Because the dishes on the bamboo board have prices, no matter how you calculate it, their table, including the noodles for the servants, will not cost more than ten taels of silver. Is the restaurant not charging money because it disturbs their meal? Of course not. They came for the fragrant wine, and Qin Fang didn't want to leave this favor.
The couple walked in front with their son, and Niu Dan followed. They were strolling around the capital, and Niu Dan was in a good mood. The servant paid him and caught up with him in a short while. "General, I left ten taels of silver and came back without waiting for them to catch up."
"Well done, don't owe anyone a favor." Qin Fang said.
Servant: "Yes."
After leaving the restaurant, the Qin family went home. However, the four of them walked back, but... Qin Fang suddenly stopped and looked behind him.
"What's the matter?" Yang Haiyan asked.
Qin Fang said: "Someone is following us, but with such a crude tracking method, it must not be a professional, so don't pay attention to it." If it is a professional who is following us, then we should be careful. However, where they live is not a secret, there is nothing to hide, so Qin Fang didn't take it to heart. Besides, there is no one who can guard against thieves.
Yang Haiyan felt relieved after hearing him say this, but: "I don't know who it is."
Qin Fang: "Since the other party has sent people to follow us, he will definitely show up. Just wait."
After half an hour, the family slowly walked home. As soon as they got home, Yang Haiyan asked Qin Fang to hold his son to sleep. The little guy had played outside for a whole morning and walked a long way, and had fallen asleep on his father's shoulder.
Golden Money Restaurant
The origin of Jinqian Restaurant is very simple. It is the property of Marquis Jinqian. As for Marquis Jinqian, you can tell what the name means just by hearing it. It means super rich. Marquis Jinqian also has the merit of following the dragon. He was originally just a businessman. He had accumulated a lot of money for several generations. He was smart. He spent a lot of money on the great cause of the emperor. He invested two-thirds of his family property in it. After the emperor ascended the throne, he was given a famous and powerful title of Marquis, but he didn't care. With this title, at least no one dared to covet his family property.
As for the name of this title, it was also decided by Marquis Jinqian himself. There was nothing he could do about it; he was just rich.
Although Marquis Jinqian was rich, he was not the kind of person who was rich but unkind. Moreover, Marquis Jinqian was a well-known philanthropist in the capital. Marquis Jinqian's property was also well-known. There was Marquis Jinqian's backyard. He had many concubines at home. If the concubines were good, then the children would naturally be good.
It turns out that besides being interested in making money, the Marquis of Gold is also interested in beautiful women.
Therefore, the family of Marquis Jinqian was very famous in the capital. However, Marquis Jinqian loved beauties but never forced them. In fact, with his wealth and status, it was very easy for him to chase after beauties who were willing to be his concubines.
Shi Jie is the third son of Marquis Jinqian and a concubine. At this moment, he is listening to the servants' report.
“Third Young Master, I followed them to Tai’an District and saw them walk into a house called Qin Mansion. But I don’t know who the owner of this Qin Mansion is. The families in that area are all famous, and I have no place to ask.” It turned out that the person who followed Qin Fang was sent by Shi Jie.
The entire capital city is centered around the Imperial Palace. The area closest to the Imperial Palace is where the Imperial family members live. The area next to the Imperial family members is the Tai'an District. So the people who can live there are not concerned with money, but with status. For example, Marquis Jinqian lives there.
The reason why the Marquis of Jinqian's mansion was there was because it was a reward from the emperor. When the emperor first ascended the throne, he punished a large group of ministers who failed to stand in line, so the houses that were taken back were very small, and then he gave Marquis of Jinqian a house. In fact, only Marquis of Jinqian and the emperor knew that this house was bought by Marquis of Jinqian.
Qin Mansion? Living in Tai'an District
Shi Jie couldn't think of who it was for a moment. A person of his status had no chance to know about the court affairs, so he certainly didn't know who the Qin Mansion was. In fact, only people who lived near the Qin Mansion knew who the owner of the Qin Mansion was, and they knew who lived there. Otherwise, Tai'an District was so big, who would know whose family was coming
It didn't matter if he didn't know, Shi Jie immediately sent someone to inquire about it. But he didn't find out that the birthday of the old lady of Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion was coming.
