hotmtlnovel Page 131
Page 131
Thinking of this, Chai An felt a surge of anger, as if he had been tricked!
At the same time, a wicked plan of revenge was brewing in his mind...
Kang Ning, the third daughter of the Li family, who was walking behind her mother and sister, suddenly stopped and frowned slightly, subconsciously turning her head to look in the direction of Pan Lou.
For some reason, a sense of foreboding suddenly welled up in her heart! It was as if some evil event was gradually approaching her, her mother, and her sisters!
"Third Sister, aren't you coming in yet?" After entering the room, Li Niangzi noticed her third daughter standing at the door looking out and immediately called out.
"Oh! Coming!" Kang Ning blinked, then turned and followed him into the house. But her heart was growing increasingly uneasy.
She believed her sixth sense was accurate! However, she couldn't yet know for sure what kind of calamity might befall the Li family!
However, knowing that Wei Tingyu was backing her up, Kang Ning felt reassured and not panicked.
"We must strengthen our defenses in the coming days and not let our guard down!" With that thought, Kang Ning turned to a female Golden Shadow Guard standing at the door and said.
"Don't worry, Miss! The Marquis has already given instructions!" The Golden Shadow Guards are no different from ordinary people in terms of intelligence, but their loyalty is far superior to that of ordinary people. Therefore, after receiving Kang Ning's order, they immediately nodded firmly.
Putting everything else aside, with those eight shadow guards here, unless it's a marquis, no one in this world could possibly enter the Four Fortunes Tea House.
……
When the carriage stopped at the main gate of the Marquis of Jining's mansion, Shouhua and Fuhui, who were helped down one by one by Wei Tingyu, were stunned and looked at the magnificent gate of the mansion in a daze.
"My lord! May my sister and I enter through the main gate?" Shouhua blinked, looking at Wei Tingyu with some confusion.
Concubines are generally only allowed to enter through the back door, something she and Fu Hui had already mentally prepared for.
Of course, this doesn't mean the two women didn't care about the difference between using the front and back entrances, but the issue was their deep love for Wei Tingyu. As long as they could stay by his side, they were willing to endure it even if they could only enter and exit through the back entrance from now on.
"Didn't I already say that?" Wei Tingyu smiled as he saw Shouhua and Fuhui's bewildered expressions, took their hands, and led them through the main gate, saying, "In my residence, you only differ in title; your actual treatment is the same!"
Wei Tingyu wasn't lying to them. Dou Zhao, the legitimate wife, had everything that the concubines like Miao Ansu had!
Besides these material things, their rights to use resources of the Marquis's residence, such as carriages or the main gate, are also basically equal!
Shouhua and Fuhui watched in disbelief as Wei Tingyu led them both through the main entrance, their initial bewilderment gradually turning into delight.
The two sisters exchanged a glance, both understanding the joy in each other's eyes.
As expected! Entering the Marquis's mansion was indeed the best choice they ever made!
Of course, at this moment, the two women also felt fortunate for their three younger sisters!
From this perspective, being Wei Tingyu's concubine is indeed much more comfortable and respectable than being a wife in an ordinary household!
……
"Please have some tea, Madam!" Shouhua and Fuhui knelt obediently in front of Dou Zhao and offered her tea.
Meanwhile, He Weifang, the concubine, sat in the seat next to her, and Miao Ansu and the other concubines also had their own seats.
You should know that in other large mansions, concubines at this time would only have the right to stand behind the mistress!
"Please rise, ladies!" Dou Zhao took the tea from the two women, sipped it herself, and then quickly got up to help them up.
In fact, this kind of etiquette was more of a symbolic gesture in the Jining Marquis's residence, but it was still preserved.
Shouhua and Fuhui certainly didn't have any complaints about this, after all, it's impossible for them to get all the good things, right?
If they could truly be on equal footing with the legitimate first wife on their very first day in the household, just thinking about it made both women feel ashamed and guilty!
"That's wonderful!" Dou Ming, now a formal concubine, clapped her hands with a smile after the ceremony was completed.
"What's so good about it?" He Weifang, standing beside her, smiled and gently flicked her little nose, saying, "Even with your hair all tied up, you still don't look like a woman; you still look like a little girl!"
These words were full of an older sister's love for her younger sister. Although the two were not related by blood, they got along quite well in the Marquis's mansion.
“My mother and my two elder sisters’ mothers were already close friends!” Dou Ming wrinkled her nose and then, with a touch of coquettishness, put her arm around He Weifang’s jade-like arm and said with a smile, “Now we’ve become sisters in the Marquis’s mansion!”
"The affection between our elders has not only not faded in our generation, but has become even closer. Isn't that a good thing?"
“Ming-meimei is right!” Fu-hui nodded quickly and smiled, “From now on, we are sisters!”
"It's quite nice, but it's a bit of a pity..." However, Zhao Zhangru suddenly spoke up at this moment: "Why are all the concubines that the Marquis brought back so gentle and quiet? Isn't there a single one who can practice martial arts with me?"
Zhao Zhangru felt even more depressed. The more gentle sisters she had, the more eccentric she seemed. This couldn't go on.
