West of the city, Lion Lane.
When Luo Qingzhou and the other two arrived, there were already quite a few carriages parked in the alley.
Many servants were waiting in the alley.
After walking about three hundred meters forward, a mansion with a strong sense of age suddenly appeared.
In front of the mansion, there are two stone lions squatting.
There was a brand new plaque hanging on the gate with the words "Zhou Mansion" inscribed on it.
This mansion was obviously purchased not long ago.
At this time, at the steps at the gate, a butler was holding a gift list, welcoming the guests.
When a woman handed over the invitation and gift list, the housekeeper immediately said a few words with a smile on his face, and then shouted to the mansion: "Mrs. Tian from the family of Mr. Tian in the south city has arrived!"
As soon as the words fell, Zhou Lan, the owner of the Zhou family, who was talking in the courtyard, came out with a smile on her face and personally welcomed the person in.
The person in charge of the Zhou family now is Zhou Lan, because her husband Zhou Wang is also a son-in-law and has no status in the family.
Luo Qingzhou and the other two only had an invitation but no gift list, so they walked over awkwardly and handed over the invitation.
Chu Xiaoxiao said in a crisp voice: "My name is Chu Xiaoxiao, her name is Dao Ling, this is Chu Feiyang, we are both friends of Zhou Boyao."
The housekeeper seemed a little surprised when he heard this. He took the invitation and took a look at it. He asked the servant to take the gift and said with a smile, "I didn't expect that our son-in-law also has friends. Wait a moment, I'll call the son-in-law to come out to greet him."
As he spoke, he shouted loudly to the mansion: "My son-in-law's friends, Mr. Chu, Miss Chu, and Miss Dao are here!"
Zhou Lan, who was talking to the guests at the gate, was stunned when she heard the words and turned to look at the three people at the bottom of the stairs.
At this time, a young woman in a purple dress, accompanied by two maids, hurried out of the mansion and walked down the stairs.
The housekeeper quickly introduced: "This is our young lady."
Luo Qingzhou and the other two looked up. The young woman had a very good appearance and temperament. Although she was not the best, she was also upper middle class, and looked quite gentle and dignified.
Obviously, this woman is Zhou Boyao's wife.
The three of them hurried forward to greet him.
Zhou Shumei bowed and apologized, "Boyue is busy, so he can't come out to greet the three distinguished guests. Please don't blame me. Shumei will take you in."
Sister Dao smiled and said, "Then I'll trouble you, Miss Zhou."
The three followed the daughter of the Zhou family up the steps. When they reached the door, Zhou Lan said with a smile on her face, "Shumei, are these Boyue's three friends? Boyue is busy in the back, you have to entertain them well."
Zhou Shumei said softly: "My daughter knows."
Luo Qingzhou and the other two immediately bowed and said, "Greetings, Madam."
Zhou Lan looked at the three of them again and said with a smile, "You are welcome, we are also very happy that Bo Yue has friends. You three must eat and drink well today, just as if you were at home, you are welcome."
The three of them bowed their heads and thanked him.
Zhou Shumei was about to lead the three people into the main hall when Zhou Lan suddenly said with a smile, "Shumei, take them to sit in the pavilion at the back. It's more spacious and quiet there."
Zhou Shumei frowned and was about to speak when Zhou Lan immediately walked down the stairs and said with a big smile on her face, "Master Qian, Madam Qian, welcome, welcome!"
Zhou Shumei looked at her from behind with a frown on her face. When she saw the three people looking at her, she immediately forced a smile on her face and said, "Please, the three of you. I will take you to the back to sit for a while. When the banquet starts, I will invite you to the hall."
Chu Xiaoxiao said carelessly: "It's okay, it's the same everywhere, we don't care about these."
Zhou Shumei didn't say anything else. She took the three of them through the side corridor and went to the pavilion at the back.
There is also a pavilion beside the pond not far away.
There was a group of maids surrounding a few young women, sitting there talking and laughing, looking quite lively.
