Because the dishes on the bamboo board have prices, no matter how you calculate it, their table plus the noodles eaten by the servants will not cost more than ten taels of silver. Did the restaurant not charge them because they were disturbing their meal? Of course not. They came for the fragrant wine, and Qin Fang didn't want to keep this favor.
The couple walked in front with their son, and Niu Dan followed. They walked around the capital, and Niu Dan was in a good mood. The servant paid the money and caught up with them after a while. "General, I left ten taels of silver and came back, and didn't wait for them to catch up."
"Well done, don't owe favors." Qin Fang said.
Servant: "Yes."
After leaving the restaurant, the Qin family went home. However, the family of four walked back, but... Qin Fang suddenly stopped and looked behind him.
"What's wrong?" Yang Haiyan asked.
Qin Fang said, "Someone is following us, but with such a crude tracking method, it must not be a professional, so don't pay attention to it." If it is a professional who is following us, then we should pay attention. However, where they live is not a secret, there is nothing to hide, so Qin Fang didn't take it to heart. Besides, there is no one who can prevent thieves for a thousand years.
Yang Haiyan was relieved to hear him say this, but: "I don't know who it is."
Qin Fang: "Since the other party sent someone to follow us, the other party will definitely show up, just wait."
After half an hour, the family slowly walked home. As soon as they got home, Yang Haiyan asked Qin Fang to hold his son to sleep. The little guy had been playing outside for a whole morning and walked a lot. He had fallen asleep on his father's shoulder.
Jinqian Wine House
The origin of Jinqian Wine House is very simple. It is the property of Jinqian Hou. As for Jinqian Hou, you can tell what the name means as soon as you hear it. It means super rich. Jinqian Hou also has the merit of following the dragon. He was originally just a businessman. He had accumulated a lot of money for several generations. He was smart. He spent a lot of money on the great cause of the emperor. He invested two-thirds of his family property. After the emperor ascended the throne, he gave him a title of Marquis with no power, but he didn't care. With this title, at least no one dared to covet his family property.
The name of this title was also decided by Jinqian Hou himself. There was no way, he was rich.
Although Marquis Jin Qian is rich, he is not the kind of person who is rich but unkind. Moreover, Marquis Jin Qian is a well-known philanthropist in the capital. Marquis Jin Qian's backyard is as famous as his property. He has many concubines. With many concubines, he naturally has many children.
It turns out that Marquis Jin Qian is not only interested in making money, but also in beautiful women.
Therefore, Marquis Jin Qian's family is very famous in the capital. However, Marquis Jin Qian loves beautiful women, but he never forces them. In fact, with his wealth and status, there are still many beautiful women who are willing to be his concubines.
Shi Jie is Marquis Jin Qian's third son, a concubine's son. At this moment, he was listening to the report from the servants.
"Third Master, I followed them to Tai'an District and saw them walk into a house called Qin Mansion, but I don't know who the owner of Qin Mansion is. There are many famous families in that area, and I have no place to ask." It turned out that the person who followed Qin Fang was sent by Shi Jie.
The entire capital is centered on the imperial palace. The place closest to the imperial palace is naturally where the royal relatives live. The place next to the royal relatives is Tai'an District, so the people who can live there are not money, but status. For example, Marquis Jin Qian lives there.
The reason why the Marquis Jinqian's mansion was there was because it was a gift from the emperor. When the emperor first ascended the throne, he punished a large group of ministers who failed to stand in line, so many houses were taken back, and then one was given to Marquis Jinqian. In fact, only Marquis Jinqian and the emperor knew that the mansion was bought by Marquis Jinqian.
Qin's mansion? Living in Tai'an District?
Shi Jie couldn't think of who it was for a while. People like him, who have no chance to know about the court affairs, naturally don't know who Qin's mansion is. Speaking of which, only those who live near Qin's mansion know who lives there when the owner of Qin's mansion comes. Otherwise, Tai'an District is so big, who knows whose family has come? It does
n't matter if you don't know, Shi Jie immediately sent someone to inquire. Before he could find out, the birthday of the old lady of Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion had arrived.
