Chapter 202

The three of them came to the side of the canal. First, they grabbed a handful of soil to wipe off the grease on their hands. Then, they washed their hands with the clear water in the canal. Le Yao was still young, so naturally, it was her mother who did the washing for her. Xue Shuiwu held her little hands and helped her wash them as she spoke softly.

"Let's talk about drinking tea. There are also many rules. Different occasions and different places have different things to pay attention to. For example, after having a meal with a guest, they will often serve tea. This tea cannot be filled to the brim. The water should only be filled to seventy percent and must not be filled to the brim. "

This Xue Shuiwu was really a good mother. She did not forget to educate her daughter when there was an opportunity. She probably wanted to educate her daughter to become a real lady from a respectable family. Just now, when tea was mentioned, she taught her daughter about the tea ceremony. Ye Xiaotian felt that it was fortunate that this little girl was still young and had an innocent and unaffected nature. Otherwise, it would be boring for her to behave like a well-behaved little adult.

However, Ye Xiaotian did not know much about the tea ceremony. Thus, he listened with great interest and benefited a lot. "When drinking tea, if there are tea leaves floating on the surface of the water, use the lid to hold it down. Don't use the lid to blow or blow on it. That is very rude.

Also, when drinking tea, take small sips. No matter how thirsty you are, don't drink it all in one gulp. If a cup of tea is finished and you want to refill it, you just need to lift the lid and place it on the tray. The host will know that you want to refill water. Don't ask for it. When the host refills your water, you need to bow to express your gratitude.

If you are the host, when refilling water for a guest, you must turn sideways. Your hand must hold the lid of the teapot. The spout of the teapot must not face the guest. That is an insult. If you are serving tea to someone, don't turn around immediately. Take three steps back before turning around. Otherwise, it is also disrespectful. "

Ye Xiaotian mingled with a group of court officials in the Ministry of Justice. He knew a lot of things. However, those court officials were all criminals. They were definitely not interested in teaching him about the tea ceremony. Now that he heard it, he could not help but remember it in his heart.

Xue Shuiwu used fine soil to clean her daughter's hands. "Alright, wash it yourself."

Le Yao squatted beside the canal and washed her hands. While washing her hands, Xue Shuiwu continued, "If you're visiting someone with a higher status than you, don't drink the tea that's served to you. It's just for show. Unless the host raises his hand to 'invite' of you, the moment the host raises his hand, the servants will shout 'send the guest off'. of course, it is called 'send'. "

Ye Xiaotian could not help but laugh: "I of you of of of of of things of my own. I did not expect you to know so.

After a moment of silence, Xue Shuiwu faintly said, "My father used to be the manager of the Department for Purging Officials in the Ministry of Rites."

Ye Xiaotian was shocked and cried out involuntarily, "You're actually the descendant of an official? "…"

Xue Shuiwu's face turned gloomy. She said gloomily, "How can you be a concubine? My father was in charge of the ceremony, military rites, education, and imperial examinations. There was one time when there was a scandal. To appease the anger of the scholars, everyone was punished regardless of whether they were involved. The lightest punishment was confiscation of their family property. My family fell from grace … "

Ye Xiaotian was stunned and thought to himself, I've really gained a great advantage this time! Not only did I get a beautiful girl, she is also of noble birth. She is the daughter of the head of the Ministry of Rites. But … even if her family fell, she should not be so miserable as to become someone's concubine. This … "

"Now that you are free, why don't you go home?" Ye Xiaotian probed.

"Because in the hearts of my father and brother, I am already dead," Xue Shuiwu said lightly.

Ye Xiaotian looked at her in astonishment. Xue Shuiwu raised her head and looked at the dazzling stars in the sky. She said sadly, "My family is also a scholarly family. My family has already fallen. If the news of my daughter becoming someone's concubine were to spread, wouldn't it be a complete disgrace? So, when I decided to sell my body to bury my mother, my family … already thought I was dead. "

"Sell your body to bury your mother?" Ye Xiaotian was surprised.

"Sell your body to bury your mother?" Xue Shuiwu lowered her head and washed her hands. "At that time, the court was investigating my father's case. My mother was seriously ill. My family did not have time to treat her and she passed away. After the family property was confiscated, my father was afraid that something bad would happen if he stayed in the capital. He was anxious to return home. He did not even want to make arrangements for my mother's funeral. He wanted to tie her up in a straw mat and bury her hastily. I am just a weak girl. What can I do? So … But my father and brother thought that I sold my body to bury my mother and ruined the Xue family's reputation. From then on, I was expelled from the family … "

A few crystal clear teardrops fell into the flowing water without a trace.

Hearing this, Ye Xiaotian was both shocked and angry. What a cruel family, and what a filial daughter! Listening to this, Shuiwu's mother seemed to be the concubine of the Ministry of Rites. That's why she received such treatment. It can be said that the daughter of a noble family has a pitiful experience.

Ye Xiaotian was worried that since Shuiwu has such a family background, it would be difficult for him to be a match for her. Not to mention that she is as beautiful as a flower, even if she was ugly, based on her family background, it would be difficult for him to catch up. Now he can finally relax. But the unfair treatment she has received has ignited a fire of anger in his heart.

Ye Xiaotian was enraged. "Preposterous! What kind of bullsh * t scholarly family is this? Poetry and etiquette are passed down from generation to generation! You are filial to your mother. Such a good daughter is the glory of the Xue family. How can you be regarded as a disgrace by them. Such heartless and heartless bastards. You can ignore them. "

Le Yao washed her hands. When her mother spoke, she could feel the faint sadness in her words. She was very sensible and leaned on her mother's side. When she saw Ye Xiaotian's anger, she can't help but grab her mother's clothes in fear.

