The Concubine's Survival Manual

Chapter 181

At that time, when the old people had their birthdays, there was a saying of warming their lives, and Mrs. Tai was celebrating her birthday in a rare year, so it was naturally a lively event.It's just that big families don't like to make publicity, no matter how big the scene is, it is reasonable to eat wine for three days.On the day of the day, there is a lot of blows and blows, and there are so many guests, let alone talk about it. The warming wine on the first day of the birthday is also particular: only the younger generation of the family can warm the birthday of the elders, because on the day of the birthday wine, the family is the host, and they always smile. Greeting and greeting guests, the family has no time to get together, so the warm birthday wine the day before is a good time for a family to show filial piety to the elders.

The Xu family has a big business. Since the first Pingguo Duke obtained the title from Long Yougong, it has been multiplied for more than 100 years. Except for the one that is now in Beijing, the rest of the houses are farming and studying in Yangzhou, and some are doing business in various places. He flattered those who were born and went to official careers.They are all surnamed Xu, but they all want to take advantage of the splendor of this house in the capital. As long as they are capable, they will come to the meeting for Mrs. Tai's [-]th birthday. Talking and laughing can be informal, in fact, all the children and grandchildren of the Duke of Pingguo's mansion also have to smile to greet the guests, and the movement of warming the birthday wine is comparable to that of Zhengri.

Except that the Fourth Young Master was still staying at the border guards, and Xu Fengjia and Xu Yujing took leave early in the morning and stayed at home: they also had to help greet their relatives and friends for the past three days.The Eldest Young Master even got dressed early in the morning, personally went to the mansion to greet every guest one by one, and then led them into the Leshan Residence to say good morning to Mrs. Tai, and arranged for everyone to listen in the mandarin duck hall on the Longevity Pond. play.

Leaving aside the greetings of the male relatives outside, the female relatives generally listen to the opera in the back hall of the Mandarin Duck Hall, accompanied by the eldest and fourth young wives.The children took them to the Bat Hall to play, and Yu Ning and Yu Tai were half entertaining and half having fun together.Duke Xu Heng of Pingguo personally accompanied several elders of the family to have tea and talk, and even Mrs. Xu was struggling with illness, so she and Mrs. Sangu from Yangzhou and other senior female relatives stayed with Mrs. Tai in the open room at the back of the Mandarin Duck Hall. Float into the water to watch the full version of the auspicious play.

Because He Xian's "illness has not been relieved", Mrs. Wu has nothing to do, but she stays with Mrs. Tai and helps Mrs. Xu greet her elders.On the contrary, Seventh Lady was busy for half a morning, checked and stored the several birthday presents that had been delivered one after another, and then entered the Changxuan. Movements in the hall.On the contrary, Yu Qiao and Yu Ping could sit around Mrs. Tai, and even Yu An got a seat behind Mrs. Xu, and lowered his voice to chat and joke with her.

No matter how turbulent the fight in the family is, in front of the relatives of the whole family, everyone will naturally be in harmony.Mrs. Xu frequently persuaded Mrs. Tai to eat more snacks, and Mrs. Tai in turn advised Mrs. Xu not to work hard to serve. The scene was peaceful, and even the fifth young lady put on a squinting smile on her face, discussing with Seventh Lady in a low voice, "Look at the old students on the stage. They say it's a female class, but they really can't hear a female voice. Guo Ziyi, who goes through the capital, is the best in the Chunhe class. The rarest thing is female opera, and he can often be called to sing in the garden. It's the Queen Mother." The empress likes it very much, and she went to the palace to sing a few times in the Wanshou month last year."

She usually looks pure-hearted and ascetic, but she didn't expect to know so much about the entertainment of people in the capital, but Qin Niangzi has never been very interested in listening to operas, she just smiled and shook her head and said, "I'm afraid of noise... that is, when I am at home, I have a New Year's Eve Listening to a few Kunqu operas during the holidays, all these operas, the gongs and drums are beating so hard that my head hurts. Sitting here I can't bear it, and I don't know what the noise in the inner hall is like."

"If you're sitting in the inner hall, you have to talk to your ears." Mrs. Wu Shao affectionately took Qin Niangzi's arm, "It's better to talk privately amidst the sound of gongs and drums. It's too noisy. No matter what anyone says I can't hear you."

"Then what if the listener loses their ears and shouts 'what did you say', but the gongs and drums stop again?" Seventh Lady casually perfunctory the Fifth Young Madam, which made her laugh uncontrollably.

"Sixth brother and sister are just so narrow!" She smiled and touched Seventh Lady's forehead.Everyone looked over with a smile and said, "Those who know say you are a pair of sisters-in-law, but those who don't know think you are real sisters!"

Just imagine that even Seventh Lady and Fifth Young Madam can be like sisters, how can the atmosphere in Changxuan be bad?After the auspicious play in the whole book had been sung, the clown came up to make jokes, and the third aunt praised Mrs. Madam, "The old lady is really good at taking care of people. Not only the granddaughter-in-law is well taken care of, but the granddaughters are also taken care of even better!" This little girl is like a water onion, and I don’t know who will be lucky in the future to be able to marry and take home to host Zhongyi!"

