Since the twenty-second day of the twelfth month of Da La, Cao Hao has been too busy.

Twenty-two is Ning Chun's wedding banquet, Cao Hao and Yongqing, as Ning Chun's most iron buddies, can't run away from the errand of blocking wine. Both were very drunk and were eventually sent home by their entourage.

The twenty-third year is a family feast. This day was also the day of the holy car's return to Beijing, so after the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth days, I went to the study and took two more classes before I began to take official annual leave.

Immediately after the twenty-sixth, it was the hundred banquet of the fourth elder brother of the Pingjun Palace, and early in the morning, the brothers Cao Hao and Cao Song wore dresses and went to the Pingjun Palace.

Cao Song was in high spirits along the way, pulling Cao Hao to chat for a while, and humming a little song to look at the street scene for a while. He was so happy for nothing else, but because of the prestige of Mama Zhang in the first two days, he was so unhappy.

It turned out that the first two Cao Song took the maid jade dragon in the room, and she was drunk and confused, but after she woke up, she knew what she had done, and she saw her differently in her heart. As a result, he went to school with his front foot, and the jade dragon on his back foot was beaten by Mama Zhang. When Cao Song came back and heard it, he was very unhappy, and when he turned around and turned over the small ingots in Baibaoge, he couldn't find it, because he asked the jade cicada, but was told that Mama Zhang touched it to drink.

Cao Song's anger rose from his heart, and evil was born to the side of his guts. That little ingots were originally a rule of the Qinglou, and the boy who picked up the boy had to give the other party a small thing, so as to be auspicious. This small ingots were given by Xiangqin on the first night of Cao Song, and now for Cao Song, it is the only thought that Xiangqin left him.

Cao Song's heart was full of evil, and the grandmother Zhang was extremely blind, and when she heard that Cao Song was back, she came to scold him again, and she kept saying that Zhaojia's second master was hard-working, but he was not angry.

Where would Cao Song have a good face, so he lowered his face and said a few cruel words.

Mama Zhang listened, but she became more and more angry, and scolded the jade dragon, the little prostitute is long and the little prostitute is short, only saying that the jade dragon pretends to be a fox and coaxes the second master, so that the second master does not listen to her.

Cao Song was also anxious, and couldn't help arguing with Mama Zhang. Cao Song became more and more angry, and later he didn't want to kick it over, kicked Mama Zhang to the ground, and scolded: "Who is used to you becoming an ancestor?" But after breastfeeding my mother, I really think I am a serious elder? The old slave who doesn't have long eyes, it's better to get everyone clean! ”

Cao Hao and Amethyst rushed over when they heard the sound, so they pulled the two apart.

Cao Hao glanced at Mama Zhang, who was sitting on the ground holding her heart and crying, and dragged Cao Song out. Cao Song was still not convinced, and shouted that he was going to drive her out.

Amethyst hurriedly shouted, helped Mama Zhang down, and gently persuaded Cao Song: "Second master, she is the nurse of the second wife, even if you don't look at anything else, you have to look at the face of the second wife." Besides, she is old, and it is inevitable to nag a little, you are a master, what do you care about with her wife. ”

Cao Song calmed down, and also knew that this mother had the best face on Zhaojia's side, and it was impossible for her mother to get rid of her. It's so noisy today, and when he goes home, he has to be beaten by his mother's board if he can't keep it, so he has some regret in his heart.

On the second day, Cao Song was still a little apprehensive, afraid that Mama Zhang would not have a good face. As a result, Mama Zhang said that she was so angry that she couldn't get out of the room pretending to be sick. I just didn't know how Amethyst pressed her, she only quietly pretended to be sick, but she didn't make a big fuss.

Cao Songping said that she was the most impatient with Mama Zhang's nagging, and now she pretended to be sick and didn't care about him, just because her ears were clean, and she was naturally happy in her heart. But at home, he was still afraid that Mama Zhang would chew her tongue, so she was more or less restrained, and when she went out today, his long-suppressed joy jumped out.

When they arrived at the county palace, the Cao Hao brothers were first taken into the inner courtyard to see their sister Cao Yan and their two nephews Fu Peng and Fu Xiu, and then came out and were led to the palace by the little maid.

Cao Song looked at the stage and asked the little guy who led the way what class he invited today, and if there was any play.

Cao Hao smiled and shook his head: "During the Chinese New Year, we will also invite a troupe in the house, and you will order the drama when you turn around, don't make people laugh without rules today." ”

Cao Song's eyes lit up, and he said a few excerpts of martial arts in one breath, and said the names of two martial arts students with good kung fu, and Yang Cao Hao invited him. Cao Hao responded with a smile and asked him to turn around and tell Mr. Zhuang that Mr. Zhuang was responsible for inviting the troupe.

Ruixi Building, from the hall on the first floor to the private room on the second floor, there are dozens of tables and seats, and there are many guests. And the people who went to the banquet today, seven or eight out of ten were older than Cao Hao's official position, Cao Hao was really not interested in going back and forth to invite An to play, and when he went upstairs, he saw Dete Hei and Shuming at a glance, so he went to the table of the two of them, the location was more remote and inconspicuous.

