Gu Jiu not only invited Princess Huyang, but also Huang Qubing to show support.
She also invited several brothers from the Gu family to help.
The men in the Gu family all knew that although Gu Jiu nominally asked them for help, he was actually creating opportunities for them to make connections.
Fortunately, they are not the heirs of the family, but grandchildren, so they do not need to wear heavy mourning.
It's already June, so going out at this time will not have any impact.
Only the eldest son of the first wife, Gu Ban, as the heir apparent, had to observe a full three years of mourning. Unlike his younger brothers, he could not leave the house for social events.
It was still early when they arrived at the villa.
Bai Zhong greeted him warmly.
At this time, another carriage arrived.
Bai Zhong thought to himself, could there be any guests coming at this hour?
The tea party was scheduled for mid-afternoon, so it was too early to come here.
When the visitor got off the carriage, Bai Zhong opened his mouth wide, "How could it be Mr. Gu? What a rare guest, what a rare guest!"
Gu Rui, the eldest grandson of the Marquis's family, got off the carriage and said with a smile, "I apologize for coming uninvited. I learned that Sister Xiaojiu was going to hold a tea party and needed help, so I took the initiative to come. I hope I didn't cause you any trouble."
Bai Zhong was beaming with joy, as the eldest grandson of the Marquisate held great weight.
He quickly smiled and said, "Mr. Gu, you're too polite! If the Madam knew you were here, she would definitely be very happy."
Gu Rui smiled and said, "At the beginning of the year, the late emperor's funeral took place. Thanks to Sister Xiaojiu's help, my wife was able to return home to recuperate smoothly. I owe Sister Xiaojiu a lot of favors over the years. Sister Xiaojiu doesn't ask for anything in return, but I can't be ungrateful. If there's anything you need me to do today, just let me know. Waiting tables or doing odd jobs is fine."
"There's no need for Master Gu to serve as a waiter. You just need to stand in the lobby and the tea party will be of high standard."
Huang Qubing came out waving a fan and teased Gu Rui.
Gu Rui glanced at Huang Qubing. The two of them were from the same circle, the top second and third generation playboys in Beijing, and they were familiar with each other.
The men of the Gu family could not enter this circle, so Gu Yan and his brothers were unable to talk to Huang Qubing.
As soon as Gu Rui arrived, Huang Qubing took the initiative to talk to him.
This is the difference between circles, which leads to differences in closeness and distance.
Gu Rui laughed, "I didn't expect you to come too."
Huang Qubing closed his fan and said, "Since my sister-in-law invited me here, I must give her a favor."
Unfortunately, my sister-in-law’s brother Gu Ting is not in the capital, so I don’t have the chance to be intimate with Gu Ting.
"Gentlemen, don't stand at the door, come in. Princess Huyang should be here soon." Bai Zhong reminded.
When several people heard the words "Princess Huyang", they all had expressions that were difficult to describe.
"What was Sister-in-law thinking? She actually let Hu Yang hold the fort. Aren't you afraid that Hu Yang will get angry and turn the table over?"
Gu Rui coughed lightly and said, "All the guests here today are men. Princess Huyang shouldn't overturn the table."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone laughed with ambiguous expressions.
The erotic rumors about Princess Huyang could be hidden from others, but not from them.
Han Wulang of Daihou Mansion has been here for many years, and every time he leaves the mansion, he is still teased. He is always discussed in the same breath as Princess Huyang.
Even though Han Wulang was extremely unhappy, he couldn't stop others from talking.
Since they were all from the same circle and had similar family backgrounds, Han Wulang naturally didn't dare to turn against them. He could only reduce the number of times he went out, or change the circle he hung out with.
Gu Cheng still had questions. "Since all the guests here are men, why did Sister Xiaojiu ask Princess Huyang to support the party? It's not appropriate, right?"
Huang Qubing patiently explained for Gu Jiu's sake, "Princess Huyang has been unhappy recently, so sister-in-law is trying to entertain her."
