Eight long black lacquered square tables have already been placed in the small flower hall, and the white porcelain fruit plate on the table contains melon and fruit snacks.

Xiao Xi beckoned all the ladies and ladies to sit down, and Cuiping had already helped the old lady walk in. Because today is the birthday, the old lady wore a dark red gown with auspicious patterns for longevity, and wore a set of red gold ruby head on his head, which looked both precious and festive.

"Grandmother." Xiao Xi hurriedly stepped forward and walked to the old lady's side to hold her other hand.

All the ladies and ladies also got up one after another to greet the old lady and say goodbye to him, saying words to congratulate him on his birthday.

The old lady walked to the throne and sat down, with a smile on her face, "I am very happy that you can come to congratulate me on my birthday." This is the first time my family has organized a birthday banquet, and it is inevitable that there is something inconsiderate, please forgive me! ”

Everyone got up one after another and said that they didn't dare, but their eyes pretended to glance at Xiao Xiwei next to the old lady and Li who had been sitting upright.

It is said that this kind of thing of holding a birthday banquet has always been handled by the housewife of Houfu, why didn't the housewife come forward, but such a big girl? Moreover, the old lady is maintaining everything in and out of his words, could it be that something happened in this mansion?

Which of the ladies sitting on the table is not a human spirit, just thinking about it for a while, they have their own guesses, and the gaze cast at Xiao Xiwei is a little more attentive.

Seeing this situation, Li's face, which had been sitting upright at the banquet, was a little tense, and Xiao Xile's face was even more blue and red, and the gaze cast on Xiao Xiwei couldn't help but feel a little resentful.

"Qingmei, what's going on?"

Although the Qi family knew about the Li family's grounding, she really didn't expect that on such an occasion, the old lady would let a girl come forward to take care of it, that is, she would openly slap the Li family in the face in front of everyone.

Li's face couldn't help but be a little ugly, she stared coldly at Xiao Xiwei's delicate snow-white melon seed face, and gritted her teeth and said, "What else can happen!" This girl has a harmonious look on her face, but in fact, her mind is vicious! ”

Looking at Li's hideous face, he really hated Xiao Xiwei, Qi couldn't help but smile, raised his eyebrows, and said, "No matter how vicious the girl's mind is, no matter how powerful it is, what is the use of marrying into her mother-in-law's family in the future, it is not to see the face of her mother-in-law's husband to live, and it is not up to us to pinch or round it when the time comes!" ”

Li glanced at Qi, and instantly understood what Qi meant, and a smile appeared on his cold face, "Sister-in-law is right. ”

After everyone talked for a while, Mama Liu walked up to Xiao Xiwei and whispered a few words. Xiao Xi smiled, turned his face to look at the old lady and said, "Grandmother, the time is almost right, it's time to have a banquet." ”

The old lady nodded.

For a while, all kinds of delicacies were served up like flowing water, and the girls put down the dishes and retreated one by one.

When the hall was quiet, Xiao Xiwei asked people to inform his father Xiao Yan, and the male guests from each family formed a team to congratulate the old lady on her birthday.

Xiao Xiwei saw at a glance that his brother was wearing a purple brocade robe with dark embroidered moire patterns, which made him tall and tall, and as soon as he came in, the eyes of many ladies and young ladies in the banquet moved towards him.

"Second Miss, who is this son?" Miss Liao, the granddaughter of the military department who was sitting next to Xiao Xiwei, blushed and whispered to Xiao Xiwei.

Xiao Xiyang has been in Wucheng for many years, and the young lady and lady in Beijing have never seen him.

Xiao Xi smiled slightly, "He's my brother!" “

Miss Liao's eyes lit up, and her voice didn't feel a little raised, "Oh, is it the eldest prince who was taken to Wucheng by the old waiter?" ”

Xiao Xi smiled and nodded.

The young ladies who heard Xiao Xiwei's conversation with Miss Liao looked at Xiao Ranyang with a little more admiration in their eyes.

This is the eldest son who is highly valued by the old man! Looking at the quality of his appearance, he will definitely inherit the title of Houfu in the future.

"The grandson is here to congratulate his grandmother on her blessings like the East China Sea, and the sun and moon are prosperous. The pine crane is elongated, the spring and autumn are not old, the ancient is rare, and the joy is long. Xiao Xiyang stepped forward and bowed to the old lady, raised his head and said a series of auspicious words.

When the old lady heard this, she smiled so hard that she didn't disturb her mouth, "You kid, I haven't seen you for a long time, and nothing else has grown, but the kung fu of the flamboyant tongue has grown a lot!" “

Xiao Xiyang smiled brightly, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, "No way, grandmother loves to listen to flamboyant words!" ”

"Yang'er! No nonsense! Seeing Xiao Yan's unruly appearance, Xiao Yan hurriedly drank him with a straight face.

The smile on the old lady's face was even bigger, "Is it possible, you came all the way back to celebrate my birthday just to say a few flamboyant words to make me happy, then I won't follow it!" ”

"How dare I!" Xiao Xiyang smiled and waved his hand, and the little guy walked up with a big red mahogany box inlaid with gold and longevity. Xiao Xiyang took it and opened it in public, but there was an ivory carved lotus Guanyin inside. This statue of Guanyin, the carving is complex and exquisite, the lines are soft and smooth, and the eyebrows and eyes are dignified with a trace of compassion.

The ivory is not easy to come by, not to mention such a big one, how big a wild elephant to hunt to get such tusk, this Guanyin is only afraid that it is hard to find, it is really a treasure!

Everyone was secretly admiring, but they heard Xiao Xiyang's voice ring again.

