The banquet went smoothly.

None of the guests could not make it to the trip for any reason; The three ancestors and grandchildren of the Zhao family also did not have the leakage of recognizing the wrong guest; Neither the male nor the female had any objection to their position at the banquet; The dishes are very good, the tea and wine are also well received, and the dim sum and dried fruits are very popular; The subordinates of the Jiannan Hou Mansion served very well and there were no mistakes; The most important thing is also the point that the ancestors and grandchildren of the Zhao family are most wary of - no matter the martial arts, regardless of the faction, the guests did not fight at the banquet, and there was not even a strict quarrel, at most they just said a few words of lukewarm ridicule to the people they didn't like.

Zhao Xiu breathed a sigh of relief, and sincerely hoped that the banquet would continue to go smoothly.

On the male guest's side, Zhao Wei and the housekeepers take care of it, and Zhao Xiu only needs to concentrate on the female guest's side. In order to take care of their cultural level and preferences, Zhao Xiu did not mention the game of Qu Shui Liuzhen, but just served snacks and almond tea, so that the female guests could taste and chat freely. It was only when everyone was full of food and drink that they could find some pastime to consume food and drink that this game was proposed.

However, it is also for the sake of the ladies who are present at the gate, and the lofty activities of composing poems are forgotten. Zhao Xiu mentions, waiting for the wine to drift to which female guest, she can make a poem herself, or memorize the old works of her predecessors, or even if she doesn't understand poetry, she can also take colloquialisms, folk sayings, etc., anyway, as long as there is a word "wine" in the words, or it is related to "wine", you can pass the test. This game can also be said to be appreciated by both the elegant and the vulgar. At this time, all the female guests had drunk some wine, and they were on the rise, and the prejudice between the civil and military on weekdays. It has long been left behind. Everyone giggled, no one raised objections, and they really played.

At every turn of the stream, Zhao Xiu ordered people to lay out soft mats, with tea and snacks on them, as well as fresh fruits and dried fruits, and even the hawthorn cake for consumption and the peak honey water for hangover. One of the ladies sat alone. Some were accompanied by maids, and some sat with two or three people, while enjoying the scenery of the surrounding garden. It was very pleasant to wait for the special wine glass to come down the water. Occasionally, if you want to talk to a friend from afar, it's just a matter of screaming. If anyone is so drunk that he has a place of disrespect. Others will see it too. Let's make fun of a few words. Someone else was in good spirits, and from the first turn, no matter who stopped in front of the glass, she would run over to help the counselor, and even catch a knife. From time to time, there are people running around in the garden, and some people from time to time pass good poems and sentences or all kinds of interesting things into the listening hall, telling the old ladies and ladies who have not participated in the game to know, so that they can also follow the joy.

Actually, this game is not difficult. Among the ladies present, there are outstanding poets. When it's your turn, I'll make my own song, anyway, as long as it's to the point, it doesn't matter if it's good or bad. If you want to save some effort, you only need to memorize the masterpieces of your predecessors. At least more than half of the female guests are from scholarly families, who hasn't memorized a few sentences of Li Bai Dufu? They are not challenged in a game of this difficulty. As for the female dependents from Jiangmen, if they can say it, they can say it, and if they can't say it, they are only fined three glasses of wine, and they drink two more glasses than others. Horizontal and vertical is a fruit wine like honey water, what is it? The most important thing is that everyone has fun together.

Zhao Xiu, as the host, although at the beginning of the game, she also took a turn, said a few poems, and drank two glasses of wine, but when the game reached the third round and the wine glass flowed out of the Yingyue Pool for the third time, she had already left her place, gave it to others, and went around by herself. She wanted to go into the listening hall to see if her grandmother was drunk, and to see if the female elders in it needed to be served, and then to the young female guests outside, each of whom asked if they needed to add some food and tea, so she turned around and came back, and sent people to the men's table in the front yard of the middle road to inquire whether the banquet was going well, and she was so busy.

