In the county town, Liu Yanbo and Aunt Qing both believed that the eldest wife would invite them to a banquet. After all, they were family and their relationship was not really severed.
The reality is that the first wife of the Liu family did not send an invitation to the second wife at all. Ten days before the wedding, they had not received the invitation, and the third wife had not received it either. So what about the fourth wife?
"Should we go ask?" Su Qiuya asked, "Go check on the fourth room?"
Su Qiuya couldn't just ask nothing. What if the first room invited someone from the fourth room? You know, the fourth room didn't go to the first room often, and the first room seemed very satisfied with the fourth room.
If the fourth room was invited, but the third and second rooms were not, how embarrassing it would be for them.
Su Qiuya didn't want to be embarrassed at all, so she just asked someone to go to Shiyuan Village to ask. At worst, they wouldn't go there at that time, just prepare a gift and let someone else bring it over, then no one would say anything.
If you are talking to others, there is no need to explain unless they ask specifically.
"It's a day off tomorrow, so I'll go check it out," Liu Yanbo said. "I also need to pick up some vegetables and eggs, so I'll take them along."
Liu Yanbo and his family live in the county town, but sometimes they still go to Shiyuan Village to collect some things. People in Shiyuan Village can also send things to the county town, and they will also accept them. Because of this, Liu Yanbo and his wife have a good reputation in Shiyuan Village.
"Business has been good recently, so it's okay to take a little more." Su Qiuya said, "Once we go to the capital, it will be difficult to take more."
When they go to the capital, there is no need for them to care about the affairs of Shiyuan Village. They can just let the third branch collect more. Anyway, they need materials to run a restaurant business. Instead of buying them casually on the street, it is better to collect things from Shiyuan Village.
The third house is in the town, so it is more convenient for the third house to collect things from Shiyuan Village.
"Okay." Liu Yanbo nodded. They could indeed charge more, and they had to tell them. After the people from the second house went to the capital, the journey was too long, so it would be inconvenient for them to come to Shiyuan Village to collect the items. If they sent them to the capital, they would charge according to the prices of the items in the capital.
When Liu Yanbo returned to Shiyuan Village, he went to the fourth house. Coincidentally, Liu Yanqing was picking strawberries in the yard of the first house.
"Fourth Brother." Liu Yanbo walked over.
"Hey, you're back." Liu Yanqing said, "Why, you smell the aroma of strawberries, want to have two?"
Liu Yanqing handed Liu Yanbo two strawberries. They were brothers, so it was okay to give him two strawberries.
"Has the eldest wife sent you an invitation?" Liu Yanbo asked directly.
"I gave it to you." Liu Yanqing said, "We've split up. Why don't you just send me an invitation and ask me to come over? It's not like before. We still have to write an invitation."
Liu Yanqing rolled his eyes, "Didn't you receive the invitation? Don't worry, maybe you will get it if you wait a little longer."
Liu Yanqing didn't care whether the Second House received the invitation or not, that's all he said. He also thought that the First House would prepare a lot of delicious food. Lin Xiaowan was sometimes stingy and didn't make so many delicious dishes every day.
Ever since they left the Marquis' Mansion, they rarely had the chance to eat a lot of delicious food at once.
Liu Yanqing thought about eating more when the time came. He looked just like the other villagers now; you couldn't tell he was a son of a marquis. He was so attuned to the local customs; it was truly remarkable. How many people could do that?
Liu Yanqing was feeling self-moved over there. He always thought he had done a good job.
"Have you received it?" Liu Yanbo frowned.
"Yes." Liu Yanqing nodded. "I received it a few days ago. It might be because this place is close to the town."
"The third brother didn't receive it." Liu Yanbo said.
"Oh, this... I don't know." Liu Yanqing thought how could he know, he was not from the eldest wife's side. It was useless for Liu Yanbo to ask himself.
"..." Liu Yanbo was in a bad mood. The other four families had received invitations, but they hadn't.
In terms of distance, the third branch, which lives in the same town as the first branch, did not receive an invitation.
Liu Yanbo couldn't help but wonder whether the first wife didn't plan to send invitations to the second and third wives. If the first wife didn't, there was nothing they could do.
"If you want to know, go directly to the main house and ask if they forgot to send you an invitation." Liu Yanqing said, "You won't get anything even if you ask me here."
