Chapter 183: This Business Is Doable! [Many Thanks for Everyone's Support! Bowing Again!]

The Sheng Family

The front hall of Weirui Pavilion

Mama Liu took the brewed tea from the tray held by Cai Zhao Huan and placed it before Great Lady Wang Wang Ruofu and Great Lady Wang Ruo.

Wang Ruo lifted the tea cup, smelled it, frowned slightly, and said, "Sister, why does your tea still taste like this? Can you actually drink it?"

"Why do you say that, Sister? I find it quite excellent."

"Hmm, true enough; back then, Mama Qi, who had the best tea-making skills in our Wang family, was at my Kang household."

Hearing this, Wang Wang Ruofu's shoulders slumped slightly, and she lowered her head; Mama Liu also bowed her head in shame and embarrassment, stepping behind Lady Wang to stand in attendance.

She had previously been sent by the Old Lady Wang to the countryside to grow up alongside Lady Wang, so naturally, she could not compare to Mama Qi.

Cai Zhao Huan, standing to the side, was surprised in her heart; this was the first time she had ever seen Mama Liu, who was usually so composed, look like this.

The two mamas who had come from the Kang family still stood with heads slightly bowed, but they exchanged glances from the corners of their eyes and pressed their lips together with a smug smile, clearly thinking nothing good in their hearts.

In the hall, Wang Wang Ruofu forced another awkward smile.

Wang Ruo pursed her lips, put down the tea cup, glanced at Mama Liu, and then very proudly pulled a piece of paper from her sleeve and placed it on the table.

"Take a look! This is from the three hundred guan you gave me earlier."

Wang Wang Ruofu glanced at her elder sister, opened the paper on the table, and looked utterly incredulous: "Four hundred guan!? It's only been a few days!"

"Hmph. Look at you, acting like you've never seen the world! Where is this? Bianjing!"

After Wang Ruo finished speaking disdainfully, Wang Wang Ruofu offered a flattering smile and then stared at the banknote in her hand with eyes shining like gold:

"This business is doable! It is doable!"

Seeing her younger sister's expression, Wang Ruo, with a face full of pride, picked up the dried fruits from the table and began cracking them open.

At this moment, Mama Liu spotted a young maid holding several invitation cards at the doorway; she hurried over a few steps to take them, nodded after listening to the young maid whisper in her ear, and walked back.

"Great Lady, these are invitation cards sent by the Hou Fu."

Saying this, she handed the cards to Wang Wang Ruofu; Wang Wang Ruofu put down the banknote, took the cards, and looked at them: "What kind of cards are these?"

"Aren't these Great Lady Wu's cards? Why are there so many?"

Hearing this, Lady Kang Wang, standing to the side, instantly straightened her back and glanced over from the corner of her eye.

The two mamas behind Lady Kang Wang stared wide-eyed at the cards in Wang Wang Ruofu's hands; nowadays, such cards were hard to come by in Bianjing, how could it be...

Mama Liu kept her eyebrows and eyes lowered, speaking as if it were nothing unusual: "Replying to Great Lady, Young Master Jing sent these. He said to let the Sheng family's cousin sisters go relax as well."

"This Young Master Jing is truly thoughtful!"

While speaking, Wang Wang Ruofu also straightened her back,

"Why give so many!"

Wang Wang Ruofu lifted her chin slightly, a smile on her lips, and casually handed the cards back to Mama Liu as if by accident.

Mama Liu noticed the two Kang mamas staring at the cards; after putting the cards away, she looked at the two who had raised their eyes to look and smiled gently.

The air instantly fell silent.

"Sister!"

A smile instantly appeared on Wang Ruo's face.

"Sister?"

Wang Wang Ruofu looked at Wang Ruo with a face full of smiles.

Wang Ruo blinked a few times and said, "Sister, I see there are many cards here; surely they are enough to take Sheng Hualan and Hearing Rulan along. Why not spare some for your elder sister? I will take Yun'er to have some fun as well."

"Ah! So Sister doesn't have any? I thought..."

"Ugh, it's all because of that rascal Brother Jin! He said flower-viewing gatherings hosted by such noble families were nothing special! The Kang family is also a prestigious lineage of pure scholars, so he burned them!"

