The Oiran Competition, where scholars gather, is undoubtedly a good opportunity to gain fame.
Once this was decided, Wang Xu began to think about the expenses. It would cost 500,000 taels to redeem the embroiderer, and it would cost at least 300,000 taels to buy a thousand-meter-long painting boat that would shock people's hearts.
At the beginning, Wang Xu would definitely not end up, and would have to find a group of scholars to help the embroiderer build momentum.
This is also a big expense, plus a complete painting boat, a troupe of gongs and drums that need to play, play and sing, some dancing girls who act as green leaves, decent-looking maids, and singers who are responsible for filling in during the intermission. Everything costs money.
That's not all. At the Oiran Competition, the guests are all literati, so decorations such as antique calligraphy and paintings are indispensable.
When an oiran comes out, his jewelry, hair, face, and clothing should not be ambiguous. Not only must they be classy, but they must also be tasteful.
What is taste and class? As prices go up, taste and class will naturally follow.
A gold necklace inlaid with gemstones can easily cost tens of thousands of taels. It is best to prepare three or five pieces of different styles to wear on different occasions.
Just a simple calculation, it would cost 1.5 million taels of silver to build a stylish boat.
When this is not necessary, the cost of inviting famous experts to comment and great scholars to give advice is even higher.
However, is Wang Xu short of money? Of course it is negative.
Money is just numbers to him. What he needs is not numbers, but the fame that numbers translate into.
Don't say 1.5 million taels, just 15 million taels. 150 million taels is nothing. As long as his name can be spread all over the world, it is worth it.
"How was your talk?"
Seeing that there was no movement inside for a long time, Wang Xu's little fan Zhang Xiaomei couldn't help but come up to check what was going on.
Seeing that Wang Xu and Xiu Niang were sitting on opposite sides and did not do anything inappropriate, Zhang Xiaomei breathed a sigh of relief and said, "My brother doesn't trust you, so let me come in and take a look."
"Really?" Having said this, Zhang Xiaomei looked at Zhang Xu who was following from behind.
"Ah, uh, yes, yes"
Zhang Xu, who was not sure why, met his sister's gaze and immediately changed from doubt to certainty, almost beating his chest to assure himself.
Wang Xu looked at it and shook his head secretly, and said to the Turtle who was following him: "Please help me run a trip. I want the embroiderer's contract. Please give me a price."
"Oh, this is not easy to handle. Mr. Ma, who came last time, wanted to redeem Miss Xiuer's life by name. He even paid a deposit."
Mr. Turtle looked embarrassed and pretended to sigh.
Wang Xu smiled slightly and said, "My surname is Wang, from the Wang family of Jinshan Prefecture. You must have heard of it, right?"
Today, the Wang family in Jiuquan Town and the Wang family in Liyang County can no longer represent the increasingly prosperous Wang family.
There are many families with the surname Wang in Jinshan Mansion, and none of them can be called the king's family.
As the newly emerging county leader's family, the Wang family has done its part and has become a signature of Jinshan Prefecture. The Wang family of Jinshan Prefecture refers to the current Wang Xu family.
"The Wang Family of Jinshan Mansion!"
When Mr. Turtle heard this, he was stunned on the spot.
"Why, you haven't heard of it?"
Wang Xu was puzzled. Mr. Gui was the receptionist of Huafang. Why was there so little information about it?
Which remote country did he come from? I dare not tell other places in the three states of Jiangnan today. Only in Yangzhou, there are very few people who don't know about the Wang family in Jinshan Prefecture.
In the past ten years, the Wang family has relied on the glass bead business to make a fortune, making a lot of money.
The traffickers and lackeys in the countryside can talk about the Wang family in Jinshan Prefecture, but why can't they do it now?
"I've heard it, I've heard it!"
After thinking about it, Mr. Turtle looked dumbfounded, and hurriedly said: "The flood has washed away the Dragon King Temple, and my family no longer knows each other. The owner of our boat painting is..."
Speaking of the back, Mr. Gui pointed at it and winked at Wang Xu.
Wang Xu narrowed his eyes slightly and said softly: "Wanjia?"
The only person who has some relationship with him but has to keep silent about it and can only point to the sky is the Wan family represented by Concubine Wan Guifei.
The Wan family is a relative of the royal family. In the early years, Concubine Wan Gui was the most favored concubine of the current Holy Emperor.
Now, Concubine Wan Gui has a child, and the mother is more valuable than her son. Apart from the empress dowager who lives in Cining Palace, and the queen who lives in Kunning Palace, Concubine Wan Gui is the largest in the harem.
