flstandardbreds Chapter 207: Sleeve
Chapter 207: Sleeve
Li Rongchang laughed loudly: "How can this be absurd! How can ordinary things be of your interest? I have to search everywhere for them. If you wait for me, I am afraid that your eldest brother will have three or five children, and I will not be able to prepare all the generous gifts! By the way, why don't you come to my house to play with me recently, but-" After saying that, he glanced at me not far away, and said: "But the house is so good, are you happy not to go out?"
I felt that this was not a good thing to say, so I put on a smile and walked closer, saying, "Greetings, Master Chang. Master Chang, you may not know that the young master has been busy with affairs after the New Year, and he went on a long journey to provide disaster relief. He is tired and weak. I am afraid that he might get sick if he walks around. And now he has to prepare for the wedding of the eldest young master, so he doesn't have much time to visit. After this busy period, we can drink and sing. What do you think, Master Chang?"
Li Rongchang nodded and said, "I see. I misunderstood you. When you are done, we will meet again. I will stew the thousand-year-old ginseng I recently pawned at the casino for you. You are so young, why are you so weak recently?"
The puppet smiled mysteriously, a blush appearing on his face, leaving Li Rongchang to figure it out on his own.
When I saw him mention the casino, I came up with an idea, so I said to him, "Master Chang, excuse me, regarding 'that' money, the young master asked me to ask you in private."
Just at this moment, someone came forward to talk to Tu Shanjing, so Li Rongchang bowed to him, walked to the corner with me, and asked in a low voice: "What do you mean?"
I made up a story, "Well... I don't know what the current business situation is? He wants to know if we are making money or not. If we are making money, he might consider joining us. There is also a selfish motive on my part. Although the young master originally said that I could use the money as I pleased, it is still a large amount. I think it is better to report it to the young master. After all, I am just a maid beside him, and I am still unsure about how to manage such a large amount of money."
Li Rongchang smiled, looked at me with bright eyes and said, "Why, you don't dare to take the money my brother gave you, are you afraid of the money biting your hand? Let me tell you, it's only been a few months since the Chinese New Year, everyone has money in their hands, and there are many people coming to the casino. Your money has recently-" He looked around and saw that everyone in the hall was paying attention to Madam Tushan, Tushan Hou and Tushan Jing. He stretched out three fingers and continued, "Three points of profit."
I was surprised and asked, "It's only been a few months? How can you make such a huge profit?"
Li Rongchang nodded: "This is just the silver money. I haven't counted the physical objects like the Guixu crystal you mentioned before, but it's probably not small."
I saw Lan Mei had finished changing her makeup and walked out, so I knelt slightly and said, "I understand. Thank you for your hard work, and I will definitely reward you in the future. I won't disturb you from watching the ceremony for now."
He raised his head and looked over there, and seeing that the ceremony was about to continue, he replied, "You don't have to be so polite. I'm just doing something for my brother. It's just a small favor." After that, he walked back.
There are many elders in Tushan's family, both big and small, so the newlyweds bowed to each other again and again. I got up early, and everyone who was watching felt sleepy.
After a lot of difficulty the banquet finally arrived and I finally perked up. With a flat stomach, I looked at all the delicacies on the table and my appetite was aroused.
Mrs. Tushan said that she was old and tired, so she asked us to stay and have some fun while she went back to rest.
Aunt Zhao was in high spirits, fluttering among the crowd like a butterfly, with smiling eyes, as if pretending to be a relative of her mother's family had made her stand out and earned her enough face. She would raise her red-stained hands from time to time to cover the corners of her mouth that was wide open with a smile.
Tu Shanjing's puppet winked at me secretly. I thought he might be a little afraid that he couldn't hold on, so he wanted to call me over.
I took the opportunity to serve wine to the table next to him, and then stood behind him, acting as his attendant. At this time, the best man invited some guests to the bridal chamber to perform the "three drinks and one drink" ceremony for the bride and groom.
He stood up and walked behind the guests. I felt something cool in my hand, and he stuffed something into it.
When I turned the corner, I looked down and saw a piece of wedding cake wrapped in a vegetable leaf. I hurriedly followed him and saw him looking back at me, raising his eyebrows and showing a faint smile.
My heart warmed up, and I felt a sense of déjà vu. While the people in front of me stretched their necks to rush to the bridal chamber to watch the excitement, I walked to the back and ate the wedding cakes in small bites. The wedding cakes were very sweet, with dense red bean paste mixed with linden honey, which soothed my restless stomach.
After eating, I wiped my hands with vegetable leaves, threw the leaves into the flowers, and followed them into the house.
The host sang a song of congratulations to the groom, which was both humorous and peaceful: "The first cup of wine is for the groom. If you have any gossip, I'm afraid people will want to eavesdrop."
Everyone laughed secretly after hearing this, and the young man blushed and hid away.
He then added, "The second cup of wine is for the bridegroom. Discuss matters in the room secretly. Be careful of others trying to get in."
Some people were not ashamed and started to tease Tushan Hou. Tushan Hou smiled and waved his hand, then exchanged wine glasses with the bride and drank.
The last sentence was "The third cup of wine congratulates the groom. May the couple live together until old age and have a son who will be the top scholar soon." When I heard this, I was thinking that there was finally something serious to say, when I felt someone pulling my sleeve. I lowered my head and saw a pair of familiar hands holding my sleeves and moving them gently.
I looked to the side and met the puppet's eyes.
For a moment, I was lost in thought again, because his eyes were so much like Tu Shanjing's, although I knew long ago that the puppet and he were exactly the same. Only by making them exactly the same could we deceive our enemies, and even our relatives and friends.
But his eyes were different now, more lively and gentle, like the clear lake in spring, or the light gauze flying in the summer night. I don't know if it was the joy of the world that touched him, making him more popular.
I shuddered, not daring to look at him again, and lowered my head, but let him pull my sleeve.
The person in front of him suddenly burst into laughter, and he let go without leaving a trace.
Instead, I felt a little lost inside and actually hoped that he would keep holding my sleeve and not let go.
The people in front of me turned around, as if they had finished watching the excitement and were going back to the banquet. I walked at the end of the crowd just as I had done when I came, but my heart had already been disturbed, like a frog jumping into an ancient pond in the forest that had been quiet for years, stirring up waves.
At the banquet, he drank several glasses of wine in swift rage, just as we had planned. Then he said he drank too fast and sat aside to sober up.
Young Master Chunming took over at the right time, picked up the wine glass, and toasted the elders and the guests. His words were joyous and flawless, making the elders and guests smile happily.
Seeing that everything was going smoothly, my heart, which had been hanging in the air, mostly settled back into my chest. I thought that if I just gritted my teeth and acted for a while longer, I could go back to eat, drink, and lie down. I felt a sense of relief, like seeing a plum to quench my thirst.