Uncle Lai in the Red Chamber

Chapter 351 Full Moon
It’s July [-]th in a blink of an eye.

Early in the morning, there was a lot of traffic in front of Lai's house, and people started to come to express their congratulations.

Although Lai Shangrong didn't plan to do anything grand, he didn't invite many people.

But now he is in charge of several yamen, with more than a hundred high-ranking subordinates.

When the boss is working at home, how can these subordinates not show up?

Two apprentices, Jia Lan and Jia Jun, also took on the job of knowing guests. They had experienced Lai Shangrong in the yamen and were familiar with Lai Shangrong's subordinates.

Since it is not a New Year's Day, it is not possible for everyone to take leave, so most of them leave the gifts and rush to the Yamen.

The first ones to arrive were the subordinates from the State Administration Department. This was just like when Aunt Lai came to pay her birthday to Mrs. Jia, she was the first to arrive, only to show her closeness.

Subsequently, people from the Firearms Factory and the Salt and Iron Department also came to the door one after another, but no one came to the Yushitai.

Lai Shangrong also received him, and some hardcore and sixth-rank officials were very busy.

Those who came later were Xue Pan, Jia Lian, Feng Ziying, Wei Ruolan and others.

Compared with Jia Lian and Xue Pan, the female relatives in Rongguo Mansion were very active. However, Lai Shangrong's subordinates arrived so early, which caught them off guard.

I originally planned to arrive early in the morning to avoid the trouble of closing the street, and to show off the closeness between the two families, but I didn't expect that someone else would arrive earlier than me. There was so much traffic that the street couldn't even be closed, so I could only enter through the back door. Lai family.

Xu and You also got the news and waited at the back door.

In the past, Mrs. You took charge of the affairs of the new house. Now that she is pregnant, her mother, Mrs. Xu, takes the lead, with Mrs. You assisting from the side.

Seeing Mrs. Xu welcoming Mrs. Xing, Mrs. Wang and others into the back door with an attentive look on her face, Mrs. You secretly looked at Mrs. Xing.

Seeing that she was indeed a little embarrassed, I couldn't help but snicker in my heart.

That day, she had prepared dinner in the side hall, then went back to the hall to report. When she heard a faint sound coming from the back room, she thought she and Qin Keqing were pregnant one after another. Her younger sister, You Sanjie, was not willing to be the second one, so she hurried over to get advice. , and waited outside to hold the door for them.

Unexpectedly, it was Mrs. Xing who finally came out of the house. Mrs. Xing's whereabouts were spied and she didn't even bother to cover up. She came to the house every now and then for more than half a month and almost regarded Doufengxuan as her home.

Then he turned to look at Aunt Xue, who was also unclear with Lai Shangrong. She seemed much more calm. Although her compliment to Mrs. Xu was too deliberate, it was not superficial.

As we walked to the backyard, the endless singing never stopped.

Originally, the sound would not reach the backyard.

However, when Mrs. Xu heard that an important guest was coming, she wanted to show off her connections in front of her old master, so she carefully selected a servant with a loud voice to be responsible for the roll call.

Shi Xiangyun was speechless and said: "Lai...how many people did Brother Lai invite?"

Mrs. Xu was very pleased with herself, stretched out her hand, and said with a smile: "His father has never invited this many people. They are all Shangrong's subordinate officials who came here because of the rumors!"

As he said this, he pretended to complain: "There are too many people here, and I don't know if I have prepared enough to entertain them!"

Tanchun said with a smile: "Brother Lai is in charge of several yamen now, so it's no wonder he has such a big battle."

After hearing this, Shi Xiangyun came close to Lin Daiyu's ear and said something unknown, which actually made her chase and beat her.

While laughing, everyone came to the side hall in the backyard.

Mrs. Xu greeted several ladies chatting, and Mrs. You also led Wang Xifeng, Li Wan and a group of girls to the side hall next door.

Although the Lai family also invited several important guests, Uncle Tian Guo, King Zhongshun and Chen Yiwen were only official friends, far from being friends with the whole family.

Therefore, except for the female family members of Rong Mansion, no other female family members will come to the door, so they will stay here to greet him.

