On the thirtieth day of the lunar month, Cao Hao took Cao Song and Cao Shuo to prepare various things to worship their ancestors.

On the night of Chinese New Year's Eve, the ancestors are sacrificed, and the sacrificial vessels used for washing and preparing the sacrifices must be prepared by the children and daughters-in-law, and cannot pass through the hands of the subordinates. Only by allowing the spirits of our ancestors in heaven to enjoy the offerings made by their descendants can they express their piousness.

Chu Yu was pregnant, and she was busy in the kitchen for a while, and she couldn't stand it. Zhao Jiashi asked her to go back to Wutong Garden to rest first, and then come back when it was served.

Although Chu Yu felt embarrassed, his body was so weak that he was persuaded to return to Wutong Courtyard.

On the kitchen side, Zhao Jia's prepared food in the kitchen. What she needed to prepare herself was some fried fruit, all of which were noodles that had been made before, and she only had to put them on the stove.

Cao Hao and Cao Song had prepared once in the capital, and they had some ways to wipe these sacrificial vessels, but Cao Shuo and Cao Xiang brothers were the first to do so.

Because there are many people in the Cao clan in Jiangning, every time there is a sacrifice, there is a special person to take care of this matter, and there is no need for their brothers to help.

Seeing the two of them squatting there, clumsily holding the loofah to wipe the sacrificial vessel, Cao Hao had to give a few words of advice. The two brothers responded with red faces, but they didn't make much profit in their hands.

At this time, those who pay attention to "gentlemen are far away from cooking", not to mention their brothers, even Cao Hao has only cooked a few times because of his hobby.

Unlike Cao Song's robustness, Cao Shuo and Cao Xiang brothers are a little thin. Cao Hao thought about it in his heart, when the weather warmed up in the spring next year, should he hire a riding and archery master for the two brothers. If you don't ask for anything else, it's also good to exercise your small body.

In addition, there are four sisters, five sons, and Niu Niu, and they don't have anything to do in the whole day, just listen to the old grandmother talk about the ancients.

After Cao Songna, he lay down for two days, drank a few pairs of medicines, and dispersed. It's just that in front of his brother and brother, some can't pull his face, so he just bows his head and works "chirp".

Cao Xiang was beside him, and he saw sweat on his forehead, and said in a low voice: "Second brother, rest for a while, don't be tired!" ”

Cao Song muttered, "It's okay! "But the hands did not stop, but they still worked.

Cao Hao looked at Cao Song and saw that he was sweating, and he was afraid that his body would be good and tired, so he said: "Okay, it's not at this moment, there is still half a day's work!" You just go back to find your sister-in-law, take a copy of the sacrifice list, let's go to the right one by one, and see if anything is left behind! ”

Cao Song wiped his sweat, looked at the tall sacrificial vessels stacked next to Cao Hao, and said, "Brother has done the most in the afternoon, and I'm tired when I think about it, so my brother is going to rest!" ”

Cao Hao said: "I'm not tired, I've been working for two years, and I know the key, so I'm faster." Don't be verbose, let's go! ”

Cao Song scratched his head, looked at his younger brother Cao Xiang next to him, and said, "The fourth is the youngest, don't be tired, go run errands!" ”

Cao Xiang hurriedly shook his head and said with a red face: "Second brother, my younger brother can't clean it here, and he has only wiped out a few pieces in the past half a day, and he hasn't done any work!" ”

Cao Song listened, and then got up and went to Wutong Garden to find Chu Yu to ask for a list of sacrificial vessels.

In the back kitchen, the whole sheep and pigs have been steamed, as well as five-color sugar, five-color cake ingots, five-color cover fruits, five-color fresh fruits, five seas, five vegetarians, five shells and five dry, five dishes of rice grain and pasta, and so on.

Zhao Jia's family has been married into the Cao family for many years, and before he arrived in Jiangning, he also purchased sacrificial things, but they were far less abundant than in front of him. Looking at the table full of offerings on the kitchen floor, she was also a little proud.

After counting the things in front of him in his heart, and seeing that he was almost ready, Zhao Jiashi called a daughter-in-law and instructed her to take someone to Cao Hao and their brother to get the sacrificial vessels, and asked someone to go to Wutong Garden to invite Chu Yu to come over and put it on the plate.

Due to the complicated things in the wax moon, Chu Yu's body was weak after pregnancy, but she was a little tired, and she rested on the soft couch. When she heard that there were sacrifices in the kitchen, she got up and brought Xiyun and them to the kitchen.

On Cao Hao's brother's side, Cao Song had already taken the sacrificial list and came over. Cao Hao asked him to put the sacrificial utensils he had packed up and put them aside.

