Do you know: I am Yuan Wenshao

Chapter 267 King Huan invites you

After hearing this, Hua Lan thought it made sense, and her worries dissipated a lot.

"My lord, I have prepared the guests and the menu for the housewarming banquet. I will ask someone to bring it to you to see if there are any omissions." Hua Lan said.

"It's getting late. Go to bed first. I won't go to the military camp tomorrow. We will check it out together then." Yuan Wenshao said.

"Ah."

Hua Lan nodded when he heard this and ordered the maid to wash up.

After the couple washed up and went to bed, the maid left a lamp and retreated.

"By the way, officials, there are still a few days until General Zheng, who is loyal to the Hou family, gets married. Our family has never had any contact with the Zheng family before. How much of the etiquette will be appropriate then?" Hua Lan asked.

Generally, whether it is a red or white event, invitations will be sent to guests in advance.

Normally, it would only be given to people with whom we have regular business relationships.

As long as you accept the invitation, you will be given a congratulatory gift regardless of whether you go to have a drink or not.

As the saying goes, reciprocity is a courtesy, and no one would be ashamed to send a message to someone with whom they have no contact.

Speaking of which, the ancestors of the Yuan family and the ancestors of the Zhongjing Hou family had some problems with each other. Although they were adults, the two families had no contact.

But this time Zhongjinghou's younger brother Zheng Wu married the queen's sister, who was also Shen Congxing's sister.

Yuan Wenshao had a good relationship with Shen Congxing, and he was now Zheng Wu's superior, so the Zhongjing Hou Mansion sent a message to his family.

Not only that, but he also sent a post to the Sheng family.

There had been no contact between the two families before, so Hualan also took it as a reference, fearing that the gifts were too light.

"I'm not sure about this either. I'll ask Gu Tingye later and then my dad to see what they say." Yuan Wenshao said.

"Well, the officials should ask as soon as possible so that I can prepare." Hua Lan said.

"Madam, when it comes to this, our family is at a loss." Yuan Wenshao said.

Hua Lan was stunned and asked, "What's the loss?"

"Calculate how many gifts our family has received over the years. Except for the gifts we received when we got married, we have been going out these years." Yuan Wenshao said.

From the time he got married to now, neither Earl Zhongqin's Mansion nor his side had held any happy events.

But when other people's houses hold banquets, he and Earl Zhongqin's house have to pay two gifts.

That’s right, two servings.

Although he and Earl Zhongqin's mansion were not separated in name, he could let his father follow the courtesy but he would not.

But after all, there were two Earls' houses (there were no marquises at that time). In fact, it was no different from dividing the houses. It was easy to be laughed at if you only had one share.

He had a daughter named Wen before. In ancient times, sons were valued over daughters, and the girl's family didn't know how to serve wine.

Of course, you can do it if you want to, but it won't look good on your face.

After Brother Xian was born, it was logical that he should do it when he was one month old, but it was the national mourning period at that time and there was nothing that could be done.

The national mourning is over, and it is not easy to celebrate in a short period of time.

Although it can be replaced now, it won't be long before the housewarming banquet will be held again. Even if it is held, people will probably say that the Zhongyong Hou Mansion is too poor to eat, and it relies on this method to make money.

After Yuan Wenshao and Hualan discussed it, they decided not to hold it at all and only held a housewarming party.

In other words, for six or seven years, his family only received gifts and did not receive them.

This thing seems normal in later generations, but it was different in ancient times.

In ancient times, a large number of people in a family were not divided into separate families. A small family like the Yuan family would suffer a big loss.

If nothing else, take the Gu family as an example. In the past few years, Gu Yankai passed away, Gu Tingyu ascended the throne, and Gu Tingwei got married to several people with four or five bedrooms. Yuan Wenshao followed the ceremony five or six times.

Because the family is not divided, weddings and weddings are all held in the name of Ningyuan Houfu.

Of course, the gifts will be based on your status, so you don’t have to pay so much every time.

There are many such examples.

But when Yuan Wenshao held a banquet, Ningyuan Houfu only had to attend a banquet.

Yuan Wenshao even felt that those families living under the same roof for several generations just wanted to receive more gifts and return less gifts.

It means that his family has a great business and can sustain it by rectifying the imbalance in courtesy exchanges.

The rest of the families like Mr. Ding of the Yuan family are probably going bankrupt with Sui Li.

When Hua Lan heard this, he said angrily: "Official, how can you think so?"

"Am I wrong in my calculation? In order to earn back the gift, I think we should work harder." Yuan Wenshao said with a smile.

"It's not like a banquet can be held whenever you want. You can't just do something trivial, right?" Hua Lan said.

Apart from the housewarming party, the only happy events that their family could do were marrying off their daughter and marrying her daughter-in-law.

Sister Wen is only seven years old, and Brother Xian is still in his infancy, still early.