There are also rumors in the outside world that the queen, who comes from a wealthy family, is either disgusted by the emperor, or there is even a risk of deposing the queen if the queen mother is not still around.
Even if he had not been deposed, the emperor had not stayed overnight in the queen's palace for a long time, and even the prince was abandoned.
Wang Xu's teacher Xue Mushan suspected that the current emperor might have his thoughts and did not want to see a prince who was closely related to a wealthy family ascend the throne.
If there is no action at present, it is the biggest action. There is no guarantee that Concubine Wan Gui’s son, Prince Qi, is the most favored prince candidate of the Holy Emperor today.
"It turns out that this boat is the property of Wanjia!" After learning that the embroiderer's employer was Wanjia, Wang Xu discovered that everyone was really half of his own family.
At present, the Wang family's business is basically covered by the Wan family and Concubine Wan Guifei behind the scenes. The Wan family owns 20% of the shares in the glass bead business, which can be regarded as the backing of the Wang family.
Wang Xu felt relieved when he learned that there was such a relationship. If it were another employer, Wang Xu would still be worried that the other party would not give him face.
Wanjia, this will never be the case.
From the glass bead business, the Wan family can make a profit of thirty million taels a year. In the eyes of the Wan family, the Wang family is a money tree.
For such a trivial matter, the other party would definitely not offend him. Wang Xu thought he still had some face.
Sure enough, after Mr. Gui asked for instructions, the embroiderer's deed of sale was quickly sent to her.
Also coming was a steward from the Wan family. As soon as he saw Wang Xu, he said: "When I learned that Mr. Wang has come to Yangzhou Mansion, my master wanted to send a greeting card and invite him to come to the house to talk about it. Unexpectedly,
, before the invitation was sent, Mr. Wang arrived first. It was a rare fate.
My master has said that this skinny horse should be given as a gift to Young Master Wang, and I also ask Young Master Wang to appreciate it and come to my house to take care of it in the evening."
The manager of the Wan family was very serious about the four words "Joining the Wind and Washing the Dust". Obviously Uncle Wan Guo asked him to come over, and it was not just a simple matter of reminiscing about old times.
In front of the Zhang brothers and sisters, Wang Xu didn't hesitate to ask more questions and nodded in agreement.
After the manager of the Wan family left and took the embroiderer's contract of sale, Wang Xu felt more and more confused about the matter.
Over the years, although the Wan family has been in business and acted as a protective umbrella for the Wang family, there has been no other cooperation between the two parties in other fields.
First of all, the Wan family’s Dinghai magic needle is Concubine Wan Gui, and the Wan family comes from a poor family, and it was only after Concubine Wan Gui that they became famous.
Today, the Holy Emperor does not like the gentry. In order to avoid suspicion, the Wan family has always kept a distance from the Wang family. In these years, the Wang family has never been invited to a gathering.
This time there was an unusual invitation. Is it because the Wan family's policy has changed and they want to move closer to Zhu Dang? Or there is something I don't know about.
Wang Xu feels that the latter is most likely.
No matter how powerful the Wan family is, they are only as powerful as Concubine Wan Gui in the palace, and their foundation is always in the palace.
And Concubine Wan Gui's foundation is the emperor. Nowadays, the emperor does not hesitate to support the emperor, so Concubine Wan Gui cannot show her love, otherwise it will be a political mistake, and the end will be even worse than that of the empress.
The queen is the main palace member and has the support of the nobles, so there is nothing she can do if the emperor doesn't like her.
Concubine Wan Gui is different, she has no foundation, and now she seems to be at the peak of her power, she may fall down one day.
At such a juncture, Concubine Wan Gui had no reason or possibility to turn to Zhu Dang. It seemed that the Wan family's invitation to him this time was not to find a matchmaker with him.
"That person is the steward of the Wan family, right?"
Just as Wang Xu was thinking about it, Zhang Xiaomei came up from behind and said casually, "The Wan family has become a little different in the past few years."
"Is it different?" Wang Xu looked at Zhang Xiaomei, always feeling that there was something in the other person's words.
Zhang Xiaomei did not say anything in depth, but instead smiled at him and winked mischievously.
Wang Xu remained calm on his face, but in his heart he was thinking about what difference Zhang Xiaomei meant.
Over the years, the Wan family has not changed much, and Concubine Wan Gui is still as favored as ever.
If there was any change, it would be that Concubine Wan Gui had a son and gave birth to the most beloved prince of the Holy Emperor today.