Chapter 4: Sheng Wei Paying a Visit with Gifts

Bianjing, Jiying Lane.

When Sheng Wei managed his business affairs in Bianjing, he always stayed temporarily in the courtyard of his second uncle, the Tanhua scholar.

He stepped out and boarded a carriage, inside which sat a boy of four or five years old.

"Wu'er, do you know where Daddy is going?"

"Where is Daddy going?"

Sheng Wei smiled and said, "We are going to see an uncle from the Sun family; once we arrive, you must be sweet-tongued, do you understand?"

"Daddy, Wu'er understands."

Looking at the son in his arms, Sheng Wei could not help but recall the disaster that had struck his business in Bianjing some days prior, where he had been reported to the Kaifeng Prefecture and his warehouse sealed.

Among scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, merchants inherently held low status.

Moreover, this was an act of extortion against merchants, and the opposing party possessed influence within the government.

Sheng Wei had sought help from a contemporary of his cousin Sheng Hong, but that official was too insignificant to sway the matter; the opposing party refused to let go. He had also begged the contemporaries of his Tanhua second uncle, yet since the rival family had the backing of a certain imperial concubine, no one dared to intervene deeply.

Just as the Sheng family prepared to withdraw from Bianjing and settle the matter by paying a loss, the opposing party dropped the lawsuit, and the government unsealed the warehouse.

Having been in business for so many years, Sheng Wei knew someone must have stepped in to help him; he did not know who, nor whether the aid was intentional or unintentional.

To fail to express gratitude would be to offend people.

After spending a considerable amount of silver to consult with clerks of the Kaifeng Prefecture, he learned that the Third Great-Grandfather of the Cao family had entrusted an old acquaintance of the Sun family to handle the matter.

The Cao family was the natal clan of the current Empress and also a power in the northwest military, possessing deep roots in Bianjing.

The goods in Sheng Wei's warehouse were of outstanding quality and had been purchased by the Cao family.

Because the delivery was not made on time this month, the Cao family had inquired about it.

Upon investigation, the Cao family discovered that behind Sheng Wei's rival stood the shadow of a favored imperial concubine who was somewhat at odds with Empress Cao.

In the end, an official from the Sun family serving as a Commercial Tax Supervisor stepped forward to resolve the matter.

The kindness of the Cao family required no words of thanks, and as mere merchants they could not easily call upon them, so Sheng Wei naturally prepared only a heavy gift to express his gratitude to the Sun family.

This was his first contact with the Sun family; being of military origin, their threshold was not so high, and they had helped him so greatly.

Today, leveraging Sheng Hong's status, he intended to pay a visit.

After entering the residence, the Sun family did not ignore him; the head of the household came out to meet him briefly before returning to the inner quarters, leaving an experienced old steward to keep him company.

Sheng Wei engaged in conversation with the old steward and managed to establish a connection.

Sheng Wei knew that the nominal natal family of his aunt was precisely the in-law family of the Sun daughter.

With wine and food enjoyed to satisfaction, he departed from the Sun residence.

Time flowed on,

until it arrived at the day of Xu Xu Zaijing's first-year banquet.

There were many guests coming and going, yet they could not compare to the Hou Fu of years past.

The eldest daughter-in-law of the Yongchang Marquis's residence, whose own natal family also consisted of an adopted son, had quite a bit to talk about with Sun Shi.

On this day, she stood at the second gate of the residence to help Sun Shi welcome the guests.

Sun Shi's natal family, which was also Xu Xu Zaijing's maternal grandmother's clan, had many descendants; Sun Shi alone had six elder sisters-in-law from her natal home, mostly legitimate daughters from families of low-ranking military officers.

They had all come together today to celebrate.

"Aiyo, here is a large group of you coming to scrape for gifts again!" Wu Da Da Niangzi greeted with a laugh.

"Indeed, we have come again; later we will go to your house to eat and drink to our hearts' content," Sun Shi's eldest sister-in-law replied with a smile.

Previously, during the first-year banquets for Sun Shi's two sons and two daughters, these women had long become familiar with one another, so exchanging jokes was common.

Sun Shi also had an elder sister who had married a low-ranking civil official; she came together with these sisters-in-law and looked at her younger sister with a face full of smiles.

"Da Da Niangzi, Bai Da Da Niangzi from the Lady Ningyuan Hou Jue's residence has arrived."

The arrival of Bai Shi, the Da Da Niangzi of the Lady Ningyuan Hou Jue's residence, greatly surprised the group of sisters and sisters-in-law.

Their surprise stemmed first from the fact that Hou Jue Hou Jue Yongyi's house had already declined somewhat, with no particularly promising descendants in the family.

Secondly, because the Lady Ningyuan Hou Jue was a noble with real power in Great Zhou, Bai Shi's status had risen so high that she had left their social circle behind.