Princess Huyang had sought the title several times but to no avail. This matter could be concealed from others, but not from Princess Fuya. Huang Qubing was Princess Fuya's son, so he naturally knew about it.
Princess Huyang has a problem now.
Whenever she encountered something unhappy, she would go to Gu Jiu and cry to him.
Whenever she called out "nephew's wife", Gu Jiu's heart would tremble.
Gu Jiu often asked himself what sin he had committed to end up with Princess Huyang.
In order to get rid of the frustrated Princess Huyang, Gu Jiumei called Huyang to the tea party to support the party.
Seeing a room full of handsome young men, Princess Huyang was overjoyed and readily agreed.
In order to attend this tea party, Princess Huyang ordered her embroiderer to hurry up and make three new dresses, each one more alluring (and revealing) than the last.
Apparently, Princess Huyang has left the capital from the young monk, and has come out of the shadow of Emperor Wende not granting her a title. She plans to find a couple of lovers at the tea party and continue to enjoy her life.
When it comes to matters between men and women, it’s all about mutual consent.
If the men at the tea party are unwilling, Princess Huyang will not force them for Gu Jiu's sake.
If a man at the tea party pushes the envelope, and Princess Huyang doesn't dislike him, then things will naturally work out. However, in this case, Princess Huyang will have to decide unilaterally when to end the relationship.
After all, not every man is a little monk who can fool Princess Huyang.
The young people, all of similar age, quickly became familiar with each other.
Huang Qubing said casually, "Congratulations, Mr. Gu, on the birth of his son."
Gu Rui complained, "My son is already a hundred days old and you're just saying congratulations. Isn't that a bit late? You should at least give him a gift. I think a red gold longevity lock, one weighing two kilograms would be great."
puff!
Huang Qubing pointed at Gu Rui with an incredible expression on his face, "You, are you robbing me?"
A two-jin red gold longevity lock. Luckily Gu Rui was able to ask for it. Why didn’t he just go and rob it?
Gu Rui said as a matter of course: "You don't lack that little money."
"Gu Rui, why didn't I realize you were so greedy for money before?"
"That's not because I didn't raise children before. Now that I have children, I realize that money is spent like water. While I'm still young, I have to save more for my children."
Gu Rui's tone was serious and matter-of-fact. He also greeted several cousins from the Gu family, all of whom had children and their own experiences in raising children.
Huang Qubing looked at everyone.
Gu Cheng coughed lightly, "Young lady, you will spend less money, you only need to prepare a dowry. If you give birth to a son, you will have to buy more property. If you have many sons, you will have to buy several properties. Otherwise, when we die, after a hundred years, there will not be enough family property for the children to share, which will be quite pitiful."
Huang Qubing looked incredulous, "How can you think so far ahead?"
Gu Cheng looked innocent, "Thinking too far ahead? As the saying goes, those who don't plan for the future will inevitably have immediate worries. My family split up some time ago, and I experienced this deeply."
Gu Rui agreed repeatedly, saying that when the old marquis passed away, the marquis's family would have to be divided.
No matter how much property you have, it cannot withstand being divided again and again.
Therefore, it is not advisable to rely on one's ancestors for a living and wait for death. If he can live off his ancestors, can he still live off his ancestors when his son inherits the family business?
If he doesn't work hard to build up his fortune, he'll probably end up broke when his son grows up and inherits the family business.
When the time comes to trace the roots, the descendants will point to his spirit tablet and say: Look, our Pingnan Marquis Mansion was defeated by this ancestor. To have such a prodigal ancestor is really unlucky for eight generations.
Just thinking about this scene makes one's scalp tingle.
Obviously, after Zhou gave birth to a son, not only did Gu Rui become a father, but he also realized what responsibility is.
He was no longer alone, he had to think about his children, to buy as much property as possible for them, and to leave more of his children behind.
