After teaching Xu Yuejia to play "Cat Fishing" for four nights in a row, he finally played her back to the study.
No one would have thought that Xu Yuejia, who stayed in the West Courtyard every day, was just "playing cards with her through the quilt".
Wen Ye stretched out his limbs, lying on the bed in a "big" shape, sighing a few times.
You can't blame her for being cruel to the beauty; she's just not used to sleeping in the same bed with other people.
Wen Ye has a habit that is different from others. When she sleeps alone, she can roll from the head of the bed to the foot of the bed, but once there is another person on the bed, she will subconsciously restrain her hands and feet, occupying only the one and a half acres of space before sleeping, with her hands and feet restrained. When she wakes up the next day, she feels as if her energy and spirit have been sucked away by an unknown goblin at night.
She had a light sleep to begin with, and with this happening, her sleep would be even more insufficient.
Thinking about getting up early this morning, Wen Ye did not stay up late to read the storybook last night. He turned off the candles and went to bed at the beginning of the night.
Wen Ye woke up at the hour of Mao and lay in bed for half an hour before finally sitting up with difficulty.
Yunzhi had been waiting outside for quite a while. When she saw a figure moving on the bed curtain, she walked over, opened the curtain and said, "Madam, we have to go to the Changnan Marquis' Mansion for a banquet with the Duke's wife today."
Wen Ye nodded and said, "I haven't forgotten."
In the past few days, Mrs. Lu told her the general situation of the Changnan Marquis Mansion. Xu Yuejia's father had a younger sister who married into the Changnan Marquis Jiang family. At that time, the old lady of the Jiang family was still alive, but she had no title and was only a fourth-rank official in the court. Xu Yuejia's aunt married the second son of the Jiang family.
Xu Yuejia's grandfather was attracted by the temperament and character of the second son of the Jiang family. In addition, the younger daughter was much softer than the eldest daughter, so he chose the Jiang family, which did not have a high family background but had promising descendants.
Later it was proved that Xu Yuejia's grandfather was right. After the second son of the Jiang family chose to give up literature and join the army, he made several contributions in several key battles and fought for half his life to the position of Marquis of Changnan.
Today, she and Lu were going to attend the full-month banquet for her aunt's eldest grandson.
Since both the Xu and Jiang families were promoted step by step based on their military achievements, and they also had many similarities in court meetings, the relationship between the two families did not become distant due to the death of the elders of the Xu family.
Therefore, in addition to Xu Yuejia who has official duties, Duke Xu will also be there.
The children were not brought along at all, after all, the protagonist today was a child, and Lu was afraid that bringing a few children along would cause a nuisance to others.
Therefore, Lu left Nanny Xian behind to take care of the child and only took Qingxue and Baimei with her.
After a simple breakfast, Wen Ye took Yunzhi, Taozhi and the full-moon gifts that had been prepared long ago to the main courtyard.
When I came out of the main courtyard again, it was already quarter of an hour later.
Mrs. Lu was afraid that Wen Ye didn't remember it clearly, so she pulled him into her carriage before leaving.
As a last resort, Duke Xu had to go riding.
The Marquis of Changnan's Mansion and the Duke's Mansion are only two streets apart, not far away.
Lu didn't say much along the way, and the carriage stopped.
Before getting off the sedan chair, Lu asked worriedly, "Did you remember it?"
Wen Ye smiled and nodded: "I remember everything my sister-in-law said."
Wen Ye knew that Mrs. Lu was doing this for her own good. Not only was she attending the banquet today, it was also the first time she would show up in front of the public since her marriage.
What is at stake is her future reputation in the circle of ladies from aristocratic families.
It has to be said that the ancients' ability to gossip and spread gossip was no less than that of modern times when information is developing rapidly.
If something happened to Wen Ye at the full-moon banquet for the eldest grandson of Marquis Changnan today, even if it was not embarrassing, it would spread throughout the entire upper-class circle of Shengjing the next day.
