Compared with ordinary merchant mansions, the deep courtyard of the Prince Consort's Mansion does not show any outstanding appearance. But it has a faint sense of old-fashioned aristocratic atmosphere.

This feeling is difficult to grasp. For example, the quiet street in front of you that is isolated from the world is parked as soon as you drive in. All carriages have to be parked outside the street intersection.

The remaining road is to walk into the road.

The tight and flat stone road, walking step by step, makes people feel at ease.

At this moment, the dawn began to appear, shining on this long, straight and willful wall. The warm light did not make the square gray eaves appear at all soft lines. Xiaoxiao walked closer and saw simple and atmospheric round tiles at the height, carved with lifelike cloud wings and tiger patterns, and the half-moon-shaped eaves below were decorated with tiles. The chic Qin seal script wrote "The Brave is Borderless".

It was the first time that Xiaoxiao saw such a simple gray tiled ridge outside such a large-scale courtyard. She was really amazed, and she couldn't help but feel awe.

Think about the walls of the Tang family's courtyard were made of peacock blue glazed tiles, and the tiles were written as "forever for generations". There is also the villa of the Dantai family, which was made of goose yellow pine-green glazed tiles, and the Wen family's iconic brass tiles, with golden roses carved on them.

Xiaoxiao couldn't help but smile, and the merchants were still vulgar.

Walking along the straight street, the red lanterns hanging on the front door were particularly large, perhaps with two layers of gauze, the light seemed very hazy, with a bit of ancient and mellow smell, as if the old monk had knocked on the wooden fish light for a hundred years.

Now standing under the gate, it looks even more lanterns shining, stone lions are majestic, and people are small.

Xiaoxiao looked up at the high door. The bluestone in the early winter was covered with cold frost. The plaque hanging above was low-key and rigorous. It only wrote the word "Guan's House" and did not show off because of the family of the slings and the house of the emperor and the son-in-law.

Only the big red silk flowers and red lanterns in front of the door show that this family had just held a wedding.

Xiaoxiao was pulled by his father, and walked into the main door of the princess's mansion with those guests who were dressed in the same way as him. It would probably be opened until the princess returns to her.

The crowd was orderly and quiet, and there was no one making noise. Even if they met friends they all looked at each other tacitly and nodded.

It is precisely this kind of cautiousness and restraint that further indicates the grandeur of this banquet. In short, this is completely different from any banquet that Xiaoxiao has attended in Yuanlongchao.

The county horse government is responsible for the leadership of the company, polite and thoughtful. Although everyone has been struggling in the business district for many years, no one has come forward to get to know him, and no one has talked loudly.

Xiaoxiao also lowered her head and walked forward slightly. Until she followed the crowd through a huge hall, she turned her head and looked up at the high place. She happened to see wooden carvings hanging from the side of the magnificent hip-top building. The realistic waves and Pisces pattern are rare handicrafts. In addition, the wild grass carved with cloud patterns and snow-patterned Bofeng boards are simply amazing everywhere.

It would be great if the Prince Consort's Mansion could be rented out to my photo studio as a background... Xiaoxiao had an unrealistic daydream.

"I have never seen such a large main hall." A girl walking beside Xiaoxiao whispered.

Among these guests today, I'm afraid that this girl is the same age as hers, and they nodded and smiled just now in front of the gate.

Xiaoxiao also nodded: "Today I'm really a long experience."

The main hall of the Prince Consort's Mansion naturally cannot be used to entertain these merchants and guests. Even if the championship ceremony is grand, it will only belong to the entertainment category if it is carefully divided into categories.

Finally, the special manager led everyone to the I-shaped hall behind the main hall, and then stopped.

However, the guests were shocked by the pair of huge and majestic nine-flowered towers in front of the door. Both of the flower towers were composed of red chrysanthemums, and there was no miscellaneous flower. The base was probably surrounded by more than a dozen people, and the height was almost beyond the eaves of the hall.

