After the Marquis of Jingyuan Mansion was the founding of the country, the circle of communication should be biased towards the side of the noble generals. However, the daughter-in-law married by the son of his family is from a scholarly family, although she is not a famous family, she is also the daughter of a Qingliu civil official family, and her mother is still a daughter of the Fang family. Therefore, when the Marquis of Jingyuan's mansion sets up wine and treats, he will also invite relatives and friends from his daughter-in-law's side, and naturally Fang, Liu, and Feng are all scholars.

Zhao Xiu stood in the garden of the Marquis of Jingyuan's mansion, looked left and right, and found that although the host's family invited both the civil and military factions in all aspects when he invited guests, he still inevitably arranged them in different positions conservatively, with seats in the host's house in between, so as to avoid contact and communication between the two sides and disputes. She was a little disappointed. In fact, today is just a banquet for female guests, and the main activity is to listen to the play, and listening to the same play, so what's the point of sitting separately like this? If it is said that the civil and military forces staged different dramas, then it is okay. Now, it's just cutting off communication between the two sides.

Zhao Xiu is most depressed about this.

She is the daughter of the Hou Mansion of Jiannan, so she was arranged to sit with the girls on the side of the noble general. However, Jiannanhou Mansion does not have much contact with other noble families, and most of the girls only barely know their surnames, and they are not familiar with them at all. Only Mrs. Cao of the Cao family came, Cao Fang's and Cao Luo's clothes were absent, and Qiu Yuan, who was at the same table, was at odds with her, and she had to be wary of whether this girl would be a moth again, so she sat in the middle of a bunch of little girls who were chattering energetically, but she didn't even have anyone to talk to.

Recently, because of the reputation of the Knowing Library, no one in the outside world thinks that their ancestors and grandchildren are vulgar because the Zhao family is noble. On the contrary, he felt that the Zhao family was low-key and studious, knowledgeable and courteous, although he had a knighthood. But it is a scholarly family - the Zhang family was happy to hear this kind of words, but some noble families felt not very happy, thinking that the Jiannan Hou Mansion had become an outlier among the nobles, and there was a faint sense of exclusion. Parents' attitudes also affect their children in the family. Zhao Xiu sat bored at the banquet, and could hear the little girls talking in private: "She has been studying since she was a child, and she is not a person from us." "I heard that I can also recite poems and write lyrics, and I can understand piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. Looking at us, his face was kind, and he couldn't tell how to look down on people. ”

In front of a group of elementary school students and little girls in the first and second grades of junior high school. Zhao Xiu didn't bother to say anything, so they had to make up for it.

On the side of the civil officials' daughters, there are also sisters of the Liu family, Feng Xiuqin, and Li Shanwen, who have dealt with girls. The girl from the Jiang family is not familiar with her, but it is no problem to really talk a few words. Several girls in the Fang family are side branches. Zhao Xiu has also met twice before. It's also because of the Knowing Library.。 Jiannan Houfu now has a very good reputation in Shilin, so these little girls are very friendly to Zhao Xiu, and they will smile when they meet, and they will not be disdainful because she is from a noble background. Zhao Xiu felt that it would be good if he could sit with them. Unfortunately, she was now separated from them by at least three rows of tables, surrounded by people. Specially walked over to talk to someone, it was too exciting. What's more, there is a big girl Wang over there who doesn't give people a good look. Zhao Xiu had no choice but to sigh with admiration, put aside the whispers of the people around him, and stared intently at the performance on the stage in front of him.

Today's banquet in the Marquis of Jingyuan Mansion is not a formal banquet, and it is mainly for watching dramas, so the rules are more casual. The play is placed in the garden. Mrs. and Mrs. Jingyuan Marquis love to watch plays, so they specially built a stage in the garden pool. Today's weather is good, and the banquet is directly placed on the hall on the shore in front of the stage. Xuantang opens windows on all sides, the light is sufficient, the place is big, there are many osmanthus trees planted around, the fragrance of flowers bursts, very elegant. It is only ten feet away from the stage on the water, which can not only see and hear the singing and recitation of the actors clearly, but also do not have to worry about wind and rain, men and women, and the end is thoughtful.

