Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 380 Visiting the Golden Gate New Year's Eve

On the [-]th day of the twelfth lunar month, Cao Yong took Cao Song and Cao Shuo to prepare various ancestor worship things.

On the night of New Year's Eve, the ancestors are sacrificed. The washing of the sacrificial vessels and the preparation of the sacrificial offerings must be prepared by the children and daughter-in-law, and cannot be done by servants.Only by letting the spirits of the ancestors enjoy the sacrifices made by the descendants can the piety of the descendants be expressed.

Chu Yu was pregnant, and after working in the kitchen for half a day, she couldn't stand it any longer.Mrs. Zhao Jia asked her to go back to Wutong Garden to rest and wait for the dishes to be served before coming back.

Although Chu Yu felt embarrassed, but her body was tight, she was still persuaded to go back to Wutong Courtyard.

On the kitchen side, Mrs. Zhao Jia will prepare the food in the kitchen.What she needs to prepare by herself is some deep-fried fruits, which are all prepared noodles before, and she only needs to sit on the side of the stove for a while.

Cao Yong and Cao Song had prepared it once in the capital, and they had some knowledge about wiping these sacrificial vessels, but it was the first time for Cao Shuo and Cao Xiang brothers.

Because there are quite a few members of the Cao clan in Jiangning, there is a special person to take care of the matter whenever there is a sacrifice, and there is no need for their brothers to join hands.

Seeing the two squatting there, clumsily holding the loofah pulp to wipe the sacrificial utensils, Cao Yong had to give some pointers.The two brothers responded with blushing faces, but they couldn't move their hands quickly.

At this time, those who pay attention to "a gentleman stays away from the kitchen", not to mention their brothers, even Cao Yong have only cooked a few times because of his hobby.

Unlike Cao Song's robustness, both Cao Shuo and Cao Xiang brothers are a bit weak.Cao Yong thought under his heart, when the weather warms up in the spring next year, should he invite a riding and shooting master for the two brothers.If you don't ask for anything else, it's also good to exercise your body.

In addition, there are Fourth Sister, Fifth, Niuniu and the others, who have nothing to do all day long, just listen to the old mother talk about ancient times.

After that day, Cao Song lay in bed for two days and drank a few medicines to make his hair loose.It's just that in front of my elder brother and brothers, I can't bear to lose face, so I just keep my head down and "hangchihangchi" to work.

Cao Xiang was beside him, he saw sweat on his forehead, and said in a low voice, "Second brother, rest for a while, don't be tired!"

Cao Song muttered: "It's okay!" But his hands didn't stop and he continued to work.

Cao Yong looked at Cao Song and saw that he was sweating. He was also afraid that his body would be sharp and tired every day, so he said: "Okay, it's not at this moment, and there is still half a day's work! You just go to the back to find it." Your sister-in-law, bring me a copy of the list of offerings, and let's check one by one to see if anything is left behind!"

Cao Song wiped off his sweat, looked at the high sacrificial utensils piled up beside Cao Yong, and said, "Brother did the most in one afternoon, and I'm tired of thinking about it, so go and rest!"

Cao Yong said: "I'm not tired. I've been working for two years and I know the key, so I'm going to be quicker. Don't talk too much, just go!"

Cao Song scratched his head, looked at his younger brother Cao Xiang, and said, "The fourth is the youngest, don't get tired, go run errands!"

Cao Xiang quickly shook his head and said with a blushing face, "Second brother, my brother can't clean it here. I only wiped out a few pieces in the past half a day. I haven't done much work!"

After hearing this, Cao Song got up and went to Wutong Garden to find Chuyu and ask for a list of sacrificial utensils.

In the back kitchen, whole sheep and pigs have been steamed, as well as five-color sugar offerings, five-color cake ingots, five-color covered fruits, five-color fresh fruits, five seas, five vegetables, five shells and five dried foods, five dishes each of rice, grain and pasta, and so on.

Mrs. Zhaojia married into Cao's family for many years. Before she came to Jiangning, she also bought sacrificial objects, but it was far less abundant than before.Looking at the sacrifices on the table on the kitchen floor, she was also somewhat proud.

I counted all these in my heart, and seeing that the preparations were almost ready, Zhao Jia called a daughter-in-law and told her to take people to Cao Yong and his brothers to get sacrificial vessels, and then sent people to Wutong Garden to invite Chu Yu to come and pretend plate.

Because of the complicated things in the twelfth lunar month, Chuyu's body was weak after pregnancy, but she was really tired, so she rested on the soft couch.When she heard that the sacrifices were being placed in the kitchen, she got up and brought Xiyun and the others to the kitchen.

