Although it is the end of October, the weather is getting drier and colder, but this is a rare little spring.

The weather was fine and cloudless.

Cao Hao looked up at the sky, really hoping that his life could be like this pale blue sky, without a trace of haze.

A bright future is in the imagination. At present, he has a lot to face, at least there are several requirements, including the one he is doing now, standing outside the gate of the Eighth Elder Brother's Mansion to greet guests.

Because Cao Hao has an old relative, he did not wear coarse cloth filial piety clothes, only wore small velvet bleached cloth filial piety clothes, a stone blue horse coat on the outside, a green curl collar, and a green work plan tied around his waist.

Today is the late eighth son of the emperor Lian Shun County King of the "five seven", according to the old customs in Beijing, by the married daughter or married niece back to preside.

Before dawn, Cao Hao and Chu Yu got up, dressed neatly, and took Tianyou and Hengsheng to the Eighth Brother's Mansion. Tianhui has eye disease, and he loves cleanliness the most, so he didn't dare to bring it out for fear of being sick in a crowded place.

Tianyou and Hengsheng are considered to be the successors, wearing white filial piety robes and two blue patches nailed to their left arms.

When they arrived at the Eighth Elder Brother's Mansion, the family of four worshipped in front of the Eighth Elder Brother's spirit, Chu Yu took the child into the inner house, and Cao Hao followed the subordinate officials of the Eighth Elder Brother's Mansion and a few colleagues from the Internal Affairs Office to talk in the front yard.

When it was Chenzheng (eight o'clock in the morning), the ninth elder brother and the tenth elder brother came over first.

No matter what grievances he has, seeing that Cao Hao can come over to preside over the "Burning Seven", Brother Jiu didn't want to make any extraneous branches, so he only asked a few words about how the funeral was prepared, or something; On the tenth elder brother's side, he swallowed his saliva vigorously, snorted twice and did not speak.

There are fewer than a thousand cups of wine for a confidant, and there is no speculation for more than half a sentence.

Cao Hao was really uncomfortable, and it happened that the housekeeper here reported that there was a guest coming to the door, so he began to greet the guest at the door.

* Inner house, main hall.

Although it has been rare for a long time, Ba Fujin's eyes are still glued to Tianyou and Hengsheng, and they can't be removed.

After a while, she sighed, turned around, and said to Chu Yu, "You are blessed." I couldn't sleep in the middle of the night, and I wondered if I had done too much. After entering the door back then, if you hadn't sent out a few girls around your eighth uncle. But if God opens his eyes, there is a belly that fights for anger, and when he gives birth to a child, he will be seventeen or eighteen. It's an elder brother, who can already support the portal; It's a Gege, and I'm out of the house. Why is it so lonely like now? "In the end, my eyes were already red.

"Auntie, don't worry, my niece looks at the eldest brother and Gege, and in less than two years, she should be able to share her worries for her aunt." Seeing this, Chu Yu persuaded softly.

Bafujin also didn't want to lose his temper in front of the child, so he couldn't hold back the sentimentality in his heart, and said to Tianyou and Hengsheng: "Good boy, what do you call me, call me again." ”

Tianyou and Hengsheng are both naughty at home, but when they go out, they can't be more disciplined. Hearing Bafujin's question, the little brothers got up from their chairs and replied honestly: "Call Grandma, Grandma Uncle." ”

Looking at the appearance of the two of them, Bafujin was really getting rarer, and it was rare to show a little smile, and said: "It's really a smart child, and my uncle can't be called in vain." As he spoke, he asked the maid to bring out the greeting gifts prepared for the children.

Two brothers, each with a set of fine pen, ink, paper, inkstone, and two purses containing gold bills. There was also a brocade box with a pearl collar, and Bafujin sent it to Chu Yu and said, "This is for your little Gege." People are so busy today, so I won't say anything. When I have time in the future, I will take it with me to walk around, and it is not good to let the child be bored at home all the time. ”

Chu Yu thanked the reward of the Eight Blessings, and asked Tianyou and Hengsheng to thank them.

When Bafujin saw it, he couldn't help but shake his head, and said to Chu Yu: "Good boy, let you teach you to be a little old man." More children, who will not be able to pick a gift? ”

"It's just that this will be honest, and it's naughty and naughty, which is a headache. Let's just say that after getting off school yesterday, the two of them ran to the housekeeper's house, chased other people's chickens, and ran away in a good way. Chu Yu said.

After listening to the interesting stories about this child, I couldn't help but be curious, stretched out my hand, called Tianyou and Hengsheng to the side of the kang, and asked, "Tell my uncle and grandmother, okay, how to pick up the chicken?" ”

Hengsheng grabbed the back of his head and looked at his brother; Tianyou's face turned red and said, "I heard my father chanting 'called Hua Chicken', my mother said that I wanted to eat, and my grandson and younger brother thought about it, and I honored my mother." ”

When I asked him yesterday, he didn't say any of these words. Therefore, it is the first time that Chu Yu has heard of it.

