Chapter 88 Charity Bazaar (I)
Should we call this "no coincidence, no story"? Or should we call it "God is really a jerk"? When there is nothing to do, they are bored to death, and when there is something to do, they all rush to the same place. Zhou Chongwen, charity sale, charity sale, Zhou Chongwen... Su Luo compared the two. Zhou Chongwen would not die if he stayed in prison for two more days, because he would not be able to go to court anyway. If she did not go to the charity sale and missed the opportunity, she would probably regret it to death.
With this in mind, Su Luo calculated his speed again and determined that he would never be able to complete the entire process of "going to Jiangning County, resolving the issue, and coming back" before tomorrow night. This was considered as truly giving up, and probably also giving himself an excuse. He planned to attend the charity sale first and then go to rescue Zhou Chongwen.
Su Luo spent the whole day in a state of anxiety, fearing that the magistrate of Jiangning County might suddenly have a whim and deal with the two human traffickers first. Finally, he sent Wu Yong with some money to meet up with Su and the others and let them go ahead to smooth things over. Only then did he feel relieved and at ease.
The next evening, Su Luo put on the new clothes she had made a few days ago, and asked the maid to help her comb her hair into a "single conch" hairstyle that took half an hour to do. This hairstyle is very popular in Nanjing now. Young girls love conchs. The person who invented this hairstyle probably had a deep affection for the sea and wanted his hairstyle to look like a conch. It was a good idea, but I don't know if the maid's craftsmanship was not good enough. The conch was not visible. Su Luo saw that there was a pile of poop on her head, and it was pointed, just short of emitting heat.
Seeing that Su Luo was not satisfied, the girl said that the single snail was a bit out of fashion now, and the most fashionable one was the "double snail". Su Luo wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and refused, saying that one snail was enough.
Dress in a trendy way and wear some gold jewelry. Even though it's not customary, it does give you a sense of wealth and maybe even make you look like a fashion expert in the eyes of ancient people.
When Su Luo arrived at Huichunju where the charity sale was being held, it was already very busy. Huichunju was a very famous teahouse for literati in Nanjing. On weekdays, only some so-called elegant people came to consume. It was said that the waiter who served water here could recite hundreds of Tang and Song poems without taking a breath.
The owner of Huichunju was willing to lend out the shop on a voluntary basis simply because the proceeds would be invested in official schools. Otherwise, this group of literati and scholars would usually disdain to deal with officials and businessmen.
There was a receptionist at the door of Huichunju, and Su Luo was allowed to enter after handing in the invitation. Huichunju has two floors, the first floor is the lobby, and the second floor is the private room. Today, the doors of the private room are all open, connected to the outside space. A stage is also built at one end of the lobby, which should be used for auctions. Because the charity sale is a toy for the officials, businessmen and ladies in the city, the guests are all female guests. Looking around, they are all dressed in fragrant clothes, which feels a bit like a celebrity club.
Su Luo glanced around and once again confirmed that the "single snail" was almost out of fashion. Most of what he saw were two lumps. It seemed that two lumps would rule the world this year.
After walking around downstairs, Su Luo did not see the prefect's wife, nor did she see Miss Ji Mei. Instead, she saw the people who were chatting in front of the Qin Mansion in a corner. Su Luo walked over and saw the person who rolled his eyes at her last time smiling at her. She knew that these people had a bad memory and did not remember who they were at all. They just judged people by their clothes.
After waiting for a while, there was a commotion at the door. Su Luo only heard someone whispering, "The prefect's wife is here." Everyone in the room stood up to greet her. Su Luo hurriedly lifted up her skirt and squeezed to the front of the crowd, wanting the prefect's wife to see her first.
The girls around her were all delicate and noble ladies who were afraid of being accused of being rude if they made any big moves. They had never seen anything as generous as Su Luo. While they were complaining, they also asked each other which family this girl was from and why she was so rude.
The socialites felt that they had the capital to be proud and did not know how to lower their voices when talking about others. Su Luo naturally heard it and could not help feeling a little embarrassed. She moved a little slowly and never managed to squeeze into the first row. She only greeted the prefect's wife through the crowd when she entered.
