After Old Lady Sheng returned home, the Sheng and Hai families began celebrating the Six Ceremonies. The Hai family was a prominent family in Dongyang, and Sheng Hong was determined to follow the full set of ancient rituals. When Minglan went to pay her respects, she saw a large, fat, tightly bundled goose on the table in Wang's main room. Curious, she poked it with her finger, but the poor goose, with its beak tied shut, gave Minglan a characteristically distorted look.
"Is it alive?" Minglan exclaimed softly, "Aren't they all made of lacquer carving now?"
Rulan also pouted: "As a scholar for generations, they are very particular. They caught him a few days ago and are being raised like ancestors."
Sheng Hong specially invited his good friend, Lord Liu from the Dali Temple, to go to the Hai family to propose marriage. Because Lord Hai was about to leave Beijing for his new post and had limited time, he brought back the birth chart of Miss Hai that day. Then Sheng Hong pretended to ask the official media to verify the birth chart that he had already known through divination, and then placed it in front of the ancestral tablet for two days. Of course, the result must have been an auspicious sign.
Only in this way can the engagement be signed and the wedding be scheduled for next month, the 18th day of the twelfth lunar month, which is auspicious.
There are many happy events at the end of the year. This year, it is the 70th birthday of Princess Pingning's father, Marquis Xiangyang, so a grand banquet was held. Since the Sheng family is a distant relative of the Qi family, and Changbai has been a classmate of Qi Heng for many years, they were invited together.
Early in the morning of that day, Cuiwei caught Minglan and dressed her up carefully. She put on a long silk jacket with a light silver-red brocade pattern and scattered gold embroidery, and a cinnamon-pink pleated skirt with embroidered patterns. Her thick hair was tied into a gentle crescent bun and fixed with a large red gold hairpin inlaid with kingfisher feathers and gems. She also wore a small gold hairpin with filigree and a pearl on her temples. The hairpin had two wings spread out, trembling slightly, making her look very cute.
This outfit was newly made in Youyang. When I went to the lady's room, I saw that the other two Lans were also wearing new clothes. Molan was wearing a light blue silk-lined long jacket with magnolia flowers all over it and a lotus-green moon-lit skirt with dark silver embroidery. She had a slender waist and was elegant and graceful. Rulan was wearing a bright red double-breasted jacket with hundreds of butterflies intertwined in the flowers, which also gave her an air of wealth and luxury.
Wang was sitting in the hall and giving the three girls some advice, such as "obey the rules, listen more and talk less". Minglan knew she was talking about Molan, so she took a peek and saw that Molan didn't show any sign of surprise at all.
It took more than an hour to get to the Marquis of Xiangyang's Mansion in the carriage with thick cotton curtains. The main gate of the mansion was wide open, with a pair of red couplets sprinkled with gold hanging on the double doors, and densely packed red firecrackers hanging high. Because Wang and her group were female guests, they entered through a side door, got off their own carriage, and changed into a sedan chair in the inner alley of the mansion. After walking for a while, they arrived at the second gate, and the female guests got off the sedan chair.
Maids and old women were already waiting at the door to receive them, so Wang and the others had a chance to take a closer look. They felt that the view suddenly became brighter. The mansion was tall, spacious and peaceful, with small bridges, flowing water, hills and trees in the distance. A middle-aged old woman led Wang and the others in, passed through a barbarian gate, and slowly walked along the winding corridor. Wang and the girls looked around without any expression. They saw carved corridors and painted buildings everywhere, which was really magnificent and luxurious. Even the doors, windows and pillars were painted with gold.
Wang was secretly surprised. She wondered why Princess Pingning had her eyes on top of her head. She looked at the three girls. Molan was envious and her expression was relatively calm, but the smile on her face was a little stiff. Rulan was much more straightforward, and her eyes showed undisguised envy. Wang looked at Minglan again - and was suddenly stunned.
Minglan acted as if nothing had happened, her expression was normal, her attitude was natural and smooth, and she didn't seem to be pretending. It seemed that she really didn't care about the wealth in front of her. Wang couldn't help but look at her with admiration.
It's not that Minglan has broad vision. Working in the court, she faces either criminal acts or family ethics tragedies every day. The staff are depressed and under great pressure at work. However, Minglan never misses the annual trips organized by the unit.
