Chapter 550 Admiration and Disdain
De'an Lane is not spacious and is crowded with people.
The whole alley was decorated and looked particularly festive.
Cheng Jia and Cheng Ding were responsible for leading the way at the entrance of the alley, while Mrs. Qi and Mrs. Yang stood at the door of Cheng's house to welcome the guests and read out the gift list.
Most of the guests at the Cheng Mansion were scholars that Cheng Zhao knew in the capital, as well as neighbors that Old Lady Cheng had met in the past few days.
Scholars typically gave gifts such as writing implements and paper fans. Neighbors in the outskirts of Beijing would not give eggs or scraps of cloth as they would in the villages, but would give cash gifts. Some would give as little as fifty coins, while others would give as much as two or three hundred coins. These amounts were simply recorded in a register and did not need to be read aloud.
Amidst the hustle and bustle, Cheng Wanwan's carriage stopped at the gate of Cheng Mansion.
She walked in with a vermilion lacquered sandalwood box in her hand and handed it to Mrs. Qi.
Although Granny Qi served her every day, she had no idea what wedding gift she had prepared, and curiously opened the box.
A huge luminous pearl instantly blinded her, and a line of text was written on a red slip inside the box.
Mother Yang quickly read out the words: "The groom's second aunt presents a gift: a night-shining pearl from the East China Sea!"
Upon hearing this, the guests in the hall immediately stretched their necks to look outside. Among these people were young men with good financial backgrounds, so they naturally knew what was good.
"This night-shining pearl is really big. It glows in broad daylight. I'm afraid it will be even brighter at night."
"Do you remember two East Sea Night-Shining Pearls that appeared in the capital two years ago? They were auctioned off by the owner of the Treasure Pavilion, and in the end, someone bought them for a whopping ten thousand taels of silver."
"Hiss, ten thousand taels of silver, Master Cheng's second aunt is really rich."
"I must say, you are all truly ignorant. Do you really not know who Lord Cheng's second aunt is?"
"Is... is it the Sui'an person who was promoted three times in one year? Is it true or not?"
"That's right, it's this woman from Sui'an. She became a sixth-rank official in the imperial court through her own abilities, and her business is extremely successful. She's already a well-known wealthy merchant in Huzhou."
"Who said before that Brother Ziyu didn't have a family background? Having such a powerful aunt makes him much better than us poor kids."
"I also want a second aunt like that..."
Some people are envious, and of course there are also people who say sour things, such as he is just a sixth-rank Anren and can't cause any waves.
Old Lady Cheng sat in the yard with a sense of pride. This second daughter was quite good. She even knew how to bring expensive gifts to make Zhao'er proud.
Ten thousand taels of silver worth of night-shining pearls… The thought of this gave her a toothache. Why not spend so much money on something else? She actually bought a night-shining pearl that only provided light. How much better it would have been if she had just given the money directly…
Fortunately, this gift was stored in the Cheng family's warehouse. Once the night pearl entered the Cheng family, it was her responsibility to deal with it. She could sell it when the time came and use the money she earned to invest in the business. Zhao'er was a grown man, twenty years old this year, and he should have some money on hand. Firstly, he couldn't be looked down upon by the Situ family, and secondly, he needed money to make deals in official circles.
When Cheng Wanwan walked in, she saw Old Lady Cheng's eyes rolling around, and she knew what the old lady was planning.
If the Cheng family took the night pearl out to sell, she really had no objection. It only cost a few dozen taels of silver to buy one in the mall, and she could make ten thousand taels of silver by reselling it. It would be a waste not to do such a good deal.
Just as she was about to sit down, Granny Qi at the door called out, "Madam Lin has arrived."
The Lin family was considered the matchmaker, so naturally they had to come to drink a glass of wedding wine on the wedding day. However, Mrs. Lin's status was too high, so it was impossible for her to come in person, so she sent her daughter-in-law. Mrs. Lin was over 40 years old and looked very gentle. As soon as she came in, she was led by Mrs. Cheng to sit in the main seat.
"Our Zhao'er was able to marry the third daughter of the Situ family because of the Lin family's blessing." Old Lady Cheng said with a smile, "Mrs. Lin must drink a few more glasses of wine today and ask Zhao'er's second aunt to drink with her."
