In order to thank the people who received the invitation for their generosity in attending the banquet, Su Ren, Dong Qian, and Lengyue decided to hold a cocktail party at their home to thank all colleagues and friends in advance for their enthusiasm. Since it was Su Ren, Dong Qian and his wife who invited them,
Naturally, the people who come to the cocktail party are all in pairs. Maybe they don’t know what a cocktail party is, but everyone loves to join in the fun.
Since early in the morning, Chang'an City has been boiling. There are horses and nobles or officials dressed in high spirits, and carriages produced by the Su family are carrying fragrant ladies and ladies. Teams guarding the west gate of Chang'an City
Sui had never seen so many dignitaries in one day. He had tried his best to stand upright since the morning, for fear that he would offend a certain official and ruin his mission.
"Old Zhang, is this the carriage of the Fuping Hou family that just passed by?" A soldier asked the old soldier beside him: "Tsk, tsk, tsk, look at that carriage decorated with gold and silver, and the horses pulling it can't even run fast.
.”
"What's this? Linzihou just brought his family there before you came. That's really luxurious. His carriage is made of gold. When the sun shines on it, it dazzles your eyes!"
"Where are you going? Going outside the city to worship your ancestors before the New Year's Day? It's not like that! You can't only bring this few people with you to worship your ancestors!"
"You know nothing. What kind of cocktail party is being held by Marquis Yong'an? All the people invited are dignitaries. Who is Marquis Yong'an? He is the God of Wealth and the God of Military. He is also a capable minister in governing the place. All he needs to do is learn two tricks from Marquis Yong'an.
, I won’t have to worry about food and clothing for the rest of my life!” The old soldier murmured towards the small stall selling scallion pancakes in the city gate: “Did you see that guy selling scallion pancakes? He used to be a slave of the Yongan Hou family, and later he was released.
Look at their business, they can make thousands of dollars every day!"
Another burst of fancy cars and horses came over, and two soldiers, an old man and a young man, quickly stood up, raised their heads and watched another dignitary leave the city, feeling both emotion and envy in their hearts.
Guan Qiang paced back and forth in the courtyard, looking up at the sun, feeling anxious. Since the morning, he had been urging everyone to hurry up, but after everything was ready, he found that his wife never came out. He had already sent someone to call
Several times, he said he would be fine soon, but no one was there. Guan Qiang had a hard time this year. Because of Guan Fu's incident, Guan Qiang's father Guan A was very angry. Guan Fu's ancestor was originally Guan Qiang.
Guan Fu was a retainer of his grandfather Guan Ying. During the Rebellion of the Seven Kings, Guan Fu broke away from the Guan family and established his own family due to his military exploits, but this relationship was there. Later, Guan Fu committed a crime, and as the former head of the family, he would naturally be jointly and severally liable. Guan Qiang's
His father, Guan A, was already in poor health, so he was frightened and went directly to the west. Therefore, after Zhou Jiande, Guan Qiang became the second person in their small group to inherit the family business.
Zhou Jiande stepped into the door of Guan Qiang's house and shouted at Guan Qiang in the courtyard: "Why haven't you left yet? It will be too late if you don't leave! It's not good for us to be late because we are juniors! Of course, Mr. Su Jian won't say anything.
He is also a gentleman, if that brat Su Kang sees us, our reputations will be ruined!"
Guan Qiang also felt that this was the truth. When he was about to go and see for himself, a noble lady came out with the support of two wives. Needless to say, she had bright eyes and white teeth. Her face was like a peach blossom, and her hair was like black satin. It was a standard.
The woman's hair is in a bun high on her head, and the dazzling array of pearls spread out in a fan shape on her head, just facing the sun. She looks like a peacock spreading its tail. She is a beauty, and she deliberately exposes her shoulders. The bright red robe is not at all
They couldn't cover the round pair. No matter how much Zhou Jiande paid attention, he couldn't help but take a second look.
Guan Qiang was furious: "You, you, you were going to a banquet, and you ended up like this! Go and change it back!"
Guan Qiang's wife is the legitimate daughter of the Lu Linhou family. Originally, the Guan family might have been better than the Lu Linhou family. After Guan Fu's incident, Pinghou Guan'a was frightened to death. With the support of a young boy like Guan Qiang,
She could no longer compare with Lu Linhou's family, so Mrs. Guan was no longer afraid of Guan Qiang at home. She met Zhou Jiande first, and walked straight out of the gate. As she walked, she said, "What do you know? What kind of reception is this?"
, just to compete for the limelight, it doesn’t matter if your men are casual, but we women are different. If we don’t dress up, will we lose the reputation of our Pinghoufu? "
Guan Qiang wanted to say more, but Zhou Jiande sighed and pulled Guan Qiang to stand up: "Brother, don't mind, I'm afraid my family is not as good as my younger siblings! It's hard to say it all, it's hard to say it all!"
All the dignitaries from Chang'an City were dispatched, and it was impossible not to alert the emperor. After receiving the report, the emperor became more and more confused about what Su Ren wanted to do. How could he have rehearsed in advance for his son to marry a wife? He called a few people to ask.
The emperor couldn't sit still due to the situation. He couldn't bear to lose his dignity and secretly went to Su's house to find out the news. Therefore, Wei Qing, who didn't like the excitement, became the best shield. He took only Wei Qing and Liu Ruyi with him.