She'd been to the Forbidden City, wandered through the imperial palace, strolled through the Sunken Garden, climbed the Temple of Heaven, and had seen a fair bit of the world. But seeing the underground palace in "The Lord of the Rings" on a 3D screen made Minglan exclaim "Wow!" several times. It couldn't be helped. With Western influences spreading eastward and capitalism invading the world, modern people's aesthetic tastes for architecture naturally leaned towards the West.
The housekeeper assigned to lead the way was an articulate woman. As they walked, she pointed out the various sights and gave brief explanations. Wang smiled and said, "There are many wealthy mansions in the world, but yours is so elegant. It's truly a beautiful place with beautiful mountains and rivers. It's a good omen."
Rulan leaned close to Minglan's ear and whispered, "Sixth sister, this place is much better than your eldest brother-in-law's house." Minglan nodded. She had never been to the Earl of Zhongqin's mansion, so she had no right to speak and just walked obediently.
In ancient upper class society, although there was intermarriage between the nobles and the powerful, there was a clear distinction between them. Most of the children of the powerful relied on inheritance or the emperor's appreciation to get a job in the army or the imperial garrison, or else they would hold an honorary title in a certain department. However, scholars took the route of civil service examinations, from "tongsheng" to "xiucai" and "jinshi". Those with good grades entered the Hanlin Academy, while those with average grades worked in the six ministries or were sent out to other places. In this way, they accumulated ranks and became high-ranking officials, or returned home to be idle and become gentry.
Of course, many children of gentry families were not concerned about becoming officials. Taking the imperial examinations was just a way to reduce taxes for the family or to provide an umbrella of protection. The real key was those Hanlin scholars of seemingly low rank, especially the Shujishi among them.
Since the previous dynasty, the court had established a rule that only Jinshi could enter the Hanlin Academy, and only Hanlin could enter the cabinet. Therefore, Shujishi were also called "presumably prime ministers." In other words, Changbai had the potential to rise rapidly in the future and directly enter the cabinet.
When Minglan went to bed last night, she felt that it was really unnecessary to invite her own family to the birthday celebration of a popular and powerful person like the Marquis of Xiangyang. Later, after careful consideration, she realized that this was just for the sake of Changbai and the Hai family. If Changbai really had the opportunity to make a fortune in the future, it would always be a good idea to make an emotional investment early, not to mention that the investment amount was not large.
Just as she was thinking about it, she arrived at the main hall. Because Wang and her group came early, the guests had not arrived yet. The princess simply asked Wang to bring the girl to kowtow and pay respects to the birthday god. As soon as she reached the door, she heard bursts of talking and laughter coming from inside.
Minglan lowered her head and walked in, only to feel her feet go soft. The room was covered with a thick scarlet camel-hair felt rug with a pattern of "good luck, happiness and longevity". The room was very large, and seemed to be several rooms connected together. There were only a few treasure chests standing there, and the chests were filled with many exquisite and luxurious porcelain antiques as decorations.
There was a lot of noise in the room. Many men and women were sitting or standing, talking animatedly. However, Princess Pingning's sweet laughter was the most penetrating, reaching Minglan's ears directly.
"Sister Wang, you're here." Princess Pingning walked slowly over and smiled at Wang in a friendly manner.
To put it nicely, Wang is a down-to-earth person, but to put it bluntly, she is short-sighted. Ever since she gave up the idea of marrying Qi Heng, she felt that she had nothing to ask of the princess, so her interactions with her were very natural, without much flattery, and she was able to make friends with the princess.
After Wang exchanged pleasantries with Princess Pingning, she immediately bowed respectfully to the elderly man seated at the head of the table. With a broad smile on her face, she congratulated the old marquis, saying, "Congratulations to the old marquis! May he be blessed with good fortune and a long life!"
"Okay, okay, get up, get up." Old Marquis Gu had a head full of white hair and a thin face. He was wearing an ochre-red brocade with longevity patterns. He was tall and energetic, and looked no more than sixty years old.
