The Princess's Notebook

She couldn't understand why. Judging from what he did just now, this eunuch should have turned around and gone upstairs to tear her apart, or at least should have said a few words in response. Why did he leave so easily?

After thinking about it, she had no idea. She was not a serious person, so she didn't care.

Anyway, Xiao Huangmen is not an ordinary person, so it is possible that he has extraordinary ideas.

Afterwards, she wandered around the book pavilion for a long time and selected a few storybooks, such as "Tianshi Yang Descends to Earth and Meets the Red Dust", "The Princess Marries for the Second Time"...

When she came out of the door, she saw the boy from Huitong Bookstore still waiting, so she quickly stepped forward and thanked him. After a long chatter, she returned to the private room. Shiqi Niang looked around and spoke with difficulty:
"Before I entered the library, was there anyone inside?"

The boy said, "Master Seventeen, is there anyone here? The shopkeeper didn't tell me, so I really don't know. I hope you can forgive me."

"Nothing, nothing. Then..." Shiqi Niang said, and it became more and more difficult to say, "Just now, I...what I said was that...that...did you hear it?"

The boy lowered his head and smiled, but did not answer.

Judging from the appearance, everyone around must have heard it.

Wang Shiqi Niang's face turned pale immediately. It was over. She was a good young lady, but now she was labeled a shrew before she even reached the age of marriage.

How great is this!
As if he could see through her concerns, the young man handed her a plate of scallion pancakes and said soothingly, "Seventeenth Master, although I am just a waiter in a bookstore, I have seen a lot of people coming and going. Our dynasty is not like the previous dynasty, where women are restricted... Grandma Xiang, who owns the shop to the east, was very fierce in her early years, but she was never gossiped about. And there's Yu in the back street..."

At this point, the boy seemed to feel that it was not quite right, and he hesitated, looking for an opportunity to make amends.

Shiqi Niang didn't care at all and took over the conversation, "Madam Yu, you are clean and tidy, and you don't quarrel with the neighbors from time to time. Isn't that what you want to say?"

The boy kept nodding.

"Thank you! Who am I, Wang Shiqi Niang, to be upset over such a small matter? I caused the trouble, so of course I will bear the consequences. What are you afraid of!"

At that moment, Shopkeeper Xu came in from outside and said with a smile, "What are you afraid of? No one will cause trouble in my Huitong Bookstore."

As he spoke, he walked to the opposite side of Shiqi Niang and sat down. He was wearing a moon-white long gown, which was tight around his waist. The jade pendant on his waist swayed as he moved, making a pleasant sound. A gentleman of integrity is nothing more than this.

Shiqi Niang stood up and greeted him, "Manager Xu, it's nothing. We were just chatting, don't take it seriously."

As soon as Shopkeeper Xu sat down, he looked around, picked up the teapot, and poured a pot of tea for Shiqi Niang. He gestured with his hand, "This is the first spring tea we got. Shiqi Niang, please have a taste."

All the Seventeenth Lady's books were sent to Huitong Bookstore for printing and selling. There were so many of them that, except for the ordinary boys who still called her "Seventeenth Young Master" according to the rules, everyone called her "Seventeenth Lady."

She took the teacup, and before she took a sip, the fragrance filled her nose and face. She sniffed carefully, and there was a faint orchid scent mixed in. She took a sip, and the fragrance lingered in her mouth, mellow and sweet.

"This spring's Taiping Houkui?"

Shopkeeper Xu laughed, "As expected of Seventeenth Lady! Now that this Taiping Houkui has fallen into Seventeenth Lady's hands, it is worth its trip here."

"When did Shopkeeper Xu learn to joke? How could Shopkeeper Xu not know the situation in my house? I can only know this because Shopkeeper Xu took care of me."

Waving his hand, Manager Xu ordered the waiter to go out and stand guard, and whispered: "This, I know something. Don't be afraid that Seventeenth Lady will be angry. The Xuandefang Palace is not only in Xuandefang, but also very famous in the whole capital. This..."

"What is this?" Shiqi Niang said bluntly, "I was born in the Wang family, so what do I not know? There are rumors outside that our Wang family has bad deeds from our ancestors, and now there are so many girls that there is not even a decent name."

Shopkeeper Xu wanted to interrupt and say something, but Shiqi Niang kept saying, "I came here to write some storybooks and earn some money. It will make life better for my family. I never took what you said to heart. There are many more nasty things said outside. Am I going to curse back at them one by one? If that's the case, this cup of Taiping Houkui today won't be enough!"

