Chapter 19 Birthday Gift Controversy
Song Mansion.
A courtyard in the back house.
In a room, Li Nuo stood in front of the mirror, combing the hair of a pretty little girl. There were a few tears on the girl's delicate face, and she sobbed from time to time.
Next to Li Nuo, there was a girl who looked exactly like the girl in the mirror. She was hugging her chest, pouting, and looking unhappy.
Li Nuo now knows that the two little girls around him, one named Song Ning'er and the other named Song Mu'er, are twin sisters and the daughters of Song Jiaren's fourth uncle.
The cause of the incident was that Li Nuo combed Song Muer's hair beautifully, and Song Muer ran to Song Ning'er to show off. Since she was a child, she must have everything her sister has, and the maids at home don't know how to comb this improved version of the flying fairy bun, so Song Ning'er refused to do it...
Li Nuo, the culprit, was caught here by the women of the Song family. They had to comb a bun exactly the same as Song Ning'er's before he could leave.
If we can't satisfy this young lady, no one will be able to have a good night tonight.
As Li Nuo's hands flew up and down, a beautiful bun gradually took shape on the little girl's head. Song Zhen glanced at Song Jiaren beside him and asked in surprise: "Jiaren, when did your husband learn this skill?"
His movements in braiding Ning'er's hair were so skillful that even the oldest hairdressing maid in the Song Mansion could not match him.
Generally speaking, in a wealthy family like the Song family, only special maids know how to comb and braid hair. Young ladies may be able to do a simple bun, but definitely not such a complicated bun. It is even more incredible that a man can master women's skills to this level.
What's more, he is a fool.
Song Jiaren did not answer her aunt's question.
To be honest, she and this husband...are not actually very familiar with each other.
Although they have been married for a month, their conversations combined may not even total ten sentences.
She had no idea what Li Nuo could and could not do.
In front of the mirror, Li Nuo inserted a pearl flower exactly the same as the one Song Muer was wearing on Song Ninger's head in the same position. He then looked at the two sisters carefully and adjusted the positions of the other two pearl flowers until he could not find any difference. He then heaved a long sigh of relief and said, "Alright..."
Song Ning'er jumped down from the chair, looked at Song Mu'er, then looked at herself in the mirror, and a satisfied expression appeared on her little face.
At this time, a maid ran in hurriedly from outside and said, "Miss, Fourth Madam, the birthday banquet is about to begin, the master wants you to go quickly..."
…
Song Mansion, inside the Shoutang.
Rich families are very particular about celebrating birthdays. On the old lady’s 60th birthday, the Song family specially set up a birthday hall. On the south wall of the hall, there was a picture of a hundred longevity celebrations, and on both sides were hung birthday couplets that read "Clouds hold colorful carriages and the Queen Mother arrives, flowers bloom and golden phoenixes appear, and stars from the sky come". Above the picture, there was a birthday banner, and on top of the banner, there were embroidered pictures of immortals and Buddhas congratulating the lady on her birthday.
A red carpet was laid on the floor of the birthday hall, and a square table was placed under the front wall, on which were birthday candles, birthday peaches, birthday noodles, and some flowers and fruits.
An old lady with a kind face sat at the head of the table. The children of the Song family stood respectfully on the red carpet in the middle of the birthday hall in order, and came forward one by one to congratulate old lady Song on her birthday.
When celebrating the birthday, people were arranged in order of age. At the front were the five children of Old Madam Song and their partners. After them were the three generations of the Song family. Song Jiaren's father was the old madam's third son. Li Nuo and Song Jiaren were in the second to last row of the crowd. Behind the two of them were the sisters Song Muer and Song Ninger.
The process of celebrating the birthday is actually very simple. Everyone follows the order, comes forward to give the old lady a gift, says a few auspicious words, and then they can sit on a chair aside and wait for the banquet to begin.
In front of Li Nuo and Song Jiaren stood two young figures, two of the three people who had just laughed at him in the yard.
These two people should be the children of Aunt Song Jiaren.
In the row in front of them were three men and two women. One of them was the young man whose head was touched by Li Nuo and who was called "Brother Yu" by Song Muer.
The maids of the Song family lined up neatly and stood on both sides of the birthday hall, holding wooden trays covered with red silk in their hands. Under the red cloth were the gifts that the Song family had prepared in advance.
When it was someone's turn to come forward to congratulate the birthday, the maids would hand the wooden tray to them, and they would then present it personally.
