West of the city, Lion Lane.
When Luo Qingzhou and the others arrived, many carriages were already parked in the alley.
Many servants were waiting in the alley.
After walking about three hundred meters, a mansion with a sense of age suddenly appeared.
In front of the mansion, two stone lions squatted.
On the door, there is a brand new plaque with the word "Zhou Mansion" written on it.
This mansion was obviously just bought.
At this time, under the steps of the main door, a butler was holding a gift list, greeting the guests.
When a woman handed over the invitation and gift list, the housekeeper immediately said a few words with an apologetic smile on his face, and then shouted to the house: "Mrs. Tian, the field official from the south of the city, is here!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Lan, the owner of the Zhou family who was talking in the courtyard, quickly walked out with a smile on his face and welcomed the people in personally.
The current head of the Zhou family is Zhou Lan, because her husband Zhou Wang is also a daughter-in-law and does not have much status in the family.
Luo Qingzhou and the others only had invitations and no gift cards. They walked over awkwardly and handed over the invitations.
Chu Xiaoxiao said crisply: "My name is Chu Xiaoxiao, her name is Daoling, and this is Chu Feiyang. We are all friends of Zhou Boyue."
The butler seemed a little surprised when he heard this. He took the invitation and took a look at it. He asked his servants to take the gifts and said with a smile: "I didn't expect that our uncle also has friends. Wait a moment, you three. I'll call my uncle to come out to greet you."
As he said that, he shouted loudly to the house: "My aunt's friends, Mr. Chu, Miss Chu, and Miss Dao are here!"
Zhou Lan, who was talking to the guests at the gate, was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and turned to look at the three people at the foot of the steps.
At this time, a young woman in a purple skirt and two maids hurried out of the house and went down the steps.
The housekeeper quickly introduced: "This is the young lady of our family."
Luo Qingzhou and the others looked up and saw that the young woman had a very good appearance and temperament. Although she was not top-notch, she was still middle-class and looked quite gentle and dignified.
Obviously, this woman is Zhou Boyue's wife.
The three people hurriedly stepped forward to greet him.
Zhou Shumei bowed his head and said apologetically: "Bo Yue is busy, so he can't come out to greet the three distinguished guests. Please don't blame them. Shumei, please take the three of you in."
Sister Dao smiled and said, "Then I'll trouble Miss Zhou."
The three of them followed the daughter of the Zhou family up the steps. When they reached the door, Zhou Lan said with a smile on her face: "Shu Mei, are these Bo Yue's three friends? Bo Yue is busy behind you, do you want to Treat yourself well.”
Zhou Shumei said softly: "My daughter knows."
Luo Qingzhou and the others immediately raised their hands and said, "I have met Madam."
Zhou Lan looked at the three of them again and said with a smile: "You're welcome, you three. We're very happy that Boyue can have friends. You three must eat and drink well today. Just treat them as if they were at home. You're welcome."
The three of them bowed their heads and thanked them.
Zhou Shumei was about to lead the three of them into the main hall when Zhou Lan suddenly smiled and said: "Shu Mei, take them to sit in the pavilion at the back. It's more spacious and quieter there."
Zhou Shumei frowned and was about to speak when Zhou Lan immediately walked down the steps and said with a smile on his face: "Master Qian, Mrs. Qian, welcome!"
Zhou Shumei looked at her back and frowned. When he saw the three of them looking at him, he immediately squeezed out a smile and said, "Please, three of you. Shumei will take the three of you to sit in the back for a while. When the table starts, , please invite three more people to come to the hall."
Chu Xiaoxiao said carelessly: "It's okay, it's the same everywhere, we don't care about this."
Zhou Shumei didn't say anything anymore, and led the three of them through the side corridor to the pavilion at the back.
There is also a pavilion not far away by the pond.
There was a group of maids surrounding several young women, sitting there talking and laughing, looking quite lively.
The three of them sat down in the pavilion.
The maid immediately brought tea, melon seeds, candied fruits and other snacks.
