The daily struggles of divorced women in ancient times

Girls from wealthy families had to follow many rules every time they went out to a banquet. In previous years, the Pei family had attended banquets, but Mrs. Pei didn't know much about the twists and turns of the ladies in the capital, and she was afraid of affecting her son, so she rarely took the girls out to banquets.

After a while, other people were not invited every time.

In private, the noble ladies in the capital would also laugh at the Pei family for being country bumpkins, but Pei Yanxu's status was so high that even if they wanted to laugh at them, they could only laugh at them secretly behind their backs.

Mrs. Pei was a generous person, and she only wanted to find a daughter-in-law to manage the household, so she didn't really care about these things. Over time, the women of the Pei family rarely appeared in the circle of noble ladies in the capital, and gradually they withdrew from this circle.

This banquet was held because Madam Yang went to see Madam Qiu and repeatedly told her to take care of Madam Pei. That's why Madam Qiu sent the invitation early.

The banquet will be held tomorrow, but Xia Mianwan is still worried, so she asks Ruzhu to call all the girls in the family to her side.

In addition to cousin Qin Qinqing, the Pei family has two other girls: the eldest girl Pei Yanyue and the second girl Pei Yanqi.

Qin Qinqing's outfit was rather luxurious, while Pei Yanyue and Pei Yanqi's were dressed in a rather plain and elegant manner, lacking a bit of dignity.

Xia Mianwan's face darkened, and she pointed at the maids beside Pei Yanyue and Pei Yanqi and asked, "We are going to attend a banquet tomorrow. You are all old people in the mansion, but you don't even know the rules of the banquet? Why are you so perfunctory?"

Although Xia Mianwan usually smiles, she is so aggressive when she loses her temper that she scares the two maids so much that they kneel on the ground. "Young Madam, please understand. This is the wish of the young ladies!"

It has come to this, and they still dare to pass the blame to their master. Xia Mianwan looked at the two maids indifferently and asked softly, "Really?"

Pei Yanyue and Pei Yanqi were both relatively young and seldom attended these banquets. As far as Xia Mianwan knew, these two maids were specially invited by their mother-in-law to the house for the banquet.

Seeing how powerful Xia Mianwan was, the two old women dared not say a word.

"Please forgive me, Madam. We will go and help the two young ladies dress up again."

Seeing that the two maids were extremely nervous, Xia Mianwan did not ask them to get up. She just asked Pei Yanyue and Pei Yanqi in a friendly manner, "Are there any clothes and jewelry made a few days ago that you don't like?"

Pei Yanyue glanced at her sister-in-law timidly, shook her head and said, "Sister-in-law, there is nothing we don't like."

"Then why did you choose the same clothes as before?" Xia Mianwan continued to ask.

Pei Yanqi couldn't hold it back any longer and said with a bitter face, "Sister-in-law, it was the maid who said that everyone would be dressed in gorgeous clothes that day, and it would be easier for us to stand out if we wore something simple. But the clothes the maids chose were too plain, as if we were going to a funeral!"

Seeing her sister speaking without restraint, Pei Yanyue gently pulled Pei Yanqi's sleeve.

Pei Yanqi and Pei Yanyue had no choice but to keep silent after seeing this.

Xia Mianwan smiled and took Pei Yanyue with one hand and Pei Yanqi with the other and walked into the inner hall.

"Second sister, there are no outsiders here now. If you have anything to say, please just tell eldest sister-in-law directly, okay?" Xia Mianwan said as she patted Pei Yanqi's hand gently.

Pei Yanyue saw Pei Yanqi looking at her first, so she had no choice but to say helplessly: "Sister-in-law, we originally wanted to wear the clothes we chose this time, but it was the maids who told us so. I thought that my sister and I really haven't gone out to a banquet for a long time, maybe it would be better to wear something simple and elegant, so I listened to the maids' words."

Xia Mianwan asked, "Is your nanny usually close to your cousin's nanny?"

Pei Yanqi nodded and said, "My cousin has a good relationship with us, and our nanny also has a good relationship with us."

After listening to what Pei Yanyue and Pei Yanqi said, Xia Mianwan already had an idea in her mind. "Big sister, second sister, what the maids said is right. If everyone is dressed in luxury, you will stand out if you dress elegantly, but elegance and blandness are two different things. If you dress like this at such a festive banquet, wouldn't it be a disappointment? You are all at the age of marriage, and there are some things I can tell you early. Only concubines need to rely on color to win the heart of the man in the family, but the wife of the head does not have to rely solely on the love of her husband to live. It is true that the wife has her own way of living, and the concubine has her own way of living, but no matter what, you can't put the cart before the horse. You are the girls of the Pei family, the daughters loved by your parents, and the sisters loved by your brothers. As members of the Pei family, you will definitely not be concubines, so as the mistress of the house, you don't have to learn some tricks to compete for favor. You just need to stand there upright, have your own character, and you can already get a different look from others."

Pei Yanqi and Pei Yanyue listened in a daze to what Xia Mianwan said. No one else had ever said these words to them, not even their mother.

Ever since their cousin came, the two sisters often suffered losses due to their aunt's dominance. Their cousin also often said that their marriage was difficult and that it would be even more difficult with the arrival of their eldest sister-in-law, which made them think in the wrong way.

Pei Yanyue and Pei Yanqi were not the kind of people who didn't listen to others. They understood that Xia Mianwan was doing this for their own good, so the two sisters knelt down to Xia Mianwan sincerely and kowtowed, "Sister-in-law, thank you so much!"

"Since I'm your sister-in-law, why should you be polite?" Xia Mianwan smiled and pulled the two girls up.

Pei Yanyue and Pei Yanqi both laughed out loud.

Knowing what happened, Xia Mianwan naturally would not let it go easily. After taking Pei Yanqi and Pei Yanyue out of the inner hall, Xia Mianwan asked someone to take the two girls downstairs to dress up again and choose clothes.

As for the two maids... they naturally still knelt.

The two maids were secretly frightened, not knowing what the young lady meant.

Xia Mianwan waved goodbye to let everyone leave, but Qin Qinqing and Qin Qinqing's nanny stayed.

Xia Mianwan glanced at him and said with a smile, "Why, sister, is there anything else?"

Qin Qinqing gritted her teeth and said, "Cousin, I have some experience in dressing up, I think I can help you. If you think these two maids don't have good taste, you can ask my maid to teach you."

Qin Qinqing appeared calm on the outside, but she was extremely anxious on the inside. If she hadn't been so anxious, thinking that since she couldn't marry her cousin, she had to at least marry into a prominent family, why would she have given money to Pei Yanqi and Pei Yanyue's maids and asked them to dress plainly so that people would see her first.