Madam Hou

Chapter 90

And the day of Ji.

After Yinniang took a bath, she changed into clothes and shoes, and sat in the east room.Until the guests and guests were all seated, Mrs. Chen, as the mother of Ji Zhe, got up to open the ceremony and delivered the opening speech.Then Qingteng and Qinghua helped Yinniang out of the east room.

Pingniang, who was the praiser, stepped forward first, washed her hands, and took her seat on the west steps.Then Yin Niang walked out to the middle of the venue, facing south, and bowed to the guests.Then kneel on the seat facing west.The praiser combs his hair, and then puts the comb on the south side of the mat.

Princess Shouyang, who was the guest of honor, washed her hands at the bottom of the east steps, wiped them dry, and walked to the guest table to sit down.

Yin Niang turned to the east and knelt down, and a secretary offered Luopa and hairpin.

Princess Shouyang walked up to Yinniang and chanted loudly: "On the auspicious day of the lunar month, I will start to add yuan clothes. Abandon your young ambitions, follow your success and become a virtue. Shoukao Weiqi, Jieer Jingfu." Then she knelt down and sat down. Comb Yinniang's hair and hairpin, then get up and return to the guest table.This is one plus.

Yinniang stood up, and the guests bowed to congratulate.

When Yinniang returned to the east room, Pingniang took the clothes from Yousi and went to the room to change into the plain clothes and skirts that matched the hairpin on her head.Go out of the room to show the guests, and then bow down to Mrs. Chen, which means to thank the parents for their upbringing.This is a prayer.

Yinniang knelt and sat facing east again, Princess Shouyang washed her hands again and reset herself, a minister offered the hairpin, Princess Shouyang took it, went to Yinniang, and chanted loudly: "Auspicious moon and chen, it is Shen Erfu. Respect your majesty, Shu Shende. Your eyebrows will live forever, and you will be blessed forever." Pingniang went to hairpin for Yinniang, Princess Shouyang knelt down, put the hairpin on Yinniang's hairpin, and then got up to reset.This is two plus.

Yinniang went back to the east room, and Pingniang took the clothes to help, and then went out to show the guests, and then knelt down to Princess Shouyang, which meant respect for the elders.This is the second prayer.

Yinniang knelt and sat facing east for the third time; Princess Shouyang washed her hands again, reset herself again, took the golden silk-studded ruby ​​and lotus hairpin from Yousi's hand, and walked in front of Yinniang; Righteousness, with the order of the moon, Xianjiaer will obey. Brothers are present, so that Juede can be achieved. Yellow scorpion has no boundaries, and it is celebrated by heaven." Pingniang went to send out hairpins for Yinniang.Princess Shouyang knelt down, added a hairpin for Yinniang, and then got up to reset.This is three plus.

When Yinniang returns to the east room, Pingniang assists with getting clothes and changing Yinniang into a red long-sleeved dress that matches her hairpin.

Yinniang went out of the room wearing hairpins and dresses, showed them to the guests, and then bowed to the emperor's statue, which means passing the torch from one generation to the next.This is three prayers.

Yinniang turned to the north, and Pingniang offered the wine. Princess Shouyang took the wine, walked to Yinniang's table, and read a congratulatory speech: "Sweet and sweet wine are thick, and I recommend Lingfang. Worship and sacrifice to determine Erxiang, the rest of the heaven, I will never forget my birthday." Yin Niang saluted and took the wine.Princess Shouyang pays homage.

Yinniang knelt down and sprinkled some wine on the ground as sacrificial wine, then held the wine to symbolically touch her lips, and then put the wine on the table. A priest served the rice, and Yinniang took it and ate a little symbolically.Yinniang bowed, and Princess Shouyang replied.

Then Yinniang knelt in front of Mrs. Chen to accept the training, and then replied: "Although my son is not sensitive, I dare not only accept it!" She saluted Mrs. Chen.

