The moon is shining tonight, and the sweet aroma of fruit blows in the breeze, and the intoxicating smell of mead.

In May, the capital is warm and windy, and the wine banquet is placed in the open space in the garden of Dongfu, with the red leaf forest with unique charm on the left, and the craggy and tall rockery on all sides. The people who arranged the venue were very thoughtful, and distributed a hundred palace lanterns in a staggered manner among the mountains and rocks, and the palace lanterns were brilliant and bright, illuminating the whole venue brightly.

There were a lot of invitations scattered before, and most of the guests bought a face from the Taishi, and the people who came to the banquet brought their families with their mouths, and there was a lot of laughter and laughter.

There were four or five girls from the Dong family and the Tang family sitting around the old lady, and the sound of chirping was like a lark, one after another, making the old lady laugh.

And the young ladies of the Dong Mansion, some of them entered the palace and did not return, and some of them went to the house of the God of Wealth as guests and did not return, only the youngest Dong Lianyue sat at the bottom, sitting alone, no matter how you look at it, it is a little lonely.

"Hey, why hasn't the fourth lady come over yet?" Mama Li, who was beside the old lady, paid attention.

"I also wonder," Dong Lianyue smiled, "It seems that I haven't seen the fourth sister for a few days, I don't know what she's busy with these days, and she can't even find time to see each other." ”

Mama Li said: "Today is an occasion after all, the fourth lady has no reason not to come, and the slave maid will let her call again." ”

Dong Lianyue said with a smile: "That's not necessary, just now I saw the son of the Shi family going to Fengyuzhai, and it is estimated that the fourth sister will arrive in a while." ”

Mama Li was taken aback, and quietly asked behind her back: "Young Master Shi Jiong went to the backyard to find the fourth miss?" He went alone? ”

Dong Lianyue smiled shyly and shook her head slightly.

At this moment, it was the time when there were many people at the banquet, and the voice was too noisy, so Mama Li didn't ask any more.

On the upper seat in the northeast corner of the garden, Dong Taishi wore a wide-sleeved robe with eight regiments, covered with colorful silk shirts, inlaid with jade leather belts at the waist, and stepped on heavy shoes, with a subtle and elegant smile on his face, giving people the impression of spotlessness.

Mrs. Song on the left is wearing a jade sprinkling flower pearl skirt, a red silk phoenix pattern sleeve narrow waist long jacket, the pearls between the buns are shining, and she is holding a toast with a smile.

On the other hand, the lotus leaf on the left hand side of Dong Taishi, at the age of twenty, wears a jade-colored embroidered folded branch pile flower skirt, which is light and elegant, and a green yarn embroidered peach blossom cloak is not even removed when eating, which seems to have the meaning of covering up the increasingly plump figure.

People who don't know the inside story really can't see that she is a newcomer to Dong Taishina, and the red worn by the Song family is dignified and temperamental, which suppresses the colorful colors of the other aunts.

What surprised some people in the Dong family the most was that Wei Shangshu, who asked the lotus leaves to go back to the Wei Mansion last time and sent them back to the Dong Mansion a few days later, also took the post to the banquet, and at this moment he was dining at the same table with Dong Taishi and others.

Wei Shangshu wore a dark money leopard print waist robe, but he was fifty years old, but he couldn't find a trace of fortune, his body was as straight as a pine. Colleagues who don't know each other will inevitably mistake him for a general, rather than a civilian official who deals with money, food, and taxes every day.

The most striking thing is his burgundy shoulder-length hair, soft and flowing, bound by a golden hairpin. Looking at his face again, the upper lip has a short mustache in the shape of a "one", the heavenly court is full, the face is square, and the eyes are slender and introverted.

Even so, compared with Taishi Dong, Wei Shangshu is not among the beautiful men, but his children are all fancy skin and snow, which is also amazing.

Sitting around the table, Wei Shangshu squinted and smiled, and those who knew a little bit of his temperament were called "smiling tigers", and it was better to avoid them.

"Master drink a little more," Song smiled and persuaded Master Dong, "It's rare for all relatives and friends to get together, poetry and wine are harmonious, so it's better to make a wine order." ”

"To the poem?" Mrs. Dong laughed, "We are all relatives at this table, and the poems are too restrained, so we will scare away those who can't compose poems." ”

Sure enough, the three or five concubines brought by Wei Shangshu said that they were illiterate at all and couldn't play five-character quatrains and sing harmony.

Wei Shangshu said with a smile: "Mrs. Taishi doesn't know, Wei Mansion is not as scholarly as your Dong Mansion, even the maids use poetry as a game, and the women in my family, including my daughter, are not even literate." ”

Song's face was full of surprise, and the jade pointed at his lips and asked with a smile, "What is the reason for this?" Lord Shangshu doesn't like women to read and write? ”

Dong Taishi answered the doubts on his behalf: "This is not decided by Shangshu's personal likes and dislikes, he is in charge of a department, in charge of the world's money and food, and any piece of paper in the study is heavy, so half a year ago, the Holy Decree that the Wei Mansion would expel all literate people who may leak the secrets of the treasury from the palace." ”

Song heard the novelty, and said with a smile: "Oh, fortunately, our master is just an ordinary minister, doing some chores, otherwise wouldn't our daughter be unable to study, so what can we do?" Xuanying couldn't let go of the book, and she couldn't eat any day without the book. ”

Wei Shangshu's upper lip curled slightly, and he squinted and said: "Mrs. Taishi's daughter is extraordinarily outstanding, which is unknown to everyone in the whole capital, Wei is very ashamed, a baby daughter, she has long been spoiled by her mother." In addition, there is also a bad son, who does not like to read since he was a child, and prefers to dance with knives and sticks. The day before yesterday, the saint said that there would be a place to transfer troops in the near future, and he would make my rebel son a marshal. ”

"Oh," Song said in surprise, "This is a great thing, the second son is almost thirty this year, right?" I heard that he led troops to suppress bandits in the past two years, and he has been doing a lot of business in the capital in the past two years? It's really promising. ”

Dong Taishi coughed lightly, and Dan Feng glanced at Song with a non-serious look. Did the Song family really not know, or did he deliberately not open which pot to mention?

