Chapter 263: Riding a Horse
After the festive New Year, people are even busier and more chaotic than usual. They have to greet guests and go out to greet guests, exchange gifts with relatives and friends, and engage in constant social activities. It all ends after the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the lunar year.
Meimei had a really hard time this year. Last year, Xu Junying ignored her and went out to visit relatives and friends without her family. This year, he insisted on taking her along. No matter how she tried to refuse or what excuses she came up, it was useless. She had no choice but to tell Xu Junying that the thing she disliked the most and found the most boring was visiting relatives. Xu Junying smiled and said:
"Husbands and wives think alike! I used to dislike it and felt bored the most, but this year with you and Heng'er here, I don't feel bored anymore! You should feel the same way, right?"
Besides the annoying, tiring and boring social events, she also had to take care of the affairs of the Hou Mansion and the business outside. Apart from other things, she had to personally review the income of Xiankelai and half of the profits of Qianxi Music House. The amount was so huge that she was embarrassed to continue accepting it. She repeatedly asked Lu Xiangfeng to tell Li Qiuge: Only 20% will be enough, and the rest can be kept as a reserve fund in the hall, or more can be distributed to the musicians and dancers. Li Qiuge's answer was:
"Without the owner's initial support, various good ideas, wonderful music, and various dances, how could there be Qianxi Music House? The owner is the owner! Never change!"
Meimei listened to Cuixi's message and collected the bills while sighing. She seemed helpless, which made Xu Junying angry and amused. Finally, he took out a bill and handed it to her:
"Some of these people are my brothers who have fought for their lives, and some are special friends. In previous years, most of them were treated to New Year's wine at Xiankelai from the Lantern Festival to the 20th day of the first lunar month. This year, I won't charge them money. It's my extra reward to them!"
Meimei picked it up and saw that there were quite a few people, at least hundreds of them? She threw it back without any hesitation:
"I'm running a restaurant, not hosting a dinner! If I invite 100 people to each table and don't charge them, you're going to leave me starving?"
Xu Junying said: "You have twin towers, don't you have the income from the inn? Besides, they won't invite 10 tables per person? At most, two or three tables per person!"
"Two or three tables won't do! Do you know how the chefs and waiters at Xiankelai get paid? Do you know about commissions? Manager Lu tells them the daily operating income. If they knew that if they waived the food and wine fees, their income would not increase, wouldn't they be so anxious?"
Meimei's eyes flickered as she flipped through the account book with her slender jade fingers: "This year is different from last year. Last year, I made so much money, including the inn at the back, because of the special examination. This year is difficult. During the New Year holidays, there is basically no one staying in the inn? Look, the inn's income and expenditure have just broken even!"
"What do you need so much silver for? There are more than a million taels of silver in this box. How much is left from my mother's family? Are all the money from the mansion and my salary kept? I can't spend so much on food and daily necessities. Do you want to store it?"
“No, I have
??I won’t tell you! Anyway, money makes money, eggs make eggs, and the money will increase more and more! "
"In that case, then I can just give you a share of my salary from now on, right?"
"Of course! People say that when a man loves a woman, he will give all his money to her. If you set up a treasury behind my back, then there is a problem. Do you want to use the money to support a concubine? It's okay for a woman to have a lot of money, but a man with a lot of money will definitely become bad. If you don't give me double salary, I dare not live with you!"
Xu Junying gritted his teeth and looked at her: "I don't think I love money, but I am lucky enough to marry a wife who loves money!"
Meimei laughed: "You don't love money? That's because you haven't reached that point yet! A penny can make a hero fall. If you really reach that point, you will miss your money-loving wife!"
"Really not?"
"Nothing is free, but you can get a discount and it will cost you money!"
Xu Junying had no choice but to put away the list: "Silver, silver - if I go to Xiankelai to hold a New Year's banquet, will I also charge money?"
"Mr. Huang, the accountant, knows you, so he probably won't dare to accept it. Lu Xiangfeng is also timid. Just sign your name, and that's the silver!"
"I...Xu Junying equals silver?"
Meimei gave him a charming smile: "It is true for me, but not necessarily for others!"
Xu Junying came closer with a smile: "Meimei, you are so good! You have been looking at the account books for so long, are you tired? Come, let your husband serve you, let's go in and take a bath!"
"No, I'm not busy. I haven't finished reading it yet..."
"No more watching! Let Cui Xi watch it tomorrow!"
On the Lantern Festival, people would enter the palace early in the morning, pay homage at noon, have lunch, tour the gardens, and then enjoy the lanterns and guess riddles in the palace until late at night.
Unlike previous years, just as the Hou Mansion's ceremonial convoy stepped onto the bluestone road leading to the front gate of the palace, a white horse came galloping. When it saw the convoy from afar, the rider not only did not stop, but also whipped the horse and rushed straight towards the carriage. Xu Junying's eyes turned cold in an instant. He narrowed his eyes and looked up at the roof of the carriage. He knew the rider's intention: he wanted to use Madam Hou's carriage as an obstacle to show off his riding skills!
Needless to say, who is this arrogant royal family member? But it can't be the King of Qi. The King of Qi will not joke about the safety of Meimei and Heng'er.
Xu Junying shook the reins, squeezed his legs, and the black horse under him shot out like black lightning. Baoju, Baizhan and two other guards followed him out. Immediately, four guards jumped onto the carriage and the driver got off. Meimei noticed the body of the carriage was shaking and asked:
"What's going on?"
