Song Qingyue was drinking tea with the three people from Prince Jing's house. Not long after, a servant came to report that the second girl Li Qian and the third girl Li Yuan from her house were also here.

After the two arrived, they joined Song Qingyue and the others to have tea and snacks.

There were six girls at the table, and their fighting ability for snacks was amazing. They kept chewing melon seeds, peanuts and walnut kernels. Song Qingyue loved the spiced dried tofu the most, and Meng Wanfeng liked the grilled shredded squid - this year

The snacks that are only becoming popular in the capital are also new products developed this year in the several food processing factories that the Song family originally built in the south.

As girls from the royal family, Li Min and Li Ting's economic status is obviously not as good as that of Li Qian and Li Yuan, both in terms of clothing and jewelry.

Prince Jing was upright and refused to use his power for personal gain. He had no one who was good at making a living. After he was made a prince, although his salary increased a lot every year, there was also a lot more expense in dealing with favors. Without Princess Qian's natal family

With so much help, life can hardly go on.

The princess was already very unhappy because of Li Zhu being granted the title of crown prince, and now she quarreled with Prince Jing almost every day over money.

Now the whole Prince Jing's palace is in a frenzy to cut expenses. In addition, Concubine Cui's mother-in-law's family is blowing the autumn wind from time to time. The concubine is so angry that her liver hurts all day long and her temper is extremely bad.

Li Min and Li Ting complained to Li Qian and Li Yuan about their aunt's massive reduction of manpower in the house and the reduction of everyone's monthly salary.

Li Min held his head and said worriedly: "Not to mention the people below, our monthly silver has also been reduced by 20%, which is not enough to begin with. My mother is not a wealthy family. Tell me, what do I want to eat now?

You have to come to my cousin-in-law’s place to get some decent snacks!”

Li Qian was surprised and said: "That's not true! Didn't the fourth uncle get promoted? Now that the fourth uncle is valued by the emperor, it can't be like this, right?"

Li Ting snorted: "The princess is the housekeeper. She only cares about making money for herself and doesn't care about our life or death. I told my sister that we could ask our father to find some jobs for our brothers, but my father refused and said

Uncle Third Prince has never found any jobs for his other sons, so there is no reason why Prince Jing’s son should be able to enjoy privileges. If possible, the family will always have to live separately in the future, so we can’t keep going like this!”

Li Yuan is the youngest among the few, only thirteen years old. She said slowly: "Speaking of it, it's not that easy for us in Prince Su's Mansion. Last year, after my sister-in-law entered the manor, she changed all the servants on the East Road.

Clothes have to be changed here too. Of course, this comes from the public account, but my sister-in-law is always very generous when giving rewards, so the rewards we give here have also increased. My Liang Yuan is the whole

I’ve been counting my money every day to see if I have enough money, so I’ve made two fewer sets of clothes this summer!”

After Li Yuan said this, everyone's faces froze and they all looked at Song Qingyue's face.

Song Qingyue looked at Li Yuan, not yet figuring out what this little girl meant when she said this to her.

When Li Yuan saw her looking at her, she felt frightened and said unconvinced: "What's wrong? I'm not wrong. Ever since you got married, the house has been in chaos. If you move, everyone will follow suit. Sister-in-law,

You don’t have to worry, big brother’s money will be spent on you. For such a big thing as a chess match, it will be done as soon as you say it will be done. It will take seven days to complete it. There are so many people coming here to eat, drink and live, so you don’t feel bad about the money.

, but you only care about yourself and don’t think about us. Sister-in-law, you must also be conscientious as a human being!"

Li Min and Li Ting pursed their lips in embarrassment. They were the ones who came here to ask for food, drink and accommodation. Li Ting even quietly put down the almond cake in her hand. Li Yuan spoke too venomously.

You talk like this in front of people.

Meng Wanfeng had no expression on her face, but she was looking forward to seeing how Song Qingyue would answer.