Yinniang stood in the center of the venue again, and bowed to the guests, guests, musicians, officials, praisers, etc., and the recipients nodded and accepted the ceremony.Since then, Jiji has been completed.

Mrs. Lin Hou invited all the guests to the flower hall for dinner.

Mrs. Chen walked up to Yinniang, looking at her daughter who was already as tall as her in a dress and a golden hairpin, her eyes were moist.Mrs. Chen straightened her daughter's hair, choked up and said, "My Yiniang has grown up."

Yin Niang hugged her mother's arm, and said coquettishly: "Mother, why are you crying on such a happy day, your daughter has grown up, you should smile."

Mrs. Chen said: "Yes, yes, my Yiniang has grown up, I should laugh." Then she took the handkerchief in her hand to wipe her tears.

Yinniang wanted to distract Mrs. Chen's attention, so she pointed to the hairpin on her head and said to Mrs. Chen, "Mother, look at this hairpin. It's a gift from my sister. Is it beautiful?"

Mrs. Chen glanced at the hairpin on Yinniang's head, nodded and said, "It's beautiful, it's so beautiful. I haven't seen such a big gem on it before."

Yin Niang said: "Of course, even in the entire capital, I'm afraid you won't be able to find a few such big ones, and the one on top is priceless..."

Yinniang said a few more words to Mrs. Chen, and asked the servant girl to lead Mrs. Chen to the flower hall for a banquet, while Yinniang went back to the east room and changed back into a dress with narrow sleeves.There are banquets at home, and Yinniang, as daughter-in-law, also helps Mrs. Lin Hou to entertain guests. Although the wide-sleeved dresses worn during the ceremony are beautiful, they are not suitable for entertaining guests.

After lunch, the guests bid farewell and went back to the house one by one. Yin Niang and Madam Lin Hou ordered the little maids to clean up the table and move the dishes and utensils back to the warehouse.After everything was packed, it was almost evening.

After a whole set of cumbersome etiquette, Yinniang was already a little tired, and later she had to greet the guests to clean up the table, and when she returned to Mudetang, Yinniang was so tired that she could hardly stand upright.

Lin Fengqi, who was sitting on the kang, saw Yinniang's appearance, motioned for her to come over, then hugged her and said, "Tired?"

Yin Niang nodded.

Lin Fengqi said: "Then let me rub it for you." Then he took off the hairpin from Yinniang's head, let her lean on his body, and helped him rub his shoulders.

Yinniang was so tired, she leaned against Lin Fengqi and fell asleep not long after.Seeing that Yiniang was asleep, Lin Fengqi gently kissed her on the forehead, and said softly: "My little Yiniang, congratulations on finally growing up." After speaking, he gently picked up his wife and put her on the bed. On the bed, help her cover the quilt again.Then he found a box for the hairpin that was pulled out from Yinniang's head just now, and took out another box from his sleeve, and put it on the head of the bed together with the other box.

After finishing all this, Lin Fengqi put down the curtain, and told Qing Teng, who was serving beside him, "Be careful and don't wake up your young mistress. If the kitchen brings dinner to you at night, don't wake your young mistress first, and take the food to you." It’s warming up in the small kitchen first, and you’ll serve it to your young mistress after she wakes up.”

Qingteng said yes softly, Lin Fengqi left the room and went to the outer courtyard.

Yinniang fell asleep until three o'clock in the next hour.When she opened her eyes, the room was pitch-black and there was no lamp, probably because she was afraid that the candlelight would affect her sleep.

Qing Teng heard a sound on the bed, so she knew that Yin Niang had woken up, and lit the candles on all sides of the room with a torch, walked over to hang up the curtains, and asked: "Young Mistress, you are awake, do you want to get up? "

Yin Niang nodded, then sat up, when she got up, her head bumped against the two boxes placed by the bed, Yin Niang picked them up and opened them.Inside, a box contained the gold thread-studded ruby-studded hairpin with double lotus that Yanniang had given her, and the other box contained a comb made of Hetian jade.Yinniang took out the comb and looked at it. The Hetian jade was warm and moist, with a hosta pattern carved on it, and a small Chinese character Yin was also carved on a very inconspicuous corner.Hosta is Yinniang's favorite flower, and it is also the flower of love, meaning "beloved".