Early in the morning of that day, Yang Haiyan arrived at the gate of the Du Mansion and made an appointment with the women of the Du family to go to Cheng'en Marquis Mansion together that day.
"Bingyun is here." When he arrived at the gate of the Du Mansion, he saw Mrs. Du and Qu waiting at the gate.
Yang Haiyan felt a little embarrassed, because she had arrived early for the agreed time. After all, she had an appointment and couldn't be late. But she didn't expect Mrs. Du and Mrs. Qu to be so early. "Godmother, second sister-in-law, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long."
Mrs. Du smiled and said, "We just came out and are right outside our house. There's no need to wait. Come on, let's go. Get on my carriage and we can talk as we go."
"Thank you, godmother. I'll be right there." Yang Haiyan got off the carriage.
Only Mrs. Du and Mrs. Qu went from the Du Mansion. Mrs. Du was very old and did not go. The eldest sister Du came from her husband's family, and there were also some women from her husband's family. The second sister Du was not on the invitation list. After all, her husband's family was just a small landlord and could not reach the threshold of Cheng'en Marquis Mansion. Even if her husband was from the Hanlin Academy, he was only a seventh-rank official, with a low threshold. Cheng'en Marquis Mansion probably didn't know about it.
The people invited by the noble families are all based on the background of their husband's family. Unless you are a royal princess or a royal princess.
In the carriage, Mrs. Du said, "Today is a day for everyone. You and I will introduce you to some acquaintances who are easy to get along with."
Yang Haiyan said gratefully: "I will listen to my godmother."
Mrs. Du knew that Yang Haiyan was a smart person, so she was not worried about her. Besides, no matter what, she was a second-rank lady, a woman with a title granted by the emperor, not one of those women who were granted an imperial decree along with their husbands. "But don't worry, the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion is Empress Shen's natal family, and the old lady is the mother-in-law that the emperor has called out today, so no one dares to make trouble in the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion, even if they don't care about the appearance of the stranger, they have to consider the Buddha's face." Otherwise, if the old lady's birthday was disturbed, the emperor would not be able to accept it.
Of course, there is a premise for this matter, that is, the emperor values the Yue family. If he doesn't value it, no one will care. But now, the emperor values Cheng'en Marquisate. Otherwise, if Empress Shen had gone there before the emperor ascended the throne, the Cheng'en Marquisate could have been given to the Ren family, but the emperor chose to suppress the Ren family. Regardless of whether the emperor values the Shen family or deliberately suppresses the Ren family, the emperor will definitely give the Shen family face.
The Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion was very lively, especially the gate of the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion. All the carriages of the wealthy families in the capital stopped here today. However, today was the old lady's birthday, so only the female relatives came. Among the female relatives, many young girls came. Families like the Du family were rare without young girls.
Of course, there are also young boys, but they have nothing to do with a woman like Yang Haiyan.
Qian, the wife of the Crown Prince of Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion, was at the door to welcome the guests, followed by the two wives of the Marquis's sons. The guests who came today were very important, even if they were royal relatives, there would be no shortage of them, so if the old lady was not the birthday girl, today's scene would have required a personal welcome.
Mrs. Du, along with Qu and Yang Haiyan, had just arrived at the door when the servants of the Du family announced, "Mrs. Du Shu has arrived, Mrs. Bingyun has arrived, and Mrs. Wei An has arrived." Du Ke was a third-rank minister, so Mrs. Du was a third-rank imperial concubine. Wei Jin was a sixth-rank official in the Ministry of War, so Miss Du was a sixth-rank imperial concubine. Although Yang Haiyan was a second-rank official, she was Mrs. Du's godmother, so she was listed in front of them when she signed up. "I wish the old lady good fortune."
The door was filled with sounds of congratulations, full of joy.
When Qian saw the Du family coming, she came down the steps and came over to greet them in person: "Aunt Du, Madam Bingyun, Madam Wei, welcome, welcome."
Mrs. Du took the lead in bowing and said, "Meet the Madam of the Crown Prince."
