Chapter 279 Brother-in-law Arrives

Chapter 279 Brother-in-law Arrives

Chapter 279 Brother-in-law Arrives
At noon, a carriage slowly stopped in front of Wencui Restaurant, and a maid helped the Cui sisters, who were wearing curtain hats, out of the carriage.

The shopkeeper standing at the door stepped forward and saluted, "Excuse me, do you two ladies have a reservation?"

Cui Yu smiled slightly and said, "Bai Yutang!"

"Ah! It's Miss Cui. The host has already told us that the two Miss Cuis are today's distinguished guests. Please follow the maid upstairs through the side door."

Two beautiful maids led the way, taking the Cui sisters from the side door to the third floor.

Every restaurant has its own VIP room, which is usually not open to the public and is only used to entertain guests of high status or by the owner.

The VIP room of Wencui Restaurant is Baiyutang. Not to mention the elegance and sophistication of the furnishings in the room, there are also various noble details, such as a special staircase and a special maid to lead the way upstairs.

There are also special washrooms where women can put on makeup and go to the toilet, and there is also a special observation deck. Standing on the observation deck, you can have a panoramic view of the prosperity of Pingkangfang.

In addition, it is located on the easternmost side and is separated from other guest rooms by a door, so it will not be affected by other drinkers at all.

Cui Yu and Cui Mei went up to the third floor, and Xiao Xia was still waiting in front of the stairs.

"Finally, our two distinguished guests have arrived!" Xiao Xia stepped forward with a smile.

Cui Yu bowed a little embarrassedly, "I left home a little late, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long!"

Cui Mei leaned forward and whispered, "This is the first time my sister has put makeup on a man!"

Cui Yu blushed, "You silly girl, you say all kinds of nonsense!"

Xiao Xia laughed, "Please come in and sit down!"

The Baiyu Hall is very large, divided into two rooms, inner and outer, and can accommodate a family of 20 to 30 people for gatherings. The floor is covered with thick Persian carpets.

Cui Mei exclaimed and rushed directly to the viewing platform. She shouted happily: "Sister, I want to come here to see the lanterns on the Lantern Festival."

Xiao Xia smiled and said, "This is indeed a great place to enjoy the Lantern Festival. You can enjoy delicious food while admiring the bright lanterns without having to join the crowds. It's very pleasant."

Cui Yu looked around at the furnishings and arrangements. It did not look magnificent, but very elegant and noble. All the furnishings were made in the palace, and even the porcelain was from the precious official kiln.

Any one of them was worth hundreds of gold. Although Cui Yu came from a prominent family, she was still astounded by the furnishings here.

"what!"

She suddenly saw a piece of calligraphy hanging on the wall, but she had never seen it before. The calligraphy was just okay, a student's level, far from everyone else's, but the poem was very tasteful:

Spring dances in front of the White Jade Hall, the east wind blows evenly. Bees and butterflies swarm in disorder. How many times have they followed the flowing water? Why must they be abandoned to the dust?

Ten thousand threads will never change, let them gather and separate as they please. Don't laugh at the youthful beauty that has no roots. The good wind will help me soar to the sky.

Xiao Xia walked forward and said with a smile: "This is actually a mystery. Can you guess what it says?"

Cui Yu thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "It must be catkins!"

Xiao Xia gave a thumbs up and praised: "Sure enough, you are smart!"

"Did you write this?" Cui Yu's beautiful eyes sparkled.

Xiao Xia nodded. "My handwriting is not good, but it has improved a lot. Just look at what I wrote last year and you will understand."

"Can you give me this calligraphy?"

"This one was written a little hastily. I wrote it this morning. I'll write you another one!"

Cui Yu shook his head, "I want this one. I saw it, and it's my destiny!"

"Take it if you like it!"

Xiao Xia took down the calligraphy, rolled it up, and put it into the wooden calligraphy and painting tube.

"It turns out that Master Xiao can also write poetry. He is truly a man of both letters and martial arts."

Cui Yu was even happier. She thought Xiao Xia could only read some military books, but it turned out that he could also write poems. He wrote very well, better than most people.

Although the calligraphy is a little weak, it is also very good.

"Sister, come quickly!" Cui Mei exclaimed.

Cui Yu said helplessly: "Xiao Mei, don't shout so suddenly. You said you should be more polite."

Cui Mei's pretty face flushed, "You surprised me too much, sir!"

There were two plates of fruit on the table, one plate of red pomegranate seeds, and one plate of colorful candies. When she picked them up, she found that they were a plate of rubies and a plate of colorful gems.

Of course she was amazed, especially by the plate of rubies. Each ruby ​​was as crystal clear, plump and bright as a pomegranate seed. Each ruby ​​was very valuable, and there were at least several hundred of them in this plate.

Xiao Xia smiled and said, "I plan to make a bracelet for each of you with rubies. You can pick out twenty of the same size and I'll find someone to string them together. You can pick out the one you like from the plate of rubies, Xiaomei."

Cui Yu sighed and said, "Sir, this is too extravagant. You really don't need to be like this. I would be very happy if you treated me to a meal and gave me a calligraphy. But how can we afford such a precious gem?"

Xiaomei muttered, "That's you, don't take me with you, I can bear it!"

"Xiaomei, you can't do this!"

Xiao Mei pouted her lips and reluctantly put back the selected rubies. Xiao Xia didn't expect Cui Yu to be angry. This girl seemed to be a woman with strong principles, but soft on the outside. He tried to please her too much.

Xiao Xia apologized, "I was wrong. I like to give precious things to my relatives. I would give a thousand-year-old sword like Zhanlu to my eldest brother without blinking an eye. To me, this plate of gems is just a decoration. I have never considered how much they are worth. I just want to make you happy."