The second generation of the Song family came forward one by one, and Li Nuo remembered their names by the way: Song Jiaren's uncle Song Tai, second uncle Song Lian, aunt Song Zhen, fourth uncle Song Hao, and Song Jiaren's father, Li Nuo's father-in-law, named Song Zhe, a thin middle-aged man, but Li Nuo did not see Song Jiaren's mother.
The second generation of the Song family all had partners around them, even Song Zhen’s husband came, but her father-in-law was the only one who was alone.
After the elders have finished celebrating their birthdays, it is the turn of the younger generations of the third generation.
A young couple walked hand in hand to the old lady and said respectfully, "Grandson Song Lin and granddaughter-in-law Wang Yan wish grandma a long life and good health."
The gift they presented was a pair of golden Buddhas.
Next, another young man came forward holding a painting and said with a smile: "Grandson Song Qi, I wish grandma a long and prosperous life."
The old lady took the painting, examined it carefully, and said with delight, "It is Zhao Mengfu's 'The Mother of Yaochi Celebrating the Birthday'. Isn't it said that this painting has been lost? Where did you get it from?"
The young man said, "I got this painting by chance. I hope you like it."
Old Madam Song handed the painting to the maid standing beside her and asked her to hang it on the wall. She looked at the young man again and said, "You, when can you find a granddaughter-in-law for me, I will be happy..."
…
As the Song family members came forward one by one to congratulate him on his birthday, Li Nuo got to know a little bit about this big family.
The Song family is very prosperous. Song Jiaren's eldest uncle has two sons, her second uncle has two sons and one daughter. Song Jiaren's parents have only one daughter, the twins Song Muer and Song Ning'er, who are the daughters of Song Jiaren's fourth uncle Song Hao.
This is all there is to the third generation of the Song family.
Among the three generations of younger generations, Song Lin and Song Qi, from the eldest uncle Song Tai's lineage, gave a pair of jade Buddhas and a birthday painting respectively. Song Jin and his wife, from the second uncle's lineage, gave a pair of pearls as big as pigeon eggs, which are also considered rare items. Song Yu gave a pair of longevity peaches, which are said to be grown by a strong farmer. Eating them can cure all diseases and prolong life.
Li Nuo didn't know whether the peach could prolong his life, but even from such a distance, Li Nuo could smell the refreshing fruity fragrance. He even heard the sound of the two little girls swallowing their saliva behind him.
Although the farmers' fighting power is not very strong, they still have some skills in farming.
Song Yu's sister, a woman named Song Qian, presented the old lady with a hand-copied Buddhist scripture. Although it was not as valuable as other people's gifts, it was thoughtful and the old lady liked it very much.
Song Qian's husband, a thin young man with a strong scholarly air, presented a birthday poem to the old lady, which also drew a lot of applause.
The Song family is a family of generals. The young men in the family either follow the military path or practice martial arts. Very few of them practice Confucianism. They can wield swords and guns but not literature. This birthday poem is unique and received unanimous praise.
In order, it is the turn of Li Nuo and Song Jiaren next.
Li Nuo knew what gift they were going to give when he was in the carriage. It was a pair of exquisite jade ruyi.
Li Nuo has found a pattern. If the children of the Song family are married, the birthday gifts they give to the old lady are mostly in pairs, and in the name of the couple. If they are still single, they only need to give one item. Of course, they can also do as Song Qian did, and she and her husband can each give their own gifts.
Song Jiaren had already prepared Li Nuo's gift, so he just had to wait for the banquet to begin.
After Song Yu stepped aside, it was the turn of Li Nuo and Song Jiaren.
At this time, many guests around also looked over, and the noisy discussions in the birthday hall became much less.
The name of the Song family's proud daughter had spread throughout Chang'an more than ten years ago.
Of course, her husband became famous earlier than him.
It's just that the two became famous in different ways. Song Jiaren became famous because she had good looks and martial arts talent, while Li Nuo became famous because he was stupid. To this day, countless people still feel sorry for this marriage.
It's like a toad eating swan meat, and all the good cabbages are fed to pigs.
Apart from being handsome and his father being Li Xuanjing, he is pretty useless.
Under the gaze of everyone, a maid brought a tray covered with red silk. Song Jiaren held it up with one hand and slowly lifted the red silk. When she was about to step forward, her steps paused slightly.
Li Nuo glanced around and frowned slightly.
On the tray, covered under the red silk, was not a pair of jade ruyi, but two long stones.
(End of this chapter)
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