The scale of the banquet held by the British government for the return of the siblings and the crown prince was so large that, not to mention the British government had never seen it before, it would be difficult to find one or two in the capital that could compare with it.
In the Duke's mansion, everyone except Wu and Zhang Jie's mother and son were happy and busy preparing for the banquet.
Since the two concubines of the first house have no sons, Huo Nian and Zhang Jie, whoever becomes the heir apparent will have no influence on them.
Huo Nian being the heir apparent is more beneficial to them than Zhang Jie being the heir apparent.
After all, the prince's mother died long ago, but Wu is still alive.
If Zhang Jie becomes the eldest son, then in the next few decades, after their daughter gets married, won't they have to look at the faces of the Wu family's mother and son? The daughter and son-in-law will also have to look at the faces of her mother and son when their daughter and son-in-law return home.
As Huo Nian becomes the heir apparent, his biological mother is gone, and he will have to respect them as concubines from now on. As old ladies, they will naturally live a comfortable life.
So Mrs. Wu, the eldest eldest, gave up her job, but Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Liu happily helped the second and third wards to host the banquet.
Moreover, he was praised by the Duke of the State.
The two worked even harder, and even sent their daughters to get close to the eldest lady and the fifth young master.
Sisters Zhang Bizhu and Bi Yue, because of their biological mother's aunt-nephew relationship with the Tai Madam, were so loved by the Tai Madam Pang that they were not at a disadvantage even in front of Zhang Bi Yao.
Now that the second sister Baguio has married into the East Palace, families who want to marry the British father-in-law will definitely turn their attention to these two sisters, and their values have skyrocketed.
It can be said that most of the people in the capital can be chosen by them, and they are living a very comfortable life now.
Although Zhang Biyao has left and another eldest lady has come, the Duke's mansion now only has three daughters to be married. Since the first mistress is gone, no one will come to suppress them.
Besides, this eldest sister, who has been living outside for more than ten years, may be looked down upon by people who are fashionable.
After Bizhu Biyue figured it out, she felt that this eldest sister was no threat to them, and she was happy to come to Lanxiangyuan to have a kiss with her.
And Liu's daughter Bigui is only eight years old. The little girl has not yet grown out. She has a round head and a round face, and she is very happy.
Although I am a concubine, I grew up in the Duke's palace and had no worries about food and drink. I heard that my eldest sister and my fifth brother had been away from home since childhood and had to earn money for food and drink. I felt a little sad.
As soon as my aunt told me to stay close to these two brothers and sisters, she would report to Lanxiangyuan almost every day.
Huo Xi thought she was cute and was willing to let her play in the courtyard. He also gave her many extra things, many of which she had never seen before.
I was very happy and shouted "big sister and fifth brother" loudly every day.
As for the other two young masters in the eldest house, Zhang Jie resented Huo Nian for taking away his position as the heir apparent, causing him to be unable to become a young master. He would never come to get close to the two siblings if they had eyes other than their eyes and noses other than their noses.
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As for Zhang Mao, the only concubine of Dafang, he wanted to get close to the eldest sister and fifth brother.
But her wet nurse was arranged by Wu.
His aunt died long ago, and the wet nurse took her until she was six years old and never left the house. Now that he is eight years old, this wet nurse still serves him and takes charge of all the affairs in the courtyard for him.
Because Zhang Mao has been ill and sick over the years, he has never been to an academy, and he has never learned martial arts. He only listens to the nanny's advice and stays in the academy to stay healthy every day.
Now an eldest sister and fifth brother have arrived, and Zhang Mao wants to get close to them.
But the wet nurse said that if Mrs. Wu found out, she would be even worse for him.
After all, the Li family is gone, and now the Duke's wife is the Wu family. Even if the fifth young master becomes the heir apparent, don't we still have to listen to the Wu family in the future? Should we respect the Wu family as our mother?
Isn’t the future Mrs. Wu still a member of the Wu family?
Zhang Mao shrank back.
