Xia Houshu did what he said and immediately found the previous channels to find out the details of Nanpu Study. As a result, he found out that the owner of Nanpu Study was not Qin Nan, but a man in his fifties named Xiao, and the owner
There is no one named Qi among his relatives.
This result left Xia Houshu somewhat confused. Could it be that Qinan was not called Qinan, and even his name was fake?
Xia Houshu had been thinking about it for a long time, but before he could decide on his next plan, it was the 70th birthday of the Duke and Mrs. Ye Guo.
The name of the Duke of Ye State of this generation was Zhang Zhixin, and he had a wide range of contacts. Therefore, Mrs. Long’s birthday banquet invited almost all the princes and nobles in the capital. Xiahoutan’s step-wife Zhang and Ye State’s official Zhang Zhixin were cousins.
, so the Duke of Yue and the Duke of Ye can be regarded as in-laws, so they naturally come to celebrate.
The Gongzhang family of Ye State was originally from the lineage of King Xin. At that time, King Xin Zhang Huaisu had a good relationship with the royal family. From time to time, he sent women from the family into the palace as concubines, and gave birth to imperial heirs one after another. During the period of Emperor Qi Cheng, the Zhang family was famous in the palace.
There were seven or eight concubines at random, all of them knowledgeable in books, etiquette, and talented. However, after these women were favored, they gradually swelled, and they began to be jealous of each other, and even hurt the emperor's heirs. Emperor Qi Cheng was furious and issued an edict
He deprived Zhang Huaisu of his title and demoted him to the title of Duke of Ye.
The reputation of the women of the Zhang family was damaged, and they lost the qualification to enter the palace as concubines.
After that, the Zhang family kept their lessons in mind and paid more attention to women's character and education. By the time of Emperor Qi Heng, the women of the Zhang family began to become famous in the capital. The Zhang women of that generation were already famous for their talents while still in their boudoirs, and
Almost all of them married into families of unknown origin. When they arrived at their husband's house, they not only served their parents-in-law and united with their sisters-in-law, but also assisted their husbands and raised their children. With their efforts, most of their husbands' sons obtained meritorious service and entered the court.
As an official, she can be regarded as a model of a good wife and mother.
For a time, people in the capital flocked to seek marriage.
After Xiahoutan's original wife, Mrs. Kuang, died of illness, only the young Xiahouqi was left. Seeing that Xiahouqi had lost her mother at a young age, Zhong Yuqing felt pity for her and took her back to the house to raise her for a while. Xiahoutan thought
This was not an option in the long run, and since he was still young, he would not be alone or widowed for the rest of his life. He also heard that the women of the Zhang family had a reputation for being virtuous, and they would definitely not treat their deceased wives and children badly when they got married, so he went to great lengths to propose marriage.
Married to stepmother Zhang Wanying.
Zhang Wanying was indeed virtuous and generous after marrying into the Duke of Yue. She not only treated Xiahouqi, the daughter of Mrs. Kuang, as her own, but also gave birth to a son and a daughter to Xiahoutan. When her legitimate children were older, she made the final decision.
He took in two concubines for Xiahou Tan, and gave birth to two concubines for him respectively. Therefore, among the three families of the Xiahou family, the second family had the most children and the most prosperous population.
Although the Zhang family is Xia Houchun's maternal family, Xia Houchun's feelings for the Duke of Ye are not deep, let alone cordial. Her original words were: "There are so many women in the Zhang family who are married to foreigners, and each of them can't bear the burden of others."
My mother is just a member of the same clan as the Duke of Ye, and she is not worthy of the honor of Duke Ye. We are not very grateful that the Duke of Ye can think highly of my grandfather and my mother by the way, so we are not very grateful.
After so many years of walking like a clan member, how could I dare to have the shamelessness to take the initiative to get married? Besides, my father has been stationed in Jinfeng City all these years and has little contact with Beijing. If I hadn't returned to Beijing this time to get married,
, How can they expect to get someone like me? So, it’s okay not to mention it.”
Xia Houshu was noncommittal. After all, she was not the kind of person who liked to have random marriages.
Duke Ye Guo has a distinguished status, has always been a generous man, and has made many friends. The dignitaries who came to celebrate his birthday were bustling with people. In addition to wishing the birthday of Duke Ye Guo and his wife, the purpose of these people's arrival was to see Zhang Zhixin's little wife with their own eyes.
daughter.
Zhang Zhixin has a total of six daughters, five of whom are married. The remaining daughter is Zhang Ruyun, born to his wife Yan. She is only sixteen years old, which is the age to discuss marriage.
As the saying goes, every family has a daughter, so those who came to celebrate the birthday this time were not only the heads and wives of noble families, but also the marriageable sons of their families. The wife of the Duke of Ye State liked the excitement, so she specially invited
Naturally, Xia Houshu, an official woman of the same age as Zhang Ruyun in the capital, was also invited.
At that time, the male guests were placed in the front yard, and were personally entertained by Ye Guo Gongzhang Zhixin and his several sons; the female guests were placed in the backyard, and Ye Guo Gong's wife Yan and several daughters-in-law came forward to attend to them. Everyone and the Ye Guo Gong's wife
Drinking, talking, laughing and having fun, the scene was peaceful.
After Xia Houchun and Xia Houchun followed Zhong Yuqing to meet the Duke and Mrs. Ye Guo, they went to the pavilion on the water corridor to listen to music under the leadership of a maid. There were already several official family members sitting in the pavilion. When they saw Zhong Yuqing, they immediately stood up and exchanged greetings.
, asked about Xia Houyi’s marriage.
