Mrs. Tang immediately smiled and went forward to greet the people from the third room enthusiastically: "The dress of the eldest aunt is really bright, it makes your sisters-in-law look better than hers."
"I don't deserve it, I don't deserve it." Cheng Xian said politely, "I am the guest, and the sisters-in-law are the hosts, so naturally I should be the guest." Then he looked at Zheng with a smile, "Are you meeting your daughter-in-law? It's the first time we've met, but I can tell from her appearance that she is gentle and kind. No wonder Sister-in-law Yi always praises her in letters to me." As he spoke, he took off a jade bracelet from his wrist and handed it to Zheng, "It's not a good thing, but it's a token of my love as an aunt."
Zheng thanked him with a smile and took the bracelet generously.
Cheng Xian said with concern, "I heard that you are pregnant. Why didn't you go out during the Buddha's Bathing Festival a few days ago? Although it is your second child, you still have to be careful. Don't worry about these things. We elders are not unreasonable people. No one will blame you. You should take good care of yourself." After saying that, he looked around and asked, "Why can't I see Sister-in-law Hong?"
This makes sense.
The wife who was in charge of household affairs did not come out to entertain the guests, but instead asked her granddaughter-in-law who was pregnant and needed to take care of the baby to deal with the guests...
Old Mrs. Tang's expression suddenly turned ugly, and she raised her eyes and glanced at Old Mrs. Guo lightly.
Mrs. Guo looked calm and composed, and it was hard to tell whether she was happy or angry.
Zheng smiled and said, "The eldest uncle of the Hong family has also come to pay his respects to the old ancestor. Mother is talking to the eldest uncle and he should be here soon."
Hong was from Jiujiang, Jiangxi. Her grandfather had served as the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate. Her father, brothers, uncles, and cousins also had achievements. In particular, her elder brother Hong Xiu was a Jinshi in the Jiaxu year of the 12th year of Yongchang. He was a fellow student of her eldest grandfather Cheng Shao. Because of his meritorious service in resisting the Japanese invaders, he was promoted to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi.
The eldest uncle of the Hong family refers to Hong Xiu’s only son, Hong She, who was a Jinshi in the Sichou year of the Zhide reign and the Censor of Zhejiang Province.
I didn’t expect the Hong family to be so supportive that they actually sent the Hong Society to celebrate Cheng Xu’s birthday.
Hongshe may have the duty of monitoring Zhejiang officialdom.
Although Nanjing belongs to Nanzhili, who doesn’t have business in nearby prosperous places in the south of the Yangtze River such as Hangzhou, Yuhang, and Lin’an
Except for Madam Guo and Yuan, everyone's expression changed slightly.
Mrs. Tang smiled and said, "My daughter-in-law Yi said that since my uncle is in office, he should avoid suspicion and not come here in person. But my uncle refused to agree and insisted that he come here in person. So, my uncle couldn't persuade him and had to come here in person!"
Everyone unanimously praised Cheng Xunian for his high age and great virtue.
Old Mrs. Tang smiled modestly and said, "No, no!" But her smile could not hide her pride.
Zheng took the opportunity to ask everyone to sit down.
Yuan served Madam Guo, Zhou Chujin served Madam Guan, but Madam Li left Jiang aside and sat next to Madam Guo, served by her daughter Cheng Xian.
Jiang stood behind Old Lady Li with a smile on her face, but Zhou Shaojin felt that Jiang's smile seemed a little stiff.
Zhou Shaojin stood next to her sister, but Cheng Ji pulled her sleeve and whispered in her ear, "Look at Pan Qing, she's full of bad intentions, but she pretends to be gentle and virtuous. I don't know who she's trying to show off to!"
According to Zhou Shaojin's experience in his previous life, it is estimated that Cheng Ji has already fought with Pan Qing once. As for the result, it is not difficult to see from Cheng Ji's current performance.
She couldn't help but persuade him, "Today is the day to celebrate the old ancestor's birthday. If you have any trouble with Pan Qing, I won't help you. After today, I won't care what you want to do." After thinking for a while, she said, "If you don't listen to my advice, we will break up in the future."