Lu and Wen Ye arrived relatively early. They were greeted by Marquis Changnan and his wife, Xu Yuejia's uncle and aunt.
Time never fades beauty, and the Xu family has good genes. The wife of Marquis Changnan, who has become a grandmother, has gentle features and does not look old at all even when she wears a dark dress.
Duke Xu was led into the front yard by Marquis Changnan first.
Aunt Xu smiled at Lu and said, "I've been waiting for you to come."
Then his gaze shifted to Wen Ye beside her, with a hint of scrutiny in his gentle eyes, "This must be Miss Ye, she is indeed very pretty."
Wen Ye bowed to Aunt Xu, and her voice became familiar to Lu, saying, "Niece-in-law, I have met Aunt."
His manner of address was very standard, his voice was soft and submissive, yet with a touch of neither servility nor overbearance.
In fact, Aunt Xu had only seen Wen Ye once, at her nephew Xu Yuejia's wedding, and that was through a red veil, so she could only see a blurry face.
Aunt Xu didn't know much about Wen Ye, the concubine's daughter of the Wen family. After her nephew's marriage to her was settled, she was shocked for a moment and even found time to return to the Duke's Mansion to inquire about the situation.
Mrs. Lu only told her that Wen Ye was chosen by her nephew himself.
There was not much else to say.
Therefore, Aunt Xu was very curious about Wen Ye. She knew her nephew more or less. He was a cold and ruthless person. Even her son sometimes said that her cousin was too ruthless in officialdom.
The woman who could make him take the initiative to ask for marriage must have extraordinary qualities.
So, under Aunt Xu's frequent scrutiny, Wen Ye walked calmly into the Changnan Marquis Mansion.
Aunt Xu had two sons and two daughters in her life.
The eldest son, Jiang Duo, is 21 years old. He got married after having a son last year, and his son was born this year.
The second son, Jiang Rui, is still studying at Songshan Academy in Lancheng after the fifteenth day of the lunar year. The academy will not close for another half a month.
Unfortunately, the eldest daughter died in infancy, and the youngest daughter is now only three years older than Lu's eldest son.
Because of her eldest daughter's affairs, Aunt Xu doted on her youngest daughter.
Both of Aunt Xu's sons were married to Wen, which made Marquis Changnan feel a little regretful.
Aunt Xu led Lu and Wen Ye to the main courtyard, where all the ladies who came to the banquet were.
When they arrived, there were already quite a few people in the main courtyard, mostly relatives of the Jiang family and people from Aunt Xu's mother and eldest daughter-in-law's family.
Most of the ladies knew Lu. Although she was younger, her rank was the highest among those present, so most of the ladies were very warm to her.
But he was much colder towards Wen Ye, the second wife of Xu who had neither imperial decree nor reputation for virtue.
Firstly, it was because her family background was ordinary and she was said to have been engaged before. However, with such conditions, she was lucky enough to marry into the Duke's Mansion.
If it was someone with a high-ranking family, perhaps people would not be so jealous, but it was Wen Ye, the concubine's daughter of an ordinary third-rank official far away from the central government, who got married.
This kind of thing is afraid of comparison. Since a concubine's daughter is enough, those families above the Wen family will inevitably have expectations.
And Wen Ye naturally became the biggest obstacle to expectations.
But no one did anything too obvious, after all, the Duke's wife was still here.
Wen Ye felt the difference in everyone's attitudes, but she had already learned to enjoy herself in this life, and this current situation was actually what she wanted.
I wonder which salted fish likes to be the center of attention all the time.
All Wen Ye needed to do was nod, smile and greet when Lu introduced people to her, so as not to let anyone catch her doing anything wrong.
However, there are always some people who have no tact and like to vent their anger at other people's banquets.
After Wen Ye greeted the elders present one by one, a rather mean-looking lady sitting at the top said in a sharp voice: "I was originally wondering why the nephew of the Xu family married a concubine's daughter. Today, after meeting my niece-in-law, I finally understood the reason."