Cui Yu rolled her eyes at Xiao Xia, a charming smile on her lips, "Alright! Since you are so sincere, I will accept your kindness. Xiaomei, you can choose now!"

Xiaomei cheered and quickly picked out the five rubies that had been secretly put aside. She then concentrated on selecting the other rubies.

Cui Yu gently took Xiao Xia's hand and said coquettishly, "Help me choose!"

Xiao Xia was immediately flattered and quickly said, "Let's choose together!"

The three of them leaned against each other, choosing from a plate of hundreds of rubies.

This plate of rubies was a treasure of Zhang Lihua, a concubine of the Southern Dynasty. It was called pomegranate seeds and was placed on her dressing table. After it was seized by the Sui army, it was awarded to her daughter Yang Lihua by Empress Dugu. Yang Lihua didn't like it very much and directly put it in a bag and threw it into the jewelry box. She had three boxes of jewelry, one for her daughter, one for her granddaughter, and the other for Xiao Xia.

Xiao Xia found this bag of rubies in the jewelry box yesterday.

The two sisters measured the thickness of their wrists with a thread and arranged the rubies they had picked out in a row. Cui Yu had eighteen in one string, and Cui Mei had fifteen in one string. In case there were not enough, Xiao Xia took three more from each of them.

Cui Mei picked out another emerald from the gem plate. She really liked the emerald her sister gave her the day before, but unfortunately her sister refused to give it to her, so she picked one for herself.

The job was done. Xiao Xia smiled and said, "Let's go to the Xihai Jewelry Store to put it on later. Let's eat first."

Xiao Xia clapped her hands, and the maid standing outside hurried down to serve wine and food.

Cui Mei contentedly placed the gem in her small pocket, sighed happily, and thought to herself, "It's great to have a rich and wealthy brother-in-law!"

She suddenly became alert. He was not her brother-in-law yet! She had to find a way to make him her brother-in-law.

Soon, all kinds of delicious dishes were brought in like water.

After the meal, Xiao Mei felt uncomfortable in her stomach, so she went to the bathroom. Cui Yu walked up to the observation deck, gently held Xiao Xia's hand, pointed to a restaurant in the distance and said, "That's our Cui family's Hongyun Restaurant. Last year on the Lantern Festival, our whole family of more than 20 people gathered there to enjoy the lanterns."

Xiao Xia smiled and said, "Next year during the Lantern Festival, let's go out and play together, okay?"

"Of course!"

Xiao Xia put his arm around her waist. Cui Yu secretly glanced back and saw that her sister was not there, so she leaned her head on Xiao Xia's shoulder and said softly, "I was really afraid that Yuan Lin would take you away that day!"

The population exploded during the Ming and Qing dynasties. In order to curb fertility, the ruling class used various cruel etiquette to restrict interactions between men and women. Men and women were not allowed to touch each other, and women were required to bind their feet. All of these were for the same purpose.

On the one hand, they call for physical contact between men and women, but on the other hand, they encourage the development of brothels. It seems contradictory, but in fact, both are aimed at reducing births and reducing population growth.

In order to prevent widows from remarrying and having children, the ruling class used all kinds of brainwashing methods, which I will not go into detail.

The Sui and Tang dynasties and even the Northern Song Dynasty all encouraged childbirth, and the ruling class was particularly tolerant of relationships between men and women. In addition, the Sui and Tang dynasties were deeply influenced by the Xianbei Hu customs, and the Hu people attached more importance to population growth than the Han people.

The Sui and Tang dynasties encouraged normal interactions between young men and women, but the noble Han families in the north had experienced hundreds of years of war and their population had dwindled, so they attached great importance to the continuation of their bloodline.

The main difference between aristocratic families and ordinary people is that ordinary people value the other party's family background and financial resources, while aristocratic families value bloodline and family background.

As for the various intimate behaviors between lovers, ordinary people would not care at all, and for the noble families it is just a minor matter. As long as it is based on emotion and is within the scope of courtesy, and not excessive, the noble families will not care too much.

Even though Cui Yu is the daughter of a noble family, she will still take the initiative to pursue her own love and happiness. She is fundamentally different from Yuan Lin's debauchery.

Xiao Xia smiled and said, "She sent me an invitation yesterday, asking me to go to Qujiang this morning, but I ignored her!"

Cui Yu raised his head, stared at Xiao Xia with sparkling eyes, and said with a smile: "You have to be careful! If you offend the daughter of the Yuan family, she will not let you go!"

"What can she do to me? If she piss me off, I'll kill their entire family."

"boast!"

Xiao Xia smiled and said, "Let's not talk about her anymore. It's really a letdown. I have to go to Weizhou tomorrow. It may take about two months."

"Go ahead! I'll wait for you to come back."

"I'm afraid that when I come back in two months, you'll already be married."

"No way! If I want to get married, I will marry the man I love. If I don't like someone, I will not agree to it even if you kill me!"

"Then I'll feel relieved and go on my business trip in peace!"

Cui Yu said shyly: "What are you talking about? You talk as if I like you."

"But what if I like you?"

Cui Yu's eyes were unusually bright, and he asked in a low voice: "Do you really like me?"

Xiao Xia nodded, "I like it!"

Xiao Xia saw her looking up at him with eyes as bright as gems. He slowly lowered his head, but Cui Yu did not dodge, but slowly closed his eyes.

Xiao Xia finally kissed her lips
Cui Mei's stomach finally felt better. She breathed a long sigh of relief and came out of the bathroom. Just as she was about to enter the room, her eyes suddenly widened. She quickly stepped back and hid at the door, covering her mouth with her hands and laughing, then peeked through the crack in the door with her eyes wide open.

Ha! Ha! I got my rich brother-in-law.

(End of this chapter)