Chapter 3284 Asking for Flowers
Zhou Man was stunned for a long time before coming back to his senses. He said hesitantly, "It's my fault. The post was already written. Maybe it got lost when I handed it to the servant. I'll go back and look for it later. I think it's still in the study."
Prince Gong snorted coldly, thinking that Zhou Man couldn't even find an excuse. Wouldn't it be better to just say that the servants were negligent at this time?
He could have just called a servant over to deal with the matter, and both sides would have saved face. But she actually took the blame herself, but she was willing to suffer, so Prince Gong naturally wouldn't stop her.
Princess Gong smiled and said, "It's not a big deal. Lord Zhou, don't take it to heart. Your Highness, let's go in."
Zhou Man immediately turned sideways and said, "Please come in, Your Majesty and Your Majesty."
Only then did Prince Gong and Princess Gong step in.
Zhou Man personally escorted the person to the front yard. Zhou Silang had already arranged seats in advance, so Prince Gong was finally spared the embarrassment of having no seat.
Sitting at the same table were several nobles including the Duke of Zhao, who were a perfect match for Prince Gong.
Bai Erlang also rushed over and whispered to her, "You go to the backyard, and I'll take care of the front yard. When the time is right, I'll have someone invite you back. Just come out and offer a glass of wine."
Zhou Man agreed and said, "Then I'll leave it to you, Junior Brother. Please take good care of my fourth brother. He has no achievements, so don't let anyone bully him."
"Don't worry, today is your lucky day. Since they're here as guests, who would be so embarrassed?" Glancing at Prince Gong sitting in the upper seat not far away, Bai Erlang said, "It's not impossible. I take back what I said. I'll be careful with Brother Zhou Si."
Zhou Man went to the backyard with peace of mind.
Bai Erlang is not a coward. Apart from being a little afraid of the emperor and the crown prince, he is not afraid of Prince Gong and other nobles.
The backyard was even more lively than the front yard. The female members of the family were drinking and appreciating the flowers. Old Lady Liu also invited actors to sing and dance. In addition, there were storytellers, both men and women, and various games waiting for everyone to play. It was very lively.
Zhou Man walked along, greeting everyone along the way. When he found Zheng, his face was almost frozen with smile.
"Mother, where's grandmother?"
Zheng pointed to the banquet hall and said, "Your grandmother is sitting in the Diaoyutai, receiving some elderly guests there."
Zhou Man is young, but few of her colleagues are young. Except for Yang Heshu and Mr. Guo, the others invited by Zhou Man are a bit older.
Their wives are naturally not very young, and they will bring their daughters-in-law or even granddaughters-in-law, but in order to show their respect for Zhou Man, they will also come in person.
Moreover, Zhou Man now holds a high position in the government and is a colleague of their husbands. It is inconvenient for the younger generations to come forward for some social interactions, so they have to come.
Now these ladies were sitting with Old Madam Liu in the banquet hall. When they heard the singing and piano music coming from outside, Old Madam Liu invited them to go watch a play.
"We have a stage outside the viewing tower by the garden. You can see the stage from both the garden and the viewing tower. Why don't we go sit in the viewing tower?"
The ladies responded with a "good" and asked, "Who from the music school are you inviting?"
"Miss Fenghua."
A lady laughed and said, "Master Zhou is so generous that he even invited Miss Fenghua. It's almost the end of the year, and the music school is very busy. I heard that the palace is going to have a big celebration this year, so they chose Miss Fenghua to lead the music. They must be busy practicing right now. How many princes and nobles would like to invite Miss Fenghua to perform at this time but can't."
Madam Liu smiled and said, "We are lucky. Miss Fenghua happened to be free today. We couldn't invite her at any other time. A banquet in the palace is a big event, and we dare not neglect it."
Everyone listened to this explanation, but no one knew what it was thinking.
Zhou Man walked around the banquet hall, then followed their trail to the viewing tower. "Grandma, I finally found you. Ladies, please eat, drink, and have fun today. Please forgive me if I've been negligent."
"Princess Liyang, you're joking. I think everything went well today. You are truly capable. No wonder His Majesty and His Majesty love you so much."
Zhou Man hurriedly said, "This is not my credit. It's all thanks to my grandmother and mother-in-law. I am just a reaping the benefits."
These ladies naturally knew that Zhou Man didn't care about the inner chambers. She was already so busy with official duties, and if she took care of the internal affairs and managed them so well, then she was not a human being, but a god, right?
but……
Several elderly ladies glanced at the actors performing on the stage and the people sitting in various places in the garden to watch, and thought to themselves: If they had such a daughter-in-law or granddaughter-in-law who could achieve great things, they would be willing to serve her like this and take care of the household chores for her.
Zhou Man chatted and laughed with them for a while, and after making sure that they were all doing well, he left with a smile.
When she reached the ladies of similar age below, Zhou Man felt much more at ease. She found a place to sit in the corridor, leaned back, and sighed deeply, "I'm really too tired. I've decided not to move again in my lifetime."
Mingda laughed and said, "That's difficult. Don't you want to travel around the world? Are you planning to stay in the capital forever?"
"I'm talking about no more housewarming parties," Zhou Man closed his eyes to rest, and sighed, "It's not difficult to make the world your home. With a horse and a pot, you can travel all over the world. The hard part is hosting a housewarming party."
Madam Yang laughed and said, "I heard that your great-grandmother and mother-in-law took care of all these things for you. What did you do?"
Zhou Man: "I've been entertaining guests and have been standing for half a day today."
"Thank you for your hard work, Princess Liyang."
Everyone laughed for a while, and Mingda looked at the garden and said, "The scenery here can't compare to the one at Zhou's house."
Zhou waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "With my mother-in-law around, it will look good in three to five years."
Zhou Man remembered something, sat up slightly, and leaned halfway towards Mingda. "I like plum blossoms, especially red ones. There's something special about appreciating them on a snowy day. You have a red plum blossom with many petals in your garden. It's not only beautiful, but also has a cool fragrance. I've always envied it. How about letting me pick a branch and plant it when spring comes?"
Mingda smiled and said, "I think that red plum blossom is beautiful too. I had a craftsman cultivate it in a pot a while ago so that I could display it indoors and admire it. They can't shrink it down yet, but it has been cultivated in a pot for two years. If you like it, I'll give you two pots later. You can plant it directly in the garden. I think it will bloom in two years."
Zhou Man was delighted. "That's good, but I plan to plant a whole patch of plum trees. You still have to give me some plum branches."
"Sure, sure."
Princess Changyu recalled, "Don't you love peonies and chrysanthemums? I vaguely remember you used to sell these two flowers in the capital, and you took excellent care of them."
"Oh, compared to the beauty and charm of flowers, I prefer the money they bring." Zhou Man chuckled and said, "Apart from these vulgar things, if I really want to like them, I still love plum blossoms the most."
Chang Yu was speechless. "That's fine. I was thinking of giving you a few pots of peonies since you love flowers."
"I love it," Zhou Man immediately changed his tone. "The peony is so beautiful, how could I not love it? Give it to me, give it to me."
(End of this chapter)
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