When Wei Ergongzi suppressed the bandits, it was useless to be a strong soldier, and finally he came back, and in the end, the bandit village was razed by King Yu. And Wei Ergongzi's "big business" in the capital is not the business of raising saffron in the West Courtyard and selling Jiao'e in the Qinglou, and it is not very glorious to put it forward.

"Haha!" Wei Shangshu didn't think it was angry, and said, "Suddenly mentioning that Xiaozi, not for anything else, but I always knew that among the four daughters of Mrs. Taishi, who could get back one as a daughter-in-law and want to prosper the family, so Wei relied on the friendship between the two families and wanted to say the next good family for the dog." ”

"Say it...... kiss" Song couldn't hide his surprise, didn't Wei Shangshu have already appointed the fourth miss of Liu Mansion for his son, and he dragged the floor again and again to do family affairs, why did he lick his face and come to Dong Mansion to propose marriage?

Other mansions come to propose, this kind of thing happens several times a month, and Song's own daughter Xuanying is the first to bear the brunt, first, because she is famous, and secondly, when she is old.

Song's first reaction was to refuse, not only because she thought that the second child of the Wei family was not qualified to marry her daughter, but also because the Wei family had two vixens, one snatched a man with her daughter Yuanshu, and the other was robbing a man with her daughter Xuanying.

The Dong Mansion and the Wei Mansion are not so much relatives as rivals, and it is more appropriate to divide them into redness.

"Hehe, the second son is going to take command of the expedition, and at this time, I'm afraid that the relatives will not be able to come over." Song smiled on his face, and said unnaturally, "Although there are many girls in our family, the old lady in the family is reluctant to give up her granddaughters, and she told me yesterday that she wants to keep more of them......

Song's words were stunned because Dong Taishi gave her a cool look again, and smiled apologetically at Wei Shangshu.

Song suddenly pondered, this may be the tacit understanding that Taishi Dong and Wei Shangshu had in advance.

"Hehe," Song Shifu smiled again, "My girls are all dexterous, and the third girl is the best at female red, and the peony embroidered by her hand can waft out the fragrance of real flowers." The fourth girl is the best at playing the piano, don't look at her usual inconspicuousness, it's great to show her hand casually. Not to mention the fifth girl, the lark is not as beautiful as her voice, and the sisters are not as good as her. ”

has introduced so much, and the subtext has only one meaning - no matter what my master said to Shangshu, what cooperation has you talked about, and if you want to beat my daughter Xuanying's idea, there is absolutely no room for negotiation!

"Oh? There is also a daughter in the Taishi's family who is good at playing the piano? Wei Shangshu seemed to arouse Song's words, and asked with a smile, "Can you please come out and see it?" ”

"Someone, call the fourth lady over." Mrs. Dong commanded.

talked about forming a family with Wei Shangshu before, and what Taishi Dong liked was his fourth daughter Qianmo, but he didn't communicate with Wei Shangshu.

Now that the Song family mentioned it, Wei Shangshu became interested in Dong Qianmo, and Dong Taishi praised it in his heart, and there was indeed a tacit understanding, it seemed that the two families were destined to get married.

"Back to the master, the fourth miss was not at the table, and after asking the fifth miss, she said that she had never seen her." The next person will report it.

"......" Master Dong's brows knotted slightly, and he said coldly, "Why do you have to return in front of the guests for such a trivial matter, you can't find it during the banquet, and you won't go to Fengyuzhai to invite it?" ”

"Yes." The next person hurriedly went to go.

"Do you want to find Miss Four?" Aunt Tang, who was sitting next to her, turned her head and answered, "Maybe she is not in Fengyuzhai at this time, but when the banquet just started, the concubine seemed to see her going to the end of the red leaf forest alone." ”

Song glanced tepidly at Aunt Tang, who intervened without authorization, and asked curiously: "What is she doing in the woods this big night?" Isn't my aunt dazzled? ”

Aunt Tang replied meekly: "Then it should be regarded as a concubine, but the concubine called the fourth lady twice, and the concubine's maid Cuizhu also saw it together." ”

After speaking, Cuizhu confirmed: "Yes, the maid also saw the fourth lady running into the forest without looking back." ”

Master Dong waved his hand and instructed his subordinates: "Hold a few more lanterns, quickly enter the forest to find the fourth lady, and let her come here to talk to Uncle Shangshu." ”

The subordinates looked for it once, but found nothing, knowing that Master Dong was drinking to Xingtou, if he still couldn't find the matter of the fourth lady when he went back again, then most likely there was a reprimand waiting.

At this moment, a small servant standing under the ancient tree suddenly felt that something was stained on his face.

The water falling from the sky was warm and hot, not rain, but a little sticky.

"What is this?" The little guy wiped it and made a foolish face.

"Like...... It seems to be blood! The person next to him was so frightened that he stepped back.

Several people under the tree looked up at the same time, only to see a dark figure hanging high between the branches, looking at the slender figure, it seemed to be a woman.

His hair was disheveled, his clothes were disheveled, and his seven orifices were bleeding.

"No, no!" The little girl rushed to the banquet out of breath, and stammered to tell Mrs. Dong and the other guests at the table, "Something happened to Miss Four, Miss Four, Miss Four, she killed someone!" ”