Chapter 491: East Palace Banquet
In the Tianxiang Tower of Ningguo Mansion, although the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet had been held yesterday, the garden was particularly lively today, even more cheerful than the banquet in Jia Mu's courtyard yesterday.
In the hall of Tianxiang Tower, all the women sat in a circle!
The girls played around and gave way to each other for a long time before finally letting the eldest sister-in-law, Youshi, sit in the first seat. Baochai and Daiyu sat on the left , while Li Wan and Wang Xifeng sat on the right.
Below Baochai are Yuanyang, Zhen Muring, and Xing Xiuyun, and next to Wang Xifeng is Keqing.
Beside Xing Xiuyan, Xiangyun, Yingchun, Tanchun, Xichun and Baoqin sat around her!
Qingwen, Xin'er, Shiya and Zhuan'er were waiting on the side.
Zhuan'er was originally a second-class maid in Jia Cong's room, but because she was well-behaved and sensible, after Xing Xiuyan came to the mansion, Zhuan'er was promoted to a senior maid and transferred to Xing Xiuyan's room to take care of her. In addition, Xing Xiuyan also had a senior maid named Liang'er by her side. Liang'er was originally a maid in the West Mansion. Although she was not very old, she was dexterous and smart. Therefore, after Mrs. Xing and the old lady discussed it, they promoted Liang'er to a senior maid and let her follow Xing Xiuyan to the mansion.
On the table, there were moon cakes, watermelons, various fruits, and drinks for everyone to eat.
Although they had already celebrated the festival at home, the sisters were obviously more interested in the gathering at the East Mansion, especially since there were no serious elders present, so they were naturally more happy.
After Tanchun sent someone to pass the message to the East Palace, Youshi and others sent invitations to all the girls that day, inviting them to a small banquet at the East Palace.
The three sisters came early in the morning, and Baochai, Daiyu and Xiangyun all came after noon.
Being in a good mood, the girls naturally drank a few more glasses, but that was okay as they had already agreed to stay in the East Palace together after eating, and go to the West Palace together to learn the rules tomorrow morning.
"How about we imitate the ancients and play the game of passing the flower while beating the drum?" Tanchun stood up and said with a smile.
"Whether it's your turn to write a poem or tell a joke, it all counts. If you really can't do it, then drink!"
When everyone heard this, they naturally cheered in unison!
"I'll go get the flowers!" Little Xichun stood up and ran out holding Baoqin's hand.
"Shi Ya, go ask Mo Hen to get the small drum from our room!" Muring said with a smile. As Zhen Muring got along with the girls, she gradually integrated into this big family, especially with Daiyu. Although the two did not spend much time together, they had a very good relationship with each other.
"People talk about appreciating osmanthus and listening to the flute! Why don't we invite the small opera troupe from your house to come over and perform a few little songs to add to the fun!" Wang Xifeng said with a big laugh.
"It's not easy for Second Madam to listen to music. Xin'er, go and tell someone to tell the small opera troupe to prepare some cheerful little songs and come over to sing them later." Yuanyang ordered with a smile.
Not long after, Xiao Xichun and Baoqin ran back first.
"Sister Lin, do you think this flower is nice?" Little Xichun said to Daiyu as if she was presenting a treasure.
Daiyu looked over at what she had said, but Yingchun spoke first, "Fourth sister, are you making trouble again? If I'm not mistaken, isn't this the sweet-scented osmanthus plant that my eldest sister-in-law has been tending to in the garden? And you picked it. My eldest sister-in-law should punish you severely."
Yu Shi laughed and said, "Just now Feng Lazi was talking about appreciating the osmanthus and listening to the flute. Isn't this also the case? Although it is just a daily ornamental plant, it can add a bit of festive atmosphere to our banquet. It is also a blessing for these flowers. The fourth lady picked them well. This osmanthus flower is perfect for the occasion ."
"It's nothing, it's just a single osmanthus flower. Let my younger sister get some finer ones someday, and let my elder sister-in-law continue to play with them!" Wang Xifeng also laughed. "In all of Beijing, when it comes to the style and preciousness of osmanthus flowers, which family can compare to the Xia family? Even the osmanthus flowers in the palace are supplied by the Xia family. Now that the Xue family is marrying into the Xia family, this is a real marriage, and our family can also benefit from it."
Baochai glanced at Wang Xifeng helplessly. "You, Feng Lazi, are you asking Mom to go to the Xia family to ask for a few osmanthus flowers? Although our family doesn't specialize in osmanthus flowers, we do have some of the best ones in our shop. I'll send them all to the first lady someday."
Wang Xifeng glanced at Youshi and laughed heartily, saying, "Sister Bao, my eldest sister-in-law and Cong'er are family. It's the same whether you give it to my eldest sister-in-law or to your family. Others may not know, but I know. Any other aunt would certainly feel bad, but even an aunt wouldn't be willing to part with something for her own son-in-law. Auntie has already let me know: the dowry for you, Bao-girl, is quite substantial. In the future, a small portion of the Xue family's shops and properties will likely belong to us. We're just moving it in a few days earlier."
As they were talking, Shi Ya and Mo Hen also walked in carrying a small drum.
"Let me be the drum-beating officer for all the ladies, grandmothers and girls!" Qingwen said with a smile.
"Brother Cong is not here today, so we will use Miss Qingwen for a while. Fortunately, Miss Bao and Miss Lin are here, so we can be considered to be benefiting from it and it is not an overstepping of our bounds." Wang Xifeng laughed.
The two beautiful girls, Baochai and Daiyu, couldn't help but give Wang Xifeng a blank look. Qingwen blushed, turned her back, sat down and picked up the drumstick.
"Then let's start with my sister-in-law!"
Daiyu put the osmanthus flower in Youshi's hand. Youshi did not refuse, but picked up the flower branch. When the drum sounded, she passed the flower branch to Daiyu who was standing beside her.
Daiyu handed the branch to Baochai with a smile. Baochai played with it for a while before handing it to Yuanyang beside her.
After a moment, the drumbeats stopped abruptly. Wang Xifeng looked at the flower branch in her hand in astonishment and glanced at everyone in confusion.
"Qingwen, if Second Madam said something wrong just now, you should have just said it. Why did the flowers stop when they reached Second Madam? Second Madam was just there to join in the fun, but now she's the center of attention."
When everyone heard this, they all burst into laughter.
"This is your luck, Second Madam, and has nothing to do with Qingwen. Just tell me, whether it's writing poems, lyrics or telling jokes. Otherwise, Second Madam can perform a horse riding and fighting scene for us!" Keqing said jokingly.
"You little bitch, you'll be in trouble soon!" Wang Xifeng glared at Keqing, then thought for a while before speaking, "Of course I can't match you guys in writing poetry, but when it comes to telling jokes, Second Madam has a few too."
Everyone urged her to tell the story faster, so Wang Xifeng teased her and began, "On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month of that year, several men carried firecrackers as big as a house and set them off outside the city, attracting tens of thousands of people to watch. One impatient man, unable to wait, secretly used incense to light the firecrackers. With a 'puff' sound, everyone burst into laughter and dispersed. The man carrying the firecrackers complained that the poles used to sell them were flimsy, so they dispersed before they could even be set off."