Early in the morning of this day, Yang Haiyan arrived at the gate of the Du Mansion. She and the women of the Du family had agreed to go to Cheng'en Marquis' Mansion together today.
"Bingyun is here." As soon as she arrived at the gate of the Du Mansion, she saw Mrs. Du and Qu waiting at the door.
Yang Haiyan felt a little embarrassed. She came early for the agreed time. After all, she had an appointment with someone and could not be late. However, she did not expect Mrs. Du and Qu to come so early. "Godmother, second sister-in-law, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long."
Mrs. Du smiled and said, "We just came out and are at the door of the house. There is no need to wait. Let's go. You come to my carriage and we will chat while we go there."
"Thank you, godmother, I'll be right over." Yang Haiyan got off the carriage.
Only Mrs. Du and Mrs. Qu went to the Du Mansion. Mrs. Du was too old to go. The eldest sister Du came from her husband's family, and there were women from her husband's family going with her. The second sister Du was not on the invitation list. After all, her husband's family was just a small landlord, and they couldn't get into the Cheng'en Marquis Mansion. Even though her husband was from the Hanlin Academy, he was only a seventh-rank official, and the threshold was low. The Cheng'en Marquis Mansion probably didn't know her yet.
The noble families invited people based on the background of their husband's family. Unless you are a royal princess or a royal princess.
In the carriage, Mrs. Du said, "There are many people here today, so you can stay with us. I will introduce you to some familiar people who are easy to get along with."
Yang Haiyan said gratefully, "I will listen to my godmother."
Mrs. Du knew that Yang Haiyan was a smart person, so she was not worried about her. Besides, no matter what, she was a second-rank lady, and a woman with a title bestowed by the emperor, not one of the female relatives who were granted an imperial decree along with their husbands. "But you can rest assured. Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion is the mother's home of Empress Shen, and the old lady is the mother-in-law called by the current emperor. No one dares to make trouble in Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion, even if they don't care about the appearance, they have to consider the Buddha's face." Otherwise, if the old lady's birthday is disturbed, the emperor will not be able to get over it.
Of course, there is a premise for this matter, that is, the emperor values the Yue family. If he doesn't value it, no one will care. But now, the emperor values the Cheng'en Marquisate. Otherwise, if Empress Shen had gone there before the emperor ascended the throne, the Cheng'en Marquisate could have been given to the Ren family, but the emperor chose to suppress the Ren family. Regardless of whether the emperor values the Shen family or deliberately suppresses the Ren family, the emperor will definitely give face to the Shen family. The
Cheng'en Marquisate is very lively, especially the gate of the Cheng'en Marquisate. All the carriages of the families of status in the capital are parked here today. However, today is the old lady's birthday, so only the female relatives came. Among the female relatives, many young girls came, and families like the Du family are rare without young girls.
Of course, there are also young boys, but these have nothing to do with the woman Yang Haiyan.
Qian, the wife of the Crown Prince of Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion, was at the door to welcome the guests, and along with her were the two wives of the Marquis's concubines. There were many guests today, many of them were of high status, even royal relatives, there would be quite a few, so if the old lady wasn't a birthday star, she would have to welcome everyone in person.
As soon as Mrs. Du arrived at the door with Qu and Yang Haiyan, the servants of the Du family announced, "Du Shuren has arrived, Mrs. Bingyun has arrived, and Wei Anren has arrived." Du Ke was a third-rank minister, so Mrs. Du's third-rank title was Shuren. Wei Jin was a sixth-rank official in the Ministry of War, so Sister Du's sixth-rank title was Anren. Although Yang Haiyan was a second-rank official, Mrs. Du was her godmother, so she registered before her. "I wish the old lady good fortune as vast as the East Sea." The
congratulatory voices at the door were full of joy.
When Qian saw the Du family coming, she came down the steps and came to greet them in person: "Aunt Du, Madam Bingyun, Madam Wei, welcome."
Madam Du took the lead in bowing and said: "Meet the Crown Prince's wife."