"I've long heard that Sister Zhao enjoys martial arts!" Shouhua winked at Zhao Zhangru and said, "My fifth sister also loves wielding swords and staffs. When she marries into the Marquis's mansion in a while, you'll have company!"
"Really?" Zhao Zhangru's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this.
Wow! This Li family actually has a younger sister who shares the same hobbies as me?! That's wonderful!
Thinking of this, Zhao Zhangru was even more eager to see Li Jia Wu Niang Le Shan as soon as possible!
When it's my turn to serve the Marquis at night, I must whisper sweet nothings in his ear and beg him to bring the fifth sister of the Li family into the mansion as soon as possible!
……
Two days later, the original Sifu Tea House finally reopened after a new round of renovations!
It has since been renamed Sifuzhai, and the store looks much grander than before!
"Distinguished guests, come and come! Sifuzhai is open for business again!" Dressed in new clothes, Li Niangzi called out to the surrounding neighbors with a joyful expression.
"Distinguished guests! Don't let our small shop fool you, our shop has everything you scholars appreciate: incense burning, tea making, painting hanging, and flower arranging!"
"Whether you're tired from walking around the crossroads and want to find a place to rest and have some tea."
"I still find good stuff at the East Corner Tower, and I want to have it checked by someone."
"Or maybe you just want to find a place to chat, tell stories, and appreciate the aroma and tea."
"You can't go wrong with this little shop!"
Li Niangzi smiled radiantly and spoke eloquently, which made the onlookers around her nod in agreement.
Putting everything else aside, Lady Li's demeanor really does have a touch of scholarly refinement!
Especially today, with her luxurious attire and gold and jade hairpins, every smile and gesture exuded charm and elegance! Many passersby stared in disbelief!
The phrase "still charming and graceful" is perfectly suited to Li Niangzi right now!
Of course, Lady Li was also poised and elegant, without any intention of flattering anyone, which only made people yearn for her.
"A small teahouse that gathers all four refined pursuits? That's quite unusual!" A young man in a blue robe nodded and said after looking at the plaque of Sifuzhai.
"That's right!" Upon hearing that someone actually understood, Li Niangzi quickly smiled, gently shaking her head while lightly waving her fan, adopting the demeanor of a proprietress, and said, "Our shop has books and paintings! Incense and tea!"
"You'll see once you go inside!"
As soon as Li Niangzi finished speaking, the surrounding crowd stirred up a commotion.
It seems this proprietress isn't just bragging; she dares to let her distinguished guests go in and see for themselves right now, so she must have some confidence!
"Let's go! Let's go in and take a look!" With that thought, several young men dressed as wealthy young masters in the crowd waved their folding fans and led the way into Sifuzhai.
With someone leading the way, the crowd naturally followed suit, and in no time, the entrance to Sifuzhai was packed with customers, almost breaking down the threshold.
Of course, Lady Li didn't need to do the menial work of greeting guests herself; the young servants and doormen hired by the shop all came forward to greet the customers and lead them into the shop.
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Meanwhile, Lady Li stood leisurely to the side, fanning herself with a round fan and watching the scene unfold with a smile.
As expected, the Marquis's idea was brilliant! It's so easy to make money off these dissolute young masters and down-on-their-luck scholars! As long as they have class, they're all scrambling to squeeze through the door!
Of course, across the street from Panlou, Chai An was also watching the spectacle with a grim expression.
It was obvious that many guests who were originally going to Panlou were also lured away by Sifuzhai! This included two guests who had just stepped halfway into the gate of Panlou, but after hearing Li Niangzi's shouts, they turned around and ran to Sifuzhai.
This scene was undoubtedly a slap in the face to Chai An!
Seeing Li Niangzi's smug expression, Chai An couldn't resist any longer. Ignoring the servant's attempts to stop him, he strode towards Sifuzhai.
Upon entering the main gate of Sifuzhai, Chai An was immediately shocked.
Because this place was completely different from the teahouses he had originally imagined.
The decor is very elegant, filled with a strong scholarly atmosphere.
The shop's interior decorations are also quite exquisite! There are even some genuine works of calligraphy and paintings by famous people!
Without a doubt, Wei Tingyu must have taken it from the Marquis's residence!
"Look at the glaze on this bottle... the color is just right..."
"The condition is excellent! It's exceptionally beautiful!"
In the courtyard on the left, a man who looked like a shopkeeper was introducing a piece of porcelain to several young men who were watching.
"If you ask me, the use of the word 'empty' in Young Master Zhang's poem is the most exquisite! Not even a little more would be enough!"
"Excellent! You are absolutely right, brother!"
In the attic on the right, a few literati were gathered, discussing poetry and lyrics.
This decor! This arrangement! How could it possibly be something that the women of the Li family could have imagined?
Chai An frowned even more deeply as he thought about this! He never expected that the Li family would have such good fortune after hooking up with the Marquis of Jining's mansion; even their shop had become incredibly successful!
Of course, Chai An wasn't the only one with this idea.
"What a hidden gem! It's just that the storefront is a bit too small, not nearly as grand as Panlou!"
A young man dressed as a scholar looked around and said with a regretful expression.