He smiled at Wang and said, "During the reign of the late Emperor, your father and I served together under the Governor-General of Gansu and Shaanxi. Back then, he was busy with account books and calculating food supplies, and I would bring my soldiers to him every day to ask for things. We would always have arguments. A few days ago, I met your eldest brother, and he behaved just like your father. Alas...time makes people grow old, and in the blink of an eye, only an old man like me is left."
Mentioning her late father, Wang's eyes moistened slightly. Princess Pingning shook the old marquis and said with a smile, "Oh, sister Wang is here to celebrate your birthday. Why are you talking about this?" The old marquis seemed to love his daughter very much. He said repeatedly, "Okay, I won't say anything more. Now find your seats. And those little girls at the back are your daughters, right?"
Wang hurriedly asked the three Lans to come forward and kowtow. The girls hurried forward, knelt down, and kowtowed three times respectfully. According to the pre-rehearsed words, they said in unison: "I wish the old marquis to be evergreen and blessed with many blessings and a long life!"
After the old Marquis Gu accepted the gift, Princess Pingning hurriedly asked the maid to bring a tray with three embroidered bags as a gift for the old Marquis. Minglan took the embroidered bags and raised her eyes slightly. She finally had the chance to look up and saw a number of young men standing behind the old Marquis. The youngest was only seven or eight years old, and the oldest was only in his early twenties. They looked similar and were probably all members of the Gu family.
Princess Pingning pointed at them and said with a smile: "These are all my brothers and nephews. Seeing that the guests in front have not arrived yet, they have come to kowtow to father and wish him a happy birthday. We are all family, so there is no need to follow the Taoist priest's example and avoid suspicion." According to the rules of ancient large families, those who have not yet married are considered minors, and the female members of the family do not need to be strictly avoided.
On the other side of the old marquis stood many wives and daughters-in-law, all adorned with jewels and elegantly made-up. Princess Pingning introduced them, "These are my sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law. These are my nieces. Come and meet them, everyone."
The women came forward and exchanged pleasantries and jokes again, but the three sisters felt miserable. They kowtowed to many ladies in a daze, and then called out to everyone in the room, "uncle, brother, and younger brother." Minglan kowtowed until she was dizzy, and when she stood up, her head was spinning. Unexpectedly, the strong Ruolan lost her balance and put all her weight on Minglan, causing her to almost fall. Fortunately, she had good character and managed to hold on with a smile.
Minglan stuffed many more brocade bags into her hands. She weighed them habitually and found that the weights were of varying degrees. Then she stole a glance at her two sisters. Rulan was obviously still not recovered from the dizziness. Molan lowered her head and muttered something with a solemn expression. Minglan leaned over slightly to listen, and the corners of her mouth curled up. Oh, it turned out that she was memorizing the origins and names of these ladies. However, the most pitiful one was Wang. She was going to lose money today.
After all, it was inconvenient for men and women to sit together. After a few words, Princess Pingning took the lead and led all the female relatives to another courtyard. In a spacious hall, many brocade stools and high chairs were placed. Then the female relatives sat down and the maids served them tea, snacks and fruits. Then they started chatting happily, waiting for the guests to arrive one after another.
Minglan sat obediently in a corner, holding a tea bowl and looking carefully at the enamel on it, secretly sighing that it was a real masterpiece; Molan next to her was chatting with a girl from the Gu family, and it seemed that they had known each other for a long time.
"Why didn't anyone from Duke Qi's Mansion come? Oh, they didn't come earlier?" Rulan turned to Minglan, but glanced at the girl from the Gu family.
Minglan didn't know who she was asking, and the girl from the Gu family clearly didn't understand. Minglan sighed and said casually, "I guess you're just like us. In winter, you want to sleep in a little longer, right?"
The young lady from the Gu family over there heard this and burst out laughing. She was pretty and innocent. She smiled and said to Molan, "Your sister is really funny." Molan pulled the corners of her mouth with a forced smile, then asked nonchalantly, "So, eh? Lian Jie'er, why didn't you see the old marquis's grandson just now?"
Lian Jie'er is the niece of Princess Pingning, but most of the girls from the Gu family in this room are children under ten years old. Only a few of them are of similar age, so they came over to talk.
"My cousin came last night and celebrated my birthday early this morning. I don't know where he is helping out now." Lian Jie'er deliberately pretended to be old-fashioned, and the three girls all laughed.
