Chapter 688: Going to the Shang family for a banquet
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, I returned to my parents' home. Unfortunately, no one in the princess's palace could participate in this activity. In the end, I spent my time playing leaf cards with the old man and the old lady.
On the third day of the Lunar New Year, many people in Beijing began to visit relatives and friends, and shops, restaurants and teahouses on the street also reopened.
Old man Qi disappeared after breakfast. Only when Qi Baoer asked did he find out that a group of young old men had sent servants to the house to make an appointment with him yesterday.
As soon as this day was 'liberated and released', old man Qi, who couldn't stay at home, immediately disappeared.
Butler Qi smiled and said: "The old man left a message saying that he would have dinner at Deyuan Restaurant in the afternoon and at Prince Jin's Mansion in the evening, so that you and the old lady don't have to wait for him."
Qi Bao'er, who was reviewing the memorial, also had a smile in his eyes when he heard this. He wrote the word "read" on the lower right corner of the memorial and moved the memorial away. Butler Qi, who was accustomed to being his deputy, stepped forward and closed the memorial.
Put it aside on top of a pile of memorials about ten centimeters thick.
He took out a gift list from his sleeve and presented it, "Sir, it's Mrs. Shang's birthday tomorrow. Please take a look at this gift and see if it needs to be changed."
Qi Baoer took it and glanced at it briefly, pointed at one of them and said: "This is changed to the set of four treasures of the study on the second floor of the pen and ink shelf in my warehouse.
When Mrs. Shang bought a set of bracelets as a gift to Mrs. Shang, she scolded her in the street. She probably didn’t like those impractical gold and jade jewelry. If I accept the set of jade jewelry you prepared and sent it to me, based on my relationship with Mr. Shang,
On the contrary, she was in a dilemma. It was neither right nor wrong to accept it.
Give her the Four Treasures of the Study Room, even if she doesn’t use it herself, she can still use it for her only grandchild.”
Qi Baoer pronounced the word "only" very seriously.
Praying to the housekeeper: "..."
Understood, after receiving the gift list, I immediately took a pen and changed the set of jade ornaments on it into a set of four treasures of the study, and also changed several other things.
For example, the original two pieces of silk cloth were changed into one piece of cotton cloth, and the original two frames of longevity peaches were changed into one box of longevity peaches.
Presenting the gift list again, "Sir, please take a look."
Qi Baoer only raised his eyes and looked back at Xu Shu again, "Just do what you want."
Butler Qi suppressed a smile and said yes, putting away the gift list and pen again.
"Sir, will you take someone with you tomorrow?"
Qi Bao'er has participated in many banquets since she came back, but she does not attend those banquets held in the name of flower appreciation. They are all the birthdays of this official or the birthday of that official's elders, etc.
Such occasions tended to be "empty and conciliatory" in the officialdom. She didn't like it herself, and she didn't want Da Lang to be imbued with those bad virtues prematurely; so she always went alone.
Usually I just sit around and come back.
This time it was because Shang Chengfeng was Qi Bao'er's best friend and their relationship usually went well, so Butler Qi asked more questions.
The Shang family is quite special, and I don’t know how many people will be present at tomorrow’s birthday party. Butler Qi wants to confirm whether Qi Baoer will show favor to Shang Shu, so that he can determine whether the gift list needs to be changed.
Qi Baoer was silent for a moment and said, "Go and inform the eldest brother and the fourth brother and ask them to come with me tomorrow."
"yes."
It seems that the gift list still needs to be carefully considered.
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Mrs. Shang's birthday banquet was not held in Shangshu's Mansion, but in the old residence of the Shang family.
….The old house of the Shang family is not in the inner city, but at the end of the alley near the city gate on the east street of the outer city.
From the location of this old house, we can see the original status of the Shang family in the capital. Although they were still among the powerful, they were already ranked at the tail end.
Mr. Shang and Mrs. Shang had three sons and one daughter in their lifetime. Mr. Shang had three concubines, but none of the three concubines gave him a daughter. All his babies came from Mrs. Shang's belly.
