Chapter 317 When the Rankings Are In Progress (Part 1)
As the morning sun slowly rises, the Linhuai Marquis Mansion becomes more and more lively.
People from the neighboring Duke's Palace of Wei, the Founding Duke's Palace, Dingyuan Marquis Palace, Lingbi Marquis Palace and the homes of civil and military officials with relatives and relatives came one after another to wish the old lady of Linhuai Marquis Palace a birthday. There was an endless stream of people coming to visit, Linhuai
The gate of the Marquis Mansion was like a bustling place. All the visitors came with gifts. The steward of Linhuai Marquis Mansion registered them one by one, and the result was a thick stack of paper.
A large desk was set up in the main hall of Linhuai Marquis Mansion, and a red carpet was laid out. The birthday gifts sent by the guests were all placed on the desk by the maids and servants. The old lady looked over them one by one, and then put them into the warehouse.
Ruyi jade longevity star, peach amethyst fairy, longevity fan, South Sea pearls, coral ornaments, agarwood sticks, Canaan beads and other rare treasures, there are many surprises. The old lady looked at it for a while, and was very surprised.
He was satisfied, with a smile on his face, and waved his hand to let the girl put it in the warehouse.
"Hehe, ancestor, you don't look at other people's gifts, but you have to admire the gifts we give to our children and grandchildren." The round little face of the sixth lady of the Hou Mansion smiled playfully, with her little tiger teeth exposed, and she hugged the old lady's hand.
Said his arms coquettishly.
"You're a monkey, you're still like your ancestors, okay, okay, I'll do whatever you want." The old lady patted Miss Sixth's arm lovingly, nodded with a smile.
Then, starting with the second young lady of the Hou Mansion, they presented birthday gifts to the old lady of the Hou Mansion one by one.
The second lady presented a hand-embroidered Buddhist sutra for extending longevity, the third lady presented a jade cup of ten thousand years of good fortune, the fourth lady presented a picture of longevity with flat peaches, Li Shu presented the South China Sea Coral Guanyin, and the sixth lady presented a long life.
Wan'an hand-backed mattress
The old lady smiled with satisfaction and was very happy with her granddaughters' filial piety.
Then, I don't know who started it, but they instigated several young ladies to pick out the birthday gifts for their husbands and place them in front of the old lady.
The gifts given by the second young lady and their future husband are very generous and valuable, and the old lady is very satisfied. The only exception is the birthday gift of the future fifth uncle of the Hou family, which is Zhu Pingan's birthday gift. Zhu Pingan's birthday gift is different, but the same
It was a birthday message written by Zhu Pingan himself. The other was a jade sculpture of Magu's birthday that Li Shu asked Baozi's maid to send to Zhu Pingan as a refill.
However, after the Sixth Miss of the Hou Mansion laughed and said that she looked at the jade carving for Magu’s birthday and seemed to have seen it in the Fifth Sister’s room, the old lady of the Hou Mansion’s expression turned bad. According to the Sixth Miss, the jade carving was from the Fifth Girl.
Yes, that means Zhu Pingan only sent the beggar a copy of his own handwriting!
As a result, the expression of the old lady of the Hou Mansion suddenly turned bad, and she waved her hand to have all the gifts moved to the warehouse.
The front yard of the Hou Mansion is even more lively at the moment. Among the people who came to the Huai Hou Mansion to celebrate their birthdays, there were six or seven young men of similar age to Fatty Zhou. They were all dressed in bright clothes and smelled like the second generation ancestors. These were all customary
The young master from a noble family who was hanging out with Fatty Zhou, after giving birthday gifts, took Fatty Zhou to sit on the table, let Fatty Zhou keep him company, and started drinking together.
Zhu Ping'an sat at the table in the corner. The people at the table with him were all distant and poor relatives of the Hou family.
Fatty Zhou's table was not too far away from Zhu Pingan's table. After all, it was in a courtyard, but Zhu Pingan's table was a little more remote. The people at Fatty Zhou's table looked familiar to Zhu Pingan.
If I read it correctly, the people on that table were the same group of second-generation ancestors who ran rampant at the gate of the city in brocade hats and mink fur coats when they came out of the capital.
Zhu Pingan's table was relatively quiet, probably because they were poor relatives in the Hou Mansion. The Hou Mansion did not allocate too many people to accompany them. Apart from serving the dishes, there were no maids or servants to wait on them.
Relatively speaking, Fatty Zhou's table was much more lively. There were two girls waiting on the table, pouring tea and wine. They took care of everything.
From their conversation, Zhu Pingan could probably tell that these second-generation ancestors seemed to look down on Fatty Zhou.
"Hey, Fatty Zhou, why don't you go racing with your brothers these days? Why are you so afraid of losing?"
"That's it. Will you pay for some rouge horses soon? You'll have a great time riding them tonight."
There were two second-generation ancestors sitting on the table, crossing their legs, playing with fruits, squinting their eyes and mocking Fatty Zhou. These second-generation ancestors were either from the Duke's Palace of Wei, the Duke's Palace of Kaiguo, or the Duke's Palace of Dingyuan.
