Chapter 41: Autumn Banquet
Su Qing's life gradually returned to normal. Just as she thought, Meng Qi was not a long-term person. There was nothing to do in the West House and she couldn't go out, so she was very anxious to listen to the stories on time.
After returning to the East Mansion, she had to learn this and that when she went in and out. Sometimes, no one would call her to tell stories for a whole day. But Master Lang insisted on listening. Sometimes he came to Qinyuan, and sometimes Su Qing went to Shuanglinyuan. I don’t know if it was her illusion. Whenever a maid came to call her to Shuanglinyuan to tell stories, Wanxiang’s eyes were not right. It was just very strange. Last time Qingrui said that Wanxiang was going to Shuangqiao, but until now she has not gone to Changqingyuan. I don’t know if it’s because of Wanxiang or Shuangqiao.
The rest of the time, Su Qing was busy in the back garden. In addition to taking care of the fourth young lady's warehouse with Chuan'er, taking care of the flowers and plants, and ensuring that the turtle was alive, she also kept fit and grew some meat.
That's right, it's been almost two months since Su Qing came to the East Mansion, and she has grown taller and fatter. She is very satisfied with herself. No matter what, it is true that she needs to take good care of her body, even if she has other plans in the future.
In addition, I have a deeper understanding of the Meng family of Huainan Marquis. I finally won't recognize the wrong person or take the wrong road. I also have a better understanding of this dynasty.
There are three princes in the current Great Xia Dynasty. One is Prince Li, who is the younger brother of the current emperor and played an indispensable role in the emperor's struggle for the throne. Another is Prince Shang, who is the emperor's uncle and the first royal relative to take the lead in bowing to the emperor. There is also the most important one, the King of Zhenbei, who is the oldest living person in the royal family and the emperor's great-uncle. Although he is older, he is not as old as Prince Shang. The kings of Zhenbei in previous generations have been stationed in the northwest for many years.
In addition, there was a Prince Shen, who was conferred the title of Prince after Emperor Gaozu conquered the world. The first generation Prince Shen was a cousin of Emperor Gaozu, and he also made great contributions to the founding of the Great Xia Kingdom.
Next are the three Dukes' Mansions. The one that has a close relationship with the Huainan Marquis' Mansion is the Zhongguo Duke's Mansion. The three generations up have the same father as the current Huainan Marquis, and Langge is already five generations away from him. In ancient times, clan blood relatives were highly valued, but although the Zhongguo Duke's Mansion and the Huainan Marquis' Mansion both have the surname Meng, they don't have much contact. I heard the servants secretly say that the Zhongguo Duke's Mansion looked down on the Huainan Marquis' Mansion, especially after the Huainan Marquis' Mansion found a girl from a side branch and sent her to King Cheng as a concubine last month, the Zhongguo Duke's Mansion didn't even send a birthday notice for the old lady's birthday.
The remaining four marquises are Huainan Marquis, Jing'an Marquis, Anding Marquis and Pingxi Marquis. Under them are the Bofu, Zifu and Nangong.
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Su Qing came back from the upper room and took off her jacket. She had felt the coolness of autumn when she went out in the morning, so she put on an extra layer. Now that the sun was up, she felt hot.
Sitting at the table, he took a sip of water. Even after being here for so long, Su Qing was still not used to drinking tea. Every day when he went out, he would fill a large cup with boiling water and put it on the table, so that he could drink it after telling a story or coming back from work.
At first, no one understood her habit. Chuan'er even reminded her that the tea they drank was given by the government as a rule, thinking that she was reluctant to give it up. She could only say that she was not used to drinking tea. Ruchun heard this and laughed at her for being petty.
In these two months, Su Qing received her monthly allowance of 700 wen, totaling 1400 wen. She asked the eldest son of Bao Cheng's family to buy a few boxes of local snacks and two sets of rouge and powder. When she was about to write two letters, she hesitated for a long time. Should she write them herself to let others know that she could read, or ask Jiao Hong to help her write them and pretend that she could not read?