Before the words were over, Yu Qiao, Ping and Yu An all blushed, but unlike Jiang Nan, they didn't get up and avoid, they just looked at their toes and didn't dare to raise their heads again.Mrs. Tai patted Yu Qiao's shoulder lovingly, and said with a smile, "Isn't that true? After all, the girls are all old, but unfortunately I've grown old over the years, my daughter-in-law is not in good health, and my granddaughters-in-law are not mature yet. We waited and waited, but we were delayed!"

The third aunt's wife didn't wait for others to intervene, and then she laughed, "That's a good thing, it's a coincidence to say it. It is Fan Zhihong, the number one scholar in this discipline, and his family can be regarded as relatives with our family. This child has a younger brother, who grew up with his elder brother." It's very similar, he is also dedicated to studying, and he has a reputation as a scholar, and he is at the right age for marriage. This time I went to Beijing, and his mother asked me to 'be careful when you meet a suitable one'..."

Everyone laughed and said, "The relationship is good, the younger brother of the champion must also be able to read."

Mrs. Tai and Mrs. Xu couldn't help but glanced at each other. When Qin Niangzi glanced over, she saw a look of excitement on both of their faces.

These three little girls are only concubine daughters after all. If there is no other chance, such as Liu Niangzi being able to get close to the queen, or getting Mrs. Xu's appreciation and writing it under her name when she was a child, after all, it is of little importance to the Xu family. There is no need for careful consideration.The family background and education are not too different, and there is a third aunt who is a matchmaker—this third aunt was born in the sixth room, and she is also famous in Yangzhou. It is said that when Mrs. Xu went to Yangzhou to sweep the tomb, she was received by the sixth room.There is a relationship, and it is indeed possible to be a matchmaker.

As soon as these words came out, Yu Ping and Yu An were fine, but Yu Qiao's face was already flushed with anxiety: Although Fan Zhihong is very talented, his appearance is really not flattering. Jump.When adults look at marriage, they pay attention to the right family, but when children look at marriage, they must first look at the appearance.Among the three daughters, Yu Qiaoxu had the longest teeth, so he was naturally a little more anxious than the others.

"I don't know what's going on at home yet." Mrs. Xu coughed a few times, then slowly opened her mouth, glanced at Yu Qiao casually, and added another sentence. "If the character is good, the family is also rich..."

The third aunt laughed, "Although there are a few distant relatives who are worthless in the family who are merchants - but their house is good for generations to cultivate and study." She was just saying it casually, but now she is a little more serious and leans over. After murmuring a few words to Mrs. Xu, Mrs. Xu raised her brows and said with a light smile, "Really? If you want to say that, it's..."

When the sound on the stage became quieter, everyone chatted with each other one after another, but they didn't pay much attention to the conversation between Mrs. Third Aunt and Mrs. Xu. The young lady just pretended not to see it, she just pulled Qin Niangzi and said with a smile, "Sixth brother and sister, it's not my sister-in-law's show. You don't know how to read skin yellow, and when you go out to socialize and talk about it, it will be embarrassing if you have nothing to say. I teach You, listening to women's drama, what you know is to listen to an old man and watch a female figure, as for..."

Eloquent, just a big piece of drama fan jokes, listening to Qin Niangzi's confusion, the third wife and Mrs. Xu got up and went out of the open house, and Yu Qiao stopped winking, staring at the green brick floor in front of her. Say no more.The fifth young lady stopped and said with a smile, "Nowadays, people who pay attention to girls invite female classes, and the garden is small, so it's hard to avoid it. If the garden is big, the stage is set farther away, and it's okay to invite male classes. So every time The Quan family treats guests with huge crowds - their family has a big place, and they have always invited unicorn classes, how many theater fans are waiting for the Quan family to set up wine all year round, our fourth sister-in-law counts as one!"

She has always been reticent, and she doesn't even smile much. She doesn't want to speak eloquently, but it is quite fascinating. After hearing this, Qin Niangzi also has a little understanding of the famous classes in the capital.Seeing that there was another full-length play on the stage, and the gongs and drums were ringing again, she quickly waved her hands and said, "Fifth sister-in-law asked me to listen carefully and see if I can hear the taste."

The Fifth Young Madam smiled and nodded, she did not speak anymore, but propped her cheeks, looked at the stage through the open window, lost in thought.

Qin Niangzi listened for a while, then turned her head and glanced at everyone, seeing that Mrs. Sangu and Mrs. Xu entered the house at some point, but Yu Qiao didn't know where she went. When I got some bad news, I hid from the house and cried.

She glanced at Fifth Young Madam again, and finally couldn't help asking softly in her ear, "Just now, Third Sister winked at you...Did Fifth Sister-in-law see?"

Fifth Young Madam came back to her senses and glanced at Qin Niangzi, and then looked around the room, revealing a rare irritability.

"She is young and doesn't know the rules! Parents are here, how can we intervene as brothers and sisters--" Halfway through the conversation, Mrs. Wu seemed to think of something again. She glanced at Qin Niangzi, smiled concealedly, but Instead of changing the subject, he remained silent.

