Chapter 257 257. The Banquet Host Runs Away First
Lei Li finally held a big banquet.
Half a month after he moved into the Marquis of Changning's Mansion and became the Marquis of Changning, and Zhou Yi became a first-rank imperial lady, a day that was neither enthusiastic nor cold.
The old steward of the Marquis' Mansion was sent from the palace and was also the emperor's confidant.
The old butler was brought into the palace by the third prince's mother. He watched the third prince grow up. After the third prince came of age and left the palace to set up his own residence, the old butler followed the third prince out of the palace to serve as a butler. It was not until the third prince ascended the throne and became emperor that he went to the prince's garden to serve as a steward.
——The Prince’s Garden is the unified dormitory where the emperor’s sons live when they reach school age and attend the Imperial College. The princes will live there until they turn 15 and become adults and set up their own residences.
The fact that the old butler could be the manager of the Prince's Garden was enough to show that the emperor valued him. Now that he was assigned to be the butler of the new Changning Marquis's Mansion, it was, on the one hand, a statement of the emperor's respect for Changning Marquis, and on the other hand, a warning and spur to Changning Marquis.
After all, the position of the governor of a prefecture is so important, but he is the emperor's confidant. He even openly and blatantly tells you that this is my spy. Isn't it obvious that:
If you don't do your job honestly and have any second thoughts, you'll just have to pack up and leave!
But if things are done well, I will see it all. In order to show the emperor's majesty and forgiveness, you will definitely benefit from it!
The emperor's responsibility.
Thunder and rain.
Everyone in Beijing was speculating about the emperor's attitude towards the new Marquis of Changning. His respect was mixed with a hint of fear.
Could it be that the Meng family is too powerful, and the emperor wants to divide the family but doesn't want to create a new Meng family, so he praises them and puts the Marquis of Changning in the center of the storm?
hiss.
This Changning Marquis is probably just a false prosperity.
The powerful people in Kyoto City all secretly sympathized with Marquis Changning, but at the same time they were also laughing at him, wondering how long this hereditary Marquis Changning, who was of the highest rank, could live.
Lei Li didn't know about this, nor did he want to know.
He tried out the old butler for a few days, expressed high praise and recognition for the old butler's work ability, and then handed over the Marquis' Mansion to the old butler with confidence.
As for whether the old butler is the emperor's spy -
Which official in Beijing didn't have an spies in his household? Which official dared to claim his family was completely impenetrable? Even the ministers of the first and second ranks wouldn't dare to say that, would they?
When he was not yet the Marquis of Changning and Sheng Jiang was just a small seventh-rank editor, the emperor knew every word he complained about at home. Now that he is the Marquis of Changning, isn't it normal for him to have more spies?
As long as there is no one watching him and Zhou Yi when they make love at night, it will be enough. When you are under someone's roof, you can't ask for so many things.
Besides, it is better to have someone to help him manage things than to do it himself. This is the benefit of the emperor's certification.
Sure enough, the old butler not only managed all the affairs of the mansion in an orderly manner, but was also adept at dealing with interpersonal relationships. He quickly set the date for the banquet and made a guest list for Lei Li to review.
Lei Li: “…”
How would he know who to invite and who not to invite? It's useless to even look at it.
Lei Li just glanced at it casually and returned it to the old butler with great praise, saying that he trusted him very much and let him be fully responsible for the affairs of the mansion without asking him any questions.
But Lei Li still looked at the accounts.
He is not sensitive to mathematics, but he has a keen eye for money. He can keenly spot the problem if a few coins are missing.
Zhou Yi was a first-rank imperial lady conferred by the emperor, and logically should have been the mistress of the marquis's mansion, but he was not interested in management affairs.
So when the old butler reported the matter to him, he looked serious on the surface, but in his heart he was confused and embarrassed as if he had heard something from a foreign language.
He is already this old and will soon have a grandson, but he still has to learn how to manage the affairs of the mansion. Is this reasonable?
So Zhou Yi decisively waved his hand and handed it over to the old housekeeper.
The old butler: “…”
I always feel that you are bullying the real elderly.
There are currently nine masters in the Changning Marquis Mansion, including Changning Marquis Lei Li and his wife Zhou Yi, Changning Marquis Master Lei Dashan and his wife Liu Ye'er, Princess Lei Jingsheng and her wife Qingzhi, as well as Young Master Lei Shengjiang and his wife Miao Yurui, and Young Master Lei Zhouzhou.
Among them, the couple of Marquis Changning were unreliable. The old master and the old lady were too old to be suitable. The princess was even more unreliable than Marquis Changning. The young master was too young to work, and the youngest was too young to go to school...
The old housekeeper quietly approached the two ladies.
After appealing to their emotions and explaining things logically, the old housekeeper, who was in his seventies, was almost moved to tears when he saw that the two ladies were willing to take charge.
Qingzhi is easy to talk to. He learns whatever you ask him to do. He is also very happy to share the burden with Lei Jingsheng, so that he doesn't have to rely on her to support him while doing nothing. However, he is afraid of big scenes, so the banquet mainly depends on Miao Yurui.
Miao Yurui was also happy to help his elders and Sheng Jiang manage affairs and do the logistics work, but he didn't expect that he would be in charge of the entire marquis's mansion right from the start.
