Looking at the busy gift-giving procession outside the door, the doorman, Old Li, was surprised and couldn't help but think of the fifth lady's instructions.
At first he thought that Miss Fifth was overthinking, but he didn't expect that so many people would come to give gifts, and they were all expensive gifts. Gifts from any family would have been rare in the past. Now he simply respected Miss Fifth as a god.
Because of Li Shu's instructions, the doorman, Old Li, did not accept any gifts, not even the money given as a gift to him.
However, the doorman, Old Li, was still a little worried.
Those queuing outside the door are all from dignitaries' families. Although the doorman, Old Li, doesn't know much, he still knows the principle of reciprocity. After a few exchanges of courtesy, the relationship between them became familiar.
But I have never heard of any family in Beijing closing their doors.
Take a look.
There are so many dignitaries and nobles living outside the door.
When the Fifth Miss ordered not to accept any gifts, she probably didn't expect so many dignitaries to give her gifts.
If I refuse all of them, I will offend too many people at once. How can I be an official then
The doorman, Old Li, felt that what happened was too unexpected.
no.
I have to tell Miss Five.
Therefore, the doorman, Lao Li, asked someone to hold on for a while while he trotted to the second gate with hanging flowers to find his wife and asked her to ask Miss Five for instructions on what to do now.
About a quarter of an hour later, Li Shu arrived at the gate surrounded by a group of maids and old women. A maid next to her was holding a parasol, and the umbrella covered half of Li Shu's pretty face.
Li Shu glanced at the people outside the door, held the embroidered handkerchief in her slender jade hands and half covered her cherry lips, and whispered a few words to Qin'er, who lowered her head and listened, nodding from time to time.
"My brother-in-law has gone out to do some work early in the morning, so you have made a wasted trip. My young lady asked me to thank you all for your kindness on behalf of my brother-in-law. Please go back now."
After listening to Li Shu's instructions, Qin'er came to the door, bowed to everyone outside the mansion gracefully, and said softly.
"No, no, you are too polite, Madam. It is we who are rude. It is just a small gift, please accept it."
"Mr. Zhu is young and promising, and he is loyal to his duties. He is truly a role model for an official. His future achievements will surely be limitless. We dare not disturb Mr. Zhu's work. This is a visiting card from Mr. Zhang, our treasurer, and a small gift. It is not a token of respect, but I hope you will accept it."
"You are too polite, Madam. We are sorry to have troubled your family by coming here uninvited. When our lord heard that Master Zhu and Madam Zhu got married in their hometown, he lamented that he was unable to come and congratulate them in person. So he personally selected a small gift to wish Master Zhu and Madam Zhu a long and happy marriage..."
The people outside the mansion gate bowed and greeted each other, saying all kinds of congratulations and auspicious words, and then presented their visiting cards and gift lists to the doorman, Old Li, one after another.
The doorman, Old Li, didn't dare to accept it. He stood there at a loss, looking at Qin'er for help.
Seeing this, Qin'er came to Li Shu for instructions.
Shaoqing, Qin Er came to the door again and said to everyone again: "Thank you all for your kindness to the young master and young lady. We appreciate your kindness. You can leave the visiting card, but please take the gifts back with you. When the young master comes, I will present the visiting card to him. When he is free, I will visit you one by one."
"A gift of goose feathers from a thousand miles away is worth more than the sentiment behind it. Although this gift is small, it is a token of our master's heart. Please do us the honor of accepting it."
"This pair of jade pieces was made of raw stones that our master selected all the way from the Western Regions. He spent more than ten days to carve them. They were made as a wedding gift to congratulate Mr. Zhu and Madam Young Madam. We wish them a long and happy marriage..."
... ...
The people outside the door were unyielding and spoke with sincerity. They were so sincere that it seemed as if one would be embarrassed not to accept their money...
"Miss, what should we do?" Qin'er didn't know how to respond, so she had to come to Li Shu again and ask for her advice.
"These people are either from the Taicang Silver Vault or are related to the Taicang Silver Vault. They don't come here to give gifts with good intentions, they come here to stab your husband with a knife. The handle of the knife is in their hands, and the tip of the knife is in your husband's heart. If you accept the gifts, you will give them a handle, and your husband will be controlled by them. How can you inspect the silver vault in the future? Those who come to give gifts are guilty and have ulterior motives. From now on, no matter who comes to give gifts, only visiting cards will be accepted, not gifts. With the visiting card, it will be convenient for your husband to follow the clues." Li Shu glanced at the people outside the door, rolled her eyes, and whispered.
ah
So that's how it is, then they are all bad guys.
Qin'er and Baozi's maid Hua'er suddenly realized what was going on when they heard this, especially Hua'er. If Li Shu hadn't glared at her, she would have gone to the door and cursed.
"Thank you all for your kindness, but since it is a thoughtful gesture, we appreciate it. You can leave your visiting cards, but please take the gifts back with you. It's hot today, so don't stand outside, please go back." Qin'er came to the door again and said to everyone.
Naturally, everyone was unyielding and was determined not to give up until the gift was delivered.
After Qin'er understood the deeper meaning, she knew what to do. No matter what they said, she would not accept the gifts.
He won't eat anything soft or hard, and won't take a drop of water.
I won’t accept any gifts today. If you want to accept anything, I’ll only accept visiting cards.
"Master Zhu is honest and upright, and he is a role model for us. Master Zhu is honest, and we cannot be mean and let him break the rules. How about this, we will leave our visiting cards, and each of us will take the gifts home, without leaving any behind." The people outside the door had been rejected many times, and seemed to have given up. Someone who looked like the leader stepped forward and said, "However, we still have a few pots of flowers, so let's put them in the yard for you to decorate. The pots are made of pottery, and the flowers are ordinary flowers, not worth a few cents, just for the sake of beauty. No matter who says that accepting a few pots of flowers is not greedy... ... Please don't refuse anymore."
Soon, several maids came forward each holding a small flowerpot. The flowerpot was indeed an ordinary ceramic pot, about ten centimeters in diameter. The flowers in the pot were ordinary chrysanthemums, roses, peonies, etc., none of which were rare varieties. In terms of value alone, this pot of flowers was only worth a few cents.
After counting, there were only six pots of flowers in total.
It's about twenty cents.
It seems like it's really nothing, just twenty cents. There won't be any problem either by law or human relationship.
This way, you don't have to accept the gift and you can give the other party a way out, so that they can go back and report back, killing two birds with one stone.
Doorman Lao Li and others all looked at Li Shu.
"Bring me a pot and let me see it." Li Shu pointed to a pot of chrysanthemums and said casually.
The maid holding the chrysanthemums outside the mansion came forward in response, holding the chrysanthemums in both hands very respectfully and handed them to Li Shu.
Seeing this, the leader outside the mansion gate couldn't help but smile.
"This pot of flowers looks quite unique."
Li Shu took a closer look, her cherry lips curved into an arc, and she stretched out her slender hand to take the flowerpot. However, her hand slipped or something, and the flowerpot slipped from Li Shu's hand to the ground as soon as her hand touched it.
With a loud crash, the flowerpot broke into pieces.
"ah?"
Cries of surprise rang out.
I saw a heavy ingot of gold rolling out from the soil of the broken flower pot on the ground...
Exposed.
The people outside the mansion had no choice but to leave in shame with their gifts and flower pots, leaving behind only visiting cards.