How could Seven Lady not know what Fifth Young Madam meant?Even if Yu Qiao and Fifth Young Master's biological mother is still alive, with Mrs. Xu's strength, this marriage will be over only depending on Mrs. Tai's face.Even if Mrs. Fifth Young Master worked hard, she could only whisper a few words in Mrs. Tai's ear for Yu Qiao in private, to see if Mrs. Tai was happy to interfere with the marriage.

However, the third aunt's wife is well married, and the eldest uncle is a transfer envoy in the Lianghuai salt transportation yamen. Although his official position is not high, his family is very wealthy, and he has frequent contacts with the eunuchs and eunuchs in the palace.Mrs. Tai and Mrs. Xu may not be unhappy to take advantage of Yu Qiao's marriage to play an unimportant game of chess by pulling Yila's relationship with Mrs. Sangu.

Qin Niangzi's mind suddenly became gloomy: Although she didn't like Yu Qiao very much, watching the life of a young girl in her prime, who was decided in a flash, still brought her deep unhappiness.

She didn't ask any more questions, but just sighed lightly.

This sincere sigh seemed to really annoy the Fifth Young Madam.

She suddenly leaned close to Seventh Lady's ear, and whispered hurriedly, "Third Gu's wife has already leaked information about Jing. As for the Fan family, although the family background is a bit low, no one has been an official for generations. But Fan Zhihong is very talented. , is very appreciated by the emperor, relatives in the family are in the salt transportation business. I have frequent contacts with the third aunt, although the family status is a bit lower now, but in a few years, I will pass the Juren examination and donate an official. Woke up too?"

Amidst the loud gongs and drums, her tone was abnormally tense and high-pitched, and Qin Niangzi couldn't help being startled by her, she paused, and then asked in a low voice. "Yu Qiaohuo seems to be hearing about it for the first time..."

Fifth Young Madam laughed through her nose, and said softly, "Father and brother are the ones who are in charge of my daughter's marriage, so what can she do if she doesn't know? If she has to get married, I just don't bother to talk about it."

She seemed to be annoyed by Seventh Lady's sympathetic sigh, and added another sentence discriminatively, "It's because her child is ignorant, so she thinks others are ugly!"

Although the last sentence turned a corner and stabbed Qin Niangzi again, Qi Niangzi didn't care. She glanced at Fifth Young Madam in shock to confirm that the other party's eyes were really unhappy, but she really had nothing to say.

Ethics have never restrained human nature.

Even the Fifth Lady and Sixth Lady who were raised by ancient ladies would have their own longings for marriage.And even the most old-fashioned eldest wife would promise Seventh Lady, "You choose your husband-in-law" when you are happy.

Although it did not come true in the end, it fully demonstrates that even in Daqin, a society with strict etiquette, if the situation permits, the family will always ask the daughter's family's wishes in the marriage.

Just by seeing Mrs. Wu being angry because she sympathized with Yu Qiao, one can know that she has a sense of responsibility towards Qiao after all, so she thinks that Mrs. Seven's sigh is implicitly accusing her of not taking care of her husband's same mother and sister. .And the few words she distinguished for herself can be said to be well-founded.But the last sentence really reveals that she did not tell Taiqiao about this matter.

To a concubine who is under her wings in terms of morality, responsibility, and even self-cognition, she is too lazy to even tell her... Fifth Young Madam has never regarded Yu Qiao as a living, The existence of will, without releasing a little concern for her, will it be so negligent about her psychological state?Will it be thankless to arrange a good home for her, but may be blamed by Yu Qiao?
Or has she never experienced the feelings of a daughter-to-be, and doesn't know that every daughter-to-be, even if she can't decide her own destiny, still wants to have her own right to know about the marriage as much as possible?
With the shrewdness of the Fifth Young Madam, thankless work is not something she would do.

But will she be so ruthless?After all, she has only been married for a few years, so doesn't she even have this bit of empathy?
Seventh Lady took a slight breath.

"Fifth sister-in-law misunderstood." She patted Mrs. Wu's hand, and gave her a friendly look, "I sighed because I sighed that Yu Qiao was ignorant, knowing that you would not harm her, and still doing this." In a hurry..."

No matter how rational and restrained a person is, they can't stop a flattery, not to mention that after being 'misunderstood' by Mrs. Wu, her mood seemed to fluctuate.

"Ah," she waved her hand, stopped what she wanted to say, and smiled lightly after a long time, "After all, the child is still young, and he likes to act emotionally."

Yu Qiao's little concern for her own destiny, in the mouth of Mrs. Wu, is an understatement of sentimentality.

Fifth Young Madam smiled cordially at Seventh Lady again, as if she was a little relieved that the two finally stopped targeting each other fiercely. "Although the sixth younger siblings are a few years younger than us, they are very mature when it comes to speaking."

A crack in the mask has been filled unconsciously, and she has become that pleasing and dull person in the painting again.

Seventh Lady felt a chill.

Around her, everyone has several masks, but she can always see a little bit of the truth under the masks.After all, they are still human beings, and their humanity always shines.

And rare, she prefers the mask of the fifth young lady more than her real face.

(End of this chapter)