"Oh~~~"

"But Yun'er wouldn't accept it; when she came to deliver money to Sister, she threw a fit and cried!"

"But if that's the case, my two girls won't be able to go!"

Wang Ruo realized immediately that Wang Wang Ruofu hadn't heard the meaning of the words 'deliver money' in her statement at all.

"Sister, you fool! Those two straw-mat girls; if they truly catch the eye of some noble young master, the dowry you provide will all belong to Brother Bai in the future!"

Hearing this, Wang Wang Ruofu froze for a moment, then nodded.

Linqi Pavilion

Zhou Zhou Xueniang walked in quickly.

"Wei Xiaoniang, just now a young maid said that invitations sent by the Xu family have arrived at the main gate!"

"It's just an invitation; what's so strange about that?"

Lin Lin Qinshuang examined the pale chrysanthemums scattered everywhere in the courtyard, nodded, and walked toward the room with Zhou Zhou Xueniang.

"But I asked about the appearance of the invitation; the maid said it had a pattern of a golden knight swinging a club, which means..."

"Great Lady Wu's invitation! Did you ask clearly how many there were?"

"She said there are five!"

"This means all the girls in our family are invited!"

Entering the front hall,

"You are right; with Eldest Sister's good marriage arrangement, my Seeing Mo Lan can also marry even better."

"Mother? What are you talking about?" Seeing Mo Lan, sitting at the table holding a brush, looked over with a questioning expression.

"Good news! Mo'er, continue writing!"

Lin Lin Qinshuang lifted her chin and said, "Go tell the Zhang family silk shop to immediately send over the most fashionable fabrics!"

Zhou Zhou Xueniang was just about to turn and leave,

"Wait!"

After a moment of contemplation, Lin Lin Qinshuang looked into Zhou Zhou Xueniang's eyes and said, "Send some of the fabric to Jin'an Studio as well."

Zhou Zhou Xueniang nodded first, then said, "Yes!"

A collateral branch of the Feng family, Dukes of Cheng,

In the reception hall of the Old Lady Feng,

That same Old Lady Feng, who had once kowtowed step by step to beg for a Child-Granting Granting Guanyin for her daughter, glanced at the invitation in her hand.

The daughter-in-law beside her asked, "Mother-in-law, which family sent this?"

"The Xu family, Marquis Marquis Yongyi."

"Didn't the main branch receive an invitation earlier? We even decided which young lady from our family would attend."

"The main branch received the one addressed to the Duke's mansion; naturally, they had to discuss bringing an age-appropriate young lady to demonstrate familial harmony and unity! An invitation is not limited to just one copy! Several other branches also received invitations from old friends and in-laws."

"What Mother-in-law says is true, but why the Xu family? Our minor branch has had little interaction with them."

Old Lady Feng said, "There has been interaction; the old matriarch of the Sheng family is from the Xu clan. They are likely thanking your eldest sister for running errands on behalf of the Sheng family."

"Hmph!"

Not knowing what Old Lady Feng thought of, her expression turned cold as she snorted.

Seeing the confused look in her daughter-in-law's eyes, Old Lady Feng said, "I heard that earlier a steward from the Kang family came to our mansion asking if there were any extra invitations?"

"Yes, one surnamed Qi."

"Truly shameless!"

"But, Mother-in-law, why didn't you let the Sheng family forward one, and moreover, why was no invitation sent to the Kang family at all?"

"Tch! It is probably because of that Lady Kang Wang's 'glorious reputation'!"

"What Mother-in-law says is right! With this invitation, we can let the children go and have some fun!"

Old Lady Feng smiled and nodded, saying, "Previously, Wu Da Da Niangzi's invitations were difficult to obtain; just a few days ago, Xie Xie Zijue and Marquis Marquis Yongyi made a grand spectacle of delivering gifts to the Liang family, telling everyone they were going to thank Wu Da Da Niangzi for arranging such a good marriage alliance."

"Indeed, which is why invitations to this flower-viewing gathering are even harder to get this time."

The ninth day of the ninth month, the Double Ninth Festival.

Xu Xu Zaijing and Xu Zaizhang rode horses, accompanying Sun Shi and An Mei's carriage as they headed out of the city.