It was still a social circle among the nobility where hierarchical suppression existed.

The Gu family was originally a house of Dukes and Marquises that assisted in founding the dynasty, with long-standing roots in the military; although the Sun family had good relations with the Cao family, they rarely had the opportunity to interact with the traditional circles of noble houses such as the Duke of Britain, the Lady Ningyuan Hou Jue's residence, or the Duke of Qi.

Regarding the affairs of the Hou Jue Yongyi Hou Jue's residence in recent years, most of the aforementioned noble families merely exchanged courtesies.

Seeing Bai Shi arrive, everyone naturally hurried to make way and stood respectfully at the entrance, for Hou Jue Gu's status was too high, and the military inherently emphasized rank and hierarchy.

Bai Shi looked at Wu Da Da Niangzi.

Wu Da Da Niangzi said, "Da Da Niangzi, these six are the sisters-in-law of Sister Sun, and this is the Da Da Niangzi of the Fang family, her elder sister from her natal home."

"We pay our respects to Da Da Niangzi," everyone said as they bowed in unison.

Bai Shi nodded in acknowledgment, while Cui Cui Mama Chang and other female attendants behind her returned the bows.

Upon entering the inner courtyard, Bai Shi apologized to Sun Shi, saying,

"Sister, I have indeed overshadowed the host."

Sun Shi hurriedly replied, "What nonsense is this, Da Da Niangzi?"

After a round of polite exchanges, everyone entered the courtyard.

Xiao Zhu, Sun Shi's personal maid, followed behind her mistress to welcome guests and whispered in surprise to Xiao Dan, "The color of Bai family Da Da Niangzi's clothes is somewhat similar to that of our Da Da Niangzi!"

Xiao Dan nodded.

Everyone listened to opera in the courtyard and chatted idly about gossip in the capital.

Within the circle of high-ranking noble officials' wives in the capital, Bai Shi was somewhat disliked due to her origins.

Here in the Xu residence, it was not like that; none of the several Lady consorts of the Dukes, who held high positions and great power, had come in person.

Here, Bai Shi's status could be said to be the highest.

Everyone spoke words of flattery, which greatly comforted Bai Shi.

Regarding the idle chatter of the wives of low-ranking military officers, some blindly guessed at the intricacies of stories from the capital; having previously moved in such circles, Bai Shi could learn much just by listening casually, so she selected a few inconsequential tales to share with the female guests, recounting their beginnings and ends.

Sharing secrets and satisfying curiosity proved highly effective in drawing people closer.

The female guests also selected various strange tales from the marketplace to joke about, making the courtyard very lively for a time.

Watching her Miss's face break into a smile, Old Cui Mama Chang felt happy in her heart as well.

As the conversation flowed, everyone eventually turned to the topic of the first-birthday gifts sent that day to the Xu family's youngest son.

"The first-birthday gift the eldest daughter-in-law sent to the Xu family's Jing-ge'er—this set of eighteen miniature weapons carved from top-grade Hetian jade, along with a set of jade-carved Four Treasures of the Study—judging by their quality alone, could not be bought without several hundred taels of silver as a baseline,"

Wu Da Da Niangzi said.

The Fu Chang Hou Manor was a famously wealthy household in Bianjing, so Wu Da Da Niangzi's vision was naturally broad.

Among the female guests from other households watching the opera outside, relationships were mostly ordinary; having heard these remarks, some were surprised, some made sarcastic comments, some whispered about merchants and the like, while others' eyes sparkled with greed.

In the courtyard, Sun Shi beamed with a full smile; such a heavy gift had certainly saved face for her.

Afterwards, Sun Shi had her own children come out to meet the guests and perform their bows.

Seeing her four grown children come out to pay respects to the manor's guests, there was naturally no shortage of praise.

The four siblings also received many gifts.

Guests who had sons and daughters of suitable age in their own families now formed an impression in their minds.

One of Sun Shi's six sisters-in-law said,

"Seeing them today, the two girls' etiquette is thorough and their speech polite; they have indeed improved greatly."

Sun Shi naturally spoke many good words about Fan Da Da Niangzi.

Before the banquet began, today's protagonist, Xu Xu Zaijing, was carried out by his wet nurse.

Seeing Xu Xu Zaijing, who looked as if carved from powder and jade, the female guests all liked him immensely.

Sun Shi's eldest sister-in-law from her natal family looked at the nephew in her arms and said, "When Duan-ge'er and Zhang-ge'er turned one, I remember they cried uncontrollably."

"Yes, though their voices were extremely loud," Wu Da Da Niangzi laughed loudly from the side.

If there are any typos, please point them out in time.

If there are any story plots you would like to see, you may also leave a message.

There will also be stories derived from the original work and the storyline.

Therefore, readers who wish to make a cameo appearance may leave a message.

Hehehe, mwah.





(End of Chapter)