Chapter 94

Chapter 94

At the beginning, Wen Shuse squandered all the family fortune of the Wen family, and the people of the second branch, including the old ancestor, were so poor that they couldn't even afford a meal. When the Third Master Wen came back penniless, he came to her and asked for money, asking her to provide a good life for the old ancestor, without telling her that the second master had made a fortune outside.

He blamed himself for being short-sighted and, because of Wen Shuse's anger, he began to look down on the second house.

This restaurant in front of me, how much money does it cost? The amount of money it earns every day is probably as much as my salary for half a year.

I don't know when the second master bought it...

Wen Shuse actually pretended to be poor in front of her and the eldest lady. Was he deliberately guarding against them?

A feeling of bitterness and regret surged in her heart, mixed with endless resentment, burning her heart like boiling water. She quickly walked to the door and said without waiting for the servant to ask, "I am the eldest lady of the Wen family, your shopkeeper."

Although Wen Shuse did not deliberately conceal his identity as the young master, he did not spread it to others. The gatekeeper had just joined the restaurant and did not know who the owner of the restaurant was.

After hearing her name as the eldest lady of the Wen family, he did not let her in, so he asked, "Madam, have you reserved a seat?"

The eldest lady's face changed, and she smiled restrainedly, "Why should I reserve a seat? Isn't this restaurant owned by the second master of the Wen family?"

The servant was stunned for a moment, and was about to ask the steward in the hall for instructions, when he turned around and saw Wen Shuse and Uncle Wen coming out, "Shopkeeper..."

Uncle Wen and Wen Shuse also saw the eldest lady.

In previous years, whenever the Second Master returned to Fengcheng, he always brought Uncle Wen with him. Everyone in the Wen family knew him and hurried forward to greet him, "Why is the Madam here today?"

The eldest lady was angry and said sarcastically, "If I hadn't come, I wouldn't have known that our Wen family had such a big restaurant."

Uncle Wen smiled, said nothing, and stepped aside.

Wen Shuse's face was calm, and he said with a smile: "Aunt is here."

The eldest lady could vent her anger on a servant, but she didn't dare to be disrespectful to Wen Shuse. She immediately put on a smile and walked forward affectionately, trying to take Wen Shuse's arm. Wen Shuse just raised his hand to touch his high hair. The eldest lady's hand fell on nothing, but she didn't care. "You girl, why don't you tell us when the second master bought such a large property in Dongdu? We are all family, so we can come and lend a hand."

"I'm not busy, so I won't bother you, aunt."

The eldest lady looked around the building and said, "With so many people here, how can I not be busy? The Second Master is not here, and you, a girl, can't take care of all this. People's minds are unpredictable, and it's hard to be assured when you hire an outsider. Who knows if they are plotting something behind the scenes? Tomorrow I will call your Second Brother..."

"Who is the outsider?" Wen Shuse asked doubtfully, "Uncle Wen?" He turned around and looked at Uncle Wen.

Uncle Wen lowered his head and said nothing.

"Aunt is wrong. He is not an outsider. He is the benefactor of the second branch of my Wen family. Half of my father's business was run by Uncle Wen." He smiled and said, "Let alone others. Even if my eldest brother Wen Huai was here today, my father might not necessarily trust him."

The eldest lady was originally whispering to her, but she didn't expect to be picked out by her voice. She looked embarrassed and said, "Look at this girl, how could I doubt Uncle Wen? I meant to let your second brother..."

"My second brother's ambition is to be an official. He will be a high-ranking official in the future. How can we let him do such a menial job? Has Aunt asked my eldest uncle and my second brother?"

I didn't even know that I was here today. If I knew what she was thinking, I would probably get angry again, "What about your elder sister..."

"My elder sister hasn't been engaged yet, so she can't come here and show up in public." Wen Shuse was neither anxious nor slow, and interrupted with a smile: "Has Aunt finished her meal?"

After hearing the news from the Countess, Mrs. Wen rushed over without stopping. It was dinner time and everyone was there, so of course they had to have a meal in the restaurant.

Wen Shuse asked Uncle Wen to take the people to the small pavilion on the second floor, "Aunt, please have dinner first."

The eldest lady was not in a hurry. The restaurant was here, and anyone from the Wen family would not be able to escape.

After entering the small pavilion, he looked around and found that every decoration was more valuable than the ones in his own room. He was already shocked. Oh my God, how much money did this second master make without telling them?

Tea was served in a golden pot, and even the side dishes were made of silver. She had been in Dongdu for a few months, but she had never known such luxury existed. She had never seen it in her life.

Wen Shuse did not follow in. The Xie family's ancestor had arrived at the port, and the second wife had gone to meet him. She had to hurry back and told Uncle Wen, "Give her whatever she wants to eat."

