Two days later, Xia Tian stamped the framed "Tiger Descending the Mountain" with his own seal engraved with his pen name and took it to Yayizhai for consignment. He agreed with the shopkeeper that the minimum price could not be lower than two hundred taels. The higher the price he sold it for, the more share he would get.
The shopkeeper naturally agreed.
He just didn't know if anyone would want a painting worth two hundred taels. After all, it wasn't a masterpiece by a famous artist, so he didn't know if it could be sold at a high price.
The day after tomorrow is the end of the month. There will be a family dinner at the Wu'an Marquis Mansion every ten days, and almost everyone will attend.
Usually, the masters are busy on duty or going to school, so it is difficult for them to get together for meals. Besides, everyone has different eating habits. They usually eat in their own yards and get together on holidays to demonstrate the family's unity and status.
Therefore, the family dinner time outside of holidays was arranged at noon on the ten-day holiday of the male masters.
Xiatian hadn't gone out in the past two days. He just stayed in his room drawing and copying books. Since he solved the problem with Shen Hui, no one came to pick a fight, and his life became much more relaxed.
The day for the dinner soon arrived.
When Shen Nian brought Xia Tian to the old lady's Ruixuan Hall, except for Marquis Wu'an, almost everyone else had already arrived.
After greeting the old lady and the others, they took their seats.
"Brother, you are finally back. I missed you so much." A sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy in a brocade robe came over in surprise and hugged Shen Nian's arm.
"Well, stand still." Shen Nian said with a serious face, and pulled his arm out calmly.
The young man who came was none other than Liu's eldest son, the fourth young master of the Marquis's Mansion, Chen Ke.
I am currently studying in an academy in the capital. I usually live in the academy and can only go home during the ten-day holiday.
Seeing that his elder brother was not as enthusiastic as before, Shen Ke rolled his eyes and looked at Xia Tian who was sitting next to Shen Nian. He said in a light tone, "Brother, is this my sister-in-law? I haven't met her yet."
"Yeah." When Shen Nian heard Shen Ke call "sister-in-law", her expression softened for a moment before she hummed.
Seeing that her elder brother had no intention of introducing his elder sister-in-law to him, Chen Ke smiled and greeted Xia Tian, "Sister-in-law, I'm Chen Ke, the fourth child."
Don't hit a smiling person, Xia Tian also smiled and called out, "Fourth brother," and then said nothing more.
Seeing that his elder brother still had no expression on his face, Chen Ke sat back tactfully.
After waiting for a while, Marquis Wu'an arrived. Everyone stood up and bowed, then sat down in order of age.
Because it was a family dinner, there were no separate tables for men and women.
Liu turned around and told the housekeeper, "Serve the food."
After the table was filled with a dazzling array of dishes, Marquis Wu'an picked up his chopsticks and took a bite of the food, and then everyone began to eat under the service of the maids.
There are delicious foods in front of us, but unfortunately there are always people who want to show off their presence.
"Hey~ The parents-in-law haven't finished their meal yet, how can the daughter-in-law eat first? It's too rude." Mrs. Ye, the wife of the third master, who was sitting diagonally opposite Xia Tian, suddenly spoke up, staring at Xia Tian.
At the quiet dinner table, everyone suddenly turned to look at Xia Tian.
Xia Tian looked up in confusion. Is he talking about me?
Ye, who was standing opposite, looked at Xia Tian's confused expression and snorted disdainfully, "People from the countryside are like that. They don't know any rules. The elders are talking to you, and how do you react?"
Summer is really weird. It can't even let you have a meal in peace, right?
"Aunt San, are you talking about me?" Xia Tian pointed at himself.
"If not you, who else could it be? Is there anyone from the countryside who doesn't know the rules in this room?"
“What does Third Aunt want to say?” Shen Nian put down his chopsticks and asked with a cold face.
"Nian'er, you are the heir of the Marquis' Mansion, so you can't protect someone who doesn't know the rules like this."
Just as Shen Nian was about to speak, Xia Tian pulled his hand under the table, then smiled and asked Ye Shi calmly, "Aunt San, why don't I understand the rules? Please explain it to me."
"Your parents-in-law haven't finished their meal yet, and you're not waiting for them, but you're eating on your own. Don't you know how to behave?"
Seeing Ye deliberately humiliating her in public, no one in the room spoke up for her except Shen Nian who was held by her.
Xia Tian sneered in his heart, thinking, isn’t it too early to laugh at her?
Then a smile appeared on his face. "Oh, there are such rules in the Marquis' Mansion. I'm so sorry. I just came in and I'm not very clear about it. Thank you, Third Aunt, for reminding me."
As he spoke, Xia Tian stood up, walked to Liu's side, took a pair of serving chopsticks, stretched out his arm, picked up a piece of fish that was placed a little far away, and put it in Liu's bowl.
With a flattering smile on her face, she said, "Mom, please eat the fish. It was my fault that I didn't know the rules just now. I will definitely serve my parents-in-law well in the future."
Liu looked at the fish meat that suddenly fell into the bowl, and her face turned ugly. She didn't like fish meat in the first place, so the maid always placed it farther away.
Xia Tian pretended not to see it, turned around and looked at the Second Madam Zheng and the Third Madam Ye, "Second Aunt, Third Aunt, come quickly, don't keep the old lady waiting."
Before the Second and Third Madams responded, she turned and said to the Old Madam, "Grandma, how can you eat by yourself? My mother, Second Aunt, and Third Aunt haven't started serving you yet. If this gets out, they'll be accused of being ignorant."
Seeing that Ye and the other woman were sitting still, she continued to call out, "Hurry up, Second Aunt, Third Aunt, my mother is nearby, why are you two still sitting there? You can't keep Grandmother waiting. If it gets out, people will say you two are unfilial."
After saying this, without waiting for the two to react, he turned to the old lady and said, "Grandma, please don't be offended. Second and Third Aunts will be here soon to serve you dinner."
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