Xue Shuiwu looked at Ye Xiaotian gratefully and whispered. "Let's go back." She took her daughter's hand and staggered away.

Ye Xiaotian looked at her gait and frowned. "What happened to your feet?"

Xue Shuiwu said, "Nothing. Just a few bloody blisters on my feet during the day."

Ye Xiaotian hurriedly stood up and said, "Why didn't you say so earlier? If we don't deal with it today, how can we walk tomorrow?"

Xue Shuiwu said, "It's nothing. I just need to hold on for a while."

Ye Xiaotian hurried over and rudely said, "What are you holding on for? How can you hold on like this?" He bent down and hugged Xue Shuiwu's legs and carried her horizontally.

Xue Shuiwu screamed. She was carried horizontally by Ye Xiaotian. She was shocked and embarrassed but she couldn't struggle. Being carried by Ye Xiaotian, she could only close her eyes shyly.

"What a light and soft body …" Ye Xiaotian thought to himself, but he didn't show any unusual expression on his face. Le Yao ran behind Ye Xiaotian and said, "Gege is so biased. I'm tired too. Why don't you carry me?"

Ye Xiaotian carried Xue Shuiwu into the temple and placed her on the kang. Without saying anything, he took off her shoes. Xue Shuiwu quickly shrunk her feet and shyly said, "What are you doing?"

Ye Xiaotian said, "The bloody blisters must be popped. Otherwise, you won't be able to walk tomorrow."

Xue Shuiwu said, "I'll do it myself."

Ye Xiaotian said, "How can you take care of yourself? This is an emergency. Don't be reserved."

Xue Shuiwu looked embarrassed. She stammered, "We've been walking for a day. I … I haven't washed my feet."

Ye Xiaotian laughed, "If your feet are fragrant, they won't stink after a day."

Xue Shuiwu could tell that he was teasing her. She blushed and didn't say anything.

Ye Xiaotian took off her shoes and took off her patched white socks. A pair of delicate and beautiful feet were revealed. Xue Shuiwu's toes curled up nervously like shy petals. Her delicate ankles were as smooth as jade. Ye Xiaotian can't help but have the urge to caress them.

"Cough!"

Ye Xiaotian's throat tightened. This … this is the first time he touched a woman's feet. Moreover, it's such a beautiful and charming pair of jade feet. He coughed unnaturally and quickly asked a question to cover up his nervousness, "Strange. You actually have heavenly feet. I thought you must have bound your feet."

Xue Shuiwu's delicate feet were held in his hands. She felt her whole body heat up. She was so shy that her thighs tensed up. She stammered, "Yes, because … because my father wanted to send me to the palace when I was very young, so …"

Ye Xiaotian finally understood. He thought, "Shuiwu's father is not only cold and heartless, he's also a fan of being an official."

At this time in the Ming Dynasty, binding feet had become a relatively common practice. There were four types of people who did not bind their feet. The first type were the royal family, the second type were the women of the noble families, the third type were the minorities at the border, and the last type were the poor families that needed the women to do heavy manual labor like the men.

Not only did the women of the royal family and the noble families not bind their feet, but the palace also recruited palace maids and concubines. The palace did not have a high age requirement for the palace maids. Therefore, some palace maids had to let go of their feet after entering the palace. Because they were still young, there was still time for them to recuperate.

Since Manager Xue wanted to send his daughter to the palace, it was naturally not because of the palace maids. Thus, his motive was very obvious.

Ye Xiaotian secretly cursed Manager Xue for being shameless. He found a relatively hard blade of grass and gently poked Xue Shuiwu's blisters. He then gently helped her put on her socks. From the beginning to the end, Xue Shuiwu allowed him to do as he pleased. She did not dare to move. However, when she allowed a man to play with her feet, she could not help but have a strange feeling in her heart.

After Shuiwu put on her socks, she heaved a sigh of relief. Ye Xiaotian also heaved a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "It's done. This way, there won't be any scars. Otherwise, it won't be pretty."

When Ye Xiaotian was helping Xue Shuiwu to poke out her blisters, Le Yao had been staring at him with her eyes wide open. Hearing Ye Xiaotian's words, Le Yao asked, "Gege, is Yaoyao pretty?"

"Hmm …"

Ye Xiaotian pretended to think for a moment and said, "Generally speaking, girls who are very pretty when they are young will be very ugly when they grow up. This is because the outline of their childhood is already very beautiful, so there is no room for them to stretch out. But little girls who look ugly when they are young will be as beautiful as fairies when they grow up. Then do you think you are pretty now? "

Le Yao tilted her head and seriously analyzed Ye Xiaotian's words. It was obviously difficult for a child of her age to understand these words.

After a long time, she turned to Xue Shuiwu and asked seriously, "Is what Gege said true?"

Xue Shuiwu held back her laughter and nodded. She teased her, "Yes, people are like this. They are beautiful when they are young, but they are not pretty when they grow up. Then does Yaoyao think she is pretty now? "

The little girl immediately frowned. She had a thoughtful look that made people laugh. She weighed the gains and losses between being beautiful when she was young and being beautiful when she grew up. She decisively came to a conclusion, "Yaoyao is not pretty. Yaoyao is ugly!"

After that, she was still very worried. She worriedly told Xue Shuiwu and Ye Xiaotian, "You must remember that Yaoyao is very ugly now."