It was a rare opportunity for him to meet Huang Qubing today, so he wanted to extort money from him for his son.
Huang Qubing was convinced by him and said, "Tomorrow, I will give my nephew a red gold longevity lock weighing half a pound. Don't think it's too little."
Gu Rui suppressed his smile, with an expression that was reluctant but still pleasing to the eye, "Half a catty is half a catty, I don't mind it."
Huang Qubing was furious. "Gu Rui, ask who in the capital would give a longevity lock and half a pound of red gold at once? If they can give a longevity lock of three ounces of red gold, they must be a very good relationship."
Gu Rui said: "You are different from others."
He didn't say how it was different, leaving Huang Qubing to guess for himself.
Huang Qubing snorted twice, thinking that if it weren't for Gu Jiu, they wouldn't have gathered together.
"Look at you all, you're all obsessed with money. You have such a great opportunity right now, why don't you cherish it? My sister-in-law wants to build a cement road, are you stupid enough to not invest some money? If you invested the money, you could just sit back and enjoy the dividends every year without having to worry about anything. You don't even know how to seize such a good opportunity. You're all stupid."
After Huang Qubing finished speaking, he looked very proud again.
Everyone was silent.
Gu Rui asked him, "How much money did you invest?"
Huang Qubing took a sip of tea, and said with an expression that said, "I don't want to show off, you are the ones asking." "It's not much, just 100,000 taels of silver."
Depend on!
Local rich man.
This is the common thought of all the men in the Gu family at this time.
It's really enviable and hateful.
Gu Rui said, "My wife and I also invested money."
Huang Qubing was curious, "How much?"
Gu Rui sighed, "I can't compare to you. The private savings I've saved over the years, plus my wife's dowry, have only managed to scrape together 20,000 taels. However, I've invested 50,000 taels into the public account. Just like you said, it's a good thing to reap the benefits for future generations."
Huang Qubing's mouth twitched. It turned out that no one was a fool.
Although it was unknown how many years it would take to recoup the investment, everyone still invested actively out of trust in Gu Jiu. The prospect of reaping the benefits was worth the investment.
Several brothers of the Gu family also invested money.
The least amount was one thousand taels, and the most was six thousand taels.
Gu Cheng invested six thousand taels.
"I wanted to invest more, but my wife and I don't have much cash on hand. We did have some before, but it was all invested in the project outside the South City Gate. I heard from Sister Xiaojiu that we should be able to get dividends by the end of this year."
Gu Rui laughed, "Outside the South City Gate, my wife also invested money. It looks like we can get some money by the end of this year."
Huang Qubing also invested money.
After hearing this, everyone present invested more or less money in Gu Jiu's project.
Huang Qubing pondered for a moment and clicked his tongue twice.
"Unconsciously, my sister-in-law has already captured everyone in the circle. This time when she was building the road, she clearly targeted those civil officials and noble families. She has both civil and military officials in her network. If she wants to do something in the future, no one can stop her. The entire capital will be at her mercy. My sister-in-law's layout is really powerful."
Gu Rui raised his eyebrows and secretly kicked Huang Qubing, silently reminding him that some things should be kept to oneself and not spoken out.
As the saying goes, see through but don't speak out.
Huang Qubing slapped his mouth lightly and said, "Look at my broken mouth. I keep saying whatever I want all day long. What I said just now doesn't count. Just pretend you didn't hear it. If it gets out, I will never admit it."
Several brothers of the Gu family expressed their opinions one after another, and they would definitely not go out and talk nonsense.
The fate of the Gu family is closely linked to the fate of Gu Jiu. No one is stupid, and everyone has a scale of interest in their hearts.
Bai Zhong came up to Deng Cunli, covered his ears and whispered something to him.
Deng Cunli raised his eyebrows, "Why is he here?"
"The person is already at the door, what do you say we should do?"
"I didn't even invite him, so why did he come? He's really shameless." Deng Cunli said with disgust.