When Bafujin heard this, he held Tianyou and Hengsheng in his arms, and kept praising him: "What a good boy, you know filial piety at such a young age." Speaking of this, he paused and said: "It's just that in the future, don't think about filial piety, and don't let your parents worry about it." If you want to eat chicken, let people buy it outside, how many don't you? Do you still have to catch it yourself? If you knock and fall and hurt, won't it be tiring for your parents to follow suit? ”

Tianyou and Hengsheng listened, lowered their little heads, nodded, and said, "Grandson wrote down ......"

* Front yard, outside the gate.

Looking at the fourth elder brother and the thirteenth elder brother who came together, Cao Hao's throat was a little tight. Although he came here to preside over the "Five Sevens", it was really a helpless move under the pressure of many soft knives, but whether the fourth elder brother could understand it or not, it was not enough.

Different positions will lead to different ways of looking at problems.

The world does not revolve around Cao Hao, so he can't ask everyone to think about him.

No matter what he thought in his heart, he still put his hands down to meet him.

The fourth elder brother still had a cold face, and glanced at Cao Hao, but he couldn't see his joy or anger. The thirteenth elder brother had a smile on his face, patted Cao Hao's shoulder and said, "Okay, good, you don't have a dead brain." ”

Speaking of this, he turned around and whispered to the fourth elder brother: "Fourth brother, you don't know, Cao Hao refused to come before, and the seventh brother and younger brother I took turns to persuade him. He was afraid of things, and he was afraid of Brother Jiu. One yard is one yard, speaking of which, he is a niece-in-law, and he should make a day's effort. ”

These things, even if the thirteenth elder brother doesn't say it, the fourth elder brother knows it in his heart.

The fourth elder brother nodded and didn't say anything else.

This "five seven" is the same as the "first seven" and "three seven", which is the official acceptance of the hanging sacrifice. Therefore, the royal family of the clan has come to the door one after another.

The thirteenth elder brother saw that Cao Hao was busy welcoming guests, so he advanced to the mansion with the fourth elder brother.

In the mourning shed, the smoke is filled, and the sounds of various chanting are mixed together, which seems to be a little lively.

The visitors who have already paid tribute are seated in the mourning tent, accompanied by the ninth elder brother and the tenth elder brother.

In addition to the smell of incense, the mourning shed is also full of the sweet fragrance of gluttony. I saw that at the four corners of the platform, there were four thirteen-section dumplings, and I saw how high a room was.

Such a table of dumplings needs to be placed for 200 yuan per section, and the ordinary ones cost more than 20 taels of silver, not to mention that these are all from Daoxiang Village, and they are all fine dumplings. Even forty or fifty taels may not be enough.

These four tables of dumplings were set up this morning because of Chu Yu's filial piety.

attracted many people to see, and the elders of the clan who knew the goods recognized it as the gluttony of Daoxiang Village, and said to Brother Jiu: "In the end, it is a niece, and Da Gege can send a decent feast." I just saw Cao Elu at the door, and the two of them can help the old eight burn seven, which can be regarded as giving the eighth a long face. ”

Brother Jiu disagreed, there are only two nieces who have been married in Beijing, and there is no need to use Da Gege, can you use the two Gege of Prince Yong's Mansion?

Thinking about the fourth elder brother's persecution to move everyone's spirits, the ninth elder brother could not eliminate his hatred. He was stunned, so he heard the tenth elder brother say: "Ninth brother, look who is coming?" ”

Looking in the direction of Brother Ten's finger, Brother Nine happened to see Brother Fourth and Brother Thirteen coming together.

The ninth elder brother's face was red and white for a while, if he wasn't worried about disturbing the eighth elder brother's future, he really wanted to add another punch to the fourth elder brother's face.

There was no other way, he had no choice but to suppress his anger, without looking at the fourth elder brother, and said to the thirteenth elder brother: "Didn't the thirteenth elder brother go to Xiaotangshan?" How many of us are back? ”

"I came back yesterday, my wife and children are all over there, and I'll go back tomorrow." The thirteenth elder brother replied.

Hearing the meaning of this, he came back specifically to pay tribute to the eighth elder brother, and the ninth elder brother's face eased a lot, pointed to the platform, and said, "Sacrifice the bar first." ”

The thirteenth elder brother nodded, turned sideways, asked the fourth elder brother to go first, and then followed the fourth elder brother to the platform to sacrifice wine.

The tenth elder brother watched coldly, a little confused, came to the side of the ninth elder brother, and asked in a low voice, "When will the ninth brother be so good with the thirteenth brother?" ”

"Lu Yao knows the horsepower, and he has seen the hearts of the people for a long time. I can see that among these brothers, there is still the old thirteen who is a little human. Brother Nine stared at the back of the fourth elder brother and gritted his teeth and replied.

