Chapter 104: Two People Conflict
After the Duke went to the palace to meet the Emperor, he returned home in the evening.
The emperor sympathized with the soldiers' hard work and allowed them to go home to visit their mothers, wives and children first, and the celebration banquet was scheduled for the next evening.
A welcoming banquet was also held at Duke Chengguo's Mansion that evening.
After Xu Shuyao woke up from a nap, she immediately felt much more energetic.
Qiao Wei secretly looked at her master's expression and saw that she didn't seem to be bothered by the proposal. For a moment, she didn't know whether she was willing or not.
However, I have just returned. If the Qingyuan Marquis Mansion is really sincere, they should come to me again.
You'll know in a few days.
Qiaowei immediately cheered herself up and went to help her master comb her hair.
Xu Shuyao didn't change into her pajamas when she went to bed, so the dress she was wearing was already a little wrinkled.
Qiao Wei brought a honey-colored jacket and a plain white skirt with dark floral patterns for her master to change into. Her hair was still tied into two buns as before, and she pinned two small gilded jade flowers on her head, with tasseled jade pendants hanging below the flowers.
These gilded jade flowers were given by the old lady of Qinghe. Not just one or two flowers, but a whole box.
Xu Shuyao liked it very much.
As soon as I arrived outside Songhe Hall, I heard a burst of hearty laughter coming from inside, accompanied by the happy chatter of everyone.
Thinking that the man was the general guarding the border and the current Duke of Chengguo, Xu Shuyao calmed down a little before walking in.
The Duke looked to be in his forties. Perhaps because he had endured too much wind and sand from the north, his skin was a little rough and dark. Only his smiling eyes could vaguely reveal his past appearance.
Xu Shuyao has been in the mansion for a long time and has heard many legends.
They said that the Duke's wife fell in love with her husband at first sight on Lantern Festival Night, but she didn't even know his identity at that time!
It can be seen that the person in front of us was also handsome when he was young.
When Xu Shuyao thought about this, she was no longer nervous.
So he walked over and greeted her obediently. Old Madam Xiao then introduced them, saying, "This girl and her brother have been in the mansion for three years. You probably haven't seen them yet."
The Duke looked at it seriously and asked, "Why does it look familiar?"
Madam Xiao laughed at him and said, "Yaoyao looks familiar, so you feel she is familiar."
For a moment, everyone thought that the general who had just returned home was deliberately showing his friendly side in front of the younger generation, and they laughed.
"Grandma! I just came back, why don't you introduce me to you?" A male voice suddenly came from the seat.
Xu Shuyao looked in the direction of the voice and saw a strange young man standing behind the old lady. He also had the same dark skin as the Duke, but his skin was not as rough as the other's.
The man was tall and handsome, but the faint smile on his face seemed a little mismatched.
Madam Xiao smiled and said, "I did miss you, but didn't you hear it just now? Don't pretend here, Grandma."
Xu Shuyao guessed that the person in front of her should be Xiao Jinyun, the third son of the Xiao family, who was staying at the border with the Duke, so she hurried forward, "Third cousin?"
Xiao Jinyun smiled and nodded, then took something out of his arms and handed it to her, "Here! This is for my cousin."
Xu Shuyao thanked him and saw that it was a bracelet made of white beads. Each bead had a different pattern. But when she took it to her nose and sniffed, she could smell a faint milky fragrance.
She looked at her third cousin with some doubt.
Xiao Jinyun smiled and said, "It's a camel bone sculpture."
This was the first time Xu Shuyao had heard of such a thing, so she smelled it again, but still didn't smell any fishy smell.
Xiao Jinyun explained to her: "It has been processed and carefully polished. It only has the fragrance of bones and no strange smell."
Xu Shuyao nodded and thanked him again.
After she sat back in her seat, Cui Zhaoran also took out the camel bone carving he had obtained, which was a pendant of Guanyin Bodhisattva. Xiao Jinshan also had one, which was a pair of bone-carved flowers, as white as jade and very lovely.
