Half in the river wind, half in the clouds

Jiang's mother has been quite busy these days. She has to deal with the female guests coming and going, worry about Jiang Lan's pregnancy, and pack luggage for herself and Jiang Zuo.

The female relatives would have to stay for half a day, and they had to sit with smiles. After a few days, their smiles became stiff, their nasolabial folds became deeper, and there were more fine lines at the corners of their eyes. Going to Chang'an, buying a house and discussing marriage were all very tedious tasks. In addition, Jiang Zuo's encouragement made Jiang's mother want to investigate Shen Guxing. The round trip would take at least a year, and there were too many things to bring. After taking care of them, she was exhausted both physically and mentally.

If he had a daughter-in-law to help him, it might be easier, but he couldn't help but feel uneasy when he thought about the girl his eldest son wanted to marry, who had a prominent family background. Fortunately, Shanyue was a good girl. After all, he had watched her grow up. She was gentle, sensible and considerate, and she was a perfect match for his stubborn second son.

Although there was no daughter-in-law who could take care of the family banquet for the time being, the two daughters could be used. He simply pushed all the family banquet matters to Fei and Feng, and only asked a few questions in his spare time.

But Jiang Fei was not interested in this opportunity to show her talents. She was so busy at home that she would find an opportunity to sneak out: to see her elder sister, to make an appointment with Yuzhi, and even to join in the poetry reading held by Qinru, who had always been at odds with her... In short, she kept making excuses whenever she opened her mouth.

Even if I stay at home, I am still distracted. You ask her what dishes to cook for the banquet, and she says it's up to you; you ask her how to arrange the seats, and she says it's all right. Jiang Feng is angry and asks again: "How about holding the banquet in the garden?"

Jiang Fei was pestered and felt a little annoyed when she looked at Jiang Feng. There was an unknown emotion in her eyes. She stared at him for a long time, until Jiang Feng's scalp was numb. Then she asked and answered: "How can you hear your voice being gentle and beautiful when you are so noisy?!"

Jiang Feng was stunned. He didn't know what kind of evil spirit this young girl in love had, so he didn't dare to count on her anymore.

She asked Jiang's mother for the banquet list. Although there were only more than 20 people, there were two generations, both men and women, so it had to be planned carefully. Fortunately, Mrs. Jiang went to stay at her eldest aunt's house a few days ago, otherwise it would be even more troublesome.

On the day of the banquet, the servants arranged the seats according to the seating chart that Jiang Feng had drawn in advance. The banquet was held in the small garden that the Jiang family had newly expanded last year. Although the garden was not big, it was elegant. Jiang Feng chose the open space in the middle. Nine couches were placed on the upper seats. The couches were covered with bamboo mats. In front of each couch was a carved lacquer table, in different styles such as crabapple, lotus leaf, and sunflower, forming a semicircle; on the east and west sides, there were a row of tables and chairs. On each table was a self-pouring pot, an enamel cup, and various side dishes. On the east side, there were several screens with flowers in full bloom. Behind the screens, a whole lamb was being roasted on the fire rack, and a chef was specially invited from Jiuyue Tower to serve it. There were also two large copper pots, both of which were burning scarlet charcoal. The thick soup was boiling inside. It was the hot pot soup base that Jiang Feng had been watching in the kitchen for an afternoon. On the table next to the pot were marinated beef and mutton, various meatballs, and seasonal vegetables. Two more maids brought an iron stove, iron fork and iron grill, and skewered the beef and mutton together with iron skewers. They coated the meat with sauce and grilled them on the iron grill.

The Jiang family was short of manpower, so Jiang Lan sent three maids and two servants to help early on.

Jiangfeng version of "grilled and shabu-shabu whole lamb feast"!

After a while, Jiang's mother led a group of ladies, and Jiang's father led the male guests. They were also amazed at the arrangement. Jiang's father stroked his beard and said, "My little girl loves to work hard on this. This arrangement is also very thoughtful. Please take a seat."

At the main table were Jiang's father and mother, Aunt Liu, Uncle and Aunt Gao, Captain Shen and his wife, and General Guan and his wife.

Sitting on the west side were Jiang Lan, Guan Shanyue, Jiang Fei, Liu Yuzhi, Jiang Feng and Gao Yu, and on the east side were Guan Shanfeng, Liu Nezhi, Jiang Zuo, Shen Guwei, Jiang You and Gao Hui.

Liu Nezhi and Guan Shanfeng were accompanying their superiors in an army review, and had sent someone to report that they would be a little late, so only one seat was left.

Jiang Feng sat at the table and saw everyone enjoying the banquet. She couldn't help but feel proud. She was not much worse than the smart and capable Wang Xifeng! She was very proud and poured herself a drink. In a short while, she had finished two cups.

She also saw that the various candied fruits Jiang Fei bought for her were really delicious. She finished the entire small plate in no time. While enjoying the delicious taste, she didn't mind that Jiang Fei was lazy and didn't work.

After a while, the servant put the delicious fish fillet on her plate, and she ate it without hesitation. She loved fish fillet when eating hot pot, no matter what kind of fish it was, she would just cut it into slices and put it in the boiling pot, and cook it for a few seconds before eating it.

After another lamb chop that was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside came down, the boys and girls began to toast the elders at the table. For a while, people toasted, wrote poems, and exchanged glances. The scene became more lively, and Jiang Feng drank half a cup without realizing it.

When they were drinking, Nanny Sun came in hurriedly and whispered something to Jiang's mother. Jiang's mother immediately stopped smiling from ear to ear and said to Jiang's father in a panic, "The King of Zhongshan has also come with my son-in-law and is already outside the gate."