Yin Niang held the comb in her bosom, and she couldn't help showing a smile on her mouth. After a long while, Qingteng asked someone to bring water in for her to wash, and then reluctantly put the comb back into the box, and then put it on. He got off the bed and put it together with Bing Dilian's hairpin in the lowermost compartment of his jewelry box.

The maid helped Yinniang to wash her face and hands, and took a clean handkerchief to wipe her hands.Qingteng asked again: "Young Mistress, dinner is warming in the small kitchen, do you want someone to serve it for you?"

Qingteng didn't feel like dinner, but when she said it, Yinniang immediately felt hungry and her stomach growled.Yin Niang said: "Then bring it up."

For dinner, there are wine-flavored bean sprouts and boiled quail that Yinniang likes. The soup is stewed chicken soup with ginseng, which whets Yinniang's appetite.Qingteng filled a bowl of soup and handed it to Yinniang. Looking at the soup, Yinniang suddenly thought of Lin Fengqi, so she asked, "The young master is in the study in the outer courtyard?"

Qingteng replied: "Yes."

Yin Niang said: "Then you take a cup of chicken soup and send it to the outer study, and bring it in for the young master to use by the waiter in the study."

And after a cup of tea, Lin Fengqi looked at the chicken soup on the table and couldn't help smiling. With this smile, he didn't even know that the ink from the brush in his hand dripped onto the paper.

After Yinniang's wedding ceremony, the second young master Lin Fengye's marriage will follow.Lin Fengye hired He Shi, the daughter-in-law of Master He, the Prime Minister of Honglu Temple.

Among the six ceremonies, the time for accepting the lottery, asking for the name, accepting the prize, and accepting the levy has all been completed, and the rest is the personal welcome on March [-].

Although the concubine's marriage does not need to be a big deal, there are a lot of miscellaneous things to add up, such as setting up the new house, sending invitations to relatives and friends, deciding on the dishes on the wedding day, wedding arrangements, etc.

Perhaps it was to test Yinniang, this time Mrs. Lin Fengye's marriage was completely done by the shopkeeper, and Yinniang was responsible for it all.In addition, for the wedding of the second young master Lin, the banquet for the guests and the decoration of the new house, Mrs. Lin Hou is only willing to pay 4000 taels of silver from the public.

4000 taels of silver may seem like a lot, but for a wedding banquet in Gaomen, this amount definitely needs to be carefully calculated. The last time Yinniang and Lin Fengqi got married, not counting the money spent on arranging the new house, it was just the banquet on the day of the wedding. That piece cost nearly 6000 taels of silver.

Of course, Lin Fengqi is a concubine, and the scene of his marriage certainly cannot be compared with that of Lin Fengqi who is a son of the eldest son, but even so, even if it is superficial, the wedding should be held to look decent.As far as the banquet is concerned, if you still buy a table of 50 taels of silver like the last time when Yin Niang got married, even if the number of seats is halved and only 500 tables of guests are invited, it will already cost 500 taels of silver. two silver.The remaining [-] taels of silver, not counting the silver for inviting people to sing operas and storytelling on the day of the wedding banquet, is not enough to just paint the new house and make furniture.

Don't think about persuading Mrs. Lin Hou to add money, let alone ask Yin Niang to add money, she thinks that her moral character has not been cultivated so high.

In this way, for a period of time before the second young master Lin got married, Yinniang spent almost every day in the crackling of the abacus.Subtract here, subtract there, always want to control the total amount of silver flowers to less than 4000 taels.

This kind of day lasted until the day before the wedding, when the bride's family came to Hou Mansion to shop for makeup.

(End of this chapter)