The three of them sat down in the pavilion.
The maid immediately brought tea, melon seeds, candied fruits and other snacks.
Zhou Shumei chatted with them for a while, then said goodbye, "Please sit down for a while. I'll go talk to Bo Yue and see if he's done with his work. If you need anything, just tell Guo'er."
The three of them nodded.
Zhou Shumei left with her maid.
The maid named Guo'er was standing under a tree not far away, waiting for instructions at any time.
The pavilion became quiet.
Chu Xiaoxiao whispered, "Brother Chu, Sister Dao, it looks like we are not welcome at all. They even won't let us into the hall."
Sister Dao sighed and said, "When I was in Mo City, I often saw Zhou Boyue with bruised faces and noses. This shows his status and situation in the Zhou Mansion. We are his friends, so naturally we are not taken seriously. I guess that Madam Zhou thinks that our presence is embarrassing for her, so she sent us to sit in the backyard."
Chu Xiaoxiao said: "Senior Sister Dao, that Miss Zhou just now looked pretty good."
Sister Dao nodded and said, "Miss Zhou does look okay, but she may be a little weak and doesn't dare to resist her mother. Zhou Boyue also said that it was Miss Zhou who took the initiative to invite us to come here."
Chu Xiaoxiao sighed and said, "Senior Brother Zhou is so pitiful. He must be living a very depressed life every day. In fact, with Senior Brother Zhou's current strength, he doesn't have to be afraid of Madam Zhou at all. There is no need for him to live this kind of life."
Sister Dao grabbed a handful of melon seeds and said, "Zhou Boyao is not alone now. He has a wife who loves him and a lovely son. I heard that his sister also relies on the Zhou family. How can you ask him to fall out with that Madam Zhou? And his identity is indeed a son-in-law. Unless he is ruthless, or..."
At this point, she glanced at someone and said, "Or like someone else, completely conquer everyone in the mansion. Hey, Chu Feiyang, what are you looking at?"
Sister Dao and Chu Xiaoxiao both followed his gaze.
In the pavilion not far away, several young women were laughing so hard that their bodies were shaking.
Sister Dao's expression suddenly changed, and she said, "Chu Feiyang, you can't even..."
"Shut up!"
Luo Qingzhou retracted his gaze, interrupted her and said, "What are you thinking about? I just met an acquaintance."
"An acquaintance? Who?"
Sister Dao asked doubtfully.
Luo Qingzhou did not answer. He grabbed all the candies on the plate and put them into the storage bag. He said, "Let's leave early after dinner to avoid causing trouble for Bo Yue. Madam Zhou seems to have a bad temper, so don't start scolding her directly."
Sister Dao said with some regret, "We should not have listened to Bo Yue if we had known earlier. They sent so many expensive gifts, but we only sent some calligraphy and paintings. I guess if Madam Zhou knew about it, she would look down on us even more."
Chu Xiaoxiao immediately said, "Sister Dao, my calligraphy and painting are very valuable. My father spent a lot of money to buy them. They look like the paintings of Jiangnan scholars."
The three chatted for a while.
Zhou Shumei and Zhou Boyao hurried over.
Zhou Boyao said awkwardly and apologetically: "Senior Sister Dao, Senior Brother Chu, Junior Sister Xiaoxiao, I'm sorry, I'm busy in the kitchen, so I don't have time to come and accompany you. Let's go to the hall for dinner later, I..."
Before he could finish his words, a woman's voice suddenly came from not far away: "Son-in-law, go to the kitchen quickly, the master is calling you to help."
Zhou Boyue said quickly: "Okay, okay!"
After saying that, he could only apologize: "Senior Sister Dao, Senior Brother Chu, Junior Sister Xiaoxiao, I still have to go cook. I'll excuse myself first."
After saying that, he left in a hurry.
The three of them felt bad when they saw him wearing the kitchen uniform, holding the apron he had just taken off, and running in a hurry with sweat all over his forehead.