Qian also bowed: "Thank you all for coming to my mother-in-law to congratulate her." If it was just Sister Du, Qian wouldn't have to bow or show respect, but Yang Haiyan was of the same level, so she couldn't accept Yang Haiyan's greetings. Mrs. Du was of a higher generation, so she couldn't accept greetings either. Otherwise, in the eyes of others, this is arrogance. Arrogance depends on the person. You know, women also have their own classes. If women offend each other, the situation in the court may change.
Even if Qian was the second prince, she couldn't let others talk about her.
Qian continued, "Aunt Du, Madam Bingyun, Madam Wei, we have a lot of guests today, and I have to receive them. Please follow me in, my mother-in-law is waiting for you inside."
Mrs. Du: "Madam, you don't have to be polite. Let's go in first."
The lobby was very lively. The old lady of the Cheng'en Marquis's mansion was actually the wife of the Cheng'en Marquis, but because she was very old, everyone in the mansion called her the old lady. She was almost fifty years old, which was quite old in ancient times. In fact, Mrs. Du was about the same age, but judging from her appearance, Mrs. Du was obviously in good spirits and looked younger.
The old lady of Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion lost her daughter a long time ago. Although the second prince has been found now, the pressure on the Marquis' Mansion is even greater. They have to support the second prince, so all the pressure makes the old lady look very old. She looks at least ten years older than Mrs. Du.
The old lady of the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion was chatting with someone inside when she heard the servant at the door say, "A guest has arrived."
Suddenly, everyone inside looked at the door curiously, because they didn't know who was coming, so everyone had to pay attention.
After Mrs. Du led people into the house, the old lady of Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion said, "Old sister, come here." After saying that, she happily stepped forward and went to greet them in person.
Two days ago, when the second prince was not found, the relationship between the Marquis' Mansion and the Du Family was quite good. Because the Marquis' Mansion did not take sides, they only supported the emperor, which was the same as the Du Family. In addition, the old lady had lost her daughter a long time ago, and Mrs. Du felt that she was really pitiful and often visited her. And when they were young girls, they often moved around in the same circle. After all, whether it was the Shen family or the Du family, they were both famous families. How could the background of the girls who could marry into their families be bad
But the difference is that the old lady of Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion was born very beautiful, and Cheng'en Marquis was also very handsome when he was young, so the two of them were a perfect match and were talked about by people.
Du Ke was different. He had an ordinary appearance, a shrewd look, and a thin body. In fact, if the Du family was not a noble family, he would be the eldest son of the Du family. If he wanted to marry a girl from a wealthy family, even if he was from an ordinary family, she would not look down on him.
When Mrs. Du asked Du Ke to marry Mrs. Du, everyone in the capital was waiting to see the joke. But little did they know that Mrs. Du's family agreed to the marriage, and Mrs. Du herself also agreed to the marriage.
After they got married, Mrs. Du gave birth to a legitimate eldest son first. After a few years, the concubine gave birth to a bastard son. Du Ke had only one concubine in the backyard. This life was envied by everyone.
The concubine waited until the eldest son could walk before getting pregnant, which was of course the Du family's fault. Because young children are prone to premature death, and it is different for those who can walk, about three or four years old. In this way, Mrs. Du's position is stable, and even if there are illegitimate sons in the future, they cannot surpass Mrs. Du. Otherwise, if the concubine gets pregnant early, what if Mrs. Du's first child is a daughter? Then if the concubine gives birth to a son, he will become the eldest illegitimate son. Families with illegitimate eldest sons are prone to problems.
So, the Du family has a good family tradition. Mrs. Du’s family is what Mrs. Du values most.
What does it matter if a man looks bad? The most important thing is whether a woman is happy or not. Although Mrs. Du is only a third-rank lady, she is a famous lady in the capital. Who wouldn't give her face
Besides, Du Ke is the designated Minister of War. When the old Minister retires, Mrs. Du will be a second-rank lady. In fact, the rank is not important, the real power is the most important, and Du Ke holds the real power.
