King of Song

Chapter 8 The Buddha Jumps Over The Wall

In view of the influence of the Meng family in Jiangning and the status of Mrs. Meng's third-rank order, there was an endless stream of dignitaries, businessmen and celebrities who came to celebrate her birthday.Even Shao Wenquan, the magistrate of Jiangning County, and Zhu Xueli, a professor of Jiangning Prefecture, came to celebrate his birthday in person, which made the Meng family more face.

The merchants present can't help sighing: They are all merchants, why is there such a big gap?The prosperity of the Meng family is due to the kindness of the ancestors, but the more important thing is the fame of the Meng family!Isn't Mrs. Meng's imperial order just because she has a Jinshi son?If the eldest son of the Meng family is named on the gold list next year, he will be even more prominent!

The merchants all realized the importance of fame and fame, and they all planned to invite famous teachers to educate their offspring after returning home, hoping to be famous in high school!Looking at Meng Ruogu who was welcoming guests at the door, everyone was envious!

Meng Ruogu has been away from home for more than a month, but he rushed back home early today. As the only male in the Meng family, it is his duty to welcome guests at the door!
There was an endless stream of congratulatory guests, and the birthday greetings naturally couldn't come empty-handed. All kinds of rare gifts had already piled up into a hill.When Lin Zhao came to the front yard, seeing this scene and the yard full of guests, he couldn't help exclaiming: The Meng family is really extraordinary!
In the back hall, the young wife Li and the young lady Meng Ruoying came out to greet the female guests, and the hall was crowded for a while, it was so lively!

When noon was approaching, Meng Ruogu found Meng Ruoying and asked, "Little sister, the guests are almost here!"

Meng Ruoying nodded and said, "Then let's start the banquet!"

"Okay, is everything about the banquet arranged?" Meng Ruogu asked.

Meng Ruoying smiled and said: "Brother, don't worry, my sister-in-law took care of these things herself, everything is in order!" The Meng family has a division of labor, Meng Ruoying takes care of business and major affairs, and the young wife Li takes care of the inner house.

"Thank you for your hard work!" Meng Ruogu felt a little distressed, and looked at the little girl apologetically!

Meng Ruoying shook her head and said, "It's not hard, brother can just study and get a Jinshi at ease, but pay more attention to your body!"

Meng Ruogu nodded and asked, "By the way, I asked Dongyang...Lin Zhao to help you. How is he doing?"

"Him?" Meng Ruoying didn't know how to describe it...

"He has been studying with me, and he hasn't experienced anything. If he doesn't do well, please take care of him!"

"No, he did a good job, very good!"

"Really?" Meng Ruogu couldn't help being a little surprised!

Meng Ruoying nodded and said, "By the way, brother, there is something I want to ask you..."

"what's up?"

When the words came to her lips, Meng Ruoying shook her head and said, "Forget it, I can't explain a few sentences, let's talk about it another day!"

"Alright, you go invite grandma, I'll greet the guests, let's have a feast!"

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In the main hall of the Meng Mansion, the plaque of "Family of Loyalty" written by Emperor Taizong hangs high, showing the achievements and glory of the Meng family.

The old birthday star, with hefty hair and childlike face, dressed in auspicious clothes, walked out with a smile on his face, supported by his granddaughter-in-law and granddaughter.

The guests present hurriedly stood up to express their respect to Mrs. Meng, the birthday star!

Mrs. Meng sat down on the main seat, ready to accept everyone's congratulations!As the grandson, Meng Ruogu took the lead to lead his wife Li Shi and younger sister Ruoying, knelt down and kowtowed: "Grandson (daughter-in-law, daughter-in-law) pays respects to grandma, wishing grandma a long and healthy life!"

"Okay, good boy, it's cold on the ground, get up quickly!" Meng Ruogu looked at the three grandchildren, and sighed with a smile, "I don't mean to live a hundred years, but my old bones are still strong, Waiting to hold a great-grandson!"

As soon as these words came out, Li's face suddenly became a little unnatural, but fortunately no one noticed!Mrs. Meng pointed at her granddaughter again and said with a smile: "You girl, grandma is still waiting for you to come out of the cabinet and marry a good husband!"

"Grandmother!" Meng Ruoying felt a little embarrassed!

Lin Zhao was far away, but he could clearly see that Chen Xuan had already taken his seat, triumphant!Really shameless Nima!
Mrs. Meng laughed again: "Also, if Ruoying is free, teach your sister-in-law how to do business and look at the accounts!"

It is a matter of time before Meng Ruoying gets married, and the power of managing the business will naturally be handed over, so it is reasonable for the old lady to arrange this way.

Meng Ruoying nodded slightly. For her, this was a heavy burden, and she wanted to take it off a long time ago.

