Chapter 506 Scenery
Chen Wan and Xie Jingyu left home early, but the Yun family was quite far from the Jingbei Palace. When they arrived, many guests had already arrived at the Yun family.
Master Yun, Master Yun II, Yun Yan and Yun Yue were at the door to welcome the guests.
Seeing Shen Wan and Xie Jingyu coming, everyone in the Yun family was smiling.
"Uncle Eldest, Uncle Second."
"First cousin, second cousin."
Chen Wan has always been sweet-mouthed.
But today, with so many people coming and going, the Yun family dared not really treat Chen Wan as just their niece and cousin. They had to perform the necessary formalities. When Chen Wan tried to stop them, Master Yun said, "Etiquette cannot be abolished."
What could Chen Wan do? He could only endure it.
Xie Jingyu stayed in the outer courtyard to help greet the guests, as well as Prince Yuzhang and Chu Yang and others. They arrived early in the morning, and wherever there was excitement, they would be there.
Chen Wan went to the inner courtyard, where Old Madam Yun was sitting on the Arhat couch. She was in high spirits, as if she was celebrating a happy occasion. Her hair was neatly combed, and she looked kind and easy to talk to.
Seeing Chen Wan, he was even happier. The Yun family's current glory was all thanks to Chen Wan.
The people who came to the Yun family for the banquet today were very special. Almost all the civil and military officials were here except for the Cheng Wang party. Not many first and second rank officials came. They either asked other people in the mansion to come to the banquet or asked their sons to come. Those below the fourth rank came in person. Friends in the business world were all come as heads of the family.
The Yun family was wealthy enough to rival an entire nation, and they had a son-in-law who held military power. Their granddaughter was now the emperor's beloved princess, and even the eldest daughter of the Yun family had been granted the title of County Lady by the emperor...
The Yun family today can no longer be regarded as ordinary businessmen. Ordinary officials cannot afford to marry them. Yet, they still send invitations to their friends in official circles and do not try to curry favor with the powerful. Instead, they hold separate banquets. This is to give them face. How dare they not come to congratulate them in person?
Those who are close to the Duke Dingguo's Mansion and have a good relationship with Shen Wan and Xie Jingyu all came in person. Even Old Taifu Lin, who rarely attends palace banquets, came to the Yun family, which shows their strength.
Old Taifu Lin watched Shen Wan grow up, and knew how much effort the Yun family had put into treating Shen Wan. It was a rare occasion for the Yun family to hold a wedding and send him an invitation, so of course Old Taifu Lin had to come.
In the Yun family garden, all kinds of exotic flowers and plants are blooming, some of which many ladies have never seen before.
The Yun family is rich and not afraid of spending money. They spent 10,000 taels just on decorating the garden in the past few days, trying their best to ensure that the guests who came to congratulate did not make a wasted trip. They wanted to let them eat well, have fun, and come back next time.
The second young lady of the Yun family, Zhou Suining, and Shen Wan were there to greet the guests, along with Wei Mingzhu and Zhao Ru. Ling Xue and Xie Zhiyao did not come as they were getting married soon and it was not appropriate for them to show up in public, especially Ling Xue. She probably would not dare to leave the house unless she got into the sedan chair at the Minister of War's mansion.
The ladies from prominent families who came gathered together to discuss the closure of Jinyu Pavilion. If it was just an ordinary jewelry store, they would not be so gossipy, but because Princess Qi Yang was behind Jinyu Pavilion, it was inevitable that people would be curious about who dared to touch Princess Qi Yang's iron plate.
The Queen Mother is notorious for protecting her own people.
Especially after the accident of Prince Jin, the Queen Mother had only one daughter, Princess Qi Yang, whom she doted on like the apple of her eye.
Chen Wan watched the ladies from prominent families playing pitching pots, kicking shuttlecocks, painting, and arranging flowers. They were all having a great time.
Yun Miao was even more busy greeting people. A maid came over and said, "Miss, Princess Jiamin from Princess Shunyang's mansion is here."
Shen Wan didn't expect that Princess Jiamin would come too.