As for the concubine, at most he can only do it when he marries a wife, and he is definitely not qualified to do it when he is full moon or something.

"You can't handle small things. What I'm talking about is working hard to have more children. We are still young now. Even if we have one child every two years, it won't be a problem to have seven or eight children by the time we are forty. We will be able to make back our money by then." Yuan Wenshao laughed.

"You think I'm a pig, I still have seven or eight children, I...well..."

As Hua Lan was talking, Yuan Wenshao blocked her mouth.

……

The couple had breakfast the next day. After Sister Wen went to Haijia to study, they went to the study to check the guest list and menu.

Speaking of which, this is the first time Hua Lan has hosted a banquet since her marriage.

"Officer, take a look, this is the guest list I have drawn up. There are twenty tables for men, fifteen tables for women, and ten tables for backup. Check to see if there is anything missing." Hua Lan checked the list. He handed it to Yuan Wenshao and said.

Yuan Wenshao took it and looked at it carefully. Generally, banquets are for eight or ten people per table. The thirty-five tables are calculated as ten people per table, which is only 350 people.

However, every family has more than one person. Occasions like this are good social occasions, and wives are usually brought along.

Some of them would also bring their sons and daughters, and in fact, they invited more than a hundred people.

Putting aside some people who are unable to come due to something else, the thirty-five tables are completely sufficient.

Just in case, there are ten tables on standby.

After reading it, Yuan Wenshao thought about it carefully and found that there were no omissions. He smiled and said: "The list drawn up by my wife is very good, there are no omissions."

"Then officer, take a look at the menu."

Hua Lan breathed a sigh of relief when she heard this. It was her first time doing this and she was always worried about missing someone.

Yuan Wenshao took the menu and looked at it, frowning: "Isn't this a bit shabby?"

The dim sum dishes on the menu are a bit exaggerated to say they are shabby, but they are not that great.

It was almost the same as when he married Hua Lan.

But at that time, because the family had little money, it did seem a bit shabby in the count's house.

Now that he is a marquis, his status is completely different. If he follows this menu, it will look too shabby. "Officer, this is not the menu I originally prepared. But last time I went to ask my grandmother for advice, she said that the treasury is empty now, and the banquet for us ministers is too luxurious, and I am afraid that it will lead to the impeachment of the officials, so it is better to keep it simple. I thought about it carefully and thought it made sense, so I drafted a new one," Hua Lan said.

Yuan Wenshao was startled and said with a smile: "My lady has really thought carefully about it, so let's do it this way."

Zhao Zongquan even cared about his method of making colored glaze.

If he is too extravagant, who knows if Zhao Zongquan will care about his money.

"I also hired a few theater troupes to entertain the guests. In addition..."

Hua Lan explained all his arrangements eloquently.

"Madam, just watch these." Yuan Wenshao said quickly.

He didn't expect that organizing a banquet would be so troublesome, including the location where guests' carriages should be parked, the place where the accompanying servants would eat and rest, the people who would greet guests in the outer courtyard, and the manpower to sing at the banquet... In short, there were a lot of messy things.

His head was pounding when he heard it.

"The official got bored after listening to it for a while. I've been thinking about this these days." Hua Lan said resentfully.

"Madam, they say that the male is in charge, and the female is in charge. I've seen the guest menu, and there's no problem. You can take care of the rest. I'll go ask Zhang An, how is the information he asked him to inquire about? ."

After Yuan Wenshao finished speaking, he ran away.

It is better to say that it is better for future generations. All kinds of big hotels will directly take care of the matter.

Yuan Wenshao left the study, went to the garden, and asked Zhang An to be called over.

"I have met my lord." Zhang An saluted.

Yuan Wenshao waved his hand and said, "How is the investigation going for you?"

"Back to my lord, Wen Yanjing has been renting a public house these days and rarely goes out. Occasionally he goes out to have drinks with fellow Jinshi scholars he knows. There is nothing unusual about it. However, the person I arranged to find out a piece of news, that After the Lord of Japan left the alley, Wen Yanjing went to a medical clinic. After coming out of the medical clinic, someone saw him getting into a carriage. As for where he went, the person didn't know. I asked someone to find a place to stay. People near him asked and found out that he went back very late that night and was very drunk."

"We haven't found out where he went yet. I'm asking people to continue to investigate." Zhang An said.

Yuan Wenshao sneered after hearing this. He felt that Wen Yanjing had changed too quickly.

Since Wen Yanjing dared to plan and marry Ru Lan, how could he give up just because he beat him up?

Now it seems that Wen Yanjing's transformation is probably related to the person he met that night.

Could it be that someone is interested in Wen Yanjing and wants to marry his daughter to him?

This is not impossible, after all, some wealthy lords will not go to the bottom of the list to catch their son-in-law.

However, if the Lord was really from a wealthy family, he should have contacted and tested Wen Yanjing after the examination. There was no reason to wait until the palace examination was over before looking for him.