"Wow" Xiaoxiao didn't know if this amazement was sent by himself or the girl next to her. It was indeed amazing enough. The huge Christmas trees in front of large shopping malls in later generations were just this size.

The hall is also filled with various chrysanthemums to create today's Double Ninth Festival atmosphere.

Between this horizontal hall and the horizontal hall on the north side is a very wide hall corridor, which forms a neat and crafted character "巴".

The halls and corridors are equipped with floor-to-ceiling glass windows. Every few steps, a table is set up on both sides of the halls and corridors. There is still a ten-meter-wide road left and right between the tables on the left and right sides. The ground is covered with Persian carpets with dogwood patterns, which are extended straight along the way. Like a long bridge connecting the two halls of the north and south Xiaoxiao had only seen the I-shaped hall in Tsinghua Park before. Compared with the hall in the Prince Consort's Mansion in front of you, it is simply a mini toy version.

I don’t know how long it took to walk through this huge hallway. At the end of the hallway, two people dressed in female officials stood, each holding a large plate of fresh chrysanthemums: “Please wear chrysanthemums.”

The guests did not pick it up, but only picked up one from CITIC's hand and then put it on the hat.

The girl walking beside Xiaoxiao chose a golden hook-and-loop chrysanthemum, and Xiaoxiao took the light red feather tube chrysanthemum closest to her. She wore it on the hat and was not conspicuous, but it also complemented each other.

The North Hall was originally an open hall, but because of the cold weather, floor-to-ceiling glass windows were erected around, making the hall particularly bright and the temperature was suitable for warm and cold.

Seeing that everyone stopped moving forward, Xiaoxiao stood there. She felt that the girl next to her gently touched her arm, and then she wanted to ask her in a low voice. Then she heard the female official in front of her say something loudly, and everyone knelt down together.

It turned out that the princess and the princess came to the North Hall. Xiaoxiao bowed with everyone, his voice blended with everyone, and he paid homage to the son-in-law and His Highness of the princess together.

The son-in-law asked everyone to stand up, and then you slowly stood up.

The princess's voice was slightly lower than her actual age: "The Championship Conference was created by the late emperor, and it was a grand event to prosper all industries and benefit the people... You all came from thousands of miles away. Today we gathered in Huaiqiu Hall to thank the emperor for his great grace..."

Xiaoxiao looked down at the carpet pattern, and felt that the speech above was very official, which made people feel a little unappreciated. He didn't dare to look up at the princess, so he lowered his head and raised his eyes to peek. Unfortunately, the hall was extremely deep and wide, and he could only barely see the azalin red embroidered phoenix skirt in the distance. The very bright and beautiful red color added an unusual color to the serious mansion.

Until the princess said, "Please sit down", everyone shouted again, "Thank you the princess," and the female officials led them out of the North Hall.

The guests' seats were actually in the hall corridor. Xiaoxiao and his father were arranged by the female official to sit next to a case very close to the North Hall. Although it is very close to the princess, the I-shaped hall is designed so that the guests cannot see the princess at all.

OK, this is more comfortable.

Xiaoxiao and Qifan sat down. The table in front of them was filled with various "food towers". Xiaoxiao didn't know how to accurately call them. Anyway, they just put all kinds of food like the chrysanthemum tower into tower shapes:

The red apples are arranged into the apple tower, the Ming oranges are arranged into the Fu orange tower, and the fancy snacks that I have never seen before are arranged into the dessert pagoda. There are also festive meat dishes, which are arranged into a small pagoda with shredded meat duck cakes, sprinkled with pomegranate seeds, which are called "golden duck fruit bait". Then the scones made of roasted mutton and smoked mutton are surrounded by the tower, which means "Chongyang (sheep) climbing".

