Shen Rui was ordered by Mrs. Xu to go to Master Qiao San's house for a wedding banquet with the third master and his wife. Mr. Qiao San is getting married today.
Although the Shen family and the Qiao family are doubly related by marriage, in terms of closeness, Shen Jue, the nephew of the Qiao family, is indispensable today. However, he has filial piety and it is inconvenient, so only the third master and his wife brought Shen Rui over.
On the 18th day, the Qiao family went to add makeup, and it was the third wife and Sister Yu who went there.
None of the Shen family is close to the Qiao family, but after all, the relationship is here, and you have to step forward when you should, otherwise it will appear to others as a snobbery of the Shen family. Who has made the Qiao family silent and the family in decline.
Today is a wedding day, but Mr. Qiao and his third wife are still in mourning, so they did not entertain guests in a big way, but they invited a few family members and in-laws and set up a few tables of plain wine.
As soon as the Shen family members arrived, Mrs. Qiao welcomed the third wife into the inner house.
Although Mrs. Xu did not show up, Mr. Qiao San and Mrs. Qiao San were not very satisfied, but they also knew that they could not find fault in this matter. This year, most of the female family members of the Shen family were socializing with others, and most of the third Mrs. Qiao showed up. Mrs. Xu has been sick all the time. To recuperate, I thought Mr. Qiao San would make a special trip, but Mrs. Xu said that it would be a favor, but who knows, she still declined and did not come.
The relationship between the Qiao family and the Shen family is now in jeopardy, and Mr. Shen, who has the deepest connection with the Qiao family, is not in the capital. In the view of Mr. Shen and Mrs. Xu, the Shen family can now come out to entertain the elders, instead of just sending the younger ones to come and show up. , already to give face to relatives.
However, unlike Mr. Qiao San's expectations, Mr. Qiao San suppressed his displeasure and entertained Shen's uncle and nephew with a warm face. When facing Shen Rui, he was especially polite and said "Heng Yun" in every mouthful.
When Shen Rui saw this, he was secretly surprised. A year ago, when Mr. Qiao San faced juniors like them, he still acted like an elder and had a high profile in front of Mr. Shen.
After all, Mr. Shen San remembers his true identity, and others may not know it. The Qiao family has been married for two lifetimes, so they naturally know it. In the early years, when Mrs. Qiao came to the Shen family when she was still alive, she treated the Xu family and the third wife differently. The Qiao family I don't know if some of the gentlemen and wives were influenced by Mrs. Qiao, but they always looked down upon the third room of the Shen family.
In just one year, Mr. Qiao San's attitude has changed a lot.
After all, it was such a big event as marrying a daughter. Although the eldest man of the Qiao family did not come, the eldest wife brought her son and daughter-in-law, and so did the second master Qiao and his wife.
There are two other families in the Qiao clan, and there are also a few in-laws from Mr. Qiao San's side. Looking at the scattered guests sitting there, it is deserted and deserted, and it does not look like a happy event. But this is what it should be. There is no such thing as filial piety, and there is no one who beats and beats the married daughter while her parents are still in a state of filial piety.
Although Shen Rui has the aura of being a minister, he is still a junior after all. After meeting several masters of the Qiao family, and on the recommendation of Master Qiao San, he met several in-laws and elders of the Qiao family, so he was taken to the side hall by Qiao Yongshan. I sat down with the younger generation.
"Heng Yun, I heard that cousin Jue is not feeling well. What's going on? I've been busy with chores at home these days. If I didn't know you were coming back to Beijing, I should go and have a look." Qiao Yongshan said.
He has a kind-hearted nature and has always been kind to Shen Rui and Shen Jue. He also has some congenial interests towards Shen Jue's cheap cousin.
"I was a little tired on the road, and it was cold when I got back to Beijing. I have a cold, and I am recovering at home." Shen Rui said: "My mother restrained him and refused to let him out. She said that he would come out after he recovered to pay greetings to some cousins."
It snowed two days ago, which caused the cold syndrome. I have been taking medicine for the past two days, but I can't go out. I just can't show off my "filial piety" in a big way, so I can only excuse myself because I'm sick. Didn't come to the Qiao family's wedding banquet.
