A sin committed by heaven could be forgiven, but a sin committed by oneself could not be avoided.
Looking at Li Yi's confused face, as if he had amnesia and had completely forgotten what "perfume" was, Li Xuan's mouth couldn't help but twitch.
"Ten taels of silver?" Li Xuan asked tentatively.
Li Yi glanced at him and didn't seem to be moved.
In the past, when his family was so poor that they didn't even have food to eat, ten taels of silver was a huge sum of money for him. He didn't have to worry about food anymore. But now, he didn't know how many ten taels of silver came into his account every day. He didn't have to bow down for this bit of money.
Seeing that his amnesia hadn't recovered, Li Xuan gritted his teeth and said, "I found a fine horse recently … I'll give it to you!"
"Two bottles at most, no more!"
Li Yi looked at him and finally spoke.
He often traveled between the stockade and the prefectural city. It wasn't a good idea to always rent a carriage from a carriage shop. It was time … to have Li Xuan give him a horse.
Just because he said a few words, he lost a good horse worth several hundred taels of silver. Li Xuan felt depressed. After leaving behind an invitation, he took the two bottles of perfume and left gloomily.
"Two days later, Wangfei's birthday banquet …" Li Yi opened the invitation, glanced at it, and put it to the side.
Although he wasn't interested in Wangfei's birthday banquet, since Li Xuan had already sent an invitation, it wouldn't be good to embarrass him.
At most, he would get a free meal and leave after he was full. Ning Wang Fu was of such high class, there shouldn't be a lack of delicacies. Speaking of which, he really didn't know what the nobles of the imperial family usually ate …
Thinking of this, the unwillingness in his heart lessened a little.
It was just that Li Xuan was too stingy and only gave one invitation. Otherwise, if a few more people went, they could at least earn back the cost.
Li Xuan was quite free. Whether it was the portrait or the perfume, he had personally made them. He just had to wait for the goods. Extorting a horse from him was a light punishment.
…
The location of the wang fei's birthday banquet was, of course, Ning Wang Fu. Li Yi might not be familiar with the route, but he had been dragged here by Li Xuan last time, so he knew the way.
Ning Wang Fu's status was high. They had to give Ning Wang face. For wang fei's birthday banquet, there naturally wouldn't be a lack of guests.
Those who had come were all prominent figures in Qing 'an Fu. There were civil and military officials, and even many people from the capital had come. From afar, Li Yi could see Steward Wang standing at the door, welcoming every guest with a smile. At the same time, he checked their invitations, accepted their gifts, and recorded them in the register.
"Keep your eyes open later. We only recognize the invitation card and not the person. No matter who comes, we can't let him in without an invitation card." Taking advantage of the free time, Steward Wang lectured the few servants at the door who welcomed the guests.
Wang fei's birthday banquet was a major event. Tonight, there were many important people in the wang fu. Other than the high officials and nobles from the prefectural city and the capital, there were also the new scholars from Qing An Fu who had passed the imperial examinations. Wang fei's birthday banquet was one of them. Inviting people of insight to discuss state affairs was also the highlight of the night.
The welcoming area at the door was a very important part. If something went wrong, no one would be able to bear the responsibility.
Hearing Steward Wang's lecture, the servants hurriedly agreed.
Recently, Steward Wang had been in the limelight. There was hope that after the old steward retired, he would become the number one candidate to be the head steward of the wang fu.
"Oh, Li, you're finally here. The young prince has been waiting for a long time." When Steward Wang saw Li Yi walk over from afar, the smile on his face grew wider and he hurriedly ran over.
This time, his welcome to Li Yi came from the bottom of his heart.
The business of Ruyi's nectar had brought in huge profits for the wang fu. The strong liquor that had just been released had caused many wine lovers to fight over it. It was even more popular than Ruyi's nectar.
Just the profits from the past few days were enough to make Steward Wang smile from ear to ear.
These few days, Steward Wang seemed to see mountains of gold and silver crashing down on him.
Even the prince praised the strong liquor and praised him in front of everyone. These few days, Steward Wang was even floating when he walked.
He had originally thought that he could only be a small steward for foreign affairs in this life. It was Li Yi who brought him hope. If it wasn't for the fact that he saw that the young prince had a close relationship with him, Steward Wang would have wanted to make a blood oath with him and become sworn brothers.
Although Steward Wang had been just as warm and courteous when he came, he had never seen him so enthusiastic. When the servants in charge of welcoming the guests saw this, they couldn't help but be surprised.
The guests who had just presented their gifts and had not yet stepped into the door also turned to look at this scene. They were also surprised.
This person was so young, but the steward of the wang fu was so polite to him. Could it be that he was also a big shot?
"Steward Wang, long time no see." Li Yi smiled and cupped one hand in the other before his chest. He handed over something in his hand.
After thinking about it, he felt that there was no good gift to give. If he gave something more expensive, the wang fu didn't lack it, and he was reluctant to buy it. If he gave something novel, he was afraid that it would steal Li Xuan's limelight. Of course, the main reason was that he was too lazy to think about it …
It was better to write this congratulatory speech in person, which was full of sincerity and not conventional.
A congratulatory speech could be finished in an hour. It took some time for the ink to dry. He casually found a shop to frame it and brought it here to freeload … to attend the birthday banquet of the wang fu.
"Sir, please show me your invitation."
A person hurried over and took the thing from Li Yi's hand. He said with a smile.
"You insensible thing. Go away. Does Li need an invitation?" Steward Wang reprimanded the servant with a sullen face. Then he looked at Li Yi and said with a smile, "Li, I will take you in. The little prince said that as long as you come, I will take you to him immediately."
Seeing Steward Wang take the young man in, the servant who was reprimanded was confused.
Didn't Steward Wang say that no matter who came, he must show the invitation? Didn't he say that only the invitation would be recognized and not the person?
Tonight, the wang fu was very lively.
Along the way, Li Yi saw many men and women dressed in gorgeous clothes talking and laughing at the table in the courtyard. There were many Confucian scholars and scholars with extraordinary temperament. In the open space next to them, there was a singer singing with a mellow voice …
This atmosphere was somewhat similar to the poetry meeting that he attended.
Perhaps the banquets of the ancient people all liked this style. After following Steward Wang and turning left and right, they went deep into the wang fu. Gradually, the voices became smaller.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