The sisters of the second house were under the command of Zhang Min and led by Zhang Bin, the eldest son of the second house. The sisters got along well with the two newly returned siblings.
Zhang Fu, the third wife, also told his children to make good friends with Huo Xi and Huo Nian.
The siblings Qingchu and Zhang Yan, who were born to San Fuyuan's wife, may have felt the same way. They were both people whose biological mothers had died. They cherished each other and were very close to Huo Xi and Huo Nian.
Zhang Yan was originally the fifth young master, but as soon as Huo Nian came, he was promoted to the sixth young master. He was similar in age to Huo Nian. Together with Zhang Xuan, he led Huo Nian around the house. The three brothers were very close to each other.
Zhang Ruo, the only concubine in the third room, also came with his elder brother and sister. Only Zhang Qian, the younger son of the Wu family, was detained by his mother in the courtyard.
The young Wu family felt that two motherless children could never defeat the Wu family. She was not optimistic about Huo Nian, the eldest son.
I'm just afraid that it will become a mirror image.
There is no need to make Mrs. Wu unhappy just because of a trivial matter.
It would be very difficult for Mrs. Wu to see that their mother and son were friendly with two outsiders and would give them little shoes in the future.
Huo Xi and Huo Nian also responded to the kindness of others. They welcomed everyone and gave small gifts to all their siblings. Naturally, they also waited for the displeasure expressed by others.
When people get along with each other, they have their own destiny and cannot be forced.
But in general, the two siblings lived quite comfortably in the Zhang Mansion.
In a blink of an eye, the day of the banquet arrived.
Early in the morning, the two siblings were dressed in new clothes and looked very noble. Not to mention being inferior to others, even among the noble sons and daughters in the capital, they were probably very rare people.
Zhang Fu was very satisfied with the appearance of the two siblings.
"Okay, Nannan will follow Mrs. Tai to welcome the guests in the inner courtyard. Nian'er will go to the gate with my father to greet the guests. My father will introduce you then."
Huo Xi smiled encouragingly at Nian'er, and Huo Nian prepared to follow Zhang Fu to the gate.
Just as he was about to move, Zhang Jie ran over: "Father, I will go with you to greet the guests!"
Zhang Fu glanced at his son and wanted to let him wait in the courtyard, but he couldn't open his mouth.
Huo Nian glanced at him and said to Zhang Fu: "Let Third Brother go with you. If there are some people you don't know, please introduce me to them."
Zhang Fu was very pleased and patted Nian'er on the shoulder: "My son is sensible."
What father doesn’t want to see his children get along well?
Zhang Jie glared at Huo Nian angrily, "Don't expect me to introduce you! They are all my friends! Humph!"
But his father was by his side, so he didn't show it. He just urged: "Father, let's go, the guests are coming." He took Zhang Fu's hand and walked towards the gate.
Huo Nian turned his head and glanced at his sister. When he saw her sister smiling at him, he smiled back at her and caught up with his father.
Looking at Zhang Jie's back, Huo Xi's eyes darkened.
His eyes signaled Jixiang and Chuyi to follow him.
Jixiang is waiting in the Muyan Courtyard, and he is very clever.
In the past few days, I don't know what tricks I used to run around the house, and I was willing to give others benefits and delicious food. I took Chuyi Youqing and others and quickly became one with the servants in the house.
I also got a lot of news.
Huo Xi felt that this child was smart and could adapt to changes according to Huo Nian's side. Plus, there were people in the dark, so he didn't have to worry about his younger brother.
Today's occasion was organized by the mansion for Huo Xi and her brother, but Zhang Jie and Wu seemed unwilling to accept it and jumped out again.
Zhang Jie also jumped to Zhang Fu's side, fearing that Huo Nian would fall out of his favor.
Huo Xi felt that Wu should not be underestimated, so she became concerned.
Entering the inner courtyard, as expected, I saw Mrs. Wu, who had been neglecting her husband for several days, sitting at the head of the hall, laughing and having a banquet with the dowager and her two sisters-in-law, chatting affectionately.