Within Jingcheng,

The air was filled with the fragrance of chrysanthemums;

Almost every shop along the roadside displayed varying amounts of chrysanthemums at its entrance.

Several of the larger wine houses had even used abundant chrysanthemums to construct floral gates, decorating their gate towers.

Xu Xu Zaijing and Xu Zaizhang wore flowers pinned to their hats, while Sun Shi and An Mei inside the carriage were similarly adorned.

Even the saddles and bridles near the ears of the Xu brothers' mounts were pinned with chrysanthemums, making the stallions look like delicate mares.

Whenever a meowing sound came from the Xu family carriage, the black colt would always tilt its head to take a look.

After passing through Xinzheng Gate, carriages belonging to noble officials bearing various family plaques became more numerous.

By the hour of Si, the group had already reached the official road outside Jinming Pool.

At this moment, the autumn air was crisp and refreshing, the sky clear and vast.

From time to time, young men galloped past on horseback, stirring Xu Xu Zaijing's mount to restlessness, forcing him to frequently tug the reins.

When they approached not far from the polo field, a look of surprise appeared in Xu Xu Zaijing's eyes!

For the polo field was no longer what it had been when he first returned to Jingcheng.

He saw that two-person-high felt barriers had been erected around the polo field; inside, several high platforms seemed to have been constructed, upon which people were actually walking.

Upon arriving at the entrance of the polo field, servants guided the various families' carriages and horses to either park or tie up securely; Sun Shi and An Mei emerged from the carriage, and seeing the felt barriers surrounding them, their faces also showed surprise.

Entering the polo field revealed an open space; only then did Xu Xu Zaijing realize that within the felt barriers, the place had been completely transformed, holding a world of its own.

The tents of various families surrounding the polo field had all been raised by an additional level; each family could ascend via a not-too-steep wooden staircase to a second floor lined with railings.

Meanwhile, the ground level of the tents had been opened up and connected together, with many blooming chrysanthemums arranged within; the former polo field, where one once swung mallets to strike balls, had now been partitioned by chrysanthemums, green plants, or low felt barriers into winding little paths.

The Xu family had arrived neither too early nor too late; by now, the small paths among the flowers were already filled with male and female guests, each accompanied by their own young attendants and maids, strolling about, while children played and frolicked on the paths.

On the second floors of the various families' tents, the mistresses of the houses stood by the railings, occasionally glancing down at the ground level or the flower-lined paths.

From time to time, a mistress would beckon a young girl holding a round fan with flowers pinned in her hair, or a young boy with flowers clustered on him, to come to the railing, secretly pointing or whispering hints about certain young masters or noble daughters walking on the paths below.

Just as Xu Xu Zaijing and his family stepped onto the Xu family's second-floor platform, outside the polo field, Wang Ruo Fu descended from the Sheng family carriage with a head full of troubles.

Wang Ruo Fu had intended to bring her legitimate son and daughter to view the flowers at the gathering, but upon hearing that her younger siblings were not being taken, Sheng Hualan immediately insisted that her sisters go instead.

Changbo, using his studies as an excuse, also declined to attend this flower-viewing gathering.

Wang Ruo Fu was forced to bring Sheng Changfeng and the three Lan sisters here.

After disembarking and seeing that the three Lan sisters and Sheng Changfeng had all followed her up, Wang Ruo Fu was just about to walk inside the felt barriers when she was tugged by Nurse Liu standing beside her.

Wang Ruo Fu looked over in confusion; Nurse Liu whispered, "Da Da Niangzi, the Feng family relatives are right beside us."

Prompted by Nurse Liu, Wang Ruo Fu spotted a woman about her own age standing beside a carriage ahead; it was precisely the wife of her natal sister's younger brother.

Thus, the two families entered the polo field together.

Wu Da Da Niangzi stood at the entrance of the ground level; seeing those families who did not often visit and thus lacked second-floor tents, she invited them all up to the second-floor platform of the Liang family's tent.

Since the Sheng family children were still young, Wang Ruo Fu let Seeing Mo Lan, the eldest, lead them down to play, while she remained to chat with the Feng family relatives.

Xu Xu Zaijing sat on his family's second-floor platform, watching the young masters and noble ladies on the paths below.