It was not known whether Ji had not seen it or what, but she just walked straight past. Su Luo was disappointed but also delighted to see that Ji was wearing a light green dress today. Her hairstyle had also changed from when Su Luo first met her, and it looked like a snail but not a snail. Perhaps it was in line with the fashion trend, and she looked a lot brighter and younger.
Bihen, who was following behind Ji, saw Su Luo and waved to her, signaling her to follow behind. Su Luo didn't care about what others said and cut a bloody path to Bihen's side. Bihen fell behind without leaving a trace and said in a very low voice: "Miss, please follow closely."
Su Luo didn't know why this girl was so considerate to him, but he still thanked her gratefully and quickened his pace. Ji kept greeting people and didn't look back, but said as he went upstairs: "The master prefers cyan now."
Su Luo's previous depressed mood was swept away, and he squinted his eyes to show a row of small white teeth, "I believe that the prefect is just loving the house and the people in it."
The smile on Ji's lips deepened, and then she turned back to look at Su Luo, and then looked at the people in the hall, "Miss Su will accompany me. The meeting will start later, so please be as you please, don't be too restrained."
Su Luo also turned around and nodded slightly to the crowd. Some people in the crowd were already whispering, asking about Su Luo's background. The difference was that just now their tone was accusatory, but now it was out of genuine curiosity.
Su Luo followed Ji up to the second floor, and then he found that Miss Ji Mei had already arrived, standing at the railing on the second floor to greet Ji. Miss Ji Mei was probably in the private room just now, so Su Luo didn't see her. Now they met, Su Luo saw that she was standing dignified and virtuous, and he also tried hard to act like a good citizen, smiling without even showing his teeth, "Miss Ji Mei, we meet again."
Ji Mei still looked neither enthusiastic nor cold. She nodded slightly and led everyone to sit in the private room.
In addition to Madam Sun whom she had met that day, there were two people present whom Su Luo did not recognize. Ji Mei did not introduce them and just chatted with them. Su Luo just listened and finally understood some of the things after listening for a long time. One of them was the daughter of the magistrate of Yingtian Prefecture, and the other was called Bai Qing, who was only sixteen or seventeen years old. She called Ji Mei "sister-in-law" and was her sister-in-law.
Women's chats were nothing more than gossip about clothes, makeup, and so on. Su Luo could chat a little. Madam Sun was very interested in Su Luo and said indifferently that we didn't understand clothing matching as well as Miss Su, otherwise Miss Su wouldn't have made the prefect's wife so happy with just a few words. After saying this sourly, she asked what Su Luo's family did. Because Shiseido hadn't officially opened yet, Su Luo didn't want the news to spread so quickly and attract competitors, so she said she would wait and see for the time being, and said some polite words, asking Madam Sun to take care of her in the future.
It was just polite talk, but some people couldn't hear it and thought that others were really afraid of her. Madam Sun immediately put on some contempt in her eyes and turned to the daughter of the Tongpan family and said, "You were not there a few days ago and missed a good show. Someone was trying to curry favor with someone and even pretended to be a delivery guy."
Su Luo finally understood. She had said that these socialites usually wouldn't show their emotions so obviously to people they didn't know , for fear of causing unnecessary trouble. It seemed that the wife of the prefect had told them about what happened that day, which was why Madam Sun was so contemptuous.
Seeing that the corners of the mouths of several people present were tilted upwards, Su Luo felt somewhat uncomfortable, but she also understood that grandfathers all started as grandchildren, and since she was not yet capable of being a grandfather, she just endured it. When she raised her eyes again, she met Ji's gaze, but Ji quickly looked away. Bai Qing on the side said impatiently: "Sister-in-law, how did you greet the people in the Qin Mansion? They haven't arrived yet, and you let Aunt Ji wait for them!"
"The conference hasn't started yet, there's no need to be so anxious." Ji Mei seemed to be less enthusiastic towards everyone.
Bai Qing snorted and stood up. "Why should I be in such a hurry? I'm just feeling sorry for Aunt Ji. How can a prefect's wife wait for someone named Qin?"
Ji picked up the teacup and smiled faintly without saying anything, as if she was already used to the impolite way of communication between them.
Ji Mei responded to Bai Qing and stopped looking at her. Instead, she focused her attention on Su Luo. "I heard that Miss Su's hometown is Zhuxian Town, Kaifeng Prefecture?"