Zhou Shumei chatted with a few people for a while, then said goodbye: "You three sit down for a moment, I'll go and talk to Bo Yue to see if he's done with his work. If you three need anything, just tell Guo'er." "
The three nodded.
Zhou Shumei left with the maid.
The maid named Guo'er stood under a tree not far away, waiting for orders at any time.
The pavilion fell silent.
Chu Xiaoxiao whispered: "Senior Brother Chu, Senior Sister Dao, it seems that we are very unwelcome. We are not even allowed to enter the lobby."
Sister Dao sighed and said: "It turns out that when I was in Mocheng, I often saw Zhou Boyue with a bruised nose and a swollen face. This shows his status and situation in Zhou's mansion. We are his friends, so naturally we will not be taken seriously. I guess. In the eyes of Mrs. Zhou, us coming as guests would embarrass her, so she sent us to sit in the backyard."
Chu Xiaoxiao said: "Senior Sister Dao, that Miss Zhou just now looked pretty good."
Sister Dao nodded and said: "Miss Zhou does seem to be okay, but she may have a weak personality and dare not resist her mother. Zhou Boyue also said that Miss Zhou took the initiative to invite us this time. "
Chu Xiaoxiao sighed and said: "Senior Brother Zhou is so pitiful. He must be living a very depressed life every day. In fact, with Senior Brother Zhou's current strength, he doesn't have to be afraid of Mrs. Zhou at all. There is no need to live such a life."
Sister Dao grabbed a handful of melon seeds and said: "Zhou Boyue is not alone now. He has a wife who loves him and a lovely son. I heard that his sister also relies on the Zhou family. Why do you want him to fall out with Mrs. Zhou? And his identity is indeed that of a son-in-law, unless he is cruel, or..."
Speaking of this, she glanced at someone and said: "Or, like someone, completely conquer the people in the house. Hey, Chu Feiyang, what are you looking at?"
Sister Dao and Chu Xiaoxiao both followed his gaze.
In the pavilion not far away, several young women told some unknown joke, and they were all trembling with laughter.
Sister Dao's expression suddenly changed and she said: "Chu Feiyang, you can't even..."
"Shut up!"
Luo Qingzhou looked away, interrupted her, and said, "What are you thinking about? I just saw an acquaintance."
"Acquaintance? Who?"
Sister Dao said doubtfully.
Luo Qingzhou didn't answer. He grabbed all the candies on the plate and put them into the storage bag. He said, "Let's leave early after we eat, so as not to cause trouble to Bo Yue. That Mrs. Zhou looked at You have a bad temper, so don’t just start scolding me when the time comes.”
Sister Dao regretted a little and said, "If I had known, we shouldn't have listened to Bo Yue. They give so many expensive gifts one by one, and we are the only ones giving some calligraphy and paintings. I guess Mrs. Zhou knows about it and looks down on us even more."
Chu Xiaoxiao immediately said: "Senior Sister Dao, my calligraphy and painting are very valuable. My father spent a lot of money to buy them. They look like paintings by Jiangnan talents."
The three of them chatted for a while.
Zhou Shumei and Zhou Boyue hurried over.
Zhou Boyue was embarrassed and apologetic at the same time: "Senior Sister Dao, Senior Brother Chu, and Junior Sister Xiao, I'm sorry. I'm busy in the kitchen, so I don't have time to come over and accompany you. When we have dinner later, we will go to the hall. I……"
Before he finished speaking, a woman's voice suddenly came from not far away: "Uncle, go to the kitchen quickly, I'm calling you for help."
Zhou Boyue said quickly: "Okay, okay!"
After saying that, he could only apologize: "Senior Sister Dao, Senior Brother Chu, and Junior Sister Xiao, I have to go cooking, so I'll excuse you now."
After that, he left in a hurry.
The three of them felt bad when they saw him wearing kitchen clothes, still holding the apron he had just taken off in his hand, and looking like he was in a hurry with sweat all over his face.
Zhou Boyu walked for a while, then turned back and said: "Shu Mei, help accompany Senior Sister Dao and the others first, and remember to take them to the hall later."