Nersu knew Cao Hao's surname, so he came over to chat with him, and didn't invite him to the chairman. It's just that Cao Song feels that this position is uncomfortable to watch the play, but his brother may invite the drama troupe at home after two days, so he will admit it.

Not long after the banquet began, two small servants came over to invite the Cao Hao brothers, only to find them in Fujin.

The two brothers followed into the inner courtyard, asked Qin Ying, and whispered: "A few old Fujin inside asked our Fujin brothers to meet, and Fujin let them call the uncle and the second master." ”

When Brother Cao Hao heard this, he knew what to expect, straightened his clothes, and followed Qinqin in.

As soon as Cao Hao entered the room, he glanced at it, lowered his head, and saluted all the Fujin ladies in a proper manner. He was busy bowing his head because of etiquette, but also because the room was full of pearls and green, bright and dazzling.

There were more than a dozen noble ladies sitting in the room, ranging from their teens to their fifties, and more than half of them were wearing the fragrant dresses of the prince and the prince of the county, Fujin, and they were all shining with gold.

Several elderly old Fujin sat on the kang, called the brothers to the side with a smile, looked up and down, and couldn't stop boasting: "It's really the brother of King Ping's Fujin, this appearance and bearing are no different!" He took his hand again and asked carefully about his age, reading, and other things. Then everyone took out the greeting gifts, probably "champion and first", "pen ingot Ruyi" and other gold bills.

Cao Jiashi smiled and thanked the brothers on behalf of him, and everyone said that because they were in a hurry, they didn't prepare a gift, it was too simple, so they should not blame it.

In fact, everyone gave a lot of gold bills, which were more than 100 gold, which was converted into more than 1,000 taels of silver, and the brothers really made a small fortune.

As the saying goes, "Twenty-seven, wash away guilt; Twenty-eighth, wash sloppy", the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth of the lunar month are the days when the people of the capital bathed years ago. Over the course of a year, the leftover bait was also discarded at the gate, and all the recipes used were burned, taking the auspicious meaning of "throwing away a hundred diseases". Up and down the Cao Mansion, pasting the panes and pasting the New Year's pictures and paper cuts, it is already full of festive atmosphere.

In a blink of an eye, on the thirtieth day, Cao Hao hurried into the palace in the afternoon. Today, Kangxi gave a banquet to the Mongolian vassal kings, ministers, scholars and guards in the Taihe Hall in the afternoon. Although Cao Hao is currently the companion of the sixteenth elder brother, his position is hanging in the guard's office, but he is going to receive the emperor's favor.

Detehei, Shuming, Nalan Fusen and others had already arrived, and when they saw Cao Hao, they were close again. Cao Hao is the youngest among all the people, and he is indispensable for a thousand New Year's greetings.

Cao Hao followed the grassland and saw the situation of Kangxi's banquet outside the domain, but compared with the feast in the Taihe Palace in front of him, those outside the fortress were trivial. Thousands of people feasted, the palace people came and went endlessly, and all kinds of exquisite utensils that could not be seen by the outside world, filled with all kinds of food and wine, came up one after another.

Before the banquet began, guards like Cao Hao and them had another honor, that is, they were given "blessed meat". It is boiled pork in white water for sacrifices, without a trace of salt, fat and thin, and the red color is almost not visible. Each guard has a large piece, not a catty, but also eight taels, and he is already full when he looks at it. Fortunately, Cao Hao is not a guard Xiaobai, although it is the first time to see this legendary "blessed meat", it has been famous for a long time. There was a small salt bag in the purse, and I quietly took it and sprinkled it, gritted my teeth and ate it all. Looking at other people, there are also small movements.

Most of the fat meat went down, even if there were delicacies from the mountains and seas in front of him, Cao Hao lost most of his appetite, but he just picked up the novelty and sandwiched two chopsticks. It was not easy to get to the second quarter of Shen Zheng (half past four in the afternoon), the banquet ended, and everyone went out of the palace to disperse.

On the gate of Cao's mansion, the gods of the couplet were pasted early, and the porter was also dressed up, and when he saw Cao Hao coming back, he came up to lead the horse diligently.

After returning to Kwai Courtyard and changing into guard clothes, Cao Hao drank two cups of strong tea fiercely to relieve the greasy. The food at this palace banquet seems to only remember the greasy fat smell.

Cao Song heard that his brother had returned from the palace, so he rushed over with a smile, and he also wore new clothes from the inside out. Cao Hao looked at his red face, thinking that he was a "song" and a "person in the house", so he didn't like him. However, think about it, I really don't bother to talk about him during the New Year.

Cao Song sat opposite his brother and curiously asked about the palace banquet.

I heard that it was fatty pork to eat, and the other dishes were warm and lukewarm, Cao Song suddenly lost interest.

