Chapter 523, Knock
On the 14th day of the first lunar month, the Dong family held a banquet. At the beginning of the Si hour (9:00), Mrs. Li and Mrs. Fan took Daohua, Li Zixin and others out.
Since the highest official of Zhongzhou Province was hosting a banquet, naturally no family would neglect it. When Daohua and his group arrived, many carriages and horses had already gathered in front of the gate of Dong's mansion.
Because there was a carriage in front, Daohua and the others sat in the carriage and waited for a while.
"Wen Xiu!"
Outside the car, a cheerful and smiling male voice sounded.
"Where are Wenkai and Wentao? Why aren't they here?"
Then, Yan Wenxiu's voice sounded.
"They have something to do. They will come with the young prince at noon."
Yan Yile couldn't help but lift a corner of the car curtain, and then saw Dong Yuanxuan chatting and laughing with Yan Wenxiu in front of the gate of Dong Mansion.
Looking at the elegant Dong Yuanxuan, the girls in the carriage couldn't help but show a hint of admiration on their faces.
Daohua glanced at it with admiration in her eyes.
Perhaps the gazes of the girls in the carriage were too intense, Dong Yuanxuan noticed it, raised his eyes and looked over here, and when he saw that it was the girl from the Yan family, he smiled and nodded.
When Daohua saw this, she quickly said, "Quickly lower the curtain so no one can see it."
Outside, Yan Yile was quite well behaved and polite. He lowered the curtains and sat up straight, then said with a smile, "Brother Dong smiled at me just now."
Yan Yishuang snorted, "Don't be so conceited. Brother Dong is obviously smiling at all of us."
Yan Yile opened her mouth to refute, but was stopped by Yan Yihan.
Daohua sat aside playing with Gongtao and paid no attention to them. As long as they didn't make any noise or quarrel, she usually didn't care.
Yan Yihuan smiled and changed the subject: "Come to think of it, Big Brother Dong hasn't been to our house for quite some time." Then she looked at Daohua and said, "Big Sister, Big Brother Dong used to go in and out together with the Little Prince, the Third Brother, and the Fourth Brother, but why haven't they been together in the past year?"
Daohua: "Brother Dong is almost coming of age and has already started taking over the household chores, so naturally he has less free time."
Dong Yuanxuan is different from his third and fourth brothers. The Dong family has already paved the way for him. As long as he follows the family's arrangements, he will have a good future. He doesn't need to work as hard as his two brothers.
Everyone looked surprised.
Hearing the increasing noise outside the car, Li Zixin interrupted, "The Dong Mansion has been hosting quite a few banquets in the past couple of months. I heard they're trying to choose a bride for Young Master Dong."
As soon as these words were spoken, Yan Yihan and the others all looked towards Li Zixin.
Yan Yishuang asked anxiously, "Are you telling the truth? Are you lying?"
Being questioned, Li Zixin was a little unhappy and pouted, "Why would I lie to you? Before the New Year, my mother and I went to visit other people's houses and heard many ladies discussing this matter."
Daohua glanced at Yan Yishuang, who was a little overreacting, then looked at Yan Yihan, who was twisting her handkerchief together, and frowned. "What's so surprising about Brother Dong talking about marriage? Dong, the governor, will be leaving his term at the end of this year. Even if his family doesn't choose in Zhongzhou, they will return to the capital to choose."
As he spoke, his expression became a little more serious.
"When you're visiting friends, don't make a fuss the moment you hear something. If someone sees you, they might think the Yan family's daughters are not respectful. Those who are here today are high-ranking officials from Zhongzhou and the wives of some established families. If you don't want to leave a bad impression on the ladies, be mindful of your words and actions."
After hearing this, Yan Yishuang and the others became more well-behaved.
The girls are now thirteen or fourteen years old. They all know that they will start discussing marriage in two years. Every time they go out, it is a time to improve their reputation and win people's attention. They dare not act recklessly in the face of their own future.
Daohua knocked a few times, and seeing that her sisters were quiet, she felt relieved. She said nothing more and leaned back in the carriage with her eyes closed to rest.
After that, Yan Yishuang and the others stopped talking.
