After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 1128 Communication
The wedding banquet at the Bo Mansion ended and the guests said goodbye and left one after another.

The Hai family followed the crowd back to their own carriage. When the maid lowered the curtain and they were the only ones left in the carriage, Haitang couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief, and then she found that her sister-in-law Zhuang Minyi, who was sitting next to her, also breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. The two of them looked at each other and couldn't help laughing.

The carriage started slowly. On the way home, Haitang asked Zhuang Minyi in a low voice: "Sister-in-law, why did you look so relieved just now? Did you encounter any trouble at the banquet?"

"It's not a big deal..." Zhuang Minyi hesitated for a moment, but decided to be honest with her aunt, with whom she had always had a good relationship. "It's just that I feel that socializing with people is too difficult. Today was not bad, as most of the people I met were old acquaintances. Even if we were not familiar with each other, we could still be polite and get along with each other. But the banquet lasted for such a long time, I can't just rely on a few polite words to kill time, right? I can't just ignore people all the time. I racked my brains just to come up with topics to talk to people. It's okay for one or two times, but if there are several banquets and gatherings like this every year, I really don't know if I can handle it."

It turned out to be the case.

Haitang smiled and said, "What's the difficulty? If you can meet two or three acquaintances, just chat with them more, and just say a few polite words to others. If that doesn't work, just let the acquaintances socialize with others, and you can follow along, and the time will pass naturally. If that doesn't work, at most you can find a safer topic in advance, such as the dishes on the table, the host's garden, or the clothing materials, jewelry styles, embroidery patterns, opera scripts that are popular in Beijing recently... and so on. Collect relevant information in advance, and then you can chat with people when the time comes. Anyway, the people you are going to entertain are all female relatives of various families. If they know something about the topic you prepared, you can discuss it with them and then bring other people to chat together; if they know nothing about the topic you prepared, you can spend a lot of time just introducing them.

"How much time can you spend chatting and laughing at a banquet? Time flies by in the blink of an eye. There is no end to these topics. There are always new things in the world. When you have finished talking about what you know, ask others about what they like and keep chatting. If you really can't finish talking and you are interested in knowing the follow-up, make an appointment with others. In this way, unfamiliar people will gradually become familiar with each other. When you meet each other again at the next banquet, you will have a companion to spend time with."

Zhuang Minyi listened and felt that the tricks taught by her aunt were similar to what she learned from her family. It was just that she had few opportunities to practice in the past. She understood it in her heart, but when it came to actually doing it, she was not as proficient as her aunt.

She couldn't help but sigh: "It seems that there are many things to learn when attending banquets and socializing with people. I can't just talk about it on paper, I have to really put it into practice. Next time, I will definitely not panic, otherwise, wouldn't it seem too useless?"

Haitang smiled and said, "Although there are many families in the capital, the number of wedding banquets our family will attend is limited. Today, the wedding of Marquis Cheng'en Wu Ke has passed, and the next major event besides my marriage is Wu Qiong's marriage into Prince Kang's Mansion. Our family will most likely be invited by Prince Kang's Mansion to attend the wedding, but we will not be the guest of honor, just the last seat. At that time, my sister-in-law will follow grandma and say a few auspicious words of congratulations to the host family, and then we will have a meal and be done with it. Our family is just a small figure at the wedding banquet of the prince's mansion, so I don't think we need to bother with socializing." As for her, she had already married Jin Jiashu at that time. As the empress dowager's nephew's wife, she was a member of the royal circle, and she would probably have more opportunities to socialize.

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Minyi secretly breathed a sigh of relief and felt a lot less stressed.

She then asked Haitang with a smile, "I'm not good at socializing, so I'm worried about this. Why did you look like you've escaped a disaster just now? Did you run into any trouble during the meal?"

Haitang smiled, "It's not a big problem. It's just that there were several noble ladies at the banquet, and I haven't dealt with them before. Zhou Xuejun and Wu Qiong were responsible for greeting them, and we just followed them on the side. It was quite tiring, ten times more tiring than talking and dealing with ladies I didn't know well. Once the banquet is over, I don't have to worry about this anymore, and of course I will be very relieved."

Zhuang Minyi also heard that there were several distinguished guests from the palace of the king and the princess's mansion coming today, and she was worried about how to deal with them if she met them. Unexpectedly, she followed her grandmother-in-law and never met any distinguished people from beginning to end. She was secretly glad in her heart, but she didn't expect that her sister-in-law would meet the noble lady of the palace instead.

She asked hurriedly, "Did those ladies give you any trouble? I saw you chatting and laughing with others at the banquet from afar, so I thought you were fine. I never thought you would encounter such a thing."

Haitang shook her head and said, "How could the ladies embarrass me? I am not a prominent figure. With Zhou Xuejun and Wu Qiong here, the ladies of the palace and princess's palace will only be patient in dealing with them. They will not take us, the little people, seriously. We just follow Zhou and Wu's words and chat and laugh, and that's it. But we don't know the details of those ladies. It's the first time we meet them, so we dare not be careless. We are naturally restrained in what we say and do. Even if we are just eating and drinking, we have to be extra careful to avoid any mistakes in our words and accidentally offend the nobles."

Apart from the noble ladies from the palace of the king and the princess, the other ladies at the banquet today had actually dealt with each other at previous banquets and were familiar with each other. Everyone knew Zhou Xuejun and Wu Qiong's tempers. Even though they knew that they had a bright future and noble status, they would not be restrained in their words and deeds, because they knew that Zhou and Wu were gentle and would not care too much about everyone. But today, when they met a few noble ladies, they were not as relaxed as before even when talking to Zhou and Wu. If they said something wrong, Zhou and Wu would not care, but those noble ladies might stand up for the future queen and the future Princess Kang, grab their pigtails and pursue them to the end. Even if the matter will be resolved in the end without any bad consequences, the mere fact of making a fool of themselves in public is enough to make them drink a pot.

Therefore, everyone was very reserved today, and could not talk or laugh freely, feeling very depressed. If we had a chance to get together again next time, and those ladies wanted to join us, many of them would probably prefer to find excuses to be absent, right?
Zhuang Minyi couldn't help but show sympathy: "I see. It's really difficult for you. I thought it was a gathering of familiar friends, and everyone could laugh and joke without worry, but I didn't expect that there would be several strange noble ladies joining in. Although in such an occasion, the noble ladies who were sent by their families to attend the wedding banquet of the Earl's Mansion would not be willful and arrogant, and would not ignore the overall situation because of a small matter, but just dealing with strangers is enough to make people upset. You dare not offend them..." After a pause, "However, they are all girls of similar age. Even if their status is different, their temperaments and hobbies are probably similar, right? After you get married in the future, you will also be a royal relative. If you can meet a noble lady with a similar temperament, you will have familiar companions when you meet the banquets and gatherings of royal relatives in the future, and you will not be lonely?"

Haitang smiled. This was exactly the social trick she had just taught her sister-in-law Zhuang Minyi, but in reality, her future situation would be different from Zhuang Minyi's. The Hai and Zhuang families were in the circle of scholars, and scholars were all particular about rules and etiquette. Even if they looked down on others in their hearts, they would put on a polite air and would not do anything rude. But the royal family was more snobbish and more direct. They looked down on others and really didn't give them face.