Chapter 509: The Smell of Roses (First update, please vote for me)
In the Queen Mother's room, in addition to the Queen Mother, the concubine, and Jiu Gege were also there.
She was unusually lively and vividly told several elders about her experiences in "Wanbao Tower".
There are about ten storefronts on the upper and lower floors selling foreign goods.
A small pocket watch, a snuff bottle, and a large braided blanket measuring one foot square.
There are also French perfumes and Italian gemstone mirrors.
Just as he was talking, Aunt Bai came in and said, "Madam, Brother Jiu has brought Jiu Fujin here, and he also brought a lot of things."
Jiu Gege quickly stood up.
The Queen Mother smiled and said: "Call in quickly!"
"Royal Grandmother, my grandson is here on a mission!"
Following the sound of talking, Brother Jiu brought Shu Shu in.
He Yuzhu and Xiao Chun were behind, each holding a pile of boxes in their arms.
Jiu Gege was surprised, looked at Shu Shu, and said: "Did you send the things from Wanbao Tower?"
Shu Shu nodded and looked around the room. The small tables were all too small. There was only a large round table, so he motioned to He Yuzhu and Xiao Chun to put the things in their arms over it.
The Queen Mother smiled and said to Brother Jiu: "What kind of errand is this? Distributing things to various places? Did Xiao Jiu buy these?"
Brother Jiu shook his head and said: "That's not it. Just now my grandson came back from the imperial palace. Khan Ama said that if the royal grandmother, the concubine and the concubines have something to purchase, they will let the grandson run errands. These are all practical things, and there are many
It is only available in Suzhou, so my grandson thought not to miss it and showed it to his elders. If anyone likes it, he will send it to someone to buy it tomorrow."
As for helping the imperial family members to get the silver reward, he didn't plan to talk about it.
When the money comes down, just show it off to your wife in private.
If he said it, it would seem like he was asking for a favor from his elders.
Older women are also women.
The Queen Mother and the Dowager Princess both stood up.
On the round table, various boxes have been opened and there is a dazzling array of things to see.
The items Jiugege mentioned just now are all there, including a gemstone mirror, perfume, pocket watch, snuff bottle, and a two-foot-long tapestry.
There are a few other items that Jiugege didn’t mention, such as sound boxes, diamond brooches, ruby brooches, kaleidoscopes and other small items.
There is also a box that actually contains shoes.
"this?"
The Queen Mother was curious and pointed: "Why does it look like it's made of wood?"
A pair of wooden-soled shoes, with a shallow shoe on top and a heel one and a half feet high on the bottom.
Brother Jiu smiled and said: "This is a rare item from 'Wanbaolou'. This is the only one in total. It has been kept in the warehouse for more than ten years. My grandson thought it was fun, so he bought it. I heard it is called 'Xiao Bang Shoes'.
People over there in Europe wear it.”
Nowadays, the soles of flag shoes are only four and a half inches high, but this one has to be three and a half inches high.
The Queen Mother shook her head and said: "It's not comfortable to wear, and it's impossible to walk."
Shu Shu was standing by, listening to the conversation between the grandfather and grandson, and also took a second look at the shoes.
It's not "Xiao Bang Shoes", it's "Chopin Shoes".
It seems to have been popular in Europe from the 15th to the 17th century.
He is the ancestor of later high-heeled shoes.
There are two theories about its origin. One is that it was made by prostitutes in Venice. It is similar to the purpose of binding feet in China, both for walking and swaying.
One theory is London. Due to the development of urbanization, there are no toilets, and it is easy to get dirty skirts when walking...
Brother Jiu said to Shu Shu: "There is definitely not one person who likes high-soled flag shoes like Sister Seven. When the time comes, I will use this as a reference. It is impossible to improve the current flag shoes by two inches.
When Shu Shu heard this, she wanted to give Brother Jiu a thumbs up.
But I am really far-sighted. It seems that starting from the Qianlong Dynasty, flag shoes gradually became taller. By the late Qing Dynasty, they were not only one foot, but also eight inches.
