Chapter 314: Face
It took Zhou Yunshu just half an hour to finish writing the invitations to the ten families.
Zhou Yunshu called in Manager Zhang, who had been waiting outside the inn, and asked him and Wan Zhong to take people to deliver the invitations to the homes of the wealthy people in Nanchuan City.
The invitations were sent out, and the food and wine were served. After Zhou Yunshu and her group had eaten and drunk their fill, they went back to their tidied rooms to sleep without caring when the innkeeper would come back.
I didn’t sleep much last night, and tonight will probably be another fierce battle, so I can only take advantage of the time I have now and rest up.
Zhou Yunshu slept for two hours. After getting up, she washed and put on makeup again, then changed into a red sandalwood brocade robe with bat patterns, a gold and jade belt buckle around her waist, and a jade pendant.
Even in the capital, this outfit makes him look like a noble young master.
When Zhou Yunshu came out of the room dressed neatly, Wu Gui came out of the next room wearing a lilac gauze dress with scattered flowers.
Although the colors on the two people's clothes were not bright, they were enough to calm the situation and met Zhou Yunshu's requirement of wanting to show her identity but not be conspicuous at night.
When Zhou Yunshu brought Wu Gui down from upstairs, Chunque and Cen Miaoying followed them.
I don’t know when Chusan and Mengnan came back, and they are both downstairs at this time.
Besides, there was a square-faced man in his forties sitting in the lobby of the inn. When he saw Zhou Yunshu coming down from upstairs, he quickly stood up, bowed to her and said, "Mr. Li, I am the steward of the Hong Mansion. I have come here on the orders of the master to invite you."
Zhou Yunshu looked at the innkeeper and after seeing him nod, she smiled and said, "No need to be so polite."
"Sir, the dinner at home is almost ready, you..."
Zhou Yunshu waved her hand and said to Zhang Guanshi, who had become more alert, "Have all the invitations been sent out?"
"Don't worry, sir. They have all been sent out."
"Is there anyone who says he won't come to the banquet?"
Steward Zhang smiled and straightened his back and said, "In reply to your question, sir, no one can refuse an invitation written by you personally."
They are not tired of living. How could they not come when the invitation was written by the brother-in-law of the Prince of Huainan himself?
"That's good."
Zhou Yunshu smiled and said to the housekeeper of the Hong Mansion, "It seems that Mr. Li still has some dignity."
"You are joking, sir." The butler said with a flattering smile.
Their master was right. Haizhou was now in the hands of King Huainan. Building good relations with King Huainan's people would only benefit them, not harm them.
Thinking of this, the butler became even more respectful to Zhou Yunshu, the so-called brother-in-law of the Prince of Huainan.
"I have prepared the carriage, please move."
"It's really getting late, let's go."
However, Zhou Yunshu did not get on the carriage prepared for her by the Hong family, and the Hong family's housekeeper did not force her. He just asked someone to drive the carriage behind Zhou Yunshu and her group.
The Hong family that Cao Mengyun chose was located in the east city of Nanchuan City, and its area was so large that it occupied two streets.
When Zhou Yunshu and others arrived, Hong Wenyuan had already brought the Hong family to open the door of the Hong Mansion and stood at the gate to welcome Zhou Yunshu.
After Zhou Yunshu got out of the car, she looked at Hong Wenyuan, who greeted her with a smile, and the three or four men around him who looked about the same age as Hong Wenyuan and were dressed just as well as him. She nodded proudly and got out of the car, saying lightly, "Sorry for the wait."
"It is a blessing for me that Master Li has come to visit my humble home. How can I say..."
Before Hong Wenyuan could finish, the man next to him took over and said, "Greetings, sir. My surname is Liu, and my ancestral home is Haizhou, but my business is spread all over the country, and I even have several shops in the capital."
"The late lotus in my home is in full bloom. I wonder if I'll be lucky enough to invite you to my home to admire the lotus tomorrow."
"What's so good about lotus flowers, Master Li? I have two paintings left by the great painters of the previous dynasty at home. You are knowledgeable and experienced, so why not go and appreciate them?"
Before even entering the Hong family's gate, Zhou Yunshu had already been booked for the next few days by the people at the door, which made Hong Wenyuan almost unable to smile.
"Alright, alright. If you have anything to say, let's go inside and talk. It's not the Hong family's way of entertaining guests to stop you at the door."
"That's not ours!"
"Mr. Li, please come in. I knew you were coming, and I was afraid the Hong family was out of good tea and wine, so I specially brought over our treasured collection of top-quality Maojian'er and Nv'erhong!"
"This isn't something rare, Mr. Li. I brought this wine from overseas..."
The smile on Hong Wenyuan's face was about to disappear. He knew that this group of people must have had bad intentions by coming so early.
It was in this environment where everyone was watching, that Zhou Yunshu followed the Hong family to the pavilion where the banquet was being held.
The Hong family waterside pavilion is large and faces water on three sides. When the wind blows across the water and across the clouds, you can vaguely see the twelve tables in the pavilion.
Hong Wenyuan arranged the location very cleverly. There were two tables at the end of the pavilion near the water, with five tables on each side.
After Hong Wenyuan led Zhou Yunshu to her seat, he naturally sat at the table next to Zhou Yunshu.
As for the table parallel to Zhou Yunshu, it was naturally prepared for Geng Jiang.
Perhaps for this reason, all the tables on Zhou Yunshu's side were full, and there was no one on the opposite side. This showed that this group of people feared and disliked Geng Jiang.
"Sir, did the prince send you here because he received our letter?"
Geng Jiang was not there, and the wealthy people present did not hide their purpose and asked Zhou Yunshu directly.
"Your Highness is so busy with all sorts of things that he doesn't have the time to deal with these trivial matters. My brother-in-law, er, the Prince of Huainan, accidentally saw the letter and asked me to come and take a look."
Hong Wenyuan and the others had no doubts about Zhou Yunshu's words. It was no secret that the Prince of Huainan and his youngest sons were in charge of the official business of the palace respectively. Even the military affairs were distributed by the prince, which was normal.
"Thank you for your hard work, my lord."
"I heard that the prince took the daughter of a county magistrate as his concubine near Chengping. Speaking of which, let's go to Nanchuan..."
Zhou Yunshu interrupted him with a chuckle, "Men, when they're out and about, they always think wild flowers are more fragrant."
As she spoke, she looked at the man next to her and said, "Why, you also want to help my sister find wild flowers for the prince?"
The man heard the coldness in Zhou Yunshu's tone and quickly said, "Young Master, you misunderstood. I am just a businessman. How dare I make arrangements for the prince? I was just asking casually."
"That's good. My brother-in-law also has official business in Haizhou."
After hearing what Zhou Yunshu said, everyone looked at each other, and finally looked at Hong Wenyuan, who was closest to Zhou Yunshu.
Although Hong Wenyuan was old, he still stepped forward and poured Zhou Yunshu a cup of tea. He said, "Mr. Li, the bandits are about to come. Please at least give us some information."
"How is the prince going to deal with Geng Jiang?"
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