Quick Transmigration: Leisure

I listened to the story the guy told me in great detail.

The person who seemed most disappointed was Xia Youtian.

Before she set off, she had already discussed with her second sister that they would jointly draw the sketch of the custom headdress to be given to Hongya. Along the way, she didn't look at the scenery much, as she was preoccupied with how to draw it.

But who knows,

The most skilled craftsmen are beyond my reach.

Xia Youmi couldn't believe that she alone could cause such a commotion.

Upon returning to their rented residence, they inquired with the well-informed steward and, combined with their own speculations, pieced together the general truth.

The daughter of the Marquis, Fu Shi, did not get married.

In the original text, her scumbag general husband not only lost his official position, but was also demoted to a harsh and cold place to guard a post, based on some fault he had committed.

in addition,

Master Zhang was invited to the palace not simply because his skills were valued.

One of the reasons for this was originally due to Fu Shi.

It's said that she was the first to learn about this headdress and even went to check it out herself. Custom-made items are already owned, and all the young ladies knew that; their initial interest was merely to find out what the design was, not to steal it.

But for some reason, the news spread that Miss Fu Shi had gone to see the exquisite headdress and praised the ingenuity and craftsmanship of Master Zhang.

Fu Shi was a prominent figure among the noble ladies of the capital, and anything she approved of must be of high quality.

Then, Xia Youmi's background was gradually uncovered.

First, the people in the shop learned that a caravan would be coming to escort them. Then, they subtly inquired about the destination. Upon hearing that the caravan came from an ordinary family in a small town, some people immediately had designs on it.

They weren't wearing it for themselves, but rather opportunistically, hoping to present it as a gift and then replace it with a simple one to fool the country folk.

However, Master Zhang was really tight-fisted.

After the news got out, they protected the items very carefully.

He drove away wave after wave of merchant caravans that came to pick up his goods. Unable to distinguish between the genuine and the fake, he preferred to miss the appointed time rather than fall into the hands of villains.

resignedly,

With the wedding date the customer mentioned fast approaching, Master Zhang couldn't delay any longer and specially sought out Fu Shi for help.

This alerted the Marquis's family.

It seems that there was some struggle between opposing forces involved, which is why Fu Shi was unable to do anything until she reported it to the Empress, and only then was she able to have someone take it away and escort it all the way.

Xia Youmi is just one link in the butterfly's wings.

Perhaps the Marquis's mansion discovered the truth, confirming that the general was not a good man.

They also tracked down her whereabouts, eventually finding her at Baoyun Tower. Fu Shiyuan only briefly admired the items Xia Youmi had commissioned, without any further interest.

However, both Master Zhang and Fu Shi were being watched by people.

They wanted to trip them up.

This is how Xia Youmi got involved.

No wonder, when her third brother helped her retrieve the noodles last year, he muttered that the merchants all had good horses.

She hadn't paid much attention at first, but now it seems that it might not be the same group that Xia Youmi originally planned to hire. Perhaps the money to hire them would be enough to buy this set of jewelry.

But at this moment, the Marquis's mansion did not come to her door to acknowledge her.

Xia Youmi didn't want to abruptly express her gratitude, so she decided to go to Baoyunlou with Xia Youtian the next day to see if they could find another skilled craftsman whose schedule was suitable.

To appease her, in the evening, she invited her second brother along, and the four of them prepared to dine at a restaurant.

Jiyilou.

One of the most distinctive restaurants in the entire capital.

Just the interior decor and the poetic atmosphere make the trip worthwhile.

Private rooms are impossible to book without booking several months in advance. Many wealthy and powerful families reserve a private room long-term for meetings with colleagues or meals with family members. This further reduces the number of private rooms available for booking.

The more you can order, the more prestigious it seems.

The spring imperial examinations are approaching in March.

Scholars from all over the country gathered in the capital, and now even the main hall is packed with people.

Xia Yisong, however, looked relaxed and led them directly to the third floor.

In Fengzhou City, he met a powerful and influential man of high moral character who was unpretentious. Upon learning that Xia Yisong was personally escorting his younger brother to the capital for the imperial examinations, the man specially recommended the Jiyilou restaurant and even lent him the jade token from his own private room.

This will allow Xia Yisong to enjoy a comfortable meal with his family in Beijing.

Another mysterious aspect is that this Jiyi Tower is often visited by great scholars. Several top scholars have been born here, and even those who did not rank in the top three in the imperial examinations would be appreciated by high-ranking officials in advance because of what they saw and heard in the tower.

Finally, they could be assigned to a relatively good official position.

That powerful man meant well, thinking that since he had helped the Xia brothers, he might benefit from their rise to power in the future.

This family has managed to build such a successful business from being farmers.

It would be unreasonable if one didn't have some good fortune and luck.

Xia Yisong accepted the investment because he understood the powerful and influential people's intentions.

Although he had confidence in his second brother, he was also well aware that their foundation was unstable, and this key to unlocking the door to the officialdom in the capital was indispensable.

Jiyilou is a five-story restaurant.

among them,

The first floor is the lobby, mainly for individual guests. Reservations are not allowed in advance; it's first-come, first-served.

The second floor consists of private rooms for poetry and wine, as well as a stage. It is mainly used for literary gatherings and poetry parties, and famous musicians from the capital are invited to perform from time to time. Occasionally, renowned scholars will come to give lectures.

The third and fourth floors both have small private rooms, but they are slightly different in nature.

Most of the rooms on the third floor can be booked in advance by individual travelers, while a small portion is reserved long-term by the powerful and wealthy in Beijing.

The fourth floor, on the other hand, represents a more prestigious status.

Finally, the fifth floor was basically reserved for royalty and nobility; non-core personnel were not allowed to enter. The buildings were often heavily guarded, and they did not use the same route to get up; instead, they went to a separate small building specifically for those going up to the fifth floor.

Listening to the waiter's boasting, Xia Youmi felt that no matter where you are, privileges are often not for convenience, but for showing off to the lower class.

The waiter didn't plan to go out either. Instead, he stayed by their side until the food was served, introducing them to the local customs and culture of the capital, as well as the recent events and stories of literary figures.

Upon further inquiry,

He also provided a list of popular candidates for the top three scholars (Zhuangyuan, Bangyan, and Tanhua).

The odds listed above allow people to place bets in concentrated amounts.

The Xia sisters became interested and flipped through the list again and again before finally finding Xia Yibo's name in a small corner.

Very few people bet on him to be in the top three; almost all of them are speculators, the kind of people who bet on every nobody, and that's how Xia Yibo came about.

Next to each name was a line of smaller characters that noted each person’s strengths. Xia Yibo’s name was listed as: Nineteenth-year-old scholar, twenty-second-year-old scholar.

"Alas--"

The waiter suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

“This, is this young master your family? This crimson mark is extraordinary.”

"what?"

Xia Youmi had only counted a few bets and hadn't noticed the different markings.

After some questioning and some extra money to bribe the waiter, he finally explained in a low voice:

"This is a secret mark kept within the building. The colors of the bets placed by guests on different floors will have slight differences. This young master has a bet from the fifth floor on him."