The two talked for a while, and after Xue Shao finished school, they had dinner together.
That night, after Xue Zhi and Zheng Xiu went to bed, Xue Zhi leaned over again, his hands started to behave in an unruly manner.
Zheng Xiu pushed him unhappily and said, "Dogs are not full, right?"
Xue Zhi smiled and said, "Woof!"
Zheng Xiu laughed a lot. Xue Zhi reached out to touch her waist and touched the itchy flesh. Zheng Xiu dodged and whispered, "Don't make trouble, don't make trouble, I'm tired all day, don't make trouble for me."
After playing enough, Xue Zhi stopped and tied her belt.
"Well, don't make trouble, go to sleep."
Zheng Xiu leaned in his arms, which was indeed more comforting than sleeping separately as usual.
The next day, Zheng Xiu got up and went to Changfeng Garden to report.
To organize a flower-viewing banquet of that scale, even if everyone in Changfeng Garden was mobilized, it would still cost manpower and material resources.
When Zheng Xiu went there, Princess Guihe was sorting out the invitations with Qiu Rui.
Princess Guihe gave the list, and Qiu Rui sorted them out one by one with gilded posts on the table next to her.
Zheng Xiu glanced at the side and found that Qiu Rui's handwriting was surprisingly beautiful, even more beautiful than the artistic words on the computer, and she couldn't help but take a few more glances.
Qiu Rui was writing, but when she saw her standing next to her, her hand stopped.
Zheng Xiu smiled and said, "Write it, I'll take a look."
Qiu Rui said, "Madam, you look at me like this, I'm nervous, I'm afraid I can't write well."
Zheng Xiu had to turn her head away, "Okay, I won't look at it, you write it."
Princess Guihe said coldly, "If you are jealous of other people's handwriting, practice it yourself. I'm not saying anything about your notes last time, but A Mian's handwriting is better than yours now."
Last time, Zheng Xiu sorted out the nursing precautions for Qiu Rui, and then naturally presented them to Princess Guihe.
In the past, Zheng Xiu had nothing to do with her, and she didn't worry about her. Now that they are close, Princess Guihe can't help but say a few words to her.
"Nowadays, people believe that handwriting reflects a person's character. As women, we don't have to take the imperial examinations, nor do we need to be very knowledgeable. But our handwriting must be presented to others. Apart from other things, if you are asked to manage the household in the future, and I hand out notes written in your handwriting, what will outsiders think?"
Zheng Xiu muttered softly, "You are here, why do you need me to be the housekeeper?"
Princess Guihe glared at her with hatred, "What if I'm gone!"
"Bah! What are you talking about?" Zheng Xiu immediately said seriously, "You are only this age, how can you say you're gone! You will definitely live a hundred years." It was not that she was overly nervous, but Princess Guihe had just suffered a stroke and fainted not long ago, and she has not fully recovered yet. It was indeed too unlucky to say such a thing.
Princess Guihe spoke too quickly and didn't think too much about it, so she added: "I mean, if I don't want to be the housekeeper anymore and I'm no longer in the position of managing the household, what will you do?"
Zheng Xiu smiled slyly and said, "The prince is getting married soon, and we will have a prince's wife in our house. You can send her to her, and we will have more things to do."
Everyone in the room was amused by her words.
Princess Guihe pointed at her and turned to the old nanny and said, "Look at her, nanny. She is really a lazy person."
The old nanny had been with Princess Guihe for many years and immediately understood that she was not just impulsive. She was afraid that she really wanted to let Zheng Xiu be the housekeeper, so she said, "I think the second wife is tactful and humble. She is capable of taking on important responsibilities."
Zheng Xiu waved her hands repeatedly, "Nanny, don't say that. If you want to give me some money and let me buy some groceries and two pieces of clothes, it's ok. But if you want me to take care of the food, clothing, housing and transportation of the entire mansion, I really am not capable of it."
Princess Guihe thought about it and it was true. Those housekeepers in the capital learned it from a young age by following their elders at home, and even so, many of them couldn't manage their households well. It was indeed a bit too much to ask Zheng Xiu to take over the entire Duke Qing's Mansion rashly. But she had been supporting it alone for so many years, and she had a serious illness, so she was really tired of it. But if she was asked to hand over the power of the housekeeper to the new bride as Zheng Xiu said, she would be worried before she knew the temperament of Xue Qin's future wife.
"Let's put it this way, you are free in Hao Yetang anyway. The mansion is holding a flower viewing banquet these days, so you can come over and learn more."
Zheng Xiu knew her own abilities and felt that she was not up to the responsibility, but Princess Guihe did not explicitly ask her to take charge of anything right away, but only asked her to learn, so she couldn't refuse, so she agreed and regarded herself as helping out.
After hearing Princess Guihe's words, Qiu Rui and others would consult Zheng Xiu about their future actions.
For example, on the theme of flower viewing, Qiu Rui asked her, "Second Madam, what kind of flowers should we put in our yard? The peonies and dahlias in the mansion are in full bloom now. When we hold the flower viewing banquet next month, the lotus flowers in the lotus pond in the garden should be in full bloom..."
Zheng Xiu didn't know much about flowers. Seeing that Princess Gui and Princess Chang were not there, she asked Qiu Rui, "Aren't the more flowers the better? Can't we put them all up?"
Qiu Rui explained, "Generally speaking, flower viewing banquets will have a theme, and a courtesan will be selected and placed in the center for people to admire. Talented ladies will also improvise a poem based on the flowers. If they win, they can take the flowers back and ask for good luck." Zheng
Xiu nodded suddenly. It turned out that there were these tricks to flower viewing.
She thought for a moment and said, "What does the princess love most?"
"The princess loves peonies, and we have collected many famous varieties in our mansion."
Zheng Xiu nodded, "Then let's take peonies as the theme. You keep the princess' favorite pots and put the rest away when the time comes."
Qiu Rui smiled softly, she thought so too. However, the second wife knew that she had to keep the favorites for their princess, which was considered thoughtful.
Later, Qiu Rui asked Zheng Xiu how to arrange the seating order.
This is also a very important and challenging job. Although those noble ladies are polite on weekdays, they are more sincere in their hearts.
Zheng Xiu really didn't know, so she had to ask Princess Guihe for help.
Princess Guihe took a red pen and circled the names on the list, saying, "These few will be arranged in the front, and the others will be arranged in the back."
Zheng Xiu understood that these noble ladies were either of particularly noble status or were the focus of Princess Guihe's inspection.
Later, Qiu Rui discussed with Zheng Xiu about the dishes for the banquet, the activities after the flower viewing, etc. Zheng Xiu tried her best to think about it herself, and asked Princess Guihe if she really didn't understand.
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