The palace banquet on the seventh day of the first month arrived as scheduled.

Qin Hanzhen dressed up and accompanied his grandfather Qin Bai and grandmother Niu to go out. The three ancestors and grandsons left the house in a carriage, and soon they met up with the carriage of the long house, and went to the palace together.

The palace banquet on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year is different from the New Year's Day on the first day of the Lunar New Year, relatively speaking, it is not so formal, but the emperor feasts his ministers. Since there is no queen of the main palace, the highest-ranking concubine in the harem is just a concubine, and the officials and relatives have to go to the queen mother for a banquet. Qin Hanzhen accompanied his grandparents into the imperial city, and soon after, he was about to part ways with his grandfather Qin Bai. She wants to accompany her grandmother Niu to the harem, make an appointment with her grandfather, and the men in the long house, no matter who goes out of the palace first, she must wait outside the Dong'an Gate, and when the whole family arrives, she will go home together.

In the past few years, Qin Hanzhen has also participated in the palace banquet several times, and he is familiar with it. With the palace people leading the way, Qin Hanzhen and the Niu family went to greet the queen mother and concubines first, because they were the ladies of the uncle's mansion, and they could also chat with the queen mother and concubines. In fact, everyone has a different temperament, and they are not very familiar with each other, and they chatted quite routinely this day, but there is no way, if they don't talk a few words, wouldn't it seem that the royal family and the Yongjiahou Mansion are separated? Although the emperor and Qin Bai didn't care much about these rumors, why bother to cause trouble?

When the chatter of the routine is over, Qin Hanzhen and the Niu family can retreat. As long as it is in the capital, it is such a procedure for the New Year and the festival every year, and it will not be wrong. I just don't know why, Qin Hanzhen thought that it would be done the same today, but after the queen mother finished chatting, she asked Niu two more questions: "This little granddaughter of your family is almost at the age of Jilu, right?

Niu Shi was not surprised, although there are routines every year, but she is not afraid to deal with this kind of homely topic, and said with a smile: "Thank you Queen Mother for complimenting, this child can draw two strokes, and her grandfather also said that she has some talent." She will turn fourteen next month, and next year, she will grow taller in the past two years, half a head taller than me. ”

The Queen Mother smiled and glanced at Qin Hanzhen more: "You two are also blessed, having such a handsome and caring granddaughter by your side makes people look hot, and I wish she was our child." The concubines, the harem concubines, and the foreign wives present followed along and praised Qin Hanzhen.

Qin Hanzhen pretended to be shy and lowered his head, secretly wiping his sweat. Fortunately, the crown princess and the county lord of Minshun have not yet come, otherwise wouldn't it be too hateful for them to hear this? The county lord of Minshun is younger than her, but it is rumored that she is also a very likable little girl, and she is still the only third generation of the royal family, and her status is noble. Qin Hanzhen asked himself if he couldn't provoke her, and there was no need to provoke her.

Qin Hanzhen was still pretending to be shy there, and a concubine laughed with the Queen Mother: "The Queen Mother looks at Miss Qin San, Miss Qin San can't be the granddaughter of the Queen Mother, but she may not be able to do anything else." If the mother has a favorite junior, it is better to take a lead and be a matchmaker, which is also a good thing, and maybe she can get an extra thank you matchmaking money. ”

Qin Han really sweated. What do you do when you mention other people's family affairs for no reason? She's not yet 14 years old, so don't be too beastly old ladies?!

The Queen Mother smiled: "Sounds like a good idea." I really went to ask Niu, "I don't know if this kid has a family?"

Niu Shi was stunned for a moment this time, but quickly reacted: "Not yet." Her father is in Guangzhou and hasn't been home for a few years, and her grandfather and I can't hide her father's affairs. Besides, although our old couple has several grandchildren, we have to bring this one child with us for many years to raise, and the affection is deeper than that of other grandchildren. Hou Ye told me that this child's family affairs must be carefully selected, and it is best to find a descendant who knows the roots and has a reliable character, so that he can give the child peace of mind. ”

The concubine who had just proposed looked at the Empress Dowager with a smile, but the words in her mouth were directed at the Niu family: "Mrs. Yongjiahou don't worry, if our Empress Dowager really wants to be a matchmaker, can there be any mistakes?"

When Niu heard this, although his face was smiling, he felt a little uneasy in his heart. In the absence of her husband, how could she have decided on the marriage of her granddaughter? But if the Queen Mother really wanted to make an order......

Just when the Niu family was shocked, the Queen Mother still smiled kindly: "There are many people today, it is a major matter related to our children's marriage, we can't be sloppy, let's talk about it in detail another day." Mrs. Yongjiahou rest assured, since the mourning family wants to be a matchmaker, they will definitely find you a good offspring who knows the roots and has a reliable character, which is worthy of your granddaughter!"

After the Queen Mother said this, the palace people waiting on the side called the ancestors and grandchildren of the Niu family to salute and leave. There are still many foreign women waiting to come forward to see them, and it is already extremely decent for the Queen Mother to be able to say so many things to the ancestors and grandchildren of the Qin family.

Niu's suspicious pull her granddaughter back, and when she returned to the seat in the outer hall, she pulled Qin Hanzhen worriedly, and asked in a low voice: "What does the Queen Mother mean by that......?"

