In the flower hall, there were only two seats at the front. When Aunt Xue was invited to the banquet, Jia Mu invited her to sit at one on the west side.
Jia Mu herself set up a short couch with a Kuilong screen in the east, complete with backrests, pillows, leather mattresses and other items.
She half-tilted, letting her maid Amber sit on the couch, and used a beauty hammer to beat her legs. Sometimes he took out his reading glasses from the box on the table next to him and looked at the stage outside. At other times he joked with everyone in the hall.
Below the low couch, there are also two square tables. On the first table, Daiyu, Xiangyun and Baochai are sitting, and on the next table, the Sanchun sisters are sitting.
In the west area, from Aunt Xue down to the front door of the flower hall, there are three sparse tables, followed by Mrs. Wang, Mrs. Xing, Mrs. You, Sister Feng, and Mrs. Qin. At the last table, Li Wan led his son Jia Lan , there were visitors from the clan, Jia Jun’s mother, Lou, led Jia Jun, and the four orphans and widows sat at a table alone.
Mrs. Wang, Mrs. You, Sister Feng and others, seeing that Jia Mu was in a rare good mood, they all tried their best to make Jia Mu happy.
Especially Wang Xifeng, her strong point is to exaggerate the atmosphere. After several gags and jokes, she easily became the focus of the audience.
Because Sister Feng's voice was loud, it could easily reach the corridor outside and be heard by all the men.
Jia Zhen then smiled at Jia Rong and others and said, "Thanks to your Aunt Feng's upright behavior and thoughtful words, she is able to please the old lady. She alone is worth as many of our children and grandchildren as filial piety in front of her."
We can now eat and drink in peace here, all thanks to her. "
Jia Rong and others quickly agreed.
In the Jia Mansion, where the family is governed by filial piety, whoever can please Jia Mu and make Jia Mu happy will have status.
Even if she is a maid, as long as she cares about her, everyone in the Jia family will respect her from top to bottom.
At least that's the surface.
Jia Zhen turned to Jia Lian and said: "Of course, there is also brother Lian. If you hadn't made a lot of money for our family, the old lady wouldn't be so happy today. You and your siblings are all heroes of our family. Come on, brother Here’s to you.”
Jia Lian said modestly, smiled and raised his glass in response.
For a while, the play on the stage became humorous, making everyone in the theater laugh. Jia Mu also waved her hand to "reward", and sent women to put money in bamboo baskets and scatter it on the stage.
Previously, Jia Zheng, Jia Zhen and others had prepared several baskets of copper coins under the steps to prepare for such a situation.
At this time, under the instructions of Jia Zhen and others, the dozen or so boys standing by the side went down together, holding the brand-new copper coins, and scattered them on the table in waves, without feeling distressed.
Suddenly, all I could hear was the sound of a table full of copper coins hitting the ground!
The actors also kowtowed and thanked each other...
Jia Zhen realized that the time had come, so she invited Jia Lian: "Let's go in and give the old lady and concubine a glass of wine to show our filial piety."
"please."
Behind, Jia Rong hurriedly took a silver wine-warming pot from the boy's hand, and followed Jia Zhen and Jia Lian in.
As the head of the Jia family, Jia Zhen has received strict training in the etiquette of reciprocity. She knows what to do and how to do it on any occasion.
Because he first went to Aunt Xue's table, he said a few words of happiness, longevity and health, and then toasted with Jia Lian and others.
Aunt Xue quickly stood up and said with a smile: "You two gentlemen, please take a seat. There is no need to be so polite."
All three of them stood, so except for Jia Mu and Mrs. Xing and Mrs. Wang, no one dared to sit at the other seats in the hall and stood up one after another.
After paying homage to Aunt Xue, Jia Zhen led everyone to Jia Mu's bed.
Seeing that the couch where Jia's mother was sitting was very short, Jia Zhen knelt down and worshiped her without hesitation.
Jia Lian had no choice but to kneel down with Jia Zhen.
Behind the three of them, Jia Huan, Jia Yun and others who followed in and lined up according to seniority and age also knelt down.
When Li Wan and Lou saw this, they also hurriedly asked their youngest son to attend, and knelt down at the end.
Next to him, Baochai saw that Jia Baoyu was still standing dumbfounded, as if he was distracted, and wanted to remind him, but after thinking about what he had done before, he ignored it.
Daiyu and Xiangyun, who were sitting at the same table, did not check the meaning, so they just avoided watching this filial piety ceremony.
After paying homage to Jia Mu, Jia Zhen and Jia Lian also paid a toast to Mrs. Xing and Mrs. Wang.
By this time, there was no one present who was higher in seniority and rank than Jia Zhen.
It's just that there is a custom in a family like the Jia Mansion that an unmarried daughter is more noble than a daughter-in-law or even a brother, so she can also toast at this time.
If only the Sanchun sisters were to respond, they are all brothers and sisters of the same race. After all, there are two cousins Xue and Lin present at this time, so it is inconvenient to face them directly, so they smiled and asked Jia Mu: "Sisters, how are you doing here?"
Jia's mother was also satisfied with Jia Zhen's thoughtful behavior and etiquette. Knowing what she meant, she shook her head and said: "You go ahead, don't worry about them, let them pour a glass of wine and eat by themselves, they will be more comfortable.