If Shen Jue had not succeeded, he would have served the patriarch of the clan for "years", but because of the succession, he and his biological parents would have to surrender or not. It was Mr. Shen and the Xu family who expressed their gratitude to the patriarch for raising Shen Jue. It was out of love and to comfort Shen Jue that he sent words to ask him to mourn.
Shen Jue left Beijing for the funeral of his own grandfather. How could the Qiao family not know about this?
It's just a few pleasantries.
When Qiao Yongde heard this, his face looked a little ugly, and he snorted coldly: "Are you really sick? Or is it an excuse to be a filial son and grandson? My aunt is sick, so she doesn't see him to attend to her illness, but she travels thousands of miles to mourn for her own parents. , is this kind of filial piety law really strange?"
In addition to the young man surnamed Qiao, there were also juniors in-laws from two other families sitting on the bus.
Because of Shen Rui's status as the "Shang Shu Gongzi" and his attire in Confucian attire, the young men were all cautious when meeting him.
After listening to Qiao Yongde's words, everyone turned to Shen Rui.
Shangshufu is not an heir. Although Qiao Yongde is not talking about Shen Rui, he is also suspected of exposing his shortcomings.
Shen Rui frowned and said, "It's not your turn to teach me, the children of the Shen family, how to behave."
Qiao Yongde saw Shen Rui's cold expression and was not polite at all. He raised his eyebrows and said: "Shen Jue is not only a child of the Shen family, but also a cheap nephew of the Qiao family. As a maternal family, the Qiao family has its own responsibilities of discipline. Since it is reluctant to part with the feelings of flesh and blood, Why would you send someone to your doorstep to be your heir?"
Seeing that his cousin was speaking freely, Qiao Yongshan felt his eyes darken. He quickly looked at Qiao Yongde and prayed: "Fifth brother"
Shen Rui saw that Qiao Yongde was acting like a mad dog, and the young masters next to him were vaguely gloating about his misfortune, and felt extremely disgusted.
If Master Qiao San hadn't personally sent the invitation, Shen Rui wouldn't have shown up on behalf of the eldest master and the Xu family. Now that he has shown his face and given the wedding gift, there is no point in waiting for a banquet.
Shen Rui stood up and did not look at Qiao Yongde. He only said to Qiao Yongshan: "I have an appointment with my classmate today. I don't want to make a mistake, so I will leave first."
Qiao Yongshan hurriedly stepped forward and said: "Hengyun...it's better not to leave..."
Although he didn't want to neglect Shen Rui, he also knew in his heart that with Qiao Yongde's presence, there would be an argument at some point, and then Shen Rui would be completely offended, so he hesitated to retain someone.
Shen Rui smiled and bowed his hands to everyone: "Everyone, please sit down. Shen will take his leave..."
Those who had watched the excitement earlier stood up, except Qiao Yongde, who had a dark face and sat motionless on his chair.
Shen Rui turned around and went out. Qiao Yongshan hurriedly turned around to apologize and sent him out personally.
With the young master Qiao Yongshan here, Shen Rui did not go to Mr. Qiao San to say goodbye in person. He only said: "Third Cousin, please ask Sixth Cousin to help confess..."
Although Shen Rui didn't look angry, Qiao Yongshan still noticed his coldness and said uneasily: "Hengyun, my cousin is a bastard who always talks what he means but doesn't mean what he says. I am here to apologize to Hengyun on his behalf..."
No matter how much Qiao Yongshan blamed his cousin for being ignorant, after all, the two brothers grew up together, and it was his cousin who protected him.
Shen Rui has a protective temperament. It's not that he doesn't tolerate others' weaknesses, but it can also be seen that no matter how considerate Qiao Yongshan is in his own affairs and no matter how friendly he is to the Shen brothers, he can't stand his surname Qiao.
Looking at Qiao Yongde's superior face, this was still in front of Shen Rui. When he was in front of Shen Jue, he had to "be confident". By then, there were disputes between the cousins. Needless to say, Qiao Yongshan had to stand by his own family in the end. there.
Shen Rui glanced at him and said coldly: "Since Brother Jue is just a cheap nephew, we can't worry about the Qiao family's elders... Speaking of which, the second wife is still resting in the village, but the Qiao family doesn't want to do it. It’s not impossible for Brother Jue to have a cheap wife.”
