Chapter 662: It’s just a birthday party, why is it such a grand event?
Wen Jiu glanced at the Crown Princess and just smiled: "Okay."
Every family has its own problems. Even someone as smart as her is still troubled by worldly matters.
He simply followed the Crown Princess in and said, "We also have your favorite fruit cake today. I'll bring you some more when we leave."
The Crown Princess only smiled: "Wine is still good to me."
Inside the hall, the space was divided into two parts, with only a screen separating the women and men. Although they sat at separate tables, they could each see the one-year-old ceremony being performed above.
At the front, the desk had already been set up with various exquisite items for the one-year-old ceremony, including precious antiques, writing brushes, inkstones, jade ornaments, and some abacus, swords and the like.
The two walked and chatted cheerfully. When they entered the house, the Crown Princess said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "Look, the Tenth Master is still following Wu Lanzhu. This Master, will you not cause a scene during the Grasping One-Year-Old Ceremony?"
Wen Jiu glanced over and saw from a distance that Wu Lanzhu looked unhappy. However, the Tenth Master followed her closely, and from time to time he seemed to want to approach her and talk to her.
Wenjiu blinked his eyes, and then watched as the guests gradually entered the room. He was afraid that he would be too busy to come back later, so he called Liusu, "Go and tell the Fourth Master to keep an eye on the Tenth Master and don't let him run around."
Wenjiu was not afraid of what the Tenth Master would do, but he was afraid that Wulanzhu would not be able to control herself and whip him. If that happened, the marriage would really be ruined.
Not long after, he saw the Tenth Master being called over by Su Peisheng, and he felt a little relieved.
Wu Lanzhu and the Crown Princess were seated and their favorite snacks were brought. Before they could exchange a few words, the eunuch announced that a guest had arrived and immediately went to the front hall to greet them.
"Oh, it's just a first birthday party, why is there such a big show? Look at this style. Even I, Hongqing, wouldn't show off like this."
The Third Lady looked around at the ladies attending the banquet and couldn't help but curl her lips.
"That's what the third sister-in-law said."
Suddenly, a voice came from behind, startling the Third Lady. She immediately turned around to see who it was. Seeing that it was the Eighth Lady, she did not relax at all. She said in a bad tone, "Why are you sneaking out here to scare people?"
The Eighth Lady sneered, "Third sister-in-law, I'm not being sneaky. Only someone with something to hide would think that. Aren't we supposed to speak for others to hear?"
After she finished speaking, seeing that Third Lady's face was not looking good, Eighth Lady smiled again and said, "However, I naturally know that Third Lady has no ulterior motives. We sisters-in-law are closer after all. To be honest with Third Lady, I think the same as she does."
The Third Lady's expression wasn't much better either. The Third Master had warned her before, asking her to get along well with Wen Jiu, and even if they didn't get along well, she shouldn't offend him.
In fact, Sanfujin felt that she was indeed no match for Wen Jiu.
Even the cunning Fourth Lady was completely outshined by her. Naturally, she didn't want to be an enemy of Wen Jiu.
She just felt unhappy that the banquet hosted by a concubine's son was more grand than that hosted by her legitimate son, so she complained a few words.
Fortunately, the Eighth Lady heard it. She and Wenjiu always looked down on each other, so the news probably wouldn't get out.
"Oh, with so many banquets, does she think it's because the Fourth Master has been crowned a prince? Wait until all the seats are full and see who will be left out. Could it be that she's trying to save face by shamelessly sending invitations to all the gentlemen's homes?"
The Eighth Lady laughed sarcastically, "We didn't even have so many tables at our wedding. What are you thinking about warming the wine? Do you think all the dignitaries in the capital will come?"
"Eighth sister-in-law... stop talking and look." The Third Lady suddenly interrupted the Eighth Lady and motioned her to look at the door.
The Eighth Lady turned her head nonchalantly and looked towards the door. Her face suddenly darkened: "Old Madam Tongjia!"
The Tongjia clan is the emperor's maternal family. The old lady of the Tong family is the emperor's real elder besides the empress dowager. Now she is being invited?
"How did Wenjiu get so close to her? She's really good at flattering herself. When I got married, when Hongqing turned one, the old lady of the Tong family didn't even show up. How come there are so many people at the first birthday celebrations for Wenjiu's illegitimate children? What's going on?"
The Third Lady sighed, "Who says it's not true? It's just that there's nothing we can do about it. After all, she was so fertile while drinking wine. She gave birth to four children in one go."
Actually, it's not that grand of a ceremony to celebrate the wine. Nowadays, many first birthday celebrations will invite lion dance troupes to perform dragon and lion dances at the door to celebrate.
Wenjiu was quite peaceful, having only invited a troupe of actors. Compared to the first birthday of the Fourth Master's legitimate son, Honghui, it was still a little less impressive.
It's just that there are too many banquets, and the number of guests is too intimidating. I saw several old ladies who had not been out for many years come out.
The Tonggiya clan, the Dong'e clan, the Guaerjia clan...even several old princesses, not one was left out, and they all appeared in the Fourth Master's mansion one after another.
The Eighth Lady choked and stared without saying a word for a long time.
A very clever maid beside her immediately said with a smile, "Master, the quality of children is more important than the number. If the number is more, what's the difference between them and livestock? I heard that Concubine Wen's little princes are much worse than ordinary children. They can't even speak now."
As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the Third and Eighth Concubine changed instantly.
The Third Lady looked meaningfully at the maidservant in front of the Eighth Lady and said, "Eighth Sister-in-law, it's about time. Ninth Sister-in-law should be here soon. I'll go see her. That girl has never known the way since she was a child."
Having said that, he walked away as if escaping.
From a distance, the Third Lady glanced at the Eighth Lady behind her and patted her chest.
"It's really terrible to have someone like this around. I thought she was from a noble family and was smart, and that getting close to her would be beneficial. But now it seems that she has been spoiled to the point of losing her composure."
Thinking of this, the Third Lady said, "Remember this in the future and keep some distance from the Eighth Lady."
On the other side, the Eighth Lady also looked at the maid beside her with a sullen expression. After a while, she said, "Hongmei, how many years have you been by my side?"
Hongmei, who was standing beside her, felt as if she had upset her master, so she said cautiously, "I have served you for five years."
The Eighth Lady nodded and suddenly said, "You should go back home first. I haven't collected my makeup box yet, and I'm worried about others going back."
Hongmei was puzzled. She knew someone in the mansion would take her in, so why would the master let her go back? But she didn't dare to ask any more questions. She just said, "Well, I'll go back and take a look."
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