Xiao Qiao couldn't help pouting her lips when she heard Da Qiao lecturing her. She couldn't help but look out through the hole and muttered, "Sister is too rigid. She's so old, but she looks so old."
"She plays the piano better than me, dances better than me, and reads more poetry and books than me, but she has no interest in these things and spends all day doing needlework. What a waste of talent."
Da Qiao was about to speak when she saw Xiao Qiao covering her mouth and exclaiming in a low voice: "Ah!"
"Brother Gongjin is dancing with a sword. So powerful and majestic!"
Da Qiao shook her head helplessly, picked up the silk dress, and began to embroider it stitch by stitch.
She said softly, "Don't blame me for saying that. Playing the piano and dancing are all about attracting people with sex appeal. If you meet someone with bad intentions, it will bring disaster."
"It's better to learn some skills so that you can make a living if you encounter difficulties in the future."
Xiao Qiao turned around and said unconvincedly, "Although our family is not extremely wealthy, we are still a family with a lavish house, a fine carriage and four horses. How could we have fallen to the point where we need to be an embroiderer?"
Da Qiao sneered: "You haven't heard about your father being captured?"
"I heard that my father suffered a lot and couldn't sleep for more than half a month after returning. Fortunately, the other party released my father safely this time for some unknown reason."
"Of course this is a good thing, but have you ever thought about what we would do if the other side gets angry and keeps my father locked up or even kills him?"
Xiao Qiao was not convinced and said, "My father is loyal to the envoy, so of course the envoy will treat us well!"
After hearing this, Da Qiao said helplessly: "You are too young to understand these things."
"My mother died young. If my father were to pass away, our fate would not be much better than that prostitute."
"If you are lucky, you may be granted a high position, but if you are unlucky, you may end up selling smiles on the street."
After hearing this, Xiao Qiao turned pale and said, "Sister, don't scare me!"
"How is that possible!"
"Father has so many friends, he will definitely treat us well!"
She suddenly thought of something and said, "If we end up performing on the streets, wouldn't our piano and dancing skills come in handy? It's better than my sister doing embroidery for others, right?"
Da Qiao was slightly angry: "You stupid fool, I just told you, selling your body will be coveted by others sooner or later, and your end will be miserable."
"Can't you just listen to me seriously..."
At this time, Xiao Qiao turned her head again, looked at the front hall, and exclaimed: "Hey, Brother Gongjin's sword dance is so beautiful!"
"It's a pity that my brother has already married. If only I could have been born a few years earlier!"
"Hey, hey, hey, look at him turning over and taking a step, carrying Youlong away..."
Seeing Xiao Qiao's obsessed look, Da Qiao shook her head helplessly, thinking that her sister was so naive and didn't know what sorrow felt like.
She was a little worried. No one knew what had happened in Xuzhou this time. Even Sun Ce, who was famous in Jiangdong and highly appreciated by his father, suffered a loss and returned empty-handed.
Moreover, Da Qiao discovered that Qiao Rui had smiled less since he came back. Something bad must have happened over there, which made Da Qiao feel very uneasy.
Later, she inquired from many sources and heard some leaked news.
Some people saw with their own eyes that Sun Ce's biological mother, Madam Wu, died in the chaos of war!
While Da Qiao was sighing, she thought about the dangers of war. Even the fierce tiger of Jiangdong, Sun Bofu, could not protect his own mother. Her own father had been on the battlefield for a long time. Could he guarantee that he would be able to escape unscathed every time?
The only thing to be thankful for this time is that my father came back alive, but what about next time?
Da Qiao couldn't help but feel a little afraid of the future.
At this time, Xiao Qiao exclaimed, "Oh, Brother Gongjin, how did you slip and fall!"
She then consoled herself, "Yeah, maybe I drank too much. Brother Gongjin is a man of both civil and military talents. Even a fine horse can stumble occasionally, so it's normal for a person to stumble occasionally."
Qiao Rui's voice came from the front, "Gongjin, you are drunk, stop dancing with the sword."
Zhou Yu stood up and staggered, "I, I'm not drunk!"
"Go on, let's continue dancing while the music is playing!"
Sun Ce was displeased when he heard this: "Gongjin, let's stop here today."
"Come back with me."
Zhou Yu leaned on the ground with his sword, his body swaying, and barely stood up, shouting: "I'm fine!"
"That damned Yuan Xi is completely devoid of conscience. I will not be a human being if I don't avenge him!"
"I, I, I am so ashamed of my wife!"
Xiao Qiao exclaimed, turned to Da Qiao and said, "Brother Gongjin seems to be crying!"
"Who is this Yuan Xi he's talking about?"
Da Qiao raised her head, but still resisted the urge to stand up.
She thought that there seemed to be a lot of hidden secrets in the battle of Xuzhou.
Is the man who defeated Sun Ce and captured my father called Yuan Xi?
Under the same sky, at the same moment, Yuan Xi, who was cursed and hated by Zhou Yu, was sitting at the guest table of the Mi family, chatting and laughing with Mi Zhu and Mi Fang.
Mi Fang secretly glanced at Zhen Mi who was sitting next to Yuan Xi, and thought to herself that no wonder Yuan Xi was not interested in his younger sister, he was indeed outdone.
In terms of appearance and talent, my younger sister is outstanding among the women of the Xuzhou gentry. However, when sitting next to the girl from the Zhen family, she is indeed inferior to her.
Mi Fang was upset. He originally wanted to marry Yuan Xi because he might be coveting the Zhen family's property. The girl from the Zhen family might not be very good-looking.
If that were the case, my younger sister might be favored if she married him. If the daughter of the Zhen family had no children or died early, wouldn't my younger sister be able to take the throne?
