly: "In this way, it was just a wrongful killing. It's a pity, Mama Yi, it's not good for you to kill whoever is next to Fifth Yiniang. It’s known that this maid’s soul lingers after her death... She once entrusted me with a dream and gave me something extraordinary?”

Most of the women and children in the deep house believe in the theory of ghosts and gods, and it is most effective to scare them with this.

Seeing Yi's mother's face turned pale in an instant, and her body went limp, "Master Ten, you...don't scare the servants."

Sheng Yan quietly bent the corners of her eyes, and paced in front of the two of them with her hands behind her back, "If these things were not caused by evil spirits, I really can't believe it... Why did such things appear under my pillow?"

He slowly spread his hands, revealing the Pisces pendant in his palm.

"This, this...how did this jade pendant happen?" Yan's mother widened her eyes in disbelief, her eyes were immediately filled with fear and panic, and she guessed in her heart that Sheng Yan had obtained this jade pendant by a terrible means, but They didn't even know about it at all. Now that he has produced such evidence, he still doesn't know if he knows the secret inside... What should I do?

How should the eldest lady explain it?

Mama Yan had no choice but to take Mama Yi to kowtow at Sheng Yan's feet, and said frankly: "Young Master Ten, I know I was wrong! This jade pendant... I don't know if this jade pendant, do you..."

"Have you opened it?" Sheng Yan's words exploded in the ears of the two like thunder, "I told you before, that maid probably knew that I saw myself thrown into the well that night, so she turned into a The wronged soul entrusted me with a dream, and not only sent the Pisces jade pendant, but also told me... the way to open it."

As soon as these words came out, Yan's mother was completely wilted, she knelt down and dared not speak, her body was covered in cold sweat like a waterfall.

Mother Yi trembled like fallen leaves, lying at his feet, her forehead almost touching the ground.

Sheng Yan sneered secretly, put away the jade pendant in his sleeve, and said: "What Fifth Auntie knew back then, I know now too... The two mothers are probably inseparable. Once I present this thing to the Elder Master, Do you know what will happen?"

The eldest lady is the mistress of the Long family. Her natal family has a strong background, and she is no worse than the Long family in theory. No matter how vicious she is, she is still the mistress. It is basically impossible for the elder to divorce her.Besides, it would be a big scandal if it got out, and the Elder Master would be the most likely to suppress it after seeing the evidence.However, in order to appease everyone, the eldest lady blamed all their mistakes on the servants, and killing one or two to set the record straight is the most likely end they will face.

Yan's mother, Yi's mother and even the eldest lady's temper quickly kowtowed to Sheng Yan a few times, Qiqi Ai said: "I beg ten young masters to spare our old lady, all these things... are all under the command of the master, slaves and maids are not How dare you refuse!"

How about obeying the master's orders, and clearing away all the guilt?

The accomplice must be clear, and the culprit must not be let go.Sheng Yan's eyes turned cold, and without asking other questions, he just said: "I want you to tell the truth, Si Yiniang was so seriously ill back then, did Da Furen send someone over... What did you do? Which of you one?"

Yan's mother thought for a while, then quickly shook her head and said, "Fourth aunt did die of illness, she was no different from anyone else. It's just, it's just..."

"Just what?" Sheng Yan clenched her fists tightly, but don't let me know that the eldest lady is really related to her mother's death!

"It's just that the eldest lady has a doctor who will treat Si Yiniang..." Yan's mother said tremblingly: "There is no need to prescribe the prescription carefully, and there is no right medicine for the case. It's just the most common cold medicine...it won't help Si Yiniang's condition. But it's harmless..."

At the end, seeing Sheng Yan's increasingly calm face, Yan's mother didn't dare to speak any more.

Sheng Yan stood in place like a jade bamboo, tough and smooth, motionless for a long time, with only a cold gleam in his eyes on his expressionless face.

……good very good!

Sheng Yan asked them a few more words and told them to leave first, "If you don't want to die, what happened today should rot in your stomach..."

"Yes, yes!" Mama Yan and Mama Yi nodded their heads, got up limply from the ground, and staggered out of the door.

Sheng Yan put away the dried paintings on several cases, looked back at the room, asked Xing'er to close the door, and returned to Lianxiangju with a deep frown.

After dinner, he sat with Xiaosi in his arms under the pear tree in the backyard, Sheng Yan's face seemed to be drenched by moonlight, and the brows were blurred by the full of silver snow.

"Master, those who are more exposed should go back to the house and rest!" Xing'er stepped forward and put a red cloak on him.