Fortunately, today's guests were very satisfied with the banquet arrangement, and it was really relieved that those bad-tempered generals in the front courtyard did not fight with the scholars and scholars.

The girls in the garden played more and more, and some of them were so drunk that they said the wrong sentence, and they were laughed by everyone and suppressed her from drinking, and the ladies in the wind hall also laughed when they saw it. Today's weather is good, seeing the juniors having so much fun, the ladies can't help but come out for a stroll, look at the scenery in the garden, appreciate the beautiful magnolia flowers that are blooming now, and praise them.

The little girls standing in the garden took over the task of acting as guides with great eyes, introducing the beautiful scenery of the garden to the ladies. They all wore double buns, wore flowers picked in the garden, wore light yellow narrow-sleeved shirts, tied pea-green long skirts, and tied the small waists with pink sweat scarves around their waists, which were as pink as shallots, which made people like them at a glance. What is rare is that these little girls are all familiar with etiquette, and they speak clearly, and when they introduce the scenery, their words are quite elegant, and they are not vulgar at all. If you encounter something related to the master's family and it is difficult to answer, you will always laugh and say nothing, and you will not say that you can't answer, and you will not turn your face and disappoint your fun. The ladies are all accustomed to being in charge of the family, and seeing the response of these girls, they nodded secretly in their hearts, feeling that the old lady Zhang of the Jiannan Hou Mansion would indeed train people.

However, after thinking about it, they felt that the Zhang family had always had a reputation for being soft-hearted, not like such a capable character, but Zhao Xiu, the eldest girl of the Zhao family, heard that she had started to help her grandmother with her housekeeper two years ago. Could it be that these little girls were trained by her? If this is the case, then Zhao Xiu, this little girl, is really not simple. The ladies all felt that it was necessary to re-look at the ancestors of the Zhao family.

There was laughter again in the vicinity of the stream, and the ladies looked from all over the garden, and saw their own daughters in a quarrel with other people's daughters, as if someone had been punished again. They walked over with a smile and sat on the mat where their children were, some helped to cut their hair, some reminded the children to drink less, and some helped their daughters to see what to say in the next round.

Zhao Xiu stood in front of Tingfeng Hall, looking at this harmonious picture, and he was quite happy. It's just that she unintentionally turned her head. found Fang Renzhu sitting at the corner of the first stream by the Yingyue Pool, only a little girl was waiting in front of her, and no other girls came over to joke with her. It seems a little too deserted. Zhao Xiu turned around and saw that Mrs. Fang was talking to Zhang, Mrs. Cao, and Mrs. Cao's Fang in the hall, hesitated for a moment, and walked towards Fang Renzhu.

When she got closer, she heard Fang Renzhu say to the little girl, "Go ahead, I can pour my own drink." The little girl hesitated for a moment, and when she turned around and saw Zhao Xiu waving her hand, she obediently saluted. Retreated.

Fang Renzhu saw that it was Zhao Xiu who came, and his face showed joy: "Busy man, do you finally have time to take a breath?" ”

Zhao Xiu smiled and sat down next to her: "Why are you drinking by yourself here?" It's a bit of a remote place, though. No one else comes, but you can also go to someone else's place and joke along? ”

Fang Renzhu smiled slightly: "What's the trouble with this? I know they don't want to joke with me. If I had been cheeky enough to come over, they would not have opened their mouths to drive them away, but it would have ruined their interest again. ”

Zhao Xiu said disappreciatively: "Is it still because of your family's affairs?" Although it is said that the emperor asked Ling Zun to reflect at home. But he didn't say that he would be punished severely. It's just a rumor. They can't wait to snub you? ”

Fang Renzhu smiled lightly: "I'm used to it." When the Queen Mother summoned the official woman before, but she didn't call me again, there were already rumors spread outside. It's just worse now, but it's not that bad. I'd rather people treat me coldly, than make love on my face, but speak ill of me behind my back. ”

Zhao Xiu carefully looked at Fang Renzhu's dress today, compared with the usual plain elegance, she was dressed more gorgeously today. Jade-colored embroidered vine caramel. A light pink horse-faced skirt with jade beads on her head. At her age. This kind of pink dress is very suitable for her, but she usually prefers a cold color scheme. When I dressed up seriously today, I was set off a little rich and delicate, and it was not conventional. It's a pity that such a beautiful and elegant girl has some people who look down on her because of some unfounded rumors, which is really a pity.

