Foster son and husband

Chapter 6
With her skillful hands and mouth, Qin Meiniang won the favor of Mrs. Xu for a while.

Near noon, just a few hours before the auspicious time for the funeral, many relatives, friends, Xu Junying's colleagues and subordinates in the imperial court brought their family members. Becoming a visitor to the resurrection, turning a funeral into a happy event, probably the same as a happy event into a funeral, greatly stimulated a certain nerve of the people, and there was an endless stream of visitors. The male guests went to the front hall, and they were received by the young and old in the mansion.The female guests came to the backyard, and the old lady ordered whoever it was, to invite them to sit in the Jinhua Hall.

The Jinhua Hall where Mrs. Xu lives is a spacious and bright courtyard facing south and north. In the courtyard, there are beautiful pools and strange stones, exquisite pavilions and pavilions. All kinds of flowers are blooming all year round. There are also cranes and mandarin ducks in the shallow pools. All kinds of waterfowl, but it has snowed recently, the forest flowers are covered under the thick snow, and the beautiful waterfowl have also been moved to the greenhouse to raise them. The guests come one after another, and they can only enjoy the unique snow scene in the courtyard.

The rich and beautifully decorated main hall, with fragrant clothes and shadows on the temples, and loud laughter, the wives and wives of the famous and noble families in the capital, are in a hurry. Whoever wants to come to join in the fun and watch the strange things, if there are scandals and jokes, it will be more satisfying Their gossip mentality is not so much that they come to care and greet, as it is to say that they come to satisfy their own emptiness and loneliness.

Meiniang used to be low-key and forbearing, not good at socializing, but today she had to come out to entertain guests. Mrs. Xu personally gave her a good word of advice, Meiniang listened very carefully and accepted the instruction with an open mind.

When actually receiving guests, she gave full play to her public relations skills in her previous life. Dressed in gorgeous clothes, beautiful and charming, she was among the bejeweled ladies like butterflies and flowers. She had a sweet smile, a soft and charming voice, and treated everyone with enthusiasm. , When speaking with everyone, she showed [-]% devotion and respect. Most of the ladies she knew and didn't know were coaxed into a happy mood by her and were very happy.

Mrs. Zheng had just experienced the pain of bereavement, so she didn't want to show her face, but a few noble ladies of the same age who used to come and go on a daily basis specially prepared a special gift to visit her by the way. The two sisters-in-law were only inside the Nuan Pavilion, accompanied by a dozen older ladies, sitting and chatting with the old lady, and the atmosphere outside was completely under Mei Niang's control.

The old lady smiled kindly, and looked at Meiniang with admiration and indifference. Madam Gui only chatted with one or two familiar wives of her own family. He looked at the old lady quietly again, only she could best understand what kind of mood the old lady felt towards Meiniang at this time.

Zhuang Rulan has already arrived at the Xu Mansion, the front yard is full of traffic, and there are distinguished guests. Not only can she not be received by the old lady in person, but she is also carried in by a small sedan chair through the back door, and quietly sent to the Lianxiang Garden, where she stays by herself. After dinner, who has time to see her?
Now the protagonist of the Hou Mansion is Weiyuan Hou's wife, Qin Meiniang. Seeing her magnificent, smiling, sitting among the ladies, being held by the ladies, talking and laughing happily, Mrs. Zheng felt a little comforted.

As long as Mei Niang is fine, Brother Heng is fine, she, as a grandmother, can rest assured.

Qin Meiniang was entertaining guests in the Jinhua Hall, happy and carefree, with boundless glory. Outside the Jinhua Hall, Ning Rulan was too busy to touch her feet, looking for one at a time, looking for another at a time, asking things and getting the right cards, she couldn't live in peace for a moment.

Taking a break, Qin Meiniang went to the inner room, Cuixi followed, Meiniang asked her about brother Heng's situation, why didn't she come to hug him?Cuixi said that Ms. Wang had already brought Cuisi back to see it. She thought she was afraid that there would be too many people here, and the little baby was afraid of being surprised if she had never seen a big scene, so she didn't let her come.Mei Niang was relieved when she heard that it was reasonable.It's strange, after inheriting this body, I don't have any memories of the past, but I can't let go of the warm longing in my heart. It's a feeling for my son, it's so good to be a mother!

Going around the outer corridor to watch the sky, seeing Ning Rulan hurriedly approaching, she called out: "Third grandma!"

Ning Rulan said: "Sister-in-law, in the past you only called me third sibling, but I would rather you call me by my first name!"

Mei Niang smiled and said, "Okay, I'll call you Ru Lan. How's it going outside? Thank you for your hard work, go ahead and drink a bowl of hot tea to warm yourself up!"

A gentle smile appeared on Ning Rulan's beautiful face: "Look at what you said! You have become so sick, and I feel sad even after working hard. When you get better, I am willing no matter how hard or tired you are!"

