The Concubine's Survival Manual

Chapter 182

April [-]th is Madam Tai's birthday, everyone in the mansion is naturally waiting for it, because the family members have offered longevity noodles and other auspicious things during the warm birthday yesterday. After being invited, they went back to their own yard to dress up carefully. Although they did not wear the clothes of the wives, they were all dressed in red jackets and skirts, with a full set of gold, jade and precious stones on their heads.

Then enter the main courtyard that has been covered with dust for a long time. At this time, the door of the upper room of the main courtyard is wide open, the bright blue brick floor is spotless, and countless snacks are prepared in the upper rooms on both sides. More than a dozen large round tables were set up for the guests to sit around, and a few sisters-in-law sat in the main room for a while and then came out to welcome the guests.

The distinguished guests are personally guided by the sisters-in-law, and the general guests are also received by the wise women, and they all enter the main room to say hello and birthday wishes to Mrs. Tai, and then they are ushered into the banquet to sit down.From Si time onwards, one or two hours from time to time, the inland stream continued, from the first-class duke's wife to the businessmen's wives of the Xu family, all of them arrived at a quarter of noon, even though the Xu family had many daughter-in-laws, the four sisters-in-law were also exhausted. Not lightly, everyone sat in the inner room and rested their feet together, then got up and went out to the outer room, put on a smile, and sat around on their own family seats, starting with Mrs. Xu, one by one to Mrs. Tai and came to have birthday wine together for several generations Pretty old birthday person celebrates birthday.

This kind of banquet is exquisite, of course exquisite, but no matter how exquisite it is, it can't compare with the meticulously crafted private dishes in one's own small kitchen.The noble ladies just touched their lips a little, and after they had finished eating, the Zhike women led the way, and all relatives and friends, unless they resigned in advance, all were invited to watch a play in Xiao Cui Jin, and the children were led to the empty courtyard Watch sideshows.The male guests had their own yard to listen to operas in the outer courtyard, and some were willing to push Pai Gow and wipe dominoes, and they were also accompanied by special cleaning guests.

After dinner in the evening, friends who had alcohol were taken to the guest house for resettlement, and the Xu family who had no alcohol arranged for the nursing home to escort them all the way home, and they could not avoid the curfew.In the palace, Grand Concubine Xu gave out an agarwood cane and handwritten the characters "Fushou" to congratulate Mrs. Tai on her ancient and rare birthday. The Xu family was very lively that day.

Mrs. Xu's health is not good, so there are too many things to do as a granddaughter-in-law. Fortunately, Qin Niangzi has arranged several times in advance, taking into account many emergencies, and this day has no surprises. There is no mistake, and everything is done. Be decent.Although she didn't rest until the third watch, her heart was at ease.

The birthday wine on the third day is more or less meant to be the end of the day. Some relatives and friends who come from other places have eaten the three-day wine, and most of them get up and leave Beijing. As for the relatives in Beijing, they only eat on the first day and will not come again on the third day wine.On the contrary, Seventh Lady was more cautious. She got up early in the morning and entered Leshan Residence, and beat the eleven mothers in charge again. Naturally, she was eating wine and listening to operas that day, pushing cards and wiping dominoes. On the fourth day, Sangu The wife was the first to leave and go back to Yangzhou: but she couldn't close her mouth from ear to ear, and patted Yu Qiao's arm again and again.Starting from her, more than 20 relatives left one after another that day, and there were five or six other families. Some of them had other business to stay at Xu's family, and some wrote that the boat had not yet arrived at Tongzhou Wharf.Qin Niangzi took all the mothers to count the birthday gifts and the restaurant to check the table, and entertained the rest of the guests. They changed the yard to live in a more spacious place, and the gold and silver utensils were added to the account. Adding food to the rough envoys, women, and servants... This is the rule of the past, and there is no way to go wrong. With Seventh Lady watching, it is naturally done properly.

After two or three more days of hustle and bustle, all the relatives were on their way, and the one or two households that were to be left had been assigned to take care of them, and the end of the birthday feast was finally sorted out.Unexpectedly, there were two or three incidents from the beginning to the end, and when she reported to Qiniangzi, the mother in charge had already dealt with it properly, and the methods were appropriate, without causing any disturbance at all.