Sheng Yan nodded silently, went back to the house without saying a word, and found a letter by the window.

Is the dark guard here?He reached out to pick up the letter, closed the door and window, let Xiao Si play with Xiao Jiu, and then sat by the bed and opened it.

Su's handwriting is vigorous and elegant, with a bit of free and easy style.

The letter is not long, only three lines:

How deep is the love,

Live with you forever,

When I have half a day to sneak away,

Hou Junting piled up smoke next month.

"Heh...you're showing off acrobatics with me!" Sheng Yan pursed his lips into a smile, and put away the letter, as if all the worries on his face were blown away by the wind without leaving a trace.

After sitting quietly for a while, he still opened the window halfway, looked up at the high moon, and murmured to himself: "The bright moon should laugh at me affectionately, laugh at me now... the sorrow has just come down, and the emotion has come back..."

I also remembered that I only wrote two words in my letter to Suli—I miss you, I couldn’t help but wipe the burning clouds on my cheeks, and complained to myself, oh, why am I so shameless, next time I meet, I will definitely be given by Suli joke!

Could it be that it was because of this that Su accepted the Cen family's wedding banquet?But how did he know that he would definitely go?Sheng Yan suddenly thought wildly, muttered in a low voice, "I don't know how to explain it in the letter", and then put on the quilt slowly, and fell asleep with Xiao Si in his arms.

The next day, Long Bifei sent Mingyan over to ask what should be prepared as a congratulatory gift for Cen Shuyan.Sheng Yan thought for a while, and drew a picture of mandarin ducks playing in the water, and gave it to Mingyan, who asked his elder brother to inscribe a poem "Butterfly Loves Flowers" on it.

Long Bifei also felt that this kind of intention was good. After writing the words, hand them over to the housekeeper to frame them. When they leave, they can choose a red brocade box and put them in it.

Because he was thinking about improving the incense bowl and bearing of the incense ball, Sheng Yan sat in the incense room of Xiaoxiang Terrace for most of the day, until Xing'er came to invite him back for dinner, Sheng Yan stretched his arms and legs and went out.

Taking advantage of a few days before leaving for the northwest, he decided to consult with the gold and silver craftsman tomorrow, or at least draw a blueprint, so that the old craftsman can start working while he is away from home.

Since arriving in Yongjia, the craftsman was placed by Sheng Yan in a courtyard with two entrances and two exits in the side courtyard of Longfu. Except for Sheng Yan, only Long Bifei knew that he was a craftsman.Others thought it was the new cook that Ten Young Master had hired.

In order to prevent the improved incense ball technique from being overheard by others, Shengyan still has to do the trick of deceiving others.

After working for a few days, Sheng Yan already had the prototype of this incense ball in his mind. He wrote on the drawing: "Carve the whole body with grapes and honeysuckle wrapped around vine branches. The silver ball should be composed of upper and lower hemispheres connected by hinges. There should be a hook and loop on the side of the two balls, allowing the incense balls to be opened and closed up and down, and a silver seal chain should be placed on the top of the upper ball for hanging, but it can also be taken off..."

"Well, what's inside..." Sheng Yan continued to swipe his pen against the blueprint, "In the silver ball, there is a incense bowl containing incense pills, which is carried by two balance rings inside and outside. The two rings can move, and the outer ring and the The silver ball, the inner ring, and the bowl are connected by living shafts, so they can rotate flexibly. The shafts and shafts must form a right angle crossing angle... Only in this way can the incense ball roll no matter what, and the incense inside The bowl will be kept horizontal due to its own weight... In this way, the incense pills and incense ash of the incense bowl will not leak out when burning incense..."

Sheng Yan put down his pen and looked at his masterpiece with satisfaction. If this incense ball can be successfully made, not only can it be hung anywhere at will, but it can also be put directly into the bedding for incense... because no matter how it is rolled, it will not Sprinkling incense ash is much more convenient than using an incense burner to smoke a quilt.

"At that time... Su will definitely be shocked." Sheng Yan's silver bell-like laughter echoed in the room. After looking at the blueprint, it was inevitable that he would lose it. He followed the drawing and copied a copy. , hidden under the dark bricks.

Three days later, Long Bifei calculated that the days were almost up, so he asked Sheng Yan to pack up the necessary clothes, and the two of them set off in a carriage in the bleak autumn wind to Cen's Mansion in Zhandong City in the northwest.

Sheng Yan looked at the gate of Longfu which was getting further and further away, and half-closed his eyes in deep thought——

When I return to Long's house, it will be the day of complete counterattack and liquidation!