Later, she decided to write it herself. Jiao Hong was able to rise to her current position by the side of the Fourth Young Lady because of her good handwriting. It can be seen that the Marquis's Mansion still likes girls who are literate and sensible. Especially the people who serve the Fourth Young Lady, it is enough to see that the wife of the Crown Prince values Meng Qi. But she never took the initiative to say it, although she heard that because Wan Xiang could read and write, although she still held a third-class position, she could enter Meng Qi's upper room and help Jiao Lian copy some things.
Su Qing wrote two letters, one to Mother Liu and one to Cai'er, and asked Qingrui's fiancé to take them to the West House together with the things she bought.
Su Qing had met Qingrui's husband Lin Qing once, who came to give some goldfish to the fourth young lady on behalf of the third young master. As Liu's mother said, he was handsome and had a sense of cleverness, but his cleverness was different from Gu He's. Gu He was the kind of cunning man who had been in the market for many years, while Lin Qing was more shrewd.
Thinking of how Mama Liu held her hand and said that she would find a husband like Lin Qing for her in the future, Su Qing wanted to laugh. Find a servant in the mansion and give birth to a bunch of servants. Well, the reason why I traveled through time was to have a family of servants.
Su Qing tidied her hair and prepared to go out. Just as she reached the door, she saw Chuan'er coming into the room wiping his sweat.
The biggest gain for Su Qing in these two months should be hanging out with each other. From the beginning when they could not say a word to each other all day, to now they can care about each other and chat to relieve boredom. Although there is some reservation in their words, it is enough for Su Qing.
The longer they spent together, the more Su Qing discovered that Chuan'er was extremely calculating. She was content with her position, saw through everything, and didn't actively compete for things, nor did she allow others to bully her. She was also very conscientious in her words and deeds. Su Qing saw that she was more mature and steady than Yuan Dong and Yuan Yue.
"Where have you been? I haven't seen you since I came back." Su Qing turned around and poured tea for Chuan'er.
Chuan'er drank three cups in one breath before stroking his chest and saying, "I'm going to the greenhouse to help move the flowers."
"Moving flowers? To which master's courtyard are you moving them?"
"No, you forgot what I told you a while ago. The autumn banquet will be held in a few days. Madam Wu called all the servants and maids from each courtyard to the flower room, and moved out all the flowers that can be presented, and then see what other flowers need to be purchased."
Su Qing then remembered that the Huainan Marquis Mansion holds an autumn banquet every year. The main event is flower viewing, but in fact it is just inviting noble ladies from the capital to come and eat, drink and chat. Some families take this opportunity to meet their sons and daughters, some to gather information, and some to find excuses to make friends with useful ladies in the inner court, and so on.
"Starting the preparations so early, this must be tiring."
"That's nothing. When I first came here, I heard from the old people in the mansion that the autumn banquet at the Huainan Marquis Mansion was really lively. All the big families in the capital would give face, and those who didn't get invitations would have to come from other families." After getting familiar with Su Qing, Chuan'er started to talk to her more.
"what about now?"
"It's no longer possible now. Not to mention the princes' palaces, even the other marquisates can't invite many families."
"Ah? What should we do? If no one comes, who will see it?"
"They will definitely come, just like the Fourth Miss's in-laws and the Prince Shen's Mansion. They will definitely come. There are other officials' families, but they are getting quieter and quieter every year, and the status of the people who come is getting lower and lower every year."
Su Qing didn't know this. She originally thought that this was a marquis' mansion. Since they were given the title of marquis, it proved that they must be very powerful in the capital. People from the marquis' mansion had to give them face when they went out. Now think about it, whether in ancient times or modern times, people always treat people differently. Either the emperor doesn't like the Huainan Marquis' mansion, or the children are not ambitious enough to support the family.
She didn't know whether she was favored by the emperor, but looking at the concubines in the courtyards of Meng Changfeng's two sons, and the fact that none of his grandsons had any achievements, she guessed that the main reason was that his descendants were not ambitious.