The Marquise: I Earn My Own Worship

The main purpose of this birthday party is known to everyone, and everyone comes to the party with their own thoughts.

The Lu family ingeniously used a huge crescent-shaped lotus pond in the mansion as the banquet venue, and cleverly arranged the male and female guests to sit inside and outside the crescent respectively.

This arrangement allows the female guests, though seated more dispersed, to better observe what is happening on the male side. Furthermore, the abundant brocade gauze used to decorate the female side creates a hazy beauty. The male guests, seated a little further away, have difficulty seeing what is happening on the female side.

The ladies attending the meeting all marveled at the ingenious layout and went to ask Mrs. Lu about it.

This method was something that Lu had heard from the manager outside the farm in order to avoid feeling sorry for her brother. This was a popular layout in Nanyang and was most suitable for this kind of occasion.

The girls attending the meeting were extremely happy, especially the elegant girls who liked romance, poetry and painting, and gathered with a few friends to have fun.

Song Shengfu sat in the main seat, happily watching the little girls below having fun.

Look, these young people are so fresh and pretty. Unlike me, I have become an old cucumber. Song Shengfu kept complaining in her heart.

The King of Hell didn't know to assign a younger one to himself, so that he could at least dress up.

But then I thought again, I was already an old woman in my seventies, and it didn't seem appropriate for me to be a little girl again.

Song Shengfu sighed slightly, oh, forget it, it’s not bad to be an old woman.

A sharp-eyed lady saw this and immediately said, "What's wrong with the old lady? Are you feeling unwell?"

Song Shengfu looked in the direction of the voice, but it looked unfamiliar and she didn't recognize it.

"you are?"

"I am Xu, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Robert Mansion. Our old lady and you are just friends."

Xu stood up and bowed and replied

"Oh, I remember now. Why didn't she come today?"

Song Shengfu remembered that it was the person who smoothed things over at the palace banquet that day.

There are only two earls in the entire capital, one is her family and the other is the Luo family.

"Mother, I caught a cold a few days ago and have been feeling a little better these past few days, but I'm still not feeling well, so I haven't been here. Mother even specifically asked me to pay my respects to you and to say hello."

"Hey, why is she so reserved? Her health is the most important thing. Go back and tell her to get well so she can come to our wedding."

After saying this, Song Shengfu smiled happily. Getting married means having children, and there will be more children in the family, and the KPI progress will increase by one.

The others also laughed when they saw this. The old lady of the Duan family should be happy. Her son passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi, and her grandson often played in the imperial concubine's palace. Her situation was much better than before.

"There are many beautiful girls in the capital. I'm afraid you are overwhelmed by the choices. I wonder if you have found anyone you like?"

Song Shengfu looked around at everyone present before smiling and saying, "There are indeed many good girls in the capital, and I like them all. But marriage is a big deal, and first of all, it depends on fate, and most importantly, the children have to be compatible."

"Then you must take a good look today. There are quite a few girls here. If you like any of them, you must act quickly."

Seeing this, Mrs. Lu also smiled and agreed: "A family with a daughter is sought after by hundreds of families. The girls are all great, but I don't know if my brother-in-law is worth the attention of the others."

At this time, a young woman sitting at the sandalwood table on the left spoke softly:

"Madam, what are you talking about? Fourth Master Duan is young and promising. He was a Jinshi at the age of 18 and even received the title of Chuanlu. He is considered a famous young man in the capital."

Song Shengfu looked over and saw that the woman was wearing a pomegranate silk pleated satin skirt, with willow eyebrows and phoenix eyes, and had a very good appearance. Her eyes were like water and she was smiling.

Who is this? Song Shengfu glanced at Mother Qi, who stepped forward and said, "This is Bai, the wife of the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice."

Here, Mrs. Lu was already chatting with Mrs. Bai, and the other ladies nearby also came over. For a moment, everyone started talking about their family members and children.

"As everyone knows, our family is the most peaceful. We don't like the custom of other families having three wives and four concubines. Our old lady has said that our Duan family's descendants can only take concubines if they are over forty and have no children."

