The invitation from Chief of Staff Chen's family finally arrived.
"The old lady hasn't shown her face in the city for so long, I didn't expect her to attend such a grand banquet so soon after arriving," the second concubine said with a smile.
Since the Taoist priest left that day, Du Shan's spirits have been somewhat low, but the second concubine has improved considerably, especially after hearing that Lin Meijuan would not be able to attend the banquet.
Madam Du dismissed her words, giving a light snort, "What's with this huge banquet? I've attended these kinds of banquets before..."
As if remembering something, Madam Du lost interest in continuing the conversation.
“Yes, this kind of banquet is probably nothing to you. But you should still get a few clothes made. There will be several old ladies there, so there will definitely be a lot of socializing.” The second concubine flattered her while carefully offering her advice.
Without needing Madam Du to express her opinion, Du Bingtian waved his hand and said, "Perfect, take your mother and the children to Ruifutang and have some nice clothes made."
Madam Du knew the importance of this banquet to her son, and since Lin Meijuan couldn't attend, she was certain to go. Therefore, she agreed to the suggestion.
The next day, the Du family went to Ruifutang, which is near the city hall, in a large procession.
I don't know if it was because the people attending the banquet were all rushing to have their clothes made in the next few days, but the waiter who was greeting them led them to a room on the second floor and then left.
While the group sat there bored, Du Yuan and Du Shan, the sisters, said something and went downstairs to look at the fabrics, as if they knew the way well.
At her age, Madam Du naturally couldn't be like the young people, going down to help others sift through the fabrics and pick and choose. So she just sat in the room without moving.
Du Rui, being a child at heart, couldn't sit still, especially after the two sisters left, which made her even more anxious. She winked at the second concubine.
"Alright, you should take her there now," Madam Du waved her hand dismissively at the second concubine, then said to Xu Keke, "If you're in a hurry too, you can go too."
Now that the old lady had spoken, the second concubine didn't make a fuss anymore. However, when she was about to leave with Du Rui, she saw that Xu Keke hadn't moved. "Why don't you go down and take a look first, Miss?"
Xu Keke shook her head, "They'll bring the fabric up again later, I don't like to move."
The fact that the second concubine didn't mention accompanying the old lady relieved her, otherwise, as the daughter-in-law, she would have felt obligated to go along.
Since they said they didn't like to move around, and since they did, the second concubine took Du Rui downstairs as well.
Everyone had left, and Old Madam Du, with her eyes half-closed, showed no intention of paying attention to her. Xu Keke was also happy to be at ease, picking up a newspaper from the table and casually flipping through it.
At this moment, a young woman wearing a light purple cheongsam walked in with a maid. Seeing the grandmother and granddaughter, she was taken aback for a moment, then sat down on the sofa some distance away from them.
"Nanny, do you think she won't not come?" After a while, the young woman asked the old woman beside her in a low voice.
The old woman glanced at Madam Du and her grandson, and replied in a low voice, "Don't worry, it's all agreed, they won't fail to come. Master has arranged everything. You just need to give them the things."
The young woman pouted and glanced at the small suitcase her mother-in-law had placed on the sofa. "I don't know what's so good about Nanjing. This whole suitcase is full of small yellow croakers."
"Oh dear, being an official isn't good. If being an official isn't good, then everyone is desperate to become one. Besides, Nanjing isn't any better than our city. If a war breaks out in this city one day, all the houses and land will be gone. Please stop being so temperamental and making the master unhappy. The master is already troubled. If he had enough money, he would like to take that commissioner position."
The young woman was displeased. She twisted her body and said angrily, "I'm not being temperamental. I was just talking to you. He couldn't come out on his own, so I offered to help him. What more do you want?"
"Yes, yes, yes, my little darling, keep your voice down, or someone will hear us."
The young woman glanced at Madam Du and the others, becoming even more displeased. "We didn't say anything. Even if they heard it, they wouldn't know anything. You're being too cautious."
After a while, the waiter who had brought them in came in first and whispered a few words in the young woman's ear. The young woman stood up, carrying her small leather suitcase.
Before she could leave, Du Rui ran up to Xu Keke, panting, and said, "Li Dakang's mother and Chief of Staff Chen's wife have arrived. Du Yuan is downstairs talking to them. My aunt asked me to come and tell them."
Upon hearing this, the young woman looked at them warily.
Xu Keke pretended not to see it and asked Madam Du softly, "Do you think you should go down and say hello?"
Madam Du nodded in agreement, and as she passed the young woman, she glanced at the box in her hand.
When they got downstairs, the three women from the Du family were talking to two other women.
Upon seeing Madam Du, the woman in the cheongsam approached first. Judging by her appearance, she was Fu Kai's mother, with the same single eyelids and slender eyes.
She was very polite to Madam Du, exchanged a few simple greetings, and then introduced her to another woman dressed in Western clothes.
Xu Keke had indeed seen this woman in the original owner's memories. She hadn't expected that Li Dakang's stepmother, Madam Li, would actually come to the city.
Just then, the young woman from before came down with her maid. They stood next to the Du family and nodded and greeted Madam Li.
Madam Li paused for a moment, then smiled politely at them.
The master and servant didn't linger. They went straight to the door, whispered a few words to the driver, who was waiting there in a white uniform with slicked-back hair, and then pointed inside. Finally, the driver took the suitcases from their hands.
Chief of Staff Chen's wife seemed surprised to encounter so many people and felt somewhat uncomfortable. She exchanged a glance with Mrs. Li, said goodbye to the Du family at the banquet, and hurriedly left.
As they walked out, the driver followed behind them, carrying a box.
That evening, when Du Bingtian returned from the bureau, he brought news that Li Dakang's stepmother, Madam Li, had also come to the city. Knowing that the women in the family had already met her, he added another piece of news: it was said that Li Dakang and Madam Li had a very bad relationship. Li Dakang hadn't even received advance notice of Madam Li's arrival.
Without Xu Keke having to say anything, Du Jue recounted what he had heard from Fu Kai about the less-than-ideal relationship between Li Dakang and Madam Li's sons.
That evening, Madam Du and Du Bingtian discussed the matter for a long time in the study.
Two days later, Ruifutang called to say that the clothes were ready and asked us to come over and try them on.
When they arrived at Ruifutang, Xu Keke saw the driver from that day. He was still wearing the same uniform, and even his hairstyle was the same. Clearly, Old Madam Du recognized him as well.
Madam Du instructed the maidservant beside her to deliver a leather suitcase she was carrying to the driver.
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