He is a noble son, or the son of a third- or fourth-grade official. His family background is not inferior to that of Fatty Zhou, so he feels no pressure to ridicule.
Fatty Zhou is fat. He can ride horses, shoot arrows, fight cocks and walk dogs. He is often no match for these second-generation ancestors. In terms of literary talent, he is not half a bottle of water, so naturally he has no advantage. Other than that, he is not a match for these second-generation ancestors.
, Fatty Zhou still has some disadvantages in his character. He has a strong temperament and a little bit of a coward. He is not a bloody person.
Therefore, he is often the target of ridicule among the second generation ancestors, and this time is no exception.
"Whoever is afraid will be afraid of whoever I compete with next time." Fatty Zhou had a fat face and showed no sign of weakness.
"Then it's settled." The second-generation ancestors looked at each other and smiled, feeling quite proud. This was done, and they saved money for drinking wine in the future.
"Oh, by the way, I heard that the third wife of your Marquis Mansion got married to some country bumpkin? Is this the case?"
"Hahaha, I just can't figure it out. When did your Linhuai Marquis Mansion drop in price like this? Doesn't this embarrass our nobles?"
Several second-generation ancestors heard the secrets of the Hou Mansion from nowhere, and they questioned Fatty Zhou on the table, mostly with ridicule in their tone.
Zhu Ping'an in the corner smiled helplessly after hearing their chat. Why did the news of his engagement to Li Shu spread so far, even these second-generation ancestors heard about it. It seemed that he was being laughed at again.
, Haha, what happened to those who came from the countryside? Who said that a poor family cannot rise up?
Fatty Zhou was speechless after hearing the ridicule from the buddies around him, because what these buddies said was true. Although his grandmother and father had discussed breaking off the engagement many times, they had not done so after all. He couldn't help but feel faintly in his heart.
Complaining about Zhu Ping'an caused him to be implicated and ridiculed.
"Why, it really doesn't work. Hahaha, even the country bumpkins are not spared. How ugly is your fifth lady?"
Seeing the fat man's expression, a second-generation ancestor couldn't help but laugh.
"Haha, he must be like you, he must be so strong."
The other second-generation ancestors couldn't help but laugh.
"How could it be possible? My fifth sister is more beautiful than Princess Anyang." Fatty Zhou felt confident at this time and choked while twisting his neck.
"Just brag. If Princess Anyang was half as beautiful, she wouldn't find a country bumpkin."
Fatty's words not only had no positive effect, but made the second-generation ancestors laugh even harder. Princess Anyang is a famous beauty in the capital, and there are few in the whole capital who can compare with her. Fatty Zhou said that she was engaged to a bumpkin.
My fifth sister is more beautiful than Princess Anyang. Isn’t that just bragging?
"Oh, by the way, I heard that you took the national examination a few days ago, haha, how was it?" After laughing, someone else remembered Fatty Zhou's participation in the national examination and couldn't help but ask.
"Stable." Fatty Zhou replied confidently.
"Hahaha, let me tell you, God is really fair." After hearing Fatty Zhou's words, a second-generation ancestor said while holding back his laughter.
"Oh, how do you say that?" Fatty Zhou asked curiously.
"Hehehe, even though you look ugly, you want to be beautiful, hehehe." The man couldn't help laughing.
The others also burst into laughter.
"That's right, my brothers don't know what you are like. We grew up together wearing crotchless pants. Just ask our uncle to fill in your gaps in the Beijing camp, the garrison camp, etc., and you will be able to test whatever you want.
, stop joking, it’s all in vain.”
None of these second-generation ancestors were optimistic about Fatty Zhou's examination.
"You must have been stimulated by Xu Laosan, right? Xu Laosan has been eager to learn since he was a child. He passed the boy examination and the provincial examination in real time without relying on Wei Guogong's efforts at all. Xu Laosan is the best
It’s really stable. Why did he go home after showing his face just now? It’s because he heard that the results might be released today, so he went home and waited.”
The Xu Laosan this person is talking about is the third son of Wei Guogong's family next door. Wei Guogong inherited it from Xu Da. This Xu Laosan is relatively famous in the capital for his quick thinking and photographic memory. Although he sometimes goes with Fatty Zhou and the others
They are messing around, but their literary skills are real.
Some time ago, Xu Laosan passed the provincial examination. They went to drink wine to celebrate. There was an oiran who made Fatty Zhou jealous for a long time and spent a lot of money. As a result, the oiran heard that Xu Laosan was the candidate who had just passed the provincial examination.
After becoming the master, he posted it upside down and took no money. At that time, Fatty Zhou was irritated, and with a fat face he threatened that he would not be able to pass the national examination better than Xu Laosan.
Just now, Xu Laosan from Wei Guogong's house was also together, but he went home after giving birthday gifts. Of course, he also ridiculed Fatty Zhou severely before going home.
"Huh, wait and see."
In response to the ridicule of the second generation ancestor, Fatty Zhou shook his fat face and said through gritted teeth, which made the second generation ancestors laugh again. (To be continued.)
ps: There will be at least one more chapter today, I won’t break my promise.