After the brothers and sisters of the Meng family, Zhu Xueli, a professor of Jiangning Prefecture, and Shao Wenquan, the county magistrate, and other local officials, as honored guests, took the lead in paying their birthday respects!Mrs. Meng has an imperial order, and because she respects the elderly, words of congratulations are naturally indispensable.

Afterwards, the important guests stepped forward to celebrate their birthdays one by one, and the hall of the Meng Mansion was beaming with joy.There are also many guests who live in the bottom of the world and have no chance to enter the hall at all, so they can only congratulate in the courtyard!
After most of the guests had retreated, Chen Xuan came late, and actually intended to make his finale appearance!

"Chen Xuangong wishes the old lady good fortune like the East China Sea, and a longer life than Nanshan!" There is not much new in the words of the wish!
"Okay!" Mrs. Meng is also very optimistic about Chen Xuan. If her granddaughter likes it, she intends to make him the grandson-in-law of the Meng family.

Chen Xuan then asked someone to present a Jade Avalokitesvara, and said with a smile: "The younger generation knows that the old lady worships the Buddha, so I invited this Avalokitesvara statue, and it was chanted by an eminent monk in Kaibao Temple in Bianjing for 49 days. It was just escorted to Jiangning yesterday. !"

Kaibao Temple was first built in the first year of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty, and it was only 20 years since the opening of the mountain. However, after the surrender of King Qian of Wuyue, the relics of Buddha bone were enshrined here.Therefore, in the eyes of the Buddha, it is like a holy place.Chen Xuan's gift was obviously for him!
Mrs. Meng nodded again and again, very satisfied, nodded and said: "Okay, I have to thank Mr. Chen!"

Chen Xuan shook his head and said, "As long as the old lady is happy, it's fine. I heard that the old lady also likes food, so I invited a chef from Bianjing to serve delicious food to the old lady!"

"Okay, okay!" The flattery was quite good, and Mrs. Meng was quite satisfied!
Afterwards, several maids filed out holding the cups, plates and dishes, and Meng Ruoying also ordered in time to serve the guests, and the birthday banquet officially began!
Under Chen Xuan's guidance, a table of exquisite dishes appeared in front of him!
"Three goats are prosperous, Haiyue is the same age, good fortune and long life, happy birthday, family reunion!" Chen Xuan burst out the name of the auspicious dish that he had been thinking about!

In fact, it’s nothing more than broiled lamb, duck soup, pork noodles, jujube cake rose cake, braised meatballs!Although it is simple, it does have some characteristics in the Northern Song Dynasty when cooking was just emerging!But if Lin Zhao saw it, he would definitely scoff at it.

Mrs. Meng kept nodding cheerfully, Mrs. Li served her some food in time, and the old birthday star was quite satisfied!He praised again and again, and said with a smile: "Thank you Mr. Chen, it's really delicious!"

Seeing this, Chen Xuan had a smug smile on his face and forgot to wink at Mrs. Li from time to time!

Mrs. Li immediately said: "Grandmother, you have also prepared delicious dishes in the kitchen to celebrate your birthday, and you said that you can compete with the chef of Bianjing!"

Lin Zhao cursed secretly in his heart, praised and killed him, held it up high, fell down heavily later, and then stepped on it a few times, the heart of the most poisonous woman is indeed true.It's a pity that your opponent is me. I'm afraid someone's wish will come true again.

"Really?" Mrs. Meng asked with a smile.

"There is such a skill? Then I want to see it!" Chen Xuan didn't forget to help!

Mrs. Li nodded and said: "Yes, grandma will wait and see!" Then he ordered the maid beside him to pass the dishes, and at the same time looked around for Lin Zhao in the crowd, and said bitterly in his heart: I want your whole family to look good this time!
All the people present here are dignitaries, wealthy businessmen, and they all have a considerable interest in food. The few dishes Chen Xuanfeng served are already quite greedy for them.At this time, they all looked forward to hearing someone speak out loudly, and many of them had the mentality of watching a joke.

At this time, a delicate-looking woman appeared at the door, dressed in a coarse hairpin skirt, dressed as a cook, born with a different kind of handsome beauty, it was Gu Yuelun!Two servants behind him carried a huge wine jar to follow!

Gu Yuelun received Lin Zhao's advice, blessed him and said, "Congratulations to the old lady for her longevity and well-being!"

"What delicious food? Even the wine jar was brought up..." Chen Xuan snorted immediately!
Gu Yuelun was not angry either, and said with a sweet smile: "Deliciousness comes from the food itself, not the utensils. It's like how many people look good on the outside, but they are harsh on the inside... People don't look good, so wine jars can't be underestimated!"

These remarks were naturally taught by Lin Zhao, and naturally they also pointed out that Chen Xuan was disgusted again.

Gu Yuelun smiled and said: "This dish is called Fushouquan, also known as Buddha Jumping over the Wall, and it is specially cooked for the old lady's birthday!" Immediately, with a move of Qianqianyu's hand, the lid of the wine jar was lifted!
(End of this chapter)