The Crown Prince's wife's Qiqi finally appeared before her.
On this day, Qin ordered people to rearrange the mourning hall in the courtyard where the prince's wife lived before her death, and invited 81 monks from the Fanyin Temple to perform the ceremony. All the arrangements were carried out in accordance with the highest standards of the marquis's mansion.
The seventh seventh day is not like a funeral where people from far and near come to give money. This time, those who came to pay their respects were relatives from the marquis's and general's mansions, or old friends with whom they had a particularly good relationship. But even so, there were still twenty tables occupied by male and female guests.
The kitchen has been busy since the rooster crowed twice, and everyone is yawning as they prepare the dishes for the banquet.
The stove in the kitchen was not enough, so a few were temporarily built in the yard.
On a hot day, just walking two laps with nothing in your hands would make you sweat profusely, let alone those of them who are actually doing the work.
Especially when the meal started at noon, the maids and servants who were responsible for serving the dishes all complained bitterly. They had to run back and forth under the scorching sun. If they ran too fast, the soup would easily spill, but if they ran too slowly, they were afraid that the heat would dissipate and affect the taste. After running two or three times, their legs were weak.
At this time, Xie Nanjia felt better than the others. She didn't have to walk, she just sat in front of the stove and made a fire. When the bellows were pulled, there was a slight breeze. For a moment, it became a job that the other maids envied.
The maids tried to have fun in the midst of hardship. After going out for a while and coming back, they would talk about the guests who had arrived that day, which young man had a good appearance, which young lady had beautiful makeup, which lady wore a string of expensive South China pearls, etc. Their words were full of admiration and envy.
The cooks were busy cooking and had no time to get away, so they could only listen. When they saw the little girls coming back, they hurriedly asked, "Tell me, who did you meet this time? Is there anything interesting?"
"I encountered something interesting." Suan'er came in and panted, "Just now, the young master of the Ning'an family got drunk and mistook our third young lady for his own sister. He followed the third young lady and called her sister. He followed her all the way to the ladies' table and frightened all the young ladies. Later, he was pinned to the ground and beaten by the prince's wife's brother, who said he was deliberately disrupting the prince's wife's ritual. If the general hadn't come out to stop him, he would have been beaten to death."
Everyone was surprised to hear this.
"Oh my god, how drunk do you have to be to mistake someone for someone else?"
"Maybe he has a crush on our Third Miss, but is too embarrassed to say it out loud."
"You are such a fool. You didn't even notice what day it was and you dared to drink as much as you wanted."
"That's right, when the Crown Prince's wife's brother gets angry, he dares to hit the Crown Prince, let alone the youngest son of a baron."
Everyone was talking at once, discussing the matter, but Xie Nanjia was overwhelmed with emotions and was restless.
Her purpose of coming to the big kitchen was to see her parents and younger brother today, but she was arranged by Aunt Cai to make fire in front of the stove. When the banquet was halfway through, she didn't even leave the kitchen.
No, we can't just sit there like this, we have to think of a way.
Just at this moment, Jiuer came in with red eyes.
She was young and small, and she was out of breath even when walking with empty hands. She had to carry a heavy wooden tray and serve four dishes at a time. She was almost exhausted after two trips. As a result, she was beaten twice by the supervisor because of her slow movements.
It was common for the girls to be beaten, and today was a special day. Everyone was busy and no one had the time to comfort her.
Xie Nanjia thought about it, waved her to his side, and discussed with her: "Jiu'er, I haven't seen any big scenes in these days. How about you switch with me and let me go out to broaden my horizons?"
Jiu'er was so moved that her eyes welled up with tears. She held Xie Nanjia's hand and said, "Xiu'er, you are so good to me. Although you don't say it, I know you feel sorry for me, but it's really hot outside, and I'm afraid you can't stand it."
"It's okay. I'll tell you when I can't stand it anymore, and then we'll switch back." Xie Nanjia pressed her to sit in front of the stove, took the tray from her hand, and walked to the table where the dishes were placed.
Qin'er, who was in charge of distributing the dishes, whispered, "Are you stupid? It's so hot outside. Why are you running around sweating just to see which masters are enjoying the cool breeze and feasting on fish and meat?"
Xie Nanjia smiled slightly: "I haven't seen it, I just want to see it."
Qin'er rolled her eyes and stopped persuading her. She put four dishes on her tray and told her which table they were serving and not to make sure they were delivered to the wrong table.
Xie Nanjia responded and went out with the tray. She had been practicing archery since she was a child and still had some strength in her hands, so it was not too difficult for her to carry the tray.
The garden where guests were hosted in the mansion was called Shiwei Garden. It covered a vast area and was dotted with flowers and shady trees. A hollow flower wall divided the garden into two parts. Male guests were hosted in the east, while female guests were hosted in the west. People on both sides could vaguely see each other and their voices could be heard.
Xie Nanjia carried the dishes over and was stopped by the manager just as she reached the door.
All the guests coming today were distinguished guests, and to be on the safe side, the staff for each link had been decided in advance. The person in charge saw that she looked unfamiliar, so he stopped her and questioned her in detail.
Xie Nanjia said that she was replacing Jiuer because Jiuer had heatstroke.
The manager checked her badge and asked her a few questions before letting her in.
After entering, she saw her father Xie Zhanting and her brother Xie Nanfeng sitting at the top seats for men, with Marquis Dingyuan and his son sitting beside them.
After not seeing my father for two months, he seemed to have aged by ten years. His eyes were dull and his expression was indifferent. His posture was not as straight as before. His back was slightly hunched. The majesty of a great general was gone.