"I thought that this time at the birthday banquet, Fifth Sister-in-Law would definitely fight with you and secretly pull your hind legs..." Xu Fengjia started gossiping with Qin Niangzi, leaning against the kang again, and read the mansion newspaper.

In April, the weather in the capital was already warmer. There were fewer quilts on the kang, and there was more space. Mr. Xu was lying on the kang with his feet on the kang table, and he looked a little complacent again.

Seventh Lady moved the tea set on the kang table to the table under the kang, sighed softly, and said, "I would be happier if my sister-in-law would pull my hind legs." She sat in front of the kang and spread it on the small kang table. Opened a few brochures, patted Xu Fengjia's feet, and said angrily, "You hate it, retract it, so as not to get ink on it again."

"So what?" Xu Fengjia lazily bent her legs, propped her elbows on the pillow, put the mansion newspaper in front of her sideways, and casually browsed the news in the newspaper with her head lowered, when she suddenly let out an oops and sighed Said, "I didn't expect Wu Qianhu to pass away. Unfortunately, this year will only be here."

"What, it's your old acquaintance?" Qin Niangzi flipped a page while pondering, and casually chatted with Xu Fengjia

"Well, we fought several battles together when we were in the northwest, but he is a direct descendant of the Gui family, and we didn't have much contact with him. He is very generous, but unfortunately he is not in good health and was injured by an arrow before. Quan Ziyin said that if he is still alive Northwest was on duty and didn't know how to take care of it, so he couldn't live to be 35 years old. Wu Qianhu didn't take it seriously at the time, I didn't expect..." Xu Fengjia's voice dropped, he raised his head, and gave Seventh Lady a worried look, but I didn't finish my sentence.

It was really hard for Seventh Lady to express too much sentimentality to Wu Qianhu's death, after all, she never knew him, so she just hummed a few times to express her sympathy, and took up a pen to write a few more lines.Xu Fengjia cleared her throat, and asked her again, "What do you mean by that just now? Why are you happier because Fifth Sister-in-law is pulling your hind legs?"

Seventh Lady glanced at Xu Fengjia, and pulled her lips with a smile that was not a smile: The struggle between the court is certainly ten times more dangerous than the inner house, but a man is a man, and no matter how delicate a struggle is compared with a woman's mind, it seems too rough .

"Fifth sister-in-law is holding me back, there are three possible outcomes." She closed the account book in her hand with a snap, and analyzed it for Xu Fengjia. "One, she succeeded, and I made a big mistake, which made the Xu family lose face. So I was unhappy, and my parents were naturally even more unhappy, let alone my grandmother. When the three old people asked, I used to be unhappy. He is someone who has never taken care of his family before. He rushed into the battle. Of course, he does not know the heights of the sky and the earth, but the fifth sister-in-law has been in charge of the housework for several years, and she suddenly dumped the housework on me. Is it out of good intentions? The young lady of the Xu family is more than The fifth sister-in-law is alone, she doesn't need to make wedding clothes for the fourth sister-in-law."

"Second, she succeeded, and I made a small mistake. Although it was embarrassing at home, but fortunately, I haven't lost face in front of outsiders." She snapped a finger. "Although my parents won't trust my ability, it's not bad for a novice to have such a result. And you are a celebrity around the emperor. Let's work harder. At most, my mother will worry about us in the future. More, the housework will still be handed over to me sooner or later... Why should she? Besides, since it is done, it is very likely that something will go wrong. She doesn't have to take this risk."

"Three, she didn't succeed...Of course, if she doesn't succeed, there may be several consequences, but anyway, if you don't take off the chicken, you can't lose money, and the fifth sister-in-law doesn't have to hurt others or benefit yourself." Seventh Lady sneered slightly. It's nothing more than a probe into my background, hoping that I will make a mess of myself and make the family restless. If it really gets to this point, she may contribute to the flames. I think this time, the trick was at the small meeting in Leshan Juli the morning before. After that, she knew that her wishful thinking had failed."

