Chapter 74: The Xie Estate Receives Guests (7)

  The next day, Ma Shi, Mao Shi and Yao Cun Jia Mei accompanied Xie Fu Ren to take a stroll in the mansion, enjoy the scenery and chat about family trivia. This was intended to allow Xie Fu Ren to rest and recover her spirits after the long journey.

  Mrs. Xie's subordinates were busy going to the homes of relatives and friends in Beijing to pay their respects and say hello.

  Xie's family actually didn't have much to do with the capital, and they weren't unfamiliar with relatives and friends in the capital either. However, it was ten years ago that Mrs. Xie came to the capital. This time when she went up to the capital, although she couldn't spare the time to visit them one by one, she should have sent someone to greet them.

  Only Yunjia, Lijin Old Wangye's house, and Wu Yinghou Lin Chuanming's house have received the visiting card and arranged a time for a personal visit.

  It goes without saying that the Yun family is closely related to the Xie family, and Mr. and Mrs. Xie are close friends of Old Lady Yun's. The future daughter-in-law of Mrs. Xie is also Old Lady Yun's own granddaughter, and this marriage was arranged by her. Since Mrs. Xie has arrived, she naturally should go visit them.

  Li Guowang is the younger brother of the former emperor, the younger uncle of the current empress dowager, and the most respected person in the imperial family. He is not the oldest in age, but among the elderly people in the imperial family, only he can still show respect to the empress dowager and speak a few words in front of her, while others do not even have the opportunity to appear in front of her. It is said that this is because when the empress dowager was humble and powerless in the palace, Li Guowang had saved her, and the empress dowager repaid him with kindness, treating his family well.

  The former emperor was very respectful to the Liqinwang family, and had accompanied him on three trips to Jiangnan. The Shes were also very familiar with them. When the imperial carriage stopped in Jinling, Mrs. Xie was still a young daughter-in-law and had served by the side of the Liqinwang princess, who treated her well. After the former emperor's death, the Liqinwang couple lived quietly and didn't receive many guests, nor did they travel far again. It had been many years since they last met, so naturally Mrs. Xie should pay a visit.

  Wu Yinghou Lin Chuanming, his mother and Xie Furen's mother were sisters born of the same parents, so he was Xie Furen's paternal first cousin. Lin Chuanming's wife was also Xie Furen's husband's first cousin. The two families were extremely close, so naturally Xie Furen had to pay a visit.

  On the same day, the Yun family, Li's family, and the old Wang family all replied. Old Lady Yun immediately sent Lan's mother over to pay her respects to Mrs. Xie and personally invited Mrs. Xie to visit, who politely smiled in response, and they set a date.

  The housekeeper of the old king's mansion also came to talk to Li Qian, and brought gifts from Queen Wang. She conveyed Queen Wang's message: "Recently, I haven't been feeling well, so you don't need to come and pay your respects. You should focus on official business! There are several nice scenic spots in the capital, let Mrs. Yao accompany you to take a look around, it won't be a waste of your trip to Beijing!"

  Mrs. Xie hastily stood up and responded, heavily rewarding the old woman who had come to deliver the message, asking her to convey her concern to Princess Wang, and the old woman promised and left.

  The Xie family has inherited the position of Jiangning Weaving for generations, and their influence in Jiangnan is extremely great. The Empress Dowager is a member of the imperial family, and naturally, it would not be convenient for her to interact with the Xie family too much. Even if they meet, the Empress Dowager might not speak, and the Lu family, the Empress Dowager's natal family, might have ulterior motives and stir up trouble in front of the Empress Dowager. The Lu family has been eyeing the lucrative position of Jiangning Weaving for a long time. As the mistress of the house, Mrs. Xie naturally understands this reasoning. She recalls her days with the Princess when they were young, although it was brief, but the impression is deep and good. Now that she wants to see the Princess again but cannot, her heart is filled with regret.

  Lin's family doesn't need to be said, they are extremely familiar with each other. They just say that when she is busy, come over anytime and we will welcome you with open arms! Also, bring your future daughter-in-law along too, let us meet her in advance as well, after all, we're all family and don't have to be so formal! Although they live in Beijing, they've never met before.

  Madam Xie smiled and replied, ordering someone to go back and give a proper response.

  On the second day, in the main hall of the Yaos' mansion, Old Master Yao, Mrs. Yao and Mrs. Xie sat together to formally discuss the marriage between the two families.

  The mother-in-law told the situation and arrangements on the Xie family's side one by one, and also briefly introduced the customs of Jiangning - this was a kind reminder to prevent the new daughter-in-law from losing face in the future.

  Mr. Yao and Mrs. Ma were very satisfied with the arrangement of the Xie family, smiling and being very polite for a few words, their tone was very proper, expressing their attitude just right, neither arrogant nor humble, and accompanied by politeness. The one speaking was naturally Mr. Yao, while Mrs. Ma mostly just smiled and nodded in agreement, her facial muscles were stiff from smiling all day.

  Mr. Yao then talked about his family's preparations, and the two sides discussed the betrothal gifts and dowry. Both families were respectable households, one being a wealthy and noble family for generations, and the other being the first imperial merchant with a rich foundation, so there was no conflict over money; their goal was only to save face and look good!

  After talking, both sides were very satisfied.

  Then they started talking about their own children, and inevitably, another round of mutual praise and modesty ensued.

