Chapter 102 Chapter 102 On the second day of the wedding, the new husband came...
On the second day after the wedding, the new husband came to pay his respects, and Lord Xue had to express his gratitude as per custom.
However, what he had originally prepared was just a pair of blue and white plum vases. Although they were from the official kiln of the palace, they were only worth more than two hundred taels, which was certainly not comparable to the paperweight sent by Shen Xuan.
Lord Xue had someone pass the box containing the plum vases to Jin Gui beside Shen Xuan. After a pause, he coughed awkwardly and said, "This pair of plum vases was given by the emperor a while ago. Let's use them to decorate your room."
When Shen Xuan saw it, he was very flattering and said, "Thank you for your consideration, father. This plum vase is indeed a gift from the palace. It is really elegant and has a style that was inherited from the court. It looks much more advanced than those gilded and enamel bottles."
The price of gilded and powder-colored porcelain bottles is more expensive than ordinary blue and white porcelain. Both Lord Xue and Mrs. Bai’s rooms use gilded and powder-colored porcelain.
But Shen Xuan's words were meant to flatter Lord Xue, which made him feel very comfortable. She could not help but feel more satisfied with her new husband, nodded and said, "Although you were taken to the countryside when you were young, you were well taught by Duke Shen and his wife, and now your behavior is quite elegant. In the future, you and Lin'er must be of one mind, take good care of your younger brothers and sisters, and take up the responsibility of the Xue family."
Lord Xue's words lifted Shen Xuan up, and also made Bai and Xue Fengli, who were already unhappy, choke.
The Marquis has praised him, if they find fault and say that Shen Xuan is not good, wouldn't they be deliberately singing against the Marquis? Bai originally had a lot of complaints, but now she could only swallow them.
Seeing this, Shen Xuan struck while the iron was hot and took out the gifts prepared for Bai and Xue Fengli and asked Jin Gui to deliver them.
Compared to the paperweight given to Lord Xue, the gifts prepared for Bai and Xue Fenglin were much more mediocre.
Bai Shi had been so stingy to Shen Xuan before, and had always found fault with him. Xue Fengli and Xue Fenglin were competitors, so Shen Xuan would definitely not spend a lot of money to buy them gifts.
At Bai's place, Shen Xuan just casually gave some fine materials. Although the materials were of exquisite craftsmanship and were not cheap, the patterns were somewhat old-fashioned and they were only worth a few dozen taels of silver in total.
As for Xue Fengli, Shen Xuan gave her a piece of gold-stamped Hui ink. This ink can be considered the best among all inks and is worth a hundred taels. But no matter how expensive the ink stick is, the price is limited and Shen Xuan does not need to spend much.
Bai and Xue Fengli accepted the gifts, and they knew that Shen Xuan had no intention of spending money to please them. But the things were all good, and they couldn't find any fault with Shen Xuan.
I had no choice but to take out the return gift I had prepared in advance. Of course, they were not very good things and were only worth a few dozen taels of silver. Chen Xuan didn't even bother to look at it and handed it directly to Jin Zhi, asking him to put it in the warehouse.
After completing the routine greetings that a new husband should perform. After Chen Xuan returned to Xue Fenglin's courtyard, he arranged for Jin Gui to find the various gifts he had prepared in advance and send one to each of the remaining concubines in the house.
A concubine is only half a master, so gifts are not mandatory, but Shen Xuan still prepared something for everyone, hoping to help Xue Fenglin make more good friends in the mansion.
Needless to say, as for Madam Wen, Shen Xuan also prepared some materials for her. In terms of craftsmanship, it is certainly not as good as those given to the Bai family, but the colors and patterns are the most popular in the south at the time, and are rarely seen even in Beijing.
As for Tian Jie'er, Shen Xuan also sent some materials, all of which were fresh colors suitable for young girls.
When Madam Wen saw so many fabrics, she was naturally happy and satisfied. She picked out a few pieces and asked Yinshuang to take them to the embroiderer in the mansion to make clothes for herself and Tianjie'er.