Shang Chengfeng is the second son of Mr. Shang.
As the old saying goes, a father loves his eldest son and a mother loves her younger ones. This saying is absolutely true for Shang Chengfeng. He is the miserable one in the middle who has been loved by no one since he was a child.
Otherwise, how could Shang Chengfeng, who was said to have the father of a civil servant, go to Pingyuan Pass to join the army?
Where is Pingyuanguan?
To put it harshly, it is not much different from simply going to die.
What these parents went even further was that after Shang Chengfeng reported the news of his serious injury, none of them wanted to go to Pingyuan Pass to see how their son was doing. Instead, they determined that their second son would definitely die at Pingyuan Pass, in Beijing.
First, a mourning hall was built and a burial mound was built for Shang Chengfeng.
What's even more outrageous is that when Mrs. Shang sent the seriously injured Shang Chengfeng back to Beijing, the first thing the couple heard when they entered the old house of the Shang family was that Mrs. Shang told the eldest wife of the Shang family that the son she gave birth to was
, is the only grandson of the Shang family.
Mrs. Shang had two sons and one daughter. The eldest grandson was already married at that time, so the grandson's daughter-in-law came back together with a full belly.
Tell me about how Shang Chengfeng and Mrs. Shang felt after this matter was fixed.
Before a person dies, you, the biological parents, get dressed and dressed first. Even if the person dies, are you not even prepared to recognize his wife, children and grandchildren?
In the carriage, Si Lang asked curiously: "What happened next?"
Qi Baoer took a sip of tea with an indifferent expression and continued: "Master Shang got angry this time and did not save face for Mr. Shang and Mrs. Shang. He turned around and left the house, taking the whole family to a friend's house to recuperate.
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No one from the Shang family went to look for them. They probably thought that Master Shang would have to go back and rescue them. He couldn't live in a friend's house all the time. Besides, Master Shang's condition was not good at the time. Treatment would not only cost a huge amount of money.
, the key is that many of the medicinal materials that need to be used are precious and difficult to buy outside.
Master Shang's friends can't get those medicinal materials, but the Shang family can think of some ways; no matter how bad the Shang family is, their ancestors are still considered to be one of the aristocratic families with some background. If they show off their shame and ask for help, someone will still give them the face.
.”
Daliang continued without saying anything, "I also know about this. The friend's house Mr. Shang went to at that time was my husband's fourth uncle.
In the early years, Fourth Uncle Lu and the Lu family broke up because of Fourth Aunt Lu. He opened a grocery store with a few hundred taels of silver that Mrs. Lu gave him privately, and lived at the end of South Street.
In order to force Mr. Shang to go back, the Shang family also destroyed Fourth Uncle Lu's house and shop. At that time, Fourth Aunt Lu was pregnant and almost suffered a miscarriage."
Fourth Uncle Lu and the Lu family have broken up. Although Mrs. Lu feels sorry for her younger son and occasionally helps her in private, if Uncle Lu is really in trouble or something, Mrs. Lu really doesn't dare to help unless Mr. Lu relents.
Therefore, the fashion house really almost forced Uncle Lu and Master Shang into a corner.
"Later, for some unknown reason, the emperor suddenly made Master Shang the Minister of the Ministry of War, and also gave Master Shang a mansion to live in. The Shang family did not dare to go too far anymore."
Because this matter is not a secret at all in Beijing, it was such a big fuss at first, so the three brothers and sisters took it out of the carriage to chat.
It's not to amuse Menzi with the pain of poaching others after eating too much, but Qi Bao'er and Daliang want to remind the uninformed Siliang what position they should place in relation to the rest of the Shang family.
This is also the reason why Qi Baoer was reluctant to give a set of jade ornaments to Mrs. Shang.
She has a lot of jade, but she doesn't give it to just anyone.
A set of the four treasures of the study worth tens of taels of silver is enough to give you face.
(End of chapter)
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Meng Meng reminds you: Remember to collect after reading this