"Grandmother, the ivory used in this Guanyin was obtained by hunting wild elephants by myself, and this Guanyin was carved by my grandfather personally to invite Master Zhang of Wucheng to carve for my grandmother. I don't know, are you satisfied with this congratulatory gift? ”

Hearing Xiao Xiyang mention the old man, the old lady's eyes moistened a little. And when the others heard that the ivory used by this Guanyin was actually hunted by the eldest prince of Houfu himself, they couldn't help but think a little higher of this eldest prince.

Seeing that the old lady and everyone were impressed by Xiao Xiyang's congratulatory gift, Xiao Xile couldn't sit still, and hurriedly stood up and said, "Grandmother, my fifth brother and I also have congratulatory gifts to present to grandmother." After speaking, she got up and pulled Xiao Ximing, who was only nine years old, to step forward and bless the old lady.

Da Yue Dynasty has always had a clear distinction between the eldest and youngest, and Xiao Xiwei, as the eldest daughter of the Houfu and the original match, should have given a congratulatory gift after Xiao Xiyang's death, but she didn't expect to be preempted by the children of the stepfamily.

The ladies at the banquet didn't say anything, but many thoughts turned in their hearts in an instant. The old lady's eyebrows were slightly twisted, and a trace of displeasure obviously flashed in her eyes, but because of so many people at the banquet, she didn't say anything after all.

Xiao Xile also seemed to notice something, she turned her face to look at Xiao Xi with a smile and said slightly, "Sister, don't you mind if my fifth brother and I give congratulatory gifts to our grandmother first!" ”

The corners of Xiao Xi's lips curled slightly, and a shallow smile appeared, "How come, sister, please." ”

Xiao Xile jumped out so eagerly, it seems that the birthday gift prepared by the Li family for the old lady this time is only a bloody investment, just to let Xiao Xile shine in this birthday banquet and stand out.

Sure enough, after a while, I saw two servants walking up carrying a huge bloodstone ornament. I saw that the bloodstone was carved with the waves of the sea above and below, and the clouds and mountains were carved above, and the pine trees in the mountains were upright, and the carving skills were extremely delicate and exquisite.

Everyone looked at it and admired it.

Xiao Xi pursed his lips and smiled slightly, such a luxurious and valuable bloodstone, and such a large piece, it seems that the Li family has really invested a lot of money this time.

"My granddaughter wishes my grandmother a blessing like the long flowing water of the East China Sea and a longevity like an ageless pine in the East China Sea!" Xiao Xile pulled Xiao Ximing and bowed down to the old lady in the seat.

"You have a heart. Get up. The old lady tugged at the corners of her mouth and said in a light tone.

Xiao Xile, who was originally full of joy and waiting for praise, was stunned for a moment, she didn't understand why the old lady had such an attitude when she saw her birthday gift.

Xiao Xi slightly picked up the wine glass and took a light sip of fruit wine, and a subtle sneer rose at the corner of his lips.

The Li family didn't know that the matter of the private deduction of the public and the silver had been known to the old lady, if she knew that she would never give such a valuable birthday gift in order to let Xiao Xile come forward, what kind of family was the Li family, and the old lady would not know? With such a valuable birthday gift, the Li family can take it out so lightly, so how many silver taels does she have to deduct from the gong!

"Sister, it's your turn now? What kind of birthday gift did you have for your grandmother? Seeing the old lady's cold face, Xiao Xile hurriedly moved her gaze to Xiao Xiwei, she blinked her big eyes, charming and innocent.

She didn't believe that Xiao Xiwei's birthday gift could be more valuable than hers!

Xiao Xile smiled, got up slowly, and said, "My gift is just a little bit of my heart, and it really can't compare to my sister's value." ”

When Xiao Xile heard this, the corners of his mouth unconsciously curled into a sarcastic smile, and his eyes became brighter and brighter, "Sister is too modest." Grandmother has always praised my sister for being smart and clever, presumably my sister's gift must be extraordinary, so let's open our eyes! ”

With Xiao Xile's words, the eyes of all the ladies at the banquet also turned to Xiao Xiwei.

In the past, this second lady gave everyone the impression of being reckless and swaggering, but today, she is dignified and steady, even if she is trampled by her stepsister like this, she still has a gentle smile on her face.

Xiao Xi smiled slightly, waved his hand, and Hongyu walked up with a painting box made of yellow pear.

"My granddaughter prepared a pair of embroideries for the old lady, speaking of which, my birthday gift is similar to my sister's." Xiao Xiwei said that, he motioned to Hongyu and Ziyan to take out the embroidery and slowly unfold it in front of everyone.

The embroidery is more than one meter long, and the left side is embroidered with two kinds of blue and black threads to embroider a huge "Shou" character, and the left side is also embroidered with different fonts with various "Shou" characters, adding up to a hundred.

"Sister, you embroider the word 'Shou' so beautifully!" Xiao Xile tilted her head and sighed, then she frowned, "Sister, won't this be the birthday gift you gave to your grandmother?" After that, I didn't forget to blink.

With Xiao Xile's words, everyone also raised their eyes to look at Xiao Xiwei.

Indeed, compared to the valuable bloodstone ornaments, this hundred-character longevity embroidery seems to be a little out of hand.

"Birthday gift, what you pay attention to is a mind, if it is all about preciousness, it is better to carry a box of gold!" Seeing Xiao Xile mocking his sister, Xiao Xiyang couldn't help but speak up.

Everyone laughed, and a trace of embarrassment flashed on Xiao Xile's face.

Xiao Xi raised his eyes slightly and glanced at Xiao Xiyang, and a bright smile bloomed at the corner of his mouth.