When Qin Hanzhen came out, he had already thought about this matter: "Don't be afraid, although the Queen Mother is not very familiar with our family, she is not completely strange. Our Qin family and the royal family are in-laws, and they have always gotten along well, and the Queen Mother has no reason to embarrass us. If she really has the intention to be a matchmaker, she will definitely not ignore our opinions and insist on giving the marriage. Then it's not a marriage, it's a feud. ”

When Niu heard this, his heart was a little relieved: "That's it." Isn't this the same as relatives helping to say goodbye? The Queen Mother has a noble status, and she is familiar with the situation of the officials and nobles in the capital, and she must know which family has a good descendant. I just don't know which family she will tell you about the child? Will it be from the royal palace? Seriously, if you really want to find the royal family of the clan, it is better to pick someone else than to pick a wide road, so he has known you since childhood, and he really knows the roots. ”

Qin Hanzhen couldn't help blushing when he heard this, and said angrily: "Grandmother, what are you talking about?!"

Niu pursed his lips and smiled, and glanced at her: "Cheng, let's go home and talk about it." With that, he turned around and looked for someone he knew. Although she rarely socializes with people and is a little out of place with the high-ranking ladies in the capital, it is not that she has no friends. Not to mention anything else, the ladies of the long house, as well as the wives and wives of the Min family, get along very well with her. She saw that the Changfang Xu family was talking to the two ladies of the Xu family, the Yao family went to the Yao family's daughter's side, but the Min family was with her maiden mother and aunt, so she immediately decided to go to the latter's side to have fun.

Qin Hanzhen didn't keep up with Niu. The wives and wives of the Min family have a very hearty personality and no shelves, but they have a bad problem - probably because they like her very much, almost every time they meet, they have to laugh and ask her if they want to be daughters-in-law or granddaughters-in-law. The Min family has many sons, and there are really a few of them who are the right age with her, but where does Qin Hanzhen get along with them? The elders may really just be joking, but Qin Hanzhen feels that it is better to try to hide as much as possible.

She turned her head to look for Qin Jinhua and saw that she and Qin Jinrong were talking to the ladies of other families. The sisters are several years apart, and their social circles are not very different. Qin Jinhua's friends are all girls between the ages of thirteen and seventeen or eighteen, and Qin Jinrong's friends are all children between the ages of eight and twelve, which happens to be perfectly staggered. Qin Hanzhen had the heart to be with Qin Jinhua, but she was not familiar with her friends, so she didn't know if it was inconvenient for her to come forward and disturb.

After this hesitation, Qin Hanzhen heard someone shouting about himself, and following the reputation, it was Qin Jinchun.

The second room is not qualified to participate in the palace banquet today, even before Qin Bofu lost his official position, he has never been a guest in the palace. Qin Jinchun was granted the grace of the crown princess and was allowed to enter the palace as a playmate of the county lord of Minshun and participate in the palace banquet. She sent a letter to Qin Jinhua and Qin Hanzhen a few days in advance, and the three sisters made an appointment to meet in the palace. Seeing that the county lord of Minshun had not yet arrived at Cining Palace, Qin Hanzhen guessed that Qin Jinchun was still in the future, but he didn't expect that she had already arrived after only a short period of effort.

Qin Jinchun is also wearing a festive new dress today, a water-red brocade jacket, a grass-green embroidered pleated skirt, a newly beaten beaded flower on his head, and a gorgeous pearl and jade jade on his chest. With a cheerful smile on her face, she walked to Qin Hanzhen's side easily and briskly, and said, "Third sister, you have already arrived? Second sister is also here, right? With you here, I will feel at ease." It's the first time I've ever been on this occasion, and I'm so nervous that my hands and feet are almost frozen!"

Qin Hanzhen smiled and held her hand, seeing that her hand was not cold, he let go with peace of mind and said with a smile: "Don't be afraid, you are here with the county lord of Minshun, and the people who are traveling with you are all young ladies, even if something really goes wrong, others will only think you are naughty and cute, as long as the county lord is not angry." ”

Qin Jinchun curled his lips: "The county lord naturally won't be angry, she has a good temperament, she is very easy to get along with, and she doesn't have any shelf." ”

Qin Hanzhen glanced at the inner hall, and saw that the women who were queuing up to see Jin were blocked out again, and he could vaguely hear the crown princess and the county lord Minshun talking to the queen mother. The county lord's companions did not follow, but dispersed separately and went to talk to their mothers or elders in the outer hall. It seems that the county lord met the queen mother, and let the friends around him go. It can be seen that the county lord of Minshun is indeed a good boy who is gentle and compassionate.

Qin Hanzhen said to Qin Jinchun: "It's good that you can get along well with the county lord, anyway, you are not her companion, and there are not many opportunities to meet, as long as you pay attention not to commit taboos, the next one is second, and there is no need to deliberately seek any benefits." Then he asked her, "What about the other companions to you?"

Qin Jinchun said: "They treat me very kindly, they are all girls with honest character, I met them when I was taking the exam, and I have never quarreled." ”

Qin Hanzhen nodded. It would be great if the county lord and his companions could get along with Qin Jinchun.

As he spoke, Qin Jinhua squeezed over. She is the best friend of Qin Jinchun, when she sees Qin Hanzhen present, she can still bear it, seeing that Qin Jinchun is here, where can she still take care of those friends? Naturally, she came to talk to her good sister for the first time.

Qin Jinchun hadn't seen her for a few days, and just as she was thinking about it, the sisters held hands and greeted her warmly.

Qin Jinhua asked Qin Jinchun: "What happened to you after you went home that day? Although you sent the identity deeds of the two people in the house, there was no news after that. The second uncle and grandmother found out about the eldest sister, so they didn't make a fuss?"

Speaking of this, Qin Jinchun's expression became a little strange: "Ahem...... It's a long story, go back and find a quiet place, and I'll tell you again. This is not the place to talk. ”