King Zhao was not successful in writing and martial arts, but his ability to give birth to sons was one of the few in the entire royal family. In addition to the eldest son Duguhao, the second son Duguhuang, the second daughter Dugutan, the third son Duguxian, and his concubine.
He had seven sons and nine daughters, making a total of ten sons and ten daughters. Even his elder brother, Emperor Qi Jing, Dugu Ji, who was once the emperor and owned three palaces and six courtyards, had only five princes and seven
The princess, and the eldest son of the emperor died young.
Most of King Zhao's children are already married and have many in-laws. Together with other dignitaries and their families in the capital, the birthday banquet was really full of guests.
Xia Houshu and his parents took a carriage to Prince Zhao's Mansion. After entering the gate and handing over the birthday gift, Xia Houyuan was led to the male guest's room. Xia Houshu and his mother were guided by the maid to the backyard. They happened to be on the road.
I met Princess Gong who came to the banquet with her two daughters.
When Princess Gong saw Zhong Yuqing, she seemed to finally heave a sigh of relief, dismissed the maid who was leading the way, and then said with a smile: "King Zhao is worthy of being a member of the royal family. The guests who came today have almost caught up with the excitement of the court meeting. We just went in to see the ceremony."
, without even saying a few words, I was squeezed out by the people who came to celebrate my birthday. I don’t like going to the theater either. Seeing that you haven’t arrived yet, I brought Lu Fu and Qing Kui here to wait for you.
"
Zhong Yuqing felt the same and said, "I thought we were here early and wanted to wish Princess Zhao her birthday before there were many people. I didn't expect my sister-in-law to be earlier."
The juniors on both sides bowed to their elders, and then each other saluted.
Xia Houshu looked at Zhong Lufu. They hadn't seen each other for almost four months since the last quarrel, and they hadn't paid much attention to her marriage in the meantime. He didn't know what was going on now.
Zhong Lufu wore a light green skirt and held a green shawl painted with fine silver leaves between her arms. She looked a little thinner than before. Although there was a faint smile on her face, it was
The smile did not reach her eyes, and when she saw Xia Houshu, she obviously felt a bit of hatred.
Xia Houshu saw the other party's hostility in his eyes, but he didn't want to cause trouble for himself in public, so he chose to turn a blind eye. Her eyes flashed past Zhong Lufu and fell directly on the girl next to her with a bright and charming smile.
On Zhong Qingkui.
Today, Zhong Qingkui is wearing a deep blue skirt with rose flowers embroidered on the neckline. There are also jade pendants in the shape of rose flowers hanging on her ears. Because she has not yet had haircuts, her hair is simply divided into two strands, with a half bun on the left and right, and the hair accessories are also
The rose flowers that match the earrings look elegant, gentle and lively.
Xia Houshu liked Zhong Qingkui's outfit very much, and he liked her even more. He took a step forward, pulled Zhong Qingkui in and kissed her, and said warmly: "My cousin, this dress and jewelry are very unique, and they complement you very well."
Zhong Qingkui was also very satisfied with her dress, and said proudly: "This dress was cut for me by the new embroiderer, and the jewelry was made at Zhenbaozhai. If my cousin likes it, you can come to our house later and I will ask the embroiderer to do it."
Mom will tailor a set for you, and then accompany you to Zhenbaozhai to get one set."
Xia Houshu nodded repeatedly and got closer to admire her jewelry.
Since she was standing closer, she soon discovered that Zhong Qingkui had grown two inches taller recently, and she said in surprise: "My cousin seems to have grown a lot taller recently!"
Zhong Qingkui is one year younger than Xia Houshu. It is the time when her body is growing, and it is normal for her height to change. But Zhong Qingkui is happy to hear from others that she has grown taller, and she only hopes to grow taller.
She looked more like an adult. So she innocently stood next to Xia Houshu, and found that her height was still only as high as Xia Houshu's ears, and she was instantly unhappy.
She curled her lips and said gloomily: "During the last competition, I reached the base of my cousin's ears. Why have I grown taller these days, or am I only reaching the base of my cousin's ears?"
Princess Gong smiled and said: "You silly boy, you have grown taller, but your cousin is also growing taller, so you will naturally be the same as before."
Zhong Qingkui suddenly realized, and quickly distanced herself from Xia Houshu, with her hands on her hips and said: "Then I'd better stand farther away from you, lest the more you look at me, the more you think I look like a child."
He was still a child originally, but he preferred to pretend to be an adult. Everyone laughed when they heard this, and even Zhong Lufu pursed her lips.
After Zhong Yuqing finished laughing, he said: "I will take Shu'er to say hello to Princess Zhao first and congratulate her. Then we will find a place to sit down and chat later."
Princess Gong was originally unfamiliar with Prince Zhao's Mansion and didn't want to sit around with some people and chat with each other, so she went out to look for her sister-in-law. Now she volunteered and said, "I'll go with you guys. I'll go with you later."
It’s easy for me to sit in one place.”
Zhong Yuqing nodded and said, "That's fine."
Then the group of five people and the accompanying maid went to Princess Zhao's place.
What Princess Gong said was not an exaggeration at all. There were so many people who came to congratulate Princess Zhao on her birthday that there was no place in the whole courtyard without people. The matrons, daughters-in-law and girls who had not left the palace were almost all over the courtyard. Everyone
They were in small groups, greeting each other and smiling frequently.