Then there was a loud bang from the wall in front of them. The sound was extremely violent, mixed with the neighing of horses, the screams of women, and finally Bai Zhan's rebuke:
"Who are you? How dare you bump into Madam Hou's carriage? You're courting death!"
Cui Xi lifted a corner of the curtain and looked out: Meimei couldn't help but take a breath of cold air. Only ten steps away, there was a white horse lying down, its four legs entangled in ropes and moving around. A woman was lying in front of the horse's head. She was wearing a soft white camel hair cloak with purple edges. She struggled to stand up, but couldn't do it for a while. When she raised her head, she saw that she had a beautiful face, her black hair was scattered, her skin was whiter than snow, and the blush on her face from riding a horse made her look more delicate and charming.
Xu Junying's voice was filled with anger: "If she refuses to speak, then forget it. Carry her to the street with the horse and the body, whip her fifty times, and then let her go!"
This move is quite vicious. Not to mention fifty lashes, just ten lashes with the whip will be enough to strip the girl's clothes off.
As expected, the girl screamed, "No, no! I am General Fengguo's daughter, my name is Wu Ziyao!"
The guard sneered, "General Fengguo? Your father is only a general in name only, but you gave birth to a girl who is so bold. Do you know whose carriage this is? Madam Weiyuan Hou! Why don't you kneel down and kowtow to apologize!"
The girl looked up at Xu Junying with eager eyes. Xu Junying turned away and said calmly:
"Carry the people and horses off the road, and the convoy should move faster. Don't block the carriages behind!"
The guard was stunned for a moment: Are they going to let this reckless girl go? But since she is the general's daughter, beating her up will help her remember it!
But he didn't want to say anything more, so he got off his horse and tried to drag the girl away with another guard, but the girl shouted loudly:
"Brother Junying! Do you really not recognize me? I am Ayao!"
The whole place was silent. Baoju and Baizhan looked at each other and lowered their eyes at the same time.
The guard was startled and stood there with his mouth open, not daring to take action: "Brother? What kind of relative? No wonder!"
In the car, Cuixi's hand trembled, and the curtain slipped from her hand. She turned around and looked at Meimei in surprise. Meimei said:
"Don't look at me, my scalp is still numb!"
Xu Junying sweated and looked at the girl helplessly and shook his head: "I recognize General Fengguo, but not you! Go to the side and rest first. It's not good to block the road. There are several groups of people coming from behind.
"You two idiots, what are you still standing there for? Carry him away!"
The guard made a move, but Wu Ziyao pushed him away, struggled to get up, limped to a nearby rock and sat down, looking at Xu Junying with resentment on her face:
"I want to jump over this car just because I'm afraid you don't recognize me! You taught me horsemanship, but I'm not as good as I used to be. I can jump over higher hurdles than this one, but you insisted on blinding my horse..."
"Walk!"
Xu Junying ignored her, rode back to the carriage, lifted the curtain and glanced inside, and asked, "Meimei, are you and Heng'er okay?"
"Yes!" Meimei said lazily.
"What's wrong?"
"My teeth are sore!"
The guards beside him snickered, and Xu Junying couldn't help but pursed his lips: "I'll find a chance to tell you when I get to the palace!"
The convoy left quickly. Cui Xi wanted to lift the window screen to take a look at the girl, but Mei Mei said, "Forget it. If you keep looking at her, she might really get stuck to you. Why don't you give way and let her sit in later?"
Cui Xi said hurriedly, "No! She's dreaming! I'm the Madam's servant, what right does she have to ride in the Madam's carriage? Just by calling her brother, we become relatives? That's too easy!"
Meimei frowned, "But why does she think that Lord Hou won't scold her for jumping into my car? And Lord Hou didn't scold her after he knew her identity! This is ridiculous! If her brother Junying had known that it was Sister Ayao who came over, would he have let her jump over? No! I can't let him go unless he explains it to me clearly!"
In the Cining Palace, the Queen Mother was shocked when she heard Nanny Lin's reply: "What? Fell off the horse? Is it serious?"
"Please rest assured, Queen Mother. I have already asked the imperial physician to examine her. The girl has grown up riding horses, so she is fine!"
The Queen Mother was puzzled: "Really? Why did she have to jump into that carriage?"
Nanny Lin laughed and said, "Miss Yao knew Lord Xu. She was afraid that Lord Xu wouldn't recognize her, so she tried to use the trick Lord Xu taught her, jumping over bumps on the horse. Young people love to play with these things. Lord Xu was afraid of hurting the wife and children in the carriage, so he blinded the horse as soon as he got on. The people around him also threw a rope around the horse's legs, so it was hard not to fall!"
The Queen Mother sighed, "Why is it Xu Junying again? I always mess with him!"
He ordered: "Prepare the sedan chair, I will go to the Imperial Medical Office to see her. After all, his father entrusted her to me with great care. I can't let her have any accidents. She will have to get married in the future!"纟. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian (wdancm). Your support is my greatest motivation. ． 555... One improper operation will waste two minutes and I will not be able to catch up with the update before midnight...b Unscrupulous Princess, book number 229, author: Lan Lan is very lazy. b Introduction: Traveling back to ancient times, using modern scientific education concepts to train ancient little boys into new good men~
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