  In short, everything has been settled for the day, and we just need to wait until after the New Year to choose an auspicious time and finalize the date, then enter the countdown phase.

  Mrs. Xie originally thought that Mr. Yao was a greedy and profit-driven businessman, but she didn't expect him to be so refined and courteous, with impeccable manners and exceptional conversation skills, which left her secretly surprised and impressed, and her good impression of the Yao family, including Yao Cun Jia, deepened even further.

  Mrs. Xie didn't know that her husband's uncle was indeed a greedy and mercantile man, but he was smarter than the average merchant, wrapped in a refined shell.

  "Since the lady has come, she might as well stay for a few more days. Although the scenery of the north is not as beautiful as the mountains and rivers of Jiangnan, it has its own unique charm. The weather is fine these days, let's have the madam and the girls accompany the lady to take a stroll around, relax and enjoy themselves. It's also a good opportunity for us to show our hospitality!" Old Master Yao said with a smile at the end.

  "Ha! That's great!" said Mrs. Xie with a smile. "I came to the capital ten years ago, but I was in such a hurry that I didn't get to see anything. This time, I'll take my time and have a good look around! And I'll also get to see the high society of the capital, and bring some glory back to our humble household!"

  Everyone couldn't help but laugh, and Old Master Yao chuckled: "What are you talking about, dear aunt? We'll be one family soon, what's the fuss about?! If we're talking about grandeur, Jiangnan is truly the epitome of grandeur, everything is exquisite!" As he spoke, he casually mentioned a few things he had seen and heard in Jinling and Hangzhou.

  Mrs. Xie listened to him praising his hometown and felt even better, also smiling and saying a few words, the conversation between the two ended in a very warm and friendly atmosphere.

  Afterwards, Old Master Yao once again carefully instructed Madam Ma, saying nothing more than to take good care of Mrs. Xie and not lose face, and so on. Madam Ma saw that Mrs. Xie's impression of the Yao family was getting better and better, and she was also becoming more familiar and affectionate with Yao Cun Jia. Her heart was already feeling quite uneasy, and when she heard Old Master Yao's repeated instructions, for a moment she couldn't control herself and made a face, her response also becoming somewhat stiff.

  Old Master Yao stared at her for a few moments without saying anything, only uttering the sentence "This is a major matter of the Yao family, in short, you must be careful!" before leaving.

  Afterwards, Old Master Yao felt increasingly uneasy in his heart. When he was resting at the Liu Hua Shan house, he couldn't help but complain to Fourth Aunt for a couple of sentences. Unbeknownst to him, it seemed that he had developed this habit - whenever something was on his mind, he would always say a few words to Fourth Aunt and after listening to her gentle comfort, his mood would improve greatly.

  Fourth Aunt listened to the end and thought that she didn't disappoint him, saying that perhaps Madam had been too tired these days and couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. She also said that Madam might not have had experience in receiving guests like Mrs. Xie before, and Master had spoken so seriously, Madam's heart must be tense, the pressure was too great, afraid of doing something wrong, Master should also consider it.

  Mr. Yao listened and his mood was indeed better, but he frowned again and said, "How can that be? In the future, the two families will be relatives, and they will come and go for a long time, how can this work?"

  Fourth Auntie, while massaging Old Master Yao's shoulders, thought for a moment and smiled leisurely: "Actually, I have an idea. Why not let Madame Yun help out as well? Wouldn't that make things easier for the mistress? And next time, she'll have experience too! Madame Yun is Big Miss's aunt, so if our Big Miss just mentions it to Old Lady Yun, it's settled!"

  Old Yao's eyes lit up and he nodded with joy: "This idea is not bad! It's still Xia'er who thought it through!"

  Afterwards, Old Master Yao indeed said this to Madam Ma, and also told her that when paying the bill and taking the silver, she should be quick and decisive. As for other matters, she only needed to listen to Madame Yun. He even said that she should pay close attention and learn from Madame Yun with a good heart, as there would be many opportunities to use these skills in the future!

  This was equivalent to slapping Madam Ma in the face, directly accusing her of not understanding the etiquette for receiving guests in a noble family. Madam Ma was so angry that she almost got internal injuries, and her face turned white, but she had to force a smile and carefully respond, even Old Master Yao felt resentful for a moment.

  Mrs. Ma wronged Mr. Yao, who had no intention of humiliating or ridiculing her. As a former ordinary merchant, Mr. Yao also learned the rules and etiquette of high society through observation and imitation. He thought this was the most straightforward and effective method, but how could he have known what Mrs. Ma was thinking?

  The next day, Ma Shi and Yao Cun Hui's sisters accompanied Mrs. Xie to visit the Yun family. Old Lady Yun and her three daughters-in-law greeted Mrs. Xie together, and then ordered someone to summon their grandchildren to come and pay their respects. Mrs. Xie praised them one by one and gave each of them a gift for meeting.

  Xie family and Yun family are both prominent families, very familiar with the etiquette of interactions between such families. Moreover, the elders of the two families have a history together, and their peers also interact with each other. After exchanging a few words, they became quite familiar with each other, and the atmosphere was very pleasant. Madam Ma felt like an idiot, although she was seated, basically not knowing how to start a conversation. It wasn't until Old Lady Yun and Mrs. Yun occasionally subtly pulled the conversation towards her, considering that she was the birth mother of Yao Cunhui's sister, that she didn't remain foolish from start to finish.