With that smile, the four of them sat down together and began to talk. Lian Jie'er was quite talkative, chattering away for a long time about the capital's popular opera troupes, the latest styles of hairpins and huashengs, and the poetry gatherings of the city's young ladies. Molan joined in the conversation, seeming to get along quite well. Rulan and Molan had actually known Lian Jie'er at the same time, but Molan was clearly more sociable. Minglan didn't join in the conversation much, just listened with a smile.
As she spoke, Lian Jie'er looked at Minglan again and again, as if she had something to ask but was hesitant. Finally, she couldn't help but speak: "I heard from your sister that when you were in Dengzhou, you were best friends with Lord Yu's eldest granddaughter?"
Minglan glanced at Molan, who shifted uncomfortably in her sitting position. Minglan turned her head, carefully choosing her tone, and said, "I wouldn't say we're best friends, but we get along well and talk a little more."
Lian Jie'er was someone who couldn't hide her feelings, so she immediately asked, "Then why didn't she want to marry my second cousin?"
Minglan was completely bewildered and asked, "Who is your second cousin?" Lian Jie'er saw Minglan's bewilderment and became anxious. She growled, "It's the second son of the Ningyuan Marquis's mansion! He was standing next to the old marquis just now!"
Minglan understood instantly and leaned back as if she had been hit by a club. She cursed herself in her heart for being a pig. She had been kowtowing so hard that she had forgotten about this matter.
The first generation of Marquis of Xiangyang and Marquis of Ningyuan were brothers, but the second generation of Marquis of Xiangyang had no heir. For some reason, he did not adopt a nephew from his own brothers, but instead chose a person who had almost no connection with him from the Gu clan in his hometown as his adopted son. From then on, Marquis of Xiangyang and Marquis of Ningyuan had no contact, and even the names and generations of their descendants were different.
But now, the old Marquis of Xiangyang's only son died young, leaving him with only one daughter, Princess Pingning. He tried until he was in his fifties or sixties, but knowing he would never have a son, he had no choice but to adopt his nephew as his heir. That's why so many young men from the Gu family gathered around the old Marquis just now. They were probably all attracted by the title. Even my sister's father is one of the old Marquis's nephews.
Was Yanran's ex-fiancé among those standing there just now? Damn it, I didn't even notice!
Minglan tried hard to recall the scene just now. It seemed... it seemed... that among the group of cousins she had paid homage to, there were two with deer-like faces and rat-like eyes. But which one was it, the deer-like one or the rat-like one? Minglan wanted to scratch her head, but she couldn't remember.
"Our two families have never interacted before. This time, my eldest uncle came specially to invite them. He wanted to ask Lord Ningyuan to help him choose an heir. This is also the first time I have seen anyone from that family. Their eldest uncle was not feeling well and did not come. It was the second and third uncles who came."
Lian Jie'er raised her head and pouted, then continued to ask Minglan, "Tell me, why doesn't the eldest daughter of the Yu family want to marry him? Did she hear some bad rumors?" Although Lian Jie'er's words seemed to be worried about her family, her expression betrayed her. She was clearly excited and just wanted to know some gossip.
Minglan had the Yu family's pretext, and with a nonchalant air, she said, "No, it's just that Lord Yu and the Duan family of Dali had a verbal engagement. Later, the two families separated, and everyone forgot about it. Who knew that at the beginning of the year, the Duan family sent a letter mentioning the marriage? Lord Yu, a man of his word, agreed to the marriage without hesitation."
Lian Jie'er couldn't hide her disappointment: "Is that it?"
"Yes, what else can we do?" Minglan tried to sound sincere. "Actually, Lord Yu is quite fond of the Ningyuan Marquis' marriage. Look, he's promised the second young lady to her. Is the marriage settled? When?"
Lian Jie'er was disappointed to hear no explosive news. She shook her sleeves and said casually, "It's settled. It will be at the end of the month."
Then she changed the subject and started chatting with Molan and Rulan. Minglan finally breathed a sigh of relief. She imitated Wang's example and clasped her hands together under her sleeves, muttering to herself: Amitabha, fortunately the Yu family did a good job in the aftermath and no news leaked out, otherwise she would probably have been implicated as well. As the Jade Emperor is her witness, she will never be impulsive again.
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