Meiniang touched her cool hand: "Good sister, thank you!"

Ning Rulan patted her hand: "Although I am a younger brother and sister, I am one year older than you! There is nothing to say, and the things that should be done have to be done... There is chaos outside, I want to ask my wife for a favor idea."

"What's the idea?"

"Oh, I don't know how to say it—you have heard about the second grandma's natal family, right? The old man of the Bai family passed away. He originally said that he would take advantage of today's good day to hold the funeral, but he found another better auspicious time and postponed it." , people from the house come every day, but there is not enough meat and vegetables to prepare, and it is snowing heavily, the road outside Xiaoxiao is blocked by snow, their village is much farther than ours, and they can't deliver it for a while, I heard yesterday You come back slowly, expecting that our mansion is closed and we don’t need so many meat and vegetables. The Bai Mansion is not far from our Xu Mansion, only a few streets away. Jingyu asked someone to borrow it. I asked the second wife The second wife said that it’s okay to leave it alone, so I’ll give it to her. But who knows that the guests in our house still come as usual today, and the bad things turned into good things, and they even gave more expensive and better gifts. Mama Zheng from the kitchen just now Jumping and crying—all kinds of meat and vegetables that were prepared before have been almost moved by the people of the Baifu. How can this be good? The male guests in the front yard have already taken their seats, and the cooks are rushing to do it, and they are just in time There were enough dishes for the wedding banquet at that time, and the men would not be able to eat much if they drank and talked. It's just that the ladies' banquet, but they really don't know what to do, there are only a few meat dishes left, and they have already sent a fast horse Zhuangshang, you can't come back until night!"

Mei Niang looked up at the sky, it was gloomy, heavy snow said that it was about to fall, and the meat and vegetables in the village might not be back at night.

The guests are in the hall, and the meat and vegetables are not enough to entertain. It doesn't matter to anyone. What can I do if I ask the wife and the old lady?Annoying and angering them for no reason, in the end it was of no avail.

She looked at the thick snow in the courtyard, and her eyes extended to a clump of woods by the pool. The grove was slightly higher, and there were two pavilions beside the forest. There were faintly pink flowers on the branches of the trees, two wide and long, The curved corridor filled with various bonsai is in the shape of a right angle, blocking that side of the forest into a corner courtyard.

"Ru Lan, what kind of forest is that, and where is the forest past?" Meiniang asked.

Ning Rulan was in a state of distraught. Seeing that she still wanted to look at the courtyard, she couldn't help but smiled wryly, and answered patiently: "It's the purple leaf forest. Both the leaves and the branches are very fragrant. The fragrance is elegant and fresh. The old lady I used to like to sit there in summer. The Purple Leaf Forest used to be a rockery. There are more than ten plum trees beside the rockery, bright red, pink, and snow-white. They are all in bloom. I have something to do at home these days, and no one is free. Go and see!"

Meiniang's heart moved, and she asked Ning Rulan: "You just said how much meat and vegetables are left?"

"After the previous banquet, there are only a few chickens, ducks and fish left. I just slaughtered two calves, some raw beef, some vegetables..."

"What kind of vegetables? Are there any dry goods? Squid or something? Where's the sweet potato? Flour... er, the kind of wheat flour for dim sum, right?"

Ning Rulan didn't know what she meant by asking this, and she couldn't figure it out herself, she just looked behind, and there was a white-faced and slightly fat woman who came up, blessed her body, and answered one by one:

"Returning to grandma's words: green vegetables include coriander, Chinese cabbage, long-stemmed vegetables, leeks...dry products include abalone, sea cucumber, squid...we don't have sweet potatoes in our house. If grandma wants it, I can find it. Wheat flour for snacks Jiangmi noodles, etc., all of them!"

Mei Niang looked at the woman: "You are in charge of this?"

Ning Rulan said: "This is Mama Cai, one of the stewards of the big kitchen."

Mei Niang nodded: "Okay! Mama Cai, listen to me: it's time for dinner now, and I can't go anywhere to find the necessary ingredients for the banquet. Fortunately, there are hundreds of catties of fresh beef and vegetables, which are enough These noble ladies in Jinhuatang are using it! You are like this, just let go and do it immediately! The rest of the work is left to me."

After hearing what Meiniang said, Mother Cai went to see Ning Rulan again. Ning Rulan looked at Meiniang suspiciously, and Meiniang said:

"The road is blocked by heavy snow, and there is nowhere to buy it. Otherwise, what can you do?"

Ning Rulan gritted her teeth, took the pair of cards from Mama Liu beside her, and handed it to Mama Cai:
"Everything is told by Grandma!"

Cai's mother took a pair of cards, turned around and twisted her fat waist, but also ran very fast.

Mei Niang said a few more words to Ning Rulan, then turned around and went back to the Nuan Pavilion of Jinhuatang, and Ning Rulan made preparations by herself.

(End of this chapter)