Father Jiang and the others were also startled. Father Jiang was already a little sober from his drunkenness and said hurriedly, "How can this be done? Go out and greet them quickly."

Everyone hurriedly tidied their appearance and were about to take their seats when King Zhongshan Li Longye, his brother-in-law Liu Nezhi, Jiang You's elder brother-in-law Guan Shanfeng and Li Longye's entourage came in.

Li Longye walked with his hands behind his back, a smile on his face that never changed. He seemed warm but actually looked down on everyone. Everyone became even more flustered, and they all knelt down to pay their respects. Li Longye hurriedly took a few steps, stepped forward to help Jiang's father who had already knelt down, and said with a smile: "Don't be polite, everyone. I came here uninvited, and I disturbed your leisure time. It's my fault."

Although Li Longye said this, everyone knelt down without hesitation. Jiang Feng was kneeling behind the crowd at this time. Hearing that the maids and servants behind the screen had also knelt down, he began to worry about the tripe that had just been put into the pot.

If it is overcooked, Li Longye will be blamed.

Just as he was thinking about it, he heard Jiang's father say, "Your Highness, you have come to my humble home. I am honored to have you here."

Li Longye smiled and said, "No need to be so polite, sir. All the lords and ladies, please stand up quickly!" As he spoke, he helped Jiang's father up. Guan Shanfeng and his silly brother-in-law also went over to help Captain Shen and General Guan up. Then everyone stood up in a rush.

"I often hear Nezhi mention the harmony in his family, and I yearn for it. I have been away from Chang'an for half a year, and I often miss my father and brother. Today, I heard that you are planning this family dinner, so I came here uninvited to express my homesickness. I hope you don't mind!" said Li Longye.

Everyone said they didn't dare.

Brother-in-law Liu had been with Li Longye for many days and was quite familiar with him. Seeing that everyone at the table was very reserved, he said, "Please invite the prince to take a seat."

Jiang Lan had already ordered people to rearrange the top seats, and Li Longye naturally took the center seat. Who can blame him for his inherent nobility? !

Everyone followed suit and sat down tremblingly. Li Longye looked around and spotted Jiang Feng, who was a little tipsy at the end of the seat. His smile deepened and he nodded slightly at her.

Jiang Feng pretended not to see it. Jiang Lan, who had not drunk any wine, and Jiang Zuo, who was very sensitive, both caught sight of this action.

One was shocked when he thought about Li Longye's frequent visits and roundabout ways to inquire about the little sister, and the other was shocked when he thought about the infatuation of his best friend who was thousands of miles away.

Gao Hui felt that today's wine was particularly hard to swallow. Jiang Fei sent bundles of spinach in the autumn, but he could not see them. However, the smile of the nobleman on the table made him sober up. Looking at the peach blossom face of his beloved and thinking of his parents' determination, he felt a deep sense of powerlessness and drank the wine in the glass unconsciously.

All kinds of eyes shot at her like arrows, treating Jiang Feng as a living target. She couldn't bear it any longer, so she stood up suddenly with a glass of wine, staggered behind the screen, and said to the sweaty woman, "I'll grill it."

The woman couldn't refuse, so she had to give it to her. She took a handful of mutton skewers and coated them with chili oil and various dipping sauces as if she had a grudge. The woman hurriedly advised: "Young lady, don't eat that, it's too much!"

Jiang Feng didn't even raise his head: "No problem!"

"Afeng..." Jiang Feng looked up and found that Gao Hui had actually learned to call people in such a tender and sweet way.

"It turns out to be Brother Gao. You are in precious health, but you haven't visited for a long time." Jiang Feng's tone was inevitably sarcastic due to the alcohol.

"I...I..." Gao Hui said in a low voice, as if he had a thousand words to say, but at this moment, he couldn't say a word. Even if he was unwilling, he was discussing kissing with Jiang Fei, so what was the point of looking for her at this moment?

But he just couldn't help but follow.

He took a step closer to the girl under the influence of alcohol, looked into her eyes and said, "A Feng, I... I just want to marry you!"

After all, he was a young man full of vigor and vitality, and he had to give it a try when he was at the end of his rope. He didn't believe that the girl didn't like him, nor did he believe that he would miss the girl from now on. They were used to playing together, and even though they had seen each other less in the past two years, he had never thought that he would eventually separate from her.

Jiang Feng felt a nameless fire burning in his heart! The prince sitting in the hall thought that he was powerful and suave, and all the girls in the world would fall in love with him. If there was anyone who didn't treat him well, he would take the opportunity to harass him again and again.

He invited her to his sister's house, invited her to play polo, and gave her all kinds of gifts... She refused, so he followed her home.

And the man in front of me, why should I marry him if he wants to? Why doesn't anyone ask her who she wants to marry?

She was drunk and angry, and said mercilessly: "Brother Gao must have drunk too much! The person you want to marry is sitting at the table, go find her yourself! I am eccentric and unlucky, how can I be worthy of the general's son!"

In Gao Hui's eyes, Jiang Feng was always a girl who could easily get angry, but even when she was angry, she never hurt him like this. Thinking of the beatings he received because of her during the marriage, and the sleepless nights he spent because of her, he felt disheartened.

After a moment, he said, "You said that. It turns out that you have no feelings for me at all?"

Jiang Feng's anger subsided after he said those harsh words. He calmed down and thought carefully, what had Gao Hui done wrong? How innocent was he?

He just liked her, liked her when she was alone and helpless.

He contradicted his parents for her, was beaten with a stick, and knelt in the ancestral hall.

Don't turn back even if you hit the wall.