Misty Rain of the Old Times

"My lord, someone from the Princess's residence informed us earlier that Her Highness will not be coming today; she is going to the palace to pay her respects to His Majesty."

"Oh, I see"

As dawn broke, the courtyard, which had been cleaned just a few days earlier, was covered with a thin layer of snow again. Chen Xuan and Su Roujia, master and servant, were leisurely practicing their meditation exercises, looking quite content.

It was the morning of the second day after Gao Jingming's wedding. Chen Xuan hadn't made any excessive noise during the wedding night last night; he just made a joke outside the window and then returned to his residence.

Without pausing, the little maid paused and asked again, "Is Master going to Young Master Gao's place again today?"

"Go ahead, we don't need to make breakfast later, we can just go over there and freeload," Chen Xuan said with a smile.

Originally, Gao Jingming's wedding was over, so it was optional to go or not. However, Chen Xuan felt it was still necessary to go. Mr. Yushan and Zhou Lin would not be returning immediately after their arrival. Even if he didn't consider the Gao family's side, Chen Xuan still had to entertain them. After all, it was a rare opportunity for them to come to the capital, and it might only happen once in their lives. It was neither reasonable nor emotional to ignore them.

So the master and servant finished their usual morning practice and headed straight for the Gao family.

When we arrived, the courtyard was still brightly decorated, and the festive atmosphere of yesterday seemed to continue.

Yesterday, Gao Jingming's wedding was held at dusk, and the banquet ended late at night. As a result, most of the relatives who came from afar simply stayed overnight. Fortunately, the place was well prepared and everyone was settled. In fact, some rooms were borrowed from the surrounding neighbors, but Chen Xuan did not need to worry about such trivial matters.

When Chen Xuan and his group arrived, a grand banquet was still being held to entertain relatives; after the wedding, this was a family dinner.

Without any hesitation, Chen Xuan led Su Roujia straight to a table with empty seats to freeload a meal, which was located at the bottom of the steps outside the main hall.

They had just sat down and were enjoying their meal when Mr. and Mrs. Gao came to sit in the main hall. Then, witnessed by many relatives, the newlyweds, Mr. and Mrs. Gao Jingming, who had gotten up early, came to kowtow and offer tea.

Xiao Cai and Xiao Ye followed behind Gao Jingming and his wife. It seems that even though they haven't been officially recognized as husband and wife yet, they have already paid their respects to Lü Qingrong.

Mr. and Mrs. Gao drank the tea offered by their son and daughter-in-law, said some words of blessing, and gave them a large red envelope. Although it was called a red envelope, it actually contained a list. Their son had started his own family and career, and his expenses would be high in the future, so as parents, they naturally had to help him out.

That wasn't all. Afterwards, Gao Jingming and his wife kowtowed and served tea to his grandmother, his master, Mr. Yushan, his uncle and aunt, his aunt and uncle, and other close relatives and elders. The process was meticulous and respectful.

After a round of kowtowing, Gao Jingming and his wife kowtowed many times, but they also received so many red envelopes that their hands were sore. These were the elders' good wishes, and they accepted them with a clear conscience.

The bride, Lü Qingrong, was feeling unwell as a new wife. Xiao Gao had clearly been quite a handful last night, but she still dutifully showed respect to her elders.

Afterwards, Gao Jingming and his family began to move around the table, followed by maids carrying tea. They began to serve tea to the relatives who had come from afar to express their gratitude. When these relatives left, the Gao family would give them an extra gift of thanks, but not now. If they gave it now, it would be clear that they were being asked to leave.

During the process, the Gao family would also give a red envelope to the younger generation.

The third table was for Chen Xuan and his group. When Gao Jingming and his wife offered them tea, Chen Xuan stood up and sincerely congratulated them.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, while Mr. and Mrs. Gao were serving tea to the others, Mr. and Mrs. Gao stepped forward and each handed a red envelope to Chen Xuan and Su Roujia, saying, "Xiao Xuan, thank you for your hard work these past few days."

"Of course, of course, I dare not refuse such a gift from an elder. I'll share in the joy, so I won't be polite." Chen Xuan accepted it without hesitation and put it in his pocket. He felt the thickness of the coin and thought it must be quite a lot, at least ten thousand taels. He was delighted to have such a good thing while he was here for a free meal.

At Chen Xuan's prompting, Su Roujia also accepted the red envelope, but not as casually as Chen Xuan, and said somewhat nervously, "Thank you, sir and madam."

"Okay, you all eat and drink well. There are other guests, so we won't be looking after you for now..."

After they left, Chen Xuan whispered and winked at Su Roujia, "Young Master gets a red envelope for getting married. If he marries a few more, we won't have to worry about making a living anymore."

Su Roujia, feeling embarrassed, said, "Master, there are so many people around."

So Chen Xuan stopped saying anything and began to eat and drink without any restraint.

The people at the table felt a bit strange. Even as close relatives of the Gao family, they couldn't figure out what was going on between Chen Xuan and Gao Jingming. Their casual manner suggested a relationship that was anything but ordinary, yet Chen Xuan kept calling Gao Jingming "Young Master," which was really hard for them to understand.

Fortunately, they all knew their limits and didn't dwell on it or inquire further. Even if it was just about Gao Jingyu marrying Prince Qing and becoming a princess, to put it bluntly, these poor relatives had to straighten out their attitude.

They ate and drank until noon, and all the proper gestures were made, with both hosts and guests thoroughly enjoying themselves.

As the banquet was drawing to a close, Master Gao sincerely announced to everyone, "Dear friends and relatives, it's a rare opportunity for you to come to the capital. Since you don't seem to have much urgent business at the end of the year, why not stay a little longer, travel around, and enjoy yourself? Don't worry about any expenses; we'll take care of everything." "Brother, you're too kind. It's a rare opportunity for us to come; we're not in a hurry to go back."

