Han Zuo Gaomen

Chapter 463
It was already evening, and the number of people going to Princess Danyang's mansion to congratulate her continued unabated.Although a considerable part of it was diverted to Shen Garden by the Qinhuai River, there were still a large number of vehicles staying in front of the Princess Mansion, which crowded the sidewalks and traffic was not smooth.

Fortunately, Bird Clothes Lane is also where the rich and powerful gather, and there are not many idlers and so on.And every family has had this kind of situation more or less. Although the road is congested and it is inconvenient to pass, they can all be considerate.

What's more, in the morning, the family members in the Princess Mansion prepared gifts and visited each neighbor one by one, explained the situation, and asked for inclusion, so it did not arouse too much public resentment.

The Shen family already has a lot of clan members in Jiankang, and there are 30 people from the eastern and western sects who can come forward to be directors.Shen Zhezi, as the eldest son of the Dongzong, has always been in charge of the family business, and now he is a prominent official, which is also a great joy for the family.Therefore, a large number of clansmen from the capital gathered here to help receive the guests.Although there were many people who came, the scene was arranged in an orderly manner, not too chaotic.

Princess Xingnan, as the mistress of the house, although she doesn't have to do everything herself, she is really busy.There are many female relatives who arrived home today, many of them were beneficiaries of her family at Jingkou Xingtai last year, and now they all come to congratulate.

The topics discussed by the women may not be as extensive and profound as those of the men, but the content is much more substantial.

Princess Donghai, who had always been on good terms with her, took Princess Xingnan's hand and said with a smile: "You girl, you were born with the first-class good fortune. It is also the best luck in the world for the son-in-law to marry such a prosperous lady. Respect, the house and family are suitable, make the minds of those who see it peaceful, and add good stories to the world."

When the women in the banquet heard this, they all praised it.They may not know too much about the changes in the current situation, but they are quite convinced of the so-called fatalism.Some older women among them, recalling the incident about Princess Xingnan, have to admit that this girl is really lucky.

In the early years, not long after Princess Xingnan was born, the late emperor was made the crown prince of Jin by Zhongzong, and on his first birthday, he was made the crown prince again.Later, he left the cabinet and won the superior seal.

As for her husband's family, the Shen family, it was just a noble family in Wuzhong in previous years, and even many people here have never heard of this family.But after the princess got married, the Shen family, especially the son-in-law, became famous, and now he has become the most handsome young man in Jiangdong.

From the standpoint of these women, the fate of Princess Xingnan is really very prosperous.

This girl's personality is not lacking in straightforwardness, and she can't stop laughing from ear to ear when she hears people's compliments. She doesn't think that Shen Zhezi's prominence today is entirely due to her good luck. It is clear how much effort Shen Zhezi has put in to achieve today's achievement.But speaking of it this way, she didn't feel disgusted either, she had a feeling that the interest rate was raised in response, and that fate was one.

"The husband is born with a talent, suitable for honor and salary, and has been praised by the princes in Taichung. A woman who sits in the curtain for a long time, how dare she boast and show her merits."

Although she was happy in her heart, Princess Xingnan still expressed humility.Life probably has meaning only after finding a goal to strive for. For her, maintaining a good image of her husband is becoming more and more important and joyful.

The entire princess mansion was filled with a festive atmosphere of laughter and laughter. The people from the vestibule received and entertained those relatives, and a banquet was also held in the inner mansion.

In the spacious flower hall, even if hundreds of people are seated, it doesn't look cramped.If you can see everything at a glance, it will inevitably appear empty.Therefore, there are many screens displayed in the room, which divide the whole flower hall into small rooms.

The materials and shapes of these screens are different. Some are simple bamboo frames covered with light gauze, and bonsai flowers and trees are displayed outside the screens, while some maids are slowly fanning the wind outside.Although sitting in the room, there is a cool breeze, as if you are in the wilderness, making you feel refreshed and refreshed.

Some screens are made of ivory tortoise shell and colored silk as the screen. There are rare treasures from all over the world displayed in the room.

There are also fragrant wood flower screens, the different wood with its own fragrance retains the original wood color and texture, and green leaves and flower branches are dotted among them.These flowers were picked early in the morning, and the pruned branches were soaked in wooden buckets filled with water, and the maids sprayed them with dew from time to time.

