The regent is determined to get the daughter of a minor official.

The second lady patted Xu Keke's hand.

"Silly child, this is nothing. It is such an honor for you to attend the Empress Dowager's 1000th birthday banquet.

We can’t lose face. My uncle’s family is also ours, they won’t care about this.”

Xu Keke insisted.

"Mother, I know you're doing this for my own good, but we also need to be sensible. Besides, I think there's nothing wrong with being simple and generous."

The second wife sighed helplessly.

"Okay, okay. It's up to you. But we can't be too careless about this matter. We still have to prepare well."

Xu Keke responded with a smile.

"My daughter understands, but let's keep it simple."

The second lady nodded, sat down again, and held Xu Keke's hand.

"My dear daughter, this is the Empress Dowager's 1000th birthday banquet. It is an extremely solemn and dignified occasion. You must be careful with your words and actions and do not cause trouble for the prince."

Xu Keke nodded obediently.

"Don't worry, mother. I'll save you some trouble."

In the next few days, although Xu Keke and her daughter did not make any grand preparations, they were making the necessary preparations for the birthday party in an orderly manner.

For two consecutive days, Xu Keke and Dingdang followed the Second Madam, Madam Ding, to visit various shops selling rouge, powder, clothing, and jewelry.

These shops are all owned by the second wife. No matter which one they enter, they will sit in the VIP room, and the shop owner will specially send in the best items for them to choose from.

In the past two days, they walked on the busy streets, where vendors kept shouting their wares, and heard a lot of gossip.

For example, a marquis broke his leg while riding a horse!

For example, the illegitimate son of an official often stayed in places of entertainment and contracted an unclean disease!

For example, a newborn young master in a certain duke’s mansion died in the cradle for no reason!

There was more news about the Empress Dowager's centenary banquet.

"Have you heard? The Empress Dowager's 1000th birthday banquet is coming soon. All the neighboring friendly nations have sent envoys to celebrate her birthday. It's bound to be a grand occasion!"

"That's right. Because of the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, all the recent happy events in the capital have been postponed to make way for the birthday banquet."

"Of course. The Grand Empress Dowager is highly respected, and the Emperor and the Regent are filial. They want to hold an unprecedented banquet for the Grand Empress Dowager."

"I heard that rare treasures from all over the country were sent to the capital, just to make the Empress Dowager smile."

"Also, the officials in charge of preparing the birthday banquet this time didn't dare to be careless at all. The entire capital was decorated with lights and colors, and it was even more lively than the New Year's Day."

Yun Yun.

The rumors were true. Xu Keke saw that every street was prepared with festive silks and big red lanterns, and the entire Shengjing City seemed to be immersed in joy.

Holding Dingdang's hand, Xu Keke said with emotion.

"It's really a celebration for the whole world. No wonder mother said it's a great honor to be able to attend this thousand-year birthday banquet."

Dingdang is still worried about the fact that her young lady did not receive the invitation.

Whispering in Xu Keke's ear.

"Miss, don't forget that our Xu family didn't receive an invitation. It's said that when the invitations were sent out, our master hadn't even been promoted yet! If you can't go, don't cry."

Xu Ke covered her face with a round fan and smiled quietly.

"Don't worry, Dingdang, it was the Dog Prince who said he would take me there, and my mother asked me to act more dignified.

When you have the banquet, don't forget to give Miss more delicious dishes."

Dingdang nodded repeatedly.

"Miss, Dingdang will definitely serve you well."

Xu Keke pulled Dingdang to follow the Second Madam and Nanny Ding, speaking.

"Mother, pick out some jewelry for Dingdang too. Dingdang is very well behaved and deserves a reward."

……

Human beings do not share the same joys and sorrows. In the festive atmosphere of the capital, some are happy while others are sad.

The Xu family's eldest branch was shrouded in a cloud of gloom.