Huang Qubing saw the two men whispering and asked loudly, "What are you two talking about in secret? Is there anything that cannot be said in front of everyone?"
Deng Cunli suddenly laughed, walked over to Huang Qubing, and said, "A guest has arrived early. Everyone knows him. He is Mr. Zhu Ci, the Earl of Cheng'en."
puff!
Huang Qubing spit out a mouthful of tea, "Sister-in-law sent an invitation to Lord Cheng En?"
Deng Cunli shook his head, "Madam didn't send an invitation to Lord Cheng En."
Gu Rui smiled and said, "I didn't expect that besides me, there would be someone else who came uninvited."
Everyone present knew about the conflict between Gu Jiu and the Zhu family.
A year has passed since the incident. During this year, the Zhu family has been extremely low-key, so low-key that people have ignored their existence.
But unexpectedly, this old man Cheng Enbo suddenly appeared again. He even showed up at Gu Jiu's investment tea party.
Huang Qubing and Gu Rui exchanged glances, the meaning of which was only understood by the two of them.
People outside the circle were confused about Cheng En Bo Zhu Ci's current situation. However, as people in the circle, the two of them naturally knew everything.
Huang Qubing laughed heartily. "Anyone who comes is a guest. Now that they are at the door, we cannot turn them away. Please come in. However, for today's tea party, only those with invitations can bid. Others are not eligible to bid. Eunuch Deng, am I right?"
Deng Cunli was waiting for these words. "Mr. Huang is right. I'll have someone take care of the Zhus right away. I'll make sure they don't disturb your fun."
"It doesn't matter if I disturb you, since we can't talk about anything. I'm not embarrassed, but I'm worried that Mr. Cheng En will be embarrassed. When Princess Huyang comes later, she will entertain them and their son."
This is the tacit understanding between Huang Qubing and Gu Rui.
They were the younger generation, and Cheng Enbo Zhu Ci was older. It was not easy for them to confront others.
But Princess Huyang had no such concerns.
Emperor Wende is Princess Huyang's biological brother. Apart from being stingy and refusing to grant her a title, even if Princess Huyang makes a big fuss outside, Emperor Wende can still help her cover up.
The Zhu family is the uncle's family of the late emperor, not the uncle's family of Emperor Wende. Emperor Wende does not need to give the Zhu family any face.
As the saying goes, when people are gone, the tea gets cold. Relatives who are older than you and whom you don’t visit on a daily basis are nothing but useless relatives.
Do you really think that Emperor Wende would affectionately address Zhu Ci, the Earl of Cheng'en, as "uncle"? Dream on.
Emperor Wende was merciful enough to deprive him of the title of Marquis Cheng'en without finding any excuse.
It was estimated that Cheng Enbo Zhu Ci also realized that the Zhu family was in danger, so he shamelessly came uninvited to make up the numbers and establish a good relationship, sending a signal that he wanted to put aside the past grudges with Gu Jiubing and make a fortune together.
I just don't know whether Gu Jiu is willing to give him this face.
Deng Cunli asked someone to invite the Zhu father and son in and placed them in a side hall far away, so as not to disturb the gathering of the young people.
The Zhu family father and son sat in the small side hall. The environment was quiet and the aroma of tea was lingering. However, neither of them had the heart to enjoy it.
Master Zhu is usually a calm person, but today he is a little impatient.
He looked at his old father and said, "When I came in, I clearly saw someone over at the waterside pavilion, but that eunuch Deng deliberately placed us in this secluded side hall. Apart from the maid serving tea, no one came to greet us. This move is clearly an embarrassment to our Zhu family."
Marquis Cheng En Zhu Ci put down his teacup. "How can our Zhu family have any dignity now? If our Zhu family were a small family, we would be satisfied with having enough food to eat, and we would not need to ask for help from others.
But the truth is, our Zhu family is a wealthy and powerful family. The Zhu family, including relatives and friends, have built relationships over generations. Thousands and even tens of thousands of people all depend on us for food. Let alone the other party just snubbing us, even if they slap us in the face, we have to endure it.”
