Chapter 79: Discussions
After dinner, Yan Zhigao and Madam Li began to see off the people who came to the banquet.
Daohua was not idle either. She followed the adults and said goodbye to the little girls one by one.
"Yan Yiyi, my family also holds banquets from time to time. I will invite you when the time comes." The little girl Zhou Jingwan still had a look of pride on her face, but after a day of contact, her attitude was much better than when they first met. At least she no longer looked down on people.
Daohua smiled and nodded: "Then I'll be waiting."
These days, Madam Li has been filling her in on the situations of the wealthy families in Xingzhou. The Zhou family is a famous family in Xingzhou. Although she has been in ancient times for so long, she has never visited an ancient wealthy family.
Zhou Jingwan nodded modestly, then followed Madam Zhou into the carriage, holding a basket full of wild flowers in her hand.
After getting on the carriage, Mrs. Zhou glanced at her youngest daughter. She knew her daughter's personality very well. Because she was favored at home, she looked down on others easily and was very arrogant.
"Why, do you like the eldest daughter of the Yan family very much?"
Zhou Jingwan played with the flower basket in her hand, nodded first, then shook her head: "I don't like her that much, but she is different from other girls. She doesn't always stick close to me. It's quite comfortable to get along with her."
Mrs. Zhou glanced at the flower basket in her daughter's hand and said with a smile, "I heard you spent the whole day arranging flower baskets?"
Zhou Jingwan nodded repeatedly, "There's still a competition." She moved the flower basket in front of Mrs. Zhou, raised her head, and said proudly, "Well, my daughter did a beautiful job, didn't she? I won second place!"
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Zhou raised her eyebrows. In the past, when she visited his house, whenever there was a talent show, no matter how strong her daughter was, she would always win first place. Of course, she knew that this was all for the Zhou family's sake.
This was the first time she heard her daughter didn't get first place, and she felt a little surprised.
"So who won first place?"
Zhou Jingwan: "Qian Bilan won first place. Mom, let me tell you, the flower basket she arranged is so beautiful. I wanted to exchange it with her, but Yan Yiyi said that this is the first flower basket we arranged independently in our lives. It has special meaning and I should keep it myself."
"My daughter thought about it and felt that what she said was quite right. If I took Qian Bilan's flower basket home, everyone would say it was beautiful, but since I arranged it myself, grandpa would definitely praise me."
Mrs. Zhou nodded her daughter's head and said, "Thank you for using your brain." Then she looked through the flower basket and said, "This eldest daughter of the Yan family is quite clever."
He did not use his weaknesses to compete with other girls in talent shows. Instead, he attracted the girls' attention with what he was familiar with. He controlled the situation without making others feel uncomfortable. He was a clear-headed person.
"Hey, what is this?" There was actually a bamboo jar in the flower basket!
Zhou Jingwan: "This is the jasmine tea that Yan Yiyi gave us. Mom, this tea is delicious. It's even better than the West Lake Longjing tea that my second uncle specially gave to grandpa."
Madam Zhou thought of the tea she had drunk in Madam Li's courtyard and nodded, "It's indeed good. The Dragon Boat Festival is coming soon. Since you accepted the tea, you will definitely have to give something back during the Dragon Boat Festival."
Zhou Jingwan: "Well, I'll go back and think about it."
In the carriage of the Tongzhi family, which was lagging behind, the Tongzhi was also talking to his wife and daughter about his visit to the Yan family.
Qian Tongzhi: "Judging from the dishes at this banquet, our new prefect should be a fairly honest person."
Madam Qian hesitated. "Perhaps Lord Yan did this on purpose to show everyone? I heard that Lord Yan served three terms as county magistrate and didn't get promoted in nine years. Perhaps there's some stain on his record?"
Qian Tongzhi shook his head. "You're really short on knowledge. Do you really think it's that easy to get promoted? Coming from a humble background, it's only natural for the Yan family to be oppressed in official circles and have their achievements taken away by others."
"Sir Yan was able to be promoted directly from a seventh-rank county magistrate to a fifth-rank prefect. He must have had some ability himself."
Madam Qian curled her lips and said, "I heard that Lord Yan's promotion this time seems to be due to his connections with a noble, not due to his own abilities."