That look and tone were just short of engraving the words "foxy" and "seductive" on Wen Ye's face.
But to be fair, Wen Ye's face doesn't look like a vixen at all.
The other ladies all looked at Wen Ye, some with pity, while others had a hint of disdain in their eyes, watching the excitement with a happy look on their faces.
I feel pity because I have been touched by that lady and I am afraid I will have to peel off a layer of skin to get rid of it.
Aunt Xu's face suddenly turned cold, and her usually gentle face became unfriendly at this moment. She gave the harsh-looking lady a cold look and said, "Today is Cheng'er's full-month banquet. As your sister-in-law, I hope you can be careful with your words and actions!"
Madam Li of Jiang Da showed no sign of retreating and said sarcastically, "Yes, now that you are the wife of the Marquis, you look down on us poor relatives. I didn't say anything. Is your sister-in-law so angry just to make enemies with me, your sister-in-law?"
At that time, the eldest son of the Jiang family took the imperial examination and entered the court, while the second son was not good at studying. Fortunately, he was talented in martial arts and had a good character. Twenty years later, the eldest son of the Jiang family was only a fourth-rank official, while the second son was granted the hereditary title of marquis.
How could Li, who was proud of her husband and looked down on Aunt Xu for marrying a martial artist brother-in-law, be willing to accept this?
It just so happens that Aunt Xu's two sons are more ambitious than her other sons. Over the years, the relationship between Li and Aunt Xu has become worse and worse.
But today is her grandson's full-month banquet, so Aunt Xu has to invite Li to come no matter how reluctant she is.
But Aunt Xu didn't expect the other party to be so inconsiderate as to attack her niece-in-law Wen in front of everyone.
In response to Li's nagging, Aunt Xu directly retorted: "Since the eldest sister-in-law has guessed it, what else is there to say?"
Li was stupefied for a moment, so she turned her gaze to Wen Ye and said, "I think my new niece-in-law agrees with what I just said."
This is purely to force Wen Ye to come out and express his attitude.
Mrs. Lu remained silent the whole time, and the ladies present were unsure about the exact nature of her relationship with her sister-in-law, so they remained silent for a while.
Wen Ye, who wanted to see the excitement but ended up seeing the excitement come to him, said that it turns out that excitement is not something that everyone can see whenever they want.
In response to Li's pestering, Wen Ye paused for a few breaths, then suddenly smiled and met Li's gaze. His eyes were clear and bright, and seemed to carry a hint of sincerity and...friendliness?
The ladies with good eyesight present all wondered if they were dazzled.
But soon, Wen Ye's answer cleared up their confusion.
Wen Ye's tone was a little naive, and she said, "On the way to the Marquis' Mansion, my sister-in-law was afraid that I would be nervous when meeting my aunt for the first time, so she told me about the temperaments of my aunt's family one by one. She said that my two cousins were pure and motivated, my cousin Qiong was naive, my cousins were well-educated and gentle, and my aunt was the kindest.
Unfortunately, the Duke's Mansion was too close to the Marquis' Mansion, so my sister-in-law only told me about my aunt, and then the carriage drove to the Marquis' Mansion.
But it is said that husband and wife are one body. After seeing that my aunt is really as kind and gentle as my sister-in-law described, I think that my uncle Jiang, whom I just met today, must also be a kind and amiable elder."
Wen Ye seemed to have said something but also seemed to have said nothing.
After listening to Wen Ye's long speech, Lu's lips curled up slightly.
The ladies present were all shrewd people and could easily hear what Wen Ye was hinting at. On the surface, she was praising the wife of Marquis Changnan and his family, but in reality she was implying that one could tell what kind of upbringing the people in the eldest branch of the Xiaojiang family had just by observing Li's behavior.
Wen Ye changed the subject at this moment and threw back a question: "Mrs. Jiang, what do you think?"
Li's face turned pale and blue.