In addition to Madam Wen, Madam Kong, Madam Qin, and even Shen Congshuang and Shen Xuan in Xue Fengli's courtyard were also taken care of. Some fabrics and silk handkerchiefs were given to each of them.
Aunt Kong and Aunt Qin didn't have much money, so they were very happy to get the material sent by Shen Xuan for free. However, when Shen Congshuang saw the things sent by Shen Xuan, she directly had someone throw them away.
It’s not that he really looked down on the materials sent by Shen Xuan, but Xue Fengli got very angry after he came back and smashed the ink stick that Shen Xuan gave him.
He now relies on Xue Fengli to make a living in the Marquis' Mansion, so he has to act in unison with him.
Sure enough, when Xue Fengli heard that Shen Congshuang had thrown away the material that Shen Xuan had sent, he came directly to his room, pinched his waist with great appreciation and said, "Shuang'er, you still know my feelings best. Don't want those broken materials, I will buy you better ones!"
After hearing this, Chen Congshuang showed a trace of timidity on her face, blushed and lowered her head and said, "My husband, I don't want any material. What I have in the mansion is enough for me to wear. I just don't want you to be unhappy because of what that person sent."
"How can that be possible?" Hearing Shen Congshuang say this, Xue Fengli wanted to give him something even more, so he said, "Since you don't want the material, then I'll give you a new set of jewelry? Do you like it?"
After hearing this, Shen Congshuang shook his head and said, "I'm just a boy, so I just need to dress plainly. Why do I need so many jewelry?"
At this point, he paused, then changed the subject and said, "If you must give me something, my husband? Why not buy me some land in the suburbs of Beijing?"
"I want this land, not for myself, but to help you, my husband, manage some of the property. Today in the main courtyard, I saw that the Marquis meant that the power of the family will probably be given to your eldest brother in the future."
"He has a bad relationship with you and mother. If he were to become the housekeeper, I wonder if our lives would still be so good. In addition, Madam Wen has an unborn baby in her belly, so it's better to take some precautions first."
Shen Congshuang's words really touched Xue Fengli's heart. He thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "You have considered it very carefully. We should indeed make plans this morning."
"I'll go ask around in a few days to see if there are any manors for sale in the suburbs of Beijing. If there are any good ones, I'll buy them and put them in your name."
Shen Congshuang was overjoyed when she received Xue Fengli's promise. But her expression was calm. She only smiled and kissed Xue Fengli on the face before saying, "It is really a blessing from my previous life that my husband trusts me and loves me so much."
"You are devoted to me. If I don't trust you, who else can I trust?" Xue Fengli has always been very pleased with Shen Congshuang's flattery.
Although it was still daytime, looking at Chen Congshuang's delicate and weak appearance, he felt itchy in his heart. He closed the door and pushed Chen Congshuang onto the eight-immortal table and started working.
After a long time, Xue Fengli went to Bai's room and told her about his plan to buy a farm in the suburbs of Beijing.
However, Bai had always disliked Shen Congshuang, so Xue Fengli did not dare to say that he planned to put the farm under Shen Congshuang's name. Instead, he only said that Xue Fenglin had prepared so many gifts for his marriage, but he had nothing under his name, so he also wanted to prepare some in advance.
Bai loved her son the most, and she certainly wanted to help her son gain more property. When she heard Xue Fengli's plan, she naturally supported it very much.
But the farms in the suburbs of Beijing also require a large sum of money to buy. The Xue Mansion had just experienced a famine, and there was no more money left in the treasury. The money to buy the farm could only come from her own private money.
Bai gritted her teeth, took out a silver note for five thousand taels of silver and said to Xue Fengli, "Mother doesn't have much money on hand right now. Take this five thousand taels of silver note and go find out if there is a farm that can be bought for that amount. If it's not enough, I'll think of another way."
Xue Fengli was used to spending lavishly, so when he saw Bai take out five thousand taels of silver at once, he was happy, but he didn't think it was a big deal.
The Bai family owns a fairly large farm, and the annual grain production can earn them five or six hundred taels of silver. In addition, she also lends money with her brother Bai Yan, which earns her more than a thousand taels of silver a year. It only takes a few years to save up five or six thousand taels of silver.