Xiao Jinshan and Cui Zhaoran talked endlessly.
Xu Shuyao sat on the side, occasionally interjecting a few words.
The three old masters in the mansion drank and reminisced at one table, while the other gentlemen sat at another.
Because of their dark skin, the two father and son who returned from the border looked obviously different at first glance.
Liu teased her sister-in-law, "It's time for the Third Young Master to get married, right? You still have to let him stay at home and raise him."
Everyone smiled tolerantly.
In general, this welcoming banquet was held in a warm and lively atmosphere.
Only the Second Madam Chen and the Second Young Master's Madam Xiao Liu seemed unhappy.
Xu Shuyao had not asked about her second cousin since she came back, and she thought she would ask about it when she got back.
As for Liu Qingwan, she remembered what Nanny Zheng said after she came back.
"After the girl left, Yuzhu was terrified. She didn't dare go anywhere every day. Even her three meals a day were brought to her by Molan."
He is very vigilant!
Since they both knew each other's intentions, if this maid didn't take the initiative, Liu Qingwan, as her master, would have plenty of ways to deal with her.
Xu Shuyao took the chopsticks and put the remaining half piece of Dongpo pork on the plate.
I looked up and saw Xiao Mo looking over here with a strange smile.
Xu Shuyao didn't understand why.
After a while, Xiao Jinshan said, "Cousin! What's stuck on your nose?"
What?
Xiao Jinshan stretched out her hand to her maid, and then a grape-patterned mirror appeared in her hand.
Xu Shuyao looked in the mirror and found a little sugar stain on the tip of her nose, so she quickly wiped it off with a handkerchief.
Oops! I ate something that went up my nose!
At this time, Xiao Mo was talking to his third brother, as if he had never noticed this side.
Xu Shuyao withdrew her gaze, thinking it was probably just a coincidence.
The welcoming banquet lasted until very late that day.
At the same time, Wang Wendong of Qingyuan Marquis Mansion also heard the news that Old Madam Xiao had returned from Qinghe, and he went to his mother's courtyard that night.
After this period of time, Zhou finally understood.
The eldest son came here again and again for his own marriage. This was not the case even when he married Fan before. It can be seen that he is really serious about it.
Zhou didn't want to make things difficult for her. Although she was not satisfied with the young lady's family background, it was rare that her son liked her.
"Let's wait until after today! The Duke has just returned home, and it's not a good time for us to go any further." The wife of the Marquis of Qingyuan said.
But on the second day, the situation changed.
That is, the ex-daughter-in-law's family. Someone came from Fan's side. After the mother-in-law entered the house, she hugged Yan Ge'er and called him treasure. She also said that it was not easy for her daughter to give birth to a son, so she could not be careless about the second marriage.
She had just asked someone to tell her fortune some time ago. The person knew that Yan'er was born on a Chou day, so he couldn't marry a woman born on a Wei day as his stepmother, otherwise the two would clash and there might be disasters.
Zhou thought this matter was extremely strange and thought it was just the in-laws making things difficult for their eldest son, so she did not take it seriously at first.
But later she asked her nun in a roundabout way and found out that Miss Xu was born on the day of the last month. She believed it for a while.
The two families had not yet exchanged engagement letters, and even the Zhou family did not know Xu Shuyao's birth date and time, so the Fan family should also be unaware of it.
But at this critical moment, my in-laws received this divination.
There are all kinds of strange things in the world. As the saying goes, it is better to believe it than not to believe it.
After Zhou thought about it, her original idea of going to the Duke's Mansion to propose marriage gradually faded.
Wang Wendong was in a dilemma, he didn't believe it in his heart.
Zhou also said that when she met the young lady Yan'er that day, she was choked by the cakes.
The second time his son went to see the young lady, Yan Ge'er broke out in rashes all over his body again. This divination seemed to be true.
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