The family banquet of Cao's mansion is divided into two places, and the banquets of Cao Hao, Cao Song, Mr. Zhuang and others are set up in the inner courtyard and the main hall. This side of the house is spacious, divided into east and west rooms. There are two tables in the west room, on the kang are Cao Hao, Cao Song, Mr. Zhuang, and Cao Wu, and on the ground are the Wei brothers, the big housekeeper Cao Zhong and the steward He Maocai from Changping. There are three tables in the east room, on the kang are Cao Zhong's family, Mama Zhang and two elderly mothers-in-law, one table on the ground is Amethyst with a jade dragon and some housekeepers' daughters-in-law, and the other table is the big maid of Kwai Courtyard and Huai Courtyard.

The rest of the rough envoys-in-law, the little maids, and the guards and others ate and drank in the front yard. It is also divided into two places, men and women, each of which is lively.

Although the old housekeeper Cao Wu was eighty-three years old, he recognized the reason for death and refused to eat with his masters. Cao Hao and Cao Song brothers persuaded again and again, and the old man sat down next to the kang.

As the wine and food came up, the Wei brothers and others below began to push the cup and change the lamp. Cao Hao also raised his glass, first saluted Mr. Zhuang and Cao Wu, and then thanked a few people on the ground, thanking them for their hard work for more than half a year. Everyone raised their glasses, and the Tao should be done, not thanked.

After three rounds of drinking, Cao Wu also came to be interested, starting from the grandfather of the Cao family, and talking about today's decency, the old man couldn't help but wipe two tears.

Mr. Zhuang didn't talk much, watching everyone laugh and laugh, and occasionally said a word or two to Cao Hao.

The wine and food in the house were just right, and I saw Xiaoman hurriedly knocking on the door and coming in: "Uncle, someone from the palace is the father-in-law who came back from the same as the sixteenth master, please take the order from the uncle!" ”

Sixteen elder brothers are here? And the will? Cao Hao got off the kang, and there were some doubts in his heart, is it a reward for the New Year? Gold, silver, or earth are not always the word "blessing", right?

Amethyst heard the movement in the east house, and knew that Cao Hao was going to receive the order, so she called Zhu'er and Cui'er to go back to the Kwai Courtyard with him to change clothes. Although Cao Hao was wearing new clothes, they were regular clothes, and he looked disrespectful when he wore them.

Cao Zhong and He Maocai went to the front yard first, preparing to receive the incense case for the decree.

When Cao Hao changed into his coat and went to the main hall of the front yard, the sixteenth elder brother was sitting there in a new golden prince's costume drinking tea, slightly cocking Erlang's legs, and it could be seen that he was in a good mood. The chamberlain sitting below him was Wei Zhu, the eunuch of the Qianqing Palace.

Seeing Cao Hao coming in, the sixteenth elder brother raised his head, looked him up and down, and smiled a little thief. Cao Hao was inexplicably looked at by him, but he still bowed his hand to say hello to the two.

Only then did the sixteenth elder brother get up slowly, flick his sleeves, and stretched out his hand to Wei Zhu. Wei Zhu had already stood up and respectfully presented the holy decree.

The sixteenth elder brother stood with his back to the south, and waited for Cao Hao to kneel, then he cleared his throat, opened the holy decree, and read it aloud.

The holy decree is not long, but Cao Hao is inexplicably touched when he hears it, and he doesn't know whether to be happy or sad. The first will is that Cao Hao's title has been upgraded by one level, and he has been promoted from a first-class lieutenant to a third-class man; The second will is that from now on, Cao Hao has an additional fiancée, the big Gege of the Chunjun Palace-the lord of Herui.

The sixteenth elder brother endured for a long time, and after Cao Hao received the holy decree, he couldn't help laughing, and patted Cao Hao's shoulder vigorously: "I didn't expect it, I didn't expect it, you will call me Uncle Sixteen in the future!" ”

Wei Zhu was beside him, and said hello to Cao Hao with a smile: "Lord Cao, the slave also gives you congratulations!" ”

The marriage event finally has eyebrows, but why is it so sour in my heart, but Cao Hao's face is not obvious, and he just asked the sixteenth elder brother with a smile: "Didn't you hear that there is a palace banquet at night?" How do you still have time? ”

The sixteenth elder brother replied with a smile: "It's not for your great joy, the seventh brother is fast, no wonder since he returned to Beijing, he has entered the palace one after another to see Huang Ama, but it is for this matter!" Speaking of this, he squeezed his eyebrows and said, "I heard that my seventh sisters-in-law have seen you, and I am very satisfied!" ”

Cao Hao smiled on his face, and remembered the room full of pearls and emeralds that he saw in the Pingjun Wangfu at the twenty-sixth day, no wonder he felt a little strange at that time, how did these Fujin people think of seeing their relatives. He smiled bitterly in his heart, the seventh elder brother was only twenty-eight or nine years old, and he became his father-in-law? How old can his daughter be? In the end, it has a relationship with the royal family, but the other party is the low-key Chunjun Palace, which is a great luck in misfortune.

The sixteenth elder brother didn't stay long, and hurried back to the palace. Wei Zhu's side naturally inevitably received a big reward, and he was very satisfied.

Cao Hao sent the two to the gate of the house, and the sound of crackling firecrackers sounded in his ears, and the New Year arrived.

(To be continued)