Chapter 28 Banquet
"Well, for Hua'er's marriage, I'll sacrifice my reputation and write to my old sisters to ask them to find out who will be attending Madam Chen's banquet and who they will bring with them."

"If you are only taking your daughter, you can take all four Lans with you, madam. There is no need to hide it. If you are allowed to take your son, you can take all the children in your family except Changrong."

"Since they want to see the quality of our Sheng family, let's just let them see it clearly!"

Old Madam Sheng's domineering declaration stunned Sheng Hong and Wang Ruofu. After a moment's silence, they quickly nodded in agreement.

Old Madam Sheng did not continue talking. She asked the two to leave and prepare first. She went back to her room, called Madam Fang to grind ink with her, and began to write the letter.

At this moment, Hualan was studying account book knowledge in her room.

Learning how to manage the family's finances and stores is a compulsory course for every lady before marriage.

Mother Liu was waiting on the side, and whenever Hualan encountered any questions she didn't understand, she would give some advice or two.

Mother Liu was born into the Wang family and was the daughter of Wang Ruofu’s wet nurse. She grew up with Wang Ruofu and the two had a very good relationship.

Originally, when Wang Ruofu first married into the Sheng family, Mother Liu was going to follow her, but because Mother Liu had to get married herself, it was delayed for a few years.

It was not until she heard that Wang Ruofu was being held hostage by Lin Qinshuang at home that she volunteered to come and help Wang Ruofu.

Fortunately, the insightful and experienced Mother Liu was always there to give Wang Ruofu advice and suggestions, so Wang Ruofu was not suppressed by Lin Qinshuang.

Mother Liu is not only the top expert in house fighting produced by the Wang family, but she has also followed Wang Ruofu for so many years and has been helping Wang Ruofu manage the land deeds and shops in her dowry. She has long since developed a pair of eagle eyes and the ability to plan things carefully, so she is more than qualified to teach Hualan now.

However, Madam Liu was born in a low-income family and lacked vision and insight, while Hualan was going to be the mistress of a marquisate in the future. So, Madam Sheng and Hualan discussed that after the marriage was arranged with the Marquis of Pingyang, they would ask their old sisters to recommend a steady and well-educated mother-in-law to come to their home and teach the rules.

At this time Cuichan walked in, first bowed to Mother Liu, and then stood aside in silence.

Seeing this, Hua Lan frowned and said in a more serious tone, "Mother Liu is someone close to my mother, and she is very open with me and my mother. If there is anything, just tell me directly."

Cuichan looked at Hualan in embarrassment and was about to speak when she saw Madam Liu stand up and said softly with a smile, "Young lady, we have learned enough for today, so let's stop here. When I came, the mistress told me to go to the kitchen and said that she wanted to have dinner with the old lady tonight and prepare some light dishes. I will go over now."

Mother Liu walked out of the room.

Hualan waited for a while until the people left before she was about to admonish Cuichan not to hide anything in front of Liu Mama and not to offend the old lady. But then Cuichan hurriedly came up to her, took out a letter from her bosom and handed it to Hualan.

"Miss, just now Changqing from the young marquis's family stopped me outside and handed me a letter, eager to give it to you, so I..."

Hua Lan stretched out her hand and quickly took the envelope from Cui Chan's hand. She skillfully opened the unopened letter, took out the letter inside and read it carefully.

"Hualan, I haven't seen you for a long time. It's nice to see you in person.

I originally thought that I would discuss marriage after I got married, but things often don’t go as I expected. My family was pushing me too hard, so I took the liberty of briefly talking to my uncle about your affairs a few days ago. My uncle and aunt are both reasonable and considerate people, so everything went smoothly.”

Seeing this, Hua Lan blushed immediately and muttered, "Who has anything to do with you!", then continued to read the contents of the letter.

"I was talking to my uncle yesterday, and he happened to mention that my aunt had a banquet at home and invited your family. But I asked Changqing to investigate and found that Madam Wu from the Earl of Yongchang's mansion was also on the guest list. You may not have heard of Madam Wu, but she is a famous matchmaker in the noble families of Bianjing, and she has arranged many marriages that have been praised by many people. So, I think there must be some other meaning behind the banquet that day."

Hualan's pretty face, which was full of joy, froze immediately, revealing her embarrassment about meeting her parents-in-law, and her delicate hands could not help but clenched in her palms.

Now that Yang Wenyuan has lost his parents, the future hosts of his wedding can only be Yang Yuqing and Mrs. Chen, or it would not be wrong to say they are his future "parents-in-law".

"In addition to my uncle and aunt, Mrs. Chen, my uncle's family also has a son and a daughter, my cousin Yang Wenyan and my cousin Yang Rujin.

My cousin is now serving in the army and has not yet returned home. My cousin is about the same age as Minglan. She has been spoiled since she was a child and is at a mischievous age. She heard about you from her mother and she is clamoring to see you. "

Hua Lan's heart tightened when she saw Yang Wenyuan write next: "But you don't have to worry. Although Ru Jin is a bit jumpy, she has a kind nature. I have already talked to her and asked her to behave herself that day."

Hua Lan breathed a sigh of relief, and then saw Yang Wenyuan wrote: "The daughters of noble families are spoiled and indulgent, and I'm afraid they are difficult to get along with. No men will attend that day, so you should stay with them. But don't worry, if anything happens, my cousin will come forward to take care of it."

Seeing this, Hualan's heart felt as if she had tasted honey, but then she felt a little unhappy. Why did Yang Wenyuan treat her like a little girl, giving her such instructions and saying such things, he was almost lecturing her.

Do you want me to find a little girl to support me?

I don’t want to lose face!
"But you are usually dignified and virtuous. I am afraid I am worrying too much. However, it is better to have a perfect plan than to be unprepared."

"One last question, is my handwriting much better than before? It must be better than that girl Minglan's!"

Seeing Yang Wenyuan's childish self-affirmation, Hua Lan laughed out loud.

Spreading out the entire piece of letter paper, I discovered that Yang Wenyuan's handwriting was indeed much better than before. It seemed that he had put a lot of thought into it during this period of time.

Just as I put the letter away, Mother Liu walked in.

"Young lady, dinner is ready. It's in the mistress' room. The old lady is waiting there."

Hua Lan thought about it for a moment, and thinking of what Yang Wenyuan had just said in the letter, she realized that Madam Chen's visiting card might have already been delivered to her home, and they were probably going to discuss how to deal with Madam Chen's test.

He nodded immediately and walked towards Wang Ruofu's yard together.

Wei Ruixuan.

Mrs. Sheng, Sheng Hong and Wang Ruofu were already sitting at the table.

Hualan walked briskly and when she passed the side room, she saw her younger brother Changbai and younger sister Rulan eating at a small table. She was already certain of her guess.

The next topic is about Madam Chen’s banquet, otherwise she wouldn’t have deliberately sent her younger brothers and sisters away.

(End of this chapter)