However, the most eye-catching ones are those painted screens. Although the current Jiangdong silk weaving technology has started, it is far from reaching the level of sophistication and maturity of later generations. Especially in dyeing, it has not yet formed the exquisite changes of later generations. As a result, delicate and varied patterns are rarely seen.

But these painted screens in the flower hall subverted people's cognition. The pictures on them were complicated and changeable. There were figures, landscapes and even flowers, birds, fish and insects, all of which were lifelike and full of ingenuity.

Those who can go deep into the inner mansion are mostly noble family members, but the many decorations in this flower hall are either luxurious or exquisite, which makes them feel quite eye-opening.Women are naturally much more sensitive to beautiful things, and these female family members are also well-off, and their daily life is arranged with great ingenuity, just to please the eyes and the eyes.

But when they came to the flower hall and saw the layout of the princess mansion, they were amazed, but felt ashamed.Compared with the flower hall in front of them, their well-arranged homes are simply shabby and crude, not worth mentioning!
Among other things, just these screens with their own style, each side has its own style and charm, people can't bear to look away, and love arises spontaneously.

For a moment, many women forgot the original intention of the visit, each standing in front of their favorite furnishings, holding the princess's hand and asking in a low voice where they could buy them.

Princess Xingnan was very proud of being questioned like this by everyone.Shen Zhezi has never cared about such trivial matters as home furnishing, so the furnishing of the mansion, especially the inner courtyard, is mostly her handwriting, and it is also her most important job in daily life.

Every object here, from conception to final production, she is more or less involved.Now it is put out for people to watch, and it has won praises, which makes her feel very satisfied.

"This bamboo and stone screen was made years ago. It was originally intended to be placed in Nanyuan. Unfortunately, Nanyuan is no longer there, so I can only keep it at home for my own use. Since my wife loves it, I will have someone send it to my house tomorrow... "

"As for this Yingxing screen, it is made of Jiaozhou ice-coloured jade core. There are dozens of Dendrobium pearls and stones, but one can be taken. The more than one hundred grains on the screen were picked up one by one by my aunt and kept for home use. Right now It's not the most beautiful posture yet, when a small lamp shines lightly at night, it will shine brightly, like stars..."

The invisible show off of wealth is the most terrible thing. After hearing Princess Xingnan's introduction, the women moved to look at it one after another.I saw that this screen was only five feet long, the screen body was hollowed out of fragrant wood, and hundreds of precious stones were inlaid on it.Those gemstones are crystal clear, pure and clear in color, and you can even see the reflection of people in them when you get close to them, making people fall into it and find it difficult to extricate themselves.

When everyone was attracted by the pearly screen, one of the women accidentally saw that the beaded hairpin on the hairpin of a person next to her was inlaid with gemstones similar to the gemstones on the screen, so she couldn't help pointing at the woman and laughing.

Everyone's eyes were attracted, the woman took off the pearl hairpin a little shyly, and handed it over to everyone.This pearl hairpin is made of gold, and there are many agate gemstones inlaid on it, only one of them is the most brilliant, shining and translucent, making all the gemstones beside it pale and dull.

"His Royal Highness said it is true. This kind of ice colored jade beads are very rare, and it is rare to find them the size of a grain of rice on a hairpin. My pearl hairpin was given by a filial son on his birthday last year, and it already cost tens of thousands of yuan." Huge. As for the size of jujubes on the screen, and each with its own splendor, it’s really nothing in the market!"

After everyone passed it around for a look, the woman took back the pearl hairpin, carefully rolled it up with a silk handkerchief and handed it to the maid behind her, not wearing it anymore.

Hearing the woman's explanation, the eyes of everyone beside him widened.Looking at the bead screen again, the line of sight became a little distracted. People often heard people say that the Shen family is rich, but they didn't have any specific concept.Usually, I may have had some contacts with Princess Xingnan, and I saw that there were no overly precious utensils around the princess.

However, this detail today made them deeply feel how rich the Shen family has become.Similar to that pearl hairpin, it is already worth tens of thousands of dollars, and the more than one hundred precious stones inlaid on the bead screen, even if compared with the market price, it is more than ten million dollars!
These women present may not have tens of thousands of dollars in their family assets!However, their rich family resources are nothing more than a pile of utensils placed in the hall in other people's houses!