Hearing this, Qian Tongzhi sighed. His wife was quite smooth and considerate in her dealings with others, but due to her humble background, her standards were still too low. "To be able to catch the eye of a noble person is a real skill."
Qian Bilan, who was sitting nearby, noticed that her father seemed a little angry, so she immediately changed the subject with a smile: "Dad, Mom, I won first place in the flower arranging competition. Look, this is the flower basket I arranged."
Hearing this, Madam Qian was not only not happy, but she looked at Qian Bilan with an accusing look on her face: "Girl, why are you so eager to show off? Didn't mother warn you to give in to Miss Zhou? How could you get first place?"
The smile on Qian Bilan's face froze instantly, and the hand holding the flower basket froze in mid-air. The joy in her heart disappeared without a trace at this moment.
Qian Tongzhi glared at Madam Qian and said, "What are you talking about?" He took Qian Bilan's flower basket and praised her, "Our Lan'er has a skillful hand. The flower basket is very beautiful."
Qian Bilan's expression improved a little. After a moment's hesitation, she whispered, "My daughter will definitely be careful next time and won't steal the limelight from Miss Zhou."
Qian Tongzhi waved his hand and said, "You're not to blame for this. You're the guest, so naturally you should follow the host's wishes. The outcome of your match should have been decided by the eldest daughter of the Yan family, right?"
Qian Bilan nodded: "Not entirely, everyone has expressed their opinions."
Qian Tongzhi asked with a smile, "Didn't you little girls make a fuss?"
Qian Bilan shook her head. "Miss Zhou was a little dissatisfied at first, but then Sister Yan said something to her and she stopped talking."
Qian Tongzhi lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then smiled and said to Qian Bilan, "When you have time in the future, spend more time with the eldest daughter of the Yan family. She is a very smart and intelligent woman."
Qian Bilan agreed. "Ms. Zhou has a bad temper and is quite arrogant, but Sister Yan isn't afraid of her at all. Today, Miss Zhou and Wang Yuwei from the Tongpan family had an argument, and she didn't blindly side with Miss Zhou."
Qian Tongzhi: "It's rare not to flatter your superiors."
Madam Qian disagreed somewhat: "What's so difficult about it? The Yan family has just arrived in Xingzhou. If they offend the Zhou family, Lord Yan won't be able to stay as the prefect for long."
Qian Tongzhi shook his head, too lazy to explain to his wife, and continued talking to Qian Bilan.
At the same time, in the carriage of the Tongpan family.
"The Yan family may not have a good foundation, but they cook delicious home-cooked meals." Wang Tongpan was still savoring the Yan family's meals.
Mrs. Wang laughed unhappily and said, "Look at your lack of ambition. How could you even be interested in food like that?"
Wang Jiahua, the son of the Wang family, spoke a fair word on behalf of Wang Tongpan: "Mother, the food at the Yan family is really good."
Wang Yuwei curled her lips and said, "Brother, you and Dad must have eaten too many delicacies from land and sea, so you think plain porridge and side dishes are delicious."
Wang Tongpan: "Alright, let's stop talking about this nonsense. You two should tell Dad about the young master and young lady from the Yan family."
Wang Jiahua thought for a moment and said, "The eldest son of the Yan family is very knowledgeable and a steady person."
Wang Yuwei: "The eldest daughter of the Yan family is not very good. She is a treacherous person. Today, Zhou Jingwan and I had a small quarrel. We could have handled it ourselves, but she insisted on interfering and took the opportunity to curry favor with Zhou Jingwan. Anyway, I don't like her."
Mrs. Wang said, "If you don't like it, then don't like it. I've also taken a look today. The Yan family's rules are not very good. Li is from a merchant family and seems very virtuous, but I'm afraid she is intolerant. The concubine's daughter in the family has been brought up to be extremely petty and shameful."
Wang Tongpan stroked his beard and looked at Madam Wang: "Did you find out what I asked you to find out?"
Madam Wang shook her head. "Madam Zhou didn't say anything. The Vice Magistrate's wife did ask a question in front of everyone, but unfortunately, Mrs. Li didn't seem to understand and changed the subject."
"Master, I don't think the Yan family looks like they can make friends with nobles. Are you mistaken?"
Wang Tongpan didn't say anything. He felt a headache when he thought about what Councillor Du had told him.
(End of this chapter)
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