In the Xuan Hall, the front row of the two small round tables, sitting the old ladies, ladies and grandmothers, two people at a table, if the family comes, sit together, if a single child comes, with a familiar partner. The table is not big, but it is enough to put some food and snacks and drinks. There are two self-pourer-style pots, which can be poured by the guests according to their preferences. And the host is very careful, and the food on each table will always make small adjustments according to the preferences of the guests at that table. No guest will find that they have food they hate, and no guest will feel disappointed that they don't have their favorite food on the table today.

The seats after the ladies and grandmothers are the girls', with three people at a table, and the food is the same as the former, but the variety of drinks is different. In the middle of the few seats sat the girl and the wife of the prince of Jingyuan's mansion, as well as the daughter of the relatives family, on both sides sat the lady of the scholarly civil official family, and on the other side sat the daughter of the noble military general's family, if they wanted to say something to each other, they had to raise their necks and speak loudly, or go through several seats to each other's territory, everyone felt that it was too troublesome, and they had to give the master's family face, but they were also at peace.

On this kind of occasion, it is not good to chat with the people around him, and it is inconvenient to get up and go out to the garden, what else can Zhao Xiu do except concentrate on listening to the play?

However, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the Marquis of Jingyuan Mansion are worthy of being opera lovers, and the plays they pick are not common to listen to on weekdays, and the opera troupe invited is also very level. Because there are little girls, the ladies and wives do not have the stories of the young lady's scholars, only some traditional myths or sage deeds, but Mrs. Cao is as cool as ever, in order to meet the taste of the military generals' female dependents, she ordered a fold of "Wu Song Fights the Tiger", the martial arts and the tiger are neat, and the fight is very exciting, and people can't take their eyes off it, and they praise it.

Zhao Xiu has also heard a few plays in the past, and his interest in this Kunqu opera is mediocre, but today's plays, the words are very beautiful, and the actors' singing skills are also profound, which is worth savoring. There are a few scenes that she has never seen before, and it is still interesting to understand the plot. She just endured it and watched a few folds until halftime.

There is also an intermission for the feast, which is about two quarters of an hour, and those who want to go out for a walk in the garden can go out for a walk, those who want to gather together to chat, and those who want to change their clothes and wash their hands and faces. You can also miss it. Zhao Xiu went to the ancient version of the bathroom, and when he came back, he saw that the guests were all gathered in twos and threes, but he had nowhere to go.

The Liu family sisters, Feng Xiuqin and the girls of the Fang family gathered together. The Jiang sisters and Li Shanwen stood by the window and talked, and there was a big girl Wang standing on the side, Zhao Xiu looked left and right, and then looked back and saw Qiu Yuan pulling a few daughters of noble families to talk in a low voice, and they didn't know what to talk about, so they felt that it was better not to get involved in any circle. She turned and walked to Zhang's table.

Zhang sat with Mrs. Cao. At this time, another lady with a round face was added, and I remember that someone mentioned that it was Mrs. Li, who looked to be in her fifties. I knew them about the same time, and the three of them were chatting happily. Mrs. Wang had just stood at their table, with a humble smile on her face, and bowed her head to say something to Zhang. The Zhang family's resentment towards the Wang family has long since disappeared. I don't have the heart to worry about her. After saying a few words lightly, he waved his hand. Mrs. Wang stopped talking, but she smiled and walked away.

Zhao Xiu walked over, saluted Zhang, Cao and Li, and said to Zhang: "Grandmother, you have been sitting for a long time, do you feel tired?" Shall I thump your waist and shoulders for you? ”

Zhang smiled, and Mrs. Cao also smiled: "Your granddaughter is really filial." Remember to give you a shoulder thump outside. also joked to Zhao Xiu: "My sister often says that I am also an elder you respect, just like your grandmother." Why don't you give me a thrash too? ”

Zhao Xiu was a little embarrassed: "I don't beat it well, if you don't dislike it, I'll give you a beating, right?" ”

Mrs. Cao laughed and said, "You kid is honest, I'm just joking with you, are you still serious?" ”

Zhao Xiu didn't think so: "Although it's a joke, but beating the waist and shoulders for the elders is just a gesture, so what's the matter?" ”

Mrs. Cao was happy to hear this: "Good boy, then you can give me a beating." ”

