After discussing matters in the backyard, the two turned to the recent banquets. The mistress of a household not only had to respect her elders and educate her children and grandchildren, but also frequently attend banquets and socialize. Xu Wen, born in a marquisate, didn't attend many banquets throughout the year. However, she couldn't miss the Ningyuan Marquisate. The red-lettered iron certificate enshrined there read, "Founding the nation and assisting its prosperity, sharing a common bond with the state." Even the Yongyi Marquisate in Jinling was slightly less prestigious. Xu Wen and Sheng Ren were to attend the Ningyuan Marquisate's first anniversary banquet.
Gu Yankai, the current heir of the Ningyuan Marquisate, is a romantic. A few years ago, he married the eldest daughter of the Qin family. He had no concubines, let alone maids, and it took a full ten years for Qin to give birth to a son. Despite her frail health, Qin possessed a beautiful face and a talent for poetry, spending her days composing poems by the window. Due to her frail health, she had no suitable marriage options at her age. However, Gu Yankai took a liking to her and, after marrying her, he cherished her with great care. While the Qin family was a prominent and wealthy family, marrying into the Ningyuan Marquisate was considered marrying up.
Speaking of Qin, it was an interesting story in the city. Qin said that although she was weak, she could recite poems with Gu Yankai all day long. Whenever she had to serve her parents-in-law, Qin would faint on the ground. After several times, Old Lady Gu did not dare to let Qin serve. Three years after the marriage, there was still no news of good news from Qin. Just when Old Lady Gu was about to give Gu Yankai a concubine, Qin fainted again and vomited blood. Finally, Gu Yankai took Qin to the border. It was not until last year when Qin gave birth to a legitimate son that Gu Yankai brought Qin back to the capital. Qin's behavior successfully made the unmarried women of the Qin family unattractive. Qin's younger sister is already eighteen years old this year, and still no one has come to her house to propose marriage. Qin herself was very happy.
Even though Xu Wen, born into the Yongyi Marquis's family, had served her parents-in-law for two years before marrying Sheng Huairen, Qin Shi, the legitimate daughter of a fourth-rank official, had never served them. Qin Shi herself was happy, but it hindered the women in her family from marrying into good families. Xu Wen thought of her son, Shu'er. If he married a woman like this, she would be furious.
Xu Wen, dressed gorgeously in the morning, got on a carriage bound for Ningyuan Hou Mansion. After the carriage stopped, Cuizhi handed over the invitation, and Xu Wen and her group were welcomed in by the eldest lady of the fourth branch of the Gu family.
This was Xu Wen's first visit to the Ningyuan Marquisate. The mansion, nestled against a backdrop of forested hills, boasted a vast expanse of grounds, paved with blue bricks and wide corridors. Besides the shallow lake beneath the forest, a large pond had been created by diverting fresh water into the garden. The banquet was held in Mu Ning Hall, not far from the pond. Compared to the Yongyi Marquisate, the Ningyuan Marquisate was not particularly opulent, but it possessed a sense of grandeur. The Gu family of the Ningyuan Marquisate, with generations of military service and even founding heroes, had no need for ostentation; their pride and dignity were evident.
As Xu Wen and her group passed through the Begonia Gate and the veranda, the view suddenly brightened. Most of the women had already arrived, and Xu Wen sat down and chatted with those she knew. In her youth, Xu Wen didn't socialize with other girls her own age, and after marrying, she rarely interacted with her friends in Beijing. Before her marriage, she lived in Jinling, and her occasional visits to Beijing were to visit the Empress and other members of the imperial family. After her marriage, she became so consumed by love that she rarely ventured out.
Sitting at the same table with Xu Wen were the women of the Zhongqin Marquis's mansion, as well as Xu Wen's close friend Lin Jiaoniang. Lin Jiaoniang came from a prominent family, and her father was currently the Minister of Six Ministries. After she came of age, her father promised her to Yu Shuyuan, who came from a poor family.
Xu Wen and Jiao Niang had been close friends since they were young, and later they married a husband with similar experience, so naturally their feelings for each other became deeper.
Jiao Niang, worthy of her name, is the Lin family's second daughter. Unlike her elder sister, Lin Xiuniang, she possesses a gentle and innocent nature and is not adept at household chores. Fortunately, after marrying into the Yu family, she found favor with her husband and bore two sons. With him as her guardian, her mother-in-law could not say anything bad about her. Yu Shuyuan, grateful for his mentor's guidance, married his daughter to him. In gratitude, he treated Jiao Niang with great care. Knowing Jiao Niang's inability to manage the inner household, he took charge of it himself, avoiding concubines and beauties over the years, a source of envy. Although Jiao Niang's husband had no concubines or maids, she respected her mother-in-law and was filial to her elders, earning her a good reputation outside the family, unlike the Qin family.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