Xu Fengjia listened casually at first, but later she became fascinated. After thinking for a while, she smiled and said, "You're right, since you missed a move, you don't have to focus on going on and be a buffoon in vain."

Qin Niangzi also nodded, "That's the reason, but how many people know how to stop in time? People in the world always do things with a few words of emotion, do you see such traces in Fifth Sister-in-law's work? In my opinion, not only is she well-behaved at the birthday banquet this time, but even when the housework is handed over next time, she will never thwart me in Mingli and order the mothers in charge to be angry with me—if she uses such superficial words Tricks, that's good. Three elders, which one is stupid? She made a mistake first, and grandma can't defend herself. If father gets angry again, we have nothing to worry about."

It is precisely because the fifth young lady is so unfeeling that people are afraid that she is the most terrifying opponent.Seventh Lady has put away any contempt she might have had, and she knows that the game between her and Fifth Young Madam will probably last for a while.There will never be any means that are too low. This time the game in the Xu family must be full of repeated temptations and long foreshadowing. Although this war will not see blood, it cannot allow her to take it lightly.

She lost her mind for a while, and then said softly, "Among the sisters-in-law in the family, only the fifth sister-in-law is the real master."

Her cautious tone made Xu Fengjia burst out laughing.

"Listen to you, living at home, it's like competing with the heroes of the green forest, and you also have to be ranked and awarded a title?" He tapped his thigh with his free hand, with a relaxed and comfortable attitude, like a relaxed beast, "Since Fifth sister-in-law is a master, how are you going to deal with her? Lady Yang."

He draws out his voice, as if a tiger is yawning lazily, but there is clearly a trace of appreciation in his gaze at Qin Niangzi.

Qin Niangzi rolled her eyes, "Our own rhythm, why should we be disturbed by others. Thinking about dealing with Fifth Sister-in-law, Shi Ziye will be fooled. What should I do with her now, is to take over the housework properly, Let’s talk about other things after everything is done.”

Xu Fengjia thought for a while, and could only admit, "In terms of calmness, I'm not as good as you at home."

He seemed a little unconvinced, and added another sentence, "But you are definitely not as good as me when you are decisive on the battlefield!"

Seventh Lady couldn't help laughing, Xu Fengjia was a little embarrassed at first, thought about it, and laughed along with her.

After laughing, she lowered her head again, and carefully read the personnel files during this period, savoring the personalities of the eleven mothers in charge and their relationship with each other.

Qin Niangzi never fights unprepared battles.

#
On the early morning of April [-], Xu Fengjia got up to send the last family member off: this is a couple from the Xu family, going north to leave the border, and go to the Western Regions to join his wife and uncle who are guarding the border there.It was much more convenient for Pingguo Gongfu to come forward and greet the changing guards, and it would be much more convenient to accompany them all the way through Xuande.

Seventh Lady also got up early, and she rarely took Lixia to pay her respects with her——Since Bailu got married, Lixia has been the big maid by her side. place.Especially in the past few days, there are a lot of things. When she is away, she has something to report to Mingdetang, and there is also a caller.

After entering the back hall of Leshan Residence, everyone was there, even Ping Guogong rarely entered the inner courtyard to say hello to his mother.The crowd had to salute again, and then they sat down and talked.

Mrs. Tai is in a good mood today, and she didn't make it a routine to embarrass Lady Seven. Instead, she took Duke Ping and asked him about the conditions of the young men in his clan. She joked, "I'm asking this for you!"

The Xu family's hometown is in Yangzhou. If Yu Qiao married into the Fan family, of course she would have to interact more with the clan. The little girl blushed suddenly and looked to the ground.Qin Niangzi glanced at it, and saw the tightened lines around her cheeks.

She sighed silently again in her heart, put on a smiling face again, and asked Mrs. Fifth Younger kindly, "Sister-in-law Wu, why haven't you seen Hexian yet? According to Xiao Fuchun, the child is already well."

The Fifth Young Madam was slightly startled, glanced at Mrs. Tai and Ping Guogong, and then smiled, "That's good, but the doctor said I can't see the wind yet, so I didn't let her out."

