The backyard garden of Xu Mansion.

Autumn is getting stronger, the sun is slightly drunk at this moment, it is not cold, but rather refreshing.

Wen Yu looked around for a week, and found a place with a good view to observe these people.

There are about twelve or thirteen guests who have come here, all of them are not bad in appearance, and their hairstyles are all girls of the right age to be married.Wen Yu's eyelids twitched.

She seemed to be the tallest one, Wen Yu shrank her neck and tried to keep her height as low as possible.Wen Yu folded her hands in front of her body, with a shy smile on her face, her hair on both sides almost covered half of her face, trying to make herself less conspicuous.

After Mrs. Li, who dressed her up this morning, left, several servants brought a list of the female guests who attended the banquet today. Nine out of ten of them were the daughters of the third-rank officials. Afterwards, there were corresponding guests one by one.and a portrait of Mrs. Xu's family.

The painting style of these portraits is not realistic, and some are even a little weird, but the characteristics are quite distinct.At least, Wen Yu could tell at a glance that the girl with apricot-shaped eyes and a small cherry mouth was the legitimate daughter of Mr. Zhang, the minister of rites; that girl was the second daughter of Mr. Wang's family.

Mrs. Xu probably hasn't arrived yet, Wen Yu glanced at the face of the older woman, but couldn't find Mrs. Xu's face.

However, when Wen Yu caught sight of a girl with an apricot face and peach cheeks, a tear mole at the corner of her eye, and an arrogant expression but a very pretty appearance, her expression couldn't help but change.A very rugged portrait instantly appeared in her mind. This is Shi Anwan, the daughter of Shi Jinglian, the servant of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, who is twenty-eight years old.

But more importantly, she had a relationship with this girl before, just a few months ago, when she just returned to Capital City from Yi Xin, the girl who "molested" her on the road.

Wen Yu's eyes darkened slightly, she narrowed her eyes slightly, her expression was calm, and she smiled in her heart, with her current appearance, even if her own mother came, she probably wouldn't be able to recognize her.However, she still pushed a strand of hair to the side of her cheek, and turned slightly to avoid Shi Anwan's direct gaze.

The atmosphere in the garden was already very lively, and everyone chatted happily in twos and threes.For these girls who have not left the cabinet, the autumn banquet is said to be a banquet, but it is actually an opportunity to play and play with their little sisters.

Wen Yu heard these girls talking and laughing, playing and admiring flowers, talking about poetry and songs, chatting about piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, Wen Yu also heard several people exchanging ideas about knitting women's reds and embroidering purses.

Just talking about the poems, Wen Zhen can still continue a few sentences, but these girls change the topic too quickly. The last sentence is still talking about the lotus on the handkerchief, and the next sentence is replaced by whose young master is stillNever married.

Wen Yu couldn't get a word out of her mouth, but fortunately she quickly mastered the inconspicuous method, nodding and smiling, smiling and nodding, but she managed to get away with it.

But things can't always go as smoothly as Wen Yu thought.

"Your name is Lin Yi. You are really tall. I heard that you are from Chang Yi, why have you kept silent?" A girl with big eyes blinked and asked Wen Yu curiously.In an instant, the topic turned to Wen Yu.

The other girl looked at Wen Yu, and a strange light flashed in her eyes: "You came here as the Yuan family's carriage, Lin Yi, then you must be familiar with Yuan Zhan, right? Is he really the same as the rumors say?Same, like eating human flesh and drinking human blood."

The corners of Wen Yu's mouth twitched. Could it be that this girl heard the news from Fang Chunming? Wait a minute, Wen Yu looked at her carefully, coughed lightly, and said tentatively, "Miss Fang?"

"Hey, they're all sisters. It's so strange to call me Miss Fang. You can just call me Fang Rong. Lin Yi, tell me quickly."

Wen Yu put a handkerchief to her mouth and pretended to cough, so as to hide the smile at the corner of her mouth. It was really Fang Chunming's younger sister, no wonder.

"I just arrived in Capital City a while ago, so I don't know much about it." Wen Yu shook her head, pointed to her throat, and coughed again in a fake way, "I'm sorry, cough, my throat feels a little uncomfortable."

Fang Rong pursed her lips and said disappointedly, "Okay."

Shi Anwan heard the movement, took a look here, then turned her head and continued talking to the people beside her.

Wen Yu was free, and continued to be her transparent person, standing among these girls.

