"It's just a false alarm!" After a brief pause, Xi Fuwei said slowly, "It's not worth taking it to heart. Madam and old madam please just concentrate on greeting the distinguished guests."
The steward said: "Mr. Shen is really magnanimous."
Because of these few words, people around him had already looked over. The steward couldn't stay long, so they all bowed and left.
After she left, people nearby began to inquire about the news with Xi Fuwei. Xi Fuwei was just perfunctory and didn't miss a word about her identity and relationship with the Zou family: She chose this place to sit down. No one knows anyone here, but I’m not here to meet people!
Little did he know that the steward went back to report to Mrs. Shang, but Mrs. Shang misunderstood and said: "When Mr. Shen came in before, Yi Ang suspected that she had ulterior motives in entering the Zou Mansion because of her beauty. Now it seems that she is more serious than Fu. Mr. Fu is much more noble... On such a cold day, a girl can jump into the lake so decisively to save people. Everyone can see Mr. Fu's plan today. Miss Yao looked confused and left with her Together, she would probably use it as a green leaf. However, Mr. Shen's talent and appearance were not something that Mr. Fu could hide. She specially bypassed Mr. Fu's seat and went to a table that no one knew and was inconspicuous. Mr. Fu has such thoughts and doesn’t want to offend Mr. Fu, so he hides.”
Then he ordered, "Tell everyone below to watch and stop disturbing Mr. Shen!"
The steward said yes, and asked: "The master is very angry now, saying that he wants to punish the young master...?"
"What kind of occasion is this!" Mrs. Shang frowned, "Do you think I don't want to slap this guy? Isn't this because I'm afraid of spoiling the celebration of the birthday party!? Let him calm down!"
As for Zou Yiang, Mrs. Shang took a deep breath and was about to speak when she saw a girl in red not far away who was surrounded by stars put down her wine bottle and looked around. The place suddenly became quiet, and she was the only one who said clearly and clearly: " Although our sisters have seen many scenery that we have never seen before during this trip, we have never had time to interact with sisters of the same age. I take the liberty to come here this time and thank you for your hospitality. I am very grateful. But I don’t know if Can you also get to know all the ladies from Yanzhou?"
"Miss Xu's words have upset our family." The silver-haired Mrs. Zhuang said hurriedly, "With the presence of these two distinguished guests, our family is truly in full bloom. How can there be anything presumptuous?"
As for Xu Jingyuan's desire to meet the lady from Yanzhou who came to congratulate the Zou Mansion today, the old lady will not stop her. This is a good opportunity for each family to establish relations with the Duke of Dingguo and the Minister of Industry, even if the Zou family is a wealthy family in Yanzhou , and he is not so determined to offend others.
The news that Duke Dingguo's sister offered to meet Yanzhou's beautiful lady quickly spread among the people at the table. Everyone was surprised and happy. Only Xi Fuwei sighed secretly: "These two, they really don't want to meet me if they don't meet me." Willing to give up!"
What surprised her was that after a while, she mixed in with the team and went to toast Xu Jingyuan and Song Jianiang. After Mrs. Shang introduced her identity, the two of them said "Oh" and looked her up and down. They exchanged tacit glances, but didn't say anything else. They just said lightly: "Mr. Shen is very smart at first glance."
Even a deaf person can hear the perfunctoriness in his tone.
But everyone thought it was normal. Considering the gap in status between the two parties, Xu Jingyuan was willing to say a word, which was already a great deal of face to Xi Fuwei.
Even after returning to their seats, there were still people who cast jealous glances secretly... You must know that although the two nobles said they wanted to meet the ladies of Yanzhou, not everyone got a special greeting.
Xi Fuwei had no time to pay attention to these gazes. She frowned and thought to herself: "Did these two people say they wanted to come over to see me... and did they really just do it in person?"
She thought it was unlikely.
