Chapter 298 Double Ninth Festival
Looking at the direction he left, Du Jingyi couldn't help but raise the corner of his mouth. It seems that there will be another good show to watch.
September 9th, the Double Ninth Festival, has a custom of climbing high places to look far, admiring chrysanthemums and giving cakes since ancient times.
In the past, there were no elderly people in the Du family, so basically they couldn't celebrate this festival. But now it's different in the general's mansion. There is an old lady Gu, and she must let her feel the lively atmosphere in Sui'an City.
A day or two in advance, Du Jingyi asked Danruo to make some "Lion Man". First, steamed cakes were made with flour, and various fruits were decorated on them, including pine nuts, ginkgo, chestnut yellow, and pomegranate seeds.
Then, the dough was kneaded into the shape of a lion's head and placed on the cake and steamed together. Then, small flags were cut from paper prepared in advance and inserted. This is the must-eat cake for the Double Ninth Festival.
Du Jingyi kept some in the general's mansion and gave them to everyone in the courtyard.
Then, in the name of Mrs. Gu, she sent a copy to each family with elders, along with two pots of cultivated "Wanling Chrysanthemum". The yellow and white flowers, with the stamens resembling lotus pods, really made people feel happy and festive, and the meaning was very good.
Her etiquette was exquisite and in place, and all the officials and nobles in Sui'an City immediately had a doubled favor for the General's Mansion and her, the hostess of the General's Mansion.
When the Guo family received the things, they also asked someone to return a note.
It stated that the female relatives of the General's Mansion were invited to go to Baoyin Temple for a fasting meeting on the Double Ninth Festival, and all matters had been arranged by the Guo family.
Seeing this, Mrs. Gu was also very happy and agreed.
"I haven't been to Baoyin Temple for many years, so let's go there now."
"Grandmother is right, granddaughter-in-law will arrange it now."
So, the Guo family's carriages were waiting at the gate of the General's Mansion early in the morning, and everyone in the General's Mansion also went out.
Sister-in-law Liu was going to go, but something happened in the temporary shop, so she stayed at home, and she could take care of Tai Ge'er, so that everyone could go out without worries.
When Xue Niang saw her future mother-in-law, Mrs. Guo San, she was not as shy as before, and she was much more generous. Mrs. Guo San also smiled happily and said to Xue Niang.
"It is better to take supplements in autumn, so that you can survive the winter. Don't starve every day just to wear a wedding dress."
Mrs. Guo San's words touched Xue Niang's heart, and she smiled shyly and said.
"How can Aunt Guo guess this as if she has a spy in the general's mansion?"
Mrs. Guo San smiled heartily and said.
"I have also been a bride, so I naturally know the little thoughts."
Hearing the three words of bride, Xue Niang's heart was full of longing.
She and Guo Silang met from time to time. Each time was not long, but the two always had endless things to say, so she was still looking forward to the upcoming married life.
Along the way, the two old ladies had something to say, and Mrs. Guo San and Xue Niang also talked happily. Du Jingyi looked at the scenery on the road and remembered a lot of things in the past.
She had not been to the fasting meeting of Baoyin Temple during the Double Ninth Festival, but she had visited it on other days and it was very lively.
The monks would sit together and talk about Buddhism, and the people would also go to the temple fair in front of the mountain temple, so naturally there were crowds of people.
The carriages and horses went all the way and arrived at the Baoyin Temple about an hour later.
There were many of them, and they did not follow the crowd to climb up the stairs at the foot of the mountain, but followed the road directly to the gate of Baoyin Temple. They saw that many carriages and horses of dignitaries were parked at the gate.
Obviously, they all came for today's fasting meeting.
The group got off the carriage and walked inside. The Guo family had called in advance, so there were monks waiting at the door to pick them up. Then they went straight to the scene where the monks were discussing the sutras.
There were several meditation rooms facing the large venue, which were elegantly decorated and were prepared for the women who came to listen to the meeting. The Guo family naturally booked the largest room, so it didn't feel crowded to accommodate everyone.
After the monks served tea and vegetarian food, they left.
Only the women of the Guo and Gu families were left in the meditation room. Madam Gu and Madam Guo were both elderly people, so they were naturally interested in the discussion of Buddhist scriptures, so they listened with great interest. Du Jingyi and the others were a little lacking in the ability to understand the truth, so they naturally wanted to go out for a walk.
"Bring more servants and come back when it's time for the iftar meal."
"Yes, grandmother."
Seeing this, Du Jingyi took Xue Niang and her fourth aunt out of the meditation room and headed for the temple fair in front.
Along the way, the most curious person was Xue Niang. She seldom went out, so everything she saw was new to her. She asked Du Jingyi about this and that, which made the fourth aunt laugh.
"There is a Lingying Temple in Jinling City with a lot of incense. Every temple fair is as lively as this. When your cousins were still alive, I liked to take them with me. Unfortunately, they are now separated. I don’t know how they are doing?"
The cousins mentioned by the fourth aunt are four in total.
They are all the younger generation of Gu family’s wives. When all the Gu family members died in the war, the eldest cousin had a miscarriage, and the other cousins cried bitterly.
Each of them said that they wanted to be widows for the children of the Gu family, but Mrs. Gu disagreed.
They were in the prime of their youth and did not have to be delayed like this. Therefore, after contacting their respective natal families, they all were sent back.
Two of them got remarried two years later. One heard that one went to his maternal grandfather's house in the southwest to relax, and the other returned to his parents' ancestral home to stay, as he heard that he was serving as a husband to the girls at home. went.
It can be said that everyone is settled, and they have not been delayed by the Gu family's affairs.
Therefore, although the fourth aunt felt a little regretful when she mentioned them, there was no sadness or regret in her words.
After Du Jingyi heard this, he felt very comforted and said.
"We won't bother the two sisters-in-law who are already married. If the other two can come back, our Gu family can recognize them as godmothers. In the future, the general will protect them, so they won't treat these two badly. The eldest sister is."
Du Jingyi's suggestion made the fourth aunt's eyes light up.
"What you said makes sense. In the past, the Gu family had nothing. Keeping them would be a disaster for them. But now, when Brother Tai goes back to sacrifice his ancestors, the Gu family will have something to talk about in the future. If they recognize the Gu family, If you have sex, you will have someone to take care of you in the future.”
If nothing else, if they want to remarry, the Gu family should provide another dowry to accompany them. If they don't marry and want to do something they like, the Gu family can also help. (End of chapter)