Liu Yanqing couldn't possibly ask the first wife if they had forgotten to send out invitations for the sake of the second and third wives. He couldn't possibly go, so these people shouldn't even think about him going. If he went, the first wife wouldn't be able to send him invitations in the future.
"The strawberries taste good." Liu Yanbo didn't say anything more about the invitation. With Liu Yanqing's attitude, there was no point in asking any more.
After Liu Yanbo left, Lin Xiaowan came out of the house. The main house was unoccupied, so it needed to be cleaned regularly to avoid dust. When she came out, she saw Liu Yanbo leaving.
"Why is he here?" Lin Xiaowan wondered.
"I just want to know if the first wife has sent invitations." Liu Yanqing said, "The first wife hasn't sent invitations to the second and third wives yet, so I came to ask."
"Don't bother with them," Lin Xiaowan said. Her own branch wasn't particularly noisy, so the people from the main branch let them in. The people from the second and third branches were more noisy, and the people from the main branch were afraid they might cause trouble, so they didn't give them an invitation.
But it’s not certain. There are still a few days left, and maybe the second and third rooms will receive invitations.
Lin Xiaowan doesn't care about these things, nor does she need to think about them.
"There's no need to meddle in it." Liu Yanqing nodded. "I can't control everything. Isn't it enough for my family to be well? I don't see them doing anything good for me."
Liu Yanqing knew that the second and third wives had come together, and when the people from those two wives made money, they didn't bring him along. Liu Yanqing knew in his heart that the people from the second and third wives looked down on him.
Haha, he doesn’t want these people to like him.
"If you don't ask the eldest wife, but come to me and ask, I won't give him the invitation." Liu Yanqing said, "There's a name on it."
Liu Yanbo was collecting things in the village, and when someone asked him about his first wife, he just smiled.
Liu Yulian, the eldest wife of the Liu family, also asked people to buy a lot of salted eggs. She wanted to use the salted egg yolks to make egg yolk pastries. Although egg yolk pastries are more expensive in later generations, they were also a very expensive pastry in ancient times.
"Let someone make some steamed buns with the remaining egg whites and give them to the beggars." Liu Yulian had no intention of throwing away the egg whites.
In ancient times, grain was a very precious commodity. Even the protein was eaten by some people, so there was no need to throw it away.
Some beggars would go outside restaurants to see if there were any leftovers. Generally, restaurants would not allow beggars to enter, but some restaurants would serve leftovers to beggars.
"Yes." A woman answered.
Liu Yanjing saw the egg yolk pastries wrapped in oil paper. He had never eaten such egg yolk pastries before.
"Brother." Liu Yulian handed Liu Yanjing an egg yolk pastry, "Try it."
"It should taste good." Liu Yanjing didn't think that his sister would bring out something that tasted bad. His sister must have brought out something that tasted good, just to keep the price of his wedding banquet up.
"Try one and you'll know." Liu Yulian said, "But not everyone likes to eat this."
"As long as someone likes it." Liu Yanjing picked up an egg yolk pastry and took a few bites. "It tastes good."
"It's crispy on the outside, with red bean paste or white lotus paste inside, and then an egg yolk inside," Liu Yulian said. "The egg liquid on the outside and a few sesame seeds. If you make it yourself, it won't cost so much."
"I didn't see them sold outside." Liu Yanjing had also been to the pastry shop outside to buy pastries for his family and for Princess Zhaoyang, but he had never seen egg yolk pastries.
"We'll have something to sell in the future." Liu Yulian said with a smile, "Then let's open a dim sum shop in the city. There are many people in the city, and some are willing to buy expensive dim sum."
It is impossible for Liu Yulian to sell egg yolk pastries at a low price. The cost of egg yolk pastries is there, so how can she sell them at a low price?
"Then I'll wait for you to open a shop." Liu Yanjing looked at the egg yolk pastries and felt warm in his heart.
"Send two to Qingyun." Liu Yulian asked the maid to send them to Liu Qingyun. Liu's father and mother had tasted them before.
Liu Qingyun came back from school and had not yet tasted the egg yolk pastry.
Liu Yulian didn't send so many egg yolk pastries because they were quite large and eating too many would make one feel full. Liu Qingyun still had to eat, so how could he just eat egg yolk pastries?