After about a stick of incense.

In order not to disturb the girls in the garden, Mrs. Xu and a beautiful woman behind her came quietly while everyone was talking and observed the garden.

Mrs. Xu looks very similar to Xu Lingru. She is about forty years old, with a reserved and elegant temperament, and she has the air of a housewife.And the beautiful woman's appearance is extremely beautiful, no matter whether men or women see her, they will feel pity from the bottom of their hearts.

"Ping Nu, all the girls of the right age in Beijing are here now, and I don't know if Ru'er will fall in love with one of them. I talked to him secretly about this two years ago, but it's a pity that this child is not like that at all."side of mind."

Mrs. Xu took Zhou Pingnu's hand, with smile lines showing in the corners of her eyes, "However, Ru'er is now twenty-two this year, and the eldest is not too young. I have to urge him well. When Ru'er has a family, the next one will be considered."The only one is Peier, and Peier is almost fourteen now, it's time to think about finding a good husband's family."

Mrs. Xu patted Zhou Pingnu's hand lightly, "Although she is a concubine, don't worry, Pingnu, I've noticed everything you've done all these years, not to mention that Pei'er is so well-behaved.I will not treat her dowry badly."

Zhou Pingnu smiled sweetly, and the corners of his lips slightly raised: "The concubine is very grateful to Madam."

Mrs. Xu patted her hand, "Let's go, it's time for us to meet these girls too. I know you have sharp eyes, and I have a few close-eyed friends who can help me find these girls."

She pointed to two or three people, Zhou Pingnu smiled and nodded, "I know."

Zhou Pingnu walked among the group of girls, and for some reason subconsciously walked in the direction where Wen Yu was.

"Which family are you from? If I had seen such a handsome appearance before, I would not have been impressed." The beautiful woman walked up to Wen Yu's side, and naturally took Wen Yu's hand to look up and down.There was sincere admiration in his eyes.

Wen Yu, on the other hand, grabbed Zhou Pingnu's hand in a somewhat disrespectful manner. She slowly raised her eyes and stared at her in a daze. Her heart gradually began to prick, and then her fingertips began to tremble, and even the muscles on her cheeks trembled.They all twitched faintly.

Zhou Pingnu was a little strange, but he still smiled and said, "Son, what's the matter?"

More than ten years ago, the pretty young woman looked at the child and said softly, "Jin'er, what's wrong?"

Time seemed to stand still.Wen Yu stared at Zhou Pingnu without moving, and did not make any other movements for a long while.

It turned out that the blurry figure she saw the year before last was not an illusion.

The atmosphere didn't seem right, Fang Rong looked at Zhou Pingnu whose smile seemed to be froze on his face, and poked Wen Yu quietly from behind.

"Third Madam, this person's name is Lin Yi, she is the Lin family in Chang Yi, a cousin of the Yuan family. However, her voice is not feeling well right now, so it may be difficult for her to speak."

Fang Rong even talked and gestured, her appearance was delicate and lively, which made Zhou Pingnu laugh out loud.

Zhou Pingnu lightly tapped Fang Rong's forehead, with a smile on his face: "You girl is still the same as before. My Pei'er told me to play with you a few days ago, but she suffered from the wind and cold yesterday, so today I onlyIt is a pity that I can miss this autumn banquet."

The third lady, my Pei Er.

Wen Yu's throat tightened, she forcefully pulled out a smile, and said to Zhou Pingnu: "Third Madam, there is nothing serious about the little girl, but I was a little happy to see you at a loss. I lost my composure just now, I hope the Third Madam will notStrange."

Zhou Pingnu wanted to withdraw his hand, but found that Wen Yu was still holding it firmly.Wen Yu touched her seemingly gentle gaze looking at him, and laughed at himself in his heart, then slowly let go of his hand, and his expression returned to normal.

She smiled apologetically at Zhou Pingnu, and stepped aside.

Wen Yu pinched her hand tightly, forcing her attention to divert. The hole that was scratched yesterday opened a shallow slit, and the handkerchief was instantly soaked, but it looked like a blooming blood plum.

Wen Yu's heart completely calmed down, her eyes raised slightly, as if she had no intention of doing so, she glanced sideways at Mrs. Xu.

After Mrs. Xu talked with two or three girls shallowly, she kept talking with Shi Anwan, and her words were full of affection.

