In the blink of an eye, it was New Year's Eve. Jiang Pengji held a New Year's banquet as usual and invited the officials to celebrate the New Year together.
Huang Song attended as a special guest. Although he was no longer qualified to sit on equal footing with Jiang Pengji, his seat was second only to her.
"Can't sit still anymore?"
Huang Song did not bring his two legitimate sons to the New Year's banquet. Instead, he brought his daughter.
When the daughter saw a few children of the same age, she immediately could not sit still, but she did not dare to leave without her father's permission.
Lady Qi said awkwardly, "On such an occasion … What if something happens …"
Usually, it was not a big deal to quarrel, but now it was Jiang Pengji's New Year's banquet. It would not be good if the child accidentally got into trouble.
Huang Song was about to speak when Jiang Pengji said, "Is that Bogao's daughter?"
"Yes, it is."
"Let her come forward. Let me take a look." Jiang Pengji smiled faintly. "She's pretty and cute."
Huang Song caressed his daughter's back and pushed her gently, encouraging her to find Jiang Pengji.
The little girl was a little afraid of strangers. Her chubby little face looked left and right. Finally, she walked timidly toward Jiang Pengji.
When she got closer, she awkwardly saluted.
"I wish you a happy and healthy New Year."
Not only did her childish voice make Jiang Pengji feel cute, but it also made the 850,000 people in the streaming room KO 'ed.
"Happy and healthy New Year." Jiang Pengji reached out and lifted her onto her lap. She asked, "Did you come with your father?"
The little girl nodded. "Yes, Father is over there."
Jiang Pengji smiled and grabbed a brocade pouch with a red seal for the New Year and hung it on the little girl's waist.
"I saw that you couldn't sit still just now. Do you want to play with your brother and sister?"
The little girl bit her lip awkwardly, as if she was thinking about how to answer. In the end, she obeyed her heart and nodded heavily.
"Then go. Come back when you're hungry."
Jiang Pengji smiled softly and instructed Changsheng and a few older children to play with the little girl.
Huang Song was completely relieved when he saw that.
The New Year's banquet program was refreshed every year, and the dishes were more and more varied. Even an old glutton like Yang Si could not find fault with it.
If someone paid attention, they would find that this year, Yang Si was finally not alone!
Jiang Nongqin, who was at the side, was wearing a new set of brightly colored clothes. Even though she had a cold face, she looked gentler than usual.
While eating, Yang Si noticed that Jiang Nongqin's gaze was on him.
"What happened?"
Jiang Nongqin's face was cold. She looked at a dish that had not been touched and raised her chin slightly.
Seeing this, Yang Si immediately brought the dish to her side.
Because they were eating separately, although there were many dishes on the table, the amount of food on each plate was not large. She had already finished her portion.
"You seem to be very fond of spicy food these days?" Yang Si asked casually, "I remember you didn't like it very much before."
Jiang Nongqin said, "I've liked it recently."
Yang Si said, "If you still like it, I'll get the maidservant to bring another plate. It's just that this thing tastes sour and spicy. If you eat too much of it, it'll affect your sense of taste."
He was a particular person. After tasting food with a strong taste, he would always drink a mouthful of clear soup to disperse the taste in his mouth.
Otherwise, the taste of the previous dish would overwhelm the taste of the next dish, and it would not be satisfying.
Jiang Nongqin nodded.
Jiang Pengji noticed their movements and clicked her tongue softly. She sent someone to send a stack of things to Yang Si.
"Thank you for the food, my lord."
Yang Si smiled. After opening it, the smile on his face slowly froze.
Red dates, peanuts, longans, and lotus seeds.
The plate contained these four items. It was not the delicacies that Yang Si had imagined.
Why did his lord send him this?
Yang Si raised his head and glanced at his lord. She rolled her eyes at him.
He was not a slow-witted person. He came back to his senses as soon as he thought about it. He was so excited that he almost knocked over the food table.