For the past few days, Liu Yulian had been preparing various cakes, making the ones that could be stored first. When Liu Yanjing got married, she wouldn't be so anxious, and she could just focus on cooking.
Liu Yulian doesn't have to cook in the kitchen. At most, she just tells the kitchen staff how to cook a few dishes.
When Liu Qingyun looked at the two egg yolk pastries, he knew they were sent by his aunt. His aunt had recently made a lot of fresh pastries and had them sent to him.
"Brother." Little Liu Jia stared at Liu Qingyun.
"Haven't you eaten yet?" Liu Qingyun was helpless. He looked at his sister and knew that she must want to eat these snacks again.
His sister had already eaten the cakes when he was away, but she was still greedy, so when he came back, she would run to him. The adults didn't let little Liujia eat more, so little Liujia ran to Liu Qingyun's side.
"Take a small bite." Xiao Liujia gestured, "Brother."
Xiao Liujia tugged at Liu Qingyun's clothes and said, "Have a bite."
"Okay, I'll give you some." What else could Liu Qingyun do? She was his own sister, so he had to pamper her.
When Liu's mother learned that little Liu Jia had gone to see Liu Qingyun, she knew what her granddaughter was doing. She loved eating those things, but they were afraid that the child would get too full and her digestion ability was not so good, so they did not let her eat too much.
"Thank you, brother." Xiao Liujia looked at the egg yolk pastry that was cut in half. She was still very satisfied. She took half of the egg yolk pastry and nibbled it. "It's delicious."
When Liu Yanbo came to town from Shiyuan Village, he didn't go to the eldest wife's house to avoid any problems. He just went to the third wife's house and told her that she could go to the village to buy some things. The things in the village were not particularly expensive, and were even cheaper than outside, so overall she could still make a profit.
If there was no profit, Liu Yanbo would not have collected anything from the village.
"After we get to the prefectural capital, if you're still in the county town, you can go to the village and collect some more food," Liu Yanbo said. "If you can only eat it, then buy it. If you can't take that much, then just take some. After all, you still have a house there, and you might need to go back later."
"What about you guys?" Liu Yanyuan asked, "Are you planning to sell the house?"
"Not yet," Liu Yanbo said. They'd have to wait a while, until they reached the capital and left the northwest. Then they might sell the house and land. However, the land they originally owned wasn't good, so even if they sold it, it wouldn't fetch much. "So, we probably won't be back here very often in the future."
"With a house and land, if anything goes wrong in the future, we have a way out." Liu Yanyuan had no plans to sell the house and land in Shiyuan Village. He could also make some money by renting out the land. If they really couldn't continue running the shop, they could always return to Shiyuan Village.
When they were in the Marquis' Mansion, they didn't have to think about the future at all. Now that they are managing the household themselves, they have to think more about it.
Liu Yanyuan and Feng Guanjing both thought so. It would be good if the shops in the town could make some money. Once they made money, they would have to buy property. In addition to buying shops, they would have to buy land.
"Yes." Liu Yanbo said, "That's why we keep it. If no one lives in the house, it will easily break down. Even in the countryside, few people rent houses."
Liu Yanbo did not regret building a house in Shiyuan Village. They had lived there before, so it was not a waste.
"Fortunately, we don't need that little money." Liu Yanbo said, "When I went to the village, I happened to hear that the village chief had received the invitation sent by the first wife, and the fourth wife had also received it."
"That means we didn't receive it." Liu Yanyuan understood, "Then should we still go there?"
"What's the point of going there? Without an invitation, they might just turn us away," Liu Yanbo said. "If that doesn't work, just have someone bring the gift over. You're in town with them, so be careful and do your job well. What the people in the main house think is their business."
"Then have someone bring the gift over," Liu Yanyuan said, "other than that, there's no other good solution."
"Yes." Liu Yanbo responded, "That's it for now. I have to go back."
Liu Yanbo had no plans to stay overnight at the Third House. He planned to take the things he had collected back to the county town. Those things could only be kept for a few days, but he wanted to go back quickly. He still had to study and couldn't stay in this town forever.
In the county town, after Liu Yanbo came back, he explained the situation to Aunt Qing and Su Qiuya, that is, the eldest wife might not plan to invite them.