Zhao Xiu comforted Fang Renzhu in a low voice: "Don't take other people's thoughts too seriously, it's just that people are just following the clouds and tending to be inflammatory, and they still claim to be the daughters of famous scholars, but in fact, they are just laymen." In the past, when I first entered Beijing, everyone said that I was a coarse person who couldn't read big words, and there were also people who said that my family was greedy for money and persecuted those rebels in Xiaochangfang. Actions speak louder than words. People who truly see you as a friend will never turn you cold away because of a few rumors outside. Instead of genuinely seeing you as a friend, why should you care about her? ”

Fang Renzhu smiled and held Zhao Xiu's hand: "Sister Zhao, thank you very much." ”

Zhao Xiu smiled and shook it back, seeing that there was no shadow on her face, she was not sad to think about it, so she asked, "Do you want to eat anything?" I don't know if today's dishes and dim sum are to your liking? If there's anything you like to eat, I'll ask someone to make another one and bring it back to you. ”

Fang Renzhu smiled: "Good sister, I won't be polite to you." I don't know how your chef makes it, it's not quite the same as what I make at home, not only the puff pastry is crispier, but the floral flavor is stronger. ”

Zhao Xiu said: "This is the unique skill of an old chef in our house, and my grandmother also likes it very much." I'll tell him to make another box for you to bring home, as long as you finish it by tomorrow night, and it's better to eat it with tea. ”

Fang Renzhu hurriedly thanked: "Although the thing is small, it is rare for you to have a heart." I also have homemade seasonal dim sum at home, which doesn't taste as good as the food in the house, but it's also a hometown flavor. If my sister doesn't dislike it, I'll send someone to bring it to you tomorrow, can you taste it? ”

"Okay." Zhao Xiu agreed, "If I like it, maybe I will often come to your house to disturb you!" ”

The two were talking happily, when Feng Xiuqin approached them at some point, and called Fang Renzhu's name in anticipation. Zhao Xiu turned her head and remembered that she was Fang Renzhu's cousin, but she also followed others to snub Fang Renzhu, and she felt a little unhappy in her heart. It's just that today, as the host, she can't give the guests a look, so she asked lightly: "Why did Miss Feng come over?" Have fun? ”

"Very good......" Feng Xiuqin looked at Fang Renzhu hesitantly, "Fifth sister, can I ...... Can I talk to you? ”

"Sister has something to say, just say it." Fang Renzhu said softly, "You don't have to avoid Sister Zhao. ”

Feng Xiuqin glanced at Zhao Xiu in surprise, hesitated for a moment, and sat down on their mat.

She talked about what happened the day before yesterday when Mrs. Fang took Fang Huizhu to her house as a guest. Mrs. Fang was because she was not good at coming forward, so she wanted Mrs. Feng to convey to the Meishan Bofu the matter of the Fang family's promise to the Qiu family. Fang Huizhu didn't know if it was because her family affairs had been decided and her future was bright, so when she chatted with her cousin, she was a little forgetful. She laughed at her own sister, saying that Fang Shaoqing and Mrs. Fang actually promised Fang Renzhu to the ugly monster Shang Qiong. Fang Renzhu has been pressing on her sister because she wants to marry a nobleman, but now it is like this.

Feng Xiuqin asked Fang Renzhu in a hesitant manner: "Big sister, these words...... Does my sister know? Do uncles and aunts know? I told my mother, and my mother told me to tell my sister in private, and asked my sister to tell my aunt to tell my eldest sister not to say these things again in the future, and not to say it outside. Let people know, it's a joke. ”

Fang Renzhu was stunned, but Zhao Xiu couldn't help but sneer. (To be continued......)