On the side of Cao Yong and his brothers, Cao Song has already taken the list of sacrificial utensils.Cao Yong asked him to pack up the sacrificial utensils against the list, and then moved them aside.

When the daughter-in-law came, Cao Yong and the others had almost cleaned up, so they asked them to carry the packed to the kitchen first.

Zhao Jia waited for Chu Yu to arrive, and brought the sacrificial vessels, and the two of them cleaned their hands under the service of the maid, and began to arrange the plates.

Both the pig and the sheep are piglets and lambs that are one and a half feet long, and they can lift them.Then there are one plate each of chicken, duck, goose and fish, two plates of sacrificial cakes and steamed buns, one plate of birthday peaches and red dates, and the rest are all in the number of five or five.Five caramels, five sesame wraps, five candied fruit, five bunches of fruit, five fruit embedded candies, followed by five-color sugar offerings, five-color cake ingots, five-color covered fruits, and five-color fresh fruits.

In addition, three jugs of tea and wine are prepared, and there are dozens or hundreds of plates inside and outside.

After tidying up these, it was almost the beginning of the year (five o'clock in the afternoon).The ancestor worship at this time is different from that of later generations. Most of the later generations worship ancestors after Zishi or the fifth watch of the first day of the new year ([-]:[-] to [-]:[-] in the morning), but this time is from the afternoon to the evening before the New Year’s Eve dinner.

In order to show dignity, they had to dress according to their rank when worshiping their ancestors, so Zhao Jia and Chu Yu went back to change their clothes.

At the time of Youzheng, all the people packed up and came to the ancestral hall. They divided Zhaomu and stood still on the left and right.Cao Yong presided over the sacrifice, Cao Song accompanied the sacrifice, Cao Shuo presented the title, Cao Xiang presented the silk, and the rest, such as holding incense and displaying worship mats, were replaced by Cao Shuo and Cao Xiang's brother.

Amidst the sound of rites and music, it only took a quarter of an hour to present the title, pay homage, burn the silk, and make a libation. A portrait of the grandfather.

The ones that were just plated in the kitchen, except for the pigs and sheep and a few tables for viewing in the ancestral hall, the others were passed on to the altar table in the hall one by one.

After another half an hour of busy work, it was finally over.

The New Year's Eve dinner was prepared in Zhaojia's room. There was a table on the kang and a table on the ground, separated by a screen.

Each table has twenty dishes, eight bowls, and two soups.There are also five plates of fruits, four plates of dumplings, and one plate of rice cakes and steamed buns.

Chuyu asked Mrs. Zhaojia to sit at the head seat, and she sat sideways to accompany her. The fourth sister and the fifth younger sister were also carried by the mother to the kang, and sat down on the table in a proper manner.

Cao Yong and his four brothers sat on the ground.

Cao Yong saw that their brothers were all sitting upright, and remembered the scene of eating New Year's Eve dinner with Mr. Zhuang and Wei Hei every year.

Between people, getting along is the most important thing.Although he has no blood relationship with Mr. Zhuang and Wei Hei, he is like a family member.

Seeing that the brothers did not respond, Cao Yong raised his chopsticks and motioned for everyone to open the table.

There were few people, and because of Cao Quan's filial piety, there was no wine, so the meal was tasteless.

Sitting on the kang, Zhao Jia picked two pieces of stewed rotten meat and put them in the bowls of the fourth sister and fifth son, while he picked up a few chopsticks and stir-fried the duck meat.

While tasting the dishes in her mouth, she looked at Chu Yu calmly, and saw that she really didn't eat much meat, so she ate a light vegetarian diet, so she couldn't help persuading: "Whether it suits your taste or not, you should eat more chicken and duck tonic." Bu Cai. You are not eating alone, there is a small one in your belly!"

Chu Yu agreed with a smile. She was not picky about her diet, but she has eaten with Cao Yong for a few years, and her taste has become a little bit used to bland food, and she has no appetite for greasy food.But since Mrs. Zhaojia persuaded her, she didn't take it seriously, so she picked up the shredded tripe and ham from the cold dish and ate two chopsticks.

Zhao Jia nodded and said, "That's right!" As he spoke, he looked at Chu Yu carefully again.

Because she is only three months pregnant, Chu Yu has not yet shown her pregnancy.Zhao Jia was still a little worried, put down his chopsticks, touched Chuyu's arm, and said, "That's not okay, I don't have any meat on my body, how can I raise a child, I should make up for it."

Seeing her earnest concern for her, Chu Yu was less dissatisfied with her, and said with a smile: "I also eat a lot, but I am not fat. When I was pregnant with Tianyou, my chin was several layers, and I was fat." In the end, I was panting when I walked. I don’t know why this time, but I didn’t gain any flesh.”