Mrs. Du bowed as the old lady of the Cheng'en Marquis's mansion held her hand, "Greetings, Madam." Then she continued, "Madam, you look energetic and in good spirits, so I'm relieved. Let me introduce you to a rare guest. Although she is the adopted daughter of my father, she is also a woman who is as capable as any man."
Mrs. Du called Yang Haiyan over and said, "Madam, this is Bingyun. She just came back from Yunxiang County and is not familiar with the capital. Bingyun, this is the wife of the Marquis of Cheng'en."
Yang Haiyan had just followed Mrs. Du in performing the salute. Now, when she came to the old lady of Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion, she performed the salute again: "Greetings, Madam. I wish you good fortune as vast as the East Sea and a long life as great as the Southern Mountains." Her words were very proper, without showing off or being polite.
The old lady knew that the Qin family had taken good care of Shen Lixian before, and with the relationship with the Du family, she was naturally polite to Yang Haiyan: "Oh, this is Bingyun, she is indeed a likable girl. Good luck to you, good luck to you."
Mrs. Du nodded to the servant, who came up with the gift. Mrs. Du took the gift and said, "Happy birthday, Madam."
Seeing this, Yang Haiyan also gave a gift: "Happy birthday to my wife."
There was no need to send off Mrs. Qu, as the Du family had not been divided, and she and Mrs. Du were one.
The old lady was not polite. On birthdays, people gave gifts to people. It was a gift of congratulation and a happy thing. No matter how big or small the gift was, it made people happy. She said, "Then I will..."
The old lady was just about to ask someone to accept it when another voice was heard: "Oh, I wonder what gift Mrs. Du sent. Let us take a look and share in the festive mood." The woman who spoke was relatively young, no more than 30 years old. No one knew when she came in. The servant at the door did not announce it, so the people in the lobby did not notice someone coming in at the door. She probably did not let anyone announce it on purpose.
If there are people in the capital who are not afraid of the Du family, they are also true, such as the woman in front of him. The woman comes from the Tian family of Cheng'engongfu, which is the family of the former queen, and is the emperor's eldest family. Although the emperor's eldest family has no women in the harem, when the emperor fights for the throne, the eldest family can contribute a lot. If the eldest family's nephew fights for the throne, the eldest family must contribute. If they don't contribute, the emperor will fail in the fight for the throne, and the emperor's eldest family will not be happy.
So this woman is not afraid of the Du family. Not only is she not afraid, there are conflicts between the Cheng'en Mansion and the Du family. This woman is the wife of the prince of Jinqian Hou and the cousin of the emperor. When she was in the boudoir, she was arrogant and domineering. Because she was originally from the royal family, no one in the capital dared to provoke her. In fact, this prince's wife took a fancy to Du Ke's eldest son, but Du Ke was the eldest son of the Du family. The eldest daughter-in-law that the Du family wanted to hire had to be a clan wife, so how could they value him? So when the Tian family revealed the news, they were rejected by Mrs. Du.
Later, the wife of the prince was not satisfied and pestered Du Ke's eldest son several times. She went to Mrs. Du's house to talk about it, but was always rejected. This matter caused a big fuss at the time.
This was also the reason why Du Ke's eldest son was transferred to the side as soon as he got married. First, Du Ke really wanted to train his eldest son, and at the same time, the emperor was about to seize the throne, and he didn't want his eldest son to get involved in this matter. Second, the prince's wife was making a fuss, and Du Ke was worried that his son would not give up after getting married, so he simply let his son go.
After that, whenever the wife of the Crown Prince saw the Du family at any gathering in the capital, she would not only act in a very pretentious manner but also make sarcastic remarks.
The old lady saw this and thought to herself, this person's arrival is really unfortunate. But she smiled and said, "It turns out that it is Xiangyu County Lady who has come." Xiangyu County Lady is the title of this prince's wife. She is the legitimate niece of the late queen, and this title was bestowed by the late queen.
The old lady was very willing to give face to this county lady, and there was no other way. The Tian family was the emperor's family, and this Xiangyu county lady was the only legitimate granddaughter of Lord Tian, who was the emperor's legitimate father-in-law. To put it bluntly, no matter which prince inherited the throne, he would give face to the Tian family. As long as the Tian family did not make mistakes, no matter which emperor succeeded to the throne, he would not touch the family of the previous emperor. Therefore, the Tian family really did not need to care about them.