Uncle Wen looked hesitant. Given the eldest lady's personality, if he followed her request, he would probably suffer a big loss.

Wen Shuse didn't say much, just said, "People are afraid of being famous just like pigs are afraid of being fat."

Uncle Wen understood, "Okay, Madam, go ahead and get busy."

As Uncle Wen expected, the eldest lady sat in a room full of silver and money. When she thought that these were all the things of his Wen family, she became proud and ordered all the famous dishes in the restaurant. "It's not easy to come here. I can't just take care of my mouth. I'll pack some boxes later and take them back for Master and my brothers and sisters."

Uncle Wen said, "Okay, do as she asks."

The food served in Mixian Tower was carefully prepared and tasted superb. The eldest lady took a bite as well. The flavor spread on the tip of her tongue and made her salivate. She tried to remain calm and cursed Master Wen and Wen Shuse countless times in her heart. Her first wife had taken care of the old lady for so many years, but the second wife had started to eat alone without their knowledge.

So many good things, she can get them easily...

Feeling jealous and unwilling at the same time, the food on the plate, even if it was the most delicious food from land and sea, suddenly lost its taste.

No, she wanted to go and see how luxurious this restaurant was. She had to have an idea of ​​what it was like. She came out of the small pavilion and asked Uncle Wen to take her to the kitchen.

With Wen Shuse's previous instructions, Uncle Wen did not refuse and led him to the kitchen.

Just now, Wen Shuse and Uncle Wen have decided on the dishes to be served at the Prince's Palace Banquet, most of which will be the specialty seafood of Mixianlou.

The day after tomorrow will be the prince's palace banquet. All the seafood has to be moved out in advance and checked one by one to ensure freshness before being sent to the palace.

As soon as the lady entered, she saw two things that looked like shrimps in the pond.

It is more than three feet long, with two pincers in front that are more than two inches long, a red beard that is more than a foot long, two eyes and twelve legs, and its body is painted with patterns like a tiger or leopard, in all five colors. It is particularly tall and strong.

The eldest lady's eyes lit up and she asked, "Hey, what is this?"

Uncle Wen replied: "Magic shrimp."

The lady had only heard of it before but had never seen it, so she sighed, "Oh my God, there really is such a thing..." She also had no idea what it tasted like.

"Is this thing really edible?"

Uncle Wen nodded, "The divine shrimps in the deep sea are extremely rare. One like this is hard to come by at a price of a thousand taels. They are delicious and nothing else can compare to them."

A thousand taels are hard to come by.

There are three in the pond. With such a big restaurant here, money is secondary.

Last time, the Countess mentioned that she had eaten it once when she entered the palace in her early years. It was a small piece of meat, but it tasted like heaven. She had never forgotten it for many years. Now her own restaurant has more than one bite, but several big ones. If she could taste this thing, it would be enough for her to be proud. The eldest lady turned around and looked at Uncle Wen, smiled, "Then make one for me. My master and I haven't tasted it yet..."

Uncle Wen was stunned. "Madam, I'm afraid this won't work. If we send it in..."

"Why is it not okay? It's our own food, so what if I eat one?"

"Everything about the Madam is fine, except this..."

"I just want this today." The eldest lady interrupted impatiently, "Why can the second master make a fortune in silence? He has no worries behind him, and my eldest wife is taking care of the old lady. How come my eldest wife can't even eat a shrimp now?" Without letting Uncle Wen say anything, "It's clear who is the master and who is the slave. Just do it, and I'll take care of anything..."

As soon as Mr. Wen came back from work, he was called into the house by the eldest lady.

Seeing the table full of dishes, Uncle Wen was stunned, but he quickly understood what was going on.

After the coming-of-age ceremony of the Sixth Lady of the Yang Family that day, the news spread throughout the palace that the owner of the Mixian Tower was the Second Master of the Wen Family. Many colleagues came to ask him about his talent. He was shocked, but when he thought of what Wen Shuse said when she came to his house that day, he realized that he had been an official for so long, how could he not know what she meant? The Second House's family must have seen through the snobbery of his First House and used this to test her, but his wife ended up being a complete disappointment.

From now on, no matter how rich the first wife is, the second wife will not come to benefit from it. Similarly, no matter how prosperous the second wife is, the first wife should not come to ask for benefits.

Then his colleagues explained that the two families had already separated.

He just told the first lady the other day not to allow her to come to the house anymore, but judging by the situation today, she probably ignored his words.

Master Wen's face darkened. Before he could finish his words of rebuke, the first lady said in astonishment, "Master, do you know that the Seeking Immortal Tower in Dongdu is actually opened by the Second Master?"

Seeing that Master Wen looked calm and not surprised at all, she knew that he had probably heard about it. Afraid of touching his weak spot again, she explained in a low voice: "I happened to meet the Second Lady today. The Second Lady called me into the restaurant and told me to order whatever I liked..."