And her younger brother, the young man Nanfeng who used to be full of vigor and vitality, seemed to have undergone a transformation and turned into a young man with deep hatred and full of violence.
All these sad changes are due to her sudden death.
Xie Nanjia bit her lips tightly, using the pain to force back the tears that were about to flow, and turned to go to the women's area.
The area that Jiu'er was in charge of was for the female guests. Xie Nanjia thought she would see her mother here, but the main seat to the left of the chief was empty. Only Qin was sitting on the main seat to the right to greet the guests.
Didn’t my mother come
Are you afraid of being reminded of the past, so you don't want to come
Xie Nanjia was a little disappointed. After the maid who was responsible for serving the table took all the dishes, she left the garden with the empty tray.
Her emotions fluctuated greatly. The pain of not being able to recognize her loved ones right in front of her made her feel like her heart was being cut by a knife. There were people walking in front and behind her. She couldn't stop, and didn't dare to cry. She could only lower her head deeply and cover her face with her sleeves.
"Girl, stop!"
A figure appeared in front of her, blocking her way.
Xie Nanjia was startled, put away her grief, slowly raised her head, and found that the person coming was Wei Jun.
"Brother Wei, do you want to ask me something?" she asked.
Wei Jun said, "The second young master's hair is loose, I don't know how to fix it, go over and help him fix it."
He said pointing to the pavilion on the left.
Xie Nanjia looked over and saw Zhao Jingyu, who was rarely wearing white clothes. She was sitting there fanning herself with her black hair loose.
Xie Nanjia was sad and didn't want to serve him, so she said, "Brother Wei, I still have to serve the dishes. If I delay, I will be punished by the housekeeper. You should find someone else!"
Wei Jun directly snatched the tray from her hand and handed it to the servant who came behind him: "Go back and tell the steward that Xiu'er wants to comb the second young master's hair, and ask her to arrange someone else to deliver the food."
"Yes!" The servant took the tray and walked away tremblingly.
To these lowly servants, Wei Jun, who had a stern face all day long, was like a god.
Xie Nanjia knew she couldn't escape, so she had to follow Wei Jun to the pavilion. She felt a little resentful and said to Wei Jun, "Brother Wei, I saved your life after all, why do you always help the Second Young Master bully me?"
"..." Wei Jun blushed, unwilling to admit that he had helped the tyrant. "How can I call it bullying to save you from hard work in such a hot day? I should call it repaying a favor."
Xie Nanjia shook his head and sighed, "As expected, people who keep bad company are bad. You have learned to be smooth-talking like the second young master."
Wei Jun smiled awkwardly and shut up.
Xie Nanjia walked up to Zhao Jingyu and bowed, saying, "This servant greets the Second Young Master."
Zhao Jingyu hit her forehead with a fan and said, "Sir, I don't like to hear these two words. If I hear them again, I'll cut off your tongue!"
"..." Xie Nanjia also followed Wei Jun's example and kept her mouth shut. She walked silently behind Zhao Jingyu and helped him tie his hair.
Zhao Jingyu had very fine hair, black and shiny, but slightly coarse, so it didn't get tangled easily. Xie Nanjia used her five fingers as a comb and quickly tied his hair into a bun. She asked him for his hairpin, but he said he had lost it and didn't know where it fell.
Xie Nanjia couldn't hold his hair all the time, so she had no choice but to take off the wooden hairpin on her head and give it to him.
Zhao Jingyu was laughing secretly in front of him, but he said, "How dare you let me use such a low-quality thing."
Xie Nanjia said, "The things used by servants cannot compare with those used by their masters. Second Young Master, just make do with them for now and change them when you get back."
Zhao Jingyu asked: "Why would you rather do such a hard job than serve me?"
Xie Nanjia lowered her eyes: "I heard that the Second Young Master has many beautiful women in his courtyard, why do you insist on having me serve him?"
Zhao Jingyu laughed and said, "What are you talking about? Who would complain about having too many beauties?"
"I will." Xie Nanjia said, "Where there are many women, there are many disputes. I am stupid and don't want to live a life full of intrigues."
Zhao Jingyu raised her long eyebrows lightly: "What do you mean, do you want me to clear all the palaces for you
"Second Young Master, please be careful with your words. This is presumptuous." Xie Nanjia was shocked by him. She thought that this man was so arrogant that he actually compared his own courtyard to the six palaces. Did he think he could really go to heaven just because he did not face accountability from the Emperor for beating the prince
Zhao Jingyu laughed and lifted her chin with the fan: "Are you worried about me?"
Xie Nanjia lowered her head and said nothing.
She was not worried about him, she was just afraid that she would be implicated when he was beheaded.
Zhao Jingyu put away the fan and spoke to her seriously, "Xiu'er, I don't care why you came to the Marquis' Mansion. Even if you want to kill people or set fire to something, it has nothing to do with me. I will ask you one last time, are you willing to come and follow me?"
"..." Xie Nanjia's heart skipped a beat. Just as she was about to speak, Zhao Jingyu stretched out his index finger and pressed it on her lips. "I'm not so good-tempered to everyone. The reason I tolerate you again and again is because I bullied you too badly when we were young. This is your last chance. Think about it before you answer."
Xie Nanjia stared at him in a daze. His eyes were bright and affectionate, like peach blossoms blooming in spring. His fingertips seemed to be filled with fire, which burned from her lips to her heart.
Xie Nanjia's heart was pounding, and there was a moment of throbbing, as if a long-forgotten string was being gently plucked.
"I..." She seemed to be under a spell, and was about to say those three words - I do!
At this moment, someone from the Food Garden suddenly ran over in a panic, shouting, "Oh no! Master Xie has beaten the Crown Prince to death!"
(End of this chapter)