"Then just do as you said and send a gift." Su Qiuya didn't want the eldest wife to take advantage, but they still had to send a gift to Liu Yanjing and Princess Zhaoyang. What if they didn't send a gift and Princess Zhaoyang was unhappy?
Who knows what kind of temper Princess Zhaoyang has? Young Master Liu Yanjing is at home, but Princess Zhaoyang is here.
Su Qiuya didn't want to offend Princess Zhaoyang. She heard that Prince Su was going to become the crown prince. Princess Zhaoyang and Prince Su had a good relationship, so they should be careful.
Two major events happened in the capital. One was that Prince Su was named Crown Prince, and the other was that the third prince's concubine was sent to Zhuangzi.
Logically speaking, the Third Prince's biological mother was a daughter of the Cen family, and his concubine was his cousin, so the Third Prince shouldn't have done that. However, the Third Prince was afraid of trouble later, and he didn't really want to fight for the throne, but the Cen family kept asking him to do it.
So, I lost.
The Third Prince also knew that the Cen family had previously hired someone to assassinate Prince Su, but they had failed. Even though the Cen family hadn't truly fallen yet, who knew what would happen in the future.
The Third Prince was forced by his own mother to take his cousin as a concubine, hoping that once he ascended the throne, he would crown his cousin as empress, effectively giving the concubine the upper hand over the principal wife. The Third Prince had listened to those people's advice, and his cousin usually behaved like a principal wife in the palace.
The cousin had long displeased the Third Prince's wife. The virtuous concubine had been demoted, and some trouble had occurred in the Cen family. The Third Prince's wife took this opportunity to whisper in the Third Prince's ear, whispering in his ear. The Third Prince was a bit timid, so the Third Prince's concubine, Cen, was subsequently sent to the manor.
After the emperor learned about the third prince's actions, he praised him. This made the third prince feel that he had done the right thing. He was still the emperor's son. As long as he didn't mess around with those things, he could become a rich and noble prince.
It was a pity that his mother and the Cen family had gone through so much trouble, and the Third Prince was afraid that one day he would be held accountable by Prince Su. After all, the Cen family had done those things to hurt Prince Su for him, the Third Prince, so it was perfectly normal for Prince Su to blame him.
Old Lady Cen went to the palace to visit Concubine Cen. She was very unhappy about the Third Prince sending Concubine Cen to the manor, and some of them went to complain to the Third Prince. But the Third Prince didn't care about them at all and had no intention of taking her back.
"Mother." After hearing what Old Lady Cen said, Concubine Cen was quite speechless. She had never expected the Third Prince to do that. "I didn't ask him to do that."
"You didn't ask him to do that, so he acted on his own initiative," said Old Madam Cen. "The family has helped you so much, how could you send someone to the manor? If you had known the Third Prince would do this, there's no way the family would let the girl live with him."
Old Lady Cen came into the palace to oppress Concubine Cen and let her find the Third Prince to bring Concubine Cen back.
"This..." Concubine Cen was helpless. She hadn't seen the Third Prince for a long time. Even when she saw him, he looked around and said something else. "When the Third Prince comes, I will talk to him."
"Who is this family like this for? Isn't it for you?" Old Madam Cen said, "You should be patient and think of a way out. You can't just become a concubine."
Old Madam Cen hoped that Concubine Cen could be reinstated as a concubine, and that the Emperor would then arrange a good retreat for Concubine Cen and the Third Prince. The Cen family still hoped that the Third Prince could ascend the throne, but this hope was too slim, so they could only hope that the Emperor would leave an imperial edict, asking Prince Su to treat Concubine Cen and the Third Prince well, and that Prince Su would also treat the Cen family well.
The Cen family had come to this point, and it was on the verge of collapse at any moment. They could only think of various ways to patch things up and save the Cen family.
"The Emperor hasn't come." After Concubine Cen was demoted, the Emperor hadn't come to her. She wanted to see the Emperor, but he wouldn't see her. Concubine Cen was more anxious than anyone else. The Emperor's health wasn't good, and she was afraid he would just kick his legs and die.
If by that time she had not yet regained her position as a concubine and had not found a way out, then her future life would definitely not be easy and the imperial concubine would not be able to treat her well.
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