When the daughter-in-law came, Cao Hao and the others had already cleaned up, so they asked them to carry the cleaned up to the kitchen first.

Zhao Jiashi and other Chu Yu arrived, and the sacrificial vessels were also brought, and the two cleaned their hands under the service of the maid and began to plate them.

The pig and the sheep were both selected as piglets and lambs one and a half feet long, and the two of them could also carry them. Then there is a plate of chicken, duck, goose, meat and fish, two plates of sacrificial cakes and steamed buns, and one plate of longevity peach and red dates, and the rest are all taken from five or five. Caramel five, sesame wrapped five, candied fruit five, string fruit five, fruit inlaid sugar five, followed by five-color sugar, five-color cake ingots, five-color cover fruit, five-color fresh fruit.

In addition, there are also three jukes of tea and wine, and there are dozens or hundreds of plates inside and outside.

After cleaning up these, it was almost the beginning of the first month (five o'clock in the afternoon). The ancestor worship at this time is different from the later life, which is mostly the ancestor worship after the child or the first day of the new year (three to five o'clock in the morning), but this time is in the afternoon to the evening before the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner.

In order to show solemnity, they have to dress up according to their grades when worshipping their ancestors, so Zhao Jia and Chu Yu went back to change their clothes.

When it was time for Youzheng, everyone packed up their ropes, came to the ancestral hall, divided Zhaomu, and stood left and right. Cao Hao is the main sacrifice, Cao Song is a sacrifice, Cao Shuo is a knight, Cao Xiang is a silk, and the rest are like holding incense and worshipping mats, which are represented by Cao Shuo and Cao Xiang's little brothers.

In the sound of ceremonial music, offering knights, worshipping, burning silks, and pouring wine are just a matter of a quarter of an hour, and then everyone goes to the main hall of the inner courtyard - the main hall of the Lanyuan, where the portraits of Cao Hao's grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-grandfather are hung on the main hall.

The ones that were just put on the plate in the kitchen, except for the pigs and sheep and a few tables placed in the ancestral hall, the others were passed to the hall one by one to offer the table.

It took another half an hour to settle the matter.

The Chinese New Year's Eve Chinese New Year's Eve meal was prepared in Zhao Jia's room, with a table on the kang and a table on the ground, separated by a screen.

There are 20 dishes on each table, 8 dishes in bowls, and 2 dishes in soup. There are also five plates of fruits, four plates of dumplings, and one plate of rice cakes and one plate of steamed buns.

Chu Yu invited Zhaojia to sit on the main seat, and sat on his side to accompany him, and the fourth sister and the fifth sister also hugged them to the kang from **, and sat down at the table in a proper manner.

Cao Hao and his four brothers sat on the ground.

Seeing that their brothers were sitting in danger, Cao Hao remembered the scene of eating Chinese New Year's Eve dinner with Mr. Zhuang and Wei Hei every year.

Between people, it is important to get along. Although he is not related to Mr. Zhuang and Wei Hei, he is like a family member.

Cao Hao saw that his brothers were silent, so he raised his chopsticks and motioned for everyone to open the table.

There are few people, and because of Cao Quan's filial piety, there is no wine, and this meal is not delicious.

Zhao Jiashi sat on the kang, picked two pieces of stewed rotten meat, and put them in the bowls of the fourth sister and the fifth son, and he picked up a few chopsticks to stir-fry the duck squirt.

While tasting the food in her mouth, she looked at Chu Yu quietly, and saw that she really didn't eat much meat, so she ate vegetarian, and couldn't help but persuade: "Whether it suits the taste or not, it is better to eat more chicken and duck to make up for it." You're not eating alone, and you still have a little one in your belly! ”

Chu Yu responded with a smile, she was not picky about food, but in the past few years, she has eaten with Cao Hao, and her taste has become a little light, and she has no appetite for those greasy. It's just that since Zhao Jia's persuasion, she didn't want to disobey, so she picked up the belly shreds and ham in the cold dishes and ate two chopsticks.

Zhao Jiashi nodded and said, "That's right!" As he spoke, he looked at Chu Yu carefully.

