Xu Zaijing, who was almost five years old, had sweat on his forehead. Seeing this scene, the groom from the marquis's mansion did not continue.
He also asked Xu Zaijing to shoot fifty arrows with each hand, and only one arrow would be counted if it hit the red heart of the straw target ten steps away.
After the practice, Xu Zaijing practiced another set of breathing techniques and was finally thrown into a bathtub full of herbs.
At his age, this kind of training of drawing the bow dozens of times left and right would be harmful to his body without the nourishment of herbs.
Qingyun, the servant hired by the coachman, was also trying to gather his strength. In the end, the herbs he used were somewhat different from those used by Xu Zaijing, and the dosage was reduced a lot.
This young man was also the nephew of the groom's family. After he got into trouble, many of his family's businesses were divided up, and his family members lost their livelihoods and left the capital one after another.
Xu Minghua searched everywhere for the nephew, but he only found the nephew who had lost his parents.
The reason why he tried his hand at the polo field some time ago was because King Jing originally wanted to get involved in that big deal, but he refused.
At that time, he was really too successful. His continuous success made him underestimate the people in the world. A mistake of trust made him fall into someone else's beauty trap, which caused him to fall flat on his face, so badly that he could hardly recover.
Some time ago, Princess Pingning of the second branch of the Duke of Qi's Mansion gave birth to a child, a boy.
The Yongyi Marquis Mansion, which originally had little relationship with the Qiguogong Mansion, received a wedding gift and even invited the lady of the Yongyi Marquis Mansion to stay until the full moon and then go to the Qiguogong Mansion.
Princess Pingning was the only daughter of Marquis Xiangyang. Like the Ningyuan Marquis, she had the same surname, Gu, and the same ancestor in the family tree. When she had a child, the Ningyuan Marquis naturally received the good news.
On this day, Sun brought Xu Zaijing and the other five children to the Duke of Qi's mansion. Although Sun arrived early, many carriages and sedan chairs belonging to the nobles' families were already parked along the roadside in Xingguofang.
The old Duke of Qi was a top nobleman, and he had served in the court for many years and had a good reputation. So when the Duke's family had grandchildren this time, no matter whether they were noble military officers or civil officials in the court, they all came to celebrate.
Taking children to banquets in Beijing is also a way to meet each other. Being able to decide on a marriage in such a festive occasion is double happiness.
But there is also constant verbal sparring, including flattery and sarcasm.
Bai also brought Gu Tingye with her. Her daughter was still young and was being taken care of by a wet nurse at home.
But she came from a merchant family, and not many ladies from noble families were willing to talk to her.
The eldest ladies of the fourth and fifth rooms of the Gu family also went straight to find their close friends after entering the Duke of Qi's mansion, and ignored Bai.
Mother Chang's face also looked unhappy at this time. Bai smiled bitterly. Gu Tingye beside her frowned and looked at his mother, then at the people around him, with a flash of anger in his eyes.
Just when she was feeling depressed, Mother Chang saw Sun and her group and hurriedly reminded Bai.
"younger sister."
Sun shouted.
The five children beside Sun saluted and said
"Meet the lady."
Bai's face was full of smiles, and her momentary brightness attracted the attention of many officials' wives.
She hugged Xu Zaijing affectionately.
"Brother Jing!"
"Auntie, make-up is safe."
Sun was also holding Gu Tingye's hand and asking some common questions.
Although Gu Tingye is almost a year older than Xu Zaijing, he still speaks and behaves in a childish manner.
After all, Gu Tingye is a real child, but Xu Zaijing has the soul of a modern adult.
Bai looked at Xu Zaijing with eyes full of fondness, as if she had a connection with him.
Because Madam Wu also had a son, the sixth in the Marquis's family, everyone also called him Liang Liulang. However, he did not come this time, saying that he got angry during the confinement period and hurt his body.
When the banquet was about to begin, the protagonist of the banquet, the legitimate son of the second branch of the Duke of Qi's Mansion, was brought out.
The guests who arrived naturally gave compliments.
Although Princess Pingning's family is the second branch,
But when she married into the Duke of Qi's Mansion, she brought with her the wealth of the Marquis of Xiangyang's Mansion. In addition, the Qi family itself was a top noble family, so this boy was born to be of high status.
Princess Pingning in the crowd wore a gold-thread, pine-green, and ruby-decorated headband, and her nanny held the second son of Qi in her arms for the relatives to watch.
The princess was talking with her relatives, and from time to time she placed valuable gifts in the little boy's cradle.
After almost going around the whole place, Princess Pingning said a few words to her personal wet nurse, and the wet nurse took the little boy back to the side room.
Princess Pingning glanced around the spacious room and found Xu Zaijing standing obediently beside her mother.
In the past year, Xu Zaijing has grown a lot taller, and his long hair has been tied into several clumps.
She looks more and more lovely and sensible.
While talking to the wives of officials and noble ladies, Princess Pingning walked to Sun's side.
After some pleasantries, Princess Pingning said to Xu Zaijing sincerely, "Good boy."
However, this sentence sounded different to the nobles and their families around him.
Xu Zaijing naturally had no idea what had happened at the polo field and at the Duke of Qi's mansion a few months ago, so he could only grin in ignorance.
"Thank you, Princess, for the compliment."
The female official walked up to the princess and said a few words, and Princess Pingning nodded.
Then the female official said loudly: "Dear guests, please take your seats."
After the banquet started, the guests began to eat, but the children could not sit still. Those who did not want to eat or were full started playing games in the yard.
Xu Zaijing was fed by his mother at the banquet, and after eating, he came to the yard accompanied by a maid.
During the Zhou Dynasty, the country was prosperous. Everyone in the court, from the royal family and nobles to the common people, loved gambling, and children were inevitably infected with the gambling culture.
"Wow, Brother Ye, that's awesome!"
"How did he make the shot?"
In the middle of the yard, Gu Tingye was playing the game of throwing pots with a group of children of nobles, and he had already won a lot of spoils.
Many of the gadgets in the hands of the noble children were worth enough to sustain the common people of Bianjing for half a year.
But in this Duke's Mansion, it is just an addition to the children's game of pitching pots.
In the pavilion nearby, the children of several high-ranking officials in the court have already begun to learn, and some have even taken the test. It is not clear whether they passed or not, but they have gained a reputation for being good at studying.
They were attracted by the excitement in the courtyard and talked about
"Gu Tingye from Ningyuan Marquis's Mansion is really good at pitching pots."
"His family has been associated with reckless soldiers for generations. It would be strange if he wasn't powerful."
After he said this, several young men from civil service backgrounds in the pavilion curled their lips and smiled in tacit understanding.
Surrounding the courtyard, separated by curtains and screens, is a long corridor where noble ladies from various mansions play games and sisters who are close to each other exchange needlework experiences.
From time to time, there are children who refuse to give up and go to the corridor to ask their sisters for things or to cheat them out of something, wanting to continue challenging Gu Tingye.
But the result was that I lost everything.
At this moment, a burst of crying suddenly came from the corridor. A girl of seven or eight years old walked back to the banquet room crying, and behind her was a little boy with a panicked look on his face.
Xu Zaijing did not participate in the gambling game. He and his maid Xiaodan stood aside and watched the excitement in the yard.
Seeing this scene, he looked at Xiao Dan beside him with some confusion.