Li Qian pulled Li Yuan's sleeve and said anxiously: "Third sister! Don't talk to sister-in-law like that! My father has agreed to hold a chess club, what are you talking about!"

"Father, father! What do you know? Father only loves the eldest brother. We are all picked up." Li Yuan said dissatisfiedly.

Song Qingyue blew the tea leaves gently, then took a sip, raised her eyes and said to Li Yuan: "I use my own dowry money to play chess."

"You're talking nonsense! As a concubine, how much dowry can you have? Isn't your dowry the betrothal gift given by your eldest brother?" Li Yuan suddenly shouted excitedly.

Song Qingyue was still calm and indifferent, but her tone of voice was a little colder: "What does the betrothal gift your eldest brother gave me have to do with you? Even if he doesn't give it to me, do those things belong to you? Third sister,

If you are short of money, my sister-in-law can give you pocket money, three hundred taels of silver per month, how about it? But I have to let the princess know about this. Go back and ask your Liang Yuan, and ask her if she agrees."

Hearing that Song Qingyue actually said that he could give herself three hundred taels of pocket money every month, Li Yuan swallowed and spat, but then said that she wanted to inform the princess. She shuddered again, instinctively feeling that this was inappropriate.

A good tea party ended so unhappy.

Meng Wanfeng went to find Li Ting. Li Min and Li Ting were pulled by Li Yuan to whisper that they were going to go to the lotus pond to pick some lotus flowers and bring them back.

Li Qian found an opportunity to say a few words to Song Qingyue alone: ​​"Sister-in-law, Yuan'er is young, don't blame her. I think she may have been instigated by someone to say this. You must be more tolerant to her.

"

Song Qingyue smiled, took Li Qian's hand and asked: "Second sister, if you have anything to say, please tell me clearly, who is she getting close to, and who instigated her? Don't worry, I can't do anything now.

I won’t treat my sister and Gao Liangyuan badly in the future, right?”

Li Qian said cautiously: "Don't let the princess know what I said."

"Well, you tell me, I am a person who protects others."

Li Qian then whispered and said: "Li Qian and the second sister-in-law are very close. My girl accidentally saw her once, and the second sister-in-law gave her pocket money."

Song Qingyue frowned and asked, "Where did you see your girl?"

Li Qian blinked and said, "Just, right, at the rockery in the garden."

"The garden on the middle road? Or the one on the west road?"

"Um, it's from the West Road."

"Where are there many plum trees?"

"Yes, almost."

Song Qingyue sighed, shook her head and said: "This is really confusing. You want to do such a thing and do it so carelessly."

"That's right." Li Qian said sarcastically.

"Thank you, second sister, for informing me. Don't worry, I won't blame third sister. She is still young. What do I have to argue with a little girl?"

"Sister-in-law is right."

After Li Qian left, Song Qingyue met Xing Yanran, the eldest daughter of Xing Zhuangyuan, on the way to Linxi Pavilion. She came with Lu Wenyan, the granddaughter of Lu Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry, and Yuan Zixin, the granddaughter of the Yuan family of Yuan Guozi Supervisor of the Wine Festival.

Because the fathers of Lu Wenyan and Yuan Zixin were Jinshi scholars in the same discipline as Xing Zhuangyuan, and they both entered the Hanlin Academy, the three of them naturally became friends.

However, these three ladies are all good at chess, and they came here to prepare for serious competition, so they came to see their opponents in advance so that they can show off their skills in the fourth year of junior high school.

"Is your brother coming?" Song Qingyue asked.

Xing Yanran said: "My brother is here, but he is only twelve years old. He said that coming here is not enough, so he insists on going to Liuquanju to join in the fun."

"Did you win yesterday?" Song Qingyue asked.

"I won! I feel so happy." Xing Yanran glanced at Lu Wenyan, covering her mouth and laughing.

On the side, Lu Wenyan, the daughter of the Lu Hanlin family, smiled bitterly: "The one who lost was my eldest brother. He was wilted when he came back yesterday. He said he was defeated by a child while chewing chicken legs. I told him that he didn't play chess.