Zhou Shumei seemed to want to say something, but held back and nodded: "Okay."
Zhou Boyue followed the woman and left quickly.
Seeing the dull atmosphere in the pavilion, Zhou Shumei couldn't help but sigh and said: "Bo Yue came in as a wife, and now my mother is in charge of the house. She is quite harsh on Boyue. I have tried to persuade her many times, but it is still the same. My mother said that the bride-in-law is supposed to work for the family, and my father is like this too..."
Sister Dao couldn't help but said: "Miss Zhou, do you know that Bo Yue is a warrior? And he is a warrior with martial arts training."
Zhou Shumei smiled bitterly and said: "Bo Yue told me that all the expenses for Boyu's training were secretly paid by me. But even if he is a warrior, what can he do? We are juniors after all, and he is also He came in as a bride-in-law. Although my mother had a bad temper and was harsh on him, she was actually very good to him and his family. Boyue's mother was ill at first, his father was buried at that time, and his sister went to school. It was all my mother who contributed money and effort to help, and Boyue always kept it in mind. So, he had no complaints. And now we have a son, and Boyue has become a father, so naturally he cannot leave this family... "
After hearing this, Sister Dao fell silent.
Chu Xiaoxiao couldn't help but said: "Sister Zhou, can't your mother be nicer to Senior Brother Zhou? Can't you just let servants do things like cooking? There are so many guests today, let Senior Brother Zhou do it, okay? shameful."
Zhou Shumei smiled bitterly and said: "In my mother's opinion, Bo Yue cooks horses for our Zhou family Zhou Niu in front of the guests, which is the most honorable. In fact, Bo Yue is not the one who cooks. My mother cares too much about rules. When it comes to marrying in, this is how it should be, so people won’t laugh at it.”
Sister Dao sighed and said, "That's true."
She couldn't help but glance at the person opposite and said: "But there are some people who have married into the family and live a more comfortable life than the master."
Luo Qingzhou ignored her and looked at the pavilion not far away from time to time. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the mother-in-law and the young women getting up and leaving.
Zhou Shumei chatted with the three of them for a while, and then the maid came over to call for the banquet to be opened.
Zhou Shumei hesitated for a moment and said, "You three, please come with me to the front hall. Bo Yue will come to accompany you when he is done with his work."
Luo Qingzhou said immediately: "You're welcome, Miss Zhou. We can just sit here and eat whatever we want. There are so many people in front of us, and we're not used to it."
Zhou Shumei said quickly: "That won't work. If Bo Yue finds out, he will definitely blame me. Let's go. There are quite a few seats in front, enough to sit on."
At this time, the maid whispered: "Miss, Madam said, let them sit here to eat, don't take them to the front."
Zhou Shumei's face froze.
Sister Dao immediately said: "Miss Zhou, it's okay, we will just sit here and let Bo Yue come here later."
Zhou Shumei's face was full of embarrassment and he said apologetically: "You three, please wait a moment. I'll go talk to my mother again."
After saying that, he took the maid and left in a hurry.
The three people in the pavilion looked at each other.
"Senior Sister Dao, I don't think we should come today."
Chu Xiaoxiao sighed.
Sister Dao was silent for a moment and said: "Forget it, come as soon as you come, have a meal and then leave. It can be considered as a favor to Junior Brother Zhou."
Not long after.
Zhou Shumei came back with the maid and said: "You three, follow me to the front. Mother agreed, there are quite a few seats."
The three of them looked at each other and then stood up.
But when they arrived at the front hall, they found that their place was no longer in the hall.
There was an empty table, three stools, and three sets of bowls and chopsticks placed on the corridor, obviously prepared for them.
The maid walked to Zhou Shumei and whispered: "Miss, Madam said that Master Liu and Master Qian are here today, and the hall is full of distinguished guests, so I asked these friends of my uncle to sit here."