Jiu Gege stood by and looked at Brother Jiu, then at Shu Shu.
She really wanted to ask her brother if this shoe was really a reference for women's shoes?
No other ideas?
If there were high-soled shoes that men could wear, I would probably be willing to spend more money.
My ninth brother must be one of them.
Princess Duanshun took the sound box and opened it to listen to the sounds inside.
That kind of winding sound box, when you open it, you will see a little silver figure spinning.
Then there is soothing music.
It is not the various world-famous songs that Shu Shu is familiar with, but a more profound and melodious song.
The room suddenly became quiet.
Everyone looked at the pronunciation box.
Princess Duanshun couldn't put it down and said to Brother Jiu: "This is good, this is good. If it's convenient for me, buy one for me."
Brother Jiu hurriedly said: "It's convenient, you can do whatever you want. When my grandson is ready to work as an errand, he can go and ask for rewards from Khan Ama."
Princess Duanshun looked at Princess Shuhui: "Sister, don't you want one?"
Concubine Shuhui waved her hand and said, "I have good ears. I can't stand the ticking of the clock on weekdays, and I don't like to hear it either."
Having said this, she looked at the snuff bottles and said, "This one is more practical, and it will be honorable to reward people later."
The Queen Mother looked at those palm-sized small makeup mirrors and said: "This is good, it is suitable for little princesses."
Although she only raised one granddaughter, Jiu Gege, the other princesses in the palace also lived in the princess' residence in Ningshou Palace.
Thinking of her three little grandsons, the Queen Mother pointed at the kaleidoscope and said, "There are a few of these too."
Xiao Chun was nearby, taking a sharpened eyebrow pencil and jotting it down briefly.
When Jiu Gege saw this, he thought of the quill and asked Brother Jiu: "Brother Jiu, is there any rich quill? I forgot about that first..."
Brother Jiu said: "There is a box. I will give you a package when I return to the palace."
The price is cheap and it’s decent to give away.
Brother Ninth planned to go back to pay tribute, but he also mentioned the word "foreign" in his words.
By the time he came out of the Queen Mother's courtyard, the booklet in Xiao Chun's hand was filled with three pages.
When they arrived at Concubine Hui's place, Concubine Hui chose more types, including perfume for herself, a one-foot-square makeup mirror, a ruby brooch, a pocket watch and makeup mirror for her granddaughter, and a kaleidoscope and sound box for her grandson.
After picking around, she still found that there was not enough. She looked at Brother Ninth and said, "They are all those that women and children like. Are there any that your eldest brother and my eighth brother can use?"
Brother Jiu glanced at Shu Shu and said: "There are also Gorkha knives, let my son make them round, there are about twenty. If you reward the eldest brother and the eighth brother, the son will honor his concubine and his mother."
Concubine Hui waved her hands and said, "Brother, you don't need to be filial. You just bring a few dollars when you go out. You can collect them all when you come back and I'll pay the bill together."
Brother Jiu smiled and said, "My son, I won't be polite to you anymore. We temporarily let go and bought a lot. We really want to end the famine."
After hearing this, Concubine Hui asked with concern: "What should I do? When I went out, I asked your elder brother to bring five hundred taels of gold, and I sent him to deliver it to you later?"
Brother Jiu pointed to the middle road and said: "No, no, no, just contact the weaving yamen first, and then we can make up for them later."
After hearing this, Concubine Hui felt relieved and reminded the two of them: "There are a lot of good things in Jiangnan, but you have to consider what you buy. If you meet someone you like, just buy it for yourself. Just use it as a favor or as a gift.
"
Brother Jiu and Shu Shu both remembered it.
They lost money this time to make reserves for the future.
It’s not like you buy something and then scatter it when you get back.
Instead, I thought about living in a mansion in the future, where there would be many places for favors and courtesy.
The current "big wholesale" in Jiangnan is also to save a few expenses in the future.
Unexpectedly, in the eyes of the elders, they will become a young couple who cannot live a happy life.
The two of them accepted Concubine Hui's kindness without any explanation.