Song Shengfu had already discussed this with her family beforehand. Old Master Duan only had one concubine, who was taken in by her former husband. The eldest son, Duan Jingzong, also had one wife. It turned out that Mrs. Lu had also wanted to take a concubine for Duan Jingzong, but Duan Jingzong had refused.

Therefore, when Song Shengfu proposed it, everyone agreed.

Everyone was shocked for a moment. Not to mention his family background and character, this alone was enough to make many people excited.

Who doesn't want their daughter to marry well? Some families have a room full of concubines and a lot of illegitimate sons.

It would be fine if you meet a good master, but if you meet one who favors his concubine over his wife, your life will be over.

As soon as these words were spoken, those who had been in a talkative attitude began to find topics to chat with Lu, and Song Shengfu sat there as her old feudal lord.

Some of the people who were attracted by the man began to look towards the male guest, observing Duan Jing'an's every word and action.

Duan Jing'an didn't notice any of this, he just felt that there were an unusually large number of looks being given to him today.

He had no time to take care of these things and followed his elder brother and second brother-in-law Huang Jingtong to entertain the guests who came to the house.

When I enter officialdom in the future, I will inevitably have to deal with these people. I would be more than happy to have the opportunity to get to know them, so I can only drink one glass after another.

Duan Jing'an always controlled himself and didn't lose his composure, so to outsiders he looked like a gentleman.

Many people nodded secretly in their hearts. He was not overly ambitious, was not impatient when drunk, and was humble and polite. He was indeed a good candidate.

……

After the banquet was finally over and everyone had left, Duan Jing'an collapsed. Duan Jingzong was naturally very distressed about his youngest brother.

Today Jing'an was forced to drink one glass of wine after another. He watched from the side but could not stop it. Jing'an is a man and will have to socialize in the future.

As soon as the people left, Duan Jingzong ordered his men to carry Duan Jing'an back and gave him several large cups of sobering tea.

Duan Jing'an wasn't actually completely drunk; he had a good alcohol tolerance. The more he drank, the clearer his mind became. However, he kept this secret to himself, and never told anyone.

But he still looked drunk and felt a little hot, so Duan Jing'an lay on the desk by the window and pretended to take a nap to enjoy the fresh air.

At this moment, a pair of hands suddenly touched his chest. He woke up with a start and opened his eyes, only to find that it was a second-class maid in his yard.

Ziying looked at the young man on the chaise longue shyly. She had admired the Fourth Master for a long time, but every time she passed by him, he never looked at her.

She was the most beautiful maid in Youzhu Courtyard and originally thought she would become the Fourth Master's concubine.

But who knew that after waiting for a long time, what he got was the first lady's statement that she would not take a concubine. How could the first lady be like this? Not only did she take advantage of the first master not to take a concubine, but she also forbade the fourth master to take a concubine.

She must be jealous of the Fourth Master being so successful. What man wouldn't take a concubine?

God knows when she heard what those little maids said, she felt like the sky was falling.

How could she be willing to do that? She had waited for so many years, but the men her family arranged for her to marry were all servants and guards, who were no match for the Fourth Master.

If the mistress comes in later, she will never have another chance. She only has tonight. If she can succeed, she won't have to worry about wealth and glory in the future.

Ziying became more and more excited the more he thought about it. He calmed himself down and continued to reach out to pull at Duan Jing'an's clothes.

Duan Jing'an's first reaction was confusion, after all, it was his first time experiencing this.

Duan Jingzong, who had reacted, stared at the woman in front of him with an indifferent expression and eyes as dark as ink, making it impossible to see his expression.

Ziying looked up and saw that the Fourth Master was staring at her with his eyes open. She was startled, but when she found that he did not move, she immediately put on a smile again and said in a sweet and charming voice.

"Fourth Master, you are drunk. I will help you undress."

Ziying's hand moved all the way down, and her fingertips hooked on the clothes from time to time.

Summer clothes are thin, and Duan Jingan can clearly feel the hands moving on his body.

When Ziying's hand was about to touch her waist, Duan Jing'an grabbed her hand.