Zhou Shumei looked at the lonely seat in the corridor and was a little angry. Just when he was about to speak, Sister Dao immediately said: "Ms. Zhou, it's okay, it's nice here. We don't know the people inside, so it's quite embarrassing to go in."
Chu Xiaoxiao also smiled and said: "Sister Zhou, we are sitting here, three of us sit at the same table, and no one is trying to grab food from us."
After saying that, he immediately sat down happily.
At this time, Zhou Lan's voice suddenly came from the room: "Shu Mei, why are you still standing at the door? Come in quickly, mother will introduce you to some uncles."
Zhou Shumei had no choice but to say sorry and entered the hall.
Luo Qingzhou and the other three sat down in the corridor, looked at each other, laughed at themselves, and said nothing.
At this time, Luo Qingzhou suddenly heard a familiar voice coming from his ears. He turned around and saw the window facing the room inside. There was a table in the room with a young woman and several people sitting at it. girl.
His mother-in-law was sitting inside, talking to the woman next to her.
Luo Qingzhou glanced at it and quickly withdrew his gaze.
Soon, the servants began to serve food and wine.
Chu Xiaoxiao stood up, picked up the wine flask, filled a cup for Luo Qingzhou and Sister Dao, poured another cup for himself, picked it up and said: "Senior Brother Chu, Senior Sister Dao, I propose a toast to you, and wish us a better practice." If you succeed, don’t be bullied again.”
Sister Dao picked up the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.
Just as Luo Qingzhou was about to put it to his mouth, he suddenly smelled a hint of floral fragrance in his nose.
He looked intently at the wine glass in his hand and was stunned.
Chu Xiaoxiao looked at him and asked doubtfully: "Senior Brother Chu, what's wrong? Don't you know how to drink?"
Luo Qingzhou lowered his head, sniffed into the wine glass again, and said, "What kind of wine is this? Why does it smell like flowers?"
"Flower scent?"
Chu Xiaoxiao was stunned when he heard this, then put the wine glass under his nose and smelled it, and said, "No, why didn't I smell it?"
Sister Dao also picked up the empty cup, smelled it, and said, "I don't have this cup either."
Luo Qingzhou was stunned for a moment, then handed over the wine in his hand and said, "Smell mine."
Sister Dao took it, put it under her nose and smelled it carefully, shrugged and said, "It only smells like wine, not the smell of flowers."
Chu Xiaoxiao also came over and smelled it, and said doubtfully: "Senior Brother Chu, is there something wrong with your nose? There is no floral scent at all."
Luo Qingzhou frowned, stretched out his hand and said, "Give me that jug of wine."
Chu Xiaoxiao quickly handed him the wine.
Luo Qingzhou took it in his hand, opened the lid of the pot, put it under his nose and smelled it. In addition to the strong aroma of wine, there was indeed a faint and strange floral aroma floating inside.
He often smells various floral fragrances in Lingchan Moon Palace, and Bai Ling also has a lot of them, so he is very sensitive to this floral fragrance and cannot go wrong.
Sister Dao said: "Perhaps I put some flower petals when making wine. Chu Feiyang, why are you like a little woman, lingering over a glass of wine?"
Luo Qingzhou put down the wine bottle, said nothing, and turned to look into the room.
The young women at the table in the room had already picked up their wine glasses and started drinking.
The girls were also clinking glasses.
After his mother-in-law finished her drink, she poured herself another glass.
"Senior Brother Chu, they are toasting you."
Chu Xiaoxiao picked up the wine glass and shouted.
Luo Qingzhou looked at her and said, "I don't know how to drink, so you should drink less. It's getting dark, we'll leave after dinner."
He wants to leave now, but...
Song Ruyue's proud voice came from the room: "My son-in-law is the most talented man in Mocheng. He got the first place in the imperial examination this year, Jieyuan. He is famous outside, and the talented people call him Luo." Who doesn't respect Jie Yuan? But in our house, as long as I glare, he won't even dare to take a breath. When I hook my finger, he will immediately come over and kneel in front of me, waiting for me. Order..."
Luo Qingzhou: "..."
(End of chapter)