It was Shu Shu who thought of these two noble men.
These two are both "evergreen trees" in the harem who will survive in the next twenty years, and she is also willing to sell personal favors.
It's just that the two of them are not of high status now, and unlike Concubine Hui, Concubine Rong is more than thirty years older than Brother Jiu, so it is difficult for them to deal directly with the prince.
Shu Shu asked Concubine Hui and said: "Concubine, if the two nobles are proud of anything, please help spread the word and we will pass it along tomorrow."
It was just a simple task. Concubine Hui agreed, looked at Shu Shu and praised: "This is good. After all, you are the elder, you should respect me."
It's not wrong to be like Ba Fu Jin, but it's too snobbish and cold.
When they arrived at Concubine Rong's place, Sanfujin was also there.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law didn't know what to say first, and the atmosphere was not good.
Concubine Rong had a slumped face, as if she owed eight hundred coins to someone else.
San Fujin stood with his flag shoes still on his feet. Looking at him like that, his patience was almost gone.
Concubine Rong looked at the large and small bags behind Brother Jiu, and couldn't help but smile, "Brother is so polite, I just gave away the banquet at noon, and now I'm giving away something..."
After that, she told the palace maid: "Go and pick her up quickly..."
Brother Jiu heard this and said hurriedly: "Concubine, these are not filial piety. My son Fujin bought them. I will show them to my concubine. If there is anything rare, my son will help you run errands!"
Concubine Rong's smile immediately froze, and she was a little uninterested. She looked at Shu Shu with a bit of sincerity: "There is nothing in the palace, so what are you spending this money on? You are young and don't know that living at home will lead to a lot of waste in the future.
.”
Shu Shu smiled, not answering the question.
She didn't spend her old man's money, and her own mother-in-law hasn't spoken yet.
Brother Ninth also felt bored and wondered if he could leave.
He had followed the imperial father's oral instructions, but the "Wanbao Pavilion" was not his business. Whether he wanted to buy it or not had nothing to do with him.
San Fujin was already standing in front of Xiao Chun. He opened a box and looked at it. It happened to be a gold bracelet inlaid with diamonds.
Different from the exquisite gold-wired bracelets in the palace, this bracelet is a bit rough. The diamond main stone is about the size of a small fingernail and looks like glass. It is not as popular as rubies and sapphires.
But this is gold!
San Fujin thought about going out this time, so he paid two thousand taels of silver from the official account of the mansion.
Buying jewelry is buying, and buying clothing materials is also buying.
Jewelry can fall into one's pocket, and the material of clothes belongs to the whole family.
She smiled and said: "This is good, I like diamonds, they look sober."
Shu Shu glanced at her, a little surprised.
Nowadays, people don’t really recognize diamonds.
Shu Shu left this behind because she was heading towards the main stone in the middle of the bracelet.
It seems to be five or six carats and can be removed to make a ring face.
Shu Shu said: "This is an orphan, this is the only one, let me take it."
The gold bracelet is half an inch wide and weighs half a catty. Rich people don't like its crude style; poor people can't afford it, so they keep wearing it.
Sanfujin let it go with some regret.
Concubine Rong's eyes fell on the French perfume.
This tribute comes from Guangzhou Customs every year, but the quantity is not large.
In the early years, Concubine Rong had no shortage of this.
Whether it is the Queen or the Emperor, remember to give her a reward.
She had a share in the annual tributes back then.
Later, as she grew older, there were more concubines in the harem, new favorites such as Wang Guiren came out, and the reward from Zhongcui Palace disappeared.
With a bit of sadness in her heart, she picked up the perfume, unscrewed it, put it under her nose and smelled it. It turned out to be the familiar smell of roses, and her heart trembled...
*
I'm crying, this month's monthly vote list is so tight, SOS, it's about to fall out of the top 50, please dads please help me.
In addition, Fenguoguo's post has been uploaded. In the book friend circle, there are 20 book friend titles. Interested dads and Xiaoba sister's event posts must be related to that event post. That can be assigned directly by the website backend.