If you just want to see with your own eyes what kind of person Xi Fuwei is, given the identities of Xu Jingyuan and Song Jianiang, any one of them can quietly give an order, which is enough for Xi Fuwei to take the initiative to send them to their door for them to visit.
Why bother to work to the point of visiting a strange old lady in person
"They must have bad intentions." Xi Fuwei mused, "They didn't make things difficult for me in public just now. Thinking about it, they had some scruples and didn't want to lose their reputation just to deal with me...Privately, I didn't know they would By what means?"
Because of the disparity in status, the other party has too many choices.
The simplest thing is to give a hint to the Zou Mansion. Mr. Shen of your family does not like it. No matter how kind the Zou Mansion is to the female gentleman, how can he offend the powerful people of the Yingtian Mansion for the sake of someone who is not a relative or an acquaintance
Or he could ask the people accompanying him to bribe the servants of Zou Mansion and do it secretly;
You can also spread rumors and kill people invisibly... The more Xi Fuwei thought about it, the more her face became watery. She didn't even feel like compromising with the people around her. She just sat there drinking tea absentmindedly, thinking about various possibilities. and countermeasures.
This situation seemed arrogant to those sitting at the table.
"We are from a family of serious ladies. She lives in a poor household and is qualified to sit with us because of her reputation in the Zou Mansion. Now she just gets a kind word from Miss Xu and she actually takes it upon herself to put it on the line?" Youxing. After the more impatient girl said this, everyone was a little angry, so they ignored her and started talking to themselves.
This situation was what Xi Fuwei wanted. Just when she was feeling peaceful, a hand suddenly stretched out from behind her and tugged on her sleeve.
"Who are you?" She looked back and was slightly startled when she saw a maid with a rough face.
"Mr. Shen, the young master would like to ask you to go out for a while." The maid blessed her and whispered, "Just for a moment."
Xi Fuwei narrowed his eyes and looked at her with flickering eyes for a while, then stood up when the maid looked a little confused: "Let's go!"
There is no way to escape this level today, so no matter who comes, or whose banner they pull... this trip is inevitable.
Xi Fuwei thought a little coldly: "I wonder what battles those two nobles have prepared for me?"
However, after arriving outside, he walked towards a secluded area under the leadership of the maid. As he walked, Zou Yiang was really walking around alone.
"You're finally here!" When Zou Yiang saw her, he breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly ran to the side. In a moment, he took out a small and exquisite food box from behind a bush of holly. He opened it and urged, "Drink quickly, drink quickly. ! If others see it, I will be finished!"
Xi Fuwei is now very wary. Everyone seems to have been bribed by Xu Jingyuan and Song Jianiang. How can he be willing to import such obscure things
Now he took a step back, shook his head and said, "Thank you, sir! But I was full at the table just now."
"What are those dishes?" Zou Yiang said, "What I got for you is a nourishing decoction that my grandmother only takes every few days. The medicinal ingredient is wild ginseng that has been grown for 500 years. It is the most nourishing medicine!"
Even though Xi Fuwei was extremely vigilant now, she also laughed a little angrily when she heard this: "Master, at this age, the old lady only takes nourishing decoctions every once in a while. How old am I that you want me to drink it?"
"The reason why my grandmother only eats it every once in a while is because it's hard to find old ginseng! She's afraid that if she eats it every day, she'll run out of food!" Zou Yiang looked at the country bumpkin with an expression on his face. "Just now I climbed up the window to my grandmother's house and smashed it. After picking up three locks, I stole some old ginseng and used it to make medicine... Don't waste time, drink it while it's hot. I've asked people, and they all said that if you drink this medicine, you will definitely not get the root of the disease!"
"You broke three locks..." Xi Fuwei's mouth twitched, "Are you really not afraid of being hung up and beaten by the master and his wife?"
Zou Yiang waved his hand: "It's okay! My grandmother knew it was me when she got back! In order to prevent me from being beaten, she would definitely hide it! Besides, for your health, what are you going to do?"