When Qiao Yongshan heard this, his expression immediately changed and he looked at Shen Rui with a bit of shock.
He has been dealing with Shen Rui for several years, and even if they have a normal relationship, he knows that he is not arrogant, but what does it mean to speak so loudly now? What is wrong with his aunt, which makes the Shen family intolerable?
In fact, since she went to Zhuangzi to "recuperate", what kind of commotion could the second wife make? It was just that Shen Rui couldn't see that the Qiao family took the position of being a "maternal family" and mentioned Shen Jue loudly.
Qiao Yongshan didn't know the details of Qiao's mistakes. Several of the Qiao family's elders knew about it last year. He always reminded them that they all had "amnesia" and thought that with the title of "uncle", they could point fingers at Shen Jue's affairs. Even if they had a good reputation and were qualified to ask about Shen Jue's affairs before, after Qiao's troubles, they were no longer qualified.
At this moment, Shen Rui had strode around the screen wall and walked to the gate.
Qiao Yongshan gritted his teeth and followed again.
Today, the person who came with Shen Rui was Changshou, who was waiting at the concierge with servants from other families. When he heard the servants of Qiao family coming to greet him, Changshou came out in a hurry.
Although today's wedding is a simple one, the "welcoming" part is indispensable.
When Changshou fetched the horse, the master and the servant mounted their horses. Not a few steps away from Qiao's house, they heard the sound of gongs and drums coming from the entrance of the alley.
The sedan chair has arrived.
Shen Rui rode his horse to the side of the road and got out of the way, and Changshou saw the situation as it was.
The third master of the Qiao family and his wife are in the period of mourning, but the groom is not in the period of mourning. This is the first marriage, and the first wife, the first wife, naturally comes to marry in a big red sedan chair.
Although Shen Yan had been in Beijing for only a year, he couldn't bear to show off his identity as a young scholar. Moreover, because he was in Nancheng Academy, and because of his good temperament, he also made many colleagues and disciples, and he also made fun of the groomsmen who came to marry him. There’s really no shortage.
Nancheng Academy not only had many children from poor families, but also many children from gentry and wealthy families. There were eight groomsmen who were presentable and dignified, and the groom came sitting on a tall horse, surrounded by the groom.
The alley is such a big place, and although some neighborhood urchins heard the commotion and came out to watch the fun, Shen Rui's master and servant were well-dressed and polite and took the initiative to avoid it, so everyone couldn't help but forget about it.
"Huh? Hengyun?" one of the groomsmen said.
The person next to me asked: "Is he someone you know? He looks young and already has fame?"
"Last year's three yuan was my uncle's nephew..." said the best man.
Listening to these words, it is the descendants of the Tian family.
Shen Yan also recognized Shen Ruilai and immediately raised his hands in salute.
Shen Rui had nothing to avoid, so he also held up his hands and said: "Congratulations."
On the other hand, the best man, who was the third wife's nephew and was also familiar with Shen Rui, came to Zhuma and asked curiously: "Heng Yun is here to have a drink at Mr. Qiao San's house? Why did he leave early..."
Shen Rui said: "If you have something to do with your family, you should confess first... The auspicious time is coming. Brother Shen and Cousin Tian, please go over quickly. Don't delay the auspicious time..."
Hearing the commotion in Qiao's house, someone had already come out to greet him.
Shen Yan nodded to Shen Rui and rode his horse forward.
It wasn't until the wedding procession passed that Shen Rui and Changshou rode their horses again and came out of the alley.
Changshou sighed and said, "It's a pity that Shen Juren..."
Shen Rui said with a smile: "Why is it such a pity? Although the Qiao family is marrying a concubine, they are marrying according to the standard of a legitimate daughter. I heard that fifty-four tons of dowry has been prepared. In the eyes of outsiders, the Qiao family is marrying at a low price... …”
Changshou said: "Shen Ju is as elegant and handsome as Shen Zhuangyuan. If you are lucky and become a Jinshi in the next year, you still worry about not being able to marry a girl from a high family?"
Shen Rui shook his head and said: "Is it so easy to get a Jinshi? Let's not talk about other families, let's just say that most of the brothers in the Shen family are studying, and they have made a lot of achievements. But how many people can really get to the Jinshi? That's Sixth Brother. There, they didn’t wait until they got Jinshi before getting married..."