"Cao Hao gave the starling brother the main sacrifice, and the thirteenth came to hang the sacrifice, why did the younger brother feel so awkward? I knew how it was, what kind of fight did I have in my early years? The tenth elder brother listened to the words of the ninth elder brother and muttered.

In addition to welcoming guests, this return gift is also Cao Hao's job.

In this day, those who need to bow and return the salute, those who need to kowtow and return the salute, so much so that Cao Hao stood for a while, and knelt down again for a while. plus greeting, sending off, or something, he was so busy that he hit the back of his head with his foot, and he didn't stop for a moment.

Finally, he took a free time, Cao Hao avoided a secluded place on the side of the spiritual shed, found a small stool to sit on, held a cup of tea in his hand, and drank it all.

Could it be that I am old, why do I feel back pain?

Cao Hao rubbed his waist, took out his pocket watch, and looked at the hour. It's only when it's not time, and it seems that it can be dispersed when it's time, which is good. There are still two hours, and boil.

Cao Hao was crying out in his heart, when he heard a woman's surprised voice: "Cao Hao? ”

When Cao Hao heard this, he couldn't help but be stunned.

According to the rules, the female dependents are all in the queen of the spirit, and there is still some distance from here.

Following the sound, he saw a young woman with her hair peeled off and her braids, standing a few steps away and looking at herself.

Looking at the dress, it is the niece and daughter-in-law of the eighth elder brother, but I don't know which young lady of the palace it is.

There is a difference between men and women, Cao Hao is not good at looking closely, and after taking a look, he lowered his eyes. Then, I felt that it was wrong. Although there are many young ladies in this palace, there are few who know Cao Hao and can still call him by his name.

He raised his head and couldn't help but look at it twice, only to feel very good.

I saw the young woman tilting her chin, sneering, and said, "The noble man forgets things, it seems that this is really true, Chief Manager Cao doesn't know me?" ”

This gesture is even more familiar.

Cao Hao has already recognized the person, it is Tana, the concubine of the third princess and the wife of the eldest grandson Honghui Baylor.

Although Tana has been married to the capital for seven years, there is a difference between men and women, and she has only seen Cao Hao from a distance before. It's the first time I've had the opportunity to talk like this.

Compared with seven years ago, Cao Hao has not changed much, but his complexion is not as fair as in the past, adding a bit of the heroic appearance of a mature man.

Tana thought of her cousin Chu Yu, who presided over the burning of the seven after the spirit queen, and felt a little grief in her heart.

That woman, like a flower on the prairie, has been married for many years, has children, and is still delicate. On her own side, it was like a dry stream, lifeless.

Her husband didn't love her, but because of her status, he pretended to be affectionate, which made Tana nauseous.

The man in front of him is still as he saw on the grassland back then, always so peaceful and indifferent. It looks easy-going, but it seems to be thousands of miles away from people. Like the spring water on Horqin, it is so clear that people can't see the bottom.

"It turned out to be Mrs. Erbel, I haven't seen you for a long time, Mrs. Da'an!" Cao Hao thought about it for a while, and said thoughtfully.

I thought that this arrogant and domineering personality before getting married would also be a Hedong lion after getting married, but I didn't expect that over the years, when I heard people mention her, they were all praises, and there was nothing to be picky about.

There is always a time for a little girl to grow up.

At the beginning, she was carrying Horqin's hope to marry Honghui, and she was regarded as the future crown princess; But time has passed, and it has not been easy to come to these years.

Tana looked at Cao Hao's face and whispered, "Should I call you cousin-in-law, or should I call you cousin?" ”

As he spoke, his eyes were a little confused, and he didn't know what to think about.

The rumors about his mother's life experience have passed for a while, and now hearing Tana mention it, Cao Hao was a little speechless.

Do you still want to admit your relationship? I don't have that "blessing" to have countless uncles and cousins at once.

Although this piece is not a lonely man and a widow, Tana is still followed by a little girl, but the atmosphere is also quite weird.

Cao Hao coughed and said, "Cao is still busy, so I don't have anything to do here, Mrs. go slowly." ”

As he spoke, he turned to leave.

"Cao Hao, you get married, I will send you a congratulatory gift alone; I got married, but you are in the name of the Cao family, and you are too unrighteous. Tana frowned and said coldly: "It is said that Han people know etiquette, why did you forget to exchange courtesies?" ”

This questioning is a little childish.

Cao Hao turned his head and said, "Since Madam is a provocation, that is, Cao is not." When his wife is on her birthday, Cao will bring her inner son and give her a generous gift to her in advance. ”

Hearing Cao Hao mention "Neizi", Tana's face turned pale, and she sighed in her heart, only feeling that what she had just said was very boring.

Is this showing off happiness?

Tana lowered her head, picked the corners of her mouth, and said, "I can't afford to be generous, when Bao Ya Gege returns to Ning, when you eat and drink, don't forget to call me...... Well, ...... said."

Not far away, Honghui stood behind the curtain, looking at all this, surrounded by a chill......

(To be continued)