Don't hit someone who smiles at you. No matter how aggrieved Li is now, he has to bear it.
Aunt Xu's eyes flashed with surprise, but she smiled and said, "Please forgive me, ladies. My niece-in-law has always been simple and straightforward. She is not the kind of person who would praise her family in front of outsiders like her."
One of the ladies who had shown sympathy to Wen Ye looked at Aunt Xu and said, "I think your niece-in-law is a good person, sensible and well-behaved."
The 'sensible and well-behaved' Wen Ye smiled gently at her.
Mrs. Lu finally spoke at this time: "Madam Wang is right. My sister-in-law is too pure, so I am always worried that she will suffer a loss when she goes out to attend the banquet this time. Fortunately, the people who came today are all easy to get along with. If my daughter Ye has done something wrong, I can only hope that you ladies will be more tolerant."
This is to tell everyone that if Wen Ye makes them unhappy or uncomfortable in any way, they have to endure it.
Li: “…”
With Li being a scoundrel in the main courtyard, Aunt Xu didn't want to stay any longer. After briefly explaining the situation to the ladies of each family, she led Wen Ye and Lu to the eldest daughter-in-law's courtyard, wanting to take a look at the child before the banquet began.
On the way, Aunt Xu glanced at Wen Ye several times, and finally couldn't help but said, "Zitan has good taste."
Wen Ye: “…”
It's better to praise her directly.
Aunt Xu's eldest daughter-in-law was from the family of the Minister of Rites, Wen, and was the eldest granddaughter of the old Minister Wen.
The Wen family is a noble family with a good family tradition, and Aunt Xu has been searching for them for a long time.
Old Madam Wen, Madam Wen, and the younger generations of the Wen family in Beijing all came to the full-moon banquet this time.
When Wen Ye and Lu came in with Aunt Xu, Old Madam Wen and Mrs. Wen were talking around their granddaughter's bed.
Aunt Xu introduced the two people: "My dear old lady and madam, these are my two nieces-in-law from my mother's family. They are here to see Cheng Ge'er."
Upon hearing the voice, Old Madam Wen and Madam Wen turned around at the same time. Old Madam Wen smiled and said, "It turns out to be the Duke's wife."
Madam Wen bowed half-length to Lady Lu and said, "Mrs. Zhang has met the Duke's wife."
Wen Ye stood beside Lu and returned the greeting.
Lu said, "Why is Madam Wen so distant? I just came here to see my cousin today."
After saying that, she glanced to the side for a moment, and Qingmei, who was following behind her, came forward with a brocade box in her hand. Seeing this, Wen Ye signaled to Yunzhi.
The two held similar brocade boxes in their hands, and Lu continued, "This is a full-month gift that my brother and sister-in-law and I gave to our cousin."
Aunt Xu had always had a good relationship with her niece-in-law, Lu, so she was not shy about it and smiled as she let the nanny take the gift box.
Mrs. Wen saw how much Mrs. Lu valued her son-in-law's family, and she smiled and said, "It really cost the Duke's wife a lot of money."
The topic was thus brought up, and Lu began chatting with Mrs. Wen.
It was Wen Ye who quietly slipped to the side of Old Madam Wen.
Old Madam Wen was a very humble person. When she saw Wen Ye coming over, she smiled at her kindly.
Facing the old man who showed kindness to him, Wen Ye responded with respect and friendliness.
Wen Ye glanced at the baby held in the arms of her cousin Wen and exclaimed, "It's so small."
Mrs. Wen and Old Madam Wen looked at each other and laughed. Mrs. Wen said, "He is just one month old, so he is naturally small."
Madam Wen also said, "Children grow up with the wind. When you see them again next time, they will be the same."
Mrs. Wen asked her maid to bring a stool for Wen Ye to sit on.
At this moment, Wen Ye was sitting next to Old Madam Wen. He gestured silently with his hands hanging on his knees. It looked small, but it would still be too big for a person to give birth to.