By the way, Brother Lian, please stay here for a moment. I have a few more words to ask you. "
Jia Lian stopped when he heard this. Jia Zhen smiled and was about to leave. Jia Mu told him: "It's very cold outside. If you are tired from sitting or have other arrangements, just go and don't have to stay with me here. We ladies It’s cheaper to talk and joke together.”
Jia Zhen responded, and then led the others out.
In the hall, all the ladies, either blatantly or implicitly, looked at Jia Lian, who was standing in the middle passage. Although he had lowered his head slightly, he still stood out from the crowd.
There is no need to elaborate on the facial features of Mr. Lian. The most rare thing is his well-proportioned and straight figure. He neither looks tall nor thin, and meets the standards of a peerless handsome man in the eyes of most women.
Jia's mother also glanced at Jia Lian and said to herself that indeed, only after becoming an official can one truly show his prestige.
Jia Lian's demeanor now is much more intimidating than before!
When he was about to speak, he suddenly realized that everyone was still standing, so he said to Jia Lian: "Sit down too. It's not easy for your sisters to sit while you stand. If we all stand with you, won't you be exhausted?" ."
"Yes, thank you, old lady, for the seat."
Jia Lian just smiled. In the past, when he came to see Jia Mu, he rarely sat down, and other people probably didn't have to deliberately "stand" with him.
In fact, in the previous two mansions, except for the old patriarch Jia Jing who became a monk, only the three men, Jia She, Jia Zheng, and Jia Zhen, entered the Rongqing Hall, and the sisters had to stand up to show their kindness. respect.
From now on, he will be added to the list.
No one even specifically told me, everyone just naturally felt that this was the way it should be.
Jia Lian's eyes casually glanced at the sisters' side... He was a tall and handsome man, so he wouldn't be so shameless that he took the initiative to sit next to his sisters-in-law...
The maid who reacted quickly took the stool, but was in trouble for a moment.
If Jia Mu wanted to leave Jia Lian to talk, it would be better to sit closer to Jia Mu. However, Baochai, Jia Baoyu, Daiyu and Xiangyun were already sitting at the table in front of Jia Mu's low couch, so there was no room for them to sit there suddenly. nice.
It would be even worse to put the stool in the middle of the aisle, as it would be like being put on trial.
The table next to Sister Sanchun can be placed just right, but in that case, there is no distinction between superiority and inferiority. How can Second Master Lian be allowed to sit at the second table of Second Master Bao...
Just when the maid hesitated for a moment, Daiyu took a step back, leaned forward and said, "Brother Lian, please sit here..."
Daiyu's timely action not only relieved the maid's anxiety, but also almost surprised everyone.
Who here doesn’t know the temperament of Daiyu, the granddaughter of Jia Mu? That person was weak on the outside but unforgiving on the inside. Even Mr. Bao couldn't please her in front of her. How could he ever see her be so proactive and sensible?
Among them, Xiangyun felt the most deeply. During the year when Jia Lian was away from home, she came to Jia's house several times, and she thought she understood Daiyu's character. She said in her heart that this was not in line with Sister Lin's character at all.
So he took a look at Jia Lian and nodded secretly: It turns out that Sister Lin respects Brother Lian so much!
Jia Lian also laughed from the bottom of his heart, but he had the nerve to snatch Sister Lin's seat, so he smiled and said: "Thank you sister, but don't bother, it will be the same wherever I sit."
With that said, Jia Lian took the stool held in the maid's hand, put it aside, and sat down next to Yingchun.
Daiyu was not a pushy person. She had taken the initiative to give up her seat in front of everyone, which made her feel uncomfortable and shy, which was contrary to her own style, so she didn't say much and took her seat after everyone sat down.
At this time, everyone probably understood clearly in their hearts that Jia Lian must have had feelings for Daiyu and escorted her from thousands of miles away, so Daiyu respected Jia Lian especially, which made it more and more obvious that these two brothers, friends and sisters, both had rare qualities.
Several people also glanced at Jia Baoyu quietly. In fact, in the situation just now, the person who should take the initiative to give up her seat was not Daiyu, but Jia Baoyu.
Baochai thinks so. In fact, she had just thought of giving up her seat to Jia Lian for the first time. Firstly, her position was inconvenient inside, and secondly, she and Jia Lian were not familiar with each other, so giving up her seat on her own initiative would inevitably feel abrupt.
She thought Jia Baoyu would let it go, Xiangyun would let it go, but Dudu didn't expect that Daiyu would let it go, and so quickly and naturally.
This certainly made her realize that Jia Lian had a different status in Daiyu's heart, but more importantly, through such a small detail, she could see that Jia Baoyu was not as good as Jia Lian.
Jia Lian was above Jia Baoyu regardless of his status, age or rank, but Jia Baoyu had no intention of giving in, and the scene became disharmonious. On the other hand, Jia Lian, who clearly deserves to be in the top position, does not show any dignity or self-respect. His words and deeds are all admirable and impeccable.
They all say that what people fear the most is comparison. Originally, she had heard her mother praise her aunt's cousin since she was a child. When she went to Beijing to see him last year, she also felt that he was quite spiritual and not just a commoner like her brother Xue Pan. He is even stronger than the average kid from aristocratic families, but compared with the second brother Lian, he pales in comparison.
He also hides in the house to do shameless things!
Thinking of this, Baochai felt completely disappointed with Jia Baoyu, her little cousin.
Mother Jia and Mrs. Wang didn't think much about it. They just felt that Jia Lian and Daiyu performed well, but subconsciously ignored Jia Baoyu's existence. After all, Baoyu is still young.