So, with Lei Li's laziness, Zhou Yi's indifference, and Miao Yurui and Qing Zhi's forcing things, the Changning Marquis' Mansion held its first banquet.
All the important figures in Beijing were there, including clan nobles, high-ranking officials, and of course, all the colleagues from the Hanlin Academy who were invited by Lei Shengjiang were there.
Guests filed in.
Lei Li was dazzled by what he saw, and he was dizzy from recognizing people. He didn't want to respond to them with a fake smile, so not long after the banquet started, he simply said he was not feeling well and ran away.
Lei Li ran away, and Zhou Yi naturally ran away as well. Liu Ye'er and Lei Dashan also ran away, saying that they were too old, liked quietness and were easily sleepy.
So the most important person at the party was gone.
Lei Sheng and his wife Jiang were forced to take over, but fortunately the old housekeeper was there to help them identify people and give them advice, so they didn't make a fool of themselves. They toasted each other and chatted and laughed, looking really decent.
Lei Jingsheng and Qing Zhi had a good chat with those officials' wives. Lei Jingsheng himself felt it was very good.
Others praised her because her brother was the Marquis of Changning, and agreed with her words. Even she was praised as a unique woman because she did not follow the usual path and did not marry but married a brother as her wife.
If anyone dared to secretly harass her or Yin Yang Qingzhi, Lei Jingsheng would smile and retaliate without mercy.
Seeing them being humiliated and unable to speak out because of her status, she felt secretly happy.
But Qing Zhi was a little worried, "Mrs. Huang's husband is a third-rank minister. If you say that... wouldn't that be a bad idea?"
Many of the guests have power and background, and their relationships are complicated.
Some people you think are brainless and deliberately contradict you, but in fact they are testing whether you will fight back or just swallow the loss.
"It's okay."
Lei Jingsheng lowered his voice and smiled as he said, "My brother told me that we can be a little arrogant and domineering. As long as we don't expose the truth, my brother and sister-in-law will help us deal with it."
"So if someone says something bad about you, don't be polite to them. Just fight back until you feel better. He doesn't even give us face, so why should we give him face?"
"Besides, our attitude affects the reputation of my brother and sister-in-law."
"If we become weak, they will think that we, the Marquis of Changning Mansion, are easy to bully. We will act like a thorn in their side to let them know that we, the Marquis of Changning Mansion, are not to be trifled with."
"I understand."
Qingzhi nodded slightly.
He was originally just a small waiter in Qingmi County. Following Lei Jingsheng, he had seen a lot of the world and was much more confident and calm than before.
However, his experience in Chuguan since childhood made him feel deep down that he had no backing and was inferior to others. When encountering problems, he would subconsciously put himself in a difficult position and give in.
Now, in front of so many elegant and noble ladies and husbands with prominent family backgrounds, he felt inferior and unconsciously became restrained and inferior.
Afraid of saying or doing something wrong, he didn't dare to speak or move much.
Fortunately, Lei Jingsheng is here.
Qing Zhi thought about it, and subconsciously glanced at Lei Jingsheng, with envy and admiration in her eyes. She hoped that one day she could be as confident and bright as Lei Jingsheng.
When Lei Jingsheng received Qing Zhi's gaze, he immediately straightened his back and his eyes became more confident and sharp.
In fact, she was also unsure in her heart, but she would just skip over the things she didn't understand. If she felt the other party's malice, she would smile and question them with sarcasm until the other party felt guilty and dared not say a word.
She was not even afraid of the village intelligence station, and even the most eloquent Gui Fulang avoided her. It was easy for her to deal with these wives of officials who were extremely concerned about their reputation.
Lei Zhouzhou would no longer be bullied. When he swung his sword with a majestic look, those young ladies and young men were either afraid of him or admired him with starry eyes, and they became his little fans.
The banquet was very lively.
Lei Li was not interested in the fun at all. Instead, he and Zhou Yi changed their clothes and quietly left the Changning Marquis Mansion through the back door.
"I should have known better than to accept this damned Changning Marquis. I'm already old, and I still have to recognize everyone one by one. This official position is not legitimate. Can't I just put a badge on my chest and still recognize people?"
Lei Li grumbled, "Especially when some people pretend to be nice and appear to be friendly, but who knows if they're secretly cursing me in their hearts?"
"Some people are addicted to talking. If I say one thing, they'll praise me three times. That's not how you flatter someone."
"Just ignore them."
Zhou Yi patted Lei Li's head and said soothingly, "We are working for the higher-ups. Before the work is completed, this Changning Marquis will continue to do it. So what do we have to be afraid of?"
"If you don't like listening to them, then don't listen. Don't worry about the banquets and social interactions. If there are any invitations or visiting cards, just ask the butler to prepare a gift and send it over."
"You said before that personal connections are important."
Lei Li glanced at him mischievously and said with a grin, "Why are you saying forget it now?"
"You're old, so don't be too hard on yourself."
Zhou Yi said calmly.
When I only looked at the gifts and visiting cards before, I didn’t think there were so many people I needed to recognize and interact with.
When I was taking classes with the nanny, I felt it was okay and not very difficult because she only came into contact with a few high-ranking officials and only knew part of the story. Her lectures were brief and she gave examples.
But today's banquet is like an exam. The content of the exam is somewhat related to what we have learned, but it has too many extended applications.
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