Xue Fengli naturally didn't know that although the Bai family had income, their daily expenses were also high.
She and Xue Fengli had the best food, clothing and other daily necessities, and they had never been frugal in spending money.
Especially when Xue Fengli went out to drink and socialize with others, he would spend a lot of money, and he couldn't take money from the public treasury every time. After the public share was spent, Bai gave it all to him, so he didn't save much over the years.
After receiving the banknote, Xue Fengli retreated contentedly and quickly went to the city to find a broker to inquire about the situation of the farm.
After asking around, I found out that because of the locust plague, farms in the suburbs of Beijing were for sale this year, and the prices were cheaper than in previous years.
Xue Fengli didn't even check it out, and immediately booked a farm without hesitation, spending 4,800 taels of silver. After thinking about it, he decided on Shen Congshuang's name.
He did not keep a single cent of the remaining 200 taels of silver and went straight to find the Sixth Young Master of the Qian Family and went to Baihua Tower with him for a feast.
Xue Fengli did not return home all night, and only returned home the next morning from Baihua Tower, drunk. After arriving at Shen Congshuang's room, he took out the land deed, put it on the table and showed it to him, saying, "Shuang'er, come and take a look. This is the farm that I bought for you!"
Chen Congshuang took the deed in her hand and read it several times with a look of surprise, then carefully put it away and said, "In this way, my husband, you will have another guarantee in the Marquis' Mansion. I will keep this deed well."
"Come here, take off all your clothes and let me take a good look." Xue Fengli said to Shen Congshuang with a lewd look on his face.
Shen Congshuang's expression froze slightly, then quickly adjusted. He agreed with a smile and took off all his clothes.
Xue Fengli looked him over before saying, "You are a good boy. I told you to wear it, and you did it well. You are much better than the courtesan in Baihua Tower."
"Although he has a good-looking face, when it comes to flirtatious charm, you are still better."
Xue Fengli turned Shen Congshuang over and pressed her against the door, and then played with her fiercely with his hands.
Xue Fengli still had the scent of cosmetics from Baihua Tower on her body. She had just had sex with the courtesan last night and was already exhausted, but she did not forget to torment Chen Congshuang early this morning.
In order to please Xue Fengli, Shen Congshuang always obeys Xue Fengli's orders in sex and satisfies all of Xue Fengli's needs.
But when he heard Xue Fengli comparing him to the courtesan in the brothel and humiliating him by saying that he was more lewd than the courtesan, he felt extremely humiliated.
However, he did not dare to show it. He could only clench his fists and bite his lips hard where Xue Fengli could not see. Since he has suffered such humiliation, he should get nothing less than what he deserves!
Shen Congshuang had heard yesterday that Shen Xuan had brought a farm and a shop as a dowry, and she had been envious for a long time.
He had lived in the mansion for some time and had realized that only if he had money in his hands could he live a good life in the mansion.
He now has a farm and his situation is much better than when he first came to the Marquis's Mansion with no money. Before Xue Fengli officially gets married, he must get the shop!
With these assets in hand, even if Xue Fengli marries a wife in the future, he will be able to compete with her.
What are these humiliations today? Just think of it as being bitten by a dog, and just grit your teeth and bear it!
Besides, when Shen Xuan learned that Shen Congshuang had thrown away the material he had given him, he did not feel angry. I just thought that this guy was very clear about his stance and it seemed that he had decided to rely on Xue Fengli.
The last time he saw Shen Congshuang, she and two other members of the Shen family were Xue Fenglin's fiancés. But now, she has suddenly become Xue Fengli's concubine.
Shen Congshuang is fair and thin, and looks like a sympathetic little white flower. However, judging from his behavior, he is not as harmless and innocent as he appears. Instead, he is a scheming character.
Shen Xuan and Shen Congshuang were not of the same kind, and he had no intention of having an in-depth communication with him. Since Shen Congshuang cannot be won over, she is of no use to him, and he doesn't need to send him anything else in the future.
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