The most spectacular one is the big Chongyang cake tower in the middle. The Chongyang cake has different contents. The base is osmanthus cake, the second layer is red bean cake, the third layer is tansy cake, the fourth layer is chestnut cake, the fifth layer is rose cake, the sixth layer is southern date cake, the seventh layer is pine nut cake, the eighth layer is candied cake, and the ninth layer is Hehe cake, stacked layer by layer, like a gorgeous rainbow tower, with various chrysanthemum petals sprinkled on it, and red and green flags made of hawthorn and chrysanthemum leaves are inserted...

Xiaoxiao rubbed his eyes, it was too spectacular!

I remembered my grandmother’s reminder before that I couldn’t eat a meal. It was true that I didn’t have much appetite when I saw these delicacies. It was so easy to see them that I couldn’t bear to talk.

What is even more amazing is that there is a giant colorful tower like this on each table! At this moment, I really want to take dozens of food photos to post...

The maid presented hot tea, took care of everyone's taste, and specially prepared a pot of dragon tumble tea and a pot of chrysanthemum tea. She smiled and picked up the pot of dragon tumble tea for each of her father and herself. She smelled the fragrance that reached her nose, which was a little more mellower than the "official roast" that my second aunt gave everyone at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet.

Xiaoxiao looked around, and the other guests also sat down one after another. Most of them were in groups of two people, and one of them came alone. Sitting at the southern table not far from Xiaoxiao, it was the girl of the same age. She blinked at Xiaoxiao, gestured with her hands at the spectacular nine-story Double Ninth-floor cake tower in front of her, and made a shocking look.

Xiaoxiao nodded and cooperated with an amazing expression.

"Xiaoxiao made friends at the meal so soon." Qifan took a sip of tea.

"Most of them are men, there are only a few women," Xiaoxiao remembered that he had seen a rare female boss in front of the gate, who seemed to be leading his son to participate in the competition. "Apart from me, that girl is the only girl in the venue."

Qifan's eyes seemed to have swept the girl's position, and nodded to his father: "It's the Qiao family in Hangzhou. I have dealt with them a few years ago. His family has made Hangzhou silk for generations, but I didn't expect that they would start weaving brocades these years."

"No, everyone is seeking progress and development." Xiaoxiao gave a reasonable explanation for this.

"The one sitting at the northern end of his house is the Lucao Feng family, and today is the two grandparents and grandchildren." Qifan whispered to Xiaoxiao.

Xiaoxiao also wrote down all the things he didn't understand, and asked carefully some of them.

The order of sailing is centered on the opposite Hangzhou Qiao family. First, I introduced three companies to the north and more than a dozen companies to the south. Then I introduced a series of guests on the west side of the hallway.

Immediately afterwards, I began to introduce a series of businesses in the same direction as me.

Xiaoxiao was really puzzled. Because of the angle, these businesses in the same direction were simply invisible. My father actually remembered everyone's seats deeply?!

What are you doing just now? Focusing on studying the mountain food on the table...

Because Qifan mentioned too many businesses, Xiaoxiao couldn't remember them with a pen at this moment. He only remembered a dozen businesses in his mind and remembered them until he heard his father say, "The Chu family is sitting on the south side of the Tong family."

Xiaoxiao was shocked and sat upright and looked south. Unfortunately, the other party was in the same direction as him, and the position almost coincided, so he couldn't see who he was at all.

"Young Master Chu is wearing an ancient golden chrysanthemum in his head, and he is extremely tall." His father said lightly.

In this way, I seemed to see a little taller hat in the distance, and I could also see the shadows of scattered ancient golden chrysanthemums.

This person is Chu Dianqiu?

It was once far away, but now it is close.

It was originally a magnificent feast, but because of Chu Dianqiu's appearance, Xiaoxiao felt that this was even more of a battlefield.

While feeling moved, I suddenly heard a loud voice in the distance saying: "Zhubins' seating ceremony will begin immediately."

With a graceful music, the competition ceremony finally kicked off.

Xiaoxiao exuded a hint of excitement in her nervousness, as if she was watching a world beauty pageant, waiting for the first stunning beauty to appear.
Chapter completed!