As she spoke, Wang Shiqi Niang began to laugh and poured herself another pot of tea.

She was cheerful and open-minded, completely different from the person she was just in Huili Building.

At this point, Shopkeeper Xu stopped beating around the bush and started talking about business.

"Seventeenth Lady, to be honest, the books I've read in the past few months are far worse than before. If you still want to make some money like before, I'm afraid... I'm afraid you can't do it."

The young lady held the teacup tightly, and after a moment's rest, she said, "Why, is this month worse than last month?"

The man couldn't bear it, so he stretched out his hand and drew a number three, "Seventeenth Lady, this month there are only three taels. It's not a little less."

"Last month, there were still five taels last month? Boss, you must have calculated wrongly." Shiqi Niang was so anxious that she almost couldn't hold the teacup.

The shopkeeper was embarrassed, "Young lady, I told you last month that the storybooks are not the Criminal Law. Hey, the storybooks for the past two months are almost as good as the imperial court's popular law. They are not what the young ladies like to read nowadays."

She couldn't understand, "Since last month, I have rarely written the laws in the Criminal Code. Why is it still like this?"

Seeing that she really didn't understand, Manager Xu took out a storybook from his sleeve, and on the cover was written "Yuyang Night Talk". Opening the book, it can be seen that many pages have been marked with red ink.

Manager Xu pointed to one of the passages and said, "Look here. In the previous passage, it was written that Young Master Wang was unable to meet a beautiful woman at night and was caught by the servants and sent to the government after being soaked in the rain all night under the eaves. Look here, how come you wrote that Young Master Wang was exhausted and collapsed in the backyard?

Shiqi Niang's eyes widened, full of confusion. "What else can I write? It was a blessing not to be struck by lightning after a whole night of thunderstorms. Can I go back alive with nothing?!"

Shopkeeper Xu held his forehead and sighed repeatedly.

This Seventeenth Lady was not like this before, she was quite talented. Why did she seem to be under a spell in the past two months?

The man patiently guided her and said, "Master Wang is Madam He's future husband. Later, we have to write about Madam He arguing with her elders for Master Wang. How can such a person... such a person make you fall in love with him?"

"No, he was already very powerful. He was a civil official, not a military general, but he stood straight for a whole night before fainting. Isn't that enough?!" Shiqi Niang was still puzzled.

After going back and forth several times, Manager Xu left a sentence "Please think about it carefully" and three taels of silver, then walked away.

Leaving Shiqi Niang alone, what is she thinking about? !

What's wrong with climbing over the wall into someone's backyard in the middle of the night and getting caught and sent to the authorities?

The law in the Criminal Code: trespassing into another person's house will result in fifty strokes of the cane. But she hasn't written it yet!

……

When he returned to the mansion and just entered the inner house through the back corner door, he saw Jingui standing under a lush banyan tree, pacing back and forth in a hurry, looking extremely anxious.

Shiqi Niang strode forward and asked, "What happened?"

Hearing the voice, Jingui hurried forward and said tearfully, "Miss, it's bad. Aunt Shangguan is sick again."

Shiqi Niang hurriedly led her people to Qiu Shuang Ju, "Is that it? Didn't I tell you to stay here and wait for me to come back from the bookstore so that we can have money to treat Auntie's illness? Now you are waiting for me here, who is taking care of Qiu Shuang Ju?"

"Young lady, don't be impatient. I haven't finished my words yet. This morning, Aunt Shangguan couldn't find you and she collapsed without catching her breath. She woke up half a quarter of an hour later, but she was not conscious and she was sick again. There were few people in Qiu Shuangju and she couldn't keep an eye on her. Madam came..."

The young lady paused in surprise, "What did you say, the Madam is here?! What is she here for?"

"Madam came and asked Madam Qiu to find a doctor for Auntie. She gave her a lot of instructions, and then... and then..."

"And then what? Speak now!"

Jingui lowered her head, her face full of tears, feeling very guilty, "The madam saw that the young lady was not there, so she had people surround Qiu Shuangju, saying that she would be beaten with a stick if she was caught."

Shiqi Niang's mind raced, "Madam, do you know my story?"

"Not yet, it's just... it's just..."

Before Jinzhi could explain clearly, Shuangxi, the second-class maid serving the lady, came quietly from one end of the corridor and walked up to Shiqi Niang and her servant.

"Miss Seventeen, Madam wants to talk to you. Please follow me."

