Eight Hundred and Ninety-Two: Northern Overlord (29)

Before the Hongmen Banquet started, the territory of Chongzhou was still calm.

If you are more sensitive, you will find that this is just the calm before the storm.

The noble ladies of each household are busy with their own affairs, some do housework, serve their parents-in-law, some educate their children, beat concubines, some grow flowers and weeds, and appreciate antiques. In the seemingly peaceful back house, there are actually undercurrents surging, and everyone is calculating for their own interests.

Banquets are an important channel for the gentry to connect with each other, and they hardly stop for a day.

Today this family will hold an elegant fair, tomorrow the other family will hold a poetry meeting, and I will send invitations to others the day after tomorrow, and everyone will enjoy the flowers and the moon together.

The men went out to be guests, and the women in the back house were not to be outdone, and often went out to dinner.

The moonlight in the sky is as cool as it seems, and there are shadows of people underground, with their clothes fragrant and their temples shadowed, and there are endless chatter and laughter during the banquet.

Although the Chongzhou gentry were criticized by the outside world as nouveau riche, they also had decades or even hundreds of years of background, far richer than ordinary people. The weather is already cold now, but the yard where the banquet is held is warm, without feeling the slightest chill.

Several well-connected ladies chatted and joked with each other, and the content revolved around the gossip about the husband, the husband's concubine, mother-in-law, father-in-law, concubine and concubine, legitimate son and legitimate daughter, and various families. It's not very nutritious, but when we get together to complain, no matter how boring the topic is, it can become interesting. As they talked, they mentioned Liu She, the shepherd of Liuzhou, who was in his prime, and the topic got further and further away.

Liu She was in her prime of life, and she had only one concubine daughter and one concubine son under her knees, and his later stepmother lived apart from him for a long time.

Since Liu She came to Chongzhou, many people tried to fill Liu She's backyard with the intention of being a beauty trick, blowing the pillow wind.

However, he is a slippery guy, no matter how other people expressly hint, he always has a way to keep the women sent by everyone out of the door.

The man said that Liu She was being prudish, but the noble ladies in Chongzhou respected him quite a lot.

May I ask which ancient woman didn't want her husband to love only herself and a woman in the backyard?

At least before Gu Min passed away, there was indeed only such a person in Liu She's backyard.

Just such a relationship is enough for them to envy and hate.

Whenever this is mentioned, the noble lady of Chongzhou is extremely jealous of the deceased Mrs. Gu Min, saying that she died young, and at the end she would hypocritically sigh that she is a beautiful woman. After talking about a good man like Liu She, it's natural to complain about his philandering man.

Regardless of whether they were lowly concubines or noble concubines, they were accepted one by one.

It's disgusting for the lady in the main room to pretend to be magnanimous, and to be commensurate with those coquettish, cheap,/good sisters.

"I heard that Liuzhou Mu's prostitute is coming. Today's banquet in the state mansion is for that girl."

I don't know which lady said something casually, but the reactions of the other ladies were very flat, and some even snorted secretly.

"It's just a little girl's film. How can a man be so serious about it?"

In the eyes of many wives, the time of Jiang Pengji's arrival and Liu She's invitation to the bigwigs of the family were just a coincidence.

After all, she is only a woman, no matter how capable she is, she will marry and have children, and she will stay in the backyard all her life to take care of the housework for the man.

For Liu She's daughter to become Maruzhou Shepherd, it is already very remarkable.

They didn't think Jiang Pengji could go any further, and even thought she was a bit stupid.

Honestly enjoying the protection of her father, it would be nice to be a carefree noblewoman, but she just wants to show her face and follow the example of Xu Gong from the previous dynasty, as a strong woman. In the end? She may not be able to fight a man, and she wasted the most important time in a woman's life for nothing.

As for the rumors that Liu She was going to retreat behind the scenes and give power to Liu Xi, it was even more nonsense.

"This kind of unrealistic news makes people laugh."

"It's true——is a boudoir girl, how capable can she be?"

"I heard that Miss Liu is eighteen years old now. She hasn't been engaged at this age. Wouldn't she be an old lady after two more years?"

"Liuzhou Mu cares about this prostitute,

Should help her pay attention? However, a woman who hangs out all day... I heard that she often hangs out with those rough and rough people... Which family would dare to have such a daughter-in-law? Even if Liuzhou Mu could treat her kindly for the sake of her face, the father-in-law could not meddle in the son-in-law's rear house at will. In my opinion, that willow girl... tsk! "

This topic was very new to them, and they talked about it enthusiastically for a while, but they got off topic before they knew it.

A certain young lady said, "Could it be that the Liuzhou pastor's banquet...is for the marriage of this prostitute?"

Liu She's influence is in Chongzhou and Hujun, and for the sake of her daughter-in-law, she will definitely choose a son-in-law within her own sphere of influence.

Such a guess, many people think it is quite reasonable.

If a sensible person listened to their conversation, he might laugh out loud.

If all the clan wives of Chongzhou's "noble clan" had this kind of virtue, it probably wouldn't be passed on for a few generations.

Chongzhou is close to northern Xinjiang, and the border between the two countries is constantly fighting.

Due to environmental factors, the power here changes rapidly. The so-called gentry power, to put it bluntly, is an upstart and lacks foundation.

Let's take some of the wives present as examples. Their natal families were born as butchers, and they don't know a few big characters, so their knowledge is naturally shallow.

Of course, apart from lack of knowledge, the more important reason is that they don't care about things outside.

If you have the time to care about those things, you might as well ponder over rouge and gouache, jewellery, silk and satin.

The ladies were chatting and laughing, and the atmosphere of the banquet was very hot.

At this time, two maidservants in rich and noble clothes rushed in.

Their appearance made everyone look sideways, as if asking with their eyes - which company is this, so rude?

A certain noble lady recognized her personal servant girl, and her face covered in makeup stretched instantly.

She was the host of the banquet today, and it went well, but she didn't expect that something went wrong with her maid.

Before she could sternly reprimand her, the two maids said a piece of news that made her eyes go dark.

"Ma'am, it's not good, the master has gone!"

The lady's heart tightened, and she snapped, "Take them down and clap your hands, Master, you two little hoofs can make fun of me?"

The older servant girl said, "It's true, ma'am, there are many soldiers around outside, and they sent back the master's body."

what!

This news was like a heavy hammer, her eyes dimmed, and her body that had just stood up almost collapsed to the ground.

When everyone heard the news, they all lost their minds of playing tricks, and prepared to check the situation, and then find a chance to say goodbye.

However, they never expected that the same bad news was waiting for them.

The backyard, which was still lively and lively, became deserted in an instant.

There was a series of crying and howling in the front hall. The lady lifted the white cloth and saw that the man lying there was her dead husband!