It was another spring, and Shen Shiyan had grown up from babbling to the age of a toddler. Although he was not yet fluent in speech, his father, the queen, and his mother were already shouting very fluently.
Shang Rong was hugging him, teasing him with a gilt rattle that made a clanging sound in her hand, while Song Wan was sitting aside to deal with the harem affairs.
Qi Qingling looked at the bright flowers, willows, plums, whites and peaches outside the window, and suddenly said: "There has been no banquet in the palace for a long time. I wonder if we can have a spring banquet this year?"
"Very good."
Shang Rong hugged Shen Shiyan with a loving look on her face: "Our little thirteen will be pregnant in a few years, and it's time to see his wife. Why not take this opportunity to let those unmarried people in Beijing get married?" Let’s get together with the girls and boys, so that we can pull some red strings and arrange some happy marriages.”
When Song Wan heard this, he suddenly thought of Song Xiang and Song Zhao who lived in the second and third bedrooms, as well as Song Yao, who had not announced his mourning to the outside world.
After thinking for a while, Song Wan said: "That's good. The palace has not been busy for several years, so we can take this opportunity to meet the younger members of the family."
Zhao Nanzhang liked prosperity the most, and he immediately agreed after hearing this.
They hit it off immediately and immediately decided to hold a Spring Festival banquet on the 15th of next month.
In the evening, when Shen Qianyu went to court, he saw Song Wan writing in front of the writing desk. He took Shen Shiyan into his arms from Heng Zhi and approached her gently.
"What are Wan'er busy with?"
"Today Qing Ling proposed to hold a Spring Festival banquet in the palace. I think this is a great idea and I am about to tell you about it."
Shen Shiyan was extremely obedient in Shen Qianyu's arms. Song Wan looked at him and felt funny.
This little guy is very attached to his father. The father and son would ask each other carefully several times if they didn't see each other. Just now, Shen Qianyu had not gone to court, and Shen Shiyan was still crying in the palace. Now that he sees his father, he is quite docile. Just like a cat.
"Wan'er can just make the decision regarding the harem, there's no need to ask me."
Song Wan also knew that Shen Qianyu couldn't bear to deal with such trivial matters. He simply said a few words and ignored it, leaving it to Heng Zhi to handle it.
When the Song Dynasty received the Queen's decree to allow the female family members to enter the palace to attend the banquet, Ming Xiang was sorting out the accounts of the palace with Aunt Song.
After hearing the news, Mingxiang said, "It's time to deal with the second lady's matter."
Although Song Yao had never been mentioned in the palace before, since last winter, the Song family had openly and secretly revealed to Mrs. Qi that Song Yao was ill. Although it was not a serious illness, he was not well.
Mrs. Qi asked to meet several times, but Mingxiang refused.
Now that it has been a long time since the Holy Father granted marriage, we can slowly announce the death of the second lady of the Song Dynasty to the outside world.
Nanny Song also knew what she meant. After nodding, she went to Qi Mansion to report the funeral.
Because the mourning period in the Song Mansion was about to end, Mrs. Qi was waiting at home for her bride to come. Not only did she buy a lot of extra items for her home, but Qi Su Lun also chose the best one for her yard.
"Although my son is not very old, who allowed him to marry a good wife?"
"This woman's mother-in-law's family can use her, and her husband's family's worth will naturally rise accordingly, and my son's face will also be very bright."
Mrs. Qi held the old jewelry on her head and the new gold hairpin, smiling from ear to ear.
Standing next to her was the third daughter of the royal family of Zhongjing County, now the daughter-in-law of Qi's family, Mrs. Xu.
Mrs. Xu first knew that her mother-in-law was a mess, so she never argued with her, but in her heart she became more and more disdainful of Qifu's behavior.
"Madam, what you said is really interesting. I have only heard that mother is more valuable than son, but I have never heard of husband being more valuable than wife."
The speaker was Xu's wet nurse, who had disliked Mrs. Qi for a long time.
It is undisputed fact that the Qi family is in decline, and marrying a girl from their Zhongjing County Prince's Palace is considered a high achievement. But Mrs. Qi wanted to take advantage of the power of the county prince's palace, and at the same time looked down on their young lady for being a concubine, which was really hard to stand.
"Don't talk to your mother like that."
Mrs. Xu lightly scolded the old nanny, with a calm look on her face, as if she didn't think the nanny's words were harsh enough.
"Hey, the upbringing of this concubine is not as good as that of a direct descendant."
Mrs. Qi glanced at Mrs. Xu and looked at her with a smile on her face.
"Between sisters-in-law, status is not judged by elder or younger, but by the strength of the mother's family and how much practical benefits one can bring to her husband's family."
Dusting off her clothes, Mrs. Qi said: "Although you are the eldest daughter-in-law of my Qi Mansion, you still have to see your position clearly in the future and don't rely on your seniority to get rich. Otherwise, if you offend the Song Mansion, you will offend the Queen. If you don’t like it, it won’t look good.”
Mrs. Xu held the handkerchief and lowered her eyelids without saying a word.
The nun beside her said: "The Qi family has a clean and upright family tradition, and all the men are upright men. I have never heard my uncle and the fifth master say that he would protect his wife and the family to make things happen."
"Madam, by saying this, she really looks down on the men in the family, and..."
The nanny muttered: "Madam has never brought any practical benefits to the Qi Mansion, and I have never seen the master's derogatory remarks as useless."
"How dare you talk to your mother like this?"
Mrs. Xu turned around and scolded the woman loudly. Upon hearing this, the woman hurriedly raised her hand and slapped her mouth.
"Look at this old slave's mouth, he just can't control it."
"Madam, don't be as knowledgeable as this old slave. Your lord, don't be so petty as to argue with a servant like this old slave. You will end up losing your health because of your anger."
"Hmph, right now you two are singing in harmony, teasing me with your tongue and mouth, just to see how lazy I am and to argue with you. But when your fifth younger brother and sister get started, I want to see if you can still lift your waist. stand up."
This Xu family took advantage of her family background to get rich every day. When she first married into the Qi family, she wanted to ride on her head.
If he hadn't released a single song in the past few years and his temperament had become more restrained, he might have torn off the roof of the entire Qi Mansion.
Mrs. Qi held up the bun on her head and looked at Mr. Xu with disdain.
"Madam, someone from the Song Mansion is visiting and wants to see Madam."
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were talking when someone from the Qi Mansion came to report. Upon hearing this, Mrs. Qi walked out with a smile and a swagger.
Seeing this, the mother-in-law beside Xu stretched her head and spat.
"You are an old and dishonest person. I have never seen a mistress of a family who is so blatantly pointing at her daughter-in-law to make a fortune. The bald hair of her mother's family is all shaken off. How dare she try to bully you, young lady?"
Xu lowered his eyes slightly when he heard this, but didn't say anything.
After all, this house is dominated by women. In the past, she could rely on her mother's family background to hold her head high and be a good person in the Qi family. But now that she has been married into the house and has not had children for many years, even her husband has complained. Not to mention Mrs. Qi.
Now if the legitimate daughter of the Song family enters the family, she will probably have even less status in the house.
Mrs. Xu held the handkerchief and planned to take in two more concubines for Qi Zhenglun.
While thinking about it in his mind, he saw Mrs. Qi going out happily, but in the blink of an eye she was carried back to the inner house by Mrs. Xi.
Mrs. Xu was stunned for a moment, and just as she was wondering, a hint of joy flashed in the eyes of the woman beside her: "Hey, madam, what's wrong? Grandma, don't worry, I'll go take a look..."