However, the Shen family is different. In order to support the second prince, the Shen family needs the Tian family.
Even if the Shen family knew that the emperor valued the second prince, the emperor did not explicitly say that he would give the throne to the second prince. Besides, the second prince is still young and could get into trouble at any time. The emperor is still young, so it is uncertain what will happen next. Therefore, the Shen family wanted to pull the Tian family over.
But the Tian family is not fools. Just like Duco, they are very stable centrists.
Xiangyu County Lady also gave the old lady face. After all, the Shen family had a second prince, and the second prince might become the crown prince and ascend the throne. Although the Tian family was not afraid of the Shen family, what if the second prince succeeded to the throne? If the Tian family offended the Shen family, the second prince would definitely have some ideas. Therefore, Xiangyu County Lady was not a fool.
Seeing this, the others in the hall all stood aside and did not dare to come forward. You know, this county lady was really arrogant when she was a girl, and now that she is a married woman, she is so unscrupulous. But with the emperor as her cousin, she has a strong backer.
The emperor has no biological sister, and his concubine sisters who are of no help to him are not as close as his cousins. He also has few cousins. When he was fighting for the throne, many princes and uncles who were on the same side were packed up by him to guard the imperial mausoleum or exiled to faraway places. Therefore, Princess Xiangyu is one of the emperor's most numerous sisters.
"Greetings, Madam." Lady Xiangyu first bowed to the old lady of the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion, and then looked at Mrs. Du.
Mrs. Du smiled slightly and followed suit, "Greetings, County Lady."
Mrs. Du bowed, and Mrs. Qu also bowed. Among the three people, only Yang Haiyan did not bow. Mrs. Du, the Xiangyu County Lord, who had some grievances with the Du family, had mentioned it before, so she also knew her rank. At the same time, she was a second-rank official, so she had to bow to the other party. As proud as Mrs. Du was, she had no choice because her rank was not as good as that of Xiangyu County Lord. Yang Haiyan could not bow because of her pride in the Du family. At the same time, she was a second-rank official, which seemed to be a concession. In the eyes of others, it was the Du family that surrendered, because the two families had grievances.
If the two families had no grudges, such as the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion and the Du Family, they would pay respects to the Crown Prince's wife, Qian, who was also a second-rank official, and Qian would pay respects in return. In the eyes of others, it was a mutual courtesy. So the relationship between the two families was different, and they looked at things differently.
Besides, if she were to perform a formal ceremony, the Xiangyu County Lady would definitely not perform the formal ceremony.
Mrs. Du performed the ceremony, but Xiangyu County Lady did not open it, which was to save Mrs. Du's face. Yang Haiyan smiled slightly and supported Mrs. Du: "Godmother, does your knee hurt again? Did you take the ginseng I gave you the other day? I heard that ginseng over fifty years old is very effective when brewed into tea."
You know, what is a hundred or a thousand ginsengs? Those only appear in fantasy novels. In this normal world of novels, a hundred ginsengs are already the most valuable, so 50 or more ginsengs are all rare treasures, and everyone hides them to save lives when necessary.
For Yang Haiyan, she had to help Mrs. Du at this time, because she and the Du family were one. If she didn't help Mrs. Du at this time, not to mention how Mrs. Du would look at her, others would probably also look down on her. It would be a shame for her to let her godmother keep bowing while she just stood there.
Mrs. Du smiled and patted her hands: "Thanks to your ginseng, I've been drinking it for two days and I'm already well. I seldom go out recently, and today is the old lady's birthday, so I wanted to join in the fun." With the help of her godchildren, she stood up and came. She was not a cowardly woman. She would not have kept bowing if she hadn't been told to. Besides, would the Lady Xiangyu dare to ask her to bow again? If Xiangyu dared, she would not agree, and if she really did so, the two families would have a big fight. This was originally a petty feud between women, but it turned into a big grudge between the two families.