Everyone is a person of status, so no one is surprised to see them. But some families have men who want to get married, so their eyes will be more vicious, and they will look at girls from other families who have not yet married, and occasionally they will talk to the girls around them.
People murmured a few words. If they see someone whose appearance suits their liking, they will send someone to inquire carefully to see if there is already a marriage proposal partner, how he is usually, whether his character is upright, and whether he has knowledge; if so,
If you are dissatisfied, you will be warned not to let your son get close to you. The people next to you will also help with the advice, or give some advice, and think about how to complete the tasks assigned by the master.
As for families with daughters to be married, they will quietly observe the female relatives of families with unmarried sons and daughters to see their mistress's character and temperament, and their attitude towards others; they will also observe the words, deeds, and interactions of their daughter-in-law or daughter.
Is it harmonious? The first step is to exclude those families where the mother-in-law is strong and the children behave poorly, and the relationships between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, sisters-in-law, and aunts-in-law are not good, leaving only those whose family background is acceptable, whose reputation is good, and whose character needs further investigation.
People come as the object of consideration.
Xia Houshu and the two sisters of the Zhong family were also within the scope of their observation and discussion, but they were only focused on completing the tasks in front of them and looking for a place to hide, so they did not notice it.
Xia Houshu and his mother went into Ningshou Hall to meet Princess Zhao.
Although Princess Zhao is already sixty years old, she is well-maintained. She is slightly chubby and has few wrinkles on her face, making her look like she is in her early fifties. Her eldest daughter-in-law, Mrs. Fang, and her second daughter-in-law, Mrs. Huang, both
Accompanying her, the two of them had sharp ears and eyes. When they met someone unfamiliar to Princess Zhao, they quickly helped introduce them.
There was harmony in Ningshou Hall.
Princess Zhao chatted with Zhong Yuqing for a few words. She couldn't help but look at Xia Houshu. After asking her age, she laughed and said that her son and son were now married. If she had known that Zhong Yuqing had such a smart and beautiful daughter, she would have come to ask for her hand in marriage.
.
The others pursed their lips and chuckled after hearing this, and looked at Xia Houshu with even more eager eyes.
Xia Houshu pretended not to know and stood beside his mother, waiting for her to come to the rescue.
Of the three legitimate sons of Prince Zhao, the youngest, Dugu Xian, is more than ten years older than Xia Houshu. They do not match in age alone, and he is also Xia Houshu’s cousin-in-law. The other seven sons are all concubines and have neither fame nor wealth.
With her ambition and perseverance to strive for success, she will have to rely on her direct descendants to live a life in the future. It is still uncertain whether she can live a life of her own. Therefore, although Princess Zhao said that she wanted to marry Xia Houshu for her son, although it was a joke, Zhong Yuqing also
I didn't think that was complimenting my daughter.
Zhong Yuqing suppressed the displeasure in her heart and said a few more words. Just as someone else came in, she led Xia Houshu out of Ningshou Hall, and went to the flower hall that had been prepared with Princess Gong, mother and daughter.
Rest here.
Princess Gong heard what was said in the hall very clearly, but when Zhong Yuqing reacted unusually, the matter was revealed silently. She was chatting with Zhong Yuqing, and when she raised her eyes, she happened to see Xia Houmei with a solemn expression not far away.
She walked out of a room with wind blowing at her feet. Behind her was a young woman dressed as a woman.
Princess Gong signaled Zhong Yuqing with her eyes and said in surprise: "Isn't that your sister-in-law? The one following her is Ruolan, right? She looks pretty good. I heard she already has two children."
Zhong Yuqing also followed her line of sight and nodded slightly.
Xia Houshu was admiring the unique string of necklaces around Zhong Qingkui's neck, and was considering getting another string to wear later. When she accidentally heard her aunt's words, she quickly turned around and looked over.
When the Zhong sisters saw this, they followed closely behind.
When she just went to pay her birthday to Princess Zhao, she heard Princess Zhao praising her eldest daughter-in-law Fang with a room full of guests for her ingenuity, thoughtfulness and meticulousness, and for being able to take on big responsibilities at such a young age. Not only did she organize the birthday banquet by herself, but she also
He is also considerate and a good housekeeper.
After hearing this, the guests praised Fang for being sensible and filial.
Xu Ruolan, who is also the daughter-in-law, has never been praised like this by her mother-in-law, so there is good evidence that Xiahou Mei is unhappy.
Xiahou Mei in the distance didn't realize that there were so many pairs of eyes looking at her. She was angry and walked briskly. She met a few familiar people on the way to say hello, but she just smiled symbolically and said hello.
As soon as they met each other, he stopped smiling, as if that smile had never existed.
Xu Ruolan behind her, in order not to lose the face of the two families, did not dare to call her mother in public, and was worried that she would lose her bearings in the panic, so she could only take small steps and chase after her with her head lowered, for fear of her mother.
What kind of impulsive act did you make in a fit of anger that ruined today's big event?
Zhong Qingkui saw this and wondered: "Aren't the Marquis of Rongan and Prince Zhao's palace related by marriage? Why do I think Mrs. Rongan Hou seems unhappy when she comes to congratulate Princess Zhao on her birthday?"