Before the start of the Hongmen Banquet, the territory of Chongzhou was still calm.
If you are more sensitive, you will find that this is just the calm before the storm.
The noble ladies of each household are busy with their own affairs, some manage the housework, serve their in-laws, some educate their children, beat concubines, and some play with flowers and grass, and enjoy antiques. The seemingly peaceful back house is actually undercurrent, and everyone is calculating for their own interests.
Banquets were an important channel for the nobility to communicate with each other, and there was hardly a day off.
Today this house will hold an elegant gathering, tomorrow the other house will hold a poetry meeting, and the day after tomorrow, I will give invitations to others, and everyone will enjoy the flowers and the moon together.
The men went out as guests, and the women in the back house were not to be outdone, and often went out to dinner parties.
The moon is so cool in the sky, the shadows of people on the ground are full of people, the clothes are fragrant and the temples are shadowed, and the laughter is endless.
Although the Chongzhou gentry are criticized by the outside world as upstarts, they also have decades or even centuries of heritage, and are far richer than ordinary people. Now the weather is cold, but the yard where the banquet is held is warm and does not feel the slightest coolness.
Several well-connected ladies joked with each other, the content revolved around the husband, the husband's concubine, the mother-in-law, the son-in-law, the daughter-in-law, the daughter-in-law, and the gossip of various houses. Most of them were short nonsense from the parents. It's not nutritious, but gathering together to complain, no matter how boring a topic is, it can become interesting. As they talked, they mentioned Liuzhou Mu Liushe, who was in his prime, and the topic went further and further away.
Liu She was in his prime, with only one daughter and a concubine under his knees, and his successor, who later continued his succession, was separated from him for a long time.
Since Liu She came to Chongzhou, many people, under the pretense of beauty, tried to stuff people in Liu She's backyard and blow the pillow wind.
However, he is a slippery person, no matter how others express it, he always has a way to keep the woman sent by everyone out of the door.
The man said that Liu She was serious, but the lady of Chongzhou respected him.
How about a woman in ancient times who didn't want her husband to love only her and a woman in her backyard
At least before Gu Min's death, there was only such a person in Liu She's backyard.
Just such a feeling is enough for them to be envious and jealous.
Whenever this is mentioned, the noble lady of Chongzhou is very jealous of the deceased Mrs. Gu Min, saying that she died young, and at the end she would pretend to sigh with a bad life. After talking about such a good man as Liu She, it is natural to complain about the careless man.
Whether it was a cheap concubine or a noble concubine, one by one was admitted.
The lady in the main room has to pretend to be generous on the face, and she has to match those coquettish bitch sisters, which is disgusting.
"I heard that Liuzhou Mu's daughter-in-law is coming. Today's state government banquet is for that girl."
I don't know which lady said something casually, but the other ladies' reactions were very dull, and some even sneered secretly.
"It's just a little girl's film. How can it be worth a kind of serious business for a man?"
In the eyes of many ladies, Jiang Pengji's arrival time and Liu She's invitation to aristocratic family bosses just happened to bump the time.
After all, she's just a woman, no matter how she is capable, she still wants to marry and have children, and spend her whole life in the backyard managing the housework for men.
It's amazing that Liu She's daughter can become a Maruzhou shepherd.
They didn't think Jiang Pengji could go further, and even thought she was a little stupid.
Honestly enjoying the protection of her father, it is good to be a carefree noblewoman, but she has to show her face and follow the example of Xu Gong of the previous dynasty, just like a strong woman. And finally? She may not be able to fight as a man, and she has wasted the most important years in a woman's life.
As for the rumors that Liu She was going to step back behind the scenes and give power to Liu Xi, it was even more nonsense.
"This kind of unrealistic news, it makes people laugh."
"That's the same thing - she is a boudoir girl, how capable can she be?"
"I heard that the Liu girl is now eighteen years old, and she has not yet gotten married at this age. Wouldn't it be an old girl after two more years?"
"Liuzhou Mu is quite interested in this daughter-in-law, so he should pay attention to her, right? However, a woman who spends all day fooling around... I heard that she often hangs out with those vulgar pariahs... Such a daughter-in-law , which one dares to ask for it? Even if he can treat Liuzhou Mu's face well, his father-in-law can't interfere in his son-in-law's house at will. In my opinion, that Liu girl... tsk!"
This topic is very new to them, and they talk about it vigorously for a while, but unconsciously the topic is biased.
A certain young lady said, "Could it be that the Liuzhou shepherd's banquet... is for this daughter's marriage?"
Liu She's influence is in Chongzhou and Hu County. For the sake of his daughter-in-law, he will definitely choose his son-in-law within his sphere of influence.
This guess, many people think it is quite reasonable.
If a sensible person listened to their conversation, they might laugh out loud.
If the clan women of Chongzhou's "gentlemen" are all such virtues, it is estimated that it will not be passed down for several generations.
Chongzhou is close to the northern Xinjiang, and the border between the two countries is constantly fighting.
Because of environmental factors, the forces here change very quickly. The so-called gentry forces are, to put it bluntly, nouveau riche, lacking in heritage.
Take some of the ladies present as an example. Their parents also came from butchers. They don't know a few big characters, and their knowledge is naturally shallow.
Of course, in addition to lack of knowledge, the more important reason is that they don't care about things outside.
If you have this time to care about those things, it is better to think about rouge gouache, pearl hairpin jewelry, and silk and satin.
The ladies were talking and laughing, and the atmosphere of the banquet was hot.
It was at this time that two maids dressed in rich and noble clothes rushed in.
Their appearance made everyone look at them, and they seemed to ask with their eyes - who is this from, so rude
A certain lady recognized her personal maid, and her face covered with powder instantly elongated.
Today, she presided over the banquet, and she did it well, but she didn't expect her maid to go wrong.
Before she could scold her sternly, the two maids shared a piece of news that made her eyes black.
"Ma'am, it's not good, the master is gone!"
The lady's heart tightened, and she scolded sharply, "Take them down to Zhangzui, sir, are you two little hooves able to joke?"
The older maid said, "It's true, ma'am, there were many soldiers around, and they returned the body of the master."
what!
The news was like a heavy hammer, her eyes darkened when she saw it, and the body that had just stood up almost collapsed to the ground.
When everyone heard the news, they lost their minds to play around and prepared to see the situation and then find a chance to say goodbye.
However, they never thought that the same bad news was waiting for them.
The backyard, which was still lively, was deserted in an instant.
There was a series of cries in the front hall, and the lady lifted the white cloth to see that the man lying there was her dead husband!