Sir, I just want to be a salted fish

Chapter 157 Looking at each other
There was once a prince who wanted to take away the storyteller forcefully. Before he could leave the teahouse, the teahouse guards grabbed him by the collar and threw him out without any explanation.

No one knows who the backer of the teahouse is, but those who dare to look down on the prince must have a very deep background. From then on, everyone who came to the teahouse to listen to books was very well-behaved.

Wang Shan couldn't find out the background of Qingming Teahouse for a while. Since the teahouse wouldn't hinder his stay, it would be better to go to the storyteller to talk things over first.

Wang Shan found the storyteller from the shopkeeper who wanted to go home for lunch. He respectfully and sincerely hoped that he could go to the Prince of Chu's Mansion to tell stories. However, he was sternly rejected by the storyteller before even mentioning the generous remuneration.

"Thank you very much, King Chu. I came down to the teahouse to tell stories out of interest. I can't afford the errands of King Chu's palace."

Wang Shan accompanied the King of Chu out of the palace to build a mansion, and it was the first time he was rejected in person. Fortunately, he remembered his prince's instructions and did not embarrass the other party. He respectfully sent the storyteller off with a great attitude.

When King Chu Lingrui heard Wang Shan's report, he did not lose his temper as usual. Instead, he felt that the person King Chu liked really had some backbone.

From then on, King Lingrui of Chu came to Qingming Teahouse to drink tea and listen to books when he had nothing to do, and became a frequent visitor to Qingming Teahouse.

The elders of the Rongguo Duke's Mansion selected a candidate for Tang Bingqing's marriage, and soon the Duke's wife Liu and the Dali Temple Minister's wife Li decided on the time and place to see each other.

Since the meeting was likely to fail, for the sake of the woman's reputation, the place for the meeting was decided to be the Songhe Courtyard of Shao, the wife of Rongguo Duke's mansion;

The time was set on the penultimate day at the end of May. Tang Wenbai, the oldest grandson in the family, was at home on vacation and could receive Sima Qiu, a male guest;
As for the reason for the meeting, it was that Li, the wife of the minister of Dali Temple, came with her second son Sima Qiu to pay homage to the concubine of the Duke's mansion.

Tang Bingxuan, the eldest sister who was married outside, was also invited to keep an eye on her younger sister, and met in the living room with several ladies and elders from the Duke's Mansion.

Mrs. Li is in her thirties, has a delicate appearance, a petite and graceful figure, but she has given birth to three healthy sons. She is also a blessed person.

Sima Qiu is tall and slender, but his appearance is middle-aged. Because he is a scholar, his scholarly temperament is obvious when he walks;
She followed her mother Li all the way, her eyes were clear and straight, and she seemed to have good etiquette.

Mrs. Li took her son Sima Qiu to salute and greet several ladies in the Duke's mansion. Sima Qiu was respectful and modest, and he advanced and retreated in a measured manner;

Even when he saw Tang Bingxuan, a young and beautiful woman, he didn't take a second look. He must have been a well-behaved and carefree son.

The elders picked some interesting topics and asked Sima Qiu. Sima Qiu answered them carefully and respectfully, without any perfunctory or impatience.

Even when it comes to topics that he is interested in, he will discuss them with several ladies and elders using classic scriptures, without any contempt or boredom for women to read more.

Even when Tang Wenbai, a young man with mediocre academic performance, asked some rural examination questions that had no meaningful meaning, Sima Qiu answered him in a serious and gentle manner. Tang Bingqing shyly stood in the screen on one side of the living room with her third sister Tang Bingyu, and saw Sima Qiu's appearance, words and deeds through the screen.

Tang Bingyu was a little dissatisfied with Sima Qiu's appearance as soon as she saw it. She didn't know that she was a face-control person. She just felt that a man with such an appearance was not worthy of her young and beautiful second sister Tang Bingqing.

The person involved, Tang Bingqing, had a different view.