Yun Miao looked at Chen Wan, and Chen Wan smiled and said, "I'll go with you to meet her."
Although they said they were welcoming her, Princess Jiamin came over after just a few steps.
Seeing Chen Wan, Princess Jiamin bowed to her and saluted, "Greetings, Princess Qingning."
The people in the mansion heard Chen Wan calling her the Crown Prince's Consort, and the people outside the mansion called her the Princess. After hearing it so many times, they got used to it.
Shen Wan smiled and said, “I didn’t expect that Princess Jiamin would also come to the Yun family.”
Princess Jiamin smiled and said, "How can I not come to congratulate the emperor for conferring the title of county lady?"
A lady from a prominent family came over and said, "We were just talking about the Peach Blossom Banquet held at Princess Shunyang's residence in previous years. The weather was warm and the peach blossoms were already in bloom. I wonder if they'll still be held this year?"
Princess Jiamin smiled and said, "I don't know what's going on with the peach blossoms in our mansion this year. They bloomed quite late. I've sent out invitations in the past two days, inviting everyone to come over and enjoy the peach blossoms."
When everyone heard that Princess Shunyang's mansion was holding a peach blossom banquet, they immediately became happy. It had been a cold winter and there had been no banquets in Kyoto, which was extremely boring.
After Princess Shunyang's peach blossom banquet, various mansions competed to hold banquets. Today I go to your mansion to appreciate the flowers, and tomorrow I go to her mansion to taste tea. Life will be more comfortable.
Princess Jiamin looked at Chen Wan and Yun Miao, "I hope Princess Qingning and Princess Yunhe will show you favor when the time comes."
Shen Wan smiled and said, “I will go.”
Yun Miao also nodded repeatedly.
The garden was bustling with noise and the silvery laughter could be heard from far away.
At the appointed time, everyone took their seats. The Yun family's banquet was no less than that of any aristocratic family. All kinds of rare and exotic animals were brought to the table free of charge. Everyone knew that the Yun family was rich enough to rival a country, and the rumors were indeed true. The cost of one banquet hosted by the Yun family was more than enough for the Jingbei Palace to host two or three.
The head chef invited the royal chefs from Prince Ling's Mansion and Prince Jingbei's Mansion, and the wine they drank was top-grade girl's red wine. Old Master Yun had given countless toasts to officials in his lifetime, but this was the first time he was toasted by an official.
Old Master Yun has a good alcohol tolerance, but he accepted everyone who came today. Before the banquet was over, Old Master Yun was already drunk and had to be helped back home.
Old Madam Yun had a stiff smile on her face. Madam Yun's first and second wives didn't have enough time to remember all those noble ladies. They never thought that the Yun family would have such a glorious and respectable day. At least Madam Yun's first and second wives didn't recognize at least 90% of the noble ladies who came to the Yun family today.
The banquet lasted for more than an hour before it gradually came to an end, and Master Yun Da and Master Yun Er saw the guests off.
The servants of the Yun family were very busy today, because there were not only court officials but also business friends coming to the banquet. However, they had to make sure that they were not seated in the wrong seats. It was not okay to arrange business friends at the officials' table, and it was even worse to arrange officials at the businessmen's table.
Fortunately, there were no problems in this regard and everything went smoothly.
The guests were almost gone, and Yun said to Shen Wan, "Help to greet the guests. You've been tired for quite some time. Go back and rest early."
Shen Wan was really tired, so she stopped refusing and said, “Then I’ll go back first.”
Xie Jingyu and Shen Wan left together in a carriage.
On the way back, Xie Jingyu asked Shen Wan, "Is there anywhere you want to go tomorrow?"
Why ask her that?
Shen Wan asked, “Where do you want to take me?”
Xie Jingyu rubbed Chen Wan's hand and said, "The emperor wants you to come to the palace to have dinner with him. I have refused you several times. If you don't have to go somewhere, you must go to the palace tomorrow."
Shen Wan, “…”
Okay.
Enter the palace tomorrow.
——
PS: The heroine's entry into the palace is the beginning of the elimination of Prince Qing and Queen Song...
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