Chapter 390

Many onlookers couldn't help but watch with curiosity!

Whether commoners or scholars, they truly wanted to know how this turned out.

After all, Lin Heng, Zhao Yu, and these few prodigal sons were quite famous in Nanjingcheng.

Though not thoroughly infamous, they were still extremely domineering within their circle, and no one dared provoke them.

Moreover, the incident happened yesterday on Qinhuaihe.

Liu Rushi had previously been the famous courtesan of Qinhuaihe.

All these reasons combined made people find it amusing!

Many of them had previously wondered if they would face retaliation or something similar.

But to everyone's surprise, early this morning, several families unexpectedly sent generous gifts to the guesthouse.

Hmm, why is this different from what everyone guessed?

At tea stalls and restaurants, many busybodies were even planning to watch the spectacle.

So you're letting us see this?

Some diners gathered together, whispering about something.

"Could it be that last night, the several families already reached an agreement with Su Qiao and the others?"

"And that several family heads came to deliver compensation."

"Hiss... thinking deeply about the details is terrifying. The Su Qiao staying in that guesthouse seems to truly have an extraordinary background; I even saw Embroidered Uniform Guard standing guard."

"Good heavens, no wonder the several family heads cowered; their background indeed looks quite formidable."

How rumors spread outside and how others viewed them, Su Qiao did not take to heart.

Anyway, early this morning, the several families cleanly and decisively delivered the items.

Yesterday's matter was considered closed.

Originally, yesterday Liu Rushi had planned to go with Su Qiao to Qinhuaihe to meet some friends.

But after yesterday's incident involving Lin Heng and the others, it suddenly became impossible to proceed.

Among the "Eight Beauties of Qin Huai," the other few were also friends with Liu Rushi.

Though not to the extent of entrusting life and death to each other, they were still close confidantes who deeply admired one another.

Liu Rushi went to Qinhuaihe yesterday just to meet them.

Su Qiao had already met Liu Rushi and even taken her by his side; as for the others, he was similarly quite curious.

Of course, it wasn't that Su Qiao was greedy, eyeing the pot while eating from the bowl; it was purely curiosity.

With yesterday's incident, trying to go out and visit directly today seemed not easy.

After thinking it over, Liu Rushi and Su Qiao discussed and decided it would be better to directly send someone with invitations, then rent a painted boat on Qinhuaihe for everyone to tour the lake and chat freely.

Once thought, it was done!

Su Qiao did not have much time left to stay in Jin Ling and wander around for leisure.

He believed Sun Chuanting had probably already received news of Su Qiao's arrival in Jin Ling by now.

Soon, someone would be sent to summon him over.

Su Qiao's moment of stealing leisure from busyness was just this brief period.

After sending the invitations by messenger, Su Qiao and Liu Rushi changed into outfits different from yesterday's, and by the embankment of Qinhuaihe, rented a two-story painted boat.

Anyway, with the four hundred thousand taels of silver sent by Lin Fu and the others, the cost of renting the boat was nothing compared to that.

So spending it didn't hurt.

The invitations were personally delivered into the hands of the other seven.

Except for Chen Chen Yuanyuan, whom Liu Rushi was not very familiar with, the other five were already known and acquainted.

Originally, Bian Bian Yujing and Gu Gu Hengbo had guests visiting Dengmen today.

However, after receiving Liu Rushi's invitation, they immediately and without hesitation cancelled their other engagements.

They had also heard about yesterday's incident, and were very curious about Su Qiao, the man who had married Liu Rushi so quickly.

Everyone basically knew Liu Rushi's conditions for choosing a husband.

They could be described as extremely strict.

First, he needed literary talent; second, he must have a certain status and position; the third point, considered a basic requirement, was that he must be wealthy!

Qian Qianyi was once the leader of the Donglin faction, and additionally, his literary talent and status were very high in the Jiangnan region.

Except for his advanced age, he truly met all the requirements and was among the top tier.

But Su Qiao directly defeated Qian Qianyi in Jingcheng, using the poem "If Life Could Only Be Like the First Meeting" to ruin Qian Qianyi's reputation.

Upon returning to Jin Ling, his status and position plummeted.

What made the few of them even more surprised was that it had only been a little over a month.

News arrived from Jingcheng that Liu Rushi had been bought out of her servitude.

Everyone was either envious or curious.

Curious about what kind of person Su Qiao truly was.

Not long after Liu Rushi sent out the invitations.

After tidying their makeup, the few of them successively arrived at the embankment and boarded the painted boat rented by Su Qiao and the others.

"Sisters and younger sisters, you have arrived!"

Liu Rushi personally stood at the bow to welcome them.

Bian Bian Yujing was the eldest among the few, though actually only two years older than Liu Rushi.

It seemed that Kou Baimen and Ma Xianglan were both a year or two older than Liu Rushi.

The way they addressed each other as older and younger sisters was somewhat confusing.

However, their personalities differed; Ma Xianglan was the most open and free-spirited, while Bian Yujing was even more steady.

"Sister Liu, since you personally sent the invitation, how could we dare not come? Several Ministers are even coming to visit personally to apologize."

Kou Baimen boarded the boat with her maid, deliberately speaking in jest.

Liu Rushi led them into the main hall of the cabin, feigning anger as she glared at Kou Baimen. "Don't speak nonsense. Apologize? They are only doing this out of respect for my Master. Otherwise, how could I possibly deserve them to visit personally?"

.......... 0

Qing'er personally served hot tea to everyone at this moment.

This painted boat was nearly the largest on the Qinhuaihe; renting it for a single day cost several hundred taels of silver.

Everyone present was sharp-eyed and understood the situation the moment they boarded.

This further confirmed certain suspicions in their hearts: Su Qiao was wealthy, not a poor scholar!

"By the way, where is the brother-in-law? Could it be that he looks down on us and is hiding?"

Ma Xianglan lifted her teacup, took a gentle sip with her cherry lips, and asked.

Knowing Ma Xianglan was joking, Liu Rushi quickly explained, "Sister Ma is teasing. Knowing that several older and younger sisters were coming, he specifically caught two fresh large fish and is now in the back kitchen directing the cooks. He will be here in a moment."

"Ah?"

The women were all startled by Liu Rushi's explanation.

The situation was truly beyond their expectations.

A gentleman stays away from the kitchen!

That saying was not spoken in vain.

Since Emperor Wu of Han "abolished the hundred schools and established Exclusive reverence for Confucianism," this saying had directly distorted countless generations.

It meant that scholars were not allowed to cook in the back kitchen.

Especially during the Ming Dynasty, poisoned by the strange thoughts of Zhu Xi and others.

Changes in the status and atmosphere of scholars and Confucian students once again affected countless people.

For someone like Su Qiao to go directly to the back kitchen was something ordinary people would not even dare to imagine! Three.

245, a tiny bit of vanity!

"Won't the brother-in-law lose face by doing this?"

Dong Xiaowan's voice was soft and sweet, her tone revealing surprise. She exchanged a glance with the others and could not help but ask.

The others also stared intently at Liu Rushi, expecting her to explain.

Liu Rushi smiled slightly. "According to my Master's words, everyone has directly misunderstood this saying of Confucius and Mencius."