Master Zhu frowned, feeling unwilling.
Zhu Ci, the Earl of Cheng'en, patiently and earnestly advised, "Last time, our Zhu family missed the Nanchengmenwai project. This time, no matter what, we cannot miss this cement road from Beijing to Luozhou.
Others may not know the value of this road, but our Zhu family must know it. We know how many vehicles and horses pass by this road every day.
When the cement road is completed, the number of vehicles on it will be double, perhaps even triple or quadruple the current number. There will be a toll booth every fifty miles, charging nothing for pedestrians but only for vehicles.
Three cents might not seem like much, but with dozens of toll booths along this road, a small amount adds up. Once this road is cemented, it'll be gold. You could live on it forever.
It's a pity that His Majesty couldn't see through it and was fooled by Madam Zhao, and actually agreed to let Madam Zhao personally raise funds for road construction. But it's a good thing this way, otherwise we wouldn't have the chance to join this feast."
I have to say that although Cheng Enbo Zhu Ci's eating habits are ugly, his business sense is impeccable. It is not just ordinary sharp, but super super sharp.
The value of this cement road from Beijing to Luozhou can be seen at a glance.
What is gold?
The cement road from Beijing to Luozhou is a fighter plane among gold.
At present, apart from Gu Jiu, only Cheng Enbo Zhu Ci has accurately estimated the value of this road.
Emperor Wende will have his day when he regrets it.
Huang Qubing had always underestimated the value of this path. When the dividends came, he'd probably regret investing only 100,000 taels instead of 1,000,000. Ugh.
Emperor Wende would probably roar and rage, "Why was I so foolish? Why was I so foolish? A cement road this lucrative would only cost a few million silver coins, and I have them." "Was I completely out of my mind back then, actually turning away this money-making opportunity that was right in my hands?"
Ahhhh!
Can I spend money to buy back this road?
Gu Jiu: Haha! You're dreaming. Even if you were the emperor, this lady wouldn't give you face.
Emperor Wende: I want to change forty years to twenty years, no, to five years.
Gu Jiu: Haha, do you have any shame?
Anyway, there will always be various entanglements and contradictions surrounding this road.
This is a story for later, so let’s not discuss it for now.
In the afternoon, when the government office was about to close, guests began to arrive.
Today's tea party is actually a buffet.
For this buffet, Gu Jiu even took time out to teach the kitchen how to make some modern snacks. He also figured out how to extract cream from milk and make cheese.
Various southern fruits are kept fresh and shipped to the capital at great expense.
Various southern dried fruits and candied fruits, as well as various seafood products, were shipped to the capital and appeared on tonight’s buffet.
It’s more of a food carnival than a tea party.
The guests arrived one after another, and the welcoming team led by Shiqin and Shiqi, dressed in uniform, welcomed the guests into the hall.
There are two long rows of tables covered with expensive tablecloths.
The tablecloth was covered with all kinds of food, many of which I had never seen before.
"What's this?"
"This is a cream cake specially prepared for you distinguished guests."
"What is this?"
"This is a fruit platter, also called fruit salad."
"What's this?"
"This is shredded squid, specially shipped from the south. If you're thirsty, there are all kinds of drinks here. These are freshly squeezed juices, including apple juice, mango juice, and watermelon juice..."
The maids trained in the palace have extraordinary professional qualities.
The welcoming group, headed by Shiqin and Shiqi, was well-mannered and neither humble nor overbearing, and their beautiful appearance made the guests feel relieved as soon as they entered the room.
Of course, no one dared to touch the welcoming maids at the tea party.
Everyone invited to the tea party knew that Madam Zhao was behind the event. Even if they had ten times the courage, they wouldn't dare to touch Madam Zhao's people.
What's more, there is also Princess Huyang on this scene who will turn against you if you disagree with her.
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