With no other options, Shiqi Niang could only follow behind Shuangxi, walking forward step by step. Seeing that Shuangxi didn't pay much attention to her, Shiqi Niang quietly turned her head and gestured to Jinzhi:
Hurry up, is there any other news?
Jinzhi stamped her feet anxiously, but did not say a word.

Shiqi Niang sighed in her heart: Oh, this maid is so stupid.

Less than half an hour later, she realized the helplessness and sadness behind Manager Xu's words "Please think about it again."

Walk out of the winding corridor, turn around the wisteria wall, and enter the Autumn Frost Residence.

Originally, only Aunt Shangguan lived in Qiu Shuang Ju. In her early years, Aunt Shangguan stood out among all the other aunts because she knew a little about poetry. That's why she was arranged to live in Qiu Shuang Ju. Speaking of Qiu Shuang Ju, it has different colors in all seasons, and the scenery changes as you move. From the wisteria in spring to the red leaves in autumn, it is the place with the second most beautiful scenery in the East Courtyard after the main courtyard. But later, Aunt Shangguan's daughter died before she was 18 years old... Aunt Shangguan went crazy, and her condition was sometimes good and sometimes bad.

Everyone was wary of it, even Master Wang Si disliked it, so Qiu Shuang Ju was just a name.

Later, more and more people came to the mansion, and the huge three-courtyard house was not big enough to live in. Seventeenth Lady and Aunt Feng were added to Qiu Shuangju.

The three-room Qiu Shuang Residence was now surrounded by the Madam's men. Before Shiqi Niang entered the main room, she saw her aunt, Aunt Feng, standing under the eaves with red eyes. Her eyes were full of tears and heartache.

Aunt Feng was being pulled by someone and struggled desperately to get to Shiqi Niang, but she couldn't.

She didn't dare scream, her lips trembled, opening and closing.

Shiqi Niang walked under the eaves and comforted her softly, "Aunt, Madam won't do anything to me, don't worry."

After hearing this, Aunt Feng's tears rolled down her cheeks. Her eyes followed Shiqi Niang in and fell on her back until the door of the main room closed. Then Aunt Feng sat down and sobbed.

When Shiqi Niang entered the room, she saw the Madam sitting high up with only Madam Qiu beside her, and her heart suddenly jumped into her throat. Then she heard the Madam order Shuangxi to close the door and go out to wait.

For a moment, the lady who was sitting high up in the chair tapped the teacup gently. The extremely small sound made Shiqi Niang tremble with fear.

He knelt down and said, "Madam, I...I went out for a while..."

What should I say?

The lady didn't see her notebook, so she should have said something else to fool the audience.

While he was thinking, the lady whispered, "Seventeenth Lady, is the literary gathering at Huitong Bookstore lively?"

Shiqi Niang was immediately disheartened. Madam, you know everything!
"Madam, I...I...the literary gathering...was very lively."

Madam: "Then the bookstore at Huitong Bookstore is even more lively. You are so happy that you even forget the time."

"Madam, I... I won't dare to do it again. I will stay at home and take care of my aunt and my aunt Shangguan. I won't do it again. Please punish me. It's all because of Shiqi Niang's love of playing. It has nothing to do with them."

It was such a long apology that in such a large room, only the voice of Shiqi Niang's apology could be heard, and nothing else.

After a long time, the lady slowly said, "You are fourteen this year. If you were born in an ordinary family, you should have been promised to someone and learned how to manage the household. You also know what the situation is at home. Your brothers have not yet married. Sixteenth Lady, you, Eighteenth Lady, Nineteenth Lady, and several other girls are also waiting to be married.

I don't want to hear gossip outside, saying this and that about our daughter. You...

Going in and out, earning some money to treat Shangguan and support your weak mother, I have known about this for a long time. You don't have to come and apologize now.

Whether it is a sin or not is not the point here.

You should know what I want.

understand? "

Shiqi Niang pressed her forehead tightly against the ground, her hands clasped on the blue bricks. The cold touch started from her forehead and gradually spread throughout her body.

She understood what the lady meant.

There were many children in the mansion and the family was not well off. It was already very difficult for her, an unmarried young lady, to take care of two concubines, one of whom was crazy and the other weak.

You don't have to worry about writing storybooks to supplement the family income.

However, if she caused any gossip when she was out, she would no longer be Wang Shiqi Niang.

A'niang gave birth to her and raised her, and Aunt Shangguan taught her to read, so she couldn't ignore either of them.

Therefore, Shiqi Niang said in a clear voice: "Madam, Shiqi Niang understands. I just like to read storybooks and seek some excitement. It's nothing serious."

