On the Difficulties of Escape in Ancient Times

Chapter 438 Wedding Banquet 2
There were about ten tables in the living room, and seated there were all grandmothers and young ladies from various mansions. When they saw Second Madam Sheng stand up to speak, their attention was focused on them.

It’s because Xiao Xiao seldom went out for social activities before, so there aren’t many people who know her and she knows only a few people.

But this does not stop everyone from being curious about Xiao Xiao.

I originally thought that Xiao Xiao didn't go out for social events because she was timid and cowardly and didn't know the etiquette of socializing.

As a result, when we see her talking to Second Madam Sheng now, she is neither arrogant nor humble.

What excited everyone the most was what Grandma Gu said.

Listening to what Grandma Gu said, I knew she wanted to embarrass Xiao.

But then I thought about what Grandma Gu meant. Ten thousand taels of silver, that's quite a big sum of money.

All the grandmothers present here, if they were helping grandma-in-law with household affairs, they would not have so much money in their hands.

Not to mention the girls who received monthly salaries. They originally thought that twenty taels of silver a month was already a lot. But when they heard that the eldest lady of the Li Mansion casually took out ten thousand taels of silver, they couldn't help but widen their eyes.

If the rules and manners had not been ingrained into their bones, someone would have probably exclaimed at this moment.

Don't think that noble families regard gold and silver as dirt, and don't think that noble families have endless money.

Generally speaking, military generals became rich by fighting wars.

If a general wins a battle, he can keep two layers of the spoils, but since many of his soldiers were killed or wounded, he also has to pay a large portion of the compensation money.

As for the civil servants, some relied on their own abilities to embezzle, while others relied on their family's ancestral inheritance.

There is another type of people, like Xiao Xiao, who had been generously rewarded by the emperor and empress, including two farms and gold and silver jewelry.

In addition, Xiao Xiao was good at picking up bargains before, so she also reaped a lot of rewards.

Even if he took out the ten thousand taels of silver he had previously, Xiao Xiao still had thirteen thousand taels of silver in his hand.

No, including the 5,000 taels of silver that the Queen Mother gave her last time, she now still has 18,000 taels of silver.

However, Xiao Xiao would not let anyone know that she had so much private wealth.

Now, she did not change her expression when she heard what Grandma Gu said: "I bought the mountain with 10,000 taels of silver."

"Among them, five thousand taels of silver were given to me by the Empress to calm my nerves."

As for why she was frightened, everyone couldn't help but glance at Grandma Gu.

By the way, I looked at Grandma Li with envy again. I didn't know whether I should envy her for her good fortune or envy her for being favored by the Queen.

Xiao Xiao continued, "The other five thousand taels of silver is my own dowry."

"I bought the mountain because I felt bad about ignoring the trees on it. Now that I've bought it, I won't feel guilty when I cut them down."

He was just short of saying that he was a good citizen who abided by the law and had made contributions to the Ministry of Revenue.

Fortunately, the grandmothers and girls present had all attended the wedding banquets of the two masters of the Li family before, and they all remembered that when the eldest grandmother came into the family, she had a generous dowry.

Moreover, everyone thought that Xiao Xiao wanted to show off in front of the Queen and would not embezzle public funds.

Thinking further, he felt a little sad. Even if Xiao Xiao was short of money, the Queen Mother might give her some money.

Some people even suspected that it was the Empress Dowager who was supporting Xiao Xiao behind the scenes. Some people said that the dowry was Xiao Xiao's, but it might have been given by the Empress Dowager in private just to save face for Xiao Xiao.

Otherwise, how could a woman from a humble family be so willing to do so? It must be the Queen's secret order that forced her to obey.

After hearing this, Grandma Gu's face changed. She now believed that it was the Queen who supported Xiao Xiao. Even if she was angry in her heart, she didn't dare to show it on her face.

Instead, he forced a smile and said, "Grandma Li is really thoughtful."

After saying that, he sat down and talked to the person next to him.

Xiao Xiao didn't make things difficult for her anymore, but instead warmly invited everyone to eat and drink.

In the days that followed, Xiao Xiao received several waves of women including Grandma Sheng who came to donate.

She also took the opportunity to flatter them: "You ladies are all kind-hearted and beautiful. After I unload the cargo, I will definitely treat you with delicacies from land and sea and Ruyi Pavilion's music."

Ruyi Pavilion is full of men who are not only handsome but also talented. They can sing music and their performances are very popular among the female members of the family.

Even if it can't be like this, it's good to be able to satisfy your eyes.

Furthermore, I heard that the first person to establish Ruyi Pavilion was a prince who loved to listen to and sing operas, so the threshold for admission to Ruyi Pavilion was very high and not everyone could afford it.

Of course, Xiao Xiao had never seen it in person, and had only heard about it from Mrs. Li.

Now, when the ladies heard what Xiao Xiao said, several of them spoke up at once: "It's settled then. I heard that Ruyi Pavilion has a new play, and we can watch it and broaden our horizons."

"Count me in then."

In a blink of an eye, it was the sixth day of the winter month.

Mrs. Li became even busier at this time. The head of the farm sent a batch of pickled meat and live poultry according to the request of the mansion.

Also, as the year draws to a close, even if Mrs. Li doesn't have to prepare the New Year gifts personally, she still has to review them.

In addition, the maids in the mansion had to be given new jackets and skirts for the New Year, and the purchasing managers had to wait for Madam Li's instructions.

So, as the year draws to a close, Mrs. Li is really busy.

In addition, both daughters-in-law are about to give birth, so Mrs. Li, who loves to go out, has no time to socialize.

"Madam," the usually steady Yan Mama hurried her steps, "Grandma has started the movement."

When Madam Li heard this, she no longer cared about the steward beside her. She stood up and walked quickly to her daughter-in-law's yard, praying to the gods and Buddhas: "God bless you, and make sure that Xiao Zhou can give birth to a healthy grandson for me safely."

In fact, three days ago, the palace had asked the imperial physician and the midwife to come to the Shangshu Mansion, and agreed that they would wait until the two ladies gave birth to the babies safely before returning to the palace.

In addition, Mrs. Zhou had already prepared an experienced maid for her daughter, which provided multiple safeguards.

When Mrs. Li hurried in, she saw her two daughters-in-law sitting there eating snacks.

She suspected that she had heard it wrong, and looked at Mrs. Yan with a look that seemed to be saying: Are you old and suffering from hysteria?

Neither of these two daughters-in-law looks like she’s about to give birth?
But when she saw the four midwives staring at her two daughters-in-law nervously, she felt that the atmosphere was about to give birth.

When Xiao Xiao and Xiao Zhou saw her, they also stood up and saluted: "Hello, mother."

"It's already this late, don't be so polite." Madam Li could still remember the pain she felt when she gave birth to her son, and asked nervously, "Who among you is about to give birth?"

Xiao Zhou touched her belly and said, "Mother, the midwife said I am about to give birth. I was in severe pain earlier, but now it's gone. My sister-in-law told me to eat something quickly."

Madam Li wanted to help her sit down herself: "Sit down first, and tell me what you want to eat. Oh, and ask someone to invite Yuan back as soon as possible."