Cheng Ji was so angry that his eyes widened, but he did not refute her loudly like he did in his previous life.
It shows that sometimes people have to be stronger!
Zhou Shaojin ignored her.
Cheng Ji stamped his feet.
Zhou Shaojin remained unmoved.
Cheng Ji wanted to attract Zhou Shaojin's attention, but when he looked up, he saw his mother's stern look.
She had no choice but to give up and stood obediently beside Zhou Shaojin.
Neither of them noticed that Pan Qing had looked over and stared at Zhou Shaojin deeply for a moment.
After a while, the Dowager Lady and the Lady of the Duke of Liang came over.
Everyone stood up, and after a round of greetings, Zhou Shaojin and others stepped forward to pay their respects to the two ladies.
Zhou Shaojin, Zhou Chujin and Cheng Ji had already met the Taifu on the Buddha's Bathing Festival, but Pan Qing was meeting her for the first time. She had always been virtuous, so the Taifu praised her and gave her a gift. This again aroused Cheng Ji's jealousy and envy. Perhaps Zhou Shaojin's words worked, and she did not show it like she did in her previous life, which made Zhou Shaojin feel relieved.
Several old ladies from the Cheng family and Yuan and others welcomed the two ladies to the open hall behind Siyi Building, while Zheng stayed in the hall to entertain the guests.
Afterwards, the wife of Liu Mingju, the magistrate of Jiangning County, and the wife of Gao Yao, the prefect of Zhenjiang, came together.
Gao Yao's father-in-law was the Minister of Works and Grand Secretary of the Jinshen Palace, Qu Yuan, who was related to the wife of the Duke of Liang.
The two ladies were also welcomed to the open hall behind Siyi Building.
Soon after, the wife of the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Hu, the wife of the retired former Minister of Rites Sun, with her daughter-in-law and granddaughter, and the wife of Jinling Prefecture Lin Jiaoyu with her daughter... all came over.
Those who had imperial decrees were welcomed into the open hall, while those without imperial decrees were served tea in the side rooms next to the hall.
When Mrs. Hong came over, the women in the side rooms all started talking to her. Some even took her arm and asked her with a smile where her clothes and jewelry were made, saying they were all very beautiful. They also asked her to make some clothes and jewelry for her some other time.
Mrs. Hong seemed a little confused. It took her a while to come back to her senses and then she smiled and responded to everyone.
Siyi Tower was quite lively and festive.
But it was not until quarter of an hour before the auspicious time that Mrs. Wen finally arrived, supported by her maid Xiang'er, after the wife of Fang Xintong, a scholar and the richest man in Jiaxing, arrived with two unmarried girls.
Fang Xintong and Mrs. Wen are relatives. Fang Xintong is now a businessman, and he believes in making money through harmony and not offending anyone. Fang Xintong's wife is a well-known virtuous wife. When she saw Mrs. Wen, she hurriedly stepped forward to greet her: "I've been waiting for you!"
Who would have thought that Mrs. Wen would stroke her forehead and said weakly, "Oh! I have a terrible headache. If it weren't for the 80th birthday of our ancestor, I wouldn't have come even if this place was a sea of gold and silver."
This sentence made Fang Xin and his wife, who were always good at dealing with people, unable to recover for a long time, and the whole room was speechless.
Fortunately, Zheng was quick-witted. She walked forward with a smile, took Mrs. Wen's arm, and said, "Fifth Aunt, please come with me - the ladies have arrived and are asking about you!" She then pulled Mrs. Wen to the open hall.
"It's so embarrassing! So embarrassing!" Cheng Ji covered his face and kept whispering in Zhou Shaojin's ear.
Zhou Shaojin also felt very uncomfortable and felt that Mrs. Wen had simply gone crazy.
We have to find a way to pull Cheng Yi out of the small garden!
She pondered to herself.
A little maid came in and reported: "The auspicious time is almost here!"
The female members of the family all avoided each other.