In the side hall, others were chatting and laughing, but Xue Baochai seemed a little absent-minded.

As a woman in a boudoir, even if she had some guesses about Lai Shangrong's power, it was only a glimpse. It was a rare opportunity to experience it in person, and she really didn't want to miss this opportunity.

Therefore, I have been listening intently, which seems a bit out of tune with the sisters in the hall.

Seeing that they were not far from leaving the banquet, but most of them held fifth and sixth rank official positions such as Yuanwailang and Chief, I couldn't help but feel a little suspicious.

However, she also understood that the more valuable her status was, the more important she was to make her final appearance. Coupled with Xu's extended slap, the closer to the start of the banquet, the more she became distracted.In a daze, he felt someone poked him in the waist. When he raised his head, he realized that Shi Xiangyun was looking at him in confusion.

"Sister Bao, is something uncomfortable? Why are you so distracted? Sister You asked us to go to the flower hall, the banquet is about to begin!"

Looking around, he realized that everyone had already stood up.

He hurriedly stood up and took Shi Xiangyun's hand, covering up: "Hey! Hey! There are many people in the room, I'm a little bored, let's go quickly!"

As soon as he stepped out of the side hall, he heard a loud shout.

"Master Qiu, the envoy of the Beijing Camp..."

Xue Baochai's figure couldn't help but stagnate. Jingying Jiedu made her very familiar. This was the position that her uncle Wang Ziteng once held. Even though she disdained her, her mother Aunt Xue was always proud of her uncle when she talked about it.

Is this the number on the palm that Xu took out?
Before she could recover, she had just arrived in front of the flower hall where the female guests were having a banquet.

The voice that trembled in my heart came again: "Master Xu, Minister of the Ministry of Industry..."

I thought that the Jingying Jiedu Envoy was already a great figure, but I didn't expect that he was just an appetizer.

A concubine can actually work for a minister.

Thinking of this, I can't help but feel excited. Even in the noisy flower hall, those noisy noises seem to be far away and cannot be heard clearly.

On the contrary, the lingering sound of the roll call echoed in her ears over and over again, making her bones numb and her legs weak.

Shi Xiangyun, who was originally holding her hand, had already changed his position and pulled the confused Xue Baochai to the table.

Looking at Xue Baochai, whose cheeks were burned crimson, he said with concern: "Sister Bao! Sister Bao! You are not feeling well. How about we sue Brother Lai and go back to rest?"

"No! It's okay..."

Before he finished speaking, he heard a series of sounds outside.

"Prince Zhongshun..."

"Uncle Guo..."

"Master Chen, the Heavenly Official of the Ministry of Personnel..."

Xue Baochai felt as if he had been struck by thunder, his legs could no longer support him, and he fell down on the chair, feeling as if his heart was turning upside down.

Brother Lai is so powerful that he has reached this point?

Even if it's just a concubine's full moon wine, only a minister, uncle, prince, etc. can let him post a message to invite him?
At this time, she no longer dared to include the Jingying Jiedushi, who stood high above the mountain, within the scope of that slap.

Xue Baochai was not the only one who heard the congratulations of the two ministers and the prince's uncle.

After all, Xu wanted to show off, and the people below understood it, and these few calls almost broke the note.

Everyone's performance varied. It was as if Mrs. Wang had already expected it and acted very calmly, or it was as if Wang Xifeng's eyes were flashing with brilliance.

Lin Daiyu, who was sitting opposite Xue Baochai, frowned slightly.

Children and concubines are a red line that is deeply rooted in the hearts of people in this era and cannot be touched easily.

She had no grudge against Xing Xiuyan, but rather cherished her. But the more this happened, the more worried she became.

He already held the power of the family and gave birth to his eldest son, and today there was such a big commotion.

She had to guess what Lai Shangrong was thinking.

At this time, her mind was filled with Xue Baoqin's flattering words.

Xing Xiuyan is not a slave like Youshi and Qin Keqing, but a good concubine, and she is fully qualified to raise a wife.

And once Xing Xiuyan becomes the second wife, the eldest son of the concubine will become the eldest son. Although he is only the second wife, in Lai Shangrong's view, the difference is minimal.

(End of this chapter)