Chapter 106 Hedong Meng Family
The next morning, Chen Qi dressed up according to the specifications of the official's birthday banquet yesterday, and took a car to the Wen Mansion on Kangping Street to attend the flower-viewing banquet of Mrs. Meng.
She thought that today would surely be a day filled with officials and their wives, and she felt uneasy.
After entering the Wen Mansion, Chen Qi brought Xiao Ling and followed the maid who led the way to the back garden. Only then did she realize that Madam Meng had only invited herself to the flower-viewing banquet.
A host and a guest, a table and two chairs, sitting opposite each other to enjoy the flowers.
No wonder the maid stopped her. This flower-viewing banquet was obviously a sudden idea of hers, just to invite Chen Qi to be her guest.
This lady from the Meng family, whose maiden name was Qinghui, was two years older than Chen Qi. She was the granddaughter of Huang Ruliang, the former Prince's Tutor and the First-Rank Minister of Rites, the daughter of Meng Yunzheng, the First-Rank Chengsheng Duke, and the wife of Wen Boyuan, a newly promoted official from a prominent family in the capital.
Her father, Meng Yunzheng, was a direct descendant of the sage lineage, having inherited the title of Chief Cult Master, and her mother, Madam Huang, was also a distinguished lady from the family of the Minister of Rites.
The Meng family in Hedong, young and old, has its own rules for eating and walking. Even when sitting alone, they must always remember the teachings of sages.
It just so happens that Meng Qinghui, the youngest daughter, has been the most free and easy-going since she was young.
For this reason, Mrs. Huang, who came from a family of scholars, took great pains for her, giving her advice and earnest instructions. She spent many years of hard work, but at most she could only ask her to do a superficial job.
Secretly, she still has a rebellious spirit.
Mrs. Huang raised this daughter who was born disobedient with great trepidation. Seeing her daughter grow up and become a beautiful girl, she took the trouble to plan her marriage.
Finally, at the age of seventeen, Meng Qinghui successfully married the newly-minted official Wen Boyuan.
Mrs. Huang was finally relieved.
Wen Boyuan, also known as Songxuan, was three or four years older than Meng Qinghui. He came from a prominent family in Beijing. His father was a disciple of Meng Qinghui's maternal grandfather, Huang Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites.
This scholar came from a prominent family. He was handsome and elegant, with an imposing bearing. He passed the imperial examination just after he turned 20, which really brought honor to his family.
Even for such an outstanding man, being able to marry a sage and legitimate daughter like Meng is enough honor for their family to worship their ancestors and rebuild the family tree.
Fortunately, Wen Boyuan was a man of outstanding appearance and upright character. The Wen family was also a family of poets and scholars. Everyone, from top to bottom, treated Meng with great respect. Mrs. Huang was very satisfied with this marriage.
Unexpectedly, Meng Qinghui had just spent two years of peaceful life in the capital, and after spending so much effort, she actually asked her husband, who was a native of the countryside, to give up his official position as a Hanlin in the inner court, leave the capital and be sent to Guangling City, where he was appointed as a fifth-rank Tongzhi, in charge of the province's educational affairs.
It was also common for Hanlin scholars to be sent to other places.
However, seeing that her daughter was going to leave the capital with her son-in-law and go to a distant place, Mrs. Huang was heartbroken and burst into tears. She sent several maids who she had trained herself to accompany her and serve her.
Meng didn't shed a single tear, but was secretly happy for several days.
The sky is high and the emperor is far away, and I can finally spend a few days relaxing in a far and wild place.
She never expected that although Guangling City was far away, it was not wild.
The bureaucratic rules and etiquette of officials' families here are all modeled after those in the capital. In some places, they are even more advanced than those in the capital.
Seeing that everyone around her was a well-behaved person and her husband's official position would be difficult to transfer in the short term, she lamented and regretted in her heart.
As it happened, her husband was a gentleman of good character, and he respected her as a descendant of a sage. He intended to be a model couple who respected each other like guests and treated each other as equals, and who always exercised self-discipline and observed propriety, and were gentle, respectful, and frugal.
Even behind the curtains, it is difficult to express one's emotions.
To be honest, given his politeness, Mrs. Meng became pregnant five years after their marriage, which was a blessing from the ancestors and gods.
Seeing that Meng was pregnant, her husband respected and valued her even more.
Mrs. Meng was so angry that her teeth ached.
Normally, pregnant women should go out less, but she really didn't want to be alone in the huge mansion all day, walking back and forth in front of the maid sent by Madam Huang to "take care" of her.
Whenever there is an invitation to a banquet, she will go.
But there are many officials and their families, and the rules remain the same.
Those wives of officials clearly had different faces, but they all said the same thing.
"Madam Wen is elegant and dignified, worthy of being the descendant of a sage... a lady of a distinguished family... a model of the boudoir..."
In this way, Meng can carry a whole cup of tea in one go without repeating any of them.
But it happened that the lady Shen, who had kindly sent her home, looked at her with sincerity and praised her for her good looks.
When Meng heard this, she breathed a sigh of relief - it turned out that there were people in Guangling City who were as lively as herself!
She really likes people like Chen Qi who don't know the rules.
When Meng Qinghui said these sincere words, Chen Qi was eating the snacks she made herself.
Her heart, like the crumbs of a snack in her hand, shattered all over the floor...
At yesterday's birthday party, I was so afraid that others would laugh at me, a newly arrived merchant's wife, that I was extremely cautious and treaded on thin ice...
Madam Meng still said that she likes it most because she doesn't know the rules?
Oh my god!
Meng Qinghui was happy to see Chen Qi eat several bites of snacks, and pushed the other plate forward.
"Try this again. I made it early this morning, and it's perfect for eating now. I usually give it to my husband and the wives of officials who come to the banquet. What do you think they think?"
Shen Qi took another bite and shook her head.
Meng picked up a piece of pastry, put it to her lips, slightly broke off a little of the crispy crust, and then sighed softly.
"The taste is elegant and refined, truly a truly extraordinary product. Madam Wen is truly worthy of being a lady from the Meng family of Hedong!"
Chen Qi looked at her vivid appearance and couldn't help laughing out loud.
"Don't they say it's delicious?"
Meng Qinghui shook his head.
"What they say and do is all based on rules and etiquette. Even if a hundred people come, they will only speak the same language."
Chen Qi was half-believing and half-doubting.
"No way, how is this possible?"
Meng Qinghui looked at her and nodded with emotion.
"You see, you're the one who suspects me of lying. But others won't. They always remember that I'm a saint. What saints say can't be wrong, so naturally, what I say can't be a lie."
Shen Qi smiled and shook her head.
It seems that no matter how much she studies, she can only learn superficial skills. She really cannot learn the etiquette rules that have been accumulated over time and are firmly ingrained in her bones.
She and Meng Qinghui are both people who cannot change their nature no matter how much they learn.
Chen Qi took another bite. This snack tasted really good. Meng's craftsmanship must have been very hard work. After all, under the sage's discipline, a lady like her didn't really have many interesting pastimes.
Mrs. Meng was delighted to see that Chen Qi really enjoyed the cakes she made.
"I saw you at the banquet yesterday. Everyone else followed the rules and put down their chopsticks after taking a few bites, just to show their appreciation. But you were the only one who really wanted to eat, loved to eat, and had to eat."
Chen Qi was so flattered by her that she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