Originally, Xu Yuanyuan was the only one who did not receive the invitation to the Empress Dowager's 100th birthday banquet.

The eldest master, the old lady, and the eldest lady all received invitations.

However, someone from the Ministry of Internal Affairs suddenly came and took back the invitations from the three of them, saying that there were too many guests and they were worried that there would not be enough seats.

How could such a huge palace be unable to accommodate so many guests? Isn't this a huge joke?

It was obvious that they had been excluded from the royal family.

The eldest lady could no longer bear it and jumped up and down in the house, scolding her daughter.

"It's all because of you, this troublemaker! All my close friends and the ones I wrote poetry with will be attending the birthday party, but our family can't go. How am I going to face people in the future?"

The old lady sat on the couch and stamped her dragon-headed cane.

"Who are you nagging at? I'm not dead yet! It's all because of you all being so incompetent that you've brought such shame to the Xu family!"

The old lady was so angry that her face turned blue.

The eldest master Xu Linfeng sighed on the side.

"What should we do? Did our Xu family offend someone in the court?"

Xuyuan was sobbing in the corner.

"How can you blame me for this? I didn't want this to happen. It's all because of the second room's Xu Ke who was talking nonsense outside."

When the eldest lady heard this, she became even more furious.

"That little bitch is a fool. When she slandered you, didn't you have a mouth? Didn't you know how to refute her? If you didn't say anything, wouldn't that be the same as acquiescence?"

Make a wish and try to quibble.

At this time, the housekeeper Cui from the mansion hurried in.

"Master, Madam, this is terrible. Rumors are spreading that our Xu family has lost its loyalty. Many creditors have come to our house with bills to demand payment of the money they owe them."

When the master heard this, he stamped his feet in anxiety.

"This is really a double whammy!"

The old lady pointed at everyone with her cane.

"Everyone, please be quiet. The important thing is to find a way to save the Xu family's reputation."

For a while, the Xu family's main house was in chaos.

The master received the creditors who came to collect debts with a bitter face, and had no choice but to mortgage all the gold and silver jewelry of the women in his family to pay off the debts.

The Shen family was not affected.

The master of the Shen family was an official sent to a remote place. He would not receive an invitation even if his rank was high enough since he was not a Beijing official.

Although Shen Qingfeng was the top scorer in this year's imperial examination, he had just entered the officialdom and was working as an editor in the Hanlin Academy, which was only the sixth rank.

The old lady of the Shen family, Madam Shen, and Shen Qingfeng sat together again to discuss Shen Qingfeng's marriage.

Mrs. Shen Lai has been frowning for several days. At this moment, she is staring at this grandson who makes her feel very accomplished.

"Feng'er, your engagement with Xu Yuanyuan, the eldest daughter of the Xu family..."

Mrs. Shen spoke before Shen Qingfeng could even speak.

"This Xuyuanyuan was able to push my cousin down the stairs, which shows that she has a vicious mind. If Feng'er marries her, I'm afraid my daughter-in-law won't even dare to drink the tea she offers."

Old Madam Shen sighed again.

"Our family had previously arranged this marriage privately, but somehow the news got out.

Even so, Feng'er and Xu Yuanyuan were right to break off the engagement, but Feng'er's cousin-in-law had already moved to the farm to protect the fetus, and the baby was due by the end of this year.

Given his cousin's status, the child couldn't possibly stay there, so he had to be brought back to the Shen family...

Or maybe we can find a maid for Feng Er in the mansion, and then say that the child was born by the concubine?"

Mrs. Shen thought for a moment before speaking.

"Although the concubine's son is a bastard, he is still a child of our Shen family.

The maid in my daughter-in-law's room is quite pretty, why not let her serve Feng'er tonight, she..."

Shen Qingfeng, who had been silent all this time, suddenly interrupted his mother.

"Just make a wish! After the Empress Dowager's 1000th birthday banquet, my son will marry her."

After saying that, he stood up and walked out without looking back.