Zhao Jia carefully looked at Chu Yu's complexion, and said, "I see your complexion is getting thinner and thinner. It's moist and tender, much smoother than before pregnancy! I see, this baby is a girl!"

Chu Yu had only heard Madam Ye mentioned that a boy with a pointed belly and a girl with a round belly had never heard of the expression of complexion.Therefore, I asked very curiously: "Really? How did the second wife find out?"

Zhao Jia said with some pride: "I gave birth to Sister Ying and her five sisters and brothers. If you don't know this, it's a joke. If the face is rusty, it's probably a boy; if the face is getting thinner and thinner Mostly girls."

Although Chu Yu really likes girls, but because she is anxious to add a child to the long house, she still hopes to have a boy.After hearing Zhao Jia's words, she smiled, but her expression was a little sad.

Mrs. Zhao Jia saw it, and hurriedly persuaded him: "It's an old story passed down by the old man, but it may not be the case. Even if we have a little girl, a family like ours may not be worse than my brother. You and Brother Yong are still as good as you are." You are young, and you already have an eldest son, so whether this is a boy or a daughter is a happy event!"

Chu Yu nodded, and said with a smile, "Thanks to the second wife for opening the way, the nephew and daughter-in-law can save it. Even the uncle said that his daughter and son love each other!"

Zhao Jia said with a smile: "What I'm talking about is that he is patient in coaxing the fourth and fifth sisters to talk to them!"

Chu Yu just laughed, thinking of her husband's "patience", she felt quite helpless.

His "patience" can't last for a few days, especially for children.It turned out that God Bless was there, and he loved God Bless and was willing to hug his son.But after being pissed on by his son for a few times, he wanted to lift him up and never held him in his arms again.

Now, with Hang Seng, he coaxed him every day at first, but after being woken up twice by Hang Seng's crying, he would frown when he looked at Hang Seng again.When he was free, he would pat Hang Seng's butt and say a few words with a straight face.

Perhaps all men are like this. They have not experienced the pain of pregnancy in October, and their patience with their children is incomparable to that of mothers.I'm afraid that when you get old and face your grandchildren, you will be able to tolerate and love unconditionally.

This is not only the case for ordinary people's homes, but also for emperors' homes.

*
In the Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace, the emperor's family banquet is being held.

The princes who had already left the palace brought their wives, concubines and children into the palace; the same was true for the married elder brothers who lived in the palace, and the unmarried younger brothers sat with their biological mothers.

Concubines and concubines have given birth to 35 princes in the past few decades, not to mention those who died young, there are 23 of them.

In addition to the eldest brother and second elder brother who were confined, the thirteenth elder brother who self-imposed, and the sixth elder brother, eleventh elder brother, eighteenth elder brother, and nineteenth elder brother who died young, the other sixteen Elder brother is at the banquet,
At Kangxi's table, the Empress Dowager is invited to take the main seat, and Kangxi and his concubine Tong Jiashi are sideways to accompany them.There were two other people sitting on the seat, but it caused the princes to speculate that they were Hongxi, the second son of the abolished prince, and his first wife Borzigit.

Concubine De, Concubine Yi, Concubine Rong, Concubine Hui and several other respectable concubines sat at two tables on the left and right.Although there is a smile on the face, but the expression is full of meaning.

The concubines are like this, but the princes and elder brothers think more.

After the Manchus entered the customs, in order to subdue the Han people, they more and more respected the Confucian ethics of "monarch, minister, father, son, son".In the eyes of the world, it is only natural for the eldest son to inherit the throne. "Abolishing the sons and establishing the concubines" and "abolishing the elders and establishing the young" are all things that are not in accordance with the etiquette.

Therefore, from the beginning of the abolition of the prince, there have been constant rumors of the prince's restoration.Later, Kangxi got annoyed, and violently angered the remaining princelings, so that those rotten scholars could understand their attitude.However, although there are few rumors about the restoration of the crown prince, the talk about the establishment of the emperor's grandson is spreading more and more widely.

Even when the North Korean envoy came to meet Hong Xi by accident, he always met with the ceremony of the crown prince.Although Hongxi is the second elder brother's bastard son, he is Kangxi's eldest grandson. Speaking of inheriting the throne, he is more qualified than his uncles.

The eighth elder brother lowered his head, faintly despairing in his heart.Kangxi's several personnel transfers at the end of the year were all directed at his eighth elder brother...

*
As soon as it is delivered, ask for a ticket. . .

(End of this chapter)