Qian also returned the greeting: "Thank you all for coming to celebrate for my mother-in-law." If it was just Sister Du, Qian would not have to bow in return, but Yang Haiyan was of the same level as her, so she could not accept Yang Haiyan's greeting. Madam Du was of a higher seniority, so she could not accept her greeting either. Otherwise, in the eyes of others, this would be arrogance. Arrogance depends on the person. You know, women also have their own lessons. If women offend each other, the situation in the court may change once the pillow wind blows.
Even for the sake of the second prince, Qian could not let people talk about it.
Qian continued, "Aunt Du, Mrs. Bingyun, and Mrs. Wei, there are many guests today, and I have to entertain them. Please follow the maid inside. My mother-in-law is waiting for you."
Mrs. Du: "Madam, you don't have to be polite. Let's go in first."
The lobby was very lively. The old lady of Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion was actually the wife of Cheng'en Marquis, but because of her age, everyone in the mansion called her the old lady. She is almost fifty years old this year, which was really not young in ancient times. In fact, Mrs. Du is about the same age, but judging from her appearance, it is obvious that Mrs. Du is in good spirits and looks younger.
The old lady of Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion lost her daughter early in life. Although the second prince has been found now, the pressure on the mansion is even greater. They have to help the second prince, so the many pressures make the old lady look much older. She looked at least ten years older than Mrs. Du.
The old lady of the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion was chatting with someone inside, and heard the servant at the door say, "A guest has arrived."
Immediately, everyone inside looked at the door curiously, because they didn't know who was coming, so everyone was paying attention.
After Mrs. Du led people into the house, the old lady of the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion stood up: "Old sister, you are here." As she said, she happily stepped forward and greeted the people in person.
Two years ago, when the second prince had not been found yet, the relationship between the Marquis' Mansion and the Du family was very good. Because the Marquis' Mansion does not take sides, they only support the emperor, which is the same as the Du family. In addition, the old lady lost her daughter early in life, and Mrs. Du felt that she was really pitiful, and she would often visit her. And when she was young and a girl, she also often moved around in a circle. After all, whether it is the Shen family or the Du family, they are both well-known families. How can the background of the girls who can marry into their families be bad?
But the difference is that the old lady of Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion was very beautiful in her early years, and Cheng'en Marquis was also very handsome when he was young, so the two of them are a perfect match, and people talk about them with relish.
But Du Ke is different. Du Ke has an ordinary appearance, exuding a sense of shrewdness, and a thin figure. Speaking of it, if the Du family is not a noble family, he is the eldest son of the Du family. Let alone marrying a girl from a wealthy family, with his appearance, even a girl from an ordinary family would not look down on him.
When Mrs. Du hired Mrs. Du for Du Ke, everyone in the capital was waiting to see a joke. But who knew that Mrs. Du's family agreed to the marriage, and Mrs. Du herself also agreed to a marriage.
After they got married, Mrs. Du gave birth to the eldest son first, and a few years later, the concubine gave birth to the illegitimate son. Du Ke had only one concubine in the backyard, and this life was envied by many people.
The concubine waited until the eldest son could walk before getting pregnant, which was naturally due to the Du family. Because children are prone to premature death, it is different when they can walk, about three or four years old. In this way, Mrs. Du's position is stable, and even if there are illegitimate sons in the future, they will not surpass Mrs. Du. Otherwise, if the concubine gets pregnant early, what if Mrs. Du's first child is a daughter? Then the concubine gives birth to a son, and becomes the eldest son of the illegitimate son. Families with illegitimate eldest sons are prone to problems.
Therefore, the Du family has a good family tradition. Mrs. Du's family and Mrs. Du value the family tradition of the Du family.
What does it matter if a man looks different? The most important thing is whether a woman is happy or not. Although Mrs. Du is only a third-rank lady, she is well-known in the capital, so who would not give her face?
Besides, Du Ke is the designated Minister of War, and when the old Minister retires, Mrs. Du will be a second-rank lady. In fact, the rank is not important, the real power is the most important, and Du Ke holds the real power.
Mrs. Du bowed as the old lady of the Marquis of Cheng'en Mansion supported her hand: "Hello, Madam." Then she stood up and said, "I feel relieved to see that Madam is in good spirits and looks energetic. Let me introduce you to a rare guest. Although she is the adopted daughter of my husband and me, she is also a woman who is as capable as any man."