The eldest lady asked the maid to open the other food boxes, and she took the steamed lobster herself. In front of the master, she opened it mysteriously, "Master, have you ever seen such a magical shrimp..."

The old man was stunned. This thing was extremely rare. His face darkened again and he scolded: "Did you do something shameful again?"

"God is my conscience. I kindly asked the chef of Mixianlou to prepare the food and bring it back for you. Why do you have to be so angry?" The first lady was still feeling aggrieved. "Second Master opened such a big restaurant without telling us. I don't know how much money he makes every day. Is it too much for us to have a meal with him today?"

Regardless of the old man's expression, he called all the younger generations in the family over, and gave each of them a piece of the magical shrimp, so that they could all taste it.

Today, Old Madam Xie arrived in Dongdu, and the Xie family reunited. Wen Shuse stayed by her side the whole time and couldn't get away.

It was already evening when I received the message.

Uncle Wen was so anxious that he broke out in sweat. "There are only three divine shrimps in total, one for each of your majesty, the crown prince, and the imperial concubine. It was just right. I sent the recipe to the Minister of Imperial Households. But the eldest lady came to the kitchen and insisted on eating it. I couldn't stop her, so I had to kill it for her."

Wen Shuse knew who the eldest lady was. She was probably eager to take over the restaurant. What could she do now? "Two is enough. Go report to the Minister of Imperial Household. They know how to distribute it."

Uncle Wen reported it as she said, and Guanglu Qing was in a dilemma, "Aren't there three?"

Uncle Wen couldn't say what had gone into the mouth of the Wen family's eldest wife, so he just said, "One died."

There was nothing that could be done about her death, so the Minister of Imperial Household crossed out the imperial concubine's name on the list, giving one to His Majesty and one to the Crown Prince.

Originally, this matter would have passed, but Uncle Wen kept it secret. Unable to resist, the eldest lady of the Wen family told others about it. The next day, she made an appointment with the Countess to look at the ingredients and discussed the taste of the magic shrimp with her.

When the countess passed the message on, her hand moved a few inches further than the first lady did. "The first lady of the Wen family said that the magic shrimp is four feet long. Have you seen it?"

This news soon reached the ears of the Yang family. The Sixth Lady of the Yang family suffered a great loss at the hands of Wen Shuse last time. Although the Second Wife of the Earl's Mansion was also wrong, in the final analysis, it was the First Lady of the Wen family who deliberately spread the false news.

"She said the other day that people had trouble getting food and clothing, and today she said she went to a restaurant and ate a magical shrimp. Which of her words are true and which are false?"

How can ordinary people afford to eat the magical shrimp?

She had never seen one, but only heard from her father that when the emperor ascended the throne, he received five of them, one for himself, and the other four were distributed to meritorious families.

The Yang family got one, and my father was very proud of it.

At first, the Sixth Lady of the Yang Family thought that she was just bragging for the sake of face. It was not until the next day when she went to the palace to attend the Prince's celebration banquet and saw the two magical shrimps placed in front of His Majesty and the Prince that she realized that what the First Lady said was true.

But then I realized something was wrong.

Your Majesty and the Crown Prince have it, but the Imperial Concubine does not.

Not only her, but everyone else also noticed that the circle of noble ladies is not small, but also not big. Yesterday, many people heard that the eldest lady went to Mixian Tower and ate a magical shrimp.

It was something worth showing off in front of everyone, but the current situation is not a good thing.

The imperial concubine didn't have any, but the eldest lady of the Wen family ate it.

Some people at the table started discussing the matter. Guanglu Qing soon heard the news and quickly asked someone to call Uncle Wen over. "Didn't you say that the magic shrimp was dead? Why did the eldest lady of the Wen family say that she ate one the other day?"

Uncle Wen never expected that the eldest lady would show off this matter, so he could only explain with a sweat: "It was indeed dead, so I did it for the eldest lady."

Guanglu Qing sneered and didn't beat around the bush with him. "I heard that the eldest lady told everyone that the magic shrimp was four feet long and jumped up and down once it was scooped up. Everyone saw it at the palace banquet today. The imperial concubine didn't have the magic shrimp, but the eldest lady of the Wen family ate it. The consequences of this matter have no big impact on me. You should know who will be embarrassed in the future."

How come Uncle Wen doesn’t know?

I have already tried to persuade her and found an excuse for her, but the eldest lady of the Wen family is seeking her own death.

After leaving Guanglu Qing, he sent someone to inform Wen Shuse.

A palace banquet was held today to celebrate the prince's birthday. All officials with a bit of respect in the court were invited. Wen Shuse, as the commander-in-chief's wife, was also present.

