Just when Qiao Lan was thinking about how to speak, the woman spoke first.
"Excuse me, is the old lady Madam Huitian?" The woman smiled kindly.
Qiao Lan: "It's me, I don't know who my wife is."
"Junior Jiang Chi has met Madam. This is my daughter Jiang Ying."
The woman took her daughter behind her and bowed slightly. The mother and daughter had similar looks. One was gentle and beautiful, the other was smart and lovely. They looked very much like sisters.
Even Qiao Lan, who had met all kinds of movie stars, would sigh at the extraordinary manners of the mother and daughter in front of her, and said politely, "Please get up quickly!"
Qiao Lan said and stepped forward to help him.
Mrs. Jiang smiled and took her daughter to sit on the stool next to Qiao Lan. "Last year, I heard my husband and the elders in the family praise me. I heard that she was controlling pests in the south and growing high-yield grain... It's true.
It just so happens that many of the children of my family are working in the government office, and they said that the queen has recently asked servants in the family to collect the moon silver and land deeds, so they know that the queen has returned to the capital to live."
"I have some friendship with the eldest princess. I heard from the eldest princess that she will invite you to come to the house for a banquet. Although I have never met her, I looked at her from a distance and thought she had a friendly face, so I wanted to come over.
Look, as expected, it is you, the queen." Mrs. Jiang said with a smile.
Is this a compliment that she is good at farming? At first glance, she has a face that is good at farming?
Qiao Lan thought to herself, her face still kind and kind.
Qiao Lan thought for a while, and said modesty was a virtue, "Thank you, Mrs. Jiang. I don't have much ability. I just did what I should do. If someone else comes, it can be done."
Mrs. Jiang still smiled lightly and looked at Qiao Lan with a twinkle in her eyes. "Old madam, please don't be humble. There are so many men in the world. They all talk about serving the country and the people, and most of them are looking forward to their own."
The hat on the head can be worn higher so that the people below cannot be seen. I sincerely admire the old lady. If the boys in my family can imitate the madam, I won't worry about them."
After Mrs. Jiang finished praising Qiao Lan, she went on to praise the entire Duan family, starting from praising Wang's hard work to the youngest granddaughter Duan Siyu's cleverness. Her words were kind and concise, and in a short time she was integrated into the atmosphere of the Duan family.
Jiang Ying called out to everyone.
Qiao Lan could only sigh, maybe this is someone who is so good at socializing, but she wouldn't be able to do it.
The women sat around the table talking, while the girls went to play by the lake nearby.
Mrs. Jiang looked over the Duan family and started chatting with Qiao Lan.
As a person who was not very social, Qiao Lan could only respond with a simple yes. No matter what Mrs. Jiang asked, Qiao Lan always said something ambiguous and answered without saying much.
As for Mrs. Jiang's initiative to be a guest at her house, Qiao Lan rejected it. She said that the house was still being tidied up and was not ready yet, and she would wait until it was ready.
After a conversation, the smile on Mrs. Jiang's face became a little tired, and she could only lament that Qiao Lan was a person who was impeccable and refused to leak even the slightest bit of information.
Also, if he is a simple person, how can he seal the title of female monarch after his family hits rock bottom?
Mrs. Jiang was not discouraged and continued to chat with the other women of the Duan family.
After chatting for a while, the maid from the Princess Mansion who was waiting nearby came over and informed that the banquet was about to begin.
Mrs. Jiang could only regretfully end the topic, and Qiao Lan's mind, which had been groggy from chatting, finally became clearer.
It’s time to eat!
Mrs. Jiang took the lead in retiring, and Mrs. Wang and others stood to see her off.
Seeing Mrs. Jiang walk away, Mr. Shang whispered, "Mom, Mrs. Jiang sounds like she is from the Jiang family."
Qiao Lan: "What Jiang family?"
Qiao Lan has no idea about the structure of the wealthy families in the capital.
"The wife of the Jiang family in Chuzhou..." Shang said thoughtfully.
Although she was a concubine from a wealthy family, she had been raised at the knees of her legitimate mother since she was a child and had seen a lot of the world.
At first, she thought it was an ordinary family, but the more they chatted, the more she realized something was wrong. Shang took advantage of the chat with a few people to search for a family named Jiang in her mind, and finally found one.
However, as the Jiang family is a large family, most of their children are officials in the court, and there are countless official wives in the family. But the person who can invite the eldest princess is probably the family's wife.
"Oh, Chuzhou..." Qiao Lan responded casually, having been blinded by the beautiful girl walking in the yard.
Which state she is from is not important to Qiao Lan. The reason why she refused Mrs. Jiang to come to the house was that she was prepared not to associate with this wealthy family in the future.
As for Qiao Lan, she didn't come back to the capital to socialize. She came to a different place to grow vegetables. Since she wanted to grow vegetables, she couldn't grow them at the Nujun's house. She had to go to the farm outside.
As to which family Mrs. Jiang belongs to, it has little to do with her. She can't help her with tasks or help her farm.
-
The place where the eldest princess held the banquet today was in this garden full of flowers and bright spring scenery. It was different from a banquet for seven or eight people at a table, but one for each person, no matter the size, and there were about ten small plates on the table.
While eating, someone was serving food.
After Qiao Lan was led to sit down at the chopping board table, side dishes and tea were served one after another.
Even if the dishes on the plate are not used up, the delicate-looking maid will replace them with new ones for you.
Although she didn't know the names of these dishes, Qiao Lan tasted them one by one and tasted some of the tricks, including honey-glazed venison, grilled short ribs, rice soaked in sweet milk, candied plum barbecue, and some fresh seasonal vegetables and raw vegetables.
There are both grilled and steamed.
During this period, a small plate of crystal-clear meat strips was presented on the flower. Qiao Lan picked up a chopstick and it was raw. She immediately spat it out without moving her chopsticks much.
In general, the taste of the banquet at the princess's house was somewhere between slightly sweet and salty, and some were boiled, but most of them had no taste.
In line with the principle of not wasting food, Qiao Lan ate everything she could. She didn't eat anything that was raw or cold or too unpalatable. A small plate only had two or three bites, and Qiao Lan could fit it into one bite.
Occasionally she looked up at the women sitting opposite, moved her chopsticks, took a small taste, and then let the maid next to her bring her new dishes. Listening to the beautiful maid next to her playing music, she admired the food in front of her.
With the beautiful scenery, Qiao Lan probably understood what the extravagance of the feudal nobles was all about!
No matter what era it is, only those living at the top can live such a luxurious life.
Although sugar is expensive and refined, ordinary people cannot eat it once a year, but here, it is just an ordinary side dish on a plate, and it is not something rare.
Qiao Lan sighed while eating, we still can’t waste food!
The lady sitting not far away looked at the scene here and saw that the old and young people opposite were all seriously lowering their heads to eat. She couldn't help but wonder, is there really someone here to eat today?