Zhou Boyue walked for a while, then turned back and said, "Shumei, please help accompany Senior Sister Dao and the others first, and remember to take them to the hall later."
Zhou Shumei seemed to want to say something, but held back and nodded, "Okay."
Zhou Boyue followed the woman and left quickly.
Zhou Shumei saw the dull atmosphere in the pavilion and couldn't help but sigh, saying, "Boyue is a son-in-law. My mother is the head of the family now. She is quite harsh on Boyue. I have advised her many times, but she is always the same. My mother said that sons-in-law should work hard for the family. My father is the same..."
Sister Dao couldn't help but ask, "Miss Zhou, did you know that Bo Yue is a warrior? And he is a warrior with the cultivation level of a martial artist."
Zhou Shumei smiled bitterly and said, "Boyue told me that I secretly paid for all the expenses for Boyue's training. But even if he is a warrior, so what? We are the younger generation after all, and he is a son-in-law after all. Although my mother has a bad temper and is harsh on him, she is actually very good to him and his family. When Boyue's mother was ill, his father was buried, and his sister went to school, my mother helped with money and effort. Boyue has always kept it in mind. So, he has no complaints. And now we have a son. Boyue has become a father, so naturally he can't leave this family anymore..."
After hearing this, Sister Dao fell silent.
Chu Xiaoxiao couldn't help but say, "Sister Zhou, can't your mother be nicer to Senior Brother Zhou? Can't you just let the servants do things like cooking? There are so many guests today, and it's embarrassing to let Senior Brother Zhou do it."
Zhou Shumei smiled bitterly and said, "In my mother's opinion, it is the most honorable for Boyue to serve our Zhou family in front of the guests. Boyue is not the one who cooks usually. My mother cares too much about the rules. She said that if you marry into the family, you should behave like this so that others will not laugh at you."
Sister Dao sighed and said, "That's indeed the case."
She couldn't help but glance at someone across from her and said, "But there are some who marry into the wife's family and live more comfortably than the master."
Luo Qingzhou ignored her and looked towards the pavilion not far away from time to time. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his mother-in-law and those young women get up and leave.
Zhou Shumei chatted with the three of them for a while, and then the maid came over and called for the meal to begin.
Zhou Shumei hesitated for a moment and said, "The three of you please come with me to the front hall. Bo Yue will come to accompany you when he is done."
Luo Qingzhou immediately said, "Miss Zhou, you're welcome. We can just sit here and eat whatever we want. There are so many people in front, and we're not used to it."
Zhou Shumei said quickly: "That won't do. If Bo Yue knew, he would definitely blame me. Let's go. There are plenty of seats in the front. There's enough space for us to sit."
At this time, the maid whispered, "Miss, Madam said to let them sit here to eat and not bring them to the front."
Zhou Shumei's face froze.
Sister Dao immediately said, "Miss Zhou, it's okay. We'll just sit here and ask Bo Yue to come here later."
Zhou Shumei was embarrassed and apologized, "Wait a moment, I'll go talk to my mother."
After saying this, he hurried away with his maid.
The three people in the pavilion looked at each other.
"Senior Sister Dao, I don't think we should have come today."
Chu Xiaoxiao sighed.
Sister Dao was silent for a moment, then said, "Forget it, since you are here, just have a meal and leave. This is also a way to give face to Junior Brother Zhou."
Not long.
Zhou Shumei came back with the maid and said, "The three of you please follow me to the front. Mother has agreed. There are still plenty of seats."
The three of them looked at each other and then stood up.
But when they arrived at the front hall, they found that there was no place for them in the hall.
There was an empty table in the corridor, with three stools and three sets of bowls on the table, obviously prepared for them.
The maid walked to Zhou Shumei's side and whispered, "Miss, Madam said that Master Liu and Master Qian are here today, and the hall is full of distinguished guests, so let these friends of the son-in-law sit here."