Seeing that Yan Yishuang and Yan Yihan were both a little absent-minded, Yang Xiujun's eyes flashed, and she thought of the handsome young man she had just met, and she understood something.
Soon, the carriage started moving, entered the side door, and headed straight for the Chuihua Gate.
When they arrived at Chuihua Gate, Daohua and others got off the car and saw Mrs. Dong and Dong Yuanyao coming to greet them personally.
Madam Dong affectionately pulled Madam Li in her arms, not ignoring Mrs. Fan, and said enthusiastically, "You're finally here. The stage is already set up. Come on, follow me to watch the show."
Madam Li smiled and said, "You have to let us go and pay our respects to Madam Dong first."
Mrs. Dong smiled and said, "Mother is also over there on the stage."
Madam Dong led Madam Li and Mrs. Fan in front, while Dong Yuanyao, holding rice flowers, walked behind with a few girls.
Daohua whispered, "A lot of people came to your house today, right?"
Dong Yuanyao nodded with a sullen look on his face: "That's right, I got up early this morning and haven't even had a chance to rest yet."
Daohua patted her hands sympathetically. She knew how tiring it was to host a banquet. "Thank you for your hard work."
Soon, everyone came to the stage.
Daohua glanced at the people preparing on the stage and asked, "Did you hire the Shuangxi Troupe?"
Dong Yuanyao nodded.
Daohua: "Anxi is here too?"
Dong Yuanyao nodded again: "He's here. After all, he is the mainstay of Shuangxi Troupe. He has to perform in all the plays that everyone likes to watch and listen to."
Daohua sighed, "Yesterday he was punished by being made to kneel and then beaten. I wonder if he can even go on stage?"
Dong Yuanyao: "It's very normal for actors to go on stage with injuries. Even if it's uncomfortable, they have to endure it."
Afterwards, Madam Li brought Daohua and the others to pay their respects to Madam Dong. After Madam Dong arranged for them to sit down, she went to greet other people. Dong Yuanyao sat with them for a while, and when she saw other girls coming, she left.
At this moment, the show has begun.
For the first show, Mrs. Dong ordered Anxi’s.
Daohua was cracking melon seeds while looking at Anxi on the stage.
"I used to think these sunflower seeds were boring to eat, but now I'm used to them and can't live without them when I'm listening to opera."
"Me too. Whenever I have some free time, I can't help but eat a few."
"There was a banquet at Madam Xue's house before the Lunar New Year. We stayed in the house and did nothing but eat sunflower seeds. Surprisingly, we didn't feel bored at all."
"My grandmother also liked to chat with us while eating sunflower seeds."
Hearing the conversation of other ladies, Daohua curled the corners of her mouth. It seemed that melon seeds had gradually become popular.
At noon, Mrs. Jiang brought Jiang Wanying to the scene.
When Jiang Wanying arrived, many ladies gathered around her, saying that her dress was beautiful and her headdress was special.
Jiang Wanying listened to the compliments of the ladies with a smile for a while, and when she saw Daohua sitting next to her, her expression paused slightly. Daohua happened to look over, and the two looked at each other, nodded to each other, and then looked away.
Behind the stage, An Xi felt a little exhausted after singing for several shows. However, at this moment, the servant from the front yard came and told him to go to the front yard to sing.
After hearing this, the boss quickly bent down and agreed.
After the servant left, the boss looked at An Xi. Seeing that even with makeup on, he could not hide his fatigue, he felt a little regretful. If he had known this yesterday, he would not have beaten him so hard.
However, An Xi was too stubborn. He even dared to show disdain to the son of the councilor, forcing him to teach him a lesson ruthlessly, otherwise the entire troupe would be implicated by him.
"Hold on for one more performance. After you finish singing, I'll immediately let Ning Xi replace you."
An Xi didn't say anything.
The troupe owner sighed and signaled others to put on makeup for him.
An Xi didn't move and let others put makeup on him, but he put his hands on his knees and squeezed them hard.
The wound on his back was no longer a serious problem after being treated with the medicine left by the girl yesterday, but his legs were very sore because he had caught a cold from kneeling for too long.
(End of this chapter)
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