Seeing her like this, the lady looked at Nanny Qiu beside her with some pity in her eyes, then stood up and walked out.

"That's good. However, since you left without permission, I will punish you by making you reflect on your mistakes in Frostwind Residence for a month."

As they spoke, Madam Qiu and her servant opened the door and went out. The servants outside walked away in a mighty procession.

Before the others had gone far, Aunt Feng came running over, knelt down in front of Shiqi Niang with a thud, and shouted, "It's all Aunt's fault. It's all Aunt's incompetence that made my son suffer... It's all my incompetence..."

I keep talking about this over and over again, and it’s just these two sentences.

After hearing so much, Shiqi Niang's eyelids fluttered. She turned around and patted Aunt Feng's back, comforting her: "Aunt, it's okay. Madam is a good person. She just scolded you and asked you to reflect on your mistakes for a month. It's nothing, Aunt, don't worry... I haven't asked Aunt, how is Aunt Shangguan? Has she seen the doctor? What did the doctor say?"

Speaking of Shangguan, Aunt Feng cried even harder, gasping for breath, "She... cried so hard, saying one moment she was the daughter of a minister, the next moment she said her husband was coming to pick her up... all these rumors scared me so much that I couldn't even stand. You don't know..."

Aunt Feng was about to say something, but Shiqi Niang pulled her up and went to visit Aunt Shangguan together.

The three small rooms were occupied by Shangguan Yimiao in the east wing, and Feng Yimiao and Shiqi Niang in the west wing. It was really full. At the moment, there were only two maids serving in the east wing, one was Shiqi Niang's maid, Yingui, and the other was Shangguan Yimiao's maid, Chengyue.

As soon as Seventeenth Lady and the other girl turned around the screen, the two girls hurried forward to greet them.

Yin Gui walked up to Shiqi Niang and whispered to her about Aunt Shangguan's condition, saying that she had taken medicine and went to sleep. The doctor said it was a chronic disease that could not be cured, and she could only be taken care of. Don't worry too much, just take it one day at a time.

Hearing this, it seemed as if Aunt Shangguan would not live long, and Aunt Feng began to cry again, her eyes blurred with tears.

Pulling Shiqi Niang's hand, "Shangguan was originally a young lady from an official family, but she fell into trouble and became a concubine. It was not easy for her to be loved by the Fourth Master, but who would have thought that she couldn't even support a daughter. Now, she only has a maid by her side. You... my son, she taught you to read and write, and she has done us a great favor. You must respect her and can't ignore her."

As she spoke, tears from Aunt Feng's eyes slid down her cheeks and dripped onto the back of Shiqi Niang's hand.

A crystal clear drop slowly slides down.

Aunt Feng had said this so many times that Shiqi Niang had memorized it by heart.

So he responded politely and patiently said a few words of comfort before sending the person away.

Only then did I have time to take a good look at Aunt Shangguan. She was pale, her hair was like dry grass, and she lay quietly. Even so, I could still see her past elegance from her eyebrows and eyes. Her eyebrows and eyes were like paintings, and she was weak but also had a poetic and picturesque tenacity, like orchids in the wind, like daffodils under the moon.

She tucked in the corners of the quilt, gave Chengyue some gentle instructions, boiled medicine and fed her water. It was not until dinner time that Shiqi Niang returned to her boudoir.

The west wing room was not too small. After turning around the screen in the main room, there was Aunt Feng's couch. After passing the green gauze cabinet and entering the innermost room, there was Shiqi Niang's couch.

It was late at night and the wind started to blow. The red maple trees outside the window still had green buds on their branches. The night wind blew across the dry branches, like an actor's broken voice, howling dryly.

Shiqi Niang lay on her side facing the south window, with one hand under her head, staring at the swaying slender branches in a daze.

In the entire Qiu Shuang Residence, apart from the maids and old women, there are only three masters. One is weak and unable to take care of herself, one is sick and crazy, and the only one left is herself, who has not yet reached the age of marriage.

The three of them only had a monthly allowance of four taels in total. But this money was used to take care of Aunt Shangguan's medicine, the kitchen, and daily affairs...

Now, storybooks are becoming less and less profitable.

In the days to come, the three of them, mother and son, would have to breathe the wind and drink the dew.

She was a young lady, so worried that she tossed and turned until the night wind died down and she finally fell into a deep sleep.

But as soon as he fell asleep, the eunuch came again to preach during the day.

Shiqi Niang was so angry that she raised her fist in her sleep and beat the quilt.

It's really hard to live like this.

(End of this chapter)