Naturally, everyone couldn't help sending their greetings to He Xian. Seeing that the heat had reached a point, Seventh Lady smiled and took out a small box and handed it to Mrs. Fifth Young Madam. She looked at Madam and said, "Xiao Qi is young. After taking care of the house for the past few days, I'm already too tired to straighten my back. Now that He Xian is back together, I think the key is the right card, so why don't you return it to Sister-in-law Fifth?"

When she mentioned He Xian, it was for this purpose, but Mrs. Tai and Mrs. Fifth Young were both startled.

I thought she would go along with the flow, so I just took over the housework...

But he didn't want to, he didn't pick up the master key, and today he proposed to return the power in front of Ping Guogong.

Ping Guogong only went to Leshan residence a few times a month, and he insisted on delaying until this day to say, what kind of heart did she have?

While Mrs. Tai was thinking, she smiled and nodded slightly at Mrs. Fifth Young Master.

The Fifth Young Madam, however, was in a state of surprise, she glanced at Ping Guogong again, and then looked at Qi Niangzi inquiringly.

She didn't even glance at Fifth Young Master from the beginning to the end.

Duke Ping also couldn't help stroking the short beards on his cheeks. With his eyes flickering, he looked Qin Niangzi up and down several times, and then said calmly, "In the past few days, the Yang family has been doing well inside and out... At the end of this month, when you enter the palace to greet the concubine, you should also tell the concubine about the grand occasion at home, so that the concubine will be happy too."

Although this was an understatement, the corners of Mrs. Tai's eyes couldn't help but twitched a few times. After a moment of deep thought, she showed that loving smile again.

A blush quickly flashed across the cheeks of Fifth Young Madam, she let out a shallow breath, took the small wooden box in Seventh Lady's hand, and said with a smile, "Actually speaking, the sixth younger sibling is the most legitimate head of the family. Since you Passing through the door, I have had this thought for a long time..."

He simply went down the slope and proposed to hand over the power of housekeeper.

Seventh Lady has the courage to spit out the meat that reaches her mouth, but Mrs. Fifth is not bad. She has already swallowed this piece of meat, but she still spits it out without any hesitation.

Ping Guogong looked at Mrs. Wu Shao's eyes, and suddenly there was a little more affection.

Seeing it in her eyes, Seventh Lady secretly let out another breath, but whispered softly in a quail-like manner, "Sister-in-law Wu, what are you talking about, Xiao Qi is just doing things according to grandmother, father, and mother... "

For a moment, everyone looked at Ping Guogong, but their expressions were different, and they all thought about it.

Ping Guogong thought for a moment, but smiled, "You have to ask your mother about this matter, Mrs. Zhang, don't worry about picking things up, put the box in first and then talk about it."

Seventh Lady immediately felt relieved.

What he said just now sounded like homely chatter, but in fact, several heavyweights have expressed their attitudes.

In terms of emotion and reason, as long as Lady Seven is not an idiot and Mrs. Xu is sick, Mrs. Shizi should be in charge of the family. Duke Ping himself can't control such a truth.And he did give Qiniang his own permission after Qiniangzi proved his ability and showed the scale between advance and retreat-he took the initiative to let Qiniangzi enter the palace to pay his respects to the concubine.

The one who greeted the concubine was of course the mistress or prospective mistress of the Xu family.Mrs. Wu and Mrs. Tai will not fail to understand this meaning.The Fifth Young Madam also reacted immediately, she simply let go.

But taking over the power of housekeeper, how to take over is also a problem. Just listening to this sentence, you can know that although Ping Guogong appreciates the swiftness of the Fifth Young Madam in delegating power, he is not without dissatisfaction with her putting down the burden before the battle.After all, he still cared about Mrs. Xu and Xu Fengjia, the legitimate sons.He wanted to leave the timing of the handover to Mrs. Xu to decide.

If Qi Niangzi's guess is correct, Mrs. Xu will definitely ask to clear the account books of the Fifth Young Madam's family management for the past few years before handing over.

(End of this chapter)