Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

"I'm sorry, ladies. I was preoccupied with some trivial matters and am late." Madam Jiang greeted the ladies with an apologetic smile.

"Madam Shen, you're too kind. There's fine tea here, and we'd be happy to wait a little longer, wouldn't you all agree?" The speaker was Zhou Yaoshi, wife of Zhou Wenqing, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial. Although Zhou Wenqing was cautious, even somewhat timid, his wife, Zhou Yaoshi, was bold and meticulous. Zhou Yaoshi was very grateful to Minister Shen for allowing Zhou Wenqing to accompany Grand Tutor Li on this mission to the Russian border as his deputy.

In her view, this was simply giving Zhou Wenqing a political achievement. After all, Grand Tutor Li had already retired, and his status was special. The Emperor had already given the Grand Tutor no further titles or rewards. Wouldn't all the benefits fall on her own husband?

Therefore, taking advantage of this banquet at the Shen residence, she hoped to curry favor with Madam Shen. With Lord Shen's patronage, her husband's official rank could rise another step. The gap between the fourth and third ranks was enormous.

Her words made the ladies surrounding Madam Jiang laugh. Although they knew it was a deliberate attempt to flatter Madam Jiang, no one dared to object at this moment.

Jiang looked at Yao and smiled.

"I didn't expect Madam Zhou to be a tea connoisseur. This is this year's Snow Top Green. The master said this tea is too weak, but I like it. I brought it out especially to entertain everyone today. Since Madam Zhou likes it, please take a packet with you when you leave so you can enjoy it at your leisure."

"Oh, thank you so much, Madam Shen. I really love this tea, so I'll take it without hesitation." Her words were witty and humorous, which drew laughter from everyone.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Madam Jiang did not speak to Xia Yu and Shen Luo alone. This made people think that Xia Yu and Shen Luo were only there because of Li Taifu and were not well received by their master.

"Please take your seats, everyone. The food and wine are ready. Let's eat and have some fun," Madam Jiang said, gesturing for everyone to walk towards the garden where the banquet would be held.

"please"

"please"

Then a group of people escorted Chiang Kai-shek toward the garden of the scholar's residence.

Xia Yu held Shen Luo's hand and followed behind the crowd, walking beside Gao Shi.

Lanterns were hung on the trees along the way they walked. Although it was already dark, the arrangement of the blue bricks on the ground was clearly visible under the light of the lanterns.

This garden is not very large, only about two acres in size, based on the lighting. But where is this? It's the center of power and wealth at the foot of the imperial city, so it's rare to find such a large garden.

In the center of the garden, three large round tables were set up, one for the young ladies and the other two for the wives.

Xia Yu naturally sat with the young ladies, but it was pitiful for seven-year-old Shen Luo. If Jiang Shi were his biological mother, he could sit with her, but Jiang Shi hadn't said a word to Shen Luo since she appeared, so it was obviously impossible for Shen Luo to sit next to her.

Xia Yu pulled Shen Luo to sit next to her, and their actions displeased several of the young ladies present. One of the girls, who couldn't hold a grudge, looked at Xia Yu...

"Your brother is sitting in the wrong place. Shouldn't he be sitting in the men's section?"

Hearing the little girl's words, Shen Luo also felt a little awkward. Xia Yu patted him gently on the shoulder reassuringly. Then she said to the little girl...

"This is my younger brother. He's only seven years old, so it's fine for him to sit with us."

Because of his eating and exercise, Shen Luo looked more robust than the young masters of wealthy families in the capital, and also appeared older than his actual age. When they heard that he was only seven years old, some people found it hard to believe.

"Are you making excuses for him? He doesn't look like he's only seven years old."

"Then how old do you think he is? We came with Grand Tutor Li. If he couldn't come to the ladies' side, would Grand Tutor Li have agreed to let him come with me? Or do you think Grand Tutor Li is deliberately deceiving everyone?" Her voice was soft and gentle, but her words were sharp and pointed, leaving the girl speechless.

How could she dare to say that Grand Tutor Li was wrong? He was the Emperor's teacher. Although he had returned to his hometown to retire, no official in the court could replace him in the Emperor's heart.

With nothing to say, the girl could only snort at Xia Yu to express her dissatisfaction, while also rolling her eyes.

Xia Yu didn't care what she did. Could rolling her eyes hurt her? Even if she went blind, it had nothing to do with her.

Turning her head, she saw that Shen Luo seemed a little down, and whispered in his ear...

“This is your home, so you can sit wherever you want. If you want, you can go to Madam Shen right now and call her ‘Mother’ in front of everyone. She won’t dare not refuse. Then everyone here will know that you are the eldest young master of the Shen family.”

To everyone's surprise, Shen Luo simply shook his head upon hearing this.

“I know my mother doesn’t like me, and I don’t care what others think of me. But before this, I promised my father and teacher that I would take good care of you, and now my sister is being wronged because of me.”

Xia Yu smiled after hearing his words. It turned out the little guy was upset because of her.

“I’m not wronged. I don’t even know those people. They’re the ones who gossip behind my back because they’re ill-mannered, and they’re the ones who roll their eyes because they’re ugly. What does it have to do with me? Among this group, I only care about whether you’re happy. The others have nothing to do with me.”

"Sister Xiaxia, are you telling the truth?" Xia Yu's words made Shen Luo's face feel as if it were bathed in sunshine, and all her unhappiness disappeared instantly. It turned out that Sister Xiaxia did not think she was useless, and Sister Xiaxia did not care about those people.

Xia Yu nodded emphatically at him.

"Of course it's real, even more real than pearls."

Having received Xia Yu's assurance, the lively Shen Luo returned to his usual self. He saw a dessert in front of him—freshly fried sesame cakes—and picked one up, placing it on Xia Yu's plate.

"Sister Xiaxia, these fried dough sticks are freshly fried. They're so delicious when you eat them while they're hot."

But his words had barely left his mouth when the girl from before burst into laughter.

“A country bumpkin who’s never seen the world, he thinks a piece of fruit is worth this much.”

"This isn't an ordinary fruit; it has filling inside. It's really delicious." Shen Luo didn't care about the sarcasm in her words and explained seriously, speaking quite loudly so that the ladies at the other two tables could also hear her.