During the palace banquet, she sat next to Xie Shao, not far from the main seat, and saw that there was no magic shrimp in front of the imperial concubine.

There are two in total, and you can imagine how Guanglu Qing will arrange them.

Today is the Crown Prince's home court, so His Majesty cannot be missing, so he can only wipe away the one of the Imperial Concubine and look towards the position of Master Wen at the back. Master Wen's face has lost all color.

The eldest lady was even more so, she just sat there blankly, as if she was crazy.

How could she know that the magical shrimp was the finale of the day and was presented to the royal family. She saw it with her own eyes that day. There were only three shrimps in the pond. She ate one and there were two left.

She actually ate the imperial concubine's portion.

As soon as the dishes were served, Master Wen was surprised. When he saw that the divine shrimps had not been placed in front of the imperial concubine, he had a bad feeling. He turned his head and looked closely at the eldest lady, asking in a low voice, "What's going on with the divine shrimps?"

The eldest lady no longer had the heart to pay attention to the master. What's worse is that she has already told others about her consumption of the magic shrimp. I'm afraid everyone present here knows about it.

It's over.

She was finished.

The eldest lady didn't dare to tell Master Wen. She was so scared that she collapsed there, muttering, "That damn girl has ulterior motives. She wants to kill me..."

Wen Shuse had a calm expression on his face. He looked away and ate quietly.

The banquet looked lively but was actually extremely dull. As a new rising star in the court this year, the young man was the focus of much attention and was busy dealing with officialdom. Not only were the ministers busy talking to him, but His Majesty and the Crown Prince also took turns questioning him.

"Thank you, my dear minister, for being worthy of being my meritorious minister. Even though you are old, you still raised such an outstanding son, who continues to benefit the people of Dafeng. If we were to take turns to make contributions, you would take the first place today."

Xie Pushe hurriedly stood up and bowed, "It is a blessing for a minister to share your majesty's worries. How can this be a credit? My son has just entered the court, so his temper is inevitably a bit wild. If there are any shortcomings, please let your majesty and your highness the crown prince reprimand me."

A woman's status depends on her husband, so everyone's attention will inevitably be focused on Wen Shuse.

Although His Majesty has never met the young lady of the Wen family, the Crown Prince has.

And understand it very well.

In front of all the officials, he praised her generously: "I have personally witnessed Madam Xie's intelligence and decisiveness. It is rare to find such a talented and beautiful young lady in Dafeng. Women are as good as men. Madam Xie is worthy of this."

Wen Shuse stood up and thanked him.

They are all just empty words, which may sound noisy, but sometimes they are indispensable.

A word from the current emperor or a look from the new crown prince can determine a person's fate.

As soon as the banquet was over, the young man was called by the prince to continue the conversation. Wen Shuse didn't need to find a place, as a group of noble ladies took her to the imperial garden.

Wen Shuse was not a shy person and she would smile generously to anyone she met. The eldest lady of the Wei family saw it and walked over to say hello only after she realized that the person in front of her had almost finished talking.

The eldest lady of the Wei family is the mother of Master Wei Yun.

When I heard my son talk about the third grandmother of the Xie family, he praised her highly.

When the Sixth Lady of the Yang Family finished her show that day, the First Lady of the Wei Family pulled the Second Young Master of the Wei Family over and said to him, "Your Sixth Cousin of the Yang Family has become arrogant over the years. You can't afford to offend her."

Wei Yun nodded, knowing that Madam Wei was looking for someone for her, and blushed as she said, "If possible, mother, please help me find a young lady like the Third Madam of the Xie family."

It's not easy to find such a girl.

If the second wife of the Wen family doesn't work, there are still the first and third wives. I've heard of the first wife's reputation for being virtuous. I asked a matchmaker to go to the Wen family the other day, but I don't know what happened. The first wife of the Wen family hasn't replied yet.

Neither said yes nor no.

He wanted to wait until the palace banquet was over and then go to her house in person to ask the eldest lady's opinion, but he heard about the magical shrimp from the Countess.

The eldest wife of the Wen family had just arrived in Beijing less than a year ago, and she had seldom come into contact with the eldest lady of the Wen family. She had heard from the Countess that she had spoken very badly of her, but seeing is believing. She had never really believed in other people's gossip.

But once the divine shrimp came up, it understood that there was no need for it to make another trip to the Wen family.

The consequences of what happened to the eldest lady of the Wen family can be imagined, and I'm afraid that even the eldest master of the Wen family will be implicated.

I am not the kind of person who curry favor with the powerful, but I cannot jump into a fire pit knowing it is a pit of fire. So I will just forget about this marriage.

The babies are here! I'll have to slap my face for another chapter. (One hundred red envelopes continue~) I have endless farm work to do back home, and I will catch all the typos the next morning~