The Marquise: I Earn My Own Worship

"Thank you, young lady. You are so kind."

Yu Nan shook her head. "If you want to thank someone, thank my master, but don't thank me."

Shopkeeper Liu quickly thanked Sister Wei and the others. Sister Wei's eyes were red, and she felt much better after being comforted.

"No need to thank me, Steward. We are the ones who disturbed your shop. Please pack up all the things we just picked."

Kang Ge'er saw four or five servants holding three-foot-long trays in their hands. "Cousin, don't I say that you can't wear all the hairpins on your head? Some of them are not as exquisite as the ones you usually wear. If you need hairpins, I will take you there next time..."

It’s enough to say that someone’s products are not good in front of their boss.

Shopkeeper Liu standing by didn't notice any of this, and even if he had heard it he wouldn't have thought much of it. His small jewelry shop focused on having a wide variety of styles, all of which were new and fresh goods imported from other places.

There were many nobles and dignitaries who came, and he had heard even more unpleasant words. What Kang Ge said was relatively polite.

Sister Wei glared at him, and Brother Kang stopped talking.

"I'm keeping a few for myself to play with, and the others are for Yu Nan and Suchun."

Manager Liu, who was paying close attention, and the people watching the fun heard it. It turned out that the girl was chosen for the maid next to him. This master is really nice.

When Kang Ge'er heard that it was bought for them, he stopped talking and decided to take Wei Jie'er to Jinlang Pavilion to have a look later.

Yu Nan paid the bill, and the manager sent Wei Jie'er and her group out with a smile.

When I came back, the waiters who were hiding on the side surrounded me. They were scared to death just now.

"Boss, you were so impressive just now. You weren't at all nervous in front of those young ladies. You're truly amazing."

One of them came forward to flatter him, and the others followed suit.

Manager Liu was still feeling uneasy, but when he heard what they said, he straightened his back.

"Of course, otherwise I would be the shopkeeper. You all should learn from me and stop hiding when things get tough."

Shopkeeper Liu sat there with his shoulders pinched while drinking a sip of tea. The waiter behind him rolled his eyes quietly when he heard this, wondering who was hiding behind the cabinet and didn't dare to come out.

Really, you're out of breath even after I told you you're fat.

"Yes, yes, you are right."

"But I'm saying, that noble lady from the Duan Bo Mansion just now really has the demeanor of a noble family, and so does that maid. As for the noble lady from Doctor Ma...tsk..."

Shopkeeper Liu didn't say anything more. If he said too much and it got out, he would be in trouble.

But even if he didn't say it, the waiters below chatted privately and spread the news that the noble lady of Duan Bo's mansion had a fight with the noble lady of Ma Langzhong over the hairpin she chose for her maid.

This gossip spread like wildfire, and most people in the capital knew about it. Ordinary people didn't understand the difference between high-ranking officials and low-ranking officials. When they heard the rumor, they only knew that the master of a certain family had robbed the servants of a certain family. This made the reputation of the Bima Mansion worse.

But, it wasn't that good anyway.

After leaving the house, Sister Wei was still a little unhappy, and was coaxed by Brother Kang to go to Jinlang Pavilion.

Then he waved his hand and asked Sister Wei to put her purchases on his bill.

Sister Wei picked a few things and emptied Kang Ge'er's wallet. Seeing Kang Ge'er grimacing in pain, Sister Wei was amused.

Kang Ge'er quietly wiped the sweat from his palms. Fortunately, he had coaxed the little girl.

Thinking of his own shrunken wallet, he felt like crying again. Now the three children in the mansion have the same pocket money, one hundred taels per month.

This time, he spent all the pocket money he had just received, which meant that he wouldn't be able to buy any storybooks for the next month.

Even so, Kang Ge'er still used the few copper coins left in his pocket to buy a sugar painting for each person when he returned.

After returning to the mansion, Yu Nan reported the matter to the masters of the family. Mrs. Lu was so angry that she was mad.

"The Ma family is all vulgar. The elders are like this, and the younger ones follow suit."

The last time Lu attended a banquet, she also met the wife of the Ma family. She was arrogant and rude, and her words were often sarcastic and harsh.

Song Shengfu had no impression of the Ma family, and there was no intersection in her memory, so she asked in detail which family it was.

"It's no wonder mother doesn't know. The Ma family isn't a noble family at all. They're just a humble family with no foundation. Doctor Ma passed the imperial examination and later married a woman from a high-class family, the Feng family, ten years ago."

"Feng family?" Song Shengfu tried hard to recall.

"Is it the Feng family of the late old concubine of Prince Xian's palace?"

Mrs. Lu nodded. "It's that family. When the marriage was arranged, the old concubine was still there, but that was many years ago."

"Let me think about it. That was during the time of the late emperor, probably over thirty years ago. The old concubine has also been gone for over thirty years, and you were only born not long ago. It's amazing that you still remember this marriage."

Song Shengfu lamented that it was not easy to be the wife of a wealthy family, as she knew all about the complicated relationships involved.

"That's not what I remember. At the last banquet, Madam Feng kept bringing this up. She mentioned it to everyone she met, as if she was afraid others didn't know."

The corner of Song Shengfu's mouth twitched. It was such a big fuss that people who didn't know would think they were the descendants of the old concubine dowager. If her memory served her correctly, the old concubine dowager was just an unfavored daughter, but because she gave birth to a prince, she was taken away to enjoy her old age.

Mrs. Lu continued, "That's fine. I only have one child, Kang Ge'er, and yet she got some news from nowhere and came to lecture me, saying I'm not a virtuous wife. She also said that since I can't have children, I can't stop others from having children for my uncle. She even wanted to introduce her concubine's daughter to me. It's really disgusting."

The more Lu spoke, the more aggrieved she felt. Even her mother-in-law hadn't said a word to her. Outsiders were now pointing fingers at her. The fact that her uncle had lost his child was already a thorn in her heart, and now it was being brought up again and again.

Song Shengfu was also a little angry when she heard this, and slammed her hand heavily on the tiger-head armrest of the rosewood chair.

"It seems that this Ma family has inherited all of this. It's really despicable. Next time I'll go with you. If we run into that Feng, I'll tell her off and vent your anger."

Lu felt very happy. She didn't expect her mother to treat her so well, even as well as her biological mother.

"Mother, don't be angry. You're only harming yourself by letting outsiders take advantage of you. The Ma family is also very reckless. Not only the uncle, but even my fourth brother is coveted. They say that one of their concubines is both talented and beautiful. It's really hilarious. They have more than a dozen concubines in their family, and I don't even know who is who. They brought seven or eight of them to the banquet. Feng just wanted to get rid of these concubines. A good banquet became her matchmaking. Many ladies are not satisfied with her."

Song Shengfu had just heard that the Ma family was what others called a flourishing family. Their grandsons were even older than their sons. She wondered how so many people could live in such a small mansion.