Mrs. Du called Yang Haiyan beside her: "Madam, this is Bingyun. She just came back from Yunxiang County and is not familiar with the capital. Bingyun, this is the wife of the Marquis of Cheng'en."
Yang Haiyan had just bowed with Mrs. Du. Now she came to the old lady of the Marquis of Cheng'en Mansion and bowed again: "Hello, Madam. I wish you good fortune and a long life." Her words were very proper, without any pretense or courtesy.
The old lady knew that the Qin family had taken good care of Shen Lixian before, and with the relationship with the Du family, she was naturally polite to Yang Haiyan: "Oh, this is Bingyun, she is indeed a lovely girl, I wish you good luck."
Mrs. Du nodded to the servant, and the servant came up with the gift. Mrs. Du took the gift: "Madam, happy birthday."
Seeing this, Yang Haiyan also gave a gift: "Happy birthday to Madam."
There was no need for Qu Shi to give a gift, because the Du family had not yet split up, and she and Mrs. Du were one.
The old lady was not polite either. When someone gives a gift on a birthday, it is a gift of congratulations and a happy thing. No matter how big or small the gift is, it makes people happy. She said, "Then I will..."
Just as the old lady was about to ask someone to accept it, another voice came: "Oh, I wonder what gift Mrs. Du sent, let us take a look and take advantage of the festive atmosphere of the gift." The woman who spoke was relatively young, and looked to be under 30 years old. No one knew when she came in. The servants at the door did not announce it, so the people in the hall did not notice that someone was at the door. It was estimated that she deliberately did not let anyone announce it.
If there are people in the capital who are not afraid of the Du family, there are many of them, such as the woman in front of her. The woman came from the Tian family of Cheng'engong Mansion, which is the family of the former emperor and the emperor's maternal family. Although the emperor's maternal family did not have women in the harem, when the emperor seized the throne, the maternal family made a great effort. When one's own nephew is trying to seize the throne, the emperor's in-laws must of course contribute. If they don't contribute, the emperor's in-laws will fail to seize the throne, and the emperor's in-laws will not be able to get away with it.
So this woman is not afraid of the Du family. Not only is she not afraid, but there are also conflicts between the Cheng'en Mansion and the Du family. This woman is the wife of the prince of Jinqian and the cousin of the emperor. When she was in the palace, she had a flamboyant and domineering personality. Because she was a member of the royal family, no one in the capital dared to mess with her. At that time, the wife of the prince took a fancy to Du Ke's eldest son, but Du Ke was the eldest son of the Du family, and the eldest daughter-in-law that the Du family wanted to hire was to be a clan wife, so how could they value her? So when the Tian family revealed the news, they were rejected by Mrs. Du.
Later, the wife of the prince did not give up. She pestered Du Ke's eldest son several times and went to Mrs. Du's house to talk about it, but was still rejected. This matter caused a lot of trouble at the time.
Du Ke's eldest son was transferred out as soon as he got married, which was also related to this. First, Du Ke really wanted to train his eldest son, and at the same time, the emperor was about to seize the throne, and he did not want his eldest son to be involved in this matter. Second, this wife of the prince was a troublemaker, and Du Ke was worried that she would not stop after his son got married, so he simply sent his son away.
After that, in any gathering in the capital, as long as this wife saw the Du family, she would not only be very pretentious, but also make sarcastic remarks.
The old lady saw it and thought to herself, this person came at an inopportune time. But she still smiled and said, "It turns out that it is the Xiangyu County Lady who is here." Xiangyu County Lady is the title of the prince's wife. She is the legitimate niece of the late emperor, and this title was bestowed by the late emperor.
The old lady is very willing to give face to this county lady, and there is nothing she can do about it. The Tian family is the emperor's maternal family, and this Xiangyu County Lady is the only legitimate granddaughter of Lord Tian, who is the emperor's maternal grandfather. To put it bluntly, no matter which prince inherits the throne, he will give face to the Tian family. As long as the Tian family does not make mistakes, no matter which emperor inherits the throne, they will not touch the late emperor's maternal family. Therefore, the Tian family really doesn't need to care about them.