During this time, because Xia Houyi had just held his crowning ceremony, many families in the capital were beginning to make moves again. Now that they saw Zhong Yuqing, they naturally wanted to recommend girls of the right age from their own families and relatives.
Zhong Yuqing was used to seeing such scenes, so she quickly said that her second son was weak, had no official position, had an uncertain future, and had not yet made any plans for marriage, so she turned around and introduced her niece and daughter.
Sisters Xia Houchun and Xia Houshu immediately saluted and said hello to several older officials and family members.
Hearing that the third girl from the Duke of Yue's mansion had also arrived, the expressions on the faces of the officials and family members suddenly became wonderful, and they couldn't help but think of what happened at Princess Zhao's birthday banquet not long ago. It was also a birthday banquet, but I didn't know what happened.
Will there be any trouble? I even secretly thought about keeping an eye on the accompanying women.
Xia Houshu had already guessed that he would not get any good looks from this trip, but he took it lightly and stood there with a smile on his face, neither humble nor arrogant.
They are all foxes who have become spirits, and no one will say hurtful words at this time. Several officials and family members looked at Xia Houshu's appearance and demeanor, and they all expressed surprise and joy. They all praised her for her talent, appearance, and generosity.
, but also secretly accused those rumors outside of being malicious and hurtful.
Xia Houshu didn't pay attention to the rumors outside. Seeing everyone complaining about her, she just smiled and asked them not to mind. But she knew in her heart that after today, there would be ugly and vulgar rumors about her in the capital.
It's time to stop.
At the same time, marriage discussions will also be officially put on the agenda.
The officials and family members originally just made a few casual accusations and did not really want to seek justice for Xia Houshu. After hearing Xia Houshu's words, they did not continue to dwell on this topic. Soon their attention was attracted by the stage.
The little song attracted me.
Xia Houshu was not interested in the babbling singing on the stage, but he still pretended to listen for a while. Finally, he couldn't listen anymore, so he sat on a chair and looked around. People around him were either listening to the music attentively.
, either chatting in low voices, or there were a few people at her age who were being pressed by their elders to listen to music, absentmindedly playing with their accessories.
How boring! Xia Houshu screamed in her heart, but it was a pity that Zhong Yuqing was sitting between her and Xia Houchun. It was inconvenient for her to even say a word to Xia Houchun. Bored, she looked outside the pavilion again, and saw something in the distance.
Sun Jiarou, who had just entered the inner courtyard, was followed closely by Yunzhi and Guizhi as always.
Even though it was just a distant glance, Xia Houshu could see that Sun Jiarou was fatter than before, more energetic, and a little more charming. Thinking that he had not contacted Sun Jiarou for a long time, Xia Houshu talked with his mother and
The cousin said something and took Yunxi to say hello to Sun Jiarou.
Sun Jiarou came in and met an acquaintance. She was chatting with a young woman. When Xia Houshu approached, he called "Sister Jiarou."
When Sun Jiarou heard this, she turned around, her rosy face smiling. However, when she saw Xia Houshu, she seemed to be frightened, and her face suddenly became clouded.
She slowed down for a moment, tried her best to squeeze out a smile, bowed to Xiahou Shu, and called "Sister Xiahou". Everything she said and did was full of strangeness and alienation.
Xia Houshu was busy observing the changes in Sun Jiarou's complexion. He accidentally heard such a cold call and was stunned for a moment. Sun Jiarou, who was so cold as ice, was completely different from the sickly beauty who cried so hard that she came to ask her for help.
Xia Houshu returned the greeting slowly. He was so stunned that he couldn't find anything to talk about, so he could only ask politely, "How is my sister doing lately?"
"Thank you for your concern, sister Xiahou. Jiarou is always well." Sun Jiarou spoke calmly, paused, and then said, "If sister is okay, Jiarou will go and say hello to Mrs. Ye Guogong first."
Xia Houshu was not stupid and could see Sun Jiarou's deliberate alienation. Although she felt a little confused and sad, she did not intend to continue to entangle her, she was just a little sad.
The two of them bowed to each other, and Sun Jiarou and the two maids went to the residence of Ye Guogong and his wife. They happened to meet Zhang Ruyun who was surrounded by a crowd, and they started chatting animatedly.
Yunxi was stunned by Sun Jiarou's series of actions. It took him a while to react, and he frowned and said displeasedly: "This Miss Sun is so strange. Earlier she eagerly came to beg us to help her. She and the girl are as close as sisters. Today, she is like a sister."
It’s like you don’t recognize us anymore.”
Xia Houshu watched Sun Jiarou, Zhang Ruyun and others chatting happily, and suddenly understood something.
"There's nothing strange about this." Xia Houshu chuckled. "Perhaps for her, seeing me will remind her of the stupid things she has done and the kind of people she has trusted. People are fickle, and we are not
Naturally, she doesn’t know the torment and torture in her heart, so there is no need to blame her.”
Yun Xi nodded understandingly and followed Xia Houshu to the other side of the garden. He happened to see Mrs. Liu chatting with Mrs. Yan, looking very close.
As far as they know, neither the Sun family nor the Liu family are related to the Zhang family. In the past, when Sun Liwen was still serving as a foreign minister in the Ministry of Rites, the honorable family in Beijing held birthday banquets, flower banquets, and hundred-day banquets.
It is almost impossible to see the female members of his family. And Sun Liwen has only been working at Zongzheng Temple for more than half a year, so why is he so close to the Zhang family?
Xia Houshu then said to Yun Xi: "You will find an opportunity to inquire later and see what happened to the Sun family and the Zhang family recently. Why is Mrs. Liu so close to Mrs. Yan?"