Su Luo nodded and said, "Mr. Qin Huai's hometown is also there. I wonder if Miss Su can recognize Mr. Qin?"
Su Luo quickly said: "He and I are very close friends." Su Luo was a little passive tonight, and he said this to use Qin Huai to help him get back some points.
Ji Mei raised her eyebrows slightly, "Oh?"
Bai Qing looked at Su Luo for a long time , and said in a somewhat aggressive tone, "When did you and Brother Qin Huai meet? Are you familiar with each other? Why haven't I heard him say that?"
Su Luo really didn't understand. This Bai Qing clearly didn't like the Qin family , so why was he willing to call Qin Huai "Big Brother" now? Could it be that this girl had a crush on Qin Huai? The more Su Luo thought about it, the more she felt that it was right. She laughed dryly and said, "We met last summer. He didn't go back to Nanjing during this period, so you didn't know."
Bai Qing half-narrowed his eyes, not hiding his hostility towards Su Luo. Madam Sun smiled and said to Su Luo, "So you have only known Mr. Qin for half a year. It seems that Miss Su has defined 'familiarity' very broadly."
Su Luo looked at this Madam Sun in silence. What had she done to offend anyone? She just wanted to meet some celebrities in the political and business circles. How could this bother her? Was it necessary to dislike her in every way? Su Luo gritted her teeth and smiled uncomfortably. Ji asked casually, "So you are also familiar with Lord Li Rusong?"
"Not bad." Su Luo said these two words, and suddenly felt that Ji Shi and Ji Mei were trying to find out her background in a roundabout way. Ji Mei knew that she lived in that house, so it was impossible for her not to send someone to investigate. However, after all, the prefect's "bribe" was done in secret, and Li Rusong had never responded directly, so they didn't know what the relationship between the people living in the house and Li Rusong was.
Su Luo frowned unconsciously, and Ji Mei beside him said, "Aunt, although Qin Huai is very familiar with Lord Li, it does not mean that everyone who knows Qin Huai is also familiar with Lord Li."
Ji smiled slightly, "Yes, I was abrupt."
Ji Mei was obviously trying to justify what she had just said, to explain why Ji mentioned Li Rusong without warning. Su Luo felt a little tired talking to this group of people. Fortunately, Ji probably asked the questions she wanted to ask and had the answer in her mind. She said she wanted to go downstairs for a walk. After all, she was the nominal host, and it would not be good not to entertain the guests.
Su Luo and others also accompanied Ji downstairs. After spinning around the whole place like a spinning top, Su Luo had to admire Ji Mei's good memory. She followed Ji like an invincible secretary. Whenever she saw someone from a distance, she would briefly tell him about his family background and which official he was familiar with. Ji greeted him all the way without making any mistakes. When she greeted people like the governor's niece and the cousin of the historian of government, they would chat very lively. Therefore, Su Luo didn't believe that the prefect's career would end if he married such a wife.
Since they were busy, Su Luo didn't want to disturb them, so she walked around with Madam Sun, Bai Qing and others and chatted with them. Su Luo had the Ji family as a temporary backer, which made the celebrities look at her with new eyes. Su Luo said that her family didn't have any business for the time being, which made people wonder if she had any political background. Madam Sun probably hated the spot on Su Luo's head, because apart from that, Su Luo couldn't think of why she didn't like him so much. She walked around and told Su Luo about how Su Luo pretended to be a waiter and sneaked into the prefect's house, which made Su Luo very unhappy. If there was a shovel here, Su Luo was not sure if he could resist using it.
If she didn't like her, she simply ignored her and found an excuse to leave her and go somewhere else. As soon as she turned around, she heard Madam Sun's high-pitched voice laughing, "Don't say that she is trying to curry favor with you. Miss Su also recognizes Young Master Qin... Oh, no, she is 'very familiar' with Young Master Qin."
Click, click, click, click…
Su Luo really wanted to make a few bone-cracking sounds to scare Madam Sun, but she clenched her fists for a long time and no sound came out. Instead, the laughter over there became more and more shrill.
Su Luo walked back and said, "I'll introduce you to Qin Huai when he comes back. There's no need to be so anxious and let everyone know."
