Sheng Weiqiao and Xuanyu Feng looked at each other after hearing this, and first called Yishan to come in: "You sent an invitation over there? What did you say?"
Yishan said: "It is said that there is a happy event in their family. Ah, it was Meng Jiaxing who went to Changting outside the city that day. Didn't Mrs. Peng help explain at that time that Meng Jiaxing's wife was in confinement, so it was not good to greet you two? It’s Meng Jiaxing’s daughter’s full moon wine.”
"Of course we are going to such a wedding." Sheng Weiqiao nodded and said, "Go and tell the visitor that I was on the road because I was pregnant. Now that I am tired, I have not seen him. I will leave the post and the day will come. , I have passed by since."
After the person who sent the post was dismissed, he told Yishan, "Tomorrow, take someone outside to see what shops are here, and pick out a batch of items that are suitable for children's full moon gifts. Let's buy a batch this time. I came out of Western Xinjiang in such a hurry that I didn’t bring nearly anything with me, so I could only buy some last-minute things.”
But in the evening of that day, Zhao Shi sent someone to talk about the full moon wine. He said that Zhao Shi had asked his old servant Zhao Bao to prepare a gift for Sheng Weiqiao, so that she didn't have to worry about it anymore: "Master He said that you are pregnant now, so it is time for you to have a baby, and you can leave these trivial matters to this old slave."
Sheng Weiqiao thanked him and asked, "Will uncle be free to have this wine then?"
Zhao Bao smiled and said: "Of course I want to accompany you two there."
After he left, Sheng Weiqiao said to Xuan Yu Feng: "The Meng family's full moon wine is planned for the future. I don't know if this uncle will give me an accurate answer before that? I really can't wait for a day now." Can’t wait any longer.”
"Even if you can't wait any longer, you have to wait until the day after tomorrow." Xuanyu Feng said calmly, "General Huaihua is still thinking about it. He has said that he should think about it alone. You go to force him to make a choice. Secretly, it might be counterproductive. Wouldn't it be unfair at that time? As for Meng Boqin, they just posted the post and you came to the door. Doesn't this mean that you told them to go ahead with the knife? On General Huaihua's side, they are relatives after all, and they still That’s all. The Meng family is not on the same side as us at all, and can only be a temporary ally. In this case, do you think they have the need to hold back? Maybe they are so open-minded!"
Sheng Weiqiao said: "But Xijiang..."
"Didn't General Huaihua say that? Mi Zhen is not stupid. If he really couldn't defend it, wouldn't he still be able to leave?" Xuan Yu Feng said, "He was at sea before, and the sea was vast, and he could escape many times. Oh my god, let alone being on land now? Where can’t we walk on roads?”
"How can it be the same at sea as on the road?" Sheng Weiqiao frowned, "Furthermore, in order to intercept and kill me, Nafu Zhen did not hesitate to go deep alone. Not only did he fail to succeed, but even his deputy was shot and wounded. He retreated at that time, how could he not want to turn back and take revenge? ? Now that we are in northern Xinjiang, we can just pay him back if he is beyond our reach. How can we not turn our anger on Mi Zhen?"
Xuan Yu Feng said: "There are many people who hate Mi Zhen, and there is no shortage of Na Fuzhen. Besides, there is nothing Na Fuzhen hates more than your grandfather. And isn't your grandfather living happily in Chang'an?"
When she said the last sentence, her voice became a little cold when she thought of what Mrs. Sheng had done.
Seeing Sheng Weiqiao looking at him in confusion, he stopped spilling the beans and quickly made amends, "Your grandfather was really serious back then! It was not like he had never seen blood under his hands at that time, and it was not like he couldn't do anything. Are you going to cause this trouble?"
"After all, he is Ruru's prince, not an ordinary person." Sheng Weiqiao defended Mr. Sheng, "My grandfather's official position was not high at that time. Such an important person must be handed over to his superiors. How could he decide whether to kill him or not? ?”
Xuan Yu Feng said: "I care so much? Who asked him to cause trouble for you?"
Then he said, "Isn't this a knot? Na Fu Zhen is Prince Ruru, so it's hard for someone like your grandfather to kill him after catching him. Isn't Mi Zhen a descendant of Damu's clan? Even if he loses His hand fell into Ruru’s hands, how could Ruru kill him just because she said so?”
