Chapter 4 Wu Niang is not talented, but is willing to share Cui's worries
Cui Yao almost fell down because of her anger.
I wanted to get angry, but I felt embarrassed in front of so many people, so I had to endure it.
"Drink it yourself."
"Everyone says that the Cui family has beautiful daughters. Wu Niang is as beautiful as a fairy, and Liu Niang is unparalleled in elegance. They can be called the two beauties of the Cui family. It is indeed true." Mrs. Cui looked at the two of them and was very satisfied.
One person is rich and magnificent, like a hibiscus or peony, and her long skirt drags on the ground, which is the flourishing flower of the prosperous age.
One is pure and graceful, as bright as the moon in the clouds, and like a fairy flower in the Jade Pool, untainted by dust.
Moreover, both of them are the noble legitimate daughters of the Cui family. No matter which one of them, they are qualified to marry the King of Northern Yan and become his queen.
"My Cui family is truly fortunate to have you two!"
Cui Yao glanced at Cui Si and immediately said, "Madam, you are too kind. It is a great blessing for Wu Niang to be born in the Cui family."
Cui Si also replied: "Sixth Lady, too."
"I'm relieved that you think so. I'll have to rely on you in the future." Madam Cui smiled and nodded, as if very pleased. "The spring scenery has been so beautiful these past few days, so I ordered this spring banquet. I invite you to come and celebrate this spring with me. Don't waste the spring time."
Although today's Spring Banquet is a concubine selection banquet in disguise, since it is a Spring Banquet, the necessary procedures are naturally indispensable.
Mrs. Cui raised her glass and sang a toast:
At the spring banquet, I would drink a cup of green wine, sing a song, and then make three wishes.
First, I wish that my husband lives for a thousand years; second, I wish that I live forever; third, I wish that we can be like the swallows on the beam, and see each other every year.
......
Everyone recited a toast with Mrs. Cui. After the toast, they each composed a poem to praise the beauty of spring. After finishing the poem, they poured a cup of wine to offer sacrifice to spring, which was called "Sacrifice to Spring".
After the poems to commemorate spring were finished, Mrs. Cui ordered someone to bring clear spring water and asked the girls to take a bowl each. Then she asked the girls to pick a flower from the garden, soak the flower in the bowl, and use the water to make tea, as if to appreciate spring.
People believe that the beauty of spring is all in the flowers. If you put the flowers in clean spring water, the beauty of spring will be absorbed into the spring water, and the water will be filled with the spirit of spring.
Make tea with this water and drink it, and you will taste the spring of this year.
Cui Si originally thought that this spring banquet was boring, or maybe she used to use this time of year to perform. Such scenes were her chance to show herself and give full play to her abilities.
As for whether this spring banquet itself was interesting, it was no longer within her consideration. Now she was doing these things calmly and peacefully, savoring the spring tea she brewed, and she felt that it had a unique flavor.
When I was in a good mood, I shared spring tea with several sisters from the tribe.
Cui Si hadn't felt this relaxed for many years.
Mrs. Cui was very patient. She sipped her tea with a smile and watched everyone laughing and chatting. When everything was almost over, she talked about the most important thing of the day.
"It's springtime today, and the Cui family is doing well. They've been operating for a hundred years, and that's how they've protected their people in this turbulent situation. It's a pity that the world is in such turmoil, and it's really frightening and unsettling."
"I think your elders have mentioned to you that after the head of the family discussed with the elders, they decided to choose a good tree to protect our Cui family and help them survive these turbulent times."
"The great talent of the Northern Yan King was chosen by the Patriarch and the elders."
"Three days ago, the Cui family also received a letter from Beiyan City, saying that the King of Beiyan has agreed to this matter and will soon travel south to Xianyang City to marry my daughter, Cui, as queen."
Cui Si muttered in her heart that she would go to Xianyang City in person to marry Cui's daughter as queen soon. It really sounded better than singing. In fact, she went south to occupy Pingzhou, and marrying Cui's daughter was just a side job.
Madam Cui continued, "Now, the future of the Cui family is at stake. Today, on behalf of the head of the family and the elders, I will select one person to shoulder the heavy responsibility of this family, to forge a good relationship between the Yan and Cui families, and to encourage the Yan and Cui families to work together on a grand plan."
"I wonder if there's any good woman out there who'd be willing to give it a try. I'm a fair and impartial woman, so if anyone's interested, just speak up."
As soon as Mrs. Cui finished speaking, the young ladies couldn't help but whisper to each other.
Some people are eager to try, while others are uneasy.
Although they asked who was willing, many people already had an idea in their minds. The candidate would probably be one between Cui Yao and Cui Si, and the others were probably just there to make up the numbers.
However, there were some people who were unwilling to accept this and wanted to stand up and fight, especially the twin sisters Cui Wu and Cui Mei, born to the head of the Cui family and his concubine.
The two of them pushed and shoved for a bit, then finally gritted their teeth, stood up together, and knelt before Madam Cui to petition:
"Mother, my daughter and A-Mei are both willing. Why don't you just choose between me and A-Mei?"
"Yes, mother. Father also said before that Fourth Sister is not in good health. But Sister Wu and I are also your daughters. Since it is the Cui family marrying off a daughter, then naturally she must marry the daughter of the head of the family."
The fourth sister the two people were talking about was none other than Cui Yun, the fourth daughter of Mrs. Cui and the Cui family.
Logically speaking, among all the daughters of the Cui family, Cui Yun was the head of the family's legitimate daughter and had the highest status. Even if the Cui family wanted to marry the King of Northern Yan, she should be the one to marry.
Unfortunately, when Mrs. Cui was pregnant with Cui Yun, she was plotted against by the inner court. She gave birth to her after only seven months of pregnancy. She was born like a kitten, very sick. She had to take medicine all these years to save her life.
With her body condition, she couldn't even give birth to a child, let alone survive, so she naturally couldn't marry him.
Cui married her daughter to the King of Northern Yan for the future of the Cui family, so it was naturally impossible for her to marry such a Cui girl.
The head of the Cui family does have two daughters, twin sisters born to his concubine, who are also of marriageable age.
The head of the Cui family intends to marry one of his daughters to him.
However, Mrs. Cui did not want to encourage the power of her concubine, fearing that her concubine would have a daughter who became a queen and would step on her head in the future, which would lead to a miserable end. So she tried hard to persuade the head of the Cui family and the elders of the clan to hold this spring banquet and select a suitable candidate from the clan.
Cui Wu and Cui Mei dared to mention Cui Yun at this time, which was like stabbing a knife in Madam Cui's heart.
"Shut up." Madam Cui's face darkened and she was furious. "When the Cui family married off their daughter, she married off the queen. Don't you even look at yourselves? You've just copied your daughter's behavior, giggling and acting all flirtatious. How disrespectful!"
"If I had known earlier, I shouldn't have been so soft-hearted as to let your young mother raise you. Now you've become like this, you've completely disgraced me. And you still want to marry the King of Northern Yan and become the Queen. You've completely disgraced the Cui family."
Mrs. Cui's curse was not very dirty, but it was extremely insulting.
The noble ladies of aristocratic families are required to be dignified, virtuous, and of good character and appearance. Only the lowly concubines and the playgirls who greet and see off guests are called enchanting and charming.
Cui Wu and Cui Mei's faces suddenly turned red. They were so ashamed and angry that they didn't know how to refute.
It was at this moment that Cui Yao seized the opportunity, stood up, bowed to Madam Cui, and said:
"Madam, Wu Niang is not talented, but I am willing to share Cui's worries."
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