If Xu Jingyuan and Song Jianiang hadn't left yet, Xi Fuwei would have almost been moved!
"Thank you Mr. Zou for your kindness, but I can only accept it with my heart." She curled her lips and said, "I just went to the lake for a while, and I went back to Fenzhi Tower to clean up. Now I'm almost in good condition. There's no need to be so precious. The decoction... Mr. Zou should take it to honor the old lady! After all, your father-in-law already knows what happened today. Now that the birthday banquet is still going on, he won't do anything to you. When he comes back, he will definitely get to the bottom of it. If I knew about the young master's filial piety, I would be given a lighter punishment, right?"
Of course she said this because she suspected that the bowl of soup had been tampered with, but Zou Yiang didn't know what was going on. He was very moved and said guiltily: "I have teased you a lot before, but you actually put yourself in my shoes like this... It seems that I am watching. I misjudged you, although you are usually a bit cunning and cunning, you are actually a good person with a kind heart!"
Xi Fuwei said with a fake smile: "Stop saying these polite words! Master, hurry up and give it to the old lady, otherwise the soup will be cold and the old lady will not feel comfortable drinking it, and it will be self-defeating!"
"Anyway, I have stolen the wild ginseng." Zou Yiang said hurriedly, "I will ask someone to stew a bowl for grandma later. You should drink this bowl, right?"
Xi Fuwei was not surprised by his reaction. He only said that he had guessed correctly. There was something wrong with the decoction, so how could he give it to Mrs. Zhuang
You must find a way to make her drink it!
"I am a female gentleman from the Zou Mansion, and I am here to teach the young master's younger sisters." Xi Fuwei looked at him and said slowly, "Of course I have to lead by example! How could I know that the ingredients of the bowl of soup in the young master's hand were stolen? Come on, why don’t you still drink as usual?”
She said righteously, "If I do this, how can I have the face to teach you Miss Zou in the future? Please don't embarrass me, sir!"
No matter how Zou Yiang tried to persuade her, she would act like "I am a good gentleman with high moral character" and refuse to agree.
"...Forget it, if you feel any discomfort in the future, just come and tell me." After a long while, Zou Yiang, who was thirsty and thirsty, finally gave up, drank the already a little cold soup in one gulp, and said angrily, "I will Call a doctor for you... Speaking of which, you are really stupid, not to mention that you didn't confirm whether I really fell before jumping. Even if I fell, my personal servant didn't go into the lake to save me. , what are you, a female gentleman who has only been in the government for a few days, doing so hard?"
Xi Fuwei looked at the empty bowl in his hand in astonishment for a moment, wondering if she was overthinking it? Zou Yiang came here simply to thank him, didn't he receive instructions from so and so
But anyway, she didn't want to drink the nourishing soup Mrs. Zhuang drank at her age, so she turned around and threw it away.
When he heard this, he said: "Firstly, I am quite confident in my water nature; secondly, I am afraid that if something happens to you, I will be nearby, and if you cannot escape the relationship, you will not be able to stay in this house any longer."
"That's the truth." Zou Yiang nodded and asked her if there was anything she wanted.
Xi Fuwei naturally shook his head. Zou Yiang originally wanted to ask more, but the maid who invited Xi Fuwei over before looked at the clock and said to him: "Master, it's time for you to kowtow to the old lady at the banquet!"
He could only leave first. Before leaving, he earnestly told Xi Fuwei: "If you want anything, just say it! Don't look at my parents who beat me without mercy. After all, I am the only male heir in the Zou family. I want to get something." It’s still easy!”
Xi Fuwei just smiled.
After the man left, she thought for a while and felt that since she had already toasted with Xu Jingyuan and Song Jianiang, and they had no intention of breaking up with her in public, there was no need to waste time at the banquet. It's better to go back to Fenzhi Tower and have a good discussion.
Unexpectedly, she took a few steps in the direction of Fenzhilou. Suddenly she saw the person coming towards her, and her expression suddenly changed!