Suddenly sensing a gaze directed at him, he followed the feeling and looked back; his line of sight passed over several noble families,

Until Xu Xu Zaijing saw only a few large 'Golden Cup, Silver Platform' chrysanthemums; beside them, a maid was pretending nothing was amiss while looking around in all directions, seemingly blocking something.

As if sensing Xu Xu Zaijing's gaze, a young boy nearby waved at him; after this boy moved away from the maid, the young lady beside her whispered softly, "Seeing Xi Bu, is he still looking over here?"

"Miss, he is not looking anymore."

Xu Xu Zaijing withdrew his gaze; at this moment, Sun Shi stood by the railing and waved toward the ground level.

Soon, the voices of Gu Gu Tingye and his sister drifted over.

"Sister Gu Tingyi, come quickly! Look, doesn't the color of this Wanling chrysanthemum resemble the cat!"

"Sister Xu Anmei! Wow, it really does."

Bai Shi sat down smiling beside Sun Shi, and the two mothers exchanged a glance and a smile as they watched their respective young daughters.

"Jing-ge'er, you and Ye-ge'er go walk around downstairs."

Hearing Sun Shi's words, Xu Xu Zaijing and Gu Gu Tingye exchanged a glance, then looked at Bai Shi, and both shook their heads in unison.

Seeing the two moving in sync, Bai Shi covered her mouth with her handkerchief and laughed, then whispered a few words into Sun Shi's ear.

Xu Anmei was also somewhat curious about her younger brother's appearance, while Gu Tingyi beside her said, "Sister Xu Anmei, at my maternal grandfather's home in Yang Zhou, they held a..."

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Hearing Gu Gu Tingye's cough, Gu Tingyi cut off her speech.

"Yi'er, go play downstairs with your sister."

Hearing this, Gu Tingyi was somewhat unwilling, but Xu Anmei glanced at Xu Xu Zaijing, then pulled her toward the stairs, saying as they walked, "Gu Tingyi, speak quickly!"

Just then, someone below shouted, "Jing-ge'er, come down and play!"

Seeing Xu Anmei and Gu Tingyi descend, Rong Rong Xian hastily bowed in greeting.

After the two returned the greeting, they followed by five or six maidservants and female attendants, heading toward the flower-lined path.

Rong Rong Xian, meanwhile, ascended the stairs; after paying respects to Bai Shi and Sun Shi, he beckoned to Xu Xu Zaijing and the other, saying, "Let's go, Han Wulang, Yuan Erlang!"

"Ye'er, go!"

"You go too!"

"Yes, Mother."

After Xu Xu Zaijing and the other bowed with clasped hands, they descended with Rong Rong Xian; before they had even reached the bottom, Bai Shi and Sun Shi remarked, "Sister, look, isn't that the Eleventh Young Master of the Hu Yan family? Nanny Chang, send someone to bring up that musk rose from below!"

The three walked along the flower-lined path accompanied by young attendants.

Meanwhile, just as Gu Tingyi and Xu Anmei had been walking along the female guests' path, numerous noble officials' families on the second floor began whispering among themselves.

"The Xu family's legitimate second daughter, Hu Yan, is interesting..."

"The Gu family's legitimate eldest daughter is not yet betrothed... Her mother comes from a merchant family..."

"Let's go, let's walk over to the Xu family's side."

Ever since Xu Anmei and the other went down to walk about, many more principal wives came over to chat with the Gu and Xu families.

"Jing-ge'er, what's the difference between this and the bridge we walked in Yang Zhou!"

Gu Gu Tingye said with some helplessness.

"Walk more handsomely; perhaps some young lady will take a fancy to you! Rong Xian-ge'er, you're walking far too frivolously!"

As Xu Xu Zaijing and Rong Rong Xian talked, they arrived at the entrance for male guests and walked along a winding path marked out by flower pots; before half the time it takes to drink a cup of tea had passed, a wooden arch bridge, tall enough for one person, appeared before them.

As they ascended, the three Lan sisters of the Sheng family happened to pass by above.

Beside Mo Lan's ear rested a perfectly placed pink peach-blossom chrysanthemum; clearly, Mo Lan's maid knew how to dress hair.

Right in the center of Ru Lan's hair stood a flower straight up, looking as though it had grown out of her hair itself.