At this New Year's banquet, some people were so happy that they wanted to go in circles, while others were anxious and fearful.
Whether they were valued by the lord or not, they would know if they received an invitation to the New Year's banquet.
Those who did not receive an invitation would work harder and strive to improve in the coming year.
Those who received the invitation were naturally complacent and looked forward to their official careers in the coming year.
The most embarrassing thing was that they received the invitation and then had it taken back. They had lost a lot of face.
They secretly inquired about it and found that there was more than one family facing such a predicament.
However …
What exactly did they do wrong?
Why did they suddenly take back the invitation to the New Year's banquet?
This was undoubtedly a sign that they had been abandoned by the lord. All the families were not even in the mood to celebrate the New Year. They looked for ways to find out the truth.
There was no lively laughter in the mansion. There was only a solemn and uneasy atmosphere.
In a house in Chang 'an Alley …
"You are a widower who has ruined your husband. Why are you crying? My son's good official career is going to be washed away by your tears! "
The old woman in bright clothes was so angry that she raised her eyebrows. She looked at her daughter-in-law with daggers in her eyes, as if she wanted to kill her.
Her daughter-in-law's left cheek was swollen. The thick makeup on her face could not hide her embarrassment and haggard appearance.
Her hair was loose and yellow. She looked more than ten years older than her actual age.
After being yelled at by the old woman, her eyes, which were swollen from crying, stopped crying in fear. However, she felt even more wronged and sad.
The old woman said, "I said that your horoscope will ruin your husband and son. It is not good for my son's official career. Look — isn't it true? It will ruin my grandson's deafness and ruin my son's official career! Tomorrow, you will leave the court. If you continue like this, won't my son be ruined by you? You are a jinx! "
The old woman's expression was fierce, and a trace of murderous intent flashed in her eyes.
If this daughter-in-law was still not tactful, then she could not be blamed for being cruel.
As a mother, she could not allow a widower who had ruined her husband and son to continue occupying the position of her son's official wife!
After the old woman finished speaking, a delicate woman with a protruding belly patted the back of the old woman's hand and comforted her softly.
The woman was the old woman's niece, and she was also the old woman's favorite daughter-in-law candidate.
Her appearance was good for her husband and son, and her horoscope was also excellent.
Ever since her son had accepted her, his official career had been smooth. Her niece's belly also worked hard, and she soon became pregnant.
Seeing this, the old woman was even more eager to force her daughter-in-law to abdicate and make room for her niece.
The chaotic night passed quickly.
On the morning of the first day of the new year, a piece of news blew up the peaceful Wanzhou.
The old woman was so scared that her face turned pale and she knelt on the ground with a thud.
Even though she was a woman, she knew how big a label it was to "disregard the law and overstep the rules."
Not only could it crush one person to death, but it could also crush three clans to death.
"When did you make such a grave mistake that you have to exterminate your entire family —"
The old woman looked at her son in despair, but her son did not respond.
At that moment, the unlucky daughter-in-law came over to help her up, and the old woman's anger suddenly found an outlet to vent.
She raised her fan-like palm and slapped her daughter-in-law with all her strength.
She cried and scolded, "You're a widower who has ruined her husband. Where did this demon come from? We have no enmity, so why did you stay in our house and harm people?!"
If it was any other time, her son would have pretended not to see it.
He did not like his wife either. She was old, ugly, and didn't know how to flatter others.
But now, he was so annoyed that he raised his hand to stop his mother's violence.
He said awkwardly, "Disregard the law because you spoil your concubine and destroy your wife. Overstep the rules because you have a concubine!"
Although her family was considered wealthy, they did not have the right to have five, six, or seven or eight concubines.
The old woman used to despise her daughter-in-law and was afraid that she would hold onto her son's heart. So, she bought a few decent looking concubines and sent them to her son's room to serve him.
In the end …
She had really shot herself in the foot.
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