Three people and three horses went straight to Louguantai without saying anything.
Su Ren's home was originally located behind Lou Guan Academy. Later, Lou Guan Academy continued to expand and the Su family could no longer stay there, so Su Ren found another spacious place in Yusun County to rebuild the Hou Mansion.
It has not yet been built, so naturally it has to live in a corner of the house behind the academy. Although it is a corner of the house, compared with the huge building complex of Louguan Academy, in fact, the area of Su House is not much larger than the mansions of the powerful in Chang'an.
How many years ago, what most envied the powerful people in Chang'an was that there was a large gentle slope behind the Su family's house, with green grass and rich fragrance. After so many years of careful management, it has become a scene of Louguan Academy, with arty students.
Come and recite poems and compose poems.
Tonight's cocktail party is arranged here. The first guest is Gongsun He. Since he didn't get an answer from Su Ren last time, this guy came to Su Ren to talk to him when he had time, but Su Ren never said anything.
Gongsun He was really helpless. When he stepped into the venue, Gongsun He was fascinated by the scenery in front of him. It was not that the scenery in the backyard of the Su family was so good, but what Su Ren did today surprised Gongsun He.
Wearing green robes and hats, the boys are all young, clean clothes, and in good spirits. They are not as submissive as other boys in raising their hands and feet, which adds a bit of freedom and confidence. In the middle of the grass
, a round table in Nuo Da is filled with a variety of exquisite pastries and tableware. The white porcelain and gold outlines are without any flaws. The white is dazzling and the yellow is rich. It looks high-end no matter how you look. In order to show the status of the nobility.
, some white tents were set up on the edge of the grass, with three or two tables and chairs in each tent, and there were full-time servants waiting on the side. Before they started, Gongsun He already felt that he was getting taller.
Su Ren pointed to the place at the back, where there was a small stage. Musicians specially invited from the Jiaofang Division were adjusting their instruments. Even the chimes had been moved over, looking like they were doing something big.
The strong aroma of wine flowed in the air, with a hint of sweetness and a touch of refreshing. Because it was winter, a huge tent was built outside the grassland to cover the entire venue. Even so, the tent
Gongsun He also lived there, but I don't know what method Su Ren used to make Nuo Da's shed as warm as spring. The delicate flowers bloomed in the shed extremely beautifully.
"Hey! Look at how you live, and look at us, one is in the sky and the other is in a pig's nest!" Gongsun He sighed with emotion: "Is it the heater you mentioned that makes it so warm?"
Su Ren nodded, and he and Gongsun He walked out of the shed to the highest point of the gentle slope. A dozen servants were boiling water next to a large pot. This pot was different from other pots. It was closed on all sides and connected by copper pipes on the left and right. You could see
There should be hot water on one side and cold water on the other side. The coal-fired guys heated the water in the pot and flowed the hot water out along the copper pipes at the bottom, into the pipes laid under the turf, and circulated back and forth to let the hot water flow out.
The big shed became like spring.
"I just sold it from the academy a few days ago. I spent fifty gold on it. It is said that the second generation has been finalized. It can be burned even on flat ground without having to lift the pot high. Are you interested in giving it to your family?
Want a set? With this thing, you no longer need any charcoal basin or stove."
Gongsun He looked at Su Ren and suddenly smiled: "Hahaha, I understand!" He thought again and said: "No, no, I am afraid that such a big battle is not just to promote these things from the academy. You must have other things.
the goal of."
Su Ren was speechless: "You guys always think so bad of me, do you want to buy it or not?"
As the sky got dark, the guests all came one after another. Su Ren took his wife and children to greet him at the door. The older one was naturally Su Ren, the ladies included Dong Qian and Leng Yue, and the younger ones were
Su Jian, Huo Guang and Su Kang, if they bring their children and Su Huier, etc., in short, they will make everyone feel at home. Now they are talking in the living room and back house, waiting for the guests to arrive, and then they enter
Today's meeting is the main venue. Because there are women, the venue is divided into two parts. There are two women guarding the door of the female guest's side. Even Su Kang and Cao Xiang can't even think of entering.
Like Gongsun He, these burly country bumpkins were a little confused by the new trendy cocktail party. As the host, Su Ren took the trouble to explain it personally. From etiquette, dining, and conversation, everything was linked to the Zhou rites, and every set of them was listened to by these dignitaries.
I was stunned for a while. This set of rhetoric was a system that Su Ren, Huo Guang, and Han Qing worked on for more than ten days. Dong Zhongshu and Wen Dang even consulted on it. If it hadn't been beaten out by two old men, it would have been absolutely impossible.
It can be printed into a book and distributed as a model of etiquette.
Ji An shook the drink from his beard and asked Su Ren: "How much does this cocktail party cost?"
Su Ren smiled and said: "The glass of wine you just drank is worth one gold. The wine glasses you are holding are a set, made by Master Qian of Suzhou. How much do you think?"
Ji An's hand shook, and he almost dropped the wine glass to the ground. He quickly grabbed it firmly, not daring to be careless: "This, isn't this too luxurious? Simplicity should be the priority, not extravagance." (To be continued.)