Seeing the appearance of everyone, Princess Xingnan was a little surprised for a while.In fact, she has no concept of money at all. In the past, she lived in the garden and naturally did not need money. After marrying into the Shen family, the family will provide for all food and clothing.

When she grows up to this size, even if she gives away some belongings, they are all given away to others, and she has never actually used money to buy things once.Therefore, she is really incapable of understanding the shock that these female family members are shocked.

The reason why you show off to others is to listen to the praise of others to make yourself happy.But seeing that most of the people were astonished, but unable to speak, Princess Xingnan also felt bored, and stopped leading the people to see those works that she liked more, and ordered the maid to arrange for everyone to sit down in the flower hall and prepare for the banquet.

After taking the seats, many people's expressions were full of restraint, and their movements became cautious, lest they touch the utensils in the room, which might be some rare treasures.However, there were also some people who originally came to congratulate with an ordinary mentality, but now their attitudes became enthusiastic, and they carefully picked up some kind words to compliment the princess, and the scene did not become too embarrassing for a while.

Most of the men's gatherings are to entertain people with wine and sex, and the pastimes of the women nowadays are not boring, there are quite a lot of self-entertaining dramas.

When women get together, eating and drinking is not the focus, and they are not keen on talking about metaphysical classics or important affairs of the government and the public.The meals were set aside, and then a maid served various elegant opera props.

Among the many elegant operas, Princess Xingnan is more fond of playing chess and hiding hooks. When she is bored at home, she often plays with the maids in the room.

The so-called playing chess is a board made of jade or stone, either smooth or with shallow grooves.Face each other in pairs, each side has a small hole on the chessboard, several smooth marbles are arranged on the board, and then the two sides marble each other, and the opponent's marbles should be ejected from the chessboard, and their own marbles should be thrown into the chessboard at the same time. In the small hole on the opponent's side, the first player wins.

This type of game is extremely competitive and suitable for all ages, and the difficulty can be adjusted freely according to the different marbles used by the two parties, which is very suitable for killing time.

Princess Xingnan has been cheerful and fond of playing chess since she was a child, and she has also been obsessed with playing chess since she was a child. She has nearly ten years of skill and extraordinary skills.Ordinary people have to use their hands to play marbles, but she just uses a silk scarf to draw them, and she can hit every arrow. The happiest thing is to torture that little rookie Shen Zhezi in the room. .

However, after getting to know Cui Ling, the young lady of the Cui family, the skills that Princess Xingnan is proud of were completely defeated. If the other party took the initiative, often she didn't even touch her own marbles, and the game was over. .

Therefore, today she also intends to abuse the rookie, and regain the old feeling of never losing.

The women in the curtain have dabbled in playing chess more or less. When the utensils were put on the table, some people were already eager to try, and they each picked their opponents to compete.

More than a dozen chessboards are all polished from pure white fat jade without exception.This is not surprising to everyone who was impacted by the tens of millions of bead screens earlier.

After all, the stone chessboard is too rough, and these women spend most of their time playing this game. After playing for a long time, it is inevitable that their hands will become callused. Therefore, there are more or less useful jade utensils in their homes, but they are not so exaggerated. That's all.

If the board has been placed for a long time, it is inevitable that the surface will be dusty or rough. Therefore, before playing the game, it should be rinsed with clean water, wiped with a silk cloth, and then coated with a layer of talcum powder to reduce friction.

The first few procedures were normal, and the maids rinsed and cleaned it skillfully.But when smearing stone powder on it, someone noticed a slight difference.I saw that the powder was white and delicate, and it seemed that it was not as simple as talcum powder.Some people couldn't help being curious and lightly twisted a little powder and rubbed it on their fingertips for a moment, and the brows suddenly raised. This is pearl powder!
Looking at the smooth movements of the maid, there is no abnormality at all, it is clear that she is used to using these utensils on weekdays, rather than extravagant behavior only when entertaining guests!

When the brocade box containing the marbles was opened, everyone couldn't help but stare at each other, and saw that the box was full of crystal clear gems without exception!

Sitting opposite Princess Xingnan, Princess Donghai picked up a crystal clear ice-colored jade bead with her fingers, and looked at it carefully in front of her eyes. Although it was not as big as the one on the screen, each one was full and rare.Naturally, the East China Sea Palace also has a collection of jewels, but most of them are kept secret, and it is impossible to use them for leisure!
"You girl, you really don't know the high price of salt and rice! Even if there is a surplus of grain and rice, how can you be so extravagant and wasteful!"