Because she was only three months pregnant, Chu Yu was not yet pregnant. Zhao Jiashi was still a little worried, put down the chopsticks, touched Chu Yu's arm, and said: "This can't be done, there is no meat on the body, how to raise a child, you should make up for it." ”

Seeing that she cared so earnestly, Chu Yu's dissatisfaction with her was also reduced by two points, and she said with a smile: "I also eat a lot of Dunton, but I am not fat." When Huai Tianyou was at the beginning, his chin was several layers, and he was so fat that he was panting when he walked at the end. I don't know why this time, but I don't see any flesh. ”

Zhao Jiashi carefully looked at Chu Yu's complexion and said, "I see that your face is getting thinner and thinner, and the water is tender and tender, much smoother than before pregnancy!" Behold, this baby is a girl! ”

Chu Yu had only heard Mama Ye mention that the tip of the belly was a boy and the round belly was a girl, but she had never heard of the word "face". Therefore, I was very curious and asked, "Really?" How did the second wife find out? ”

Zhao Jiashi said with a little pride: "I gave birth to Sister Ying and their five sisters and brothers, if you don't know this, it's a joke." If this face is rusty, it is mostly a boy; If the face is getting thinner and thinner, most of them are girls. ”

Although Chu Yu also likes girls in her heart, she is still looking forward to having a boy because she is in a hurry to add a child to the long house. Listening to Zhao Jia's words, she smiled, but her expression was a little stunned.

When Zhao Jiashi saw it, he hurriedly persuaded: "It's all the old man's old words, not all of them." Even if you give birth to a little girl, people like us are not necessarily worse than our brothers. You are still young, and you already have an eldest son in front of you, this is a happy event for a boy or a girl! ”

Chu Yu nodded and said with a smile: "Thank you to the second wife for opening the way, and the nephew and daughter-in-law can save it." It's the uncle, and he also said that his daughter and son love him! ”

Zhao Jiashi said with a smile: "This is what he said, look at his patience when he coaxes the fourth sister and the fifth sister to speak!" ”

Chu Yu just smiled, thinking of her husband's "patience", and felt helpless.

His "patience" really can't last a few days, especially for children. It turns out that God blesses him, he is rare and God blessed, and he is willing to hold his son. But after being sprinkled with a few bubbles of urine on his body by his son, he couldn't wait to lift him and never hugged him in his arms again.

Now, with Hang Seng, he started to coax every day, and after being woken up twice by Hang Seng's crying, he frowned when he looked at Hang Seng again. When he was fine, he patted Hengsheng's ass and said a few words with a straight face.

Maybe men are like this, they have not experienced the pain of pregnancy in October, and their patience with children is really incomparable with being a mother. I'm afraid that when I am old, when I face my grandchildren, I can be unconditionally tolerant and loving.

This is not only the case for ordinary people, but also for the emperor's family.

* In the Forbidden City, the Qianqing Palace, the emperor's family banquet is being held.

The princes who had already opened the palace and went out brought their wives and concubines and children into the palace; The same is true of the several married elder brothers who live in the palace, and the little elder brothers who are not married sit with their biological mothers.

The concubines and concubines have given birth to a total of thirty-five princes in the past few decades, not to mention those who died young, there are twenty-three people in the light order.

In addition to the eldest brother and the second elder brother who were circled, the thirteenth elder brother who was grounded by himself, and the sixth elder brother, the eleventh elder brother, the eighteenth elder brother, and the nineteenth elder brother who died young, the other sixteen elder brothers were all in the banquet, Kangxi this table, please sit on the queen mother's seat, Kangxi and the concubine Tong Jia's two sideways accompaniment. There were two other people sitting on it, but it caused all the princes to speculate, that is, the second son of the abolished prince, Honghui, and his wife, Borzigit.

Concubine De, Concubine Yi, Concubine Rong, and Concubine Hui took several other decent concubines and sat at the left and right tables. Although there is a smile on his face, his expression is very meaningful.

The concubines are like this, and the princes and brothers think more.

After the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the customs, in order to subdue the Han people, they increasingly respected Confucianism and etiquette of "monarchs, ministers, fathers, sons, fathers, sons". In the eyes of the world, it is a matter of course for the eldest son to inherit the throne. "Abolish the heirs and establish the young" and "abolish the elders and establish the young" are all things that are not in accordance with the etiquette and law.

Therefore, from the beginning of the abolition of the crown prince, there have been continuous rumors of the prince's restoration. Later, Kangxi was annoyed and struck a few of the remnants of the tide stall to make those rotten Confucians know some positions. However, although there are fewer words about the restoration of the crown prince, the statement of establishing the emperor and grandson is spreading more and more.

It was the envoy of North Korea, and when he accidentally saw Honghui, he met him with the prince's courtesy. Although Honghui is the concubine of the second elder brother, he is the eldest grandson of Kangxi, and when it comes to inheriting the throne, he is more qualified than his uncles.

The eighth elder brother lowered his head, and despair was faintly born in his heart. Kangxi's personnel appointments at the end of the year were all aimed at his eighth elder brother......*

(To be continued)