Cheng Xu is tall and over 80 years old, but he still has a straight posture, white hair and a youthful face. He looks energetic and does not show any old age signs that are common among people of his age.
Perhaps because it was his birthday, he wore a very gorgeous bright red silk robe carved with a gourd of peace and longevity. He walked in with high spirits, accompanied by his great-great-grandson Cheng Shi and followed by several young servants who were still in their teens.
Cheng Shi helped Cheng Xu sit down on the armchair in the middle hall, and then stood aside.
Old Mrs. Tang led the women of the Cheng family to pay birthday greetings to Cheng Xu and presented him with birthday gifts.
One of the servants helped to read out the gift list, while the other servants helped to receive the birthday gifts.
It took almost an hour to deliver all the birthday gifts.
Cheng Xu said a few words to express his gratitude, and then was accompanied by Cheng Shi to Jifutang.
The birthday greetings were over, and the next thing was to sit down and listen to opera, play mahjong and chat... Everyone felt that the atmosphere had become lighter, and they sat around casually, chatting and laughing with people they knew.
Zhou Chujin was called away by Mrs. Mian.
Cheng Ji and Zhou Shaojin gathered together and said, "Tonghua Tower invited the Changgao Troupe, and Mudan Terrace invited the Ma Family Troupe. The Ma Family Troupe always sings the same few pieces, but Gao Huizhu from the Changgao Troupe is both beautiful and talented. When she appears in military uniform, the whole Jinrui Tower falls silent... I want to hear Gao Huizhu sing!"
In her previous life, Cheng Ji also said this to Zhou Shaojin, and wanted to sneak to Tonghua Tower, but she was too timid to go. Cheng Ji was caught by Cheng Shi in the middle of the day, and Cheng Ji yelled that she was a traitor and told Cheng Shi about it. As a result, Cheng Ji was severely punished by Jiang, and Old Lady Guan confined her to the third room to give an explanation. After that, she spent a lot of time to convince Cheng Ji that it was not her who told the secret, and they reconciled.
In this life, Zhou Shaojin heard her say this again, and said without thinking: "If you dare to sneak to Tonghua Tower, I will tell your mother immediately."
She didn't want to get involved in the troubles from her previous life again.
Cheng Ji was a little dumbfounded, and after a long while he said, "Why are you like this now?"
Zhou Shaojin continued to ignore her.
Cheng Ji felt like he was being scratched by a cat and didn't know what to do.
There was a burst of laughter nearby.
"Who is it?" Her face darkened.
Zhou Shaojin could laugh at her, but if others laughed at her... she would not be so easy to talk to.
Cheng Ji looked in the direction of the voice and saw a girl with a red mole between her eyebrows.
"You sisters have such a good relationship!" She sighed, looking disappointed, "Unlike our family..." As she spoke, she immediately put away her disappointed look and said with a smile, "My last name is Wu, I'm the eldest in the family, and my father is the prefect of Jinling." She pointed to Madam Wu who was talking to Zheng not far away, "That's my stepmother, Madam Wu." Then she said, "I went to visit Mrs. Guan in the fourth room a few days ago and met the sisters Shaojin, but this is the first time I meet you. If I guess correctly, you must be Miss Jia from the third room. Is that right?"
Hearing that she was familiar with Zhou Shaojin's sister, Cheng Ji really let down his guard, but her vague words aroused Cheng Ji's curiosity again.
Cheng Ji glanced at Madam Wu and said, "So she is your stepmother. No wonder she looks so young and nothing like you. The one next to her should be your half-sister, right? She looks more like your stepmother!"
Wu Baozhang smiled and said, "My maiden name is 'Baozhang', that's my second sister 'Baohua', and the younger one next to her is my third sister 'Baozhi'."
"Ah!" Cheng Ji exclaimed, "You have a room full of jewels!"
Wu Baozhang chuckled.
※
I wish you all a happy weekend!
O(∩_∩)O~
※
Qidian.com welcomes all book lovers to read. The latest, fastest and hottest serial works are all on Qidian.com! Mobile phone users please go to m.qidian.com to read. (To be continued)