Sheng Weiqiao really thought that her aunt was trying to comfort herself and said, "In that case, the pain of the flesh and blood will be inevitable."
The rest of the day ended with the aunt and nephew talking to each other. To Sheng Weiqiao's disappointment, Zhao Shi avoided going to the military camp outside the city that night as usual and never came back. He only sent Zhao Bao back to tell him: "There are some people in the military camp." Things have tripped up the master."
It wasn't until the Meng family's full-moon banquet started that Zhao Shicai hurried back from the military camp and invited his aunt and nephew to the banquet.
The Hussar General's Mansion is a little way away from the Huaihua General's Mansion. One is in the west of the city and the other is in the east of the city. There is a sense of confrontation with the Huaihua General's Mansion.
Perhaps because Meng Boqin's family is here, the General's Mansion is more grand than the General's Mansion in Huaihua. Just looking at the pair of stone lions at the door, as well as the majestic and tall red lacquer door behind the stone lions, you can tell that the owner has an extraordinary origin. The door opened wide, and Meng Boqin's wife Lian personally waited for her at the foot of the stone steps with her daughter-in-law and two rows of maids in colorful clothes.
Seeing the carriage stop, Yishan helped Sheng Weiqiao out and hurriedly stepped forward to salute: "My wife, please give my regards to your Majesty! May your Majesty give birth to a precious son soon!"
"Thank you, madam, for your kind words." Sheng Weiqiao looked at her with a smile. Lian was the daughter of a court official, and her father and brother were members of the Meng family. Earlier, when the Meng family was just rising, the head of the Lian family saw the potential of the Meng family and took the initiative to join the Meng family. In order to show his respect for the Lian family, Zheng Guogong specially hired Lian as his son's wife.
She is one year younger than Meng Boqin, and is now in her early forties. Maybe the soil and water in northern Xinjiang are really unsustainable. Lian looked at Feng who was far younger than her. She was dressed up with rouge and gouache. Her complexion, and because of her bloated figure, could not be labeled as "beautiful" at all.
But she is a noble girl from Chang'an. She is wearing a cross-collar narrow-sleeved undershirt with embroidered Ruyi patterns on the pine green ground. She is covered with sable fur. Her black hair is tied into a bun with a gilt and burnt blue inlaid onyx. The flower pearl tassels are swaying, the silver gilt filigree is inlaid with treasures on the comb, and she wears large sapphires and large bead earrings in a gold box, but she still looks like a lady.
After she greeted Sheng Weiqiao, she said hello to Xuanyu Feng who got off the carriage. The three of them had a brief chat by the carriage. Peng came up to persuade: "It's windy and snowy here, and the princess is pregnant. Mrs. Feng is with me." Mom is already old, so let’s go inside and talk!”
"Look at how stupid I am." Mrs. Lian hurriedly confessed to Sheng Weiqiao and Mrs. Xuanyu Feng, and invited them to come in. "It's bitterly cold in Jizhou and some simple tea. Please don't dislike it, the princess and the old lady!"
Sheng Weiqiao said: "What are you talking about, madam? The Hussars General has been guarding the border for many years, and you have been with me all, and you have done a great job. You have never complained about suffering in these years. My aunt and I are just here for the first time, how can we be picky?"
A group of people walked in politely and saw that the decoration was not as good as that of Zheng Guogong's Mansion in Chang'an, but it still showed the atmosphere of everyone and was full of wealth.
After arriving and taking a seat in the back hall, Mrs. Lian asked her maid to serve her some fragrant tea, and introduced her daughter-in-law, daughters, and granddaughters one by one.
Sheng Weiqiao didn't intend to have a close relationship with the Meng family, so he just passed by these people. When he saw people coming up to say hello, he would say a few nice words and give them a greeting gift, so he didn't feel comfortable accepting them.
At this time, another wet nurse came over to kowtow to the nominal protagonist of the Full Moon Wine. Sheng Weiqiao caught a glimpse of the swaddled baby's fair skin and delicate appearance. Perhaps she was about to become a mother, and her heart suddenly softened, and she smiled. He said: "Can you give me a hug?"