The three of them surrounded the baby and said a few words. Mrs. Wen was gentle yet steady, and her eyes were full of kindness when she looked at Wen Ye.
Wen Ye has few friends in his life. He has average relationships with his elder sisters and concubines. He is close to his younger sister Wen Ran, but there is a dozen years difference between them. Also, one likes to show off while the other is hardworking and motivated.
There is no way to play together.
At the moment, she has some good feelings towards Wen.
"Oh, cousin." Wen Ye remembered something and whispered in her ear, "I put a small brocade box in the full-month gift I gave to Cheng Ge'er. That's yours."
Wen looked surprised and puzzled: "Mine?"
Old Madam Wen also looked somewhat surprised.
Wen Ye nodded and said, "Being a mother is not easy. Today is not only Cheng Ge'er's full-month ceremony, but also your transformation."
Having said this, she reached out and touched the sleeping face of the baby in the cradle, and then said: "This is the first time for Cheng Ge'er to be a son, but it is also the first time for you to be a mother."
She admires everyone in this world who has the courage to be a mother.
I also sincerely hope that they will not forget themselves while becoming mothers.
Wen's eyes couldn't help but become moist. She should be very happy to have given birth to the eldest grandson of the Marquisate. But for some reason, ever since she gave birth, she saw that most of the attention was focused on her son, and she actually felt strange emotions in her heart.
Even though her mother-in-law and husband had never neglected her.
Mrs. Wen didn't know what was wrong with her, as she was clearly looking forward to the birth of this child.
These days she often reflects on herself, wondering if she has gone too far.
Until this moment, Wen Ye's words surprisingly calmed her recent anxious heart.
Old Madam Wen also realized at this moment that they had somewhat neglected Mrs. Wen.
She quickly held her granddaughter's hand and said, "Thank you for your hard work in raising Cheng Ge'er."
Wen choked for a moment: "Grandma~"
The full moon banquet is over and we are on the way back to the Duke’s Mansion.
Inside the carriage, Lu smiled gently and said, "You really surprised me today."
Wen Ye seemed unaware and said in an extremely innocent tone: "Sister-in-law, is there?
Seeing her acting like this again, Mrs. Lu was speechless but also quite curious: "When you were in the Wen family, did you also act like your mother like this?
Wen Ye replied calmly: "My mother has a good temper and never argues with us children.
Lu: "......
I'm afraid he's used to being angry.
However, recalling the distorted expression of the Jiang family's eldest lady who was not worthy of being in public, Lu felt relieved.
This sister-in-law has a strange personality, but it seems to suit her temperament very well.
This was the first time in more than 20 years that Lu had encountered something like this, and it was a very novel feeling.
Therefore, Lu thought for a moment and said, "My second brother has reached the third rank at such a young age. When you go out to attend banquets in the future, you may meet ladies who are more difficult to deal with than Madam Jiang and Madam Li. You don't have to be afraid, nor do you have to give in. It's good to behave like you did today.
Wen Ye was about to nod when the carriage they were riding in suddenly stopped without any warning.
She quickly reached out to support Lu.
At this time, the coachman hurriedly apologized through the curtain.
Lu did not blame the driver. He stopped so suddenly, fearing that something had happened outside.
Mrs. Lu lifted up the curtain on one side, and Wen Ye looked over there, vaguely seeing what seemed to be a group of soldiers?
Qingxue, who was in the back carriage, had already gotten off the carriage and walked to the front to inquire about the situation.
Half a minute later, Qingxue came to the curtain of Lu's carriage and reported, "Madam, it is the officers and soldiers of Jingzhao Yinfu who are arresting the criminals.
Lu then asked, "Have you found out who was arrested?
Ordinary prisoners don't need to make such a big move.
Qingxue replied: "It seems to be Madam Jiang's son, the eldest son of the Jiang family.
"In addition," Qingxue paused for a moment and said, "I seem to have seen the Second Master as well.
Wen Ye: “…
It can't be such a coincidence.
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