The other girls didn't get close to Mrs. Xu very much. Whether it was due to self-knowledge or other reasons, Wen Yu hadn't figured it out, but obviously these girls were more willing to get close to the third wife, Zhou Pingnu, than Xu Miaochang's official wife, Mrs. Xu.

This also seems to be a very interesting phenomenon.

There was no disturbance in Wen Yu's heart, as if she had lost her composure just now because of seeing Zhou Pingnu, and even forgot that it was not her who was pretending, but now she was stunned to see those peach eyes no longer.

However, Wen Yu's eyes flashed an almost imperceptible sharpness.

Shi Jinglian is the Minister of the Ministry of Officials. He has always been on good terms with the Xu family and has a lot of say in the Qinglin Party.And as a third-rank official himself, even if he is not as good as Xu Miaochang, he is no worse than other officials.

From this point of view, it is not surprising that Mrs. Xu prefers Shi Anwan, but she should not be dazzled. Mrs. Xu seems to have a bracelet on Shi Anwan's hand.She clearly remembered that Shi Anwan's left wrist originally only had a jade bracelet, but not the silver bracelet.

Wen Yu's eyes moved away from Mrs. Xu and Shi Anwan who had already separated, and randomly glanced somewhere, her eyes were deep and deep, and there was no trace of warmth in her eyebrows.

"Hey, Lin Yi, what are you looking at? Could it be golden camellia tea? Although it looks pretty, you don't need to stare at it all the time, right?"

Who is Lin Yi?This sentence suddenly crossed Wen Yu's mind, and she blinked suddenly, oh, it was herself.

However, Fang Rong and her brother are obviously of the same temper, and they are familiar with each other by nature, "The third lady said that the food she prepared for the autumn banquet this time is very delicious, I drool just listening to it. You are alone,My best friend didn't come today either. I think you're a good match, and we'll just sit together later and make a good companion."

Fang Rong and Xu Pei, um, should be called Xu Pei, Xu Miaochang and Zhou Pingnu's daughter are friends.Besides, except for Shi Anwan, Fang Rong was obviously more familiar with the eldest lady and the third lady than other girls.She may know something about the Xu family, and it's convenient to sit together to talk.

Fang Rong took her and Wen Yu and said as they walked, "Let me tell you secretly, this time Madam Xu came in person to choose a daughter-in-law for herself. She has never appeared in person in previous years. You are a foreigner who came to Capital City for the first time.If you see those men in a while, if you are afraid, just bow your head and don't speak, so that no one will talk to you."

She patted her chest, and said proudly, "This is all from my experience."

Fang Rong enthusiastically gave Wen Yu a popularization of the main procedures of the autumn banquet.

Although Wen Yu knew about it a long time ago, Fang Rong's point of view is different from Yuan Zhan's narration, but it is more in line with today's situation.

Although the marriage between men and women in ancient times was mostly a matchmaker's agreement based on the words of their parents, it does not mean that men and women lost the opportunity to meet.For the children of high-ranking officials and aristocrats, a gentle lady and a gentleman are fond of a gentleman. If an official has unmarried children in his family and holds such a banquet, the purpose is naturally understood by everyone.

Generally speaking, before lunch, men and women sit separately and play separately.But after lunch, the elders and married people will leave first, leaving behind unmarried boys and girls.

Tossing pots, flying flower orders, reciting poems and painting, these games are not only for men to participate in, if any girls want to participate in it, there is no problem.

Fang Rong spread her hands helplessly, "Actually, when Ape sent me a letter yesterday telling me that she couldn't participate today, I didn't want to come either. But my mother insisted on forcing me to come, otherwise my monthly salary will be cut off. Rich son-in-law, golden turtle son-in-law, Miss Ben doesn't want to marry now."

Seeing Wen Yu's obviously surprised eyes, she touched her face with some embarrassment, motioned Wen Yu to lower her head, and whispered in her ear: "You just came to Capital City. I don't know. Today's autumn feast, except for Xu LingruAs for the unmarried, many people who didn't participate originally came this year, otherwise how could there be more than a dozen girls this time."

Fang Rong stretched out her hand and made a gesture, not caring about her ladylike airs at all: "Last year, last year there were only six girls."

Wen Yu just smiled and agreed with her at this time, completely unaware of the embarrassing situation she will face in a while.

The author has something to say:

It's late, it's late.

I punish myself with a cup, chug chug~