However, today, his fantasy has been shattered.
He turned his head and looked at his younger sister again. Although she responded appropriately, she looked distracted.
Mi Fang thought to herself that it was no wonder, the Mi family's daughter's marriage had now become a joke, and everyone in the Mi family looked three inches shorter than they actually were.
Thinking of this, Mi Fang felt a little hateful towards Yuan Xilai. What are you doing here? Why are you sending Liu Bei's wife and daughter back?
It's nosy of a dog to catch a mouse!
You are so smart, do you really know what the lord is thinking?
Won't you keep it for yourself?
After three rounds of drinking, everyone in the Mi family had their own concerns, and Yuan Xi didn't drink at all, so the atmosphere at the table was quite depressing.
Zhen Mi looked at the three siblings of the Mi family who were at a loss. She rolled her eyes and reached out to take the wine glass, but accidentally knocked it over.
The spilled wine soaked a part of Zhen Mi's sleeve. Zhen Mi couldn't help but groan and said, "I am so rude."
Cao Xian, who was standing behind Zhen Mi, saw this and said hurriedly, "There are spare clothes in the carriage, but it's narrow inside..."
After hearing this, Mi Zhen raised her head and said, "If you don't mind, Madam, please let me lead the way to my bedroom to change clothes, okay?"
After hearing this, Zhen Mi smiled and said, "Then I'll trouble you, young lady."
Cao Xian helped Zhen Mi out and got clothes from the carriage. The two followed Mi Zhen to her boudoir.
Guo Jia, who had been watching from the sidelines, thought that the lady was quite clever. Now that her children and relatives were no longer around, it would be convenient for her to speak up.
He coughed and said, "This time Jia followed the envoy here to ask for the girl from the Mi family to marry him."
Mi Zhu was dealing with the situation absent-mindedly, thinking about how to quickly get rid of Yuan Xi and his group of people with unknown intentions.
He was in a trance when Guo Jia's words came like a bolt from the sky or a thunderbolt from the blue, making his head buzz.
Mi Zhu thought he had heard wrongly, but when he saw Guo Jia's serious face, which did not look like he was joking at all, he realized that his vest was instantly soaked.
He quickly forced a smile and said, "How can I, a weak and frail sister, be worthy of you, my Lord? I am truly ashamed."
Guo Jia laughed and said, "No, the Mi family's daughter is beautiful and virtuous, she is more than qualified to be your wife, but it's a pity that you already have an engagement."
"But there is room for maneuver. If the girl from the Mi family doesn't mind being wronged, you can still have the title of your wife."
Before Mi Zhu could answer, Mi Fang was already moved.
If this is really the case, marrying my younger sister to Yuan Xi might not be a bad idea!
The key lies in the status of this concubine.
Unlike other dynasties, the status of concubines in the Han Dynasty was probably the highest in all dynasties.
In addition to the main wife, there were many types of concubines in the Han Dynasty, from the emperor to the officials. The emperor's concubines are needless to say, and the royal family and nobles have concubines, side wives, lower wives, concubines, auxiliary concubines, minor wives, and foreign wives.
The General Explanation of Internal and External Clothing Rules states: "Household Order: If a wife commits one of the seven serious diseases that are grounds for divorce, but the husband cannot bear to leave her, he may marry a concubine and treat her like a wife. Therefore, the common practice now calls her a concubine.
The Book of Rites: Internal Regulations says: "If she is engaged, she becomes a wife; if she elopes, she becomes a concubine."
This shows that although there are differences between a concubine and a principal wife, the rituals are similar and their representative status is also comparable.
The Biography of Chen Qiu in Volume 56 of Book of the Later Han records: "(Chen) Qiu's concubine was the daughter of Cheng Huang, who was an official in the government, so-called Lord Cheng." It can be seen that even a concubine could be of noble birth.
Many times, parents in the Han Dynasty did not feel ashamed of their daughters becoming concubines. Sometimes they were proud of it. For example, concubines were not discriminated against by people of the time, and sometimes they even overwhelmed the main wife.
This has a lot to do with offspring. Empress Bo of Emperor Jing of the Western Han Dynasty and Empress Chen of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty both lost their positions as empresses because they had no children.
Of course, the overly high status of concubines and the husband's favoritism towards concubines, even over their wives, also produced many negative effects. So in the Tang Dynasty, "Tang Law Commentary" specifically stipulated that "concubines are of low status". From then on, the status of concubines began to slowly decline.
But now, with the chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty and the collapse of rituals and music, the Han system has actually become a mere name. The aristocratic families still abide by the rituals on the surface, but they also make a lot of messes in private.
And to put it bluntly, the etiquette system is also set by people. Everyone knows that the Han Dynasty is about to capsize. Who knows what the new etiquette system will be like in the future?
Mi Fang also took Yuan Xi's background into consideration.
Yuan Xi was a descendant of the Yuan family, and Liu Bei was dependent on the Yuan family.
Nowadays, the whole world sees that the Yuan family is powerful and is likely to seize the world in the future. If this is true, Liu Bei can at best be the ruler of a state, while the son of the Yuan family can be made a king!
If I marry my sister to Yuan Xi, if I'm lucky, she can replace the legal wife, or at worst become a princess consort. This is a sure-win deal!
Thinking of this, Mi Fang quickly turned his head to look at Mi Zhu, with expectant eyes.
Although Mi Zhu was loyal and honest, it did not mean that he could not see the reality before him. He was secretly groaning in his heart and cursing Mi Fang for being a fool.
If this Yuan family member was really a good person, could capable people like Tian Kai, Liu Bei, Gongsun Zan and Sun Ce have all fallen into his hands?
This is a man who eats people without leaving any bones behind!