Before Lianshi could speak, Xuanyu Fengshi suddenly changed his expression and said, "You have never held a child in your arms. You haven't had any strength in your hands for the past two days. What if you drop the child?"
Sheng Weiqiao glanced at her inexplicably, wondering when in the past two days had he told Xuan Yu Feng that his hand was running out of energy
However, she could tell that the aunt didn't want to hold the child by herself. She pursed her lips and heard Lianshi say, "It doesn't matter. It's her blessing that the queen is willing to hold her."
Finally he declined with a smile: "Forget it, I see that the child is fair and cute, and I like it in my heart. I forgot that it is inconvenient now. Fortunately, my aunt reminded me, otherwise how could I explain it to you?"
Maybe Lian and other female family members did not get involved in military and political matters, so what they talked about next were all topics between female family members.
Lian asked a lot about Chang'an. Since Sheng Weiqiao had no friendship with her natal family, she could only tell her about some streets, scenery, snacks and other things in Chang'an. Lian nodded while listening and sighed: " The scene of leaving the cabinet is still vivid in my mind, but in the blink of an eye, my wife’s grandchildren have grown up.”
"Who says it's not?" This topic resonated with Feng Xuan, "I still remember Qiao Er's appearance when she held the full moon party. She is almost a mother now."
As we chatted about each other, guests came one after another.
I don’t know whether it’s because everyone here in Northern Xinjiang has a tacit understanding to maintain their friendship, or because Zhao Shi came to the banquet today. Although the female family members who came to pay their respects to Sheng Weiqiao were not made clear, but from their attitudes and the clearly differentiated seats, we could probably guess that today's guests arrived very neatly, and close friends of Meng Boqin and Zhao Shi were present.
The people at Meng Boqin kept a respectful distance from Sheng Weiqiao. After the ceremony, they would step aside and never approach her.
There was a young lady who came to the banquet with her mother-in-law. She was relatively young, only six or seven years old. She was probably curious about Sheng Weiqiao's attire and jewelry in Beijiang. She glanced at her a few more times and was pulled aside by her sister-in-law to whisper. Admonished.
Sheng Weiqiao glanced out of the corner of his eye and couldn't help but feel a bit dumbfounded: "Are you treating me like a scourge?"
As for Zhao Shi's subordinates, they didn't have any special intention to be close to her. They only looked at her with hesitant eyes and exchanged vague glances.
"It seems that the overall attitude towards Mi Zhen in Northern Xinjiang is still very ambiguous?" After Sheng Weiqiao noticed this scene, he bit his lip gently and thought to himself, "After all, it is impossible for everyone to treat the things outside to their family members. If any of these people’s husbands or sons secretly express their affection and inclination towards Mi Zhen, there’s no reason why not everyone who comes up to talk to me right now doesn’t say it, and not even one of them looks eager to test it out?”
She was secretly disappointed, but after thinking about it, she felt that this was common sense: Rong Suihe became famous only in the past two years, mainly because he won the first prize and was found to be the legitimate son of the prince. Both of these things happened in Chang'an. , and Northern Xinjiang is thousands of miles away from Chang'an, and the flow of information is inconvenient. The two people who call the shots here, Meng Boqin, will definitely not help the son of a political opponent to spread the reputation; Zhao Shi has not yet decided on his position, so naturally he will not spread the word. Sleeping Crane’s talents and abilities.
Therefore, unless Zhao Shi's subordinates have a source of information, they are at most familiar with Rong Suihe, and they are far from the point of worshiping him. How could they abandon the mediocre but familiar prince Rong Qingzui who is the eldest son? , choose Rong Sleeping Crane
"It just so happens that we are attending a banquet at the Hussar General's Mansion. Now that Lian and others are watching, I can't take the initiative to go find them." Sheng Weiqiao felt a little regretful, "Otherwise, I might be able to convince a few people, which would indirectly affect them. Where are the people who earned the title?"
At this time, a servant came in to report that Meng Boqin and others had returned from the military camp. They heard that Sheng Weiqiao was already in the mansion and wanted to come over to pay their respects.
After hearing the news, Sheng Weiqiao quickly put away his thoughts. After sitting upright, he calmed down and was ready to face the current commander-in-chief of the Northern Xinjiang Army!