The banquet begins and the guests take their seats.
Because Mrs. Liang was older, she sat down on the seat next to Mrs. Qi, while Wan Su and Lin Yuru sat behind the old lady.
Wan Su found that the old lady's eyes were always looking towards the opposite side intentionally or unintentionally. Wan Su followed her eyes and saw sitting opposite a mother and daughter with luxurious clothes and elegant temperament.
Especially the girl's bright eyes, white teeth, and beautiful appearance, but her upturned eyes gave people a sense of arrogance.
Wan Su was wondering about this person's identity, when Mrs. Qi spoke.
"Let me introduce to you, these two are Princess Rong and her daughter, Princess Mingyi. Prince Rong has lived in Beisai for a long time. This time the princess and the Princess returned to Beijing to visit the Queen Mother. I heard that my family has moved to a new residence.
, so I’m here to congratulate you.”
Only then did everyone understand.
Close to the main seat, a round-faced middle-aged woman wearing a red-yellow skirt held a wine glass and saluted everyone: "Today is the day of housewarming in my house. Thank you for coming to my house to host the banquet.
My mother is old and should not drink alcohol. I would like to propose a toast to you all on my mother's behalf."
After the middle-aged woman finished speaking, she drank the wine in her hand.
The old lady leaned back and introduced Wansu: "This is the British Princess. I heard that she went to the palace early in the morning to personally pick up Princess Rong and her daughter. She has just returned with them now."
Wan Su nodded.
A dance performance had already begun in the middle of the banquet. After a few glasses of wine, the guests relaxed and began to find people they knew well to toast and reminisce about the past.
Wan Su had no one he knew well, so he just stayed by the old lady's side.
At this time, the British lady-in-law came over with wine and took the initiative to pay tribute to Mrs. Liang: "Mrs. Liang, the prince and I admire Prime Minister Liang very much. We are honored to meet you today. I would like to propose a toast to you."
The British duchess is elegant and generous without losing everyone's style.
After drinking, she turned her eyes to Wan Su behind the old lady, with an inquiring look, and it took a long time for a hint of surprise to appear in her eyes.
"Is this Wan Su? You don't look anything like your mother! I didn't recognize her."
"Yes! This child looks more like my son!" the old man said.
"Greetings to the Duke's wife!" Wan Su bowed politely.
"I'm really happy to see Wan Su in such a good mood. After I have settled my family affairs in the past few days, I will go to the house to ask for help. Let's work together to decide on the marriage of our two children. What if
If possible, it would be better if we could get married before this year."
The old lady couldn't help but frowned when she heard this. The British father-in-law must be too anxious! Especially on this occasion, how could she propose marriage as soon as she met Wan Su! Such behavior is really against common sense!
The old lady smiled and said: "We don't have to worry about getting married for now. This girl Wan Su has just returned to me. I want to keep her for a while longer. I hope Madam Guogong will understand."
Seeing this, Madam Guogong seemed to want to say something. Behind her, County Master Mingyi had already walked over with a wine glass, so Madam Guogong had no choice but to give up.
County Lord Mingyi first nodded to the old lady, then walked up to Wan Su, looking at Wan Su up and down as if he was looking at goods, his eyes were not polite.
"Are you Liang Wansu?" County Lord Mingyi asked, "You don't look very good either."
The arrogant tone made Wan Su very uncomfortable.
"My daughter pays homage to the Lord Mingyi County." Wan Su wished her good health.
"There are no rules either. Logically speaking, you have to do the same thing as me. Didn't your family teach you that?"
Princess Mingyi was obviously nitpicking. According to the orthodox etiquette, Wan Su did have to kneel down to her, but it had to be in a formal national ceremony.
At this kind of ordinary banquet, men usually bow to each other, while women only perform a blessing ceremony to each other.
"County Master Mingyi, isn't this appropriate?" The Duke's wife tactfully dissuaded her.
"Mrs. Duke, I heard that Miss Liang is engaged to the eldest son of your family. I am teaching her etiquette now for the sake of your Duke's palace. You don't want your young lady to go out one day and be arrested.
There are no rules for being laughed at by others!" Princess Mingyi said in a warning tone.
The Duke's wife seemed to be very afraid of Princess Mingyi, and it was not easy to refute what she said, so she just smiled awkwardly.
When Wan Su saw this scene, he also had a guess in his mind. Princess Mingyi's hostility towards him was probably due to her marriage to the Duke's Mansion!
Looking at the attitude of the Duke's wife, she must have done something against Mingyi's will. Otherwise, how could Princess Rong indulge her daughter so much? This marriage is really getting more and more interesting.
Thinking of this, Wan Su couldn't help but smile. There was no trace of embarrassment at being disparaged by Ming Yi. He only asked with an open-minded expression: "My daughter grew up in the countryside and is really not familiar with the rules of the capital.
I understand very well. The county master has been taught by the princess himself since he was a child, so he must have followed the rules properly. I wonder if the county master can explain something to me."
When Mingyi saw how weak she was, a look of contempt appeared on his face.
"Since you humbly ask for advice, I will try my best to teach you, so as not to embarrass you everywhere regardless of your superiority or inferiority. I am the third-grade county head. Although you are the daughter of an official, you have no rank, so you should double down when you see me.
Just kneel down and bow down."
"Oh! Does the county lord mean that people of lower rank should salute like people of higher rank?" Wan Su asked.
"That's natural." Mingyi raised her head and said.
"The county magistrate is really well-educated. Since the county magistrate is so respectful, please kneel down and bow to my grandmother first!" Wan Su's voice was extremely calm, just like an ordinary chat.
"What do you mean?" Mingyi was naturally unhappy and asked with wide eyes.
The late Su group asked in confusion: "Isn't this what you want, the county master? My grandmother now has a royal title, isn't it right to salute her in your capacity?"
County Princess Mingyi was furious. Her father was the elder brother of the current emperor, and the only person she had worshiped since she was born was the emperor.
Even the Queen Mother was reluctant to let her kneel down when she saw her. Now this girl asked her to worship such an old woman. What qualifications did she have to be worshiped by him?
"You, this uneducated village girl!"
As she spoke, Mingyi raised one hand high and was about to slap Wan Su.
"Mingyi! Stop."
Princess Rong, who had been watching the excitement from a distance, saw that her daughter was about to lose her composure and hurriedly stopped her.
Seeing this, Mrs. Liang also tried to smooth things over by saying, "Late Su is so unbridled and the county lord is a rich man. How can you be so ignorant of the rules and not admit your mistake to the county lord quickly?"
Wan Su was a man who knew current affairs and knew that the old lady was trying to find a way for him, so he stepped forward and bowed to admit his mistake.
Princess Rong was the first to speak: "No, we can't bear Miss Liang's gift."
After saying this, Princess Rong took her daughter back to her seat. Mingyi still had an unhappy look on her face and stared at Wan Su unwillingly.
When this happened, the Duke's wife was naturally embarrassed, so she was busy trying to find something to cover it up.
"Everyone is here to attend the banquet today. Our government is deeply honored, so I will ask my eldest daughter to dance for you to express my gratitude!"
After the words were finished, the music gradually started playing, and a group of women wearing green gauze came to the middle of the dance floor. They began to dance to the rhythm, and their movements were coordinated. When the music reached a turning point, the dancers gathered together.
When they dispersed again, a woman in red gauze jumped up from the middle of the crowd.
I saw the woman wearing a gold hairpin on her head, her face covered with gauze, her dancing steps were light and her limbs were soft.
She was obviously dancing in the same way as the other dancers, but she was exceptionally enchanting and charming when she danced, making everyone clap their hands.