As for Ming Lan, she was clutching three or four golden-bell chrysanthemums in her arms, so many she could barely see the path ahead.

For a moment, cries of "Cousin" and "Second Uncle" rang out incessantly.

"Little girl, carrying so many, how can you see the path?"

"I don't need you to worry about it!"

After passing the three Lan sisters, Xu Xu Zaijing and the others continued forward with their attendants; soon behind them, Hu Seeing Hu Yanjiong and Liang Han caught up, with a panting Qiao Nine trailing further back.

The youths walked while talking.

Suddenly, they noticed approaching from the opposite direction a group no smaller than their own: six or seven noble young ladies, fragrant clothes fluttering, adorned with gold and jade.

For some reason, upon seeing the approaching party, the usually very outgoing Liang Han, Qiao Nine, and Hu Seeing Hu Yanjiong all felt somewhat ill at ease.

They all moved to the outer sides of Xu Xu Zaijing and Gu Gu Tingye, distancing themselves from the approaching noble ladies and their maidservants.

Only when they drew near did it become clear that all three were calling out "Older Cousin Sister."

Seeing Liang Han and the others looking somewhat awkward, the group of girls, numerous as they were, all raised their round fans to cover their mouths and laughed.

The one laughing hardest was the Fifth Young Lady of the Zhang family, the Duke of Britain's household, whose baby teeth had finished falling out but whose adult teeth had not yet grown in evenly.

Xu Xu Zaijing, standing at the front of the group of youths, recognized only her; he glanced at the Fifth Young Lady, then pointed to his own front teeth.

"Hmph!"

The Fifth Young Lady stopped laughing and hid behind a tall, slender young lady.

When you are not shy, then others become shy; thus, when Xu Xu Zaijing looked over without embarrassment, the group of noble ladies instead quickened their pace.

As they walked away, most of them shot Rong Rong Xian a rolling of the eyes.

Walking a few more steps, they saw approaching alone none other than Rong Rong Feiyan; she halted her steps and, seemingly looking at Rong Rong Xian, called out "Older Brother."

Meanwhile, Seeing Xi Bu and Seeing Ningxiang beside her performed a bow.

After leaving Xu Xu Zaijing and the others, Rong Rong Feiyan fanned her round fan faster, as if feeling somewhat hot.

After walking another half quarter-hour, Xu Xu Zaijing and the others arrived at the area beside the field designated for male guests to change clothes.

On the return journey, naturally, there was no need to walk the winding path again; one could simply return via the small path beside the felt enclosures.

The several youths walked along chatting and laughing; Xu Xu Zaijing praised how delicious the food from Qiao Nine's household was, while casually scanning the people on the second floors of the various estates.

Just then, a sound of "wu-wu-wu" weeping came from the flower bushes nearby.

"Slap! That'll teach you to cry!"

"Slap! Stop crying!"

"Slap! You little bastard!"

The flower pots were placed beside the curtains of the previous tier, two feet higher than the ground, perfectly blocking everyone's line of sight.

After hearing this sound, Xu Xu Zaijing exerted a gentle force, silently shifting a flowerbed requiring one person's embrace to the side, allowing the group to see the situation inside the first tier of curtains.

It was two young girls dressed in obviously far more luxurious attire, one of whom was slapping three other girls standing in a row.

Gu Gu Tingye glanced aside and said, "Brother Jing, is some family disciplining their little maids?"

"Can't they discipline them at home? Must they do it at my family's polo field?"

"Older Sister, I know I was wrong, please stop hitting me!"

The girl being beaten inside said.

"Which family's little maid dares to call her mistress 'Older Sister'?"

The voices of the several people outside were heard by those inside; soon, the girl doing the hitting turned around, took one look, and hurriedly ran out of this curtain.

The other four girls followed her.

After exchanging glances, Xu Xu Zaijing and the others quickened their pace to follow, and soon they saw where the person who had brought these five girls was located.

She was speaking with someone, and beside her were several people whom Xu Xu Zaijing and Gu Gu Tingye recognized.

Wu Da Da Niangzi, standing aside, looked at the three girls whose faces still bore the Shou Yin of slaps that had not yet faded, and her brows furrowed.

Not sure if there is more; the author is striving to write.

Thanks for everyone's support!

(`) Heart fingers





(End of Chapter)