Your talent is not as good as mine at home, so don’t worry about going out to embarrass yourself, he still doesn’t believe it.”

However, Yuan Zixin, the daughter of Mr. Yuan's family, who was in charge of the wine ceremony, said: "My brothers are busy preparing for this year's autumn, so they didn't come."

"The timing this year is bad, it's because I didn't think carefully." Song Qingyue sighed.

Xing Yanran said: "Prince Princess, please don't blame yourself. Everyone is very happy to have such a grand event. There are not many games for both men and women. We girls who love to play chess are usually too embarrassed to go to the chess hall.

, it’s so easy to have such an opportunity, we are so happy!”

Yuan Zixin also echoed: "That's right, Crown Princess, we are so happy that you can hold such a chess match!"

Lu Wenyan snorted: "Never mind them! Without those stupid scholars, we will have more fun! Especially some of them are sour scholars who don't care that their skills are not as good as others. They also look down on women and just use them to show off.

What a tactful thing to say, I’m really annoyed!”

"Have Miss Lu ever played in a chess hall?" Song Qingyue asked with a smile.

Xing Yanran rushed to answer for her friend: "Yes, we have been there a few times, but we met a few mean scholars who made us unhappy, so we stopped going."

Song Qingyue nodded and asked again: "If there is a chance, I can do it next year or the year after. How about it?"

Lu Wenyan clapped her hands: "That's a good relationship! It will cost a lot of money to hold this chess match. We can't afford it. Only the imperial concubine has this ability!"

Song Qingyue laughed: "Look what you said, I have to collect entry fees next year, otherwise I won't have enough money to spend."

Lu Wenyan immediately agreed: "Okay! This is a good idea. Let's come over to play, eat and drink. We are embarrassed."

Song Qingyue quickly waved her hand: "No, no, I'm just joking. If you charge a participation fee, don't you call Prince Su's Mansion and be laughed at?"

But what she was thinking was that if she held it again next year, her influence would be here, and she might be able to attract sponsorship. She could think of a way to call it all, including pens, inks, paper and inkstones, rouge and gouache, fabrics and jewelry, medicine shops, and even restaurants...

When someone comes to advertise, it doesn't have to be a billboard. It can be a soft advertisement. You can think about it when you have time.

After a cup of tea, the four of them walked to Linxi Pavilion, which is halfway up the mountain. It is the largest building in the entire manor. As soon as they entered the courtyard gate, they saw people coming and going, bustling inside.

Although there are many people, it is not noisy. At least it is much quieter than Liuquanju outside.

A canopy was set up in the courtyard to block the sunlight. After passing through the pavilion, there was a grassy area with shade trees on the back. There were many bamboo mats laid on it, with a low table, a small clay stove and a tea set for everyone to drink tea and rest.

This three-story pavilion is built high and large enough. When the doors and windows on the first floor are opened, the interior becomes very transparent and bright, and the space is spacious enough. It can be used as a competition venue, and the second and third floors can be used to watch the competition.

There were not many girls who came to watch the game today, but the young men were all dressed up like gold and jade, which was quite eye-catching at a glance. The maids serving tea and snacks shuttled back and forth, not cluttered at all, which once again made Song Qingyue sigh at the palace.

The quality of staff is very high.

Song Qingyue did not prepare a big banquet-style lunch for everyone, but buffets were prepared in several rooms. If you are hungry, you can take it at any time.

Song Qingyue accompanied the three chess-loving daughters to the second floor. The three of them all looked at the pair in the lower right corner.

He was the sixth son of General Tian, ​​the commander-in-chief of the Military and Horse Division of the Five Cities, and a direct grandson of Yan Shoufu. He was the fifteenth in the family, and everyone called him Yan Shifif.

"These two are both famous young masters in Beijing." Lu Wenyan told Song Qingyue in a low voice.

Song Qingyue smiled and said: "That's really unfortunate, they happened to meet us today."
To be continued...