Chapter 424 I Know What Feng Girl Is Thinking
The eunuch who was in charge directly took five hundred taels, and the others also received as much as one hundred taels!
Although it cost several thousand taels of silver at once, Aunt Xue said that it was just a small amount. If she was not afraid of being too ostentatious, she would have wanted to increase it tenfold.
The eunuch said to Baochai, "Miss, don't forget to come to the palace to express your gratitude tomorrow!"
"Thank you, noble lady!" Baochai said as she bowed.
The eunuch hurried forward to give her a false helping hand, "Young lady, please don't be so polite. How can we afford to treat you like this?"
"Everyone, please come in and have some tea! " Xue Ke said respectfully.
The eunuch waved his hand and said, "I have to go back to the palace to report to His Majesty, so I won't bother you any more."
Afterwards, everyone in the Xue family happily escorted the group that announced the decree out of the mansion.
After returning to the hall, Aunt Xue hugged Baochai and burst into tears, "My daughter has grown up and is going to get married!"
Baochai heard this and her mind was in turmoil. Thinking about it, her own marriage had also gone through many ups and downs, but now she had finally gotten what she wanted and was able to be with her beloved, which made her very satisfied.
"Sister, today is Baoya's big day, why are you crying?"
Baoqin's mother was not very old, several years younger than Aunt Xue, but because she had been ill for many years, she looked a little haggard.
The relationship between the sisters-in-law in the Xue family is not very good, but it is not bad either.
The first and second branches of the Xue family were both imperial merchants, and the second branch's wealth was not much less than that of the first branch. However, with the death of the first and second branch masters, the Xue family quickly fell into decline. After all, how could the orphans and widows not be bullied and coveted by others?
Aunt Xue was born in the Wang family and her elder sister worked in the Jia Mansion, so she had some support in the capital, which was how she managed to save part of the family business, but it was just a reluctant support. However, the second branch did not have such connections, and the family business was almost ruined. After all, even if Xue Ke had some ability, he was still young and had no connections or foundation. It was not easy for him to support his mother and sister.
Aunt Xue wanted to rely on the second wife to come to Beijing, so she was close to the second wife. In addition, Baoqin recognized Jia Cong as her brother, which made the second wife's status in Aunt Xue's eyes even higher. Of course, the most important thing is that the second wife can help the first wife, and Aunt Xue is not afraid of the second wife's property being occupied, so there are naturally not many obstacles on both sides.
"My sister is right. Today is a happy day for our family!" Aunt Xue wiped away her tears and nodded.
"Ke'er, everyone in our mansion will receive a half-yearly allowance. In addition, have someone write a letter and send it to the Jia Mansion and your brother's house. We will have a big banquet in three days."
After thinking for a while, Aunt Xue said to Xue Ke again, "Ke'er, accompany Pan'er to the Lin Mansion to pay a visit to Master Lin!"
"I think the Lin family should have received the imperial edict as well, and they will also have to go to the palace to express their gratitude tomorrow. Our Xue family is not as good as the Lin family, and we don't know much about the palace rules. Why not let Baochai and Lin girl go together, so that they can take care of each other."
Aunt Xue knew very well that in the eyes of the royal family , the wealthy Xue family was far inferior to the Lin family with Lin Ruhai. After all, one was just a royal merchant, while the other was the emperor's trusted minister. The closeness and distance of the relationship was obvious at a glance.
As she was talking, the doorman suddenly came in hurriedly, "Madam, the second wife of Rongguo Mansion is here!"
"Oh? Please!"
Not long after, a series of hurried footsteps were heard, "Where is my aunt? My niece came to congratulate me, but why is there no one to greet me?"
Aunt Xue and her group all greeted him at the door with a smile, "My son, why are you here today?"
After bowing to Aunt Xue first and then to Baoqin's mother, Wang Xifeng laughed and said, "Isn't it because I know that there must be something good happening at my aunt's house today, so my niece came here to enjoy the good wine and food?"
"Hey, look who this is?" Sister Feng circled around Baochai and said, "I'm a commoner, greeting the Marquis' wife."
Baochai was so embarrassed that she grabbed Fengjie and hit her with a handkerchief, "Feng girl, you are not a good person, you are making fun of me."
"Hmph, tell me if I was wrong?" Sister Feng raised her head and said, "The emperor has already issued an order, can it be changed? Or do you, precious girl, look down on the marquis of our mansion?"
Baochai pinched Fengjie secretly, then leaned forward and whispered in Fengjie's ear, "Feng girl, do you think I don't know what you are thinking?"
Wang Xifeng's heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean by thoughts or not? Second Madam doesn't know what you are talking about."
"I don't know?" Baochai looked at Wang Xifeng with a half-smile, and finally, her eyes fell on her wrist, "This bracelet given by the Madam, Feng girl really likes it very much."
After saying that, she turned around triumphantly and went towards the inner hall. Wang Xifeng was stunned. What...what on earth did this Bao girl mean?
The others naturally did not understand the bickering between the two sisters. Aunt Xue took Wang Xifeng's arm and walked into the hall, then asked with a smile, "My son, did you come here to talk to the old lady about something?"
Wang Xifeng managed to calm herself down, then smiled and said, "It's because the eldest marquis at home is worried that he will send a carriage to pick up Bao and Lin tomorrow and take them to the palace together. Moreover, Cong will also go to the palace first to express his gratitude and wait for them."
Aunt Xue was relieved when she heard this. Not only were the two maids going together, but Jia Cong was also waiting there ahead, so naturally nothing would go wrong.
How strong is the emperor's favor towards her son-in-law now? With her son-in-law following her, what else does she have to worry about?
"In addition, Brother Cong also said that Xue Pan should go with them. Bao and Lin will go directly to the harem to pay respects to the Empress. Xue Pan, as Baochai's brother and the male of the family, should also go to pay his respects. When the time comes, just follow Uncle Lin, be careful in what you say and do, and don't talk nonsense, and you won't make any mistakes."
"It's an honor to be able to meet the emperor."
Aunt Xue was happy but also worried. Xue Pan went to the palace to express gratitude on behalf of the Xue family, which was a proper etiquette. However, she was worried that her son would offend the emperor, so she did not make such an arrangement. Now that Jia Cong had passed on the message, she could not help but think about it. How honorable it would be to be able to meet the emperor? As long as her son went through this experience, it would be a capital in the future.
Immediately, she secretly made up her mind that even if she didn't sleep today, she would teach her son well, and there must not be any mistakes when he went to the palace to express gratitude tomorrow.
"In addition, the old lady also said that this is a big happy event for the Jia family, the Lin family, and the Xue family. The old lady will go to the Lin Mansion on the first day of the banquet in three days, and come to our house on the second day. On the third day, the old lady will host the banquet, and people from both families will go there."