However, the Shen family is different. The Shen family needs the Tian family to support the second prince.
Even if the Shen family knows that the emperor values the second prince, the emperor has not clearly stated that he wants to give the throne to the second prince. Besides, the second prince is still young, and something could happen at any time. The emperor is still young, so it is uncertain what will happen now in the future. Therefore, the Shen family really wants to pull the Tian family over.
But the Tian family is not a fool. Just like Du Ke, they are a stable middle-of-the-road party.
The Xiangyu County Lord also gave face to the old lady. After all, the Shen family has a second prince, and the second prince may also become the crown prince and ascend the throne. Although the Tian family is not afraid of the Shen family, what if the second prince succeeds to the throne? The Tian family offended the Shen family, and the second prince would definitely have some ideas. Therefore, the Xiangyu County Lord is not a fool.
Seeing this, the other people in the hall all stood aside and dared not step forward. You know, this county lord was really arrogant when she was a girl, and now she is a wife, she is still so unscrupulous. But with the emperor as her cousin, she has a strong backing.
The emperor has no biological sister, and his concubine sisters who can't help him are not as close as his cousins. He doesn't have many cousins to visit. When he was trying to seize the throne, many princes and uncles who took sides were packed up by him to guard the imperial mausoleum or exiled to faraway places. So, Xiangyu County Lady is one of the few sisters of the emperor.
"Hello, Madam." Xiangyu County Lady first saluted the old lady of Cheng'en Marquis' Mansion, and then looked at Mrs. Du.
Mrs. Du smiled slightly and followed suit: "Hello, County Lady." Mrs.
Du saluted, and Qu also saluted. Among the three people, only Yang Haiyan did not salute. Mrs. Du, the Xiangyu County Lady, who had some grievances with the Du family, had mentioned her, so she knew her rank. At the same time, she was a second-rank official, so she didn't need to salute the other party. As proud as Mrs. Du is, she has no choice because her rank is not as high as that of the Xiangyu County Lord. Yang Haiyan cannot perform the salute because of the arrogance of the Du family. At the same time, she is of the second rank, and if she bows to her, in the eyes of others, it means that the Du family has surrendered, because the two families have grievances.
If the two families have no grievances, such as the Cheng'en Marquis Mansion and the Du family, she saluted Qian, the wife of the prince, who is also of the second rank, and Qian returned the salute. In the eyes of others, it is a courtesy between each other. So the relationship between the two families is different, and the way they look at things is also different.
What's more, if she saluted, the Xiangyu County Lord would definitely not return the salute.
Mrs. Du saluted, but the Xiangyu County Lord did not open it. She was clearly trying to save Mrs. Du's face. Yang Haiyan smiled and helped Mrs. Du up: "Godmother, does your knee hurt again? Did you take the ginseng I gave you the other day? I heard that fifty-year-old ginseng is very effective when brewed into tea."
You know, there are hundred-year-old ginseng and thousand-year-old ginseng, which only appear in fantasy novels. In this normal novel world, a hundred-year-old ginseng is already the best, so fifty-year-old ginseng is a treasure, and everyone hides it for life-saving use when necessary.
For Yang Haiyan, she must help Mrs. Du up at this time, because she and the Du family are one. If she didn't help Mrs. Du up at this time, what would Mrs. Du think of her? Not to mention her, others would probably look down on her. Letting her godmother keep bowing and not stand up, while she just stood there, this would be nothing.
Mrs. Du smiled and patted her hands: "Thanks to your ginseng, I feel much better after drinking it for two days. I seldom go out recently, but today is the old lady's birthday, so I wanted to join in the fun." With the help of her children, she stood up naturally. She was not the kind of woman who would keep bowing and not stand up unless told to do so. Besides, would the head of the county, Xiangyu, dare to ask her to bow again? If Xiangyu dared, she would not agree, and if she really did so, the two families would have a big fight. This was originally a small quarrel between women, but it turned into a big grudge between the two families.
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