Sima Qiu had an ordinary appearance, but he exuded the elegance of poetry and calligraphy. From his words and deeds, it can be seen that Sima Qiu was a man of profound knowledge and knowledge. Mrs. Li, the minister of Dali Temple, was also very satisfied with her second son's performance. It was because of his good temperament that she liked to study, so she felt that Tang Bingqing, the second roommate of the Duke's residence, who liked to study, was a good match for his second son.

After talking for a long time, Mrs. Tai asked Tang Wenbai to take Sima Qiu for a walk in the garden. At this time, the garden was a good time for flowers to bloom. When you are tired from walking, you can sit in the pavilion to drink tea and rest.

He also asked Mrs. Liu, the duke's wife, to accompany Mrs. Li to the Chengyuan next door to rest for a while, and then come to the Songhetang dining room for lunch.

Both Liu and Mrs. Li drafted these procedures for the meeting, and they both knew the procedures very well, so they went to Chengyuan together without saying anything else.

The madam summoned Tang Bingqing who was behind the screen. She saw that her granddaughter's face was red and she looked shy about speaking. Without asking, she knew that she was very satisfied with Sima Qiu.

Seeing that the second sister and grandmother seemed to be acquiescing, Tang Bingyu quickly expressed his opinion, "Grandma, this Sima Qiu is average-looking, and my granddaughter thinks he is not worthy of the second sister."

The face-controlling Tang Bingyu accepted the truth. The men in the family have always been average-looking since childhood, and the eldest brother-in-law is even more handsome. Sima Qiu's ordinary appearance can be said to be unattractive compared to the eldest brother-in-law.

Before Mrs. Tai spoke, Mrs. Zhang, the second wife, couldn't wait to speak first, "Yu'er, you are still young and don't understand the art of choosing a husband."

Mrs. Tai raised her head and glanced at Mrs. Zhang, the second wife, with a warning tone, and then said to Tang Bingyu with a smile: "Ask your second sister if she is interested in her."

Upon hearing this, Tang Bingyu stared at Tang Bingqing with big eyes, which made Tang Bingqing's face turn even redder, but she couldn't say a word for a long time.

Tang Bingxuan pulled her second sister's little hand and said, "Okay, this is a lifelong event for you. Don't be too shy to express your feelings, otherwise we all think you don't like her, so just reject the Sima family's marriage proposal today."

Tang Bingqing felt anxious when she heard what her eldest sister said. She took Tang Bingxuan's hand and whispered in a panic: "Granddaughter. Granddaughter follows the arrangements of the elders."

Everyone in the room except Tang Bingyu was amused by Tang Bingqing's shy look, saying that this was a God-given marriage.

Since they were meeting each other, Sima Qiu definitely wanted to meet Tang Bingqing, so Tang Bingxuan accepted this glorious task and took Tang Bingqing to the garden to "wander" and meet him by chance.

When sisters Tang Bingxuan arrived at the garden, Sima Qiuzheng and Tang Wenbai were sitting in the garden pavilion talking, while the two sisters stood aside and watched calmly.

In the current game between the two, it was already obvious that Tang Wenbai was at a disadvantage. Tang Bingxuan saw that Sima Qiu's chess style was grand and did not stick to the gains and losses of one side, so she thought he had a more free and generous temperament.

After the two of them finished playing a game, Tang Bingqing and Sima Qiu were introduced to each other. Sima Qiu glanced at Tang Bingqing a few more times, and then talked to the three of them without looking away.

When Mrs. Li and Sima Qiu left, the marriage was initially decided.

Tang Bingxuan's wine shop opened in April after finding a good time. Now the business of the shop has been stable. Because the quality of the wine is good, it is very popular among Kyoto people. Whether it is low-end wine or mid-to-high-end wine, the amount of wine entering and leaving the warehouse is very high. is gradually improving.

Zhidong's father and two younger brothers were arranged by Tang Bingxuan to work on Zhuangzi in charge of wine making.