Zhou Shumei looked at the lonely seat in the corridor and felt a little angry. When she was about to speak, Sister Dao immediately said, "Miss Zhou, it's okay. It's nice here. We don't know the people inside, so it would be awkward to go in."
Chu Xiaoxiao also smiled and said, "Sister Zhou, let's just sit here. The three of us will sit at one table. No one will snatch the food from us."
Having said that, he immediately sat down happily.
At this moment, Zhou Lan's voice suddenly came from the room: "Shumei, why are you still standing at the door? Come in quickly, mother will introduce you to some uncles."
Zhou Shumei had no choice but to say sorry and enter the hall.
Luo Qingzhou and the other two sat down in the corridor, looked at each other, laughed at themselves, and said nothing.
At this moment, Luo Qingzhou suddenly heard a familiar voice in his ear. He turned around and looked. There was a table in the room facing the window. A young woman and several girls were sitting at the table.
His mother-in-law was sitting inside at this time, talking to the woman next to her.
Luo Qingzhou took a look and quickly looked away.
Soon, the servants began to serve food and wine.
Chu Xiaoxiao stood up, picked up the wine pot, filled a glass for Luo Qingzhou and Sister Dao, and poured a glass for herself, then raised it and said, "Brother Chu, Sister Dao, I toast you a glass. I wish us success in our cultivation and that we will never be bullied again."
Sister Dao picked up the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.
Just as Luo Qingzhou was about to put it to his lips, he suddenly smelled a faint floral scent in his nose.
He looked at the wine glass in his hand and was stunned.
Chu Xiaoxiao looked at him and asked in confusion: "Brother Chu, what's wrong? Don't you know how to drink?"
Luo Qingzhou lowered his head and sniffed the wine glass again, saying, "What kind of wine is this? Why does it smell like flowers?"
"Floral scent?"
Chu Xiaoxiao was stunned when she heard this, and she also put the wine glass under her nose and sniffed it, saying: "No, why can't I smell it?"
Sister Dao also picked up the empty cup and sniffed it, saying, "I don't have any either."
Luo Qingzhou was stunned for a moment, then handed the wine in his hand over and said, "Smell mine."
Sister Dao took it, put it under her nose and sniffed it carefully, shrugged and said, "It only smells like wine, not flowers."
Chu Xiaoxiao also came over to smell it and asked in confusion: "Brother Chu, is there something wrong with your nose? There is no floral scent at all."
Luo Qingzhou frowned and stretched out his hand, saying, "Give me the pot of wine."
Chu Xiaoxiao quickly handed him the wine.
Luo Qingzhou took it in his hand, opened the lid, put it under his nose and sniffed it. In addition to the strong aroma of wine, there was indeed a faint and strange floral scent floating in it.
He often smelled various floral scents in Lingchan Moon Palace, and there were also many on Bailing's body, so he was very sensitive to this kind of floral scent and it was impossible for him to be wrong.
Sister Dao said: "Maybe the petals were added when the wine was brewed. Chu Feiyang, why are you acting like a little woman, taking so long to drink a glass of wine?"
Luo Qingzhou put down the wine jug, said nothing, and turned to look inside the house.
The young women at the table in the room had already picked up their glasses and started drinking.
The girls were also clinking their glasses.
After his mother-in-law finished her glass, she poured herself another.
"Brother Chu, they are toasting you."
Chu Xiaoxiao picked up the wine glass and shouted.
Luo Qingzhou looked at her and said, "I don't drink, so you should drink less too. It's getting dark, let's eat and leave."
He wanted to leave now, but...
Song Ruyue's proud voice came from the room: "My son-in-law is the most talented person in Mo City. He won the first place in the imperial examination this year. He is very famous outside. Those talented people call him Luo Jieyuan. Who doesn't respect him? But in our house, he doesn't even dare to breathe when I glare at him. When I hook my finger, he immediately comes to kneel in front of me and waits for my orders..."
Luo Qingzhou: “…”