Princess Donghai sighed with emotion, and carefully put the gem back into the brocade box.

After hearing the words, Princess Xingnan waved her hands indifferently and said: "These beads can't be eaten by hunger, and can't be worn by cold, but they are better than clear and beautiful. They are just playthings. My family has a lot of them. If you can't even play with them, you can charge What use are they, they are just a nuisance to occupy the dowry."

Her words are not outrageous. There are many similar pearls and jade products in southern Xinjiang. In the past, his family bought them in large quantities in southern Xinjiang. Now her family, A Weng, is the governor of East Yangzhou. This kind of treasures Nature is what one asks for.Just wipe out a tribe like Shanyue or barbarian, and you can collect hundreds of years of accumulation.

The price of southern goods and treasures on the market is still high, which is because the Wuzhong Business League intends to control shipments.However, as the head of the business alliance, the Shen family has seized the source of the goods, and they only regard these items as ordinary.If it wasn't easy and profitable to transport, you wouldn't even want to transport it.

Although what Princess Xingnan said was the truth, they had different meanings in the ears of others, but I have to say that this kind of spirit of treating pearls and jade as rubble is really enviable.

Princess Donghai knows that Princess Xingnan has a straightforward temperament and will not put on airs, but the problem is that others may not have such a good attitude.It's exciting to think about throwing priceless jewels in your hands at will.

"It's better to put it away and replace it with some ordinary utensils."

She pushed the brocade box aside, and persuaded again.

Although Princess Xingnan is very itchy, but after hearing what Princess Donghai said, she can only order the maids to send these marbles down, and then get some other materials.

After a while, new marbles were brought.This time the material was unusual, some were bone beads, some were stone beads, but they were of different sizes, and the polishing was very rough, probably the servants of the mansion were playing for leisure.

The women each held marbles, but their hearts were extremely strange.If someone dared to entertain them with the playthings of servants in the past, it would be trivial to turn their faces at that time, and it would be possible to never communicate with each other.But today, there is a feeling of relief, who can't bear the utensils prepared by others!

Princess Xingnan also probably sensed the strange atmosphere in the crowd, and gradually realized that she and these people lived in a different world. What she regarded as ordinary was a great treasure in the eyes of others.For a moment, he almost couldn't hold back and wanted to throw himself into the arms of his husband and laugh wantonly.

However, she finally has some basic common sense in how to deal with people. When you come to the door, you are a guest. It is not good for these people to cheer for her family and make people feel uncomfortable all the time.So after playing a few rounds of playing chess, people removed the utensils and changed to a hidden hook game.

The game of Tibetan hook is simpler than playing chess. It is said that it originated from Mrs. Gouyi, the favorite concubine of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.This Mrs. Gouyi was born with clenched fists and couldn't stretch them out. She didn't open her hands until Emperor Wu summoned her. After she opened her hands, she held a jade hook in her palm.

The Tibetan hook is to divide people into two parties, take a small thing and pass it under the case and hide it in the hand, and after the fist is placed on the case, let the other party guess whose hand the thing is hidden in.Generally speaking, if anyone guesses correctly, something will be rewarded.There is not only an element of luck, but also the need to distinguish the disguises of the opponents, so it is a lot of fun.

The princess doesn't like hiding hooks, because she is not good at disguising herself. If something is hidden in her hands, it will definitely be revealed and she will definitely lose.However, it can be used to present some rare treasures to the guests, so as not to be envied and hated by others for showing off completely, so that the guests and the host can have a good time.

Since it is playing in the princess mansion, the utensils needed are naturally provided by the princess mansion.Playing a game until late at night, it can be said that everyone has their own gains. Amidst the laughter, everyone gradually forgot the embarrassment and awkwardness before.It's just that I have a deeper understanding of Shen Jiazhen's warehouse full of utensils and riches who are unrivaled in Jiangdong!

Women seldom have the idea of ​​envying the rich and hating the rich. Although they do not have any admiration for the Shen family because of this, they are more willing to be friends with Princess Xingnan.

　A big chapter, showing off wealth. . .

　　
　
(End of this chapter)