"Brother-in-law, there's no need for you to spend money; we have our own means."

"Uncle, I've heard that there's a famous Mirror Lake in the capital. I'd like to go and see it."

"Aunt, can we go down and get a closer look at those little mountains floating in the sky above Beijing? Won't they fall down?"

The relatives who had come from afar reacted enthusiastically. Almost none of them had ever been to the capital, and this was likely their only chance in their lives. Of course, they didn't want to leave with any regrets. They wanted to see the sights and go back so they could brag about it for the rest of their lives: "I've been to the capital, how prosperous it is! Have you even been there? You know nothing..."

The Gao family naturally wanted to treat their relatives well. Amid their lively discussion, Master Gao smiled and said, "How about this, I'll have Butler He make the arrangements, plan a route, and try to visit all the places we want to go."

This is perfect. Many of them are new here and have no clue what to do. With the Gao family's help, they won't be completely lost.

The relationships between relatives and friends varied in closeness and distance. After a brief discussion, the arriving relatives and friends were divided into three groups. The Gao family's relatives were led by Mr. Gao himself, while Mrs. Gao was in charge of making arrangements for them.

As for people like Mr. Yushan and Deng Lingfeng, they were accompanied by Gao Jingming, and Chen Xuanhe also toured the capital with them.

Two days passed in this way, and people toured many places in the capital, admiring the majestic and imposing imperial palace from afar, witnessing the magnificent and mysterious floating islands, admiring the scenery of Mirror Lake, and tasting the snacks and delicacies in the streets and alleys...

However, the capital city is too big and the time is too short. There are too many places that cannot be visited. If you were to visit all of the capital city, you would not be able to see all of them even in a year.

On the third day, Gao Jingming finished accompanying them, and Chen Xuan led Mr. Yushan and the others on a tour, because it was already the third day after his wedding, and he had to take his bride back to her parents' home, so he really couldn't find the time.

Chen Xuan was very generous to his own people, taking Mr. Yushan and the others to the Drunken Immortal Pavilion by Mirror Lake. They were dumbfounded when they saw the prices on the menu. Luo Taiyun, who had some money, said that if he came here a few times, he would probably have to beg for food.

Chen Xuan said that he could order whatever he wanted to eat, as he had a very good relationship with the owner of the restaurant and could pay for the meal.

This wasn't just him bragging. Of course, it was the little princess's business, no problem. It wasn't that he would treat the little princess's business as his own after the two got married in a few months. Rather, it was the little princess's arrangement, thinking of Chen Xuan, so that he could properly entertain the friends and elders who came from afar. In fact, the little princess was making face for her future husband.

Besides, how much they can eat is negligible compared to Zuixianlou's daily revenue.

Zuixianlou was just one stop. Chen Xuan also took them to Xiaoxuan Palace to visit the ancient temple, stroll along Wangfu Street, and visit Dengyunlou to admire the original works and famous poems left by literati. He even wanted to take them to experience the best brothel in the capital, but was glared at by Mr. Yushan and gave up.

Chen Xuan even patted his chest and said that he could arrange for them to visit the palace if they wanted, which made even Mr. Yushan tremble with fear. He didn't know if Chen Xuan was bragging, but he didn't take it seriously.

Visiting the palace? What a joke! That's something they wouldn't even dare to dream of. Just take it as a joke.

Even Mr. Yushan was unaware of Chen Xuan's situation. To put it bluntly, he was not at a high enough level, and even within the Gao family, only a few people understood the specifics.

After Gao Jingming finished his homecoming visit, he took advantage of the remaining time to tour the capital with Mr. Yushan and the others, with Chen Xuan accompanying them.

In the past few days, Gao Jingming privately told Chen Xuan about the fate of the Wu family. He didn't know how the Jiang family had handled it, but Wu Junhao, the person in charge of the Wu family in Beijing, was imprisoned for a crime that seemed to be quite serious. He was scheduled to be executed soon. In addition, several key members of the Wu family were also implicated. As a result, the Wu family's businesses in Beijing were finished. It was not just a minor injury, but a complete loss.

For a noble family like the Marquis's mansion, dealing with a merchant family like the Wu family would be easy. Originally, it was not just that, after all, they almost framed the Jiang family and offended the Gao family. If Chen Xuan, who was behind the Gao family, were to get angry, the Jiang family would surely be doomed. The reason why they stopped there was because the Queen asked Prince Qing for help and took the initiative to abdicate and support Gao Jingyu to become Queen, which saved the Wu family.

Chen Xuan didn't know how it was done, but he said that the Wu family deserved it. If he had taken action, the fate of the Wu family would probably have been no different from that of the other Wu family.

In short, Gao Jingyu became the biggest winner in this little-known incident. After the Imperial Clan Court completed the procedures, she was finally able to become the Empress Qing, a position she had always longed for.

Five days after Gao Jingming's wedding, Chen Xuan finished accompanying Mr. Yushan and his group on a day of sightseeing. Not tired at all, he hadn't even rested for a short while when a young maid rushed to him, saying, "Master, Master, someone delivered an invitation outside the door. It seems to be someone important. I delivered it to whom immediately."

"Someone sent me an invitation? Let me see it," Chen Xuan said, holding out his hand in bewilderment. He didn't have many close friends in the capital, so this was quite a surprise.

He then took the gold-inlaid invitation from the little maid, opened it, and immediately raised an eyebrow.

"The King of Jiang is marrying off his daughter to form a marriage alliance with the Jiang family? Interesting..." (End of Chapter)