If this possibility is ruled out, Yuan Wenshao can't think of any other possibilities for a while.

"Continue to investigate and find out for me who he met that night." Yuan Wenshao said.

"Yes." Zhang An responded.

"How is Prince Kang doing lately?" Yuan Wenshao asked.

"Since Prince Kang was released last time, he has not left home except to go to the imperial court to file a petition. However, people who are watching the Kang family come to report. Yesterday, the Ningyuan Marquis Mansion sent a message to the Kang family." Zhang An said .

"Published a post?"

Yuan Wenshao was stunned when he heard this and said, "I haven't received Gu Tingye's wedding invitation yet. It can't be a wedding invitation. Do you know who sent it?"

"The person who sent the post is from Mrs. Gu's side." Zhang An said.

"I see."

Yuan Wenshao guessed that Xiao Qin was trying to win over Aunt Kang in preparation for dealing with Minglan.

"Keep staring." Yuan Wenshao said.

When the time comes, remind Gu Tingye and let him have a headache.

Letting Zhang An go down, Yuan Wenshao was idle and bored. Seeing that the weather was just right, he asked someone to take out the fishing rod, sit by the river and catch a fish.

In his previous life, he also liked fishing, but unlike those fishing guys, he didn't care about anything just for fishing.

I just like to fish and kill time in my spare time.

I haven’t fished for a long time and my hands are indeed itchy.

Thinking of how I traveled to the wilderness for fishing in my previous life, but now I can fish at home. The maid has prepared melons, fruits and snacks. If possible, I can even let the maid squeeze my shoulders. Such days are really depraved.

"My lord, the concierge came to report that I just received a name tag from His Highness Prince Huan. Please, my lord, please go to Prince Huan's Mansion now."

Before the fish was hooked, a maid came over and said.

Yuan Wenshao was stunned when he heard this. Why did King Huan suddenly come to him?

I couldn't figure it out for a while, but I didn't dare to delay. I asked my servant to put away the fishing rod, went back to the room, changed my clothes, and went out.

When he arrived at Prince Huan's Mansion, he wanted to make an announcement, but the concierge said that His Highness Prince Huan had told him to take him in when he came.

The porter led Yuan Wenshao to the front yard and handed him over to a maid. Under the leadership of the maid, Yuan Wenshao came to King Huan's study.

"Your Highness, Marquis Zhongyong is here." The maid saluted.

"Wen Shao is here, come in quickly." Zhao Ceying said.

After hearing this, Yuan Wenshao walked in and saluted, "I have met His Highness King Huan."

"sit."

Zhao Ceying asked Yuan Wenshao to sit down, waited for the servants to serve tea and sent him away, then said: "Wen Shao, what do you think about the marriage with Xixia?"

"I feel that this matter is not that simple. Xixia must have some purpose in doing this." Yuan Wenshao said.

"Haha, there is no need to hide in front of me. I also think Xixia wants to get married because he wants to capture Hehuang." Zhao Ceying said.

Yuan Wenshao nodded and said, "I also have this speculation."

"I went to see my father yesterday. My father said that the treasury is now empty and we are unable to mobilize troops for the time being. We need to recuperate. The land in Hehuang is not so easy to obtain. My father wants to come and reap the benefits." Zhao Ceying said.

Yuan Wenshao was speechless when he heard this. The prerequisite for reaping the benefits is that others are not on guard against you.

Xixia is not a fool. Even if they get married, they will still be wary of Zhou when they attack the land of Hehuang.

The land of Hehuang was already in turmoil, and now Tubo, the largest force, was in civil strife. What Xixia wanted was just a time difference.

If Xixia moves quickly and fails to plot against Xixia, and instead allows Xixia to take over the Hehuang land, there will be trouble.

The strategic significance of Hehuang Land is too important to allow any mistakes. This kind of calculation, which is obviously gambling, is simply not feasible.

But this was the official's plan, and it was hard for him as a minister to say anything.

Zhao Ceying, a son, couldn't persuade her, so what could he do.

"I think this is too risky, but now the treasury is indeed empty. A marriage with Xixia can relieve your breathing. The advantages outweigh the disadvantages. But the land of Hehuang must not fall into the hands of Xixia. I recommended you to my father." Zhao Ceying said .

"Your Highness, do you want me to lead the troops?" Yuan Wenshao asked.

"Well, I mentioned it to you before. But now I don't have many troops for you. I can only ask you to lead a partial army to Qinfeng Road to pay attention to Xixia's movements and find a way to prevent Xixia from annexing Hehuang." Zhao Ceying said.

"Your Highness is really in trouble for me. Once Xixia takes action, it will definitely be a thunderous force. Xixia also knows that if it is delayed for a long time, the variables will be too great. If the troops are insufficient, how can I stop it?" Yuan Wenshao said with a bitter smile.

(End of this chapter)