Madam Lin looked at Cheng Wanwan with admiration in her eyes: "How long has the Sui'an people been in the capital this time?"
"I'll be leaving in three to five days after the wedding," Cheng Wanwan said with a smile. "Two months will pass by in a flash, and I have a ton of things to take care of back home."
"What a pity..." Mrs. Lin sighed, "My daughter is getting married at the end of May, and I wanted to invite everyone from Sui'an to the wedding for a drink."
Although the people of Sui'an were not of high rank, they had long been a legend among the noble ladies. How could one not admire a woman who became a court lady through her own abilities?
Previously, when people in Beijing mentioned Sui'an people, there were always some discordant voices muttering that Sui'an people were peasant women, openly and subtly implying that Sui'an people were ugly and old. She had also thought that a woman who dealt with the fields every day, even if she was not old, would look very old and rustic...
In the minds of many people in the capital, admiring the people of Sui'an is one thing, and looking down on them is the same thing. There is no conflict in having these two completely opposite views of a person.
But after seeing her today, she realized that she had been narrow-minded.
Sui'an was dressed in a brocade outer garment commonly seen in the capital, with a low-key, matte silver thread pattern on the collar and cuffs. The fabric was embroidered with moon-white camellias. Her hair was neatly combed and adorned with a jade-green hairpin. At first glance, the hairpin appeared ordinary, but upon closer inspection, it was clear that it was of very high quality and quite valuable.
She wore emerald green round earrings on her ears and emerald green bracelets on her wrists. It looked like a complete set of jewelry, which made Sui'an's skin look even whiter.
If the noble ladies in the capital saw this, they would definitely put aside their narrow-minded views.
Cheng Wanwan and Madam Lin sat together and chatted happily.
As they were chatting, Mrs. Qi's voice came again: "Master Zhang is here."
Madam Lin looked over in surprise: "Lord Zhang always stays in his study and never attends any private banquets except for those for receiving foreign envoys. Why would he come to the Cheng family for a wedding? It seems he really admires Sui'an's nephew."
Cheng Wanwan also looked over.
Before she came to the capital, she had learned about some court affairs in the capital and had also heard of this Lord Zhang.
Lord Zhang is over sixty years old this year. He has served as the Minister of the Ministry of Rites of the Dayu Dynasty since the last dynasty. The Dayu Dynasty was prosperous and powerful, with countless small countries around it submitting to it and paying tribute. There were also many large countries that were a little further away having economic exchanges with the Dayu Dynasty. However, transportation was inconvenient and communications were not well developed in that era. Although there were diplomatic affairs, they were not busy. Therefore, Lord Zhang either read books at home or borrowed the imperial study to read books. Naturally, the books he read were all in foreign languages. He also asked his subordinates to compile many books such as foreign geography and promote them to the public.
The foreign characters she embroidered on the emperor's birthday gift were inspired by those books of Lord Zhang.
Her birthday gift was a quilt and clothes, which looked too ordinary. She was afraid that it would be ignored, so she embroidered foreign characters on it to attract attention.
As soon as Lord Zhang entered, the scholars sitting in the front courtyard all stood up and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Lord Zhang!"
"This is outside the capital, so don't worry about these empty formalities." Lord Zhang looked at Old Man Cheng with a smile, "The old man is so energetic, no wonder he raised such an outstanding child like Cheng Ziyu. He is really the envy of others."
Old Master Cheng was considered the head of the Cheng family. Since Cheng Zhao had gone to the Situ family to fetch his bride, only the old man could greet the guests. It was his first time dealing with an official, and his legs were trembling. He forced himself to speak, saying, "Lord Zhang, this way, please take a seat..."
This table is occupied by Cheng Zhao's colleagues, the top two scholars in this imperial examination, and some other successful candidates who have already secured official positions. They are all chatting here. Lord Zhang sat down directly.
He looked up and glanced to the other side.
The seats for men and women are separated by a virtual screen. You can see the women's seats, hear what they are saying, and even see the people from Sui'an.
Zhang Daren's heart was like a cat's claw, thinking of finding an excuse to go over and talk to Sui Anren...
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