Zhao Xiu really gave her a beating, Zhang looked at it with a smile, and took the initiative to build a few places where he liked to call people massage on weekdays, Zhao Xiu did as he said, and Mrs. Cao shouted that it was comfortable. When she finished beating, she praised Zhang: "Your granddaughter is really filial and caring." You see, how many of the daughters of this house will run to the elders to accompany them? Everyone went to the little sister to laugh and play. It's just your girl, who will come to wait for you when she is free, for fear that you will be tired after listening to a few plays. ”

Zhang pursed his lips and smiled without saying a word, and he was quite happy in his heart. Second Mrs. Li snorted: "Yo, Sister Cao, listening to your words, the filial granddaughter of other people, she came to wait for her grandmother when she was free, and it was you who was waiting." The sister-in-law of the Zhao family hasn't complained that you robbed her granddaughter, but you are sour first. ”

Mrs. Cao also laughed when she heard this: "It's not that I'm sour, I really like Xiu girl, I really wish she was my own granddaughter!" My grandchildren, none of them can match hers. Even if it is a girl from a relative's family, who is a few years older than her, she is not as stable as her. ”

When Zhang heard this, he hurriedly said: "This is too ridiculous, how can Xiu girl be so good?" You say she is steady, but she is actually old, what do you want to do with a child of this age? In the end, I lost my aura. ”

Mrs. Cao was not happy: "What words?!" You're too much of a child. If the girl doesn't have aura, won't my girl become more and more elm pimple? ”

Seeing that the two were about to fight, Zhao Xiu hurriedly added tea to each of them once, and interrupted: "Mrs. Cao, Mrs. Li, grandmother, do you want to eat pine nuts?" Shall I peel it for you? ”

Fortunately, the relationship between these three old ladies has always been very good, and after a few jokes, it passed, and they chatted about family life again. At this time, there was a sudden burst of smug laughter from next door, and Zhao Xiu heard the reputation and recognized that it seemed to be the old lady of Meishan Bofu. Mrs. Meishan didn't come today, it was the old lady and the young lady who came, and Fang Huizhu didn't show up. Zhao Xiu knew that the old lady didn't get along well with her grandmother, so she was a little prejudiced in her heart, and she always felt too arrogant when she looked at the other party's smile.

Mrs. Cao obviously didn't like Mrs. Qiu's personality very much, and spat at the two friends coldly: "Look at her proud look, isn't it just that the second daughter-in-law was pregnant after more than a month of entering the door?" Even if it's a happy event, you can't make such a big fanfare, right? Anyway, we have to wait until the fetus is three months old and sits firmly. Besides, whose daughter-in-law doesn't have children? She was so proud, didn't she see her eldest grandson and daughter-in-law's smiling face? ”

Zhang glanced at Old Madam Qiu, tugged at the corners of her mouth, and did not say anything. She didn't bother to pay attention to such a vulgar woman!

Second Mrs. Li took over Mrs. Cao's words: "It's no wonder that the eldest young lady of the Qiu family has been married for a few years before giving birth to a son-in-law, Mrs. Qiu is in a hurry to hold her grandson, so as soon as she heard that the second granddaughter-in-law is pregnant, she is happy to tell people everywhere." She paused, "But she is really too anxious, it has only been more than a month, and I heard that her second granddaughter-in-law is not very good, and her body is too weak to go out of the room." Today, the Marquis of Jingyuan Mansion invited guests, and she originally gave her second granddaughter-in-law a post, but she couldn't come over, so she could only be done by her eldest granddaughter-in-law, which shows how weak her second granddaughter-in-law's body is. In case there is a good one, her family has already publicized the matter, wouldn't it be a slap in the face? ”

Zhao Xiu paused with his hand peeling off the pine nuts and raised his eyebrows. If she is not mistaken, the second granddaughter-in-law of the old lady of the Qiu family, isn't it Fang Huizhu? Turns out she's pregnant? Is the nostalgia still very bad? Can't even get out of the door?

Zhao Xiu hesitated for a moment, and felt that it was better to mention it in the letter to Fang Renzhu.

She was thinking about this, turned around and glanced in the direction of the Qiu family's daughters, and inadvertently caught a glimpse of Qiu Yuan coming to the side door at some point, staring at the six girls of the Jiang family and Li Shanwen, with a change of expression on her face.

Zhao Xiu suddenly became vigilant. What is Qiu Yuan going to do? (To be continued......)